Chicken, Broccoli and Garlic Kebabs

I borrowed this recipe from kissmysmoke.com, and it's awesome and easy!  I haven't yet gone crazy on here about my newest cooking tool, the Cuisinart Griddler, but if you don't have one you should. It's basically a George Foreman grill for adults.  Sakief and I use it for everything these days it seems.  It has removable top and bottom plates that are dishwasher safe.  They are also reversible flat and ridged so you can use it as a grill, panini press, griddle, etc.  The point is, that I used it to make these kebabs, and, wow, so quick! And so nice for those of us who live in apartments and don't have easy access to a grill (or a clean one at least).

I forget was the sauce was that was recommended as a marinade for the chicken and broccoli, but I just made my own.  Soy sauce, ginger paste, sesame oil and garlic (all to taste, we all have different preferences).

Cut up chicken breasts into chunks and toss in a bowl with the marinade.  Do the same to one large head of fresh broccoli.  

Slide alternating chunks of chicken, broccoli and whole garlic cloves onto kebab sticks and grill until chicken is done.  The broccoli becomes a little crispy on the surface, but still soft to eat, and the garlic is nice and soft and awesome (I LOVE garlic). 

In other news, Sakief and I have really been doing well at eating healthier.  We found that we were eating a diet more suited to maintaining weight than losing weight, so this week we started on a more weight loss conducive diet. 

I set my goals small this week, just not wanting to be above a certain weight, and I made it by a pound.  That's all I can ask for.  We also decided to switch our weigh in day from Friday to Thursday because of kickball on Thursday night. It tends to be our only drinking night of the week, so weighing in on Friday just doesn't make sense.

I am realizing that I don't need to be afraid of the scale, it's not the scale, it's me.  So I'm more comfortable weighing in again.

We also have been doing the 52 week money challenge, and decided that if there is a week where we gain weight from the previous weigh in, we'll add an extra $5 to our jars.  So in the short term it's a consequence, but in the long term we'll have more money saved for a vacation, wee!

Have a wonderful week friends!

Identifying the Problem

Getting back into the swing of things is proving harder than I thought. I know it requires the right mind set, but I really thought I had that. Clearly not.

Sakief and I have spent time discussing exactly why it is that we are having trouble sticking to healthier diets and we've identifies a few issues. 

1) Not enought leftovers. 

Which leads to not enough food for lunch.  We used to have the problem of making too much food and then letting it go bad.  Apparently we really need to find the happy medium.  

2) Eating when you're full.

Which leads to not enough leftovers... viscious cycle.  Basically, if it tastes good, we'll keep eating until well over full, and food that was meant to be for leftovers is consumed for dinner.

At least we've identified the issues so that we can work on them.  Le sigh.

In the mean time, here is another new recipe for your enjoyment.  Jared bought me the Peace, Love and Low Carb cookbook (check it out, she's awesome!) and I'm really enjoying experimenting from it.

Here's the first I tried!

Balsamic Mustard Steaks:

1.5 lbs steak (cut of your choice)

2 Tbs olive oil

1 shallot (I had green onion, I think any member of the onion family will work fine)

2 Tbs butter

1/3 balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup beef broth

1/4 cup spicy brown mustard

salt and pepper (to taste)

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on high.  Season the steak with salt and pepper. Sear the steaks on each side for 3-4 mins (longer if you like it more well done, 3-4 mins was about medium rare for me). Remove steaks and set aside (if you cover with foil it will keep them warm). Add the shallot (green onion, etc) and butter to pan and saute. Add balsamic vinegar. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan for any steak bits. Bring to a boil on medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 mins. Add beef broth and then whisk in mustard. Let simmer for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened. Serve sauce over steaks.

I'm really excited about this cookbook and I'm excited to try more recipes!  I've already tried a lasagna recipe, and it was awesome.  I'll share it soon!

New Year, New Me?

