Chicken à la King (A Clean Recipe)

Are there any dishes that you enjoy nowadays that started out as a "what the heck is on my plate" type of thoughts? For me, Chicken à la King was one of those dishes, and I can distinctly remember that It was in the galley (Navy speak for cafeteria) on base in Pensacola, Florida when I first experienced the dish. I had gone through the line, not knowing what Chicken à la King was, but excited to try something new. Clearly, I was new to the Navy since the words "galley" and "excited to try something new" were in the same thought.

Apple Cinnamon Waffles

I have been on a breakfast kick lately. There could be worse things to enjoy often, right? Truthfully I first made these waffles for one of Travis' last breakfasts before he left on deployment, and then again for the Super Bowl, since it was on at 7:30 am here in Japan. Third time being the charm that it is, I made these waffles again this past week, for a brinner for one. It was heavenly.

Healthy Green Smoothie

I have about 4 other posts I need to write, but I made this smoothie for breakfast this morning and immediately got to snapping pictures so I could post it today. I was a little leery of the green smoothie craze circulating around the blogosphere lately, but I've been feeling a little under the weather lately, so I wanted to get some nutrients into my system, and fast. A smoothie seemed like the fastest and most efficient way to do that, but I was concerned that the smoothies/shakes I had as a kid had so much sugar and dairy that it would completely negate the benefits of the included fruits.

Cowboy Caviar

I love that football season is here again. It's definitely more fun when Travis and I are able to watch games on TV, but here in Okinawa the games are usually on at odd hours.... like 2 am. Besides, we don't have a satellite dish or cable subscription- the monthly fee wasn't worth getting 5 American channels and 10 Japanese ones. Just didn't make sense, ya know? So we catch highlights on the military network at our respective jobs and live vicariously through friends on Facebook. We're both looking forward to next year when we'll move back to the States and can maybe get to a mid-season game or two!

Back to Basics : Beef Stock

So here we go with the next installment of Back to Basics. For those of you just joining, I like to post these über simple recipes that I believe everyone should know how to make. So far, we've done Vanilla Syrup to naturally flavor your coffee, Scrambled Eggs so you never have rubbery eggs again, and 10 Minute Croutons, which use hot dog buns to whip these up for salads and wraps.

Apple Pie French Toast

Today is Travis' birthday (as I post this, it's Aug 4 in Japan), so for a special birthday breakfast, I decided to make his all time favorite: stuffed french toast. My beloved husband would probably eat stuffed french toast every day of the week if I decided to make it for him. Each time he sees it on a menu in a restaurant, it's automatically the order of the day. Strawberry filling seems to be the usual favorite, however I think I prefer this homemade version with apples. To me, the strawberry filling never tastes right- it seems fake somehow, because it probably isn't lovingly homemade with fresh berries.

Breaded Halibut with Chipotle Mayo

I was kind of lacking inspiration for dinner last night. I had cleaned the house from top to bottom all day and been in the kitchen messing up a chocolate cupcake recipe since I didn't have enough eggs. I needed something quick, something light, something not chicken or beef.

Zucchini Cakes

The light at the end of the tunnel is in sight! In just a week, Travis and I are going on vacation to Sydney, Australia for 9 days! We are so excited and this vacation is very much needed- not to mention it will be a wonderful break from the heat and humidity here in Okinawa since it's the end of their winter there. 

In preparation our absence, we are trying to use up the produce in our fridge so it does not spoil. I've had several zucchini hanging out waiting to be used- it's very probable I saw some awesome zucchini recipes prior to going to the grocery store and plumb forgot what they were after buying the veggies! 

Pasta Primavera with a Light Mozzarella Garlic Sauce

"Hmm... what to have for lunch. No, don't want that, or that. Made that last week. That would be too heavy for lunch. What's in the fridge? Ugh, no not that. I do have those.... and those.... and that! And I need to use this before it goes bad... what about.... yes! Yes, that'd be perfect for today!"

Baked Chicken and Spinach Flautas

If you've read some of my blog posts, you know that if a dish has chicken and spinach in it, more than likely I will make, devour, love and rave about it. These baked chicken flautas are no exception. And they're baked, not fried! Bonus!

Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken

 I only have a couple pictures for you today. And not a lot else to say about it.

Handmade Ravioli

Oh my I love pasta. I mean, who doesn't?? When we were living in the States some of the grocery stores had fresh pasta made in house available for purchase. Now that we live in Japan and the starch of choice is, of course, rice.... not so much. Naturally the solution to that problem is to make your own! It's been something I've wanted to do for a while now, anyway, and not having it available is just the kick in the motivational pants I needed. 

Bolognese Pizza

Our fridge is full of leftovers right now. Half an onion here, a tupperware of yummy bolognese sauce there, and a ball of pizza dough. My cooking habits change slightly when I am on the night shift, as usually two of my three meals each work day consist of breakfast foods. Poor lunch and dinner get left on the wayside, abandoned to the back of the fridge.

Meat Lover's Bolognese

When Travis and I got married, one of the things I wanted to learn how to make was his favorite pasta sauce his mom would make for her three sons growing up. She made vats of it at a time, because lets face it, three boys would probably eat a whole pot of it with a spoon as a pre-dinner "snack." 

It's a very meaty sauce. Meaty, chunky, with just a few veggies in there. Very manly.

Tuna Pea Wiggle

Sadly I only have one picture of this delicious dish. Me being a complete space cadet left the camera in the "on" position for a couple hours before deciding to make this for dinner, and the battery died after I was able to snap this one shot. What can I say, I've been frazzled lately!! Travis and I are going to Hiroshima for the weekend in celebration of our 3 year wedding anniversary on April 25. I've been working, doing laundry like a crazy woman, cleaning, getting our dog Otis to our friend's house for the duration of our trip and trying to finalize our to-do list for while we are in mainland. It drives Travis crazy, I am sure, that I try to plan out flights, hotels, trains, subways, and busses down based on their schedules I can find online. Despite his free spirit desiring to wander around for 3 days, I am proud of myself for finding them since everything is in Japanese and it can be difficult to determine which link to follow when you're looking at everything written in a very foreign language. I just don't like getting lost, or having a lot of downtime on vacations. I don't like feeling like I've wasted time walking around when I could have researched the destination a little better prior to going. So with that monstrosity of a to do list right before our trip, a quick dinner was in order.

Chicken Pot Pie Pockets

Chicken pot pie is one of my very most favorite foods. Comfort, veggies, bread-y crust, creamy sauce- what's not to love?? My only qualm with traditional pot pies is that there is never enough crust. Blame it on my inherent need to dip breads into soups if you must. A higher crust to filling ratio is essential for pot pie nirvana. .....Too radical you say? Do not judge my zealous views about pot pie until you have tried these.

Salad of the Moment

I did not grow up liking salad. At All. My dad's cooking is pretty good, so I think we were all so focused on the yummy food in front of us that no one really paid much attention to the bowl of literal rabbit food next to our plates. I remember my sisters and I were forced to eat it with what I am sure were awful expressions on our faces. Sorry, Mom and Dad. Iceberg, carrots and celery does not a yummy salad make. And I'm sorry for probably telling you when I was young that those three things DID indeed constitute a tasty salad. I have learned the way of the greens.

Minestrone Soup

We are smack dab in the middle of Lent, and this has been by far my favorite meatless meal for Fridays. I've been eating the leftovers shamelessly throughout this past week. Sadly, soup season is coming to an end here in Okinawa, it's simply becoming too hot to curl up on the couch with a hot bowl of soup- you know, not like Okinawa was "cold" to begin with. This soup makes me want to eat it year round though.