Spoiler Alert!!

Just a heads up to all our faithful followers....

Annie and Lexy will be together again in 2 weeks from today!! Yes, that's right, two weeks!!! This time taking Cleveland by storm! Stay tuned for some excessive blogging and gluttony to ensue :)

Quick, Easy, and Super Yummy Dinner!

The other day I couldn't decide what to make for dinner. I spent many an hour scouring the internet (internets?) for something yummy to eat. Then low and behold on allrecipes.com i found a recipe for a yummy spicy/sweet sauce to put on chicken. Now, we all know that Annie is not a friend of the meat, but there are boys in her and my life that are not satisfied unless there is a chunk of dead something on their plate. BUT the cool thing about this recipe is that I think it's really good and easy to make it meat-free, OR perhaps with some soy curls?!?! So, here is what I did (or rather what Kevin and I did...he helped).

SAUCE
mix together:
1 Tablespoon brown sugar (I use splenda brown sugar)
2 Tablespoons honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (about 3ish garlic cloves)
2 Tablespoons hot sauce (taco sauce...)

1) Cut some chicken up into stir fry size pieces
2) Grill chicken on your panini/george forman grill until cooked
3) Put chicken in skillet with sauce and stir around for awhile (about 5 minutes or so on medium heeat)
4) Cook a bag of frozen veggies (I just use a stir fry mix that you microwave for 5 minutes and cooks in the bag)
5) Take chicken out of skillet and put in bowls with some rice (rice is cooking while you are cooking the chicken)
6) Throw bag of veggies in the skillet with the left over sauce and stir around to coat
7) Put veggies in bowl with rice and chicken (if you're eating meat....)

AND THATS IT!! Super easy! This whole meal seriously takes maybe 20 minutes from start to finish. I usually cook about a cup of rice for 2 people. I make my bowl with just a little bit of rice and a ton of veggies. Kevin's has lots of rice, no veggies, and lots of chicken.

I also think that you could take soy curls and rehydrate according to directions and then put them in the skillet and cook just like it were chicken. I have big plans to try that at some point.

ranch dressing!

ranch with 1.5 grams of fat??!  i didn't believe it until i tasted this magical treat from trader joes.  this parmesan ranch dressing tastes like a drip of heaven (not like the typical nasty diet ranch dressing) and rings in at only 30 calories and 1.5 grams of fat per 2 T serving.  INCREDIBLE!  i promptly went back to the store and purchased 3 bottles, which are anxiously awaiting my tummy in the fridge.  you can find this yummy treat in the salad section of trader joes (with the bagged spinach) and it must reside in the fridge, even before it is opened.  

Stuffed Pepper Goodness

This recipe is pretty easy, and it can work really well if you make it in advance. You can stuff peppers with pretty much anything under the sun... this is what i did with my peppers....

Stuffing:
Rice (i make my rice in a rice cooker and i put about 1/4 cup salsa in with the water--use less water than normal)
black beans
sauteed zucchini
(i would also recommend corn, carrots, and onion)

How to stuff your pepper:
bring a pot of water to boil then put the peppers inside (they should be cleaned out.... you can cut them in half, or just cut the top off, whatever works for you).
Let the pepper cook in boiling water for about 3-5 minutes (you want it to get a little soft)
Put pepper under cold water to stop it from cooking
Stuff your pepper with your mixture
Top with a little bit of cheese

Bake in the oven at 350 for about 25-30 minutes

And there you have it! A yummy stuffed pepper!! I like the rice and beans as my base and then adding whatever sort of veggies i have laying around the house. yum yum :)

immaculate baking company

thanks to the incredible laura isaacs (thank you friend) i have discovered the wonder of immaculate baking company's oatmeal raisin cookies.  these little bites of goodness are 1 pt each, and are certainly one of the most magical organic treats that have ever hit my kitchen.  they also win props for being super duper easy to make (just break and bake).  woo-hooo!

recreating portland noodles

as you may or may not know, while i was in portland, lexy and i returned on two occasions to a magical restaurant called Blossoming Lotus.  for all of you living (or visiting) in portland, you must go here asap and order the thai peanut noodles with soy curls.  it will change your life.

in fact, it changed my life so much that i came home determined to make some of my own-- and i did!  while it is not totally fat free (or even close to it) i am justifying it by saying that it is made mostly healthy and natural ingredients...  so, i think this is a health food.  regardless, it is amazing.

here is what you need:

-butler soy curls (these are a magical find that lexy made... it is most likely that they are not available in your area, and if you are not going to order them online, i suggest either leaving it out of the recipe or using tofu or chicken instead)

-some random veggies... i used french green beans, lots of broccoli, asparagus, and carrots... nex time i will probably add red peppers

-high fiber spaghetti noodles

(for the sauce)

-2 T soy sauce

-1/3 cup natural pb (i used creamy)

-1 T maple syrup

- 3 T fresh lime juice

-around 1ish t of chili paste (in asian cooking section)

-1 clove minced garlic

-1 T sesame seeds

-1 t powdered ginger

-fresh cilantro

-unsalted peanuts

so, what you do is this:

1) if you are using the soy curls, soak them in water like the directions say, drain, and then marinade in 1 T soy sauce and 1 t ginger powder... if you aren't using the curls, do the same thing with the tofu/chicken.  cook these two accordingly when you are done (to cook the tofy, cut it up and put it in the oven until dried up a little and browned)

2) boil water, throw in noodles... however many you want, i only made a little and went heavy on the veggies

3) steam veggies

4) after veggies are steamed, throw them in a frying pan to continue heating, toss in noodles and soy curls (or tofu or chicken) as well, put on low

5) mix up all the sauce ingredients and make smooth (i had to microwave mine to get the pb soft)

6) put as much as you'd like over the veggie noodle mix, mix all together

7) toss some fresh cilantro and peanuts on top... add lime juice to tastes-- VOILA!  

Good Bye Annie.... :(

Yes, dear friends... it is that time. Annie has to leave :( Well....she technically doesn't have to leave right now. Her flight does not leave until 10:30 p.m. and its only 8:13, but Annie is a bit of a crazy pants and believes that she has to be at the airport 6 hours ahead of time..... its not worth going into....

We hope all of you enjoyed reading about all of our adventures. We know that all of you found this weekend vacation as enjoyable to read about as it was for us to actually experience. I guess we'll have to go back to our individual blogs for a few months. Back to writing about food that we make in our homes... alone...

Here is a quick recap of what we did together:

Thursday: Vegan Restaurant and first cupcake review (st. cupcake)
Friday: Had lunch with Kevin (and brought him a cupcake!), went to Lexy's work, bought mexican pastries, had awesome kick-ass mexican fiesta, second cupcake review (sweet pea).
Saturday: Saturday Market downtown portland, third cupcake review (Bliss Baking Co.), Dinner at the movie theater Cinetopia (we saw Slumdog Millionaire, and it was awesome!)
Sunday: Massages! fancy chocolate time, fourth and fifth cupcake reviews (Cupcake Jones and second location of St. Cupcake), second time at vegan restaurant Blossoming Lotus.
Monday: Sat on our butts and watched Grey's Anatomy all day (season 4 = complete), left the house for a few minutes to go to Cupcake Jones again (had to try different flavors) and buy Annie some fiberful bars at Trader Joes. Made yummy veggie burger dinner.

booo. lexy and annie living in different states is stupid. BUT... only a few short months until Annie's birthday and some new and exciting adventures...this time in Cleveland!!