0 Tasty Tuesday: steam-fried sausage and veggies

You know what's good? When you make a recipe that is easy and makes you feel like you're eating decently. I love striving for health when it comes to my food, but dang, I hate the preparation involved to get there. Enter the genius of throwing a bunch of stuff in your fridge into a skillet and steam-frying (totes legit cooking term) it all together until yumminess occurs. Well, B, the veggie hater, would say the sausage part was good, but he still ate the bowl I served him.

Steam-fried Sausage and Veggies

Ingredients:

• 1 package Aidell's chicken apple sausages (or 5 links of your fave cooked chicken sausage), sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced and quartered
• 1 small sweet potato, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup of cooked broccoli (mine was frozen, so I microwaved for two minutes and dumped it in semi-frozen)

Directions:

Slice, chop and assemble ingredients. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Brown sausage and sweet potato, then add zucchini and broccoli. Cook thoroughly and serve. 

Easy, right? And tasty. I'm not paleo or anything, but I think this recipe would fit that diet pretty easily. 

Detail: Tasty Tuesday: steam-fried sausage and veggies

0 Tasty Tuesday: almond butter yogurt bowl

Here's a delicious, filling, protein packed treat that pretty much anyone can enjoy. You can change ingredients to suit your tastes and needs, so feel free to make this your own. It's super easy to throw together when a sweets craving hits, or when you just want a healthy snack.

Happy Girl Yogurt Bowl

Ingredients

1/2 cup nonfat Greek Yogurt, I used plain Fage

1 tbsp almond or peanut butter

1 dash cinnamon

1 tsp agave syrup

1 banana

4 strawberries, sliced

Directions: Place yogurt, nut butter, cinnamon, and agave into a small bowl and mix together. Top with sliced bananas and strawberries. Enjoy the heck out of your delicious treat.

My bowl ended up being just over 300 calories, with 14 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber. Not bad! You can use coconut or soy yogurt, any nut butter you like, and any fruit that sounds like a good addition. You can skip the agave, or use honey or stevia as your sweetener instead. Pumpkin pie spice would probably be a fantastic trade off for the cinnamon. It's an extremely versatile dish that can be changed so many ways, so feel free to experiment and find what works for you.

Detail: Tasty Tuesday: almond butter yogurt bowl

0 I ate Dallas

This is the story of how I ate all the things this week. Just kidding. I really wanted to eat even more things, but this TIU bikini series has given me a small measure of self control that was bent a lot, but not broken.

If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, and haven't been deterred by my less than stellar posting habits, you may remember that I lived with my friend Kate for a month before moving to Austin. Well, it turns out that Kate and her husband, and her precious little baby bump, will be following my lead and moving to Texas next month! Unfortunately not to Austin, but close enough in Dallas.

I met up with Kate in Dallas on Monday for a few days of apartment hunting and girl time. We spent our first few hours following a Realtor around, checking out some townhouses and being less than impressed with his professionalism, but it was a good start. Kate introduced me to one of her favorite chicken places, Zaxby's, that is plentiful in Atlanta where she is from, but is scarce elsewhere. I really, really wanted to just get all sorts of yummy fried chicken, but I opted for a grilled chicken salad and knew I was missing out.

A short siesta at the hotel followed, and then excitement happened! Amber, of Brunch with Amber blog fame, showed up to get a hair cut from me. Yup, if I am in your city, you better believe I am willing to meet up and do a little hair. Amber is so sweet and wanted to donate hair to the Children with Hair Loss Foundation, and I am all about helping people donate to charities, especially when it benefits those who have lost hair for some reason. Amber's hair was long. Like looooong. Minimum donation is 8 inches, but we got 10 inches and still had plenty of length to achieve the style she wanted.

Seriously, how cute is Amber? And how awesome is she for donating her hair to such a great cause! I highly recommend looking into great charities like CWHL if you would like to donate your own hair.

Much chatting, good belly laughs, and fun was had by Amber, Kate and I, until Amber had to head home. Kate and I decided to check out Northpark Mall, where there is a Kate Spade store that my own Kate, who works for KS back in CA, wanted to visit. I should have been smart and stayed away. I went in blindly, having no previous knowledge of Kate Spade goodness.

Y'all. My eyes have been opened.

I need more Kate Spade in my life. It's an expensive new addiction, and it won't be completely scratched. Ever.

We found ourselves at the Kona Grill happy hour, where we enjoyed all sorts of goodies before calling it a night.

