Healthy 4th of July Recipes

YALL! I may not survive this work day because I am SO EXCITED for the 4th. Besides the fact that I start counting down to this day starting on December 26 (I need things to look forward to), I have friends and family coming in town, we're cooking out, and for the first time ever Harrison has the 4th off too! The possibilities are endless! And I can't wait to have people over to our new house and cookout in our new back yard on our new grill. And drink beer. And eat good food (keeping it healthy of course). The 4th is awesome because there are so many healthy-ish options too, not so much like Christmas or Thanksgiving where everything has butter and cream and fatness and you have to eat everything (is that just me or everyone?).

ANYWAY these are my favorite options to make and bring to cookouts- we got a little bit of everything on this list (spoiler alert: if you're spending the 4th with me this is what you're eating and drinking):

1. Clean Sides: Healthy Avocado Deviled Eggs with a Kick
2. Clean Sides: Fruit with Healthy Sweet Greek Yogurt Dip
3. Clean Burgers: Avocado and Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Burgers
4. Clean Vegetarian Burgers: Red Bean Burgers
5. Clean Burgers: Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onion Stuffed Turkey Sliders
6. Not So Clean Boozing: Best Front Porch Cocktails  (I will be making the Summer Beer since you can make it in mass quantities and no one DOESN'T like this drink)

Question: What is your favorite healthy dish to bring to cookouts? Any big plans for the 4th? 

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July! 

Linking up today at Little Friday

BBQ Chicken Salad + Weekend Recap

Ahhh the longest week in the history of the work world, at least in DC. Anyone else feel that way? Like most of the city is on vacation so no one is doing work but I am saving my vacation days for other things, and every tourist in America is in DC for the week so my commute is longer (STAND TO THE RIGHT ON THE METRO ESCALATORS, WALK ON THE LEFT- people breaking this rule literally add 10 minutes to my morning commute! Wait I think tomorrow's post will be about how to be a good tourist in DC), the highs this week are close to 100 so we are slowly melting to death and I can't think about anything except how excited I am for my favorite holiday: the fourth of freaking JULY! AMERICA! COOKOUTS! ALL THE THINGS!

Ok anyway onto the recipe, this is super easy and a great refreshing summer salad. The chicken and avocado add lots of protein and other stuff to keep you full so it's niiice.

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, thawed and sliced into strips ($5.00)
• 3 tomatoes, diced ($2.00)
• 1/2 red onion, diced ($.50)
• 1 cucumber, diced ($.80)
• 1 avocado, diced ($1.00)
• Optional: 4 slices of bacon, chopped up (we use turkey bacon)
• 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce of choice (I always use Sweet Baby Ray's, duh)
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• Any other seasonings you normally add to barbecue chicken (we have a grilled chicken rub that I looove and I usually add some cayenne pepper too)

Cook the bacon in a large frying pan. Season this chicken with the garlic power, onion powder, and seasonings of your choice. Once the bacon is done cooking, remove from the frying pan and allow to cool for a few minutes. In the same pan, cook the chicken strips for 15-20 minutes flipping occasionally, until they are cooked all the way through and there is no pink left.

Chop up the bacon and chicken strips, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Enjoy! I took mine to lunch the next day, Harrison ate all of his at one time as an after dinner "snack". Typical.

So this weekend one of my high school friends got married in Lancaster, PA. This was my first time in that area and it was definitely interesting, and of course it was a blast to reunite with my best friends from high school. Here's a little recap of the interestingness of Amish Country:

Saturday morning before we left I received a 911 text from a friend who got there the night before that it was impossible to buy booze in the county the hotel was in so I packed a suitcase of the essentials:

The reception was held at a nice country club, this is our attempt at a reunion picture but we're missing tons of people because it is impossible to get everyone in a group picture, even though Katy Kodak over here gets pushy and bossy to try to get one every time:

Took some nice pix on the golf course and I wore my first Rent the Runway dress and loved it (Sachin + Babi):

Bride and groom had their first dance:

After partied at the hotel bar until 3 am (I am getting too old for this)

Stopped at this barn-looking place for some Amish lunch:

With this guy in the front:

Sampled everything from the "Lancaster Favorites" section of the buffet- sidenote: I thought Amish food would be pretty clean, like from the ground and meat and stuff but no. Amish food = heavy cream, butter, milk everything. I tried everything since we were on vacay and I paid for it later.

Tried a slice of Shoofly Pie:

Sat in some traffic...

Most of the town looked like this:

Stopped in to some Amish markets and found some interesting items such as this Poo-Pourri which you spray in the toilet before you doo doo and it supposedly masks any odors...

