Weeknight Dinner: Cajun Chicken Pasta

I set a goal with my colleague Melissa that I was going to bike 1,000 miles by the end of the year. So far, I'm only at 58… so I really need to get my butt in gear. However, I am very proud of my workout today – 5.45 miles in 29 minutes! 

And since I worked SO hard (ok, not as hard as those people on the Biggest Loser… OK. FINE. I probably could have worked harder…), I thought I deserved some packin' a punch pasta for dinner. This is so delicious – you're going to absolutely love it. And, if you're going for a Meatless Monday – no need to add in the chicken, as this would be delicious with both tofu OR no meat at all. And even though it's a creamy sauce, it's all so good good good for you because I used greek yogurt instead of cream cheese. Let's dig in!

I adapted this recipe from SkinnyTaste.com.

What You'll Need:

For the cajun seasoning (I don't keep a container of cajun seasoning in our aparment because it's really easy to make from scratch! If you have it already at home, you'll just need 2-3 tsp of cajun seasoning):

• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp black ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

What You'll Need for the Pasta:

• 3/4 box of Barilla vegetable farfalle pasta (this is so much better for you than normal pasta! It's made of vegetables, and it is really flavorful. We are officially switching over to these!) 
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, seasoned with your cajun seasoning. 
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into long slice/pieces
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into long slick/pieces
• 1/2 cup baby portobella mushrooms, cut into small slices (Mr. Grumpy was NOT happy about this, but he was able to push the mushrooms aside, and still pretend to enjoy his dinner)
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup low sodium chicken stock (if you're going vegetarian, you can use vegetable stock) 
• 1/3 cup milk (we buy the organic, lactose-free)
• 3 tbsp plain greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp flour, plus 3 tbsp for later
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 green onions, chopped

First, make your cajun seasoning, and chop all your vegetables. The rest will go really fast from here! In a blender, mix together the greek yogurt, milk and 1 tbsp of flour. Set aside.

Cook your pasta – boiling, salted water for about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In the meantime, season your chicken with about 1 1/2 tsp of cajun seasoning. Heat a large skillet with 1 tbsp of olive oil, and cook the chicken (about 3-4 minutes on each side). Remove the chicken from the pan, and set aside. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil (yes, again) on the skillet, and add bell peppers, the onions and the garlic. Saute this for about 5 minutes on medium heat.

Then, add in the mushrooms and tomatoes, and cook for an additional 5 minutes (until vegetables are cooked, and not crunchy). Season with 1/2 to 1 tsp of cajun seasoning (depending on how spicy you want it). Stir. 

Add the chicken stock and the milk/yogurt mixture into the skillet. Stir for 2 minutes, letting it cook and get hot. Add the remaining flour slowly, while turning up the heat slightly above medium. Let that simmer for 3 minutes, until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. 

Cut chicken into small, diced pieces, and add into the skillet. Stir. Cover with scallions, and serve! 

Here is a trick – if you make extra chicken, it makes for a delicious cajun-inspired salad for lunch at work the next day! Try the chicken, with sweet corn, 1 tbsp of your favorite salsa, and onions. YUM! 

On this edition of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? … Ashley visits! And we eat a lot of stuffed shells…

If there is ONE thing I love more than stuffed shells, it is spending time with one of my best friends on this planet – Ashley.

We met one magical night on the way to our very first sorority social – a highlighter party. With so many black lights and our first encounter with boozey Apple Cider (which tasted so good, and then we soon found out that it was not booze-free after having had about 6 helpings each)… our friendship was sealed. Madness ensued, and has been ensuing ever since, eight years later despite the fact that DS has set numerous house fires at the Steiner Ranch during most, if not all, of Ashley's visits.  

Ashley and I share our love for stuffed shells – what could be better than pasta? Um, that's easy. Pasta stuffed with cheese. Cmon people, that's not difficult. So, I made us some yummy stuffed shells and tried to make them as non-fat as possible (although I'm sure our eating two more of Peeta's Cheesy Buns did not help).

