Greek Inspired Dinner

Hello! I hope you are all having a great week because I know I am! Today's post will be a Greek inspired recipe that I found through Pinterest from the website Budget Bytes. We used their recipes for Greek Marinated Chicken, Lemony Cucumber Couscous Salad and our own roasted asparagus.

One of my best friends, Vikkie (Hi Vik!), came over to help me with this. We absolutely love cooking together so this was a blast! She also took all of the photos because she wanted to test out the camera and guess what, she's an awesome picture taker! So here we go.

Greek Marinated Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• ½ Tbsp dried oregano 
• ½ medium lemon 
• salt 
• fresh cracked pepper 
• ¼ bunch fresh parsley 
• 3½ to 4 lbs chicken pieces, thighs & drumsticks

Instructions

1. To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Also add the juice from half of the lemon. Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Roughly chop a big handful, or about ¼ bunch, of parsley and stir it into the marinade.
   
2. Add the chicken pieces and marinade in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Remove as much air as possible, close the bag tightly, and massage the bag to mix the contents and make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate the bag for 30 minutes.
3. After marinating for 30 minutes, either cook the chicken on a grill OR preheat the oven to 375 degrees in preparation to bake the chicken.
4. To bake the chicken, place the chicken pieces in a large casserole dish. Bake the chicken at 375 degree for 45 then up the temperature to 400 degrees for the last 10 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Lemony Cucumber Couscous 

Ingredients

• 1 8 oz box of Trader Joe's Israeli Couscous 
• 2 Persian cucumbers 
• ¼ bunch parsley 
• ½ medium lemon 
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• ¼ tsp garlic powder 
• salt 
• fresh cracked pepper
• 3 oz. crumbled feta cheese 

Instructions

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the couscous and continue to let it boil for about 5 minutes. Drain the couscous in a wire mesh colander (this helps avoid having the couscous fall through the holes). Rinse briefly with cool water to cool off the couscous and then place in the fridge until ready to finish the recipe.
2. Cut the cucumber into quarter rounds and place them in a large bowl. Take a big handful (or about ¼ bunch) of parsley and roughly chop the parsley and then add it to the bowl with the cucumbers.
3. In a small bowl, squeeze the juice from the half lemon. Add the olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir to combine. Taste and add more ingredients according to taste.
4. Combine the cooled couscous, cucumbers, parsley and crumbled feta. Pour the dressing all over and gently stir to combine all of the ingredients. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Chill for about 10 minutes before serving. 

Roasted Asparagus 

Ingredients

• asparagus
• white wine
• lemon juice 
• olive oil
• salt 
• fresh cracked pepper 

Instructions

1. Place asparagus in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Add white wine, lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper to taste. 
2. Allow asparagus to marinate while oven preheats to 375 degrees.
3. Once preheated, place in oven and roast for about 25 minutes. 

First I'd like to say that we do not take credit for creating the chicken or couscous salad recipes. We used the recipes from Budget Bytes and adjusted accordingly. The only thing we would do different is marinate the chicken overnight. 

This whole process took about two hours because we kept stopping to take pictures. But don't worry, we had appetizers to helps us last until dinner.

And the final result, ta dah!

This was probably one of the best dinners I have had in a long time. The couscous was beyond amazing and the chicken was just so good. I hope you all enjoy this dinner as much as we did. Let me know what you think! Talk to you all soon. :)

Mini Sephora Shopping Spree

I know I haven't written in a while but I have been crazy busy lately. Hopefully something good will come from all of it and then I will be able to share some good news. I've also been waiting a bit because I have done a ton of online shopping lately and I wanted to make sure I had everything in before I posted. 

Ever since I became a Sephora Beauty Insider (it's their system to track purchases, gain points, get free stuff, etc) I have seriously spent way too much money. I love the gift sets that come out during the holiday seasons and made sure to go through almost the entire Sephora website. I only told myself to buy one and I actually succeeded. My purchase included Too Faced - All I Want for Christmas gift set and Philosophy Purity (which I use religiously with my Clarisonic) and Holly Jolly Nourishment sample (free with purchase) and three samples (which they always do - except they sent me an extra one). 

