Special Dinner

Hi There!

As part BF’s birthday gift, I usually like to make him a special meal. 
For him, a special meal = meat.

I haven’t eaten meat for about 10 years (not including fish). OBVIOUSLY when it comes to working with meat, I need as much help as I can get! I almost never use recipes, but for meat dishes I need instructions. Detailed instructions haha. 
After countless Google searches and discussions with friends to try and find the perfect recipe, I decided on the below recipe I found on the Food Network website created by Ina Garten.

After researching Ina a bit more, I learned 2 things:

•  Ina likes butter 
• A lot of people like Ina

Based on this discovery, I decided to attempt the below recipe. The only difference I found between Ina’s recipe & reality was timing. Prep took way longer than 20 minutes and cooking time was almost 2 hours.

Perfect Roast Chicken (the title is really what sold me)

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_21404_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html

Prep Time:20 min

Cook Time:1 hr 30 min

Level: Intermediate

Ingredients

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs ( forgot the extra 20 sprigs! Oops!)

1 lemon, halved

1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted

1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced

4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks

1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges

Olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

 The result? It looks pretty good! BF said he really liked it and got very excited about the whole process. I made rice and roasted potatoes on the side.

bfs plate. my plate <3

What did I learn? (please don’t take offense if you LOVE chicken but…)I hate chicken. I hate everything about it and I don’t understand how people can eat it after knowing what raw chicken looks / smells / feels like. On the other hand, the cool thing about chicken is that there are endless ways to cook it and it’s not that hard to prepare. BF sure seems to love it.

In other news, I had an amazing time at yoga today. I worked hard, fell over, got sweaty, laughed with a friend, got really deep into a binding triangle pose (even got my leg up in the air!!!!) and  walked out feeling refreshed. The best kind of class.

Anyway, I’m off. Happy almost Friday!

Pineapple Fried Rice

Happy Monday!

This weekend flew by! On Friday night I just stayed in with BF and we ate leftover Mediterranean food while watching  Workaholics (great show, check it out if you like ridiculous humor!). 

On Saturday, I went out to Hotel Chantelle for a friend's birthday. This place is great - it has a gorgeous rooftop (where we ate dinner), a bumpin ground floor with loud music and a loud, grimey basement perfect for dancing and sweating profusely - all tied together with a cool crowd. Overall, an awesome place :)

Tonight I decided to use up some of the random food I had at my apartment and make pineapple fried rice! it turned out really well and I made enough for lunches the rest of the week! Score!

I used: 

• long grain brown rice
• 3 brown eggs
• vegetable broth to cook the rice in
• trader joes teriyaki baked tofu
• trader joes soyaki sauce (the best!)
• frozen mixed peppers
• frozen green beans broken into little pieces
• chopped walnuts
• red chili flakes
• garlic salt
• 1 can of pineapple chunks in 100% juice
• the juice from the pineapple
• white onion
• 2 pieces of fresh garlic
• garlic olive oil

this stuff takes FOREVERRRR to cook but has a great texture

Tofu chopped into cubes, diced onion, chopped walnuts and of course, garlic!

After prepping the above, I did the following:

1. Before cooking other ingredients, I started the brown rice in a pot with vegetable broth. I really like this brand but it takes almost an hour to cook. So annoying but worth it.
2. Once the rice was almost finished I started by browning the onion & garlic in the garlic olive oil.
3. Added my frozen vegetables until they were a little burnt. 
4. Added the 3 eggs and let them cook. 
5. Add chopped walnuts & tofu until browned. Sprinkle with garlic salt and set aside
6. Opened the can of pineapple chunks (hate that word) and poured the juice into a glass. Drank half :)
7. Poured a bit of soyaki sauce and pineapple juice both into the rice and into the egg & veggie mixture.
8. Browned the pineapple
9. Add it all together and top with chili flakes & garlic salt et voila!

Dinner for 1 plz :)

This was really, really good. 

 Since this is packed with protein and good for you grains, it makes a balanced meal. I was full after eating about a cup of this creation! Obviously if you're going to do something similar, you can sub tofu for something else and eliminate nuts / garlic if needed. I rarely follow recipes so I'm not sure what amounts of each ingredient I actually used and will likely never be able to replicate it haha.

What are some of your go-to meals when you're trying to clear your fridge? Do you follow recipes? I have a couple cans of beets if anyone has suggestions :)

New things!

Hi There!

I've been MIA lately - super busy at work with my new position and having lots of fun on the weekend :)

I thought I'd share a few great new things I've discovered lately (and 1 not so great item!)

