Winter to Summer...

Go out and get these ingredients right now:

• Bell Peppers
• Chicken breast
• White beans
• Onions
• Garlic
• Chicken Broth
• Roasted red pepper

Got it?  Alright, cause you're about to have the best meal you ate all week....

Please pardon my rather awful photograph, but what you have here is Grilled Chicken & White Bean stuffed  peppers (adapted from here), which I easily transitioned it from a winter to summer dish by replacing the baking with a few quick trips to the grill.  (WHICH Scott managed to set on fire last night...but that story is for another dayJ)

First of all: The inside work.  I cooked up:

• 1 diced onion
• 4 minced garlic cloves
• 1 roasted red pepper
• 1 handful of dried parsley

...and let the onions soften up a bit....

Next into the pan went one drained can of white beans...LOVE!

....and about a cup of chicken broth.

Let that all simmer in the pan for about 10 minutes.

And NOW: The outdoor stuff...

Scott grilled up two trimmed chicken breasts coated in Montreal steak seasoning and diced them up when they were finished cooking.

I added the chicken along with the white beans and let it all cook together for a few minutes...

Meanwhile, the other "summer" factor was grilling the peppers to charred perfectionJ

Simply remove the tops & seeds of the peppers and toss em on the grill, flipping after a few minutes on each side.  You can use whatever color you like, but I like the mild flavors of red or yellow peppers.

And the last step?  Slicing the peppers in half, filling them with the chicken & white bean mix, topping with shredded cheese (I used part skim mozzarella)...

...and popping them in the toaster over (or back on the grill) for a few minutes to melt the cheese...

Fresh, filling and SUPER flavorful...these were CRAZY good, and made even BETTER with the kiss from the grill.  Go home and make these TONIGHT!  You will be so happy you did.  TRUST!

Alrighty, well I'm about to go heat up a leftover fish taco for lunchJ  Hope you guys have a great weekend!  Stay cool everyone!  Seems like it's a scorcher...EVERYWHERE.  Yeesh....

The next inspiration...

Picking a new "menu list" for the week can sometimes be a challenge.  Some weeks I am bubbling over with ideas that would stretch us into the next month.  And other weeks?  It's like pulling teeth to figure out what we'd want on a Thursday night when it's only our trip to the market on Saturday morning, ya know?  So I love when I get inspirations for meals in random places.  Especially for ones I haven't made in a LOONNGG while and forgot how much I like them!  Which brings us to our viewing of last weeks episode of "The Next Food Network Star"...

That led us tooooooo......

It has been YEARS since I've made fish tacos and after seeing one of the contestants making a variation of these last week, I KNEW they were quickly going on the menu for THIS week!

And the best part??  They are SO ridiculously EASY!  All I do is take a piece of fish and toss it in a pan lightly coated with olive oil...

ps-you can use any fish you like, but I use tilapia since it's a mild flavored fish and is soooooooo versitle and easy to cook.

Season the fish with a little salt, pepper & lime juice...

(sorry for my FAUX lime juice!  We were plum out of fresh ones...fail!)

Once the fish is cooked on one side, flip, re-season, finish cooking the bottom half and then break up with your spatula...   

Fish = Done!

While the fish is cooking, get your toppings ready.  I used shredded lettuce & fresh guacamole (1 mashed avocado, 1/4 diced white onion, salt, pepper & lime juice)

After I thought about it, if you want to go a low-carb option, I'd recommend using a lettuce wrap and topping the taco with shredded cabbage.  However, I only thought of this AFTER I had finished making ALL of my trips to the supermarket this week and cabbage somehow failing to find it's way into my cart....

Sooooo...back to the carbs, shall we?

I took a whole wheat tortilla and placed it on the burner of my stove to toast up on one side....

Once you can smell the char *and preferably before it catches on fire*, flip and cook the bottom side....

You can skip this step, but I LOVEEEEEEE the quick char from the flames.  Plus it takes all of 30 seconds...any longer and your tortilla will be El fuego!J

And then it's time to layer.....first the guacamole...

...then the crumbled tilapia...

....and finally, the lettuce.  Wrap and ROLL and you are DONE!

I always loved these because they taste so light & healthy.  But if you, like myself, find your significant other is NOT a fan of fish....all ya gotta do is swap the fish for some grilled chicken and EVERYONE. IS. HAPPY! hehehheheheJ

And speaking of happy, after dinner we decided to take a stroll through the park and enjoy the absolutely PICTURE PERFECT weather last night.  Talk about the face of peace & just chillin in the beautiful breeze....

