Island Grilled Chicken

Maui Sunset #5 at The Four Seasons Resort Wailea

7/07/13: To be quite honest, I have absolutely no idea what I was doing the day that I decided to make Island Grilled Chicken. I mean, really, that was about two months ago and, let’s be honest, sometimes recipes and ideas all start to blend together at some point.

Maui Sunset #1 at Kamaole Beach across the street (South Kihei Rd) from our hotel

At any rate, I figure I would take this opportunity to tell you about my most memorable island adventure: Maui, Hawaii. As I’ve mentioned before, my college roommate, Erin, asked me to be a bridesmaid in her Maui wedding. Of course, I was thrilled, and it ended up being the most beautiful place I have ever been. I asked myself repeatedly throughout the trip (YouTube’s After the Dentist style), “Is this real life?”

Maui Sunset #2, Happy Hour on the Bensons' lanai at mana Kai Maui Resort

Maui Sunset #2, Happy Hour on the Bensons' lanai at mana Kai Maui Resort

And the sunsets. Oh. My. Gosh. The sunsets. I have never- not at the lake, not at the river, not in Alaska, not on either coast, not in Florida or Mexico- never EVER seen a sunset like a Maui sunset. Holy. Moly.  They were absolutely breath-taking.

Maui Sunset #3 at Erin & Alex's Rehearsal Dinner at the
Plantation House Restaurant at the Plantation Golf Course

Maui Sunset #3 at Erin & Alex's Rehearsal Dinner at the
Plantation House Restaurant at the Plantation Golf Course

We watched the sunsets every night that we were there- from the beach, from a luau, from the Kapalua golf course, from Erin’s family’s hotel room- but the last sunset of the trip had to have been the most spectacular. Everyone had recommended that we try to get to the Four Seasons for happy hour to watch the sunset, and I would give anything to be able to do that just once a year for the rest of my life. We had fun, fruity drinks on the patio and watched the most blazingly beautiful sunset I have ever seen in my whole life. As you can see by the pictures, it completely changed color schemes and phases numerous times in the short time it was setting. We were in awe.

Maui Sunset #4 at Erin & Alex's wedding reception
The Grand Luau at Honua'ula

Maui Sunset #4 at Erin & Alex's wedding reception
The Grand Luau at Honua'ula

I always think of Granny when the sunsets. For more on that, read my story for Strawberry Shortcake. She loved sunsets, and I am sure that I inherited my love for the blazing orange beauty from her.  While it makes me sad to think of her never getting to see a Maui sunset, I had no doubt she was watching right alongside of Andy and me on the Four Seasons patio- and knowing Granny, she probably had her own fruity drink in hand, too.

Maui Sunset #5, Four Seasons Resort Wailea

Island Grilled Chicken

Pinterest.com

Servings: 2; WW PointsPlus Value: 5

Spaghetti Squash & Island Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1-2 lemons)
• 1 ½ tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 chicken breasts

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Marinate chicken for at least 1 hour, up to overnight
3. Grill chicken over medium heat, appr 15-25 mins depending on thickness

Keep on cookin'!

-Katherine

Man-Pleasing Chicken

Andy's new "Man Room"

After having dated for two years, Andy and I took the plunge in 2012 and moved in together.  In addition to saving money (from having two places), saving gas (from driving back and forth to spend time at each others' places), and time, we felt we were ready to take the next step in our relationship.  After my throat/sinus surgeries in February of 2012, Andy had practically been living at my house anyway, so why not make it "our" house?

Andy's new Man Room- I prefer to call it the "Sports Room"

Living with a boy takes some time to adjust.  When my friend, Keri, married her husband, Bradley, she had a "Things Every Bride Needs" shower.  I wrote Keri a note that said I didn't know what every bride needed, but I had learned a thing or two about what every woman living with a man needed.

1. Febreeze Room Deodorizer: cause living with a boy can be stinky.
2. Positive Affirmations (a dish towel from Francesa's that says, "When I count my blessings, I count you twice"): cause sometimes we girls forget to look on the bright side of things.
3. Wine Opener: cause nothing is more frustrating than not having one when you really need want a glass of wine.

