Yet another grueling semester has come to an end, and another one begins.

The difference is…I am officially in my LAST semester of nursing school! Only 3 short months to go!

I just wanted to pop in and share a great recipe that I’ve had a few requests for.  Time is a luxury for me these days, which means dinners need to be quick- but still healthy.  I’ve made this meal a few times so far, and it’s delicious every time.

Pan Fried Tilapia with Tomato and Avocado Salsa

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

4 tilapia filets

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

For the salsa:

2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted and diced

2 tomatoes, seeded and diced (I used already-diced tomatoes

from the grocery store)

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Pour the olive oil in a skillet or shallow pan, and place over medium heat.

2. While waiting for the oil to heat up, season the fish with the garlic powder, salt and lemon pepper on both sides.

3. Place the fish in the hot oil and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, until the tops are lightly browned and the fish is no longer opaque (translation: fish is white and cuts easily with a fork)

4.  Squeeze lemon juice over fish, remove fish from the pan and set aside.

5.  In a small bowl, combine the diced avocado and tomato, add salt and lemon juice and give a few stirs.

7. To serve, top the fish with the salsa and enjoy!

I like to serve this dish on a bed of coleslaw- a cool and crispy side that tastes great with the fish and is also low-carb.

I may have posted my “healthified” coleslaw recipe in the past- it’s super simple!

“Healthified Coleslaw”

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 bag coleslaw (find with the salad mixes

in the produce section)

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup Fage 2% Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon mayo (the kind made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

for less saturated fat)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions:

In a large bowl, add all of the above ingredients and whisk together until well combined.  Add a few tablespoons of water while mixing to thin out the dressing to the desired consistency (helps a small amount go a long way to coat the slaw).  Once dressing is prepared, add the bag of coleslaw and the red onion and toss together several times until everything is well combined.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

A few pictures of life lately since my last post…

My mom and I went up to Tallahassee to visit my sister for “Mom’s Weekend”, where I ran my first color run! I hadn’t been regularly running before then, and the weather was in the 30′s.  It was ROUGH.  But, I managed to keep on truckin’ the whole time, and it was really fun!

We went to our first Kenny Chesney concert in Tampa with our friends Ashley and Mike.  We had a blast, and decided we will be making his concerts an annual tradition!

Our friends, Nick and Kelly, got married in a beautiful wedding in Hollywood, FL.

Here’s a group of my nursing friends at Freedom Ride, a wonderful organization we got to visit that utilizes horses as a form of physical therapy for disabled children.

And, most recently, my sister and I went to our hometown, Fort Lauderdale, to spend Mother’s Day with my mom and help her pack up our childhood home that recently sold.

Lauren and I had way too much fun going through all of our old yearbooks and photo albums.  This quote from my senior yearbook made me laugh especially hard:

Ohhh, high school .

The post Pan Fried Tilapia with Tomato and Avocado Salsa appeared first on Cooking With Carly.

#1. I hate apple juice. No, not hate. Loathe entirely.

#2. Pink is my signature color.

#3. The key to my heart is through my stomach, in the form of chocolate mousse.

My parents got me a chocolate mousse cake from a bakery in Ft. Lauderdale every year for my birthday since I can remember.  It’s been up to Corey to carry on the tradition, and he has pulled through with some form of chocolate mousse each year since we met.

This year, it was on Valentine’s Day. He had the chef at one of our favorite restaurants specially make a batch of delicious chocolate mousse.

Unfortunately, my beloved dessert is packed with calories and fat.  So, as delicious as it tastes going down, as soon as it’s gone, I’m left feeling pretty guilty.

Enter: Guiltless Chocolate Mousse, brought to you by yours truly.

Guiltless Chocolate Mousse

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

8 oz. Fage 2% Greek Yogurt

1 cup Cool Whip topping, thawed

3 Dove dark chocolate squares (or about 2 tablespoons other dark chocolate), melted

Splenda for Baking, 3 tablespoons

Directions:

In a bowl, combine the Greek yogurt with the Splenda.

After melting the chocolate, add it to the yogurt.

Mix until well combined.

