I told you… I’m going to get mercury poisoning.  But, salmon was on sale and I got a huge piece that I broke up.  One thing Adam will never complain about is back-to-back salmon nights.  If back-to-back steak nights aren’t available.

Which… living in this landing spot townhouse, while we build, we don’t have a grill.  I MISS STEAK.  Warning… I’m going to have a whole week of steak posts as soon as we move into our house.

And yes… I realize I haven’t shared that yet.  We’re building a house!!  Is that not the most grown-up thing you’ve ever heard?  I mean, I had no idea there were so many colors of grout, versions of the color grey, beige, white.  We should be in by October – so until then, I won’t be grilling… since I have no grill.   I pretty much live in third world country.

So hopefully summer is in full effect wherever you are.  During the summer months, I often feel like I’m going to give Jeremy Piven a run for his money in the mercury poisoning department.  I just CAN’T STOP with the seafood for dinner on these hot nights.  And when you add the light and bright ingredients of tomato, basil and burrata it’s game over.

This dish is really just a way for me to make another version of my favorite salad, but it’s like a great article of clothing.  If you love it, buy it in every color.  Kind of like I did with Express’s editor pants in college.  Literally… every. single. color.

When I was in high school, I LOVED General Tso’s chicken so much.  During one summer of lifeguarding, I ate it almost daily.  I thought since it was chicken, it was healthy.  Well, let’s just say that by the end of the summer that swimsuit was a hell of a lot tighter than it was on Memorial Day.  ”If you can’t tone it, tan it,” was in full effect.  Since then, thank goodness I learned the error of my ways, but that does not make my love for take-out Chinese any less strong.  So, I’m constantly on the search for fake-out take-out that’s not going to put me in a moo-moo by summer’s end.

I found these Seasame-Soy meatballs on Cooking Light, and then I twisted them up a bit and added some new sides that were delish.

I’m pretty sure if you add “buffalo” to anything, my mouth is going to start watering like a lunatic.  Since I’ve been an incredible slacker when it comes to sharing recipes and life here… so much for resolutions… I thought I’d come back strong with these little bitties.  This dish is ready in 45 mins start to finish and you get to get your hands a little dirty.  Remember, you can adjust the ratios for the sauce according to your love for buffalo sauce. Which, if we’re going to continue to be friends… should be strong.

Happy New Year!  I hope your new year is off to a great start.  I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch for so long, but I’ve been working on something big that’s been taking up allllll my time.  Drumroll….

I got a new job and Adam and I are in the process of packing up our lives and moving to Austin, Tx!  I could not be more excited for this new chapter, but I must say leaving my old company, with which I’ve worked for over eight years has been very bittersweet. So… we have a couple more days here in San Diego, surrounded by boxes and I thought I’d take the opportunity to put together my list of 14 in 14… 14 things I want to do in 2014.  I think rather than making one big resolution, I’ll try to accomplish 14 things – some big, some small – but all list worthy.  So…

1. Start a new job
2. Move to Austin, TX
3. Blog at least 3x a week (I mean, c’mon.)
4. Talk to my mom on the phone every other day
5. Plan a BIG international travel trip
6. Get Gidget groomed more regularly (gurl be lookin’ ridic sometimes…)
7. Go skydiving
8. Begin the home buying process
9. Make a new best friend at work
10. Go FULL Paleo for one month
11. Go to a food blogger/healthy living conference
12. Go hiking/Barton Springs-ing with Adam
13. SECRET (I gotta have a couple of these)
14. SECRET (for reallllll)

I have a bunch of yummy recipes to share that I’ll post on my road trip out to Austin in a couple days.  Send good thoughts and please share any spots I should look  at stopping on my way out from San Diego to Austin!

Last Saturday, I went to HomeGoods (my heaven) and they are currently focused on kitchen essentials, given the upcoming holidays and all those big dinners that come with them.  When I walked in, I got a little weak in the knees.  And after slapping myself out of thinking I needed a self-spinning ice cream cone holder,  I snagged a new knife set (and then I sliced off a good chunk of my thumb a day later), as well as a little set of individual sized pizza stones.  I’ve been wanting to do a make-your-own pizza night for a while, but it loses a little something without the stone.  These little 8 inch individual sizes are so fun – but if you have a big one, just have each person pick a side and top it as you want.

