Jump Start #11

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Work those legs. Summer is riiight around the corner. Tiiiighten.
Also - interesting article on whether too much cardio can mean heart damage. say whhhaaat?! 
This backyard bridal shower just tickles me pink (and I'm not a pink person - per se)
Only 2 more weeks of Lent and then I can indulge in peanut butter deliciousness - like this...
And also on the "to be made" list - a springy risotto
Absolutely obsessed with these wedges - perfectly neutral w/ a little metallic. mazel. 

ps- Happy first Monday of spring!

A Springy Weekend

Yay! Mazel! And all that jazz! The first weekend of spring has arrived and the weather promises to be beautiful, warm, and sunny. Nothing, absolutely, nothing wrong with that. Ideally, C and I (and Saki) would be spending the weekend outdoors but tomorrow we must attend our Pre-Cana retreat (Titled "Journey of Love"...hilarious). This all day couples "retreat" is required by the Catholic Church for all couples who plan to get married in a Catholic Church. I'm just going to try to have an open mind about this experience. Basically, it is 8 hours of counseling, talking about feelings, and exploring the meaning of marriage as a Sacrament. Yeah, like I said, keeping an open mind...


Happy Weekend! xoxo 

Mexican Rice + Beans

Like most of the Northeast, the weather here in Buffalo has been beyond gooooorrgeous. We haven't had a spring like this in, I'm saying, forever. But seriously, last year on this date, we had about 7 inches of snow. Today, I'm sporting shorts -and pasty legs but I don't even care because it is going to be 80 degrees today. That's right - this weather is so great I have no shame in strutting some pasty pale legs. 

But enough about the weather - lets talk food. I made this dish last week on a night that our fridge was looking pretty empty. If our fridge were a smiley face, it would be frowning because it was so empty. I don't even think we had eggs. or butter. WHAT!?! Anyway, what I mean is that this dish is one of those "well what's left in the pantry because I haven't gone grocery shopping in days" dishes. Rice and beans? check! We always have some brown rice and some sort of bean variety in our cupboards. Voila! Dinner! 

Mexican Rice and Beans 

(adapted from Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking Magazine 09/11 issue)  


Ingredients: 

• 2 celery ribs, chopped 
• 1 medium red pepper, chopped 
• 1 tsp olive oil 
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained 
• 8oz package mushrooms, chopped
• 1 can black beans, drained (feel free to use your favorite bean - pinto, kidney whatever!) 
• 2 cups cooked brown rice 
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder 
• 1/4 tsp pepper 
• shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese 

Directions: 

• In large skillet, saute the celery, pepper, and onion in oil until tender 
• Stir in tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, rice, Worcestershire sauce, and spices. Bring to boil 
• Reduce heat; cover + simmer for about 7-9 minutes or until heated through. 
• Top with cheese and whatever other toppings you like (obvi for me that means fat free sour cream!)

I love that this dish is vegetarian and filling. See, you don't have to eat meat to get a full tummy (Told ya so, C!) Also- it is great reheated the next day for lunch or dinner. You can even spoon it over some leafy greens - instant Mexican salad. Yum! 

Fatherly Love

My father and I circa 1985

How do I put this...We had a very scary weekend. Friday night/ early Saturday morning, my father suffered a heart attack. Somebody is watching out for him though because he pulled through with what appears to be very little lasting damage to his heart. He received an angiogram during which a stent was placed to address the 80% blockage in one of his arteries. The procedure went smoothly and, after recovering for the rest of the weekend and yesterday, my father is doing well. Really well, thankfully! He may even make an appearance at work today. 


I'm lucky enough to be able to see my father everyday. And, like most daughters I imagine, cannot picture my life without my father in it. This past weekend's events made me take a moment to realize that we need to slow down in life and enjoy the time spent with family, friends, and loved ones. Because everything can change...just like that. Dad- love you lots!!

Weekend Luck

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As luck would have it, this year St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday which means lots of celebrating for all. We don't have any plans over here but I'm hoping to enjoy some good Irish eats! What are you plans for the weekend/ St. Patrick's Day? Whatever they are, as always, have a mazelicious weekend. Hugs all around.

Chile-Garlic Glazed Salmon

Thanks to our very large Catholic population here in Buffalo, Fridays during Lent mean one thing - fish fry. The tradition of "going out for a fish fry" arises from the Catholic requirement of not eating meat on Fridays during Lent. But, I'm guessing that the longevity of the tradition has more to do with people looking for a good meal to share with family + friends and less to do with Catholic fasting laws. Either way, this is one tasty tradition, trust me. 

