Jessica

Have You Ever Been to Vermont?

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I go there fairly often, seeing as my love is from that granola-y state. I know that in the fall there are quite a few city folk that like to venture up there for its quiet, scenic beauty. The locals call them Leaf Peepers, and get very annoyed when they drive erratically in order to take pictures out of car windows. There is a lot more to this state than leaves however.

The green mountain state is home to a number of gorgeous mountains, including some of the East’s favorite skiing locations. Everyone sells maple syrup, Christmas trees, and honey. Everyone is generally happy, and sweet. Be forewarned there is a lot of camo, and hunting garb around. I have been to some of the best hole in the wall dinners in that state also.

When you go you should try the local dairy, after all Vermont is home to Cabot Cheese, not to mention the ice cream. The home of Ben & Jerry’s can be found here, along with multiple other places to stop for a “Creamy”, or soft serve ice cream to the non-local. Cider mills, and sugar houses dot the entire state, and make great little pit stops for a taste test, shopping, and even some education on the processes.

If you would like to talk about breweries well, this place has about a million and one. I am a big fan of breweries, unique tastes in both brews and food, and I always look for them wherever I travel. The same can be said of wineries, as there are numerous local wineries that offer tastings and/or tours.

Summers on any one of the many lakes are magical. Since everything is done, at a slow and relaxed pace anyway, you can’t ever be in anyone’s way. Oh and I swear there is a town wide garage sale every darn weekend. Those things are everywhere.

Each little town is packed full of quant little shops with a ton of local products, as well as historical homes, and monuments. There are a lot of monuments. Take some time to chat with a few of the locals chances are their town is famous for something, or there is something nearby that you have to see, or at the very least which bar has the best grub.

Seriously, check out this place. It’s a good time.

Asian Grilled Chicken Salad

By Jessica

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Ok, so if you read my plan for the next two weeks in my last post you saw that I was planning on making Asian Marinated Scallops over salad. Well I changed my mind, which it to be allowed since I made up my own meal plan anyway. I found that bay scallops were on sale instead of the larger diver scallops and I have a totally different recipe that I want to try with those, so I opted for the chicken version of the salad instead. It was just as good let me tell you. Chuck heartily approved, using an extra piece of chicken for his lunch the following day.

Asian Marinated Chicken

2 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs rice vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs olive oil

Whisk together and pour over chicken breast. Place covered in the fridge for 30 minutes. After marinating place the chicken on a preheated grill. Cook until juices run clear, turning once. You may also cook it in a flat skillet over medium high heat.

Salad

1 cup mixed greens

1cup shredded cabbage

1 cucumber, chopped

2 large carrots, julienned

1 stalks celery, julienned

4 long scallions, thinly sliced

1 clementine or mandarin orange, peeled and sectioned

1 tbs oil

1 package Ramen noodles

¼ cup slivered almonds

1 tbs Sesame seeds

In a small skillet heat oil and stir in noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds. Cook on medium low stirring continuously until golden brown, and remove from heat to cool. In a large bowl combine all other ingredients. Once the noodle mixture has cooled slightly add to the vegetable mixture and toss.

Dressing

2 tbs rice vinegar

1 tbs low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp honey

In a small bowl whisk together all ingredients until well blended.

Plate the salad, and top with chicken and dressing to serve.

Now before you all go on about using ramen noodles, they aren’t as bad as you think. What is bad for you is the ramen noodle soup mix; that little packet of flavor that is discarded in this recipe. It is full of sodium and sugars that while making it tasty also make it very unhealthy. I typically use half of the ramen noodle package for a salad for two people, so what little carbs that are there from the noodles aren’t going kill you, I promise.

New Toys! & A Recipe or Two

By Jessica

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I always hate showing off what I got for Christmas, as I don’t believe that getting gifts is the part that matters. To me it goes back to core Christian values, but that’s a whole other post; any who I was lucky enough to get a beautiful little pasta maker.

This is the recipe for the very first meal that I made with it. A simple delicious Italian Lemon Pasta with sautéed Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe.