Add the whipped topping to the mixture. Use the spoon to gently fold it into the yogurt mixture until combined (don’t stir vigorously, or it won’t be fluffy).

Divide into individual serving dishes and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy your dessert…guilt-free!

The post Guiltless Chocolate Mousse appeared first on Cooking With Carly.

So, remember when I poo-pooed my darling husband’s obsession with Vietnamese Pho that he insisted we have on our first night in Denver? 

Well, something very strange happened after I wrote that post.  I started getting a crazy craving for the stuff! We ordered take out from a great place down the street from us a week or two ago, and my recipe-wheels started turning.  Pho is actually considered to be a pretty healthy dish, but after some research, I discovered that true pho starts with a homemade broth that gets it’s flavor from bone marrow and the fat in certain cuts of beef, meaning the dish is actually a little heavy on the fat content.

When my second pho craving hit, I scoured the web for an easy, skip-a-million-steps recipe while I was in the parking lot of the grocery store.  Sadly, all I could find were recipes that insisted that you start by making authentic stock, which takes hours (and also requires a lot of funky ingredients).

And ya wanna know how I feel about spending hours to make your own stock?

Servings: 2

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced

1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

4 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 and 1/2 14oz. cans reduced-sodium beef broth

1 can reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon Thai Kitchen Roasted Red Chili Paste (optional)

2 tablespoons lime juice, plus one lime sliced into wedges and reserved for individual serving

2 packages House Foods Shirataki Tofu Spaghetti Noodles, prepared according to package

directions (drain, rinse and microwave OR parboil for 2-3 minutes)

1/2 lb. thinly sliced deli roast beef (can substitute protein of choice)

1/2 cup bean sprouts, for garnish

lime wedges for garnish

Directions:

Heat the EVOO over medium heat in a large pan or wok (large enough to hold the liquid you will add later). When hot, add the onion and green pepper and saute until soft, about 3 minutes.

Add the ground ginger and allow it to cook for 1 minute.

Add the garlic powder, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and allow the spices to toast for a minute or two, using the spatula to move the ingredients around to avoid burning.

Add the soy sauce and allow it to reduce (cook for 2 minutes).

Add the broth and lime juice.

Stir in the chili paste, if using it.

Bring everything to a simmer, then place a lid on the pot and lower the heat. Cook for 10-15 minutes.

To serve, portion the noodles in the bottom of a bowl.

Portion the roast beef, slice it lengthwise and place on one side of the bowl, then ladle the broth over top. Garnish with bean sprouts and a lime wedge.

P.S. This is the perfect time to use those old chopsticks you’ve been saving for no reason. I was very excited about this.

The post Freaky Fast Faux Pho appeared first on Cooking With Carly.

We arrived in Denver, CO, around 3PM.  After a VERY long, uneventful wait at the rental car place, we hopped in our spiffy maroone Ford Escape and drove about 20 minutes into downtown Denver, where our hotel was.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency at the Colorado Convention Center, which is located in the heart of downtown Denver.

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It was a-mazing. The amenities were wonderful, including a fully equipped gym, spa, top-floor cocktail lounge and rooftop jacuzzi overlooking the city.

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Next time we go, I’ll remember to pack a bathing suit for 30-degree weather .

After getting settled in the hotel, we were both starving, since the time change caused us to miss lunch.  We were both in a burger-and-fries mood, so we let our trusty iPhones lead us to Cherry Cricket, a famous little place in the town of Cherry Creek that has been featured on Food Network shows such as The Best Thing I Ever Ate  and Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels, and the Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food. They serve a variety of craft beers, delicious build-it-your-way burgers, fresh made soups, chowders and chili’s, and perfectly crispy fries.

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We started by sharing a bowl of Green Chili, something neither of us had ever really had, but we would soon realize is a staple in Denver.

It had chunks of tender pork and spicy green chiles, served with a warm tortilla on the side…which was helpful for my burning mouth.

I was torn on which toppings to put on my burger, but my interest was piqued after reading rave reviews about their cream cheese topped burgers- yes- cream cheese, on a burger.  I ordered the Little Cricket Burger (1/4 pound), topped with herbed cream cheese and caramelized onions.

