Chicken Stroganoff

I woke up yesterday to my coupon inserts on the kitchen counter and... a copy of The Hunger Games! The hubby had thought of me during a morning trip to Walmart. My heart leapt in excitement, I've been meaning to read this book for months. I actually went and saw the movie before I read the book (I usually like to read the book first). I thought the movie was really well done, it captured my imagination in many ways.

Needless to say, I started reading the book yesterday. In the blink of an eye, I was 110 pages in and it was after 7 o'clock. I hadn't even started dinner. Yikes. I got my butt into the kitchen, and I had this on the table in 30 minutes. I was pretty proud of my efficiency.

What takes the longest? Getting a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. I do that first thing. I like to use egg noodles in this dish, mainly because egg noodles were standard in stroganoff when I was growing up.

I like to give the chicken a nice, crispy coating. I've found putting flour in a Ziploc bag, adding the chicken, and giving it a good shake perfectly coats the chicken in flour.

Brown the chicken to give it some nice color and then remove it from the pan. This is another dish where the chicken doesn't have to be done at this point, it will finish later in the cooking.

The hubby and I love mushrooms. The more the better! I sliced up a healthy amount to put in this dish.

The mushrooms, garlic, and dried basil go in the pan after the chicken has been browned.

I didn't take a lot of in-between pictures, but this is the finished product. After sautéing the mushrooms, the sauce is made. The sauce is a combination of chicken broth, sour cream, and a dash of Worchestire sauce. The chicken is then added back in, and the dish is simmered until the chicken is done. A toss of the pasta, a handful of minced parsley, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese finishes up the dish.

A fast and tasty dinner. Now, back to The Hunger Games :)

Ingredients:
6 ounces dried egg noodles
1 large chicken breast
2 tbsp flour, divided
1 tsp salt, divided
3/4 tsp pepper, divided
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp Worchestire sauce
1/4 cup parsley, minced
Parmesan cheese (garnish)

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, and set aside.
2. Cut chicken breast into bite-size pieces. Combine 1 tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Add chicken to bag, seal, and shake until chicken is thoroughly coated.
3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. When hot, add chicken to pan. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side, or until chicken is browned. Remove from pan, and set aside.
4. Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in the pan. Add mushrooms to pan, saute 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and dried basil, continue to saute mushrooms to desired tenderness.
5. Add chicken broth to pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer 1 minute, then add remaining 1 tbsp flour. Cook 1 minute. Add sour cream, Worchestire sauce, and remaining salt and pepper to the pan, cook 1 minute or until thickened slightly.
6. Return chicken to the pan. Cover and simmer 1 minute, or until chicken is cooked through. Add pasta and parsley to pan, toss to combine. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.
7. Divide pasta amount individual plates. Garnish with more Parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Cooking Light

Breakfast For Dinner: Sausage, Potato, and Pepper Hash

Time for another breakfast for dinner!

Sausage was on sale this week, so I decided to make a couple of sausage dinners. I made Sausage, Pepper, and Mushroom Pizza, and this Sausage, Potato, and Pepper Hash. I've made this a couple of times previously, and this time I feel like I've finally got it down.

I roasted the potatoes previous to cooking, because I felt they didn't completely cook on the previous go-rounds. I also cooked the eggs a little bit longer, since the hubby commented they could cook a little bit longer last time.

Now that I've finally perfected this, it needs to be shared. It's sooooo good. I must also point out that it doesn't have to be cooked for dinner. It would be equally scrumptious for breakfast :)

You are going to need 1 large onion diced, 1 red bell pepper diced, 4-oz ground hot sausage, 3 large eggs, and some yummy, fragrant minced cilantro.

DON'T forget to coat your cookie sheet with cooking spray before roasting the potatoes, like I did.

DO pour yourself an ice-cold beer to forget your woes.

Crack your eggs into the pan, and cover.

The eggs will set up before your eyes, in 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle the dish with some fresh cilantro once the eggs are set. Dig in, and enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 large baking potatoes, peeled and diced
salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4-oz hot sausage
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 large eggs
1/4 cup cilantro, minced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add crushed garlic cloves to hot oil, saute 1-2 minutes or until toasted. Remove from heat, and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon, and discard.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add diced potatoes and olive oil. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake in oven 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven, set aside.
4. In a large skilled, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions. Saute 5-7 minutes, or until tender. Add sausage and garlic, saute until sausage is browned. Add red pepper to pan. Saute 2-3 minutes. Add potatoes to pan.
5. Make 3 wells in the potato mixture. Crack eggs into the 3 wells. Cover pan, and cook 2-3 minutes, or until egg whites are set.
6. Uncover, and sprinkle dish with minced cilantro. Divide hash amount individual dishes, and sprinkle more cilantro on each dish. Serve immediately.

Adapted from All You

Move in May: Bikini Buster Workout

http://mommiecouture.com

Needless to say, I hated the Brazil Butt Lift. When I hate something, I don't do it. It got to the point where I didn't want to work out because I knew I should be doing the Butt Lift. It had to go. What's the point of an exercise regiment if you aren't going to do it?

http://carharttsandcoachbags.wordpress.com

In February, March, and April, I got out of shape. I had a lot of headaches, some low moods, and not a lot of energy. Working out fell by the wayside. May has come along with its 90 degree weather, and it's like I suddenly realized, "Hey! I'm going to have to be in a bikini soon!". Yikes. May has become Get Back Into Shape Month.