What You'll Need:

• 2-3 pieces of Italian turkey sausage (you can actually make this meat-free, as the sausage is not necessary)
• 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce, plus 1/2 cup. I used a blush tomato sauce with spinach and parmesan cheese.
• 2 medium egg whites, beaten
• 1 package (about 1 1/2 cups) low fat ricotta cheese (part skim)
• 1 cup fresh spinach, ripped into small pieces
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning, dried (I use McCormick's)
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
• 1 cup low fat/part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesean cheese, grated (plus more for sprinkling on top)
• 1 box jumbo shells

Preheat your oven to 350. Cook the jumbo shells for about 7-8 minutes in salted boiling water. You want them barely undercooked because they'll keep cooking in the oven. This is very important. Drain the shells when they're done cooking, and place them back in the pot with cold water. Cook the sausage in a pan over medium heat. Add spinach and remove from heat. Stir until the spinach is wilted.

Grease a 9X13 baking dish. Spread 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom, evenly. In a large bowl, combine eggs, ricotta cheese, sausage/spinach mixture, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, basil, pepper/salt to taste, 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. 

To stuff the shells, grab one shell gently. Take a heaping spoonful of the ricotta mixture, and place it into the middle of the shell. Make sure the sides of the shell go over the mixture – I do this by gently squeezing it together. Place each shell in the baking dish, once you stuff them. It will make roughly 16 shells. 

Pour the remaining sauce over the pasta, making sure you really cover the sides of the shells on the edges of the pan. That will prevent them from getting hard in the oven. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over the shells, and sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese (as much as you like!). 

Cover, and bake in the oven for 25 minutes exactly, in the middle rack of the oven. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly. Remove from the oven, and let it set for about 6 minutes. Then, enjoy! 

Weeknight Dinner: Peeta’s Cheesy Goodness, I’ve Been Starving My Whole Life Until You Came Along Buns…and Julie’s Produce Aisle Skillet.

Let me start by telling you that my sister Julie (one of my most avid readers) is a vegetarian. She pointed out, quite rightly, that I have not been providing any vegetarian recipes, or vegetarian substitutes for my recipes. Well, she's right. I'll let you in on a little secret – it's because we eat meat at every meal. Julie challenged me to an all vegetarian night, and by golly – we did it. Now, if we weren't allowed to eat meat, you can bet your tooshey that we were going to be making up for it by piling on the cheese. So, Julie – this one's for you!

Start with the buns. They'll cook while you're doing the dinner part… Now, there will be no spoiler alerts in this blog, so for those who are reading the Hunger Games or shamelessly watching all the movies and pretending like you read the book (you know who you are, losers), then you can read easy. I'm just going to talk about how I managed to make Peeta's Cheesy Goodness, I've Been Starving My Whole Life Until You Came Along Buns. Now, if I were Katniss, and I had been eating nothing but goat's milk and fawn for like… 18 years, and this sexy-ish dude handed me one of these buns… Yeah, he'd be my boyfriend in like a second. Unfortunately Katniss doesn't always do what we think she should do, so I guess Peeta's going to have to stuff more cheese in these babies or do SOMETHING to get through to her.. I digress.

I found this recipe on Pinterest, which originated from a blog called Yammie's Noshery. Honestly, I didn't really change much, but just enough to make homemade bread Cari-proof, and I cut it in half (which I regretted later because I could have eaten all 20). 

What You'll Need (for the buns):

• 1/2 cup of warm water from the kitchen sink
• 1 packet of dry active yeast
• 1 tbs of sugar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 cup melted butter
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 oz. part-skim/low fat mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup low fat colby jack cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese 
• A little bit of melted butter, mixed with 1/4 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tbs fresh parsley chopped

Mix together water and yeast in a bowl, and let it set for 5 minutes. You will start smelling the yeast when it has been sitting for a while, that's a good sign (I think). Add in the sugar, garlic powder, melted butter and oil. Add the flour slowly – 1/4 cup at a time – and the salt. I mixed mine in my stand mixer with the dough hook. If you do not have a stand mixer, I'm so sorry. You're going to have to knead that dough by hand for 10 minutes… Knead the dough for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, grease a small bowl and wet a cloth. Then, form the dough into a ball, and place into the greased bowl. Cover with a wet cloth for 30 minutes to let it rise! 

