WIAW: Maple Dijon Salmon & Photo Challenges

Good Morning, Friends!  This week is just zooming by...it's already time to do What I Ate Wednesday...can you believe it?!

Well, there's not much going on with me this week.  We are still in the midst of a kitchen remodel (on a budget).  Some day in the near future, I will have some pictures to share with you on that.

Now, get ready for some yummy food stuff!

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Breakfast: Egg Sandwich

I had the best, most filling breakfast of a whole wheat english muffin, 2 egg whites, 1 slice of muenster cheese and strawberry preserves.  It really hit the spot!  Plus 2 cups of coffee!

It's been at least a week since I've made eggs.   I missed them!  I love eggs...from my head down to my legs!

A.M. Snack: Nuts & Berries 

I packed a little mason jar of strawberries & blueberries for snack..accompanied by a handful of salted, roasted almonds.  Yum!

Lunch: Buffalo Chicken Wrap

I've come to the conclusion that I am now totally and forever addicted to buffalo sauce.  I never cared much for it until about 3 months ago.  Now I cannot get enough of that flavor!  The great thing about buffalo sauce is...no calories (some brands have 5-10 calories--check the label)!  It adds lots of flavor with no calories!  Hooray :)
For lunch, I made some Flat-Out wraps with leftover chicken, some mozzarella cheese, buffalo sauce & romaine lettuce.  On the side, leftover roasted veggies (sweet potato, brussels, green beans, asparagus) and veggie straws.

Here's the wrap before it got...wrapped:

I didn't really feel like eating an afternoon snack....so I had a Starbucks refresher drink.  These are pretty tasty & it put some pep in my step.

Speaking of peppy steps, due to a hamstring injury from last week (ouch!!), I decided to sit out of boot camp on this particular day.  My body is just not ready for that impact after pulling a muscle last Thursday.  I went for a long walk with Bizzy and my Mom instead.  It's my Mom's birthday, today, also!!!  I am looking forward to celebrating with her and family tonight.

afternoon shadows

Dinner: Maple Dijon Salmon with Bacon, Rice & Broccoli

For dinner, I knew I was making salmon, but came across this recipe from How Sweet It Is blog & decided to make it. I cooked the salmon in a pan instead of grilling it, but it was super easy & flavorful.
I served the salmon with some steamed, fresh broccoli (sprinkled in Parmesan) and this rice mixture (found in the frozen veggie section of Walmart):

I've been loving frozen rice lately!  Cooks perfectly and is nicely portioned for two people.

Dessert happened, of course.

Froyo in a waffle cone=one happy Renee!

Here's my frozen yogurt of choice at the moment:

That does it for my eats!

In other news:

I posted a healthy & hearty Beefy Taco Veggie Quinoa Bake on Endless Simmer last week.  Here's a picture to entice you to go check out the recipe.  Give me a "like" or a comment over there, if you wanna:

Speaking of pictures, I am now participating in not one, but two photo challenges on Instagram.  Why do I do this to myself? ;) I kid.  I really enjoy taking pictures and feel like doing several pictures a day is going to make that skill stronger and make me more creative.

If you want to join me on the challenges, here's some info:

1) Fat Mum Slim's July Photo-A-Day: You get different photo prompts for each day.  Today is Day 17, but it's never too late to pick up this challenge.

2) A Beautiful Mess's 30 Day Self Portrait Challenge: This one might be more of a challenge, because it's just a picture of me everyday.  Some days I don't necessarily like the look of me-LOL!  But, the point of this challenge is to find alternate ways to think about a "selfie" by exploring composition and angles.  I think it will be a fun way to grow with my pictures.  

Feel free to join me & to follow my Instagram, of course ;)  Chances are, I'll follow you back!

Ok, have a fantastic week, all!

I'll leave you with a picture of Bizzy smooching me...and me smooching the air in front of me apparently!

Yummy Seasoned Oven Fries

Good Morning, everyone!

Just popping in on a Monday to say hello and share this delicious recipe for fries!!!  Fries are the best, especially when they are healthier and full of flavor.  

