Breakfast for the girl on the go!

I'm terrible at remembering to eat breakfast, this means I eat an early lunch around 10:30-11am. Well I met with a trainer yesterday and got an earful about my bad eating timing! So now I guess I'm going to have to try my best to remember to eat something early, that's healthy, so I get better results during my workouts!

Here I have Light Raspberry Yogurt and apple wedges (Fuji of course) sprinkled with some cinnamon. 

YUM!

Spicy Garlic Honey Shrimp over Linguini

Last night I made Spicy Garlic Honey Shrimp over Linguini and it was the bomb.com! I've made Balsamic Onion Linguini and a Mushroom Linguini before so I took what I knew and I came up with this delicious dinner!

First I had to peel all these shrimp. Gross!

Then I started boiling the water for the noodles.

I cut up 2 onions and a few good sized garlic cloves. We like garlic so I usually use a lot.

I browned the onions in a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of butter.

Once they got nice and brown I added the garlic to give it time to mollow.

Don't forget to add the noodles!

 Once the onions caramelized and the garlic was brown I added the shrimp.

I mixed in paprika and black pepper as I saw desired. We like spicy so I use a little more than the norm.

Once the shrimp were pink I glazed them with about 2 tablespoons of honey and cooked it a minute longer.

Then I added one cup of white wine, brought to a boil, turned it down and let it on simmer until the wine reduced.

At this time I drained my linguini and kept some of the cooking water in case I needed to add it to the sauce.

  

Toss the shrimp sauce with the noodles, grade some mizithra cheese over the pasta, add a salad,

and enjoy!

(Yes I use my happy birthday wine glass year round!)

After dinner we took our dog for a 9pm walk in the misty Portland rain and shared another glass of wine in a to-go cup.
We're so romantic!

Marionberry Cobbler

Marionberry ANYTHING is my favorite! We stayed at a cabin in the woods up on the mountain over the weekend with some friends and I couldn't think of a more cozy dessert to enjoy while sitting by the fire and catching up with friends so I attempted my first Marionberry Cobbler.  I thought it was alright.... Everyone else said they loved it. But I've had a lot of Marionberry Cobbler and pie in my days so I'm pretty picky about it.... 

This one was pretty simple, 6 cups of berries, 1 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 cup flower, and I put a teaspoon of vanilla  instead of lemon extract. Only because I didn't have lemon....  and bake on 350 for 20 minutes. 

While it's baking make your crust: Mix together 1 cup butter, 1 cup of flower, 1 1/4 cup sugar. Whisk in 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 cup dry oatmeal. 

Pull the berries out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Then put your dough on top but don't spread it to much you don't want to move your berries around.

Bake for another 20 minutes, serve warm with vanilla ice cream. 

A perfect winter dessert!

They even used what was left to spread on their cinnamon rolls the next morning. 

Mushroom Linguine and Almond Crusted Mahi-Mahi

Levi's mom got me a cookbook (Kitchen Express, listed under cookbooks I love) for Christmas, one for me, one for her, and one for her daughter. While we were visiting his parents in Montana I made them dinner one night with a recipe from the book, Almond Crusted Mahi-Mahi. 

The recipe called for pecans and halibut, but I like almonds and Mahi-Mahi was on sale and in my opinion much better for this recipe 

(I made it with Halibut later) 

Crush your almonds in a blender, mix in spices of your choice. I chose lemon pepper and some of Levi's dads homemade organic creole rub. 

Spread extra virgin olive oil all over your fish and rub with your almond mix. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes on 400 

Boil your noodles once they're done save a little water, put it in a pan, mix in a cup of white wine, chopped garlic, mushrooms, and parsley. Add water as you see fit.

We added a carrot and apple salad with balsamic dressing. Perfect size meal you can feel good about eating! 

Then we walked to the movies in 4 degree weather.... I LOVE MONTANA!

Tortilla Soup

I've had a cold probably 3 times in the last year, we usually make homemade chicken noodle soup but that sounded BORING! So I made Tortilla Soup instead! This was my first time making tortilla soup, just like so many other dishes on this blog but it turned out DELISH! 

First I boiled my chicken then shredded it it.

Then I mixed in chicken broth, onions, stewed tomatoes, lots of cilantro, black beans, paprika, chili powder, garlic, and salt and let it cook for a while

Added a dollop of sour cream, an avocado, topped it off with some chips and I had the best sick soup ever! I wish I had some right now...... 

American Heart Shaped Cookies!

