Yesterday, I noticed I've been slacking on the dishes lately and couldn't do much by way of a nice, hearty, homemade meal. So I reached into the freezer and pulled out a bag of chicken & parmesan ravioli that I bought from Fresh & Easy last month. Good stuff, and it was like $2.50/bag (1 lb), I think, so even cheaper than the usual spinach stuff we get at Costco.
Anyway, I boiled it all up and chopped up some marinated artichoke hearts (also from Costco) to mix in there. Dumped a little bit of the artichoke oil in, and voila! There was lunch, dinner, and lunch for today. I actually think it might have been more delicious today than yesterday. Cheap and easy! Doesn't get much better than that.
I also stopped by Express MiE last night for my first Booty Beat class, with Hannah! As a general rule, her classes are pretty low intensity, so I wasn't expecting a super hard workout. Holy cow, was I surprised! The cardio portion was about 25 minutes, and then we did arm/ab stuff for the last 15 or so. I had to scale back on some of the cardio because I just couldn't handle it, and less than five minutes into the arms, I was seriously considering going postal. Thankfully I'm not feeling it this morning.
This song has been stuck in my head for the last two days. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! I blame it on Heather from MSOS. She linked it Wednesday night in the "What are you listening to?" thread, and it's been stuck ever since.
Tonight, we're planning on making some homemade pasta. I'll let you know how it goes!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Delicious chicken piccata recipe!
I have always been a super huge Italian food fan, and chicken piccata has been near the top of my favorites list for as long as I can remember. Usually when I go out with Kyle, though, we try to find things that we can share. He has shied away from capers in the past (another thing on the list of stuff he hadn't tried before I came along), so chicken piccata was off the list... until last night!
A few months ago, I ordered a Giada deLaurentis cookbook (the Italian lady from The Food Network). I've never been a big recipe follower, but I do like to have recipes around to use for inspiration and general guidelines. I flipped through and saw the chicken piccata recipe, and knew it would be a winner. Kyle got the chicken, and I got capers, lemons, and parsley (which I didn't end up using!) from Sunflower on my way home from school yesterday.
Anyway, enough talk. I didn't take pictures, and I don't really measure anything, but here is the recipe, as I used it:
Delicious Chicken Piccata:
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cut into cutlets
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
flour (I used whole wheat)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
evoo
reduced-sodium chicken broth or dry white wine (I used about 10 oz.)
juice from at least two lemons
capers, drained and rinsed
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper if desired. (I did on some, but not others.) Dredge in flour. In a large saute pan, melt 2 Tbsp of butter and some evoo over med-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown (approx. 3 minutes on each side). Transfer chicken to a plate.
Add broth, lemon juice, and capers to the pan. Bring to a boil and make sure to scrape the crusty stuff from the bottom of the pan! Return the chicken to the pan and cook for approx. 5 minutes more. Transfer to plate again. Whisk the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter into sauce, pour over chicken, and garnish with parsley if desired.
Amazing. I will absolutely be using this recipe again. Kyle really liked it, and took some to work this morning. He made some rosemary potatoes to go along with it. Red potatoes, fresh rosemary, garlic, evoo, and I think some fresh ground pepper and some of that garlic & wine seasoning from TMP.
We're going to try our hand at some homemade pasta Friday night - maybe made with wine instead of water. It will be our first time using the pasta roller he got me for Christmas! Yum, yum, yum.
A few months ago, I ordered a Giada deLaurentis cookbook (the Italian lady from The Food Network). I've never been a big recipe follower, but I do like to have recipes around to use for inspiration and general guidelines. I flipped through and saw the chicken piccata recipe, and knew it would be a winner. Kyle got the chicken, and I got capers, lemons, and parsley (which I didn't end up using!) from Sunflower on my way home from school yesterday.
Anyway, enough talk. I didn't take pictures, and I don't really measure anything, but here is the recipe, as I used it:
Delicious Chicken Piccata:
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cut into cutlets
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
flour (I used whole wheat)
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
evoo
reduced-sodium chicken broth or dry white wine (I used about 10 oz.)
juice from at least two lemons
capers, drained and rinsed
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper if desired. (I did on some, but not others.) Dredge in flour. In a large saute pan, melt 2 Tbsp of butter and some evoo over med-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown (approx. 3 minutes on each side). Transfer chicken to a plate.
