Healthy Eating This Weekend

My husband and I had no plans for this weekend but to stay at home and have a DVD marathon. Both of us wanted to watch some ‘90s movies and enjoy a nice dinner at home. However, instead of ordering the usual fast food meals, I decided to take over the kitchen and prepare some healthy food for my hubby. We had been eating a lot of pork and beef dishes in the past few days so I think it’s time for us to eat some healthy food.

I decided to innovate and give some twist on the usual fast food dishes my husband loved. I have planned to prepare two meals, a chicken, and a tuna meal for him.

Since my husband is a big fan of burgers, I decided to make one for him. However, this time I used a tuna patty instead of the usual beef patty. Tuna is very delicious and, as compared to beef, is better for the health and is an excellent source of nutrients like protein, potassium, and omega-3 fatty acids. These nutrients all contribute in maintaining good health and promoting weight loss. Good thing I came across a tuna burger recipe on the internet and the instructions were easy to follow. I just needed to make this dish perfect since it was something my husband and I don’t usually eat. Fortunately, I managed to grill the patty just right.

And for my next dish, I prepared a chicken pizza. Ever since the success of my first pizza-making endeavor, my husband has been begging me for another pizza dish. And if he loved my turkey pizza last time, I am sure he’ll love the chicken pizza too. Chicken is a good substitute for turkey and is a lot cheaper too. More so, chicken is rich in niacin, an anticarcinogen, and selenium, a metabolism and immune system booster. Talk about healthy! Although it took time to prepare, I am satisfied with how the meal went. It looked and smelled delicious!

As expected, my husband loved the grilled tuna burger and the chicken pizza. He said that my tuna burger was so tasty, he wanted me to prepare them again the next day! As for the pizza, he said it tasted good but he prefers the turkey. But overall, he said he loved the meals I prepared and he hoped to have more of my new recipes in the coming weekends.

By the way, we both enjoyed the movies too. I am so glad that my cooking innovation attempts were successful. We are definitely going to spend more of our weekends at home.

Pizza 101

Our escapade was really unforgettable especially our experience at Tony Boloney’s. I’m glad that I found wakanetwork deal for it. Their pizza was absolutely delicious that it inspired me to bake a pizza of my own for my husband. I searched thoroughly online and looked for a healthy recipe that my husband would love. I found this Turkey Pizza recipe from MyRecipes.com. However, I made some changes to it using products that I ordinarily use whenever I’m cooking.

See below the recipe I got from MyRecipes.com.

The Ingredients:

1 teaspoon COLAVITA® Extra Virgin Olive Oil *In the original recipe they used Pompeian Olive Oil Regular from Bigg's

1 cup chopped onion *I just bought mine from the nearest market.

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 3/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes *I used Hunt's Canned Crushed Tomatoes

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough *I used their recommended Pillsbury Pizza Crust

Cooking spray *I used my favorite All Natural PAM® Original

2 cups chopped skinned cooked turkey

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded provolone cheese *I used Treasure Cave's® Shredded Parmesan Cheese

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese *I used Organic Valley Organic Mozzarella Cheese (low moisture, part skim)

Before going to the market to purchase all the ingredients I needed, I made sure that I have a complete list of the ingredients. This is to refrain from making several trips to the market. Also, I chose more of the products I usually use for I believe in their quality.

The Preparation:

I preheated the oven to 400°. As I wait, I heated the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. I added onion and garlic; sautéd it 4 minutes as instructed. I stirred in tomatoes, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. I reduced the heat; simmer 15 minutes or until thick, and stirred it occasionally. I stirred in parsley and basil. Then I removed it from the heat and let it cool completely.

As directed, after cooking the tomato mixture for the pizza, I rolled the dough into a 10-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Placed the dough on a (12-inch) pizza pan or baking sheet coated with cooking spray. I crimped edges of dough with my fingers to form a rim. I spread the tomato mixture over the crust and left a 1/4-inch border. I topped it with turkey; sprinkled it with the two types shredded cheese I prepared. Then I baked it at 400° for 10 minutes, until golden.

After the baking has been accomplished, my husband and I were so excited to taste it. The kitchen smelled so good as I pulled the pizza out of the oven. We were undeniably satisfied with the taste - not bad for a first time pizza maker. Thanks to MyRecipe.com for this great recipe.

