Facade

We buy things we don't need

With money we don't have

To impress people we don't like.

-Fight Club

Lies. It's all lies.  My brother posted this the other day and it really hit it home for me.  It's so, so true about so  many people.  It never ceases to amaze me when people are always just working to "keep up with the Jones's" and they live irresponsibly. Furthermore, it fires me up when people act like someone they aren't or try and create this image of themselves that is so far from their true person all one can do is chuckle (or cackle as someone described my laugh today, so unflattering). The point of it is this, I am a fake.  I'm a liar and I'm a cheat. I don't eat healthy ALL the time. I don't eliminate wheat, cheese and other dairy even though it leaves me with discomfort and excruciating migraines.  It's time for me to come clean.  I love Big Macs - I wipe that cute, little, brown box free of all the melted cheese and dripped mac sauce.  Cheese is my second best friend.  I will eat dirt if cheese is melted on it.  I skip the gym and make excuses - I'm not perfect, and I'm not going to pretend I am by blogging all these "healthy" recipes. So here it is folks, how breakfast is done in the Zuniga house on Saturday mornings (AFTER the gym of course). 

I love grilled cheese - obviously because I love bread and I love cheese. I also love anything buttered and anything fried.  So why wouldn't I love  a breakfast grilled cheese?  There's nothing ground breaking here, and nothing complicated either, it's as simple as can be, and can be altered however you see fit. 

I took the concept of bagels and cream cheese, and married it with the concept of grilled cheese and came out with a very pleasant pairing. 

Breakfast Grilled Cheese

2 Whole Wheat Bagels or Bagel of Choice

1 TBSP Butter, softened

2 TBSP Honey Nut Cream Cheese

1 Small Apple, sliced thin

1 tsp Cinnamon Sugar

Cut rounded part of bagel off, creating two flat surfaces, spread newly cut sides with cream cheese (this will be the inside of your sandwich. Top with apple slices and cinnamon.  On flat surface, spread with butter.  Heat small frypan, add one buttered side of the bagel, top cream cheese to cream cheese.  Allow to brown on one side, flip and allow to brown on the other.  Serve warm. 

There are multiple variations of this as well.  I did one with cream cheese and chives and topped with fresh spinach and roasted red pepper.  This is a nice twist on an old favorite - the possibilities are endless! 

Tomato Basil Soup with Cheesy Quinoa Cakes

We went to an awesome wedding this weekend, but as a result, my life is in shambles.  How does it happen that after the age of 25...unless you drink allll the time that your body gives you a big ol' "eff you" whenever you drink? This is my nightmare.  Needless to say, instead of preparing for the week over the weekend and grocery shopping and the whole kit and caboodle, I had to menu plan and grocery shop and cook, and workout and play softball all on Monday.  This is also my nightmare.  

This meal was satisfying, quick and delicious. It's Meatless Monday so I wanted to ensure that I stuck to that even though we literally had nothing to eat.  It's a sad day when come 9:30pm on a Sunday night, only one meal's been eaten and there's really nothing else.  Steve and I were hungry and his poor naive self thought that he could just have cereal - milk's rotten buddy, not happening.  I ate a half a flatbread...in the microwave, with cheese.  Shambles. 

Monday was a redeeming day - I whipped up the soup and quinoa cakes, stuck to my Meatless Monday and left the house (and the dog) smelling deliciously of roasted garlic. The challenge with Meatless Monday is always that I want

a MEAL - not just an item.  See that's part of the challenge in cooking.  It's one thing to be a good COOK, but it's another thing to be able to cook things that go together.  I went to one of my favorite local microbreweries and burger places this weekend and they had added some new burger options. The one was called "The King" and it was an all, prime beef burger, with bacon, bananas and peanut butter.  It's being able to put those flavors together and make them amazing - and that's the challenge. 

That being said, the cheesy quinoa cakes made a bit of a spoof on the classic tomato soup and grilled cheese - there was a nice crunch to them and they paired perfectly with the salty and savory soup.  

Crispy Quinoa Cakes 

Serves 4

2 C Cooked Quinoa

1/3 C Italian Blend Shredded Cheese

2/3 C Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 egg, beaten

3 T Corn Flour 

1 T prepared pesto 

1/2 T EVOO

Salt and Pepper

2 T Canola Oil for frying 

Combine ingredients. Form into 3 inch patties.  Heat canola oil, add patties and cook on each side until browned, approximately 5 minutes/side.  Remove from heat and allow to drain on papertowel. Sprinkle with cheese and dallop pesto. 

Tomato Basil Bisque 

1 T Olive Oil

1 Large Red Onion, diced

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 Can 28 oz Crushed Tomatoes

1 C Heavy Whipping Cream or Half and Half +more for garnish

6-8 Leaves Fresh Basil, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oil in large stockpot, add onions and season generously with sea salt and pepper, cook until softened and slightly browned. Add garlic, cook another minute careful not to burn the garlic.  Add crushed tomatoes. Bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Remove from heat and puree in blender until smooth.  Add back to stock pot, add in whipping cream, fresh basil and salt and pepper to taste.  Allow to simmer 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Serve with fresh basil and a drizzle of heavy cream.

