4 slices of chicken breast

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp basil

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp parsley

1 tbsp tarragon

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp coriander

half a pinch of salt (and I mean half a pinch)

two plates

Mix your seasonings up in a separate bowl. Lay your pieces of chicken flat on a plate. Rub one side of your chicken with the olive oil first – only use half of it. Use your oily fingers, stick them in the seasoning, and rub the side of your chicken. Take the second plate, put it on top of the chicken, and flip both plates over so that the bare side of the chicken is now facing up. Rub the chicken with the olive oil, then seasonings just like before. Try to use all of your seasonings. Let it sit for an hour.

Take a skillet, spray it with olive oil, and start cooking your chicken.

In the picture, you’ll see wheat pasta with parmesan and literally a teaspoon of cream, fresh tomato slices and french bread baked and rubbed with the exact same seasoning combination as on the chicken.

It’s Italian night! Enjoy!

Basil Rubbed Chicken A La Erika is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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1. Erika’s Thanksgiving Swindle
2. Weekend WTF: He EATS The Chicken In A Can!
3. Weekend WTF: Chicken In A Can?

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Post tags: clean eating, pollotarian, Recipes

I don’t eat wheat grass and cattails all day, darn it. I like my edible hedonism to come in the form of nice gooey cheesy things. Like Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

I’ll talk about my philosophy on “treating” yourself or “cheating your diet” another day… ’cause all you want is the recipe, anyway!

• 1 cup flour
• 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4th cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp garlic
• your choice: either 1/4-13rd cup of parmesan, or 1/3rd cup of sharp cheddar

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine everything except the cheese in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don’t want to mix too thoroughly.  Add cheese, milk, and garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don’t over mix. I take parsley and shake it over the top of the dough, and mix it in a little more. Just makes it more attractive to the eye, to me.

3. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.

4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.

5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, you can also mmix a little olive oil with garlic powder and some dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic spread over the tops of all the biscuits.

I will tell you, the parmesan version is MUCH lighter on the calories, and thanks to the combination of flavors, you can get away with using less of it and still getting great flavor. I make these literally maybe every two months. I’m not one for “treating myself” with food anymore. I treat with shoes. Mmm… shoes.

Cheddar Bay Biscuit Recipe is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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1. Have You Voted In The BGG2WL Recipe Contest Yet?

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Post tags: Recipes

Gotcha.

But why not try a different version? Something that may not be “better,” but still delicious in its own way?

I’ve had versions of potato salad that were so good, it pissed me off because I know that I’d not only never get my hands on that recipe… but I’d probably never be able to eat it again. That’s okay.. because I have something close to 8 different recipes for potato salad that are all awesome in their own right… and they allow me to enjoy both my fruits, veggies, nuts and – gasp! – potatoes.

5 medium sized potatoes

1/4 cup vinegar

1 cup fage 0% fat yogurt

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

2tsp rosemary

1/3 tsp sea salt

1/3 tsp black pepper

1/3 cup celery

1/4 cup red onion

1 whole granny smith apple

1 1/2 cups walnuts

1 cup blue cheese

1/3 cup raisins

Grab a large pot and boil some water. It’ll need to be enough to cover your potatoes. Take your potatoes and chop them up into chunks no larger than an inch on any side, and toss them into the pot. Let it boil for approximately 25 minutes.

While that’s going, chop your celery, red onion and apple into chunks. Crush your walnuts so that they’re in smaller pieces. Toss your chopped celery, red onion, apple, walnuts, raisins and blue cheese in a large bowl that should also be able to accommodate your potatoes as well as the rest of your ingredients.

When your potatoes are done cooking, they’ll be able to be speared with a fork, but not crumble at the touch. Pour them out of the water and toss them in the vinegar. Let them cool down (you can refridgerate them – I didn’t.) After they cool, pour them on top of the ingredients in the large bowl, and stir lightly to blend everything together.

In a side dish, blend your yogurt, red wine vinegar, pepper, salt and rosemary together quickly, and pour it all over the top of your potato salad in spoonfuls, stirring your salad inbetween spoonfuls. You might find that you need less dressing… or more. Totally up to you.

It’s that easy!

Erika’s Blue Cheese Walnut Potato Salad is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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2. Weekend WTF: The Supa Dupa Fly Ho With Cheese

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Post tags: apples, blue cheese, celery, onion, potatoes, raisins, red onion, red wine vinegar, rosemary, vinegar, walnuts, yogurt

Currant-Glazed Chicken With Spinach is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: chicken

Toast almonds in small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pale golden and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Cool almonds to room temperature.

