Pineapple upside down Muffin Cakes

Eating By Color !!!

I recently got a chance to review this beautiful book.  I also got to review it for 

FREE !!!!!

I picked up this beauty at my local public library and it was worth lugging it around.  It is a large book filled with beautiful pictures of about 90% of the recipes.  The book is sorted by color groups of foods.  It goes from purple to green to tan and white to red to orange and to brown.  It is one of the most exquisite cookbooks I have ever checked out.  I counted the number of recipes I wrote down from the book and it totaled 34. 

It is a beautiful book that will not only restart your cooking, make you healthier with each recipe, but you will have a lot of fun I assure you. 

Reinvent your cooking it's not too late !!!!

Enjoy !!!

lemon thyme chicken

I love Maine.  There is nothing else to say.  Maine has so much to offer that sometimes people neglect to think of.  I also unfortunately just left Maine to be closer to my family.  When I was leaving I received this cookbook Dishing Up Maine by Brooke Dojny and I love it.  One of the recipes in it for Lemon Thyme Chicken is out of this world.  It has quickly become a staple for my husband and I.

After just visiting Maine this past weekend, I decided to crack into the Dishing Up Maine cookbook and give the lemon thyme chicken a go again. 

You start by adding 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and 6 thyme sprigs broken up into a pie plate to get it prepared for breading the chicken.

Then bread your chicken with the flour mixture like you see below. 

Then melt 2 tbs of butter and 2 tbs of olive oil in a fry pan.

Then cook each chicken tender thoroughly in the olive oil and butter until it they are golden brown all over. 

Then with in the same fry pan that you chicken cooked in add the juice of 2 lemons, 2 tbs of butter, and 1 cup of chicken stock.  Then add in 6 sprigs of fresh thyme.  This will create a lovely lemon thyme sauce that you can add to the top of your chicken and rice.  

Add some fresh green beans, a few chicken tenders, and some brown rice with the lemon sauce on top.  

Enjoy !!!

fresh pasta and a gluten free pasta sell

Adapted from: Pampered Chef Cookbook 

Recently, I have a new found addiction for gluten free pasta.  I do not have a gluten-free intolerance.  I just don't enjoy the gluten that comes along with a carb filled coma after you eat pasta.  I can't even eat normal white pasta anymore.  It sounds pretentious, but I assure you it's not.  Gluten-free pasta gives you all the glory of real pasta without feeling like you ate a brick.  That alone is the one reason I LOVE IT !!! My husband and I usually only eat pasta maybe once a week and now it's even better.  

One of my favorite dishes lately is something I like to call fresh pasta !! 

In a saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons of butter and 3 tbs of olive oil.  Then toss in 1 large onion chopped and cook through until it's translucent.  

Then add 7 tbs of minced garlic, 1 cup of chicken broth, 1 cup of white wine, and 1 package of grape tomatoes cut in half.  Let it simmer until your pasta is ready.  

Once your pasta is cooked thoroughly, drain it and add it back to the pot.  Then pour in your sauce on top of the cooked pasta.  Add in one package of fresh mozzarella pearls and 1 cup of fresh basil chopped up.  

Now, serve some up onto a plate.  Top it with some Parmesan and you have yourself some 

Top Notch Eats !! 

Enjoy !!!

time saving tips

I am not a huge fan of Rachel Ray.  I guess I am indifferent to her.  Let's just say if I had to pick my favorite chefs/food network stars she wouldn't be on that list.  The one thing about Rachel Ray that I do love is the junk basket.  I am not sure what she calls it, but I like calling it the junk basket. 


It is ideal so that when you are settling down for the night and making dinner you don't have to spend your time running back and forth to the trash to throw out your onion wrappings you can just throw them in your junk basket. 


This is insanely helpful in apartment life.  Especially now that my kitchen is a bit smaller than my old one in Maine.  I spend the whole time cooking throwing any trash in there.  It really does save time and energy.  Then when I am my husband and I are done with dinner and begin cleaning up all it takes is one trip to the trash bin to unload the junk basket. 


It's a good tip for sure !!!  My husband has always loved the color green.  Recently, he has gotten me addicted to this lime green color.  When I found this basket at a yard sale for 25 cents I knew it was my junk basket for life or at least until it cracked. 

Enjoy !!!