New Year, New Food......Starting with Chicken Spaghetti

So here we go with my post on my new year's resolution.  I'm sticking with the old "need to lose weight" resolution, but this year is different....or I hope it is!!  Here's the deal.  Instead of just making it a personal goal and keep thinking that I need to do something about it and then well the end of the year rolls around again and nothing has really changed, this year my husband and I are making it a conscious effort that we are both going to eat better....and do it together.  Since we've been married, we've gotten settled into eating out a lot, picking up takeout, or giving in to those bad cravings together.  So if we together don't keep bad food in the house and make a dinner meal plan to stick to each week, it will eliminate those nights that we don't know what we want for dinner and we are "starving" and then pick up something bad and eat it all!  Hopefully, changing our eating habits at night and when together will result in us seeing some changes and will make us feel healthier and feel better about ourselves.  

To start off our week in a healthy way, we sat down yesterday and came up with meals that would involve more proteins and vegetables and less carbs.  I went to the grocery store and then we cooked up this scrumptious meal together.  It's actually one that Jeff surprised me with not too long ago.  I was working late one night, and when I came home, he had made this for me. I was so impressed with him!   (I'm easily entertained okay. :)  )  It fits in perfectly with our new dinner plans.

Easy Chicken Spaghetti

Tomato Sauce
Tomato Paste
Garlic, diced fine
Onion, diced fine
Basil
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
Rotiserrie Chicken (we buy these pre-made at our local grocery store)
Zuchinni, sliced into ribbons
Squash, sliced into ribbons

The first step is to make your own sauce, using the first 8 ingredients. Improvise as you'd like adding seasonings and herbs to get the flavor you want.  Next simply shred the chicken into pieces and add it to the pot with the sauce. 

 

 

 

Using a potato peeler, shave the zuchinni and squash into ribbons.  These will be your "spaghetti noodles."  We used 2 zuchinnis and 3 squashes.  Again, use what you like!

 

Saute the ribbons of veggies in olive oil until just tender.

 

 

Layer the ribbons of "noodles" in a bowl and top with the chicken and tomato sauce.  We also usually like to sprinkle a little parmesan cheese to top it off, but we didn't have any, so cheddar it was!

 

 

The good thing about this meal is that it is still hearty and filling.  It's great when you want some comfort food on a cold night, but you aren't left with the guilt of eating all that pasta.

 

Here's to a new year and making changes in our diet in an effort to lose some lbs!

 

How are all of you doing with your New Year Resolutions??

 

XO,

Tara

Scenes from Our Weekend

This past weekend we enjoyed a rare weekend in town with no major plans, which allowed us to meet up with friends, sleep in late, make breakfast, and spend a day at the beach.  It was a wonderful weekend!

This is at a beach close to Galveston.  There's Jeff (yup that blue dot) out wading in the surf trying to fish.  The wind was really strong, so it was not a very successful fishing trip, but I really enjoyed getting to lay in the sun reading and taking in these views.

 

 This was the breakfast I made on Saturday morning.  I used Hungry Girl's Eggs Bene-chick recipe to reduce the calories per serving...which means you can get two servings, right? Yes, why not?!

Eggs Bene-chick

1 half of a light English Muffin

1 slice of lean ham

1 large egg

For the sauce:

1 tbsp. fat free mayonnaise

1 tsp. Dijonnaise (which I couldn't find, so I just mix some Dijon mustard with the ff mayo)

1 tsp. reduced calorie light butter spread

1 tsp. lemon yogurt

Stir all sauce ingredients together and set aside.  Crack egg gently into a small dish.  Fill a pot with two inches of water and heat to a boil.  Then reduce heat to a very slow steady boil.  Gently pour in the egg and cook for 3-5 minutes depending if you prefer a runny or firm yolk.  While cooking the egg, toast your muffin and cook the ham.  Carefully remove egg and dab with a paper towel to remove excess water if you like.  Heat sauce in microwave for about twenty seconds.  Layer the toasted muffin with the cooked ham and poached egg and then drizzle the sauce over the top.  Delish!

