Simple Salad with Salsa

Here’s a simple salad for you guys to try out! 2 cups of lettuce, half cucumber chopped, half green pepper chopped, (you can also put tomatoes but I left that out because I don’t like runny tomatoes all over my salad) 1 Tbs guacamole, 1/2 or a cup of salsa depending on taste, and if you want, cheese. I didn’t put cheese in mine because I’m tired of cheese. 

Crossfit Zone Diet Breakfast Sandwich Melt

1/2 pita bread, 1 egg (scrambled or fried), 1 oz (1/4 cup) of cheese, 1 oz sliced ham (11 small slices of ham,) serve with 1/2 apple and 3 macadamia nuts. I decided to make a "cheese melt" out of this sandwich since I had no apples or nuts. Also, for appearance sake only, I used two slices of bread. But usually for this recipe, you should get a pita pocket or one slice of bread only. Heat up the toast or bread while cooking the egg in a pan. I put 3/4 Tbs of light mayonnaise to give myself the fat I need to workout since I had no macadamia nuts. Then put slices of ham on the toast when ready, put the egg on top and sprinkle the cheese onto the egg, heat the toast again. and there you are! A breakfast sandwich melt! If you click the link below, be sure to scroll to page 6 for the details of the breakfast sandwich and other recipes you would like to try! :) 

Grandma's Apple Pie (Pi Day)

Here is a very punny picture that I call an Apple Pi pie. Well, that was a lame attempt at being funny. Getting down to business. This is basically the grandma's apple pie recipe that has been handed down for generations and has been used in every holiday imaginable from Christmas Day to the next Thanksgiving Feast!
Ingredients: Pastry for a double-crust pie (9 inches),  6-7 cups of thinly sliced and peeled tart apples (about 2.5 pounds). 1 Tbs lemon juice, 1 cup granulated sugar. 2 Tbs all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, dash ground nutmeg, 2 Tbs butter, 2% milk, and additional sugar. 
Directions (yields 6-8 servings): Line a 9 inch pie plate with a bottom pastry; trim the pastry evenly with the edge of the plate and set aside. In a large bowl, toss the apples with lemon juice. Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Arrange half the apples in the pastry shell; sprinkle with half of the sugar mixture. Repeat layers. Dot with butter. Roll out the remaining pastry to fit the top of the pie; place over the filling. Trim, seal and flute edegs. Cut slits in the pastry and cut out part of the pastry to make the Pi sign on the top of the pie. Brush with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar. Cover the edges loosely with foil. bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove foil; bake 30-35 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Serve warm if desired or cool on a wire rack! Dig in and enjoy! 

Nutella Crack Pie (Yes...it is the name of this recipe)

In honor of Pi Day, I decided to post up a second pie recipe :) Of course, this could have been used during World Nutella Day but that was on February 5th so that’s too far away! 

Oat Cookie Pie Crust: 9 Tbs. butter at room temperature, 5.5 Tbs. Brown sugar, 2 Tbs. Sugar, 1 large egg, 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. rolled oats, 1/2 cup flour, 1/8 tsp. baking soda, 1/8 tsp. baking powder, pinch of salt. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit, line a large baking pan with parchment paper, and spray with nonstick spray. In a mixer, beat together 6 Tbs of the butter, 4 Tbs. of brown sugar, and 2 Tbs of sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat in thoroughly. Add the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and beat until well blended. Spread the oat mixture out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and cook for 15-18 minutes until done. Remove and cool cookie completely. When the cookie is cool, break into crumbs and add to a large bowl along with 3 Tbs. butter and 1.5 Tbs. brown sugar. Rub together with fingertips until crumb mixture is moist enough to hold together in a clump when squeezed in your hand. Spread the mixture out into a lined baking tart pan, or two depending on the size and using fingers, press crumbs onto the bottom and sides to form a pie shell (Use the flat bottom of a cup or glass to help press in). 

Nutella Crack Pie Filling

Get 1.5 cups of sugar, 3/4 cup plus 3 Tbs. brown sugar, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1 cup of Nutella, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 1 tsp. vanilla, 8 egg yolks, and powdered or confectioners sugar for garnish. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and salt. Whisk Nutella, cream, and vanilla on low speed. Whisk in the egg yolks on low speed so there is not too much air, and combine it well. It will appear to be very loose.

Divide the filling into pie shells and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and continue to cook for about 15-20 minutes until the center is not too jiggly. Cool on a rack and then keep it in the fridge for a couple hours. It’s best served when chilled! 

