So I have been a twice baked potato fiend since I was a young child. It was on my "I love" list from early on. However, as I started to realize that I wasn't actually going to be the 5'10" 110lb runway model that I always thought of myself as I recognized that I needed to start paying attention to how much butter, cheese and fat I consumed. Seriously a bummer! Since that point when I stopped growing at the age of 12, not even right, I tried to be a little more conscientious...which has led me on this quest for a healthy version of twice baked potatoes that didn't leave me so incredibly deprived that I sat at the dinner table crying. Sure I still allow myself a "real" twice baked potato now and again just to keep myself from binge eating potatoes, but in general everything in moderation.



Bobby Deen came out with a  healthy comfort food cook book several years back, however I just got around to trying his twice baked potato recipe. And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Sure it is missing the gobs of butter and cream so the potatoes are not as creamy as we often envision, but the low fat cheddar cheese and Greek yogurt definitely helps. These potatoes are still cheesy and still reminiscent of a twice baked potato enough that you aren't left feeling lost and alone. Plus they are super good leftover and since I hate bananas they have helped with potassium intake and kept me away from running leg craps...win/win!!

To begin with bake 4 potatoes in a 350 degree oven for an hour. Sure you can speed up this process in the microwave, but for some reason I love to make baked potatoes in the oven. I think it goes bake to childhood memories of my Mom baking potatoes and the kitchen feeling all warm and cozy on rainy winter days...so I still make them the old fashioned way. Remember to poke holes in the potatoes so the air can escape and your potatoes don't crack or explode...that is never fun!!

Remove the potatoes from the oven and slice off the top off the potato.

Scoop out the insides of the potato. I just use a spoon and carefully run the spoon around the potato, trying not to break through the skin. Add the potato mixture to 1 cup grated low fat Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt, 1/3 cup skim milk, salt and pepper. Combine until you have what looks like mashed potatoes...you can make them as lumpy or creamy as you like...no judgment here.


Stuff the mashed potato mixture back into the potato shells. Sprinkle with paprika, I used smoked paprika which added a nice well smokey flavor.


Bake the potatoes for another 20-30 minutes and voila!! You can garnish the potatoes with sliced green onions or just eat them...whatever makes you happy!

Enjoy and remember when you eat low fat twice baked potatoes you definitely have enough calories for wine...just sayin'...cheers!!

Let me start by saying this weekend was my first time in Colorado and Breckenridge was by far one of the prettiest places on the planet...well places I have been anyway. Photos truly do not do it justice because the contrast of the incredibly green trees, the snow capped mountains and the golden rocks were truly breathtaking...not to mention the quaint old school charm of the town itself. So we were walking on Main Street...yes, it is actually called Main Street, cute right? And we were looking for somewhere to have breakfast and watch the World Cup game when we stumbled (not literally we were sober at this point) upon an old school saloon.




The Gold Pan Saloon truly looks like something out of an old western movie, however it has the modern day accoutrements of a sports bar...big screen tvs and pool tables. And a swing a ring at a hook game that people would only attempt after having way too much to drink or imbibing in some of the other legal intoxicant found in Colorado and Washington...I did not participate in the intoxicants or the ring and hook game...just for clarification.


This saloon has been around since 1879, well actually 1861 was the first bar on that property, however initially it was housed in a tent. In 1879 it became a permanent structure, which was around the time that Breckenridge became a booming mining town. In 1880, Breckenridge had 18 saloons along Main Street...that is a lot of bars!! Now one of the other claims to fame that the Gold Pan can claim is the fact that it stayed open during prohibition. The bartender told us that since it was so far west it never made it on a map and so they never got shut down. In addition, he said that no one was ballsy enough to take a drink out of a miners hand, so it has been continuously operating since 1879. Impressive!!


The Gold Pan Saloon has a giant wood bar that takes up a large part of the restaurant space. It is made of mahogany and it is quite solid as we discovered (ouchie knees ay MS). The bar stools are bolted down and it has a giant mirror behind the bar, which according to the bars story, was designed so that a miner can watch his back while enjoying his cocktail.


The bar has 7-8 beers on tap, a full bar and several homemade liquors. I tried the spicy Bloody Mary which had jalapeno infused vodka...amazing!! They also serve lunch and dinner all day. I am pretty much a fan of any place that serves breakfast all day and this place did not disappoint. I had a mushroom, spinach and tomato benedict that was awesome and their home fried potatoes made me happy.


My partner in crime tried the shrimp and grits with Cajun seasoning, which was also really good, but it just didn't photograph as well.


The staff was incredibly friendly and they were fun to talk to, informative and really seemed to enjoy what they did. The staff seemed to be well motivated...partially due to the fact that the Chef made his crew redbull and vodka shots to keep them going throughout their day. I need a job like that!!