Well, it was delicious. But I couldn’t eat the whole thing because it was so rich.  Corey had the regular 1/2 pound Cricket burger with green chile strips on top, which he said were great because they weren’t spicy, they were sweet.

After we ate, we walked around Cherry Creek, peeking in store windows as we went.  It was such a cute area, and it looked so Christmasy at night. It actually reminded us of our beloved Winter Park- just, bigger and better.

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The next day, we woke up very early (thank you, time change) and headed to try out the hotel’s gym.  How funny is it that I had to go on vacation to get back into a workout routine? Nursing school has really messed up my workout mojo, but more on that later.

We had plans for a hike later in the morning, so I focused on cardio and a quick upper body strength workout. My treadmill overlooked downtown, and it was so beautiful to watch the sun rising over the mountains throughout my workout.

After we worked up a good appetite, we showered and got dressed and walked down the street to a breakfast place we had spotted the night before.

Corey and I have wanted to visit a restaurant- any restaurant- that has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives for YEARS, and we were thrilled that we found Sam’s No. 3 to be our first.

I had to laugh at myself, because of all the things to order, I picked the Polish sausage and eggs! Random. But really good! It had a variety of choices for side items, such as the “mini cakes”, french toast, biscuits and gravy…or, I could be a good girl and “Lo Carb It”, meaning sub out those sides with cottage cheese and tomato slices, which is what I did.

I was happy with this decision, because I didn’t want to feel full and heavy before our hike.

Corey, on the other hand…didn’t mind this feeling at all and ordered one of their famous breakfast burritos.

The Denver Burrito came filled with ham, green peppers, onions, eggs, AND homefries, and then smothered in cheese and green chili.  He was very happy.

After breakfast, we drove about 30 minutes away to Golden, CO, where our first hiking trail awaited us.  We began the hike in Matthews/Winters Park on Morrison Slide, which runs into Red Rocks Trail.

We stopped to take pictures about 45 minutes in, thinking, “Look at us! We’re so high up!”…we didn’t realize we still had a long way to go to reach the top!

But when we did…it was well worth it.

I have a feeling I’ll be looking at this picture during many stressful times in the future, to remind me of how peaceful and beautiful life can be.

Look at me, getting all sentimental. Enough of that!

Our total hike was just about 3 and a half miles, and my boo-tay was feelin’ the burn.

When we finished, we drove over to the famous Red Rocks Ampitheater. I had never even heard of this place, and being the concert-lover that I am, I’m ashamed! It is indescribable.

Can you imagine seeing a concert there?

The summer line-up for next year looks AWESOME.

I can’t think of a better graduation gift for two music-loving, soon-to-be-summer-graduates (*cough cough* MOM *wink wink* DAD *elbow elbow*AREYOULISTENING)

I digress.

Once we finished taking in the glory of Red Rocks, we got back in the car and drove back to Cherry Creek, where I had noticed an interesting-looking restaurant the night before, called True Food Kitchen.

I honestly would have been happy to try everything on the menu. All the ingredients were as fresh as it gets, and the different  combinations sounded great.

We started with a bowl of the Daily Market Soup to share.  It was tomato-based, and filled with fennel, carrots, and house-made sausage.

While enjoying the soup, we noticed the menu had a list of “Natural Refreshments” that sounded interesting.  Now, normally, I would never order juice to have with my meal, because…if you haven’t heard, I hate fruit juice…but, hey- when in Rome.

I had the Cucumber Refresher, made from cucumber juice and honey lemonade.  It was surprisingly sweet and very “refreshing”, indeed. Corey had Andy’s Elixir, which was much more interesting. It appears to be carrot juice, but it’s actually made from agave, soda and Sea Buckthorn.  Oh, come on- you don’t know what Sea Buckthorn is?! Well, me either. A quick Google search reveals that Sea Buckthorn is a type of berry that is very difficult to harvest, and has many different uses, ranging from natural cosmetics and skin creams to preventative medicine.  Its high content of saturated and polyunsaturated fats make it useful for cosmetic purposes, and the actual juice of the berry itself is thought to have anti-inflammatory properties.  See? Now we’ve both learned something today.