(While my dough was rising, I cooked the Produce Aisle Skillet so they were all ready at once!). 

Preheat the oven to 375. Get out a large muffin pan (the kind that only has six muffins). Spray each muffin bump with non-stick cooking spray (I feel creeped out by this stuff, but it will really be necessary, so bare with me). Separate the dough into little balls – I made five, but you can make your rolls as big or small as you want. Smoosh it into a flat circle, and place a 3/4" size of mozzarella cheese into the middle. Pinch it closed, and roll it back into a ball. Do this until all your dough is gone – I placed each roll into a muffin bump in my pan, but you could really cook them on a cookie sheet and that would be fine. I was concerned the cheese would go all over, but it did not. Mostly because I'm an excellent pincher. 

Sprinkle each roll with colby jack cheese and parmesan. Bake in the oven for 14-15 minutes. The bread will not be super brown, but when you push on it, you'll know if it's done if the bread is soft in the middle and crispy on the top. Brush each roll with the butter mixture (butter, parsley and garlic powder). And fight everyone off because you're going to want to eat every single one of these and not share them with Mr. Grumpy at all. He will get angry and steal one of your rolls. I imagine this is exactly how Katniss and Peeta felt, and am not surprised she was so moody around him.

Julie's Produce Aisle Skillet

Julie, I accepted your challenge and had a meat-free dinner. I thought you'd be proud. But, because Mr. Grumpy and I do work out (as much as we can), protein is very, very important to our diets. So, this Produce Aisle Skillet was the perfect answer. Quinoa, veggies, feta cheese (got the cheese in there, see?) and a lemon honey vinaigrette? Delicious, and vegetarian friendly!

 I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite blogs – Iowa Girl Eats. 

What You'll Need:

• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock (or broth is fine) – we use the organic kind. Full disclosure – I actually used chicken stock. Sorry Julie. I forgot I was being a vegetarian, but I thought you'd appreciate my honesty. That was tricky! 
• 1 cup quinoa: rinse it so that it is sticky when you're done cooking it
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 small zucchini, cut into small, quarter pieces 
• 1/2 small yellow squash, cut into small, quarter pieces
• 1 can of Mexicorn, drained
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 roma tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup feta
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1 lemon's worth of lemon zest (about 1 1/2 tbsp)
• 1/2 lemon's worth of lemon juice (about 2 tbsp)
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

First, prepare all your veggies. It took me longer to chop all the vegetables than it did to actually make the dish. Next, bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan. Add the quinoa, and cover the saucepan with a lid. Turn down the heat to low, and cook 25 minutes. DO NOT PEAK AT THE QUINOA. I get real upset when Mr. Grumpy cheats and peaks. The point is that the liquid is absorbed, and that won't happen if you keep looking at it. 

Meanwhile, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, 1 garlic clove, salt and pepper in a dressing jar (I use little tiny mason jars) and shake it.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Use one of your larger pans because the skillet is the most massive skillet you've ever seen (but makes THE BEST leftovers). Add garlic and onion and saute until translucent. Then, add zucchini, squash, and corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and saute it for 6 minutes. Add cooked quinoa and half the honey lemon vinaigrette, and then stir. Cook for a few more minutes — I did around 2 more minutes to make sure my veggies were all cooked nicely.

Add remaining vinaigrette, tomatoes, feta cheese and basil. Stir, and let it cool before serving (this is a good time to brush the butter on your Peeta Buns!!). 