Even the little toes got some airJ

Although NO ONE was as happy to get out and stretch the legs then dear ol' PennyJ  She was all over the place...as usualJ 

All of this before the weather starts turning hot and *BLEH* humid over the next few days.  But speaking of weather, here's hoping Colorado gets some rain soon!!!!  So sad to see all of the images of the fires.  You're all in my thoughts & prayers!

'Detox Day'...

"Monday night/salad night" has been a long standing tradition in our house.  I've always felt that it was a good way to 'detox' from any extra weekend calories and to get the week started on the right foot.  Salad night took a weeeeeeeeeee bit of a hiatus during my "carbs-only" days (and *ahem* a few months after), but I think we're finally back on scheduleJ  And last night was one of our ALL-TIME FAVORITES: Grilled Chicken Club Salad with Guacamole Dressing...

Besides lettuce, you've got your:

• Grilled chicken coated in Montreal steak seasoning...

• A couple crumbled slices of bacon... 

• A few extra veggies...

• And of course, the yummy guacamole dressing (1 avocado whirled up with 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt, a squirt of lime juice & salt)

Crisp, crunchy, cool & creamy describes this salad perfectly.  Nothing beats the sorta-spicy chicken combined with the coooool avocado dressing mixed with the smokey bites of bacon bits.  Just divine!

And since we're talking about all things 'detox' this morning, I thought I'd show you my recent Pinterest trial. (yes, welcome late to the party for someone who JUST figured out Pinterest about a month agoJ)

This water mixed with cucumber, lemon & mint leaves is suppose to help you loose weight as well as detox the body...

And better yet?  It's ACTUALLY TASTY!  I know!  I was surprised myself.  But by steeping the water & 'fillers' overnight, it gives the water a cool and refreshing taste.  And if not for anything else, it helps you down A LOT of water a lot faster.  It's so easy to get bored with plain water and drinking nearly 2 liters of it daily will DEFINITELY help you loose weight...cucumbers or no cucumbersJ

What are some of your 'weight loss tips & tricks?'

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

Weekend whirl...

Hey everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend.  Mine flew by in a whirl of dance recitals & baby showers...but it all started with a stop bright & early on Saturday morning with a quick drive south to the Newtown Farmer's Market...

Where we were met with a gaggle of goodies to rival a mini Reading Terminal Market! 

There were plenty of Amish treats everywhere we turned...tempting, much? 

But we loved that they also had plenty of fresh meat, fish, a stand devoted to all things Middle Eastern anddddd...the one we kept circling just trying to figure out what to pick out:  Dos Amores Mexican Cuisine! 

Burritos, Tamalas, Quesadillas, Empanadas, Nachos, Chile Rellenos....everything looked mouth watering!

Finally, Scott had settled on a pulled pork, rice & chesse burrito...soooo good! 

While I lunched on one of the best guacamoles I've EVER tried!  Right up there with Tortilla Press & El Vez.  Simple & classic with just a little touch of tomato & red onion...superb! 

We also picked up a little treat for Sunday Morning breakfast in the form of a 2 layer coffee cake....sweeeeeeeeeeeet!  

And for the record, I LOVE that the Amish sell 1/4 cakes!  They probably mark up the prices a bit, but it's so much better (and less tempting!) then buying a whole cake for 2 people.  Besides, I like varietyJ  Thanks, AmishJ

Alrighty, well that about wraps up everything I have to show you for the day.  I'm going to try to get back to posting my weekly workout schedules for you next week.  I had been sick 2 weeks ago, so I took it easy last week.  But after surviving a KILLER power yoga class on Saturday morning, I think it's safe to say that I'm ready to get back into the swing of thingsJ

Have a good Monday, everyone!

All Veg...All Week...

So I didn't plan it that way, but by the end of the week I realized we had eaten completely vegetarian.  I always like when that happens.  I'm a fan of tacos & meatloaf as much as the next gal, but there is a small part of my heart that wishes I could go all veg, all the time.  Maybe one day.

In the meantime, here was our weeks worth of meat-free, summer friendly meals that you'll enjoy!

Monday:  Spring Salad with Pecan crusted Goat Cheese

Tuesday:  Sweet Potato Quiona Cakes

I almost blogged about making these...until I burned the onions and the whole mix turned into an unphotogenic mess.  HOWEVER, the outcome was VERY tasty!  Light & Healthy.

