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This evening I had planned to roast some chicken thighs and baby eggplants for dinner, but unfortunately, my eggplants were no longer fresh and I had to pitch them. So...a quick re-grouping was in order! I decided to make a simple rustic style roasted chicken dish that I just threw together. I had 5 boneless and skinless chicken thighs (about 1-1/2 pounds total), 5 small zucchini
Today it got warm here -- in the mid-80s and since there is rain in the forecast, it's a bit humid as well. Last night I took the night off from cooking because I wasn't very hungry. I had eaten a larger than normal lunch of leftover Chicken Paprikash (which I finally finished up for today's lunch). Hubby stopped on his way home and picked up a rotisserie chicken for last night's dinner and
It rained most of the day here today and we had brutal thunderstorms overnight. Parts of our metro area got 7 inches of rain today and we are currently under flood watches. This evening I made a quick and simple meal for dinner. Youngest son came for dinner and his two favorite things to eat are chicken and fish...so I decided to make fish for dinner since we had chicken last night. &n
Today turned out to be a beautiful day here. Hubby and I took our walk late in the afternoon because it began to get a bit cloudy and we were afraid it might rain if we waited until after dinner. On our walk back home, we stopped at the local grocery store near our house and picked up some chicken and yellow squash so I could make Hungarian Style Chicken Paprikash for dinner over butte
Happy Saturday! This morning I was able to sleep in late. I don't get to do that often and I feel so refreshed this morning. Hubby and I took our walk quite late last night -- it was 10:00 and we didn't finish up until close to 11:00 after taking Spike for his walk, too. It was cloudy and overcast when I opened my eyes this morning, but I decided to get up and make myself a
Both hubby and I were off today and it turned out to be such a beautiful day to be off...sunny, breezy and warm. We took our little bichon, Spike, to the vet for his annual check up and vaccine early in the morning and then headed out to do our Costco run and some other errands so we could take advantage of missing the weekend traffic and crowds. We began our adventure at the Penzeys Spices
This evening I was in the mood to make a frittata for dinner...quick, easy and delicious. I browned some Italian chicken sausage that I removed from the casings and broke it up as it browned. I transferred the cooked sausage to a paper towel lined plate and let it drain. I melted 1 tablespoon of butter in an oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium heat and then placed the cooked s
This evening, I stopped to pick up a couple of steaks on my way home from work to toss on the grill for dinner. It actually got pretty hot here today...in the upper 80s. Dinner was so easy to put together. I patted my NY strip steaks with paper towels until dry, then lightly coated them with olive oil and dusted both sides with some ground Chipotle Chile pepper, Celtic sea salt a
This evening I was in the mood for my Greek Style Spinach-Feta Pie, but I decided to put a different twist on it by making it crustless...."sort of". Rather than make the almond flour crust I typically make for this (which is super easy to make, by the way)...I decided to add some almond flour and Parmesan cheese inside the pie filling instead and make it a crustless pie. I also bumpe
This afternoon I decided to make a big beautiful salad for lunch using last night's leftover Chipotle Lime Grilled Chicken Breast. I sliced it and placed it on a bed of romaine lettuce and added sliced mini San Marzano tomatoes, half of a diced avocado...drizzled on a little ranch dressing...and BOOM, I had an awesome quick and easy salad for lunch! It was so nice outside that I decide
This evening I had 3 boneless chicken breasts I wanted to use. I decided to do a quick little marinade packed with lots of flavor. I placed my chicken in a Ziploc bag and beat them with my meat mallet until they were flattened a bit. I placed them in a small shallow casserole dish and grated the zest and squeezed the juice of 1-1/2 limes over the 3 breasts. I poured a few tablespoons o
Today was a beautiful day out, although it clouded up and began raining later this evening. Hubby and I ran our errands and did our Costco run and then went for a long walk since it was so nice; we walked for over an hour and then came home and took Spike for his walk, too. Since we've had so much rain recently, the flowers in the yard are particularly beautiful, so I snapped a few pho
I am SO glad that today is Friday -- it seemed like a long week for some reason. This evening I was torn about what to make for dinner. It was either going to be something with chicken or something like pizza or calzones...and the calzones won! I have made calzones many times before -- both the traditional dough type as well as the recipe I created for the wheat/grain free dough
We finally saw the sunshine today and it was such a welcome sight! This evening I was in the mood to bake chocolate chip cookies...so I made a batch of my Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Toasted Walnuts & Ricotta since I didn't have much to do to prepare dinner since our dinner was cooked in the crock pot. I put a small pot roast in the crock pot when I came home at lunch time today
This evening we had leftovers that needed to be used, so I didn't have to cook dinner. However, I was in the mood to bake! Friday night I didn't feel like cooking, so we had picked up a rotisserie chicken to have for dinner along with a salad. I still had leftover chicken that needed to be used. We also had leftover Poblano Pepper, Beef & Cheese Pie that needed to be used fro
When I got home from work this evening, it looked like it was going to rain...again. So, I began trying to figure out how I would fix the wild caught halibut I picked up from Costco on Sunday -- it was an unusually beautiful piece that I cut into 2 fillets. While I was pondering dinner...the sun suddenly peeked out, so I hurried up and put on my walking shoes and scooted out the door.
