A spin on a boring chicken dish

I love chicken, but let's be serious, it can get boring sometimes. I'm always trying to find ways to spice it up when I'm cooking chicken for dinner. A while back I came across a recipe which included some of my favorites: artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers. I honestly can't remember where I found this recipe, it's just been sitting in my recipe book for a while now. It's so easy to make, it is one of my go-to dishes if I'm cooking for someone else. It was actually one of the first dishes I cooked for my boyfriend and he loved it! Well, at least he told me that he did... ;)

On Monday I decided to make myself a mini version of my chicken dish, since it was just a quick after work meal. So, I took the recipe and basically shrunk all of the ingredients to fit just me! I'll give the actual recipe, and you can manipulate it as you please:

The recipe:

1 6oz jar marinated artichoke hearts

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped

4 boneless chicken breasts

6 garlic cloves, pressed

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tsp paprika

1/4 ground red pepper (optional, I don't normally use)

Drain artichokes, save the marinade

Toss artichokes and peppers in small bowl

Heat 2 tablespoons reserved artichoke marinatde in skillet, add chicken

Cook a few minutes (not all the way) and remove chicken

Add garlic to skillet for about 30 seconds

Smokin'!

Stir in remaining artichoke juice, pepper/artichoke mix, wine, paprika, chicken

Cover skillet, cook about 10 minutes

The chicken is hiding under all the goodies:)

Delicious and filling! A very easy meal with few ingredients (I don't know about anyone else, but I tend to shy away from recipes with a bazillion ingredients)

Tailgate Food

When I was in high school, my best friend Lindsay's parents loved making us snacks, and constantly had deliciously unhealthy food laying around their house. I am convinced that they wanted us to gain 50 lbs before high school ended, because every time I went over there, without fail, I would leave with a stuffed stomach. One of the recipes her mom made was the absolute best mini ham sandwiches ever, so these days I like to make it every once in a while for my friends. Since we were tailgating for a Braves game this weekend, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to make them. Let me tell you, they went fast.

The recipe:

1 lb or more ham

1 package swiss cheese

2 packages Hawaiian Rolls

1 stick butter (room temp)

2 teaspoons poppyseed

3 teaspoons dijon mustard

1 teaspoon worchester sauce

Mix butter, poppyseed, dijon and worchester in bowl

Spread evenly over rolls, and top with ham and cheese

Cover in tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes

If you decide that you don't need both batches, wrap one up in tin foil and freeze it before baking. Then pull it out whenever, defrost, and bake!

These are perfect for tailgates and SO easy to make! Football season is around the corner, people :)

Enjoy!

New Product Alert!

In my attempts to follow all of the health advice given to me by my magazines and other blogs, I try to eat every couple of hours to keep my metabolism kicking throughout the day. So, like clock work, at 10 am I am starving for my mid-morning snack. Normally I opt for cottage cheese or a Luna bar (my fav), but my wise mother recently told me about something new: Greek Yogurt. Now, I had tried a random greek yogurt from Kroger before, and practically spit it up at my desk. Needless to say, I was hungry that day without my snack :) But, she told me that Chobani Greek Yogurt is where it's at. So, since Mother knows best, I decided to give it a shot.

So many options!

Bonus points:
-More protein than regular yogurt
-Only 140 calories and NO fat!
-Made with real fruit (and it's actually tasty too!)
-If you go to their website and give your email, you get a "buy two get one free" coupon! Sold!

So far I've tried the strawberry, vanilla and peach - all delicious. I tried pomegranate and it wasn't really my favorite. Next up, honey and blueberry!

Happy healthy snacking!

Sweet Treats

Last night I tested out my "baking skills" to try a coconut macaroon recipe that Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere posted last week. For those of you who know me, you know I'm not the greatest baker, but I certainly love trying out new recipes. After seeing her deliciously perfect looking macaroons, I was certain that I could make them just as good.... I think I did pretty decent for my first time making something as snazzy as macaroons! Witness:

Coconut Mix

This stuff rocks! Just microwave and dip!

The final product.. A little bit large but still good

Note the chocolate on my hands... I'm a messy baker ...

VOILA! Half dipped, half plain.

The bf and SHG were my official taste testers, and considering they both survived the night, I think it is safe to assume my macaroons are edible. I think I'm going to make it a goal to try new recipes more often, because it is so much fun! Now I just need to start giving some of these away before they all end up in my tummy....

Girls' night, mexican casserole, mandals

Last night my friend Jess decided to make a bunch of girls some delicious dinner. She basically fed a small army, and had lots of food! It was a mexi girls night, so we started out with some chips and queso, along with wine and/or margaritas while catching up and gossiping as girls do. Yum! Then she pulled out this fabulous mexican casserole from the oven, which looks like a whole mess of goodness:

Delish! Good job Jess!

I don't know the exact recipe (maybe she'll share with us!) but I know it had deliciously unhealthy ingredients which were pretty perfect for a gross Monday night. Cheese, beans, doritos, beef... all mixed together and baked for a bit. It was really tasty!

I put some spinach on my plate to feel a little less guilty ;)

After we chowed down and stuffed ourselves, we turned the season finale of The Bachelorette on. With seven girls chit-chatting and catching up, lets be honest, Ali and Roberto's love story took a bit of a backseat. I'm kinda over this season anyways, so I wasn't TOO into the finale. One thing that we did take notice on, which drove us all absolutely nuts, was Ali's dad. The man was wearing MANDALS. I don't know about anyone else, but I would not be ok with my dad wearing mandals, let alone on national television! Although, she does have the worst hair extensions and outfit choices (ok, well some are cute) on the planet, so maybe she feels that her dad's mandals are acceptable footwear to rock in Bora Bora. Also, while we're on the topic of The Bachelorette, did you see her brother? I'm 100% certain they are not related, because he looked NOTHING like her! Right? Maybe they hired him in Bora Bora to be an actor and play the part of her brother... who knows... I can't believe I still watch this show after all these years!

Ali's dad's mandals were way worse, FYI.

Regardless of the mandal disaster, we still had a great time. It's always good to get out of the house and meet up with some girlfriends to make Mondays just a little bit better!