Herb, Vegetable or Spice?

I have really used a lot of fennel, since eating healthier, it's crunchy and I love crunchy when I am eating.  Fennel has a very, very mild licorice scent to it, like anise, but not really a strong flavor of it, just a hint.  Don't shy away from this wonderful herb, yes it is considered an herb as well as a vegetable and a spice.  The bulb is white, that's the part you eat, and the long stalks have frilly fronds on them, that are also edible.  I have used this "herb" in soup and salads and it adds wonderful flavor to both.  I like crunchy foods when I eat, not soft foods, it makes me feel like I am truly eating.  I have shared a recipe for this salad before, but this time changed it up a bit. It's a simple salad, because it does not need anything else to enhance it's flavor.  Enjoy!

I used fresh baby spinach, 1 fennel bulb, 1 peeled and trimmed navel orange, 1 Tbsp. orange juice, 2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, salt and cracked black pepper.  I squeezed my orange juice from the rind and the trimmed pieces of orange.  Mix the juice, olive oil and salt and pepper together, set aside.

 Start building your salad, by layering the spinach.  Cut the bulb at the base of the stalk of the fennel, reserve some of the fronds, cut the bulb in half, then cut out the core.  Thinly slice the fennel bulb and layer on top of the spinach.

 Slice down the orange, layer on top of the fennel, chop up the fronds layer on top of the orange, drizzle on the dressing.  Beautiful, elegant looking salad for you or your guests.

Casual Outfits

Why, why, why, do I have things in the closet that still have the tags on them and haven't worn yet?  It's embarrassing to even say that.  But I do know why, because there is so much stuff in my closet I can't see what is really in there, things get lost, it's like a black hole.  I have to clean it out!  Everything in there needs to be gone through, clothes, shoes, handbags, scarves.  My project this weekend, is to get it done!  But I couldn't resist putting some outfits together, with clothing that still had the tags on!

Black Jacket, Fuchsia Watercolor Silk Top, Dark Skinny Jean, Maroon Flats

Brown Floral Print Mock Wrap Top, Dark Skinny Jean, Maroon Flats 

Mint Green Cami, Mint Green and Silver Scarf, Fuchsia Studded Flats

Shrimply Wonderful Shrimp!

A lot going on in my house about the way we are all eating.  I am watching the food my hubby and I eat, and my youngest son now eating vegetarian.  A lot less beef cooking here.  It's a struggle because we usually eat beef, chicken, or pasta.  Now with the beef out of the running, a little more of a challenge.  I took shrimp out of the freezer and wanted a quick easy dinner to make.  I made roasted garlic shrimp in the oven, and it was so easy!  I made aglio olio sauce for linguine as a side, that is what my oldest son, the picky eater in the house, ate.   This is how I made it, recipe below.

Roasted Garlic Shrimp

Ingredients

1 lb raw, peeled, deveined shrimp

2 big cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 lemon

2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil

salt and cracked black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Rinse shrimp and remove any remaining shells, but leave the tails on. Pat them dry with paper towels.  Lay them out on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle the garlic over them, squeeze the lemon over the shrimp, drizzle on the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss it all together and spread them out on the sheet.  Roast in the oven (depending on the size of your shrimp) for 10 minutes or until pink. Makes 4 servings.

Three Easy Pieces

I like to have easy outfits on hand, for when I have to leave the house for anything, but I want to look put together.  I always have an outfit ready to wear hanging in the closet, I know call me crazy. I am NOT a sweats and t-shirt kind of girl when it comes to going out, even just to the grocery store.  I always want to look my best.  Jeez, you never know who you are going to see!  Don't want anyone talking about how I looked sloppy behind my back.  What annoys me most is when I see people, women mostly, going out in public in their PJ's.  Got that picture in your head? They were made for home lounging not going out in public!  For Pete's sake people, put some clothes on please! Now you see why I always get dressed.  OK, I vented, and I KNOW I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE OUT THERE THAT THINKS LIKE THIS!

What brought some of this on, it's time to clean my closet out again, it's quite a job.  I never want to get rid of anything. And why is that?  I haven't worn some things in a while, so why not give someone else a chance to enjoy my taste in fashion, that's how I look at it.  I will clean out the closet and donate to my local thrift store, the profits go to charity, so double good for me.  So, while I was in the closet pondering about the cleaning out, I put together a few outfits to run errands in, with three easy pieces of clothing, a pair of shoes and jewelry, it's as simple as that.