Process cooled almonds, tomatoes, basil, garlic, pepperoncini, 1 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes (if using) in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, slowly drizzle in oil, about 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot.

Add pesto and ½ cup Parmesan to cooked pasta, adjusting consistency with reserved pasta cooking water so that pesto coats pasta. Serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately. Serves 4-6, so don’t be afraid to cut it down!

Pasta With Tomato and Almond Pesto is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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3. Should A 2,500 Calorie Plate of Pasta Be Illegal?

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Post tags: almonds, pasta, tomatoes, vegetarian

Bring water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and saffron to taste to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add rice, return to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

About 10 minutes before the rice is done, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender (do not brown), 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Stir in mint and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in lemon juice; remove from heat. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Serve over the rice.

Bean Soup with Winter Squash & Greens is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: brown rice, butter, carrots, crushed red pepper, garlic, lemon juice, mint, olive oil, pinto beans, seafood, shrimp, spinach, squash, tomato

I mean, I’m sayin’. I’m workin’ on it, but who regularly sticks their head in the lion’s mouth without expecting to be bitten every now and again?

For Mothers’ Day 2010, I rushed out and bought a vase, some red stones, lots of red ribbon and red and pink food coloring. My daughter picked out a bunch of silk flowers (my mother, who loves plants, hates floral arrangements because “They die. I’own need dyin’ stuff around me.”) and together, we made an awesome little floral arrangement.

Hidden inside, were three “cake pops,” made of red velvet cupcake and homemade cream cheese frosting.

Do they take a while? Yep. But when I tell you they were worth every single bite, were filling, and made everyone happy? Believe me.

So… my Mothers’ Day gift to you… is my red velvet cake pop recipe. Enjoy!

1 cup organic flour
1 cup sugar
1tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 & 1/2tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1oz red food coloring
(if you’re cake ballin’, you’ll need some fondant/gum paste… you’ll have to follow the instructions on your package to determine how much you’ll need)

For the cream cheese frosting:

1 8oz pkg of cream cheese
1/3 cup of butter
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Note: If you’re making the cake pops, you’ll need to visit a hobby store and pick up these. If you’re going to do it the way I did, you’ll also need these, this and these.

Pre-heat your oven on 350 degrees. Pull out all of your cream cheese frosting ingredients, and let them sit and warm up a bit. (I put them in a bowl on top of the oven to help melt a little more.)

Spray your cupcake pan with a little non-stick spray or oil.

Blend all of your wet ingredients in one bowl, except for your food coloring.

In a separate bowl, blend your dry ingredients.

Combine both bowls and your food coloring, blending out any lumps or air bubbles.

Pour in your cupcake mix, filling each one only about half way.

Shove it in the oven. Give it about 20 minutes before you check on ‘em – you should be able to stick a toothpick in the center of your cupcake and have no cupcake stick to it when you pull it out.

If you’re only making cupcakes, then you’re done. Those of you out there who are cake ballin’, we’ve got a long way to go.

Pull your cupcakes out of the oven, drop them out of the pan, and let them sit until they’re cool to the touch. You might even put them in the fridge for a while. You’ll be reusing this cupcake pan, so be sure to clean it out.

Take 6 of your cupcakes, and break them into crumbs. (The horror!)

At this time, mix up your cream cheese frosting. Take about a third of your frosting, and dump it into about half of your crumbs. Blend them up together until you have a really thick, but still somewhat smooth mix. Slowly add more crumbs to the mix. You want it to be malleable enough to stick together, but you don’t want it to be all cream cheese, either.

Take your lollipop sticks and your cupcake pan, and get them ready next to your crumb and cream cheese bowl.

Start ballin’! Grab yourself a handful of the mixture, and roll it into a doughy ball with your hands. Stick ‘em on top of your lollipop stick. Hopefully, yours will look a little better than this:

Sit it, stick-side-up, in the cupcake pan.

(This is a lot of work, ain’t it? Sheesh…)

After you make the ones you want, go ahead and sit them in the freezer.

Grab the rest of your cream cheese frosting, and drop a little food coloring in there. Mix in about two tablespoons of gum paste in your frosting, and give it about 10 minutes to sit. The paste will thicken the frosting to the point where it won’t be as runny.

Get your pops out of the freezer, and one by one, start coating ‘em up.

I used a spoon to help coat the very tops of my pops. Once fully coated, put it back in the cupcake pan.

Repeat until your stuff looks like this:

Once coated, stick ‘em back in the freezer, and let ‘em hang out for a few hours. Above, you’ll see my pops post-freezing.

