Weekend Dinner: Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Pesto Gnocchi

As many of you may know, I was feeling pretty fearless the other day and rather cocky about my strides in becoming a true blood runner. I signed up for my very first half-marathon with my friend Kelsey (who has a pretty sweet blog over at Starfish Snacks). Being only 13 weeks out from the marathon and seeing that I can barely run 4.5 miles (my first race), I have a lot of work to do.

So, while Kelsey was on vacation in Florida last week, I decided to take matters into my own hands and train by myself. I got in a pretty good run or two during the week, and then ate my weight in bratwurst and macaroni salad over the Fourth of July (and some pizza and tacos while my sister, Krissy, and her husband Pat were visiting from New York). Oh, and a pound of crab legs with Robin. No, I'm not ashamed. But when Sunday came around the corner (after having more bratwurst and taking a 3-hour nap), I decided it was time for Mr. Grumpy and I to get our butts into gear and get movin'. So, I proposed a sunset run so we could see the Tall Ships that were in town.

I only knew about the Tall Ships from my run earlier last week when I helped a blind lady cross the street so she could get to the Tall Ships exhibit. I noticed she was going to have to do WAY more than cross the street, so I took her all the way to the ships and then noticed they weren't there yet. Except the really big black and red ship that I kept calling the Matador. What…. you don't think this actually happened? WELL IT DID. I may have a stitch of niceness in my blood afterall. 

The Matador.. or whatever it's called.

I digress… let me preface this story by saying that Mr. Grumpy and I do not work out well together. We will never be that couple that shares a personal trainer or says, "You can do it, baby! Just five more steps!" In fact, most of our runs either begin with Mr. Grumpy sprinting away from me while I try to catch up, find the nearest bench and cry myself into running oblivion, OR with Mr. Grumpy trying to give me "running advice" of which I find extremely obnoxious and immediately run in the opposite direction. However, on this particular day, we actually did an excellent job pretending to be a couple who works out well together. Mr. Grumpy didn't even get mad when I stopped at the tall ships to take about 80 pictures (yes, I was stalling). 3.3 miles later and we were back at our apartment gorging on Reese Puffs cereal and watermelon. Not like we had an amazing dinner (don't worry, we're almost to the recipe). So, in case you missed the ships… here is a pic:

Arghhhh matey!! Don't these look just like pirate ships?

So Mr. Grumpy and I had mustered up quite the appetite (and it had been at least four hours since we mindlessly ate three brats, a half pound of macaroni salad and about a pound of buffalo dip while watching Lincoln – the longest most educational film ever). I decided if we were going to go for a run, we'd need a serious dinner. Enter Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Pesto Gnocchi. 

This Christmas, Mr. Grumpy and I traveled to Florida to spend time at his grandparent's and then at my cousin Sarah's wedding. On New Year's Eve, my family went to dinner at a super nice restaurant in Sanibel Island and I ordered this dish. Ever since, I have been craving it – trying to muster up the courage to tackle gnocchi at home. Until a few weeks ago when I was grocery shopping and NOTICED that you can BUY gnocchi already made. This was great news. So, I decided it was time.

I found a similar recipe for the gnocchi part on RealSimple.com and changed it up. Then, I improvised on the chicken. And it. was. delicious. (if I do say so myself).

 So, let's get cooking, shall we? 

What You'll Need:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp Lemon & Pepper McCormick's Seasoning
• 1 lemon, plus 1/2 lemon
• 1 lb gnocchi
• 1/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup pesto (check out my recipe for pesto here)
• 2 tbsp plain greek yogurt
• 3 cups green beans
• 1/2 small white onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese

First, we're going to roast our garlic. So, preheat your oven to 375. Next take a small piece of aluminum foil and lay it out on your counter. Remove the papery stuff from the outside of your garlic cloves. Place the cloves on top of the foil, smack dab in the middle. Drizzle them with 1 tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Fold up the aluminum foil to create a pouch (this is where being a Girl Scout earlier in life will really help you out). Place your pouch into the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until the garlic is smooshy. Let that cool a bit before you touch it. Or be brave and burn your fingers. You've been warned though. There's nothing worse than burning your fingers AND reaking of garlic all at the same time (sexy, right?).