Seriously if you are in the Breckenridge area you need to stop by this place! It was the perfect place to chill, watch Brazil win against Chile, after penalty kicks and to just enjoy good food, good drinks and good company. Cheers!

Frankenmuth is the Michigan German version of Solvang, here in California. It is a quaint little "village," with authentic German food, music, horses, clocks and a little bit of kitschy tourist "stuff." Right now it is the states top tourist attraction, bringing in three million visitors each year, not that I knew that when we decided to go up there for the day and do some beer/wine tasting. It is known for a giant Christmas store and all you can eat chicken, both of which we opted out of, choosing to watch World Cup Soccer at the brewery instead.



I do have to say that I loved the Frankenmuth Brewery.  It is the oldest Michigan brewery and it has been making beer for 150 years. It is housed in this brick building, which was actually rebuilt in 2009 after it was destroyed by a tornado in 1996. It reminded me of the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, CA as it houses the brewery, a restaurant and a gorgeous patio seating area overlooking the river.


They do provide tours if you want to see the workings of their beer industry.


Since we had never been here before or tried their beer we decided to try...well all of them. I have to say I was very impressed with all of their brews, however their American Blonde Ale was probably my favorite, as it was especially refreshing, had a slight hint of hops without being overpowering and very light. Their Hefeweizen is very fruity and has a hint of banana (probably the reason it dropped a notch in my book), cloves (which I couldn't taste) and grapefruit.


The Frankenmuth Pilsner, is traditionally made and has been an award winner for the brewery. The Batch 69 American Style IPA is definitely a strong IPA, for those of you who are true IPA fans, you will truly love this beer! The Red Sky Ale and the Munich Style Dunkel Lager were both beers that were a tad bit more bold than my beer tastes usually crave, however I do have to say they were both still incredibly smooth and drinkable.


We also purchased a special edition beer, the Imperial Stout, which is reminiscent of a Guinness style beer. I actually have to say it reminded me of the Guinness I had in Ireland at the factory, fresh out of the tap. It was smooth, yet chewy and it had really intense malty flavors, but this was amazingly well balanced. They only made 1680 bottles of this beer and we got to drink bottle #565 and the bottle was also signed by the brew master, which was a fun touch.


The brewery has a restaurant, however to be completely honest we had just devoured a crap load of fudge and completed a wine/chocolate pairing so I wasn't starving and I was in a bit of a sugar coma. However, I did try the buffalo chicken egg rolls, which were awesome! As many of you know I am a buffalo anything fan and these did not disappoint. They kind of reminded me of avocado egg rolls from Cheesecake Factory, minus the avocado and with different filling...yup exactly the same! But I loved them!

The brewery also has a wiener dog as a logo...so seriously how do you go wrong?
It was a great place to hang out, watch some soccer, drink some beer, chill and have some appetizers. It was definitely the highlight of our excursion...although the polka music, Clydesdale horses and cute covered bridge were also fun! Cheers!

So I have a rental car right now because the air conditioner on my car decided to die as soon as it started to heat up for the Summer. Ok sure first it started sounding like a tractor engine and well then it just started blowing air sans the coldness. And I know this because here in So Cal we use the air conditioner year round and after a few weeks of my shirt sticking to my back, sweat chasing the make-up off my face and feeling like I am driving a sauna I decided to get it fixed. Unfortunately, come to find out, air conditioner work is not easy and cheap, it is actually the exact opposite. Boo! So my car is in the shop for this week and I have well....a rental car. Now let me tell you why I don't like rental cars...

1. They smell like Febreeze. It doesn't seem to matter how new of a car it is they always smell like Febreeze which kind of makes me want to gag.
2. I can never figure out how to use the little things...ya know like headlights or how to adjust the mirrors or how much pressure to put on the breaks....yeah minor things.
3. Rental cars are always gutless...I continuously forget I am not driving my car...so I go to pass or speed up or ya know just drive at a normal speed...and I get nothing....so I am pounding on the gas pedal in the fast lane and I am going 40mph...and I feel ridiculous.
4. I got passed by a neon green VW bug today...which almost made me burst into road rage but alas I thought how bad would it be for a white Nissan rental car and a neon green VW bug to be racing..awkward...so I just mad dogged the other drive because I could....and he wouldn't look at me.
5. Rental car people just always seem so schmarmy...and yes I can say this because my ex-husband worked at a rental car place before he became a cop....just sayin'
6. I am paying to drive a car that is not fun, not mine and that doesn't give me a thrill...grrrr
7. I hate that I have to put gas in a car before I drop it off...almost feels like adding insult to injury...because I know the minute I get my car back from the shop it will also need gas

Anyway enough about cars. Seriously I can handle 911 calls all day, but make me deal with car stuff and my stress level is through the roof. Crazy ridiculous, I know!



