South of the Border Lettuce Wraps

Recently I tried a juice diet........It went pretty well and turns out that the book had some delicious meals included in it. The South of the Border Lettuce Wraps were so tasty that I adapted this recipe for after the strict non-meat plan.  The book is called Cherie Calboum's book The Juice Lady's Turbo Diet, just in case you're interested.

2 ripe avocados
3 tomatoes, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced and seeds removed
2 tbsp diced onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 corn kernels
2 tsp fresh lime juice
6-8 large lettuce wraps
1 Cup diced firm tofu or 1lbs chicken breast, grilled and sliced into bite sized pieces
*shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa optional

Original recipe calls for keeping everything raw and just mixing it all together...

1. Lightly saute onions, garlic and jalapenos in a drizzle of olive oil.
2. Add tofu or chicken and cook until warm.
3. In a separate bowl, mash avocados.
4. Place remaining ingredients in separate bowls and allow diners to assemble wraps as they wish.

***Crock Pot Alert*** Pork Pernil

Puerto Rican slow cooked pork. I was sold in those few words when I saw in on Pinterest but once I saw how easy this recipe was, I knew I'd be in love for life!  The original recipe calls from pork shoulder but I used a tenderloin and it worked out amazing and probably has less fat that way. We ate ours as soft taco fillings, but you can also serve it in the traditional way, with rice and beans!

2-3 lbs pork tenderloin
4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed or roughly chopped
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 oranges juiced, about 1/2 cup if you want to just use OJ, but that will make it sweeter
2 limes juiced, about 1/2
1/4 cup beer, optional
Cooking spray

The night before....
1. Make 4 shallow slashes into the pork tenderloin. Don't cut all the way through, just about half-way and stuff full of garlic.
2. Combine juices and spices in a bowl and whisk together.
3. If your Crock-Pot bowl comes out, light spray with cooking spray. Place pork garlic side up on the bottom. Pour juice mixture over pork. If your Crock-Pot bowl does not come out, place tenderloin in a large Ziploc bag and pour in juice mixture, seal.
4. Allow to marinade over-night in the fridge, turning once if you have time before bed.

The day of...
1. Place pork and juice in the Crock-Pot and cook on Low for 6-8 hours, add beer if your slow cooker tends to dry out the juices and burn things (mine does.)
2. Shred pork in pot and stir with juices. Let cook another 15-30 minutes.
3. Yep, you're done.

Definitely not one of my best photos, but you get the idea of how it should look!

Homemade Body Scrub

As winter turns to spring, most of us are in need of a good scrub to get rid of dead dry skin cells. For years I've been making my own exfoliater because I'm allergic to all the harsh fragrances and chemicals found in more store-bought body scrubs. Here's how I make it....

2 Cups Epsom salts You can use sugar for a finer grain scrub, but note that the oil dissolves the sugar faster and your batch won't last as long. 
3/4 Cup light olive oil or safflower or grape seed oil, in a pinch you could even use vegetable oil (if you don't want to smell like a salad, skip the olive oil and look for something else)
5-6 drops essential oil, like grapefruit or lavender (you can find this at most health-food stores)
5-6 drops water based food coloring *optional*

In a large bowl stir together salt and oil until salt is moistened but not an oily mess. Add essential oil and food color. Stir together and store in an air-tight container.  This amount is good for about 2-3 weeks of scrubbing.

Use in the shower or add a few handfuls to your bath water.  Try not to let water get in the container as it will slowly dissolve the salt.  

Caution: Your shower will be slippery.....

Beer Brownies

What do you do that day after St. Patrick's Day with all that leftover Guinness? You make brownies of course!!!! (I know that right now you're shouting at your computer about the blasphemy that is leftover Guinness, but for those of us who were quietly enjoying the day at home, there's bound to be 1 or 2 bottles that didn't get consumed....)

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and traced it back to what I think is the original post, a blogger named Patent & the Pantry. It's a really cute blog and her brownie recipe was killer so I'm thinking the rest of her stuff is great too. I'll be trolling her site regularly for inspiration.

A word of caution about reducing Guinness on the stove top....It foams up and over flows really fast if you let it come to a boil and yes it does catch on FIRE if you have an open-flame gas range....so don't try to rush it by turning the heat up...


