In the Kitchen

More healthy culinary expeditions since the last post:

• Whole wheat buttermilk blueberry banana muffins
• Pasta with chicken sausage, white beans, spinach, and cheese
• Beet and orange arugula salad with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and dijon dressing 

• Grilled blackened salmon served over a black bean, red onion, and grilled corn medley (for my dad's birthday)
• Potatoes au gratin (for Dad's birthday)
• A triple berry trifle (for Dad's birthday)

who needs a trifle dish when you have clear tupperware? classy.

• Black bean veggie burgers (these were delicious but need some serious alterations with the filler - they were more like mush than burgers but were really tasty as part of a spinach salad with mango and tomato)
• Chicken enchiladas
• Zucchini and cheese enchiladas

one of us doesn't like scallions & cilantro. he shall remain nameless...

• Chocolate chip banana muffins - I've made these a bunch of different times with some alterations each time. Jason loves these to take for breakfast to eat on his walk to the bus each morning which is why I keep making them (his without the chocolate chips, of course). Yesterday I feel like I perfected the recipe - I'll share it soon!

• Tilapia tacos
• Mexican chicken crock pot dish
• Barbacoa in the crock pot served with brown rice (with corn, black beans, onions) and topped with cilantro, tomatoes, scallions, and avocado.

who needs chipotle?

• Chewy chocolate chip granola bars
• BBQ pineapple chicken
• Zucchini fritters (they fell apart a little - I need to learn the proper ratio of flour/egg here!). I didn't make marinara sauce but I thought next time I'll make some to dip them in. Yum.

• Chicken salad
• Zucchini chocolate chip muffins 
• Pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies

We loved the grilled blackened salmon and made it again when we were at Jason's parents' house since they have a grill. Someday we'll do it again at home but we don't have a dang grill. I keep searching on Craigslist for a mini charcoal grill - I would kill for a grill! We've also made the enchiladas twice. We have plans to do coconut chicken salad again tonight (from the last post). We're clearly finding favorites!

Whenever we're together for dinners (which is rare - usually only once a week), Jason helps me in the kitchen which makes things so much easier, faster, and more enjoyable. He's a great sous chef. On the days I'm alone, I just prep his dinner for him before I go to work so it's ready for him when he gets home! It makes me happy to cook for him because he has been super busy lately with school and work (I'm so proud of him). He has also been taking his turn in the kitchen by making breakfasts on the weekends before I have to go to work and not waking me until it's nearly done which I LOVE. I could get used to that! He's made a lot of whole wheat banana chocolate chip waffles and pumpkin pancakes. They are so delicious.

Our dishwasher bit the dust a couple of days ago... so there is a lot of hand-washing going on around these parts lately with all this cooking and baking (boo...)! The plumber came out yesterday but he couldn't do anything... sigh. Next stop - appliance dudes! Wish us luck that it's fixed soon... Of course I'll continue cooking anyway!