Worcestershire Grilled Chicken

I used a recipe found on the Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce bottle wrap. Now instead of using ground beef, I used chicken. All I did was marinate all the chicken in 1/4 cup of Lea and Perrins Reduced Sodium Worcestershire Sauce, 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/8 tsp of  ground black pepper and left it in the fridge for an hour.  Then, I grilled the chicken to perfection :) Voila, there is your grilled chicken for salad! 

Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tarts

Happy Pi Day! I figured I'd start with a tart. 

Ingredients: It serves 6-8

Now you will need about a cup of whip cream like Cool-Whip. You also need 2 packets of Graham crackers and dessicated coconut (dried coconut :D Don’t worry, I had to google the definition too lol!) Then get one and a half cups of caramelized (Dulce de leche) condensed milk. then you need 1.3 tbs of granulated sugar, 3 crushed peppermint crisp bars, and get 3-4 drops of peppermint essence or whatever you feel tastes better.

Whip the Cool-whip and then add the caramelized condensed milk, granulated sugar, and the peppermint essence. Beat until well mixed and then stir in 2/3rds of the crushed peppermint crisp bars. Place a layer of whole graham crackers in a buttered 29X19X5 cm baking pan. Spoon 1/3 of the caramel mix over the biscuits and spread it evenly. Continue in layers, finishing with a layer of filling on the top. Refrigerate this for at least 4 hours. Decorate by sprinkling the remainder of the crushed peppermint crisp on top. Cut into squares and serve! 

Home-made Guacamole

I promised you I would give you the Guacamole recipe in the last post so here it is! 

Things you need: 2 avocados, 1/2 minced red onion, 2 tbs cilantro chopped, 1 tbs lemon, 1/2 tsp salt, black pepper, 1/2 ripe tomato. It would be great if you had a coarse mortal and pestle as well. 

I made a modified version for myself. First off, I had no tomatoes or cilantro. So I just put in the 2 avocados. They were not as ripe as I’d hoped so I ended up mashing most of the avocados with my hands (yes I did wash my hands) and then I chopped up 1/2 a red onion and dumped in with the avocados and mashed them together. Then I squeezed in half a lemon because I love sour things.  Putting in tomatoes would make the guacamole taste sweeter and tangier but because I had none, my guacamole came out slightly sour but nevertheless fresh and amazing paired with the corn tortilla and 1/4 cup of cheese! The guacamole came out great and it was the simplest thing I made!

Here's the link to the regular home-made guacamole if you don't want the modified version!

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_guacamole/

Breakfast Quesadilla

Ready for some breakfast? Ditch the plain old cereal and milk and follow this recipe!  

This is a Crossfit Zone diet. I have recently been working out using Crossfit and P90X so I wanted to share some healthy recipe ideas to you guys! 

Ingredients: 1 corn tortilla, 1/4 cup black beans, 1/3 cup chopped onions, 1 chopped green/yellow/red pepper, 2 eggs (scrambled or fried), 1 oz (1/4 cup) cheese, 3 tbs avocado or guacamole. 

Cook the chopped onions and chopped peppers until browned. While it is cooking, make guacamole. If you don’t want guacamole, just use avocados. I will post up the Guacamole recipe after this post. Heat up the corn tortilla, either by wrapping it in damp paper towels and microwaving it, or heat up an ungreased pan and heat it up 10-15 seconds on each side. You may melt the cheese onto the tortilla if desired. I didn’t but that’s because I wanted the picture to look nice. :P Take off the browned chopped onions and peppers. If your tortilla wrap is big enough, put it on the wrap. Next, scramble or fry your eggs. If the wrap isn’t big enough, put the onions and peppers on the side with the drained black beans and scrambled eggs. Voila! There is a meal fit for a King (or Queen in my case)! 

Here's the link to the original recipe!

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/cfjissue21_May04.pdf (Scroll down to Page 6)

Beef Stew

Saute: 1stp olive oil, 1/4 cup chopped onions, 1/2 chopped green pepper, 6 oz (raw weight) beef, cubed. 

Add: 1 cup chopped zucchini, 1 cup mushrooms, 1/2 cup tomato sauce. Season with garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. 

This recipe comes from the Crossfit version of the Zone Diet page 6. 

Here's the link! 

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/cfjissue21_May04.pdf

Taco Roll-up

I thought I'd mix it up this time and give you guys a completely different food choice. 

