Simply Tweaked

I wanted to have a new take on the Greek salad, and no that isn't just adding spinach instead of salad. I kept the classics and just added one major difference; Quinoa. I've grown pretty addicted to quinoa ever since I was introduced to it on my college campus. Of course when I first saw it I looked at it like 'ew what are those little ball things?' but when I actually tasted it I could picture how versatile it actually was. So while I was thinking about having a salad for dinner, I realized I didn't really have a taste for spinach and I wanted something else but with a unique texture so I thought QINUOA! Depending of the package of quinoa you buy the cooking times vary, some 10 and some 15. For this quinoa I just did 15 sine I accidetly threw away the package when I switched it to another container (oopies). Once the quinoa is done, strain then set aside, preferably in the bowl that you will be serving in or eating out of. But I didn't want t...

I am for all things chocolatey. I was so lucky to be introduced to this recipe by my sister and I had to make it right away. A gluten free, dairy free, and chocolate-full brownie...the best kind! And you will never guess what the secret ingredient is...Beans!! I promise you, you will not taste it in the least. All you will taste is the decadence of the chocolate. I took the liberty of changing the way this recipe is put together. Instead of using a a food processor, which the recipe calls for, I used a blender, which for me works just as well. Add all of the wet ingredients into the blender; beans, eggs, balsamic vinegar, almond milk, and oil, and blend until you do not see any chunks. Next is the tricky part; adding the dry ingredients. You can add all of the dry ingredients into the blender. If you have a really good blender it will power through the thickness of the batter...maybe that's why the recipe called for a food processor..uh oh. But it worked out fine f...

I love my food spicy, the spicier the better. So I decided to try a Kung Pao Chicken recipe. While making this recipe make sure to pay attention to the red pepper flakes and peanuts, they cook very quickly. Keep the stove on a very low setting so you don't burn either and the peanuts turn out very golden. (side note: breathing in sauteed pepper flakes may leave you with a cough for the rest of the night). What I tweaked in this recipe is low sodium soy sauce, and ground ginger. It is recommended that you serve it with white rice, but I have grown very fond of quinoa which tastes great to me with this meal. (pretty much any meal, I'm kind of addicted). Try out this recipe and let me know what you think and what you tweaked to your liking. Ingredients 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast, cut into chunks 3 Tbs peanut oil or vegetable oil 1 tsp red pepper flakes (or more to increase spiciness) 1/2 cup peanuts 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped 2 green onion, cut i...

I just returned from my trip Boston not to long ago to visit with family and to go to the Paramore and Fallout Boy concert, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I may have screamed a little more than I should have. But during my vacation me and my sister agreed we needed a day at the beach since all winter we were collecting an indecent amount of bathing suits. We decided to go to the beach in Gloucester MA, which is where her mother in law live. We stopped in with her for a bit and had lunch and chatted. We couldn't help but to rant and rave over her amazing chicken salad that she served with delicious crusty bread. She told us her secret, to cut down on time she bought a roasted chicken from the store and to it she added mayo, cayenne pepper, curry powder, and grapes. I was amazed at how so little ingredients made something taste so amazing. So I just had to try it myself. So for my recipe I kept the grapes, mayo and the ingeniously thought out roasted chicken from the st...

I love looking online for new recipes to try, and when the recipes come out extremely delicious I am an absolute happy camper. While doing my daily rummaging on my Google Plus I came across this recipe on Rachel Rays website and it sparked my interest. I thought about making it for a few weeks but never really got around to making it and opted for a very lazy meal instead, and since forgot about it. While I scrolled through my Google Plus the other day I came across the recipe again and I told myself 'Self, you are making this for dinner tonight' and I did. It came out so well I just had to pat myself on the back. I did need to make a few tweaks here and there due to not having some of the right ingredients and also making it work along with diet. So instead of the grated pecorino romano or parmigiano cheese I switched it out for Go Veggie! Mozzarella cheese. As for the hot Italian sausage, I had ground sausage on hand, and while I browned the meat I added pepper f...