10 Obsessions

It has been a while since I’ve posted about random topics, most of my post as of late have been catching up on events in my life. So here are a list of my current top 10 obsessions (some of which are new obsessions others are old ones that have just been revived).

1.    Low Carb Strawberry Cheesecake. After I finished writing a paper on Sunday I decided to reward myself with something delicious, instead of driving to the closest Dairy Queen I decided that I would make a cheesecake so I could enjoy it for several days. I have basically ate nothing but Cheesecake since Sunday. I made it with splenda and almond meal crust, so I really don’t feel that guilty about it!

2.  Gelish nail polish. This is a revived obsession, unfortunately I just don’t have enough time to get manicures on the regular! I made time to get one for my birthday 3 weeks ago and my nails still look great (no damaging acrylic either!).

3.  Yoga and Heavy Bag Training (translation: punching bag madness). I found a DVD at Target a while back that had several beginner yoga routines, one of which was a night time wind down routine. I have been doing it in the evenings off and on for the past 2 weeks and I think it honestly has helped me sleep better. I also received a punching bag and gloves for my birthday that we hung out in Drew’s shop. It really is a lot of fun especially after I took the time to do some research and  figured out what I should be doing, plus it’s a really fast workout!

4.  Summer time. Daylight savings time has arrived which means that warmer weather is right around the corner. No additional explanation required.

5.  Urban Decay De-Slick. This was also a birthday present and is a great product (I haven’t used it prior to getting it for my bday). After I put my face on in the mornings I lightly mist this over my face and it helps my foundation stay put all day. I’m not sure about the cost but its available at Sephora and Ulta. 

6.  Iced Coffee. Man that stuff is good! This is also a revived obsession since it hasn’t been as cold outside as of late.

7. Springtime flowers and plants. I made a trip to Home Depot this past weekend and bought all the flowers and plants I needed to replant my big planters for the gate and my pots on the porch. This year I am determined to make sure they survive through the entire summer! (Or at least longer than they did last year!).

 8. Ebay. I don’t normally shop on ebay (not like I do on Amazon at least) but since I downloaded an app on my phone I have been doing some serious stalking of a whole array of different items. I also enjoy finding strange and unusual items on ebay and just watching to see how much they sell for which has only reinforced my belief that there are more crazy people in this world than sane. 

9. Photography. I am getting excited about doing me first round of spring mini-sessions this weekend. Will post pictures next week (hopefully). 

10. Downton Abbey. This is a show that comes on BBC America about a family in England based in pre-WWI era. It’s a drama that claims to be historically accurate about the period. My favorite character just died and I’m not too happy about that, hopefully I will stick with it though. I find myself talking with a British accent and wishing I had a house fully of maids, butlers and cooks after I watch the episodes! Drew has yet to respond to my bell ringing…….. rude. 

Japanese Steakhouse Inspired Zucchini and Onions

A couple of weeks ago I was at Bi-Lo in Waynesboro and I purchased a bottle of Makoto Ginger Dressing; not really sure of what I was going to do with it at the time. Last night Drew and I ventured out for a golf cart ride and picked a few (giant) zucchinis out of my parent's garden. That was when the thought hit me to saute the zucchini in the Makoto sauce!

  First, I cut the zucchini into long thin strips and diced 2 Vidalia onions. I'm not sure how much I ended up with, but it was a lot for just 2 people. Then I tossed them in a large bowl with kosher salt, black pepper and the ginger dressing (probably 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of dressing). I let the veggies marinade in the ginger dressing for appx 30 minutes before cooking.

I cooked the veggies in a wok with a little bit of EVOO on medium-high heat. It took about 10 minutes to get the zucchini tender. I added a little bit of corn starch at the end to thicken the sauce up.



The zucchini and onions turned out a lot better than I was expecting them too and I am looking forward to getting home and finishing them off! :)

Low Carb Stir Fry

Drew and I are both fans of Asian cuisine so I decided to cook low carb stir fry last week. Drew ate his over rice which looked pretty appetizing! My favorite part of stir fry is the vegetables so I always prepare more veggies than meat.

I used: sliced carrots, broccoli florets, sliced bell peppers, sliced onions, bean sprouts and whole snow peas.

We purchased the pre-sliced steak strips available in the meat section of most grocery stores, appx 1 pound.

I added all if the veggies to the wok (medium-high heat) with a little bit of evoo and 2 tablespoons of water and cooked until they were almost completely tender, stirring often.  Then I added the steak strips and let everything cook for about 3 minutes (meat will cook quickly). At this point I reduced the heat added the stir fry sauce and stirred constantly for 2-3 minutes until it thickened up and coated all of the vegetables completely.

Sauce: 3 tablespoons of chicken broth
1.5 tablespoons of soy sauce
3-4 packets of splenda
1 teaspoon of corn starch.
stir all ingredients together until corn starch is dissolved before adding to wok.
This made about 4 servings. Enjoy!

Pesto Chicken

We tried a new chicken dish last night that I saw on Food Network. It is called pesto chicken and it was  delicious and really simple to make. This recipe is being added to the 'will have to make again' list. The only complain I had would be the difficulty of finding pre-made pesto sauce at my local grocery stores (and by local I mean Waynesboro and Louisville). I did however find it in the refrigerated section at Costco in Augusta for only a few dollars.


Ingredients: 

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
• 1/3 cup refrigerated Pesto with Basil
• 3 plum tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheet with heavy-duty foil.2. Place chicken and pesto in medium bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet.3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. (I covered the chicken with tinfoil for the first 10 minutes).  Remove from oven; top with tomatoes and cheese. Bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.                

 

If the breasts would have been thinner this would have made a delicious panini!

*picture quality is not-so-great; I need to learn to stop using my cell phone camera!

