Grilled Tilapia and Carrots

Happy Thursday!

I've been meaning to try making my own grilled carrots for some time.

I always buy a bag use it for salads etc then end up having to throw the rest away because they go bad. Today I decided to use them with my fish dish before that happened.

Ingredients:

-Tilapia fish

-bag of baby carrots

-olive oil

-salt

-pepper (optional)

-parsley flakes

Season Tilapia to your liking this time I just sprinkled some lemon pepper and orange Sazon Accent. Set aside. Slice carrots in half on the long side. In a bowl add 3 tbsp of olive oil, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/4 of pepper if you like drop in the carrots mix and set aside. 

Begin to heat your toaster on the bake setting, place aluminum foil on bake sheet spread the carrots on top. Bake for 20 minutes or tender to taste. When the carrots were half way done I set my George Foreman grill for 12 minutes (I like my fish with a bit of color).

When they were both done I served with some Avocado on the side and a drizzle of honey on my carrots for added flavor.
I loved it! Quick and easy both prep and clean up. Healthy and fun.

Enjoy!
Always stress free xo.

I am Obsessed with Succulent Plants & any other plant that survives Apartment living

Happy Thursday!

It seems like I haven't shared a treat with you in a minute but though this share is not edible it certainly can be useful if like me you love plant life but have issues keeping them alive and especially in small spaces such as an apartment.

Since my childhood I have loved plants, my mother was a huge plant lover and grower as well. Our apartments always had plants hanging somewhere.

When I moved out on my own I continued the "tradition" lol and haven't stopped since. They say plants in your home have many benefits in some Latin homes you will here that they soak up bad juju if someone comes in your home with so called "evil eye". 

Hey if that's true I am just fine.

I have enough plants to cover all bases.

So this past summer wasn't any different when I incorporated Succulent plants in my home.

I started with an Aloe Vera plant then Mother in Law plant. I added a Black Flower plant and some Air plants.

I ended my craze with an Amazon purchase of 25 variety pack of cactus & succulent starter plants.

I took my Amazon purchase and rooted them which is when you take leaves from your plants and make more plants from them. You use Rooting powder which you can purchase at Home Depot and Cactus soil.

There are tons of sites and You Tube videos dedicated to this. Search find what works for you and have fun!!!

I also got into making my own Terrariums. I purchased the bowls at Petlands Discount for about $6/8 bucks each depending on the size. The smaller glasses are candle holders I purchased for 99cents each at a Dollar store.

The stones and terra cotta dishes (which I painted with chalk paint) I bought at Micheal's on sale, the drop glass Air plant holders and Air plant food are from Amazon on sale. 

Miracle grow which I purchased at Home Depot was for use on monthly waterings.

So here is my picture share of my babies and not so babies! They did fantastic over the summer now they don't require as much water but still plenty of love and light. I plan on rooting some more but will wait till after the winter. I did learn a new word in my planting sessions Propagation.

Which is what I spoke of earlier when I took leaves off the plants and replanted with Root powder.

I am currently Propagating my Black Flower plant. I found a great how to video online and tried it. 

These plants aren't really that cheap so I wanted to try and make more from one I had and guess what? Its working!!! Here is the picture share to prove it. You can see roots growing from the original plant and little florets from the stem cuttings!!!

Feel free to share some of your own tips and tricks. Contact me if you have any questions I will be glad to share all I know!

Always stress free xo.

Today is My Day oh & Penne w/ Broccoli & Roast Beef

Hello everyone Happy Thursday.

What is my Thursday Treat you may ask? Well as I am writing I have no idea but one thing I do know is that it will be a two part treat.

My first treat is that today is my "SITS Day"!
Today I am the featured blogger on The SITS Girls website.
I am very excited and blessed to have my day finally come. What on earth is a SITS Day you ask?
Well first of all The SITS Girls website is a site dedicated to the blogging community that started back in 2008.
They provide great opportunities for networking, great blogging tips and shares, wonderful resources and support.

I first came across them when I began my Blog journey and was researching venues to learn from and make connections.
Once I joined them I was able to incorporate loads of tips into my writing and presentation as well as connect with some great blogs.
Thanks SITS for my special day and if you found me through SITS link to my page thanks for the visit hope you stay a little longer xo!!!

Now for the 2nd Treat!!!

Penne w/Broccoli & Roast Beef

I was out the kitchen in less than 30 minutes, tasty 1 pot cooking and easy clean up.