Great Pizza Experience at AC

As part of our weekend getaway, my husband and I decided to go to Atlantic City for an entire weekend to enjoy all the attractions and activities AC has to offer.

Once at the hotel, I quickly browsed the wakanetwork internet to find some good restaurants in the city. I came across a restaurant called Tony Boloney’s that specialize in pizza and cheesesteaks. I read many positive feedback about this restaurant so I decided to try their specialties with my husband. I was lucky to find a 50% discount on their large pizza on wakanetwork.

I told my husband about the deal I got. He is a great pizza fan and I wanted his opinion on Tony Boloney’s. I presented my coupon and waited for our large pizza to be served. My hubby decided to add cheesesteaks and soda to our meal. I must say, we have tasted different types of pizza but we were surprised with how Tony Boloney’s tasted. The pizza was excellent; its crust is soft and the sauce was delicious. The cheesesteak was superior as it was very tasty and more satisfying from the others we’ve tried in the past. We just never thought we’d find a pizza place like this in Atlantic City.

My only complaint is that their service was a little bit unpleasant. It took them a lot of time to serve our food. They have a large number of customers and I think they should have added more crews.

Our experience, all in all, was superb because of Tony Boloney’s pizza and cheesesteak. My husband and I will definitely come back here for more. I just hope their service would be better the next time we visit.

Choco-Banana Milkshake

It's 3:00 in the afternoon and I'm thinking of what to eat for our afternoon snack. I have to make a better snack because my husband has no work today. Thank God it's Saturday. Today is his freedom rest day and so he's expecting me to offer him a delicious afternoon snack.

I'm currently browsing wakanetwork deals and my husband is on the couch, too busy watching his all-time favorite movie. And here I am, still in the kitchen, thinking of what food to make for him. As I turned around, I saw a comb of banana and our Hershey chocolate syrup on the table. Aha! It gave me the idea to offer him a choco-banana milkshake with cheese fries. That will be a good attack for our afternoon snack!

The genuine chocolate flavor of Hershey chocolate syrup and the smell of fresh banana is making me crave for a cold, cold milkshake. Making a choco-banana milkshake for me and my husband is definitely a refreshing idea for our craving, thirsty mouths, especially when we combine it with cheese fries. Oh, I just love how my stomach feels when eating my two favorite combination: milk chocalate and fries. Did you know that shake is good for the summer season? During summer, you really have to refresh yourself with any kind of cold drink so that you won't feel irritated by the heat of the season. And choco-banana milkshake is perfect for today's snack. It's rich, creamy, and delicious.

Come on, give it a try. It is very easy. Here are the ingredients that you need for a refreshing choco-banana milkshake.

• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup crushed ice

Instructions:

In a blender, process all the ingredients until they are entirely mixed together. Pour into a chilled glass. Then serve immediately.

Spicy Shrimp Pasta

Last night while I was writing an article about wakanetwork, I felt my stomach rumble as I crave for my cousin’s seafood pasta. However, between writing three articles and the late hour, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I crashed into being, forgoing a trip to the kitchen to sate my stomach.

Morning came and I was able to finish all the wakanetwork articles I needed to write, all the while thinking of having seafood pasta at my cousin’s glass house. She asked me to visit her and promised me seafood pasta for my time. And why shouldn’t I go? The first time I tasted her pasta, I fell in love it. That’s reason enough alone to go visit her from time to time.

What makes her seafood pasta special?

As we all know, seafood pasta consists of pasta covered with mouthwatering sauce, topped with various seafood. You can make it simple or grand - it just depends on your budget for the ingredients.

My cousin’s specialty is all about the shrimps and the sauce. She makes sure that there is an overload of shrimp in her seafood pasta. However, what I love best about her pasta is the sauce due to its addictive spice. I named it spicy shrimp pasta. Its pure tomato sauce gives you a light taste but a heavy aftertaste. My cousin also alternates between using oil- and tomato-based sauces that complements the shrimp well. When it comes to the type of pasta, she uses either fettuccine or linguine.

As for the spice, my cousin especially uses fresh basil leaves. This ensures freshness and a tangy taste to her pasta. She also sometimes combines shrimp, artichokes, mushrooms, and olive oil in one pasta dish because all of them are high in nutrients. With these ingredients, she has made a flavorful and interesting alternative to the standard pasta flavors.