Chicken and wild rice with Spinach

20130208-204558.jpg

This week I started tracking calorie intake, which is part of why I created my Skinny Banana Cookies.

So for dinner last night I wanted something I could easily track calorically. So I made:

Chicken and Wild Rice with Spinach

20130208-204840.jpg

I added the full carton of Chicken Broth into a medium pan. (20 cal)

20130207-203313.jpg
• Season broth to your taste, bring to a boil! Here’s what I used

20130207-203810.jpg

20130207-203822.jpg

• While that’s coming to a boil, chop 1/2 an onion add to a sauté pan.

20130207-203742.jpg

20130207-203750.jpg

• Slowly brown onions, no oil!

20130207-204244.jpg

• Cut chicken breast in half then split pieces. (220 cal)

20130207-204616.jpg

• Add to pan with onions and season.

20130207-204625.jpg

• By now the broth should be boiling, to your broth pan, Add 1 C Wild Rice.(640 cal)

20130207-204900.jpg

• Brown chicken until cooked, deglaze pan with a little white wine

20130207-212515.jpg

• Chop chicken, and re-add to pan.

20130207-212034.jpg

20130207-212231.jpg

20130207-212239.jpg

• Shred and add some spinach

20130207-212406.jpg

•When your rice is done, you can put your chicken on your rice or mix it into the rice.

Enjoy!

20130207-212712.jpg

20130207-212719.jpg

Next time I will double the spinach, I LOVE sautéed spinach.

Split for 2 = 440 calories per serving.

20130207-212931.jpg

Also check out:
Sister site: Craft Making and Drag Racing

Lindsey’s Jewelry: Hard Wear by Lindsey (Awesome stuff)

Rustified.com – Lifestyle Inspirations from a Renaissance Man (I love his blog- 365 page book for this year, recipes, & daily inspirations)

Rusty J’s Music Site

White chicken chili

Yesterday was great, finally the house was completely empty and quiet, and that gave me a chance to clean all the dust bunnies, soap scum, and dishes that have been building up all week.

I took a magic eraser (these are priceless) to my shower, scrubbed the bathroom, and did a huge load of dishes. I love how productive a cleaning day can be.

The chickens got a few hours of yard time and Echo go some play time around the yard too.

I even got the coffee table back from my roommates tv

20130205-001530.jpg

In the evening I finally headed to the gym, I have been wanting to start working out regularly for ages, I miss it! So I finally went and now I remember why I love going, you just feel so great and have so much energy after a good work out 🙂

After the gym I really wanted protein, just come good chicken with very little carbs, enter White Chicken Chili! I love Carrol Shelbys chili seasoning and a while back I noticed there was a new mix for chicken white chili so I grabbed it and its been in my pantry waiting for me to finally try it.

20130205-002309.jpg

20130205-002347.jpg

White Chicken Chili

1 to 2 Lbs Chicken Breast (cut to 1/2 in pieces)

1/2 Onion (diced)
3-4 C Water

Box of seasoning from Carrol Shelby

• Chop up your chicken and add it to a big pan with a little oil.

20130205-002442.jpg

20130205-002451.jpg

20130205-002517.jpg

• Chop onion and add it to the browning chicken.

20130205-002656.jpg

20130205-202749.jpg

• Season with salt, pepper, & Garlic

20130205-002705.jpg

20130205-203036.jpg

• Add the water, seasoning packet, the jalapeño/pepper packet, & the masa packet

20130205-202900.jpg

20130205-202920.jpg

20130205-202940.jpg

20130205-203012.jpg

• Cook 15 minutes covered then 15 minutes uncovered.

20130205-203326.jpg

20130205-203332.jpg

Super tasty!

Also check out:
Sister site: Craft Making and Drag Racing

Lindsey’s Jewelry: Hard Wear by Lindsey (Awesome stuff)

Rustified.com – Lifestyle Inspirations from a Renaissance Man (I love his blog- 365 page book for this year, recipes, & daily inspirations)

Rusty J’s Music Site

Rusty J Music Video day 4!

Here’s to another awesome day!!
Life is good, God is great 🙂

So we started off slow this morning, relaxing at the house together. I made up some scrambled eggs & home fried potatoes.

We headed on a couple errands, went to Malaga Cove (great views), by the Redondo Beach pier again, then met up with Nicolle and Nick to shoot!

20130128-202813.jpg

This is Rusty J and Tom talking in The Sunshine Kite Company on the Redondo pier. (Also check out the video)

20130128-202820.jpg

20130128-202846.jpg

Later everyone came with us to shoot some awesome secret music video stuff, I really wish I could share but I promised not to!

Then dinner! I was going to cook up some chicken but instead we headed to one of my favorite places in Old Town Torrance, La Capillia

20130128-211441.jpg

Here’s all of us earlier today in Malaga cove!