I was watching Next Food Network Star (love that show!) and they were doing a challenge where they had to describe food in a way that would make the viewer understand the flavor of a dish, without just simply saying "delicious" or "tasty."

I'm gonna try that now.  These fries are slightly spiced and perfectly soft and pillowy on the inside with a lovely crisp on the outer edges.  They hit you with just the right amount of salt, followed with a tiny bit of heat.  I didn't even use ketchup (and I really like ketchup)!

I could eat one million of these fries.

Luckily, I had other people there to share with, so I was not forced to eat it all ;)

I used russet potatoes here, but sweet potatoes would be ah-maze-ing!  Definitely trying those next!

Seasoned Oven Fries

serves 4

5 medium (smaller than a fist) sized potatoes 

drizzle extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp Creole seasoning

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/2 tbsp paprika

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Wash the potatoes & pat them dry.  Cut them lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Turn each slice flat and slice again lengthwise into even 1/2-inch-thick fries. 

Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl and add the olive oil, all seasonings and Parmesan. Toss well to combine, then transfer the fries to a large oiled baking sheet and arrange them in one even layer. 

Bake for 30 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Emeril

Have a Wonderful Day!

WIAW: Healthy Banana Honey Oat Pancakes

I have a thing for patriotic pancakes.  Especially healthy pancakes!

Well, it's What I Ate Wednesday time, folks.  Time to partay!
Or at least look at pictures of food.  Party in the houssseee!

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Breakfast: Healthy Pancakes with Fruit

These pancakes have 4 simple ingredients.  Can you believe it?!

Here's a "recipe" for ya:

Banana, Honey Oat Pancakes

serves 1 (makes 3 pancakes)

1 large banana

heaping 1/3 cup quick oats

1 egg

1 tsp honey

First grind the oats in a mini food processor (or blender), then add in the banana.  Lastly, add in the egg and honey and combine.

Cook on an oiled griddle until golden (flipping halfway through the cooking process).

I topped mine with a smear of reduced fat peanut butter between the layers, fresh fruit and a drizzle of sugar free syrup.  Yum yum!

It makes me happy to think that I got at least 2 fruit servings in my first meal of the day :)

A.M. Snack: Cheese & Crackers

I had a quick snack of multigrain crackers with a cheese wedge.  Just enough to hold me over til lunch!

Lunch: Cheeseburger Wrap

For lunch, I used half of a leftover burger (made with 93% lean sirloin) and made a wrap.  In the mix--half a burger, romaine lettuce, pickles, ketchup & mustard on a low carb wrap.  I had a side of sad looking veggies and some sweet potato chips.

For lunch dessert (it's a thing), I tried a cookie my boss's wife had made.  It was tasty.  Speaking of which, does anybody else's boss or coworkers bring junk food to your work environment??  I am mentally battling staying away from that junk in the mini kitchen back there.  "No, Nutty Bars.  Not today! I am a strong, independent woman and I do NOT need your chocolaty, peanut buttery wafer goodness!"

P.M. Snack: Apple & Almond Butter

I bought a few individual almond butter packets from Target for on the go snacks this week.  They are so yummy.  I like how grainy and salty Justin's almond butter is.  That's weird, right?  Well, it's delicious.  You should try it if you haven't.  

I had a big ole apple and some almond butter for my afternoon snack to tide me over until dinner.

Got home and had some iced coffee before boot camp.  I read somewhere that if you drink caffeine 30 minutes before you exercise, you'll have better performance.  I didn't prove that theory so much, but it was delicious and it kicked my tiredness in the bootay.

Cue the selfie.

Dinner: Leftovers Casserole 

Things may have gotten a little weird for dinner.  I'm not really sure.  I only have my judgement and my boyfriend's opinion.  We both loved it!

I had made BBQ pork loin chops with zucchini and corn for dinner on Monday and I planned to use the leftovers last night.

Now, I think I have been watching too much Chopped because I was convinced I needed to "transform" the ingredients.  So I made a leftovers casserole.  You should give it a go.  It's much better than just microwaving some meat and veg.

