Showing posts with label Eat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eat. Show all posts

Monday, February 17, 2014

Giving Thanks

I am thankful that when I visit my family and we're deciding how to spend the day, going to the craft store is on the same list a going to the mall, and with equal weight. I am thankful for my crafty family that took me to art lessons and taught me how to build with a huge collection of tools. And I am thankful that my family still has the energy and passion for creating personal items and a beautiful home.

I am thankful for my foodie mother who taught me to cook and to appreciate the meals I can make. I am thankful that she enjoys excellent, well-balanced meals and has a curiosity for new culinary experiences and flavors.

I am thankful for my mom and sister with whom I can laugh over the latest silly trend, but who are also brave and supportive enough to go out with me when I wear my big, furry, white vest or harem pants (I haven't tried them together... yet). And I am thankful that with them I learned what works for my style and how to take care of the clothes that show off that style. And I'm very thankful that my mom taught us to appreciate good taste and style within a budget.

This has been a great weekend visiting my mom and home. I feel refreshed and centered, and I'm looking forward to coming back soon.

I spent some time this weekend shopping, but also time going through my things and sorting out items to donate or sell at a charitable secondhand store. It was tough at times to let go of clothes with memories attached to them, but I reminded myself that I want to move forward and make more memories with my future style.

This is a very reflective post, and I guess a little early for spring cleaning, but I'm looking forward to the coming year and I'm ready for it.

Monday, May 13, 2013

The Skinniest Chicken Enchiladas

While perusing Pinterest, I came across a delicious and guilt-free Mexican food recipe. Skinny Mom's Skinny Chicken Enchilada had come into my life in time for Cinco de Mayo, and I was eager to give it a try. Earlier, I had tried swapping Greek yogurt for sour cream on another healthy Mexican dish (Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad - an amazing dish) and fared well (no pun intended), so when I was looking at the ingredient list below, I decided the first skinny-to-skinniest swap I would do was that. And why not? Greek yogurt has more flavor, so you need less of it, and, it's even skinnier than sour cream!

This recipe is a variation on Mom's Skinny Chicken Enchilada with more vegetables and protein, fewer dishes and less time! Enjoy!
Photo courtesy of Skinny Mom
Ingredients
• 16 oz. fat free sour cream 8 oz. Greek yogurt
• 1 can fat free cream of chicken soup
• 1 tbls. fresh chopped cilantro (1/2 tbls. dried)
• 2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
• 1 can Mexican Rotel 4 oz. or 1/3 can of Goya Sofrito
• 1 cup chopped onions (optional)
• 8 low carb tortillas 8 corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack and colby cheese blend 8 slices each of pepper jack and colby cheeses
• 1 can diced green chiles
• 1/3 diced jalapeño
• 1 large, chopped zucchini

As far as those other swap-outs go, let me tell you a little story.... I recently moved to New York City and I'm loving that because of where I've chosen to live, everything is within walking distance. I walk to work, I walk to shops and I walk to the grocery stores. Yes, stores - sometimes I go to three for the best deals. Sounds exhausting, right? Well, because I live in NYC, there are three major grocery stores within two blocks, so it's not as big an ordeal as it sounds, though in this particular story, I only went to one. The normal one. The Food Emporium (yeah, that's the name of the normal one).

While going up and down the condiments - no, canned vegetables - no, international foods aisles looking for Rotel (you know Rotel, that delicious, salsa-like stuff in queso and a number of other dishes that you don't know exists until you make your own Mexican food and then realize what a staple it is), I realized that the normal store didn't have it (bear in mind, the normal store has gefilte fish, Cat Cora and Mario Battali olives cheaper than normal olives, and $2.85 Campbell's cream of chicken soup). And, at 8:30 PM on a Sunday, I was not going to be trying any other stores before heading home. So, I looked at what they had. No diced green chiles. No Rotel knock-offs. No spice packets with flavors anything like those missing ingredients.... And then I found Goya's Sofrito.

This canned cooking sauce has tomato, onion, green peppers, cilantro and garlic. Flavors that can really add to this so far un-spiced dish. So, I picked up the rest of the ingredients, choosing corn tortillas for flavor and texture, sliced cheese from the deli and adding a jalapeno to the basket for some kick to the dish. I was ready to get cooking!

At home, I emptied the cream of chicken soup into a sauce pan along with just under half a Fage tub of yogurt (basing the amount on the flavor I assumed a larger portion of sour cream would have added) and the chopped cilantro, stirring occasionally on medium-to-low heat while I prepared the rest of the dish.

Photo courtesy of Skinny Mom
I sauteed the onion chunks in a pan with about one tablespoon of oil until they started to turn translucent. Then, I added about a third of the diced jalapeño and one third of the Goya sofrito sauce, mixing together. I then moved on to the veggies. I wanted this dish to be healthy, right? So I thought I had better add some veggies. I chopped a zucchini and steamed it in the microwave while the sofrito soaked the chicken in flavor and the sauce blended together. After heating two tortillas in the microwave with a damp paper towel to moisten them, I added the chicken mix, zucchini chunks and one slice of pepper jack and one slice of colby cheese on top (I didn't bother to try rolling the tortillas since corn tortillas are quit a bit smaller than regular enchilada tortillas) and heated the entire dish in the microwave.

Let me tell you, the Skinniest Chicken Enchiladas are amazing. With only a few tablespoons of sauce per enchilada and the cheese premeasured because of getting it sliced, it's easy to replicate, too! I've had these enchiladas three times, each time making it a different way, and the recipe I provided above is the best variation. With just enough sauce, cheese and the ease of using the microwave, this is definitely something I can do during the week when I'm exhausted. And it's so satisfying! It's cheesy, a little spicy and I only eat two of these for dinner and I'm full without being stuffed. I hope you enjoy the Skinniest Chicken Enchiladas!
Photo courtesy of Skinny Mom

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Sour cream swap-out

Just like everyone else who likes to eat, make and wear, I'm all over Pinterest. I love it! It's awesome! It has great tips for working out, amazingly delicious (and sometimes healthy) recipes, tips and tricks for keeping a clean and organized house and inspiration for everything.