Ingredients:

-penne pasta

-olive oil

-broccoli

-roast beef

-salt

-parmesan cheese

I took one large size pan added water some salt and a few drops of Olive oil, bought to a boil added the pasta.

Cooked it for 7/10 minutes.

Removed from pot, added to a large bowl.

Dropped the broccoli florets into pasta water cooked for 10 minutes.

Removed from heat, dumped the water and dropped the broccoli in with my pasta.

Took slices of my roast beef, I got from deli earlier in the week and placed them in my empty pot.

I added a few drops of Olive oil so they wouldn't stick and I cooked that for about 5 minutes.

Then I shredded the slices down a bit added to my bowl, mixed everything up and sprinkled the cheese on top.

Done!

I didn't feel need to add any sauces because I didn't want to ruin the roast beef flavoring. It already provided its own juices.

Quick serve great flavor!

Enjoy.

Always stress free xo.

Stuffed Eggplant Canoe

Stuffed what?!

Yes you read correctly Stuffed Eggplant Canoe.

Thursday's Treat!

Last night after work I was exhausted and had a lot to do. I had emails to read, pictures to edit, company coming over and didn't want to invest a lot of time in the kitchen. I remembered I had bought two lovely Eggplants on Saturday after my visit with grandma and the Salon. I only grab them when on sale and the size is right. I don't want to waste time or money if I won't use the whole veggie.

I was wondering how to use them this time and googled some ideas found one I liked and tweaked it to my likes, here it is.

Ingredients:
-2 medium eggplants
-olive oil
-2 small tomatoes
-peppers
-2 garlic cloves
-parsley
-shredded / grated cheese
-breadcrumbs
-Parmesan cheese (optional)
-salt (optional)

So you recall I used the word canoe in my title right? Well that is because what you are going to do is scoop the inside of the eggplant out not to deep but just enough to form a canoe shape and set the insides aside for stuffing!!!

Heat a large skillet on medium with 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil when hot add 2 cloves of garlic minced when that cooks down a bit add the eggplant pieces. Cook for about 5/7 minutes then add 2 small tomatoes chopped into small cubes. I had 1 small tomato and 1 can of diced so I used that instead. I used 1 handful of red peppers diced in small pieces and 1 handful of orange just for variety you can use plan ole green ones and 1 tablespoon of parsley.
I tossed to spread everything evenly and cooked that for another 10 minutes.

While that cooked in a bowl I added 3 cups of breadcrumbs you can use plain or seasoned. I used the Italian seasoned one and added 1 cup Parmesan cheese. I love cheese! I mixed that and removed skillet from heat and dropped the eggplant stuffing in the bowl. I mixed it all up till even coated.

I used a large serving spoon to scoop stuffing onto the eggplant canoes, I made 4 so I made sure every canoe was evenly filled. I sprinkled more cheese on top, this time a 6 cheese Italian blend.
I placed them on a baking tray and baked for 30 minutes. Making sure cheese was semi melted and eggplant canoe tender enough to eat.

Wow what an amazing blend of flavors! My daughter took hers to school today and texted me to say how yummy it was another two thumbs up from my picky eater yippy!
I didn't make a side because the "stuffing" had peppers, tomatoes, cheeses and breadcrumbs I thought that was enough.

Enjoy!

Always stress free xo.

Mulos de Pollo al Horno con Arroz Blanco / Baked Chicken Thighs w/ White Rice

Hey loves, happy Thursday.
Finally got myself in the kitchen today where I can actually share a post on my dish. I've been keeping things really quick and easy. Lots of salads with greens, a few Sushi nights and some wraps.

Thursday's treat!!!

I am making a baked dish my mom use to make that was juicy and filling. It was not as quick as I norm like to stick to, it's about an hour or so total but well worth the effort.

Ingredients :
-chicken thighs, skin off
-1 1/2 cup of rice
-oregano
-black pepper
-sazon Goya con azafran (gives reddish coloring)
-Goya Adobo (with or without pepper)
-olive oil
-salt

I think we all may know how to make our rice but for those who want to try my way. I use half a cup more of water to whatever measure for example today I am making just enough rice for 2 plus a little left over so I used 1 1/2 cups of rice and 2 cups of water. No one wants soupy rice or too dry a rice this measure insures perfect moisture every time.
Clean our rice, put water to boil, add salt to taste and a spoonful (I use big serving spoon) of olive oil.
Bring to boil add rice, when water is almost wasted lower flame, cover (I use aluminum foil on cover to seal moisture) and cook for 20 minutes, turn cook another 10 minutes and done.