This Girl is on Fire

Every time I hear this song, I can't help but crank it up and sing it on the top of my lungs.  Maybe because the character Santana on Glee sang it as she embraced her choice to move to NY, or maybe because from time to time, I feel like I'm just grabbing the bull by its horns and going full speed.  Alicia Keys described the song, "to be "on fire" is to allow yourself the freedom to take full control of who you re and how you want to live your life. To live your passion and shing your lifht unabashedly!! It's that moment you choose to claim your power and be extraordinary!," and I couldn't relate to this more.  There are so many aspects of my life that I look back on and realize exactly how they made me the strong, bold, passionate, competitive person that I am today.  I have finally embraced fully who I am but still always want to make sure that others can embrace that too - that I always deliver where I set out to deliver. 

I was "on fire"this week.  My husband and I sat at dinner and he calmly stated that he had a request, several actually - that since Friday was to be his last day of work, his co-workers requested my breakfast pizza and well...a smorgishborg of some of my specialties.  This was Wednesday....at 8pm...after I had already been to the store.  The request continued "...we also have three options for the Bears game tomorrow night...".  This is where pure anxiety starts to set in for me.  I start my day at 6am, am in the office by 7am, work until I have to go home for the dog around 4pm, head to the gym at 4:30pm and get in an hour workout before I cook dinner and finally conclude my day around 8:30pm.  How in the world am I going to do all of that, plus prepare a smorgishborg for Steve's co-workers, not to mention get all of the groceries need for it? On fire - "claim your power and be extraordinary".  

I don't want this to come out the wrong way and sound like I'm bragging, because I'm not - I just want people to see how much one can accomplish when they put their minds to it and set out to be the best they can be. I skipped the gym, something that is always difficult for me to justify and replaced it instead with a nice, hour long walk for the dog.  Killed two birds with one stone, wore out the pup, got in my exercise. I managed to make the office's favorite cake, breakfast pizza and a "funfetti dip"...plus a dip to bring to our friends' for the Bears game.  I'm really excited to share the recipes because they're great for a group, relatively easy to make and rightfully delicious! The breakfast pizza recipe can be found HERE - in essence of time and the lack of, I didn't get any pictures so these, unfortunately are Google's finest :). 

Better than Sex Cake

Ingredients 

1 box chocolate fudge cake + ingredients to make cake

1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Tub Cool Whip

1 Jar Hershey's Hot Fudge

1 Package - Heath Toffee and Chocolate Bits 

Prepare and bake cake to instructions on the box.  Remove and allow to cool for several minutes.  Poke holes using the small end of a spoon wooden spoon or a shish-kabob skewer. Pour sweetened condensed milk all over top and allow to cool completely.  Pour hot fudge over, spread to cover entire cake.  Place in refrigerator for up to one hour to allow everything to set.  Remove and add cool whip as frosting.  Sprinkle generously with heath bites. 

Funfetti Dip

Ingredients 

1 cup of lite cool whip 

2 cups of non-fat  greek vanilla yogurt

1 box funfetti cake mix  

Sprinkles

Animal Crackers or Vanilla Wafers

Combine cool whip, yogurt and funfetti cake mix in medium bowl.  Refrigerate minimum 2 hours, or up to overnight.  Add sprinkles on top and serve with animal crackers or vanilla wafers.

Skinny Fiesta Ranch Dip

Ingredients 

1- 8 oz brick of naefactel or lite cream cheese, softened

1 - 8 oz brick of greek cream cheese, softened

1 Packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

1 Can sweet corn

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

2 Fresh Jalapenos, seeded and diced

1/4 tsp Cumin

1/4 tsp Chili Powder

1 small can diced olives 

Combine lite cream cheese and greek cream cheese with ranch packet. Add in corn, bell pepper, jalapenos and olives. Season with cumin and chili powder.  Serve with tortilla chips or crackers. 

MCM? Steve's Favorite Meatball Subs with Mini Zucchini Pizzas

So the term "MCM" popped up earlier this week when discussing Jax from Sons of Anarchy - my and Steve's newest Netflix addiction.  MCM? I sell lab diagnostic testing, and in my world, that stands for "mastercurve material" (#nerdalert). But MCM? Mountain climbing midgets? Munchkins crawling miraculously? Meat craving Mormons? Monsters chasing mice? I can go all day with this, believe me, I can.  Really it is "Man Candy Monday" and I got to thinking, my blog has some yummy stuff (I think) and Steve tends to enjoy most of it, but how much of it is super man friendly? I don't know a lot of men who would dive into my blog and then dive out and make some zucchini noodles, let's be serious here, I'm not targeting an open enough audience.  So today, MCM stands for "Man Craving Meatballs". 

I forgot about meatball subs for a while.  I guess I tend to cook on two plains - Italian and Mexican, but they're both amazing.  As I was making chicken Parmesan last week, another one of Steve's favorites, and I mentioned that it had been a while since I had made meatball subs.  His eyes lit up.  Earlier in the day I asked for what suggestions he had of things to eat for the week, and as usual, he had none.  Meatball subs made it to the top of the list after I mentioned it.  

The beauty of these meatball subs is a.) they're "man friendly", b.) they can be eaten as leftovers with pasta and c.) if like me, you are watching your carbs, you can eat just the meatballs and a veggie and it's still delightfully satisfying.  

I never measure out this recipe, I kind of do a dash here, a pinch there - but today, you lovely people are in for a treat - I actually created a recipe from what I normally make.  

