This is the dish to serve to people who don’t like beets! The citrus vinaigrette mellows the flavor of the beets, it’s delicious! I had the best meal of my life recently at Luna Red in San Luis Obispo. I was working on an article for the June/July 2013 issue for Indulge Magazine on the restaurant and … Continue reading »
I love meals that can be made in under 30 minutes, especially on weeknights. This is one of those simple, one pan dinners that you can pop in the oven, pour yourself a glass of wine and relax and let the oven do all the work. Make sure you have some high quality EVOO to drizzle … Continue reading »
I made these for the first time to pair with Wild Horse Winery’s delicious Zinfandel. They were featured in my weekly Paso Robles Press Food and Wine Column. These stuffed steaks are elegant, perfect for a dinner party, but also kid -and man- approved too. The only fancy tools needed are Kitchen Twine and a Rolling … Continue reading »
Many of you have heard me talk about my favorite cookbook Pretty Delicious by model turned chef Candice Kumai, this week her new book Cook Yourself Sexy comes out and she has been kind enough to share one of her sexy meals with us! I have not yet received my copy of Cook Yourself Sexy so this is … Continue reading »
It’s that time again! Beverly Jo Noble has provided us with another amazing recipe from her book A Lifetime Of Recipes. Have you gotten her book yet? I LOVE it! It is all about cooking with fresh fruit. The Cranberry Orange Crusted Salmon has become a weekly staple in my house and her Raspberry Bellini has a … Continue reading »
I made these yesterday for lunch, I usually go meat free at lunch. It saves calories and is so easy for me, just look at my lunch recipes, going meatless is not as painful as it sounds! Yesterday was the exception, my husband had purchased some fancy bacon, it was staring at me in the … Continue reading »
This is one of those dishes that I have been making for years, every time I make it a little different. Sometimes I just toss the broccoli on the cookie sheet 1/2 way through then sprinkle Parmesan on top while serving, that is for those rushed dinners (try it on a week night, divine and … Continue reading »
This is a delicious side salad for 6 and takes no time at all to make it. Having a dinner party? Try my Whole Baked Chicken with this salad they go perfectly together, you can wow your guests when you carve the chicken at the table, I will show you how on my How To Video. … Continue reading »
These fajitas are so delicious and easy, my entire family loves them. You can go traditional and fill a tortilla with the fajitas for dinner then make a delicious cold wrap for lunch the next day. You could top some romaine with the fajitas and make a salad, this is also amazing stuffed inside a … Continue reading »
I can already hear the question in your voice “can it be done?” yes it can and it’s amazing! We do a lot of barbecuing around here and I am always looking for a new rub, marinade of veggie to toss on the grill. A few months ago I saw a recipe in a Food … Continue reading »
The time has come to start doing video demonstrations of cooking. I get tons of questions when it comes to baking a chicken, it sounds hard and is intimidating the first time you bake a whole chicken but once you have done it a few times it becomes the easiest meal ever. I shot this … Continue reading »
This delicious salad is not only fast and easy, it also boosts your metabolism! Spinach and apples boost your metabolism, plus add a lot of fiber to your meal and fiber means fullness. Try out more metabolism boosting meals: Chilli with Homemade Chips for dinner, Apple Cinnamon Pancakes for breakfast or my Day Spa inspired Apple … Continue reading »
You’ve just arrived home from work, you’re too exhausted to cook… what do you do? Whip this quick meal up and pour yourself a glass of wine! It takes 30 minutes, but only about 10 minutes hands on. So get it started when you walk in the door, then kick off your shoes and unwind … Continue reading »
I made this on a whim, sick of my usual baked potato lunch I wanted something new and found that this dish can be served many different ways. Make it as directed below for a lunch or side dish, add eggs for a breakfast scramble skillet or some left over chicken for a one skillet … Continue reading »
Like most people I have about 50 or so recipes that have their turn in the weekly rotation depending on grocery sales, the season and my mood. I have published over 100 recipes so it’s about time I start tossing in a repeat once in a while. Homemade Margarita Pizza is my most popular recipe … Continue reading »
