Chicken Salsa Soup

Happy new year everyone!

In 2013, I have decided to commit to "eating clean". My personal trainer let me borrow a book called "The Eat-Clean Diet". The focus of this diet is really just on getting in your protein, fruits and vegetables. It's also got a huge focus on preparing your own meals. So, I declared to myself that I am not a morning person so I have been preparing my food at night.

Tonight, I threw together a really simple soup that I can pack in my thermos for work tomorrow. It is super delicious and filled with loads of vegetables.

1-2 tbsp olive oil

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

4 pieces of celery, diced (the leaves too!)

1/2 onion, diced

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 32 oz reduced sodium chicken broth

1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can of sweet corn, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup salsa

2-3 cups shredded chicken, fully cooked

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 chicken bouillon cube

In a large pot, saute diced vegetables in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Stir tomato paste in until evenly distributed. Add in remaining ingredients. Cook on high until boiling. Then, cover and cook on low-medium for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

I'm sure this one would be great in the crock pot as well! I just happened to go the stove route tonight.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Alooooha!

So I haven't been doing much cooking lately. That's because I so intelligently cut my hand on a wine glass. I got stitches and waited a week for a consultation with a hand surgeon. Thennnn had to wait 5 days for the surgery. Thennnn got stitched up again and sent home in a splint. Thennnn I somehow scored myself an infection. Now I am finally back in action. It will however be six months before I can even think about weight lifting again. Good timing considering my wedding is a little over 30 days away.

Anyways, my first night back in the making dinner game needed to be something that didn't require much slicing, dicing or brain cells. Enter this casserole. It is a combination of a few recipes I found online. Also, I did use cream of mushroom and chicken soups which you may know from previous posts is not usually my style. This night I just went for it. I did however get the 98% fat free to make room for the delicious shredded cheese's caloric ridiculousness.

I plan on posting soon with some wedding updates for anyone interested so check back soon!

2 cups shredded chicken (from a fully cooked rotisserie chicken)
1/2 of a 12 oz bag of whole wheat egg noodles, cooked per package directions
1 10 oz can of 98% fat free cream of mushroom
1 10 oz can of 98% fat free cream of chicken
1 cup skim milk
1 cup shredded cheese, plus more for topping
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl. Lightly spray casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread ingredients in to casserole dish. Sprinkle with extra cheese and breadcrumbs. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Ahi Burgers with Sweet Chilli Mayo

SO I watched a Rachael Ray episode foreverrrr ago where she made some delicious looking ahi burgers. She used the food processor to grind it up like burger meat, mixed in some awesomeness and had a delicious, not your everyday burger on her hands. I have had this bottle of Sweet Chilli sauce in my fridge since making some of my Crockpot Sweet and Sour Meatballs, and I thought this would be a great way to use it up.

1.5 lbs ahi, diced into chunks
1 egg
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
The juice and zest of 1/2 a lime
1 tsp ground ginger
2 cloves finely minced garlic
1/4c sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp sugar

Sweet Chilli Mayo:
1/2c mayonnaise
1/4c sweet chilli sauce

In a food processor, pulse the ahi until finely ground. Use hands to mix in remaining ingredients until fully incorporated. Divide mixture evenly into preferred sized patties. (I made about 6) Be sure to press in the center a little as it will puff up while cooking. Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Cook to desired tenderness (i.e. medium, medium rare) In a small mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauce. Place patty on bun with some sweet chilli mayo and enjoy!

May I just mention that I am totally exhausted tonight so if those instructions didn't make sense, please email me- cookingwithcait@gmail.com. I will probably re-read in the AM to see if I need to reword my nonsense.

Aloha!! :D

Wedding update!

So for those of you who read this blog to follow me personally, I know I've failed miserably with updating about the wedding. That's mostly because I've failed at wedding planning in general.

I opened a new Things Remembered in our first mall location in Hawaii. Setting the store up, hiring, training and coaching the staff left me little time to do any wedding anything. I finally seem to have the staff up and running so I took this past weekend off with the intention of tackling my overwhelming and overdue checklist items.

We are three months away from the wedding and I'm just now taking care of stuff in the "6-9 months" checklist. Worst. Bride. Ever.

However I am DONE with the following items:

Venue booked!
Caterer is included so one less thing to worry about, win

Colors selected!
Tiffany blue and peach. It sounds weird, but thanks to Pinterest, I feel like I can pull it off.

Dress purchased!
Obviously I won't be posting a picture of that until 10/7. Sorry kids!

Bridesmaid dresses selected!
I don't have the best picture of it so looking like that will wait until 10/7 too.

Photographer booked!
http://www.hawaiiphotos.com/
Invitations designed and printed!
I am actually DIYing my invitations to a certain degree. I found an AMAZING designer on Etsy.She made me a template, and then I took it on a flash drive to Office Depot. It's a full invitation suite, which will cost me about $200 after all the supplies, the template cost and the pocketfold/envelopes. I was quoted $600 minimum to have someone make them for me! Major win!

Now, I am just waiting for the pocketfolds I ordered to come in. I also need to purchase some lace ribbon to wrap it with. I want to get these sent out before the end of July.

