Marinating....

Hi everyone! It's been far too long. Life has been busy-a good kind of busy. 

I guess you could say I've been sitting back and "marinating". I wish I had the desire and time to blog more. 

I really do miss it. 

I admire bloggers that stay committed for years and regularly post. Kudos to you. 

Cue the cheesy pun....

speaking of marinating, let me introduce you to marinated cheese. 

*snort* 

*knee slap*

I make this recipe every year around the holidays. It's SO easy and always a big hit at parties. The best part-you make it the night before, then dump in on a platter. No heating or keeping warm before your guests arrive. 

Marinated Cheese

(adapted from "Prime Meridian" Cookbook)

80 cubes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 (2 oz) jar diced pimento, drained
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons minced green onion
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (8 oz) block sharp cheddar cheese, cut into cubes
• 1 (8 oz) package of cubed Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno pepper (pepper jack)

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients, except cheeses in a jar or plastic container with a lid. 
• Cover tightly and shake vigorously. 
• Place cheeses in a large Ziploc bag.
• Pour marinade over cheeses and refrigerate a minimum of 8 hours.
• Serve in a shallow dish with toothpicks and assorted crackers (in a separate dish).

Pecan-Crusted Goat Cheese and Roasted Pear Salad

Through the years, I've played around with different ingredients in salads to suit our tastes. Sometimes I'll try to copy a salad from a restaurant, and other times-I just use what we have on hand in our refrigerator.

This salad is an adaptation of a salad we used to have when we lived in Memphis. Paulette's had the most wonderful mixed greens salad with fried pecan-crusted goat cheese. I'm trying to eat healthier, so I coated the goat cheese in toasted pecans and skipped the frying. The roasted pears in this salad come from a recipe I made up many years ago that has cornbread croutons, bacon, spinach, and roasted pears.

Pecan-Crusted Goat Cheese and Roasted Pear Salad

Ingredients:

• Your choice of greens. I used an organic spinach salad blend.
• Thinly sliced purple onion
• A couple of slices of pan-fried bacon, crumbled
• About a 1/4 cup pecans
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 small log of good quality goat cheese
• Girard's Champagne Dressing (available in most grocery stores)
• 1 ripe pear for each salad
• Brown sugar or honey
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Lightly spray a small skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add pecans. Toast the pecans for 3-6 minutes, flipping often to avoid burning.
• Let pecans cool and pulse them finely in a food processor. Set aside.
• Slice the goat cheese log into approximately 1/2 inch slices. If the goat cheese crumbles, don't sweat it. You can easily reshape the slices.

• Lightly salt and pepper one side of the goat cheese. Press the pecan pieces onto each side. Place in refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the salad.
• Place parchment paper or a Silpat pad on a baking sheet. 
• Peel pears and cut into wedges. Place on baking sheet and bake for about 7 minutes.
• Remove from oven and turn over pears with a spatula. 
• Lightly sprinkle pears with brown sugar or drizzle with honey. 
• Return to oven and bake 5-7 minutes or until sugar starts to caramelize a bit. Be careful. These can burn easily once the sugar is on them.

• In individual salad bowls, add spinach mix.
• Add crumbled bacon, purple onion, pears, and 2-3 goat cheese slices.
• Add salt and fresh cracked pepper if desired and drizzle champagne dressing onto finished salad.

Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

XOXO

Chicken Enchiladas

I usually make sour cream based chicken enchiladas, but I wanted to try something different. I stumbled across this chicken enchilada recipe from Tide and Thyme. I have to say-these are the BEST enchiladas I've ever eaten. They're so flavorful and taste "fresher" than creamy enchiladas. Here's my adaptation of her recipe. I personally don't like pickled jalapenos, so I used fresh.


*Buy good quality tortillas. I bought local yellow corn tortillas. They tasted so much better than the normal commercial brand I usually use. Plus they roll much easier without tearing.

Chicken Enchiladas

Adapted from: Tide and Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 4 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tablespoons chili powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 2 Campari tomatoes, seeded and chopped, or substitute about 1/4 cup tomato of your choice
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large breasts)
• 1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded (I used Cracker Barrel extra sharp WHITE cheddar)
• 1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack  or Sargento's "4-cheese Mexican Blend"
• 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
• cooking spray
• salt and ground black pepper