I used to hate online shopping and for the most part, I still do. I will not buy clothes online unless I know my size for a fact. Beauty products, eh, I'll buy things every now and then. I guess I was in a serious mood this time. So since I didn't get to see anything before I bought it, I'll show you how they turned out.

When I first went to the Sephora website I had already had this set in mind after hearing about it on YouTube somewhere. After seeing what was available at the time, I really liked this one and what it gave.

This is what it came with

- Exclusive Blush/Eye Shadow Trio Compact -- I love the blush. I wish it a) had a name and b) could be bought individually. The eyeshadows are good too but I haven't used them that much yet. I don't normally wear eyeshadow during the workweek. 

- La Crème Lip Cream in Believe -- This I also really like. The shade of this lipstick really works with my skin and gives me just enough color on the lips.

- Perfect Eyes Eye Liner in Perfect Black -- Yup, I liked this one too. I'm actually almost out of it already. However, I do not think I will be buying a full size because even then it is really small and not worth $18.

- Lash Injection Mascara -- I haven't even used this one yet. I have enough mascaras right now so I'm keeping it on the side until I need more.

- Shadow Insurance -- This stuff works. I had definitely heard good things about it before I even got this so I'm glad it came in the kit.

- Cosmetic Pouch -- Isn't it just so cute with the teal and gold? It's currently in my purse as one of my organizing pouches.

Overall, I am very happy with this kit. I think everything that came in it is worth it and for $45, it's a great price. This is a great option for a gift for one of your friends, sisters, cousins, whoever!

This came free with purchase because I spent more than $25. I was able to choose between four options and I'm glad I chose this one because it is now out of stock.

This was set to come with:
- Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment
- Clean Original Eau de Parfum
- Origins Plantscription
- Living Proof Nourshing Styling Cream
- Urban Decay B6 Complexion Prep Spray
- Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm
- Peter Thomas Roth Oillness Oil
- Buxom Lash Mascara
- Makeup Bag

It came with all except the Peter Roth Oillness Oil. Instead it came with Living Proof Prime Style Extender. Am I upset about this? Not really, I think it would have been good either way.

I'm currently using the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment and the Buxom Lash Mascara. I absolutely love the Fresh Lip Treatment options but the prices of them are quiet high. Luckily I got two sample sizes for my birthday and this one, so I should be good for a while. I decided to use the Buxom Lash Mascara instead of the Too Faced one because as soon as I saw the brush, I fell in love. It is great for the type of lashes I have. I already have really long and really black lashes so what I really needed was something to separate the lashes and too many mascaras just clump them. Buxom has been perfect!

I can't wait to try the other samples, especially the Living Proof products. I'm also almost, very tempted to buy some more things and try out one of the other free sample bags.

As far as the four perfume samples go, two were men and two were women. I haven't tried the women's one yet but my boyfriend did try his. He liked the YSL L'Homme Libre, which I'm not surprised about because he LOVES the regular YSL L'Homme. The Burberry Brit Rhythm ended up in the trash right away, he was not a fan.

I'm almost tempted to say that I'm too happy with this Sephora Purchase. Not only was everything awesome but the package arrived in three days, THREE! Can I just go buy more stuff now?

Something else I'd like to tell you about, my Clarisonic online purchase. When I first bought my Clarisonic, I got a coupon saying that my first online order over $50 would be 50% off. It's been almost three months since I got it so I decided to buy a twin pack of replacement heads and a travel bag. I was also very happy that the package arrived so quick, three days. But hey, it wasn't what I ordered. It was a new charger. I called them and spoke to a nice lady who said they would email me a return label for what I was sent and a confirmation and tracking code for what I originally ordered. She also apologized for the mistake and put a 20% off onto my account for my next purchase. A week later, no label and no confirmation. I was annoyed. I was especially annoyed because the girl on the phone was actually really nice so I didn't want to get mad at her. So exactly a week later I called them back (and talked to another really nice lady) and told them I hadn't heard from them or received the two emails (and package) they told me I'd be getting. Later that day the package arrived at my door with the proper order and no expectations of it arriving that day. I still haven't gotten an email regarding a return label so I guess I also got a new charger. Even though both ladies were nice, I wasn't too thrilled with the mistake and the lack of follow up. I think next time, I'll just go to the store.

