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!

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.

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!

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 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.

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.

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. 

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.

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

Bored with my hair

Lately I have been getting the urge to do something different with my hair. This happens about once a year and I'm running out of ideas that aren't to drastic. In high school I would just get highlights or color it and the would soothe the craving. Then when I got into college I decided to chop it off. I refuse to let myself EVER do that again. I regretted it for months. Now that it is finally back to its old length the urge to change it is back. At the moment my hair is a caramel color with blonde highlights. I just got it done in March so I know I should wait... but I want to at least decide on something to do so I can look forward to changing it in September or October. 

Current hair color and style. I like it.. I'm just bored 

This isn't a picture of me obviously... But in high school I had my hair a reddish brown and loved it! 

Anyways, I'm just so indecisive! Anyone have any ideas or opinions? I guess it comes down to if I should go lighter or darker... or I guess stay the same. Thoughts?

On a side note I've started training for the 5K on C25K... I'm only on day 2 and am so sore! I hope it gets easier... Wishful thinking? I think yes. 

xoxo Courtney

Currently Craving: Cool drinks for hot days

It's officially summer time in Kansas, which means it's extremely hot! I love it... As long as I'm sitting by a pool drinking a refreshing beverage! At the moment I'm obsessed with Martha Stewart's website right now... And by obsessed I mean my friends are calling me Martha Stewart. I'll take that as a compliment. Anyways, I was looking over her website and found a few drink recipes I can't wait to try! I'll post these recipes for now and then update you when I have a chance to try them myself... of course I'm sure you can make them without alcohol.

Honeydew Granita Spritzer

HONEYDEW GRANITA SPRITZER 
INGREDIENTS
6 cups cubed honeydew melon (about half of a medium melon)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 cups seltzer
Lime peels, for garnishing
DIRECTIONS
1. Working in batches, puree 6 cups cubed honeydew melon in a blender. Pour puree through a fine sieve into an 8-inch square nonreactive dish.
2. Put 1/2 cup water and sugar into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Stir into puree. Add fresh lime juice; stir to combine. Freeze, covered, at least 6 hours (up to 3 days).
3. Scrape granita with a fork; spoon about 1 cup granita into each of 6 glasses. Pour 1/2 cup seltzer into each glass; garnish with lime peels.

Cucumber Limeades

CUCUMBER LIMEADES 

Ingredients
1 English cucumber, (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 cups water 
1/4 cup sugar
Juice of lime 
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup ice cubes
 Directions

1. Peel English cucumber; remove any seeds. Coarsely chop and combine in a blender with water, sugar, lime juice, coarse salt, and ice cubes; blend until smooth. Serve over ice, garnished with cucumber spears, if desired. 

Hibiscus-Honey Iced Tea

HIBISCUS- HONEY ICED TEA
Ingredients
6 hibiscus tea bags
1/2 cup honey
1 cup fresh lime juice (from 8 to 10 limes)
1 cup light rum (optional)

Directions
1. In a large heatproof pitcher, combine tea bags, honey, and 5 cups boiling water; let steep 10 minutes. Discard tea bags. Add lime juice, rum (if using), and 3 cups cold water. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour (and up to 1 week). Serve over ice.

Peach Juleps

PEACH JULIPS

Ingredients

1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, plus sprigs for garnish

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 cups store-bough peach juice

1 can (12 oz.) club soda

1/2 bourbon 

Crushed ice, for serving

Directions

1. Mix in a medium bowl or pitcher, combine mint and sugar. With a wooden spoon, mash leaves until bruised. Stir in peace juice, club soda, and bourbon.

2. Serve over crushed iced; garnish with more mint. 

Enjoy! 

xoxo Courtney

Currently Craving: Hazel Hill

Being an intern in Downtown Topeka has its pro's and con's... I'm not sure which list my current craving should go under. If you live in Topeka and haven't checked out Hazel Hill Chocolate yet, you're missing out. The shop is located off Kansas Ave. so it's just a few blocks away from my work. It is so tempting to stop by there when I'm having a hectic day!

The shop is owned by a husband and wife. It is named after Hazel Hill, the wife's grandmother.  Nick, the husband, is the third generation chocolatier and in keeping with traditions, they use only the finest ingredients, chocolate, fresh cream and butter, to produce handmade treats that explode with flavor. It is to die for!

Here are some pictures to make your mouth water.

For Top City Thurday next week, Corey promised a date night to Hazel Hill to get an apple. I'm so excited! 

Hazel Hill's truffles are absolutely scrumptious! My favorite is the Iced Cappuccino Truffle.

For those of you who don't live in Topeka... Good news you can order online! Just go to the Hazel Hill Chocolate website! Enjoy.

xoxo Court

Currently Craving: Summer nail polish colors

Most people when it comes to summer get excited for laying out by the pool, BBQ's, and relaxing. I, on the other hand, get excited to whip out the fun, flirty nail polish colors. Don't get me wrong, I love all those other things as well... But sometimes it's just so refreshing to have freshly painted nails and tootsies. Here are a few of my favorite color pairing for summer time fun. 

1. Simple and Classic

Perfect color scheme if you don't want to draw to much attention to your nails, but still have them look clean and polished. Check out this website to see what nude color you should wear with your skin color. Nude Nail Polish Guide.

2. Firey Reds

Need something that pops? Go with a bold, sexy red. I love having red on my toe nails. Personally, I think red looks best on short/medium length nails. Fun fact...the use of red nail polish has been registered as early as the 15th century, when it was told
that members of the Ming dynasty's royalty used red and black to paint their nails. 

3. Summer Corals 

My top pick for summer is always a shade of coral. The color isn't has girly as a pink, but not as dramatic as a red. I also think it makes my tan look darker... I might be imaging things though. :)

4. Ocean Blues

I'm not a big fan of having cool color shades on my nails or toes... That being said, I do like how it looks on other people.  The bright blues make me want to jump into a nice cool pool. 

5. Sunshine Yellow's 

Again... Not my favorite for myself. Some people are able to pull it off and it looks great. I'll keep the yellow's for my summer tops and dresses.  

Overall, I think I'm going to stick with the nudes, reds, and corals. While interning I try to keep my nails clean and professional looking. However, I tend to use the brighter colors on my toenails. Check out Refinery29 to see more tips on what shades are hot for summer. What are your favorite shades to keep you looking cool by the pool?

xoxo Courtney

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