So no one warned me that there would be OUTLETS AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE in Lancaster! LIKE WHAT? This is me in front of the Loft Outlet feeling slightly excited but slightly terrified for what was about to happen to my bank account:

I booked a dog sitter through a site called Rover.com which was recommended by a friend. You type in your zip code and search sitters by people who are willing to come to your house or let your dog stay at their house. We had an awesome sitter named Dana H who sent picture updates all weekend like this one:

We will DEF be using Rover again- it was so easy and inexpensive, and I loved that Andi could stay home. The sitters have background checks and recommendations, and this service is available anywhere. AND if you use my unique link you get $20 off your first booking! Click here to receive $20 off and definitely let me know if you have questions because as a crazy dog lady who feels bad taking advantage of her friends 5 weekends in a row, this is the best possible service.

Linking up today with Biana, Kimberlee, Leeann, Delicious Dish Tuesday, Tuesday Recipe Swap- come play!

Clean Eating Taco Salad + Weekend Recap

Ok so I just had the best. weekend. ever. It was one of my best friend's weddings at a campground in Hanson, Massachusetts and it was the happiest, lovingest, most wonderful weekend ever. We all did a program called City Year together in 2008 in Rhode Island, and this was a big huge happy reunion with the people I spent one of the most transformative years of my life and the two of them just love each other so much and it was just a big fat lovefest. And dance party of course. Pix below.

Ok so enough with the mushiness, today's recipe is one of my go-to lunches for the week- the ole taco salad. It's really easy!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Pair it with: salad greens, tomato slices, salsa, Greek yogurt, raw onions, tortillas.

Season the turkey with the garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and brown the in a frying pan. Add the black beans (with the juice) and stir together with the meat over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes, or until the juices are absorbed. Add in the garlic and onions for the last 5 minutes. Use as a salad topping or taco filler and enjoy!

So, more about my mushy lovey dovey weekend. The bride (you may remember her as the one who knocked my tooth out in Milwaukee) compeletely DIYed this entire shindig at Camp Kiwanee. We all pitched in and threw together this incredible party. Just look:

Friday we bopped around Boston in their perfect weather- WHERE IS THE HUMIDITY?

Got some mani-pedis and drank a million bottles of  champagne:

Cried through the entire Enjoyed rehearsal dinner:

Don't mind me with the awkward high-5 in the back...

Saturday morning we picked up $200 worth of flowers from Trader Joe's. $200 on flowers. For the entire wedding. This. was. genius.

Transformed the camp mess hall into a beautiful wedding venue:

they got married right in the middle!

I KNOW.

 LOOK what you can do with Trader Joe's flowers!

I MEAN:

Did a lil yoga while the flower girl stacked champagne cups for us:

Took some professional wedding photos:

They got married (no pix because I was maiding), then we had some serious BBQ- PS how awesome are these bmaids outfits? Our skirts were $60 on Etsy. They look so great in the pictures and were perfect for camp wedding!

Then we partied our asses off:

Photo cred to my buddy Nan via Wedpics

Then we had an afterparty with a bonfire, dancing, s'mores and a keg and eventually made our way back to our cabins ( I KNOW!). We got up in the morning to mimosas and home cooked breakfast made by the groom's parents (like what!):

Then we finished the day with a kickball tourney and old City Year games. It was really one of the best weekends ever. And don't fret- I got Amanda (the bride) to agree to write a guest post on alllllll her details so stay tuned!

Linking up today at Delicious Dish Tuesday, Motivation Monday, Wedding Wednesday, Treat Yo Self

Goat Cheese & Carmelized Onion Stuffed Turkey Sliders + new cheap wine

As I mentioned yesterday, Friday night we had some dinner, did some Greek dance practicing, and drank a few gallons little wine. So somehow I had never made caramelized onions before and I assumed I would just slice up some onions and throw them in a frying pan. So that's not how you caramelize onions. Here is everything I learned about caramelizing onions and stuffing burgers with them:

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb lean ground turkey ($6.00)
• 1/2 cup goat cheese ($2.50)
• 1/2 onion, sliced ($.50)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 Tablespoon onion powder
• 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Heat olive oil over low heat in a medium sized frying pan. Now throw your onion slices in the frying pan and let them cook over low heat for 45 minutes. Yes, 45 minutes. Stir them occasionally to make sure they don't get stuck to the pan, and make sure it's super low heat too.

Meanwhile mix together the turkey and all the seasonings and peppers. Using half the turkey, form little tiny bowls (pictured below) by making your hand into a little bowl and molding it into the shape of your palm. Fill your little bowls goat cheese and the caramelized onions. Now make little tiny lids and pinch them onto the bowls so you have a full patty. 