Wednesday:  Garlic Naan with hummus & tabbouli....and watermelonJ

Thursday:  Summer Panzanella Salad

And on last night's menu:  Caprese salad bake

Baked in the toaster oven, of course!  No oven in THIS heat  (which, for the record, makes seeing those FALL images in that post even harder to bearJ)

Well, we're off to check out a new Farmer's Market this morning!  I've been told by the mister that there is a shop called "Amish Treats."  Me thinks that's a good startJ

Enjoy your Saturday, everyone!

Keeping it coooool....

Hi everyone!

Sooooo...didn't I say I won't be here for the week sometimes?  Wellllll...I guess that week stretch into *EEK!* over a month!  To be honest, I've been struggling with both finding time to write AND the motivation TO write once I found the time.  But I have to say once I was surfing through the blog looking for a recipe the other night, I realized how much I missed it!  So again, it's not easy, but I'll try to fit writing in as much as I can.J

What also helps is that cooking dinner has now gone from *HURRY UP! SCOTT'S HOME AND THE BABY'S SLEEPING!  MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!* to now getting to bring the little peanut in the kitchen with me to keep me company....all while Penny keeps HER companyJ  

That makes things QUITE a bit easier!

Anyyyyhow...I have a great recipe to share with you today.  And a perfectly appropriate one since the mercury hit the TRIPLE DIGITS in Jersey the last few days, so we had to have a cool & minimal cooking dish!  Which = Panzanella salad...

What's Panzanella salad?  It's an Italian salad made of stale bread and tomatoes.  But since man can't exist on bread and tomatoes alone, I used it as my base to highlight a beautiful bounty of summer produce.

But first, the classics:  the tomato... 

....butttt since I'm not a fan of 'raw' tomatoes, I coated them with olive oil & sea salt and roasted these in the toaster oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until they were brown and bursting... 

Next, I gathered up the rest of my ingredients... 

My first 'added ingredient' was some sliced zucchini.  And since Scott wasn't home, and it was 3043580 degrees outside, I took the 'easy' route and grilled the zucchini on my indoor griddle... 

...which I *possibly* should have sprayed with some olive oil...buttttt, I did manage to gain some great grill marks!J

I diced those up and added them to my bowl... 

...along with a diced cucumber... 

...some diced fresh mozzarella.... 

...a couple handfuls of torn basil (my quintessential summer staple...yum!)... 

....and here's where it gets interestingJ  You certainly wouldn't see this in a traditional panzanella...but who could resist the cooooool addition of some creamy avocado! 

And finally, the bread, of course!  I cubed up some stale Italian bread (about 5 days old)....

...and added it along with some salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, olive oil & red wine vinegar.  I let it refrigerate  for about an hour to let all of the flavors meld & to allow the bread to soften up a bit.  (hold off on adding the bread if the salad is going to refrigerate for more than an hour...you don't want it to get soggy!)

Where, oh where, do I begin to even start to tell you how good this was!?? 

Chewy bites of bread along with tangy tomatoes, soft mozzarella, creamy avocado, crunchy cucumbers, grill kissed zucchini all dotted with fresh basil...each bite was a veritable HUM of flavors!

Scott said he'd eat this again next week....so you know that's a thumbs up!  Guess I have something to do with that 2nd half of the breadJ 

Summer Panzanella Salad

Adapted slightly from Camille Styles

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (and roasted if your not a 'raw' fan, like me!)
• 2 sliced zucchini, grilled & diced
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella, diced
• 1 medium cucumber, diced
• 2 handfuls of basil (about 12 leaves), torn
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/2 loaf of stale Italian bread, cubed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (for drizzling)
• 2 tablespoons red wine (or white balsamic) vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Combine everything in a large bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.  ENJOY!

I definitely went back for seconds on this one!

And just to show you what ELSE was going on my kitchen...I thought I'd show you how *fun* things got once Daddy arrived homeJ

 I could say I won't be posting pictures of the baby on every post...

...but I think part of me would be lyingJ 

Anyways...I hope you enjoyed my post for today!  I'll be giving you guys an update on my post-baby exercise schedule & weight loss soon.  Let's just say it's been a C-H-A-L-L-E-N-G-E!

Have a great night...and if you're on the east coast: STAY COOL!