Do Your Plate Up RIGHT!

Remember the food pyramid? Rice and grains making up the huge base, then fruits and veggies, and even smaller meat and dairy, and the smallest being the sweets and fats. It was so last decade...or more...

Now there's the plate model (choosemyplate.gov), where you have a section of plate for protein, another for grain, then fruits, and veggies, and a side of dairy. Thank you Michelle Obama! Brilliant!

 It makes perfect sense and much easier to visualize...

Last night's meal: Brined pork chops (grilled) with egg noodle pasta (butter and meyer lemon evoo), french cut green beans, and a salad. Where's the dairy you ask? Butter in egg noodles! Bam!!

It's a good start and an easy way to make sure you're getting all the right nutrients your body needs. A healthy body is a happy body!

My husband and I have agreed to eat better Monday- Thursday...but come the weekend...oh yeah!! I L-O-V-E to eat! It's one of my favorite hobbies. :)

I hope ya'll get inspired to dress up your plates better, and live a happy, healthy life!

God Bless Ya'll,
:) Jen

Sending Pork Chops to Davy Jones Locker!

One of my favorite ways to make pork chops is by brining them! Mmm, so delicious! I'm drooling just thinking about them...Okay, I'm back.

The reason being is they stay nice and moist through the cooking process- including reheating leftovers in the microwave! A miracle!



There they are...floating in the sweet and salty brine!

 Brines are super easy to make, and can be used on other meats or veggies as well.

The brine I made includes water, salt, molasses, and whole peppercorns. Mix it all together, then put the pork chops in. Cover, and refrigerator for about 4-6 hours. Then you can cook them up however you like!

An easy well to make a great weekend meal with A LOT of flavor. And if you have leftovers, brining these pork chops will still taste great when they've been reheated in the microwave at work!

Enjoy!
:) Jen

Guacamole Turkey Burger Sliders

SO GOOOD!!! These turned out really well! I made turkey burger sliders for an upcoming event, and I incorporated lime juice, panko breadcrumbs, and fresh cilantro into the ground turkey. Made them into meatballs, and cooked them in oil. As they cooked, I squashed them (oh yeah!) into little slider burgers. I dressed them with tomatoes, red onion, and avocado, and it just came out SO delicious!

Great party meal because 3 filled me up! I plan to pair these with a chipotle tortilla soup. Mmmm! Best part, it's actually kinda healthy, right?! Lean turkey meat, avocado as a heart healthy fat, fresh tomato, I'm going to need to make myself some of these BEFORE the event, or I'll eat them ALL!!! Muwhahahaha!

Get creative in the kitchen!
Love Ya'll,
:) Jen

This was a catering gig from October 2011 for the St. Augustine Alligator Farm's male Saltwater Crocodile, Maximo. He turned 40!

It was a great day- shows, prizes, scavenger hunts for the kiddies, and Maximo got his own "cupcake" out of meat and other tasty treats (it doesn't bother me, but not everyone is like me, so I'll just leave it at that!)

And I provided the humans with human cupcakes (haha)- chocolate, sugar cookie vanilla, and lemon! I made lots of these cupcakes into the shape of a crocodile, and used a chocolate decoration on top to be Maximo's scutes (the rough scales on the neck, back, and tail). There was also a 40 on one side and a 40 on the other side with little chocolate alligators in dark, milk, and white chocolate (those were the albino alligators ;)


That's my husband's handsome foot in the photo.

If you don't know, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm is a zoological park (never functioned as a true farm) with all the species of crocodilians (the ONLY place in the world like it) and has tons of other beautiful reptiles from Indonesia and Australia, a Florida Native Exhibit that is just spectacular, lots of different birds from all over the world, little monkeys, and awesome Red Ruffed Lemurs from Madagascar. It's a beautiful place- one of my favorite places in the whole wide world! Go! Check it out!
http://www.alligatorfarm.com/  

Thanks for reading! Get inspired!

Love Ya'll,
:) Jen

Still Lovin' the Portabella Mushrooms!

