A Little Bit of Everything

I'm Not Dead, I Promise.

2010-07-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

Well, seeing as it's been over 2 months since my last post, I guess you could say that I've been slacking a little, and by a little I mean a lot. It's not that I haven't been cooking and baking or trying new recipes, it's just that I've had better things to do (no offense blogging world), such as go to the beach or lay out in my backyard. It's just so dang hard to get things done during the summer months. Warm weather and sunshine are few and far between here, so I need to take full advantage and that means not sitting inside on my computer! Capeesh? Just to prove that I haven't been sitting on my arse these past few months, here are a few pictures of things I've made with good intentions to post on the blog, but oops never got around to it...

Monkey Bread a.k.a. The Most Addicting Bread, Ever

Snickerdoodle Sandwiches with Buttercream Frosting

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (The BF's favorite)

Pepperoni Pizza

Ricotta Cheese Turkey Meatballs

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

Lemon Risotto (A fave of mine)

Sauteed Shrimp in Lemon Butter Sauce

So there you have it. Hopefully I can make more time to post my recipes so you folk can enjoy them!

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-05-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

So maybe you've heard the tall tale of the Neiman Marcus cookie recipe. If you have, great. If you haven't, google it, I'm not typing it out :) Whether or not you've heard it or believe it is irrelevant because these cookies are effing fantastic!!! You won't even be thinking about where they came from once you've started eating them. And I say started because once you eat one, I guarantee you'll continue.

(Sorry about the picture, this is all that was left of the 12 cookies once I remembered to take a picture)

For the cookies you will need:
1 C butter
1 C brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 C blended oatmeal (blend in a food processor to a fine powder)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 oz. grated Hershey Bar (this comes out to about 2 1/2 candy bars)
2 C flour
1 C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
2 C or 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Cream butter, both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Combine flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and grated chocolate bars. Refrigerate for 1/2 hour. Roll into balls and bake at 375 for 6-10 minutes (mine were perfectly soft and chewy at 8 minutes).

Enjoy!

2010-04-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Is it weird that I'm sitting at my kitchen table and Destiny's Child 'Bootylicious' just came on Pandora and I have zero intentions of skipping it? I didn't think so either...

Yikes!

2010-04-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

Um...I think I may have just experienced a moment of temporary insanity. I just registered for the Johnny Kelley Half Marathon! Oh yea, and it's in 33 days. Yea, that's right, 33 short days. I suppose I better start hitting the pavement. I know what you're thinking. You? You're going to run 13.1 miles with those thighs? I know, I was definitely not built for distance. One look at me and you would for sure say to yourself, That girl must be a gymnast! Well, no. I'm not. And yes, I've heard that said about me many many times, too many times to count. So i suppose there is no turning back now. I have no choice but to lace up my kicks and get my bootay in gear.

(Source)

These are my new kicks I bought recently in hopes of motivating me to get going. So far, so...average.

P.S. If this is any indication of how this next month of training is going to go, I'm in for some serious trouble come May 30th...My alarm went off at 8 a.m this morning so I could get up and go on a morning run before work, however, I quickly rolled over, hit snooze, and slept until 9:30...yikes!

The Search for the Perfect Blueberry Muffin

2010-04-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been having this weird insatiable craving for blueberry muffins. How often do I eat blueberry muffins? Lit-rally, once every few years or so, maybe. Which makes this craving even more odd. Anywho, I've been on the search for the perfect blueberry muffin, and unfortunately this is not it. This recipe is from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and it wasn't terrible, it just wasn't anything to write home about. A little on the dry side and just a little on the not sweet enough side for my taste. Either way, I'm including this recipe for whatever reason.

For the muffins you'll need:

1 3/4 C AP flour (OBV I used white whole wheat flour)

1/3 C sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

3/4 C milk

1/4 C cooking oil

3/4 C fresh blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease muffin pan with non-stick spray. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and set aside. In separate bowl, combine egg, milk, and oil. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Scoop the batter into muffin cups until about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 F for 18-20 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-04-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

Let me just say that I am not qualified to give an accurate opinion of how delicious these cookies are, and the reason is because I don't particularly care for peanut butter. I know, I can hear it now...GASP! How could you not love peanut butter in all its peanutty glory?!?!? Well, because I just don't. However, the BF absolutely loves peanut butter, like loves peanut butter, and loves peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies even more. So out of the goodness of my heart I'll occasionally forgo making something we both can enjoy eating and make these cookies for him. I wonder if he knows how lucky he is?

(The BF insisted I take a picture of the middle of the cookie to show everyone how gooey and delicious they were)

For the cookies you will need:

1 C flour (I used white whole wheat flour from Trader Joe's)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 C smooth peanut butter (I use Teddy)

1/2 C granulated sugar

1/3 C light brown sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg plus 1 egg white

1 C rolled oats

1 C dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl cream together the butter, peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla for about 3 minutes. Add the egg and egg white and beat to combine. Gradually add flour and mix on low speed until combined. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips. Drop dough onto baking sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, or try to let cool for a few minutes before you dive right in!

Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Cookie Sandwiches

2010-04-06T18:05:00.000-07:00

After a brief hiatus I am back! And what better way to make my grand entrance than with homemade snickerdoodle cookie sandwiches with a butter frosting? I couldn't think of a better way either. Holy sinfulness. These things are gooooood, so good that I made them Sunday night and they were completely devoured by Monday afternoon. What does that say about MRA and me? That we like cookies? That we like dessert? Or that we very often over indulge on my home baked goodies which leave us feeling regretful of our impulsive choices to eat the entire batch of cookies in one sitting! Lesson learned. I found this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

For the cookies you will need:

1/2 C butter, softened

1 C granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 C AP flour (I use Trader Joes white whole wheat flour - can't tell a difference)

2 T sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl beat softened butter on high for 30 seconds. Add 1 C sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar to mixing bowl with butter. Beat until well combined. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Gradually add flour and mix until you've added 1 1/2 C flour. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. In a small dish combine 2 T sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough into balls and roll in sugar cinnamon mixture. Place on baking sheet and bake for 10-11 (mine cooked perfectly at 10 minutes). Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

For the frosting you will need:

1/3 C butter

4 C sifted powdered sugar

1/4 C milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

milk

Directions:

In a mixing bowl beat butter until softened. Gradually add half of the powdered sugar mixing well. Slowly add milk and vanilla. Mix well. Slowly beat in remaining 2 C powdered sugar. Beat in any addition milk to reach desired spreading consistency.

Enjoy!

Book Club Menu!

2010-03-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

Last night was our book club meeting for the month of March, and as always, it was a great time. So much fun eating delicious food, drinking delicious drinks, and spending time with the girls. Last night we had a tapas theme. Everyone was responsible for bringing one dish. There was really no food genre such as Italian or Mexican that we needed to bring, so that made the array of dishes quite diverse and that much more delicious!

*I'm not including any recipes in this post, but if you'd like one, just leave a message and I will most certainly get it for you!

The Meag-O made the most delicious sangrias I have ever tried, not that I drink sangria frequently, but if I did, these would take the cake! Just remember, don't eat the fruit :)

KN made quinoa with some stir-fried meat and veggies. This was so good, I'll definitely be making this on my own sometime soon.

KN also made some white bean dip. It was really good, I'd never eaten white bean dip before, but I will most definitely be eating it again.

SD (soon to be SL!) made some Mexican pinwheels...so addicting!

And LA kept it on the healthier side and brought an antipasto, also super delicious!

For this book club we read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. If you read this, be ready for some waterworks. I cried throughout this book so often! Definitely one of the best books I have read recently!

Enjoy!

Fire Roasted Tomato Pork Chops with Bacon & Pea Polenta

2010-03-21T05:57:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe in Rachel Ray's Big Orange Book of Recipes, and thought I'd give it a go. Let me warn you, this meal is not for the faint of heart. It is H-O-T, and I usually love hot and spicy food, but this meal takes hot to a whole new level. I guess I could have guessed that from the words 'Fire Roasted' right there in the title? But that's neither here nor there. Once you get past the initial shock, this meal was actually pretty dang tasty. The polenta balances out the pork chops quite nicely. Proceed with caution.

(I halved this recipe, and there was still plenty of polenta left over for lunch the following day!)

For the pork chops you will need:

2 T EVOO

4 boneless pork chops

Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 bunch scallions, cut into 1 in. pieces

2 T white wine vinegar

2 T brown sugar

1 28 ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 T EVOO. While that is heating up, season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Once the pan is hot enough, add pork chops and cook until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove chops from the pan onto a separate plate and cover them with foil. To that same pan, add garlic and scallions and cook until just starting to get tender, about 3 minutes. Once the veggies have become tender, add the vinegar, brown sugar, and tomatoes to the pan with the scallions. Bring this sauce to a bubble and add the pork chops back in. Finish cooking the pork chops, about 3-4 minutes.

For the Polenta you will need:
4 strips of bacon, chopped
1 1/2 C chicken stock
1 1/2 C milk
1 10 ounce package frozen peas
1 C quick cooking polenta
1 C grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions:

In a separate pot over medium-high heat, add 1 T EVOO, let that heat up, and add chopped bacon. Let that cook about 5-6 minutes until it's nice and crispy. When the bacon is crispy, remove it from the pot and reserve on a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pot, and add in the chicken stock, milk and peas. Bring everything up to a bubble. Whisking constantly, gradually add the polenta to the pot and cook, still whisking, until the polenta thickens up, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir in the Parmigiano Reggiano and reserved bacon.

Stay tuned for a pot-luck Tapas menu featuring the lovely ladies of book club, all superb cooks of course!

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili with Cornbread

2010-03-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

After a short hiatus, I am back in the kitchen! BF and I have both been battling a bad cold for the past week or so, which means little to no home cooked meals for us. Last night, however, I made some turkey chili with linguica and a side of cornbread. This meal had a real potential to be a huge flop for two reasons 1.) I've never made chili before, and 2.) I've never used my slow cooker before. Luckily for us it turned out great! There were a ton of leftovers which we froze for a future quickie dinner. I found the original chili inspiration recipe on BigOven, and made some changes to it.

