Didja miss me?

I have so many lovely updates and photos to share, but first – a recipe!

Just the other day I was out and about with my mom when a craving hit. SOUP. I needed it. Preferably with an enormous slab of bread and butter.

I braced the 90 degree heat and walked to one of my favorite spots for lunch downtown. As my chicken soup was presented, I snatched my saltines and began crunching the perfect accompaniment to my favorite soup.

About 30 seconds later, after I started sweating through my shirt and feeling like I was at death’s door (apparently I’m going to hell), I realized my mistake. Why I didn’t think of it sooner we’ll never know — chalk it up to the fact that when I’m thinkin’ “food,” logic goes out the window. How unfortunate for me.

Unable to finish my beloved soup I chugged a glass of ice water and picked up a smoothie on my way back to the office.

If only there was a COLD soup! I thought angrily.

Duh.

The Perfect Summer Gazpacho – Serves 4

You’ll need:

• 2 cucumbers, diced
• 3 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups tomato juice
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• Tabasco
• Crusty Bread
• 1 Avocado (cubed)

Combine veggies in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients (except bread and avocado). Mix well.  Add half the mixture to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Combine puree with original mixture. Chill for 4 hours.

Serve with crusty bread (or tortilla chips!) and garnish with avocado. Enjoy!

Do you like Gazpacho soup? What recipe do you use?

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Pure deliciousness.

While it might not seem like the most natural flavor combination, I assure you it’s delicious! And stop scrunching your noes — I’m sure the person who invented the PB and banana combo got similar responses. But I didn’t “INVENT” this combination. per se. I did, however, create the PERFECT recipe. You’ve got to try it. Why? Because it will make you fall in love with me, and love is always a very good thing

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 avocados (pitted and peeled and cut into small chunks – about 1/2 inch)
• 1-2 lbs. watermelon (seeded and cut into small/med chunks – about 1 inch)
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/2 red onion (peeled and sliced thin)
• 1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil – do not leave this out!
• 1/2 bunch cilantro (chopped) - make sure you use fresh herbs, it makes ALL the difference
• kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Basically, throw everything into a bowl and toss lightly. Be gentle! It will still taste delish if you mix it too hard, but it won’t look nearly as pretty.

Doesn’t that look lovely?

If you want a bit more substance, lay scoops of this on top of a bed of spinach and sprinkle some feta cheese on top!

Your turn! What is your favorite summer salad?

Sorry I’m a little late to the party this morning.

But I promise what I’m about to share will make it up to you

Unless you have no tastebuds and then, well…I feel SO SORRY FOR YOU. Seriously, can you imagine the horror?

Anyway, this next recipe comes from my #1 girl crush, The Pioneer Woman. For those of you who aren’t familiar with The Pioneer Woman, you must do something to change that. NOW.

When I came across her Strawberry Shortcake Cake, I knew I had to make it. And what better occasion to serve up 3 sticks of butter and a pound of powdered sugar than Mother’s Day?! Let’s just focus on the STRAWBERRY part of this cake. Cuz I mean, that makes it healthy, right?

If only…

I will not pretend that this is a healthy recipe. If you are looking for a healthy recipe (today) look elsewhere (or check out my guiltless chocolate cupcakes!) But sometimes indulgences are 100% necessary and sometimes they are 110% worth it. People, this is one of those times.

I will say that I used reduced fat cream cheese for the frosting and granulated Splenda for the cake (I do what I can ).

For the complete recipe, head over to The Pioneer Woman.

Progress photos:

My piece.

This was to.die.for.

If you want you secret admirer to make sweet love to you, make him/her this cake.

Seriously. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you, this cake is serious business.

P.S. that frosting? it’s cream cheese BUTTERCREAM. I’ve heard that when angels cry, it’s because they ran out of this frosting.

Just sayin.

Stop drooling.

You’re welcome.

What is you favorite INDULGENT (i.e. NOT healthy) dessert?

Tonight I’ll be making one of my favorites: fresh flounder fillets. Baked with lemon and a little white wine or vermouth makes this dish a wonderful, low fat supper option. I’ll be serving mine with roasted broccoli, but grilled asparagus or green beans are also nice options.

Serves 2 — to serve more, just double or adjust the recipe accordingly!

You’ll need:

• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 cup dry white wine or vermouth
• 3/4 tsp lemon pepper
• 1/2 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 6-ounce flounder fillets

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine lemon juice, white wine, lemon pepper and garlic in a small bowl.

Place flounder in one layer in a shallow glass baking dish. Spread lemon mixture evenly over the fish and bake for 15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Each serving is about 150 calories, only 2 grams of fat and a whopping 32 grams of protein! 

Also — it takes roughly 15 minutes from start to finish. I told ya it was simple

I’ll post pictures later tonight!

p.s. do you call your evening meal dinner or supper? I normally call it “dinner,” but I was using “supper” for alliteration (fancy!)

You may be wondering what SHREAM is. I’m so glad you asked. I made it up. Derived from the words milkSHake and ice cREAM, SHREAM is not quite ice cream, but still thicker than a shake.

You’ll need:

• 1 banana (frozen – this is crucial it CANNOT be fresh)
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 4 ice cubes
• 1/2 cup milk

Now place all ingredients into a blender and blend away for about 4 minutes.

Pour into a bowl and serve.

How amazing would this be with some chocolate chips stirred in?!

Best eaten with a spoon.

AMAZING.

ENJOY!

Turns out that parsnips provide an excellent source of vitamin C, fiber, folic acid, pantothenic acid, copper, and manganese. They also offer a very good source of niacin, thiamine, magnesium, and potassium. With similar nutritional benefits as potatoes, parsnips also contain riboflavin, folic acid, and vitamins B6 and E.

