Caesars Palace Blackjack Chicken Salad

June 27, 2014 by Christine Skari

Caesars Palace Blackjack Chicken Salad

I absolutely love making themed food for a party and recently we had a casino night where all our dinner dishes were inspired by Las Vegas. I wanted to make something fun and healthy so I came up with Caesar’s Palace Blackjack chicken salad, clever right?

This recipe was perfect as its packed full of protein and the dressing added an extra zing, erasing all ideas of a boring old salad! I’m usually not big on salad as mains, but this one was so much more than just the usual layers of leaves, and everyone loved it.

I even made the croutons myself and coloured them red and black to fit the theme. It was really easy, and I will definitely add this to my regular meal list as it’s perfect for a summer’s day when you really hungry, but want something that doesn’t make you feel too full.

So if you have a casino-themed night and think making a soufflé may be a bit of a challenge, why not try my delicious Caesar’s Palace Blackjack chicken salad? You won’t regret it! To add a realistic touch to the evening you can have some fun playing online slots with your guests.

For the yummiest salad sprinkle the parmesan shavings on just before serving and add crispy bacon and avocado as an extra!

WIAW: New Food Finds!

June 24, 2014 by Christine Skari

Ahhh, Wednesday already? Days in the summer tend to blend together for me since the pace of everything slows down. Right now I’m back up at Santa Barbara and am just taking two summer classes: a comparative literature class and a chemistry lab. That means I finally have some free time! I was hoping to devote a good number of hours towards AOME, but I’ve been making the most of Netflix and friends instead. After such an exhausting year, vegging out is just what I need! That plus the fact that I’m basically homeless/kitchenless and crashing with Kyle until my lease starts means that recipes have been on the back burner. I’m hoping that changes soon and I get my blogging passion back. Anyways, enough of that. Here are some of my eats! Breakfast: Breakfast was on-the-go today and picked up from Jamba Juice. You guys. Their Brown Sugar Crumble Slow-Cooked Oats are to die for. I’m already craving them for breakfast tomorrow, but getting into the habit of buying my oats when I can make it at home for 2321 times cheaper makes me feel a little guilty. A small latte was also enjoyed to help wake me up. I went with only a normal latte (not the 3 shots of espresso that I usually get) and was feeling extra drowsy in my first class. Guess I’m building up a pretty strong tolerance 😯 . Kyle and I also got a bit peckish while doing some reading and decided to split a donut. It was a good idea. Lunch: Lunch was also bought out and came in the form of a Subway salad in between my class and lab. My favorite part? This new beef jerky I tried. SO GOOD. The flavor is absolutely delicious and I could honestly eat it all day. Smoothie Break: After a workout with my sister and Kyle, we grabbed a smoothie to hold us over till dinner was made. If you’re ever up in the Santa Barbara area, make sure you visit Blenders and order one of their red orange smoothies. My old roommate, Lakshmi, first got me addicted and I’ve passed that addiction on to Kyle and Marie. Dinner: Bad blogger here. I was too busy eating to remember that I should have snapped a pic before . Kyle and I made tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and hard boiled eggs which were enjoyed while watching the first season of Orange is the New Black. I’ve seen it before, but wanted to refresh my memory before watching the new episodes. And that’s all she wrote! I’ll probably snack on some chocolate chips before heading to bed for my necessary chocolate fix, but other than that, I’m more than ready for bed. A solid day of weightlifting reeeeaaalllyy tires me out! Hope your week is going well!

Birthday Recap!

June 23, 2014 by Christine Skari

Hello, hello my lovely friends!

I’m just popping in with a short recap today. Kyle and I drove back up to Santa Barbara and we’ve been unpacking all day, so I’m pretty tired and just want to watch an episode of Orange is the New Black and hit the hay. The lease for my house doesn’t start for another week or so, so I’m going to be crashing with him and his three friends for a while. Hopefully I don’t drive them too crazy 😉 .

So let’s talk birthday fun!

On Thursday (my actual birthday) Kyle and I went out to a nice seafood lunch before heading over to my friend Karissa’s house for a party! It’s always fun to catch up with our oldest friends from our hometown now that everyone is separated for college. No pics because I was too busy enjoying myself!

Friday involved lots of korean BBQ with Kyle, his little brother and his girlfriend (Hi Taylor! I love you!!), and a big group of his little brother’s friends.

I’m realizing now that I’m seriously lacking on the photo evidence, but I’m guessing that’s a good sign that I had a great time!

On Saturday I went on a walk with Karissa before grabbing some tasty Mexican food for lunch. She’s off to India for the summer to teach English to underprivileged kids and, even though I’m going to miss her, I’m so proud of all the good she’s doing! After getting back from lunch, I headed over to a jewelry shop with my mom and sister to pick out a piece as a semi-belated present. This is a milestone year for women in Japanese culture, and apparently the big gift is jewelry. I’ll take it haha! We stopped at three stores before I found this gorgeous rose gold necklace with a morganite stone. I’m in love and haven’t taken it off!

