Month: June 2015

Easy and Healthy Shredded Chicken

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

We love chicken! Why? Because it’s so versatile, you can make grilled chicken, fried chicken, baked chicken, chicken wings, chicken thighs, chicken tenders, shredded chicken, you get the idea… you can use chicken in almost any dish!

Today’s recipe is super easy, and super healthy! We like to make a batch on Sunday’s and use it through out the week.

What’s great about this recipe is you don’t have to use marinara, it’s really a flexible dish and you can use all different kinds of seasoning! You can use this chicken on salads, burritos, tamales, sandwiches, soups, virtually anything you can think of, you can eat this chicken with.

Easy Shredded Chicken

Easy Shredded Chicken

Easy Shredded Chicken 

Ingredients 

  • 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
  • 1 Cup Marinara Sauce
  • 1 Onion (Sliced)
  • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Rosemary or Rosemary Salt
  • 1/2 Chicken Broth (Or Water)
  • Garlic Salt

Step 1:

Rinse and pat the chicken dry with paper towels.

Step 2: 

Season both sides of the chicken with garlic salt (or any salt of your choosing.)

Step 3: 

In your crockpot, cover the bottom with marinara sauce. Put about half of the onions at the bottom on top of the marinara. Then place the seasoned chicken onto the onions. Cover with the rest of the marinara, onions, rosemary salt, and half a cup of chicken broth.

Step 4: 

Set the crockpot to high and cover and cook for 3.5 to 4 hours.  

Easy Shredded Chicken

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Happy Monday! We originally made these donuts on National Donut Day and we liked them so much we wanted to share! On National Donut Day, we wanted to make something quick and easy, and found this great recipe that everyone in the house loved!

You really have to watch these when you cook, because they brown really quickly and sometimes can brown before the inside is cooked. So make sure you watch the oil temperature and don’t let it get too hot!

Cinnamon Donut Holes

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes 

Ingredients

  • 1 (Heaping) Cup of Bisquick Pancake Mix
  • 1 Tablespoon Bakers Sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract/Paste
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Maple Extract
  • 1/2 Cup Milk
  • 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
  • Vegetable or Peanut Oil

Step 1: 

In a bowl mix together, the pancake mix, bakers sugar, vanilla, maple and milk until combined. In a separate medium sized bowl, mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon together and set aside.

Step 2: 

In a heavy bottom pot, heat up the oil. You want to use enough oil to cover at least 1 inch.

Step 3: 

Using an small ice cream scoop, drop the batter into the hot oil. Frying no more than 4 to 5 at a time. You want to fry them until golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Step 4: 

Remove the donut holes from the oil (shaking off excess oil) and place them in the cinnamon sugar. Carefully, roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Set on a cooling rack and serve when cool.

Cinnamon Donut Holes

Cinnamon Donut Holes

Bumped Up BBQ’d Beans

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Happy Saturday! Can you believe that it’s almost the end of June? And not only that, but next Saturday is July 4th?! Where has the time gone?

Today’s recipe is our easy bumped up BBQ beans, these are great to make in a pinch and are a definite crowd pleaser.

Bumped Up BBQ'd Beans

Ingredients

  • 1  Large Can Baked Beans
  • 2 Green Pepper (Chopped)
  • 1 White Onion (Chopped)
  • Splash of Browning Liquid
  • Olive Oil

Step 1: 

In a heavy bottom pot (like a dutch oven) heat 1 to 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, sauté the onions for 2 to 3 minutes.

Step 2: 

Next, add the chopped bell peppers and cook for another two minutes.

Step 3: 

Open the can of beans, and add them to the onion and bell peppers. Stir until combined. Add 1 to 2 splashes of the browning liquid lower the heat and cover and cook for about 40 minutes.

Healthy “Gumbo” Inspired Rice Bowl

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Happy Friday followers! We hope you had a good week, and even better morning! One of the first recipes we posted was our Zucchini and Onion Rice Bowl, and today’s recipe is another rice bowl! But this time it’s gumbo inspired!

We love a good Gumbo but sometimes you don’t have the time to make a traditional gumbo so this is a great and healthy alternative.

Don’t forget to follow us here, on Facebook, and Instagram! 

Healthy Gumbo Rice Bowl

Healthy Gumbo Rice Bowl

Healthy “Gumbo” Inspired Rice Bowl 

Ingredients 

  • 1lb Ground Chicken
  • 1 Green Pepper (Roughly Chopped)
  • 2 Red Peppers (Roughly Chopped)
  • 1 White Onion (Roughly Chopped)
  • Creole Seasoning
  • 1 Cup Uncooked Rice
  • Olive Oil
  • 2 Cups Chicken Broth or Water
  • Worcestershire

**You can also add two links of your favorite sausage (cooked) during Step 5!

Step 1: 

In a small saucepan bring two cups of chicken broth or water to a boil. Remove from the heat. (If using water, season was salt)

Step 2: 

In the same saucepan, heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil and toast the rice for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the heated broth, raise the heat and bring to a boil.

