Baked Apricot Chicken

Hi everyone! 

So a couple years ago, my mom and I took a day trip to Ft. Myers and discovered their Seminole Gulf Murder Mystery Dinner train. It's a really fun concept and is so different than anything we had ever experienced before. Aside from the awesome entertainment, the food was incredible! They usually have three dinner entree options to pick from, and I was fortunate enough to choose their Baked Apricot Chicken. The BEST chicken I have ever had! Now I am not saying this is an exact replica of theirs but I did my best to put my own spin on it! 

This is Philip's favorite dish of mine! 

For starters, you will need:

• Chicken Drumsticks 
• 1 Lemon
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper (I use Mrs. Dash Table Blend for the Pepper!)
• Apricot Preserve 
• Worcestire Sauce

First things first, I start by slicing up the lemon and arranging the slices on my baking dish. Then I place the drumsticks right on top of them. I bought this pack of chicken at Target for around $7.00 and this is only half of the meat! I saved the other half in the freezer to make this again because Philip literally begs for them! 

Next I just season the chicken with salt and Mrs. Dash Table Blend and some olive oil. 

Then it's time to baste your chicken! I bought the Smuckers Simply Fruit Apricot Preserve. Honestly, because it was all that Target had in the flavor. I might look further in the future for something a little more natural and less sugar but this is still delicious!

Just brush this onto your chicken so that it has a nice glaze. Lastly, I sprinkle some Worcestire Sauce all over as well. 

Now pop your chicken into the oven at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes. 

When you are done, voila! You will have a delicious meal! Pair this with your choice of sides, I typically go with a starch and a veggie and you are good to go! 

Bon Appetite! 

XO. 

Grilled Beef Skewers

Like most adults nowadays, Philip and I both work full time jobs. We both spend 40+ hours at work a week. We both work 8 to 5. Now like most, we come home pretty tired from the daily grind. While we could easily pick up food on the way home, order take out, or just go out to eat, we started cooking, pretty much every single night, as soon as we moved in together. Now don't get me wrong, we still go out to eat probably once or twice a week but we leave those times for the weekend when we can splurge and really enjoy ourselves.

I do my best to plan out meals that don't require a ton of ingredients, a ton of prep time, and a ton of cook time, so we can eat delicious healthy, fresh food, not to long after getting home, on a budget! 

I thought I would share some of our meals going forward to show you it's not too hard to cook at night even if you work all day. 

On the menu tonight...

Grilled Steak Skewers! 

Total Time: About 30 minutes including prep and cooking

You will need the following:

• Beef Tips - I bought this at Target on sale for $4.99! There was so much meat! It's the Angus Beef Stew Meat - Philip seasoned this with some all purpose Mrs. Dash seasoning 
• 1 Pineapple
• 1 Red Onion
• Bell Peppers - We used 1 red and 1 yellow and saved the orange for another day
• Wood Skewers - Got these at Target for $2.99

First things first, prep your skewers! We just chopped the fruit and veggies into bite size pieces and assembled them on the skewers. We tried to go Onion, Pepper, Beef, Pineapple, Repeat...

Then we popped them right onto an indoor grill.

We let them cook, and just turned them occasionally until the meat had cooked about medium rare. 

We paired this with some Cilantro Lime Poblano Rice that they sell in the freezer section at Target, and you are ready to chow down! 

After food had settled, I popped some Gluten-Free, Dairy Free (pre-packaged) cookies into the oven and am about to indulge!!!

XO.

My Go-To Healthy Breakfast

Hello there! 

If you're on this post, it must mean you are looking for something healthy and delicious to kick start your day! I know you've probably heard this a million times before but breakfast really is the MOST important meal of the day, for so many reasons. 

Overnight your body goes into a fasting mode while you sleep, hence the term "breakfast" or "break-fast". Once you wake up, you have no fuel/energy to use up to get you going for the day. Not only will that leave you feeling sluggish, but will also cause cravings and lead you to wanting a bigger lunch than if you had filled your tank in the morning. Now you may think skipping meals is an effective way to lose weight, but you are so wrong! Our bodies are built for survival. If you starve your body, it is going to kick into that mode of doing whatever it takes to survive, including storing excess fats and waste thinking it is being deprived for later. If you want to shed the bad and the bloat, you have to feed your body with the good. The bad will eventually filter its way out. 

That is why people bloat water, its the body's way of holding on to what is most important. If you consume enough water, every single day, the bloat will eventually disappear, because your body is not relying on the bloat, but rather the intake. 

Now any who, I am getting carried away. Here is my go to healthy breakfast! 

Protein Pancakes! 

As part of the Tone It Up team, breakfast protein pancakes are just essential! I have linked their step by step ingredient video here in case you are interested...

Don't you just love them!

Essentially though, you will need

• Half a banana
• 1/2 TBS Almond Milk
• 1/4 C Egg Whites
• A dash of cinnamon
• A scoop of your preferred protein (I use the Perfect Fit in Vanilla)

You are just going to mash the banana in a bowl, slowly mix in the almond milk, egg whites, cinnamon, and protein until fully combined, and then pour onto a greased pan over medium heat, at about 3-5 minutes you will need to flip! 

There you have it, the perfect, and delicious, protein filled breakfast! 

It kinda makes you feel like your indulging too! I mean come on, pancakes, for a healthy breakfast, but these include no flour, egg yolks, or sugars! Woop Woop! Top with some agave and whatever else you'd like and be on your way to starting your day in a positive way!

XO - and Good Morning :) 

Holy Guacamole! Step by Step

Philip and I were really craving Guacamole one day, and he just decided to kind of improvise in the kitchen and it turned out to be the most delicious guac I have ever had! Now it's something our friends and family ask him to make all the time! If you're looking for a fairly simple yet delicious way to make your own Guacamole, here is our take.

You will need the following:

- Cilantro

- Avocados - for our recipe for just the two of us we use 2 but feel free to add more if you have a larger group

-Red Onion

-Lime

-Tomato

-Salt

First start my cutting your avocados and pitting them.

We like to use a spoon and just scoop the avocado into a large mixing bowl.

Then Mash, we use a potato masher, it is a lot quicker than using a fork.

Next, you are going to prep the rest of your ingredients. We used about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, half a tomato, half a red onion, a handful of cilantro, and half a lime. Then... Chop! 

Next, a little tip on how to store your cilantro. I love cilantro, its a staple in my house but figuring out how to store it is crucial for keeping it well. If you leave it out of the bag it will shrivel up and dry out, but if you leave it in the grocery bag it gets brown and mushy. 

The trick is to place the cilantro in a zip loc bag with a damp paper towel. 

Add your ingredients and MIX! 

Finally top it off with some fresh lime juice! 

That's it, you are done! Serve up with some fresh chips and add a little extra salt as desired. 

Bon Appétit 

Stay tuned for more of my personal Chef's creations! 

XO