Next, pound out your chicken lightly. Smoosh the roasted garlic over both sides of each breast. In a small mixing bowl, combine salt, pepper, Lemon & Pepper seasoning, and dried rosemary. Sprinkle over your chicken, rubbing it in a bit. Place your chicken in a small baking dish. Using 1/2 a lemon, squeeze the lemon juice out over the chicken. Using the other half, make small slices of lemon and place it on top of each piece. Bake in the oven about 25 minutes at 375 (your oven will already be warm, lucky you!). 

While that bakes, place two pots of water on the stove to boil. Lightly salt each. In the first pot, once it boils, place your green beans in there and cover. Let that simmer for 4 minutes. Remove the green beans from the stove and drain the water. Set aside. In the other pot, once it boils, lightly spoon your gnocchi in. The gnocchi is done cooking when they float – about 4 minutes as well. Once they're done, drain them and set aside. In a pan, heat 1 tsp of olive oil over medium heat. Place your onions in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, until transluscent. Next, add your pesto (you can also buy it premade if you don't want to make it from scratch. I made mine and froze it – which was SUPER handy). Let that cook for about 1 minute. Add in ricotta and mozzarella cheese, stir. Next, add in the greek yogurt. Stir and let that cook on a slow simmer for about 2 minutes. Add the green beans and the gnocchi and sprinkle with a little pepper.

Place the cooked chicken on top of the gnocchi mixture, and voila! Just like a fancy New Year's Eve dinner! 

Hello from Hilton Head! Vacation + Bruschetta = Happiness

I know what you're thinking – Cari, where the BEEP have you been? You haven't posted in like… a WEEK. 

Listen. I've been a little busy laying on the beach, snoozing on my raft in the pool and drinking whatever concoction our dear friend (and bartender) Dan mixed up for me. That's right, I went to Hilton Head. For seven whole days. I missed you so much it was hard to even have fun (cough, cough). 

Here are some pics of our fun times together! 

Mr G was not interested in getting a "cute new Facebook pic for my profile!!!!!" with me…

But… he did one because he loves me THAT MUCH.

We took naps on the beach…

Some were sleepier than others…

Some got Grumpy when you woke them up from said nap to get a Daiquiri refill…

We ate at Salty Dog for lunch (I had the Shrimp Po Boy! It was so delicious. We also ate three appetizers… Don't judge).

We only had to wait 45 minutes for a table, which was amazing because it gave us gals time to shop (below pic – my dear friends Kim and Katie)…

Mr. Grumpy and his brother, Mr Why Aren't You Grumpier (seriously, he didn't really get any grumpy genes, and I can't figure it out) were super excited when we got our table.

Then, I beat Mr Grumpy at a sick game of Scrabble. Actually that's not really true. In this photo, he was losing by 50 points, but I eventually lost to his word that included both an X, and a Y, and a Z, and a Q…. it was worth about 80 points.

Then we went to a nice dinner, and ate some amazing seafood at the Old Oyster Factory (go there. go there now. It was that good). 

Then, it was time to say goodbye, and head back to reality.

But! Not before we climbed the old historic Lighthouse (Mr Grumpy didn't want to go all the way up. Actually his exact words were, "Why do I have to pay $3.75 per person to climb up those stairs? It's not even a real lighthouse." Which is true (we learned this from our kayaking guide) but still… I just had to go and see the view. So we (he) paid, and we climbed. AND WE WERE HAPPY ABOUT IT.

Hilton Head was a blast – we could not have had more perfect weather, the food we ate was delicious to say the least, and we got to spend seven days with Mr Grumpy, his family, and his best friends and their family. It was exactly what I needed. And the best part? I got a TAN. (As tan as Irish-German girls with ginger-like tendancies can get… Aka, I'm covered in freckles). 

Each family was in charge of cooking one night for dinner. And Mr Grumpy's mom is probably the BEST Italian food cooker on the planet. She makes her sauce and meatballs from scratch, and sometimes even makes her own pasta, which is amazing too. So naturally, the Grumpy family was in charge of Italian night. She asked me to be in charge of the appetizer – bruschetta. I was nervous – there was a lot of pressure being that I am not even a speckle of Italian, and also that I've only ever helped my dear friend Robin make bruschetta and maybe made it on my own like twice (and put a jalapeno in it, naturally). So, like any good girlfriend would – I improvised people!

