Cant wait for summer and cheesy mac bites

      Plans, Plans and more plans! Too bad there mostly for summer and the fact I cant wait for it to be warm out isn't great either. First plan on the list is kickboxing, its a 5 days a week for 10 weeks program. Its going to be awesome. its also ends in may which is perfect timing for beach weather and the next plan on the list. Bonnaroo!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Even all those exclamation points can not express the excitement I have built up. June 12th cant not come fast enough, which is the day we leave and also is my birthday. If you don't know what Bonnaroo is then look it up. Its one of the best music festivals ever held in Tennessee. Next on the list is a softball league with a bunch of my friends. Use to play when I was younger and loved it. Was pretty good at it if I do say so myself. I'm just hoping summer is nice but not a sauna. Last thing I want is it to be a million degrees out when I need to be on a softball field. What else, how bout training for a triathlon! Nope I'm not joking. A few weeks into my kickboxing class I plan on starting to train for a triathlon. Have I ever done something like this before? Nope. Brand new to this whole thing but I'm sure Ill get the hang of a routine quickly. I have all the things I need right here in the complex. A pool to do laps in, a 2 mile lap around and a bike. Not a very great bike but nothing I cant eventually replace when I need it. Now all I have to do is find a race semi near by and start training.
     Today started out OK, woke up to it snowing again. Not my ideal way to wake up when summer weather is sitting in the back of my mind. But there is nothing I can do except wait or runaway until may. and the latter isn't really an option. So what do I do. Recipe experiment of course. Mac and cheese... Hmmm what do. I look in the freezer and found fillo dough. How about mac and cheese bites. Sounds delicious to me, I don't need any other excuse to try it.


Mac and Cheese Bites

`By a box of your favorite mac and cheese and make as directed. set aside
`buy pre made fillo dough, let thaw if frozen and roll out onto a flat surface
`melt 3 table spoons of butter.
`brush a small amount of butter on top of dough
`depending on size of dough place a spoon full of mac and cheese in different spots on the dough with at least 2 inches in between
`take a knife and cut in the middle of the piles so you have squares
`pull together corners and brush butter on top so it sticks together
`place on baking sheet with tin foil and place in oven at 350* for about 20 minutes or until tops are light brown

Directions are hard to explain with this recipe so here's pictures to show you how

Rain rain go away and sweet crunchy chicken cordon bleu

Reporting from Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Aka Disney! And it's raining, Again. Normally I wouldn't mind but its down pouring. Not the best conditions to be walking around in Disney. Today was Epcot day but its been postponed to later. Which isn't terrible because the nightlife has been better around here. Disney isn't just for kids. There's a lot of stuff for the 21+ crowd. Last night we went to downtown Disney and had a blast! By the end of the night we had jumped into a fountain, danced in front of a huge crowd and one of us ended up in a bush. Sounds crazy? Yea, it was but it was also awesome and that's all that matters. Great friends and smiles on our faces.

While here I've been making dinner and trying to come up with delicious food with the ingredients we have. So last night for dinner was chicken cordon bleu. Sounds a little intimidating but it's so easy. This wasnt a normal way to make cordon bleu though. I had to use what I have available. At the supermarket I picked up the key ingredients, chicken breast, sliced cold cut style ham and shredded mozzarella cheese. At the hotel we also had pretzels and syrup. How would those two things come into this dish? Crush the pretzels and you have a crunchy top coating. Spread some syrup inside and you get a sweet companion for the ham. So here's how it all comes together.

Sweet and crunchy chicken cordon bleu

~Chicken breast (medium size)
~Sliced ham (cold cut style)
~Shredded cheese (your choice)
~Maple syrup
~Pretzels
~Egg

Preheat oven 375*
>Take chicken and cut horizontally through the middle (butterfly style)
>For each slice of ham put some cheese on top and roll
>Spread a small amount of syrup in the middle of the chicken
>Place two ham/cheese rolls in the middle of each chicken breast
>In a small bowl whisk together 1 egg and a small amount of syrup
>In another small bowl take pretzels and crush until desired course.
>while holding close the filled chicken, dip and coat into the egg mixture
>Then dip and coat in pretzel
>Place on baking sheet
>Bake for approx. 35-40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside

Enjoy!

Happiest place on earth and Double Cookie Brownies

Greetings from not so sunny Florida right now.. Ill take the 75 degree weather though. Sun or not I'm happy. And who wouldn't be while at Disney! Compared to the chilling average of 30 on Long Island I'd take a little rain in Florida any day. I have the whole week planned out. Might sound a little neurotic but sometimes to make the most of your time you have to plan ahead! So much to do and not a lot of time to fit it all in. Staying at one of the Disney vacation club resorts helps a ton. The room we have has a full kitchen so dinners are easier to plan and cheaper too! Plus having someone who loves to cook like I do makes the roommates happy. Bringing some non perishable is always a good idea also. Have some extra space in your luggage? Why not throw in some ramen noodles or some soup. That is if your destination is as awesome as Disney.
My recipe today is a scrumptious extra filling brownie. But not just any brownie, a Double Cookie Brownie.