*Optional toppings: sour cream, salsa or taco sauce, guacamole, fresh cilantro. 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
• Add onion, jalapeno, 1/2 teaspoon salt to saucepan and cook about 10 minutes or until onions are translucent. Stir often.
• Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar to the onion mixture. Stir for about 30 seconds.
• Next, mix in tomato sauce, water, and chopped tomato. 
• Once sauce starts to simmer, cook about 5-10 minutes, or until slightly thickened. 
• Add chicken breasts directly to the sauce. Spoon sauce on top of chicken.
• Cover and reduce heat to low.
• Cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked through-about 15-20 minutes.  Internal temperature should register at least 160 degrees on the thickest part of the breast.
• Transfer the chicken to a plate, and set aside to cool.
• Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium bowl, pressing the onion mixture to extract as much liquid as possible. (This is the nectar of the gods. SO good.)
• Transfer the onions to a large bowl and set aside. 
• Season sauce with additional salt and pepper to taste.
• After the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. 
• Add shredded chicken to the onion mixture, along with 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1 cup cheddar cheese, and cilantro. Toss to combine.
• Stack the tortillas on a plate and cover with plastic wrap or a moist paper towel; Microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40-60 seconds. 
• Spread the tortillas on a clean work surface, and spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each. I used a 1/3 cup measuring cup and just "dipped" out the mixture.
• Tightly roll each tortilla and lay seam-side down in a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. 
• Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 7 minutes, or until the tortillas start to brown slightly (skip this step if you don't like the crunch).
• Reduce heat to 400. Remove enchiladas and pour sauce evenly on top. 
• Top with the remaining cheese. 
• Cover dish with foil, and bake an additional 20-25 minutes, or until heated through.
• Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, until cheese browns. 
• Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*Once plated, add whatever toppings you like. Give me a dollop of sour cream and fresh cilantro, and I'm good to go!

My Fitness Pal and Healthy Eating

I didn't grow up eating healthy. Sure, my mom made a meat and vegetables at most meals, but often they were fried or had a lot of butter. Luckily, I was blessed genetically with thin parents and never had to worry about "weight" or dieting.....until the past few years.

Yeah, I know....I'm not overweight. But I know that I'm not as healthy as I could be. I'm only 5'3" and 10 extra pounds on me makes a BIG difference. Since my hysterectomy in May, I haven't really exercised. There, I said it. I was working out 3-4 days a week before my surgery. I have made a lot of excuses. Like the saying goes, "You make a way or you make an excuse."

I start physical therapy on my knee this week, and I'm actually excited. I'm excited that I'll be in a safe environment to rehab my knee instead of at the gym doing Lord knows what trying to keep up with the 20 year old on the treadmill next to me. Please tell me y'all  "compete" with the person next to you on the treadmill or elliptical. Oh, okay maybe that's just me. LOL

Back to my diet.....after all the buzz on Twitter about the "My Fitness Pal" app, I've religiously started using it. If you haven't heard about it, here's the website. It's the easiest way I've found to journal my food. Now I'm thinking about every.single.morsel I put into my piehole mouth. Give it a whirl. Best of all, it's free.

Here's a few things I've been eating. I'm really trying to stay away from food in boxes or packages. In other words, I'm aiming for "whole" fresh foods.

This recipe includes homemade dough. It was my first time making my own pizza dough. 

This is by FAR the best bbq chicken pizza I've eaten. 

I used organic chicken and organic bbq sauce (recipe calls for you to make your own). 

Here's the link. I also used the same ingredients and made BBQ chicken quesadillas. 

You talk about F-I-N-E! Mmmmm.

I am not a fan of plain Greek yogurt, but I love flavored Chobani. 

Mango is my favorite and I add almonds or flax seeds.

Have you tried My Fitness Pal? Look me up! I'm "dishydecorator". Duh.

I'm in need of snack and meal ideas. I'd love to hear your quick "go to" healthy foods. 

Pumpkin Eatin' and Hair Teasin'

This is probably the most random blog post ever.
This week, I discovered 2 great things. 

The first was a yummy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake 

that the beautiful "Bees and Bows" posted here. 

My family hasn't been diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten-intolerance. But after reading the book "Dangerous Grains", I'm always looking for ways to cut wheat and grains out of our diet.

Our local health food grocer didn't carry the same brand gluten-free cake mix that "Bees and Bows" used, so I improvised with another brand that I love, Pamela's Products. I regularly use Pamela's Products Baking and Pancake Mix to make pancakes and it's YUMMY. 

Here's how I adjusted the recipe because of the difference in volume of the cake mix:

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
Adapted from this recipe: Namaste Food, LLC

(not sure why it looks "shiny". It doesn't look like that in person)

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Pamela's Products Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Mix
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of pureed pumpkin
• 1 cup of chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon gluten-free pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Spray a bundt pan or 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and water. Add chocolate chips.
• Pour mixture into pan.
• Bake 25-30 minutes and check for the center with toothpick. Continue baking until toothpick comes out clean and top has thoroughly cooked. It took about 40 minutes with my oven. 

The second item on my list is a teasing hair brush that I bought from my hair stylist. I got my hair trimmed on Monday and asked for some shorter layers on top. I wanted needed more "poof" in my crown. (Don't we all?) 

When the stylist started my blow out, she pulled out a teasing brush and with a few flicks of the wrist, I had some SUR-E-US poofage. The poof stayed and I bought--especially since I already have a drawer full of teasing combs and 3 teasing brushes that don't work very well.

Here's this little gem. It's "The Little Wonder" by Spornette.  

I really do like this better than my other teasing brushes.  

I don't know if it's because the pink tips are more "textured" or if the design of the brush is different.

You can pick up the "Little Wonder" at Sally's or Ulta. 

Also, do a search on Youtube, there's several videos showing how to "poof" your hair using this brush.

Hope you're having a great weekend!