1 Cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa-powder (the unsweetened baking kind)
1/4 tsp salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened, cut into chunks
1 Cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cups of milk-chocolate chips
4 large eggs, room temp or close to it
1 Cup sugar
2 bottles of Guinness beer
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 Cup white chocolate chips (I didn't have any so I used semi-sweet and it was still awesome)
Powder sugar for dusting

1. Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9X13 baking pan with parchment paper for easy brownie removal, or just spray lightly with cooking spray

2. Take out your eggs and butter, set on the counter where they won't roll away.

3.  Pour beer into a small pan and set to a simmer over medium-low heat. Allow to cook until reduced by half, about 25 minutes.  You'll want about 1 1/4 cup of beer-syrup. Remove from heat and let cool. *cooking down the beer is key to the flavor and fudgey consistency of these brownies. Don't skip this step*

4. While beer is cooking, whisk together flour, cocoa-powder and salt in a large bowl until well combined.

5.  In a microwave safe bowl, combine butter, semi-sweet and milk-chocolate chips. Microwave for at 30 second intervals until melted and you can stir together for a nice smooth consistency. Set aside to cool lightly.

6. In a mixer, cream together eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium-high setting.

7. Slowly pour chocolate mixture into egg/sugar fluff. Mix on medium speed until well combined.

8. Add flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Don't over mix it! There's more mixing to come, don't panic.

9. Switch to a whisk attachment and slowly pour in beer syrup and vanilla.  Whisk until it's all mixed in good. It's going to take a few minutes and the batter will be very runny when you're done.

10.  Pour into prepared pan and give a good jiggle to shake the bubbles out. Sprinkle white chocolate chips evenly over batter.

11. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

12. Let cool and cut into squares. Sprinkle with powder sugar if desired. 

Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon

Broccoli was on sale last week at the grocery store so I bought a bunch of it. Then I had to start figuring out what to do with it all.  Of course there's the general steaming and tossing with olive oil and salt, serving it raw with dip. Last night I decided to try roasting it and it turned out fantastic!!!!!!!! This makes a light side dish that can stand on it's own.

2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped down to bite sized pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice.

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees

2. In a large bowl combine broccoli, olive oil and garlic.

3. Spread broccoli in a single layer on a baking sheet.  

4. Bake for 10 minutes then stir broccoli.  Check to make sure broccoli isn't getting too dark. Bake for 5 minutes more if needed.

5. Plate broccoli and drizzle with lemon juice for a bright citrus finish. 

Jessica's Penne and Vodka Sauce

In January I went to visit my sister-in-law in Seattle and she made us the most delicious dinner: Penne with Italian Turkey Sausage and Vodka Sauce. I've had Vodka sauce before and never really liked it that much but this was fantastic! I asked her to share it with me so I could make it at home.  Jessica has said that if you can't find ground Italian turkey sausage, try turkey breakfast sausage patties if you don't want to squeeze the meat out of the links.

I made mine with spaghetti because that's what we had on hand and served with a side of roasted garlic broccoli (recipe to follow.)

*Recipe makes a lot of sauce, about 8 servings so plan on left overs.

1 pound penne pasta
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you want it a little spicy)
1 (28) oz can of crushed tomatoes
3/4 tsp salt
2 tablespoons vodka
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream *I can't eat dairy, so I replaced this with plain soy coffee cream*
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Put a pot of salted water on to boil. Cook pasta until al dente.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and stir to crumble. Stir occasionally until browned.
3. Remove cooked sausage and set aside.  Add olive oil and heat.
4. Add garlic and red pepper flakes to pan, stirring until garlic begins to brown.
5. Add tomatoes and salt, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Toss in vodka, cream, parsley and sausage.  Stir and serve over hot pasta.

Bourbon-Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

Let's be honest, this recipe had me at bourbon...and the fact that salmon is good for you.  This dinner pulls together quickly, 20 minutes if you're making old fashioned rice as a side, so it's perfect for a weeknight. The original recipe says to marinate the fish for 1-2 hours, but I didn't and it was still awesome. It will probably be even better if you actually do it. I just tossed it in the bowl while I got everything else ready.

I served it with steamed broccoli tossed with a squeeze of lemon and dash of olive oil and brown rice (yeah, we're getting healthy here...) 

