grilled avocado + salsa + squeeze of lime juice = crazy delicious 

some eats for the week:

stuffed zucs

ginger beef and mango salsa

pulled pork  & best slaw

weekly menu

monday- french onion soup   

{jb and i have a love affair with french onion soup.  i am not even a little bit ashamed to tell you we

ordered it after dessert one time at a restaurant that threw down a mean french onion soup.  sadly, i don't

have a great recipe for it.  we tried one recipe this week and it was blah.  we agreed to press on and not rest until we hae a killer french onion soup recipe.   send any tips or recipes my way! }

tuesday- i love california pizza kitchen's moroccan salad.  

{i decided to make my own version this week.  i used a 50/50 mix of romaine and spinach for the 

lettuce.  i roasted the beets and buttersquash until they were slightly burnt...delish.  i eliminated the

chopped egg, dates and cranberries that cpk puts in their version and added apple slices instead.  i also

swapped pine nuts with the almonds cpk uses.  here is the dressing i whipped 

up to go along with it...

champagne vinaigrette:

• 1 small garlic clove minced
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 dash freshly ground white pepper
• 1/2 cup champagne or white balsmaic vinegar 
• 1 1/2 cups olive oil

{if it was a hard day, just sub in 1 cup of champagne- nevermind the vinegar.  jb is the easiest and 

happiest eater and always praises my cooking even when it's horrible.  every once in awhile i will strike 

it rich and find a meal he really really loves.  he gives me these eyes and doesn't make a sound, if it's 

extra good he'll throw down his fork and just look at me.  this salad earned all three marks...the eyes, no sound and fork throwdown. }

wednesday-chicken vegetable lettuce cups




{ the one change i made to this recipe was adding cumin to the meat.  cumin is one of my favorite

spices.  i want to make "i heart cumin" shirts but for those less savvy in the kitchen this may be confusing.  i loved this recipe..fast, easy and delicious. }





thursday- cauliflower crust pizza 



{ ours was topped with carmelized onion, chicken sausage, sauteeded zuchicinis & bell peppers. i know

what you are thinking... this is green eggs & ham all over again.  but i promise you will want to eat this

on a car, and with mouse and in the dark!  if you are gluten or grain free this is a great recipe.  it does have a ton of cheese though so it's not for those who are stricter paleo. }

happy eats!

last week's (hunter-gatherer) menu

i have been so lame lately about updating the blog.  i am sorry for the same ol' types of the posts and also that they haven't been as frequent.  i a working on spicing it up...but not today..te he he.  today is one of the same ol' types of posts...my weekly menu.  i have to be honest, i enjoy posting my menus because it makes me more creative with my choices and i also aim to pick healthier options because i know others are reading the menu.  before i post this week's menu i wanted to share a few of last week's dinners. 

the hubs and i have become more critical of what we are eating and also where it comes from.  darn, jaime oliver and his food revolution!  it is totally working on me.  i hardly ever care where my meat comes from but after watching how ground beef and chicken nuggets are made i started to realize that i need to be more aware of the meat we are eating.  so last saturday we went on an adventure to our local farmer's market and then to a local butcher.  jaime oliver recommends asking the butcher a few questions, such as, "where does your meat come from?" and "where do you grind your meat?"   if the butcher can't answer these questions for you there is a good chance (70% to be exact) that ground meat is actually pink slime...yuck.  or if the meat is ground off site it could also be pink slim.  no thanks!  so when we stopped at the local butcher he was able to tell us where the meat was grown and even showed us their grinder.  hooray! 

one perk to using a local butcher shop, not in a grocery store, is that not only do they know their stuff but they are likely to offer you tips.  we were only there for ground beef but we left with buffalo flank steak and 4 quails.  say what?!  how did that happen?   our friendly butcher could tell we were interested in healthy lean meats and pointed us toward the buffalo and then recommend we make fajitas out of the meat.  we were sold.   earlier in the week i had stumbled upon a recipe for quail.  out of curiosity i asked if they carried quail.  i was shocked when he said yes.  so we decided to be totally brave and crazy and eat unusual meat.  the results?  2 new recipes that we love!

monday night:  buffalo fajitas.  i couldn't find a recipe so i created it.  i hope you branch out and try it.