Leftovers Casserole
serves 2

2 leftover chopped BBQ pork loin chops (or you could use BBQ chicken..or just regular chicken)
1 1/2 cups brown rice (I used a microwavable bag and it was awesome)
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
1 cup leftover vegetables (I used zucchini and corn)
1/2 cup reduced fat or fat free sour cream
2 tbsp goat cheese
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
topping-- 1/2 cup white cheese & a sprinkle of dried basil

Combine all but the topping in a bowl and mix it up.
Preheat the oven to 400F degrees & spray a small casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Spread the mixture in the dish and top with cheese and dried basil.
Bake for 25 minutes & dig in!

I swear, this will not get you "chopped." ;)

Then for dessert, I did something I almost never do--I ate an actual serving of frozen yogurt.  I usually eat more than that!
Yay, portion control!

Also, I gotta give a shout out to my diet coach...well, she appointed herself as such.  Bizzy the dog barks at me every time I eat fro-yo.  Without fail.  She's probably just wanting it for herself, but I can guarantee she doesn't want me to eat it.

Such a little stinker!

Have a super fantastic week, all!

WIAW: Spinach Dip Buffalo Turkey Sliders

So, it's a holiday week and I'm lazy.  In lieu of our normal What I Ate Wednesday shenanigans, I bring you a proposed party food.  You can make it for a party of one or twenty.  That part is up to you.

People loooove spinach dip with sweet Hawaiian bread at a party, no?

Well, this slightly spicy turkey slider topped with creamy spinach dip on a Kings Hawaiian bun will knock your socks off.  You will be barefoot with taste buds that are completely satisfied.

And you know what?  So quick, easy and delicious.  My favorite combo for dinner :)

Do it.

I think turkey burgers get a bad rep for being dry.  This turkey burger is not, by the way.

Spinach Dip Buffalo Turkey Sliders
serves 4 (serving--2 sliders each)

For the sliders:
1 lb ground turkey (I used 85% lean, but up to 93% lean would work beautifully)
2 tbsp buffalo sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
grilling rub or spice blend (I used one similar to this)

For the spinach dip (recipe adapted from Skinny Taste):
1 10 oz package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess moisture
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
3 tbsp reduced fat mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

For assembly:
Kings Hawaiian sweet rolls (I used honey wheat)
lettuce leaves (optional)

Combine spinach dip ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Mix all your slider ingredients together, except the rub and divide into 8 equal balls.  Form little patties and sprinkle with rub.  Grill the burgers for about 3-4 minutes per side or until done.
Toast your buns.  I used a grill pan for my sliders, then wiped it down and used it for the buns, as well.
Assemble burgers with lettuce on the bottom, a slider and a large spoonful of spinach dip.

**You can also make full sized turkey burgers using the same ingredients.  You will just portion the lb of ground turkey into 4 or 5 patties and cook a little longer.  Kings Hawaiian also has full sized sandwich buns. 

Holy yum, this is amazing!

I served mine as a quick weeknight meal with my new favorite method of preparing sweet potatoes (alongside some microwave steamed broccoli).
To make grilled sweet potato wedges for 2, clean 2 small to medium sweet potatoes and poke a hole with a knife.  Put them in a Ziploc, but leave a little bit unsealed.  Microwave for 5-6 minutes.  Cut the potatoes lengthwise in half, then in half again to make 4 wedges per potato.  Spray with cooking oil, sprinkle with salt  & garlic powder and grill in grill pan until crispy on the outside.  So much quicker than oven fries!

Ok, I hope everyone has a super fantastic holiday week!  See ya on the flip side!

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Grilling Tutorial: 10 Steps to a Perfect Pork Butt

I posted this super fun grilling tutorial over on Endless Simmer last week & thought it deserved a share over here on my own blog!

I followed my boyfriend's step-by-step process in creating the most flavorful, juicy pork butt and documented it.  And you know what?  Grilling is not that intimidating, after all!

You, yes you, can create a perfect pork butt (or any other type of large meat) with just 10 easy steps!  Try it out and impress your friends for the upcoming July 4th holiday.

(I believe this technique would work well with a pork shoulder or a beef brisket, as well.)

