Super-easy chicken and glazed carrots

So, for two months, I was doing the Insanity workout and following the Insanity diet. Here's one of our favourite recipes, courtesy of Shaun T.

Ingredients (for 2 people):

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. paprika

2 whole carrots, washed and peeled
2 tbsp. honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350'.
1. Mix olive oil, lemon juice and paprika together in a bowl.
2. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet (I put them on aluminum foil in the pan).
3. Use a spoon to pour paprika mixture over chicken breasts and gently rub in (on both sides).
4. Place chicken in oven and let cook for 20 minutes (or until chicken is fully cooked).
5. While chicken is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil. Chop carrots and boil in the water for ~15 minutes (or until carrots are soft -- when you can poke into them with a fork).
6. When carrots are done, remove from heat and stir in honey, coating the carrots.
7. Serve chicken and carrots, and enjoy!

Nana's Shrimp Curry

So, first thing's first, I must apologize for my complete absence since the end of June. I graduated with my Bachelor of Education degree and was offered a job teaching high school French in Saskatchewan, so I moved back home for July and August before moving across the country. When I lived at home, I had the luxury of not having to cook (and when I did, it was recipes that I have already posted, or one's that were lazy enough that it wasn't worth posting). I moved out here mid-August and have been soo busy with planning and teaching, I haven't really had the time to update this blog.

To make up for my complete absence, I'm going to share my FAVOURITE recipe for shrimp curry -- the one my nana used to make. She passed away almost 7 years ago, and I was the only one in the family who was able to get this recipe from her. So let's get cooking!

NOTE: As is with most recipes from grandparents, measurements are usually eyeballed out and it was tough to be exact with most of this recipe. So the only thing that I have really left "blank" in terms of measurement is the water, just because people have different likes/dislikes when it comes to thickness and amount of curry (and quite frankly, I just kept adding water, little by little, until it looked right, which I know is awful to say when you're trying to keep a cooking blog).

Ingredients:

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. garlic

1 tsp. saffron

1 tsp. paprika

½ tsp. dill powder

½ onion

1 lb. shrimp, thawed and deveined

2 medium potatoes, peeled

½ cup vegetable oil (can substitute with olive oil)

½ can coconut milk

2 tbsp. soya sauce

"1 cup" water (I don't think I used more than a cup of water, so again, add what makes you happy)

Directions:

1. Mix salt, ginger, garlic, saffron, paprika, and dill powder in a bowl. Add water (to your liking, depending on thickness and amount of curry you want, I used about 1/3 cup). Set aside.

Spices!

Spices mixed with water -- see the thickness I went for?

2. Cut up onion. Peel and cut potatoes (let them soak in water to make it easier to peel).

3. Add ¼ cup vegetable oil to frying pan and bring to medium heat. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink (“C” for “cooked”, “O” for “overcooked”).

4. Strain shrimp and put cooked shrimp in a separate bowl.

5. Fill bottom of cooking pot with ¼ cup vegetable oil. Bring to low heat. Put in onions and cook until onion begins to turn brown.

6. When onions turn brown, add spice mixture. Let cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. (You might find that you want to add more water here, since the water will begin to boil off).

7. Add shrimp and sautée until mixed with spices.

8. Add coconut milk and soya sauce. (Again, you might want to add more water to get the thickness you desire, I probably added about 1/2 cup).

I added enough water so my potatoes were still visible, if that helps.

9. Add potatoes, cook on medium heat until potatoes are fully cooked (about 25 minutes).

10. Serve over basmati rice.

I didn't have basmati rice :(
But it was still super-delicious!

Pesto Chicken and Asparagus

At first, I was a bit apprehensive about this dish, but it was so good, I made it again this week! Plus, this is another easy and fast meal.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts (thawed, boneless, skinless)

2 tbsp. Pesto

1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese

Asparagus (I make 4-6 stalks per person)

1 tbsp. Olive oil

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Pepper

1 tsp. Garlic powder

1 tbsp. Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

1. We're going to start by getting the asparagus ready. Wash and trim the asparagus. Get a baking pan ready by layering it with tin foil. 

2. Lay asparagus on tin foil. Drizzle with olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 

Asparagus, cooking

3. Place in oven and let bake for 15 minutes. When done, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

While that bakes, we're going to work on the chicken.

4. Bring non-stick skillet to medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 5 minutes per side, or until fully cooked.

Chicken, cooking

5. Place cooked chicken on plate. Spread pesto onto chicken. Then, cut the chicken into slices and drizzle with cheese.

Chicken and pesto

6. Remember to take out the asparagus! Serve and enjoy.

Voila!