Serves 4

3 tablespoons bourbon (I used Crown Royal because we're fancy, nah, it's what we had....)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce (get the low-sodium stuff, it's better for you)

1 tablespoon fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tablespoon lime juice

3 garlic gloves, minced

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

4 (6 oz-ish) salmon filets, skins removed

Cooking spray

Green onions thinly sliced, enough to sprinkle on each piece of fish

1 tablespoons sesame seeds

1. Combine ingredients pepper in a bowl. Give it a good whisk to get everything together.

2. Pour over salmon filet and allow to marinate in the fridge for up to 2 hours. *** I didn't do this step and it was fine***

3. Spray an even coat of cooking spray in a large non-stick skillet.  Heat over a medium-high flame. 

4. Add fish and marinade to pan. Cook about 4 minutes on each side until it's a nice shade of light pink and the fish would flake it you took a fork to it (don't do that, it will ruin the presentation)

5. Give each piece it's own plate and drizzle the remaining glaze over each one. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds! 

Got a Juicer? Make 50/50 Vibrant Juice

I saw this juice on Pinterest and thought, oh man I have all of that! Yay!!!!!!  I just made it this morning and the recipe is right, it is bright and refreshing.  It's, well, vibrant in flavor and in color.

I'm going to save the pulp from this one to make into carrot cake at a later date!


3 carrots
1 large tangelo or 2 medium oranges, peeled
1 small apple, cored
1 1/2 cup green or red seedless grapes
3-4 stalks of celery

Juice it all together and serve over ice. You could totally add leafy greens like spinach or kale, but it will turn a funky color. 

Tex-Mex Lasanga

I love Mexican casserole dishes...My husband hates them, which is weird since he loves Mexican food. I keep making soggy layered tortilla dinners, hoping I'll find one he'll like. I finally found a recipe that he loved! It ditches the tortillas and uses lasagna noodles for the layers. We were out of sour cream, but had avocados so we mashed them up, called them guacamole and slathered it on top as "garnish." Dice up some jalapenos and sprinkle them in or use spicy salsa to jazz it up. As you can see from the picture, we were too excited to let it cool for 10-15 minutes and it kind of fell apart....

1 pound ground beef
1 cup jarred salsa
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce
1 package lasagna noodles
1 cup corn (canned or frozen, heck even fresh)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 green onions, chopped
Cooking spray

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the lasagna noodles, cook until al dente.
3. While the noodles boil, brown the beef in a pan and drain off excess fat. Set beef aside.
4. Combine salsa, tomatoes, tomato sauce, cumin, salt & pepper.
5. In another bowl combine corn, beans and cilantro.
6. Spray a lasagna pan with cooking spray and spread 1/2 sauce on the bottom of pan.
7. Layer noodles, beef, beans and cheese. Cover with a scoop of sauce.
8. Repeat until noodles are gone, finishing the top layer with the remaining sauce and cheese.
9. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes (ahem see above pic if you don't)
10. Sprinkle onions green onions and serve with a bit of guacamole or sour cream (or both...)

Roasted Garlic and Sun Dried Tomato Dip

I made this for a Super Bowl party yesterday and it was gone before the end of the first half. It was GOOD!!!!!!!!! It's kind of like hummus....What made it even better was the fact that it didn't need to be chilled or heated (although it would be great either way,) just served at room temperature. I served it with Wheat Thins but you could use bagel chips, sliced baguette or pita chips/bread. You're gonna need to use your fingers to get the roasted garlic out so it's a good thing roasted garlic is less pungent than raw!

1 whole garlic head
1 cup water
1 package (3.5 oz) of sun dried tomatoes, the dry ones not the pack in oil ones. (if you can only find the ones packed in oil, just skip the additional olive oil in the recipe)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 can White Beans or Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Remove outer papery cover of the garlic. Do not separate the cloves.
3. Wrap garlic in tinfoil and bake for 40 minutes.
4. Remove garlic from oven and let cool completely (seriously, you really have to manhandle it so make sure it's not hot)
5. While garlic cools, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Add tomatoes, cover and remove pan from heat. Let the tomatoes soak up the water.
6. While tomatoes are re-hydrating, cut the end off of the garlic and squeeze the mushy pulp into a food processor. Get as much of it out as you can.
7. Add tomatoes and about 1/4 cup of the soaking water to the food processor. Pulse a few times to break up the tomatoes.
8. Add remaining ingredients and puree until smooth, like hummus.
9. Transfer dip to a serving bowl and add a few fresh rosemary sprigs for decoration, serve with crackers.

Mini Whole Wheat Banana Bread

"Because sometimes just 1 is enough." That's the tag line for a new cookbook I got over the holidays called Small Batch Baking by Debbie Maugans Nakos.  I'm super excited because there have been so many times that I want to bake a cake or cookies and not have enough to feed a family of 12.  The two of us just don't need 48 chocolate chip cookies....When I got the book, I picked up some of those tin mini-loaf pans that you see in the grocery store. I got 5 for $1.