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 to 1 (1.25-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (16-ounce) can refried beans

• 6 (10-inch) flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack, or Mexican cheese blend

Instructions

1. Crumble the ground beef into a large skillet and brown over medium-high heat. When the meat is cooked (about 10 minutes), drain the fat. Add the taco seasoning and water, then stir and simmer the mixture for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the refried beans.
2. To give the filling a smooth consistency, pour the beef mixture into a blender. With 4 or 5 short pulses, eliminate any large chunks from the mix.
3. For each wrap, heat a tortilla in the microwave for 10 seconds. Spread about 1/2 cup of the beef mixture evenly over it, then top with a layer of salsa and cheese. Roll it up and tuck in the ends.
4. Tightly cover each sandwich in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Cut in half at serving time. Makes 6 roll-ups.
   
   
   Here is the link below! 
   http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/taco-roll-ups-687009/
   
   

French Butter Sand Cookie Recipe

This used to be a favorite of mine when I was little and had Saturdays off to bake with my mother. Now, I want to share it with the rest of you :) 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Farenheit, grease the cookie sheet with either butter or pam. 

You need: 

1/2 pound of butter (ie. 2 bars)

3/4 cup sugar--mix brown (6 tbs) and white sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

2 cups flour

Make sure you add cream (mixed butter, yolk, vanilla, and salt) and sugar before mixing in the flour. 

THis is a heavy cookie dough so roll the dough into balls the size of marbles. Place the rolled dough onto cookie sheet and press the tines of the fork into the dough in a criss cross pattern or make funny faces on it just like you see in the picture. It may be a bit tough because it can get sticky. If it's too sticky, add just a little bit more flour and mix more. Bake the dough for no more than 10 minutes or until the cookies turn a darker shade of tan. Cool and sprinkle with confectionary sugar or leave as is. There you go!

Oatmeal Raisin Butterscotch chip Cookies

1C golden raisins, boiled for 5 min in just enough water to cover them
1C real butter or shortening
1 1/2C sugar
2 eggs
1/8tsp salt
1tsp vanilla
1tsp baking soda
5tbl of raisin water
2C flour
2C old fashioned oat meal
1/2C coconut
1/2C chopped nuts
1C butterscotch chips

Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs, salt, vanilla and mix. In a separate bowl, mix baking soda and raisin water together before adding to batter. Stir in flour, then oatmeal. Add in the raisins after they have been strained, then butterscotch chips, nuts and coconut, mixing well. Place on a cookie sheet one inch apart. You can roll them into golf ball sized balls or drop by tablespoons. Bake at 375F for 15min or until golden brown. The batter will be sticky, but if it is unmanageable, add in a bit of flour. 

Mushroom, tomato, egg scramble!

Recipe: 

2 eggs, one tomato, 1/2 cup mushrooms, 2 tsp olive oil. Optional: tsp of soy sauce. 

Cut up the tomato and mushrooms. Put olive oil in the pan, heat up for 2 minutes. Sautee mushrooms and tomatoes until soft. Then crack in two eggs and “scramble” the mixture by stirring it with a spatula or spoon. If you want it with soy sauce, pour some soy sauce on top of the scramble while it’s cooking and scramble again to mix the soy sauce in. If not, just take out the scramble once the egg looks fully cooked and not runny. Enjoy! 

Chicken Salad

Chicken salad! It's my favorite dish to make. I boil chicken, strip it of its bones and set 6 ounces aside for salad and use the leftovers for another salad or dish. Put 1/8 tsp black pepper, 1/8 tsp fresh dill, 1/4 cup celery, 1/4 cup cranberries, 1/4 cup sliced almonds, and 1 cup of grapes into a bowl. Add 2 Tbs low fat mayonnaise and toss the salad, leave it in the fridge for fifteen to twenty minutes and dig in! 

Taiwanese herb beef noodle soup with spinach

Taiwanese herb beef noodle soup with spinach! First you trim the beef of most fat. Leave some fat on for tenderness. Put chinese herbs (inset as pictures) with the beef and simmer for thirty minutes or until you think the meat is soaked in herb water long enough. Then as you are simmering the soup, cook the thin dough noodles in a separate pot, and put it aside on the plate. Then with the same boiling water that you cooked the noodles in, dump the spinach in the boiling water for two minutes and then put it on top of the noodles. Pour the rest of the soup on top and season as needed with salt. Hope you love this soup! Oh, and a tip, if you want to get the herbs, just go to a chinese herbalist and show them the list (qi zi or goji berries, yu zhu, bei qi, huai shan, dang shen, dang gui, and red dates) or show them the below pic! They should be able to get you the same herbs. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie! Good for school outings, desserts at home with the boyfriend, or even just as a midnight snack :) 


Link to the recipe: 


http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/06/02/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-brownies/