Step 1: Buy a butt

Look for a butt for however many guests you are feeding.   I think ours was 8 lbs and it fed approximately 15  people.  You want some fat on the butt, but not a huge sheet of fat, because then it will be super greasy tasting.

Step 2: Make a rub

We made a rub using this recipe.  It tenderized the meat and gave it amazing flavor.

You can even make a shaker out of a mason jar!

Step 3: Make an injection

An injection keeps the meat moist throughout the long cook time.  We used this recipe here, featuring apple juice!

You can find injectors in lots of stores, in a variety of sizes and materials.  We like this stainless steel one found on Amazon.

Step 4: Prep your butt the night before

To prep the butt, you squirt some spicy mustard all over the meat and put a healthy amount of rub on all surfaces of the meat, rubbing it in slightly.

Then, inject the meat in several different places with the injection recipe.

Wrap it in foil twice and put it in a plastic bag (to safeguard against any leaks) overnight in the refrigerator.

Step 5: Light your coals, set up your grill

Fill a chimney starter with coals and newspaper and light it up.  Get those coals smoking and then put them on one side of your grill.  On the other side of your grill, you should have a drip pan filled with 2 cups of water.

Optional—you can also add foil packs of soaked wood chips into the coal side, periodically, throughout the grilling process.

Step 6: Mind your temperature

Try to keep your grill temp at around 225 – 250F degrees.  To maintain the heat, you can adjust the chimney stack thingy on your grill (to make it cooler) or add more hot coals (to make it hotter).  You’ll most likely have to add more coals at least three times to keep a steady temperature.

Step 7: Make a mop sauce & baste the butt

A mop sauce adds additional moisture to your pork as it cooks.  So you have a double whammy, the internal moisture from the injection plus the mop sauce basting the outside of the meat.  Can’t go wrong with that!

Here’s our recipe for mop sauce:

1 cup of apple juice

1 cup of water

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon of canola oil

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients together and baste the pork butt with a grilling mop about once an hour.

Step 8: Make your own BBQ sauce

Store bought BBQ sauce is okay, but making your own sauce really seals the deal and adds your own unique, fresh flavors to the meat.

We used an award-winning recipe, found here (except that we omitted the apricot preserves).  Highly recommended if you like a tangy hint of sweetness followed by a kick of heat.

Step 9: Check your internal temperature

The internal temperature for pork is 200 degrees.  Use a meat thermometer, like this digital one, for accuracy.

Almost there!

Cook time varies by the size of your butt.  Ours cooked for 8 hours before it reached 200F degrees.

We placed the meat fat side up, so it basted the meat throughout the entire cook time.  We did not flip or rotate the meat.  It needed to do its own thing.

Step 10: Wrap your butt & give it a rest

Once your butt is within 5 degrees of 200, remove it from the grill (careful!  It’s hot!) and wrap in aluminum foil to rest for about an hour.  This will keep the meat very juicy and enhance all the flavors.

Check out that smoke ring!

After, that, shred your meat with a fork and serve.

And bask in the glow of your grilling victory!  Also, you may commence with the butt jokes.

Have a safe & fun Forth of July, everyone!

WIAW: Healthy Mushroom Orzo Risotto

Good Morning!!!
Guys, I'm pretty bummed about losing Google Reader next week.  There's gotta be people out there as dependent on it as I am.  I use it to read over 100 blogs every day.  I have a couple other dashboards in mind, but meh.  Still sad.

***Update--just read this post from Peanut Butter Fingers & imported all my blogs to Bloglovin'!  Eeee!

Ok, onto happier things--It's that time again.  Time to share my food consumption from yesterday.
Try to contain your enthusiasm.
The above picture is my art for this week.  Almost too pretty to eat.  Ha!  Who are we kidding.  Totally didn't even hesitate when eating it.  It tasted as pretty as it looked!
Let's get to it.

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Breakfast: Waffles & Berries

For breakfast I enjoyed 2 Eggo Nutrigrain low fat waffles topped with a smear of peanut butter (Skippy natural super chunk), sliced strawberries and sugar free syrup.