 

Weeknight Dinner: KaPOW Buffalo Chicken Wings with Gorgonzola Cilantro Dipping Sauce

I know what you're thinking. What on EARTH, Cari? Why would I make chicken wings at home when Quaker Steak and Lube is right down the street? I thought the same thing until I saw this week's episode of Worst Cooks in America with Bobby Flay (heartthrob) and Anne Burrell (I'm sure she's a heartthrob to someone…). My question for you is this, if the worst cooks (literally) in our country can do it, why can't I? Ok, if your competitive spirit isn't heating up with that, let me tell you the second benefit. These babies are SO much cheaper to make at home than they are to buy via takeout. I am talking less than 50 cents per wing, and we get 12 when we're done cookin'.

I adapted this recipe from two that I found on my awesome Food Network app – one of which was Bobby Dean's chicken wing recipe. His did not call for a dry rub, but I wanted these to be a little spicy, so I made my own. I didn't make his cheese dip, but made the gorgonzola dip from the bottom of this recipe instead (I changed it a bit to make it healthier, and added the celery salt in – it just needed a little somethin' somethin' else). 

Now, listen friends, before you start on this chicken wing journey…cooking these is not for the faint of heart. I had NO idea what cutting chicken wings would be like, and I must say that I went screaming out of the kitchen when I heard the bones crunch and saw some things that cannot be unseen. Mr. Grumpy came to the rescue (and clucked like a chicken the entire time he was cutting them up… thanks for your sensitivity, Mr. G) and cut them for me.  

Also let me tell you that when you put the chickens in the oven, they move around ON THEIR OWN. Like we're talking Night of the Living Dead Chicken, here. I was very frightened. I do not know why this happened. I was sitting in front of the oven watching them, while Mr. G was clucking in the background:

So, while this was a very traumatizing night for me, I survived and hells yeah it was worth it. These babies pack a punch. I hope you're ready.

(The bigger dip bowl is the creamy gorgonzola cilantro sauce, and the smaller is just ranch dressing. Mr. G. claims he doesn't like blue cheese, so I made him a special gorgonzola sauce, to which he reluctantly tried and… it's hard to tell if he liked it. He made a grumpy face, but dipped his celery and chicken in it a few more times…)

What You'll Need:

• Courage for cutting the chicken (or a Mr. G to assist you)
• 1-2 pounds of chicken wings (you need to cut the wing tips off and discard those. Then, separate what's left so there are two pieces of chicken – one that looks like a small drumstick and one that looks like a wing..); 12 wings total after you cut them
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/2 cup Frank's buffalo sauce
• 1/4 cup of honey

For the gorgonzola cilantro dip:

• 1/2 cup of Hellman's light mayo
• 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt (or light sour cream)
• 4 oz gorgonzola cheese
• 1-2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 tsp celery salt

Instructions:

First make the sauce because it has to sit in the fridge for around 60 minutes. Combine the mayo, greek yogurt, gorgonzola cheese, cilantro and celery salt in a bowl. Cover, and send it away to the fridge. Let it sit in there until your chicky wings are ready. Don't worry about it if it doesn't sit the full 60 – ours sat around 50 and it was tasty, tasty good.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Prepare the chicken by cutting off the wing tips, and then separating the wing at the joint. (Here is what they will look like after you cut the wing tip off:)

And then… this is what they'll look like when you separate them into two pieces:

Once the chickies are cut, rinse them in the sink, and pat them dry by rolling 4 at a time in a paper towel.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic salt and chili powder. Toss the chicken in my super special dry rub. Then, rub it into the skin of the chicken. Line a baking pan with non-stick aluminum foil (or spray it with cooking spray, but that stuff skeeves me out, so I use the foil). Line the chickens on the pan like this:

Put them in the oven on the middle rack. Let them cook for 12 minutes, then remove them from the oven and flip them over. Put them back in the oven and cook for an additional 13 minutes. Your wingies should be 165 degrees when you're done.

While they cook, combine your buffalo sauce and honey in a bowl. Separate them into 1/4 cups.