Then, you can get creative with ‘em and use your wrapping, your ribbon, your whatever-you-want.

So… after all that work, you get a very rich, very yummy recipe that will possibly fill your belly and remind you why you shouldn’t eat sweets so often. All that sugar? I mean, of course you’re not going to eat the entire batch (or are you? Ha!) but baking is something you do out of love… not boredom. Love wouldn’t compel me to bake with this much effort that often! Ha! And aside from the fact that there IS a lot of sugar in the entire recipe, there’s a lot of real food – not chemicals – in it, as well. You will be full after one pop. Don’t be compelled to overindulge… or you will feel it later. I promise.

I love baking, but there are maybe four times a year when I do major baking – Homecoming, Mothers’ Day, my daughter’s birthday and the winter holiday season. My mother, who I’ve been putting through the nutritional ringer as of late, has deserved every hour of hard work I put into these and enjoyed every bite. I hope you enjoy, as well.

Many thanks to The Kitchn for the tip! And their pictures are WAY better than mine!

How I “Secretly” Enjoy Red Velvet Cake is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: desserts, recipe, sweets

Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a Dutch oven. Add gnocchi to pan; cook 4 minutes or until done (gnocchi will rise to surface). Remove with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add asparagus and shrimp to pan; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Drain. Add shrimp mixture to gnocchi.

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon water, basil, and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping sides. Drizzle oil through food chute with food processor on; process until well blended. Add basil mixture to shrimp mixture; toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Gnocchi With Shrimp, Asparagus and Basil Pesto is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: asparagus, basil, garlic, gnocchi, lemon juice, olive oil, parmesan cheese, pine nuts, shrimp, walnuts

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; rub evenly over both sides of steak.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 5 minutes; cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.

Ancho-Rubbed Flank Steak is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: ancho chile powder, beef, brown sugar, cumin, steak

Farfalle with Creamy Wild Mushroom Sauce is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: garlic, onion, parmesan, pasta, shallots, vegetarian, white wine

Combine 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sherry, cornstarch, and shrimp.

Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Add peanuts and next 3 ingredients; stir-fry 30 seconds. Stir in celery and bell pepper; stir-fry 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add shrimp mixture; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add remaining 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon sherry, and broth. Bring to a simmer; cook 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar and salt. Top with onions. Toss over rice noodles or rice!

Kung Pao Shrimp is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: shrimp

Many thanks to Angelique for the photo!

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lb Cooked shrimp

Preheat oven to 400 F. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, salt, pepper and garlic cloves in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the shrimp to the bowl and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 10 minutes. Arrange shrimp on a baking sheet. Roast for 5-6 minutes or until the shrimp are heated through and rosemary has become very fragrant.

Would this go great with that rice pilaf? Hmmm!

Rosemary Roasted Shrimp is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: shrimp

Place chicken between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Brush buttermilk evenly over chicken.

Combine walnuts, breadcrumbs, and salt in a shallow dish; dredge chicken in mixture.

Pour oil into a large skillet; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken, and cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Cut chicken crosswise into thin slices.

Combine salad greens and spinach, and arrange on each of 4 individual plates. Sprinkle with cheese, and top with tomato halves and chicken. Serve with Buttermilk-Honey Dressing on the side.

Walnut-Chicken Salad is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: butter, buttermilk, carrots, cheese, chicken, crushed red pepper, garlic, monterey jack, pinto beans, salad, spinach, squash, tomato, tomatoes, walnuts

Pasta with Basil, Tomatoes and Feta is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: feta, garlic, pasta, tomatoes

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 6 ingredients; rub spice mixture evenly over flesh side of fillets. Place fish on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Brush fillets evenly with syrup; broil 1 minute.

Maple-Glazed Salmon is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: salmon

1. Combine all ingredients, except oil in blender and blend on low speed
for ten seconds.

2. SLOWLY drizzle olive oil into blender on low speed.

3. Shave 1/4th of an orange rind into mixture, and stir.

4. Chill for at least an hour.

Yield: 1.5 Cups

Honey Orange Peel Vinaigrette is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: honey, mustard, salad dressing, vinaigrette

…that we have to deal with. Now, because I don’t believe in wasting anything, I figured we’ve got to figure out what to do with these tomato guts. So… I grab a cucumber, and I do this:

Then, I dice up those tomatoes a little more, and toss them in the bowl with the cucumbers:

I’ve got approximately four cups full of mixture, so I’m going to add two tablespoons of sugar, a half cup of vinegar and a half cup of water to the bowl. Because I want to jazz it up a bit, I even grab a little banana pepper and throw it in there, too. (That’s the little yellow bit in the upper left hand corner of the bowl.)

