What's Cookin'?

So this week I actually put some planning into my meals, and I must admit I'm pretty impressed with myself! These 3 meals are super easy, but don't skimp on taste.

1. Spicy Asian Wings - remember, it's best to use all fresh ingredients!

1/2 cup of soy sauce

1/4 c lime juice

2 tbsp minced fresh ginger root

2tbsp minced garlic

2 tbsp jalapeño or habanero 

1 tbsp sugar

2tbsp chopped fresh basil

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Mix the ingredients together to make sauce. set aside. Coat chicken wings (or any chicken) with kosher salt and white pepper. Grill chicken until cooked. While hot, toss the wings in the sauce mixture.

(Sorry, I accidentally deleted the picture off my phone, use your imagination :) )

2. Deconstructed Fish Tacos

Panko

Flour

Egg

Tilapia or other white fish

Avocado

Tomato

Cabbage (shredded)

Chopped jalapeño 

1/2c Sour cream

Abt 2 tbsp Mayo 

Dash of Cumin

Limes (2)

Salt & pepper

Dredge fish in flour, egg, and then panko. Fry the fish - or opt to bake it to,save on fat. Layer a few pieces of fish on the plate. Cover with some shredded cabbage. Add chopped jalapeño, tomato, and slices of avocado. Squeeze lime juice on top.  

Cream Sauce - the "dressing" for this salad is a simple mixture of sour cream, mayo, some milk to thin (optional). Add cumin, jalapeño seeds for spice, salt, pepper, and lime juice. I guess on amounts, and make it based on taste.

I put the sauce on the side and just add a little as needed.

3. Sausage Mushroom Pasta

Shiitake mushrooms (I bought 1 package)

1package Buitolli mushroom ravioli

1 package Spicy chicken sausage

1/2white onion

Approx.3 tsp of garlic (up to you!)

1/2c reduced fat sour cream

1tbsp light butter

Chopped fresh basil

Dash of fennel

Dash of sage

Kosher salt

Pepper

Parmesan cheese

Sauté onion & garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add chopped sausage. While its cooking, boil water for the ravioli. Add mushrooms to sausage and onion.  Add sour cream to the mixture to make it creamy. Add ravioli. Use pasta water to make more sauce ( if you want more) I added a little more sour cream at the end to make it a little creamier - but it's up to you! Top with parm cheese.

My #1 cooking tip is to experiment with favors and taste as you go. You may like thicker, creamier sauces or you may like less garlic - make it your own! Anyone can cook, but the important thing is not to get hung up on perfect amounts. Baking is a science - cooking is not! Have fun!

Xx

m

 

NYC FASHION WEEK

It's one of my favorite weeks of the year (besides election season) - fashion week. There are a few designers that are always the big tickets - Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Chanel, Valentino, Oscar De La Renta (I could go on forever) - butlers be honest, most of us will never own any of that. For me, those designers are more of an inspiration, and a girl can always hope for H&M knock offs :). This weekend one of my favorite designers showed her spring collection, and I can't wait for it to hit the stores! Check out Rebecca Taylor's line here:

http://www.rebeccataylor.com/static-pages/rebecca/page/livestreamspring2014/

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Xoxo

M

Summer Style

I finally jumped on the chambray trend (again). I had a fantastic denim blouse from high school, but assu,Ed the trend was short lived, and donated it. Tragic mistake. Today I got a new on in the mail from Old Navy - and I'm OBSESSED. Most Stores and brands have been charging nearly $60 and I scored this one for a mere $20. The material is less denim like, which I think makes it way more versatile. It matches so many pairs of my printed shorts, I might be wearing several days a week. Here are a few ways you can incorporate chambray into your wardrobe!

Blank Denim flowered shorts, Hautelook, $25

 Michael Kors sandals, $40; Gap neon tie dye shorts $17 on sale

Various j. Crew denim skirts - coral colored and destroyed White

Jcrew factory shorts $34

Belted with Jcrew Belt paired with knit chevron maxi skirt from Victorias Secret

Paired with coral wool hacking blazer, white 7 For All Mankind jeans

Hope this inspires you to play with chambray in your wardrobe!

Embracing the Cuban

Tonight I cooked up a family favorite for me, Picadillo. Now, I hate olives with a passion, so I don't know that I can call this "authentic" but I can say this recipe is the one that my Cuban great grandmother used!

1lb ground beef

2 garlic cloves

1 onion, chopped

1/2 c raisins  

1 large can of tomatoes

1tbsp cumin

1/2 tsp pepper

1tsp salt

1/4 sliced olives (green, some suggest pimento stuffed)

1 tbsp vinegar

Rice

Some recipes call for green pepper and actual tomato sauce & paste. I don't use either but I imagine it would be good! I've also seen oregano & bay leaves used as well.

Sauté the garlic and onions in olive oil. Cook meat and drain. Add onions & galic and mix up. Add the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for 20 min. A good indication it's ready is that the raisins are plump and look like little black beans! Serve over steamed rice.

I hope you enjoy my taste of Cuba!

Summer style

I recently relocated to sunny South Florida, and so far I'm loving it! Summer and Spring clothes are by far my favorite looks, and I'm thrilled that now I'll be wearing my sun dresses all year long! The best part of this time of year are all the clearance sales. While most stores are starting to clear out for fall styles, I'm grabbing up some great finds, that I'll continue to wear! 

