Baked Paprika Chicken with Golden Veggie Medley

Hey Cool Pinks,

As the holidays are approaching, you may want to try something a little different when it comes to the meals you prepare this season. Since I've been inspired by color, I thought this red and gold dinner would be particularly festive. Here's how you make baked paprika chicken with a golden veggie medley :)

For the chicken, you'll need:

-Slightly pounded chicken breast (one for each person you're feeding)
-1/4 cup of flour (all-purpose works fine, but you can also use almond or rice flour)
-1 beaten egg
- 2 tablespoons of milk (or buttermilk if you want a slightly tangier taste. Coconut milk works too if you're going for more of a Moroccan flavor ;))
-1/2 teaspoon sea salt
-2 or 3 teaspoons paprika (you can used smoked paprika for an especially savory taste)
-1/2 teaspoon black pepper (i throw in a few dashes of white pepper in there too)
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan (optional)
-butter or olive oil (optional)

-Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a pan with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray. (Try to find some spray that doesn't have propellant in it. I don't want to encourage you guys using BUG SPRAY in your food! Ok, my rant is over).

-Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the milk and egg. Dip the chicken breasts in the egg, then cover each chicken breast in the flour mixture. Pour a little melted butter or olive oil over the chicken. 

-Bake for about an hour :)

While the chicken is cooking, here's how to make the golden veggie medley. Sorry guys, I totally didn't measure this one, just taste it as you go ;) You'll need:

1 pack cherry golden tomatoes (red cherry tomatoes work, too)
3 yellow squash
1 pack organic frozen corn
butter
olive oil
minced garlic
chopped Vidalia onion
white pepper
sea salt
onion powder
garlic powder
cumin
heavy cream (just a tad)
queso fresco
fresh rosemary sprigs


-Chop up all your veggies. Put a saucepan on medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. Sprinkle all the seasonings except for the rosemary in and turn the pan down just a little. Add the vegetables, including the onion and garlic. Pour in the heavy cream and fold the vegetables into the cream. Turn the pan back up a little and add the queso fresco and rosemary sprigs. Cover the veggies for about 10 minutes; you'll know they're ready when the squash is tender ;)

Trust me, your family is going to love this one, and you may even trick some people into eating veggies ;) Enjoy!

Lasagna with Turkey Ragu and Fresh Herbs

Pleasant evening Cool Pinks,

I've been submitting lots of recipes to blogs and websites lately, and I must say my friends have been given me great recipe ideas to come up with :)

As the fall season gets into full swing, hearty, savory meals are the way to go. So, at the request of my friend Ayanna, here's my version of lasagna with turkey ragu and fresh herbs :)

For this recipe, you'll need:

Whole grain lasagna noodles (gluten free noodles work great too)

8-12 large Roma tomatoes
4 golden tomatoes
Chopped sun-dried tomatoes
Olive oil
all-natural, hormone free ground turkey (of soy-based meat substitute)
Red wine
Portabello mushrooms
Yellow and purple onions
1 Poblano pepper  (trust me on this lol)
Heavy cream (or a non-dairy version like Tofutti)
White pepper
Black pepper
Garlic salt
Onion powder
sea salt
Chopped fresh herbs
Organic whole leaf spinach
Organic mozzarella
Shredded white cheddar
Shredded Monterey jack cheese

Now that I'm sure you see how delicious this is going to be based on the ingredient list, let's start preparing the meal, shall we?

-Boil the noodles with water, olive oil and a little white pepper
-While the noodles are boiling, marinate the ground turkey in a combination of olive oil, chopped herbs, red wine and seasonings. Put the meat aside so the flavors can set in.
-Set the oven to broil and brush the whole tomatoes (not the fire-roasted tomatoes) the Poblano peppers and the mushrooms with olive oil and a little sea salt. Put the veggies on a cookie sheet and broil them for about five minutes until the outside skin is charred. This gives them a roasted flavor that tastes great with turkey :)
-Take the veggies from the oven, peel off the deeply charred parts and roughly chop the veggies.
-Place a saucepan on medium heat and add olive oil. Add the marinated ground turkey and chopped fire-roasted tomatoes and stir to evenly cook the meat.
-Strain the noodles. They're ready by now.
-Add the chopped veggies to the ground turkey, except for one Roma tomato and one golden tomato. Puree these two tomatoes in a blender or food processor with the heavy cream or Tofutti to create a sauce. About 3 tablespoons of cream should do the trick.
-Do a little kitchen dance while the tomatoes are blending because you know this lasagna is about to be SO GOOD.
-Add the pureed tomatoes to the meat and veggies. Stir the mixture and give it a little taste. Add any of the seasonings above (including the red wine) to the sauce if you think it needs more flavor. If you want to make the sauce...saucier, add a small can of tomato paste to the ground turkey.
-Oil a large pan and add your first layer of noodles.
-Add a few spoonfuls of the ground meat and sauce on top of the noodles, followed by slices of mozzarella, shredded cheese and a layer of spinach. It looks so fancy and you're gonna be impressed and you're probably gonna put some of the sauce on a spinach leaf and taste it. It's OK. It happens.
-Keep adding layers. At the top, add one more thin layer of sauce and cheese, and top with fresh herbs
-Cook at 375F for 45 minutes. For the first 20 minutes, cover the lasagna with foil.
-Set the table and get ready to gain 2 pounds.


-And there you have it! This recipe is really tasty, pretty healthy, and it's sure to be a hit. I've made the vegetarian version for non-vegetarian family and friends, and it's just as good. Enjoy!

Thai BBQ Stirfry

Happy 4th of July Cool Pinks!!