I knew how to make pico de gallo (obviously), so I decided I'd just make that, but with Italian-like ingredients. And man, it was a hit. (Our bartender Dan ate about 3 cups of it). 

Now, remember that this recipe serves about 10 people, so if you're just making it for your family or for you and you're super hungry, I suggest cutting the recipe in half or even into quarters.

What You'll Need:

• 3 cups of grape tomatoes, chopped into small pieces (each tomato gets cut into about 10 pieces)
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, chopped into pieces similar to the tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp chopped fresh basil (mine were heaping)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh mozzarella, chopped into pieces similar to the tomatoes
• 1 loaf french bread, cut into small pieces (about 1/2 centimeter)

Cutting everything is literally the most time consuming part of this recipe. So, start early. It took me about 30 minutes to cut everything up. Once everything is all chopped up, combine all ingredients into a bowl. Let that sit in the fridge for 2 hours prior to serving. 

Preheat your oven to 350. Bake your bread for about 5-10 minutes, until it is nicely toasted. If you're super hungry and want to eat right away, you can do two things:

• Less Desparate Option: Broil the bread for 3-5 minutes
• Super Desparate Option: Toast it in a toaster. Seriously. We did this the next day. It was awesome.

Mr Grumpy's mom helped with food styling. She's pretty good.  

(Giveaway Closed!) Review & Giveaway! Darling, Let’s Go to France w/OrganicGirl (Roasted Chicken, Brie & Cinnamon-Apple Paninis, plus a Peach-Bacon Salad)

Disclaimer: I received free OrganicGirl product to review for this post. All opinions are my own. The prize for this promotion is provided by and shipped by OrganicGirl and/or its representatives.  

Phew, now that THAT'S out of the way… let's talk about France. AKA, one of my favorite places on the planet. Now I know what you're wanting to ask me, "Cari, did you go to France and have a 10-day middle-school style love affair with a bleached-blonde-hair boy named Nicolas (pronouced Neec-oh-LAH) and wish you never had to return to the states?" Um, I would say SOME of that is true… But, I did get in trouble for talking too loudly during our tour of Versailles. I also misread a menu and ordered horse, instead of steak… and then two hours later proceeded to go horseback riding. Very traumatizing. But despite my completely unromantic trip to France at a ripe 14 years of age, I did come back completely in love with the culture. What can I say? France and I share a certain… je ne sais quoi … about us. Maybe it's because I used to be la canadienne .. er Canadian (a story for another time…). 

So, when OrganicGirl reached out to me, and I perused their website only to find they had a product called Vive la France… well, I just had to try it. Let me tell you first about OrganicGirl (right now they're mostly focused in greens for salads and yummy cookin') – they have such a great story. They are a group of men and women in California who literally police the BEEP out of your produce. This means that when you buy a container of their product, it's been washed three times before being packaged; it's completely organic; and it won't be brown the day after you buy it. Which is awesome because I think I have probably wasted like $300 alone this year buying lettuce in plastic containers that gets slimy on day two, and I'm left to ponder whether I should suck it up and eat it, or throw it away (Mr. G usually makes me throw it away, though he's very grumpy about wasting food). 

I went ahead and tried the Vive la France blend, which is a combination of mâche rosettes, baby chard, baby arugula and radicchio. It arrived today, and I was well-prepared. Of course, it took us like 45 minutes to track down our security dude, Chris, to unlock our package from his super stealthy case. But it was worth it – these greens are seriously delicious. Typically when we buy lettuce at the store, it's wilty and not very crunchy. The Vive la France mix was crunchy and slightly spicy (likely from the arugula). And we all know I love me some spice. So, I took Mr. Grumpy on a trip to France (aka, our super European couch), and made Roasted Chicken, Brie and Cinnamon Apple Paninis, plus a Peach-Bacon Salad avec Lemon Vinaigrette. L'awesome (that's not real French, ok?). 