My thighs! I removed the fat and washed off with a little of lemon juice in water. I rinsed and seasoned.
I didn't use specific measure this time because my mom doesn't ever measure so I used my taste buds to dictate amount of oregano, black pepper, adobo and sazon to use. My palate requested one whole packet of the red stuff lol.
I let it marinate for about 2 hours, I was home today so that was doable.

I turned on toaster oven, didn't want to bother with big oven and let it warm up some.
On the toaster try I put down a piece of aluminum foil to grab the access juice and easier clean up, place the 4 pieces of thighs evenly spaced, drizzled a little olive oil about cap full, placed in toaster oven and closed door.
Set it for an hour, checked in it twice, never turned.

These are the pic shares, turned out nice and juicy, a little crispy in some places, and cooked through and through!!! Yummy. Served with a salad on the side.
Enjoy!
Hope your Thursday has been as peaceful as mine

Always stress free xo.

Up!!!

Hey lovelies

Thursday's Treat...

A photo share of my latest work as a reminder that life is too short...stop...breathe...and take a look up!!!

Enjoy

If you like these feel free to come visit me:

society 6 where you can purchase prints @mar_y_cielo925 

view my gallery @instagram.com/mar_y_cielo925

Live with passion, follow your dreams

Always stress free xo

Glazed Tilapia & Mushrooms

Thursday's treat!

Well it's officially Fall/Autumn, my Summer clothes are put away, my tall boots are lying in waiting.
I had a terrific September, full plate indeed. A lot of reflection and tweaking, look forward to seeing how these changes unfold.

One thing remains the same I love to eat and I love to be in and out the kitchen fast.

Today's share includes a first for me. I was a bit iffy on how it would turn out but I went for it.

Ingredients: 
-Tilapia
-mushrooms
-honey
-roasted garlic & herb seasoning

I love mushrooms, I eat them in soups, sandwiches and just about any dish that calls for them but I have never cooked them myself.
I pass the packs in the grocery store look at them, pick them up then put them back down.
These little suckers caused me to second guess my skills in the kitchen lol.
So last Monday my coworker was in the office and since she is always in the kitchen I asked her If she used mushrooms in her cooking and if so, how.
She rattled on several dishes and I was like oh great not as bad as I thought.
I picked some up on Saturday and this is what I did.

Marinated 2 pieces of Tilapia with roasted garlic & herb seasoning and honey. Amount is to your taste buds liking. I let it sit for about 10 minutes. I took a paper towel wet it and wiped the dirt off the mushrooms, I was instructed not to run under faucet or it would soak up too much water and be soggy when it cooked.

I cut off the stub parts slightly then chopped the mushrooms into slices. I used Portobello kind, they were on sale.
I drizzled lightly some olive oil in the pan just enough so my mushrooms wouldn't burn when they started to cook.
I cooked them for about 5 minutes then removed them from pan, took the Tilapia pieces put them to cook and dropped the mushrooms into the glaze and had them there for a few seconds then added them to pan so they can finishing cooking with the fish.
Mushrooms done in 10 minutes total, fish about 6 minutes each side since stove top made not baked.

Done! The blend of honey with roasted garlic & herb was just enough sweet and kick to make my evening and I added some tomatoes on the side for color splash.
The mushrooms were so tasty and not soggy! Thanks Maria (my coworker) for the heads up.
In and out the kitchen total time about 45minutes with cleanup.
Got to finally sit down and watch Oblivion, yes I know I am so late on that one. Loved it!

Always stress free xo

Sauteed Cucumber w/ Tomatoes & Avocado Veggetti

Thursday's Treat!!!

On this special Thursday the day of my Birth I would like to say Happy Birth Day to me and say thank you to the powers that be for bringing me to this present moment full of such peace and gratefulness.

I am blessed to share this day with you all and I want to say thank you for your support in my dream.

You may say what is Veggetti? Well only the cutest tool to help us eat healthier. Just to be clear, I am not a paid spokes person, the company who made this did not contact me, I just saw, liked and bought.

I am a gadget girl! I love kitchen gadgets! I saw this in a commercial and was hooked. I didn't order it online Walgreens carries this.