Since today was Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May), I decided to make something with a Mexican theme. One of hubby's favorite things to order in a Mexican restaurant is stuffed Poblano peppers. Sometimes he gets them stuffed with cheese and sometimes with beef. Traditionally they are stuffed, battered and fried. Initially, I had planned to buy some Poblano peppers and stuff the
It was an ugly day here yesterday -- it rained all day long with lots of heavy wind gusts and it was chilly, too. We got about 3+ inches of rain here yesterday and they say more is on the way for today and tomorrow so we are under flood watches. I got up early and ran a few errands yesterday morning but it was so chilly here (about 50 degrees) that I couldn't wait to get back home and
This evening I decided to make "Breakfast for Dinner". I made nitrite free Applewood smoked bacon that I baked until crisp, fried some cage free organic eggs and served it with the leftover Ancho Chile Cheddar Biscuits from earlier in the week as well as some leftover Squash Gruyere Bake from last night's dinner. It was quick, simple and delicious! It was extremely overcast all d
This evening we grilled Lemon Rosemary Marinated Chicken for dinner. I actually made the marinade last night while preparing last night's dinner so it could marinate overnight. I placed 3 boneless chicken breasts (slightly pounded) in a gallon sized Ziploc bag and added: 1/3 cup olive oil, the zest and juice of 1 super-large lemon (about 1/4 cup juice), 3 minced garlic cloves, 2
This evening I decided to make Ancho Chile Chicken Fingers as well as Ancho Chile Cheddar Biscuits. I made the oven-fried chicken fingers by using boneless chicken breasts. I cut each of the 3 chicken breasts into 3 strips lengthwise and placed them in a small shallow casserole dish and submerged them in about 1 cup of buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon of ground Ancho Chile Pepper, salt
Tonight, youngest son came to have dinner with us...and he really loves both chicken and mushrooms...so I made a quick and simple dinner using chicken breast cutlets, sauce and cheese. Using a meat mallet, I pounded chicken breast cutlets until they were about 1/8" thick. I cut fresh mozzarella cheese into rectangular pieces and placed it in the center of each cutlet, then sprinkled li
Today was a pretty day here -- cool, breezy, and sunny on and off throughout the day. Hubby had a meeting to attend most of the day, which left me time to shop and play around in the kitchen! I decided to get a head start on dinner to have it ready beforehand so hubby and I could take our walk before dinner and it would be waiting for us when we got done. I had 5 beautiful small
This evening I was in the mood for my Greek Style Spinach-Feta Pie. I also just happened to have 1 pound of fresh organic baby spinach that I needed to use...so, naturally this dinner choice was the perfect solution to use it! Even though I typically use only 10 ounces of fresh cooked spinach in this recipe...in tonight's spinach pie, I used the entire 16 ounce container...a full pound of sp
This evening I made grilled Porterhouse steaks for dinner. I like to buy the "thin sliced" steaks to cook on weeknights because they cook so quickly -- it probably only took about 8 minutes total on the grill for medium-well. I just brushed them lightly with olive oil and seasoned with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. I cut up the rest of my red, orange and yellow bell pepp
When I got home this evening, I decided to get my walk in before dinner instead of after the sun went down -- I walked for almost an hour to take advantage of and enjoy the beautiful weather while the sun was still nice and bright. When I got back, I fired up our grill and then thinly sliced an orange, lemon and lime. I had 2 pieces of wild Alaskan salmon and decided I wanted to use ci
Tonight I made the lamb chops that I had originally planned to make last night, but ran out of time to marinate them long enough. I made Greek Style Marinated Lamb Chops with Roasted Asparagus and then sliced some mini San Marzano tomatoes and tossed them in a little extra virgin olive oil, pomegranate vinegar and salt and pepper. Roasted asparagus is so simple to make -- I just cut off the
We awoke to another gorgeous spring day this morning. It is cooler than normal, but its bright, sunny and quite breezy out. While our pollen count has come down, it is still in the 700's which is quite high. We again decided to get our walk in first thing this morning and take advantage of the beautiful weather before having breakfast and beginning our chores. It was 48 degrees a