For our meals, I was instantly sold on the Farmer’s Market salad, which was made up of kale, Romaine, carrot, beet, broccoli, radishes, avocado and a champagne vinaigrette.  I added goat cheese for some extra tang.

I loved this salad. However, Corey’s choice was even better! He had the Autumn Ingredient salad, filled with roasted cauliflower, brussels sprouts, squash, and mulberries in a pomegranate and horseradish vinaigrette.

Once we were filled to the brim with vegetable goodness, we spent some time walking around Cherry Creek before heading back to the hotel.

After a quick nap, it was my favorite time of day. Happy hour!

Our hotel was home to a beautiful lounge on the 27th floor, called Peaks.

The views just can’t be beat.  And the drinks weren’t bad, either .

We got there at sunset, which was just perfect.

I was totally immersed in the Christmas spirit, what with the cold weather and overlooking the city lights, so I just had to order the specialty Snowman drink when I saw it on the menu.

We decided to walk through downtown, since we hadn’t explored it yet at night time.  We were starting to get hungry, too, so we kept our eyes peeled for a good dinner spot.

Well, I guess I didn’t peel mine fast enough, because next thing I knew, Corey was dragging me down a random staircase to an underground Vietnamese restaurant to eat his all-time favorite food- pho- at Pho 16th Street Vietnamese Grill.

I never know what to get at these places, so I just copied Corey and got the “combination”, which had chicken, beef and eggroll (?) on top of the standard noodles.  It was OK, I guess.  I just don’t understand this food. BUT…Corey was very happy, and said that he thought it was delicious.  And I was happy to get our mandatory pho stop for the trip out of the way!

I could lie and say we ditty bopped into a trendy nightclub and partied the rest of the night away, but it was one of those nights where nothing sounded better than warm pajamas, a huge hotel bed and a Christmas movie!

The post Denver: Day 1 appeared first on Cooking With Carly.

Hi, Tara!

One of the [very few] perks about my former high school was that seniors were allowed to go off campus to get lunch if they wanted to (which everyone did, of course).  There was a new Panera that was just far enough from the school that it was a stretch to make it there, eat, and get back to class on time- but it was doable.

Tara and I used to make the risky trip at least once a week, because we both felt that their broccoli cheese soup was worth getting a tardy slip in math class.

Tara and I in high school

The bad thing about us making this weekly trip is that we both packed on a few pounds by the end of the year . It’s no secret that broccoli cheese soup is full of fat and calories thanks to the cheese, cream and butter that is typically used in the recipe.  So, when the craving struck me, I made some substitutions, added a ton of extra veggies, and voila! A recipe for broccoli cheese soup that you can feel good about eating.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

*Note: you will need a blender or food processor for this recipe*

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, roughly chopped

2 celery stalks, ends removed and stalks roughly chopped

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water

1 large Idaho potato, peeled and chopped into cubes

28oz reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth

3 cups broccoli florets

1 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

-Place a pot (large enough to hold the finished product) over medium heat and pour in the extra virgin olive oil

-When the oil is hot, add the mirepoix (fancy name for celery, carrots and onions cooked together- feel free to use this term at your next dinner party to impress your guests) to the pot

-Let the veggies soften for 2-3 minutes, then add the potato and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, or until the potato starts to soften

-Whisk the water and the flour together in a small bowl until there are no lumps, then add to the pot and cook for 2 minutes

-Add the broth to the pot and bring to a simmer

-Once the broth simmers, add the broccoli to the pot and cover with lid.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the broccoli softens

-Get your blender or food processor ready. Once the broccoli is cooked, remove pot from heat and use a large measuring cup or ladle to scoop up the mixture in batches and blend together until there are no large chunks of veggies left.

-OK, so not the most visually-appealing recipe I’ve ever made. Basically, once it looks like baby diarrhea, you’re ready for the next step. *TIP*: If  you like a soup with more texture, just blend the carrots, celery, onion and potato together after it’s cooked, add back to the pot and skip the blending of the broccoli- just coarsely chop your broccoli florets before adding to the pot to cook and leave them as is. 