1) Gardein Lightly Seasoned Chick'n Scallopini - This 5 pack is a great go-to when I need to throw together a quick lunch for work. Since they're not heavily seasoned, they taste good with pretty much any type of sauce + veggies. They cook up in about 5 minutes and keep me full through the afternoon. At 90 calories, these are a great addition to my Get Skinnier in 2012  plan. Check them out! 

 

2) Citarella Puttanesca Sauce (literally, "whore's style" spaghetti sauce source, teehee) - This rich tasting pasta sauce comes from my local Citarella grocery store. I love going in there; everything is so fresh and has a homemade feel. This sauce is made of whole tomatoes, black olives, canola oil, extra virgin olive oil, anchovies, fresh garlic, sea salt, fresh basil and spices. Puttanesca sauce is so good, I don't even mind that it's a bit sluttly.

3) Yogi tea -  I go through phases of drinking up to 6 cups of tea a day and phases where I drink zero. Yogi has a wide selection of interesting blends that I decided to try. I bought a cold prevention pack and a box of stress relief. Although some of them taste a little funky, I believe in the placebo effect of their claims. Even if they don't do what they say, at least I'm staying hydrated.  Before buying these, I had only ever tried their "Smooth Move" herbal *ahem* digestive tea while doing a cleanse. It works pretty well (teehee again)

 

Now for something I wasn't so thrilled about...

4) Marinated Coconut Curry Tempeh - Maybe I didn't cook these properly? Maybe I just don't like tempeh? Or maybe, or likely, they suck. They tasted terrible. Don't buy these. Just don't.

 

Have you tried any of these products? What about tempeh? Did you like it?

I went to pilates today and it was just as tough as I remembered. Tomorrow I'll either do some cardio or perhaps a bit of yoga. I have been getting into the groove of making exercise a priority. Having the vacation (and daunting idea of being seen in my bikini by coworkers....:S) has really made me stick to my promises to myself. I have been cutting carbs during the week and working out extra hard as often as possible. On the weekends, I still do what I want ie) drink beer / eat pizza / stay up late, but I think I'm making moves in the right direction!

Happy Monday!

Breathe. Salad will fix everything.

After my big Thanksgiving weekend, there is one thing I want – SALAD. Eating big meal sized salads for days in a row (at least 1 meal / day), I feel better about terrible eating choices I made on the weekend.

When I make a salad, there are few ingredients I almost always have / change up:

Romaine Lettuce

Cheese (usually goat or Parmesan)

A protein (either fish, nuts tofu, lentils etc)

All of the produce I have available to me

Vinegar! (I LOVE sour salad)

Sea Salt (I LOVE sour + salty salad)

Fresh chopped garlic  (the fighter of wintertime sniffy noses!)

Here a few I’ve had lately:

Roasted Chickpeas w/ parmesan, diced tomatoes & a bit of tofu. Sesame Soy ginger from Trader Joes.

mix with whatever spices you want, and a little olive oil

stir!

spread on a cookie sheet & bake at 400 until they're chewy and crispy. maybe even a little burnt!

  

 Burnt tofu that has been marinated overnight in TJ's Soyaki sauce with goat cheese, little heirloom tomatoes, walnuts, dried cranberries and balsamic vinegar.

And my classic go to - the vinegariest vinegar salad ever. Romaine with lots of white vinegar, 2 pieces of fresh garlic chopped, fresh lemon juice, lots of Parmesan cheese & sea salt. More deets on this guy here Its the Freakin Weekend Baby, I'm About to Have Me Some Fun

 

 

Yummy!

Tonight I am going to meet my wonderful Aunt for dinner. She is in New York visiting me from Toronto. Very exciting!

Later!

Easy Tilapia & Avocado Salad

Hi Folks!

I hope you're all having a good week so far. I love how it feels like Tuesday today, but really its Wednesday (woohoo!)

Today I spent a fair amount of time browsing vacations online. From Iceland to the Virgin Islands to Helsinki.

checked out!

 I am constantly pondering where I want to go for my 2 next vacations. I would like to go somewhere warm this winter with the BF and in the new year, I'd like to go on a best friend trip to a really unique destination. Do you know any great travel sites? I've been browsing CheapCarribean, LivingSocial, Cheaptickets etc.


Anyways, here is what I had for dinner last week after work one day. I'll likely have this again tonight!

Easy Tilapia & Avocado Salad

you will need this stuff, garlic,and some frozen tilapia

cook on your stove top in olive oil. i like mine a little burnt!

add to romaine lettuce with blue cheese, sliced avocado and top with balsamic vinegar.

Easy & delicious. Well I'm off to the Upper East Side for some of this salad and perhaps a workout!