Now, what's a fish fry you may ask? Well, nowadays, there are many different types of fried fish dishes but, around these parts, a traditional fish fry -often only offered in restaurants on Fridays- consists of a beer battered haddock fillet, potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw, french fries, tartar sauce, and a slice of rye bread. Yep, that's one meal. Heaped on one plate.

This will come to no surprise -fish deep fried in a batter made with beer nets in around 700 calories. Yes, just for the fish. Add in all those delicious sides and well, you do the math. CALORIFIC. Check your diets at the door because a fish fry, while good for the welfare of your soul, may be harmful to those hips.

So, with all that said, this recipe I'm sharing is NOT for a fish fry. Instead, this recipe is for a delicious AND nutritious (and not diet-busting) salmon dish. This flavorful chile- garlic sauce accents the salmon perfectly - just enough punch and a little bit of tangy-ness. And not overpowering at all so you really taste the fish.  FYI: I bought center cut 6oz steaks already skinned but you can use fillets with the skins on as well. For some reason, C doesn't like fish with the skin on. So I accommodate. 

At some point during the week, I picked up a big bunch of asparagus (one of C's fav veggies - no joke). I tossed the asparagus with some EVOO, sprinkled with some garlic salt + pepper, and threw it in the oven to roasted for about 10 mins. 

Chile-Garlic Glazed Salmon

(adapted from Cooking Light) 


Ingredients:

• two 6oz salmon fillets 
• 3 tablespoons chili sauce with garlic  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons orange marmalade 
• 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce 
•  pepper to taste 
• 1 tsp garlic salt

Directions: 

• Preheat broiler.
• Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl
• Brush half of chili sauce mixture over fillets. Place fillets on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
• Broil fish 5 minutes; brush with remaining chili sauce mixture. 
• Broil 2 more minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of "doneness."

Now, whether a "fish fry" (beer battered or spiced up salmon - you choose) is feeding your belly or your soul, it's a delicious and satisfying experience for sure. 

Possible (but not really) First Dance Songs

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So I love cheesy love songs. Like the cheesier the better. I'm so into music with loads of cheese, some of my friends might accuse me of having bad taste in music. Whatevs. C and I have started to plan our wedding music selections - and this means picking out our first dance song. One evening last week, I opened up itunes and did some research* on first dance wedding songs. And this is when all of our future wedding guest should take a sigh of relief and thank sweet Mary and Joesph that C has a say in choosing our first dance song. I'm pretty sure that, if the decision was left to me alone, one of these songs would be it. Layer on the cheese please. PS- If any of these songs were your first dance song, please don't be offended. I truly love these songs. I jest only a little.  


1. All My Life- K-Ci & JoJo. This song instantly transports me back to 7th grade. Specifically back to 7th grade dances held in the school's gym. You know what is gross? Sweaty 12-13 year olds with clamy hands drenched in too much perfume/cologne all too eager to bump and grind. But K-Ci and JoJo are great.


2. Here and Now- Luther Vandross I actually want Luther Vandross to come to the kareoke portion of our reception. And I want to SING A DUET with him. (yes, you read that right. I said karaoke.) 


3. (Everything I Do) I Do For You- Bryan Adams If it's good enough for Kevin Costner and Lady Marian, it's good enough for me. OMG how great is Kevin as Robin Hood. And Alan Rickman as Sheriff of Nottingham?? But I digress...ps- please watch the music video. And cheesiness has no limits... 


4. Truly, Madly, Deeply - Savage Garden See #1. Same holds true here.


5. Because You Loved Me- Celine Dion In my next life I'm going to have Celine's voice. What do you mean you don't also tear up when you hear this song?


6. How Do I Live- LeAnn Rimes Oh LeAnn. Despite your pronunciation of the word you ("chew"?? are you chewing something??) and your twang which tends to be less southern sweet and more obnoxious, this tune of yours just gets me all lovey dovey. Plus, it makes for a great morning shower ballad. Just saying.


7. Don't Want To Miss A Thing- Aerosmith The love song/theme song to Armageddon which is on my Top 10 favorite movies of all-time. Maybe it's Steven Tyler's soulful raspy-ness that makes this song for me. Or maybe it's the images of Bruce Willis saving the world that pop into my head when I hear it. Or both?


8. After All- Cher (!) & Peter Cetera DUH. No explanation needed. And not that I haven't been practicing this one or anything...

Also, C and I have yet to discuss the possibility of a full choreographed dance routine. I can already hear my mother saying "This is a wedding not a musical production!" Oh really??

* Research included singing "I Will Always Love You" and "I Dream A Dream" about five times each. C and I are still undecided on our first dance song.

Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole

I think I've said this before but in case you weren't aware, I love a good casserole. Heck I love any comfort food. There is just something so err what's the word...um comforting about a one dish meal coming straight out of the oven and into your belly.

