Spring Shrimp Salad

So here's how Saturday went: We wake up after a long night of picking up our little dog from my parents on LI. He was staying with them while we vacationed in Mexico. Mexico, as amazing as it was has left me feeling, bloated, fat, sluggish, and everything that pounds of guacamole, rice, and mimosas will do to you after 4 days of indulging in the sun. So we made a pact to get back on track before it gets any worse. We started the morning with fresh juices, then I made some muffins with the pulp for a snack (no sugar added just 2 medjool dates for sweetness) and then this salad for lunch. It was light, and crisp. The perfect spring salad. It also satisfied us enough that a little snack was sufficient enough for dinner. You can also sub the shrimp for chicken (my husband needs to watch his cholesterol so it's a good option). I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked and peeled shrimp
1 1/2 bags fresh spinach
1/4 cup whole walnuts
1 orange peeled and cubed (you can also use a mango with is amazing as well!)
1 avocado cubed
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
crushed red pepper (to taste)
Blue Cheese (as much as you like!)
Cooked Quinoa (see cooking direction here)

Directions:
Marinate the shrimp in lemon, crushed red pepper, and cilantro for about 20 min. Toss  the shrimp and everything else together adding the avocado and blue cheese last. Top with warm fluffy quinoa, and a little dressing. My friend Annie's (of All Natural Annie) husband introduced me to his homemade dressing which is similar to this one and it is just perfect for this salad!

Easy "Beignets" with Pear Compote

These are the easiest little treats ever to make! They seem super fancy but really they are just deep fried Pillsbury biscuits! The pear compote is also super easy and works well on any breakfast really. Try it in Oatmeal, on Pancakes, French Toast, waffles... the list goes on. Here's how I whipped these up...

For the "Beignet"
Ingredients:
1 roll of Pillsbury buttermilk biscuit dough
Oil for frying (I didn't measure, I just put enough so they would not touch the bottom of the pot)

For the Pear Compote:
2 large ripe pears peeled and chopped
3 tbs water
1/4 cup good maple syrup
2 tbs dark brown sugar (if you don't have this any sugar will work)
Cinnamon to taste
Nutmeg to Taste

Directions:
Put all the ingredients for the pear compote in a small pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer cover and cook for about 10-15 min checking to see how soft the pears are. When they pears are soft and almost mushy take a potato masher and give them a quick mash in the pot. Cook for another 5 min adding more syrup if needed for taste. Set aside and let cool. Pour the oil in a deep pot till it's it very hot (not boiling). Pop open the Pillsbury dough and cut each one in half leaving them attached half way. Spoon in a drop of the pear compote (not too much). Fold the dough over and pinch to secure. Using a mesh ladle submerge each dough ball in the oil, it will rise to the top (cook them on low or med low depending on your stove). Flip them over when they look golden brown (about 1-2 min on each side) remove from the pot to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with powered sugar or cinnamon sugar and enjoy!

Chicken and Quinioa Lettuce wraps

This is such an easy, delicious and healthy dinner or lunch. Even my Italian pasta loving husband raved about it. It's just the right amount of spicy and sweet and has some yummy hidden flavors.

Ingredients:

• 2 Boneless chicken breasts chopped very small
• 1 cup of minced baby bello mushrooms
• 1/3 cup crushed sliced almonds (I used honey roasted)
• 1 small white onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• Crushed red pepper (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)
• 1/3 cup Honey
• 1 cup Trader Joe's Soy Ginger Vinaigrette
• 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce (separated into two 1/4 cup measurements)
• 2 tbs Olive oil
• 1 Cup Quinoa (See cooking directions at the end)

Directions:
In a ziplock bag toss the chopped chicken breast with the garlic, salt, crushed red pepper, honey, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and soy ginger vinaigrette. Let it sit for about 10 min. In a skillet heat the olive oil on medium, saute the onion till it turns clear. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the entire contents of the ziplock bag along with the left over 1/4 of soy sauce. When the chicken is almost done add the crushed almonds. Adjust with more pepper flakes, salt or soy sauce depending on taste. Serve warm over crisp lettuce leaves and top with warm cooked quinoa. Enjoy!

Quinoa cooking directions:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

Bring two cups of water to a boil, add the quinoa and reduce temperature to a low simmer. Cook for 12-15 min. Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 min. For this recipe I added nothing I wanted it plain with the chicken, but you can add anything you like to quinioa, garlic, onions, black beans (my husbands favorite) you can even use it as rice for stir fry (my favorite!).

Santa's NEW favorite cookie

I don't think I've ever met a cookie Santa wouldn't like. But these just take the cake, err cookie...
The combination of bacon, no not regular bacon, CANDIED bacon is unreal. For real. I followed this recipe to a T. I'm so not gonna hide the fact that I literally ate these cookies for breakfast the next day. They are THAT good. My Husband took some to work with him and I heard I am now a bit of a celebrity over there (not that I'm complaining). When, not IF, but when I make these again, I'll sprinkle just a dash of sea salt on top to amp them up.
       
