Pork Milanese, Cauliflower "Steaks" with Pancetta and Portobello Mushrooms, and Broccolini with shaved Pecorino Romano Cheese. And Lemon Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast with Basil Maple Syrup Peaches.

Today it's freezing outside!! The roads are iced over so we are stuck in the house. So I took the time to clean the house and take cute pictures of my baby girl!

I just can't stand how cute she is! She is starting to coo and talk to me and it makes my heart melt! 

We are about to start putting her in her crib to sleep :( I'm not sure if I'm ready cause I just love having her so close to me. So I'm trying to be strong. I put her in her crib for her first nap today.

It barely lasted 5 mins because she woke up freaking out about where she was. I hope it gets easier. We swaddle her at night and she is really starting to hate it. Spends all night fighting sleep trying to get her arms out of the swaddle. Daddy swaddled her last night cause he does it so much tighter than I do. I'm normally the one who does it but she keeps getting out so I have to do it over and over. 

This is her trying to be cute and keep her arms out of the swaddle!

She is such a smiley girl :)

For dinner last night I made an awesome side dish. I got it from Anne Burell's cookbook. It's a cauliflower "steak" so yummy!

First I took a large cauliflower and cut it into inch thick slices, this cauliflower wasn't very cooperative so I only got 2 "steaks" out if it. I cut the rest of the florets small and put them on a baking sheet covered in foil and drizzled with olive oil and salt. I put it in the oven at 375° for 20 minutes then flipped the steak and all the florets and back in the oven for 15 more minutes.

For the topping I diced up 1/2 a pound of portabello mushrooms and 1/2 a pound of pancetta into 1/4 inch cubes. And crushed 2 cloves of garlic.

Sautéed the pancetta in olive oil.

Once it was browned and crispy I added the garlic cloves for 2 minutes till they browned. Then took then out and threw them away.

Next I added the mushrooms and 4 sprigs of my homegrown thyme.

Let it sauté a bit and then added some salt and a pinch of red pepper flake.

After the mushrooms are deeply browned I added half a cup of white wine and scraped up the brown bits.

Once the wine evaporated I kept it warm till the cauliflower was ready.

For the Pork Milanese, I put 2 eggs in a dish with 1/3 cup of milk. And in another dish I put 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs, 1/2 a cup of shredded Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

Put salt and pepper on the boneless pork chops.

Dipped them in the egg mixture then the bread crumb mixture and into a pan with olive oil at medium high heat.

Cooked until browned and crispy about 6 minutes then flipped and cooked the other side for 3 more minutes.

For the Broccolini I boiled them till they were bright green. Then shaved Pecorino Romano over them on the plate.

It was super yummy!

This morning because of the ice I decided to make a delicious breakfast to warm us up! I had leftover mascarpone and lemons so I made a stuffed French Toast with them! I had no fruit but a can of peaches so I drained them and put them in 1/2 a cup of maple syrup with some chopped up Basil and it was delicious!

 I mixed 4 eggs in with half a cup of milk, a tsp of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon.

In another bowl I put 3/4 a cup of mascarpone 1/4 a cup of powder sugar, and the zest of 1 lemon. 

Mixed together and put in a small baggy and cut the tip.

Squeezed onto 2 pieces of white toast and topped with the other.

Then put into the egg mixture. 

Flipped then fried in 2 pats of butter in a large skillet.

Plated the French toast and topped with the peaches and 2 pieces of bacon.

Mmmmmmm!

Fried Rice with Ham, Edamame, and a Fried Egg

I. LOVE. THIS. GIRL!!

Smiley girl :)

Excuse my face but her face during tummy time was too cute to not put this picture!!

Really easy dinner tonight and oh so awesome! I made a breakfasty type Fried Rice. The only time consuming part is getting my mise en place together.

2 garlic cloves minced

1 small onion thinly sliced

1 inch of ginger grated

1 carrot julienned 

2 green onions sliced diagonally, whites separated from the greens

1 ham steak cubed into 1/4 inch pieces

2 tbls of chopped parsley (cilantro if your family likes it which I'm the only one in mine that does :()

1 cup of frozen shelled edamame 

Earlier in the day I cooked 4 cups of white rice and cooled it in the fridge.