It’s that time again, Beverly Jo Noble has shared another amazing recipe with us. Check out her cookbook A Lifetime of Recipes. It’s all about cooking and baking with fresh fruit. Each fruit has its own chapter, say I have some extra Strawberries I need to use up I flip to the strawberry section … Continue reading »
I adapted this recipe from my favorite cookbook Pretty Delicious, I changed up some of the ingredients but kept the dressing which is amazing . It is not often that my husband does this, but he exclaimed after one bite of this “you need to put this in your blog” so this one is for … Continue reading »
This is by far the easiest whole chicken recipe ever! All you need is 4 ingredients and you have a delicious, inexpensive, very impressive meal. I served this with some Homemade Mac and Cheese and some Veggie Bean Salad (upcoming post) and it was delicious. Serve with your favorite sides, or check out my side dish … Continue reading »
As you may have seen in many of my posts, I am over the moon for foods that will boost my metabolism. This is a good one, the jalapeno, yogurt and beans all boost your metabolism for a sexy, lean new you… with a full belly too I wasn’t sure what to call this meal, … Continue reading »
Some of you may notice this recipe is similar to my Green and Yellow Salad, it is. I just love this salad so much I keep adding to it and changing it. This blog was created to share what I eat and how I lost 150 lbs and how I keep off the weight all … Continue reading »
This is one of those fast pantry meals where I pull out a couple of items and toss everything together. This meal is light and delicious, use the best extra virgin olive oil you can find you want the wonderful peppery flavor on your pasta. This also makes a great side dish! Did you know … Continue reading »
Baked potatoes are one of my favorite lunches. They are cheep, easy and fast, plus the topping choices are endless. I had some left over chicken for this recipe, if you don’t just read below for my favorite pulled chicken recipe. These make a great side dish for dinner and are so low in calories … Continue reading »
Everyone loves Mac and Cheese, here is a casserole you can toss together for dinner tonight and will feed you for lunch tomorrow too! I recommend using left over chicken to make it quick, but if you don’t have any see below for my favorite shredded chicken recipe. I know the jalapeno is an odd … Continue reading »
Here is a 100% vegan meal for all of you. Try skipping meat for lunch a few days a week, it will save you money and calories. Or make this for dinner and try out the new “Meatless Monday” craze. “But I need protein” you say, did you know that Quinoa is a complete protein? … Continue reading »
This makes for a great lunch, appetizer or snack. You can whip this up quick if you have guests drop by, use whatever you have in the house, have spinach and no arugula, parmesan and no goat cheese? Make the swap, get creative and if you try your own version please share below under comments … Continue reading »
This makes a great solo lunch or side dish for 2 with dinner. You can add some leftover chicken or steak, but trust me you won’t need it, this is a HUGE salad! It travels well for a brown bag lunch, just mix and keep the dressing in a small Tupperware container and pour on … Continue reading »
If you’re like me you hard time getting your family to eat salads, but if you put some steak and cheese on top anyone will eat it. I got this vinaigrette recipe from my favorite cookbook Pretty Delicious by Candace Kumai. I like to keep a big bag of frozen corn in the freezer for nights … Continue reading »
Here is another amazing recipe from Beverly Jo Noble, her Cookbook A Lifetime of Recipes is coming out next month, make sure to check out her website and pre-order a book. Need a fancy side dish to go with your fancy salmon dish? Try out my Grown Up Mac and Cheese or Easy Spaghetti Squash they … Continue reading »
On this warm February night I wanted to BBQ some steaks. I used a one pound Top Sirloin and cut it into 4 individual steaks to save money. I wanted to make a side to go with the steak that would be great to bring to a friend’s house or a picnic. Because the salad … Continue reading »
If you don’t have a Crock Pot don’t worry you can make this in a large pot on the stove-top too, just read below for cooking times and details. I’m gonna be in trouble once my family finds out that I shared our family recipe brought over on the boat from Italy but I have … Continue reading »
I had some left over Taco fixings and a craving for nachos so I made these today and they were delicious! If you need some left over taco fixings look up my Spicy Taco recipe (there is a “Search” bar to the right). This would be great for the Superbowl or just for a weeknight dinner. … Continue reading »
