My Favorite Things

Well hey all you strangers!! LONNNNG time no see write!

I have missed you all dearly! My much needed mental health break was fabulous however. I feel refreshed, rejuvenated and READY to be back I had a couple of very insane weeks- so much going on at work, really trying to  re-commit myself to a consistent gym schedule (I totally fell off the wagon for a while?), and just dealing with the stress that had accumulated in my life. Have no fear, though, my lovelies- the stress has been banished and I?m back to feelin like myself!

So let?s talk food?I mean, that is why we?re all here right?

After a couple of VERY boring weeks in the kitchen, I finally have managed to get my kitchen mojo back. Tonight, I would like to share with you a few of my favorite things.

Like flowers from my boyfriend <3

And this awesomely amazing new kitchen gadget.   

Isn?t it CUTE?! Never again will I have to mince garlic by hand. Simply load this bad boy up, roll it back and forth, and, TA-DA, minced garlic in about 5 seconds. LOVE IT. 

And with the amount of garlic we go through, this was definitely a great find. Credit goes once again to TJ   BBE!!! (best boyfriend everr??!)

Most of the time

Um, and please excuse my 4 week old nail polish job.

So with my schedule lately (gone at work from 6am-5pm, gym from 5pm-6:30pm, home & showered by 7:30pm), I have really been cranking out the speedy quick dinners. So what do you feel like? Seafood? Beef? Chicken?

Don?t fret, my pets, I?ve got all the bases covered!

2 or 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 small yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 white onion, sliced vertically

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

1 Tbsp Garlic Powder

1/2 Tbsp Rubbed Sage

S&P to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Preheat large pan to medium. Season chicken breasts with the italian seasoning, garlic powder, sage, salt and pepper. Sear for 3 minutes, flip, and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from pan, place on sprayed baking sheet & roast in oven for 10-12 minutes.

2. Add peppers & onions to pan. Sautee 3-4 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar & cook another 5-6 minutes, until peppers & onions are soft and vinegar has slightly reduced.

Serve with:

4-5 baby red potatoes, cut in half

1/4 cup marscapone cheese

1/4 skim milk

2 tbsp horseradish

S&P

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes & cook 6-8 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain. Add cheese, milk, horseradish, salt and pepper. Mash. Drool.

Large bunch of Chard, roughly chopped

1 tbsp EVOO

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp crushed red pepper.

Heat pan to medium. Add EVOO. Sautee garlic & red pepper 2-3 minutes. Add chard. Cook until chard just wilts, about 4 minutes.

And voila! Healthy, delicious, nutritious, and FAST! Thats what I?m talkin bout !

Not feelin the chicken? Try some seafood on for size

1 lb shrimp, tails removed (I used the precooked, precleaned, for convenience)

2 slices center cut bacon, diced

8 oz package cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 scallions, diced

1 tbsp EVOO

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 cup skim milk

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

3 Tbsp minced basil

2 Tbsp lemon zest

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted

1. Preheat pan to medium. Add bacon & cook until fat begins to render out, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and scallions. Sautee 4-5 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft.

2. Make a well in the middle. Add the EVOO & cornstarch. Whisk cornstarch into EVOO and cook until cornstarch JUST begins to brown. Slowly whisk in the milk. Cook until sauce thickens & there are no lumps- about 4-5 minutes.

3. Stir in shrimp & parmesan. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Lower heat to low and let shrimp warm through. To make the gremolata, combine basil, garlic, lemon, and pinenuts.

Serve shrimpies over pasta (or spaghetti squash if you really wanna be like me) and top with gremolata. I also had some snow peas that I sauteed with some sherry and crushed red pepper. DEEEEEEEEEEELISHHH.

Need some beef in your life (dont make me say it?..)? How about this.

1 lb sirloin steak, sliced against the grain

5 scallions, chopped into 2 inch pieces

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp minced ginger

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp sherry

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp chile garlic sauce (SRIRACHA!!)

1. Preheat wok/pan on high. Toss together sirloin, scallions, garlic and ginger. Make sauce- combine soy sauce, vinegar, sherry, corn starch and sriracha.

2. Add beef & scallions to wok. Stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add sauce. Cook another 3 minutes, or until sauce has thickened slightly.

I served mine over these funky noodles-

I was a little nervous?they looked..umm?gelatinous?! But the texture was awesome! Chewy chewy, which pared perfectly with the juicy tender beef.

So there you go kids, healthy fast dinners for two

And to thank you for coming back to me after I abandoned you, I would like to share some of my favorite things with someone

HOT DAMN YA?LL! My first giveaway- a collection of my FAVORITE local products. Let?s check out the loot-

BEST.COFFEE.EVER.

Delicious, decadent chocolate made here-

SalllllllSA and Cherry Butter. Bet you didnt know I come from the Cherry Capital of the WORLD.

The BESTTTTTTTTTTTT Peanut Butter & Almond Butter! TO DIE FOR.

Cherry honey mustard.

Delicious wine that tastes like Concord Grape Juice?.dangerous!

2 fav flavas of Larabar 

And the love of my life- sriracha <3

So if you want to try out my hometowns goodies, you can enter three ways:

1. Leave me a comment telling me what YOUR hometown is known for.

2. Tweet tweet! ?I want a taste of Northern Michigan from @SJayRay03  http://tiny.cc/pwI95?

3. Link back from your bloggie- if you have one; If not, leave me another comment telling me what your fav kitchen gadget is !

Enter until this Friday- February 5th- at 9 am Michigan time

Gotta jet, theres a very handsome man staring me down from the couch and some steamed artichokes with gorgonzola dip callin my name <3