Shrimp Fajitas & Matchbox 20

Sorry it's been so long since my last blog post! When things get crazy, some things get put on the back burner, but I'm sorry this was one of those things! Anywho, this past weekend my sister and I went to L'auberge Hotel & Casino in Baton Rouge to see Matchbox 20. The event was outside and luckily it didn't started drizzling until the end of the concert. Nevertheless, we had a blast!

Now for my recipe of the day. I decided to make Shrimp Fajitas for lunch for me and my mom. I bought a pound of unpeeled shrimp, fresh pre-cut fajita veggie mix, and tortillas to make the fajitas.

• 1 pound unpeeled shrimp (of course, you need to peel them and rinse them)
• 1 tsp safflower oil
• 8 oz of mixed veggies (green, red, orange, and yellow bell pepper and onion)
• 2 La Tortilla Factory tortillas
• Half an avocado
• 1/2 diced tomato
• 1/3 cup of cheese, if desired
• 1 TBSP salsa

1. Peel the shrimp, and season with garlic powder and lite salt in a non-stick pan for about 2 mins on each side. Be careful not to overcook them.

2. Saute the veggies in 1 tsp of safflower oil, until soft, which is about 5-7 mins. Then set aside with the shrimp.

3. Take half an avocado and spread it on the tortilla (not too much, just a nice thin layer). Then add sauteed veggies, shrimp, diced tomato, cheese, and salsa and roll into a burrito.

4. Pop it in the microwave for 15-20 secs just to get it nice and warm.

5. Enjoy!

Banana Pancakes

Hello everyone! Sorry I did not post anything yesterday. I had a busy day! I went to an interview at the University of New Orleans for the counseling graduate program I am applying to and didn't have much time after I got back. However, that morning I made my favorite "pancakes". All you need are two ingredients: banana and egg whites. Except for my take on the recipe, I use a scoop of vanilla protein powder to give extra added protein, a TBSP of PB2 powdered peanut butter (I got this from Amazon), and blueberries to top them off. The good thing about this recipe is that it's versatile, but as long as you have the basics - the banana and egg whites - you are good to go!

Ingredients

• 1 Banana
• 3 Egg whites
• 1 TBSP PB2 (optional)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)
• 1/2 cup blueberries (or whatever fruit you like)
• 1 TBSP maple syrup or honey (optional)
• Cinnamon, sprinkled over pancakes (optional)

1. Put the banana, 3 egg whites, 1 scoop of protein powder, and TBSP of PB2 in the blender and mix until smooth.

2. Heat up a small skillet on medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour enough mixture in the skillet to be a somewhat thick pancake.

3. When the pancake is cooked well on the bottom (make sure it's not too burnt), use a spatula to carefully flip the pancake. (This part is tricky!)

4. You can make either 2 big pancakes or 3 smaller pancakes (just depends on how much mix you use per pancake). Top pancakes with blueberries and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. If you'd like, you can add 1 TBSP of pure maple syrup.

5. Enjoy! I'll post the pictures I took during the process.

Sauteed chicken and veggies

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great Sunday because I know I did. I went to one of my favorite group exercise classes - Body Pump. It's a full body barbell workout that improves strength and transforms your body by focusing on low weight loads with high repetitions (you can use more weight if you choose). After my hard workout, I stopped by the grocery store and grabbed some Chicken Tenderloins by Harvestland and fresh green beans. These tenderloins were some of the best I've ever had. My sister introduced me to the skinless chicken breasts by this brand, but today I discovered these bad boys and decided I wanted more of a chicken strip than a whole breast. SO good!

Ingredients

• 1 package of chicken breast tenderloins
• 1 TBSP of low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 TSP chili powder
• !/2 TSP garlic powder
• 1/4 TSP ground cumin
• Cooking spray
• 1 TSP Safflower oil (or any oil you have on hand)
• Fresh green beans, amount depends on how much you want
• Large ziploc bag
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Any veggies you would like to saute

1. For the chicken, I rinsed each tenderloin and cut off any excess fat, which was very simple since it's already super lean. I sat them aside and then got a large ziploc bag.

2. In the ziploc bag, I put 1 TBSP of low sodium soy sauce (I used Kikkoman's), 1/2 TSP of chili powder, 1/4 TSP of ground cumin, 1/2 TSP of garlic powder and tossed chicken in the bag to help coat each piece. You can adjust each ingredient to your own taste.

3. Set a skillet on medium heat with 1 TSP of Safflower oil (or you could use any oil you have on hand), then sprinkle a little salt over the chicken, to taste.

4. Cook the chicken on each side for about 3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. You can also toss in any veggies you like - I tossed in a few mushrooms and sauteed them with the chicken.

5. After chicken is cooked on each side, set on a plate to cool. While your chicken is cooling, prep your fresh green beans to cook in the skillet (I used the same skillet I cooked the chicken in).

6. Set the heat back to medium and put the green beans in the skillet. Then, sprinkle black pepper and garlic powder over the green beans, to taste.

7. After a few minutes, the green beans will start to brown on each side but make sure they are easy to poke with a fork before you turn off the heat. This should take a little over 5 minutes.

This meal is very simple and delicious. The chicken is perfect and reminds me of a teriyaki dish. Plenty of protein to satisfy your body after a hard workout. You can even pop a small sweet potato in the microwave to get a good source of carbohydrates or boil some brown rice to mix with the chicken and veggies. Here is the finished product. Enjoy!

Bacchus Mardi Gras Ball 2013

Hello world! :)

For my first blog post, I would like to introduce the most important person in my life, Keith. This is a picture of us from the Bacchus Mardi Gras Ball 2013 in New Orleans. It was our first time going and we had no idea what to expect. Nonetheless, we had a BLAST! My best friend's boss gave us 2 tickets and provided alcohol and food for the whole night. I even got a throw from Emeril! Here's a few pics from that night.

Keith & I

Brit & I with our Bacchus swords!

Our drink table

The parade came through the Convention Center and
right in front of our table!