{source link to original recipe}

I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday's over at 33 Shades of Green.  There are always so many great recipes to look at.  You should go check them out!

and I'm also linking up to What I Whipped Up Wednesday at Sugar and Dots.  All kinds of great recipes and DIY's projects!

Tara

Gone Fishin'

Hello there! It's been a while. I don't know where the time has gone, but there are so many things I want to tell you and catch up on.  First of all, the weather has been BE-autiful here lately!  Last weekend we got to take full advantage and took the boat out on Sunday for a day of fishing and lounging on the water.   It was one of the most relaxing Sunday's ever!  My sister-in-law and her hubby joined us, and well, I don't know how else to say this other than just stating it bluntly...the girl's ruled when it came to the catches of the day!  haha We each caught a flounder, and well the boys, they didn't catch ANY keepers.  I might just like to also add that we also took a break to lay out and start reading the rest of the books in the Hunger Games trilogy (more on that in a moment) while the boys kept trying to catch something without any luck.  Just saying... 

This is the first flounder I've ever caught since I'm usually with my dad or Jeff when fishing for trout or redfish. 

I was thrilled if you can't tell.

On Tuesday night, we (well hubby I should say) made stuffed flounder (recipe was found by my SIL).  It was stuffed with panko bread crumbs, crab, shrimp, celery, onion and seasonings.  Delicious!! 

We paired it with a green salad and sauteed zuchinni and squash.  YUM! 

I just love Spring when everything is bright and colorful and it's still cool enough to enjoy a day outside.  I'm looking forward to many more boating days on the water and tons more fresh fish to eat!

P.S.  We did go see Hunger Games on Saturday!! I just read the book the week before and enjoyed it greatly. I thought it was an easy read and definitely a book I didn't want to put down until the end.  As for the movie, I thought they did a fantastic job; it was a great interpretation and followed the book really well.  Of course it's hard to go in depth on so many of the details, but overall I think it was very entertaining and even hubby enjoyed it although he might never actually read the book...although I'm not giving up on trying to convince him that he should.  :)

Tara

Chicken Orzo Salad Recipe + earrings!

This is what we had for dinner on Monday night and ate some leftovers tonight.  Simple and oh so delicious!

Chicken Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese

{sorry for the blurry phone pic}

We used already cooked frozen grilled chicken strips that we heated up in the microwave.  We laid this on a bed of arugula and spinach mix (from a bag), added chopped basil and orgegano,  and then we cut up vegetables including grape tomatoes, red onion and red bell pepper to add in.  We added cooked orzo pasta and crumbled goat cheese.  Then mixed up salt, pepper, red wine vinegar and olive oil to drizzle over the top. Tossed and ate!  

**This is not my own recipe.  I did see this from another website, but honestly couldn't remember which one.**

I'm linking this recipe up to 33 Shades of Green for her Tasty Tuesdays Linky Party!  Click on the button below to go check out all of the amazing recipes shared.

Also, remember these earrings I talked about here??

Well, you can enter for a chance to win them over at The Girl in the Red Shoes! Seriously, she is that amazing and is hosting a great giveaway.  And while you are there, you definitely should check out the rest of her adorable blog!

Good luck!!

Tara

Girl's Night In - Ornament Exchange + Great Recipes

Yes, yes I know Christmas is over!  I get it I promise.  I just got so behind in blogging when we were traveling and spending time with family.  I don't know how some of you keep up so well!! Seriously, this girl is impressed.  :)

So this post is not just focused on the Ornament Exchange that I hosted, but more focused on FOOD and party ideas.  With the Super Bowl on Sunday, I just couldn't let you miss out on a couple of great recipes I made from other blogs, and they turned out great.  You'll definitely have to try them.