Man-Craving Meatballs

Serves 4 

1 1/4 lb Ground "Meatloaf" Mix* or Ground Beef (80% lean)

1 egg, beaten

1/2 C Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 C Sweet Onion, diced

1/2 C Italian Breadcrumbs 

1/4 Sea Salt

1 TBSP Tomato Paste (optional to thicken sauce)

Dash of pepper

1/2 t Oregano/Italian Seasoning

Olive Oil for browning 

Favorite Pasta Sauce

Fresh Mozzarella 

Combine onion, egg, parmesan, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic and oregano/italian seasoning.  Add in meat and mix until fully combined. Heat olive oil  on medium heat in large fry pan.  Roll meatballs into slightly larger than golf ball size. Reduce heat to medium low and add meatballs to pan, brown on each side, approximately 7 minutes/side.  Once meat is browned, add in jar of pasta sauce, reduce heat to and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.  If you have chosen a thinner sauce, add in TBSP of tomato paste. To serve add to Italian bread, top with freshly grated mozzarella and fresh basil. 

 Mini Zucchini Pizzas 

  

1 Large Zucchini

1 can Tomato Paste

Parmesan

1/2 C Shredded Mozzarella

Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Slice zucchini 1/4 inch thick.  Add to prepared cookie sheet.  Season with salt, pepper, garlic and parmesan.  Add to oven and bake for 30 minutes or until zucchini starts to brown slightly.  Remove from oven, add about 1/2 teaspoon of tomato paste to each zucchini slice.  Top with shredded cheese.  Add back to the oven on broil, allow to bake until cheese is melted and slightly browned. 

Chopped Salad with Pan Roasted Corn

So I have a sad confession.  I was that person that smelled at the gym the other day, but my pride and my goals for the week shamefully kept me running.  I have this horrible habit of doing laundry, falling asleep, and forgetting to put it in the dryer.  I try and re-wash it and it all seems fine..until Steve and I start sweating and then...we're those people. I've gotten better at it for sure, I make it a point to start laundry before it's too late in the evening and re-wash it in vinegar (thanks Pinterest!) to neutralize the smell.  Unfortunately, some of those poorly washed t-shirts still linger in my drawers from time to time, after all, I have about two-dozen t-shirts...and then make an appearance at the gym, when I'm running, and sweating...a lot. 

This is a game-changer for me. I'm always gagging and wondering why people aren't more aware of their stench and why the torture their fellow gym-goers by continuing to press on with their sweaty activities. I can now attest as to what it is - people have goals and plans, and they can't let a little stink stop them from achieving those. I must say I duly respect that, I've been there.  Game. Changed. 

Another game-changer?  Pan roasted corn.  There's something about fresh corn on the cob, roasted on the grill that really screams summer.  I like me some corn, but I LOVE me some roasted corn.  So what if it's not corn on the cob season? Or what if it's not grillin' season? Pan roasted corn.  It's simple and I don't know if I'll ever just heat up canned corn again. 

Chopped Salad with Pan Roasted Corn

2 Large Hearts of Romaine, chopped

1/2 C Garbanzo Beans

1/4 C Fresh Cilantro

1/3 C Roasted Corn 

1 C Shredded Chicken (cooking tips below)

2 oz Mont Cherie Garlic and Herb Goat Cheese

1/2 Cucumber, diced

1/2 C Grape Tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 Avocado, diced

To cook chicken: fill pot with water, add raw chicken. Cook in medium-high heat and bring to a boil.  Allow to boil for 5 minutes, add lid and turn off heat.  Allow to steam 5-7 minutes or until juices run clear. To roast corn:  heat 1 TBSP olive oil in saucepan, add corn.  Cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until corn starts to pop and brown, stir to "roast" evenly.  Season with sea salt and pepper. Arrange salad in bowl and do rows of the following: cucumber, roasted corn, tomatoes, chicken, avocado, goat cheese and cilantro. 

Simple Sundays - Crockpot Tortellini Soup and Quiche

It's rare that Steve and I have a weekend free of any kind of plans, and last week we found ourselves waking up early, getting into the office early, and ending the day late.  Needless to say, a well deserved weekend of R&R was in place. I ran all my errands on Friday night, I cancelled with my trainer so that I could sleep until I couldn't sleep any longer, which sadly for me was around 9 am, I got to cooking and preparing for Sunday so it would be the ultimate relaxation day.

Quiche is one of my favorite, carb free comfort foods that can be the filler to just about any meal.  While Steve can sit and eat several gigantic bowls of soup - I need some protein and can't make a meal just out of soup.  I keep the quiche pretty basic and switch up what I add each time, always sticking to elements of meat, cheese and vegetables.  This week I did sauteed onion, broccoli and turkey polish sausage - delish! I've included a basic recipe below.

Basic Quiche

1 tsp Olive Oil, Butter, Coconut Oil or whatever "fat" you want to use

1 Medium Onion Diced

1 C Favorite Vegetable - or smaller portions of several vegetables

1 C diced meat (bacon, ham, turkey, sausage, chicken etc.)

6-8 Eggs

1/2 C Milk

1/2 - 1 C Favorite Cheese

Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Saute onion until soften and translucent.  Add vegetables of choice and various seasonings (I stick to the basics, salt, pepper, garlic). Cook down until all softened.  Add in pre-cooked meat of choice - continue to cook several minutes or until all flavors have blended. Pour into prepared pie dish, sprinkle with cheese of choice.  Scramble eggs with milk, pour into pie dish. Spread mixture slightly around so layers are created. Bake in over for 40-50 minutes or until set. Remove and serve warm/room temperature.

Crockpot Tortellini Soup

Adapted from: What's for Dinner?