The results were almost as good as how much fun we had going to the store, picking our ingredients and then trying to figure out what the hell we were doing.  In case you’re looking for inspiration, here’s what we topped ours with… but really there is no wrong answer to the question: How will you top your pizza?

Mine: Chanterelle Mushrooms, Gruyere and Prosciutto Pizza- (fancy, huh??)

*Please excuse my Saturday evening disaster hair*

Ingredients:

• Trader Joe’s Herb Pizza Dough
• Chanterelle Mushrooms (sauteed before topping)
• Red Onion (sauteed before topping)
• Gruyere, shredded
• Prosciutto
• baby heirloom tomatoes, halved
• Pizza sauce

Adam’s: Pepperoni, Sausage, Onions, Bacon with Two Cheeses (Look at that face…)

Ingredients:

• Trader Joe’s Herb Pizza Dough
• 1 sausage, removed from casing (browned before topping pizza)
• pepperoni
• 1 slice of bacon, chopped
• onion, sliced
• green peppers, chopped
• baby heirloom tomatoes, halved
• pepperjack cheese, shredded
• mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Pizza sauce

For both pizzas, we prepared the dough according to the directions.  Preheat the pizza stones in the oven (500 degrees for 20 mins). Dust the stones with cornmeal. Place pizza dough circles on the stones. Top with everything and cook for 12-17 minutes (depending on how thin you can get your crust. We failed miserably at that, and had to cook ours for about 17 minutes)

Let’s push ourselves, shall we?  Around here we love a big hearty breakfast on Sunday mornings paired with some football and relaxation.  I usually throw together a scramble with all the leftover veggies from the week and some leftover protein.  This weekend, however, I wanted to do a little something different, make a REAL brunch.  So, I did the impossible… I made eggs benedict (homemade Hollandaise AND paoched eggs???)…. and wouldn’t ya know – it worked!  I scoured the internet for tips and tricks from making a great Hollindaise that wouldn’t have me whisking in the kitchen for thirty minutes and I found some great options.

This breakfast is not healthy.  It is not something that belongs on a blog that is supposed to be focused on healthy eating.  But ya know what?  This is MY blog. And a girl can’t be good allllllll the time.  So sometimes, give yourself a Sunday splurge and get that feel good feeling from being able to say, “Hope you had fun at yoga, I made my own eggs benedict this morning…  And damn, I’m good.”  (Then lunge all around the house for the rest of the day and do squats while you brush your teeth;)

Bacon and Crab Eggs Benedict with a Jalapeno Hollindaise Sauce – Serves 4

Ingredients:

(Easy Blender) Hollindaise Sauce:

• 3-4 pickled jalapenos, finely chopped
• 10T unsalted butter
• 3 egg yokes (how to separate eggs)
• 1T Lemon Juice (or the juice from 1/2 lemon)
• 1/2t salt
• 1/8t cayenne pepper

*From Simple Recipes

Benedict:

• 4 whole wheat english muffins
• 4 slices of bacon
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 8 eggs
• 1 small jar of fresh crab meat (you can leave this out if you’re looking to save some $$)
• 1-2t of vinegar (to poach eggs)

Directions:

Prepare bacon by placing strips in a cold oven.  Turn oven up to 405 degrees, let cook for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare hollindaise sauce.  Melt the butter slowly in a small pot. Try not to let it boil – you want the moisture in the butter to remain there and not steam away. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne (if using) into your blender. Blend the egg yolk mixture at a medium to medium high speed until it lightens in color, about 20-30 seconds.  Once the yolks have lightened in color, turn the blender down to its lowest setting (if you only have one speed on your blender it will still work), and drizzle in the melted butter slowly, while the blender is going. Continue to buzz for another couple seconds after the butter is all incorporated.

Turn off the blender and taste the sauce. It should be buttery, lemony and just lightly salty. If it is not salty or lemony enough, you can add a little lemon juice or salt to taste. If you want a thinner consistency, add a little warm water. Pulse briefly to incorporate the ingredients one more time.

Store until needed in a warm spot, like on or next to the stovetop. Use within an hour or so.

To poach the eggs:  Begin boiling water in a sauce pan.  Once water is about to boil, add vinegar to water (this will help to congeal the eggs and keep them together!)