Preheat your broiler (we have one that's got a "hi/"lo" setting. Not sure why they can't spell those words correctly when they make ovens, but alas. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit, so here I am) to … HI. Aka, this means HIGH in case you hadn't caught on. Lo stands for.. LOW. I mean it's one more letter, GE! Anyway…

When you take the chickens out of the oven, take 1/4 of our buffalo/honey mixture and brush them with the sauce. Place them in the broiler and cook for 3-4 minutes. Then, remove 'em, flip 'em, brush on 1/4 cup of sauce and do it again – 3-4 minutes in the broiler. Remove the wings from the oven and toss them in the remaining sauce.

Get your glass of milk and roll of paper towels ready. Grab your gorgonzola cilantro sauce and some celery. It's time to eat! 

Now, I have one more disclaimer. I did have more time than USUAL for a weeknight dinner to make these because Mr. G and I took a vacation day from work. I would say these take about an hour total to make, and about 5 minutes to devour. Mr. G said they were a bit spicy, and I told him that a wise man once told ME, "If you can't take the heat… get out of my kitchen." 

St. Patty’s Day Baking: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Scoop Cookies

I love St. Patty's day as much as the next half-Irish gal. In fact, I love it so much that I baked something to celebrate. I also bought eight shamrock necklaces, a shamrock headband, green glow bracelets, shamrock stickers, wall decals and other leprechaun decos. Don't judge me – that $1 bin at the entrance of Target is as hard to say no to as Girl Scouts are that stand at the front of the supermarket… You know what I'm talking about. My colleague Melissa (whose blog is ALSO awesome) said I should call these Leprechaun Poop Cookies… not sure if that's a compliment. Call them what you may, they still taste amah-zing. 

So, instead of going overboard with Thin Mints and other green things, let's go overboard together with these. An ice cream inspiration since we've had 60 degree weather in the C-L-E: mint chocolate chip ice cream scoop cookies. Oh heck yeah. 

I adapted this recipe from one I found on Babble.com. Her recipe called for using Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips, but I couldn't find those. What I did find was even sweeter – a little luck 'o' the Irish surprise in the midst of every gooey center… Dark Chocolate Mint M&Ms. Yum. YUM.

What You'll Need:

• 3/4 cup butter (room temp)
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 2/3/4 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
• green food coloring (20 ish drops)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (plus some)
• 1 cup mint M&Ms (plus some) 

First, preheat that oven to 375. Now, add butter and sugar in a bowl (or in your stand mixer), and mix on medium-high until light and fluffy. Then, add in the eggs, and beat again until fluffy. Add the vanilla and peppermint extract. Depending on how minty you like it, you can add more to taste, but remember what Suzie Q always says… Less is more, friends. Now, less is not necessarily more when you add in the food coloring (which you should do next!). Add in as many drops as you want to get the green you want. Remember the dry ingredients will make it less green, and baking it will too. I ended up using about 20 drops. You can always add in more after you add in the dry ingredients.

Meanwhile, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add those into the butter, sugar and extract mixture. Mix until a nice dough forms. Then, add in M&Ms and chocolate chips.

Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Then, use a tablespoon to create scoops of dough and drop onto the baking sheets. If you don't want yours reminiscent of those good old days when you'd stop by the local ice cream shop and get a scoop of chilly mint chocolate chip ice cream… fine. Just smoosh your cookies down gently in the middle with a fork. Bake in the oven about 12 minutes, until the bottom edge looks slightly browned (but not too browned). Cool on a cooling rack, but make sure you try one when they're still warm. Oh my gooey goodness. So delish.

Happy St. Patty's Day ya'll. Don't get into too much trouble out there, and if you do, please don't call me to bail you out of jail. My blog is ad-free at the moment, meaning I can't pay your bail and you'll be stuck there for a while.  