I finally got up the courage to step on the scale this morning, and well, I wasn't as disappointed as I could have been.  It was still disappointing to see how much weight I allowed myself to gain back last year, but it's on me, and I'll fix it. 

It's crazy to think that I've been going through this process now for two years.  2012 was a great year, I was happy, lost a ton of weight, life was good.  2013 wasn't as great, in fact, 2013 pretty much sucked and took a crazy emotional toll on me.  Not worth going into details, but I was fighting against a vicious cycle (and losing) basically all year.  I'm not a stress eater per se, but I do experience an inordinate amount of fatigue which leads to: less working out, less cooking, less packed lunches, and more time sitting on a couch (oh, my darling DVR, you didn't help).

2014 will be better (because if it's not, I'm hibernating through 2015).  But really, it will be better.  I try to avoid making new year's resolutions about weight loss, but every year, I resolve to be healthier. To me that includes a lot of things, weight loss of course, but also, better stress management, being more active, flossing more... etc.

I've said it before, but I need to be better about keeping myself accountable.  I am so lucky to have such a great support system, but I have to be in charge of myself.  So be prepared for more blog posts friends, and not just recipes like I had gotten in the habit of.  But I'll definitely still share recipes!  I have a couple stored up, waiting for me to have time to type them out.

Happy 2014!  I wish everyone health and happiness this year, and always!

What is that? A loofa?

I've had plenty of posts started for awhile now, but I had to post this recipe asap, it was that good!  I'm loving quinoa dishes, since Sakief eats rice with almost everything.  It's such a great substitute, though the texture is definitely different.

This one's for you Jared!

Blackened Chicken with Cilantro Lime Quinoa and Avocado Cream Sauce

adapted from http://www.sarcasticcooking.com/2012/03/15/blackened-chicken-and-cilantro-lime-quinoa/

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (if they're thick, pound them out with a meat tenderizer, or if you're like me, a rolling pin)

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup quinoa

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp cumin

lime juice

chopped cilantro

olive oil

avocado

2 Tbsp plain, nonfat Greek yogurt

Cook quinoa with the chicken broth in a rice cooker while you prepare the chicken.

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Coat the chicken breasts. Heat 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil in a medium sauce pan at medium/high heat. Cook chicken for 7 minutes each side, covered, on medium heat. When chicken is fully cooked, remove from heat and let sit.

For cream sauce, combine the flesh of the avocado with the Greek yogurt in a food processor (or magic bullet, or blender, etc, etc). 

When quinoa is done cooking add chopped cilantro and lime juice to taste.

Slice chicken and serve over quinoa. Spoon cream sauce over top.

The original recipe called for the cream sauce to only be used if you needed to cut the heat from the blackening spices, but Sakief and I both agreed that it really makes the dish.

Armadillo Eggs

This is one of the easiest recipes I've made.  I grabbed this one from Pinterest, and the pin led nowhere, so unfortunately I don't have anyone to give credit.  But I certainly didn't come up with the name of this myself.  Thankfully the entire directions were in the pin, so here we are.

Armadillo Eggs:

Ground beef

Cheese of your choice (I used string cheese since it was easy to stuff the peppers with)

Varying peppers (I used sweet mini bell peppers, but in the future I'd try something with some kick, like poblano)

Seasonings of your choice for beef

Preheat over to 375. Cut the stem off of the peppers and de-seed.  Stuff with cheese (don't over fill). Season beef (I used pepper, garlic powder, salt and worchestershire sauce). Flatten out small patties of beef (make them as thin as possible).  Wrap each stuffed pepper so that the cheese is sealed inside. Bake 20-30 mins until the "eggs" are brown on the outside.

Even though I'm not a fan of bell peppers, this wasn't so bad (though like I said, I'd love to try this with spicier peppers).  I tend to find that the mini peppers have a milder flavor, which is probably why I could tolerate this.  The only reason I used them though is because we had them in the fridge (and I don't know why, I'm sure Sakief bought them for some reason). 

