Author Archives for Kelsey Finkle

Lemon Basil Chicken & Artichoke “Pasta”

November 3, 2013
Kelsey Finkle
1 comment
basil, dinner, gluten free, lemon chicken, Paleo, Primal, spaghetti squash

I’m super excited about this meal I put together tonight. My inspiration came from wanting to try spaghetti squash for a while now, PaleOMG’s “pasta” recipes, and the extra lemon I had sitting on my counter since last week.

So as I walked through the aisles of the brand new Trader Joe’s in Stamford (ecstatic about this), I came up with Lemon Basil Chicken & Artichoke “Pasta.”

Oh just as an FYI. I’m far from a great cook. I’ve always enjoyed cooking since I was younger but took about an 8 year hiatus (thank you college and post college life). Even when I was younger though, I was always the type to throw a dash of salt here or a heaping of garlic there. So when I cook, I don’t always measure everything. People have different palates so I prefer to season to taste.

Lemon Basil Chicken & Artichoke “Pasta”

1.25 lbs Organic Chicken Breast Tenderloins (cut into cubes)
1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
1/2 Yellow Onion
1 Clove Garlic
1 Can Artichoke Hearts
1 Lemon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Basil
Salt
Lemon Pepper (from Trader Joes)
Garlic Powder

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise (this was a lot harder than I thought!). Place the two halves face down on a pan and bake for 40 minutes. When they are done turn them over, let cool, and scrape out “spaghetti” with a fork by going with the grain.

While the spaghetti squash is cooking, start preparing everything else. Coat your skillet with olive oil and let it heat up on medium heat. Throw in chopped onion and garlic clove. Saute for 5 minutes and add in chicken. Saute until chicken is cooked on the outside. Add in your halved and washed artichoke hearts. Take half of your lemon and squeeze over chicken. Make sure not to let any seeds fall in! Add in basil and start seasoning with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Turn burner to low and let simmer for 10-15 more minutes, or until your squash is done.

Once your squash is done and you are able to pick it up, fork the spaghetti into a big bowl. Squeeze the other half of your lemon on to your spaghetti squash. Add in chicken mixture and mix together with spaghetti. Enjoy!

DIY Halloween Costume – Cast Away

I’m sitting here watching game 6 of the World Series, and am missing Boston mucho! Why the heck couldn’t they get to the World Series in the past few years when I was living there?!

Anyways, to distract myself I thought I’d share my DIY Halloween Costume from this past weekend. Andy and I were Tom Hanks and Wilson (yes the volleyball) from Cast Away! I thought it was super funny because it’s a pretty old movie and a pretty random costume idea.

Here is how it turned out…

Directions to make this costume

Materials for Wilson (all from JoAnne Fabrics)

White T-Shirt
Brick Red Acrylic Paint
Small sponge paint brush
White Head Band
Sticks

The shirt with Wilson’s face took me all of about 10 minutes. Make sure to put a piece of cardboard in between the t-shirt so it doesn’t bleed through. I pulled up a picture of the face and simply copied it on the shirt after I had outlined it in pen first.

For the head-piece, I took a white head band and folded it in half. I super glued the long ends to make almost a hollow tube. I then cut little holes for each stick and super glued them in each hole. Then I took some fake grass / sticks and glued them to the front.

Materials for Tom Hanks Character

Brown fabric to fit around waist
A big brown wig with beard (ours was a “caveman” wig)
A FedEx box (which is free!)
A rag to wrap around hand

This one was even easier than Wilson. Andy simply threw on his wig, we pinned the material around him, and wrapped a rag around his hand with some red paint on it. He grabbed the FedEx box and we were done!

This was one of the easiest costumes to make and everyone got a kick out of it!

Take Me Back Tuesday – Interlaken, Switzerland

I’ve slacked on my Take Me Back Tuesday post for the past couple of weeks. It’s a whole process writing these posts because it requires a lot of remembering, reminiscing, and getting lost in tons of photos and stories. This week I want to share with you one of the most beautiful and exhilarating places I’ve ever traveled to…Interlaken, Switzerland!

I remember after coming home from studying abroad in Europe people would ask ‘which country was your favorite?’ It was so hard to choose just one, but Switzerland always came to mind first. My best friend Rachel, who I traveled there with, and I, still to this day say we want to retire in Switzerland.

Rachel and I were inspired to buy our tickets to Switzerland after a bunch of our friends traveled there to go skydiving. We watched all of their videos and decided that would be our next trip. It actually ended up snowing, so we couldn’t skydive (that would come a few years later). Instead we went Canyon Jumping….which was even more insane than sky diving!

Here are the reasons why Interlaken, Switzerland was one of my favorite places in Europe:

The back drop of the Swiss Alps is beautiful.

The air is so clean, crisp, and fresh.

The small, quaint little streets with small chalet styled shops, restaurants, and stores.

Cows!

The people are so friendly.

We got to drive this teeny, little car. We followed a map to a lake not too far away.

The lakes are a blue I have never seen before!

Our hostel was one of our favorites of the whole semester. It was called Balmers. The staff made you feel right at home, we even met the owner Erich Balmer who gave us an inspirational talk. There was a bar in this hostel too, so a great place to meet other travelers.