Note: To candy my bacon I laid them out on this handy bacon making tool, smothered them in brown sugar and popped them in the microwave for about 4 - 5 min. You can also bake them on a wire rack for 20 min...but really, when your anticipating eating possibly one of THE best cookies ever, who has 20 min to spare!

OK now I dare you make these for Santa and NOT eat them all. Go on I dare you!
Have a happy Christmas!! Be back after the holidays!
xo

Christmas Boozing with Jello Shots

White Chocolate Peppermint Jello Shots

These are super yummy! And they make any holiday party festive and fun!

Ingredients:
• 1/3 cup Skinny Mixes in White Chocolate Peppermintini flavor. (if you don't have this please see my note below)
• 3 tbsp water
• 2 envelopes Knox Gelatin
• 1/2 cup Godiva White Chocolate liqueur
• 1/2 cup Vanilla Vodka (reduce to 1/4 cup for a slightly weaker shot)
• 2 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream liqueur
• Crushed candy cane
• White Chocolate Chips (optional)

To prep your molds or pan lightly spray with oil. Then wipe away leaving just a light unnoticeable film. 

Pour the Skinny Mixer and water into a sauce pan and sprinkle the gelatin over the mixture. Allow it to soak up for about a minute. Turn the heat on to low and mix until everything is dissolved, about 3-5 min. When its ready add the peppermint extract, all the alcohol and mix well until everything is incorporated. Pour into molds (I used a mini muffin pan) leaving a little bit left over for later if you want to add the chocolate chip filling. If not then use up all the mix and let it set over night.
             To add the chocolate chip, let them set for about 1/2hr till it's just sticky to the touch. Place a single white chocolate chip in the middle and push it into the shot with a tooth pick. Carefully spoon over a little of the leftover jello mixture to cover up the hole. Let it set over night or for about 8 hours.
           Before serving garnish with some crushed candy cane (do not add garnishes till your ready to serve as they will melt, even in the fridge). Then get ready to get a bit tipsy!

Note:
You can cub Skinny Mixes with:
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk and adjust the peppermint extract to your liking.

Winter Soup....

Hello loves! Its been quite a while now! I've been hibernating if you will. I hope everyone has been having a wonderful 2011!! I unfortunately got very sick right after New Years and am only just now getting better! My late great Aunt used to make this amazing chicken soup for the winter. My mom was the only one who was taught to create this amazing dish and whenever I'm sick it's all I crave. Since I'm all grown up now and have to fend for myself when I'm sick (even though my Mom ALWAYS offers to come all the way to Brooklyn to take care of me, love her!) I asked her to teach me how to make it recently and I have to say, I did a pretty good job of recreating this soup! Even my boyfriend who hates left overs was eating it for days! It's the perfect cure for those winter sniffles and freezing cold nights.

So I wanted to share this recipe with you because It's a special one and evokes feelings of comfort, and family, and hopefully if any of you try this recipe and are far from home, you'll totally get what I mean....

Toni's (my aunt) Special Chicken soup

Ingredients:

• 1 package "soup starter" (should come with carrots, onion, celery etc...)
• 3-4 large size chicken breasts skinned but on the bone.
• 1 package Sazon seasoning (I used the no salt version)
• Oregano (generous sprinkles)
• Parsley flakes (generous sprinkles)
• Salt (to taste)
• 1 small can of tomato sauce
• Garlic Powder (to taste)
• 2 Garlic Cloves thinly sliced
• Salt (to taste)
• 1/2 lb Acini de Pepe Pasta (you can use a little less if you don't have much broth because this will really soak it up)

Directions:

Take all the ingredients and place them in a very large pot filled with water. Don't cut the chicken off the bones but trim off the skin and fat and don't cut the veggies just leave them whole the way the are, even the onion.

Boil everything for 1 1/2 hrs.

Turn the stove off, let it cool down a bit and then take out all the veggies and chicken. Put the chicken and carrots aside. Put the rest of the veggies in a blender with about 1 cup of the broth from the pot. Blend until nice and creamy. Pour the mixture into the pot of broth. In another pot, boil the Acini De Pepe pasta for about 5 -8 min (follow the box instructions). Meanwhile cut the carrots and shred the chicken off the bone and put it back in the pot with the broth (sans bones). Add the drained Acini De Pepe Pasta to the pot and boil everything together for 5-8 more minutes (At this point I did a lot of tasting and testing to see if I needed any more seasonings, I added some more salt and some garlic powder, see what works for you.) Serve with sprinkled Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Hope you all have a happy and warm winter!

 

 

 

3:00 Pick me up

I know its been a while but this is a good one! I adapted this recipe I found on my Favorite Food Blog Smitten Kitchen for Strawberry Ricotta Tartlets.