Sautéed Shrimp

First, I must apologize for my complete absenteeism these past two weeks -- my online courses caught up to me and it was tough finding the time for myself, let alone this blog.


Anyways, these shrimp were absolutely AMAZING and easy to make!!!! So let's get to it!


Ingredients
1 lb. Shrimp, thawed, peeled and deveined (I usually make 8-10 medium-sized shrimp per person)
1/4 cup White wine
1 tsp.Thyme
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper


Directions


1. Bring skillet with non-stick spray (I use 1 tbsp. olive oil) to medium-high heat. 


2. Add shrimp. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Let cook on one side for about 2-3 minutes.

Shrimp in wine mixture

3. Flip the shrimp and add white wine. Let cook for 2-3 minutes on this side.


4. Voila! You're done! See, I told you it was super easy! 


Although it was a no-carb day, I totally made some rice to go with this, since I've grown up with the idea that rice and shrimp are a match made in heaven (I served it with some peas, too, since I needed my greens) :)

Yummy!

Chicken Nuggets and Berry Salad

This meal is super yummy and great for summer!

Ingredients
Chicken Nuggets
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 whole egg
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. oregano
Berry Salad
1 cup spinach
4 fresh, sliced strawberries
1/4 cup blueberries
1/4 cup raspberry vinaigrette
2 tbsp. orange juice


Directions


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.

2. In a large bowl (or tupperware container), crush tortilla chips. Add breadcrumbs, paprika, garlic powder and oregano. Mix well.

3. Dip chicken in egg and then mix in tortilla mixture, a few pieces at a time. Place on aluminum foil in a baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.

Bread crumb mixture

Coated nuggets

4. Meanwhile, serve spinach onto each plate. Decorate with berries. Combine raspberry vinaigrette with orange juice in a bowl, then drizzle over salad (or leave on table for each person to drizzle the amount they want).

Berry salad

Cooking nuggets

Finito! (Although no picture of the salad dressing)

Veggie Alfredo

I LOVE pasta and I LOVE alfredo, so for my pasta day (once a week), I decided to use up the rest of the veggies that I had left over from the week. So here we go...

Ingredients

Pasta (I use linguine)

Assorted veggies, however much of each that you want (I used about 1/4 cup of each).

   - broccoli 

   - mushrooms

   - onions

   - tomatoes

   - spinach

Alfredo sauce (however much you need, depending on how much you want)

Garlic powder

Pepper

Directions

1. Bring water to boil. Cook pasta according to given directions.

2. While pasta is cooking, start cooking veggies in 1-2 tbsp. olive oil. Start with thicker veggies (cook broccoli for about 3 minutes before adding mushrooms and onions. Cook until mushrooms begin to turn brown. Add tomatoes and spinach. Cook for 2 minutes, then add alfredo sauce (I add 1/2 jar of Classico alfredo sauce).  Simmer on low until pasta is ready.

3. Serve and enjoy.

The website rotates it this way, I don't know why :(

Weekly menu: June 10-16

This is a sample of what this week looks like for dinner:

Sunday
Veggie alfredo
     Pasta
     Any leftover veggies from the week before (spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, onion, tomato)
     Alfredo sauce

Monday
Chicken Nuggets and Berry Salad
     2 chicken breasts
     Tortilla chips (or cornflakes, or breadcrumbs)

     Spinach
     Raspberry vinaigrette
     Orange Juice
     Strawberries
     Blueberries

Tuesday
Sauteed shrimp (and scallops, although I didn't buy scallops this week)
     1 lb. shrimp
     White wine
     Thyme
     Salt
     Pepper

Wednesday 
Pesto chicken and asparagus
     2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
     Pesto
     Mozzarella cheese

     Asparagus
     Olive oil
     Italian seasoning
     Salt
     Pepper
     Garlic
     Parmesan cheese

Thursday
Shrimp curry
     1 lb. shrimp
     Curry powder
     Diced tomatoes
     Sour cream

Friday (out of town)
Saturday (out of town)

Chicken and Mushrooms in Red Wine Sauce

Honestly, when I made this, I was not expecting the sauce to be as purple as it was. But, it was yummy. It did feel, though, as if something was missing, so I might make it again and play around with that flavour I was missing. Definitely more of a winter-y meal, though.

Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (pound them to make them as thin as you can)
1 tbsp. olive oil
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup sliced white mushroom (I used 2 large mushrooms -- one for each person)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry (or alcohol-free) red wine
1/2 tsp. dried thyme


Directions


1. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan on medium-high. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 3-5 minutes per side (until lightly browned and most of the pink is gone). Transfer to plate and cover to keep warm.

This pic is sideways, but this is the seasoned chicken.

2. Add mushrooms and garlic to same pan. Cook on medium for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms start to brown.

3. Add flour. Heat and stir for 1 minute. Slowly, add broth and wine, stirring constantly. Add thyme. Heat and stir until boiling and thickened. Then, add chicken. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 5 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.

Mushrooms and flour

Chicken broth

Sauce

I served this on a bed of brown rice, which was yummy!

(again, I forgot an end picture! When I make this again, I will update!)

Lasagna Cupcakes

A few months ago, I bought a Hungry Girl cookbook and fell in love with her recipe for Lasagna Cupcakes. After making this recipe a few times, I found that her ingredient measurements were off and I liked some things more than others, so I changed it up a bit.

Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil
6 oz. lean ground beef (I usually suck with measurements for meat -- I use about a 1/4 pkg. of the ground beef tray)
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper (more or less, depending on what you prefer)
1/2 chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms (I buy 2 medium-sized mushrooms)
1 tomato, crushed (you can also use 1/4 jar of pasta sauce, which tastes just as good)
1 tsp. garlic powder (or chopped garlic)
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning


1 cup ricotta cheese
3-5 ounces chopped spinach (I use about 2 handfuls, depending on what you want the spinach-to-ricotta ratio to be like)
1 whole egg
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
18 square wonton wrappers
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (enough to cover the tops of 6 "cupcakes")

Directions


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. In a large skillet, bring olive oil to medium-high heat. Add meat and season with salt and pepper. Cook (and crumble) until no longer pink (5-7 minutes).

2. Add onion and mushrooms, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until veggies are soft.

Beef, onion, mushrooms

3. Reduce heat to low. Add crushed tomatoes, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Stir occasionally for 10 minutes. Set aside.

Using Classico sauce instead of crushed tomato

4. While meat mixture is simmering, in a bowl, combine spinach, ricotta cheese, egg, a pinch of salt, and garlic powder. Mix well.

Ricotta and spinach

Ricotta mixture (minus the spinach)

5. Spray a 6-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray (I usually dab a napkin with some butter and grease the pan that way). Press one wonton wrapper into each cup, then another to cover any remaining space. Evenly distribute 1/2 of the spinach-ricotta mixture among the cups (about 1 tbsp. per cup).

First layer!

6. Evenly distribute 1/2 of the meat mixture among the cups (about 1 tbsp. per cup). Top with some mozzarella cheese, then press a 3rd wonton wrapper onto this layer. Repeat this layering process one last time (so you have 2 layers of meat, ricotta and cheese). Note that you should only use 3 wrappers per cup (i.e. don't put a wrapper on the very top).

Completed project!

7. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted and edges are browned.

Yummy!

Enjoy! But be careful, since they can be quite hot :)

(Makes 6 servings)

Creamy Shrimp Curry

Last night for dinner, I made creamy shrimp curry -- shrimp curry is one of my absolute favourite foods!

Ingredients
1 lb. shrimp (since I cook for myself and my boyfriend, I usually make enough so we each get 10 shrimp)
1 tbsp. curry powder
14 oz. diced tomatoes (I usually use a little less -- about 8-10 oz.)
1/2 cup sour cream
Optional: add in some cubed potatoes (cook these first, then add in step 5) and 1/4 tbsp. tumeric for something extra

Directions

1. Peel and devein thawed shrimp. I usually pull out the shrimp right as I'm ready to start cooking. I put them in a bowl of warm water and peel them right then and there.

Shrimp, thawed, peeled and deveined.

2. Put shrimp in a bowl and mix with the curry powder.

Adding curry powder

Shrimp and curry powder

3. In a wok/saucepan, heat some vegetable/olive oil on medium-high until hot. Then, add shrimp and cook until shrimp start to turn pink (about 3-5 minutes). Remove from pan once pink. 

Remember: "C" means "cooked," "O" means "over-cooked".

Cooking shrimp

4. In same pan, heat diced tomatoes (with juice). When juice begins to boil, reduce to medium heat. Cook for 8 minutes (until most of the juice is evaporated).

Heating diced tomatoes

5. Add shrimp and sour cream. (This is where you can add pre-cooked potatoes and tumeric). Mix well and cook on medium heat until sauce begins to bubble. Once bubbling, you're ready to serve.