Andy's Sports Room

We moved Andy in the Summer of 2012.  It was a muggy summer day, but we were able to get most of Andy's things over in a day or so.  He sold a lot of the big furniture items on Craig's List or to friends, so there wasn't a ton to move.  Since I have been cooking for two for a while now, I figured "Man Pleasing Chicken" was a good place to start for the new man in my home.  I saw the recipe on Pinterest, and it sounded like an interesting title, so I gave it a go.  It was really juice & moist, and the rosemary was picked from from our garden.

Andy's Sports Room

I'm happy to report that Andy and I have been successful roommates for a few months now.  I was quick to hang up his super cool Texas map in the living room and put a "J" on the wall in replace of my "K"s.  Andy wanted to turn the front office room into a "man room," which I agreed to on two conditions: 1) We would call it the "sports room" and not "man cave" and 2) I could turn the closet in said "sports room" into a craft closet.  Fine by Andy- that just means less glitter & wreath bobbles laying around without a place to be stored. 

My craft closet in the sports room

As it turns out, living together is pretty great.  He makes fabulous baked potatoes to go with my Katherine in the Kitchen meals, and he doesn't mind sweeping or doing yard work.  I think I'll keep him around ;-)

Man-Pleasing Chicken

Servings: 2

Man-Pleasing Chicken and Rosemary Red Potatoes

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary (I have PLENTY if you want some!)

1. Put the chicken thighs into the oven, and let them bake for 40 minutes at 450° 
2. Baste the tops of the chicken with more sauce half way through. 
3. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. 
4. Plate the chicken, making sure to spoon some extra sauce over the top. 
5. Sprinkle some fresh rosemary on top.

Keep on cookin'!

-Katherine

Birthday Cake Popcorn

The wreath I made for Charleigh Marie's nursery

My friends, Natalie and Thomas, who I have mentioned many times in previous blog entries, were expecting a baby girl, Charleigh Marie, on May 4, 2012.  I offered to help Natalie's sister, Lauren, throw a baby shower.  Lauren and Natalie's friend, Kara, had most of the shower covered, so she assigned me to party favors.  After seeing numerous cute baby shower posts on Pinterest for "_____ is about to pop!" pop-themed parties, we decided to go with that.  I had my friend, Michelle, make up some cute labels for both the party favors and the champagne bottles.  Michelle's labels for the champagne said, "Natalie is about to pop!" and the labels for the party favors said, "Thanks for popping by!"

"Thanks for POPPING by!"

I looked up recipes for creative popcorn, but I wasn't really pleased with any one in particular.  Again, in true Katherine in the Kitchen style, I took a recipe, and I made it my own.  "Birthday Cake Popcorn" was basically candied popcorn with an assortment of sprinkles mixed into it, but for Natalie's shower, I chose pink sprinkles for a baby girl.  The popcorn was sweet from the candy coating and salty and crunchy from the popcorn- one of those "M&M's and popcorn" or "fries dipped in milkshake" kind of tastes- you don't know why the contrasting flavors taste so good- they just do.

Itty bitty Charleigh!

Natalie and Thomas' Benbrook home was beautifully decorated for the shower, complete with modern decor and delicious food.  Natalie chose to have her guests bring their gifts unopened, so we could all see each of the presents- from the itty bitty teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini to the wreath I made with a large "C" for Charleigh.

Welcome, Charleigh Marie! Harper's Bluebonnet Bakery Cake

I made this popcorn again for a staff meeting at work, but the meeting was cancelled due to inclement weather.  Good thing, too, because there was a grand total of seven tornadoes that touched down in the metroplex that night.  I am the Birthday Coordinator for the unit, so I was bringing the March birthday cards and birthday treats to the meeting.  I took my ginormous bag of Birthday Cake Popcorn to my Intake and Inpatient co-workers, despite the weather, because God knows that I didn't want to be hunkered down in "the room in the most central area of my house with no windows" with a hugmongous bag of sugary goodness. Everyone absolutely loved it! I was asked for the recipe by six people, and my co-worker, Meredith, even claimed to have dreamt about it the next night.  That may be the best compliment that I've ever gotten about my food!