While we were out, my sister and I also stumbled upon the cutest flower maxi dress with a lace bust. Usually I have trouble finding maxi dresses that fit (I’m 5″3 on a good day), but this one fits like a charm! We both ended up getting the same one so we can twin it up 😉 .

After getting back, we quickly got ready for a family dinner at a local Japanese restaurant. I only snagged a few good pictures before my camera decided to malfunction, but we had a big group and ate a ton of tasty food.

My mom and obachan!

My older sister, Marie!

After dinner, it was cake time! I’ve gotten the same mint and chip ice cream cake from Baskin’ Robbins for basically the last 12 years, so a birthday doesn’t feel complete without one. Leftovers were enjoyed the next morning for breakast 😉 .

I’m not sure what’s going on with my camera here, but sparkles!!

And there ya have it! Tons of good food and family. Just the way I like it!

Question of the Day: Do you always have the same cake for your birthday, or do you switch it up?

5-Ingredient Lemon Panko Shrimp

June 20, 2014 by Christine Skari

Friday night dinners were a weekly tradition when I was growing up. I’m lucky to live just 5 minutes away from my Japanese grandparents and cousins, so every Friday I would wait eagerly by the door to go to Obachan’s house and eat some authentic asian food and then run to the backyard with my cousins to play with dirt and climb trees. My Obachan makes a delicious shrimp tempura and I would load up as many as I could on my plate, squirt a bit of this tasty brown sauce on the side, then dig in.

Youuu GUYS. SO GOOD.

Everything you could want. The crunch. The juicy inside. Mhmm her tempura is comfort food at its finest.

So what do you do when you a) don’t trust yourself with hot oil and b) are looking for a healthier alternative? You come up with a dish that has all the flavor and taste but is healthier and made in the safety of the oven! Even better? Only 5 ingredients and the recipe comes together in a flash. PARTY. You bring the drinks and I’ll bring a few of my tasty crustacean friends. OMG decapods.

What am I even saying?

I don’t know. It’s hard to concentrate when you have this picture all up in yo’ face.

The thing that makes this taste as good as the fried version is the crispiness of the panko. Also the perfect lemon flavor. Oh, and the parsley adds a great accent as well. Basically I like all of it, okay?

If you’ve never worked with panko before, you’re in for a treat. Normal breadcrumbs just can’t compare to the crunch factor you get from panko after it’s been all nice and toasted in the oven! I was out grocery shopping with my sister before making my 5-Ingredient Lemon Panko Shrimp and she insisted that we had a big stash of panko in our family’s pantry. Guess what?

SHE’S A BIG FAT LIAR.

Apparently we have 3 containers of the Italian version, but there was not a single panko crumb to be seen. I threw a short hissy fit at having to go back and make a second trip, but it just so happens that there’s a Starbucks at the entrance of the grocery store and I was able to cool down the fiery temper within me with a caramel frappuccino (it took me 7 tries to spell that right) and everything was okay in the world.

The moral of this story is never trust your sister with important things, like your supply of panko breadcrumbs. Got it?

One last word before we part to stuff shrimp in our mouths. This is best eaten straight out of the oven when the crispiness is at it’s maximum. They’re delicious either way, but if you’re looking for the AHHHH YUM experience, eat em’ when they’re hot and fresh.

No-Bake Cookie Dough Energy Bites

June 18, 2014 by Christine Skari

You know those nights where you just want to eat cookie dough for dinner? Yup, me… every single night. I have no shame in admitting that there were multiple times during the year where I would whip up a batch of my Healthier Dark Chocolate Walnut Cookies and not even bother to turn the oven on. Oops… how’d that happen?!

There’s just something so comforting about eating batter straight out of the mixing bowl. It doesn’t matter if it’s brownie batter, cheesecake filling, or lemon bars. I can’t wait to get most of it into a pan so I can plop down in front of the tv or my laptop (good habits here, I know) with a spoon and scrape down the sides. I always end up making myself so gloriously sick off of the dough that when the final product is actually done, I’m completely sugared out. No complaints from this girl 😉 .

Mañana just happens to be my birthday and I plan on making a biiiiggg batch of cookie dough to celebrate. And, as birthdays go, I’m going to be indulging in lots of other delicious eats this entire week including an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ dinner on Friday, a fun night out with a big group of friends tomorrow, and most likely a family dinner when the pops gets back from a business trip. With all that good food around, I wouldn’t say no to lightening up a dish or two without compromising flavor.

Hence, these No-Bake Cookie Dough Energy Bites were born!

They’re everything I could want in cute mini ball form and are loaded up with morsels of walnuts and mini chocolate chips in every bite. Not only that, but the base is completely made of oats and wheat bran, making these little energy bites super filling and full of fiber. And almond butter! My newfound love that happens to cost $10+ dollars at other grocery stores, but I found for cheap at good ol’ Trader Joe’s. Sending that store big hugs right now <3.

Feel free to eat these babies straight out of the bowl or roll them into portable little bites to give you that extra boost you need to fuel you through your day!