Chicken Salad Sandwich

This is one of my favorite sandwiches. It's so fresh and simple to make. Just follow these simple steps:

Servings: 2

Here's what you need:

-1 Cooked chicken breast sliced into thin pieces

-1 Apple chopped into bite-sized pieces

-1/4 c. Mayonnaise

-1-2 tsp vinegar

-Salt/Pepper

- A couple handfuls of fresh spinach

-2 Croissants

Here's what you do:

-In a medium bowl, combine chicken, apple pieces, mayo, and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

-Place a handful of spinach and half of the chicken mixture inside a croissant. Repeat with second sandwich.

Just thinking about this meal makes me hungry. You could add walnuts, change the apples to grapes, or add a little mustard to your sandwich to change it up.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Pin It

Cranberry Orange Scones

Some mornings you need to eat something other than boring cereal. 

Some mornings you need to get your patootie out of bed, grab a bag of flour, and make something tasty for breakfast.

One these mornings you should make Cranberry Orange Scones.

You can find the recipe here.

Pin It

Valentine's Treat

It's almost Valentine's day! I'm not a huge Valentine's fan, but I like an excuse to bake something sweet and head out to dinner with my hubby. Tomorrow is the day to be extra nice to your sweetie. Why not make him a simple treat like this to sweeten up his day.

Here's what you do:
-Make a fresh batch of rice krispie treats.
-While still warm, press the mixture into a square pan.
-Place Valentine's M&Ms on top of the treats.
-Cut into squares and serve!

Sometimes I feel like I need to make up for my lack of compliment giving by baking... (It's my love language). Jake's love language is words of affirmation, and he's great at giving me compliments. Here's one of my favorite/funniest compliments he's given me:

I had just finished putting on my makeup and sat down next to Jake. He was about to compliment me on how good it looked, but stopped himself and rephrased it to this:

"Wow, Teesha. Your face makes your makeup look so good!"

He's smart, that man.

My challenge to you this Valentine's is to use your spouse's love language to make his day special. Don't know what your or your spouse's love language is? Try this quiz.

I hope you enjoy your Valentine's Day with your sweetie!

Pin It

Pizza Pizza

Jake and I are big time pizza people. We love creating a basic crust then looking through our fridge and pantry to make unique and delicious pizzas. For this recipe we used leftover ingredients from the meals we made this past week and combined our favorites to make this lovely creation.

Have any extra dough from the calzones we made earlier this week? Use it to make this pizza.

Here's what you need:
-Pizza dough (I used about 1/3 of this dough recipe)
-Sauce
-Mozzarella Cheese
-Grape tomatoes
-Green bell pepper
-Kalamata Olives

Here's what you do:
-Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
-Lightly grease a baking sheet.
-Roll out dough into a 1/4 inch thick circle. Place on baking sheet.
-Dice up the bell pepper into small bite-sized chunks.
-Slice grape tomatoes and Kalamata olives in half.
-Spread desired amount of sauce evenly onto pizza dough.
-Top with cheese, tomatoes, peppers, and olives.
-Bake for 20-25 min, or until crust is firm and golden brown on the bottom.

We haven't thought of a name for this pizza. Any ideas?

I hope you all have a great weekend! I'm going to go check out a local vintage sale. They have a lot of cute valentine's decor! What are you up to?
  Pin It

Make-Your-Own Calzone

When my husband and I got married, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law put together a cookbook with some of their favorite recipes. It is such a great gift because it included recipes Jake ate growing up. 

When we moved a few months ago, I put all my cookbooks in a drawer and completely forgot about them. Luckily when I was wondering what to make for dinner this weekend, Jake remembered this calzone/pizza dough recipe and we pulled that cute red cookbook out of the drawer and got to baking.

This calzone was seriously the best I have ever had. I'm not a big fan of calzone, and probably haven't had any for quite a few years. Now I want to eat this calzone for every meal. Of course I won't, but if you come over for dinner sometime soon, there's a big chance we'll be making this.

Here's what you need:

Dough

-2 Packets dry active yeast

-2 c. warm water

-2 tsp Salt

-6 Tbs Olive Oil

-1 tsp sugar

-5 cups of Flour (and a little extra for rolling the dough)

Toppings It's up to you! Get creative. Here are a few suggestions.

