Healthy with Just a Little Cheese.

Well it only took a month, but I am full swing (or at least trying to get) back into New Years Resolution mode, a large part of which includes healthy eating.


After spending the day with Matt and our dog Zoe wandering around our neighborhood, walking by open houses and window shopping (and a stop to the dog park for Zo), a quick and easy dinner was all I had the energy for.
It consisted of:


Spinach Salad:
1/2 bag baby spinach leaves
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 T good quality olive oil
1/3 cups (or more...) freshly shaved parmesan cheese
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Toss all ingredients
Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper
It's light and fresh and really all you need for a delicious side salad (if using as a main course, just add sliced grilled chicken.)

Chicken & Artichokes:

Chicken breast tenders enough for 2 (8 - 10 small tenders)

1 jar marinated artichokes

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Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Place chicken in colander, pour marinated artichokes over chicken, toss while draining the excess artichoke liquid

Spread chicken and artichokes on baking sheet (lined with tinfoil for a far easier clean up)

"Blast" the chicken at 450 for 20 - 25 minutes, leaving you with charred artichokes and still-moist chicken.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Christmas 2009 I received a slow cooker from my sister (I'd been hoping for one) and shamefully have since used it only a handful of times.  I promised myself 2011 would bring more use of the slow cooker.
Keeping with my promise, in the last 3 weeks I have proudly brought it out twice!  First for the chili in my Sloppy Joe (Cheez Wiz) post a few weeks ago, and then again last week.
Matt's friend hosted a southern-style potluck dinner party last weekend.  Besides box-mix cornbread, I've never cooked anything southern in my life.  Inspired to go big, I looked up a famous dish I'd never even tasted before... jambalaya.  How tough could it be?
Researching and settling on a popular slow-cooker recipe online, I made the following dish to which I proudly received rave reviews at the party:


Colleen's Slow Cooker Jambalaya
Mind you... allrecipes.com is fantastic - it lets you enter in the amount of servings you want, and calculates the measures of ingredients accordingly.  Be warned - since we were bringing for a potluck, my recipe serves 12:


Ingredients
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper (I doubled Matt suggested giving it extra kick)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 lb frozen cooked shrimp without tails
*I also added 3 cloves garlic, minced, as I found other recipes to encourage it


Directions
In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, green bell pepper, celery, and broth.  Season with oregano, parsley, Cajon seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.
Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High.
Stir in the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cook time.
*If nearing the end of the cook time and its looking too soupy, take the cover off and let some of the liquid cook off.
*I also added 2 cups cooked rice at the end instead of serving separately.


Matt, a lover of jambalaya and all thing spicy, says it's one of the best he's had.  
I highly recommend you try it, too!

I also made pre-mix buttermilk biscuits.  I was out of time and energy, but had to bring something to serve along with the jambalaya.  They were dry and gross, but I suppose thats what I get for making a "just-add-water" mix.  Paula Dean would shake her head in shame.  Anyway, if anybody out there has a homemade recipe they're willing to share, please do!

Cheese Bar

The highlight of my weekend in Portland, and the most relevant to this blog, was a trip to a little utopia called CHEESE BAR.  Oh yes.

The owner, Steve, used to have a very well known cheese shop in Portland (Steve's Cheese), and decided to fuse that idea with his other love, beer.  Just 11 months ago, Cheese Bar came a reality.  It's a small bar in a rather large room with a few tables, 6 beers on tap, a TON more bottled, a nice wine list, an endless supply of cheese, (to eat there or to take home), and a small, but well rounded menu if you'd like to sit and eat.

Matt and I wandered there Saturday afternoon and ended up having a great conversation with Steve, but only after eating more cheese than I'd ever imagine in one sitting (it was actually embarrassing), 2 sliced baguettes, and a charcuterie plate.  
But hey, its not every day you come across a gem like this!  

Thank You, Portland.

Despite its dreary winter weather and chilly temperatures, Portland was an amazingly fun time.
Its not an exaggeration when I tell you we literally ate our way through the city.
I am very disappointed that I didn't take more photos, though I guess I could say I was too busy enjoying myself.  The food in every restaurant we ate in had such a focus on individual ingredients and the exploration of new flavor combinations, it was inspiring.
The one restaurant that was in my top 5 dining experiences sadly didn't get a single snapshot.
Le Pigeon, a tiny french restaurant on lower Burnside, is just a small room with high ceilings, one long dining table for sharing, a few smaller tables by the windows in the front, and a chef's bar over the tiny kitchen where we were lucky enough to perch.  
Our meal was amazing, but since I don't have pictures to accompany their description, I shall just leave the mention of it with a smile on my face, and the excitement of returning again.
Upon arrival and our check in at the Ace Hotel, we wandered down to Clyde Common, the restaurant and bar attached to the hotel.  We made it down just in time for happy hour, and a very happy hour it was. 
Matt ate their burger with pickled onions, bacon, and blue cheese. 

I ordered the mushroom and cheddar grilled cheese, and a side of baked macaroni and cheese.  
It was the perfect meal to tide us over for our late night dinner.
Some shots from our meal and the restaurant below:

I only photographed one more destination, which may be the highlight of the trip... coming up next...

Not Your Ordinary Salad.

If I had one week to live and had to select each meal accordingly, at least one of them would include a stop to Abbot's Pizza Company for their specialty salad pizza. 

My best friend introduced this to me about 5 years ago in Santa Monica, and it has since become a go-to.

This pizza might be one of the strangest, healthy-but-not-really-healthy, meals you'd expect to enjoy.  Oh but you will.

First off, Abbots uses a bagel crust.  

Genius! 

This is a no-joke, thin-but-still-heavy bagel crust topped with a thin layer of sour cream and baked through.  Upon removal from the oven, your bagel crust is topped with a massive salad consisting of mixed greens, onions, tomatoes, basil, avocado, feta and a lemon dressing.  Odd?  Yes.  But amazing?  Absolutely. 

Its a good thing we didn't have an Abbot's on my college campus, or the Freshman 15 would've quickly become the Freshman 150.  

We are off to Portland, Oregon tomorrow for a little getaway - I hope to bring back at least a few cheesy experiences to share.  Happy Weekend!

Don't Judge Me.

I know, I know.  It's not real cheese.  The FDA won't even allow Kraft to spell it properly because this processed goop doesn't meet the qualifications of real cheese at all.  But regardless, I refuse to discriminate.  It's just SO GOOD.


I made chili for the first time ever today.  I looked up a couple of popular slow-cooker recipes online and combined them.  For going in blindly I must say, it came out pretty well!  Once finished, we toasted sesame buns, scooped on a giant ladle (or two) of chili, and topped it with none other than the infamous Cheez Wiz.


If Pat's and Geno's use it, why can't I?
Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.

Sometimes You Deserve It.

Matt and I both had a long week.  What a better way to unwind on a Friday night than with a bottle of wine and a spread of deliciousness?

Burrata drizzled in olive oil, salt & pepper with prosciutto di parma

Orange and yellow cocktail tomatoes with burrata

Saint Agur Blue

Marinated olives

Toasted sourdough baguette, drizzled with olive oil & fresh pepper (pre-toasting)

Humboldt Fog

Yes please.