Blizzard!!!

I can't believe how crazy the weather is!!!!  I had a wonderful snow day, though!  The morning was very relaxing.. spending hours watching the news and hearing about the chaos the snow has caused the tri-state area.  I made lunch and an extra-large mug of tea and watched kitchen nightmares by the fireplace with my dad.  It just made me really stressed out and not want to ever want to work in a restaurant kitchen haha.

After working out and killing my mom in rummikub (if y'all have never played it, you have to get this game.. I can play for hours), I began prepping dinner & snacks.  

The "kids" (aka my brother and mom) played outside and built a snowman while I played "mom" and slaved in the kitchen ;)    As soon as my mom came in the house and screamed "Al!!!!" I came running to her with a carrot and brussel sprouts for the snowman's nose and eyes.  Anyone sense a little role reversal??

Lately, my family has really enjoyed snacking on roasted veggies during cocktail hour.  This is a great snack because it's soo healthy and SO good!

Today, I sliced eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes.  I brushed the slices with Wegman's basting oil and sprinkled them with salt, fresh ground pepper, and "Bragg's seasoning blend".  I roasted them in a 400 degree oven until they were golden.

I also roasted some broccoli because my dad is a little picky about vegetables.

For dinner I made "Southern Oven Un-fried Chicken" from one of Oprah's chefs.  I mixed together nonfat greek yogurt and hot sauce smothered it on some chicken legs and breasts.  I refrigerated it while I prepared the crumb coating.

I doubled the recipe and made a ton of chicken (my brother eats a lot).  Here is the original recipe:

In a large zip-lock bag combine 1 1/2 cups of crushed whole grain cereal flakes, 1 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp paprika, 2 tsp black pepper, 2 tsp hot pepper (I used cayenne).  I also added a large pinch of salt.  Add chicken pieces and shake to coat.  Lay the chicken out on a lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Place in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is done.

This chicken definitely had a kick to it, so if you don't like spicy foods eliminate the cayenne pepper and/or hot sauce.  My mom and I had our chicken over sauteed spinach.  I heated coconut oil in a large saute pan and sauteed some sliced onions.  I added minced garlic and then the spinach.  I seasoned the mixture with salt, ground pepper, nutmeg, and Bragg's seasoning blend.  This is my favorite side-dish!

My dad and brother had some leftover mushroom risotto from yesterday's class and some frozen corn with their chicken (plus some extra onions from our spinach mixture).  

I'm hoping I'll be able to make it to class alright tomorrow.  The weather is still pretty bad..we even lost power for a few minutes.  Thankfully it came back on because I am in the middle of watching "The Time Traveler's Wife" for the second time.  It's a great love story, but the book is 1 billion times better!