Lemon-Thyme Roasted Chicken

I'm not sure why exactly this came from a diabetic-friendly website, but I figured it couldn't be too bad for the average person either. I get daily recipes emailed to me, and this was one. I decided it would be worth a try, and BOY, am I glad I did!

Lemon-Thyme Roasted Chicken

The recipe is found here and I tweaked it a little by not using fingerling potatoes (mainly because I have no idea what they are or where to find them in a grocery store!) and I used chicken tenders instead of breasts. But it turned out well, and tasted wonderful, and stayed sitting in the oven until my "family" got home.

I was SO tempted to give myself a pat on the back after using thyme in my meal tonight, then I remembered that supposedly, normal people use that stuff all the time... so here I am, joining the ranks of "normalcy." It tastes better than I had anticipated, but I'm glad I'm making strides in being a "personal chef!"

Let me know if you try it! Let me know how it goes! And for SURE, let me know if you have any "killer" (ONLY in the figurative sense of the word) recipes for me to try! :)

Bon appetit!

Shredded Pork Roast and Chickpea Carrot Salad

I happened to be watching TV at my boyfriend's parents' house last weekend and turned on the new cooking network. I watched it for a while realizing nothing else reasonably exciting was on, and let's face it, I'm the next Rachael Ray... who am I kidding!?! Anyway, this cute, young, aspiring new chef was making this shredded pork in a slow cooker! I'm a sucker for seeing food being made. So, I decided I would add it to my list of things to make this week! After turkey burgers on the grill (first attempt at grilling anything on my own... and i succeeded!), and Panera's Tomato Basil Soup, I made Slow Cooker Shredded Pork and then I made Chickpea Carrot Salad but replaced the Currants requested with raisins. I wasn't about to try it because I discovered that I despise chickpeas when I was in Portugal, but the slow cooker pork smells YUMMY! :)

Let me know if you try either recipe! I'd like to think I'm a success, but I've found that to be untrue many times before... ;)

the test kitchen of Jessica: Herbed Flatbread and Salmon Burgers

Guess who tried a new recipe and succeeded!?! THIS GIRL!!! Yesterday, I put on by bravery suit and attempted something new. Well, two something news... somethings new??? new things.

You saw the title, I tried to make flatbread and salmon burgers. Flatbread... we have a winner!!! Salmon burgers, well, my boss RAVED about them even though in my preparation, we didn't make it to the grill... we got a little stuck in the blender, but who cares, right?

Herbed Flatbread (thank you, Martha Stewart)
(Easy) Salmon Burgers (thank you, BHG... but why did you label them easy??? NOT as impressive)

You have helped me achieve new heights in life, like a user of yeast, and a user of egg wash, and a user of salmon. I can conquer new worlds and dream new dreams. :) I might even change my name to Martha Stewart Roberts... but my mom might not appreciate that one... Rachael Ray Roberts? Paula Dean Roberts? Bobby Flay Roberts?

Any name suggestions? I know you have them! ;)

Outfit of the Day: Simple and Classy

I found this idea of sharing part of my wardrobe every now and then, and since I've found several bargains recently, I wanted to share with whoever happens to read this. :)


Here's the rundown:
1. Shirt: New York and Company (one of my new favorite stores, when their clearance deals are SWEET!) Originally: $39.95. I paid: $7.99! Versatile, classy, and I saved a whopping 80%!!! :)
2. Skirt: New York and Company. (told you it was a favorite...) Originally: $39.95. I paid: $7.99! [Warning: your luck may not be as good, because I found this buried in a clearance rack when it wasn't supposed to be! She insisted that I take it for $7.99, so I didn't argue. ;)] Again, 80% off!
3. Shoes: Target (another favorite store; if I'm ever depressed in need of therapy, a Target gift card will do the trick! lol) Originally: $18.00. After lots of patience and hoping that they went on sale, I paid: $12.00! Cute, versatile, comfy, and PEEP TOE! :) winner!!!
4. Belt: New York and Company... I told you... Skinny, violet, and crocodile print (or some exotic animal of the sort...), and adjustable! Originally: $24.95. I paid: $4.99. Wow, 80% off!
5. Necklace: New York and Company (I'm not obsessed, promise!) And don't mind the fact that it's not laying well on the shirt, I was so distracted with the marvel called "self timer" that I forgot about wardrobe malfunctions... good thing this was minor! Originally: $16.95. I paid: $2.99. OVER 80% off!
6. Ring: I don't think I want to say, but I'm sure you could guess... Originally: $16.95. I paid: $2.99.