Day 2 had me up early, using the hotel gym to get 3 miles in on the treadmill and a Tone It Up workout before we started our day. Which was visiting a local ENT to check out Kate. It was sad folks. Poor Kate's ears never cleared after her flight to Dallas, having had to pressurize twice from a layover. Turns out that 5 months preggo Kate had a double ear infection, sinus infection, and bronchitis. Serious trooper, right there. She had to have a double myringotomy, which is a fancy way of saying the doctor poked holes in her ear drums to relieve pressure and help them drain. Ouch. Some antibiotics and a change to her return flight, and on she went. Total badass right there.

We met up with an apartment locator, Beverly of Dallas Apartment Locators, and toured a few properties and had the best time. I highly recommend using Beverly if you are looking for a place to live in Dallas. She was a breath of fresh air after our previous day's experience with a Realtor. I will end my review there, or else this will feel like a Yelp review, and you better believe I am going to give her a glowing review!

We grabbed Pinkberry, took a little nap, then ventured out to Trinity Groves to have dinner at LUCK (Local Urban Craft Kitchen) thanks to a Yelp scan.The food was amazing. We started with tempura battered fried green tomatoes with chili aioli and Texas caviar (get in my belly), and Kate had pot roast and brussel sprout hash, while I got pan seared mahi mahi with quinoa tabbouleh. The service was a little slow for an unknown reason, so while we got our appetizer before our drinks, it took another 45 minutes to get our entrees. Our server was very friendly and quite chatty, so he felt bad our food took forever and gave us free dessert--apple fritter funnel cake for Kate, and chocolate chip brownie for me. Free dessert? Of course I ate it, even though it was in no way Tone It Up approved! I was super sugar high after eating just half that dessert, my heart hammering well into the night haha

Wednesday I again hit the gym for 4 miles on the treadmill and a few TIU workouts. We had plans to head to the super cute Konx street so Kate could meet up with the Kate Spade store manager of that neighborhood store for a little meet and greet-- or so we thought. Knox reminded me a lot of Campbell, where my CA salon is located, so I loved hanging out. Turns out Kate pretty much got herself a job at that store, and a promotion, to boot. It's not quite clear to us, and maybe not even official if it's true, but we both got the impression that our meet up turned into an unofficial interview. Funny that Kate had thought she would not be working when she got to Dallas, and now it looks like she will be the visual merchandising supervisor for Kate Spade on Knox!

We got a lunch recommendation for Sissy's Southern Kitchen, which we were more than happy to try. Another round of fried green tomatoes was had. What can I say? I'm totally in love with them. Fried okra also made it to our table, and became a new obsession as well. I opted for the purple hull pea patties, while Kate ordered the renowned fried chicken. We were both pleased, and quite full, from our delicious lunch. Definitely a must have if you are in Dallas. Sissy's has the cutest decor, from a china plate installation around mounted deer heads, to the coolest light fixtures and a side room that is all Victorian and amazing.

 Kate had changed her early Wednesday flight from Dallas, to a Thursday flight from Austin because of her ears, so I had a road trip buddy to accompany me back home. Kate was a great DJ, playing a fun mix of music ranging from Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, to Kacey Musgraves. We even stopped in Waco to visit my friend Stephanie of the Vintage Modern Wife blog. I finally got to meet her cute puppy Pearl, and it was fantastic to catch up and introduce the two preggos while we were at it.

We made it back to Austin without incident, which is excellent in my opinion, and headed to dinner at Jack Allen's Kitchen in Round Rock, because obviously I needed more delicious food! We met up with some mutual friends of ours for a fantastic dinner and great conversation.

I was sad to see Kate leave early Thursday morning, but I am excited that she gets to be a permanent Texas resident in about a month's time! Now if only I can convince more friends and family to move out this way...

Detail: I ate Dallas

0 Tasty Tuesday: spicy chicken noodle soup

It has been a bit since I have posted a recipe. Thankfully, I got to cooking the other day, and actually made something worth mentioning! 

My favorite meal as of late has been to bake a bag of frozen breaded chicken, dump the accompanying sauce over it, heat brown rice in the microwave, throw it all together in a bowl with some broccoli, sweet chili sauce and call it dinner. It's a cheater version of real cooking, where you would actually make the chicken yourself, rather than opening a bag haha

Being sick and having super cold weather last week, made me want a satisfying warm soup. I had nothing of the canned variety to turn to, and was seriously limited in my ingredients to make my favorite tortellini soup recipe, or even a basic chicken noodle soup recipe, so I made up something else entirely. I was skeptical as I threw the ingredients in my crock pot, but a few hours later I was thrilled. Spicy, warm and all together delicious, this soup hit home and made me feel better, just as I had hoped it would. 