If you’re couching tonight… be ashamed you missed Zumba with Bill

My friends Sarah and Erica and I go to Zumba each week. We used to take a class that had been feeling very… senior citizen home inspired, to put it nicely. Often times, I wouldn't even need to shower after a class. Listen… it's not gross if you don't sweat. One day, a few weeks ago, Sarah came to class with some amazing news. She had found Bill. And Bill was going to get our butts in shape.

I didn't believe it until tonight when I ditched our old Zumba instructor and waltzed into Bounce Night Club for Zumba with Bill. $5 per class for one hour. About a gallon of sweat later, I was laughing, crying, dancing and BURNING off my lunch (which I will get to in a minute). Seriously CLE people, if you sat on your couch tonight instead of going to Zumba with Bill, be ashamed. Be very, very ashamed. You could have had the work out of your life. You could have gotten through 30 minutes of class and thought, "Thank GOD I survived this!" while looking over and seeing Sarah laughing that it's only halfway through. Seriously. Get there. This Thursday is the next class at 6:30. If you don't live in CLE, you can probably just skip through all of this, and the next few paragraphs about the amazing lunch I had with my dear friend Wendy. 

Now, let's talk about Stonetown (more like SOULtown). Wendy and I were feeling chilly in the cold, cruel winter weather in Cleveland, and decided we needed more junk in our trunks to keep us warm. And to attract attention, of course. A client of ours told us about this new soul food restaurant near our office. Boy, were we in for a treat. Stonetown has been open for just a month, and I'm their new regular apparently. We met the owner Adrian, who was very friendly and excited that Wendy and I enjoyed our fried okra (don't even joke about how delicious this was) and collard greens. 

Now, I ordered the catfish po' boy even though I didn't think I'd like catfish. I was getting extremely mixed messages about what a catfish tastes like – is it fishy? is it dry? is it slippery? does it taste like perch? does it taste like chicken? LIKE WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE, SUSAN (our server)???? She was extremely patient with me and didn't judge me when I ordered a side of mac 'n cheese as a back up in case I didn't like okra or catfish. Wendy cleverly called this my Mad Money of food. Well, I have arrived, people. I ate the BEEP out of that fried okra and po' boy. Holy. Stonetown. Cow. It's right there on Prospect next to Titan's Gym, so that when you're done eating your weight in soul and goodiness, you can hop on the treadmill and work it off.  If you walk past this sign, you've found it:

I should mention that I couldn't quite eat as much as I wanted to because I also ordered a gallon of Kool-Aid. If you put Kool-Aid on a menu, and then casually MENTION it will arrive in a mason jar you better believe I'm going to order that. So I did. And I crashed hard back in my office at work. So hard in fact that I believe I did a jig all the way back to the office from Stonetown but that part was a little hazy because of all the sugar in my system. Wendy was not embarrassed. I'm pretty positive. Here is a picture of the amazing Kool-Aid gallon jug (note its size compared to my face). 

Weeknight Dinner: Cari's First Time for Tilapia Tacos

Ok, now on to my dinner. As promised, I made Tilapia Tacos. Today was a day of firsts – first time eating okra, first time eating catfish, first time getting my butt kicked at Zumba… so, why not try tilapia for the very first time?? Yeah – let's do it! These tacos are easy peasy, so hang tight because you're only about 10 minutes away from a yummy and good-for-you din din.

First, chug some water because I'm certain you took my advice and are just returning home from Zumba with Bill. 

What You'll Need:

• 4 steaks? breasts? … filets? of tilapia. 4 tilapias. You know what I mean. You need four of them. Let's move on.
• 1/2 avocado
• 4 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1 plum tomato, diced
• 4 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 package of taco seasoning
• Your leftover spicy cilantro jalapeno sauce from last night's dinner
• 6 white corn tortillas (the small ones!)

Mr. Grumpy was in charge of chopping the tomato and cilantro while I cooked the fish. If your Mr. G is feeling too grumpy (or you have yet to be blessed with his presence), then start by chopping those two items up and your avocado as well.