• put the buffalo meat (we used flank steak) in a glass baking dish
• take 5-10 garlic cloves and smash them with a knife. rub over meat and leave in dish
• juice two limes over meat
• sprinkle meat with oregano and cumin
• drizzle small amount of olive oil over the dish
• take a fork and turn meat over several times to coat with seasonings
• put in refrigerator to marinade while you prep the rest of the meal...turn occasionally
• cook on the grill.  do not overcook!  because it is so lean buffalo cooks quickly and will be tough if overcooked. 
• let meat rest for 10 min after grilling
• cut against the grain so meat is less tough

the result...

a delish healthy fajita!  we sauteed veggies and cooked black beans and piled everything in a whole wheat tortilla.  if you just like meat and toppings in your fajitas then use the veggies and black beans for sides.   we had our dear friend, taylor, and her young brother over for dinner and they enjoyed the fajitas too...or at least they said they did.  so this meal is great for company and even for kids.  i bet they won't even notice the difference from beef.
wednesday: moroccan inspired grilled quail  i (mostly) followed the recipe for the quail, i mean honestly i dont' follow directions well.  the recipe states the rub is for 8 birds but we used all of it for just 4 birds, it was just right.  i made sauteed rainbow swiss chard instead of the kale.  swiss chard cooks like spinach so it was a bit faster and i prefer chard.  i also made basmati rice with a little butter and fresh parsley from our herb garden.  the grill gave the quail a nice crisp crunch but kept the meat...juicy.  (even you don't know i hate the word moist.  excuse me i just threw up in my mouth).  i was glad jb did the grilling because darn it i felt like we were grilling babies out there!  i know that quail are just small but it still tugged at my heart strings.


aren't they so tiny?  i love all things small.  sniff sniff...those are really tiny.




jb with a teeny drumbstick.   jb was flying the birds around the table and that made me want to cry since they are just so darn little.   we may not make quail again but only out of guilt.




so when was the last time you tried something new?  what is the most exotic food you have tried?

weekly menu

here is the chow line up for this week...

monday:  taco's at the parental's house = no cooking for me...awesome!
tuesday: noodles with roast pork almond sauce.  jb was sweet enough to whip this up for us last night.  it was delish!  i predict this recipe will make another appearance in our near future.
wednesday: apple and brie quiche.  i know quiche twice in the last two weeks.  i can't say (and eat) enough about quiche's easy and delish ways. 
thursday: pasta with green peas and pancetta.  the recipe calls for bucatini but i am going to use fettuccine pasta instead.
friday: summer squash and pasta soup.  i am saving the soup for friday so i can toss in extra bits from thursday's dinner to make the soup even tastier. 

weekly menu

let me just say i am sorry for being absent all last week.  i have an excuse note, i promise.  but for now, here is our weekly menu.

monday: hippie rice
tuesday: vegetable quiche with fresh fruit on the side.  this is a great summer meal and you can eat it any time of the day.  holla.
wednesday: spaghetti and meatballs.  instead of using beef i am using ground elk meat...i will let you know how that goes.
thursday: bean and cheese tosadas with pineapple jicama salad
friday: brussel sprouts and chicken dish

i was going for simple this week and within budget,  i accomplished both! 

what is your favorite spring or summer dish?

weekly menu

thursday friday already?  seems that way. 

monday birthday dinner:  mozzy (mozzarella) stuffed turkey burger with sweet potato fries and broccoli.   we were suppose to eat this last week but i didn't feel like making it so guess what?  happy birthday hubs, we are eating burgers before the meat spoils.  maybe next year you can pick your birthday meal.  wife of the year i know.

tuesday:  steak salad-stuffed pita pockets.  it's just fun to say...go ahead say it with me steak salad-stuffed pita pockets.  it's an alliteration party for your mouth.  i made a little ranch dressing to drizzle on top of the pitas.  the recipe is from top secret recipes, todd wilbur is the brains behind the recipes.  their slogan?  "creating original clone recipes of america's favorite foods since 1987".   todd, honey, you can't create original clones.  i am just stated the obvious.  but i like your style and where your head is at.  plus, your original clone recipe for ranch is killer so i am going to stick with you. 

wednesday: honey jalapeno chicken with sesame soba noodles  don't forget to double the sauce for this sweet and spicy treat. 


thursday:  fish tacos.  i hate fish.  i hate all seafood.  i become really immature about eating things i don't like.  while i am at it...i hate birthdays, i hate spring, i hate nearly everything.  just kidding.  but myra and her darn cookbook made me want to try fish tacos.  and guess what?  i actually like them.  i was a little disappointed, i was hoping to keep the hate going but i couldn't.  more on fish tacos later.   i think you are going to want the recipe.

friday:  date night.  the hubs and i will be celebrating 6 months or wedded bliss.  we are headed to indigo crow.  this is how our convo went last night when hubs was trying to tell me about where we were eating...