Slowly drop in one egg at a time.  It may be helpful to crack the egg into a little cup and then release it into the water.  Using a spoon, nudge the egg whites closer to their yolks. This will help the egg whites hold together.  Turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 4 minutes while the eggs cook.

While eggs cook, toast english muffins and prepare to build!!

Building your benny – place toasted english muffins on plate, top with crab meat, then bacon, then poached egg and hollindaise sauce. Garnish with thinly sliced avocados.

Seems like a lot of work – but it sounds much harder than it is.  I found the toughest part was figuring out timing, so now you don’t have to.

Happy Sunday!  How’s everyone’s weekend going? I finally had some time to catch-up on my life, cleaning every inch of our house in preparation for the arrival of… both sets of parents!  Adam’s parents and mine are coming all the way out to San Diego to hang with us, soak up the sunshine and meet each other.  Do you ever notice that you think you’re keeping your house clean with the cursory cleaning throughout the week, but it’s not until the threat of a mother (OR TWO) coming to town that you realize you were, in fact, living in filth. Well, this weekend, I realized we’re disgusting.  However, after a little elbow grease, 2,000 paper towels and four hours of Sheryl Crow Pandora, I’m ready for House Beautiful to come in and take some photos.

The recipe I wanted to share today is nothing mind-blowing, BUT it’s fantastic, super easy and really fills you up if you’re trying to figure out a good paleo lunch time option.  I have the most trouble with lunch for some reason. I think it’s because I work from home, so I just don’t think about it when I shop, then I get into 7 hours of conference calls and the next thing you know, I’m eating a bowl of pasta with lemon and brummel & brown.  I’m convinced my problem areas are a direct result of my lunchtime breakdowns.  So… I was on a mission to figure out something I could throw together in ten minutes, or even make at the beginning of the week and dole it out throughout (if you’re not ten yards from your kitchen come lunch time).

I’m calling this “Perfect Paleo Lunch” – and don’t skip the avocado.  It adds a creamy texture that will make you forget cheese ever existed (well, you won’t need it for this. but we all know, no one that can be trusted, would ever be able to forget about the goodness of cheese).

They say a way to man’s heart is through his stomach.  I agree with that statement whole stomachly.  However, there are different routes you can use to get there.  I, for one, know that I want to create meals that fill him up, but also won’t fill out my ass as much as it fills up his heart.  That means putting together “secretly” healthy dishes that don’t taste like wheatgrass on top of hay.  That route is called the scenic route… he’s happy and unknowingly healthy.

However, every once in while I just like to cut the healthy food foreplay and put together a meal that gets right to the what I know he’ll remember when that 21 year old walks by and gives him a little grin.  I call that meal, The Husband Catcher.  You really can’t go wrong with a grilled Filet Mignon, topped with caramelized blue cheese, mushrooms, and onions over sauteed garlic spinach. dayyyyyyyyymmmm girl.

It’s official, I’m the last one standing in this house.  Adam is one cough away from losing a lung, Rondo has something going on with his sweet little eyes and you know all about The Gidge’s recent brush with pancreatitis.  Gidget Watch 2013 Update: she’s home now, thank goodness!  Resting, eating chicken and rice only for the next month (I think that was her plan all along), and on the road to recovery.   The one silver lining in all this is that they had to shave her leg to give her an IV and now she looks like she either has a wooden peg leg or got attacked by a mini shark.  I feel badly laughing in a sick dog’s face, but I can’t help it.  I mean…

::wahahaha.  I’m a terrible mother/person. wahahahaha::

Last night, after running around picking up meds for everyone, I thought I’d make something light and fresh that might help everyone ingesting it feel lighter and fresher.  I was wrong, and we’ll be having soup tonight, because sick people like soup, not shrimp.  BUT, I’d otherwise recommend these Cilantro and Jalapeno Shrimp Cakes for a nice late summer dinner (or lunch) option, inspired by SkinnyTaste. I paired mine with some grilled corn and grilled zucchini spears (not pictured).  For Adam, I through together a little lemon, basil angel hair pasta as a base because he’s not a huge fan of corn.  Who doesn’t like sweet summer corn, grilled to perfection?  I’m suspect of his taste. Whatevs… more for me.