I like chips.
I like cheetos, salt & vinegar chips, the cheddar & sour cream ruffles, tortilla chips, nacho chips, doritos...
And before I fully digress into a Bubba Gump style list of ways I like to eat chips I will segue into the purpose of this post.
A good way to eat more chips and still not become a social outcast is to eat chips with varying dips and salsas.
For instance, if you are going to a party and you know you will probably eat more chips than anyone else bring a really great dip with you and then pretend it wasn't yours.
You can then say things like "I don't know who made this dip but it is out of this world. I just can't stop eating it!"
At this point you are complimenting a mystery chef and not just eating an extremely large quantity of chips. WIN! WIN!
I recently made pico de gallo twice in one weekend and although I did not deny making it or compliment any imaginary chefs I did eat a LOT of this pico and consequently a LOT of chips.

This recipe is quite similar to one I made a few months back but with some slight variations and I think it was pretty tasty.

 You need these vegetables, a lime for its juice, & salt.

Quarter the veggies and throw them in the chopper or actually dice them yourself. Batch one I left all jalapeno seeds in (hott schmott). Batch two I left 50% of the seeds in (perf!).

Add salt & lime to taste.

 Add cilantro.

 Game on. Where's the chips???

You're only 5-7 ingredients away from great food!

[I started this post weeks ago... but better late than never I'd say!]

Refreshed by a weekend of great country music & spa treatments I bring you two excellent and easy dishes.

Goat Cheese Marinara

I first fell madly in love with this flavorful little delight at  Twist: a tapas cafe. My bestie and roomie of some years loved to frequent this joint for a special event or just a guaranteed good meal. It was always the first thing we ordered... no questions asked.
I thought to myself, "Self, this can't be rocket science, let's give it a whirl."
And whirl, I did.

5 Ingredients to d.e.l.i.s.h.

Olive Oil, Basil, Minced Garlic, Goat Cheese, Marinara Sauce

Preheat oven to 350 (I'm pretty sure I did 350, but it's been a while... oops)

Pat your goat cheese into about a half inch thick patty in the center of a shallow dish.

Pour marinara sauce around it like a moat. 

Sprinkle with basil.

Bake for 20ish minutes until a little bubbly.

While it's baking, slice a loaf of good bread.

Make a little paste with the minced garlic and olive oil.
Brush onto some of the bread slices.
Slide these into the oven for about 8 minutes.

Notice how my stoneware is gaining a little character! yay!

Enjoy!

Spaghetti Carbonara

Ever need a dinner that isn't the same old thing but also doesn't require much thinking?
I sure do. Adam will tell you he could be happy eating the same four things forever: mac n cheese, quesadillas, fettucini alfredo, chicken parmesan. Not this gal. I need variety... it is the spice of life after all.

7 ingredients to [insert 7 letter word for good food here. Sorry folks, my brain has left the station]

Spaghetti, Eggs, Olive Oil, Parmesan, Chopped Ham, Garlic, Sour Cream

The nice thing is that pretty much this whole recipe is pantry staples. Except the ham. I don't always have ham. But I froze a few slices after the last time I made a little spiral ham and they came in pretty darn handy.

Boil your noodles according to package directions. 

Drain & save some of the liquid. I saved most of it, just in case but you only need 1/2 c. or so.

Heat a skillet, add ham just long enough to warm it up (2-5 minutes).

Add the pasta and mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl combine the cheese, sour cream, eggs, salt, pepper, and garlic. Combine well. Add the reserve pasta water to the egg mixture. Combine well. Add all this to your pasta and ... you guessed it, Combine Well.

And there you have it. Spaghetti Carbonara.

Borrowed from Cooking Light

the Start of Grilling Season

With the advent of warmer weather, I put a grilled meal on the docket. But I forgot that we live in Chicago and you can not count on warm weather or sun. Wednesday night in Chicago it was raining and cold. But, bless his heart, Adam fired up the grill and weathered the storm to make dinner.

Grilled Chicken (marinated in Italian dressing, a favorite easy marinade)

Grilled Polenta with parmesan & parsley

Steamed Broccoli

Clearly, I have a sack of polenta to work through now. 

Grilling it was simple enough. Basically, you whip up a batch just the same way you would if you were going to serve it porridge-style (a la last week's recipe). Then pour it into a greased 9x13 and refrigerate it until it is firm. Then slice, brush with olive oil, & grill to perfection.

The best thing about grilling chicken is the leftovers. I mean, seriously, what can't you do with leftover grilled chicken breasts? Just a few old standbys:

• grilled chicken caesar salad
• grilled chicken panini
• grilled chicken quesadillas

On Thursday for lunch I made the most delightful salad. Regretfully I didn't take a pic and it is long gone!

His & Hers Mac n Cheese

We don't generally get into this whole his & hers business. We have one car, one bank account, one calendar, but when it came to making some creamy cheesy baked goodness I had to make a differentiation. 

As previously mentioned, I'm on the next train out of Fatsville so I adapted a classic mac n cheese recipe to fit my dietary needs. Adam, however, is not a fan of the lighter version of classically rich meals so I amped his up to include his new found love of good cheese.