1 - 19 oz Frozen Cheese Tortellini

3 C Fresh Baby Spinach

2 - 14.5 oz cans Garlic Fire Roasted Tomatoes

1 - 8 oz brick Naufchtel Cheese (low fat/fat free)

1 LB Ground Italian Sausage or Ground Italian Turkey Sausage

4 C Low Sodium Chicken Broth

Brown sausage.  Add to crockpot in following order, sausage, spinach, fire roasted tomatoes, cream cheese, chicken broth, cheese tortellini.  Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Stir midway through to ensure the cream cheese melts. Watch the tortellini to ensure they don't over cook.

Brown Rice Arancini with Parmesan Squash Noodles

It's that time again, Meatless Monday. Today I'm taking ya'll to Italy for a bit of a twist on the classic Sicilian favorite - Arancini.  We typically don't do white rice in the Zuniga household.  So much that I usually  have to go out and buy some to make Papa's Rice (the best Mexican rice around!).

If there was one type of person I think I'd want to hire to work just for me - it would be a photographer.  I would want someone to hover around me as I cook, taking action shots and getting great plating of the food I make - photography is not my strong suite at all.  I'll admit that I'm horrible at providing a lot of pictures of the food I cook.  I just don't have the time to prop the ingredients, wash my hands in between steps and then take pictures.  C'mon people, what do you want from me? I work 9 hours a day, spend at least an hour at the gym, run errands - and then cook.  Anyone want to be my professional photographer? How great would that be though? To have someone constantly photojournal your life? Why can't we all just be celebrities and get all of our greatest moments on camera? I guess if that were the case...I wouldn't be cooking so its a moot point from here.

Anyways - since I love my zucchini noodles and wanted to try out different spices and sauces, I decided to make those as a side.  It seemed kind of wrong to do carb on carb on carb by serving real spaghetti with breaded rice - I mean, you can never go wrong with all those carbs but let's be honest, does anyone really need all that?

This time around I used yellow squash which has a milder taste and a softer texture.  I ended up sauteing the zucchini and seasoning with basil, italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper and then tossing with fresh ground parmesan once cooked.  I would recommend waiting to add the salt until it is no longer cooking as the salt will release some of the water from the vegetables!

Brown Rice Arancini

Adapted From Delightful Delicious Delovely

4 Cups Short Grained Brown Rice, cooked and cooled (I used brown Basmati rice which worked well, but something stickier would be better!)

3-4 Extra Large Eggs*

1 tsp each of salt and pepper

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1/2 c fresh chopped parsley

1/4 c fresh grated parmesan (grated, not shredded)

1/3 c shredded mozzerella

fresh mozzerella - cut into half inch cubes

1 1/2 c flour

1 1/2 c Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Olive Oil for frying

Place cooled, brown rice, one egg (may need to add another, first the white, then the yolk if consistency isn't sticky enough), salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, parmesan and mozzerella in blender.  Blend until rice is approximately half the size and a sticky mixture has formed (2 minutes).  If you cannot roll the rice without it falling apart, here's where you add the egg white, and if necessary, the yolk.  

I recommend two things in this next step - don't do it right after you have swept/washed your floors because it can get messy, and wet your hands from time to time to aid in forming the rice balls. Place about a teaspoon of mixture in your hand and add a cube of cheese in the middle.  Add more rice to cover on top and form a ball (a little larger than a golf ball)- place on cookie sheet with waxed paper until remaining mixture is formed.  Refrigerate 30 minutes to allow to set. 

Beat remaining eggs in one bowl, and put flour in a  bowl and breadcrumbs in a bowl.  Season breadcrumbs with freshly grated parmesan.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees and heat oil in fry pan (you want enough that it will cover half the rice balls.  Dredge the rice balls in flour, followed by egg, followed by breadcrumb mixtures. Brown on each side in fry pan, transfer to cookie sheet to finish cooking in the oven.  

Cook in oven for 7-10 minutes or until browned and warmed through - serve over your favorite red sauce. 

*Depending on how large your eggs are, you may need more or less. As noted in the instructions for the "dough" - if you have smaller eggs, you might need to add another.  

**Typical arancini is made with risotto and has a creamy, soft center and a light crisp on the outside.  This is a little harder to achieve with brown rice so I have added some extra cheese in the mixture.  Using a softer grained brown rice, or a brown sticky rice will help you achieve that texture more! 

I Mustache You a Question, but I'll Shave it for Later

My father in law has had a mustache for as long as any of his kids and probably extended family can remember. In fact, that seems to be the "over 50" Zuniga mantra because almost ALL of Steve's uncles have mustaches.  Rule #1 in this Zuniga household...no mustaches...for either of us...ever.  Welllll, with the exception of mustache cookies of course! For my FIL's birthday, the theme was mustache, as clearly it should have been considering he has spent at least half of his life with one and I of course wanted to be able to play into the theme and opted to make chocolate mustache cookies.  At first, being that I'm crazy, it seemed a great idea to do basic butter cookies and then ice all 70 some-odd of them but I quickly came to my senses and opted for chocolate butter cookies so I could still get the color and the taste, but cut down on some of the craziness. 

The Birthday Boy in his mustache shirt we got! 

The cookies were a HIT.  Steve's Auntie Barb who is the token baker in the family was raving about them  - so I knew I had done well.  She even asked to take some home AND for the recipe. This recipe will be added to my favorites and probably my Christmas cookie archive.  