I most definitely didn't have time to make graham crackers from scratch but I figured just the boxed kind would be good enough and I didn't want to used processed granulated sugar so I used my tried and true agave nectar which was perfect for this recipe because it gave the strawberry mix the perfect syrupy texture and I added bananas bc well I LOVE bananas esp with strawberries! My adaptation came out great, super easy and super fast and I'm having them as a snack for that 3:00 lul here at the office! Of course I brought some in to share! Here's my adapted recipe

For the Ricotta mix

1 1/4 cup ricotta

2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar

mixed very well

For the strawberry mix

1 1/4 cup strawberries - sliced

2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 good squeeze of lemon juice

mixed well and let stand for 15 min or so

Then I sliced a banana thinly and after putting a smear of the ricotta mix on the graham I added 3 slices and a spoon full of the strawberry mix.

I would assume one can use any kind of fruit of their liking on top of the ricotta mix and it would taste great! I think next time ill try making a various fruit mix, with blueberries and raspberries, and maybe even pineapple! But these are so tasty! They sorta taste like a strawberry shortcake! YUM!

xx M

A Turkey Burger to DIE for!

For the past few summers my mother has secretly pre-made the most amazing turkey burgers and stowed them away in the freezer for us to enjoy all summer. Since I've recently acquired a little mini grill for my terrace I asked her for the recipe for these amazing unlike any other turkey burgers and she so kindly divulged! Here's her recipe:

Turkey And Cranberry Burgers

Ingredients:

1lb ground turkey (I used lean all white)

1 1/8 cups of craisins or any other dried cranberries (1 1/8 cups may seem like a lot but its not)

1/4 cup fresh parsley

4 whole scallion bunches

a few generous sprinkles of crushed red pepper (approx about 1-2 teaspoons)

Couple (2) of dashes of all purpose seasoning (I used adobo)

A drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive oil (so the burgers stay nice and moist)

 

Directions:

Put the turkey in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Put the dried cranberries in a food processor and chop. Don't over chop. Then put the cranberries in the bowl with the turkey. Chop the scallions manually and then put in them in the food processor along with the fresh parsley and chop well. Add the mixture to the bowl with the turkey. Add the rest of the ingredients in the bowl with the turkey and mix well with your hands. Then form your burger patties and refrigerate till your ready to grill! If you don't have a grill you can use an oven or a George Foreman. I like mine with a smear of The Laughing Cow light French Onion cheese spread, sliced avocado, and raw red onion and ketchup. SO DELICIOUS!

I made these for dinner the other night and the "boy" loved them so much he had two!!! Now that's saying something!

HAVE SOME COSMO-TINI SORBET!!!!

Photo Credit: Epicurious.com

In Honor of SATC 2, and the un-official start of summer memorial day weekend of course!!

Its really such a shame my ice cream maker (yes I have one) is being stored at my parents house or I'd be making this asap!!! But if you happen to have one handy here's the recipe I found on Epicurious

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 5 1/3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (not thawed; 24 oz)
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons Cointreau or other orange liqueur

Special equipment:

• Special equipment: an ice cream maker

 

DIRECTIONS

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries and simmer, uncovered, until berries are collapsed, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour through a large sieve into a bowl, gently pressing on solids to extract liquid (without forcing pulp through), and discard solids. Cool syrup, then chill, covered, until cold.

Stir in vodka, lime juice, and Cointreau and freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

Cosmo Cupcakes (revised Pink Lemonade)

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour1/2 tsp. baking powder1/4 tsp. baking sodaPinch salt1/2 cup granulated sugar1/4 cup vegetable oil2 egg whites1/3 cup cosmo mixer  OR thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate1/4 cup buttermilk You can sub this with rice milk or soy milk or regular milk, but I'll be honest the buttermilk does them just right!Pink food coloring (or a little bit of red)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners (makes 12 cupcakes).2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.3. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate.4. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth.

5. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.6. Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full).

7. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched.

COMSO Buttercream Frosting (or Pink Lemonade:

2 & 3/4 cups icing sugar1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature1/8 tsp. salt3 - 5 tbsps. comso mixer (or pink lemonade concentrate)

Pink food coloring

Directions:

1. Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemonade concentrate, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low until combined.

2. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy.

3. Frost your cuppy any way you like!

GLAM TIP: If you have limes slice them and use them a decor for the cupcakes!

I made these "lemonade style" last summer for my family and they were gone the same day!!! Super Yummy!

What's for dinner?

Broiled Salmon with white wine dijon dill sauce. MMMM Yummy!! Photo Credit: Shake it app for iphoneMade this for dinner last night and the consensus was, it turned out great! Here is the recipe I used from Real Simple. The asparagus I can't take credit for, but I believe they were just sauteed in olive oil with some sea salt and pepper for about 5-8 minutes.

Ingredients

• 4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnishing
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Set broiler on high.
2. Place the salmon on a foil-lined broiler pan and season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Broil until the salmon is the same color throughout and flakes easily, 7 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat, heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter until it melts. Add the shallot and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and whisk in the mustard, dill, pepper, and the remaining salt. Remove from heat.
4. Cut the remaining butter into pieces, add to the sauce, and whisk until incorporated. Place the salmon on individual plates, spoon the sauce over the top, and sprinkle with additional dill.