Day #157 - Burgers

Tonight I made some burgers for dinner.  No, I didn't fire up a grill outside - it's too hot, and I don't own an outdoor grill.   These were made in a skillet on my stovetop.

I took the pack of ground beef and seasoned the meat with a little salt, pepper, and the Cocoa Chipotle rub.   Formed it into large thin patties, and cooked them in the skillet until browned on both sides.  Instead of a regular bun, I used a Sandwich Thin. And I topped my burger with lettuce, swiss cheese, pickle relish, and BBQ sauce.

Day #156 - Chicken Orzo Skillet

Tonight I created this easy one-skillet meal.


Ingredients
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium bell pepper (I used 1/2 yellow and 1/2 green)
1 cup grape tomatoes.
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups chicken broth (or stock)
Splash of white wine (optional)
1/2 cup Orzo Pasta
1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesean Cheese
Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic
Salt, Pepper, and dried herbs, to taste


Directions:
1)  In large skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat.   Once heated, use a garlic press to add the garlic to the oil.   Let cook down for about a minute, then add in chicken breast chunks. Cook chicken over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
2) While chicken is cooking, chop the bell pepper into half-inch chunks.  Once chicken is cooked, add bell pepper and frozen peas.  Sautee together until peas are thawed and peppers start to tenderize, about 2-3 minutes.
3)  Once vegetables are tender, cut the grape tomatoes in half and add to skillet along with chicken stock, splash of wine (if desired), and orzo pasta.  Stir together,.
4) Raise heat to high, and bring skillet mix to a light boil.   Once boiling, cover and simmer for about 8-10 minutes, or until pasta is cooked and the majority of the liquid has been absorbed.   Stir in both cheeses, and season to taste with salt, pepper, and dried herbs.


The dish was very creamy, almost a risotto consistency.    The white wine added a subtle richness to the dish, but it could easily be omitted.   The best part was only having one main dish to wash!

Day # 155 - Cheddar Beef Sausages

Finally able to post the picture!!

Tonight's dinner consisted of:
Cheddar Beef Sausages, served on a hot dog bun with shredded cheddar cheese, spicy brown mustard, and pickle relish
Garden salad, made from romaine lettuce, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, grape tomatoes, peanuts, and Balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
Pita Chips

It felt like summertime, complete with the heat wave here in St. Louis. 

Days #153-154 - Catching Up

So sorry about the skipped posts!!   As you read in Friday night's post, I was away for the weekend on a scrapbooking "retreat" with some friends.   So my blog posting routine was all out of whack.

Here is how the rest of my weekend meals turned out:

Saturday Lunch - dining out at Ruby Tuesday.  Grilled Chicken Sandwich, topped with bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and avocado slices.   Served with sweet potato fries.

Saturday Dinner - pizza.  None of us wanted to stop our scrapbooking and go out for dinner, so we called in for pizza.   The picture is of the cheese pizza, but I actually devoured a slice of veggie supreme without snapping a photo first.   

Sunday Lunch - Subway. My friend Lei and I stopped at a Subway for lunch on the way to the airport. I ordered the Cold Cut Combo on whole wheat, with lettuce, tomato, green pepper, cucumbers, Provolone cheese, and honey mustard dressing.  With a bag of cheddar SunChips on the side.   Again, I ate my whole lunch before I thought to take a picture.


Sunday Dinner - Veggies.    After all the junk food, fat, grease, carbs, and unhealthy food from the weekend, my body must have been craving vegetables!  By the time I got home from the airport at 7pm, all that sounded good was a large pile of veggie sticks with some cool Ranch dressing.

Whew that's a lot of junk.  Time to get back on track, both with my eating and my nightly blogging :)

Day #152 - Mexican

I went out of town for the weekend with some scrapbooking friends.    Tonight we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, and thankfully I had 11 other ladies to remind me to take a photo for the blog!

I ordered a Fajita Quesadilla.   A large flour tortilla, loaded with seasoned chicken and queso cheese, served with a side of sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo, and Mexican rice.   The chicken had a delicious seasoning, and I liked that it was small chunks of chicken instead of shredded chicken.  The cheese was melty, and the tortilla was crispy.  It was very delicious....and filling!

Day #151 - Turkey Omelet

Tonight I cooked up an omelet for dinner.   I sauteed up some frozen green peas, green bell pepper, and diced turkey breast along with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, chive, and tarragon.   When sauteed, I removed the mix from my sautee pan, added a little more olive oil, then cooked my eggs until set.  Covered the omelet with shredded cheddar cheese, added the sauteed mix back in, and folded the omelet in half.   Served a large chunk of herb baguette to help push the filling back into the omelet as I ate.   Breakfast for dinner!

Day #150 - Honey Mustard Salad

So sorry I'm posting this a day late!!   I was out last night and didn't get home to post until after 10:00pm, so I chose to sleep instead of blog.

Last night, I needed something light and healthy to eat.  Which translates to salad.   Romaine lettuce, celery, green pepper, turkey breast, cheddar cheese, chopped walnuts, and a honey mustard dressing.  It satisfied me enough without filling me up, and was a "light" option, considering what the rest of my evening had in store...

A Dove Chocolate Discoveries tasting party!!    Yes, an entire party dedicated to delicious chocolate products.   We sampled chocolate-covered blueberries, cinnamon chocolate almonds, mini peanut butter chocolate baking cups, chocolate martinis, dark chocolate mousse, milk chocolate fondue, and Lil'Smokies cooked in chocolate BBQ sauce.   It was chocolatey heaven.   Here are a couple photos from the night:

(chocolate martini)

(chocolate BBQ Lil'Smokies and chocolate fondue)