Once again, I went for the delicious and comforting taste of portabella mushrooms- cooked in evoo, salt, pepper in a skillet- YUUUUMMMM!!!!

This time, I put it on top of a pile of mashed potatoes seasoned with dill, and dressed it up with the yummy taste of buttery lima beans. I don't know why people don't like lima beans- its a buttery tasting bean. I mean, "hello!" BUTTER MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER! That's one of my mottos- another motto is: if you can't sing well, then sing loud.

Anyways, I think I got a little carried away with the presentation...but oh well...it was delicious nonetheless!

Don't be afraid to try new things and experiences- especially with food. No worries- just a good time!

Love Ya'll,
:) Jen

Learn-to-Cook!

Learning to cook parties or single sessions can either be a great excuse to get the girls over and learn how to make some delicious and fun food, or have a private session to learn how to cook up something special for your huney! (Haha, then they'll be impressed you made something that's so easy but sounds exotic and fancy!)

I like to offer this to ya'll as way to share what I know and what I'm learning, but more importantly, I can help you expand your cooking and/or baking skills using your own kitchen and your own equipment.

So, ideas I have are:

Cupcakes or Cake pops - Learn to make from scratch yummy cupcakes or super fun cake pops. Learn to how to decorate them, and this is a fun party idea for any age. I'm currently working on vegan recipes and cake pop ideas. :) P.S. I LOVE cupcakes!

Pasta - Learn how to make your own sauces and what pastas go with the right sauce. Also, how to cook pasta, the right way! Some think that all you need to do is add pasta to water- but pasta can be undercooked and OVERcooked and mushy and yuck!



Penne pasta works well with thicker sauce, whereas spaghetti loves tomato sauce!



Girls Night In! - save money on going out to the bar, and enjoy a night together around the kitchen with a wine and chocolate tasting, learn how to make easy (and fancy-looking) chocolate desserts, and don't forget the "raw" chocolate chip cookie dough. It's "raw" because there's no egg in it, so it's safe to eat, but (haha) don't try to cook it. I saw one of my favorite bloggers try to make the dough into cookies...but egg is a leavening agent, which means they won't become cookies without it!

So, I've got so many other ideas, but I figure these are good one's to start with!

<Meant for St. Augustine/Jacksonville area only, unless you want to pay for my travel and lodging expenses, then we can talk ;) Sometimes, I go to Tampa, so that's an option, too- ask me when I'll be in the area.

Learn to cook or bake, and in general, have fun!

Love Ya'll,
:) Jen

My Herb Babies

I don't know what I did before I had my herb garden in my kitchen! I love having fresh herbs right there where I need them. Oregano, thyme, sweet basil, parsley, and culantro (it's a milder taste than cilantro, but same great smell), and outside I have lavender, sage, lemon-lime basil, and a variety of mints. 

Culantro in blue pot, next to my orchids and pitcher plants.



Fresh versus dried: Dried herbs have more concentrated flavor, so you would use less of it than fresh. Fresh herbs offer delightfully fragent and delicious flavor to the meals.



I've been trying my hand at drying my herbs and going through the 3 different techniques to determine what will work best for me. The trick is drying them enough that they don't mold in the container and not too much that you lose the flavor. I've hung them out to dry for 1-2 weeks, which worked well enough, except it was in the laundry and was a little weird for 1-2 weeks. There's also the oven and a dehydrator. Those techniques are next!





It's been easy to maintain a herb garden, just water every other day, and even though "they" say herbs do not need fertilizers, I've noticed a different reaction. I would normally give them my espresso grounds, and they grew so fast without compromising flavors, but recently, I've been without espresso, and so have they. My little herb babies have not grown like they use to...but soon, my darlings, soon...



My thyme is crazy lookin', huh?





Really something worth trying. It's easy and immensely rewarding!

Thanks for reading and I hope this inspires you to bring some greenry into your cooking!

Love Ya'll,

:) Jen