Next, heat your oil in a pan over medium-high heat. In the meantime, season the tilapia with the taco seasoning. Once your pan is hot 'n' ready, slap in two tilapias (I still don't know what to call those) and cook them for about 3 minutes on each side. (Side note: Mr. Grumpy is really upset that I didn't know they were called filets. He MUST have forgotten this is my first time for tilapia. Everyone else was patient with me, Mr. Grumpy.).

Now, the pan will probably get hot and the oil will pop. This is extremely painful. Mr. Grumpy shared some great advice that went as follows, "Woman, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." Thanks for your empathy…

Once they are cooked, let them sit on a paper towel while you cook the other two… FILETS. While those are cooking, take three tortillas and wrap them in a damp paper towel. Microwave them for 30 seconds. Then, repeat with the next 3 tortillas. Don't forget to take your tilapia out of the pan once it's cooked for 3 minutes on each side. There's a lot going on… 

Now, you're ready to assemble your tacos! Take a tortilla, add in a bunch of tilapia, a bundle of tomatoes, sprinkle on the avocado and spicy jalapeno sauce, and garnish with some cilantro. And… you're done!! Told you it was easy peasy. 

Weeknight Dinner: Meatball Slippery Sliders! (with spicy jalapeno cilantro sauce) and How I Met Josh Hartnett

Ok party people. It's about to get real delicious up in here. Mr. G and I got our BEEP together and finally went grocery shopping for the first time in like… a month? A few hundred bucks later… and I'm in weeknight dinner heaven.

Tonight I'm serving up meatball sliders with spicy jalapeno cilantro sauce. You think they're called sliders because they're on tiny buns, right? WRONG. They're called sliders because once you get them on that bun, they're going to slide all over the place until they go into your belly. So hurry up – let's get cooking.

I have adapted this recipe from one of Mr. G's favorite cookbooks – The Feed Zone Cookbook. If you are big at the whole working out thing and staying in shape – this is such a great cookbook. Lots of protein and energy packed recipes to get you from breakfast to dinner (and maybe even to dessert, if you're not too full). 

What You'll Need:

• 1 lb ground beef (I used the 85-15 kind because they were out of everything else)
• 1 lb italian chicken sausage
• 3 slices fresh bread, cut into cubes (we LOVE the light oatmeal bread from Pepperidge Farm)
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 jar of tomato sauce (we used a can of arrabiatta sauce)
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 soft hoagie buns, toasted
• 1/2 bundle of cilantro, chopped (about 5 tbsp)
• 1/2 jalepeno, seeded and chopped
• 2/3 cup plain greek yogurt 
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1/3 tsp ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• 75 paper towels (slightly kidding)

Instructions:

Combine beef, chicken sausage, bread, garlic salt and egg in a large mixing bowl. Get in there and MIX IT WITH YOUR HANDS (it's really the only way). Once it's mixed, let it sit for a few minutes so the egg can soak into the bread. Then, roll the meatballs into round balls – about 2" round. It should make about 20 meatballs.

Line a baking sheet with a paper towel and set that near your stove (trust me, you'll thank me later for this). Take a pan, and cover the bottom in oil. Let that heat over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Then, place about six meatballs in a circle on the pan (don't put too many on at once!). Brown them on each side (this will happen fast. You want it to have a nice, dark brown crust on the meatball) about 2-3 minutes for the entire meatball (not each side). Place the browned meatballs on the baking sheet. Repeat this until each meatball is browned (the meat on the inside will still be rare. This is totes my plan, so stick with me). 

Next, once all your meatballs are browned, place them into a large sauce pot gently. Add the jar of sauce and 1/3 cup of water. Cover it with a lid, and let that simmer for about 20 minutes on medium to medium-high heat.

Now, let's make us some spicy sauce! Ok, take out your blender or food processor. Blend yogurt, jalapeno, cilantro, cumin and honey until it's a soft liquid. If it doesn't taste spicey enough, feel free to add in more jalapeno, you brave, brave person. Don't say you weren't warned. 