To give a short re-cap, my former roommate and I started a girl's holiday party with an ornament exchange when we first moved to Houston 6 years ago.  It was a hit, I mean mainly because how can you go wrong with food, wine and girl talk?  Ever since then it's been a tradition....well except my friend is now living in Australia for work!! So she's missed the past two years, but she WILL be here next year, right??  :) haha  Anywhoo, we all bring a wrapped ornament and then draw a number to see what order we'll go in.  The first person picks any wrapped present and opens it in front of the group.  Then the second person can either "steal" that ornament or pick another unwrapped ornament, and it continues the same way from there.  There are two steals allowed, which makes it really fun, and then at the very end, the person who went first gets the opportunity to pick from all of the ornaments that aren't frozen (meaning already have been stolen twice) at that point.  It's really fun to have a new ornament to add to the tree each year, and the girls always bring such beutiful ornaments, so it gets really competitive with lots of stealing!

Let's take a look at the refreshements I served this year.  Starting with the bar of course!

We usually stick to wine and Poinsettias (champagne with cranberry juice and cranberries), which are very festive.  This year I put a bowl out with little tags tied to ribbon, so the girls could write their names on the tag and tie it around the stem of their glass.  It was pretty and easier than trying to remember which wine charm you had!  

 

Now for the food, I went with a Mediterranean theme for the most part.  I purchased some of the main items from an amazing deli/store that is nearby.  Here was the menu:

Chicken Skewers with Peppers & Onions

Falafel

Mini Pita Pockets

Tzatziki Sauce

Caprese Skewers

Goat Cheese Baked in Marinara Sauce w/ Baguettes

Hot Spinach Dip & 7-Layer Greek Dip w/ Pita Chips

7-LAYER GREEK DIP {click here for recipe}

Okay, I didn't remember to snap all of the pictures before we started digging in to eat, but I wanted to share this great recipe with you. It's a new twist on the traditional layer dip, and it was definitely a hit! I might just have to make this again this weekend.  It's from Natalie at Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers.

To make the Caprese Mini Skewers, simply take a toothpick and put one mozzarella bite-sized ball, a grape tomato and basil leaf on it. Place them on a platter and then drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  You could also add some balsalmic vinegar as well.  They look very Christmasy don't they?!

HOT SPINACH DIP {click here for recipe}

Again, this dip was almost gone before I got a pic, so the presentation picture is awful, but it was that GOOD!  I agree that this is the best spinach dip ever.  To see what the secret ingredient is, head on over to Sweet Tea and Stilletos.

For the desserts, my friend brought over Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting.  Yummy!  I bought Baklava.  Then I also made a Sugar Cookie Fruit Tart with Cream Cheese Frosting.  Check them out:

I left the dining table cleared off around the edges so we could sit and chat while eating, but then we also played a game called LRC, and I had some fun prizes (aka bottles of wine and other goodies) for the winners.  It was a new addition to the party this year, and I think it kept the competition flowing after the ornament exchange.  Great times!

Thanks for the bloggers that had some amazing recipes for me to use!

Now switching topics, one last MAJOR thing before I go.  Remember not too long ago I showed you an amazing camera bag?  Well, here is another one.  Look at the gorgeous colors it comes in!  For a chance to win this bag, head on over to The COLOR ISSUE and follow the 3 easy steps to enter the giveaway.

It's hard for me to decide on my favorite color, but since I already have a couple of beautiful purses in camel, I think for this bag, I would choose the stone (gray). They are BE-UTIFUL!

Happy Friday and Super Bowl Weekend!

Tara

Hosting a Girl’s Night In

Last Monday night, I hosted a girl's night at my house for a CAbi party.  If you aren't familiar with CAbi, it stands for Carol Anderson by invitation and is clothes that are only sold by hostess parties.  So to show the Fall line, I hosted the girl's to a night of eating, drinking wine and shopping!  Doesn't get better than that.

Keeping with the Fall theme, my menu consisted of:

Cheese, Nut & Fruit Plate

Autumn Chopped Salad

Pear & Brie Tart

Mushroom & Goat Cheese Tart

Vegetable & Hummus Tart

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Pumpkin Pie Dip with Apples & Cinnamon

   Graham Crackers

The Autumn Chopped Salad recipe came from here at Espresso and Cream.  I left out the bacon to make it vegetarian friendly.  It’s a delicious salad, and I’m already wanting it again!