Step 3:

Once the water is boiling, stir once, reduce the heat, and cover the rice. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside.

Step 4: 

In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil is nice and hot add the ground chicken. Season with a little salt and pepper and a couple splashes of worcestershire. Brown the chicken and once finished, remove from the pan and keep the juices with it.

Step 5: 

In the same pan (no need to clean it) heat one more tablespoon of olive oil. Add your chopped onions and peppers. Season liberally with your creole seasoning. When the vegetables are tender but not soft, add your rice, the ground chicken (with the juices) and mix together. If needed, add more creole seasoning.

Healthy Gumbo Rice Bowl

Key Lime Curd

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Today’s recipe is a spin on our Meyer Lemon Curd, but instead of lemons we decided to make use of key limes!

Just like the lemon curd, you can put this curd on basically anything! Toast, put it in tart shells, eat it with a spoon, you can’t go wrong.

Look at how beautiful those little limes are! So bright, and packed full of flavor. Like Meyer lemons these little guys are much sweeter than normal limes.

Key Lime Curd

Key Lime Curd

Ingredients: 

  • 1 Bag of Key Limes
  • 1/2 cup Key Lime Juice
  • Key Lime Zest (from the limes used for juice)
  • 1 1/2 cup bakers sugar
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Step 1: 

Zest the limes before juicing. After you’ve zested the limes, juice them.

Step 2: 

In a food processor pulse together the sugar and lime zest until the lime zest is fully incorporated to the sugar. The sugar will have a “damp” texture.

Step 3: 

Cream together the butter and then mix in the butter.

Step 4: 

Beat in the eggs one at a time and then add the salt and lime juice. At this step, the curd is going to look absolutely disgusting, you’re probably going to think you fucked it up. Don’t worry. It’s supposed to look that way. Trust us.

Step 5: 

Next, transfer the mixture into a sauce pan. Stir constantly over a low heat until the mixture starts to smooth out and eventually begins to thicken. Check occasionally with a digital thermometer and when the temperature reads 170° you can remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.

Key Lime Curd

Minestrone Soup

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Minestrone is a very versatile soup that doesn’t have a strict ingredients list; you just need to cover the basics and go with whats in season (or what you have). Basic formula: vegetables, broth, beans, and tomatoes. Usually the tomatoes in the soup thicken it so it’s a hearty meal.

When we were making this, we didn’t expect it to taste this amazingly authentic, but clearly we have some Italian blood somewhere, even if we had to transfuse some into our veins while we were in Italy. Our souls are little Italian Grandmas or Nonnas.

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 small onions
  • 4-5 carrots, rough chop
  • 2-3 stalks of celery
  • 2 cup of green beans, pieces
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
  • chicken broth
  • white wine
  • Italian seasonings
  • rosemary salt
  • olive oil
  • butter

Step 1:

Heat enough olive oil to coat the pot and the butter. Let butter melt and wait until it’s done foaming.

Step 2:

For this next step you will follow this pattern with each ingredient: add, mix, sauté for a minute. Onions, carrots, green beans, celery, and garlic. Make sure everything is incorporated then season with salt  (we used our rosemary salt) and pepper.

Step 3:

Add some white wine and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Step 4:

Add crushed tomatoes and Italian seasonings, and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Step 5:

Next, you will pour in enough chicken broth to make it from a sauce to thick soup consistency, it’s up to your liking how thick or thin it is. We put in about a cup.  Let the soup simmer together for 10-15 minutes, then it’s ready to eat!

Rainbow Smoothie

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Happy Monday!

Are you having a case of the Mondays? Do you need an afternoon pick me up? Then our rainbow smoothie is for you! Packed full of fruit and protein, this smoothie will not only keep cool it’s super hydrating and can give you the perfect push to get you through the afternoon!

Rainbow Smoothie

Rainbow Smoothie  Ingredients 

  • 1 Cup Frozen Blueberries
  • 1/2 Cup Fresh Raspberries
  • 1/2 Cup Frozen Pineapple
  • 1/2 Cup Frozen Mango
  • 1/2 Cup Frozen Peaches
  • 1 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk
  • 1 Cup Pineapple Flavored Coconut Water
  • 1/2 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder

Step 1:  Put the blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, mangos, peaches, coconut milk and water in the blender. Blend on low for one minute.

Step 2:  After a minute,switch the blender to high and add the protein powder. Blend for two minutes.

Step 3:  Pour into a glass and enjoy. Save the extra for the next day, or share with someone you love…

Rosemary Balsamic Apricot Glazed Chicken Thighs

~ Marlee And Christie ~ 2 Comments

Happy Father’s Day!

Want to really impress your dad/husband? Make these delicious chicken thighs and make your father’s day extra special! What makes these thighs special is the mouthwatering combination of fragrant rosemary, tangy balsamic, and sweet apricot preserves.

