Sadly, today is the last day to follow me through Google Friend Connect and Google Reader. I'm pretty disappointed.





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PHEW. That's a lot of options. It's hard to be too sad about Google Reader!

Thanks for reading!

Ok people, I've been trying to get into quinoa. After making this recipe, I'm officially there. I really can't resist the savory Buffalo-esque flavors, so I usually jump on those recipes on the Pinterest.

This one is a keeper.

Me and the ginger both scarfed it like wild animals and ate on it all week out of the fridge. Seriously going into our heavy rotation. Recipe adapted from here.

What  You Need:

For the Salad:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots
• 3/4 cup shredded cabbage
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles, plus more for garnish
• 4 green onions chopped, save half for garnish

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup hot sauce (I recommend Franks)
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

How to Make It:

1. In a fine-mesh strainer, rinse quinoa well and drain. In a medium pot, combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn heat to low. Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff the quinoa with a fork.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, make the buffalo sauce dressing and cook the chicken and broccoli. In a measuring cup or small bowl combine the olive oil, hot sauce, and seasoned salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. Heat a medium size skillet over medium high heat Add a tablespoon of olive oil and saute the broccoli for about 5 minutes. You want it to just start to soften, but still be crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the chicken to the same pan and cook the chicken for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. Add 1/4 cup or so of the buffalo sauce and cook until the chicken absorbs the sauce.
4. When the quinoa is ready add the chicken, broccoli, carrots, shredded cabbage and as much of the dressing as desired (I ended up using all of the dressing, but we like things extra saucy) toss well. Add the blue cheese and half of the green onions. 
5. Toss again and serve warm with extra blue cheese crumbles and green onions.

And the finished product:

For realz. So. FREAKING. Tasty.

XOXO

It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Fridaaaaaaay! (Yes, that song gets stuck in my head each and every week. I don't think I mind.)

• A fab little dinner party with friends tonight. Build your own pizza!
• IKEA trip with the Ginger. He's dreading it, I can't wait. Typical.
• Fun in the sun time around Austin on Sunday

Have a beautiful weekend friendies!

Back next week with some awesome recipes to share!

Happy Happy Friday friendies! One of my favorite blog buddies, Betty, usually partakes in this smiley little Friday linkup and her post today just inspired my own upbeat-ed-ness. These items are making me smile today:

1. North West 

Nope, I don't mean the diagonal direction between north and west. Nope, I the region where aforementioned bloggy friend lives. That's a first and a last name, people. It's true. Kim K and Kanye have named their baby NORTH WEST.

Yes, she'll go by "Nori" for short, which I do think is kind of cute, but this is just absurdity to me. The reason I'm smiling? With Kim's ridiculous media overexposure, I'm sure to get lots more smiles out of it in the coming weeks years. Gah, that's such a dumb thing.

2. Baby Shower this weekend! 

I'm co-hosting a super fun baby shower for one of my best buddies ...

... this weekend. Her little lady is due in September, so we're have an intimate little gathering of our Austin-based buddies to celebrate her and girl out. Though I have lots to do to prep, I'm excited to see all my ladies! It's so funny to look back on the timeline of celebrating engagement, to bachelorette, to wedding to now baby for this gal! One of these days I'll be the one we're showering.  :)

3. Baking Success

This week I made a test batch of a new scratch recipe for strawberry cupcakes. I sent them to work with the Ginger and they were a smash hit:

I'm glad I made the test batch. For the shower this weekend I'm going to make a couple of changes, especially to the icing. Also, it was my first recipe made with my new KITCHEN AID MIXER. Yeah, that happened. I'm a changed woman.

4. The little nugget is visiting this weekend! 

I #TBT-ed this of us yesterday (follow me on Instagram)...

... and am excited to see her little college-graduated face.

5. House Progress

The Ginger and my new place is actually kind of coming along. Since I work from home, I feel like all I do is sit around her all day and obsess over all the projects/items I want to get done. He would say that's definitely what I do. We kind of crushed it this week, so I'm feeling TONS better about it all. He really has the patience of a saint. I owe that guy lots of beers this weekend for not melting down on me.

That's all. Can't wait for the weekend!


Linking Up:



Also, pretty please with sugar on top (and since Google reader is going aways soon), follow me here:

I'm coming out of blog hiding. Or at least I'm trying...

Lately I've been SWAMPED. I got a new client at work, I'm traveling for business next week, and I'm co-hosting a big baby shower this weekend for which I have lots of little errands. More than anything, this happened:

Yep, you got it. The Ginger and I have completed the big move-in. More details to come on how that's going (short answer: it's good, but weird). Just like any time you move, it seems like there's no end to the grocery, Target and Home Depot runs. I'm ready to just get this thing all set up and all cute-d up. There are shittons of Pinteresty house projects on the horizon for me, so get excited for that! Anyway, a busy little bee I've surely been.

Anyway, the whole point of me re-entering the blog world on this particular day is because this FINALLY came out:

Yes, people, it's true. ANCHORMAN 2 IS ACTUALLY A THING.

That news is just what I needed to get out of my to-do-list-from-hell funk today. Wooo!

In other giggly news, yesterday the Prince got groomed:

I apparently ordered a haircut with a side of attitude. I think he's pissed abou the dome head thing he's got going on. Don't worry, he's of course already rubbed his whole head and face in dirt and poop outside. He sure showed me.

Hopefully more tomorrow. XOXO

So I feel like I'm always on the hunt for mayo-free salad recipes (egg salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, etc.). I love the cool and crunchy salady goodness for lunchtime. It's healthy, flavorful and keeps you full. I think I've found the hot winner:

Sonoma Chicken Salad

adapted from K Sarah Designs

Ingredients

2 stalks selery
4 TB red onion
4 TB sliced/slivered almonds
4 TB shredded parmesan
4 TB craisins
3 cups cooked shredded chicken (I substituted for canned and it worked perfectly)
8 TB poppy seed dressing (I went for a fat free option)
4 TB sour cream (I substituted for fat free Greek yogurt)
2 TB dijon mustard

Directions

1. Mix together all of the dry/solid ingredients.
2. Whisk together the wet stuff.
4. Combine the two bowls and toss to coat.

Literally, that's it. All of the amounts of ingredients above are doubled because I like to make lunch for the whole week If I'm going to fancy it up like this. I ate out of the big bowl of it -- making sandwiches and stealing random bites -- for four-ish days and loved every second of it.

This is def a fave recipe headed to my personal brain vault. Try it!

Happy Friday! 

Rehearsal Dinner

Anheuser-Busch Brewery

Wedding

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