Want to know what is EVEN MORE L'AWESOME? One of YOU lucky readers is going to win a package of Vive la France blend from OrganicGirl JUST LIKE ME! I know, you're thinking – this simply cannot be true. How can I be so lucky? Well, you can, my friends. You can indeed. How, you ask? You can enter my giveaway in three ways:

• Follow me (@carijeanne) on Twitter, and tweet at me using #homewithyou with what you'd most like to see if you visited France. Feel free to leave a comment below with the link to your tweet for an extra entry. 
• Leave a comment below with your French vacation dream – where would you most like to go? The south of France? Nice? Paris? The Spanish border? French Canada? 
• Like OrganicGirl on Facebook or Pinterest, and leave me a comment below saying you did it! 

The giveaway will close on June 22 – so get to commenting les petite chous! If you do all three, you earn three entries (meaning your chances will be INCREASED!). Best day ever, right? May the odds be ever in your favor, friends. I will announce the winner the week of June 24 here on my blog (and on social media too, obviously, because I will be so excited that I'll just want to share it with everyone). 

Now that I've talked your ear off, let's get cookin'! (Let's start with the panini!)

Roasted Chicken, Brie & Cinnamon-Apple Panini

Every holiday, I make baked brie, which uses candied apples (like you'd put in a pie), crescent dough and brie. It's my sister Erin's favorite. In fact, one holiday I failed to make the brie, and she felt that warrented not speaking to me for most of Christmas. I have to agree – the brie really makes Christmas feel warmer. 

So, this little sammy is just like that slice of heaven, except I'm totally going to blow your mind by taking it out of the crescent dough, and putting it onto bread. Whoa. Right? It's seriously delicious.  

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 cup Vive la France blend from OrganicGirl 
• 1/4 lb of brie
• 1 green apple
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon, divided – plus 1/2 tsp extra 
• Juice from 1/2 orange
• 2 cups organic, unsalted chicken stock
• 1 chicken breast
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander seed
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 4 slices of fresh ciabatta bread (DS pronounces like CHEE-AH-BAHTTA bread. And I think it's awesome)
• 1 tbsp butter
• Baking non-stick cooking spray

First, you want to cook your chicken. I did mine in the crock pot the day before. First, combine 2 cups of chicken stock, chicken breast, rosemary, 1 tsp cinnamon, and salt and pepper to taste. Let that cook on low for 2 to 2.5 hours until fully cooked. Let it cool enough that you can shread it with your fingers. Completely shread the chicken. In a small bowl combine 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground coriander and ground cumin in a bowl. Sprinkle it over the chicken, and toss until the chicken is coated. Add salt & pepper to taste, as needed. 

Next, preheat your oven to 375. Spray a small baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Cut your apple into long, thin slices. The thinner, the better. They cook faster that way. Next, take your half of an orange, and squirt the juice over the apples. This is a trick Suzie Q taught me because I used to think that when apples turned brown, it meant they rotted. This was obviously an exaggeration, but she would help me out by putting juice on them to keep them looking normal. Toss the apples until they've been coated evenly with the juice. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and the remaining cinnamon (1 tsp). Sprinkle slowly over the apples, tossing the entire time to ensure they get nicely coated. Place the apples uncovered in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and stir. Return the apples to the oven, and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let them sit for 5 minutes.

Coat one side of each slice of bread with an even layer of butter. Begin warming a pan with grill marks (seriously, what are these things called), over medium heat. Have another pan handy (can you tell I  don't have a panini maker?). Next, cut up your brie into long slices, about a centimeter thick. Place evenly over a slice of ciabatta bread. Next, place the cinnamon apples on top of the brie. Add a layer of chicken, and finally cover the top with Vive la France greens. Smoosh the second piece of bread on top. Repeat on the second – so you have two sandwiches. That was kind of obvious…

Now, place both sandwiches on your pan (butter side should be down, obviously). Place another pan on top of your sandwiches and gently press down, for about 3 minutes. Flip your sandwiches, and repeat on the other side for an additional 3 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, and let your sandwiches sit until the brie cheese is melty and gooey and ready to be devoured. 

Peach-Bacon Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette 

To go with the paninis, we had a lovely Peach-Bacon Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette. Ok, I know you're wondering why on earth I would ever put peaches and bacon together. Well, just as Mr. Grumpy and I go together (even though I'm sweet like a peach, and he's salty like a slice of bacon), so do peaches and bacon in real life. I'm serious.