Today was most definitely a "Top 10" day here weather wise. I had originally planned to grill lamb chops for dinner, but got home too late to marinate them sufficiently beforehand...so my back-up plan was PIZZA!!! I still had lots of the colorful peppers left that I used earlier in the week as well as in this morning's delicious omelette...so I decided to go with that theme again! &nbs
This morning we slept in and took our time getting up and started. It was bright, sunny, brisk and cool and only in the upper 40s when we woke up...but you could tell by the beautiful blue skies and birds chirping outside that it was going to be a gorgeous day. I decided that before we had breakfast we would get dressed and get our walk in first thing this morning. We walked for
This evening, I made a quick and simple dinner -- my Chicken Scampi-ish. I normally like to serve it on top of Rich & Thick Parmesan Cauliflower Mash. This evening I decided to try it over zucchini noodles (made with my little Spirelli) instead. While it turned out good...I must be honest, I still think it tastes best on top of the Parmesan Cauliflower Mash. It has load
This evening I was in the mood for something different for dinner. Over the weekend, I picked up some beautiful, colorful bell peppers...red, yellow and orange. I also had half of a green Poblano pepper left in the fridge...so I decided that the peppers would go great with some Italian sausage and onions. I stopped by the store on my way home to pick up some fresh Italian chicken
This evening I decided to make dinner that used up some of the ingredients I had available. I decided to make a quiche-like pie using baby kale and to give it a Southwestern theme. I had an 8-ounce container of fresh organic baby kale that I sauteed in a little olive oil for a few minutes until it was wilted and then tossed in some sliced green onions and fresh mushrooms and cooked a c
This evening I wasn't very hungry for some reason, so it was harder for me to decide what to make for dinner. I had a package of boneless chicken breasts in the fridge to use, so I boiled them and decided to make chicken salad. I figured it would be nice to have as a lighter dinner this evening and great as leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I had a few ripe avocados on my counter that need
This evening I had some boneless chicken breasts that I needed to use, so I made a seasoned breading mix for them using about 1/3 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup golden ground flax, 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, some salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder (I just shook in the last few spices without measuring). It made enough to coa
Happy Sunday! It is a surprisingly chilly, overcast morning here and only 57 degrees. We are supposed to get rain this afternoon, so as soon as we are finished eating our breakfast we are going to get outside and take our walk before it rains. Looks like it will be long pants and long sleeved shirts for us this morning! Since we are going to walk shortly, I made myself a qu
I had a busy day today working on various projects around the house. I wish I could have enjoyed the gorgeous weather outside today (it was 73), but I had things that just needed to get done and they required me to be inside. Hubby was in an all day training class today as well, so we are both looking forward to some outdoor time tomorrow. We are planning to get a walk in this evening
Today was a beautiful, bright and sunny day here and about 75 degrees. Unfortunately, the pollen count was unbelievably high (8,024) which made being outside extremely unpleasant. We are currently under severe thunderstorm and tornado watches; so hopefully with the pounding rain, our pollen count will drop drastically. I had to run a few errands this afternoon and being outside f
This evening I put together a quick casserole using the leftover turkey breast from Sunday. It's sort of like a green bean casserole, but with turkey in it. I had about 4 cups of leftover diced turkey breast and I cooked a 12-oz bag of frozen french green beans and toasted some slivered almonds. I made a double batch of cream of mushroom soup for the sauce part and whisked in abo
This evening I was in the mood for tacos. I had a beautiful head of fresh bibb lettuce in the fridge and a package of ground round beef. I made my own taco seasoning, shredded some sharp cheddar cheese and diced a beautiful red ripe tomato I had sitting on the counter...and "Boom"...dinner was ready in no time! It was a delicious, fresh and beautiful meal that was so simple to pu
Today was an absolutely gorgeous day here. It was bright, sunny and in the upper 70s. The pollen has really started in full force though -- there is a green haze on our cars already. I awoke bright and early this morning at 6:00 a.m. for some reason and couldn't fall back asleep. I finally got up around 7:00 and put a turkey breast in the crock pot to cook for dinner.