-Add the cheese and mix until melted and well combined

-Next, add the Greek yogurt and mix well

No Panera-esque meal is complete without a side of carbs, so I followed suit and served the soup alongside warm croissants for my husband and sister, and a toasted piece of Food for Life Brown Rice Bread topped with a little melted cheese for me.

Trust me, you won’t miss the calories when you taste my version of broccoli cheese soup!

The post Healthy Broccoli Cheese Soup appeared first on Cooking With Carly.

Yes, it’s me- your long-lost food-blogger-turned-nursing-student.  SO much has happened since I last posted that I don’t even know where to begin…I think I’ll compile a nice list of the highlights.

1.   I completed my first semester of nursing school. 

The first semester started off as what I expected it to be.  It was good that I had mentally prepared myself for what I was about to go through, but towards the end, no amount of mental mantras could save anyone.  It was a lot of work and a lot of stress, but I made it through with great grades and successful skills check-offs.

What’s a skills check-off, you ask?

Let’s just say I spent more time practicing for them with set-ups like the above than I would like to admit.  Glad that part’s over.

I’ve made some great friends in my program, which has been a huge blessing.  It makes it a lot more fun and much easier to handle all the stress when you have friends to help you through it.

2.  I went to Lake Martin, AL for summer vacation. 

Just me, my sister, her boyfriend, my dad, my Uncle Morgan, his son, Steele…OK, so basically everyone but poor Corey who had to work…and the newly revamped Hurricane to help us navigate the waters.

3.  We visited our friends Austin and Laura in Clearwater, FL. 

Austin now lives near Bradenton, FL, where he started medical school.  Laura’s family lives in Clearwater, so Corey and I went to visit them to celebrate Laura’s birthday in September.

4.  I’m no longer a blonde. 

Not sure if this counts as a major “highlight” (no pun intended), but it was a pretty big deal, seeing that I’ve been a platinum blonde since the 7th grade.

It’s lightened up a lot, and I really enjoyed the change…but, I’m already plotting my return to the blonde side .

5.  We went to a fun 1920′s-themed charity event. 

I don’t think this really counts a highlight either, but the pictures are fun.

6.  We went to Fort Lauderdale to see my very good friends Jamie and Bill get married. 

Jamie was my neighbor growing up, and she and Bill have been together for 10 years.  This was a long-awaited wedding, and it was such a fun night!

7. We had a great Thanksgiving with my mom, sister, and my in-laws.  

8.  We celebrated our one year wedding anniversary!

This year has flown by, that’s for sure.  We’ve decided to follow the “traditional” anniversary gifts, so this year was paper.  And Corey got me the cutest paper ever.

It has the lyrics of our first dance song all around the picture. I got him a map to mark all the places we’ve been, and the places we want to go.

We had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Hillstone.

9. We moved. Again. 

I’m thinking of starting a moving company, simply because I am now an expert at moving.  This marked the NINTH time I have moved within the last 6 years. The house we were renting before was sold, so we are back to apartment life.

The plus side?

IT HAS STAIRS!

I have honestly wanted stairs in my house more than anything, since I was at least five-years-old.  I used to make my parents feel so horrible that we didn’t live in a two-story house.  (Sorry about that, Mom and Dad! I finally got ‘em!)

10.  I finished my second semester of nursing school. 

Yep, that’s right. I am officially halfway DONE with nursing school. I can’t believe it. We all thought the first semester was tough…well, we had NO idea what was coming. The second semester was affectionately termed “The Semester From Hell” by everyone in our class.

There’s just no other way to describe it.  But, with A LOT of hard work, constant studying, stress-induced acne, and about a 7-pound weight gain…I made it through.

11. Corey and I celebrated a whirlwind of a year with a trip to Denver, CO. 

As soon as I finished my last final, I packed a suitcase and we were off the next day to beautiful, COLD Colorado!  It was an amazing trip, and I will be telling you allll about it in several posts over the next few days.

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I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed my little blog, and I am so happy to be back at it.  I have many great recipes planned, so stay tuned!

The post The Past Seven Months appeared first on Cooking With Carly.

