Cafe Rio Salad and Dressing!

This is the recipe I got from my sister-in-law, Tammy to imitate the barbacoa pork salad from Cafe Rio!

Meat:

3.5-4 lb pork roast

2 t cumin

1 and 1/2 t Kanye (cayenne) pepper

1 t salt

Mix spices together and rub onto pork and cook on low overnight in crock pot.

In the morning, add the following:

1 cup of chicken stock or broth

2 cups of chopped white onions or 1 small white onion chopped

16 oz or 2 cups of Coke

2 cloves of garlic

Cook all day on low and one hour before serving, shred the meat and add in 1 cup of brown sugar and cook for another hour on low.

Creamy Cilantro Cafe Rio Imitation Dressing:

1 1/3 cup of LIGHT sour cream

3/4 cup of LIGHT mayo

1 bunch of cilantro

1 whole pack of Hidden Valley dry Ranch dressing

4 T green salsa verde

2-3 crushed garlics

1/8 tsp of Tabasco (or a couple of dabs)

Juice of 1 lime

Mix in food processor or VitaMix until all blended, and ready to eat!

My Mother in Law's Sorta Salsa

I made this THREE times this weekend - once for Andy's med school buds, once for my cousins, and once for our friends. It was spectacular every single time. Simply sensational! And after making it three times, I tweaked it to make it a tad more healthier by using less oil (tastes the same!) and EVOO instead of pure oil.

Serves 10-12 with tortilla chips!

1 can black beans rinsed and drained

1 can garbanzo beans rinsed and drained

1 can corn rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes slightly drained (just with the lid)

1 lime squeezed

1 bunch of cilantro chopped

4 T of pico de gallo salsa or one tiny can

1-2 avocados chopped

1 package of Italian dry seasoning - mixed - here is where I first mixed 3 T vinegar (used apple for last batch and tasted just as good!), 1/4 cup of water, then subsequently added 1/4 cup of water and 3 T of EVOO instead of 1/4 cup.

Was quite delicious if I do say so myself! The only warning is - it is a load of protein and the combination of beans may give you gas. But it was well worth it!

Coconut Chicken Leftovers That Turn Into Salad Meat!

Yesterday, I made coconut chicken strips! It was way easy to mix the stuff, took quite a bit of time to dip 'em but overall... spectacular for something that I can use in my salads for lunch! This is courtesy of Our Best Bites: Mormon Moms in the Kitchen recipebook (which I am not a huge fan of due to the binding but the recipes are good so far) with a few of my adjustments to account for lack of ingredients.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

You will need about 4 chicken breasts cut into strips of about 2 inches.

In a bowl, mix together:
1 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 cup of sweetened coconut shreds that you've diced to be smaller
1 1/2 t garlic salt (they used powder, I only have the Lawry's garlic salt)
3/4 t curry powder
1/4 onion powder (dunno what that is so I took some dried chopped onions and tried to crush 'em a bit before adding 'em and I used about 1/2 t)
1/4 t cayenne pepper
Mix the above well. I used a tupperware box, put the lid back on and just shook it up and shook my booty along with it (that's 5 calories burnt from cooking)!

In another shallow dish, put in 1/2 cup of flour....

In another another shallow dish, whisk 2 eggs...

Now, here's the fun part.

Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray some PAM on it. First, carefully dip the chicken strip into the flour - shake off any excess - then carefully dip it into the dish with the whisked eggs, again let it drip and shake off any excess - then dip it into the crumb mix and then place it onto the cookie sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes, check if it's done, if not, continue for about 5 more minutes - this is important so your chicken doesn't go dry! My mother in law taught me that every "book" recipe for chicken should be reduced by 5-10 minutes to ensure it's juicy and ready instead of overdone which is why I did 10 (book says 20.. those pesky liars!) but of course, it depends on your oven too!

You'll know when it's ready as the coconut and bread crumbs are sort of a light yellow with a bit of brown crispiness.