Today was a beautiful day here. It was bright, sunny and warm with a pleasant breeze. This morning, I slept in late -- until almost 10:00 am, giving me about 13+ hours of sleep! While it sounds like a lot, it only helped make up for Thursday night's complete lack of sleep! Our little dog, Spike, who is a Bichon Frise, was up all night pacing, fidgeting and whimpering when t
Today was an absolutely frigid day here in the Atlanta area. Our high this time of year should be around 70, and instead it was around 40 with rain, wind and just an ugly day all the way around. We actually had to put the heat back on again and according to the weather reports, today's temperature tied as a record low temperature back in 1987. The last couple of days I have felt
This evening I got home late from work, so I didn't have time to stop at the store like I had originally planned. I had intended to pick up some steaks to grill, but just ran out of time. I had a 1-pound container of organic baby spinach that needed to be used as well as some super ripe roma tomatoes on the counter...so I decided to make a "pie" with them for dinner. I quickly sa
Happy Easter! Today we have had a combination of rain then sunshine back and forth -- it can't make up its mind what to do! At the moment, it is bright and sunny, but scary clouds loom in the distance. Today has been a very busy day trying to get ready for Easter dinner...but everything is ready now...just waiting for everyone to arrive shortly, so I thought I'd take a minute to
Today was a busy day running errands, working on projects around the house, and getting my grocery shopping done for the week as well as tomorrow's Easter dinner with the family. The grocery stores were packed, as usual, before a holiday. I still have to clean the house before everyone comes tomorrow -- it looks like a bomb went off in it! :-) We actually made it up to 73
I am off this afternoon to work on taxes (ugh)...but I wanted to first start with a good lunch before I get knee deep in papers. I had some leftover rotisserie chicken breast we had for dinner Wednesday night that needed to be used. I cut up some chicken breast, diced an avocado half left from yesterday's lunch and diced a ripe roma tomato and plopped it on top of a bed of torn butter lettuc
This evening I decided to make a Speedy Shrimp Stir Fry with Broccoli that only took me about 15 minutes to put together. Last night I took about 1 pound of frozen cooked shrimp out of the freezer and thawed it in the fridge overnight to use for dinner tonight (I buy it in 2-pound bags from Costco and it is delicious). Since the shrimp is already cooked and just needs to be heated...it
Today was a crazy day here weather wise. Besides it being freezing cold here (literally)...we awoke to snow flurries that continued on and off during the day. While there wasn't any accumulation, it was totally bizarre to see snow of any sort here in March. What we are usually plagued with is sky-high pollen counts this time of year instead. Even at lunch time I saw snow fl
This evening, youngest son came for dinner. We had pan seared fresh wild caught pacific cod that I picked up at Costco yesterday. I made a simple mixture of almond flour, salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper. I lightly dusted both sides of the fillets with the flour mixture and sauteed them on each side for about 5 minutes. I also had some leftover extra sauteed fresh s
