Day 260

Tonight's dinner: Cooking Light Spicy Honey-Brushed chicken Thighs with roasted potato wedges.

This recipe was so easy, as I'm noticing the majority of them are in this cook book.

Preheat the broiler.  Combine 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp paprika, and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes.  Add 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs to a bowl and add spices.  Toss to coat.  Place chicken on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.  Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.

Quarter a handful of red potatoes and spread evenly across a cookie sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dill.  Place on bottom rack in oven.

Combine 6 Tbs honey and 2 tsp cider vinegar, stirring well.  Remove chicken thighs from over and brush with honey mixture (on one side only).  Broil 1 minute.  Remove from oven and turn pieces over.  Brush with honey mixture and broil for another minute.

Remove potatoes from oven.  Makes 4 servings: one serving is 2 chicken thighs and 3/4 cup roasted potatoes.

Super easy and really yummy.  We'll be making this one again.

Day 259

The next few days are going to be gross and cold and rainy/snowing.  While it is already May and summer is about a month away, Colorado doesn't seem to know that.

In preparation for the weather, I made a Cooking Light Butternut Squash Soup.  It was super easy and pretty cheap and oh-so-yummy.  So here we go.

 Cast of Characters.

 Peel the butternut squash and cube 3-1/2 cups.  Chop 3/4 cup carrots and 1/2 cup sweet onion.

 Melt 1 Tbs butter in pot over medium-high heat.

 Add squash, carrot, and onion.  Saute 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 This is what it looks like after 12 minutes.

 Add 2-1/2 cups fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth and bring to a boil.

 Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in 1/4 cup half and half (I used skim milk), 1/8 tsp salt, and pepper to taste.

With an immersion blender (you can also use a regular blender), blend soup until no chunks remain.

One serving is 1 cup of soup and 1-1 ounce slice of crusty bread.  I added a little fresh Parm cheese to mine.  This comes in at 338 calories, even less actually because I used skim milk!

This is so delicious, so easy, and I will definitely be making this again.

Day 258

John had to go to a work event after he got of work this afternoon.  I'm sure it was awful.  The company he worked for rented out two boxes at the Colorado Rockies game and had everyone go to tonight's game.  What a hard life.

So I celebrated my evening of freedom alone time by cooking some snow crabs legs and pouring myself a nice, big 'ole glass of wine.

Yum.  Our friends have snow crab every year on Good Friday and they had leftovers so they sent John back with two bags packed full of these delicious morsels

I could eat crab legs and/or seafood nearly every day of my life and be perfectly happy.

I would need a good steak thrown in there every once in a while, though.

Day 257

Happy Mother's Day to my amazing Momma and to all the Mommas out there!

Today we went apartment hunting.  The apartment we're at now is great: great location, great amenities (even though we don't use any of them) and great price for what we get.  The place is really nice but they're increasing our rent if we renew the lease so we're looking to see what we can get for our money at other places.

We looked at one place that would be closer to work for me (Oh yea, I'm working with Nestle on contract!) but it's farther from John's work and from downtown.  Plus, there's tons of things right around the corner from where we are now while this place doesn't really have much.  It would be a great safe and quiet area, but we'll see.

So in between looking at this place down in the Denver Tech Center and going to the next place, John decided he wanted to go to Shepler's, a giant Western-wear store.  Why did he want to go?  I nearly fainted when I heard this..

He wanted to look at cowboy boots!!

I never thought I'd see the day that I got this New England boy to put on, much less buy, cowboy boots.

To make things even better, he was wearing a pair of Ralph Lauren plaid shorts.  Those and cowboy boots don't exactly make the best look.

He was pretty excited about them and I made sure he was going to get real boots.  None of that Ariat stuff.  Tony Lama is the only way to go.  Plus, I decided these would be the large chunk of his birthday present.  So here's what the final decision was:

Mmmmmmmm.

 A little info on Tony Lama and the boots J picked out: Tony Lama has been making boots for ranching, roping, and riding since 1911. Over the years, Tony Lama boots have evolved into technically advanced, fashionable footwear that sets the standard for the western lifestyle. They are proud to introduce the 3R buckaroo. It's handcrafted with a rojo bridle leather foot under a 16" ivory baron calf leather shaft. Shaft features fancy stitching, inlay detail, and easy-on pull holes. 3R embroidered logo detail. Square toe. Unit heel. 1/4" spur ridge. Single stitched welt construction.

But then this shopping trip got a little bigger.  John, while tall as is, doesn't have the proper jeans for cowboy boots.  Ya gotta have 'em super long and they've gotta be Wranglers.

Whew.  He looks like he could actually fit in at a barn.  I told him I'd make a country boy or cattle rancher outta him yet.

Mmmmmmm Wranglers and Tony Lamas.  I was beside myself.  Still am.

A pair of boots, the necessary tools to keep them well taken care of, two pairs of Wranglers, and a hysterical bought with the boot jack later, we made it out of there.  Starving and satisfied our day's work, we went to Jason's Deli for lunch and didn't go look at the other apartment.

Now he's just got to wait until June 4 to wear his boots and jeans.

Day 256

I am a big fan of stir fry.  Big fan doesn't even do it.  I could eat stir fry every day.  You can change it up with different veggies, spices, meats, and side dishes.  And it's a healthy dish!