For the tarts, I was inspired by Natalie’s recipe here at Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers.  I did make a vegetable and hummus tart although I didn’t quite follow her recipe exactly.  I cheated and bought hummus instead of making my own, and I used puff pastry sheets for all of my tart shells.  I used red bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini and green onions for my vegetables, and I sprinkled a little feta cheese on top. 

The Pumpkin Pie Dip recipe was found here at Skinny Taste and the Caramel Apple Cupcakes were from here at Mrs. Happy Homemaker.  They are both amazing desserts and were fun to keep with the Fall theme!  The cupcakes are probably some of the best tasting cupcakes ever and they are super easy to make. 

Finally, here is a shot of the Fall table centerpiece and my new lanterns filled with gourds and candles to make the house a little festive!

Thanks to all of the fabulous bloggers that helped me get inspired for my Fall Girl’s Night In.  I loved trying these new recipes, and I know my friends sure enjoyed trying them too!

Tara

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Where does the time go?!  Okay, so I haven't gotten around to posting any pics of the tailgate from last weekend as I promised.  I'm really behind on my pictures...I still need to put up some from Labor Day weekend.  Sigh. 

Yet, I did want to share the recipe with you for the Black Bean and Corn Salsa I love to make.  I think I've made my husband sick of it since I like to make it/eat it soo much.  But it's just so good, and well I guess I feel like it's healthier than a lot of other dips I make loaded with sour cream or cream cheese.  So, this is always a good option!  There are many variations of this recipe out there of course, but I'll share with you the way I make it.  Luckily, I do have a picture I've posted before on here, so I'll just show you this one. 

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

2 cans of black beans, drained

1 can of corn, drained

1 can of diced tomatoes, Italian seasoned tomatoes are great to use to add flavor

Cilantro, chopped and add as much or as little as you like to your own personal taste

1 red onion, diced

1-2 avocados, cubed

1 red bell pepper, diced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.  Serve with chips, crackers or whatever else you'd like to!  This would be great on a bed of lettuce with grilled chicken or added as a topping on fish tacos.  See there are so many things you could do with this!  Hope you enjoy.

Tara

My Go-To Fall Appetizers (round 2)

My second go-to appetizer includes....wait for it....Puff Pastry Sheets!  Imagine that.  You should just go ahead and stock up on a few boxes of these amazing things!  (No, Pepperidge Farm is not paying me to say this.)  I just think they are so easy to work with and you can make so many different recipes that are delish, but really don't require that much preparation!  Genius!!  This recipe actually called for 15 phyllo sheets.  I'm sure the phyllo sheets are wonderful too, but who has the time to layer each sheet and brush them with butter and then add another sheet and on and on....not me!  

Now back to the recipe...this is a great one to make on a day when you have time and then wrap them up and throw them in the freezer.  Then you already have an appetizer made for whenever you need it! 

via

Make-Ahead Spinach Pastry Roll-Ups

• 3 thawed Puff Pastry Sheets (1 1/2 boxes, since 2 sheets come in a box)
• flour, enough for a light dusting
• 1 egg
• 1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
• 1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
• 1 tub (8 oz) flavored Cream Cheese, such as garden vegetable or spinach and artichoke
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup butter, melted (or you could use cooking spray instead if you prefer)

Mix together the spinach, egg, feta, cream cheese and onions until well blended.  Set aside.   Lightly dust flour over a flat surface. (I usually lay down wax paper and dust flour over the wax paper.)  Spread thawed out pastry sheet over the floured surface.  Spread 1/3 of the spinach mixture along 1 long side of the pastry sheet and roll it up into a log.  Brush the ends with butter to seal.  Brush butter lightly over the entire outsides of the log. Make small cuts along the top of the log at about 1-inch intervals.  Wrap log tightly in plastic wrap and place in freezer.  Repeat two more times with remaining two puff pastry sheets.

