Dinners Lately: Grill & Carb-light

I kind of hate the term “low-carb”.  It just reminds me of the Atkins and South Beach crazes, and all the fake and processed foods that you can still eat on those diets. 

So even though I’m shooting for less carbs lately, I’m even more committed to REAL food above all else.  

So with that said, I’ve had some delightful meals recently!

Saturday we had Brian’s mom and sister over!  It was SUCH a gorgeous day that I couldn’t very well not grill out!  I also had a craving for Mexican so we decided to make up some grilled fixin’s for Fajitas!

Chicken Fajita Marinade

• juice of 2 limes
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• few shakes of crushed red pepper
• salt

Combine ingredients then add to a large Ziploc bag with your chicken.  We had 4 breasts in the bag, and marinated them for about 2-3 hours.

Grill up your chicken, some sliced bell peppers, and sliced onion.

Serve with your favorite additions:

• tortillas
• salsa
• sour cream
• avocado
• cilantro
• cheese
• mango would also be good here, we didn’t have it though

Best eaten outside :)

I used 1 TJ’s brown rice wrap for my fajitas!  But another idea is to serve over a bed of lettuce.

This was an easy, but fun meal for company!

Sunday was even nicer!

Grilled Steak Salads

• grilled tri trip steak
• baby spinach
• cucumber, chopped
• tomato, chopped
• shallots, sliced
• chives, finely chopped
• goat cheese, crumbled
• Dressing: balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper

We also broke out some refreshing white wine!

This was actually a bottle that we brought home from Wine Country in November.  This is a 2010 Viognier from Thumbprint Cellars in Healdsburg. 

Not sure if this is a “proper” pairing, but we liked it.  This wine has a great full flavor, reminiscent of a Chardonnay to me, but without the bite…it’s smooth :)

Last but not least…TONIGHT!

It was a warm warm Marathon Monday, and unfortunately I was at work.  However, I did leave a little early ;) Shhhh. 

We had some ground turkey to work with and we wanted an easy and fast dinner!

Greek Style Turkey Burgers!

• 1 lb ground turkey, white meat
• 1 T olive oil
• canned artichokes: 4 chokes, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped olives, canned works fine here
• crumbed feta, about 1/4 cup or more
• salt and pepper
• a few shakes of za’atar if you have it

Mix together with your hands, form into patties, grill.

I also whipped up a quick little yogurt sauce!  Just took 2-3 T of 2% plain Greek yogurt, squeeze from 1/4 lemon, salt & pepper, and whatever dried herbs and spices you like!!  I had some different mixes from Penzey’s (used more Za’atar here, Aleppo pepper, and some Sandwich Sprinkle).  Delish!  Tasted like Ranch dressing :)

As you can see I enjoyed mine on lettuce, with some tomatoes, and a sweet potato on the side.

The burgers were incredibly flavorful!! 

I leave you with an outfit post!!  Long time no outfits around here.

But I have a current obsession…in the form of BRIGHT yellow skinny jeans…

 

They just make me happy.  I encourage you to go get some fun colored pants!!

Mine are from the Gap.

Just have to get through this week…then on Friday I leave for a fun weekend in VEGAS!!  I’ve never been, SO excited to have a girls weekend by the pool :) 

Any must see or must do or must eat things while I’m in Vegas???

Monday Mood Booster

I think most of us know that an outfit you feel fabulous in can make you walk a little taller, boost your confidence, and generally make your day a little better.  Do you ever do this on purpose??  I did. 

My office doesn’t have a strict dress code at all, but even still everyone pretty much dresses business/business casual most days and more casual on Friday (although if I felt like wearing jeans tomorrow no one would care...)

I also LIKE dressing up and usually always prefer dresses and skirts over pants, but I tend to mix it up depending on my mood and the weather.  This past Monday wasn’t anything special, but it was sunny out and I just felt like putting a little more effort in and it really did make me happier throughout the day!

