Recipe Remakes - Part 1

My love for being in the kitchen isn't just about baking - I REALLY love cooking food too! You can definitely consider me a serious Foodie. My cooking ranges from the tried and true family recipes that I will always love, to Saturday morning Food Network inspirations, to yummy things I've tried in restaurants that I recreate in my own kitchen.

This will be my first Recipe Remake post! How exciting! :)

Today's Remake: Chicken Kitchen's Deluxe Chop-Chop.

Now if you aren't from Miami you might not be familiar with the Chop-Chop phenomenon, but we have several places you can find them or variations of them - Chicken Kitchen, Pollo Tropical, Three Chefs and a Chicken, Chicken Grill, etc. As you can see they are all about the Chicken! A Chop-Chop is basically a bowl of rice (yellow, white, brown, or lo-carb aka lettuce!) with chopped up chicken breast and toppings (tomato, lettuce, black beans, cheese, and sauce). The sauce is a BIG part of this meal. There are a few different options - but there's really only one worth mentioning.... the curry mustard. OMG, it is SO good! It's really not a complete meal without it, ask anyone! Don't worry - today's recipe remake has the sauce, so I've got you covered!

Chicken Kitchen Deluxe Chop Chop -

- Chicken Breasts*
- Rice (I'm using yellow today!)
- Desired toppings (let's do lettuce and tomato - that makes it the Deluxe!)
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- Maybe 2 tbsp water (depends on how thick you want it)

1. Cook the chicken and the rice to your liking. I usually season my chicken with salt, pepper, and lemon pepper seasoning and just plop it in a hot pan with some olive oil in it. For the rice I like it a little mushy so I do 1 cup of rice to about 1 1/2 cups of water, little salt, and a spoonful of olive oil in the pot.

**Once the chicken is done let it rest for a few minutes before you cut into it so the juices can reabsorb and you don't end up with dry chicken.

2. Mix the mayo, mustard, and curry powdered - check the consistency and add water if you want it a little thinner. Set aside until ready to use.

3. Chop up your veggies and drain your beans if you are using any.

4. Place finished rice in the bottom of your bowl - I like to use a pasta bowl because it's a nice dome-like shape and that makes me happy - top with chicken and your veggies and then COVER in curry mustard sauce! Trust me, you won't regret that!

*Note: The amount of ingredients really just depends on how many people and how hungry you are! :)

It's really a simple dinner and it's so tasty! Also much cheaper than eating out and I usually have everything I need to make it on hand. Try experimenting with different rices and toppings! The possibilities are really endless! Chicken Kitchen serves it with half of a pita, which I like to do too when I think about it on the way home and have time to stop to grab them. It's also really good topped with fresh salsa! But the curry mustard is the classic topping for any Chop-Chop!

I hope you guys enjoyed my first Recipe Remake! Many more soon to come!

Ahhhh!!!!

What a crazy week it's been! I've got so many projects going on, and I almost don't know where to start! I've been busy Christmas shopping, baking, and just trying to get everything ready for the new year. Luckily so far it is all going pretty smoothly! I made a ton of fondant tonight so that should hold me over through my next few cake adventures. Other than some basic Christmas orders, I also have a Mickey Mouse 1st birthday cake in cute pastel baby boy colors and an anniversary for a public relations company. I don't think I have a night off of baking until after Christmas - but I wouldn't have it any other way! I love planning my orders and researching new techniques and test them out. Of course my absolute favorite part is the excitement on a client's face when they see their ideas come to life! Well, I just wanted to check in - I'm headed back into the kitchen to get a few more things done! xoxo :)

Hello, December!

Happy Mondayyy! I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday! Mine was great but left me completely exhausted after spending two days cooking it up in the kitchen. I love to cook as much as I love to bake so I went all out! Luckily I had a few days off afterwards so now I'm all rested up and ready to dive into Christmas EVERYTHING! My house looks like it's part of the North Pole and I love it! Last night I made my first batch of Christmas cupcakes and they came out adorable.

Check out this fun video of me making them:

How cute is that?! Gotta love a little Santa Baby action in the kitchen. ;)

Tonight I'm making chili for a few friends and having our Secret Santa name draw. I'm looking forward to it, which means I should probably get off the couch and get my stuff together instead of watching The Millionaire Matchmaker, but I can't help it, there's a marathon on and it's sucked me in! Super guilty pleasure! 0.o

I hope you all are having a great Monday!

The holidays are officially here!

I can't believe December is only a week away! The holidays are officially here and the year is almost over! Craziness! Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday and I refuse to acknowledge Christmas until Thanksgiving is over, but Christmas is EVERYWHERE already - and has been since before even Halloween! I can't handle it! But I will admit it's been tough not busting out the Christmas decorations this year before Thanksgiving because I LOVE having the house decorated and there are SO many cute things out there!

Today I got to start my first batch of holiday baking. I bake all year long, but the holidays always have me on baking overdrive and I get to bake my most favorite things. Here's my first batch of Thanksgiving cakepops -

Aren't they adorable?! Next week the fudge and toffee making starts and I can't wait! They are my specialties and I only make them between Thanksgiving and New Year's and they are always in high demand! I'll be sure to keep everyone updated!

Stay tuned! :)

Welcome to my Blog!

Hi, I'm Amber! Welcome to my blog! I've finally decided to take my baking to the next level and am ready to share the adventure with anyone who is willing to read about it! Stay tuned for recipe experiments, new inspirations, and ways to always have a little bliss in every bite!