So here's what we had for dinner tonight: Pork and Vegetable Sit-Fry with Cashew Rice.

 Cast of Characters.

 Combine 2/3 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth, 1 Tbs cornstarch, 2 Tbs reduced-sodium soy sauce, and honey in a small bowl.

 Set aside.

 The recipe calls for 1-lb. of pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.  I bought 1-lb. of boneless pork chops instead.  They were cheaper and are a leaner cut.

 Combine 1 Tbs cornstarch and 1 Tbs reduced sodium soy sauce.

 Mix well.

 Add to pork and toss well to coat.

 Heat 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pork and saute 4 minutes or until browned.  Remove from pan.

 Here's an up-close of the pork.  It was so tasty!

 Add 1 tsp oil to the pan.  Add 2 cups sliced mushrooms (I didn't use these because neither of us like mushrooms) and 1 cup chopped onion to the pan.  Saute 2 minutes.

 Stir in 1 Tbs grated peeled fresh ginger (I used dried ginger because that's what I had) and 2 minced garlic cloves.  Saute 30 seconds.

 Add 2 cups (6 ounces) sugar snap peas and 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (1) and saute 1 minute.

 Stir in pork and cook 1 minute.  Add reserved broth mixture to pan.  Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly.

While all of this is going on, have 3/4 cup long-grained rice cooking according to package directions, leaving out the salt and fat.  When it's done, stir in 1/3 cup chopped green onions, 1/4 dry-roasted cashews, salted and coarsely chopped, and 1/2 tsp salt.

Serve 1-1/2 cups pork and veggie mixture over 1/2 cup cashew rice.  This very filling and very delicious meal comes in at 460 calories.

We did make one little change though.  We added however much we wanted to of that delciously super hot "Rooster Sauce" (Chinese red chili sauce that has the rooster on the label) to our personal plates.  This made this recipe absolutely perfect.

This makes 4 servings and is great for leftovers.

I really really hope you make this.  It's so good.  If you do, let me know what you're thoughts are and if you make any alterations!

Day 255

I love cookies.  Homemade or store bought, like Oreo's or Chip's Ahoy.  What're your favorite kinds of cookies?  I have too many homemade cookies that I love to even start.

I know that cookies aren't the healthiest things to eat, but I can feel a little better with these Cooking Light Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies.  One cookie is 83 calories.

 The Cast of Characters.

 Preheat the oven to 350.  Combine 1-1/2 cups flour, 1-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl.

 Stir to combine.

 In another bowl, combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, and 6 Tbs unsalted butter (softened).

 Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

 Add 2 tsp vanilla extract and one large egg.

 Beat well.

 Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed until just combined.

 Resist eating spoonfuls of this.  It is so delicious.  This would be so good on some vanilla bean ice cream.  Ohhh yum.

  Add 3/4 cup finely chopped dried apple slices and 3/4 cup caramel bits, chopped.  I forgot to chop mine up so they're pretty large.

And this is where my pictures end.  From here you fold the apple and caramel into the mix then drop the dough by 2 teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with evil parchment paper (I obviously don't have parchment paper so I just sprayed the pan with cooking spray).  Flatten balls slightly and bake for 9 minutes.  Cool on pans for 3 minutes; remove and cool completely on wire racks.  Beware: this makes 4 dozen cookies!!!  Who in the world needs that many cookies!  If I had made the entire batch, I would definitely have thrown some into the freezer.

However, I don't think I softened my butter enough so my dough was pretty dry.  I had to smash the dough into balls and it was a total pain.

While they tasted delicious, they weren't how they were supposed to be so I didn't take any incriminating photos of my poorly executed cookies.

I'll definitely be retrying this recipe and will let you know how it goes the second time around.

Day 254

After last night's frustrating event in the kitchen I was in need of a self-esteem booster.  So today's post is for a delicious Cooking Light Zucchini-Pineapple Quick Bread.

 The Cast of Characters.

 You'll need 2 cups grated zucchini, which is about 1-1/2 medium zucchini.  I didn't want to waste 1/2 of a zucchini so I just used the whole 2 zucchinis.

 Combine 3 cups (13.5 oz) sifted all-purpose flour, 1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp baking powder.  Stir and set aside.

 Beat 3 large eggs at medium speed until foamy.

 Add 2 cups sugar (I only used 1-1/2 cups), grated zucchini, 2/3 cup canola oil, and 2 tsp vanilla extract and beat until well blended.

 Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.

 Fold in 2-8 ounce canse of crushed pineapple in juice that have been drained.

You can make two 9x5 loaves of bread or just muffins, or both.  Bake bread at 325 for 1 hour of until a knife comes out of the center clean.  I baked the muffins at 325 for about half an hour.

This was really delicious, especially warm.  I threw the muffins in the freezer for an easy on the go snack.  Just pop one in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds and you're good to go.

Now for the calories.  Cut the bread into 16 slices and one slice has 146 calories.  Actually, mine would have less because I reduced the sugar and it was still plenty sweet.

My mom makes amazing zucchini bread so when I saw this recipe in the cookbook I knew I was going to have to make it and I'm so glad I did!

I hope you make this and enjoy!