-Marinara Sauce

-Mozzarella cheese

-Pepperoni slices

-Canadian Bacon

-Pineapple chunks

-Green pepper chunks

-Olives

Here's what you do:

Dough

-Dissolve yeast in water

- Add olive oil, sugar, and salt. Let sit for about 8 minutes

-Add mixture to the flour in a large mixing bowl. Kneed until smooth. (add more flour if needed)

-Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and set in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours. Dough will double in size.

-Preheat oven to 400 F

-Divide dough into 6 equal pieces.

-Roll out each piece on a floured surface until the dough is about 1/4 inch thick.

-Let each person assemble their calzone with the toppings they like.

-Fold calzones in half and fold over the edges to keep the toppings inside.

-Place calzones on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20-25 min.

These are fun to make with a big group of people. Make sure you decorate the top of your calzone so you can pick yours apart from the rest after they bake.

Enjoy!

Weekend Recap

I had a whirlwind of a weekend. It was full of family, food, and great music.

My sister and I drove up to Portland to see an Ingrid Michaelson concert put on by Kink.FM. We had a blast! My sister L.O.V.E.S. her music and could not stop smiling while we watched the show. We both loved her new song Blood Brothers. Look it up on YouTube. We ended off the trip with a quick stop at Hot Lips pizza. It is my favorite place to grab a slice of pepperoni alongside their delicious homemade fruit soda. Delish!

My whole family headed to the beach on Superbowl Sunday to celebrate my brother's 19th birthday. I made the strawberry poppy seed cake which turned out even better than I expected (I'll post the recipe soon!). We ended off the night with a bonfire on the beach, then danced the night away to Just Dance 2.

Overall we had a wonderful weekend. Check back for the Strawberry Poppy seed Cake as well as our Homemade Calzones!

Have a wonderful week!

Flavorful Salad With Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette

I have been wanting to show you this salad for a couple weeks. I've made it probably 4 times in the past few weeks, and have forgotten to take pictures EVERY TIME until yesterday. This is mostly because as soon as it's put together I want to eat it.

I first ate this salad at a restaurant called the Sapphire Hotel (you can read about it in my post about our "Stay-cation"). It was love at first bite. As soon as we got home from our vacation, I ran to the store and bought everything we needed to make it. Jake loves it just as much as I do, and he doesn't even like olives.

Here's what you need:

Salad:

-Spring Mix Salad

-Focaccia bread (I used a cheesy focaccia which was super tasty. You can definitely use a different type of bread if you'd like)

-Whole Mozzarella Cheese  

-Grape Tomatoes

-Kalamata Olives

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing: (From Emeril @ Food Network)

-1/4 c. Balsamic vinegar

-1 Tbs minced garlic

-Salt/Pepper

-3/4 c. Olive Oil

Here's what you do:

Salad:

-Dish salad onto individual plates

-Chop up focaccia bread into bite-sized pieces. Place them on a baking sheet and cook under broiler until pieces are slightly crispy, but still soft, and golden (roughly 1-2 min). Sprinkle a handful on top of each salad.

-Cut Mozzarella cheese into small bite-sized cubes. Sprinkle a handful on top of each salad.

-Slice grape tomatoes in half. Sprinkle a handful on top of each salad.

-Slice Kalamata olives in half. Sprinkle a handful on top of each salad.

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing:

-Combine all ingredients in a container with a lid; salt and pepper to taste.

-Cover container and shake until all ingredients are mixed.

-Drizzle dressing on salad immediately*. 

*Note: The olive oil tends to separate from the rest of the dressing. When serving the dressing again, make sure to shake/mix it well so the dressing stays together.

This salad is a great side dish to almost any meal. I like to eat a big salad all by itself for dinner... it's that good.

Enjoy!

Pin It

Smoothie Pick Me Up

I have a big sweet tooth. I do the best I can not to keep sweets in the house because I know I will eat them. Jake is much more controlled in this area than I am. If there's good ice cream in the house, I will want a bowl after every meal... Maybe even a bite after breakfast. (But I would never tell anyone that).