So far, I've only actually made one of the 168 recipes pinned to my Food board. So which of these very special 168 recipes did I feel compelled to make?

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
This was actually a pretty successful recipe. It was delicious and easy to make and the flavors were varied so it stayed interesting. (You know sometimes when you eat a salad and the flavors are blended all together and so it gets bland fast? This didn't do that.) The only drawback was actually finding the canned chipotle chile in Adobo sauce. But that fun little scavenger hunt may have been a result of the strange order in which our local International Gourmet Giant shelves its ethnic foods. (This is also the same Giant that has valet parking. It's a very bizarre place.)



Now, if you take a look at my Food pinboard, you'll notice that there quite a few non-recipes. These are things like "place a wooden spoon across a pot of boiling water to keep it from overflowing," icing colors-by-number, tips and tricks and work outs. (Notice how I pin the exercise stuff onto my Food board. Other people have boards devoted solely to working out, but I know I'll never look at those pins again if I do that.)

One tip that I have read over and over, but never pinned is swapping Greek yogurt for sour cream. After the initial, "what? Ew. Bleh!" response, you start to consider the possibilities while dipping your spoon into your daily morning breakfast of Greek yogurt and scrolling through the pins you missed while you were sleeping.

Last night, I finally tried it. Of course I had regular sour cream right next to it at the dinner table in case it turned out to be incomparable. Despite this safeguard, I never used the sour cream. I ate my taco salad with yogurt! They're very similar in taste and consistency so why does that seem weird? Well, frankly, just because it does. Who thought to try that? Whoever it was, I'm glad they did because now I can have the flavor and the cool contrast and none of the fat! And you can try it on the recipe above! Bon appetit!




Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Birthday Recap

Well, I failed my birthday plan. I was semi-productive. But I think filling up my gas tank can be forgiven. After all, I achieved my other goals: eat well and try something new!

 Let's start with the eating: My mother and I went to Old Ebbitt Grill in Northwest D.C. where we had oysters on the half-shell, lobster and upside down plum cake. Is there anything better than steamed lobster with butter? I am of the humble opinion that no, there is not.
Old Ebbit Grill barOld Ebbitt Grill entrance

And the raw oysters - mmm! I have been thinking about these oysters for two years. Not kidding. Two years ago, I made a trip to D.C. to visit my mom and we went to Ebbitt Grill to celebrate my birthday. That evening, I had the sweetest, most amazing oysters I have ever tasted. And let me tell you, after moving to Charleston, I've eaten lots of oysters, so imagine my surprise when the smallest oyster on the bed of ice is the best of all! Raspberry Point oysters of Prince Edward Island, Canada, are something to watch out for.

Now, on to the something new: Union Market just opened in D.C.and they were celebrating the opening on my birthday. So for the afternoon, we headed to the market to try out their oyster bar (I really like oysters, in case you didn't notice) and other foods and see what they have to offer. Unfortunately, half the artisans haven't finished setting up shop, but it was neat seeing what was there and what will be coming in soon.

Also, they advertised that there will be an oyster shucking competition later this month. Sign me up! But seriously, I'm considering competing. Oysters, showing off my shuckin' skills, competitive eating - what are the cons?

A really cool chandelier made of plastic bottles
hangs over a large, open area of the market.
Lettuce from pop-up artisan Endless Summer Harvest.
Lemons at Neopol.
Neopol's logo on burlap bags.

Local produce from Almaala Farms.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Birthday Plan

Tomorrow is my birthday, and after a long week I have decided what I want for my birthday:

1. I want to eat well,
2. I want to try something new,
3. And I want to do nothing productive.

It sounds like I want to live in Downton Abbey (which is a not-so-secret dream of mine). But after an extremely productive - and exhausting - week, this birthday girl just wants to relax and indulge (I really am the long-lost, American DA cousin... misplaced by time... and probably DNA).

Where I live in my daydreams.
So, this is my plan for tomorrow, to celebrate the "big" 2-2:

Birthday Morning
Lounge in bed, watching a fun movie and sipping champagne. I decided this first, during one of those I-really-don't-want-to-get-out-of-bed-days.
Birthday Afternoon
A possible trip to the brand new Union Market where I can bring my not-oft-used camera (my graduation gift to myself) and indulge in the eateries. I'm especially looking forward to the oyster bar, the fancy empanadas and Righteous Cheese. I wasn't kidding about the indulge, thing.
Birthday Evening
A restaurant that - hopefully - my mom will recommend. She's an excellent cook and knows the DC restaurant scene as well as any food critic.

And what will happen to me when I awake on Sunday? I only ask that I manage to waddle into an Alexandria restaurant in time for brunch. I'll let you know how it all goes!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Ch-Ch-Changes!

So much has happened since I last posted! (See my shameless blog-themed tie-ins in maroon.)

I graduated from college....
Kristen and me in front of Randolph Hall in the Cistern after Commencement.
We celebrated the festivities EATing lots of delicious meals!


I got a job and moved to D.C....
I work here!!!  :D
MAKING a living. Ok, it's an intern's salary, but I love my job already
and you've got to start somewhere, right?


And I got hooked on the GORGEOUS costumes in Downton Abbey! (Have you seen it? You really must watch it. - said in my best "proper British" accent.)
Don't you wish people still dressed like this?
I really want to WEAR something inspired by this.