I realize this post is much longer than it needed to be so I'll end it here. My next post is something I have been waiting patiently to write about, monthly subscriptions! Yay! So keep an eye out. Until then, have a good week and I'll talk to you soon!

Shawarma Recipe

Hello All! It's time for another recipe! Tonight we will be doing Shawarma, which is a traditional Lebanese meat recipe which become even more famous due to the movie The Avengers. 

Iron Man: Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried Shawarma? There's a Shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it.

Thor: W'ere not finished yet.

Iron Man: And then Shawarma after.

Haha, I loved that part! Anyway, to the recipe we go.

Now my issue with this recipe is my aunt taught it to me, and the bad thing about learning from her and my mom is it’s a lot by instinct. No measurements, nothing. So I will post the recipe from Mama’s Lebanese Kitchen and then tell you what I did differently.

Mama’s Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of fatty beef cuts (roast cut/steak cuts/butter steak…)
• 5 cloves of garlic
• ½ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon caraway (ground fennel)
• ½ teaspoon cardamon
• ½ teaspoon of oregano or thyme
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon crushed peppercorn
• ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Instructions:

Shawarma Marinade

1. Mix the spices along with the lemon juice and apple cider vinegar in a blender for a couple of minutes. Don’t mix in the olive oil yet.
2. Cut the beef into chunks of 4 inches long by no more than ⅔ inch in thickness.
3. In a bowl, rub the meat with the marinade, sprinkle a bit of olive oil then rub again, cover and let marinate overnight in the fridge.

Grilling Shawarma: Oven Roasting

1. Lay the shawarma chunks in a Pyrex tray with a bit of marinade, cover the trap tightly with aluminum foil, then gently bake at 270-300F for 2 hours.
2. Once cooked, shred the meat on a cutting board and serve hot. This roasting method will make the meat very tender and juicy and will almost fall apart.

My Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds rib-eye
• 10 pearl onions
• 1 package cherry tomatoes
• Abido Spices – Shawarma (Allspice, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Citric Acid, Cloves, Cardamun, Sumac)
• Cumin
• Olive Oil

For my recipe, I used rib-eye. I did this because rib-eye can be a little fatty, and since I wanted to use less oil, the fat will help keep the flavor. I used two packages, about 3 pounds, of meat.

Cooking Instructions:

1. Cut up the meat as thin as possible, keeping them around 2-3 inches long

2. Place in aluminum baking pan

3. Add Abido Spices and cumin to meat and mix. Add cherry tomatoes, peeled pearl onions and place whole into the pan with meat and enough olive oil to mix meat and have it all covered (lightly) and a bit on the bottom.

4. Preheat oven to 450. While oven is preheating, let the meat sit out so it can marinate with the spices and oil.

5. Once oven is preheated, place pan in the oven for about 15 minutes

6. After 15 minutes, take out and mix then place it back in the oven for another 15 minutes

After the meat is finished, you can serve it with either

• Homemade french fries
• Pita bread
• Rice

If you want to make it with the traditional Tahini sauce, here is the recipe:

Tahini Sauce Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons of Tahini paste
• 1 cup of freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
• 3 gloves of garlic, crushed
• A dash of Salt

Preparing the Tahini Sauce

1. In a small bowl, whisk the the Tahini paste, crushed garlic, lemon juice and salt until you turn the paste into a sauce.

I decided to eat mine with Lebanese style rice. The reason it’s Lebanese style and not just plain rice is because we use long grain rice with vermicelli noodles. 

• Brown vermicelli (as much or as little as you like, but don’t use TOO much) in vegetable oil
• Once browned, I cooked one cup rice per normal cooking instructions

Here is my final product:

I’m really happy how it all turned out! Next time, I will have my aunt be more specific with measurements. Also, the next time I will try cooking the shawarma a little differently, as there are many different ways to cook it. I hope you all like it! Talk to you all soon.