CHOCOLATE BUTTER COOKIES

Me and the Hubby rockin' 'staches

Viva Italiano - Day I

We arrived in Rome quickly and safely and I was immediately in love once we got near our hotel. The sites are just unbelievable - it's fascinating to think that  some of them have been around for thousands of years. On our first day we walked around the roman forum and saw the ancient ruins from roman times. The site is massive and it took a good several hours in extreme heat to walk through the area. We went into one of the stadiums and up onto palatine hill were we got a panoramic view of the colosseum. We stopped for lunch at a little cafe where Steve got a sandwich and I got a calzone of spinach and mozzarella. From all the heat and walking  poor Steve wasn't feeling great so we spent some time rehydrating and enjoying the ac. I pushed him to buy a hat so he looked über tourist while we walked around Rome.

The tour of the colosseum was unbelievable. How in the world did the ancients build something of such mass and detail without any of today's modern technology? The guides tour was just ok, I don't think we felt it was worth the money after all was said and done although some of the facts were interesting. The Romans were such barbarians but I guess we'd do the same with out iPods, TV and blogs, right? From the colosseum we decided to head back and prepare to go to dinner. I yelped a place that was amazing - Mama Angela's Trattoria. Steve and I decided to do dinner "Italiano style" and enjoyed some prosciutto with melon and some bruschetta and prosecco to start. For our first course we had saltimbocca which is veal with prosciutto and a white wine sauce. It was delicious as though Steve said it reminded him of McDonald's breakfast sausage - whiiiiich I guess is a good thing for him since he enjoys that so much. We had some penne arbiatta which was fantastic - some of the best pasta I think we had ever had. Since all that was delicious and we were finishing up a bottle of wine we decided to go big or go home and get another pasta dish - carbonara which was incredible. The sauce was so tasteful and creamy - the pasta perfectly al dente. We finished up with some limoncello as a "digestive" although as Americans we took it like a shot instead of sipping it - whoops! We slept like babies which was good size we had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before and were up early the next morning to head to Florence!

Florence was so beautiful- such a change from Rome with its quaint cobblestone streets everywhere and the river running through. We waited a few hours to see the David mostly to check it off our list. We had our first taste of Italian gelato - oh. My. God. Steve got mint chocolate and I got half chocolate half hazelnut and I think after tasting mine- Steve wished he had been a bit more adventurous. We walked the streets of Florence to see several of the plazas - signorino, and several others and saw such amazing beauty. We also visited one of the churches which was absolutely incredible. The area scenery just doesn't compare - each house and shop seems to have its own different taste. We walked through one of the plazas filled with Italian leather, handbags and trinkets. It was so tempting to get a handbag but it was hard to tell which ones were real Italian leather and which were going to be a rip off and disappoint - I passed and hoped I wouldn't later regret the decision NOT to get one. We had lunch of fresh pizza and sat on the steps to people watch. The pizza was amazing - I've never met a pizza I didn't like but this was exceptionally delicious. We decided to head to Michelangelo piazza were there were supposed to be beautiful sites of the city. It was quite a trek and in the heat even more so. We stopped for some wine - I had a primitivo, a surprisingly delicious red wine and Steve had a white of sorts. We continued our trip to Michelangelo piazza and were not disappointed by the views. There's a David replica up there and panoramic views of the entire city. After waking around and visiting the church up there, we took a break and had a drink and split a spicy salami and mozzarella panini. After a long day - we decided to head to the last suggested site we wasted to see, the market - but failed and decided to eat instead. We went to zazas as recommended by the mrs Jackie schwarz and had a caprese salad, gnocchi with Gorgonzola and rigatoni with pomodoro. Amazing - the gnocchi was a loath smushy for my liking but the Gorgonzola sauce really hit the spot. Exhausted - and 12 hours later, we make the trek back to Rome where we'd prepare to make the longer trek to Naples, Pompei and the amalfi coast. 

We had an early start but made it quickly to Naples - thank goodness because from there, we took a train similar to the cta to Pompei were we walked around the acres upon acres of ancient ruins. It was so incredible to see just how vast the town was and how advanced their thought processes and abilities were. Although it was super hot, the homes were cool as a cucumber. They had theaters, schools, bath houses, laundromats - it seemed like they had a lot of what we find in modern day and this was all B.C.! We stopped for some Napoleon pizza right by the train station (do you see a pattern with my food choices so far in Italy?). I had one with "sausage" which was more like thin slices of what tastes kind of like Italian sausage but more deli meat style. Steve stayed basic with a margarita pizza which he devoured and then finished off mine. We hopped back on Italy's cta (circumvesuviana) and went on our wh to sorrento. Sorrento was so picturesque. A seemingly small town which so much character. We checked into our hotel and quickly left so we could spend a few hours on the island of capri - said to be one of the most beautiful islands around. We took a hydrofoil which got us to the island in under 30 minutes and were able to take a million (ok not literally) gorgeous pictures. Of all the wonderful places I e traveled so far I have never in my life seen water quite as blue as this. It looked straight out of magic waters where blue dye is thrown in to create the illusion of water. We docked and right away hopped on a speed boat tour to get us to the blue grotto - one of the sites the island is known for. We actually got out there to see a tiny little cave opening with rowboats of people going in - if you aren't sitting down, or have your hands out of the boat, you will get rocked by...well the rocks. Imagine how small an opening that is.  Rowboats people, normal sizes rowboats with the passengers sitting on the floor because if they were on the seats, they'd be squished. We rowed our way in there just barely hitting the cave walls to glowing bright blue water - kind of like what one would see in a lava lamp. The rower started to sing in Italian and his voice was so beautiful and it echoes throughout the small cave. We were in and out in five minutes but the view was worth it without a doubt. When we got back to town we took a gander at the beach - it was so bizarre. There was no sand at all, only large white pebbles and people were just sleeping on it like it was a sealy posturepedic. The rocks hurt - I can guarantee you that. We went into the little shops around town and had a creme limoncello sorbet which was a party on the palette. We walked back towards our hotel which included 158 stairs up from the port - exhaustion. We decided that since we've been non stop since we left Chicago that we'd take advantage of some great air conditioning and nothing else to do and grab food to eat in our hotel. We stumbled upon a place called Tony and Rosie's where we ordered food and while we waited for it to cook, has some fresh arrancini (Italian rice balls with tomato and cheese) and these sandwiches for which the bread was like breaded mashed potatoes and then it had salami and cheese in the middle. I'm still trying to figure out what that was other than absolutely delicious. Steve had - surprise, margarita pizza and I had a caprese Stromboli which I enjoyed quite a bit. We cashed in early and didn't even notice we fell asleep. 