Andy and Charleigh

Making this stuff is MESSY.  You get it all over your hands, but it's not like I was complaining to have to lick the candy coating off of my fingers (when I was done of course!)  Because the coating gets so thick, you can't really drizzle it on the popcorn, so you have to just stick your hands in it, pick up some of the popcorn, and toss the popcorn with the coating.  Despite being super easy, like I said it is super messy, but would definitely be fun to make with kiddos.

Natalie is about to Pop party favors

So instead of just zapping a bag of popcorn in the microwave next time and dumping in a bag of M&Ms, try Birthday Cake Popcorn.  Just making it is deliciously fun, and it's a yummy snack to take to any celebration!

Birthday Cake Popcorn

Pinterest.com/Kate Strickland

Servings: 30

Birthday Cake Popcorn

 

• 3 bags un-buttered/un-salted popcorn
• 1 c vanilla candy wafers (available at Michael’s/Hobby Lobby in the cake decorating section)
• 1 c vanilla cake mix (just the powder- don’t mix up the mix)
• Small sugar sprinkles

1.       Pop popcorn in the microwave & allow to cool
2.       Melt wafers (about 1 min in microwave)
3.       Add cake mix to melted wafers & stir
4.       Melt wafers/cake mix another 10 secs
5.       Toss wafers/cake mix mixture with popcorn so popcorn has the sticky mixture all over it
6.       Sprinkle on sprinkles (the smaller sugar sprinkles work/stick best)
7.       Allow to dry

Keep on cookin’!

-Katherine

S'Mores Stuffed Cookies

Jennifer and me camping at PK in 2010

My love for camping began in elementary school, when I was a member of both Camp Fire and Indian Princesses.  Our troop and tribe would go on camp outs at Camp El Tesoro and Camp Carter with our moms and dads.  I think my love for s'mores started on one of these many father-daughter or mom-and-me camping trips.

Andy and me camping at PK in 2010

In the words of Ham from the iconic 1993 movie, The Sandlot, "First you take the graham, you stick the chocolate on the graham.  Then you roast the 'mallow.  When the 'mallow's flaming... you stick it on the chocolate.  Then cover with the other end.  Then you scarf.  Kind of messy, but good!"  "Good" doesn't do s'mores justice.  They're the perfect combination of gooey, crunchy, messy amazingness without which no camping trip is complete.

Michael and me camping at PK in 2008

The last few times I have been camping, it has been to the same spot out at Lake Possum Kingdom by our friend, Brian's, lakehouse.  We load up the trucks with tents, sleeping bags, coolers, hot dogs, and of course, s'mores stuff, and head out to the lake for a night of star gazing, beer drinking, and cool weather cuddling fun.  The timing for camping in Texas is a bit of an art.  You can't go when it is too hot or you will be sweating in your sleep all night.  You can't go when it is too cold or you will have to many layers on to function.  The perfect camping weather is about 60-65 degrees without a cloud in the sky- neither of which is frequent in Texas.

Chelsea and me camping at PK in 2009

Recently, I found a recipe on Pinterest (duh, are you surprised?) for s'mores stuffed cookies.  Say what?!  A s'more INSIDE of a cookie.  Now that's inventive.  Similar to the layered Reese's Brownie Bars and Oreo Cookie Dough Brownies, S'Mores Stuffed Cookies definitely fall into the category of "Is This Real Life?" kind of desserts.  They're super easy to make and much less messy than a traditional s'more.  These insanely sweet treats will leave you (like Smalls in the Sandlot) certainly wanting "s'more."  "Some more of what? I haven't had anything yet, so how can I have some more of nothing?"  "You're killing me, Smalls! These are s'mores stuff!"