Double Cookie Brownie
(Make in 2 parts then comes together at the end)

Brownies-
~3/4 cup butter
~1-1/2 cup sugar
~2 teaspoon vanilla
~3 eggs
~3/4 cup all-purpose flour
~1/2 cup cocoa powder
~1 teaspoon baking powder
~a pinch of salt
Mix all dry ingredients together
Then mix all liquid ingredients together
Combine both bowls in one


Cookie dough- (found on back of nestle toll house chocolate chip package)

~2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
~1 teaspoon baking soda
~1 teaspoon salt
~1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
~3/4 cup granulated sugar
~3/4 cup packed brown sugar
~1 teaspoon vanilla extract
~2 large eggs
~2 cups Nestle toll house Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Mix all together

Now for the final assembly
Grab some Oreos

- preheat oven 375*
-Take a glass baking dish and line with either wax or parchment paper
-press cookie dough into a thin layer on bottom. About a half an inch
- place Oreos across the top of cookie dough
- pour brownie batter over the Oreos.
- bake in oven for approx. 40-45 minutes or until brownie batter comes off clean when poked with a tooth pick


Want an easy semi homemade way?
Duncan Hines brownie box
Pre-made nestle tollhouse cookie dough

Im back! with Cherry Chicken Spirals

 Longest two weeks, Feels like it took forever but I'm back. What have I done since the blizzard. I'm sure your all dying to know. Are your ready for it? ...... WORK!  Mostly anyway. Valentines day was fun, ladies night at my favorite bar. Best way I can think of spending a lonely holiday is with your best friends.  Getting ready for my vacation in Disney next week has been driving me crazy. Ive been packed for a week now and just ready to leave already! I need off this island, even if it is only for a few days. Went to my first Basketball game Tuesday, Brooklyn Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks I have one word to describe it, AMAZING!  Tied up twice and overtime, Last 3 seconds were like slow motion. Joe Johnson shoots, the ball flying in the air, that sweet sound of nothing but net and BAM the buzzer goes off, crowd roars alive. The Nets win an amazing game overall. Last night I went to my first country night with my girls. Line dancing, pickle back shots and bull riding. Yup you heard right, bull riding. Did I do it, Pshh of course I did! Three times in fact. Have the video and bruises to prove it.
    Alright enough about me lets get to the food part.  Chicken, Who doesn't like chicken. Has to be one of the easiest meat to cook with hundred of recipes.. Well here's one of mine, Cherry Chicken Spirals. So easy, not many ingredients cant really go wrong for a delicious dinner.
     

Cherry Chicken Spirals

~Chicken breast (medium size) -1 per person
~Turkey bacon- 2-3 slices each pc. of chicken
~Dried cherries- about a cup depending on amount of chicken
~Honey mustard- 1/2 cup
~Panko bread crumbs -1 cup

`Preheat Oven so 375*
`Cook turkey bacon as instructed on package (dont making them crispy)
`Take the chicken and cover with plastic wrap, grab a meat mallet and pound the chicken until its     about a half an inch or thinner. you want to be able to roll them easily
`Next take half of the honey mustard place in small bowl, mix in cherries and stir until coated
`Place chicken on flat surface, take 2-3 pieces of turkey bacon and cover chicken
`Take a spoon full of cherry mixture and put it in the middle of the chicken pieces
`Roll the chicken until the ends are touching or over lapping
`take the rest of the honey mustard (without cherries) and brush over chicken
`Put Panko bread crumbs into small bowl
`Take chicken spirals and roll in the bread crumbs without unrolling the chicken
`Place seam side down on baking sheet covered with parchment paper or tin foil.
`Bake approx. 30-35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside.

For some extra flavor add some fresh thyme and pepper to the Panko crumbs.
Or for an even healthier verson to save some calories, dont use the bread crumbs at all.
Turkey bacon is half the fat and calories as normal bacon and panko is also less calories with a lighter, crunchier version of bread crumbs.  Ever have tempura? Well thats what panko is..

Enjoy!

Free! Free at Last!.. and Jumping Jack Flash

      Finally! The plows have come to save us. I was starting to think they forgot about us but as of 3pm today my car is officially drivable. Which is great not just for my sanity but for my place of work that I have to be at at 7am! My day consisted of shoveling again, and more shoveling and o ya more shoveling! With tempuratures rising and a major physical workout I was doing, lets just say my clothes were no longer dry. With a shovel in my hand, head phones blasting my favorite playlist all I can say is,  no one get in my way cause Im on a mission. Freedom! Once that shovel hit pavement the hallelujah sound rang in my mind, nothing was stopping me now.
     Unfortunatly food wasnt on my agenda today. Snacks were the main dish all day long in this house hold. Open the fridge I spot cressent rolls and mini cocktail wienies, you can probably already guess where this is heading. Also grabbing some cheese, I then start to roll the wienies and cheese inside the cressent rolls. easy as that. bake for how ever long the instructions call for (usually 10-15 minutes). Since the recipe was slacking a little today ill share another thing that controls my life lately. A workout routine! Do I LOVE food, duhh who doesnt but with making so many cookies and baked goods I also need keep up my physical apperance. This is when the title comes alive. This is my Jumping Jack Flash workout routine. hmm Does it consist of jumping jacks? YES and a lot of them. So here we go!!