I don’t know what it was exactly, but I just really liked this outfit!

(the lighting + iphone didn’t make for the best photo) 

• Navy blazer – Banana Republic outlet
• fitted white T-shirt
• light pink skirt – Banana Republic (recently!)
• grey tights – Nordstrom (DKNY)
• navy belt – was my grandmothers
• necklace – Forever 21
• T-strap heels – Nordstrom (Seychelles)

Close up of the shoes! (Grey, gold, and yellow)

  These were one of those pairs of shoes that were on the sale rack and I loved, but of course was wondering what I’d wear them with.  I’m telling you, those are ALWAYS the shoes I end up loving most!!  Once you stop worrying about “matching” them to your outfit, they become  an awesome accessory that will add a little sumthin’ sumthin’ to a “normal” outfit!

Dinner Ideas: Quick and SUPER fast!

First, the quick.

Remember that incredible Mac and cheese I had at my aunts house??  The one that used “low carb” pasta??  Well I bought some.  I’m not trying to go low-carb or anything but it was actually really good pasta!

It’s Dreamfield’s brand pasta, and bonus points for having more fiber and less carbs :)

(source)

I like my pasta al dente and this had a superb chew to it!  LOVE it!

I had some asparagus on it’s last legs, and a handful of green beans to work with.

I was also in the mood for lemon and sun-dried tomatoes…but not just any sun-dried tomatoes!  The Santorini sun-dried tomatoes we brought back from our Honeymoon!

It’s crazy how different they are than the regular sun-dried tomatoes you buy!  The color is much darker and they have a much more rich, sweet, deep flavor.

Lemon + Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 T olive oil
• 2-3 T chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• splash (approx 1/4 cup) white wine
• juice and zest from 1 lemon (add less if you prefer…this was VERY lemony!!)
• pasta of choice – about 1/2 box ( I used penne)
• 1 bunch of asparagus, hard ends removed and cut into bite size pieces
• 2-3T ricotta (optional)

1. get water on the stove for your pasta
2. add olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat on medium
3. Add garlic and shallots, stir and sauté for 2-3 min
4. add sun-dried tomatoes, cook another 1-2 minutes
5. pour in wine, lemon juice, and zest and stir while scraping the bottom of the pan.
6. simmer on low
7. Meanwhile – cook pasta according to instructions on the box, while adding in the asparagus (or other veggies) for the last 1 min.
8. Strain pasta/veggies and add to sauté pan with the sauce.
9. Salt and Pepper to taste.

At this point I thought it was actually TOO lemony!!  Which is crazy coming from me, but this is when I stirred in a big heaping spoonful of part-skim ricotta and stirred that in.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese! (I used the Romano and it was fantastic)

BIG fan of this meal and this pasta!  Try it out!!

  

Now for something SUPER fast!!

I call this: Burrito (or tamale) Salad!

I suppose you have to like frozen burritos for this one, but I don’t think that’s a stretch for most people.  I love to cook, but having a couple savior items in the freezer is always good especially when you get home late and just want something super fast!

My current favorite product for this meal are Trader Joe’s tamale’s

(I actually like the beef version better than this chicken and cheese one)

Directions.

• Fill a bowl with your favorite salad items: baby spinach, lettuce, onions, peppers, carrots… 
• Heat burrito or tamale according to instructions
• Cut cooked tamale into pieces, and place on bed of salad
• Top with salsa and sour cream
• maybe even a squirt of fresh lime juice!

Enjoy.

5 minutes later I had dinner.  I just used some baby romaine lettuce and chopped red bell pepper.

Sure you can use Greek yogurt for the sour cream (and I’m all for that substitution in baking or cooking), but for me, nothing beats real (light!)sour cream…mmm.

Lovely.

About that salsa…  Homemade is the best, but we usually end up buying our salsa.  So what’s your favorite brand???  I can’t seem to find one I love.  This is Newman’s Own brand and so far I really like it, but I like trying out new ones!