I had 1 banana sitting around and thought I'd see what I could make.  The bread turned out delicious and 1 loaf is enough for us to eat for several days of snacking.

Serves 2-3, Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cooking spray
1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1/4 Cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 mashed banana
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In another bowl, mash together banana, brown sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla and egg yolk.
3. Add banana mixture to flour mixture and stir together until well combined. Fold in nuts.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan
5. Bake for 23-25 minutes, or until golden brown and a tooth-pick comes out clean.

Got a juicer? Make Fresh Vegetable Soup

Recently I got a juicer and now I can't visit the store without thinking, can I juice that? I've had to refrain my husband from trying to juice meat... Anyway....This soup recipe came with the little booklet in the box and I thought I'd give it a try.  I was skeptical at first as I tasted the juice mix and after I added the beans, but by the time it cooked down and flavors mellowed, it was a delicious lunch!

If you don't have a juicer, you can always throw the chopped veggies and broth into a good blender.

1 small tomato
1/2 of a small onion, peeled
2 carrots
1 green pepper or 2 stalks of celery (of course if you know me, you know I did not use the pepper, but I'm sure it would be fine with it)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
15 oz can of vegetarian baked beans
1 packet of ramen noodles, broken into small bits, or other noodles of your choice (don't use the flavor packet from the ramen)
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Juice or blend together tomato, onion, carrots and green pepper. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in a sauce pan.  Add flour and stir constantly for 1-2 minutes. You're making a roux.
3. Using a whisk, stir in juice and vegetable broth. Whisk until flour has dissolved.
4. Stir in baked beans and bring to a boil.
5. Add noodles and boil until cooked.
6. Add salt & pepper to taste.

This will make 4 good sized bowls. Make this the night before and pack some up for lunch at work.  If you really like onion flavor, go ahead and do a whole onion. I found it to be pretty strong with just 1/2.

White Wine Chicken & Rice Pilaf

We're in need of a trip to the grocery store so last night I scoured the pantry for something to make.  Here's what I came up with, 2 chicken breasts (no, they were in the freezer not the pantry) Kraft Lite Italian Dressing, garlic, cooking Sherry, vegetable broth, rice and pasta....Here's what they turned into:

For the Chicken:
2 Chicken breasts
1/2 Cup Italian dressing

Place chicken in a ziploc bag and add Italian dressing. Seal and shake.  Allow chicken to marinate in dressing for at least 30 mins. 

For the Rice Pilaf
1/2 cup broken spaghetti pieces
1 Cup rice
2 Tablespoons butter, divided into 1 tbsp chunks
2 Cups vegetable broth

1. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan.
2. Add spaghetti and rice. Stir to coat in butter. Stir occasionally until rice begins to brown lightly. 
3. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer.  Cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.  ***You may need to add a few splashed of broth so check it regularly***

For the Sauce:
1/2 cup finely chopped onions or shallots
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
1/4 dry white wine
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 chicken or vegetable broth
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Remove chicken from fridge and discard dressing.
2. Brown chicken in a skillet until mostly cooked through, remove to a plate
3. Add butter to the same pan and make sure you scrape all the goodness from cooking the chicken up.
4. Saute onions and garlic until onions soften.
5. Add wine and vinegar to pan. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Add broth, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
7. Add chicken to sauce, cover and allow to cook until sauce has reduced to 1/2 cup.

Serve with rice pilaf and a salad.

Hot Tea Mojito

Holy moly Pinterest! You've really come through on this one! Everyone who knows me, knows I'm a big fan of the Hot Toddy (hot tea, whiskey, honey and lemon) for anything from a tickle in my throat to full blown Bronchitis. Ok, even if it's a cold, rainy day, my solution is always a Hot Toddy....Until now! Meet the Hot Tea Mojito...It's even good without the fresh mint leaves (strange as it sounds, I was fresh out.) If you want to get fancy, use a heat-proof wine glass.

Makes 1 big serving (or 2 wimpy ones)

1 Cup water
2 tablespoons loosely packed fresh mint leaves
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teabag (Earl Grey, English Breakfast or Black tea)
1/4 cup rum (light or dark, whatever)
1 tablespoon lime juice

1. Boil the water in a teapot (or microwave proof mug)
2. Add mint leaves, brown sugar, lime juice and teabag. Let tea steep about 2 minutes.
3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth (let's be honest, I used a paper towel) and enjoy!