First I coated a large wok with about 1/3 cup of vegetable oil. Turned the heat to medium high and added the carrots and onions. Sautéed for 8 mins.

Then I added the garlic, ginger, and green onion whites.

Sautéed for 1 min. Then added the ham, edamame, and the parsley.

Turned the skillet to high. Sautéed for 2 more mins. Then added the rice and stirred a bit but let it sit for 3 mins to fry and get crispy pieces.

In a measuring cup I put in 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 2 tbls of Rice Wine Vinegar, and 1 tbls of Sambal (spicy Asian chili paste)

Then poured into the rice.

Stirred in then fried some eggs in another large skillet and topped them when the yolk was still runny and sprinkled the tops of the green onions and some cilantro on mine :) Amazing!

 

Grilled Zucchini, Shrimp, and Avocado Lettuce Wraps. & Chicken Suiza Chilaquiles

Just finished my workout for the day and my legs are burning!! James and I started using the treadmill after dinner switching off, lifting weights, and doing step ups in between. I'm feeling great with the juicing and I walk an hour in the morning too. 

Here are my daily pictures of my gorgeous girl.

 Playing on her play mat.

On her changing table.

Testing out her bumbo! (In a different outfit cause she got pee all over the pink one)

For lunch I made a low calorie delicious lettuce wrap. Marinated some shrimp and grilled them with healthy zucchini and avocado. Here is how I made it.

First I made the marinade in a large bowl. 1/4 cup of olive oil.

2 tbls of soy sauce.

1 clove of garlic grated.

The zest of 1 lemon.

2 tbls of chopped parsley and 2 tbls of chopped green onions. Salt and pepper.

Put in a pound of peeled and deveined shrimp.

Mixed together and put in fridge for 30 mins to marinade.

I then took a zucchini and cut in half, sprayed with olive oil and put on a hot grill pan.

While that was grilling I made the dressing. 

1 tsp of Dijon.

1 tbls of olive oil.

1 tbls of agave.

The juice of 1 lemon.

Salt and pepper then whisked together.

Next I put the shrimp on the grill and grilled for 4 mins each side till they are cooked through and put both the shrimp and zucchini on a cutting board.

Diced into bite sized pieces and put in a large bowl. Added 1 avocado cubed.

Then poured in the dressing.

I stirred and then spooned some of the mixture into 2 lettuce wraps. Each serving is 385 calories. This made 4 servings so I stored the rest for tmrw.

For dinner I wanted to make Chilaquiles that I saw in a cookbook but watched an episode of Rachel Ray that had a different version of them. Chicken Suizas Chilaquiles. Sounded delicious and my husband would like it much better then the other version because it had chorizo and he hates chorizo. 

First I made the charred tomatillo sauce. Mmmmm this is so good! I put 2 poblano peppers under a broiler to char the skin.

Once blackened I put them in a bowl and covered with Saran Wrap to cool and peel off the skin.

I set the oven to 375° and put 6 tomatillos, 5 garlic cloves, and 1 onion quartered.

Roasted for about 15 mins till they charred and caramelized a bit.

Removed the garlic skin and put all of it in a food processor. 

Then added the peeled and seeded pablano peppers.

1 tsp of cumin.

1 tbls of honey.

The juice from 1 lime.

A handful of parsley (James hates cilantro so I use parsley instead)

Puréed till smooth and poured into a sauce pan.

Brought to a simmer then added 2 cups of chicken broth.

Put in the cubed chicken from a rotisserie chicken.

Half a cup of Mexican crema

Took 15 white corn tortillas and cut them into strips, sprayed with oil and toasted them in the oven at 350° for 15 mins till browned.

Grated 1/2 a cup of Swiss cheese, and 1/2 a cup of Monterey Jack.

In a casserole dish I layered the tortilla strips.

Half the cheese.

Then the chicken mixture.

The rest of the cheese.

Then put in the oven until the cheese melted and warmed through. I topped with half a red onion sliced.

Then plated with sour cream and cilantro.

Delicious!

Zara cried during dinner so I brought her over to sit with us while we ate!

 Then we played on the couch afterwards showing off her cute new tshirt!

And she tried eating the blanket, silly girl!!