(Baby arugula, baby spinach, hummus, a little bowtie pasta salad, sweet potato, rotisserie chicken, steamed rainbow carrots and Goddess dressing)

As evidenced by this awesome salad photo, you can see that I am, in fact, still alive and kickin’.  Which is shocking, considering that this was my first week of NURSING SCHOOL!

Wanna meet my new best friends?

Their names are Essentials of Nursing, Roles of the Professional Nurse, Health Assessment and Community Health! They get pretty wild on the weekends, let me tell ya .

My program is 15 months and extremely intense.  The class ahead of ours started with 65 students, and they now have 42.  The good news is, I’m absolutely loving it.  I just no longer have a social life, that’s all.

Due to the overwhelming time commitment that my school work requires of me, I’m afraid the little blog is going to be rather neglected.  I am going to try to post recipes as often as I can, but that may not be as often as I would like.  I hope you will all stick around as readers until I can get through this program and reach a very big goal of mine!

So, what’s been going on over here?

For starters, my hubby is officially an MBA graduate!

So proud of him!

My sister, Lauren, came to live with us for the summer.

She’s been adopted into our little family up here. Here’s a picture from Mother’s Day of us on a picnic with my mother-in-law, Maureen:

Corey helped me build a lovely, Pinterest-inspired office:

I realize now that it looks much cuter in person .

Speaking of Pinterest- I can’t leave you guys without some sort of recipe.

A few weeks ago, I decided to try a week of Pinterest recipes.  Here are my favorites!

Veggie Burgers

Vegetable “Noodles” in Thai Peanut Sauce 

Avocado Chicken Parmesan 

What did we do before Pinterest?

Time for me to get crackin’ on some studying.  I have quite a to-do list for the next few months…

Luckily, I have my faithful study buddy by my side.

If you have any wonderful Pinterest-inspired recipes that you’ve tried, please feel free to share them in the comments section!

The post And So It Begins… appeared first on Cooking With Carly.

Sometimes you get to know people more than you wanted to, and other times…you get recipe inspiration!

I am lucky enough to work with girls that appreciate healthy food, and the most common question you’ll hear at lunchtime is, “What’s everyone making for dinner?”

My co-worker, Danielle, brought leftovers on Monday that looked fabulous.  She shared her Pinterest-discovery with me, and I ended up tweaking the recipe just a bit. By substituting quinoa for the rice and adding spiced-up chicken, this becomes a complete meal full of protein- and flavor!

Click HERE for the original recipe.

Mexican Zucchini Skillet

with Chicken and Quinoa

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

olive oil

1 zucchini, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 can reduced-sodium black beans

2 cans Rotel tomatoes (I used cilantro & garlic), one drained, one undrained

4 chicken cutlets

1 tablespoon paprika

salt and pepper

1/2 lime

shredded cheddar cheese for topping

guacamole (optional)

Directions:

-Pour the quinoa and water into a pot and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes (or until you can see the clear coating when the grains are puffed and fully cooked)

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Season chicken cutlets with paprika, salt and pepper and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.  Remove, cut into bite-size pieces and set aside.

-In a skillet, pour 1 tablespoon olive oil and place over medium heat.

-Add the zucchini and bell pepper.  Cook for 5 minutes.

-Add the black beans and tomatoes to the skillet, stir and bring to a simmer.  Cook for 5 minutes.

-Add the cooked quinoa to the skillet.  Stir until combined, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

-Remove from heat.

-Add the chicken pieces and combine together.

-Finish by squeezing the lime over top

-Top individual portions with shredded cheese, a side of guacamole and serve!

The post Mexican Zucchini Skillet appeared first on Cooking With Carly.

No work for fo’ me tomorrow! Woohoo!

Happy early weekend, to muah.  OK, I’m done rubbing it in.

This week has been pretty blah on the food front- which is usually how it is when we get back from vacation.  It takes me several days to get back into my usual routine, and that can sometimes include making dinner.

So, it’s been a protein shake…

Whole Foods hot bar…

…kinda week.

I did manage to take the pup on a walk.  At least I’m not totally useless.

On that note- I’ve got a quick little side dish recipe for you guys!