What You'll Need:

• 2 cups Vive la France blend from OrganicGirl
• 3 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 peach, cut into slices
• Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1 tbsp)
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp Lemon & Pepper Seasoning (from McCormick) 

Note: I adapted the recipe for the Lemon Vinaigrette from Martha Stewart. She's really great, isn't she? 

First, put 1 cup of greens in each salad bowl. Place slices evenly on each salad. Crumble the bacon over the top. 

In a small jam jar, combine dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, McCormick seasoning, and lemon juice. Close the lid tight, and shake until combined. This makes about 4 tbsp of dressing. Dress your salad – we put about 1 1/2 tbsp each on the salad. And, voila! As Julia Child would say, "Bon Appetite!"

 

To learn more about OrganicGirl and their products, you can check them out online too at www.iloveorganicgirl.com. 

Happy National Running Day + I’ve Got a Fixin’ for Huevos Rancheros

First of all… Happy National Running Day! I started the day at 6:30 a.m. with a 3.33 mile run with my friend Melissa (blogging over at icrashedtheweb.com about our awesome run today). Yes, this actually happened. For those of you who know I don't do mornings… I did one today.

Jillian Michaels said this, and it's been a huge inspiration for me – Cari, who last year could hardly finish a mile. Now, just in one week, I've run more than 10 miles (2.75 on Monday, 4.12 on Tuesday and 3.33 today). I'm actually having a moment here, and yes, bragging a little. But this has been such a struggle, and I feel really amazing that now I'm able to do something that I've never been able to do before. The result? My friend Kelsey and I signed up for the Rock 'N' Run Half Marathon in October. That's right. I said HALF MARATHON – which I heard was like 13.1 miles, but I don't really want to think about that right now… My feet hurt from kicking so much ass.

Anyway, on to talking about food. One of my favorite, favorite, favorite things to eat when I visit my family in Colorado is Huevos Rancheros. In fact, the last time I went for a visit, my sister made several fat jokes as I downed my THIRD day in a row eating Huevos Rancheros. Much deserved. But still, I was not ashamed. You can't get that here in Ohio. You especially shouldn't get it if you go to ChiChi's or any of the Mexican restaurants in Findlay (which surprisingly are all owned by the same Italian family. I am not joking). I digress…

So, for those of you who don't have the money to just fly out West whenever you get a good breakfast craving, this recipe for at-home Huevos Rancheros is going to rock your world. I just made it up, based on what I'd had in my native state. Kim Kardashian and Kanye, if you're reading my blog, I'm sure you can probably skip making it at home and just fly to Mexico for the afternoon. (Ah, the life). Kim, actually that's really bad advice I just gave you, since I'm pretty sure you can't fly when you're that preggers. Anyway… 

Mr. Grumpy was really excited about this one for two reasons. A) Usually I substitute the sausage for turkey or chicken sausage. Which he is usually pretty grumpy about (where's the REAL meat… Uhh, that is real meat, Mr. Grumpy). And B) He loves breakfast for dinner (even though he also asked if we could have pancakes, to which I replied, "You're joking, right?"). Also, I had been hyping up this dinner for about a week so there were extremely high expectations.

NOTE: This recipe calls for one-half of a chopped jalapeno. When you chop up your jalapeno, take a moment and wash your hands. I was feeling real cocky and thought I was above washing my hands after cutting up a jalapeno. A jalapeno for god's sake, Cari. Like really? You thought you were above this? Yeah, I know. Listen. I was having a kitchen diva moment. So, I did not wash them but merely wiped them off briefly on my paper towel. So, after enjoying my Huevos Rancheros, taking a shower and getting snuggly on the couch, I noticed this terrible burning feeling on my fingers. All of them. Especially my thumbs. Immediately, I knew I had a flesh eating bacteria and I was going to be without hands in about an hour. So that's what I started Googling, obviously. And screaming, "MR. GRUMPY. WHY DON'T YOU CARE! I'm going to lose my hands! I will never be able to write again! I AM DYING!" To which Mr. Grumpy replied, "I am certain you're fine. Do you want some ice?" He actually was extremely displeased with my chaos, as I was interupting his STUPID awesome TV show about buying Alaska or whatever it is they're doing. So, he asked me if I burned it on the oven, to which I said no. Then, he asked if I washed my hands after cooking the jalapeno, to which I said," NO! I JUST CAUGHT THIS OUT OF NOWHERE! SOMEONE PROBABLY HAD IT AT WORK AND NOW I HAVE IT." So, he started Googling something obviously not as smart as my Googling "death from flesh-eating bacteria." At this point, I was pretty sure it was over for me. Until Mr. Grumpy told me to come to the kitchen, as he had the cure.