Actual retail price (dictated in the perfect Bob Barker voice) for this easily convertible outfit: $156.75. Wowzers... I think I owe my life (savings) to whomever created clearance racks! And I paid: $38.95. Still a decent amount in my book for one outfit, but ALL of the pieces can be mixed and matched... which is one of my gifts. I go to the mall, and steal ideas from the mannequins, the West Side soccer moms, and the high-schoolers who happened to cover some skin that morning.

the test kitchen of Jessica: Recipe 2: Mediterranean Shrimp Packets

I decided to be bold. Make something new. Make something I can't pronounce. Use parchment paper for the first time. Use zucchini for the first time. You seasoned mothers (pun intended) are probably wondering why I've never made anything with zucchini. Oh well, I just haven't. :)

One of the perks of this summer is that I'm learning where all sorts of knew things are in the grocery store. Shrimp included. This recipe was one that had been set out for the lady I work for, and I decided it couldn't be that bad. :)

MEDITERRANEAN SHRIMP PACKETS

PREP: 25 min
OVEN: 425 degrees
BAKE: 25 min
MAKES: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

8 ounces fresh or frozen peeled & deveined medium shrimp
1 cup quick-cooking couscous
1 cup boiling water
2 small zucchini and or yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise & thinly sliced
1 small red, yellow, or green sweet pepper, cut into thin bite-size strips
1 9-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup bottled reduced-calorie Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil or fresh spinach

1. Thaw shrimp, if frozen. Rinse shrimp; pat dry w/paper towels. Set aside. Cut four 16 x 12-inch pieces of parchment. (Or tear off four 24 x 18-inch pieces of heavy foil. Fold each piece in half to make four 18 x 12-inch pieces.)

2. In a small saucepan combine couscous mixture, shrimp, squash, sweet pepper, & artichokes evenly among the 4 pieces of parchment or foil. Sprinkle w/black pepper & salt. Drizzle w/salad dressing.

3. Bring together 2 opposite edges of parchment or foil; seal with a double fold. Fold remaining ends to completely enclose the food, allowing space for steam to build. Place the packets in a single layer on a baking pan.

4. Bake in a 425 degree oven about 25 minutes or until shrimp turn opaque (carefully open a packet to check). Carefully open packets & sprinkle w/ 1 tablespoon of basil or spinach.

Nutritional Facts per serving:

292 calories
3 g fat (0 g. sat. fat)
88 mg chol.
696 mg sodium
46 g carbs.
7 g fiber
20 g protein

Daily Values:

29% vitamin A
67% vitamin C
9% calcium
14% iron

Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 2 starch, 1 1/2 meat

Lessons learned:
1. After making these, I wished I would've doubled the recipe, but since I just cook for a couple and their five-year-old, I didn't deem it necessary.
2. The parchment paper didn't hold as much as I would have liked. So I opted for foil after my first two packets. And since I left before they were done, I'm not positive that they turned out well initially, but I loved them the next day!

If you happen to try these, fill me in!!! I'm starting to feel like I can conquer the world. So, we'll see what happens! :)

The test kitchen of Jessica: Recipe 1: Herb-and-Bean-Stuffed Tomatoes

Those of you who know my cooking expertise (or lack thereof) will smile when i tell you of my summer plans. I accepted a nannying job and the couple asked if I would be willing to cook dinner for their family. I eagerly accepted. I had months to prepare myself, so I thought I would be fine. I grew up eating things like pasta, pasta, more pasta, with the occasional hamburger helper, and rarely a hot dog or sandwich. I found my first week on the job that the family eats almost everything organic and she works for Better Homes and Gardens. She hands me a stack of recipes torn out of magazines with hundreds of words I can't pronounce, and foods I have never heard of. Google became my (even closer) best friend. Since I began, I have successfully made tortilla-and-lime crusted tilapia with corn salsa, learned how to roast a red pepper, and found the organic produce at the grocery store. And, they grow their own herbs. She told me I could use those in my cooking, but the only thing I've ever picked on my own anything except dandelions... and they didn't taste very good. SO MUCH TO LEARN!