20130128-211632.jpgNicolle, Rusty J, Sierra, and I

20130128-211638.jpg
Nick, Nicolle, Rusty J, Sierra

Also check out:
Sister site: Craft Making and Drag Racing

Lindsey’s Jewelry: Hard Wear by Lindsey (Awesome stuff)

Rustified.com – Lifestyle Inspirations from a Renaissance Man (I love his blog- 365 page book for this year, recipes, & daily inspirations)

Rusty J’s Music Site

Rusty J Music video day 3!

Day 3 shooting Rusty J’s new music video went great!

The day started off with a trip to Hollywood Presbyterian Church on Rodeo Drive. We went to the contemporary service which was great!

After we got back to the house I stayed home to download and organize some footage from the Go Pro cameras (and do some much needed laundry) while the guys when hiking! Rusty J and Riley hit the gorgeous bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Palos Verdes. It was a perfect California day for hiking.

(Rusty will post about this for you soon, Rustified.com)

——————————————-

Since I cannot share many photos from the actual shoot here is some of Sierra and I running a Go Pro on Rusty’s awesome steady cam rig!

20130127-145833.jpg

20130127-151449.jpg (I have no idea why I making a weird face but there you go)

After some more shooting we went to this awesome Hootenanny at the Urban Homestead in Pasadena, CA.

20130127-233741.jpg

Long story short an awesome friend of Rusty’s invited him and us and it was a blast! Amazing people, great energy, relaxing, & fun.

They had wonderful, organic, non GMO food with vegan/vegetarian options!

Rusty even got a chance to play a few of his incredible songs for us all! Everyone loved it!!

20130127-233833.jpg

Please check out Urban Homestead and their porch farm stand in the city!

Also check out:
Sister site: Craft Making and Drag Racing

Lindsey’s Jewelry: Hard Wear by Lindsey (Awesome stuff)

Rustified.com – Lifestyle Inspirations from a Renaissance Man (I love his blog- 365 page book for this year, recipes, & daily inspirations)

Rusty J’s Music Site

Lindsey’s Cheesy Cheez-Its Chicken & Bottle Cap Wreath Ornaments

Hello, faithful followers! The Infamous Lindsey here for a guest post. I recently, and very happily, made some breaded chicken with a twist (that I came up with myself!) and bottle cap wreath ornaments (that I found on Pinterest)! I kinda forgot to take pictures of the chicken though… heheh, oopsy. Anyways, on to the goodies!

Lindsey’s Cheesy Cheez-Its Chicken

Breading:
½ box of Cheez-Its (or your favorite cheesy crackers); smooshed to bits
3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp dill
½ tsp garlic salt
pepper to taste (I used Montreal steak seasoning, but it’s up to you)

Oil:
3 tbsp oil
2 tsp garlic oil (or a clove or two of minced/smooshed garlic)
1 vegetable Knorr® Homestyle Stock™

1) Preheat oven to 350° F. Mix oils/garlic with the stock starter and pour into the baking pan that’s gonna fit your chicken making sure to cover the whole bottom. Add extra oil as necessary.

2) Combine breading ingredients in a dish or container and cover chicken with it. Place chicken in the pan and put some extra crumblies on top to make sure it’s well covered and ready to be crispy. If you want, some shredded parmesan on top is super scrumptious.

3) Bake for 20 minutes, flip chicken (maybe add more parmesan… yum!), and bake for another 20 – 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

That’s all there is to it! Super easy and super tasty. I recommend scraping all the gooey Cheez-Its leftovers off the bottom of the pan and snacking on them before anyone else can! My dad actually said it was awesome. Normally he just grunts and shrugs like a teenage boy… Proof that this is the bestest chicken ever! On to the crafty goodies!

(UPDATE FROM DANIELLE @ Filmmakingandcookiebaking-
Lindsey and I made this last week for a small dinner party and my house.

Here is the yummy, yummy chicken.

20130103-180353.jpg

Sharp Chedder Mac & Cheese (with a little of the cheez-it breading on top.)

20130103-180547.jpg

Sautéed zucchini squash with garlic, pepper, seasoning salt, & dill)

20130103-180655.jpg

Loaded mashed red potatoes.

20130103-180712.jpg

Ceme brûlée Cheesecake.

20130103-180804.jpg

—————————————————————–
Bottle Cap Wreath Ornaments

glue gun
7 bottle caps (all the same or mix it up)
¼ inch thick ribbon that matches or contrasts (whatever floats your boat)

20130103-174418.jpg

1) Arrange and tack together caps with a dot of glue on the back. Flip over and tack between caps as well for a bit of strength. Try not to make it seen, but if it is the ribbon will cover it later.