Finishing the curry

 ** I normally serve this with basmati rice, but that part's up to you.

 Also, apologies for not taking a final picture -- was really hungry and completely forgot!

Weekly Menu: June 3-9

Every week, I will post a menu of what I will be making for dinners throughout the week. Each day, I'll try to  post a recipe with pictures and as much health information as I can get (namely, calories, carbs, fats).

For breakfasts, I have one ViSalus shake (made with either frozen berries, frozen mango pieces, or some cocoa).

Lunch is usually leftovers from the night before, two eggs with spinach/red peppers/onions/mushrooms, a turkey/spinach/lite mayo/mozzarella cheese sandwich, or KD for days that I cave.

Saturdays/Sundays are days I generally save for my main carbs (such as pizza/pasta/bread). However, I sometimes make rice during the week to accompany some of the dishes I make (such as creamy curry shrimp, this week).

When I have snacks, I limit myself to fruits (bananas, mangoes, apples, kiwis, etc.). As I progress into this "diet" (i.e. lifestyle), I am going to try out some other healthy snacks from Eat Clean recipe books, and I'll let you know how that goes.

This is a sample of what this week looks like for dinner:

Sunday
Breakfast for Dinner
     2 eggs
     2 slices of bacon
     2 slices of toast

Monday
Creamy Curry Shrimp (with rice)
     1 lb. shrimp
     1/2 cup sour cream
     1 tbsp. curry powder
     14 oz. diced tomatoes
     1 cup rice

Tuesday
Lasagna Cupcakes (made with NO lasagna noodles, and still super yummy!)
     1/4 pk. ground turkey/beef
     2 mushrooms (or as much as you want)
     1/4 cup onions (or as much as you want)
     1 crushed tomato (can substitute with tomato sauce if you prefer)
     1/2 cup ricotta cheese
     spinach leaves (as many as you want, really)
     1 egg
     wonton wrappers

Wednesday (**my boyfriend surprised me with omlettes, so I didn't make this**)  
Chicken Parmesan (and Green Beans)
     2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
     Parmesan cheese (enough to cover the tops of the chicken)
     1/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs
     1 egg
     1/4 cup tomato sauce

Thursday
Chicken and Mushrooms 
     2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
     2 mushrooms
     red wine (yay!)
     Flour
     Chicken broth
     Dried thyme

Friday (**I volunteered at the OMO, and they provided dinner**)
Cheesy Burger Skillet
     3 hamburger patties
     Dijon mustard
     2 wedges Laughing Cow Lite Swiss cheese
*will have to wait until I cook this one before I add the rest of the ingredients*
   

Saturday (**my boyfriend made this when I wasn't home, so I couldn't take pics**)
Homemade Pizza (with store-bought dough)
     Dough
     Pizza sauce
     16 slices Turkey pepperoni (honestly, tastes just as good as regular pepperoni, but much healthier!)
     4 mushrooms
     1/4-1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

My Cooking Journey Begins!

A cooking blog is a lot more difficult for me to start than my math and travel blogs. So I'm going to start by introducing why I'm making a blog about cooking.

When I'm stressed, I love to bake. The smell of baked goods calms me down. I love to eat sweets, which is probably one of the reasons I'm here. After years of feeling uncomfortable with my body, I realized that I need to take action -- I can't keep blaming my appearance and my weight on not being able to find the time to be healthy. Over the past few months, I've been trying to cook healthier foods and cut down on the junk food.

I'm sure I'm not the first one to say that it's TOUGH.

It was tough trying to cook healthier, simply because the unhealthy stuff tasted soooo much better! I picked up a few cookbooks to attempt to find fun recipes that I could make without spending ridiculous amounts of money. I found a few that I'm a fan of, but I change them up depending on what I feel like. For example, I'm not a huge fan of tofu, so when one recipe called for tofu noodles, I couldn't do it (and I'm a huge pasta fan, so it was tough trying to change meals that involved pasta). I tried a few different healthy pastas, and I found one that I liked. So when recipes call for tofu noodles, I replace that with my white whole wheat Smart pasta, in a smaller amount, and increase the amount of veggies I use.

Just by making simple, manageable changes to my diet, I have been able to lose 8lbs over 3 short weeks (and note, I have not been exercising -- I might take an occasional walk once a week, but otherwise, I'm working/volunteering/doing school work while sitting on the couch).

This blog is intended to be my motivation to keep eating healthy, while at the same time being a place where I can keep my favourite recipes and share them with like-minded people.