Now, join me for my first blog about a meal... Herb-and-Bean-Stuffed Tomatoes. This is what the website says they should look like...

Let's just say that I DOUBT mine will end up like that. But you get to experience it with me! We'll see how it goes! And if you test out this recipe, please tell me how it went, but don't try to show me up. I'm NOT a chef, but by the end of the summer, I plan on renting myself out as a personal chef. ;)

Enjoy my play-by-play!

1. Cut off 1/2 inch from the top of each tomato. Finely chop enough of the tops to equal 1 cup; set aside.

2. Remove and discard the seeds and pulp from tomatoes. (Or save them for something else!)

3. In a large bowl stir together the chopped tomato, 3/4 cup of the bread crumbs, the beans, pine nuts, cheese, basil, 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Spoon the bean mixture into the tomatoes. Place the stuffed tomatoes in a 2-quart square baking dish.

4. In a small bowl stir together the remaining 3/4 cup bread crumbs, 2 teaspoons olive oil, and the thyme. Sprinkle over tomatoes.

5. Bake, uncovered, in a 350° oven about 20 minutes or until crumbs are golden brown and tomatoes are heated through.

Not too far off from the original! And it tasted okay too. ;) If you try it, let me know how it goes!

the {belated} story of how we ACTUALLY got home...

it occurs to me occasionally that most people have never heard the adventures that transpired on the never-ending journey back to the states. now that i am back, and have been for nearly a month, i feel like i am in a mental state to tell the story of my trip.

monday, april 25th: being our last (full, free) day in portugal (that we avoided packing), we went to different family's houses for meals. we enjoyed a day of fellowship and laughter... and of course, STL Cardinals baseball on tv :)

tuesday, april 26th... krisanna and i went to school in the morning, home for lunch, to the ocean in the afternoon, did some more sightseeing, then dinner at home, then a trip downtown to soak up the sights for our last few waking hours in the country we've both grown to love. the sights were amazing, the air was perfect, the waves were gorgeous, the friendship was nine weeks stronger than it had been when we left, and the country was just as splendid. we got back to our apartment late that night and finished up some packing and cleaning, then headed to bed (which we had debated, but obviously, God knew we needed ALL the sleep we could get...)

[tuesday, april 26th - thursday, april 28th]... had our trip gone as planned, this would only have taken one date, but to fully explain it, i'll need a few... WEDNESDAY! our flight was scheduled to leave the airport at 12:05, but taking into account traffic and scheduling, we left at 7:30 in the morning. in order to be up, packed, cleaned, full, and fully ready, we woke up at 5:45. [insert time stamp in your brain of 11:45 p.m. TUESDAY NIGHT]. we gathered our things and headed off to the airport. to make the time go by faster, we watched some movies (that i had brought) while we were waiting at the gate. insert sub-story here: while we were waiting, we were kicked out of our gate and sent back to go through security again. there was a couple in front of us with a baby, so their carry-on was loaded with baby toys. they proceeded to take out EVERY toy from their bag, and fiddle with it to make sure it wasn't rigged to explode. while the Portuguese security guard played with the toys, they proceeded to make noise, and another guard explained that they were supposed to do that. it was funny to watch as a person who has played with those toys herself!

back to the trip... we board the plane, and watch movies some more, work on homework, stuff like that... and listen to some girl from Detroit pour out her life story in an outside voice. we were exhausted, but so excited to finally get home.

we landed in the US. finally. after an eight hour flight. we go through customs and meet a nice young gentleman named D'Amico. i love the names that people have in American customs... haha. anyway, we made it through quickly, much to our surprise. and here comes the GOOD PART...