These babies are a definite crowd pleaser and super easy to make!

Rosemary Balsamic Apricot Glazed Chicken Thighs

Rosemary Balsamic Apricot Glazed Chicken Thighs 

Ingredients 

  • 1 Cup Apricot Preserves
  • 2 Tablespoons Thick Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons Rosemary (Chopped)
  • 1 Teaspoon Crushed Red Peppers
  • Kosher Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
  • 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
  • 4-6 Chicken Thighs (Boneless and Skinless)*

Step 1: 

 Remove the chicken from the package, rinse with warm water and pat dry with paper towels.

Step 2: 

Season the chicken liberally with kosher salt and pepper and set aside

Step 3: 

In a small bowl, mix together the apricot preserves, balsamic, rosemary, and red peppers together. Spoon about half the mixture over the chicken thighs. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and set in fridge for at least half an hour.

(The longer in sits, the more flavor it will soak up!)

Step 4: 

When you’re ready, preheat the oven to 350°F. Take the chicken out of the fridge while the oven heats up. Place chicken in oven safe dish or pan. Cook for 45-50 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F.

*If you want to use chicken thighs with the bone in, cook for 50-60 minutes.

Step 5: 

While the chicken is cooking, take the remaining marinade and place in a sauce pan. Combine with the half a cup of chicken broth and bring to a boil.

When the mixture is hot, pour a little of the hot liquid out into a small bowl. Mix in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Stir until cornstarch dissolves. Pour back into marinade and chicken broth mixture. Lower the heat, and let simmer.

Step 6:  

When the chicken is cooked, remove the oven and and cover with the sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Rosemary Balsamic Apricot Glazed Chicken Thighs

#TwoYoungLadies Get Herbal (Gardening That Is)

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

After years of talking about it, we finally decided to plant an herb garden! We know if Ina cared, she would be so proud. We went to Lowes and bought, tons of rosemary, sweet basil, purple basil (WHAAAT), flat leaf parsley, onion chives, and a Roma tomato plant! We actually want to go back and get more! Who knew gardening was so fun!

We’ll see how it turns out, and hopefully we have green thumbs and not killer thumbs. We already named our plants Baahsil the Basil Plant, Rosemarie the Rosemary, Annyong the Onion Chives, Fehttuchini the Flat Leaf Parsley, and Tony the Tomato.

Here’s our car filled with our wonderful smelling herbs!

Car Garden

Our flat leaf parsley! Parsley

Basil! Who does’t love the smell of basil?! And basil means fresh pesto!Basil

Even better than basil? Rosemary! Anytime we see rosemary we always end up touching it and smelling it….that sounds weird. But lets be real, we all do that. Rosemary Our tiny little chives! How adorable!

Chives

Bonus picture: Tyrion the Turtle. We spotted this little fella on our jog around Lake Hollywood. We’re not sure what he was doing, but he was using his back legs to dig, or break dance. Who knows, we’ll see if he’s there tomorrow.

Tyrion The Turtle

Homemade Pickles

~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Happy Friday! Today’s recipe is a fun one, homemade pickles! After going to Joan’s on Third and falling in love with their pickles we were determined to figure out a way to make them at home.

What’s great about homemade pickles, is that you can basically season them the way you like. Don’t like mustard seeds? Add juniper berries! Not a fan of garlic? Well, now, that’s just crazy! Who doesn’t like garlic? Only crazy people that’s who, unless you’re allergic, then that’s okay.

Anyways, this recipe is pretty awesome (if we don’t say so ourselves) and we think they’re actually better than Joan’s on Third! Sorry, Joan.

Happy Pickling!

TYL DIY Pickles

TYL’s DIY Pickles 

Ingredients

  • 2 lb’s Pickling Cucumbers*
  • 1 White Onions (Sliced)
  • 2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
  • 2 Cups White Vinegar
  • 4 Cups Water
  • 1 1/2 White Sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons Salt
  • 1 1/2 Teaspoons Celery Seeds
  • 1 to 2 Tablespoons Garlic (Chopped)
  • 1/4 Cup Fresh Dill (Chopped)
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons Mustard Seed (Yellow)

*You can also use Persian Cucumbers or English Cucumbers

Step 1: 

Either using a mandolin or a knife, slice the cucumbers to your thickness liking. Mix the kosher salt. Place the pickles in a colander and let the liquid drain out for about thirty minutes.

Step 2: 

After thirty minutes, rise and dry the cucumbers. Mix with onions and set aside in a bowl (or if you have them, two glass mason jars)

Step 3: 

In a large sauce pan, mix together: vinegar, water, sugar, salt, celery seeds, garlic, dill, and mustard seed. Bring to a boil, add more salt or sugar if needed.

Step 4: 

Transfer mixture to a heat proof container and let cool to room temperature. When cool, pour the liquid over the cucumbers. Cover the jars, and place in the fridge and let cool completely.

TYL DIY Pickles