She Cooks: Chicken Burgers with Spinach and Carmelized Onion

So, me and him are trying to eat healthy- me to continue with my weight loss, and him to win a Biggest Loser Challenge at work.  In order to support our efforts but still indulge in one of our favorites, I ditched the beef and made them chicken- not missing the beef for one second.  These burgers are delicious and full of flavor.  I served mine with cheddar on a lightly toasted rye bun with spicy mustard and ketchup, but you can, of course, dress yours as you like.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground chicken

1/3 cup of cooked spinach, chopped (I used fresh but frozen is fine)

1 medium-large onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 tbsp EVOO

1 tsp mayo

1 tbsp bread crumbs

1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp fennel seed

Salt and pepper to taste (I may have used a few other seasonings but those are up to you)

Cut onion into long, thin strips. Add 1 tsp of olive oil to a frying pan and saute onions until browned on medium heat.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  The carmelization process will take about 10-15 mins since you want to carmelize the onions and not fry them.  Use a pinch of sugar to speed up the process if necessary.   Once the onions are softened and lightly browned, add garlic and rosemary to the mixture and saute until onions are completely carmelized.  Set onion mixture to the side in a large mixing bowl.  Add cooked spinach to bowl as well.

In the large bowl containing the onion and spinach mixture, add chicken, fennel, salt, pepper, and 1-2 tsp of olive oil, mayo, and bread crumbs.  Stir well with a large spoon or hands.  Use 1/3 cup measuring cup to form sliders or a half cup measuring cup to form regular patties.  Brown patties in large frying pan, or on a grill until the juices run clear and the center shows no pink.

Serve on toasted bun with all the fixings and enjoy!

One Great Show: In The Heights

The stage from my balcony seat

The storyline as told by the play's website:

"In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in Manhattan's Washington Heights – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It's a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind."

 

This past Thursday night I was lucky enough for my friend Elsa to take me to see this amazing musical! It played at the Academy of Music which was an equally beautiful venue for this wonderful show.

Me and Elsa at the show

I honestly can't tell you the last time I've been to a musical before I saw Zumanity: The Sensual Side of Cirque de Soleil (which was amazing) in Vegas so this was definitely a treat!

The set was great with the buildings being partially transparent so you can see the people inside.  The stage was set up so you can easily be taken on a journey through each special shop that built this thriving Latin community in Washington Heights.

The music was stellar, with each voice reverberating off the walls of the venue and the hot rhythms shaking you down to your soul.

I have to admit, I almost got up and danced like 3 times...especially during the scences in the salsa club and the casts wonderful collaboration during the song "Carnival del Barrio".

If you love musicals...while holding the cheese...check out "In the Heights".

For a preview, see below...and trust me, this does the musical styling no justice because everyone's voice and the live band was amazing!

Fashion Finds: Forever 21+



Me, after receiving this package in the mail

Even though I've been dieting I hate that word for a while now, I'm still a hot, curvy girl (and with pounds and pounds of weight loss...that is one thing that will not change).

Last year, a friend and my fashionista sister both put me D with Forever 21+. The clothes update almost daily, and I finally got the gift card I was hoping for for Christmas to try it out.

Well after many days of peeping the fashions, I decided to pick some things out to try...

And I LOVE them! Their sizing is very accurate...in inches. DO NOT pay attention to their numeric sizing! I purchased 2 tops and a pair of leggings in a 1X, which is listed as a 13-14, and all my seletions fit perfectly. I'm usually about a 16-18 in most clothing. I took a minute to compare their sizing with brands I usually shop at, and their sizing information in inches was on par with my normal size. (So don't think YOU can't shop there...if my math and research was done correctly, they go up to about a size 22!)

Here's what I got:

Sequin Butterfly Poncho:

Front

Back

So I decided if I was going to try this amazingly trendy franchise, I would try something that was extremely fabulous and wonderful for a fancy night out.  The minute I saw this little number, I knew I had to have it said the girl who is addicted to all that glitters...lol!  The fit was nice and not too long, and I thought this top would lend itself beautifully to a cute pair of colored leggings (which I also grabbed in purple from Forever 21+ for $5.80!), or my cute satin pencil skirt for a hot night out. And at $19.80, this number was definitely in my budget.

Sheer Studded Button-Up:

Full frontal shot

 

The sheerness of the fabric.


This deliciously taupey number was picked out after much going back and forth with my boyfriend. I originally picked out a hot, silky leopard tank but he said it was better suited for the bedroom...it's ok, I'm flexible.  I'm glad we could agree on this because I love it! It is very sheer, and when I tried it on, you can see my pink bra showing through the fabric in the pic above (fun...but no, lol).  I thought this is a great little neutral top to mix with other neutrals, and it will look great in the spring with some white shorts and some really cute sandals.  For the winter, it lends itself to a 3/4 sleeve top and a warm fur vest (which I wish I owned...lol). For now, it hangs in all its glory, waiting for a winter warm-up. At $24.80, another great find!

Although styles are updated daily, snag up the ones you think are hot because the styles at Forever 21+ don't last long.  All you lovely, plus-sized ladies are snatching up the hotness with a vengeance so stop reading this and get 'chu some!

Visit Forever21.com and click on the link for Forever 21+. Like I said the styles go really fast and my items are no longer available, so find yourself something you like and grab it quick!