Now, make some sauce too! Whisk 3/4 cup of apricot preserves (book says 1 cup of apricot pineapple but I only had apricot and 3/4 left), 2 t of soy sauce, 1/4 t of Dijon (I used grey poupon cuz I'm high class), 1/4 t curry.

Wala! There you go!

Today for lunch, I used three strips, combined it with 2 cups of spinach, a handful of granola, a handful of craisins, some poppy seed dressing and BOOM - winning, my lunch was served. So simple!

On My Way to Pre-Pregnancy Weight!

More updates to come - I cannot wait to start tracking my goal of getting back to pre-pregnancy weight and size! That means weight AND inches - because muscle weighs more than fat, just weighing a certain amount does not mean anything - I have to also measure inch wise same as before pregnant Daisy.

Sneak peek - I will be testing out shape-ups or ree-tones and posting any workouts I can come up with from the comfort of my own home. Here we go! Only 2.5 weeks until I get my postpartum checkup and hopefully, the go ahead to work out! Woo hoo!

Love Me Some Paula Deen Carrot Cake!

I made some slight "healthier" substitutes.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Mix in a big bowl:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flower
2 t ground cinnamon
2 t baking soda
1 t salt

Now mix the following in:
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs

Finally, add this to the mix and mix some more:
3 cups grated carrot

Pour into three 9" cake pans and bake for about 40 minutes each.

Meanwhile, work on the healthier frosting (not by much but every lil bit counts!)
2 8oz light cream cheese packages
1 stick of salted butter at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
Beat until fluffy

Okay... so I guess the only healthy substitute I had was the cream cheese, but it's got carrots and I think next time I will try using 2 eggs and 2 egg whites, maybe less oil.... see where it goes? All I know is - it was delicious and no butter in the actual cake - just the frosting so that's a good sign! Could probably substitute the butter in the frosting with something lighter!

My Simple Use What I Have Veggie Sandwich

So I whipped out whatever I had in the fridge to make myself a delicious veggie sandwich.

2 slices of wheat bread
1/2 roma tomato cut into four slices
cheese - whatever mix I had in the fridge
arugula - cuz I have it leftover from my steak sandwiches
peppercinnis - who doesn't have some in their fridge for sandwiches?!
grey poupon - do you happen to have any grey poupon??

After toasting the wheat bread, I put one side with cheese and the tomatoes into the microwave for 30 seconds (to melt the cheese), then added the arugula, peppercinies and put grey poupon on the other slice of bread.

Done!

Lunch in less than 5 minutes and man was it good!

Steak Sandwiches

I didn't have any crunchy bread so I decided to make some focaccia bread for some yummy steak sandwiches.

Foccaccia Bread (Mormon Cookbook):
1 1/2 T active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 T sugar
Let yeast do its thang!

Mix together:
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup warm water
2 T EVOO
yeast from above
Then, after mixing, use another 1/2 cup warm water to mix and then knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Let rise for 1-2 hours and then place into 9 inch greased pan, pinch tops and let rise for 30 minutes (maybe more cuz my 30 did not do much!) Preheat oven for 400 degrees and then bake for 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, work on the steak sandwich (Martha Stewart Food Magazine, Fast Issue) as follows... first, mix:
1 T dijon mustard
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T EVOO
salt and pepper for seasoning

Marinate 1 lb skirt steak for about 15 minutes and in the meantime, cut one red onion into long pieces and season with salt and pepper.

Cook the skirt steak and red onions in a medium sauce pan on medium-high for about 5-7 minutes each side.

After the steak is done, take the remaining red onions and chop it in a food processor for a bit and then add about 2 T of vinegar.

Grab some argula, some mustard, and put together your sandwiches with the foccaccia bread, steak and onions and then you're done!!!!!!

I'm Packing 32 Pounds

I know I'm pregnant and that's why I'm packing 32 pounds - mostly in my belly, some of it distributed to my swollen feet, legs, and bigger chest.... but mostly it's in my belly. So I've been wondering lately, isn't it uncomfortable to have a big belly if you're not pregnant? Isn't it uncomfortable to not visually see your feet when you look down, without bending over because your stomach is in the way? Sometimes, when I sit next to men at work, our bellies are comparable - theirs from years of too much beer, not enough exercise, and mine from a growing baby!

