Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

I haven't posted in awhile,
but yesterday when I made this amazing salad dressing I had to share it!
           
                   
I was inspired by a restaurant I went to that had this amazing southwest salad. I just recently realized that I am obsessed with southwest style food. I wish I would have taken pictures but I didn't think of it at the time. Next time I make it I will for sure!

Cilantro - Lime Vinaigrette 

Juice of one fresh organic lime

Fresh organic cilantro, three to four sprigs ( minus the stem) 

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar 

2 T raw honey

1 tsp sea salt

I blended it all together in blender, but a food processor would prob work better

Also all the measurements are approximate. Anyone who knows me knows I don't usually measure things :) 

Happy Eating! 

THE MOST AMAZING TORTILLA SOUP

Wow, so I have officially abandoned this blog. I contemplated starting a new one today for fear people would look through old embarrassing posts, but i'll risk it because i'm lazy.

Apparently I love Mexican/Southwest style food because that's what my last post was about. I guess i need to get some new cooking inspiration.

So.... moving on to this soup. After our Mexico trip ( in Feb) I was craving some good, authentic tasting tortilla soup. I looked up a recipe online and after tweaking it quite a bit this is what I came up with. Everytime I make it Manoah says it was my best one yet (he is so complimentary, lol) and eats like 10 bowls. The best part is its very healthy too!

60-65 oz of Chicken Broth ( I use the organic, free range stuff from Whole Foods)
4 cups of tomatoes diced
3 cups Chicken shredded ( I usually boil it on the stove and then add the broth to the soup)
2 anaheim chilis
1/2 jalapeno (this is up to you and the spice level you like)
1/2 diced onions
2 cloves fresh garlic
2Tbl minced cilantro
2 tsp cumin
1Tbl chili poweder
1 dried Chipotle pepper
1 can black beans
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and garlic together in a little bit of oil over low heat until the onions are clear

Combine all the peppers, 1/2 the tomatoes, cilantro, chili powder, chipotle pepper and a little bit of the broth in a food processor ( I use my nutrabullet) to make the soup base.

Combine the chicken broth, soup base (made above) and water from the poached chickens.

Add the remaining tomatoes, the sauted onions and garlic, chicken and the black beans, bring to a boil.

Salt and pepper to taste

It tastes best if you let it simmer for about 10-15 min.

Garnish with:
fresh avacado
cliantro
cheddar cheese
sour cream
lime juice
organic tortilla chips

And that's it folks!

P.s. It usually takes me about 30-40 min to make.

The dreaded NCLEX

Well... after much procrastination, the time is approaching for me to take my nursing boards. Four years of grueling college education have all led up to this moment of truth.

On feb. 7 it all goes down, will I make it? Only time will tell. I'm having a serious problem hitting the books as hard as I know I can. Maybe because I am so mentally over studying for test, after test. But all i know is it's do or die for me now.

It's really kind of crazy, my life is changing a lot this year. But all in good ways! Can't wait to be one step closer to doing what I love.

Eggs Benedict

Breakfast is my favorite! One of my top breakfast foods is eggs benedict. The other week on our cruise I got them almost every morning.

Since I've been home I've been in an eggs benedict depression. Where are my waitors that bring me scrumptiously delicious eggs every morning with a side of fruit and fresh coffee?! The cold, hard truth is that I am no longer on vacation and that past reality is now only a dream.

All that to say... I am forced to learn the skill of hollandaise sauce and master poached eggs.

First, the sauce, which turned out to be much easier than Julia Childs made it look in Julie & Julia.

But, true to Julia Childs and the three secrets of French cooking, you plop in 10 tablespoons of butter. Melt it on low but DON'T let it boil.

While that's happening, separate out three egg yolks and put them in the blender with a tbl of lemon juice. Blend untill the egg yolks are lighter in color (20-30 secs)

Then add the melted butter slowly while the blender is still on.

WABAM! That's all!! 

Next, poaching the egg. Fill up a shallow sauce pan with water. Heat it up till it's ALMOST boiling.

You can add a couple tbl spoons of vinegar if you want, but I didn't.

(unnecessary picture of water, almost boiling)

Then, crack the egg in a cup and carefully pour it into the water, turn off the heat and cover for four minutes ( which I found to be a perfect amount of time)

Then, fry up some Canadian bacon.

Ps. We didn't have any english muffins so I used bread instead...but it was still really delicious

Total Time: 30 min (tops!)

Barbeque Chicken Pizza - guaranteed to change your life

     Every once in a while I am inspired to make something. My creative outlets consist of many different mediums. Today I'll be working with dough, bbq sauce and delicious combinations of meats and cheeses.Yes my friend, we are about to embark on a pizza adventure. Hold on tight.

First -- I made the dough. It was relatively simple, but if you want to save time, I'm sure

a store bought dough would work just fine. 

41/2 cups bread flour

1 envelope instant yeast (2 1/2 tsp)

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbl olive oil

1 1/2 cup warm water

Combine dry ingredients and put in food processor, add olive oil and warm water

process until dough is in a ball.

move to counter and kneed by hand for 5 minutes or until the dough

is in a smooth ball.

