salmon & brown butter couscous

these pictures don't do this meal justice.

the couscous was amazing - new fave recipe.

with the toasted pine nuts, browned butter, white wine and fresh lemon zest.

delicious!
and the salmon was perfect. easy and amazing.

enjoy!

ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1 cup uncooked couscous

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1 (14.5-ounce) can fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets

  cooking spray

recipe via cooking light

directions

1. preheat over to 450 degrees

2. heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook 3 minutes or until browned.

add nuts; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. add couscous; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. add wine and broth; bring to a boil. cover, remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes.

fluff with a fork; stir in rind, juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper.

3. combine white pepper and next 4 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon salt) in a small bowl.

coat salmon fillets with cooking spray. sprinkle fillets with spice mixture.

place salmon on foil lined baking sheet. bake 12-14 minutes or until done.

4. serve with fresh grilled veggies. enjoy!

mother's day gift guide

in honor of mother's day i wanted to share two things with you:
1. advice from my mom for the special day, and
2. a gift guide for your mother's this may.

i hope you sufficiently enjoy both :)

first, a little something from mom...

my best ever mother's day was when you and your bother
were both very little (i'm thinking 6 & 4 years old)

usually the dad races around getting things so the kids can 'give' their mom presents. 
i remember thinking that it would be an interesting mother's day
since there wasn't any dad around to do that. 

it turned out to be my best mother's day ever.

you kids made me coffee and pancakes and served me them while I waited in bed. 
then you both started bringing me your gifts,
starting with whatever you had made in school for mother's day
and then you both had drawn some pictures. well it went on and on...
while I stayed in bed you guys both just kept running out of the room to color me more presents.
I seriously had at least a dozen works of art from each of you, blanketing the entire bed. 
you both were determined to make it a special day for me
and knew you were on your own to get that put together. 
success - it was awesome. 

i think the lesson for mother's day is that the gift itself isn't very important
but more that it comes from the child's heart. 

as kids get older, I love cards that are carefully selected
my favorite from you is still on my desk, it says:
"you know, even if you weren't my mom, I would go out of my way to be friends with you"

favorite from Bradley was when he was in second grade,
he made a picture of him with a dinosaur and he wrote:
 "my love for you will never become extinct"

WOW. okay, i don't know that these 10 gifts ideas below will top that, but you can try :)

1. glassy baby candles
perfect for any room of the house.
(could be a new tradition to get her one to add to her collection for every holiday!)

2. a cute summery tote.

perfect for the mom on the go.

(thank you nordstrom)

3. a classy watch.

i'm loving these new kate spade watch bangles!

4. 'i think you are wonderful' bath sets by philosophy.

available at sephora.

5. a great new scarf.

tons of choices at nordstrom

6. adorable kitchen accessories.

(anthropologie)

 7. colorful pots

to decorate the front porch

8. a cute coach wristlet.

perfect for the walk around greenlake,

the quick errand, or just to keep organized inside another purse!

available at macys.

9. summery entertaining accessories.

if your mom is anything like mine,

she knows how to host a good party.

get her something that will make her summer parties a hit.

these ice cream cone cups are from west elm.

10. flowers. duh.
i prefer peonies :)

(picture via)

now, to be totally honest, i do have to confess that i left my #1 top favorite gift off the list.
because that, of course, is going to my mom, and she can't know what it is for another week! :)

breakfast burritos

can't think of a better way to start cinco de mayo than with a breakfast burrito!

here is my amazing made up burrito recipe :)

ingredients

1/2 pound awesome peppered bacon

(i love hemplers)

fresh homemade tortillas

(i get mine at the local market)

1 ripe avocado

8 eggs

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper (any color)

1/4 cup chopped green onion

salt & pepper as desired

1/2 cup shredded sharp white cheddar

(serves about 2 really hungry adults)

directions

1. cook up your bacon

drain on paper towels, let cool, chop.

2. mix together eggs, peppers, green onions, salt & pepper.

3. cook eggs until just done in the same pan you cooked the bacon.

(secret trick for awesome flavors)

4. assemble burrito with the following:

egg mixture

chopped bacon

sliced avocado

sharp white cheddar

5. warm in the microwave for 30 seconds,

just until all ingredients are warmed up

6. enjoy!! :)

other things you might enjoy on this festive holiday... :)

my famous sangria

a margarita or two

mexiprize

poblano jalepeno chili

chicken enchilada caserole

chicken enchiladas, take two

guacamole

chunky salsa

cheers!

french honey vanilla yogurt cake

i'm off to suncadia for the weekend...

but i will leave you with this healthy twist on a pound cake.

(thank you bon appetit!)

instead of butter, they use greek yogurt - hello!

(i used my honey vanilla greek yogurt just for fun) :)

AMAZING! i loved this.

(and SO easy breezy!)

enjoy!!

ingredients

nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

3/4 cup whole-milk greek yogurt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

***you'll need a 8 1/2 x 4 1.2" loaf pan***

directions

1. preheat oven to 350°. Coat pan with vegetable oil spray. dust with flour; tap out excess.

2. whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.

3. using your fingers, rub sugar with lemon zest in a large bowl until sugar is moist.

add yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract; whisk to blend. fold in dry ingredients just to blend.

4. pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top.

bake until top of cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into center comes out clean,

50–55 minutes.

5. let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

LOVED THIS CAKE! :)

chicken stir fry

i know what you're thinking....

'CHRISTINE, stop with all that junk food. it's almost summer!'

(i know - i've been telling myself the same thing) :)

so, here is a super easy, super healthy, quick dinner.

recipe via eat yourself skinny

YUM!

ingredients

3 chicken breasts

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 stick celery, chopped

3 skinned carrots

1/2 white onion, diced

20 edamame (seeds only)

2 Tbsp light soy sauce (the green bottle)

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp olive oil

Dash of salt and pepper

Pinch of red pepper flakes

directions

1. chop up all veggies, except for the edamame,

and cut up chicken breasts and season with a bit of salt and pepper.  set aside. 

2. heat a skillet on medium heat and add about a tablespoon of olive oil. 

(i actually love my asian stir fry oil)

throw veggies into skillet and sauté for about 3 minutes. 

3. add chicken, soy sauce, lemon juice and red pepper flakes

and cook for about 15 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. 

4. enjoy!

thought this recipe was both easy and awesome.

will make this again FOR SURE.

only thing i would change...

i read the recipe quickly, and then felt like a dork when i had WHOLE edamames in my bowl.

obviously i was just supposed to use the pre-shelled bean seeds. duh :)

oopsies.

blackberry financiers

last friday night, i was watching tv and heard this loud bang.

(as many of you know, i live just a block away from the heart of fremont)

a minute later all these sirens go off, as fire trucks rush to the scene.

i obviously weren't sure what actually happened,

but i assumed gun shots or an explosion of sorts.

fast forward a few days...

and as i'm browsing my twitter feed i see @fremontdaily

post a link to this article... basically saying that a high school

football player was killed in fremont on friday night.

in shock, i immediately forward this to a friend,

quoting the part about gunshots at a loud party in fremont on friday night.

an hour later, they say 'what is this?'

i'm like '!!!! gunshots in fremont! friday night! remember????'

they say, this took place in fremont, california.

oh.

and that, my friends, is how i figured out that i've been following

a fremont, cali twitter account, thinking it was washington, for like a year.

LOL. i am hilarious.

in other news... i made these petite treats.

i'm convinced almost everything is cuter when it's mini :)

enjoy!

ingredients

1/2 cup plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar; additional for dusting

5 large egg whites

2 table spoonshoney

nonstick vegetable oil spray

2 cups fresh (or frozen, thawed) blackberries, halved

***you will need a mini-muffin pan***

recipe via bon appetit

directions

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

simmer until browned bits begin to form.

continue to simmer, frequently scraping up browned bits at bottom of pan,

until fragrant and dark brown but not burnt, 6–7 minutes.

scrape butter and all browned bits into a medium bowl. let cool for 3–4 minutes.

3. meanwhile, process almonds and flour in a food processor until nuts are finely ground.

transfer to a medium bowl; whisk in 1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar.

add egg whites; mix until smooth. fold in honey.

4. fold browned butter into batter.

5. arrange a rack in middle of oven

coat muffin cups with nonstick spray.

(i love my pam baking spray with flour)

pour 1 generous Tbsp. batter into each prepared muffin cup.

top with 3–4 blackberry halves.

5. bake until cakes are golden brown and just cooked through, 15–16 minutes.

let cool in pan for 10 minutes. remove cakes from pan.

serve warm or at room temperature. dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

the perfect margarita

i wanted to share my current fave margarita recipes with you...

happy early cinco de mayo! :)

 

the classic margarita

ingredients

salt

ice

1 1/2 ounces tequila (blanco, 100 percent agave)

1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 ounce cointreau

recipe via

directions

1. use a lime wedge and run it around the top of your glass.

using a shallow dish filled with salt, dip until rimmed perfectly.

2. fill glass with ice, add tequila, lime juice and cointreau.

stir until chilled.

(i also like to use a shaker for this)

(this marg is amazing!)

the agave margarita

ingredients

kosher salt

2 lime slices or wedges

1/4 cup tequila blanco

2 tablespoons agave syrup (nectar)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

recipe via

directions

1. rim glass with salt... (see above)

2. combine tequila, agave syrup, and juice in a cocktail shaker; fill with ice and shake well.

strain into prepared glass. garnish with second lime slice.

(this is slightly sweeter, but still amazing!)

the blackberry margarita

ingredients

same as agave marg above

plus 3 blackberries

recipe via

directions

1. muddle blackberries and agave in cocktail shaker

until berries and lightly crushed and juices are released

2. continue with agave recipe above.

ENJOY! :)