For the record, if you do not wash your hands after cutting a jalapeno, it doesn't form a bacteria… it just really, really hurts. So, the cure? Take 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and mix it with 1 tbsp of sugar. Rub the mixture all over your burned area (aka, my fingers in this situation). Who knew that Mr. Grumpy would come so in handy? He found all of this on the Internet, although he was still really displeased when all of a sudden my fingers felt better, and I had changed the channel to watch TLC.

Ok, so you've been warned. Also, do not ever Google "flesh eating bacteria." You will never be the same.

Now, let's get cooking!

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 can of Bush's Brothers Bush's Black Bean Fiesta, drained and rinsed slightly
• 1/2 can of unsalted sweet corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of fire roasted garlic diced tomatoes
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 1/3 cup red, orange and yellow sweet peppers
• 1/2 jalapeno, deseeded and chopped 
• 1/2 lb (about three sausage links) chorizo sausage
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 4 Mr. Tortilla uncooked soft tortilla shells (taco size); or your favorite brand of small soft tortilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup of Helluva Good Monterey Jack Cheese with Jalapeno

First, preheat your oven to 350. Now, chop up all your veggies. Wash your hands. Seriously. Do it. In a strainer, combine the black beans and corn. Drain and rinse. Add the tomatoes. DO NOT RINSE. Set aside. 

In a medium pan, heat your olive oil over medium-high heat. Take the chorizo out of the sausage casings, and add into the pan with the oregano. Cook chorizo all the way through (about 10 minutes). Remove the chorizo from the pan, and set aside. Drain your pan slightly, leaving about 1 tbsp of the juice from the sausage. Add onions and garlic, and cook for an additional 5 minutes until you can smell the garlic and your onions are see-through. Add the peppers, and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the chorizo back in. Add in the black bean mixture with the tomatoes and corn and cilantro. Let that cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove your pan from the stove heat, but keep your burner on. Take your tortilla and, over medium heat, place it directly on the burner. If you're using uncooked tortillas like we were, let it sit on each side for about 20 seconds. Do this for all four tortillas. If you're using already cooked tortillas, which is more likely, only put them on the burner for about 5-10 seconds on each side.

Spray an individual deep dish (you can use anything you can put in the oven with high sides) with olive oil cooking spray. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of the black bean/chorizo mixture to cover the bottom of each dish. Place two tortillas on top to completely cover, and put about 1 additional small scoop of black bean mixture on top. Crack your two eggs over the dish, gently letting the eggs rest on the top. Careful, careful, careful not to break the yolk. Sprinkle the top with cheese.

Place your dishes in the oven, and bake for 14-15 minutes, careful not to overcook the eggs. Now, don't worry. If you DO overcook the eggs, just scoop them off the top, make a fried egg in a pan really quick and replace it. Listen people. No one's perfect. Ok? Great. Now that we've had this talk, go forth and eat your Huevos Rancheros! Eiyiy! 

Weeknight Dinner: Captain America’s Super Punch Salad

Well, as many of you know, Captain America has been causing QUITE the ruckus here in the CLE with his filming and such. Don't get me wrong… any time Chris Evans wants to stop by the CLE and snuggle with me, I'm totally down for that. While that will likely not happen during his trip to the CLE, he has opened my eyes to the large amounts of security those movie sets are packed with.

As many of you ALSO know, I am now walking to work when I am able to. On Tuesday of last week, it look me 30 minutes to get to work on foot. A normally 12 minute walk… And during this 30 minutes, I managed to discover an underground tunnel in CLE (which I was told by a security guard to go into when I was walking toward the set), and land right pat in the middle of Superior Ave. Right smack in the middle of a car crash scene. And smack DAB into the arms of a very angry security guard who then grabbed my arm and dragged me across the street to my office building. 