I know I can't do anymore ab exercises on my back (I can do them with an angle, put some pillows behind my back, etc.) but how I miss them.

Here are some of my favorites that I can still do.

Sit on a big bouncy exercise ball. It strengthens your core.

Sit up straight when working. It helps your stomach stay in versus letting it all hang out. The muscles start to train itself to tuck in and reduce the image of a large belly.

Pretend like you're a belly dancer or ballroom dancer or hip hop dancer and move your hips, pump up your legs and twist and shout. It really does work.

Use a hula hoop with weights. Hula much? Just get a hoop - the Asian ones have a padding with weights under it - and hula!

I miss doing ab exercises. The above are the easiest.. there are also far more challenging ones that probably work quicker, alas, for another day though...

Tortilla Soup

Ever notice that any healthy soup you try to make requires purchasing more ingredients you don't have on hand? Since I made bread (not so healthy) last night, I wanted to pair it with a healthier soup. In my mind, I kept thinking black bean or lentil... maybe even a good tomato basil without too much cream in it. But everything required a lot of work soaking beans overnight or going to the store to buy some more stuff I would only use once.

It's as if I forgot about my favorite trusty compliance, the Vitamix. So I quickly googled the Vitamix Tortilla Soup recipe and granted I was without some items.. I had enough - and I changed it up a bit - so here's MY tortilla soup Vitamix recipe!

Tortilla Soup via Vita Mix
Ingredients:
1/4 cup cooked chicken diced
1/4 cup cooked corn (from can or frozen corn defrosted)
1/4 cup of tortilla chips

3 cups boiling water
4 sticks of celery
1 tomato
1 slice of onion (as if you were slicing onion for a burger - with all the layers in it)
1 slice of red pepper (about 7 little slices that one would use with hummus .... mmmmm)
1 garlic clove without skin
1 cut of a lettuce head (as if you were slicing for a burger)
1 chicken bouillon block for flavoring
1 T Season-All seasoning

Put above ingredients into Vitamix on Variable 1, speed 1 and immediately go to speed 10 and then immediately to Variable 2 and let it cook for 3-4 minutes.

Drop to Variable 1, down from speed 10 to 2 and drop in the chicken, corn and tortilla chips and let it mix for about 10 seconds and ....

DINNER IS SERVED!

With the bread from last night of course. And some cheese - we need our dairy.

I Made Bread!

For the first time EVER, I made bread last night.. from SCRATCH, without a bread maker. The recipe is my mother in law's and I snatched it from our cousin in law who has it on her website - only mine will be for amateurs like myself who have never made bread from scratch.

French Bread Recipe (makes two loaves)

Ingredients:
2 T yeast
1/2 cup of warm water
2 cups of hot water
cinch of sugar
3 T of sugar
1 t salt
1/3 shortening (melted)
6 cups of flour
1 egg white
Pam spray
cookie sheet

Yeasts of Fun: Put 1/2 cup of warm water in a bowl, sprinkle 2 T of dry active yeast (Costco kind is the best!) and a pinch of sugar - I'm not sure what pinch is so I just did about 1 t. Set aside and let the yeast do its thang (about 5 minutes)

Meanwhile, melt 1/1 cup of shortening and in a separate bowl, mix the following:
2 cups hot water
3 T sugar
1 t salt
1/3 cup of melted shortening

Mixing: Add the above mixture to the yeast that has been sitting for at least 5 minutes or until it's yeasty beasty. Next, add 3 cups of flour and mix mix mix with a mixer. Then, add 3 more cups and this time, mix with a spoon. A big wooden one is what I used. Now after you've mixed it... you let it sit for 10 minutes... come back and mix it... let is rest for 10 minutes.. come back and mix it... and so on and so forth - for a total of 5 times. I'm not sure if my yeast sat too long because I had to knead it since my mixture was huge and doughy - but apparently, you are supposed to just use the spoon. My wooden spoon failed and I had to resort to using my hands.

