Baby shower Cupcakes

Hello all. I know it's been a while since my last post but between work and school (that's my excuse for everything) I barely have time to cook yummy meals to even write about.

This post is all about an upcoming baby shower that I have been hired to bake cupcakes for. I'm trying to get a little extra money on the side and baking is a therapeutic way of doing that for me :) I need some ideas people! So far all I have come up with is a lemon poppy seed cupcake with blueberry compote (because blueberries are blue and the baby shower is for a family expecting a boy!) and then a potato chip cupcake (weird pregnancy craving is the idea here) which would be a chocolate cupcake with crushed potato chip pieces and a salted caramel filling. It would be topped with a chocolate fudge ganache and topped with a salty potato chip.

Please let me know if you have any more fun ideas for cupcakes for a baby shower!!!!!

RJ's giant taco

Sounds dirty? It's not. Just delicious. It's really a burrito but RJ got lazy when folding his up. This is a really quick (15 minute) delicious and healthy burrito that everyone will love!

1 lb of lean ground turkey (this fed 4)

1 shallot chopped

1 clove of garlic chopped

1 tbsp ground pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 container of grape tomatoes (quartered)

2 tbsp Chalula (optional)

Flour or whole wheat tortillas

1 avocado

1. pkg of Soyrizo

2 cups of mexican cheese

1. Heat a large pan and add the olive oil. Once heated, add the chopped garlic and shallot.

2. Add ground turkey to heated pan and brown. Make sure it is cooked through. Add the salt and pepper. Once the turkey is mostly cooked, add the quartered tomatoes.

3. Once turkey is completely cooked, add 1/2 of the Soyrizo pkg to the meat. Stir until it is all combined. Add the Chalula.

4. Once the meat is done, turn off the stove and place it to the side. Cut up an avocado. Turn on burner on the stove again and put a tortilla on it. Warm the rest of the tortillas like that.

5. Once the tortilla is warmed, add the meat and avocado and cheese and fold up into a burrito!

Optional: sour cream, refried beans

Serve the burritos with some mexican or spanish rice and maybe a salad with a chipotle ranch dressing!!!!

"Get your kids to eat veggies" pasta

So I'll admit that I channel my inner kindergartener when it comes to food. I'm pretty picky and I'm not a big fan of those colorful things called veggies. I will admit that I try though to hide veggies in dishes so that I'll get the nutrients my body needs without the taste of unappetizing vegetables (so sad that I'm almost 21 and I have to hid veggies in food. please don't judge me!). So here is my quick fix to that!

1 pound of whole wheat/whole grain/ healthy spaghetti (I like the omega 3 noodles)
1 pound of ground turkey
1/2 cup white onion chopped
1/2 cup carrots chopped
1/2 cup celery chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce (I used garlic basil)
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 container of fresh basil (optional)
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp black pepper

***I shop at fresh and easy and i got the "stew" veggies. It's this super convenient little plastic container with the chopped onion, carrot, and celery all together.

1. Heat a large pan. Once it is heated add the olive oil and make sure it coats the entire pan. Add all the veggies. Let them soften (about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. once the water is boiling, add the noodles and cook 9 minutes.
3. Once the veggies have softened, add the ground turkey. Add salt, pepper, and garlic.
4. Brown the turkey (about 5 minutes). Once the turkey has browned, add the sauce.
5. Drain the pasta and set in a bowl.
6. Serve the noodles on a plate and spoon the sauce over it.
7. Chop the basil and sprinkle over the pasta and sauce. Add parmesan cheese if you feel crazy!

Down that and some garlic bread :)

I like this meal because it's light but so full of flavor. You can swap out the turkey for chicken or beef. Feel free to play around with this and add your favorite veggies. You can even add diced zucchini instead of meat.

Parm chicken :)

Parmesan crusted chicken! Eassssssssssssssy! I hate long complicated recipes so every week I try to think of something quick, easy, and most importantly...delicious! Walking through the grocery store on Sunday I was like what can I make with stuff I already have. I hate getting a really good recipe and having to buy a ton of ingredients for it that I know I won't use again or at least not for a really long time. So this is what I came up with for this week's home cooked meal...

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast. I prefer thinner breast filets

1 tbsp of kosher salt

2 tbsp coarse black pepper

1 cup of Bisquick

1 1/2 cups of shredded parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Crack the eggs in a small bowl, whisk them, and place them off to the side. Put the cheese, Bisquick, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss them together with your hands.

2. Place a piece of chicken in the egg and coat the chicken. Once it's covered sufficiently, place the piece of chicken in the cheese and Bisquick mixture. Make sure the piece is covered on both sides. Place the chicken on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam.

3. Do step 2 with the rest of the chicken breast.

4. Place the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes.

5. Take it out of the oven and enjoy!

How easy was that!!!!!!! Tonight I had it with mac n' cheese and caesar salad.

Pesto Rigatoni with Chicken

So this is what I'm making for dinner tonight. And I felt the need to post about food since that's what I'm thinking about right now because I'm hungry but can't eat because I'm on a diet and have to wait until I have my next meal :(. Anyways...enough of my complaining. Here's the recipe!

1 lb of rigatoni (you can use whatever noodles you prefer but this is what I had on hand already)
1 cup of pasta water (once the pasta is done cooking, set aside 1 cup of the water it cooked in and there you have it! pasta water)
1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 jar of basil pesto (if you made your own...8 oz)

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet covered in foil or sprayed with PAM. Drizzle olive oil over the chicken.
3. Place in oven for 30 minutes. Once in oven, bring water to a boil for the pasta.
4. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook "al dente" (chewy with a bite to it). Take 1 cup of pasta water and set it aside. Drain the noodles.
5. Add the noodles, pasta water, and pesto to a large bowl and toss.
6. Once the chicken is cooked through, slice it into strips and place it int he bowl with the pasta. Make sure the chicken is also covered with the pesto.

I love this with steamed veggies and salad! Make it vibrant and colorful. The more colorful it is, the healthier it is.

Basil Pesto

Hey everyone. I told you that I'd be posting a recipe for basil pesto and I'm just now getting around to it. Pesto is really easy to make and super easy to vary. I'm just giving you the basic basil recipe but you can add as much or as little of other herbs to make it your own and switch up some boring dishes!

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 cups of basil
1 cup of chopped parsley
1 tbsp salt (Don't use sea salt or kosher salt here. You want to use fine salt so it blends better)
1 tbsp black pepper
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 lemon zested

1. Combine the basil and parsley in a food processor.
2. Add the garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper to the food processor.
3. Pulse the mixture while slowly adding the olive oil.

You can make big batches of this and freeze it. Also, this pesto goes great on some baked or grilled chicken, pizza, or pasta!

Update on Tied With Love

Hey guys! So for those of you who don't know what Tied With Love is, it's a project I started a while ago. I make fleece blankets with ties around the edges for patients who are undergoing treatment for cancer and other diseases at City of Hope hospital in Duarte, CA. I started it because my mom passed away from breast cancer ten years ago and I wanted to give back to the hospital that helped out my family when we were struggling. This last summer, with the help of the Psi Beta honors club at Citrus College, family and friends, and my community, I was able to deliver 39 blankets to the pediatric in-patient unit at the hospital.

I am now working towards doing another delivery of blankets to the hospital hopefully for next summer (Summer 2012).