dressing your table, anthropologie style

anthropologie is hands down my favorite store. from their apparel to home goods, they just do it right. my 'wish list' is always out of control. i honestly love everything! when i picked out our every day china i went with the white juliska because i can pair it with fun table accessories from anthro. they have affordable and beautiful pieces to dress your table spring>summer>fall>winter! 

just a FEW items on my 'wish list' = happy dining room table.

traveling the world for lunch

i'm a big fan of turkey sandwiches for lunch. i'll buy a pound of turkey and/or ham a week, a 1/2 pound of sliced havarti, muenster, provolone, etc..usually whatever's on sale and switch up my toppings to add excitement. pickles, banana peppers, sprouts, lettuce, tomatoes..there are plenty of options to spice up your every day turk sammys. but lately, i've been on a greek kick. specifically, gyros. chicken gyros.

 

what ya need:

whole wheat pita x 4

grilled chicken breast x 4

feta cheese

black olives

tomatoes x 2

lettuce

hummus

nonfat plain greek yogurt

dill

lemon x 1

garlic x 2 cloves

olive oil x 1 tbsp

wash your chicken. season with salt and pepper. place on grill or cook on skillet for 7-8 minutes on each side or until golden brown. while the chicken is cooking, finely chop a handful of dill. place into a food processor with nonfat plain greek yogurt, lemon, garlic and 1 tbsp olive oil.

once your chicken is finished cooking, chop into small bites. spread the hummus onto the pita and build your gyro. drizzle your dill/yogurt sauce on top & enjoy.

cc banana bread

i love anything & everything chocolate.

which is why i decided to add chocolate chips to this banana bread recipe i found online. it makes it perfectly acceptable to have chocolate in the am or banana bread for dessert...the best of both worlds! i made a big batch for friends and neighbors before christmas but with valentine's day right around the corner, i have an excuse to make some more of this delicious.ness for the clary residence.  

what ya need:

(this recipe is for a 9x13 baking dish or 6 loaves)

• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 4 sticks butter, softened
• 6 mashed bananas
• 8 large eggs
• 8 teaspoons vanilla extract
•   8 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 

 add sugar and butter to mixer at medium speed and mix well...

while the sugar and butter are mixing together, prepare your eggs, vanilla extract and bananas. 

slow speed on mixer then add bananas, vanilla extract and eggs to mixer and blend well. 

 add the flour two cups at a time and mix well. then add baking power and salt. 

obviously sea salt is not ideal but we were out of salt..can you believe it!

 

this is definitely the most tedious part because it takes a bit for the flour to mix together completely, but it's very important to incorporate all the flour before moving forward.  

 

 

once the flour is finished mixing, add the chocolate chips! fold them in a few times so you know they are incorporated well into the mixture. pour mixture into a 9x13 baking dish, cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 1 hr and 30 minutes or until golden brown.

 

 

let the cc banana bread sit for 30 minutes before cutting into individual loaves. wrap in tinfoil & ENJOY! 

 

 

 

 

shredded chicken tortilla soup

first of all, i would like to apologize for being mia for the past 6 weeks. from thanksgiving into the new year, give a penny was busy, busy! i'm not complaining one bit... but it's nice to be back to my normal routine and back in the kitchen. that being said, i hope everyone had a very merry christmas & happy new year! ben had a month off from school, so we got to spend lots of time with family & friends. ringing in the new year at paoletti's in highlands with a four course set menu...including roasted eggplant and goat cheese arugula, mushroom ravioli, (seabass for me, braised veal chops for ben) and then a trio of desserts paired with an abundance of red wine & champagne. deeeelish!

i definitely had my fair share of meat + threes over the holidays, so i thought i would start the new year off right, mexi-style, in the version of a soup. enjoying all the flavors of mexican food without all the calories. 

 

what ya need:

organic chicken thighs x4

1 cup organic chicken broth

1 can corn

1 can black beans

1 cup spanish rice

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 red onion

 1 jalapeno

2 cloves garlic

handful cilantro

fat free sour cream

1 avocado 

wash your chicken and put into a large pot with salted water for 20 minutes. while your chicken is cooking get started on your jalapeno, onion and garlic.

all the heat from the jalapeno is held in it's seeds and i prefer to keep my soups less spicy, so i would suggest de.seeding your jalapeno and then dice it.

peel your onion, chop in half and then dice. 

grab two cloves of garlic, peel and mince. add to warm skillet with olive oil, salt & pepper.

allow onion, garlic, and jalapeno to cook together for 10 minutes. 

 once chicken thighs have boiled in salted water for 20 minutes, allow them to cool and then shred the chicken from the bone and put into the large pot with chicken broth, corn, black beans, diced tomatoes, spanish rice and cilantro. salt & pepper to taste.

top with avocado, tortilla chips and sour cream. pairs nicely with a mixed greens cilantro vinaigrette for dinner & your favorite sandwich for lunch the next day. ENJOY!