So what it does is take Cucumbers, Carrots, Zucchini and Squash and turn it into Spaghetti!!!

Healthy pasta, hot or cold.

I bought this last week decided to use it on Saturday night.

Ingredients:

-Veggetti

-cucumbers

-1 medium avocado

-plum tomatoes

-garlic heads

-basil leaves

-olive oil

I drizzled olive oil in the skillet and heated on medium till hot, added 2 garlic heads and cooked down for a few minutes. When the garlic was tender I added the cucumber pasta. I moved it around a few times so all the strands would get a good coating.

As that cooked I cut up the avocado and tomatoes. I used 1 medium avocado half for me other half for my daughter and 2 plum tomatoes 1 for each of us as well. Set it aside.

I cooked the Veggetti for about 5 minutes tossed it around and cooked for another 2 minutes. Done

I transferred it to a plate, sprinkled some basil leaves, added the avocado and tomatoes, dinner was served.

All under 30 minutes start to finish and as always easy clean up.

The options this little gadget offers is great so I plan on trying many different meals in the next few weeks. You can even make dishes with potatoes!

The meal was a success, we loved the taste, the texture and variety of it.

I am including link to site for a peek and it does come with a mini recipe book.

veggetti.com

Now back to me lol. 

Again thanks for visit hope you enjoy the share. Today I plan on enjoying a nice Sushi dinner with my loved ones AND of course some type of Red Velvet treat. This was a mini preview of what is to come given to me by my sweet friend!

to ME!!!

Always stress free xo

Peppers stuffed w/ Mashed Potatoes & Tomatoes

Thursdays Treat!!!

Talk about flying by the seat of your pants.
I was so hungry on Monday when I left work but I knew I had to workout first before I ate dinner. While I was still in my office I started to think about what I could possibly make that would be under 45 minutes tops. I wanted to go for my walk after dinner as well and I didn't want major hassle in the kitchen.
I remembered I had bought some large peppers over the weekend while visiting my grandma in Brooklyn. I didn't want to stuff them with meat so I chose potatoes. I had also picked up 2 small plastic containers of red potatoes. I always find those boil faster than regular potatoes.

When I walked in my door I changed to my workout clothes and headed to the kitchen.

Ingredients:
- 2 large Peppers
- dozen small red Potatoes
- 2 small tomatoes
- mayonnaise
- salt

I boiled the potatoes for about 20 minutes added pinch of salt to the water.
I cut the tops off the peppers and diced the tomatoes into small but biteable pieces.
Around 10 minutes in on the potatoes I put the peppers in my toaster oven for 20 minutes.

I checked on the peppers after 10 minutes because I wanted them toasty enough to be soft but still hold their shape and have a crunch.
Once my potatoes were soft enough to mash, 20 minutes worked great, I removed from stovetop dumped the water and added 3 tablespoons of mayo. I love mayo so 3 for me was actually too little but I compromised for my Lil Mama. I mashed up the potatoes making sure the mayo was well blended in then I added the pieces of tomatoes and set aside.
I took the peppers out the toaster oven, let cool for a few seconds then grabbed with a paper towel and with a spoon began to stuff away.

This whole process took me 35 minutes start to serve. I got my workout in as it cooked and when I was done shortly after dinner was done as well. I must say delish!!! I served it for myself with some lettuce and splash of balsamic vinaigrette.

My daughter ate afterwards and gave me 2 thumbs up. We both agreed next round we would try adding some cheese and cranberries in place of tomatoes or avocado and cranberries. Great thing about cooking is you can think outside the box and create just about anything.
I left her enjoying my treat and went for my long walk, ah what a great evening!

Always stress free xo.

Eggplant w/ Ziti Pasta

Thursday's Treat!!!

I hope you guys didn't think I was too busy to share something yummy lol.
I hope you have been enjoying my September Challenge shares and my Tuesday guest hosting duties on Turn It Up Tuesdays.

My love for Eggplant lives on...

Ingredients:
- 1 large Eggplant
- pasta
- favorite pasta sauce
- grape tomatoes
- salt
- 6 small sweet peppers
- olive oil
- parsley
- Parmesan cheese
- black pepper

Use 2 tbsps of olive oil in a large skillet on med heat add the peppers cook for 3 minutes. Add the Eggplant cubes, the sliced grape tomatoes and the sauce cook for 20 minutes or until Eggplant is tender.