Check out Natalie on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/people/LittlestLittleBean

DJ booked!
This took foreverrrrr. I've been playing email and phone tag with them since JANUARY. Their price is well worth suffering through inconsistent communication. They are literally 1/4th the price and have good reviews online besides, surprise, their communication issues. Once I got in contact with them, they were very professional and answered all my million questions patiently.
http://www.laimagehawaii.com/
Registry
We had so much fun setting up a registry at Macy's! We have been together 8 years, so we have almost everything we need. However, I couldn't resist scanning my little heart away! haha
http://www1.macys.com/registry/wedding/guest/?registryId=763333

Next on the list:

Florist
This I'm not stressing too much about because I am getting married at a botanical garden so I'm not going to pour dollar bills into floral decorations. My mom is scoping out a florist for me.

Centerpieces
I found an amazing deal on these adorable birdcages. We did lovebird themed invitations so I thought this would be super cute to stick with somewhat of a theme. We are going to spray paint these Tiffany blue and wrap it with a ribbon and stick the table numbers on it. I am so excited to be all crafty with these.

Candy Buffet
One of the things I am most excited for is the candy buffet we are setting up. I really love bright, fun stuff so I am going to do colorful lollipops, rock candy, salt water taffy, etc... Since we are having an outdoor reception, I will be avoiding having chocolate! Haha. My sister hates chocolate so I'm sure she will appreciate that. I purchased a bunch of glass containers to set up my own. I got quoted $600-800 to have someone come in and do it. So far the containers only cost me $18. I found a wholesale candy company in Hawaii to buy bulk candy from. I will let you all know how this goes! This is going to serve double purpose for decor as well as favors. I am going to make cute favor bags for the tables, and people can fill up on candy to take with them before they leave. Win!

Transportation
I have to look into getting us to the ceremony. If it was up to me, I would just drive myself in my little Ford Focus but I have a feeling my family and bridal party won't allow it!

Cake
Meh. I can't believe how expensive cakes are! I will probably put this off until early August.

Alterations & Veil
Need to set an appointment to get the alteration process rolling. Will most likely select my veil this day as well.

Groom/Groomsmen attire
My fail of a fiance hasn't decided what he wants to wear yet. Looks like I will be ordering extra bridesmaid dresses for him and the guys to rock on the day!

Dance Lessons
I purchased a groupon for dance lessons for Jon and I. I need to book those.

Music
Going to work on this throughout the week. Just need to decide on the main song selections.

Marriage License
Has to be done no more than 30 days in advance. Downloaded the form to fill out though so I'm as prepared as possible.



I will be so happy when this is all done and I am officially Caitlin Coska!

In case you were wondering, we will not be going on a honeymoon directly after the wedding. We have a lot of family flying in to see us and didn't want to just up and leave them. Also, we are planning a trip to Vegas in April for our best friends' wedding. We plan on turning this into a belated honeymoon by stopping at DISNEYLAND for a few days before heading to Vegas. I am SO excited for this!!

Not having to factor in the cost of a honeymoon really makes us breathe easier. I am paying cash for the wedding. So far, not a single expense has gone on a credit card! Woo Hoo! I am determined to start our married life off right with as little as unnecessary debt as possible.

I know this was probably my most boring post of all time, unless you're a total wedding junkie. It helps me know where I'm at and where I need to be! I have some yummy recipes to share soon to make up for it :)

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Problem: Way too ripe bananas. Solution: Making muffins at midnight.

I've made Devan Alexander's Mini Banana Coconut Muffins many times but didn't have any yogurt in the fridge. Enter sweetened condensed milk. Best substitute I have ever made. Granted the whole point of Devan Alexander's recipe was to cut back on the calories. I. Don't. Care. These are amazing muffins.

I made them full size for this one but maybe next time I'll try some minis so I can try to control myself from eating too much. This recipe made 18 muffins.

Also, you may notice I used pumpkin pie spice in this one. Hi, it's cinnamon and nutmeg mixed with other awesome spices. I refuse to only use this useful spice mix in only November. Just saying.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray muffin pan. Sift together in a large bowl the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Beat together mashed bananas and brown sugar until well combined. Mix in sweetened condensed milk, eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips gently. Fill muffin slots about 3/4 of the way. Bake for 30-35 minutes in preheated oven until knife inserted comes out clean (besides the delicious chocolate of course).

Breaded Chicken Caesar

Ok so you will forgive me for my absence once you make this dish. It is super easy to make, and consists of few ingredients. I served it with some rice and mushrooms and it was a perfect dinner.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup lite caesar dressing
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 cup romano cheese, freshly grated
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Pound out chicken breasts to 1/4" thickness. Season with salt and pepper. Place in large ziploc bag and cover with Caesar dressing. Place in fridge and allow to marinate 1-2 hours.

On a large plate, combine breadcrumbs, Romano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add chicken breasts to skillet and cook until cooked through. Serve with favorite side and enjoy!

Chicken and Corn Chowder

Oh hey guys!

First off, I'm still doing Body by Vi and doing pretty amazing! My clothes are fitting so well, some are even falling off and I'm so close to fitting into a pair of jeans from two years ago.

The other night I actually had time to cook and decided to make a healthier chowder. I used skim milk, whole wheat flour and a limited amount of butter. If you don't have a wedding dress to fit into in six months, feel free to use cream, regular flour and lots of butter if you'd like!

1 tbsp butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
4 pieces celery, chopped
1 potato, diced into small cubes
3 cups skim milk
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp white pepper
Salt to taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 cups shredded (fully cooked) chicken
1 15 oz can corn

In a large pot, melt butter and sautee onion, celery and potato for 4-5 minutes. In a mason jar, place milk and flour and shake until fully combined. Add to pot. Mix in seasoning, cumin, white pepper, salt and parsley. Mix until well combined. Add chicken and corn. Simmer on low-medium for 30-35 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.