LOVE-ly Sunday & A Local Dinner

Hi guys :) Thank you (as always) for the sweet comments on my pregnancy update. Did y’all have a nice Sunday? Ours was lovely! We started off the day with brunch at Charleston’s Cafe with Lindsay (formerly of Pancakes N Pajamas) and her fiancée (who is a wonderful guy!). I changed things up and got an egg beaters omelet with spinach, tomatoes and broccoli. I ate about half of this and all of my whole wheat biscuit. The rest was enjoyed at home later in the day. Deliciousness!!

After brunch, I did housework and then Josh and I headed out for a longggg and hot walk. It was Andrew’s  last night staying with us (Josh’s friend from PA), so we invited Josh’s other friend (Jeremy )over for dinner and I made the boys up a very local dinner. Local peaches (which were grilled up):

Green beans and jalapenos from our garden, tossed with a little olive oil, salt & pepper, grilled in foil:

And local chorizo on hot dog buns.  Josh’s plate with TJs bbq chips: 

I also put out some homemade cookies. I opted for the remainder of my brunch, grilled peaches (amazing),  green beans and cookies.

Something else we’ve been enjoying? Love Grown granola!! The wonderful people at Love Grown sent us some samples and I am obsessed (disclaimer: we received this granola for free)!

According to the Love Grown website:

“Love Grown Foods is a company that was formed to create delicious foods made with pure and simple ingredients that ALSO encourages you to live a healthy and active lifestyle that you love. We are founded on the beliefs that you should be able to pronounce every ingredient in a product and that food should be nutritious and healthy while also tasting great!”

I have tried a lot of “healthy” granolas and this one definitely wins in both flavor and consistency. Check out these chunks:

We sampled three flavors, Cocoa Goodness, Raisin Almond Crunch and Sweet Cranberry Pecan.

The cocoa goodness was my favorite, with the raisin almond crunch close behind. I liked the sweet cranberry pecan, but it was a little on the sweet side for me ;). My favorite way to eat this granola (other than right out of the bag ;))? Mixed with Greek yogurt:

   

Definitely try this granola out! Thank you Love Grown!!

Anything exciting going on this week? No real exciting plans here. Usual work, teaching (subbing a couple extra classes), cooking & baking!

Pineapple Jalapeno Teriyaki Turkey Burgers

How are you? Happy National Running Day!! Although I can’t run, run (due to my HR & the baby), I plan to get a little jog in before Body Pump this morning! Are you celebrating?

I have been busy around the kitchen cooking up more “manly” meals. First up, I used the leftover pulled pork from last week to make the men pulled pork quesadillas.

   

I served them with a veggie stir fry. I threw a chopped jalapeno & squash (from our garden) in a large skillet with olive oil and chopped asparagus. I also sprinkled the veggies with a little chili powder.

On Memorial Day, Josh was craving burgers. Instead of going with traditional beef burgers, I decided to use ground turkey. I wanted to make the burgers taste a little Hawaiian and Josh and I came up with the following:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• 1/3 cup pineapple, diced
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 2-3 tablespoons low sodium teriyaki sauce
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

Pre-heat grill or grill pan to medium high.

Mix together (by hand) all ingredients.

 

Divide mixture into two patties. Spray patties with non-stick spray or cook on non-stick aluminum foil. Cook for ~5- 6 minutes on both sides or until cooked through.

The men had their burgers topped with pepper jack cheese and grilled pineapple slices(excuse the messy picture, the boys were in a hurry to eat ;)):

We also grilled up corn! So good :)

Don’t forget to enter my cookbook giveaway!

M: Roasted Asparagus with Browned Butter and Lemon Sauce

Happy Saturday!! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!! Mine has been pretty good so far. Marley says his is pretty good too:

So getting right to it…I don’t think it’s any secret that I love me some Meyer lemons. Just take a gander at the Meyer Lemon Chicken Piccata or the Coconut and Meyer Lemon Pound Cake. Why not use them for a yummy side dish, right?

This roasted asparagus is seriously good – although you gotta like lemon to like this.

I loved the tartness the lemon juice added along with the fresh taste of the thyme and the sweetness of the browned butter just brought it all together in harmony! And it’s incredibly easy!

Roasted Asparagus with Browned Butter and Meyer Lemon Sauce

from Cooking Light

1 lb asparagus spears, trimmed

1 TB olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 TB butter

2 TB fresh Meyer lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 tsp Meyer lemon rind, grated

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Place asparagus in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top.

Roast in oven for approximately 8 minutes.

Melt butter in a small skillet at medium heat until it turns light brown, shaking the pan occasionally (about 3 minutes – you can also tell when the butter gets very aromatic).

Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice. Drizzle butter mixture over the roasted asparagus. Toss. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and lemon zest.

I served alongside some sweet teriyaki marinated grilled chicken (thanks to the grilling skills of the hubs) and brown rice. Yum!

Enjoy!