So I'm a bit of a celebrity stalker, and one of my obsessions is that High School classic, Laguna Beach. So it's no wonder that I follow Kristin Cavallari on Twitter, Instagram, and now, Chinese Laundry! Her new shoe line is pretty stinkin' cute and here are my faves.

This shoe retails at about $129 (and unfortunately has not gone on sale) and can be purchase at zappos, amazon or www.chineselaundry.com. Kristin is often seen sporting this shoe and I believe she wore a version of it on her wedding day! The black and nude is my favorite (it goes perfectly with much of my wardrobe) but here in South Florida bright colors reign! I may have to splurge for both pairs!

Next up, we have the Songo wedge:

Currently on sale for $104 on www.chineselaundry.com, this shoe is a summer staple. It's thick ankle strap is right on trend and the manageable heel makes it great for a long day at work, and an evening out!

Last, but not least, I have the Letitia booty. I cannot resist a cute bootie, and the mesh on this one keeps the suede shoe from bring too "heavy" - and in Florida it's the perfect "winter" shoe.

This shoe is a $149, but a staple like this will definitely be worth it's purchase price!

That's all for now,

5 Things You Need to Try

Sorry its been so long since i've posted - I've been super busy! I thought I would give a few tips today of some things I've been cooking. I'm OBSESSED with finding tasty and healthy meals, while also making sure I use EVERYTHING in my fridge. I've made it my personal mission NOT to let things spoil.

So, here are a few things I've recently started doing:

1. Condiment - mix mayo (low or no fat), mustard (any type) and horseradish (plain prepared, not in mayo) together. Add salt & pepper (and even garlic salt!). This makes a great addition to a turkey burger, or a sandwich! My husband was literally wiping the bowl clean with his sandwich to get it all!

2. Salad Dressing: White Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, Lemon Juice, and herbs (oregano, basil are what I usually choose). NO OIL. You'll see that you really dont need it! NO guilt in having all the dressing you want!

3. Fish Seasoning: Horseradish & Low Sodium Soy Sauce. Mix 3 parts soy sauce to 1 part horseradish and baste your salmon with it while grilling. Don't marinate it, the soy sauce is too strong. BUT feel free to slather on as much as you want onto the fish! (And use the left over horse- radish for your condiment!) I got this from my in-laws (no idea where they learned it) but its my favorite way to prepare salmon now!

4. Veggies: Cut your carrots into sticks and toss them in Olive Oil, salt, pepper, and pumpkin pie seasoning. It is TO DIE FOR. I love it!

5. Breakfast: I got this from Giada (whom I adore)...Take plain oatmeal, and cook it. Add Olive Oil and Salt. I'm not kidding - its amazing. Just try it before you judge! I've even started eating it for dinner!! ITs like healthier grits (to all of you southerners out there..)

Just some quick tricks to jazz up your everyday foods! Enjoy!

Roasted chicken and veggie rice gratin

I've spent the last few days trying new recipes out, and added a few dishes to my repetoire.  Tonight I took a recipe from pinterest and doctored it up for my husband (here is the original recipe http://smittenkitchen.com/2012/07/31/zucchini-rice-gratin/ ). It was the perfect dish in that it was hearty, healthy, and relatively easy! I had baked a chicken a few weeks ago (see older posts) and I froze left over meat we didnt eat.  So, tonight, I defrosted it and added it in! Here is a look at the finished product: (sorry I'm not great at presentation...)

Here are the ingredients:

2 Cups brown rice
1 3/4 chicken broth
Fresh basil
Thyme
Olive oil
Salt/Pepper
2-3 Zuccini
4+ roma tomatoes (or smaller tomatoes)
Roasted Chicken breast (as much meat as you like)
2 stalks Celery
Garlic
3 small Shallots
Parmesan Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
2 lightly beaten eggs

I am not big into giving amounts for salt, pepper, olive oil, cheese etc -- I feel like those are all based on personal taste!

First, I used chicken broth (instead of water) to make the brown rice. I followed the rice recipe - so depending on the amount of people you are cooking for you may want more/less. I chopped up a stalk of celery and threw it in with the rice as well for flavor.  While the rice was cooking, I chopped up zuccini and tomato. I took 3 cookie sheets and coated them in olive oil, and salted/peppered them. I placed all the sliced vegtables on the sheets. I added a little garlic to the zuccini sheets and added salt/pepper on top of all veggies. I put all threee sheets in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes or until browned. I turned the zuccini half way through to prevent burning. While they were roasting in the oven, I put some olive oil, shallots and a stalk of celery in a saute pan and cooked until the shallots were clear.  Next, I took a bowl, dumped the rice into a bowl and added chopped fresh basil. I dumped the celery and shallots in next. Pour the beated eggs in, 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese (give or take) a little mozzarella, add some salt, pepper, thyme, olive oil (just a dash) and pulled chicken meat.  Mix the mixture together. Grease the bottom of a baking pan (one suitable to the amount of food you've prepared). Put about half of the rice mixture down in the pan, and then layer zuccini on top. Sprinkle cheese on top. Add more rice, and then more cheese and zuccini. Layer tomatoes next, then any remaining vegtables and cheese. Put in the oven at 450 for about 20-30 minutes or until its bubbling and browning on the edge.

This was the perfect dinner, and my husband ate half of the pan!