Bruschetta Chicken

A couple weeks ago when Drew and I were planting trees and flowers around the house I decided to buy a few fresh herbs to use throughout the summer. I have not had an opportunity to cook with any of these herbs until last night. I found a KRAFT recipe on Pinterest for bruschetta chicken and decided to give it a try…

 Ingredients:

3-4 Chicken breast halves
1 Bottle of Bruschetta-style salad dressing (I used Wishbone) or you could use Sun Dried Tomato dressing (KRAFT).
1 Tomato, finely chopped
½ Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
¼ Cup chopped fresh basil
Olive oil

Directions:
*the original directions call for the chicken to be grilled. I seared the chicken on the stove top then finished cooking in the oven.

1. Marinade chicken. I put the chicken breast in a large zip-lock bag and marinated all day with the dressing while at work.
2. Heat skillet to medium heat, add olive oil to slightly coat skillet (I used cast iron so that I did not have to dirty a baking dish). Place breasts in skillet and seer both sides (appx 4-5 minutes per side).
3. While the chicken is in skillet combine the tomato, basil, mozzarella and a couple splashes of the left over salad dressing. Top chicken with the tomato mixture.

4. Loosely cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees until breasts are cooked throughout. (appx 20 minutes). I took the foil off for the last 5 minutes to make sure the tomatoes were cooked thoroughly.
5. Serve warm (I added a splash of balsamic vinegar to the chicken once it was finished baking). Delicious! 

This recipe was another hit and will be added to my growing pile of recipes that I will make time and time again! I think next time I cook it I will pound the chicken breast out a little thinner so that is cooks faster.

Zucchini Gratin

Ingredients:
 4 medium zucchini, sliced in 1/4-inch thick rounds
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I also used fancy shredded Parm)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
Butter a 10-inch round pan (I used glass, but a pie plate or quiche pan would work too). Put the sliced zucchini in a medium pot and cover with water.

Bring to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water. Arrange the zucchini in dish in an overlapping circular pattern. Season with salt and pepper between the layers. Top with the Parmesan cheese and drizzle with the melted butter.

Bake at 400º for 25 minutes, then bake at 475º for another 10 minutes until golden brown, I also turned the broiler on to get the cheese extra crunchy!

This dish turned out great! It was pretty good warmed up the next day too!

Supper - March 5th

Last night for supper I made 2 new low-carb inspired recipes that we have never tried before. They were both a hit!

I made crock pot balsamic roast with onions and the ‘best broccoli of your life’. Both were recipes I found on Pinterest.

Balsamic Pot Roast:
Ingredients:
3lb Boneless chuck roast
1-2 T steak rub (I use weber’s Chicago-style steak rub)
Ground black pepper
Kosher Salt
2 T olive oil
1/4 cup water
2 large onions, peeled and thickly sliced (I used Vidalia onions)
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (I used BI-LO brand)
1/2 cup tomato sauce

Directions:

Rub meat well with steak seasoning, black pepper and kosher salt. Heat heavy pan with small amount of olive oil and brown roast well on both sides (3 to 4 minutes per side) – I had to cut the roast in half.

  

Mix the beef broth with the balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce. Peel onions and cut into thick slices and place in the bottom of the crock pot. After the meat is browned use the water to deglaze pan and add to broth mixture above. Add roast and sauce to the crockpot. At this point I put it in the refrigerator overnight to start the next morning before I went to work.

I turned the crockpot on low and let cook for 8 hours. I removed the meat immediately and wrapped in tin-foil. I then took the broth mixture and put it in a sauce pan and cooked-it-down to make gravy for the roast. It was outstanding!

I served the roast over the onions and topped with the gravy.

Best Broccoli of Your Life:

Ingredients:
2 large heads of broccoli, cut into florets.
5 T olive oil
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 T fresh crushed garlic – I just used the kind from a the jar
1 lemon
1/3 C fresh grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.

In a bowl I tossed together the broccoli, olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper and garlic and then transferred to the baking sheet. I let it bake for 22 minutes. I also open the oven half way through and shook the pan a little but I don’t think that was necessary.

After baking I took the sheet out of the oven, zested the lemon over it and squeezed a small amount of the lemon juice on the broccoli. I also added an additional tablespoon more of olive oil so that everything would stick together. Then I mixed in the parmesan cheese.

The broccoli was really good too, but I’m not sure if I would call it the ‘best broccoli of your life’. It’s pretty hard to beat broccoli and cheese!

--This was such a good dinner and I’m eating it for lunch today! 

**note - both of these pictures are from pinterest.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I TRY to follow a low-carb-lifestyle, when I saw this recipe on pinterest for cauliflower pizza crust I was excited to give it a try! I made this (very messy) recipe on Sunday. I’ll be the first to admit that my finished project looked horrible compared to the picture on pintrest. “Nailed it.”

Step 1: Head of cauliflower cut into pieces and placed in the food processor.

Step 2: “Rice” the cauliflower. Place into microwave and cook on high for 4 minutes  -no need to add water.

Step 3: Combine the ingredients and press it out onto a greased baking sheet. (Ingredients: 1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 egg (beaten),1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp crushed garlic and 1/2 tsp garlic salt. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese.

Step 4: Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).  Or you can do it a little longer like I accidently did and completely burn the edges! Like I said, this looks horrible compared to the original picture on pinterest!

 This pizza was pretty tasty especially when you consider the nutritional value in the cauliflower crust versus a regular pizza. Next time I am going to press it out a little thinner so that the crust is a bit crispier. A fork and knife was required to eat this bad boy.

The reviews on the original blog that posted this recipe were overwhelmingly positive. Some commenters went as far to say that this was their favorite thing to make and that they preferred it over regular pizza. My response: You apparently have never had a pizza from Papa John’s!

Oh, here is the original picture - Yep, I'm embarrassed!