With the arrival of spring and warmer weather, a casserole's days are number (make way for grilling!). So, I've been trying to get in a casserole dinner or two in each week. A healthy casserole dinner of course.

Like this easy chicken and broccoli one. This casserole is a great way to use up broccoli. Not that you would/ could ever buy too much broccoli and find yourself in the situation of needing to "use it up," right? 

Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole 

(adapted slightly from Skinnytaste) 

Ingredients: 

• 6 oz noodles 
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 12 oz- 16oz  fresh broccoli florets, chopped
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1-3/4 cups fat free chicken broth
• 1 cup skim milk
• 12 oz cooked shredded chicken breast
• 4 oz shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar 
• cooking spray
• 3 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp unseasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs 

Directions: 

• Cook noodles in salted water until al dente, or slightly undercooked by 2 minutes. Set aside.
• Heat 2 tsp oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and cook on medium heat until golden, about 1 minute. Add the broccoli and a little salt, sauté and cover the broccoli for about 3 minutes on medium heat until the broccoli begins to soften. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 375° (or 350 in convection). Lightly spray a 9 x 12 casserole dish with cooking spray.
• In a large pot, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat, when melted add the shallot and cook until soft, 2-3 minutes. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir well, cooking an additional 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat.
• Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until well combined over medium heat; whisk well for 30 seconds, then add the milk. Bring to a boil. 
• Simmer on medium heat, mixing occasionally until it thickens (about 6-7 mins). Remove from heat and add cheese and 1 tablespoon of the parmesan cheese; mix well until the cheese melts.
• Add chicken, noodles and broccoli to the sauce and mix well until evenly coated.
• Pour into a casserole dish and top with parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Spray a little more cooking spray on top and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes. Place the casserole under the broiler a few minutes to get the crumbs crisp and golden

In non-food related news, C and I had a fabulous weekend. C's mom, S, and sister, BW came to visit for the weekend! We went out for a delicious fish fry Friday night. And then, on Saturday, we all went to do a tasting for our wedding reception! The tasting went great (lots of good eats!) and I was so happy that S and BW could be part of the experience. Before the tasting, C took them over to see the church where our ceremony will be held. With the wedding a little less than six months away, I'm finally starting to really feel like a bride-to-be. I'm in the more detailed part of planning. And I think it's the personal details that really make everything seem to come together. I'm creating an event to celebrate C and myself - and I couldn't be more excited. Mitzvah mitzvah mitzvah!

Jump Start #10

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It's like netflix or jewelmint but for shaving instead. genius.
A quirky and colorful 1950s housewife themed bridal shower is mazelicious for sure. 
Have I mentioned how much I love girl scout cookie inspired desserts? or a cookie stuffed with candy? Thank you Kevin + Amanda. (or dis-thank you says any diet) 
A nice little glute workout. Esp needed if you indulge in any of the above eehhh-hem. 
In case you haven't seen a color-by-color summary of OPI's Holland collection...I'm already addicted to a few of the colors! 

S'mores Oatmeal Cookies

This is how it usually happens. C's sweet tooth starts acting up. He craves something sweet- like cookies. Then he reminds me how "everyone" at work loves my baked goods. He says something along the lines of "You haven't baked anything for me to take into work in months." Wah. Wah. Wah. And that's all it takes for me to get out my Kitchen-Aid mixer and preheat the oven. 

So what did I bake for the office on this occasion? S'mores inspired cookies. I've seen an awful lot of s'mores themed desserts floating around Pinterest as of late, so I figured it was about time I baked something chocolate-y, marshmallow-y, and involving graham crackers. 

I must admit; I was slightly nervous baking a cookie involving marshmallows again. You know, considering what happened last time. But when we fail we must try try try again right? So full speed ahead on the S'mores cookies. 

This cookie is really just a basic oatmeal cookie that got all dressed up with s'mores fixings. I think that they are best served still warm from the oven or zapped in the microwave for a few seconds- the marshmallows will be slightly gooey and the chocolate all melted. Loads of deliciousness for sure. Enjoy with a tall cold glass of milk...ummm that's pretty much what I call heaven.

S'mores Oatmeal Cookies 

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar 
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 
• 2 large eggs, room temp
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup crushed plain graham crackers 
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• approx 1 cup mini marshmallows  

Directions: 

• Preheat oven 375 (note: I used convection at 350) 
• Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl. 
• Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. 
• Gradually beat in flour mixture. 
• Stir in oats, marshmallows, and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased baking sheets.
• Bake for approximately 9 minutes. Remove from oven. Immediately place 2-4 mini marshmallows in center of cookies, pushing marshmallows gently into cookies. Cool cookies on baking sheet for two minutes and then remove onto cooling racks.