" i made reservations at your favorite restaurant for tomorrow" 
" st. clair's? " 
"uh...no but it's close"
"melting pot?"
"shoot, no"
"oh, los poblanos?" 
"you can eat there? um, no it flies"
"flying star!!"
"stars don't fly."
"i thought you said it was close"
"it is"
"to us or st. clair's?"
"us"
"oh well that is different, i thought you meant close to st. clair's.  banana leaf?"
"dang it no"
" gosh, i don't know il vincino?
"indigo crow"
"oh i love indigo crow, it's my favorite"
"sigh, i know"

ah the joys of communication in relationships...

weekly menu

happy tuesday everyone!  have you recovered from mother's day weekend?  with a mom, step-mother and mother-in-law i was a busy bee this weekend.  it was filled with so much fun and i am honored to celebrate these women in my life.

so this week's menu is a mix of some new recipes and some recipes that we ate 2 weeks ago.  i was struggling for inspiration!

monday-  the gnocchi kick lives on!  this recipe was up to bat since we bought swiss chard at the farmer's    market this weekend!  playing side kick to the gnocchi was this salad.  i used tangerine juice instead of oj for the dressing, delish.

tuesday- another re-run from a few week's ago...chicken alfredo pizza.  the healthier alfredo sauce was delish and i had enough leftover to freeze.  that means tonight's pizza will come together even faster!  all i need to do is cook the chicken in lemon pepper and then add some frozen broccoli to the mix.  as emeril would say "bam!"

wednesday- this one is a newbie!  pineapple teriyaki chicken  served with basmati rice and snow peas.  i will keep you posted on if this is a success or flop.

thursday- mozzarella-stuffed turkey burgers.  this is my fav recipe for burgers.  to make this recipe even faster i bought trader's joe's bruschetta this week. 

friday- we will be celebrating my hubby's birthday with my dad and step-mom.  whoo hoo!

saturday- same story...we will be celebrating the hub's birthday but with my mom and step-dad.  whoo hoo!  there are perks to having divorced parents, more celebrations! 

sunday-bruschetta chicken pasta. this recipe is speedy and will help me use up any leftover bruschetta sauce from the burger's on thursday night! 


happy eats!  

what are some of the fun traditions you and your family do to celebrate birthdays?  not that i am fishing for ideas for my husband birthday coming up or anything...it's just friendly conversation.

my birthday falls in the middle of flu season and as i gift to myself i usually had the stomach flu on my birthday.  then others would get the flu too.  i mean the flu really is the gift that keeps on giving.  my childhood birthday pictures are of me laying on the couch, pale, with a bucket in one hand and a cold-rag on my forehead.  what can i say?  i was a party animal from the beginning.  if i was a little older in the pictures i may have been able to pass as a wild child that was recovering from a night of partying.  so with that in mind, what was the best and worst birthday you ever had?

weekly menu

remember when i was so faithful to blog everyday?   remember the good ol' days when i would post my weekly menus on mondays for y'all to read?  yeah...me either. 

this week's menu:

monday: gnocchi with zucchini ribbon, parsley and brown butter  served with trader joe's mix of colorful broccoli and cauliflower!

since i can never follow directions well, even in a recipe, i mixed things up.  after boiling the gnocchi, i sauteed them in a bit of olive oil so they would have a little crunch on the outside.  i highly recommend that method.  instead of butter i did olive oil and substituted shallots for garlic....and tried parsley instead of fresh.  other than that i followed the recipe.  even though it sounds weird i did add the nutmeg and will add it every time.  nutmeg where have you been hiding, you are delish in savory dishes!  may i also say that i love the little squish of flavor that cherry tomatoes add to recipes.  thank you for letting me get that out...i feel better. 

so every week we try and buy one new food to try.  sometimes it is a number 1 hit and other times it's as bad as clay aiken making his 5th album.  gnocchi was our new food last week, we are still trying to pronounce it but as ludacris says, "call up jazze tell him to pop up the bottles cuz we got another hit, hit, hit".   it is some delish stuff.  my favorite is trader joe's whole wheat gnocchi.  it's a bit healthier and just as tasty as regular gnocchi.  the first gnocchi recipe that i made was last week.  it's hard to pick a favorite between the two.  you can find the recipe for the gnocchi dish pictured below here .  give it a whirl, i think you will even like the chard!

tuesday: corn-meal crusted chicken nuggets served with fresh veggies

i made the sauce (included in the recipe) with raspberries instead of blackberries


wednesday:  chicken and broccoli alfredo pizza.   we had this pizza on our honeymoon and went back a few times during our trip to have more!  i have been wanting to re-create this delish pizza at home.  to make it  healthier i am using whole wheat crust and this recipe  for the sauce.

thursday: stir fry

friday: well let's just say we will cross that bridge when we get there.


what new foods have you tried lately?