Recipes - Measuring Cups, Optional

Caramel Apples

The best part about living in the DC area is that we get to experience all four seasons. Arguments can be made that not all four seasons are enjoyable. But we get all four nonetheless. Every season, as you know has its food staples, as I like to call them. In the fall it’s everything pumpkin and apple. The summer, I become obsessed with watermelons, ice cream and red white and blue. Springtime is about pastels, brunch, cookies and cakes. Winter is all about stews, soups, candy canes and hot chocolate. Additions can be made to said seasonal staples. It’s all about apples and pumpkins now and one of my number one cravings during closer to Halloween is Caramel Apples. (more…)

Clam and Parsley Linguine

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Pasta, Posts, Recipes, Seafood

Since I got back from Sydney, Australia, I have been on this crazy seafood kick. I loved seafood before – I’m talking crab legs, oysters, lobster, salmon, snapper, shrimp, you name it I’ll eat it. But after the trip, I have been craving it almost daily. While in Sydney, I had the pleasure of trying Australian Barramundi, native to Northern Australia. I’ve found that in general, people in the U.S. like to have their fish filleted before they eat it. I, on the other hand, find it more appetizing to order grilled fish and have the whole fish handed to me on a platter. Some may say, “ew, how can you eat it when it’s looking at you?” Well, I don’t really think too much into that. The eyes don’t really catch my attention as much as the rest of the fish. I’d say, if you haven’t tried it that way, give it a try. You may surprise yourself and actually like it. (more…)

Southwest Corn Salad

categories: Posts, Recipes, Salads

I love spending time with my mom, and more importantly getting recipes from her. Lucky for me, she doesn’t live too far away. Over the weekend, on one of my weekly visits, she was going on and on about a new salad she’d tried out – something about corn and avocados. At the word avocados my ears perked up (think small puppy ears) and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the recipe. Next thing I know, she pulls out a Tupperware with leftover salad and starts going down the list of ingredients. That’s when I started my menu planning for the week, Sunday afternoon. It’s a really light salad, as the dressing is super simple. I’m not really one for complicated salad dressings. My dressing of choice is olive oil and lemon juice on most occasions. (more…)

Chicken Scallopine with Lemon and Caper Sauce

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Chicken, Posts, Recipes

I found a recipe for Pork Scallopine online and it looked absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, we don’t eat pork so I thought why not try out the recipe and make some adjustments for Chicken. The best part about this meal is that it’s done in less than an hour saving time that I don’t really have. (more…)

Quiche

categories: Breakfast, Posts, Recipes

A couple days ago I gave you all a glimpse into my mom and my mother-daughter trip. Taking one of those as an adult is really important because you start to realize how much closer you are to your mom when you’re not trying to keep things from her as a teen/college student who’s obviously getting into some sort of trouble. It’s a whole new perspective when you realize you and your mother have a lot more in common than you think, and she can actually give you some pretty good advice. Especially because watching you grow up, she probably knows a lot more about you than you thought, or that you even knew yourself. Rude Awakening. (more…)

Skinny Corn Chowder

categories: 500 Calories or Less, Posts, Recipes, Soups

It’s Ramadan, that month on the lunar calendar when you can’t have food, water, or gum from sunrise to sunset. It’s also a month when you’re supposed to concentrate on other things besides food, being a better person, getting closer to your faith, etc. While all that’s true, I find more and more that Ramadan is really All About the Food. We’ve received numerous dinner invites, even a few weeks before Ramadan even started. With the long days (16 hours, give or take), all I can think about is food. What happens, is that although I’ve been eying the sweets in the fridge, or thinking about burgers, dinner time rolls around and I can’t down more than soup and salad. Go figure. All those cravings for nothing. It makes sense, you’re stomach contracts when you’re fasting so you can’t stuff it like you usually do. Unless you’re one of those people that doesn’t mind the uncomfortable feeling of being so full you need to unbutton the top button on your jeans and lay down until you fall asleep. (more…)