I started up again 3 weeks ago. To say it was hard would be an understatement. I can't believe how out of shape I got. I had to start small, doing 10-minute circuits on the elliptical. I'm proud to say I'm working back up there though, I got in 4 workouts this week. Hard workouts too! I'm tired and sore today, and taking a much needed day of rest.

Here's what I've worked myself up to and what I'm hoping gets me back in fighting shape:

20 minutes cardio- 1-minute warmup, followed by 2-minute intervals of sprinting, then resting. 3-minute cool down at Minute 17. I do my cardio on my elliptical machine.
Ab Toning- 25 crunches on stability ball, followed by 30-second plank. Repeat 3 times.
Butt Toning- 25 squats, followed by 20 arabesques on each leg. Repeat 3 times.
Arm Toning- (Using 5-lb weights) 15 push-ups, 15 lateral raises, 15 bicep curls, and 15 tricep extensions. Repeat 3 times.
20 minutes cardio- same as above.

Whew! That's a good workout. I also do 5-10 minutes of stretching pre and post-workout, as well as some dancing in between moves if a booty-shaker song comes on (there's just something about One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful"). It also goes without saying that if you are doing a workout like this, make sure to eat enough calories during the day. I don't have a problem getting enough calories :)

If you need some inspiration to get moving this month, here are the requisite cute animal pictures to get you going :)

http://www.jokeroo.com

http://newslite.tv

http://uberhumor.com

I love that polar bear :)

Chocolate Chip-Coffee Muffins

On Wednesday, I set forth to make Glazed Lemon Yogurt Pound Cake. It came together easy, the batter tasted amazing, and it came out of the oven looking amazing. I put it on the cooling rack to cool, and couldn't wait to take some pictures and get to blogging.

I waited about an hour, and then tried to get the cake out of the pan. It completely fell apart. My hopes were dashed and I was grumpy the rest of the day. I have to remind myself sometimes that I'm not an expert baker and that I am still learning. Sigh.

It ended up tasting pretty good, even though it's in pieces instead of nice, neat slices.

I decided to redeem myself yesterday and make something easy. I'd seen these muffins a couple of issues of Cooking Light ago, and muffins seemed like a safe option.

I like these muffins. They didn't rise much during baking, and they are a denser muffin. They are crispy on the outside, but moist on the inside. You can taste coffee and chocolate in every bite. I found them perfect with a cup of coffee in the morning. I'm a big fan. I might even have another before my morning workout :)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
5 tbsp butter, melted
3 tbsp instant coffee
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup canola oil
2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine milk through canola oil. Stir well with a whisk, set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour through the salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Fill cups 3/4 way full. Bake in preheated oven for 13-15 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let cool in pan 5 minutes, remove to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before storage.

Adapted from Cooking Light

Shrek Kebabs

A long, long time ago these kebabs were once known as "Basil Shrimp Kebabs". However, after more than a couple of times of telling the hubby that we were having Basil Shrimp Kebabs for dinner and him coming back with, "You mean Shrek Kebabs?", these kebabs will forever be known as Shrek Kebabs in our house.

They get the name Shrek Kebabs from the bright green, basil sauce that the kebabs are basted with.

You'll need lots of fresh, fragrant basil to make the Shrek sauce.

 The sauce is made in the food processor. A couple of handfuls of the fresh basil, white wine vinegar, olive oil, a dab of dijon mustard, and minced garlic. Pulse the food processor until the sauce is smooth.

You'll end up with a bowl of bright green, Shrek sauce. And it smells fantastic!

I just now realized how similar the color is to Shrek:

Wow, the hubby got that one pretty good :)

Skewer some of your favorite things. The shrimp (obviously), cherry tomatoes, green pepper chunks, and halved mushrooms. Brush them with a little olive oil before grilling them.

When they come off the grill, they have a nice, green tint to them. Green = delicious!

You could make this recipe kid-friendly by swapping out the shrimp for chicken. You just know they'll eat it when it's called "Shrek Kebabs" :)

Ingredients:
2 cups large basil leaves
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb large shrimp
1 green pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
8 cherry tomatoes
5 large mushrooms, halved

Directions:
1. In a food processor, combine basil through garlic. Pulse until mixture is smooth. Place in a small bowl for basting the skewers on the grill.
2. Skewer the shrimp through the mushrooms.
3. Place skewers on a grill heated to medium-high heat. Grill 5-8 minutes, or until shrimp are done and vegetables are tender. Baste occasionally. Tomatoes will only need to grill 3-4 minutes.
4. Remove skewers from heat and divide skewers among individual plates. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Oxmoor House

California Cobb Salad

This may not be the healthiest salad you could imbibe in, but it's sooooo worth it.

There is so much good stuff in this salad. The hubby walked in the door last night to this:

and immediately said, "Chicken Cobb Salad! Yes!"

