Heavenly Frozen Custard

On the way back from a meeting yesterday, my boss, a fellow foodie, really had a taste for frozen custard. And let's face it, it doesn't take much to convince me to make a pitstop for ice cream of any kind. We stopped at this place called Rita's. Which I had driven by before, but everytime I see it I think of margaritas. (Maybe that's telling me something.)

Anyway, they have frozen custard and also Italian Ice. We tried this fat-free vanilla custard that was absolutely heavenly. I couldn't believe it was fat-free. It totally hit the spot, especially on a warm, Florida day. Prices aren't too bad either. Their prices are lower than Cold Stone or Marble Slab.

You can guarantee I will be stopping by there more often. There are several Tampa Bay locations, plus they can be found in other states as well. Here is the link to their website: http://www.ritasice.com/.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

The Sweetest Time of Year

It is that time again... Girl Scout cookie time! I know I am trying to eat healthier, so buying three boxes of Girl Scout cookies probably wasn't the best idea, but I don't care. I put them in my freezer and I'll eat them slowly.

My rationale is that buying the cookies is for a good cause. Those little Girl Scouts need people to buy their cookies because it funds their programs. And let's face it, these are tough economic times. They need as many people as possible to buy their yummy cookies. It only comes around once a year.

I like tagalongs, thin mints and samoas. Thin mints are especially good frozen or crushed on top of ice cream. What is your favorite kind?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

My First Cooking Experience with Tilapia

Last night I wanted to make something healthy, so I decided on fish. I had been wanting to make tilapia for some time, so I thought now was better than ever. I seasoned the tilapia with a little salt and pepper. Sauteed it in a skillet with a little olive oil and juice from half a lemon. I cooked the tilapia for 5 minutes on each side. When it was almost done, I added the juice of another lemon, a tablespoon of butter, a little fresh parsley and some capers. I served it with fresh, steamed green beans and brown rice.

The tilipia came out perfectly. It was moist and flaky. I loved it so much I bought some more tilapia at the market today and plan to make fish tacos later this week.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Neighbors from H-E-L-L

I'm sure everyone can relate to having experienced annoying neighbors at some point in their life. I just thought that when I owned a home that I wouldn't really have to deal with it anymore. I was sorely mistaken.

My husband and I bought our townhouse three years ago, and at first everything was fine. It was a quiet condominium community with people really caring about the property, and for the most part it still is, except for a few select people. The way we are set up is that our townhouse is on the 2nd and 3rd floors, so we have another condo unit below us. It is currently being rented out by some very loud and disrespectful people. We constantly hear them yelling and banging shit around through the floor of our downstairs. I am not even sure who actually lives there and who doesn't. People are coming and going all the time I can't keep them straight. They can't even walk from their van to their house without screaming and hollering. Seriously, if I can hear your entire conversation, clear as day, from the inside of my house, you're being to effing loud!

The worst part is they're ruining the property. They broke two of their front bay windows one night in November! Helllooo, it is now March for heaven's sake! And they weren't broken because someone tried to break in or anything. They were being roudy and fighting and poof! window broken. I can only imagine what the inside of the place looks like. I finally called the association and reported it the other week. Some of my other neighbors who actually care about the state of their property have complained as well. And today when we came home from work I noticed the windows were finally fixed. It only took four months.

Now, I don't have anything against renters, but it really pisses me off when people act like they don't give a shit. Some of us own our home and have an investment in the community, so it is important to us for the property to be maintained and not trashed. Seriously, do I need to explain to people that taping up two broken windows for four months is trashy? This isn't "suitcase city" it is Carrollwood. We don't roll like that here.

I am going to make it my personal mission to get them evicted. Not only are they damaging their unit, but they have started destroying communal property. Nothing pisses me off more than vandalism. They have messed with the wrong modern housewife. Stay tuned...

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Fast and Lighter Chicken Parmesan

Last night I opened my freezer to see what I had in there to make for dinner tonight. I saw chicken cutlets and all my bags of marinara sauce. Then I thought, well I have lots of pasta in the pantry and some fresh parmesan and mozzarella, and voila! my dinner plan was complete. This chicken parmesan is easier, faster and lighter than traditional chicken parm, yet it has all the flavor. Bon Appetito.

