Tuesdays at the Table (3)

I'm so excited that I'm actually keeping up with this weekly post...yay for consistency! Thank you to Cole for hosting Tuesdays at the Table! Also, I'd love to know if you post recipes on your own blog - I'm always looking for inspiration for the dinner table. Please let me know in the comments!

I'm sad to say that C & I have been eating out a lot more than usual lately. Neither of us wants to cook when it's so hot outside! But a couple of days ago, I was inspired by a post over at YumSugar to make Gwyneth Paltrow's Fried Zucchini Spaghetti because a) I love Gwynnie (duh!), and b) I love pasta!

This recipe is super easy to make, and it tastes delicious! You could definitely add chicken or shrimp to bulk it up, but we went vegetarian this time. I'm doubtful that Gwyneth eats this because it can't be very healthy, but I'll just tell myself that she does and that's why she looks so good!

Eat like Gwynnie = Look as good as Gwynnie!

Fried Zucchini Spaghetti

Serves: 4 / Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound small zucchini, very thinly sliced crosswise

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 pound spaghetti

1 cup shredded Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

1/2 cup torn basil leaves

Freshly ground pepper

Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the flour and a pinch of salt. In a large skillet, heat half of the oil until shimmering. Add half of the zucchini and fry over high heat, turning once or twice, until browned and crisp (3-4 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the zucchini to a paper towel-lined wire rack and season with salt. Repeat with the remaining oil and zucchini.

2. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Return the pasta to the pot and toss with the 1 cup of cheese, the basil, and a generous pinch of pepper. Add the reserved pasta water a little at a time, tossing well to coat. Transfer the pasta to a bowl and top with the crispy zucchini. Serve right away with lemon wedges and additional cheese.

This meal turned out delicious! From start to finish, I'd say it took under half an hour to throw together. The longest part was waiting for the pasta water to come to a boil. I also wanted to note that it's really important to reserve some of the pasta water because it does help to loosen up the pasta noodles once they've been mixed with the parmesan and basil, otherwise it gets too sticky and clumpy to work with.

I hope you'll make this soon! It's a very quick and tasty weeknight meal!

Please Make This For Dinner!

If I had one last wish, it would be that I could convince everyone to make this better than takeout orange chicken. I know that I say many of the recipes I make are "Delicious!" and "Yummy!" (and they are), but this orange chicken is incredible. It has to be one of the best, if not THE best, recipe I have ever made. I pinned this photo last week, and decided it needed to be made asap:

Source: thenoshery.com via Angela on Pinterest

Folks, I can't express how good this is! It tastes just like the orange chicken from a NICE Chinese restaurant and wayyyy better than orange chicken from a fast food Chinese joint.

I know the recipe seems slightly complicated, but it's really not. The most time consuming part is getting your chicken pieces breaded. Once that's done, quickly fry them up in a couple of inches of hot oil. The cornstarch/egg/panko breadcrumbs mixture makes the chicken so crunchy while keeping the inside moist and tender. I thought the sauce was going to be hard to make but it literally came together in less than 5 minutes.

So, if there's one thing to take away from all of this it would have to be...MAKE THIS ORANGE CHICKEN as soon as possible. You won't regret it, and you definitely won't buy the frozen orange chicken from Trader Joe's anymore, either (which is technically still good, but not really when compared to this).

PS - Since I am not a psychic, I had no idea that I would love this recipe as much as I did, hence why there are no step by step pictures here. However, I can guarantee that I will make it again soon, and I'll take pictures when I do!

PPS - HAPPY MONDAY! :)

Best of the Week

Welcome the return of Best of the Week (for this week at least...)! I liked writing this weekly recap so hopefully I can keep some consistency with it, but I make no promises!

I'm just happy because this week flew by for me! Without further ado...

Best of the Week

August 1 - 5, 2011

1. Well, we all knew that I couldn't let the season finale of The Bachelorette pass without mentioning it on my blog! I am so happy for Ashley & JP! Many people hate Ashley and rag on her for being a horrible bachelorette (which I did do that as well), but in the end I think she definitely made the right decision! As for Ashley's sister, I think she was way out of line with her behavior towards JP, but I'm glad that she has since apologized and admitted that she was wrong.

the picture from the photo album JP gave Ashley on their last date

Also, JP tweets now and Ashley has made her account public again!

2. I made a delicious dinner this week, courtesy of Gwyneth Paltrow. I will share the how-to and pictures next week for Tuesdays at the Table, but here is a sneak peek:

Yum! The best part was how quick & easy it was!

3. Shark Week! It's scary to see these animals in action, but fascinating! My favorite show this week was Shark City.

As a side note, C & I watched Soul Surfer last night and I cried at least 15 times. Like, legitimately had tears rolling down my face. It was so inspiring and really teaches a lesson that even if bad things happen to good people, it doesn't mean you have to react in a negative way. Instead, try to see the good in everything and every situation!