Anyway so I am on this I need to eat more veggies kick so the other night I made a Chopped Salad with Cumin Lime Dressing. This was a recipe from one of my favorite food bloggers, Mountain Mama Cooks.  She has great recipes that are easy, have fun pictures, are innovative but not crazy hard and that are healthy. This recipe was really good and it really was the perfect summer salad. I loved the citrus and the slight spice from the cumin and the crunch from the mix of all the veggies plus it has feta cheese, which always makes me happy.


The hardest part of this recipe is cutting the veggies so if you can use a knife you are good. It has cucumbers, bell pepper (I used orange for the color), cherry tomatoes (I used roma just because I prefer them), radishes and green onions. The contrasting colors look awesome!


The recipe says to make the salad dressing in a jar, so you can shake it. I just made it in a bowl with a whisk. So I combined the lime juice (I used a little lemon juice too cause I ran out of lime), olive oil, honey, cumin, salt and garlic.

I tossed the dressing over the salad and added the cilantro and Feta.

This salad is also great leftover. I do have to warn you that it does get a little soupy leftover and the radishes tend to leak some red coloring, but the flavors are great, especially after it sits for a day or two. Love!


Chopped Salad with Cumin-Lime Vinaigrette
Prep Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups diced cucumber
1 1/2 cups diced bell pepper
1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup diced radishes
3/4 cup diced green onion
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon honey

INSTRUCTIONS

To make the dressing, mix lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, kosher salt, cumin and honey in a small mason jar with a tight fitting lid. Screw lid on tightly and shake vigorously until well combined. Set aside while you make salad.
Combine all the veggies in a bowl. Toss with dressing and stir in cilantro and feta cheese. Serve at room temperature.

Happy Summer Y'All! And stay cool because I know I will after I pay out the nose for my new air conditioner. Cheers!

Let me start by saying I am a salsa whore. There are some things that just light me up and salsa is one of them. I am that girl that gets excited at the sight of a salsa bar in a restaurant or who buys salsa every time she goes to the grocery store and has like 9 bottles of open salsa in her fridge. I just love how fresh it is, the complexity of flavors and the heat. I love that there are no two salsas alike (ok a little dramatic), but you get my passion. What can I say, salsa makes me happy!!




So a few weeks ago I had a day off and I decided to try a recipe I found in Food Network for Roasted Tomatillo and Apple Salsa. Green salsa of any variety is one of my favorites. I love tomatillos! And I thought the addition of a green apple would be an interesting combo. This salsa was really good, the apple actually gave the salsa a hint of sweetness that paired well with the acidity of the tomatillos. It was slightly spicy from the jalapenos and the fact that all of the ingredients were roasted added a slight note of caramelization, especially to the onion, which accentuated the apple.


This recipe was also so incredibly easy. So to begin with chop the apple, garlic, onion, jalapeno and tomatillos and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the ingredients on a baking sheet and roast in a 350 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes. I actually think I let them roast a little longer, probably closer to 30-35 minutes, they just seemed a little hard to me.


By the way, just a quick tip, you don't have to peel the garlic, just roast it whole. Once you pull the garlic out of the oven just squeeze the pulp out and leave the skins behind.

Toss all of the roasted vegetables in a blender or food processor and add some cilantro and puree. The recipe says you can add a few tablespoons of water if your salsa is too thick, but I didn't find that it was necessary. Doesn't get much more easy than that, right?

Here is the actual recipe if you want to know quantities:


Ingredients
1 pound tomatillos (about 12), husked and rinsed
2 Granny Smith apples, quartered
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1/2 white onion
2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the tomatillos, apples, garlic, onion and jalapenos on a baking sheet; toss with the olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Roast until the tomatillos are softened and slightly charred, about 20 minutes. Peel the garlic. Let the roasted vegetable mixture cool to room temperature.

Puree the roasted vegetable mixture and cilantro in a blender until smooth. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water to loosen, if needed. Season with salt and pepper.




This recipe is perfect as an easy summer appetizer as you sit on the patio with a cold beer or I served it with shrimp tostadas. It is just a nice fresh twist on green salsa. Cheers!

As many of you know I have spent the last few years on a quest...a quest to find myself, to discover what truly makes me happy, to explore what I am passionate about and to just dig deep. Well I started a list back in the day...a list of things, experiences and changes that I wanted to see and accomplish. And as I start checking them off and getting closer to accomplishing them I have to say...dreams do really come true.