I baked sugar cookies to help raise money for the American Heart Association.

No cookie cutter needed

And made cream cheese frosting with lemon extract 

They turned out amazing!

Shrimp and veggies over rice!

MMMM yum! Quick and easy! Steamed vegetables are very common at my house! Thanks dad for all those rolls of quarters you gave me for the arcade when I was little if I ate all my veggies!  

This is super simple:

Broccoli, fresh green beans, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and onion. 

I always steam my broccoli first get it tender drain the water and put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes. That way it doesn't turn to mush when you cook it with the rest of dinner. Sauté it all up throw in your raw shrimp, splash a little oyster sauce, sprinkle some sesame seeds, and a teaspoon of wasabi powder (but right at the end because it will cook off) and your done! Once those shrimp turn pink of course..... 

Serve over a bed of rice and use soy as desired. 

Ham hocks & Beans!

A popular bowl at our house right now! We've been buying spiral ham lately instead of deli sliced, it last longer, tastes better, and you can make so many meals from it. Ham hocks started while we were in Montana visiting my soon to be in-laws, we bought a spiral ham and made sandwiches for 4 and breakfast for a week. With the hock I told Levi's mom we should make ham hocks and beans, so she did.

 IT WAS DELICIOUS! And so easy...

Soak navy bean over night in water

Chop up one onion, two carrots and some celery

Place ham hock in Crockpot with vegetables and beans. 

Pour water over it and let it cook for 6-8 hours

Since we've been home from Montana (Back in December) I've made it twice, once I added garlic, cilantro, and paprika and the other I tired to mimic Levi's mom's recipe but he still tells me it's not as good as his moms....  

Let me make you some pancakes

My fiancé has been working his tail off on a high-rise project in China. 65 hour work weeks, that means nights and weekends.... yes I meant to say one week! Oh the hours of an aspiring architect..... So I thought it would be nice to get up a little earlier than him this last weekend and make him breakfast while he got his beauty sleep. Someone working that many hours NEEDS beauty sleep! By beauty sleep I mean good mood sleep. BUT he ended up not sleeping in and getting out of bed the same time I did. He helped tidy up the house, he knows I need help sometimes too, he's a good man. 

Our cabinets are pretty empty right now so I whipped out some pancakes! I like to add cinnamon, sugar and vanilla extract to my batter for a little extra flavor. Sometimes I even add chopped apples.  This time, I garnished them with my favorite Habanero Jelly made by Rose City Pepperheads, powder sugar, and maple syrup. One garnish per cake with a side of orange. We love fresh fruits in our house! Oh and a cup of coffee.

St. Patrick's Day Feast!

It's tradition to cook Corned Beef in my family on St. Patrick's day. This year I cooked it myself.... We had 8 adult guests and one baby over for dinner followed by a poker tournament. The poker didn't go so well for me but the Corned Beef did! I marinated my Corned Beef in 2 cups of water, 1 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 12oz can of dark beer, and two table spoons of brown mustard over night. Added a few sliced carrots, chopped up one white onion and threw it in the crock pot first thing in the morning. It cooked for 12 hours and turned out AMAZING! The meat fell apart when you poked it with a fork and everyone nominated me to keep the tradition alive for future St. Patty's day: 

Garnish it with a little horseradish and Grey Poupon

Add a side of bread, red potatoes, and steamed cabbage and you have yourself a meal!

Homemade Tostadas!

First off let me start my first posting off by saying I started this blog to show my mother that I can cook and there's still hope for me yet! I wasted years of my life scared of the kitchen until now...... 

This is the easiest recipe I hope to put on this blog but they were so good I have to share. 

1 package of hamburger

1 pack of taco seasoning (I always add extra spice)

2 packs of Spanish Rice

2 Cans stewed tomatoes

1 can refried beans

Small Corn Tortillas

Lettuce

Cheese 

Tomatoes

and Green Sauce

 1st brown the beef and add the taco seasoning. In separate skillet follow the directions for cooking the Spanish Rice, when it says to add water I add 2 cans of stewed tomatoes with the juice and use a little less water (little trick my dad taught me). It really adds to the full Spanish flavor in my opinion. Warm your over to 200, and fry up your corn tortillas with extra virgin olive oil until they are golden brown and let them warm in the oven until you're done with all your other fixings. This allows the oil to drain off them. Layer as desired! 

Honestly this was a "What do we do with the leftover beef and rice from the burritos last night?" idea.