Roasting vegetables is one of the best ways to prepare them, in my humble opinion.  Ya like chips?  Then you’ll like roasted veggies.  The high temperature gives them a crispy texture, which can take a veg from boring to BAM!

Lemon-y Roasted Green Beans

Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed

1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, shredded

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

-Preheat the oven to 420 degrees.

-Spread the green beans out on a cookie sheet and drizzle with the EVOO.  Season with the lemon pepper.

-Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

-Take them out of the oven and squeeze the lemon juice over top.

*Note*: Having a vampire squeeze the lemon for you is optional.  Somebody get this girl a spray tan…

-Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve!

I’m off to catch up on some DVR with the hubs.  Enjoy your night!

The post Lemon-y Roasted Green Beans appeared first on Cooking With Carly.

That’s what they say in my new favorite place- Austin, TX.  Actually, they don’t even say that there, but that’s beside the point.

Corey and I got to go on a fun little vacay with his family to see his cousin, Kevin, marry his beautiful fiance, Kate.

But more on the wedding later.

As soon as we landed, we went in search of some Tex Mex, and ended up at Casa Chapala.

Skinny margaritas for all!

The fajita tacos (no shell) were the perfect “Welcome to Texas” meal.

After a quick nap at the hotel, the boys headed off to the bachelor party at a lakehouse nearby, while my mother-in-law and I went with the girls (Corey’s aunt and cousins) to Kate’s mom’s house.

She had some more delicious Mexican food for us to enjoy, as well as frozen margs.  Can’t go wrong with that! We had a great time getting to know the bride-to-be and her family.

The next day, we headed towards downtown Austin to  do some shopping, and, more importantly, eating.  There were tons of unique little shops- one of my favorites had this display:

Beanie Babies! I’m pretty sure these little money disposals are responsible for teaching me the meaning of several deadly sins, including but not limited to: envy, greed, and lust. Ah, childhood.

We debated where to eat lunch, and after consulting our trusty iPhones for restaurant reviews, we decided on Hopdoddy’s for what claimed to be the best burger ever.

Oh, man. It was.  And I didn’t even have the ones made with meat!

I had the Janis Joplin, which was a hemp seed veggie patty on house-made bread, topped with avocado, sprouts, cheddar, and their special horseradish mustard.  It was so awesome.  I’ve never had a veggie burger made from hemp seed, and I honestly did not miss the meat at all.

We walked around and shopped a little more to digest, before heading into the heart of downtown Austin for some exploring.  We couldn’t ignore all the hype around the Mega Millions lottery, and since Florida doesn’t participate…

Hey, I figured the $640 mil. could’ve been a great contribution towards some blog additions! Seeing that I’m still living in this country and typing this post, you can probably deduce that I did not, in fact, win.  Maybe next time.

We headed back to the hotel and got ready for the rehearsal dinner, which was held at a great BBQ placed called The Salt Lick.  Don’t ask me why I didn’t take a single picture of us from this dinner- perhaps because I was elbows deep in this:

Nothing beats good ol’ southern BBQ ribs, brisket, baked beans, cole slaw and ‘tater salad!

After the rehearsal dinner, we decided to check out the night life in downtown Austin.

The consensus was that downtown Austin is like a more-fun Beale Street in Memphis had a lovechild with a more-hygienic Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

On Saturday, we just hung out around the hotel- mainly the gym and the pool- until it was time to get ready for the wedding.  The actual site of the wedding was held at a plantation home, and it was gorgeous!

Here’s Corey and I and the fam inside the house:

Kate did a phenomenal job with the decor- everything looked like it was straight out of a Wedding Chicks feature.

I loved the old family wedding pictures she displayed.

My favorite part was their sweetheart table! How cute?

The food was great.  Beef tenderloin, goat cheese and herb stuffed chicken, grilled vegetables, salad, and, the star of the show- macaroni and cheese au gratin.  Delicious!

That’s Corey’s mom, Maureen, with her sister, Pam (the groom’s mom).

It was a fabulous wedding and we were all very sad to leave Texas the next day…especially at 7AM.  Holy headache.

Where was the best wedding you’ve ever been to?

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