What I like the most about this recipe (other than melted cheese, noms) is that it's a different way to use ground beef.  Sakief and I often have ground beef in the freezer, and aren't usually so creative with it.  It's nice to be able to use it for something other than hamburgers and spaghetti sauce.

Winter Squash Soup

I had an excellent weekend, and as per usual, am sad that it's coming to a close. Sakief and I got a lot of our holiday shopping done, and Erin was kind enough to take our holiday card pictures today. I can't believe it's November already!

I also had a major win today. After pictures I accompanied Erin, Adam and my two favorite little girls to Chuck E Cheese... And I didn't eat any pizza! CEC has a surprisingly good/fresh salad bar, so I ate a TON of veggies sans salad dressing. I'm pretty proud of myself.

When I got home I did make a real dinner for Sakief and myself. Another new recipe, another win for the day! We had some leftover pumpkin (whole) and butternut squash from a recipe Sakief tried last week (I subsequently turned the pumpkin into purée and froze some as well), so I decided on a soup. I have realized recently that I really should be giving more credit to the original sources when I find a recipe, so with that, I give you Ina Garten's Winter Squash Soup (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/winter-squash-soup-recipe/index.html) :

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp olive oil (I actually didn't use this, mostly because I forgot...)

2 cups chopped yellow onion

1 can pumpkin purée (I used my homemade, about 1 3/4 cups)

1 1/2 lbs butternut squash (I used 1/2 of a large squash-chunked, no skin)

3 cups chicken stock or broth

Pepper

Salt

1 cup half and half

Sour cream (as garnish)

In a stock pot heat the butter (and oil if you use it). Cook the onion until translucent. Add pumpkin, butternut squash, broth and salt and pepper. Cook until butternut squash is soft. The original directions call for the mixture to then be blended in a food mill, but I just used a stick blender. This means you don't have to transfer everything to and from the stock pot and simplifies the process (I think). Blend until smooth. Add half and half. Simmer for a few minutes. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream. Makes 4 servings. 

This is an awesome meal for a cool fall evening, and is very filling. I'm glad I have leftovers!

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Sakief wants me to start blogging again, and it can't say that I disagree with why. I've completely fallen off the wagon, and only been able to really get back on this week. I'm so afraid of what the scale will say that I've actually hidden it away. Give me a few weeks and I might be brave enough to dig it back out. Anyway, I've mentioned it before, but blogging helps to keep me accountable, so it makes sense to get back to it. That, and I've had posts starred for weeks now to share recipes and they've just been sitting, waiting for me to write them. Le sigh.

The following recipe is the first recipe I feel like I can after least somewhat claim as my own. I got the idea from Pinterest (duh), but the pin led to nowhere, and while the text of the pin told me the ingredients, I had to figure out the measurements. This was a HUGE win, and will make if again, soon probably. It was not only delicious and healthy, but Sakief (who is super tired of spaghetti squash) didn't complain because it had so much flavor to cover the squash.

I proudly present: Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

1 medium spaghetti squash

1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp smooth peanut butter

2 large carrots (shredded- I used my spiral slicer)

4 baby Bok Choy (chopped, no greens)

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Green onion

Diced garlic

Cilantro

Lime wedges

Cook spaghetti squash. I cut mine in half length wise, scoop out the seeds and roast at 375 for 45 mins or so.

While squash is cooking: Chop chicken into bite size pieces. Add broth, garlic, soy sauce and rice vinegar to wok, or large pan. Over medium heat cook chicken in broth mixture. When chicken is cooked through, add carrots and Bok Choy. 

When vegetables are cooked, scoop out cooked spaghetti squash and add to wok. Mix together. Add peanut butter and stir thoroughly. Let simmer to cook off some of the liquid (not all). Add chopped peanuts and green onion and mix. Let simmer about 5 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro (not pictured, we were out) and squeeze some lime over the top before eating.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did, and I hope to share more recipes and dieting life things soon. Back at it :)