Once done, divide the dough into half - and here comes the fun sculpting part.

THAT'S DOUGH FUN: You roll out your dough on a floured board/table, and then you roll it up like into a cylinder... once you can't roll it anymore, you pinch the top so that it stays together in your cylinder form and pinch the sides so it comes in. You then pam your cookie sheet, put the formed dough cylinder with the cinched part on the bottom, and brush the sides and tops with the egg white (makes it crustier). Repeat with other roll.... let the two loaves sit and rise for 60 minutes, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and go do something else.

When ready, bake for about 20 minutes and POOF - you have just made your first set of bread loaves from scratch like moi!

Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

I love using the crock pot for cooking - it's so easy! This dish takes a bit of prep work before loading up the crock pot, but it's well worth it, and it's from my favorite all time magazine, the Food Everyday, a Martha Stewart magazine, the light issue!

1 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
Kosher salt
Ground pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
3 garlic cloves, chopped (or if lazy like me, use the minced garlic in a jar)
1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup hot-pepper sauce like Frank's(go less if you don't want too much kick, I used a teaspoon of Cayenne pepper and 1/3 cup of BBQ sauce since I didn't have any sauces!)
3 T Worcestershire sauce
3 T yellow mustard
1 T unsulfured molasses

Serves 8 - so 8 wheat hamburger buns to be healthier, OR, if you like, use Hawaiian rolls (we LOVE these and they are super cheap at Costco)

Prep: Heat oil over medium-high, add chicken thighs, season with salt and pepper, cook until meat is done - about 5 minutes, repeat with chicken breasts. Then, move (without oil) to crock pot. Next, add onion, garlic and bell pepper and cook over medium, about 6 minutes (until onion is translucent), then add 1/4 cup of water and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and move to crock pot.

Crock Pot Prep: Add can of crushed tomatoes, hot-pepper sauce, molsasses, mustard and Wrocestershire. Stir with chicken and veggies made from prep above and cook for 4 hours on high until chicken is very tender. Shred chicken and wa-la! Ready to serve on buns!

Wow, that's absolutely FIBBERIFIC!

When I used to travel for work, I always knew to pack a bottle of Metamusil due to my irregular bowel movements that seemed to increase when I was away from home. Not having a familiar bathroom always made me nervous. When I first went away for college, the same thing happened, and my mom visited and brought along with her a big bottle of prune juice and dried prunes. Prunes were my best friend.

I thought getting married might fright my bowel movements again but I have learned to accumulate fiber through normal and snack foods since my prune college days and Metamusil newbie days. Theses days, I am fiberrific, stocking up on beans, berries, broccoli, spinach, eggplant, and avocado! Yes, these are all high fiber foods! To supplement any fiber not gained from these natural foods, I have the power of Fiber One snacks and cereal, Go Lean Kashi bars and even popcorn.

Recently, I have had a new obstacle - pregnancy hormones. They get in the way and make pooping difficult! I have had to enlist the help of Colace pills, one a day through my first and second trimester, and now, into my third trimester, I am at two pills a day and still not even entirely regular. I think that means I have to revisit my Fiber One snacks on a more regular basis ... eek!

Strawberry Peach Smoothie

We got 4 servings of fruit this morning all from one easy to make smoothie!

I always keep our freezer stocked with Costco's frozen blueberries and strawberries, for the sole purpose of making smoothies!

One peeled (with as much white stuff left as humanly possible) orange
3/4 banana
10 frozen blueberries
6 frozen strawberries
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 Yoplait light peach yogurt
*Add water depending on how frozen the mixture is while mixing

Blend until smooth and it becomes like a liquid.

I call this the strawberry peach smoothie because the taste of the banana and blueberries are very subtle, mostly you get strawberries and peaches! Pair it up with a piece of toasted wheat bread (no butter please) and you got yourself a well rounded breakfast. Miam!