Friday, July 1, 2011

The growth of a friendship

Today is Corey and I's six month anniversary. He always  does the sweetest things, so I thought the least I could do was dedicate a whole blog post to him. :) He always gets excited when I mention him, so this should just make his day. I rummaged through some old photographs and found a couple. We became friends in 8th grade so some of these go back 7 years. 

Way back when....



A little more recent...



Thank you for being not just my boyfriend for the last six months, but also being my best friend for the past 7 years. I love you.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Easy Cooking

Well only if you know what you're wanting to eat. Like I've said before the boyfriend and I are on a low calorie diet. This makes picking out what to eat a challenge. Don't get me wrong, there are PLENTY of recipes out there that are low cal., it's just trying to find them and then cook it that is the problem. However, last night I had  some free time after interning so I got on a few food websites and went recipe shopping. I found so many low cal recipes that I can't wait to try! Corey and I have been craving hamburgers and something sweet... I think I found a great alternative. Teriyaki Pineapple Turkey Burgers Recipe. I'm so excited to try them and it's only 134 calories without any sides. I'm thinking a fruit salad or a spinach salad would go nicely with this entree. I also found a recipe for Sweet Orange Iced Tea. Corey absolutely loves ice tea so I think this recipe will be a nice change up. Below are the 2 recipes and pictures. I'll post next week how they turn out. Wish me luck!

Picture of Teriyaki Pineapple Turkey Burgers Recipe
by foodnetwork.com courtesy of dole

Teriyaki Pineapple Turkey Burger

            by foodnetwork.com courtesy of dole

Ingredients

  • 1 can (20 oz.) DOLE® Pineapple Slices
  • 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
  • 2 pounds ground turkey or chicken
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 8 whole grain hamburger buns
  • 8 slices Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Drain pineapple; reserve 1/2 cup juice. Reserve 2 pineapple slices for snack or other use.
Stir together teriyaki sauce and reserved pineapple juice in small bowl.
Mix together turkey, ginger, bread crumbs and 1/4 cup teriyaki mixture. Shape into 8 patties.
Grill patties, brushing with remaining teriyaki mixture, until brown and cooked through. Place pineapple slices on grill and cook until lightly golden brown.
Serve burgers on buns with cheese and pineapple.
Tip: To make 4 servings, use 1 can (8 oz.) DOLE® Pineapple Slices and cut remaining ingredients in half.

Sweet Orange Ice Tea
         by emeril lagasse

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 6 black tea bags (recommended: Lipton)
  • 4 1/2 cups cold water
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice, strained if a clearer tea is desired
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • Ice cubes
  • Thin lemon or orange wedges, garnish
  • Sprigs fresh mint, garnish

  • Directions
     
  • Pour the boiling water, in a medium pot, over the sugar and stir to dissolve. 
Add the tea bags and steep for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the tea bags with a slotted spoon. Add the cold water, orange juice, and lemon juice, and stir. Let cool.
Pour into a glass pitcher and refrigerate until well chilled. Pour into glasses filled with ice, garnish with lemon or orange wedges and mint, and serve.

Enjoy!
If you like this low calorie meal you might also like my Peanut Noodles and Shredded Chicken recipe from yesterday.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Peanut Noodles and Shredded Chicken

Last night Corey and I decided to cook dinner together. We are both watching our calories so coming up with something to eat is usually a chore. Normally we end up with salad, but last night  we wanted real food. I googled low cal recipes and found this one. The website said it was only 363 calories so we went ahead and cooked it up. It was delicious! Only complaint I have is I typed the recipe into myfitnesspal and it said that the recipe was 574 calories. It put me over my limit for the day... but it was nice to have some real food in our tummies!

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Peanut Noodles and Shredded Chicken
         from delish.com
Ingredients
  •    1 pounds(s) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/2 cup(s) smooth natural peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoon(s) reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoon(s) minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) chile-garlic sauce
  • 1 teaspoon(s) minced fresh ginger
  • 8 ounce(s) whole-wheat spaghetti
  • 1 bag(s) fresh vegetable medley

Directions
  1. Put a large pot of water on to boil for cooking pasta.
  2. Meanwhile, place chicken in a skillet or saucepan and add enough water to cover; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size strips.
  3. Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chile-garlic sauce and ginger in a large bowl.
  4. Cook pasta in the boiling water until not quite tender, about 1 minute less than specified in the package directions. Add vegetables and cook until the pasta and vegetables are just tender, 1 minute more. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Rinse the pasta and vegetables with cool water to refresh. Stir the reserved cooking liquid into the peanut sauce; add the pasta, vegetables and chicken; toss well to coat. Serve warm or chilled.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Friday Favorites

I've decided to start a new series every Friday called Friday Favorites. My Friday blogs are going to be dedicated to sharing what my favorite item, food, place, people, etc. Enjoy.

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i.d. bare minerals is the only makeup product I can use. It's the only  makeup  that doesn't make my skin freak out. It's in my routine every morning.
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I'm addicted to this salad right now. It's the Berry and Apple salad at the Kansan Grill. It is absolutely delicious.  Definitely recommend checking out all the downtown Topeka restaurants. 
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This week Coco (the dog) and I took a road trip to see Oma and Opa. Tomorrow Coco turns 7... and yes I did get her a gift.
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For Father's Day we got my dad cupcakes from Billy Vanilly.  If you haven't  been there you need to check it out. I had the chocolate covered strawberry cupcake and then dressed it up with some fresh berries. Yum!


What have you indulged in this week? Have you fell absolutely in love with anything?

xo Courtney