we are in the Newark airport. just went through customs, and now head to get our bags so we can get them RECHECKED... so we can fly home. we rent a cart for $5.00 and pile our suitcases high. i'm pushing the cart (which has NO power steering and brakes like a bicycle) which is loaded down (exceeding the weight limit) with 2 huge suitcases and two carry-ons while krisanna maneuvers with two suitcases behind her. we make the trek ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE HUGE NEWARK AIRPORT... and American doorways are skinnier than Portuguese doorways... so, i'm BARELY fitting through the elevator door, the tram door, the restroom door, the other doors... and getting INSANE looks from people... AND they speak my language which makes it worse. haha. so after we make it all the way across the airport, we get rid of our luggage and head to our gate. we sit down and are thankful that we still have some time to spare before we board for Milwaukee... little did we know...

our flight was supposed to leave Newark at 5:30. And we are still sitting in the airport at 9:30 waiting for our plane that got lost in "bad weather." we made new friends. and we stocked up on food since we didn't know if we'd ever make it our of that airport. but we are reassured that our plane is coming, after being delayed six or seven times. but FINALLY we get on the plane, after exhausting our entertaining resources like homework and movies. we make it to Milwaukee at 11:30, but wait... our flight out of Milwaukee was supposed to leave at 9! bummer...

this is where the story gets really good... we get to the airport at 11:30 at night. it sounds late, but remember, we lost 6 hours... so it feels like 5:30. and the airplane was IMPOSSIBLE to sleep on. and it was cold. and damp. and empty. and the flight attendant was in tears. we get to Milwaukee and have until 10:30 the next morning to wait for a flight... because Des Moines, Iowa is such a booming metropolis. due to horror stories we had heard about young girls being attacked in the airport, even with passers-by, we "set up camp" in the middle of the lobby. [insert example of krisanna's genius here] because we got hot and sweaty running through the Newark airport, krisanna packed her fleece jacket away in her suitcase. but the Milwaukee airport was freezing. so i was a pal and lent her my scarves... that she bundled up around her legs. anyway, we plugged in our laptops, watched some movies, did some homework, and tried to catch some shut eye. nothing is harder than sleeping when you're beyond exhausted, in an airport, and uncomfortable in several ways... so, we stayed up all night. good thing for me i had my makeup and straightener and all my movies in my carry-on! so at 3:30, i headed to the bathroom to "get ready." then we waited for the starbucks employees to show up at 4:00. and for about an hour we listened to the MOST SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE GUY WE'VE EVER SEEN talk on the phone loudly trying to learn japanese. OBNOXIOUS. and he creeped us out. best part of milwaukee??? other than being there for 12 hours, the gorgeous grand piano that sat right next to us all night... THAT I WASN'T ALLOWED TO PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sheesh...

anyway, finally made it to Des Moines after being x-rayed to death in one of those far-too-personal, "let-me-see-your-skivvies-without-explaining-what-this-machine-does" security checks, and learning that 3 oz. is a big enough bottle that if filled with C4, an entire plane would be obliterated...

we landed in Iowa at around noon. after being awake for almost 40 hours. but the best way to get over jetlag is to stay awake... so we did. i drove right to wal-mart. and was truly shocked when the Hispanic cashier talked to me in English, even though i could barely understand her.

so after 48 hours of sleepless adventure, we went to sleep... only to take our Praxis test (which we had to pass to be licensed teachers) the next morning...

BUT... while we were in the airport for hours, i made a list of things to do to keep yourself busy in an airport. enjoy.

make new friends.
ask for free food.
get denied free food.
read a magazine.
play hangman.
take a nap.
watch a movie.
draw a picture.
do yoga.
read the same magazine again.
witness to your new friends.
do homework.
laugh at yourself for trying.
change clothes.
do your makeup.
do your hair.
"grocery shop" because you know the food stores are closing.
ask the other passengers if this plane even exists.
look outside the window at your suitcase that is waiting "in bad weather" and hope it stays dry.
take a nap in a chair, protecting your luggage.
run away from creepers.
ask if you can play the grand piano.
take a nap on the floor.
countdown hours til Starbucks opens.
wrap in scarves to keep warm.
go to the airport's museum.
learn Japanese.
people-watch.
and realize that America is just the same as the way you left it.

P.S. this post was written so i can finally move on with other adventures... in cooking, parenting, and growing up. :)