Spicy chicken noodle soup

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

1 14oz can mild green enchilada sauce

1 14oz can black beans, rinsed

1 14oz can Rotel, or just chopped tomatoes

1/2 tsp each salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin

2 cups water

2 cups pasta of choice, mine was farfalle{bow tie}

Directions:

Place all ingredients except pasta into your crock pot, stir, and cook for 2 hours on high, or 4 hours on low. Use two forks to shred the chicken pieces a little. Add in pasta and cook 30 more minutes, or until pasta is tender. Eat as is, or serve with sliced avocado, tortilla strips, or cheese as optional garnishment. 

This really helped to clear my sinuses, and made my throat feel a little better. I'd say that is a successful soup for a cold winter day when you are feeling under the weather!

Detail: Tasty Tuesday: spicy chicken noodle soup

0 Tasty Tuesday: Ranch chicken and veggies

It has been absolute ages since I last posted a recipe for Tasty Tuesdays, and since I have a few minutes before it's technically Wednesday, I needed to get this in. It was that good. Cassie hasn't been posting her Tasty Tuesdays either, but maybe this will be the push she needs to get back to telling us about her own kitchen adventures!

Ashley, over at Our Own Ordinary is my new Instagram buddy, thanks to randomly commenting on a photo I took of a sign that Wizard's Academy out near Driftwood, Texas. She actually got married there recently, and wanted to let me know. Fast forward to today, when I finally clicked her blog link in her IG profile, and there it was, the inspiration for my own dinner, her recipe for rosemary roasted chicken and veggies. Y'all, it looks delicious in it's own right, and had me thinking about how I could get crafty with what I had on hand.

Then I went to my new favorite place ever, the HEB grocery store, and spent a wonderful hour piling my cart high with all sorts of amazing yumminess. If you are not from Texas, you have no idea what you are missing. In short, HEB is a mega grocery store chain native to Texas, and has everything from your normal groceries, to electronics, to garden stuff. It's ridiculously amazing. I mean, what other grocery store lets you sample cheese and crackers, and do wine tastings in the store?! I absolutely got all of my ingredients from my local HEB, all fresh and awesome.

I digress. Back to the recipe! Chicken thighs make this juicy, tender, and so flavorful. You can also use chicken breast, but I think thighs are more delicious, and cheaper too! The ranch seasoning is such an easy addition that gives a great pop of flavor with hardly any work. The veggies fill you up and make you feel healthy. I swear, this is the perfect weeknight recipe to throw together, with such a satisfying result.

Happy Girl Ranch Chicken and Veggies

Ingredients:

• 1lb boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets, trimmed of fat
• 1 packet Ranch seasoning mix
• 6 baby potatoes {or 2 russets, a handful of red, any potato you like, etc.}
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped into chunks
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into chunks
• 1 cup sliced baby portobella mushrooms {I felt like adding some fun{gi} to the mix, you can omit if you don't like 'em}
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat, and coat with non-stick spray or 1 tbsp on evoo.
2. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray, and throw in your chopped veggies. Sprinkle half the Ranch packet and the remaining evoo over the veggies, then toss to coat. Stick in the oven to roast while you work with the chicken.
   
3. Sprinkle the rest of the ranch seasoning on the front and back of your chicken thighs. Place in the heated skillet and brown both sides, about 5 minutes. 
   
4. Remove the veggies from the oven and place your browned chicken on top, then return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until your chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender. 
   
5. Serve with a salad, another veg, or your favorite side dish. It will be delicious, and you will pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
   

My fitness pal says it's about 312 calories per serving, and serves 4 with the way I made it. Not too shabby! 

I most certainly followed up this healthier dinner with a big slice of the chocolate bundt cake I made earlier! It was amazing. I have a similar recipe that you can use, here!

Detail: Tasty Tuesday: Ranch chicken and veggies

0 Tasty Tuesday: Cheesy chicken chimichangas

Happy Tasty Tuesday! My girl Cassie started this little recipe day way back when, and even without a link up I just love participating so I can share my newest recipes with you. 

I shared with you all last week that I am a fully converted lover of spice and Mexican food, so it's no surprise that when I happened upon a chimichanga recipe with cheesy in the title, I had to make it. Like last week's pork enchiladas recipe, I shortened the active cooking time by using my crock pot and fudging the ingredients to suit my tastes and desires. 