This smoothie is a great alternative for my sweet tooth. It's fresh, sweet, and refreshing!

Here's what you need: (roughly 2 smoothies)

-2 cups ice

-A big handful of blueberries

-About 5 whole strawberries

-Half a banana sliced

-1 to 1 1/2 cups yogurt (I used strawberry for this recipe, but vanilla is always good!)

Here's what you do:

-Place everything in a blender.

-Pulse the blender until everything is mixed and the ice is not chunky.

-Serve in cute cups with cute straws.

That's all it takes! You can make your own version by using/adding different fruits or different flavors of yogurt.

Enjoy!

Pin It

Pear Salad with Citrus Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Can you tell I'm ready for winter to come to a close? I'm pulling out some of my Spring/Summer meals. I know I should be making soup every night of the week to warm us up, but sometimes my brain is weird. I often crave hot soups in the Summer time, and fresh salads during the Winter months. Anybody with me?

This salad is very refreshing and fresh. It will put you in a state of denial and all of the sudden the dark clouds and rain that have been looming all month will turn into sunshine skies and hot days where flip flops are required.
Ok, maybe I'm just dreaming, but it's nice to pretend.

I had this salad at a tasty restaurant in my hometown called Nibbly's. I took one bite and knew I would be recreating it as soon as I got home.

Here's what you need:


For the Dresssing: (Recipe from Food and Wine)
-3 Tbs Fresh Lime juice
-3 Tbs Fresh Orange juice
-2 Tbs Fresh Grapefruit juice
-1 tsp Dijon
-1 tsp Mayo
-1 tsp Honey
-1/3 cup vegetable oil
-1 1/2 tsp Poppy seeds
- Salt/Pepper


For the Salad:
-Baby Spinach leaves
-1-2 Pears Sliced
-Feta Cheese
-Walnuts
-Dried Cranberries

Here's what you do:

Assemble Dressing:
-Whisk the juices, Dijon, mayo, and honey together until well combined.
-Continue to whisk while adding oil and poppy seeds.
-Add a little salt and pepper to taste

Assemble Salad:
-Place spinach on plates
-Sprinkle with desired amounts of walnuts, dried cranberries, and feta.
-Strategically place pears in a way that offers maximum presentation (I mean we all want to eat a salad that's not only fancy, but looks good, right? It's worth the two extra seconds...)
-Drizzle dressing on top.

Enjoy!

Pin It

Banana Bread Snack Cake

 These are sooooooooo good. If you love banana bread, brown sugar, cream cheese, or cake, you need to make this. I think since it's called "snack cake" it's healthier for you... right?

I found this recipe at a blog called How Sweet it Is. Instead of me trying to tell you how she made it, I'll let you check out the recipe on her blog. Here.

Mmmm. I think I'll go eat another piece now.

Enjoy!

Phyllo with Berries

My mom used to make a version of this when I was young. These phyllo shells are filled with tasty lemon pudding, fresh berries, and topped with cool whip. It's a lighter dessert, and is a great finish for any meal.

They go really well with Sangria's and the latest episode of the Bachelor.... But you didn't hear that from me.

Serves: Roughly 6

Time: Roughly 30 min with baking.

What you need:
-Phyllo Pastry shells or cups (I used Pepperidge Farm shells)
-Lemon pudding (make beforehand and stick in the fridge until ready)
-Berries of your choice. Fresh, frozen, mashed... you choose
-Cool Whip

What you do:
-Bake phyllo shells/cups as directed on box. Allow to cool.
-If using shells, remove the center to create a hole. Keep what you removed for the top.
-Spoon pudding into the bottom of the hole you created. (Add as much as you want)
-Place a cluster of berries on top of the pudding.
-Finish with a spoonful of cool whip.
-Top with the phyllo piece you scooped out.

It's that simple! Enjoy!

Garlicky Paprika Green Beans and Shrimp

Simple, lite, and delicious. This meal is sure to satisfy you for dinner tonight and won't compromise your waistline.