Much like turnips, parsnips are lower in calories than potatoes. But the decrease in calories comes with a price: a 50 percent decrease in protein and vitamin C as opposed to the content of potatoes. However, parsnips do contain more fiber and also provide a much better source of folic acid.

After reading about Caitlin’s love of parsnips, I knew I had to give them a try.

I cut them into fry-like chunks and coated them with olive oil and a bit of salt. I then roasted them in the oven at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes.

These were enjoyed alongside a big glob of ketchup (which didn’t make the photo — not very photogenic )

AMAZING! These had the consistency of potato fries, but with a sharper bite — the parsnip definitely has more of a distinct taste, but a GOOD one!  The Mister even coined them “his favorite vegetable.” You’ll be seeing these a lot more often. So in the battle of turnip vs. parsnip, the parsnip prevailed!

Have you had a parsnip? How do you like to prepare them?

Not having cooked a turnip before, I did a bit of research and learned that you can cook them very similar to a potato. Knowing this, I came up with the following recipe.

Easy Turnip Saute

You’ll need:

• 3 turnips, chopped
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter (I used Smart Balance)
• 1 teaspoon rosemary

Add chopped onions and 1 tablespoon butter to a medium-heat saute pan. Cook until browned. Add turnips and another tablespoon of butter. Cook about 5 minutes. Add rosemary and stir. Cover and cook about 10-15 minutes. Remove lid and cook until turnips are browned and soft.

Season with salt and pepper, plate and enjoy!

This was great! I thought they tasted A LOT like potatoes. Definitely had the same consistency. But the turnip had more of a distinct flavor, though. I can’t really describe it other than… turnipy — how’s that for descriptive?! Anyway, I really enjoyed this dish and love how easy it would be to customize with your favorite spices and flavors. Get creative!

Have you tried turnips? What did you think? How have you had them prepared? I have a feeling I’ll be on quite the turnip kick, so I could use some ideas!

Behold: An ‘Egg’cellent Baked Sweet Potato

Perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just ‘cuz

You’ll need:

• 1 sweet potato
• 2 real eggs
• A little buttah
• salt and pepper

First, bake your sweet potato. Here’s a simple method I use: pierce the sweet potato several times with a fork. Microwave for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to the oven and bake about 10-15 minutes.

Your potato is now soft on the inside. Cut it in half and scoop out some of the sweet potato on each half, forming a tiny bowl. Now break for a bit and enjoy a little snack with the scooped out potato flesh! I like drizzling mine with ketchup

Drop a bit of buttah into each hole and cover with a cracked egg.

Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Season with salt and pepper. Attack and enjoy the sweet, eggy, carby goodness.

ENJOY!

If you don’t like sweet potatoes, this recipe is just as yummy with a good ‘ol Idaho!

You’re welcome.

I have a few updates on the home-front to share:

1.) My NEW CAMERA is being sent TODAY – so no more ugly photos!

2.) My Grandma is out of ICU! Thanks so much for all your prayers and well-wishes

3.) I was VERY sick over the weekend (stomach flu or food poisoning, still not sure!), but I am back in the game

Now that I feel I’ve gotten you all up to speed, how’s it crackin’!? According to my breakfast this morning, over-easy for me! HA – I kill, don’t I?

Since I STILL don’t have my camera, I didn’t want to subject you all to sub-par photos (in fear that you’ll leave me! – you wouldn’t do that, would you?), so I bring you:

The BEST OF Make it Monday.

The following recipes were my very favorites this past year and deserve a second-glance (or first-glance if you missed them) enjoy!

One-pot pesto chicken

Homemade stuffed-crust pizza (healthified!)

Grilled portobello mushrooms

Honey yogurt cheesecake bars

Stuffed peppers

Mahi Mahi with harissa sauce

Stuffed acorn squash

The Best Peanut Butter Cookies EVER

ENJOY!

Now, I know a lot of bloggers get a little bratty when people leave links within their comments, but I am ENCOURAGING you to share your favorite recipes! Please, if you have a blog, leave a link to the recipe that you’re most proud of — if you don’t have a blog, leave a link to a recipe you love. Hopefully we’ll create a GREAT list of recipes we should all try!

I have a great recipe for you to make sometime this week. It’s super simple, incredibly satisfying and oh-so delicious.

Almond crusted chicken with a side of kale chips. Doesn’t that sound fancy? Well, I promise it’ll be done in only 30 minutes (including prep!)

Follow the famous Kath’s recipe for Kale Chips.

Start with some kale, broken into bite-sIze pieces. Spread out on a cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and Parmesan cheese.

Bake about 10-15 minutes, until browned.

I’m not even going to TRY and explain these. Just make them — now. They are better than potato chips (gasp!) and you will be so surprised with how CRISPY they get!

While your chips are cooking, chop 1/3 cup of almonds. Mix with 1/8 teaspoon of garlic seasoning, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan and a dash of salt and pepper. Set aside.

Next, pound 1 or 2 chicken breasts until they are at desired thickness (should be no thicker than 1/4 inch).

Dip chicken into egg substitute and then press into almond mixture. Cover both sides of the breast.

Heat a fry-pan on medium heat. Cook the chicken until it’s thoroughly cooked through, about 4-5 minutes on each side.

This is really comfort food at its finest — except instead of lots of grease and fat, you have an incredibly nutritious, healthy meal. The almond coating almost tastes sinful! The almonds brown, creating a tasty crunch — like fried chicken! The chicken stays tender and moist, serving as a perfect compliment to the nutty, full-flavored crunch. SCRUM! ENJOY!

What do you use to create a healthy, crunchy coating on your chicken?