Add broth, lemon juice, and capers to the pan. Bring to a boil and make sure to scrape the crusty stuff from the bottom of the pan! Return the chicken to the pan and cook for approx. 5 minutes more. Transfer to plate again. Whisk the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter into sauce, pour over chicken, and garnish with parsley if desired.
Amazing. I will absolutely be using this recipe again. Kyle really liked it, and took some to work this morning. He made some rosemary potatoes to go along with it. Red potatoes, fresh rosemary, garlic, evoo, and I think some fresh ground pepper and some of that garlic & wine seasoning from TMP.
We're going to try our hand at some homemade pasta Friday night - maybe made with wine instead of water. It will be our first time using the pasta roller he got me for Christmas! Yum, yum, yum.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Zumba!
I went to my very first Zumba class yesterday!!!! I had such a blast. I bought a Groupon back in August (two, actually) for four dance fitness classes at Express Mie, a female dance fitness studio that's right down the street. I finally activated them on Monday and went to my first class yesterday. It was taught by Serina, who apparently is taking a break after this week, which I'm a little bummed about. I don't think I have ever produced as much sweat in one workout as I did in that 45-minute class.
Today, I took a bath with my favorite birdy. He kept flying on my head when I was in the shower, so I put him down on the tub ledge. He went to town. I tried to get a video, but he stopped as soon as I turned the water off. I did get a few of him preening afterward, with his wet feathers, though. As soon as I can get my phone to recognize my computer again, I'll upload and link them. He's been absolutely adorable today! He fell asleep on one of my slippers earlier, just hanging out on the floor.
Nothing else terribly exciting happened today. Tomorrow and Friday, I'm modeling for a sculpture class, so I need to make some lunch stuff here in a little bit, and I'll probably head to bed early. I also got less than 6 hours of sleep last night, so that would probably be a good idea anyway.
Today, I took a bath with my favorite birdy. He kept flying on my head when I was in the shower, so I put him down on the tub ledge. He went to town. I tried to get a video, but he stopped as soon as I turned the water off. I did get a few of him preening afterward, with his wet feathers, though. As soon as I can get my phone to recognize my computer again, I'll upload and link them. He's been absolutely adorable today! He fell asleep on one of my slippers earlier, just hanging out on the floor.
Nothing else terribly exciting happened today. Tomorrow and Friday, I'm modeling for a sculpture class, so I need to make some lunch stuff here in a little bit, and I'll probably head to bed early. I also got less than 6 hours of sleep last night, so that would probably be a good idea anyway.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Hey there!
Well hello! I'm Brianna. I had a blog that was based on my old major (biomedical engineering) that I recently discontinued, because that major went out the door with the Christmas decorations, and I am an Animal Physiology & Behavior major now!
Welcome to the show! I blog about a little bit of everything - new recipes that I try, my experiences in school, my sometimes evil future-in-laws, and my wonderful birdy, Raja (who is in time-out right now because he flew straight into the mirror earlier during one of his "I rule the house, and I will fly where ever I want!" freakouts).
A little about me:
- I am 22.
- I am a redhead!
- I am a total bookworm. I have finished two books so far this year and am almost done with a third.
- I am a foodie! I love Italian, Greek, Mediterranean, and Indian food. I do not eat pork (except the occasional prosciutto).
- I am a make-up whore. Maybe I'll post a photo of my eye shadow collection one day.
- I love music. I am a former vocal performance major. I have competed in internationally acclaimed choirs since age six, and started playing the piano at age five. One of my biggest regrets in life is letting that go.
So there you have it! Here's a little window into my world.
Welcome to the show! I blog about a little bit of everything - new recipes that I try, my experiences in school, my sometimes evil future-in-laws, and my wonderful birdy, Raja (who is in time-out right now because he flew straight into the mirror earlier during one of his "I rule the house, and I will fly where ever I want!" freakouts).
A little about me:
- I am 22.
- I am a redhead!
- I am a total bookworm. I have finished two books so far this year and am almost done with a third.
- I am a foodie! I love Italian, Greek, Mediterranean, and Indian food. I do not eat pork (except the occasional prosciutto).
- I am a make-up whore. Maybe I'll post a photo of my eye shadow collection one day.
- I love music. I am a former vocal performance major. I have competed in internationally acclaimed choirs since age six, and started playing the piano at age five. One of my biggest regrets in life is letting that go.
So there you have it! Here's a little window into my world.
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