Since today is officially known as National BBQ Day, I played around with a stirfry recipe yesterday that came out GREAT, and will go well with your 4th of July meal. This recipe is vegetarian, but you can add spicy chicken sausage if you want ;) Here's how you make Thai BBQ Stirfy. Trust me, you'll thank me later ;)

You need:

Yellow rice
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Red onions
Garlic
Mushrooms
Basil
Broccoli
Spinach
Olive oil
Chili flakes
Extra firm tofu or spicy chicken sausage
Sharp cheddar cheese (or Daiya vegan cheese)
Green onions

-Marinate the tofu in olive oil and all the seasonings listed above, along with your favorite BBQ sauce and coconut milk. You can do this the night before you make the stirfry, or while you're putting together the other parts of the recipe. The longer you can marinate the tofu, the better.  If you're using chicken sausage, douse the sausage with BBQ sauce and fresh basil, and let it sit until you're ready to add the meat to the skillet.

-Cook the yellow rice. If you want to make your own yellow rice, don't be intimidated. Just add vegetable stock, Goya Adobo and saffron the water when you make white rice, and Voila! yellow rice :)

-Put olive oil in a skillet and turn it on medium heat. Add the vegetables to the skillet. Pour in the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, then add all the seasonings. Pour the tofu or sausage into the skillet  (you can use both "meat" sources if you want lol), and stir everything together while it cooks for a few minutes.

-Add the yellow rice to the veggie and meat mixture and let it cook for about two minutes.

-Put the stirfry on a plate and add sharp cheddar and green onions to the top. It's Thai food, It's barbecue. It's DELICIOUS.

Stay Cool. Stay Pink. Stay Fab :) Happy 4th of July!

Breakfast Quesadilla Recipe

Hey Cool Pinks,

Ok, so yesterday, I made a quesadilla for breakfast. It was delicious. I had some tortillas and veggies left over from a delicious weekend of tacos, so I decided to make a healthy morning meal. These are simple, and a welcome change from standard breakfasts like oatmeal and toast (blah.) Here's the "recipe":

-Get the really soft corn tortillas from the local grocery store (most brands are gluten free :))
-Chop up some purple onion, green onion, garlic, tomatoes, black olives and jalapenos
-Mash handful of black beans to make them easier to spread. Add cumin, sea salt, chili powder and ground pepper to the beans.
-Warm a little coconut oil in a skillet.
-Spread the beans on the tortillas, add the chopped veggies, and add your favorite vegan cheese (or real cheese if you're not vegan lol)
-Cook the two tortillas in the skillet the way you would a grilled cheese sandwich.

So tasty! Eat the quesadilla with a side of fresh fruit--I recommend sweet mangoes with black pepper. Enjoy :)

Natural Allergy Cures

Hey Cool Pinks,

Sorry for the delay in getting this post to you--I've been busy sneezing my nose off :/ But luckily, I found some relief that we can all take advantage of this wonderfully warm allergy season--castor oil and baking soda!!! Here's how you use it:

• Pour a drop of castor oil into the palm of your hand
• Sprinkle some baking soda over the castor oil
• Stir the ingredients together with your finger to form a paste
• Put the paste on your fingertips and massage the top of your nose and sinus cavity for about 1 minute (get some massage in under your eyes too--it's a great exfoliator ;) )
• Put a little of the mixture on the inside of your nostrils, then use a little of the nasal spray that works best for you (Perrigo and Afrin work really for me)

This remedy works for at least 2 hours at a time if you have severe allergies, and 4-5 hours at a time if you're allergies only flare up around certain plants or pollen types.

Here are a few more supplements/tips for keeping allergy season sneeze-free:

• Put a little lemon balm oil in your nasal spray. It makes the spray smell a lot better, keeps you from getting watery eyes and boosts your immune system.
• Drink chamomile tea with ground ginger at night and lots of orange blossom honey before going to bed at night. These ingredients reduce the histamine response in your body and take away that 'wired' feeling you get when you're hopped up on allergy pills. 
• Take cat's claw (it's at GNC) at least three times a day with a meal or snack. It's a sneeze-buster and takes away the swelling in your nose and eyes during allergy season

Scribble and Stain: The Mini Poetry Book Is Here!!!

Hey Cool Pinks,

So, I write. A lot. And I write a lot of things. Amongst the blog posts and fashion advice and cookbooks, I still have so much poetry to write. Which is why the mini poetry book is now available for purchase!!!

Scribble and Stain, a condensed version of poetry that has made ME think (and rethink) the purpose for my pen is available now on the blog. Many of the poems in this short book were actually written for people, which gives insight into the connection between poetry and the way a writer views the world.

Check it out. Stay cook--and pink :)

Cool Pink Recipes: Mexican White Rice

So, it's been a while since I've posted a tasty recipe, so here's a simple side dish you can make tonight! It's Mexican white rice, and it's the perfect side dish for enchiladas or tacos. This is a go-to side dish that your whole family will love, and it's an interesting take on plain rice. Stay cool (and pink) and make this dish tonight :)

For this recipe, you'll need:

2 cups rice

2 ½ cups water

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped tomatillos

½ chopped chives

1 cup chopped red and green peppers

Salt, pepper chili powder and cumin, to taste

1.      Boil water and cook rice in a pot per box instructions.

2.      In a separate saucepan, melt the butter and olive oil.

3.      Add the onions and tomatillos to the saucepan and cook until the onions are slightly clear.

4.      Add chives to the onion and tomatillo mixture, along with chopped peppers. Save a handful of chives to garnish the rice after cooking.

5.      Stir the rice into the saucepan with the cooked vegetables, spoonful by spoonful.

6.      Add seasonings to taste and add a little more olive oil if necessary to keep the rice from sticking.

7.      Take the rice from the saucepan to a serving dish and sprinkle chopped chives on top before serving.