Butternut Squash with Sauteed Onions

Butternut Squash with sautéed onions! Sauté onions until all water is evaporated and then put aside. Put cut up butternut squash in an aluminum foil and put spices such as garlic spice, dill, cajun spice, lemon spice, parsley, basil, pepper and salt. Put aluminum foil in oven and bake for thirty minutes or until slightly soft. Cook with the sauteed onions until tender. Serve hot or cold :) 

Flounder with onions, tomatoes and lemon spice

Flounder with garlic, onions, tomatoes, and lemon spice. Put olive oil in a pan with mashed garlic for a couple seconds. Once the oil bubbles, saute the onions until it softens. Then put in chopped tomatoes. If you are too lazy (like me) pour in tomato paste instead. Rub lemon spice onto the flounder, lower the heat to medium or low and place on top of the onion, tomato mixture. Cook thoroughly preferably until onions begin to brown or until fish is done.

Asparagus with beef

This dish is asparagus with beef. All you have to do is put a little olive oil in the pan, cook the ginger for a couple minutes, put the asparagus on top of the oil. Then after the asparagus is halfway cooked, put the chopped meat on top and cook thoroughly 

Iguacu Instant Coffee with Vanilla Ice Cream

Instant coffee imported from Iguacu, South America! Only this time I changed the recipe and instead of using milk to pour it on top of the beverage, I just dumped about three big spoonfuls of extra creamy vanilla ice cream on top. Have fun sipping! :) 

http://imgfave.com/popular/page:14

Burger with Worcestershire Tomato Ketchup

Ready for greasy food? Below is a recipe for burgers with Worcestershire tomato ketchup! 


Here's a link! 


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/killer-inside-out-burger-with-worcestershire-tomato-ketchup-recipe/index.html

Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Spiciness, here I come!

Recipe link is below!

http://punchfork.com/recipe/Jalapeno-Popper-Grilled-Cheese-Sandwich-Closet-Cooking

Nutella-Mallow Pillow Pocket

Try saying the title 5 times fast. I dare you. :)



Here's the link!
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2lrL5H/picky-palate.com/2010/11/08/nutella-mallow-pillow-pockets/

Nescafe Latte

I have been doing all food lately and I want to change things up so check out this foamy latte! All you have to do is boil water. If you have a coffee pot, good for you. Brew some coffee (Dunkin Donuts is my fave), and put some low fat milk in it or even better, substitute the milk for soymilk. Or you can pour instant coffee mix (I used Nescafe here) in water. Happy brewing!

Eggs with salsa

My friend sent me this picture of eggs with salsa!

Take two eggs, fry them up in olive oil, put it on a plate, put italian seasoning, pepper, salt, hot pepper flakes and serve hot!

Shoutout to Strouper for sending this pic!

Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes

Here's a recipe for the famous Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes!

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe/sprinkles-strawberry-cupcakes-14715491

Nutella Somosas

As many people know, I LOVE Nutella. But I have never heard of Nutella samosas. I'll eventually try my hand at this but for now, here's the link!

http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/11/01/nutella-samosas/

Chicken with garlic and soy sauce

So here's a recipe for garlic and soy sauce chicken.

Cook one whole chicken in boiling water and after stripping it of the bones, take a pan and sauté garlic. Put the chicken with the garlic. Then mix soysauce and sugar in a bowl and pour it over the chicken and garlic. You can serve this with rice or couscous or any carbohydrate you want. Dig in!

On a random note, Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! You made my childhood bedtime reading more enjoyable.

Rice with tomatoes, eggs and peanuts marinated in meat sauce

My mom told me about this easy chinese recipe that includes rice with Tomatoes, eggs and (optional) peanuts in meat sauce.

Recipe: 2 cups of rice, 2 cups water, 2 eggs, 2 tomatoes, 2 tbs olive cooking oil. Cook the rice in a rice cooker if you can or get instant rice and cook it in a pan. Chop the tomatoes and sauté them in 1 tbs of oil in a separate pan, then when it becomes soft, put in another tablespoon of oil and the 2 eggs and swirl them around the tomatoes until it’s solidifies.If you cook the rice separately from the eggs and tomatoes, then continue cooking them separately until they are ready.

If the rice has already been cooked but is just leftovers from the fridge, cook the tomatoes first in a tbs of oil, put the eggs on top and cook for a couple mins. Then put the rice in with the tomatoes and eggs and cook until all is soft and the eggs solidified. I put some peanuts on top that’s been marinated in meat sauce but you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.

No-bake Nutella Peanut Butter cookie

Happy Peanut Butter day! Here is a recipe called the no-bake Nutella peanut butter cookie. Check out the link because, who doesn’t love Nutella and peanut butter! :)



http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-no-bake-160655

Mushroom, Tomato, Onion Omelet

I decided to make a mushroom, tomato, and onion omelet for breakfast! First thing’s first.