Today was to be the relaxation day we were looking forward to - we were having a tour up the amalfi coast. For the first time in days we weren't going to be walking several miles. Instead - we had a Mercedes's van,  driver and someone else's itinerary for us - heck yeah! We started with breakfast which was typical Italian and a nice surprise from the hotel. We drove up the coast and had our first stop in positano where I had a pair of custom, Italian sandals made. I picked out a style, picked out the colors and has them made to fit my Fred flinstone feet perfectly. They were a bit expensive but worth it for the quality, their uniqueness and the fact that I experienced a show lovers dream - seeing someone make a pair of shoes that were special JUST to you and knowing no one else will have a pair quite like them. Positano was stunning - the views from the coast, the beach, the streets - all equally amazing. The town itself has such a small entrance that cars aren't even allowed into the town. I can't imagine what it's like to love there and have to take the steep, cobblestone steps to and from ones house day after day. We headed back up the coast towards amalfi -  busy little tourist town with black sand beaches, abeautiful  church and plenty of sun and limoncello. We got some lemon sorbet here with fresh strawberries - now that's Italian ice! We chose to mostly relax here and enjoy the weather and opportunity TO relax. Back in the car we went - we leaned so many near things along the way. Alllll the way on the top of the coast is a cross - our guide explained that in ancient times when people fell ill with the plague, they would send them up there to quarantine them and to die. The cross symbolized a huge tomb but also that religion oversaw the town. The amalfi coast itself became popular in the 50's when Sophia Lauren filmed movies there and it's beauty started to gain traction. There is an island that looks like a woman laying down and this is known as the island of sirens. It was said that one of the ancient rulers would bring women there to fall in love or put trances on men.   Through one of the roads we saw a full model of the village created into the mountainside. There was a nativity scene in there as well which is lit up during christmastime. Finally we headed to Ravello - a super small but very beautiful town along the amalfi coast. Here we had lunch at Cumpa cusino - a rustic Italian trattoria where family recipes prepared the most amazing homemade ravioli, penne and tiramisu I have ever had. We cook and owner served us at a tucked away table that made me and Steve feel like celebrities. I'm sure my big Sunday and red dress and steves charmingly good looks made then wonder if we were important. When we got back to sorrento 9 hours later we sampled limoncello - bought some and started on our journey back to Naples and then to Rome. The circumvesuviana was quite an experience this time around. Granted the first time a rowdy group of twenty something men played soccer, cheered and did pull ups in the entry way - but this definitely topped our first experience. We got on in sorrento and avoided a car full of teenagers as we had read plenty about the stereotypical pickpocketers. Shortly after we got on - a loud, overweight man and 6 kids got on the train - all in nothing but bathing suits. What first caught my attention was the very over sized five - seven year old girl in nothing but jean shorts and a pacifier carrying on and throwing a temper tantrum. In case you missed the first part - super chubby, probably closer to seven, boobs bigger than mine, shirtless, pacifier sucking, temper tantrum throwing girl. She carries on and on, the dad got angrier and angrier, his butt crack was hanging out, his other kids were eating coconut in water straight or of beach buckets - what the heck was going on? The next thing we know the dad is making friends with a guy who must have been selling handmade items earlier in the day - and then, as the guy sits down, he starts stealing from him! Placing the necklaces on his temper tantrum throwing, pacifier sucking daughter and stuffing his pockets. Then all his kids were running around, taking the necklaces from him, stuffig their pockets so he could steal more and running about. On top of all that chaos - a young couple was hardcore making out and staring at me as Steve as they did it. Haha what in the world was going on?!? Where were we? On high alert that's for sure. Any move those kids made had me and Steve in attack mode- watching every zipper on each of our bags. See, in Chicago, if someone wants something they just shoot the person and take it, here, they're much craftier and would be long gone before we knew we had been robbed. Wow - what an experience. Needless to say, the amalfi coast makes it to the top of my list of places to revisit and spend more time - Naples, not a chance. 

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili

My mom has been wanting to host an annual chili cook-off for several years now.  We kind of had one last year, but really it ended up just being a chili fest and it was awesome. This year, she is hoping to have one again, and despite my hesitation to post this recipe since it will most likely be my entry - it's just too good to pass up posting, especially with today being the first day of Fall and the weather starting to have a chill in the air.

