Eat, Live, Run

grilled balsamic chicken with mozzarella and pesto

jenna — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:24:44 +0000

I’m currently en route back to San Francisco and working on a re-cap post of my week on the cookbook shoot. We had so much fun. And ate so much good food. After cooking about twenty six of Jaden’s recipes, I can say that I now feel semi-confident in the realm of Asian cuisine. Oh, and I learned that bean sprouts have heads and tails. I have a recipe that Jaden and I worked on together yesterday that I’m waiting to post in a few days—I think you guys are going to love it!

Let’s talk chicken right now though, mmk? I don’t cook chicken a lot at home because dealing with raw meat isn’t my favorite. I much prefer beating pretty swirls of butter and sugar together to frost cupcakes. However, sometimes a girl needs a little protein in her life. A little quick protein, I should add.

I hope you saved your extra pesto! If you didn’t that’s okay—storebought is totally great in this recipe as well! In this recipe, chicken breasts are marinated in balsamic vinegar for a brief period then grilled (on the grill or in the grill-pan) and topped with fresh mozzarella cheese and pesto.

SO.GOOD!!!!!!!! And so quick! I used leftovers all week on top of salads and it tasted great.

So, three ways to serve this dish:

1. Alongside brussels sprouts with bacon, israeli couscous and dried cherries (day 1)

2. Alongside spicy cuban black beans and rice and steamed green beans (day 2)

3. Chopped up in a huge salad with all the fixins’ (day 3 and 4)

….or at least that’s what I did.

Make it! And let me know what you think. It’s saucy, cheesy and delicious…what more could you ask for?

Get the recipe at PBS Food!

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salted caramel chocolate mousse

jenna — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:36:24 +0000

Hi!

Heeeeyyyyy everybody! It’s Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen. I’m so pumped to be hanging out and sharing this dessert with you lovely people today.

Regardless of how many times I consume salted caramel, I never tire of it. That sweet and salty combination just does it for me every single time.

Salted caramel ice cream? Win. Salted caramel cookies? Ugh, delicious. Salted caramel cake? Let’s fake a birthday so we have reason to make one! Salted caramel on a spoon? Gimme!

I understand that sometimes cooking up caramel is a little scary. Trust me, I’ve gotten a caramel burn before–it’s not cute.

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sweet and spicy glazed salmon sandwiches

jenna — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:20:52 +0000

Hey Wednesday party people!

I’m still down here in Florida with Jaden, Todd and Diane and working my butt off assisting in shooting Jaden’s new cookbook. Okay, let’s be honest…what I really have been doing in eating everything in sight. This woman knows how to COOK. I can’t wait to show you some behind the scenes action when I get home in a few days.

But first….can I please tell you about the fish sandwich I ate last week? I love salmon but hate the way it makes my house smell to cook it, so this time, I made a delicious sweet and spicy glaze with honey and spices, topped my salmon fillet with it and then broiled to perfection.

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© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2012. | Permalink | 51 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fish, heart healthy, quick and easy, sandwiches, seafood

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pantry pasta with black beans, kale and spicy chicken sausage

jenna — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:40:52 +0000

Let’s clean out our kitchens, shall we? And while we’re at it, let’s dump everything in the fridge in a pan and make some pasta!

Pantry pasta: what you make when you have a bunch of random leftovers in the fridge and need a hot meal, stat.

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© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2012. | Permalink | 48 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dinner, leftovers, pasta, quick and easy

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whole wheat chocolate chip sweet potato pancakes

jenna — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:25:27 +0000

Goooooooood morning!

Let me introduce my new favorite pancake. It’s thick, it’s fluffy and it’s full of everything healthy…. like chocolate chips, sweet potatoes and whole wheat flour. The original recipe hailed from one of my favorite breakfast spots in Charleston, Joseph’s. Joseph’s officially closed last June and I shed a tear both for it and these pancakes.

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© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2012. | Permalink | 64 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Breakfast, healthy, pancakes, whole wheat

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what i’m reading now

jenna — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:56:54 +0000

A few of you have been asking about my book reviews lately and I don’t blame you—I feel like it’s been forever since I last posted one! The truth is, I just haven’t really been reading much lately (hides face in shame). I know, I know! I’ve been a bad reader. I’ve just been so busy finishing my own book (out on September 4th!), starting yoga teacher training and cooking up five creative meals a week for you guys. Oh yeah, and I discovered the hilarity of Modern Family on itunes. So there. That’s what I’ve been up to lately!

This book by Elizabeth Berg was the last book I read, and I finished it about two weeks ago. I absolutely love Elizabeth Berg’s writing style and her prose is so powerful with human emotion that it almost reads like poetry to me. This book, about three siblings coming to terms with the fact that one of them had been being secretly abused by their mother for years, was powerful to say the least. I read it when I had that awful two week sinus infection/cold/flu/ear infection mess, and it’s stayed with me. Some may call Berg nothing more than a “chick lit author” but this is the fourth book I’ve read by her and I beg to differ. She’s a wonderfully talented writer with deep plots and character development. When I think “chick lit”, I think more of a trashy romance novel to take to the beach.

This is not that.

I also just started The Baker’s Daughter two days ago and plan to get some serious reading time in on my long flight to Florida on Monday. I’ve only read about 10% (thanks, kindle), but so far I LOVE IT. I’ll keep you guys posted though and write my thoughts when I finish it.

Happy Saturday!

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gnocchi with fresh arugula walnut pesto

jenna — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:04:01 +0000

You know those certain food memories that you have that come on so strong at the most random of times?

That’s me and pesto gnocchi.

I was nineteen, a freshman in college and just had had my wisdom teeth pulled (four impacted plus dry sockets, thank you very much). I was so intent on feeling better though because the following week, I had the ultimate girl’s trip planned to New York City with my mom, my best friend and my aunt. I don’t care how much your wisdom teeth hurt, YOU DO NOT CANCEL A TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY. Amen. When our plane touched down at LaGuardia, I was still hopped up on pain killers and couldn’t chew on my right side to save my life. Not wanting to ruin the first night of our weekend though, I insisted we go out to dinner so we dined at Bice, a great little Italian restaurant that seems to be all over the place now. Most of the items on the menu required chewing and I was too hungry for just a bowl of minestrone so I ordered the pesto gnocchi, figuring it would be soft enough to go down easy.

Oh, did it ever go down easy! That gnocchi with pesto was, still to this day, one of the very best meals I’ve ever had. Ever. The gnocchi were like little heavenly pillows, and the pesto was delicious as it melted into a soft green blanket on my dumplings.

Unfortunately, when I crave pesto gnocchi almost eight years later we’re in the dead of winter and there’s not a leaf of fresh basil to be found.

Enter arugula! This wintery green makes some vibrant pesto with a hint of peppery spice. It’s a little more robust than basil pesto, but I love it all the same. I like to make mine with walnuts and use just a teeny bit of raw garlic so I can communicate with other humans later in the day.

I also happen to think that Trader Joe’s makes some delicious whole wheat gnocchi that saves me forty-five minutes and a flour covered kitchen. Win.

Grab the recipe over at PBS Food! It’s FRIDAYYYYY! (P.S. save extra pesto—you’ll need it next week!)

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crock pot chickpea, butternut squash and red lentil stew

jenna — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:00:11 +0000

Well, hey there!

How’s your week going? I have been living in my kitchen this week, cooking my little tail off, because next week I’m actually flying to Florida to help Todd and Diane shoot the new Steamy Kitchen cookbook! I met the lovely White on Rice Couple a few years ago at an event in Arizona and since then, they’ve helped me immensely with my food photography. Basically, everything I know I learned from them. They sort of rock. I’ve never met Jaden before but am super excited to do so! Her pan-fried pumpkin gnocchi pretty much changed my life. In an email the other day, Diane said we are going to be averaging about thirteen recipes a day. It’s going to be NUTS! I’ll definitely share some of that craziness with you guys, don’t you worry.

As for this vegan stew, MAKE IT.

Seriously, throw it in your slow cooker right this instant (this blog post is going up early for a reason!) because you’ll want it for dinner tonight….I guarantee it.

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© Jenna for Eat, Live, Run, 2012. | Permalink | 88 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: healthy, high fiber, low fat, slow cooker, soups and stews, vegan

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mini blackberry cream scones

jenna — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:32:08 +0000

Around this time every year, I get a little antsy.

Antsy for berries, flip-flops, sunscreen and sundresses. Antsy for life without bulky sweaters and gross flaky skin. Because of this, I end up paying ridiculously high prices for hard, tart blackberries from Chile. They’re really not even that tasty so I’m not sure why I keep buying them, but I do. Someone stop me!

You can use frozen blackberries for this recipe.

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brussels sprouts with bacon, dried cherries and israeli couscous

jenna — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:52:41 +0000

So, I started my yoga teacher training program on Saturday.

WOAH.

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