And one not so "Best of the Week" event:

My bike and I had a fight with the road, and unfortunately, the road won. It wasn't that horrible of a fall, but it still hurts! My hand is bruised from where I fell on it and my side is also bruised up. But luckily I was able to get back up and keep on going! (After remaining on the road for a few seconds...it was embarrassing!)

PS - If you are a biker/runner/walker you should have a RoadID! It's a bracelet that has your name, your emergency contact's number, your insurance number, blood type, known allergies, etc. so in case you are in a bad accident, emergency help will have all of the information they need to help you immediately. Here is mine (info blacked out for obvious reasons):

Have a great weekend!

Everyday Essentials

I'll be the first to admit that beauty and style are not my forte. I tend to wear the exact same clothes over and over again, I rarely branch out of my comfort zone, and I haven't put on makeup in oh...about a month. Yes, this means I go bare-faced to work. Horrifying, huh? I'm sure my coworkers would agree!

But I do have everyday essentials that I rely on in my daily routine and I thought I'd share those with you today. I always like to get ideas of new drugstore products that are worth trying so I hope some of you find this interesting and/or helpful.

I buy most of my supplies at Target except for the eos products, which I can only seem to find at Wal-Mart or Rite Aid.

BODY

Dial Vanilla Honey body wash smells so good, but also leaves your skin feeling hydrated and smooth. This is one of the few body washes that I can still smell on my skin after a long day of work, including when I commute in on my bike.

Why are razors and razor refills so expensive? I have tried all different brands, but my favorite is Schick Quattro. I find that they don't dull as quickly as some of the others. I get the ones for sensitive skin because my legs are really dry so the aloe helps to keep them from getting itchy after shaving.

I recently wanted to try the eos shave cream. It's definitely more like a lotion. It doesn't foam up and sort of dissolves when it touches your skin so you can't see if it's there or not. It took awhile to get used to, but it keeps your skin soft and smooth.

FACE WASH

My skin is prone to breakouts even though I'm far from my teenage years. Adult acne is not a joke! I use a combination of things to help prevent breaking out or at least minimize it. Two or three times a week, I will use St. Ives Apricot Scrub, which exfoliates the skin and helps stop breakouts before they occur.

As a daily face wash I use Neutrogena Acne Stress Control face wash because 1) it smells good and 2) it makes my face feel tingly, which in turn makes me think that it's clean! Yes, I'm weird. I do like this face wash and it doesn't dry my skin out too much.

I read somewhere a long time ago that you should use a sponge to wash your face. I picked up these EcoTools facial sponges a couple of weeks ago at Target and I do feel like my face is getting a better cleanse when I use it.

MOUTH/LIPS

I can't tell you how many times people tell me how white my teeth are. Yes, I had them whitened...in 2002! The dentist told me that it would last about two years and I'm going on 9. I'm not sure why they're still so white, but I think it's probably because I don't drink coffee or coke and I use a whitening toothpaste daily. Trust me though, I'm not complaining!

I floss every single morning! My mouth does not feel clean if I don't. Plus it's good for your heart.

I brush my teeth with Colgate Total Whitening Paste. I actually do like it more than Crest, and I also like the paste way more than gel styles.

I can't finish this post without professing my love for eos lip balm! Not only is the packaging totally cute (albeit slightly less functional than a regular chapstick), but it really works! It's hydrating, smooth, and doesn't leave your lips feeling greasy. My favorite flavor is the summer fruit!

So those are my very basic everyday essentials! Feel free to let me know in the comments if I'm missing out on something wonderful!

Tuesdays at the Table (2)

I'm linking up with Cole over at All the Small Stuff for Tuesdays at the Table to share an easy and delicious breakfast recipe with you.

This is a combination of a couple of different recipes that I came across while searching for easy, freezable breakfast ideas. I would say I was most influenced by this recipe in particular.

Breakfast Burritos

Makes: A LOT (I got 16) / Prep: 10 minutes / Cook: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb sausage (I used Jimmy Dean Reduced Fat)

1/2 sweet onion

1 bag shredded hash browns

11 eggs, beaten and scrambled

1 cup shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)

16 flour tortillas

Directions

1. Cook hash browns according to package directions.

2. At the same time, in a different pan, cook sausage according to package directions and add onion during last few minutes of cooking.

3. Add hash browns and sausage mixture to a large bowl to cool a bit.

4. Beat eggs and season with salt and pepper. Add milk or water to keep eggs tender.

5. Scramble eggs over low heat. Once done, mix in with the hash browns and sausage.

6. Add shredded cheese to mixture.

6. Using a 1/3 cup measuring spoon, place mixture in the center of a flour tortilla. Wrap and place seam side down on a baking tray.

7. Once all of the burritos are made place the baking tray in the freezer for about an hour.

8. Once fully frozen, place burritos in individual ziploc bags and store in the freezer for an easy grab-and-go breakfast.

To serve: Wrap your frozen burrito in a paper towel and heat in the microwave for about 1:30 to 2 minutes.

Here is my yummy breakfast burrito this morning! It is so good with salsa and sour cream also.