The classic recipe:

melt 1 Tb butter, add 1 Tb flour, stir until smooth (or as I like to refer to this step "roux it up")

slowly add 1 cup milk, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper

Add 1/2 cup cheese,  approx 2 cups cooked mac

top with another 1/2 cup of cheese, bread crumbs, bake until bubbly, voila!

You can double, triple, add, subtract, make it your own this thing till the cows come home.

For mine, I used the single recipe, light/low-fat versions of everything and carefully measured the portions:

Hers: pre-baking

For Adam's, I used 6 cheeses and the "regular fat" versions of everything:

Manchego, Sharp Cheddar, Merlot Cheese, Provolone, Irish Cheddar, Parmesan

His: coming together into gooey goodness before baking

His: Bubbling and piping hot!

case of the Mondays

Monday night on Argyle Street consisted of a walk to the dog park with Thing 1 & Thing 2, Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas, House season finale, and Strawberry Banana Smoothies. The windows are open and the breeze is warm. Ahhh.




Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas (around 500 calories per enchilada)

2 1/2 cups cooked chicken breasts, chopped

2 cups preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese

1 2/3 cups plain low-fat yogurt

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 (10 ounce) can condensed reduced-fat reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup

1 (4 1/2 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained

8 (8 inch) flour tortillas

1 tablespoon canola oil

cooking spray

1/2 cup finely shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

1. 1 Preheat oven to 350°.
2. 2 Combine the first 9 ingredients in a large bowl. Remove 1 cup of mixture and set aside.
3. 3 Spray 13 by 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
4. 4 Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Oil both side of one tortilla and heat in skillet for 5 seconds per side. 
5. Remove from pan and place 1/2 cup of chicken mixture in the middle of tortilla. Roll tortilla jelly roll style and and place seam side down into the baking dish. Repeat with remaining 7 tortillas.

1. 
   
2. 
   
3. 5 Spread the reserved 1 cup of chicken mixture over the tortillas.
4. 6 Cover and bake for 20 minutes.
5. 7 Uncover, spread with cheddar cheese and green onions, and bake for 5 additional minutes.

6. 

   Forgot the green onion- oopsies!

   
   

Strawberry Banana Smoothies (approx 200 calories per serving)

2 bananas

2-3 cups frozen strawberries

1/2 c. skim milk

1/4 c. plain fat free yogurt

3 packets splenda

Polenta = Dinner Grits

I thought about titling this entry "Grits is just ground up corn" because this clip from Outsourced kept running through my mind when preparing this meal. This package of polenta just made me laugh.

Thursday night, I made Parmesan Polenta and Spicy Sausage Sauce.

It was easy, tasty, and under 320 calories. 

It called for a handful of fresh herbs. I haven't started an herb garden yet (long overdue) so I opted to dry the extras so I didn't feel so wasteful.

Today is my traditional day off, but I only have the morning so I prepped two meals for later in the week. Stay tuned for Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas and "His & Hers Mac & Cheese." 

and the last shall be first

This weekend I witnessed a momentous occasion. My sister, Laura Grace Gianeskis, graduated cum laude from Georgia Southern University. She is the first one of my siblings to get that piece of paper and I couldn't be more proud of her.
This encouraged me to wrap up my own educational journey. Believing that I met all graduation requirements as of last semester, I trucked over to my advisor's office this morning.

Um, hi. I think I am done with school, but I was preoccupied with planning a wedding and didn't bother to apply for graduation last semester... or the one before that. 


Embarrassing. Nine years later, I'm finally ready to be done with higher education.
But, I can say for my lil old self, that I did work hard, I did learn, and I did end up student loan debt free (with much help and many jobs).

The meeting went better than expected and I anticipate all this paperwork being turned in tomorrow. Alas, I missed the deadline by 2 days. Seriously? This would happen to me. And okay, no big deal, I'll just apply for the next term. Oh, when is that? NEXT May. Whatev. It's still done.


In other news, the Bulls are in the playoffs. For those of you residing with a man you will understand that this is like living alone temporarily. Well, with the exception of the constant roar of the tv and intermittent outbursts from the other room.

"Hot Sauce!"


What does that even mean?


So, that leaves Buddy & I here in the office, nestled among boxes yet to be packed. And lucky you, we're blogging!

Tonight for dinner I made a calorie-conscious meal in keeping with my new health initiatives.

Borrowed from Cooking Light,

Herb & Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts
served with sauteed spinach and whole wheat couscous


1/4 cup panko Japanese breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 4 oz package goat cheese
4 6 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 10 oz package fresh spinach
Lemon Wedges (optional)


1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. Combine first four ingredients in a small bowl. Cut a horizontal slit through the thickest portion of each breast half to form a pocket Stuff 2 Tablespoons cheese mixture into each pocket; close opening with a wooden pick. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt. 

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add 1 Tablespoon olive oil to pan. Add chicken to pan, and cook for 2 minutes on 1 side or until browned. Arrange chicken on a baking sheet (browned side up); broil for 8 minutes or until done.

4. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, red pepper, and spinach; cook for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Stir in the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.

chicken & spinach only 348 calories