You can have the things you love, you just need to slightly modify them. With tacos I like to add veggies and beans to get “more bang for your buck”. By adding veggies you add vitamins and fiber, as for beans they add protein and fiber and fill you up. Not only will you drop … Continue reading »
At under 350 calories this is a perfect lunch, plus it has tons of protein to keep you going all day and fiber to fill you up. I used left over steak from yesterday’s post Cayenne Steak but any left over steak will work here. Try switching your bread from the processed stuff to something … Continue reading »
When my readers request I do my best to deliver and this one is for you Laurie. I highly recommend making this for a date night at home, perhaps for Valentines Day. I have to give props to the cookbook Pretty Delicious from which I fell in love with this steak rub, it is spicy and … Continue reading »
Everyone loves to eat out, and having a salad every time is NO FUN! Don’t get me wrong, I love salads but I’m human and I also like some of the naughty stuff like burgers, fajitas and oh the best ever… chips and salsa. You CAN have all this, you just need to be smart … Continue reading »
Who doesn’t love Mac and Cheese? Most “diets” have this on the no-no list but that’s cruel, so I worked on a low cal version inspired by Candice Kumai’s Platinum Mac and Cheese and came up with a tasty, low cal, high protein version that is great as a main dish or a side dish. My … Continue reading »
I love baking chickens, I bake one up about twice a week just a few changes to the marinade, some new sides and it is a completely different meal. Tonight I happened to be craving El Pollo Loco and so I did my best to replicate the meal. When you see whole chickens on sale … Continue reading »
This is an easy meal, just some quick chopping and mixing and your done. Great for a dinner party or to impress your in-laws. It pairs well with a bold red wine, Cabernet and Merlot are fantastic. Love Meatloaf sandwiches? Make it for dinner and fill the lunch boxes with the sandwiches and save yourself … Continue reading »
Here are the items you usually see on the naughty list, if you are anything like me you have failed every fad diet you have ever tried. The reason my plan works is because it is NOT A DIET! You can have anything you want in moderation, anything! Now if you want to have a … Continue reading »
I am feeling under the weather today so I thought a slow cooked warm winter meal was just what the doctor ordered. Because I am not feeling 100% I wanted to make something with LOADS of basil, did you know basil is a natural antibiotic? Ideally you want some lean protein here, so maybe make … Continue reading »
This recipe makes 3 pizzas, I thought with the Super Bowl coming up in just a few weeks it was a great time for my favorite game day meal. Are you thinking now, I can just order pizza on the big day… well I like to call this my $3 pizza, because I stock my … Continue reading »
This is one of my go to lunches, and the best part is you can use almost any combination of cheeses you have in the house. This dish makes me nostalgic, and the lightly salted exterior makes me lick my fingers and brings me back to childhood. Truffle salt is cheaper than truffle oil and … Continue reading »
I live on the Central Coast of California, where all the wineries are. It is just as wonderful as you can imagine, we get to go wine tasting anytime and the best thing to do is get In-N-Out and take it for a picnic at a winery. We went wine tasting one day and a … Continue reading »
An old High School friend started reading my blog and asked me to take a day out for healthy swaps, what a great idea! Everyone say thank you Carrie. I want to make a quick case for sugar, people are so quick to remove sugar from their diets. Sugar is 15 calories per teaspoon, you … Continue reading »
You can take the girl outa Orange County, but don’t dare take away her favorite salad! We moved out of OC a couple years back and I missed my favorite takeout so much I re-created it, but in a much healthier way! Chicken Dijon delivered to my office and home so often the delivery guy … Continue reading »
A friend once said “Everyone loves a cute girl who can cook” and this is the easiest meal I can think of to impress your friends and family. Talk about puttin’ on the Ritz, this chicken is super fancy and oh so yummy! Make it for a quiet night w/ your honey and have the … Continue reading »
This is my go to lunch when I am in a rush or low on groceries. This is also an insanely cheep meal and it tastes so elegant with the truffle oil. If you do not have truffle oil you can use garlic oil or good extra virgin olive oil (you will know it is … Continue reading »