I also had two mugs of coffee in my cute new mug!

A.M. Snack: Pear & Graham 

For snack I had some (more) peanut butter on a half graham cracker and a lovely pear.  Such a great snack!

Lunch: Big Salad 

It was hot as the dickens outside, so we did not walk the dogs like we usually do.  Instead I chopped up some ingredients for a big ole salad.  It was so satisfying and refreshingly light.
In the mix: chopped romaine lettuce, ham and turkey deli slices, leftover broccoli, reduced fat feta cheese, avocado & a dressing of plain Greek yogurt mixed with ranch dressing seasoning.
How pretty is that bowl?  I love it!  It's not mine-just a borrowed bowl that I love.

P.M. Snack: Orange & Tea

Gosh, you know it's a slow, boring day at the office when I take the time to peel an orange.  This was the best orange I've had in a while.  So juicy and delicious.  I had also gotten a tea on the way back from work from the place that takes all my money from me.  Trenta unsweetened black tea wtih 3 Splendas, FTW!

Headed home to change for boot camp.  I made my first Instagram video of Bizzy doing her tricks (sit, lay down, spin).  She was very confused because when she sees the treat she automatically sits, but I wanted to start with her standing up, so I could tell her to sit.  So, she's a little frantic in the vid.  Also, she's full of puppy energy, which can be an overwhelming thing.

Dinner: Bacon Wrapped Salmon, Mushroom Orzo Risotto & Veggies 

Sometimes when I get home from exercise and I have a crazy puppy demanding my attention, I do not feel like cooking.  Such was the case tonight.
Luckily, I was able to throw something together in about 20 minutes.

First I seasoned my salmon & wrapped it in bacon.  My thought process behind this was that it will keep the salmon moist while adding a smoky, bacon-y (it's a word.) flavor.  It worked!

Before I cooked the salmon, I had to get my risotto going.  Here's how I made it:

Healthy Mushroom Orzo Risotto
serves 3-4 (as a side dish)

1-2 tbsp Olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups orzo
2 cups chicken broth (approximately)
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
2 tbsp goat cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup diced & sauteed baby bella mushrooms (or button mushrooms)

Heat enough olive oil to coat a sauce pan. Add onion and cook until onion becomes translucent (about 5 minutes). 

Pour in the orzo and stir to coat. Toast orzo for 2-3 min. Add 1 cup of chicken broth into the sauce pan. Stir occasionally until liquid is absorbed. Add another half cup of broth and repeat. Repeat one more time.  Taste the orzo throughout this process and when it is no longer crunchy, it's about done.

Add in goat cheese, seasoning & Parmesan.  Fold in mushrooms.

About halfway through the risotto, I started the salmon in an oiled grill pan.  Also, I microwaved some fresh broccoli & cauliflower.

My other risotto recipes: butternut squash risotto & healthy brown rice risotto.

For dessert, I ate a serving of these stupid jerks.  You know a serving is only 9 little cookies!  Ludicrous!  But delicious....

Then Bizzy and I watched Chopped.

Sometimes she finds it boring.

Happy Wednesday, all!

Creamsicle Martini Slush

Today is the first official day of Summer!  Hooray!  

Of course, it's felt like summer for a few months here in the south.

What's a better way to celebrate than with a favorite childhood flavor like a Creamsicle all grown up?

This was actually my silly attempt to make boozy popsicles, gone awry.  The thing with boozy pops is you can't have too much alcohol or it won't fully freeze.  And I wanted to have a decent amount of alcohol in my Creamsicle.  So, live and learn.

Enjoying this in a martini glass by the pool was more enjoyable than dripping a popsicle all over my shirt, anyways.

Creamsicle Martini Slush

makes 2 drinks

1 1/2 cup of Trop 50 no pulp orange juice

1 cup of whipped cream vodka

Shake these up in a shaker & freeze.  Serve in martini glasses with an optional orange slice.

It really tastes like a creamsicle.  I promise.  This is actually a skinny cocktail, if we're being technical.  Which we're not...but I thought you'd like to know.

Have a great weekend, everyone!