Since I have so much free time these days, I have taken the initiative to go back to the gym. The last time I went was before I was married in 2007, when I was trying to look good in my wedding dress. I bought a 3 year membership back then, because the more years you pay for, the cheaper it is (yes, I am a sucker).

The day before I got married, I told my trainer it was my last day, because what good is it to get married if you still need to work on looking good? To me, that was one of the biggest advantages of getting married. I could get fat, sloppy, and just really let myself go in the looks department, and my husband would still be legally bound to me forever.

But because of the present unfortunate circumstances, I have hauled my ass back to the gym. I was actually looking forward to going to the gym (you can only watch Maury Provich so long until you realize the uncle is always the baby daddy). But the moment I stepped foot in the gym, all the unpleasant memories came raining down on me.

While the gym I go to is relatively new and clean, it still doesn’t hide the fact that it reeks of BO, that the body building wannabes are constantly making loud grunting noises as if giving birth, and that people seem to think that it is ok to wear whatever you want to the gym (I thought this big lady had no pants on, until I realized her tiny shorts were sucked into her big ass). I am all for freedom of expression and I heavily support being proud of your own body and all that, but still, we should be considerate of other people’s eyes.

I also find that every time I am in the gym, I get hungry. Not because I am burning off hundreds and hundreds of calories, but because the smart asses that work at 24, think it’s a really good idea to put on the Food Network while everyone is working their asses off trying to get in shape. As a result, I go straight to the kitchen when I get home, to stuff my face. But on the plus side, I do come up with a lot of cooking ideas while watching those mouth watering cooking shows.

Today on Barefoot Contessa, she was making baked herb chicken with a side of vegetables, and it looked delicious! I was trying hard to make a mental note of all the ingredients she was using, but once she hit 10, I gave up. I figured I’d just go back to my own tried and true chicken drumsticks recipe.

It is so quick and easy, and again, the oven does all the work. I make chicken drumsticks at least once a week, because it is so quick. I even have marinated drumsticks in the freezer that I just take out, thaw, and throw in the oven. It can’t get any easier than that!

So here is my recipe for Chicken drumsticks, and because that is so easy to make, I’ll throw in my recipe for vegetable medley (otherwise known as whatever veggies are still left in your fridge):

Ingredients:

• 6-8 chicken drumsticks (medium sized)

chicken drumsticks and vegetable medley

Marinade:

• 2 cups Italian dressing
• 2 tablespoons parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons garlic salt
• 2 tablespoons black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Rinse the chicken drumsticks under cold water, and pat dry
3. Cut 3 slits in the meatiest part of the drumsticks, so the marinade can hold better
4. Evenly coat the drumsticks with the marinade ingredients (save one third of the marinade for later)
5. Line a baking dish with foil, and lightly coat with oil
6. Place the drumsticks on foil, and let bake for 30 mins, then turn the drumsticks over, and pour remaining marinade on top
7. Let bake for another 20-30 mins, or until chicken is no longer pink inside
8. Let cool for 10 mins, then serve

For the Vegetable Medley:

Ingredients:

• Half of a large white onion sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 each of a large green and red pepper sliced
• 2 small zucchinis, sliced
• 2 small yellow squash, sliced
• 1 pat of butter (about the size of a starburst candy)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. To a heated pan, add the garlic, onions and butter
2. Add the zucchini and squash and stir fry for 3 mins, or until slightly soft
3. Add the red and green peppers, and stir fry another 3 mins (the zucchini and squash should still retain its color. If it is turning gray or is soggy then you have cooked it too long)
4. Add the salt and pepper

I love watching Rachael Ray on Food Network. It intrigues me how she can make a full meal in 30 minutes or less. Out of the hundreds of cooking shows on Food Network, I am the biggest fan of RR because it is the most realistic.

I like the other chefs on that network too, but when I watch those shows it is purely for entertainment purposes (and to make myself hungry), but I know I would never spend as much time as they do in the kitchen. It still cracks me up when I see them putting a dish in the oven, and thanks to the magic of editing, it comes back out 5 mins later perfectly baked. (too bad that doesn’t happen in real life. trust me, I’ve tried!)

Back in the day, when I use to come home from work at 5, I would dread having to cook dinner. By the time I finished changing, eating a snack, and going to the gym, it would be close to 7pm. Of course, I could just get take out, or go out to eat with the hubby, but you just can’t do that everyday. It’s neither healthy or economical. So I was always thinking of ways to make a tasty dinner, that was quick and had little clean up. I like to call these meals One Pot Shops (because the final product is pulled out of the oven with my entrée and veggie dish already done, and when dinner is finished, I simply throw away the foil the meal was on).