Andy and me camping in 2010

S'Mores Stuffed Cookies

S'Mores Stuffed Cookie, photo props to my LPC-S, Phil

• 1 tub Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie dough
• 1 package marshmallows
• 5 Hershey's milk chocolate bars
• 12 graham cracker pieces

1. Prep a 9x13 pan by either coating it in non-stick cooking spray or with a layer of parchment paper
2.  Spread 1/2 of the tub of cookie dough in the bottom of the pan
3. Layer 1 layer of graham crackers atop the dough
4. Layer 1 layer of the Hershey's chocolate bars atop the graham crackers
5. Cut the marshmallows in 1/2 to make one side flat.  Layer a layer of marshmallows atop the chocolate bars.
6. Place second half of the graham crackers in a layer atop the marshmallows
7. Spread the second half of the cookie dough atop the graham crackers
8. Bake at 350° for appr. 30 min

Keep on cooking'!

-Katherine

OMG Chicken

Me, Keri, Kate, Chaney, and Sam- 4 of my 21 Year Old friends
at lunch at Uncle Julio's

Do you ever have one of those weeks where it seems like everything that happens is too good to be true, and you find yourself asking, "Is this real life?"  My 2012 birthday week was one of those weeks.  All of my oldest girl friends, my "21 Year Girls" as I call them, happen to be in town from Houston, Austin, Colorado, California, and La Vernia.  All of my best friends had RSVP'ed "yes" to my birthday weekend at the lake.  I got to see my best college friend the weekend before because it was her bachelorette party.  It was, indubitably, the best week ever.  And yes, I mean ever.  I got to see every single one of my favorite people in the world that week, and it was my birthday, too!


Keri, me, Sam, and Kate
swimming at Sam's parents' house, high school style!

So, continuing with the perfection that was birthday week, I add in now quick and easy meals.  Part of the beauty of dishes that marinate overnight is that you have more free time the day on which you're planning to serve.  This is especially helpful for weeks like birthday week when all I wanted to do was socialize and have fun.  For example- OMG Chicken.  I found this recipe on Pinterest, only to discover that it is really from Hellmann's Mayonnaise.  Seeing as mayonnaise is just fat in a jar, I decided to figure out a way to healthify the recipe.


Whitney, me, Sam, Frances, Kate, and Keri
5 of my 21 Year Old Friends
at the lake for my birthday weekend

 I replaced the mayo with fat-free plain Greek yogurt, and I replaced the fatty Parmesan cheese with reduced-fat parmesan.  Plopped it in the pan, covered it, and dinner was rarin' to go for the next night.  All that was left to do was turn on the oven and bake.

Andy and me watching the sunset at the lake on my birthday weekend

Seeing that I had some free time, and this is my birthday week, I decided to take Ulta up on their offer for a free birthday brow wax.  (Yeah, PS, Ulta will give anyone a free eyebrow wax on their birthday- fun fact!)  I kept looking down at my toes, thinking of my chipping nail polish and how heinous that was going to be at my lake birthday party this weekend when my phone rang.  It was my mom, and she was wondering when we had appointments for our nails because she really needed a manicure before my godsisters' debutante party on Friday.  Great minds think alike.  "Well," I said, "I was just noticing how much my toesies need some TLC- wanna meet me up by Tom Thumb and get a birthday pedicure?"  As I've mentioned before, my dad's birthday is June 9, mine is June 10, and my mom's is June 11, so birthday week has always been a family tradition.

Whitney and me with Fernando, a birthday cake topping tradition
at the lake

I offered to pay for her manicure, and she offered to pay for my pedicure.  We had a little glass of wine and chatted it up, while she oo'ed and ahh'ed at her first shellack manicure.  "You mean to tell me that this will last more than one day?!"  She was amazed.  Truth be told, it's the only kind of polish that ever lasts on me, too.  Afterwards, we strolled on over to Charming Charlie where I found a $30 dress marked down to $19.  Even better, at the cash register? It rang up as only $10!  Happy birthday to me!  The best part of our afternoon girlie time was that I wasn't stressed out about getting home to make dinner.  I walked in the door, preheated the oven, and the OMG Chicken was on it's way.  I made Garlic Lime Asparagus, too, but that takes very little work, and was easy-peasy.  Thank you for both my pedicure, and a fun girls' day for birthday week, momma!  I love you more!