Depending on how physically fit you are, obviously adjust the number to your ability. But also dont sell yourself short! push yourself. this is a workout its not suppose to be easy.....

~50 Jumping Jacks
~30 Bicycle crunches
~50 Jumping Jacks
~20 Leg lifts (I hold onto the bottom of the couch or anything inmovable to help)
~50 Jumping Jacks
~10 ea. Leg lunges
~50 Jumping Jacks
~20 Plea squats (like normal squats but with your legs out wider)
~50 Jumping Jacks
~20 Sitting twist (sit up position and twist left to right)
~50 Jumping Jacks
~Last is my specialty get down on all fours hands and knees, this is called doggie leg lifts cause you look like a dog peeing. (only way I can explain it easily) do 10 for ea. leg, just lift your leg with knee bent 90*, youll feel it in your bum
~ next stay on your hands and knees and do a back kick the higher you go the more youll feel it! Do 10 for ea leg for that too. and repeat  so a total of 20 doggie and 20 back kicks
~Finish it off with 50 more Jumping Jacks!!
 If your feeling ambitious do all the in between excercises one more time each.

Shoveling and Energy Bites

    Today started off very well, ate an awesome breakfast, got outside and started to shovel the enormous amount of snow in our driveway. Eventually it got done with a few breaks here and there, once we were done our neighbor insisted to come over and try her new wine. Not a bad way to end a shoveling experience. The wine was called Cupcake- red Velvet, obviously from the name you can tell it was a red. Taste was good, though very sweet. During our shoveling experience I started to crave the cookies I made yesterday, which I had no problem getting because lets face it, I am a sugar-holic. I love sweets! Then my mother stops me reminds of hte energy bites I made earlier in the week. It was perfect while doing an activity like shoveling. Main ingredients are peanut butter and oats which are a good source of protein and fiber. Also who doesnt need an energy boost in this type of weather. Once inside we both just became a bump on log. Picked a spot and didnt move for a few hours. I could have named a dozen different things we could have been doing but o well, we were stranded anyway theres always tomorrow. Nap was only thing going through my mind, and so I did.... the word dinner no where to be found. Now its 8pm and here comes along those energy bites again. Snack, meal replacer, pre workout boost, you choose....


Amazing Energy bites

(makes about 10-12 bites depending on size)

~1 cup old fashion oats
~1/2 cup peanut butter
~1/3 cup honey
~1/2 cup chocolate chips
~1/2 cup raisins

One large bowl mix everything together until oats are coated
Time to get a little messy, pick up about a tablespoon size and roll into small balls
i make them about an inch-inch and half wide
refrigerate for about an hour or until peanut butter isnt sticky

Snow Stranded Day 2+ Healthy Omelet

      Day 2 of the blizzard of 2013. I am officially stranded. Middle Island got hit with about 2.5-3 ft of snow and no plows have gone by at all..  the only connetion i have with the outside world is the news. Their no help cause they just repeat the same video clip very 10 minutes and call it breaking news. sorry to all the old people in my complex, cause if you get hurt good luck getting any help. We've called three different fire departments this morning, their not answering or they cant do anything. My mothers boyfriend literally slept in his car last night trying to come home from work and couldnt make it. The two of us were shoveling over an hour to get her car out and only got 3ft out the driveway..  well I hope he had warm clothes.
     On a lighter note living on a golf course makes for beautiful pictures and landscapes. Thats about the only good thing I can come up with right now. Just the thought of shoveling this whole day is giving me anxiety. All though it is a pretty extreme workout. Okay thats a second good thing. As far as my food situation goes this morning, breakfast the most important meal of the day. One word PROTEIN! always always always.. Expecially if your working out. what do I have Eggs! and I add one of my favorite foods, avocados. Both are jam packed with protein and good for you. I use only the egg whites so the cholesteral stays low and also the calories get cut in half. As far as avocados go, eat in moteration. Even though its considered "good" fat, its still fat. So I have a half every other day. What to drink, either green tea or half a cup of Silk soymilk. The vanilla taste delicious and even that has 6g of protein as well! For an easy vitamin packed side dish, cut up an orange. breakfast done!

Easy Healthy Egg Omelet
~2 eggs seperated for whites (cook in skillet)
~1/2 avocado (sliced)
~small amount of cheese (any kinda)
~1 orange
~salt/pepper to taste
 
Thats its! Healthy Breakfast Done!