Jump Start #9

For some reason, this seafoam/minty green makes me feel spring 

Darling. Cute. Cheesy. I want them.
A nice little thank-you note writing "cheat sheet." Because sometimes the words get stuck in our heads and need help making it to paper.
Not sure where I stand on the whole pinterest copyright issue. I love love love pinning. But I've been trained in the law and there are valid arguments against what pinterest is doing. so torn...what do you think?
Dear Veruca Salt- Thanks to this ridiculous yet ingenious product, you no longer need a golden goose to get gold eggs.
An over the top + bit too pricy wedding detail (but I secretly love it...I'd love a homemade version involving construction paper, ribbon and glitter glue even more...)  
Ten days since giving up peanut butter and I want these in my belly in the worst way. 


ps- Happy first work week of March! 


Images via tumblr, pinterest, anthropologie, and hello naomi. 

Weekend Agenda

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 Do you ever find yourself compiling a mental weekend "to do" list? And then, when the weekend rolls around, you barely put a dent in that "to-do" list? I do this almost every week - always putting things on the back burner until Saturday or Sunday. "ooo I want to bake that" or "I want to hang those new shelves I bought from West Elm." Well those West Elm shelves are still in the box. There always seems to be so much that I want to get done in two days and not enough time to do it. Ahhh oh well. There is always next weekend! 

One thing that is for sure happening this weekend: C and I are going to see Les Miserables! This is one of our all-time favorite shows ever and it is on tour in Buffalo for one week. Slightly embarrassing secret: I dabbled with the idea of walking down the aisle to I Dreamed a Dream. If I could have gotten Susan Boyle to sing...even better! But then I actually read the lyrics. ummm let's just say this...the song doesn't exactly set that cheery wedding bliss mood...Anyway, we are dining at the absolutely delicious Encore before the show. A little steak for C. A little sushi for me. A whole lot of perfect. Have a wonderful weekend!

Pizza Stone Success!

Some days you fail in the kitchen. Other days you succeed. And Monday night was a major kitchen win for this girl. I actually meal planned last week (you know that thing we all love to do but can so easily get sidetracked away from...) so I knew I wanted to make pizza Monday night. There must have been something in the water I was drinking that day because I got brave and decided to use the pizza stone to make the pizza that night.

I bought a pizza stone a while back but have been too scared to use it. "What if I mess up and dinner is ruined??" I'd say to myself. Wah. Stop being a baby. You can always order sushi. I did my research (ring ring calling Mom) and developed a plan of action. I think things run so much more smoothly with plans of action. 

The key to using a pizza stone is seasoning it enough. First, I rubbed some olive oil onto the stone. You should thoroughly coat it with the oil but not too much - too much olive oil can lead to soggy pizza. I then placed the stone into the cold oven. Then I turned my oven on and began to heat it up to 450. Once I heard my oven ding signalling that it had reached 450, I set my oven timer for 30 minutes so I could allow that stone to really heat up for a half an hour. An even temp stone = evenly cooked pizza!

After the pizza was prepped with all the toppings, I moved the pizza onto the pizza paddle. Now, very important! Do I have you attention?! To make for a smooth transfer of pizza on pizza paddle to pizza on pizza stone - both the paddle and the stone need to be well coated with cornmeal. Too little cornmeal and you end up with sticky dough that won't slide from surface to surface. So don't be afraid to toss on a little more cornmeal!

Pizza Bianca With Tomatoes and Mozzarella 

Ingredients:

• One bag store bought whole wheat pizza dough 
• olive oil 
• 2 medium tomatoes sliced 
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 ball mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
• fresh basil, chopped 
• Your favorite Italian seasoning 
• shredded Parmesan 

Directions:

• Place pizza stone in cold oven. Turn oven on and pre-heat to 450. Once oven has reached 450, allow pizza stone to heat for additional 30 mins. 
• Place pizza dough in bowl. Let dough come to room temperature. Roll dough out. Drizzle olive oil and spread evenly. Season liberally with favorite Italian seasoning blend. 
• In medium skillet, saute tomatoes, garlic and basil for about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. 
• Place mozzeralla slices on dough. Top with tomatoes. Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese. 
• Gently slide pizza onto pizza paddle. Transfer pizza onto pizza stone. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese has started to melt and dough is golden brown. 

I have to admit- I shocked myself here. I'm surprised my first time using a pizza stone went so smoothly. I thought for sure I'd be reaching for a take-out menu in the end. So another lesson learned. Have faith in yourself! Good, delish, piping hot pizza will result. YUM.