Recipe:

One box of mushrooms, one onion, one tomato, two eggs, one cup of water.

In a 10” omelet pan, saute mushrooms in water. Remove mushrooms from pan, drain water and set aside. Chop up tomato and onions and saute. After the onions begin to start browning slightly, put mushrooms back into the pan and sautee together. Take off stove and set aside. Then take two eggs, beat lightly and pour into pan. When edges begin to set, lift egg mixture with spatula allowing uncooked mixture to flow under omelet. When omelet is set, yet still moist on surface, cover half of omelet with mushroom, tomato, and onion. Fold in half; slide onto warm serving plate. Add ketchup and cheese if you’d like. Have fun!

Banana "Ants On A Slippy Slide"

B-A-N-A-N-A’ S! No, I’m not spouting Gwen Stefani’s Bananas song. But rather an interesting website that I found, in which the author of the recipe called it “Ants on A Slippy slide.”Here's the link if you are interested in following this person! http://www.snack-girl.com/snack/bananas-zero-points-plus/

Chocolate Oreo Truffles

Desert anyone? I was recently talking to a friend and she talked to me about a recipe that she was making with another friend. They were in the process of making Oreo Truffles tonight and she told me it is really easy to make. Try not to drool in the process of making this recipe, which I guarantee you will! :)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-oreo-truffles/

Couscous with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese

Here's a dish that is great for summer time and is a "California" cuisine. It includes couscous, freshly chopped tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and balsamic vinegar. If you want, you can also add mint leaves for a fresher taste. Although there is a link to a recipe I followed on my picture, I strayed a little bit from it by using actual tomatoes, foregoing the olives, chicken broth, and green onions for a less caloric dish.

http://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=Balsamic%20couscous%20salad%20with%20sun-dried%20tomatoes%20and%20olives

Alien-Brain Hemorrhage (formally known as Monkey-Brain Hemorrhage)

This funky bar drink came to my attention as I stalked 9gag.com and I have decided that this is something worthy to share with others. It looks really scary, but when I saw it being made, it wasn't nearly as bad as seeing the picture of it dark, and foreboding.

Here's the link for the recipe and I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.geekosystem.com/alien-brain-hemorrhage-cocktail/

Bath Salt Recipe

Even though this is not a food or drink recipe, someone tell me that this is not the coolest thing and possibly stress-free thing you will do for yourself! I got this off of a Facebook page called Fit Chicks. They are amazing and you should go check them out! I am reblogging their recipe and have no publishing rights over this or the picture above. It is all on Fit Chicks Facebook page! Hope you like this!

Anyone LOVE taking long hot baths? If you do, you’re going to love this! Make your bath even more relaxing with some homemade bath salts. =)

Creating your own unique bath salt recipe can be as simple as adding essential oils to epsom salt. Now this part is totally optional, but, if you put dried herbs, colorants or other natural ingredients it will really put it over the top, however in my experience adding herbs to your bath water is kinda messy, the herbs stick to the tub, so if you don’t mind a little extra cleanup, go right ahead!

First put about 16 oz of epsom salt in a bowl. Then add 15-30 drops of your essential oil. If you decide to use a herb mix a few pinches in before adding the oil. Store in a glass air tight jar. Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the scented salts to a bath for a soothing, luxurious experience!


Here’s some suggestions for an essential oil: Juniper, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Orange, Mint, Rosemary, Spearmint, Grapefruit

Here are some variations:
For soothing sore tired muscles: mix Eucalyptus and Lavender.
For relaxation: lavender
For energy: spearmint and rosemary
For invigoration: Sweet Orange and Grapefruit

Optional herbs: chamomile flowers ,lavender buds, rosemary, basil leaves, comfrey leaves, rose petals, or calendula flowers.

ENJOY! =)

Cinnamon Chicken

Unfortunately I have no picture this time for you. It was my first time cooking cinnamon chicken and I had forgotten to snap a shot of the chicken I made. Next time, I promise. :)

Here's the link!

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/cinnamon-chicken/

Made Curry Couscous for lunch!

This is the first time I have made Middle Eastern type food. This dish is a favorite in my family. We always bought this from the salad bar in Whole Foods by my house and I decided to try and replicate it. The curry couscous with dried red raisins and sliced almonds salad is quite simple but you have to make sure not to overcook the couscous or it will taste gummy instead of fluffy.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/curried-couscous-salad-with-dried-sweet-cranberries-recipe/index.html