20130103-174454.jpg

2) Snip approximately ¾ inch long bits of ribbon. You’ll need 7 of them. Glue as shown in the next picture… Not entirely sure how to explain it, but it works I swear. If the ribbon is taut, it keeps the wreath together better than just the glue.

20130103-174500.jpg

3) Loop ribbon at wherever the top of your wreath is for a way to hang it all ornament-like and secure it with glue. (This pic is actually from the finished product so you can also kind of see how I wrapped and secured the ribbon… kind of… as well as the nifty gift tag I made)

20130103-174739.jpg

4) Wrap ribbon around wreath between the caps to cover any glue dots that may be seen on the front and strategically glue in place on the back as you go. The back doesn’t look entirely too pretty after, but the front is adorable.

20130103-174749.jpg

5) Add a bow to the front and you’re done. I cheated and made the bow by tacking the ribbon with glue instead of trying to tie it. I added a clear piece of really thin plastic (card stock or construction paper would work too) to the back for a gift tag, but that’s only necessary if it’s a gift or you want to record the year it was made.

20130103-174758.jpg

Well, folks, that’s all I’ve got for ya today. Hopefully I’ll be back soon for another guest post or for more kitchen adventures with Danielle. Until then, happy cooking and crafting to all and to all a good night. ;P

My Thanksgiving Table and Menu

20121122-002606.jpg20121122-002616.jpg

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

For this wonderful holiday I am making dinner and my family is coming to town!

First of the menu:
(This year no turkey, yes we are weird, but my family tends to prefer ham so I’m going with that)

Ham (from trader joes)
Cornbread Stuffing (my Grandma’s recipe)
Macaroni and cheese (my Grandma’s recipe)
Corn Bread casserole (my fav! Got this recipe from a friend that made it for thanksgiving a few years back)
Homemade garlic, herb Mashed Potatoes with Gravy (of course)
Hawaiian sweet rolls
Green bean casserole (added to my thanksgiving menu last year)

Pecan pie cheesecake
Mud pie
Pecan pie

Now here is my table with two of my covered pumpkins.

20121122-003549.jpg20121122-003601.jpg20121122-003612.jpg20121122-003629.jpg20121122-003646.jpg20121122-003654.jpg20121122-003717.jpg20121122-003745.jpg

20121122-003822.jpg

20121122-003829.jpg

20121122-003850.jpg

20121122-003905.jpg

20121122-003916.jpg

20121122-003958.jpg

I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving, how ever you choose to celebrate!
I would love to hear your comments, how you spent thanksgiving, see your decor, and what you ate!

Waiting for election results

I am nervously waiting for polls to close on the huge Election Day!

20121106-163516.jpg

Baking cookies, making dinner, praying, and waiting to see what happens with fingers crossed. I sent my ballot in a week or so ago, as I tend to vote by mail.

What are you doing today? Baking, cooking? What was your experience at the polls today ? I would love to hear how you spent election day!

I put some chicken and rice into the crockpot, with organic Italian seasoning, chicken broth, and garlic cloves. Let it cook for the afternoon. Yummy!

20121106-163428.jpg

20121106-163442.jpg

20121106-163455.jpg

I also made some chocolate chip cookies. They were organic until I added the red and blue M&M’s for Election Day

20121106-163830.jpg

20121106-163839.jpg

20121106-163849.jpg

Here are the truly organic ones

20121106-164039.jpg

Cooking and baking with good friends (Part 1)

20120813-151230.jpg

This past week my friends Lindsey and Rudy came over to relax and of course we ended up baking and making dinner.

On the menu- Cream puffs, red velvet cupcakes, and Dill /basil pesto.

First up is The Creme puffs.

Sweet or Savory Pâté a Choux by Alton Brown.

1- weigh out your bread flour, add salt and/or sugar.

20120814-205148.jpg

2- Heat water and butter in a skillet.

20120814-205656.jpg

3- Once melted and boiling add your flour. Stir to combine, then continue cooking over medium heat stirring constantly. ( to remove excess moisture)

20120814-210013.jpg

20120814-205908.jpg

20120814-205931.jpg

20120814-205945.jpg

20120814-210113.jpg

20120814-210130.jpg

4- Put dough in mixer and mix to help cool.

5- Add eggs, one at a time.

20120814-221108.jpg

20120814-221124.jpg

6- Pipe onto parchment

7- Bake at 425 for 10 minutes

8- Turn the oven down and bake at 350 for 10 more minutes.

20120814-221137.jpg

20120816-192211.jpg

20120816-192227.jpg

9- Fill with your favorite filling (using a star tip pastry bag)

Lindsey made the filling while I was making red velvet cupcakes so I don’t know what exactly it was, but I to know it was amazing!

Here’s what I know was in to but this isn’t a complete list-
Cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, and probably a little cinnamon.

20120816-192257.jpg

10- Finally, EAT

20120816-192320.jpg

20120816-192337.jpg