This is an unpaid review and I received no compensation for presenting the aforementioned information.

Faith

Love is almost as mysterious as the creation of Earth is for some.
But that doesn't keeping anyone from trying to figure out either one.

Matters of the Heart

I just realized today that I was treating someone I loved like I didn't need them. Like if I lost them, I wouldn't be lost too. The truth of the matter is that I had a thread of life that held on to someone else, and now that that string snapped, I feel freer to love than ever before.

I deeply apologize and hope you forgive me, because I love you as much as my head knew I did and my heart wouldn't admit.

She Cooks: Citrus Lemonade Tea

So I perfected my iced tea recipe and thought I would share...

What you need:

2 orange flavored tea bags

2 lemon flavored tea bags

~ 5-6 cups water

3 lemons

1 cup granulated sugar (or raw sugar, or splenda...)

1 tbsp honey

8 ice cubes

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Turn off heat. Add sugar and honey and stir to dissolve.

Add tea bags and steep 10-15 minutes. Remove bags and transfer liquid to a pitcher.

Add ice cubes. Stir until melted.

Add the juice of 3 lemons and a few lemon slices.

Add water until sweetness is to taste (for me it was about 2 cups).

It Burns, Tears of Disappointment

The freckles remind me of my mother,
which also makes me cry.

I hate watching people cry. Not because I'm unsympathetic, but because I could cry about the same things they are.

I'm emotional and sensitive, defensive; I have a constantly rebuilding self-esteem that is fragile, but I don't have low self-esteem.
I watched someone I care about cry for the same reasons I have, and I almost cried myself.
They cried because life didn't meet their expectations.
They cried like I have "when I grow up" never happened.
"I wanna be like" never happened.
The life they thought they would have never happened.
And the walls of their façades came tumbling down.
With the ghetto, and the homeless, and the drugs, the sex, and the rock and roll peeking like sunlight through the cracks.

Their foundation so sturdy with the love they once knew of life,

And their walls still came crashing down.

Its over, believe it.

A synonym for life is career.

Why is it so hard to find a career if I'm living one everyday.

Walking around in my career everyday.

My purpose.

Is hidden behind a mask of distortion.

Not always being unveiled to show what I wanted, but what I needed to do to get by.

Getting by is stupid, pointless, meaningless.

Turning life from a career into just a job.

But that's not life by definition.

I'm going somewhere, and nowhere fast if I give up.

Giving up is so easy.

Merely existing is so easy.

Being is active living.

I want to be as active in this life as possible.

I will be an active adult, "when I grow up",

Because that life is still possible.

The Latest 'Do: Braid Out & Protein Treatments

I did my first protein treatment ever after work on Tuesday. I've been researching it for some time now and thought my constantly shedding hair would be an awesome candidate. Not all hair is perfect for protein. More course textures will actually have an adverse effect and will result in dry brittle hair.  My fine, curly strands love some assistance, and protein adds strength to my curly locks.

I found an awesome recipe here on Newly Natural's blog and thought it'd be wonderful to try.
My recipe was modified as follows:
1- 6 oz container of fat free peach yogurt (I would of used plain full fat yogurt, but this was all I had)
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup of mayonnaise
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp of coconut oil

After mixing this all up in a small bowl, I refrigerated it for a bit so it could thicken slightly, and then washed my hair.  On clean hair, I applied the soupy mixture over the sink (and made a mess
or until it dripped down my neck and back...lol), covered my hair with a plastic bag, and left it on for about 20 minutes .  The key point here is NO HEAT!!!! Heat could scramble the eggs in your protein treatment. I then rinsed my hair with cool water and applied a deep conditioner. This step is crucial because protein treatments are drying to the hair.


(BTW I got a hooded dryer for Christmas...Deep conditioning with heat is freakin' awesome! The effects are exponential when compared to my old method of deep conditioning overnight. My hair practically melted as it glided through my comb...awesome!)

Afterwards I must say I was quite impressed with the condition of my hair. It was soft, and the strands seemed to be a lot stronger. I had little to no shedding when I combed it, and the smoothing process was practically effortless.

I proceeded to do a braidout. Eight braids, no fuss (unlike my routine that night). In the morning I had soft and fluffy coils with great definition. That night (this was yesterday), I rebraided my hair in the 8 sections, not braiding too tight, but instead trying to follow the wave of the original braid-out. Its still braided as I type, but I will assume it will remain great. If I remember I will throw a pic up when I take it down Friday or Saturday (ahh tis life and I am lazy...lol).

Results
Front view (above), Side View (below):

Revelations

My alter ego is who I write for. But in real life I'd like to be a stay-at-home mom who likes an occasional glass of wine at a fancy cocktail party, and to cook for her family dressed as a 40's Stepford wife.

I'm a down-to-Earth girl. I believe in God but I'm more spiritual than religious. I pray, but not as often as I should, but when I do it usually involves a lot of tears and a lot of minutes thanking Him for all the blessings I've been given, are being given, and will be given.

2010 has been an age of self-discovery. I've learned things about me that I don't like but can change, and things that I love and will change for none.

I love art and have been able to express myself through art in ways I never have before.

Love is so important in my life, and so is passion and romance.

Drifting in the right direction...