Andy and me at Bonnell's for my birthday dinner

 After our mother-daughter nail time, Birthday Week was officially rolling.  Andy and I had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Bonnell's, where we indulged in Elk Mini Tacos, Texas Shrimp and Grits, Pepper-Crusted Buffalo, and kangaroo.  Then came birthday weekend, which was kicked off with lunch at Uncle Julio's with 4 of my oldest girlfriends.  After that, we all went to our friend, Samantha's, house, to go swimming.  Later that night, we headed out to the lake for a weekend full of birthday fun in the sun.


OMG Chicken
Hellmann's Mayonnaise, altered & healthified by Kate Strickland
Servings: 4; Weight Watchers PointsPlus Value: 7


OMG Chicken, Texas Toast Light, and Garlic Lime Asparagus

• 1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup reduced fat Parmesan cheese
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast
• 4 teaspoons Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs (or, place 1/2 c croutons in a ziplock bag. Add 1 tsp Italian Seasoning. Roll over bag with a rolling pin until finely crushed)

1. Place yogurt and cheese in a sall bowl and mix.
2. Lay chicken breasts on baking sheet (I line my baking sheet with parchment paper to make clean up easy)
3. Rub yogurt mixture evenly all over each chicken breast.
4. Marinate, covered, overnight for best results, but at least 2 hrs.
5. Evenly sprinkle bread crumbs atop each.
6. Bake for 25 min at 425.

Keep on cookin'!
-Katherine

Reese's Brownie Bars

This one sums it up the best.

Pinterest is really great for... well... everything.  Primary, it is really great for every dream wedding/recipe/workout/home in the world all combined into one.  And it's addicting.  "It's 11:30 on a work night, why am I pinning chocolate brownie cookie dough brownie batter sprinkled cupcake cookies?!"  Yeah- it's a cook's new, technologically savvy, best friend.  (Also, "cook" can be replaced with wedding planner/gym rat/woman/person/human- whatever).  Point being, if you like longing to fill your home with items you'll never be able to afford, workouts you'll never actually have time to do, and more recipes than the 365 days in a year will allow, go ahead and log on.  And then follow my pinboards: kstrickland.

and drool over amazingly delicious mouth-watering yumminess.

I have been working in our behavior health intake department since about March, and each time it is someone's birthday, we celebrate.  Cause, let's be honest, who needs a reason to take an hour out of your work day to stuff your face and fill your belly?  Over on the inpatient unit we have a bajillion staff members, so we just celebrate once per month, but the intake office gives everyone their own day to shine.  We print off signs of each others' favorite bands and themes and plaster them all over the (teeny tiny) office, we sing "Happy Birthday," we eat, and we exchange recipes.  At a co-worker's going away party last week, one of the only two male staff members was talking with a few of the staff ladies and myself.  We were all saying, "I made (this)" or "I made (that)"- Brad chimed in and said with a clever chuckle, "I made the money to buy those cookies over there!"  

Last month, it was two of our staff members, Stephanie & Cheryl's, birthdays.  We had a little fiesta that was seriously delicious down to the last tortilla chip crumb.  I immediately knew I wanted to bring something from Pinterest, so I started going through my "KITK Sugar, Aw Honey Honey" board.  Yeah, that's the name of it- don't be jealous that I'm wicked-creative.

For my monthly dinner club, I had made this same dessert but replaced the Reese's with Oreo cookies.  I gotta say- the original recipe was good, but this one was to die for.  My peers were raving, and the whole pan was gone in an hour.  Good thing I pre-cut Andy's take-home piece before they were devoured!  Now you may have read  my post on healthy substitutions and ways to lighten up meals... go ahead and print that off, put it in your recipe box, and don't think about it again until you've made these and relished in their sweet sugary amazingness.  There is NOTHING healthy about Reese's Brownie Bars, but I can assure you that they added enough sugar to my co-worker candy girls' birthdays.  Forget birthday cake- Pinterest would find that boring.  Who wouldn't want three rich, gooey, chocolatey desserts in one?!!

This totally happened to me today with the first quote on this post...
I was super stressed when I couldn't find it! Thank goodness for Google!