I'll take it.

I must say, this salad does take some time to prep. Unless you keep hard-boiled eggs on hand, you'll need to hard-boil some eggs early in the afternoon so they have a chance to cool before dinner time. You do need to prepare a chicken breast. You do need to cook and crumble some bacon. The time spent preparing will be so worth it when you fall in love at first bite though.

I like to set the toppings out so we can make our own salads. Also, the hubby doesn't like to put avocado on his salad. He's craaaazy. More for me!

He does like to put most of the egg on his salad though :)

I seared my chicken on the stove, 3 minutes on each side, and then baked it in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. It yielded a pretty good chicken breast. I definitely prefer grilling the chicken. However, there was a mass of bees out yesterday so there was no way I was going outside to grill. Stupid bees.

Here's what I do put in my big salad bowl. Romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and blue cheese crumbles which I toss with some fat-free Italian dressing. I heart blue cheese crumbles.

After tossing the salad with the dressing, everyone is free to make their own, custom salad. Yum!

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast
Olive oil
salt, pepper, and garlic powder
5 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbled
3 hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped
1 avocado, diced
3 bacon strips, crumbled
1/4 cup fat-free Italian dressing

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle chicken breast with olive oil. Season chicken breast with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Coat a small, oven safe skillet with cooking spray and heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan and sear 2-3 minutes on each side, or until chicken is browned. Cover skillet and place in 350 degree oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken reaches 160 degrees. Remove chicken from heat, and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice chicken, and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine romaine, tomatoes, and blue cheese.
3. Place egg, avocado, and bacon in little serving bowls, and set aside for everyone to add to their own salad.
4. Toss lettuce mixture with the salad dressing. When combined, divide lettuce mixture among individual plates. Top salad with egg, avocado, bacon, and sliced chicken.
5. Dare yourself not to eat it all. But you will :)

Adapted from Cooking Light

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday!

I like to think that I'm getting over homesickness, since I've lived in Kentucky for a year and a half now. Yet, I still feel that pang of homesickness when I miss stuff I would normally have celebrated with my family. My mom's birthday, the Superbowl, my brother's birthday, the NFL draft, my dad's birthday. I think I've been feeling more homesick lately because the hubby and I aren't taking our planned trip to Oregon this summer, since the house will be in the middle of construction. I guess that's part of being an adult, eh?

My Dad is hilarious. I think he uses a dry sense of humor to disguise his huge heart. He spends a lot of time with the sheltie that he and my mom rescued, and with the cat that I "rescued" in college. To be around those animals, it's completely obvious that they love him. My Dad was also a hospice volunteer for 5 years. He spent a large amount of his own personal time helping those whose lives were drawing to a close, running errands for them or just simply keeping them company. A typical night at my parents house involves Mom having a glass of wine on the couch, yelling at whatever sport is being displayed on ESPN that night. You'll find Dad in the rocking chair in the back of the room, with his headphones plugged into his laptop, watching whatever show, movie, or YouTube clip Mom doesn't want to watch. It's pretty funny to see.

In honor of his birthday, I've rounded up some of my favorite photos of our years together:

December '07. My brother's college graduation.

Taken a couple of hours after my brother's graduation. I think you can see everyone is feeling pretty toasty by this point. It looks like my Dad is making the hand signal for "phone", but I can't say for sure :)

Christmas '07. Dad's ready to open the presents.

Sept '08. The Oregon vs. Purdue game. Looking oh-so-proud of his son. There was a time when Jeff couldn't take a picture without a peace sign and sticking out his tongue. Sigh.

February '09. The Superbowl. Haloti is very interested in whatever Dad is about to eat.

July '09 on Jerame and I's wedding day. Grilling salmon and zucchini for the feast we devoured after the ceremony. Beer within arm's length of the grill :)

October '10. The day we took Jerame's mom to meet my family during her visit to Oregon, although it looks like a Game Day doesn't it?

July '11. Taken during my first trip back to Oregon after moving to Kentucky. Pictures of Dad smiling are slim to none. I promise, he is happy in these photos! :)

Still my trip to Oregon. Although I planned my trip for July so I could have nice weather, it was only sunny 1 day on my 11 day trip. This was taken on said nice day. Dad relaxing on the deck with my brother's dog.

Sept '11. My parents first trip to Kentucky, and I believe, Mom's first time to Kentucky ever. This was taken while exploring downtown Huntington, WV (about 20 minutes from our house in Kentucky).

Another pic from my parent's Kentucky trip. Dad loved this little former train station that's been reformed into a small shopping center.

I wish I had some older pictures, but wouldn't you know? Photos on my computer only go back so far, since previous cameras used to have film that was developed instead of photos that are uploaded to the computer. You know, back in the stone ages? Oh, how the times have changed!

Anyhoo, Happy Birthday Dad! Wish Jerame and I could be back there to celebrate, but I have a feeling things will calm down after this year and the hubby and I will be making regular trips back to Oregon. Hopefully Mom will let you watch a program on the TV tonight, instead of on your laptop. Just kidding, Mom! :)