Oil a bowl, place in a warm area and let rise for

45 min to an hour

Viola!  Dough = done

Now to move on to our sauce. I made my own bbq sauce for the base of the pizza

Barbecue Sauce Clone:

 6 oz tomato paste

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup corn syrup (**so bad for you!! I substitued honey)

2 Tbl molasses

2Tbl Vinegar

1/4 tsp liquid smoke:

( I read the recipe wrong and put it 2 Tbl, opps! Tasted more smokey, but still delicious, up to your taste buds)

1/4 caramel coloring (skiped this all together, NOT HEALTHY!)

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic,granulated ( I used a real garlic glove)

1/4 onion power

I mixed it together and heated it so that it caramelized and got a little thick - delish!

---------------

Next I made the toppings,

Chicken - cubed and pan fried. I seasoned it with Kirklands nosalt seasoning

Bacon - cut up and fried  ( sorry no pic)

Onions - cut up and fried ( " )

Next I heated the oven to 500 F and heated my pizza stone for 30 min.

Then I made my crust on a floured wooden pizza thinger:

Then transfered it to my hot pizza stone:

Making round pizza dough has never been my strong suit. BUT I did have fun

trying. Flinging it in the air is very stress relieving.

Next, I added all my ingredients.

bbq sauce, a combo of cheese (chedder, mozzarella)

Chicken, bacon, onions,

more cheese

dried cilantro

Masterpiece bbq sauce over the top

Baked at 425 F  for like 25 min

THE END

   

I promise not to promise...

Empty promises are everywhere. From the friend who says, "oh don't worry, I'll pay you back," to the "Congratulations, you just won 100 free ipads," pop ups on the side of your facebook page. We are all guilty at some point or another. Many times empty promises are made with the best intentions. We really did mean to pay that friend back! But even still, empty promises leave a trail of frustration and hurt behind them. We create expectation in others and then let them down.  

This has been the fallout of so many relationships, the core of so much disappointment. Surprise, 8 year old girl! You will probably never get that pony.

And then there's another kind of empty promise, the kind we promise to ourselves and to other's about ourselves.

Can anyone say, New Years resolutions? Yes, I'm 100% for self-betterment. I know that being stagnant is unrewarding and basically renders life pointless. We all want to grow and change. But the thing that bothers me, is promising myself yet another thing and then being disappointed. It's the goals and plans that i make, and then watch be dashed to the rocks by one thing or another.

So this is my question. How do I change, and grow, and have goals with out letting myself down? One of my favorite quotes is "Don't tell people your dreams, show um." I want to be someone who follows through. If I say it, it's done.

What would the world be like if we brought honor back to the words that we speak? Not only to others, but also to ourselves. Look at your new years resolutions, are they measurable, reachable goals that actually fit into your lifestyle in a reasonable way?  Make this the year. DO THEM! Modify and tweak your goals till they work for you and make them happen. Turn over a new leaf and actually pay your friend back, get the frickin pony (hypothetically of course, unless you really want a pony, then by all means...) and eat all your green vegetables!

When you say, "Oh your should come over for dinner!" to someone, try actually having them over! I know, it's a revolution. But this year, it's my personal revolution.

So instead of a long list of things that I may or may not remember to look at throughout year. I have two things on my New Years resolution list:

1. Make sure the people I care about know that I appreciate them and why I appreciate them.
2. Say a lot less and do a lot more.

Obviously I have sub-categories of all the personal changes I would like to make. But for now, I think that's a good start. Hopefully, when those sub-categories start playing out, I won't have to tell you about it you'll just know. :) In ending I implore you to join with me in echoing the words of Nike advertising"

Just do it.
Happy 2012.


Ps. I just re-enabled the comment option  (which blogger promises is much better now) so feel free!

Something New - just for fun

I've been reading a few more blogs than normal lately. Usually I just post on here and I'm done. I don't spend a lot of time reading other blogs. But, I found myself with some extra time and for a while the other day I happened upon a few that I found really interesting. I realized a lot of them post outfits and fashion idea. It's fun looking at the pictures of what other's wear and all that jazz.

All that to say, I broke down and took a picture of my outfit today.

Gap skinny jeans ( hand me downs from my beloved sister) 

Buckle grey tank 

Express white tank with ruffles

Dry Goods cotton blazer ( favorite semi-new store in Schaumburg Woodfield mall) 

Opal necklace compliments of my mother 

Don't have my shoes on yet, but will probably wear something the boot department since there's like 4 inches of snow on the ground right now. 

Also, I'm finishing the post with 5 recommendations for those who's 2012 resolution is spicing up their style 

1. Get some good jeans (lets all try to eliminate mom-butt in 2012)

2. Don't be afraid to ask the sales women for help, it's their job and if they're good at their job, they will be more than happy to help you find what you didn't know you were looking for. 

3. Read fashion magazines, my personal favorite is Instyle 

4. Find someone who's style you're drawn to and ask them for advice, or to go shopping with you

5. Don't be afraid to branch out. 

And the bonus: CLEAN OUT YOUR CLOSET! You  may have some treasures hidden in there that you forgot about.