Once your meatballs have simmered for 20 minutes, you're ready to compile your slider sammies. Toast your bun if you'd like, then place the jalapeno cilantro sauce on the bottom layer. Put three meatballs across the bun – top with whatever you'd like (we used lettuce, tomato and monterey jack cheese), and get your chap stick ready. This baby is a spicy one. 

Note: Only 5 paper towels were harmed in the making of this slippery slider… Sorry.

Now.. onto more important updates on my life. If you're wondering where I was last week, I took a quick business trip to LA with my colleague Megan (her blog is pretty cool too – check it out here at My 3D Life). Of course, we got into some shenanigans, including sneaking into Chateau Monmart through the back door… and sitting right next to Josh Hartnett at lunch. Yes I said right next to Josh Hartnett. At the same table*. Now, if you know anything about me, you know that I may or may not have created a secret notebook when I was 12 completely dedicated to Josh Hartnett, and my love for him. I may or may not have also wrote Josh Hartnett a letter after some really outstanding internet stalking (especially outstanding considering we still thought AOL Instant Messenger was cool) and found his home address. Upon discovering that Josh Harnett was at the Chateau, I texted my mom. The conversation went as follows:

• Cari to Suzie Q: MOM! GUESS WHO I AM EATING LUNCH WITH RIGHT NOW?
• Suzie Q to Cari: Megan?
• Cari to Suzie Q: Obviously, Mom. NO … JOSH HARTNETT!!!!!! 
• Suzie Q to Cari: Ask him if he ever got your letter!!!!
• Cari to Suzie Q: I think it's best we don't mention that…

Needless to say Joshy Poo was extremely pleased to receive my phone number, and Mr. G understood of course. He's one of my five celebrity passes. Mr. G claims he doesn't HAVE one, but I know better, so I don't feel ashamed.  

*This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but all you need to know is that YOU were much farther away than I was from him, ok? Especially when I was walking past the men's bathroom (not because I was stalking it or anything) and Josh Hartnett came OUT of the men's bathroom and for a moment, we locked eyes, and well… the rest is history (in which my voice became extremely high and panicky and Megan laughed uncontrollably and blacked out for a moment). Then we took this picture:

That pretty much topped the trip, even though I also saw Ted Dansen… and claimed that I saw Ryan Gosling, which probably didn't happen as this dude had a really ugly leather man bag. 

Alright, that's all for now. Stay tuned for my first attempt at tilapia baja tacos, some St. Patty's Day baking and my most anticipated visit from Erin, my sister, for St. Pat's in the C-L-E (we're pretty good at celebrating it, if I do say so myself).  

Guest Post: Suzie Q’s Points to Ponder

Since Mr. G is coming home tonight and I CAN NOT WAIT (stop making a grumpy face, Mr. G), Suzie Q is taking over with her first offical Points to Ponder guest post!

Take it from Suzie Q – she has many lessons we could all learn from – especially when it comes to the weird sh*t kids say. Enjoy, folks! (Suzie Q picked out her own images!!) 

Suzie Q's Points to Ponder

Overheard during a 7^th
grade research project:  “Jelly Fish
don’t do much but you can put them on peanut butter sandwiches!”   Note to readers  -  Never
eat anything a 7^th grader offers you!!

I got up late on Thursday and what I REALLY worried about was
“Do I have enough time to make coffee?  Do
I?"

When I finally DID get to work, I spent the morning with a colleague
that cusses like a truck driver.  (I miss her!)

Note to CHAD (this is my brother whom I'm pretty sure doesn't read my blog yet…) –
Never send your Mom a text message that says “Mom  I need  your help” 
Did I mention it was sent at 11:00 at night??

I had a class come in and I did a “Book Talk” for 2 books (NO
ONE checked out either one of them!)  As
the teacher was leaving she said “Do you ever do any Book Talks??”  True story!! 
Just Happened!!

I am off to make coffee and my own pbj! And it
looks like I better brush up on my Book Talks!

Happy Reading!!

SuzieQ