Stir it up, then toss it in the jar:

Make more of that half vinegar/half water mixture and pour it in the jar, high enough to cover the top and fill in the air spaces, and seal it. Ta-da! Stick it in your fridge… and you’re done!

What do I use this for? I use this as a topping on my salads. It’s sweet, its tangy, its juicy… and it serves as a wonderful dressing. Told y’all I was cheap! I made relish out of old tomato guts and cucumber. Call me… the recessionista!

Cucumber-Tomato Relish is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: banana pepper, cucumber, jar, recipe, sugar, tomato, vinegar

I don’t know if that’s considered particularly beautiful or not, but when I tell you it was deeeee-licious? Believe me!

1 1/2 cups of organic whole wheat flour
1tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
2tsp butter
1/2 cup +2 tbsp warm water

First, add your flour, baking powder and salt to a large bowl, and mix them up. Drop your butter inside, and do what you can to “cut” it into the flour. What this means is you’re going to try to break the butter up into small pieces, thereby mixing it more thoroughly into the bowl. It’ll look like small pebbles if you’re doing it properly.

From here, slowly pour in your water a few drops at a time until the dough is soft, yet not sticky. You don’t want it to have so much moisture that you have to add more flour to it to work with it. You want it to still have a dryness to it, but wet enough that it can all be rolled up into a ball. (Don’t worry… it may take you a little time to understand what this means if you’re new to dough making. Just keep playing with it.)

Now, you’ll knead the dough for a few minutes to try to even it out and blend it a bit more. This is why the wet/dry consistency is so important. If it’s too wet, it’ll stick to your hands and your surface. If it’s too dry, you’ll wind up with crumbs. No good.

From here, you’ll pull off small pieces of your dough and roll them up unto doughy balls, maybe two inches big. Wrap them up and stick them in the fridge for a few minutes.

Grab one of your balls and a rolling pin. Sprinkle some extra flour on your countertop, and put your dough ball in the middle. Start rolling it out into a circle shape… like so!

Not perfect, but it’s good enough for me.

If all you want is a nice tortilla, then you can heat up your oven to about 200 degrees F, and slide it in there for a few minutes until it begins to brown. Flip it over one good time, and that should do it! It should still have its ability to be bent and folded, and it should be nice and warm.

However. If you want to go the extra mile and make a baked shell? We’ve got some work to do.

Find yourself a nice sized bowl with a flat bottom that can withstand some time in the oven. I happened to have this on hand:

Cover it with aluminum foil, like below. (I was well into making my SECOND tortilla shell at this point, so excuse my little fuzz on my foil.)

Set your shellmaker next to your tortilla on the counter, because you’ll need to do the next part quickly. Pick up your shell, and place it on top of the foil covered bowl.

Bake in the oven for approximately 10 minutes or until you start seeing the very bottom of your shell start to brown. Check your shell to see if it’s began to harden properly. If not, slide it back into the oven. Keep an eye on it, though.

Once it’s hardened a bit, you can lift the foil off of the bowl, turn your shell right-side-up, and slide it back into the oven for about 5 minutes, keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t turn too brown. After that, slide it out and let it cool!

Mastering The Homemade Tortilla and Salad Shell is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: tortilla

Place tomatoes, wine, garlic, olives and rosemary in slow cooker and stir to combine. Sprinkle meat with 1 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper to taste. Place brisket on top of tomato mixture and spoon half of tomato mixture over meat to cover. Cover slow cooker and cook on high until meat is fork-tender, 5 to 6 hours.

Carefully transfer brisket to a cutting board, tent with foil and let stand for 10 minutes. Skim excess fat from sauce and season with salt and pepper. Slice brisket against grain and transfer to a serving platter. Spoon some sauce over meat and sprinkle with parsley. Serve brisket with remaining sauce on side.

Garlic and Olive Brisket is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: brisket, garlic, olives, parsley, red wine, rosemary, tomatoes

I’m a morning biscuit lover. Biscuits, tea, and a little homemade jam or a faint drizzle of honey… and I’m in there. Great way to start my morning.

1 cup flour

1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp of milk

Preheat your oven to 350. You know what to do – pour your flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, and blend it together. Drop in your butter, and do what you can to cut the butter into tiny pieces, all while stirring it up together.Pour in milk, and make your batter. Don’t stir it TOO much, but be effective in your stirring so that you can reduce the lumps. Make your biscuits, and slide ‘em in the oven!

Quick Homemade Biscuits is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: biscuits