Dark Green Leather Jacket, Floral Silk Top, Dark Skinny Jeans, Plum Rhinestone Flats, Silver Triple Strand Necklace and Silver and Green Bead Earrings

Maroon Leather Jacket, Leopard Print Button Down Top, Dark Skinny Jeans, Maroon Bow Flats, Gold Coin Necklace, Gold Rhinestone Bracelet and Gold Coin Earrings

 Blue, Gray and Black Leopard Print Band Top, Dark Skinny Jeans, Royal Blue and Teal Bow Flats, Silver Triple Strand Necklace, Silver and Gold Bracelet and Shades of Blue Drop Earrings

Winner, Winner - Any Kind Of Chicken Dinner!

I took four chicken breasts out of the freezer yesterday, forgetting that my youngest son is now a "vegetarian", I am on a close food eating watch, and the hubby was working late.  They had already thawed when this all dawned on me, so I had to cook them.  I needed to make them light for me to eat.  I sprayed my grill pan with cooking spray and threw them in there.  My oldest son was home, he is the pickiest eater in the world, so I had to make something he would eat and I could eat.  I wanted to season a couple to make a Light Chicken Parmesan, he would never know the difference, that it was light in calories.  I spinkled on some salt and pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.  Look how nice and brown they got dancing in the pan!  I didn't use breads crumbs, saving calories there and didn't use oil to cook them, another savings.  I made 2 pieces of Chicken Parmesan for him and I, measured out my sauce and cheese, threw in some fresh basil and popped it in the oven.  He was eating light, complimented my cooking, and said that it was really good, how about that!  He had his with farfalle, I had mine with a big salad and steamed vegetables.  Use the chicken for any kind of dinner, I sliced down the other two pieces for salads, sandwiches, or snacking. Rethinking how you cook, does not mean you sacrifice flavor.  All I gave up for this dish was some fat and some carbs, and the taste was still amazing.  

Fill Me Up With Good Food!

I am getting more creative with the food choices, trying to make foods that fill me up.  I am always hungry, because I love food.  Why couldn't I be one of those people who was born to stay thin! Instead I was one of those people who was thin, had children, and developed a thyroid problem.  I was always thin as a child, struggled to stay that way during my teens and twenties, and then the children started coming along.  I lost the pregnancy weight with my first three children, was back in my jeans the week after I had them, but with my fourth child, a girl, I packed weight on after I had her and could not loose it.  Went to the doctor, no diagnosis, until 6 years later! Thyroid Disease, Hashimotos's Thyroiditis to be exact.  I fight the pounds now, and my little bundle of joy, well she is this teeny tiny little girl, lucky her!  I hope she never has to fight weight problems.  

This is an easy light breakfast I made for myself the other morning.  I am not much of breakfast eater, I usually just have coffee and I am good until lunch.  I have to force myself to eat better, and breakfast is an important meal.  You should eat like a queen at breakfast, princess at lunch, and a pauper at dinner, they say.  So, I made a light English muffin, toasted no butter, 2 pieces of Canadian Bacon, 2 plain scrambled eggs and a small bowl of fresh blackberries, raspberries, cantaloupe and pineapple.  This little meal satisfied me all morning until lunch and didn't take long to make.

Heeeeeres Lunch! Lean Cuisine Chicken Alfredo and I made fresh steamed broccoli for my side.  It took away the rumbly in my tumbly and it was good I might add!  So two easy fast meals, now all I have to worry  about is dinner.

The Flying Fish

I picked up this fillet of Atlantic Salmon at Costco over the weekend.  I am learning that eating better is not so bad, as I continue to read labels and information on all the foods I am eating, I am making better choices.  Salmon is loaded with heart healthy Omega -3 fatty acids, and the American Heart Association recommends eating it at least twice a week.   Salmon live along the coasts of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans but are born in fresh water.  Recipe is below on how I prepared my tasty salmon.  It's light in calories but not in flavor! 

I cut the salmon in portion sizes for dinner, then wrapped and saved the remaining salmon in the freezer for another meal.  I baked the salmon in foil with a soy, ginger and lemon sauce.

Took it out of the foil and into a frying pan, to get a crust on it, with some of the sauce.

 Caramelizing, then served with some of the remaining sauce.

 A delicious healthy portion of salmon with roasted fresh green beans.

Salmon in Ginger, Soy and Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

4 salmon fillets, about 4 ounces each

1/2 cup of Kikkoman Low Salt Soy Sauce

1 lemon, juiced

1/4 tsp ground ginger

cooking spray

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place a piece of foil on a baking sheet large enough to wrap the salmon fillets in. Lay the salmon on the foil.  In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, lemon juice and ginger until combined. Pour the sauce over the salmon and wrap tightly, so no sauce escapes.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, open foil and carefully place the fillets into a frying pan sprayed with cooking spray. On medium high heat, let the fillets start to caramelize on both sides, then add a little of the sauce.  Turn them over once, then transfer to a serving platter.  Pour a little of the remaining sauce over the top and serve. Makes 4 servings.