Weekend & Vegan Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Friday night: Dinner our with Mandi (with a Martini):

and Bryan at Liberty Tap Room. I got the Hawaiian salad sans chicken plus avocado

Saturday morning: Taught Body Step then off to brunch. J got the red, white, and blue parfait (minus the blue, as he isn’t a blue berry fan) and I got my same old:

Saturday Afternoon: We went to the pool with Mandi & Bryan and then I spent the rest of the day catching up around the house and baking. First up, Vegan Almond Butter Chocolate Chip cookies for my cousins for their birthdays. I used 1 tsp vanilla vs.. 1/2 tsp vanilla & 1/2 tsp almond extract:

So yum. I also made up some granola for my Dad and Mandi & Bryan:

For dinner, Josh & I fired up the grill again. I put some London Broil in this marinade for him and then cooked up some sweet potato & carrot and white potato foil packets. The veggies were covered in a little oil and this spice (disclaimer: Garlic & Herb Mrs. Dash that the company sent me for free to try).

The outcomes: 

We also had big bowls of water melon (I topped mine with yogurt and granola too):

Now we’re headed up to my Aunt & Uncle’s house for a BBQ/Birthday party. I am bringing a simple appetizer, fruit, nuts, cheese & Dr. Krakers:

 

HAPPY FOURTH!!!!!!

I have a feeling Frank, like Murphy, will spend most of today sleeping ;)

Ariosto Seasoning & A winner

Happy Friday! This week was just totally out of control for me. I could not be more thrilled that its a three day weekend. What are your plans? Ours are a little up in the air but should include a family BBQ and lots of time with friends.

On Wednesday, Josh and I grilled. We had some random food items that needed to be used up, so we tossed them all on the BBQ.  A few weeks ago, I received a fun set of seasonings from the people at Ariosto (disclaimer: I received this product for free, but opinions are my own!).

 

The seasonings are designed for specific uses- chicken, fish, potatoes, etc. I had sweet potato I need to use up so I chopped it up, topped with a little oil and the Ariosto potato seasoning. I cooked it on the grill in a foil pack.

I really enjoyed the seasoning- it had a strong rosemary flavor, but was not overpowering. As noted on the Ariosto website: “Ariosto seasonings are natural as they don’t contain preservatives, colourings or Monosodium glutamate (MSG).” I can’t wait to use the fish & chicken seasonings in some fun dishes for Josh!

We grilled up a bundle of other items including some burgers for Josh, corn, and a tasty bean mixture:

  

And, of course, we had giant bowls of cantaloupe on the side (mmmm):

And now, the winner of the $150 one time use CSN Stores gift certificate is….Nicole at Geek Turned Athlete!! Email me at Itzyskitchen at gmail dot com and I will get you certificate information sent to you.

Today is a mixed bag over here- doctors appointment, brunch with a friend, work, lots of errands & housework. Happy (almost) 4th!!!

Weekend & Grilled Pizza

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. The weather in Charleston could not have been more perfect! Signs of Spring/Summer are everywhere! My favorite is the magnolia blossoms next to our house. They are so gorgeous, I wish they lasted longer:


It was so wonderful to have Josh back home after his week away for business. We enjoyed a lot of time together with good food and lots of home projects. I also taught Body Step Saturday morning and Pump Sunday morning. Good eats included roasted veggies from the farmers market:

Brunch at my favorite spot. I switched it up (just a bit) and got the regular fruit parfait with strawberries and bananas. They went a little nutzo on the granola, but it was delicious:

I think I've also converted Josh to the parfait. He got the apple parfait (and why yes, he is wearing a shirt circa 1996 ;)).

Saturday night, we grilled up some pizza! I rocked my new apron from the Hip Hostess that I won from a contest on the fabulous blog We are Not Martha (excuse my wet hair/no make up look ;)).

This apron is adorable! I love how it fits and the pockets are great. I actually carried out my spices in them:

This was one of my first attempts at grilling pizza. Here is the technique that I think works best: Either spray the grates with cooking spray or brush them with olive oil (do this BEFORE you turn the heat on). Turn the grill on medium low. Roll/stretch out dough. Spray both sides with cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Place the dough on the grill for a few minutes, flip. Let cook ~ 1 -2 minutes longer. Top. Cook until cheese is melted and pizza is cooked through.

For Josh and his friend, I made a cheese and pepperoni pizza with a red sauce base and garlic and herb seasoning:

I also made an artichoke and pepperoni pizza with mozzarella cheese and an olive oil and garlic base with red pepper sprinkled on top:

For myself, I made a mini pizza with mozzarella, onions and peppers and a red sauce base and garlic and herb seasoning:

SO delicious!

Around the house I got a lot of decorating done this weekend! I am really a terrible decorator but am pretty happy with the outcome. Maybe I'll show you some decor pics later this week. I also decorated a bit outside putting in some new planters that contain flowers and herbs (chives & oregano):

We also finished up our garden! It may not look like much yet, but there is good stuff brewing under that soil including jalapeno peppers, summer squash, tomato plants, and kombucha squash . I also planted a few flowers just to add to the pretty factor. The potted flowering plant is on top of a stump:

And now, here's to Monday! I think Frank is planning on spending his Monday doing a lot of this:

I, on the other hand, taught Pump this morning and am off to work. What are you up to?