Lemon Pasta

(makes 1lb)

3 ½ cups flour

3 large eggs

3 tbs lemon zest

1tbs lemon juice

Mound the flour in a bowl, making a well in the middle. In this well add in all of the other ingredients. Using a fork, beat together the eggs, and other ingredients slowly incorporating the flour, until it becomes a dough. Then begin kneading the dough with your hands. If the dough is too sticky add small amount of flour, if it is too dry add water, a tablespoon at a time. Once the dough is one cohesive mass move it to a lightly flowered surface and continue to knead it for 3-5 minutes. Place the dough in a floured bowl covered with a damp cloth and let it set for roughly 20 minutes at room temperature. This is important as it will make for a lighter pasta. Once it has set cut off about ¼ of the dough and make it into a small bowl. Form the pasta that you wish using either a pasta machine or a rolling pin and a knife. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water. Fresh pasta has finished cooking when it rises to the top in only 3-4 minutes.

Garlic Sautéed Broccoli Rabe & Turkey Sausage

1 lb turkey sausage links

1 bunch broccoli rabe, trimmed & cut into 3 inch pieces

2 tbs olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

1/2 cup chicken broth

½ lb pasta of choice, prepared aldente

Parmesan cheese

Fully cook the turkey sausage links in either a sauté pan or boiling water. Allow them to cool enough to cut into thin slices. In a pot of boiling cook the broccoli rabe for roughly 10 minutes to reduce the bitterness. Then place on a cloth and pat dry, retaining 1 cup of the cooking water for later use. In a large skillet heat olive oil and sauté garlic for a few minutes until it begins to soften. Add the cut sausage to the pan and cook an additional 4-5 minutes until the center of the sausage pieces begin to brown. Deglaze the pan with chicken broth cooking for only 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add broccoli rabe, tossing to coat. Serve over pasta and garnish with parmesan cheese.

The combination of these flavors is simply amazing. I love Brocoli rabe and sausage together already, though I chose to use turkey sausage in this recipe which tends to have a lighter flavor so it didn’t overpower dish. The lemon pasta added just a hint of citrus flavor that really married well with everything else on the plate. It was the perfect first dish to make with my new pasta maker. I could not be more pleased!

In My Head: Goals

By Jessica

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It’s that time of year again.

The time of year when everyone reevaluates what they accomplished in the past year, and sets new goals for the upcoming year. I had a lot of goals last year, 50 to be exact.

I was able to accomplish over half of them, and the few that are outstanding I think I can handle this upcoming year.

I didn’t get all my hiking and running done because of a strained side that still nags at me and a ridiculously busy schedule, but I have faith that I will have better luck this year now that I have found several friends who are interested in hiking and running.

I didn’t make it to Watkins Glen or NYC this year, but plans are in the works for next year. Specifically a trip to NYC for my birthday!!

I also made a few new goals and accomplishments on the way, such as starting my own business. Something that I am so very proud of! (CHECK IT OUT!)

This year I will have a whole new set of goals, and some carry overs from last year. This list will be smaller. I have accomplished so much and so happy most of this list will just be for fun stuff, and a few things that I should just do more often.

Here is my list of goals that I am going to try to complete this year.

1. Visit at least 1 other country

2. Take more photos.

3. Run a 10k.

4. Run a 5k in under 27 minutes.

5. Hike Saddleback and Basin.

6. Go Snowboarding.

7. Go to Church more often than not.

8. Stick to my monthly budget.

9. Visit the Finger Lakes region (Watkins Glen State Park).

10. Hike 50 miles.

11. Go camping at least once.

12. Go kayaking at least 3x.

13. Go rock climbing.

14. Pay off my School loans.

15. Organize all of the music from my computer.

16. Throw a dinner party.

17. Write in my journal daily.

18. Get my pistol permit.

19. Make a few sales on Etsy.

20. Knit a hat or scarf.

21. Go to the beach.

22. Finish my dumbbell set(5lb, 10lb, 20lb, 30lb).

23. Clean something every night before bed (dishes, bathroom, sweep, dust)

24. Go to NYC.

25. Go on more double dates.So what are your goals for this bright new year?

Top 12 Favorite Clean Recipes of 2012

By Jessica

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The end of December is always a good time to look back and reflect on the past year, as well as look forward and make goals for the New Year. I thought this would be a good time to list for you my top 12 favorite clean meals of 2012.