Cooking with The Bikini Kitchen

My sister-in-law, Jaime, and I came across a deal on Groupon for The Bikini Kitchen, hosted by Joyce Nichols-Moore.  The class description promised us delicious comfort foods cooked in a healthy way without sacrificing flavor.  Well kudos to you Joyce, you definitely showed us that Health Food does not automatically equate to tasteless and bland dishes.  Everything we cooked was so delicious and easy to make and Joyce made the class very entertaining and chock full of great tips for a healthy lifestyle.  I also learned 3 very important things:

1)  I like salmon - who knew?

2)  Almond Meal may be a new staple in my household.

3)  Avocado + Cocoa = a delicious pudding.  Yeah seriously, I'm not joking!

If you ever have the opportunity to take one of her classes in the NYC area or in her base kitchen in King of Prussia, definitely sign up!  You won't be disappointed.

http://thebikinikitchen.com/

The Biking Kitchen on Facebook

Jaime is ready for the class!

The lovely Joyce!

Sauteed veggies and Crispy Salmon.  So simple, yet so full of flavor!

Joyce getting the crust ready for our dessert.

Soup - It's what's for dinner!

I had to share because it's too good for words!

Last night, I came home from work and headed straight to the kitchen to whip up this delicious soup for dinner.  Thanks to my crazy obsession with everything related to Food Network, I came across this recipe in their latest issue (which is actually on the cover).  I squealed a little more when I found out is was an Ina Garten recipe (love everything and anything that comes out of that woman's kitchen!).

I can't put into words how incredible this soup was.  I was transported back to my childhood days of having my Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Campbell's Tomato Soup on the side.  What better way to jazz it up then to chop up the sandwich and throw it into the soup (how have I never thought to do this before?!).

I did make a few minor adjustments to the original recipe.  There was no way this girl was dropping $20 on Saffron, so I substituted that for Goya Sazon seasoning, which basically has the same effect.  I also swapped out the white bread for whole wheat and since our household likes things spicy, replaced the Gruyere Cheese with some 3 Pepper Colby Jack to give it a little kick.

The result was something that instantly put a smile on my face and is going to make me a very happy girl this winter!

Please Sir, may I have S'More?

The family and I are headed up to Windham Mountain this weekend and that means two things:  hitting the slopes and eating everything in sight!  So, I thought I'd add these homemade S'Mores cookies to the menu this weekend.  Mmm Mmm Good!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope every one is spending their Valentine's Day the way I am - happily eating lots of candy today and worrying about running it off tomorrow!

A Collection of Instagrams - Foodie Edition

Here's another edition of my collection of Instagram photos.  As I was going through them all, I realized I took quite a few shots of the food I have eaten over the past few months.  All I can say after seeing all this again:  LET'S EAT!

(from left to right)
1)  Pat's Cheese Steakl - Philadelpghia, PA
2)  Nutella Crepe
3)  Beef Chili
4)  Buffalo Chicken Panini
5)  Cookie Dough Truffles
6)  Ice Cream Birthday Cake
7)  Chicken Pot Pie
8)  Gravy Fries
9)  Spaghetti in a Sausage & Mushroom Sauce
10)  Same as #9 but we had to add the Texas Toast!
11)  Cherry Valley's "Beast" Sandwich with Mozzarella Fries
12)  good ol' Chicken Cutlets
13)  Shrimp Oreganata with Roasted Potaties and Broccoli
14)  Apple Pie
15)  Thanksgiving Dinner!
16)  Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwich with Sweet Potatoes
17)  Smothered Pork Chops, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus
18)  Tiramisu Cookies and Snickerdoodles
19)  Cookie Dough Brownies
20)  Avocado Eggrolls from the Cheesecake Factory

My New Year's Resolution

To not deprive myself of the things that I love and that make me happy (including these guys).