Cheesy chicken chimichangas

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken, I used breast tenders

1/2 jar salsa verde

2 tbsp taco seasoning

8oz shredded pepper jack cheese

8oz package neufchatel cream cheese

8 flour tortillas

Directions:

1. place chicken in a crock pot and cover with salsa verde. Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours. 
2. preheat oven to 350F. Line a pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray.
3. Shred chicken, add in taco seasoning, cream cheese and pepper jack cheese.
4. divide chicken mixture between the tortillas, fold the sides in and place seam down on baking pan. Spray with cooking spray, and bake for 15 minutes. Turn oven to broil, and cook 3 more minutes to get the chimichangas good and browned.
5. serve with your favorite fixings, like cheddar cheese, sour cream, and green onions! 

Detail: Tasty Tuesday: Cheesy chicken chimichangas

0 Tasty Tuesday: Chocolate banana protein pancakes

Hey dolls, happy Tuesday! I am following in the footsteps of my girl Cassie for her Tasty Tuesday series {even if there's no link up, I have to give her credit!}

Today I am sharing with you a little treat I threw together last week that seriously satisfied some cravings, while keeping me completely satiated, and full for hours. Those qualities are just what you need when you are watching what you eat, especially after a run when I turn into the feed-me-everything-I-can't-stop-eating monster. 

Some back story: I am not a huge pancake lover. I know, it's so weird that I hate bacon and don't really like pancakes. There are plenty of other breakfast options that make me happy, so I usually don't even think about pancakes. Unless of course when I have to run past my neighborhood Denny's to get to my usual creek trail run spot, then all I want are pancakes. Denny's must pump food smells out into the surrounding area to entice customers or something, because last Thursday I just about stopped my run to lick a window or two. which would have been gross, and thank goodness that is NOT what I did. I kept on running, but I still had pancakes on the mind when I got home. Now, I have made protein pancakes in the past that were dry and disgusting and made me want to spit them right out, so it was tempting to just pass entirely on another attempt, but darn Denny's wouldn't allow it, so I came up with these instead! Moist, sweet, flavorful and healthy, these pancakes hit the spot and made me feel good about eating them. 

Chocolate banana protein pancakes with peanut butter

Makes 2 big pancakes

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana

1 whole egg

1 scoop of chocolate protein powder {I use MRM 100% natural Dutch Chocolate whey protein powder}

1 tbsp natural peanut butter

about 1 tsp organic coconut oil to coat your pan

Directions:

1. Heat a small fry pan on medium heat. melt 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil in the pan, then swirl to coat. 
2. In a bowl mash banana with a fork. Add in egg and mix thoroughly. Add in protein powder and mix until everything is incorporated. 
3. Pour half of the batter into your heated pan, and let cook until edges are set and bubbles start to appear. Flip pancake over and cook for about a minute or until the center is cooked. 
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the rest of your batter to make your second pancake. 
5. Spread peanut butter over your pancakes while warm and enjoy! I like to fold or roll my pancakes up and eat them like a burrito, but that's just me being hungry and not wanting to use a fork ;)

Nutritional info: 365 calories, 29g protein, 33g carbs, 14g fat, 5g fiber, 16g sugar, 9 weight watchers points plus

Detail: Tasty Tuesday: Chocolate banana protein pancakes

0 Tasty Tuesday dinner recipes

Holla! Not hola, but a derivative of holler just to be clear. If you are wondering why I started a Tasty Tuesday post with it, that's Cassie's favorite word, which she wrote about here. 

I am continuing with last week's theme of giving you a look at the recipes I have planned for dinner this week. Because let's face it, if I have dinners planned, I tend to make most of them, and without this sort of accountability, I am likely to not plan anything and resort to take out dinner, which is never good. Ready for some awesome Pinterested recipes? Here are the five I have planned for this week. No idea which days I'll make them, but that seems to work better for me, as I will inevitably push one out in favor of another at some point anyway as my schedule allows.

Bringing back the man pleasing chicken from last week, because as the name implies, it pleased my man. He was sad I only made one package of thighs, and has requested that I make more this time so he can enjoy it longer. I actually fudged the recipe a bit because I didn't have Dijon mustard, so I used part yellow mustard and part spicy brown mustard. Still super tasty. I'm buying Dijon for this week's adaptation to get the original recipe's taste.

Crock pot sesame chicken I am really hoping this chicken stays intact and doesn't shred like most crock pot meat. 

Honey sticky chicken Can't got wrong with a fast recipe for broiled sticky chicken!

Skillet lasagna because lasagna is such a great weeknight meal, and if it's light and in one pan? Even better. 

Possible crock pot cheesy veggie chowder The original recipe is a stock pot version, but commenters have left options for using the crock pot. Might be nice to come home to this bubbling away and ready to eat some cold evening!

Want to share some recipes with me for future dinners? I'd love a comment linking to your blog posts or Tasty Tuesday posts!

Detail: Tasty Tuesday dinner recipes