- Category: Dressings & Marinades -

Dinner, Dressings & Marinades, Lunch, Recipe Box

Raspberry Ginger White Balsamic Chicken

Raspberry Ginger Balsamic Chicken

Let's get honest with each other for a moment, nobody has time to cook crazy meals during the week while working or going to school full time. [Unless you're some super human, like Julia Childs or Blair Waldorf (..I think she's queen of all she does)]. That's where my love for one-panned meals comes in. [You guys remember this Baked Hummus Crusted Chicken, right?]   A local winery in St. Augustine sells different flavors of white & regular balsamic vinegars. I snagged this tasty raspberry ginger flavor the last time I made a trip. (You can find a similar Blackberry Ginger Balsamic here!) Flavored balsamic vinegars  are a great low-cal substitute for classic dressings and sauces. Not only are they healthier, but they're very versicle! You can pair this with a cheese & bread…

Dinner, Dressings & Marinades, Lunch, Recipe Box

Lemon Garlic Shrimp Kabobs

Now that the mid 90's have made themselves comfortable and oh so welcomed, I'm officially in full summer mode. One of my favorite summer food preps is to keep marinated, raw shrimp in my fridge. Shrimp is just one of those staple go-to's that you can't beat. Not only is it versatile in flavors, healthy, and tasty, but it also cooks in 3-5 minutes. (yes, please) In a Tupperware container (I like to keep it fancy), I combined: 1 pound raw shrimp (deveined // without the tails // cleaned) 2 tablespoons EVOO 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1/2 squeezed lemon Onion powder & cayenne pepper (to taste) After 2-3 days, I patted myself on the back for being so patient & keeping them in there as long as I did, skewered them onto some kabob sticks…

Dressings & Marinades, Recipe Box, Tailgating Must-Haves

Protein Packed, Low-Fat Ranch Dressing

Homemade Healthy Ranch Dressing

Guys. Guys. GUYS! Protein packed, low fat, low cal, and dare I say it, *healthy* ranch dressing was made this weekend! Okay, confession time. I am a total ranch lover. Although, restaurant/homemade ranch definitely steals my heart. One time, my friend Tyler sent me a picture of a gigantic ranch dispenser at the zoo because it reminded him of me. So, yes, you can say I'm in a pretty serious relationship with this condiment. I've been on a salad & homemade dressing kick these past few months, but this little Mason jar of goodness takes the cake. So, let's break this down real quick: Hidden Valley Ranch, America's number one boo packs 140 calories in 2 tablespoons. My homemade ranch? 24 calories in 2 tablespoons. So yes, come and join me on my ranch…

Dinner, Dressings & Marinades, Lunch, Recipe Box

Lite Balsamic Garlic Orange Salad Dressing

My motivation has been found! After a weekend of fun with my younger sister, Jaclyn, visiting, my body put itself on strike. The mix of weekend mimosas, eating out for basically every meal, and not getting sleep, I was feeling awful come Sunday. So, since then, I have made a personal challenge with myself to stop eating out so much, cut back on going out during the weekends, and actually take advantage of the beautiful place I live in by working out often. It’s only been 4 days and I can already am feeling so much better! One thing I love to do is experiment in the kitchen. I’ve never attempted to make my own salad dressing before, but it just seemed so easy, and, let me tell you, IT IS! I’ve talked before…

Dinner, Dressings & Marinades, Lunch, Recipe Box

Light Honey Garlic Shrimp with a Kick

Making your own marinades has many benefits. For one, they are cheaper, and they are also a lot healthier. This way, you don’t have all that added salt or sugar; you’re able to monitor and tweak it to fit your health requirements or specific taste buds. I’ve been on a pretty big shrimp kick lately, it makes me miss the summers grilling out by the pool or spending my weekends at the beach. Is anyone else starting to go a little winter stir crazy? It’s not even that cold down here in Jacksonville, but it’s definitely too chilly to spend my days on the water. So, if you’re feeling the same, just make some seafood and temporarily trick your mind into a summer mindset. ;) You’ll Need: 1 pound devained shrimp thawed (either raw…

Dinner, Dressings & Marinades, Lunch, Recipe Box

Hawaiian Grilled Shrimp Stir Fry

Ah, day two (out of 10) of my #dinnerforone segment. I have this gigantic fresh, amazingly ripe pineapple right now. I’ve been eating off it for a few days now, but being home alone, I still have a lot to go! I’ve been putting in on yogurt, in smoothies, and eating it plain with a bit of honey (oh-my-thank-you-tastebuds-god). I looked in the pantry and saw that I had this Hawaiian marinade. Boom. What goes better with Hawaiian marinade than pineapple? That’s right- nothing. Shrimp and fresh veggies do come pretty dang close though. I thought ahead for once and marinated these shrimps over night. That rarely happens (and when I say rarely, I mean it’s happened approximately twice). The great thing about this marinade is that it’s a 30 minute marinade- score! But,…

Breakfast, Dressings & Marinades, Lunch, Recipe Box, Snacking, Sweet Tooth

Healthy 3 Ingredient Strawberry Jam!

Any other avid F.R.I.E.N.D.S. lovers out there?! When it comes to jam, I side with Joey. ;) I love it! Especially paired with peanut butter. Yummmm jam and peanut butter. Making jam brings me back to my childhood with my Oma (aka “grandma” in German). She always had the freshest fruit and we would stand over her stove for hours boiling it down to create jars and jars of jam to last us forever. Seriously, forever. I’m 99% sure she still has jars of it in her garage. One vivid memory of this jam making was how much sugar was added into the fruit mixture. In the end, jam ends up being more like candy than a healthy fruity substance. This is where that all changes. :) I saw a spin on healthy blueberry…

Dinner, Dressings & Marinades, Friends & Family, JAXplore, Lunch, My Life, Recipe Box, Sides, Snacking, Travel Adventures

Sun Dried Tomato Grilled Chicken Salads! (& some very important visitors!)

Can I add “Really Freaking Good Salad Maker” to my resume? ;) Dj and I have had a stream of non-stop visitors these past 3 weeks. We’ve had so much fun. Moving alone to Florida, we’ve had our moments of home-sickness, so having friends visit really has helped! Two of my very best friends since we moved onto the same dorm room floor our freshman year of college, Katie and Danielle, were the second wave! It was so nice to see them. It was like a little glimpse of home. :) We spent our days on the beach taking in all of the strong Florida sun! The next group was one of my best friends I worked at the American Embassy in London last summer, Mina! I hadn’t ever hung out with her on…