Flatten your sliders out as much as possible and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes on each side. I covered mine for the first half of the cooking process. 

We put them on whole wheat slider buns and ate with Maria's Greek Salad (she's actually Greek and was teaching us our dances to prep for the wedding). Sidenote: did you know Greeks don't use lettuce? Ever? Weird right?

Ok, these were freaking DELICIOUS and I'm going to be that bougie girl that brings goat cheese stuffed burgers to the 4th of July cookout but whatever, they were that good. 

You know what else I'm bringing to 4th of July cookout? This CK Mondavi Wine we had the chance to sample. This wine is awesome because it a) is under $10, b) donates proceeds to support war veterans via the Fallen Heroes Fund, c) is completely American wine, d) is the only American made/grown wine in the “supermarket wine under $10” category. Soo you're saying on the 4th I can drink tasty wine for under $10 that is American AND proceeds go to veterans? Yes please.

I'm not much of a wine connoisseur (I had to google how to spell it) but this stuff was good! My favorite was the Scarlet Five- it was basically a combo of the best parts of 5 reds, and it tasted soo good with these sliders. So for me, CK Mondavi is the perfect 4th of July wine. Not only is it the only wine in this price point to be 100% American made & grown, but a percentage of sales goes to supporting veterans.

Tell me: what is your favorite clean food to take to the 4th of July? Are you eating clean this 4th? What is your favorite wine under $10?

Linking up today at DDT, Turn it up Tuesdays, Tickle My Tastebuds

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Clean Eating TMB Spaghetti Squash + Weekend Recap

Happy Monday! I had one of those weekends that was so great that it feels fine to come back to work today, weird huh? But more on that later, first off is a recipe I posted on Instagram awhile ago (that is where little recipes go that don't make it to the blog, follow along!) that I keep calling TMB Spaghetti Squash (Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil). It was so so good and we had leftovers for days!

Servings: 3-4
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise ($3.00)
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese ($2.00)
• 3 medium sized tomatoes, diced ($2.00)
• 1 Handful fresh basil, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp Garlic powder  (we love garlic more than the average humans so feel free to skip this step)
• 2 tsp Onion powder

Pick the guts/seeds/ribs out of the spaghetti squash and cook in the oven, cut side up, at 400 degrees for 45 mins. After 45 mins pull the squash out of the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then using a fork, poke at the edges and pull the spaghetti-ish noodle-things off the skin. Top each half with a layer of tomatoes, the mozzarella (1/2 cup on each), the basil and the seasonings. Pop back in the oven for 15 mins.

That's it! We loved this one. Harrison added some sauce, sauteed onions and mushrooms to his but I liked mine plain.

Ok so onto this weekend. It was my good friends Deanna and Nick's Big Greek wedding- a little backstory: When I lived in Richmond, Deanna and a group of us used to go to Wednesday night karaoke religiously at our local dive bar. That's where she met Nick, and now they're married. A karaoke love story! What could be better?

I planned on leaving at 1, but a massive torrential rain storm had other ideas. Andi and I left our house at 2 and arrived in Richmond at 7:00. It should take 2 hours at the most. I hate traffic. This is us dying a slow, torturous death in stand-still traffic
.

When I got to Richmond some friends and I had dinner and some Greek dance lessons and some wine. Lots and lots of wine.

The next day I had a cheat day with an everything bagel from my favorite Einstein's with one of my favorite friends from high school who is prego- so crazy to see old friends making big life moves right?

Then I got my hair cut and highlighted- this is me trying to see what the highlights were going to look like and panicking a little at how light it was, I should really be in a shampoo commercial for how atrocious my hair looks when it's brushed out:

Then we got ready and headed to the big Greek wedding! The ceremony was over an hour and mostly in Greek but the church was so beautiful, and they had a program that explained everything that was happening

This was my favorite part:

Or maybe this:

Or maybe the "Poptail Hour"- cocktail hour with popsicles (our friend has a pops food truck)

Then we headed to the reception which was really simple and really really fun. It was one of very few weddings I've been to where I felt like the bride and groom were just soo themselves- relaxed, chill, fun, and dancing like maniacs. It was really great.

We danced:

And took pix with the beautiful bride (PS her dress was amazing and from David's Bridal):

And took a giant wedding selfie:

Signed their guest book (I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea for a guest book):

And by the end all felt like this:

The next day we all went to a recovery brunch at my favorite old brunch spot Buddy's that has a build your own bloody mary bar and a porch for the perfect weather we had. Really what else could a girl ask for after a big Greek wedding?