Adapted from: Delish

Serves: 3-4
Time: Roughly 1/2 hour

Here's what you need:

• 3-4 cups green beans snapped
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1-2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 lb. raw deveined and peeled shrimp
• 1/4 c. red-wine vinegar 
• 1/4 c. chopped parsley
• Fresh ground pepper

Here's what you do:

• Steam green beans until tender
• In a saute pan, stir olive oil, garlic, paprika, and red pepper flakes until warm.
• Stir in thawed shrimp until pink and cooked thoroughly.
• Add vinegar and parsley. Cook for another minute or two until warm.
• Add fresh ground pepper.
• Serve over green beans

This meal is excellent with brown rice. 

Enjoy!

Stay-Cation Portland Edition

I don't know about all of you, but I have learned over the past few years how important rest and relaxation can be in our busy lives. It has been a crazy couple of months for Jake and me, so when we thought about what we wanted to do for Jake's vacation week, we knew we needed a stay-cation.

The "rules" were as follows (Jake would never call them rules, and would tease me for saying this because I am a rule maker):
-Do not set an alarm clock.
-Go to bed as early or late as we wanted.
-Spend only the cash we got for Christmas.
-Don't feel guilty about spending the cash.
-Eat really really good food.
-Make memories.

Instead of renting a hotel and putting all of our cash into a room, we decided to stay at our place and Jake's sister's house and spend our money on eating at places we wanted to eat.  Jake and I are foodies. He always says "While many people travel to see things, we travel to eat things."

Thus we headed to Portland!

Our first stop: Olympic Provisions in NW Portland.

Here we ate tasty meats and drank the yummiest wine.

{Source}

After dinner we were both in the mood for some ice cream. We drove around the Pearl District until we stumbled upon Cool Moon Ice Cream.

Jake ordered salted caramel with coffee crunch, and I got buttered pecan with the salted caramel. The homemade ice cream was delicious and exactly what we wanted.

The next day we headed to one of our favorite spots. The Lucky Lab.

{Source}

They make the best homemade root beer I have ever tasted. I highly suggest it!

Finally we ended off the trip with a suggestion from our friend Crystal with dinner at the Sapphire Hotel.

{Source}

Jake had a burger with yam fries that were to die for, and I ordered a flavorful salad. It was so good that as soon as we got home, I made my own version of the salad. I'll post it here this week!

All in all, we had a fantastic week. It was so fun to try different restaurants in Portland. If you ever find yourself in Portland looking for a place to eat, try out one of these great places!

After School Snack

After School Snack by teebree featuring Mina

Mina
$58 - anthropologie.com

Small Milk Bottle in Food Containers, Storage | Crate&Barrel
$6.95 - crateandbarrel.com

Striped Mugs | west elm
$10 - westelm.com

Small Rectangle Lacquer Trays | west elm
$29 - westelm.com

IKEA Fantastisk
$1.99 - ikea.com


I don't have any kids yet, but when I do I plan on surprising them with fun after school snacks. My mom used to do this for us when we were kids, and we always loved coming home to the smell of fresh baked cookies!

By the way, if you haven't heard of Polyvore yet, I highly suggest you check it out. I used it for the previous post as well as this one. It's a great way to collect ideas and get inspired!

Summer Sandwiches (part 1)

Yum!

I haven't even finished my last bite and I'm already blogging about this sandwich. I had a sandwich like this about 6 years ago.  It has crossed my mind several times since then, but I could not find the recipe.

Finally today I realized I had to try to recreate this sandwich to the best of my memory, and boy am I glad I did. Jake said he would pay big money to eat this sandwich and thinks we should open a restaurant just because of it.

Here's what you need:

• 3 TBS Mustard
• 1 TBS Mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Dried onions
• Garlic powder
• 1 loaf artisan bread sliced
• Honey
• Virginal ham sliced
• Havarti Cheese sliced
• Butter

Here's what you do:

• Combine mustard, mayonnaise, dried onion, and a couple shakes of garlic powder.
• Butter one side of the slices of bread (for cooking)
• Spread mustard mixture on one slice, and honey on the other slice of bread (the side without butter)
• Fill sandwich with ham and cheese.
• Grill sandwich until both sides are golden brown, cheese is melted, and ham is hot.

I hope you enjoy this summer (or Winter or Spring or Fall) sandwich. Be watching; another summer sandwich is on its way.

Enjoy!