I brought the leftovers of this over to my brothers and they were enamored by it - can you even use that word to describe how someone feels about food? Probably not for normal people, but for my family, its completely acceptable.  We love food. Plain and simple.  It's an event in the Shirahama household, an emotion, a conversation topic. When I was away at U of I for school, any time I spoke to my mom around dinner time, she would ask what I was having and then unknowingly torture me by telling me what she was making. As I treked to the dining hall where I found very few things enjoyable (and also was horrified at coming home in the fall with the dreaded "freshman 15" - I opted for turkey sandwiches and salads most of the time.  I love making something that I can share with my family and that elicits "ohhh's" and "ahhh's" because that's exactly how we were raised.  Dinner is still always shared because we all enjoy discussing how delicious the meal my mom made was and laugh about those meals that weren't so great (which is rare, but you can bet my poor mom never lives those meals down).

My mom thinks this will be the winner of the chili cook-off - I think she's just being a good mom and praising me more than I deserve, but I think it will at the very least be enjoyed by whoever makes it!

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili

Adapted from Sweet Treats More

Ingredients

1 tbsp EVOO

1 small sweet onion, diced

4 Fresh Jalapeno Peppers, seeded and diced (leave in some seeds if you like more heat)

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 1/4 lbs chicken tenders, cut in chunks

2 TSP Chili Powder

1 TSP Cumin

1 TSP Oregano

1 1/2 C Chicken Broth

1 - 10 oz Can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles

1 - 14 oz Can Navy Beans, drained

1 - 14 oz Can Sweet Corn, drained

4 oz Cream Cheese

4 oz Neufactel Cheese

1 lb bacon or turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled

Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Cook bacon, remove and drain.  Add bacon fat to large stock pot with 1 TBSP of EVOO.  Add in jalapeno peppers, onion and garlic and cook until tender.  Add salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin and oregano. Season chicken with salt and pepper, add to stock pot and brown on each side (add more EVOO if needed). Add diced tomatoes, chicken broth and corn and increase heat allowing to simmer for 30 minutes.  Add cream cheeses and stir until melted - stir in bacon and additional salt, pepper and seasoning as needed. Serve with shredded cheddar and corn bread.

Spin on Mac and Cheese with Sriracha Chicken

Football season seems to bring out something in my cooking needs and wants.  Even though I don't necessarily watch all of the games or get super into football - the start of the season has me immediately thinking of football friendly foods.  For the start of the football season, chicken wings were an obvious choice, however Steve and I both agree that wings are great when you don't have to make them - when you do, they're a pain to make so many little wings, especially when they're being made into a meal.  I opted for chicken legs instead and would recommend them, but would thighs or wings would definitely trump the legs.  I feel like had I made this sauce and glazed the small wings instead, they would've crisped up nicer than the chicken. 

I paired the chicken legs with some quinoa mac and cheese with broccoli.



 I figured that as much as I wanted to be fully glutenous - that I would stand by my gluten free lifestyle for the night in terms of my side and opt for quinoa instead.  I had seen several different recipes for the mac and cheese and finally gave it a shot.  

Garlic Sriracha Chicken 

1/4 C Honey

2 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/4 C Brown Sugar, packed

1/4 C Sodium Free and/or Wheat Free Soy Sauce

1 tsp Fresh Minced Ginger Root

2 TBSP Sriracha Sauce

3 green onions, diced 

6- 8 Chicken Legs

1 TBSP Canola Oil*

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss chicken legs in canola oil, season with salt and pepper.  Line baking sheet with aluminum foil - add chicken legs, thick part facing inwards.  Cook 35-40 minutes or until skin is browned and chicken is no longer pick in center.  Remove and set aside.  Meanwhile, combine honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and sriracha sauce in small saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer until sauce has reduced - remove from heat, allowing to cool and thicken.  Dip cooked chicken legs in sauce, brush to glaze.  Return to oven and cook 10 minutes, baste again with mixture, cook 7 more minutes or until chicken is brow and crisped.  

Quinoa Mac and Cheese with Broccoli 

Adapted From Tasty Kitchen

3 TBSP Butter

3 TBSP Flour or gluten free flour

1 1/2 C Skim Milk

2 Dashes Nutmeg

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp Dried Mustard 

8 oz Shredded Low Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese

3 C Cooked Quino (follow directions on back, I recommend if you do not have pre-washed washing it before cooking)

1 C Chopped, Steamed Broccoli

In medium saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour and heat over medium heat. Continue to whisk until a paste forms, you are going to create a roux. Whisk in milk and increase heat to medium/high - bring to boil while continuing to whisk.  Stir in milk, nutmeg and cheese. Remove from heat when all cheese it melted and smooth cream sauce has formed.  In large bowl, fold together cooked quinoa, cooked broccoli and cheese sauce.  Lightly grease a 9 inch pie dish, add mixture to dish and sprinkle with additional cheese. You have the option of adding a mixture of panko and melted butter on top (4 tbsp melted butter to 3/4 c panko) - I opted out of this.  Bake one 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly.  Serve immediately. 

Sunday Snack Day

I have an extremely intense gag reflex and sense of smell, which never makes for a great combination when something stinky is in nose-shot. Hey people on the cardio equipment, please, for the love of everything holy, spare of from your uber intense smells of various spices, body odor, copious amounts of perfume/body spray/cologne/aftershave.  This is one concept that continually seems to escape me.  Sure, I'm almost entirely certain I have had my days in which Coco Chanel was screaming out of my pores as if to make note that I was wearing it.  And embarrassingly, I've certainly had my days where I catch a whiff and realize that that smell, is coming from my under saturated pits - or that I left my clothes in the washing machine, damp, for a little too long and tried to repair the error by simply washing again.  I get it, stuff happens.  But please, please, please - if you notice that you're omitting a smell that is comparable to rotting garbage/bodies/animals, spare us all and just stop.  Stop running and go stretch, or move to a less intense cardio machine - those of us who want to continue to run without having to turn our heads the other way to breathe would appreciate it. 