I'd love to hear any tips on planning an affordable, awesome vacation!

Have a great night!

What a Souper Day!

First, I need to give a very thankful shout out to Aly of It’s Been Real! Today I found out that I am the lucky winner of a $100 AmEx gift card!! Back in September, I entered Aly’s contest by letting her know my favorite 6 ingredient recipe. Check out Aly’s yummy vegan treats and learn about my winning recipe here http://www.itsbeenreal.net  Thanks Aly!!

Secondly, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who responded to To Cleanse, Or Not To Cleanse! I really appreciate your input on the need and risk associated with cleanses. Considering I have a hard time avoiding carbs, I will not be doing a cleanse any time soon J

Now, let’s talk broccoli. This is a vegetable I always enjoy, but often forget about. Last night, in an effort to eat more greens, I made a huge pot of light broccoli soup. When I was little, my mom used to tell me, “Caitlin, trim the trees!!” and I would gobble up broccoli like a starving rabbit. Sexy, no? These mini green trees are high in vitamin C, folic acid, contains potassium & calcium AND is quite rich in fiber. What’s not to love?

What you need:

• 3 medium potatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 giant bushels of fresh broccoli
• 2 cubes of low sodium vegetable bouillon
• ½ a white onion
• ¾ a liter of 1% milk
• Some water
• A great big pot

trust me, your apartment will smell very home-y

 

Chop n boil broccoli and potatoes

meanwhile, saute onions garlic

throw the boiled potatoes in the food processor until it looks like icing.

then put the broccoli in the food processor until it is in itty bitty pieces (not pureed)

Put all of the veggie ingredients in your great big pot, turn on the burner to medium heat. Gradually add water until the soup is slightly thicker than the consistency you prefer. Add bouillon cubes. Simmer with a lid on for about 45 minutes. Take the lid off, turn down the heat to low and add your milk. Add black pepper & serve.

 

Have a great night :)

ps - Enjoy some cute paws:

Recipe: Panzerotti a la Caitlin

My first job was wonderful.

From the time I was 15 years old until my first year of university was over, I worked at the pizza shop in my small Canadian town. I loved this job. Truly loved it. Making pizza was like doing arts and crafts. I made great money for a teenager, they even made me the manager. Interacting with customers was so much fun, and the girls I got to work with were amazing.

This experience has caused me to brag endlessly to my BF about my pizza and calzone / panzerotti making abilities. Finally, it was time for me to prove it.

 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups white flour (or for a healthier spin do half whole wheat, half white & add flax)
• 1 tsp of sea salt
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• 1 package of active dry yeast
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 cups of warm water.

 First, follow the directions on the yeast package. Once it has risen in the water (about 10 minutes), add the other ingredients.

Mix it all together in a bowl and you get this:

Once thoroughly mixed, soft and not too sticky, roll it in a ball an place in a steel bowl. Cover with saran wrap for 20 minutes until it rises.

 Divide into 4 parts - makes 4 panzerottis  (I made one for myself & one for BF, the rest went into his freezer)

 

Add sauce & fill with toppings. You can put almost anything in there - if you're feeling crazy anything from greek themed to dessert versions, get creative.

Cover with cheese. I had green pepper, garlic and mushroom. BF had the same this but added some spicy salami.

Rolled em up and close the ends so that they don't leak in the oven. Brush with egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tbsp of water) Cut to lines in the top so that it looks pretty & has ventilation.

topped with MORE cheese and some spices

Bake @ 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 

tada!!! BF approved

serve with marinara sauce and sriracha

There you have it! Have a great night everyone :)

-Caitlin

Hey Lady, Eat a Salad!

 Want an excuse to eat cheese? Put some lettuce under it!

Last night I made an outstanding salad that was quick, easy and kept me the right amount of full. After eating this I went to the gym & had heaps of energy - I even resisted the urge to eat something before bed.

How to do this...

crunchy. 

goat cheese glory

 Did you know that goat cheese has more slightly protein, less fat and a bit more calcium compared to cow's? Goat's cheese or Chèvre will add a burst of flavor to any dish. Although hard goat cheese and drunken goat cheese are very good, I prefer the soft varieties. What about you?

Some ways that I like to incorporate this tasty treat into my meals:

• add to an omlette or on top of your scrambled eggs
• crumble it on any salad, especially ones that have fruit
• use it in a veggie wrap to add a bit of protein, calcium & fat
• spread soft goat cheese on bread / crackers and eat it with jam 
• slice a heirloom tomato, add dried or fresh basil & some goat cheese.

 Try it out for yourself! Now for a video that I used to watch with friends after the bar in Uni....