Sorry, guys (I'm actually not). Just trying to get to work here. And if that means that you need to set up a trailer for me next to Chris Evans equipped with Wifi so I don't disturb your filming again, than sobeit. I would gladly stake out in a movie star trailer. Just offering. 

Anyway, all this Captain America talk in the CLE has reminded me that I, unlike Chris Evans, have a Hilton Head vacation coming up in just two weeks time. And I, UNLIKE Chris Evans, have about 10 pounds to lose. For your reference, this is why Chris Evans isn't in the same boat as me:

Great. 

So, I decided to try my luck at the Special K diet. What especially makes me happy about this diet is that I can eat a normal dinner every night, but still have the potential to lose six pounds. Basically all I have to do is eat nothing but cereal for 14 days, and I will look like this:

SO, for dinner tonight, I made this super punched Captain America salad – what I imagine Chris Evans is probably eating RIGHT NOW. Although, he's probably at some super fancy restaurant right down the street and I have no idea he's so close (hello, Blue Point Grille? Is Chris Evans there?).

For this salad, I used this new type of rice I learned about at Camp Blogaway called Lundberg. It's a gluten-free short grain brown rice, and has such a nice texture and flavor that I may be sold. Although, I'm starting to think I'm a bit too easy here… I received a free sample, and was challenged to submit my own summer salad recipe on Pinterest. If you vote for my recipe by liking it on Pinterest, I could win a $100 Whole Foods gift card. So, do a gal a favor and go "like" my post (linked here). Thanks…

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 cup Lundberg Short Grain Brown Rice
• 1 cup organic chicken stock
• 1/2 pound uncooked, peeled and deveined shrimp (I did it!!)
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 ears of corn (peel off the leaves and the hair…)
• 1 avocado
• 1 orange
• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 3 lemons
• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, and then half again (fourths?)
• 1/2 cup of olive oil, divided
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning (I use this for everything now, basically)
• 2 tsp honey, divided
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• salt to taste

The night before you want to marinate your shrimp. If you forget, it's no big deal. Just marinate them for 30 minutes prior to cooking them covered, in a bowl on the countertop. To make the marinade, combine the juice from one lemon, 1 tsp honey, salt to taste, 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning, 4 cloves of garlic, coriander, cumin, mustard seeds and 1/4 cup of olive oil in a food processor. Combine until it's a little creamy and all mixed together. Place your shrimp in a bowl with the marinade and set aside (or if you're marinating overnight, place it covered back in the fridge). 

Combine your rice and chicken stock in a medium-sized pan. Place on your stove over medium-high heat. Once it boils, stir one time, and then turn your stove to low. Cover and let it simmer for 50 minutes.

Heat your grill. Take your corn and drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Grill your corn, slowly rotating it until each side is cooked and lightly charred. Keep your grill heated for the shrimp cookin'. Once you have about 10 minutes left on your rice, grill your shrimp. We put them on kabobs. You're going to notice these babies cook fast – probably a few minutes per side. You'll know they're done when they turn a light pinkish color, and get a bit firmer (but not TOO firm!). 

Peel and chop your avocado, and do the same for your orange. Combine in a large bowl your avocado, orange, black beans, cilantro, tomato and red onion. Cut the kernels from the corn, and add that to your bowl. Add the shrimp and feta cheese. Once your rice is done cooking, add that into the bowl as well.

Next, in a separate bowl, combine the juice of 2 lemons, 1 tsp of honey, salt and pepper to taste, 1/4 cup of olive oil and garlic salt. Whisk that together. Pour it over your salad, and mix. 

Enjoy!! (This went great with the fried zucchini chips!).

This is actually really similar to a super yummy salsa that Suzie Q and Erhead (my sister) make each summer. I just added in some fruit and my favorite marinade that I changed slightly from the Feed Zone Cookbook. This is such a great cookbook because it's packed with all the things you need to keep up your energy when you're being super active. 

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Disclaimer, I received a package of Lundberg rice for free as part of my participation in Camp Blogaway. Again, my opinions are my own. You should also know that I got distracted and burned the first batch of rice. Totally not Lundberg's fault. Unless they paid to have the Real Housewives of New Jersey run on loop all day…