I successfully completed my first week challenge of eating mostly paleo and getting back in the "six timers" club and hitting the gym 6 days this week (contemplating a 7th today, but let's not get crazy). As I've mentioned many times before, I will continue to eat glutenous from time to time and of course, am not going to be 100% Paleo and 100% gluten free - I know how to eat and therefore, believe that in order to live the kind of fullfilling life I look for (full = yummy food, filling = unhealthy foods from time to time) - that I deserve to cheat.  Today - for my Simple Sunday I opted to do Snack Sunday.  I endured the torture last week of a very smelly gym-goer and still manage to plow through my treadmill workout - I deserve it.  

What better way to enjoy a lazy Sunday and football than to just have a bunch of snacks all day long and not worry about stopping the day to make a meal - that's the concept and that's the plan.  So here I sit, after preparing our snacks for the day, with nothing left to do that doze in and out of naps, and catch up on blogging.  Hoooraaay! 

Today's Snack Sunday is all about my husband.  I made snacks that I  know he will just gobble up and enjoy (with a little guac for myself) so that he can truly relax this Sunday. 

Buffalo Chicken Dip - AKA Man's Best Friend

I don't know that I have ever met a man who tries this dip and doesn't just love it.  I first was introduced to it by a former co-worker who brought it to the work holiday party.  I think she double, or even quadrupled the recipe and went home with a licked-clean crockpot.  The first time I made it was for the superbowl several years ago. I encouraged my guy friends and now husband to try it, despite the fact it looked kind of like vom (sorry, it does).  They were hooked.  The pizza was left barely untouched.  #winning.  This became the most requested dip by my husband.  One of the other times I made it, a guy friend of ours actually took out his retainer - dipped it in the dip and put it back in his mouth, he loved it that much.  I honestly don;t follow a recipe anymore, its most just added to taste, but I have included the recipe below so that you too, can impress your man friends to the point of embarrassment for them.

2 - 8 oz Cream Cheese, softened

2 - 10 oz Cans Chunk White Chicken

1 cup Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

3/4 C Franks Hot Sauce (I usually use the original, not the wing sauce)

1 1/2 C Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

In large bowl, combine cream cheese and chicken, microwave for 3 minutes or until warmed.  Add in ranch, hot sauce, and shredded cheese, combine and microwave 5 minutes or until heated through.  Add more sauce for taste - serve with tortilla chips, crackers or celery/carrot sticks. 

This can also be made in the crockpot and slow cooked - just combine all ingredients and let it do it's thing!

Italian Sub Dip

The idea for this recipe came from my mother in law.  I'm not sure where she originally got the recipe, but I know that it's always a hit and my husband and brother in both really enjoy it.  My brother in law and his family love this dip so much, that my sister in law will actually make it for them for part of dinner! My nephew likes to make the dip into a sandwich and instead of taking small pieces of bread, just filling a hoagie with it - totally doable.  The best part of this dip is it taste just like an italian sub from your favorite sandwich shop.  It combines various lunch meats and cheeses and all the toppings! 

1/4 lb of each of the following: provolone cheese, salami, turkey, ham, bologna, mortadella

1 TBSP Banana Peppers or 3 whole pepperoncini peppers, diced

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded

1/2 tomato, seeded

1/2 red onion, diced

1/3 C Olive Oil

1 TSP Oregano

1 1/2 TSP Basil

French Loaf, cubed for dipping

Dice up all the meat and cheese into tiny squares.  Combine diced meats, cheeses, and all vegetables.  Add olive oil and seasoning. Allow to set in fridge for at least one hour for all flavors to combine. Serve with french bread. 

**This can be made really with any variety of your favorite deli meats and cheeses - although I would recommend avoiding meats such as roast beef, corned beef, etc.  The original recipe I follow actually calls for prosciutto which is a great add - I sub mortadella instead. 

Alfredo Chicken and Spinach Stromboli

There's no great story about this except that we needed some sort of "meal" today that didn't involve dipping to eat.  I decided on a stromboli because I figured I could prepare it ahead of time and just throw it in the oven when we were ready to eat.  It could be reheated if needbe and only called for a few, easy recipes.

1 container pizza dough, or one frozen bread dough, thawed*

1 1/2 c fresh spinach

1 C Chopped, Cooked Chicken (I used rotisserie, again, ease of use)

6 Slices Mozzarella Cheese

4 TBSP Alfredo Sauce

Parmesan and pizza seasoning - desired amount

1 tsp Olive Oil

Roll dough on a floured surface or parchment paper.  Roll into 12x15 inch rectangle.  Add parmesan and pizza seasoning. Top with ingredients in the following order, careful to allow one inch on each side of the dough: spinach, cheese, chicken, alfredo sauce. Starting from the long ends, carefully start rolling the dough to create a pinwheel or cinnamon roll effect.  Seal off ends - place on greased cookie sheet seam down.  Brush with olive oil and add additional parmesan and seasoning.  Cook in 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until dough is browned.  Allow several minutes to cool - slice into 1 1/2 inch slices, serve with alfredo sauce or pizza sauce. 

*I use the fresh, pre-made dough from my local fruit market.  They also carry a whole wheat version!