Ingredients
4 chicken cutlets, about a pound total
2 cups marinara sauce
grated mozzarella
grated parmesan
dabs of butter
olive oil
salt and pepper
dried basil

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Season the chicken cutlets on both sides with a sprinkle of dried basil, salt and pepper. In an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Add the chicken and brown on both sides. (Don't worry about the chicken being cooked all the way through, you're going to finish it in the oven.)

Remove the skillet from the heat, pour marinara sauce around and over the chicken. Top each cutlet with a little mozzarella and parmesan, add a couple of dabs of butter to each as well. Place the skillet in the oven for about 8-10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the chicken is cooked through (no longer pink in the middle and juices run clear).

I served this over multigrain spaghetti and a side of steamed broccoli.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

The Unfrozen Pizza

Tonight I made a pizza, and it wasn't frozen and it wasn't delivered. I used fresh ingredients and took a little help from the store to make a delicious and lite chicken pesto pizza.

Chicken-Pesto Pizza
1 store bought thin crust pizza dough (I use the Pillsbury one that is in the tube, found in the refrigerated section)
Prepared pesto (Whatever flavor you like. I used my leftover parsley pesto, but in the past I have used Buttoni's basil pesto)
Shredded chicken (I got some help from the store and bought a rotisserie chicken.)
Artichoke hearts (from the can; drained, rinsed and quartered)
Sundried tomatoes, sliced
Red onion, sliced
Crumbled feta cheese

Now, this isn't a science. If you don't like one of the ingredients I used, omit it. You don't need to measure anything, just use whatever amount looks good to you.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Open the tube of dough and unroll the dough onto a cookie sheet that has been greased with noncooking spray. Place the dough in the oven and precook for 8 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Spread an even, thin layer of pesto onto the warm dough. Top with the shredded chicken, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, red onion and feta cheese. Place in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

If you like lots of seasoning, after you spread on the pesto, season the pizza with a little cracked red pepper, garlic powder, black pepper, dried oregano and basil.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Caprese Panini and Super Fast Tomato Soup

Tonight I made a very fast and yummy tomato soup that has white beans and ditalini pasta in it. I also made a delicious panini with tomato, eggplant, mozzarella and parsley pesto.

For the Paninis
4 slices of Whole grain bread
4 slices of tomato
4 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
4 slices of eggplant
parsley pesto (see my recipe on a previous post or use store bought, any flavor you like)

First, slice the eggplant about a 1/4 inch thick. Drizzle with olive oil; salt and pepper. Place in a preheated non-stick pan over medium heat. Cook on both sides until golden brown and the eggplant has soften.

To build the sandwiches. Lightly drizzle each slice of bread with olive oil. Turn over. On the bottom slice, place the mozzarella, then the tomato, then the eggplant. On the top slice of bread, opposite side of the oil, spread a thin, even layer of pesto. Place pesto side down on top of the eggplant. Move the sandwiches to a preheated panini press and close the top, pressing down ever so slightly. (Or if you don't have a panini press, use a skillet turning the sandwich over once and weighing it down with another heavy skillet or pan.)

I had leftover pesto, which I am going to use tomorrow on a pizza. I also had leftover eggplant, which I am thinking about making into baba ganoush (a dip similar to hummus.) Stay tuned!

For the Quick Tomato Soup
This soup recipe is courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis.
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (26-ounce) jar of marinara sauce
2 (14-ounce) cans of chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup ditalini pasta (or other small shape)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper

Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion and garlic, saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the jar of marinara sauce, chicken broth, beans, red pepper flakes, pasta, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve.

How fast and simple is that? And it is so tasty and the beans and pasta make it rather hearty. Plus, I already had a ton of marinara sauce in my freezer, (see Holy Marinara! post) so I was able to skip the first step since the sauce already has onions, carrots and garlic in it. I just pulled out one of my freezer bags of marinara this morning to defrost and I was ready to go when I got home from work. Just poured the sauce and chicken broth into the pot, brought it to a simmer and added the rest of the ingredients. Ten minutes later the soup was finished!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad