Pining Over Pins

Pinterest boggles my brain.

As if a small business owner/devoted wifey/domestic goddess/mom of toddler needs even MORE distraction in her life. I mean, prioritizing is of utmost importance when dealing with my diversions: Mad Men and Real Housewives take the top spots, natch. (All class, The Jersey Girl is. ALL CLASS.)

At first, I didn't quite get it, this Pinterest craze. Honestly, I still really don't. The bazillions of images are pretty and fabulous and boy, a girl sure can dream. Each pin leads you to more pins, delusions and hopeless unrealities. From remodeling to organizing to styling an outfit to buying more and more and more. It never ends.

But, ask yourself, fellow Pinners out there: Are you REALLY going to rock that dress like Jessica Alba in the 10 stalkerish images you posted on your Celebrity Style board? Are 50 different ways to DIY glitter nails really going to make or break you? And will your kitchen cupboards ever be THAT organized or that big or that awesome?

I think we all know the answer here, and yet, I probably pinned 20 different pins in the past 20 minutes just because. Admit it. Pinterest is insanely addictive and more often than not a massive waste of time. And that is that. I love it.

Recipe hoarders really fascinate me. Because honestly, when I'm piddling away my few and far between spare moments on Pinterest I wonder how in the world do people have the hours in their week to cook all of these recipes and make all of these crafts. Where have I gone wrong in time management?

 The Jersey Girl is crafty in manners of slyness, but not in terms of actually making objects out of twine and yarn and such. Drinking a bottle of wine is WAY more relaxing.

But I digress, dear readers. I'm about to give myself MAJOR props, because I did it! I made a Pinterest recipe with my own two hands. Yay!! I wasn't just wasting away my 2-year-old's nap time on the Internets by pinning meaningless pins, ie - inspirational quotes said by famous dead people in pretty fonts and 30 variations of opera-length pearl necklaces. No, no. I DID so much more.

Funnily, the recipe I made isn't the most food-pornish in terms of looks, but in tastiness, it is making the magic happen: Cilantro Lime Dressing from simplefoodhealthylife.com. This dressing was fabulous in so many ways. The brightness of the cilantro, the tang of the yogurt and garlic, the punchiness of lime juice and vinegar combine for a close-to-perfect dressing for any Mexican-inspired meal.

That night, we gave fish tacos a whirl. Evan ate three bites! Yay. We did jazz up the tacos, which featured grilled tilapia, with the dressing, but I thought the salad I made really shined. I combined quartered medium-sized tomatoes, red onion and queso fresco - a whole milk Mexican cheese, and then topped it all with a couple tablespoons of the cilantro lime dressing. The recipe below makes a huge portion. It will last you for a few recipes. In addition to fish tacos and salads, I think the dressing would taste fabulous over chicken and shrimp.

Cilantro Lime Dressing worked great over 

quartered tomatoes, red onion and queso fresco.

Cilantro Lime Dressing
From simplefoodhealthylife.com

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Chobani 0% plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. lime juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tsp. sea salt

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
Continue to add olive oil 1 Tbsp. at a time as necessary to create a smooth finish.

Rolling Solo

It sometimes seems that my blog self is a mythical self.

You see, it may appear that festive, abundant, exciting homecooked dinners are shared by candlelight with The Husband every evening and that a team of cleaning elves and fairies swoop in and tidy my kitchen up.

Not so, dear readers. It’s just not so.

In actuality, Susan is rocking it out home alone what feels like 24-7 some weeks.

No, no. The Husband does not have a glamorous jet-setting world traveling career as a spy or pilot or kung-fu master or corporate CEO/buyer person like Richard Gere in “Pretty Woman” that transports him to fabulous destinations outside of Hammonton.

He is a newspaper editor.

And it seems the same thing happened at both of our journalism schools back in the day. They totally failed to tell us that our hours would basically suck ass. Because, maybe I would have done something else in addition to my journalism and musical studies if I had known that a typical workday could/would begin at 9 a.m. and end at midnight.

Yeah. I’m kidding myself. I was destined to be a Macy’s salesgirl, newspaper editor and piano teacher, all overlapping and in that order. It’s in my lifeline.

So, when The Husband and the Jersey Girl first got together and fell all madly in love and all that we were united, a sort of kindred spirit if you will, in the reality of an uber bizarro work schedule.

We worked holidays. And seriously. Working holidays is made of evilness.

And, we worked weekends – and evenings. We still do this. We both work Sundays. In fact, my piano studio is completely booked 9 to 5 on Sundays, in case you were interested in lessons. And the evening thing. Well. That’s pretty much why yours truly is home alone into the wee hours of the night imagining the elaborate dinners I am making for The Husband and our imaginary children who have not been brought here yet by the Baby Stork. (Get your ass moving, Mr. Stork). My day usually wraps at 9 p.m. But, The Husband’s day – it’s all over the joint. I never know when he’s coming and going many days. And so many times, I dine alone.

So, it is with great joy I bring you a Single Girl Meal: Balsamic Chicken Tenders over Baby Greens with Goat Cheese.

In actuality, The Husband would love my salad. In fact, he took the leftovers for lunch today.

Balsamic Chicken Tenders over Baby Greens with Goat Cheese.

1 lb. boneless chicken tenders
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together vinegar, oil, rosemary, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Place tenders in bowl and toss. Let marinate for about 15 minutes.

Preheat grill pan over medium heat. Grill chicken tenders until cooked through, about 5 minutes on both sides. Set aside.

To make salad:

Baby salad greens, or your favorite lettuces
½ red bell pepper, chopped
Few slices of red onion
Goat cheese, crumbled

Place all ingredients except for goat cheese in a bowl.

To make dressing:
(Enough for 1 serving. You may double quantities if you are serving more people.)

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.

To assemble:

Place salad mixture in a bowl or on a plate. Pour dressing over greens. Toss. Place 2 or 3 chicken tenders on top. Scatter with goat cheese.

Eat in glorious solitude.

Going Greek

“Whadda you-a mean you-a eata NO meat?”

Awkward pause….

“That’s OK. I-a make-a you-a lamb.”

Yes. The crazy aunt from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is unforgettable.

I know, I know.

My movie quotes are so 2002. Or let’s be real, 90s. Or yeah, 80s.
Like seriously, if there were life challenges that required useless quotes from: “Singles,” “Pulp Fiction,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “Clueless,” “Old School,” and if we’re really talking historic: “Heathers” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” I hands down would win the big prize of knowing trivial movie quotes from obsessively watching the same not-very-deep movies over and over again. And yes, these films have not appeared in movie theaters for decades and they’re probably not winning any awards, although I think “Pulp Fiction” won a bunch of stuff, but it was the 90s. We were too Kool and the Gang, Jimmy, to care.

So, the aunt who is the self-proclaimed best chef in the family and mispronounces words and drinks a lot of booze and has no tolerance for vegetarians in the Greek wedding movie. That lady totally gets me.

In honor of her and the awesomeness that is Greek food, I made a kind of Greekish din featuring Fantabulous Spicy Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce, Greek Salad and Lentil Salad.

Heavy on the salads, I know. But me and the husband love to get the veg on despite grooving on meat and fish and proteins that were alive at one point. Variety is the spice of life, no?

And when I saw that my little, ole SuperFresh in H’town actually carried lamb, I rejoiced and just about did cartwheels down the aisle. (I kind of live in the sticks, so when other cultures/cuisines arrive here, I get a bit hysterical and praise Jesus that I can cook things other than chicken and pork and salmon, oh my.)

So, spice up your day with some Greek food. It’s way delish and packed with good things for you like fresh herbs and vegetables and lemon juice. Yay!

Fantabulous Spicy Lamb Meatballs
(Makes 16)

1 lb. ground lamb
¼ cup chopped red onion
3 Tbsp. chopped parsley
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. hot sauce
¼ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. fresh black pepper

Mix all the ingredients gently in a bowl.

Roll meat into balls with a 1 1/2 –inch diameter. Line up on a baking sheet. (You may refrigerate until ready to bake.)

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes.

Serve with Yogurt Sauce.

Yogurt Sauce for Spicy Lamb Meatballs
¾ cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh mint or basil, chopped
Pinch of salt
Fresh black pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Chill until ready to serve

Greek Salad Dressing
(Use on your favorite salad vegetables such as romaine, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, cucumber, red onion. Makes enough salad dressing for four big servings.)

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. olive oil
¼ tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients in a bowl. Pour over salad. Toss salad.

Lentil Salad

For the lentils:
1 cup favorite dried lentils (I like French green lentils)
2 bay leaves
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
¼ tsp. dried oregano

Place the above ingredients in a large pot or saucepan. Cover with at least 2 inches of water. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until lentils are cooked, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain mixture in a colander. Rinse lentils under cold water. Discard bay leaves

For the salad:

1 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 small red onion, diced
3 Tbsp. basil, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. parsley, finely chopped
Prepared lentils (see above)

Place all the ingredients in a bowl. Gently mix.

For vinaigrette:

6 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
6 Tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with a whisk or a fork. Add to lentil mixture. When ready to serve, top with feta cheese.