The spinach roll-ups can freeze up to 3 months.  Whenever you are ready to use, remove however many logs you want to use from the freezer to thaw for several hours or place them in the refrigerator (still wrapped) to thaw overnight.  When ready to bake, unwrap and place on a cooking sheet.  Bake in the oven at 375* for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool for about 5 minutes.  Cut logs into pieces as show in the picture above and serve!!  

My friends LOVE these and always eat them very quickly!!

Tara

My Go-To Fall Appetizers (round 1)

September is finally here, and images of Fall are buzzing around everywhere!  I love this time of year, and believe it or not, the weather finally feels decent outside, kind of nice actually.  Although we won't be pulling out sweaters and boots down here in Houston just yet, it's fun to start thinking of the cooler days ahead.  When it's chilly outside, I love to have something warm baking in the oven, especially when company is coming over. 

Here are my favorite two go-to appetizer recipes that are perfect for Fall and Winter.  It only calls for a few simple ingredients that you can keep on hand and quickly throw together if you are in a time crunch.

via

Puff Pastry Baked Brie

• 1 sheet of puff pastry (thawed)
• 1 wheel of Brie
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. of water
• flour (for a light dusting)

Heat oven to 400*.  Sread a flat surface with a light dusting of flour.  Get egg wash ready by whisking 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water.  Spread out thawed puff pastry sheet over flour.  Place brie on puff pastry sheet and wrap sheet around brie using the egg wash to seal the edges.  Cut away the excess dough.  (You can use the excess to make designs for the top of the pastry if you desire although I never personally do but maybe one day...)  Brush egg wash over entire pastry and place on a baking sheet with the sealed side down.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until brie is melted and pastry is a light brown color.  Cool for 10-20 minutes before serving.  I usually serve this with baguettes, crackers or apples and pears.  It's always a hit!

Oh, and of course you can add fruit preserves, honey, nuts, or herbs to the brie inside of the pastry if you want to change it up a bit!  However, I think it's delicious just as it is, but that's just me!  It's warm, gooey and oh so yummy!!  Hope you enjoy.  (I'll post my other favorite fall appetizer tomorrow...come back to see what it is!)

I linked this post up to the Fall Five Linky Party over at Schue Love

Tara

Happy Monday!

Hope all of you had a fantastic weekend!  I know I did!  Had a great date night with my husband Jeff on Friday night, but then since it's been a while since we've actually been in town with no major plans, we hosted a BBQ at our house to hang out and catch up with all of our friends!  We decided that my husband would do some kind of BBQ on his smoker, and I'd make a couple of things, but then we'd tell our friends to bring something if they wanted - potluck style!  This was HUGE for me as I LOVE to cook and entertain so usually I go overboard and make tons of food....however, I must say this was super fun as our friends brought over some amazing dishes, and we were all able to try and taste new things and now want to exchange recipes.  This might have to happen more often since it was so fun! and of course we still had TONS of food!

Here's what I made:

Black Bean, Corn and Avocado Salsa

Mozzarella, Avocado and Tomato Salad (served w/ Baguette)

This was from one of my favorite blogs, Val So Cal

White Wine Sangria

And Jeff made smoked pulled pork sliders and grilled corn!

I forgot to take a picture of the Strawberry Cake I made, which just means I'll have to make it again to share with you soon!  It was AMAZING (if I do say so myself)!!  We all agreed that it was almost like a big strawberry pancake....Mmmm.  Let's just say we started eating it before dinner and then couldn't stop eating it after dinner!

Also, my friends brought over Elote (a roasted corn dip that was delish), Ceviche (some of the best I've ever had - honestly!), Redfish (that the guys actually had caught on a fishing trip and they seasoned and cooked it perfectly) and Buffalo Chicken Dip (one of my husbands favorites).  Oh and let's not forget the Chocolate Sheet Cake that was so good people just started digging in with their forks! hah

Yes, it was a gluttonous day for sure, but it was so great to catch up with some of our closest friends.   A perfect weekend.