I haven’t been able to come up with many of these dishes, but there is one that I have perfected. Neither my hubby or I really enjoy eating pork chops, because it is usually dry and tasteless. But this recipe results in tasty and juicy pork chops, with broccoli and mushrooms in a cream of mushroom sauce. You just throw everything in the oven, wait 15 mins, and everything is done! (ok, there is a 15 min preparation time, but that means you are only really cooking for 15 mins, the other 15 you are waiting). I always look forward to making this dish, not only because it is delicious, but also because I know I will be able to read 3 chapters of my favorite book, give myself a mani/pedi, and vacuum the entire house, while dinner is cooking! You can’t say that about many meals!

So here is my recipe for Baked Pork Chops with Broccoli and Mushrooms:

Ingredients:

• 5-7 slices of thinly sliced pork chops (I like boneless better, but bone in is perfectly fine. The thinner the pork chop, the faster it is to cook, and the less dry it turns out)
• 1 package of sliced white mushrooms (about 8oz)
• 2 small crowns of broccoli chopped (or 1 large crown)
• 1 can of cream of mushroom
• 2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon oil

baked pork chops with broccoli and mushrooms in a cream sauce

Marinade:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
• 1 table spoon garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Evenly coat the pork chops with the marinade
3. Heat pan with oil
4. Pan fry the pork chops until lightly browned on both sides (about 1 min on each side for the thin pork chops, 2 mins each side for the thicker chops)
5. In a separate pot, heat up the cream of mushroom, and add the pepper and thyme leaves until boiling
6. Then add in the raw mushrooms and broccoli until all the veggies are evenly coated with the cream sauce
7. Line a baking pan with foil, and lightly grease
8. Put in the browned pork chops, and pour the sauce and veggies on top
9. Bake in oven for about 15-20 mins (or until pork chops are no longer pink in the middle)
10. Let cool 5 mins, and serve straight from baking pan!

I was never really a big fan of salmon. I always thought it had the fishiest smell of all the cooked fishes. But for some reason, salmon is always on the menu whenever you go to high end restaurants. Maybe because its easy to make, and its relatively cheap.

Anyways I went to House of Prime Rib a while back (my husband’s and my favorite restaurant of all time. My husband likes it for the prime rib, and I love it for the house beet salad that comes with every meal). We brought my parents with us because they had never been there before, and we wanted them to experience fine dining at its best.

My mom has been a vegetarian for as long as I can remember. She says she started when my older sister, by a year, was having trouble in elementary school. She was not doing too well, and my mom got worried that she would be left behind. Anyways, my mom vowed to the Buddhist Gods that she would never eat meat again, if my sister could just make it through the school year. So my sister passed the second grade by the skin of her teeth (is that the correct phrase? I think I saw that on Wheel of Fortune once), and my poor mom never ate red meat again. (In my opinion, it wouldn’t have been a bad thing if they kept my sister another year. Then maybe the poor girl wouldn’t lose all her money playing 21, because she counts with her fingers and toes. She loses a lot of money in the winter, when she can’t wear open toed shoes)

Anyways, being that the place is called House of Prime Rib, the only other dish they have on the menu is salmon. I’m not sure how it was cooked, but it was delicious! There was no fishy smell or taste whatsoever. The salmon was soft, tasty, and moist. From that day on, I started to eat salmon. But the first few times I made it, the salmon was dry and lacked taste. I’ve been toying with a few different recipes, and finally found one I am proud of.

One good thing about making salmon is that it is fast, easy, and there is no clean up. You just marinade it on a piece of foil, put the fish in the oven wrapped in the foil, and throw away the foil when done. It’s so easy, not to mention cheap and nutritious! I’ve made this a few times for potlucks, and it is always one of the first dishes to go.

So here it is, my Rosemary Lemon and Garlic Salmon Recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1lb fresh salmon

Salmon with a side of zucchini and squash

Marinade:

• 2 sprigs of fresh Rosemary (or 2 teaspoons dried Rosemary)
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• juice from half a small lemon
• zest from a half a lemon
• one teaspoon salt
• one teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Rinse the salmon under cold water, and pat dry with towel.
2. Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl.
3. Rub the marinade all over the meaty part of the salmon, cut some lemon slices to place on top of the salmon, and let sit for at least 15 mins .
4. Wrap the salmon in foil so that the salmon is enclosed in the foil loosely.
5. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 12 mins, or until the salmon is no longer pink in the thickest part.