As the Eggplant is cooking 10 minutes in begin to boil and prep your pasta. I used 2 cups of Ziti this time around because that's what I had in my pantry but you can use Penne or Angel hair or Linguine. I would dare say just about any type of pasta you like because I just don't like to follow many rules lol. I made enough for dinner and leftovers.

After 20 minutes and Eggplant is tender remove from heat, sprinkle pinch of black pepper, some parsley (to your liking) and set aside.
In a large bowl I mixed the pasta and Eggplant and was ready to serve. The bowl will be on double duty as my leftover saver and I can wash the skillet once cooled.

I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese as an added flavor kick and done.
Start to finish about 30 minutes.
Another great quick what do I have in the kitchen for dinner tonight.
Yummy, tasty and very little fuss

Enjoy,
Always stress free xo

Tilapia w/ Honey and Mustard sauce garnished with Mango

Thursday's treat!!!

You didn't think because I was doing the September challenge I would neglect my Thursday treat did you?

Good...because here it is!

First I have to admit this was put together as I went along. Another one of those days I got home and was like huh? What are we going to eat?

Ingredients:

-Tilapia fish

-honey

-mustard

-olive oil

-mango fruit (sliced or cubed)

-tomatoes

-lettuce

-small potatoes (optional)

Start to finish this took me about 40 minutes tops.

In a medium bowl I added 3 tbsps of mustard and 2 tbsps of honey, you can play around with amounts to your liking. I took 3 pre-packaged Tilapia pieces out of the freezer, ran them under some water for a few then I just rinsed them lightly and placed them in the bowl mix until fully coated. The fish weren't totally frozen like a brick since I had bought the bag day before so that was help with defrost process lol.

I added 2 tbsps of olive oil to flat skillet I was using turned up to medium heat. Flipped fish around a few more times when oil was ready, added the fish.

I cooked them about 10 minutes on each side or until turned lightly brown in color and light crisp.

While that was going on I made a side salad of lettuce and tomatoes, coated with remainder of sauce from the Tilapia.

I bought earlier in the week a pre-cut package of mango so that saved me some time.

For myself I baked 2 small red potatoes my daughter opted out.

Fish lightly brown and crisp and ready to serve.

Topped with my cubed mango pieces, yummy.

The salad was awesome with the sauce too!!!

I thought to myself...hey not bad for thinking off the top of your head.

Healthy, quick, fun and easy.

Enjoy.

Always stress free xo

Tacos de Camarones con Platano Amarillo (Shrimp Tacos with Yellow Plantains)

Thursday's treat!!!

When you find yellow platanos (plantains) in good shape and on sale at that you should I would even say you must grab them.

I have loved them since I was a kid and my daughter has followed right behind me.

I was in Brooklyn the other night on grandma duty when I picked up a few. When I got home lil mama was like "oh you must do something with them and that tortilla pack we have".

I was all for it because I knew it would be quick dinner and clean up.

Ingredients:

-1 yellow plantain (large)

-shrimps peeled, pre-cooked and ready to go (amount depends on serving size and people)

-salt

-oil

-tortilla pack (soft or hard shell depends on texture you prefer)

In medium pot I added some water, a pinch of salt and about 16 large shrimps bought that to a boil.

As that was happening I sliced the plantain evenly into quarter size, 1/2 inch slices.

Used my small skillet added cooking oil and bought that to frying temp.

You must make sure oil is just right or the plantains will burn too quickly and not cook inside. You do not want that!

I usually test it by taking a plantain and dunking tip in oil if I hear the sizzle we ready to go lol.

Don't drop them in the oil either or you will splash yourself and that is not a good look. Place them evenly spaced, lower flame slightly and cook till they start to get some color. You want a nice toasty shade, crispy ends but not burnt.

Turn them over for a few more minutes, done. Turn off flame, remove them from skillet and place them on a plate with a paper towel to soak some of the excess oil.

I then turned toaster oven on and turned knob to bake.

I placed 2 tortillas in tray for a few minutes just enough to be warm and easy to manage.

After a few minutes I removed and started to build my Taco.

I kept mine simple with just the shrimps and plantains but lil mama went another route with hers.

I was too busy eating I forgot to take pics of her creation. She added avocado and balsamic vinegerette.

There you have it. Quick, simple and easy.

Not a lot of clean up and very filling.

You can try adding so many different things. I want to try making them with avocado, shredded cheese and cranberries!!!

Enjoy.

Always stress free xo