Reese's Brownie Bars
Pinterest.com

Ahhhh deliciousness doesn't even begin to describe these

• 1 tub Nestlé Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (or make your own, but this is just as easy), room temperature
• 1 package brownie mix
• 10 packages of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Reese's Brownie Bars, pre-baking

1. Spread a piece of parchment paper in a 9x13 baking dish
2. Spread cookie dough in bottom of dish
3. Even place a layer of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups atop the cookie dough
4. Prepare brownie batter as indicated on box but do not bake
5. Pour brownie batter atop cookie dough/Reese's cups
6. Cover with foil
7. Bake at 350 for 30 mins
8. Uncover and continue baking for another 20 mins

Layers and layers of chocolatey amazingness

And a close up for your mouth-watering pleasure

Keep on cookin'!

-Katherine

Oreo Cookie Dough Brownies

It is a commonly known fact that Andy and I met through a mutual friend, Michael, while they were playing kickball together in the spring of 2010.  (Read about our first date here).  Every Thursday night for the next year and a half, you could find Andy on the kickball field in one of his many WAKA colorful kickball t-shirts .  Every Thursday night you could find me on the sideline, cheering both him and his team on.  Last season, everyone was a little burned out on kickball, and most of our friends dropped their Thursday night tradition.

Annalise, Jennifer, me, and Elise (all dinner club gals!)
at Ryan & Ashley's Wedding

In lieu of kickball, our friend, Elise (read about her and her husband, Sean's, wedding here), suggested we get a group together for a monthly dinner club.  How grown up of us! We came up with a start date and a plan.  Each week, whoever is hosting the dinner club also prepares dinner for the group.  The list of people interested who could attend regularly included me, Andy, Jennifer, Annalise, Michael, Ashley, Ryan, Leo, Katie, Sean, & Elise.  We also periodically have had Devin, Mallory, Holly, and Jason join us.  The first week, we met at Elise & Sean's, where we had Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork- hopefully Sean will send that recipe to me soon!  Everyone had fun catching up, and it was nice to be in the air conditioner instead of sweating it out on the fields of Z Boaz Park.

Ashley & Me at Beerfest on So7th

The next month was March, and we had dinner club at my little sis, Jennifer, and her roommate, Annalise's, house.  This dinner club was right after my throat & sinus surgery (the details of which you are sure to be blessed with in a future post), so I wasn't really able to truly enjoy the Italian spread, but the main dish was chicken lasagna, and it looked and smelled amazing!  I was able to suck on 1/8th of a lasagna noodle, but that was about it.  I'll have to convince Jennifer to make that meal for me again sometime! (Or, you could be a guest post on the blog- hint, hint!)

Katie & Leo at their engagement party at Mira Vista Country Club

The next week was my week, and I made Candied Almond Salad with Baked Ziti.  For dessert, I made a Pinterest recipe of Oreo Cookie Dough Brownies.  Andy and I cleared out the living room to make way for two tables with chairs to set up for the spread while the cookies' sugary bliss wafted through my house.  They turned out absolutely decadent- a layer of cookie dough, a layer of Oreo's, and a layer of brownies... pass the milk.  This oreo one was more of a cookie consistency than when I made it again later for a co-worker's birthday (post to come next).  The ones layered with Reese's instead of Oreo's are more of a brownie/fudge-like texture and taste, versus the cookie/cake bar taste of this one.  But don't get me wrong- we still finished the pan without a problem!

Me and Michael at a TCU game

Oreo Cookie Dough Brownies
Pinterest.com

• 1 tub Nestlé Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (or make your own, but this is just as easy), room temperature
• 1 package brownie mix
• 1 package oreos

1. Spread a piece of parchment paper in a 9x13 baking dish
2. Spread cookie dough in bottom of dish
3. Even place a layer of Oreo cookies atop the cookie dough
4. Prepare brownie batter as indicated on box but do not bake
5. Pour brownie batter atop cookie dough/Oreos
6. Cover with foil
7. Bake at 350 for 30 mins
8. Uncover and continue baking for another 20 mins

Keep on cookin'!
-Katherine