For the chili you will need:
2 T vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 T minced garlic
2 T chili powder
1 T ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 lb. ground turkey
1 lb. linguica
2 (15 oz.) cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 (28 oz.) can tomato puree
Salt to taste
Shredded cheddar cheese to garnish
Sour cream to garnish

Directions:
Heat oil in a large saucepot over medium heat. Add onions, pepper, garlic, and spices. Cook vegetable mixture, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, until veggies are softened. Increase heat to med-high and add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink in the center, 4-5 minutes. In a separate skillet heat oil and add linguica. Heat until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Once linguica has cooked, add to ground turkey mixture. Add meat and veggie mixture to your slow cooker. Rinse and drain red kidney beans, add to slow cooker. Add diced tomatoes and tomato puree to slow cooker. Mix ingredients well. Set slow cooker to cook on high for 4 hours. Once finished, garnish with cheese and sour cream.

Stay tuned for Fire Roasted Pork Chops with Bacon and Pea Polenta! Yummmy!

Enjoy!

Kitchen Re-Do 2010!

2010-03-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

I just want to apologize to my readers for the lack of posts recently. It's for a good reason, I promise. Drum roll please...we painted our kitchen!!! Not many of you have had the privilege of spending time in my home, but for those of you who have, you know how desperately the entire house has needed painting. One room down, 5 to go! Keep on truckin'!

I completely forgot to take a picture before we got started, so here is a picture shortly after we got everything going. Unfortunately the walls have already been primed, so you can't see the before color. But let me tell you. The walls were nothing short of pale rose blush pink covered with dirt. Yes, I'll embarrassingly admit it. My walls are filthy. Ugh, there, I said it. For a clean-freak like me, that's difficult to admit. Phew, now that I have that off my chest.

After looking over a gazillion different colors we finally decided to go with Benjamin Moore Potpourri Green in Eggshell finish, and I L.O.V.E. how it came out!

Here are some picture of the finished product, and Oh-Em-Gee, I love my new kitchen! We haven't hung any of the pictures or anything back up, so it's somewhat bare, but you get the idea.

Don't be jealous of my Magic Chef oven, circa 1983.

And if you're interested, we had broiled flank steak with baked sweet potato fries and a salad for dinner.

Enjoy!

Healthy Baked Fusilli

2010-03-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

Dinner last night was baked fusilli pasta and boy oh boy it did not disappoint! This meal was somewhat experimental. Anyone who knows me knows that I luuurve anything with red sauce, so I'll use any excuse to make a meal with red sauce. That being said, I've made my fair share of baked pastas, lasagnas, etc., and decided to throw this together last night. So, props to me! We enjoyed this with a nice light salad. And a few healthy pours of red wine of course :)

For the pasta you will need:

Fusilli (you could really use any kind of pasta you'd like, ziti, elbow, penne...I used whole wheat organic fusilli)

1 26 oz. jar of red sauce of your choice (Barilla Tomato and Basil is my go to)

1 lb. ground turkey

1/2 onion chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup ricotta cheese
Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Direction:
Spray large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Combine ground turkey, onion, and garlic. Cook through and drain fat. In a separate bowl, combine sauce, mozzarella, and ricotta. Mix well. Add turkey mixture to bowl and combine. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish and add pasta. Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cook for additional 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Balsamic Chicken with Capers

2010-03-04T18:01:00.000-08:00

Dinner tonight was balsamic chicken with capers. I found this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and already had everything on hand, so it was a win-win situation. I find a delicious looking recipe, I win. I already have everything I need and don't need to go outside into the icy tundra to go to the store, I win. And now you win because I'm sharing this delicious recipe with you! We enjoyed this with broccoli and brown rice.

For the chicken you will need:

4 chicken breasts

5 T butter (I most definitely did not use this much)

Salt and pepper to season

1/2 cup chicken broth

2/3 cup white wine (I used Fat Bastard Chardonnay)

1/4 chopped onion

2 T whipping cream

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp capers, drained

Directions:
Melt 1 T butter in skillet over med-high heat. Once melted, add the chicken and cook through, turning once. 6-8 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place in oven safe dish. Keep warm in oven.

Add chicken broth, wine, and onion to skillet and bring to a boil. Gently boil for 10-15 minutes until liquid reduces to 1/4 cup. Once liquid has reduced, add whipping cream and mix. Add butter 1 T at a time and stir until melted. (I only used 2 and the sauce came out great). Add balsamic vinegar and capers. Mix well. Serve over chicken.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Flaxseed Muffins

2010-03-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

Before you pass over this post due to the fact that the name makes it sound like something a tree hugging vegan would eat, DON'T! These muffins were so tasty. I had been craving delicious breakfast muffins lately for some reason, chocolate chip banana nut muffins to be exact, but didn't want to sacrifice my already ever-so-slim hips. HA HA HA. That was hilarious, I know. Mainly for the fact that the night before I baked these I was stuffing my face with Wendy's at 10:30 at night. All jokes aside, I usually tend to try and eat on the healthier side the majority of the time, that way when I am craving a meeting with my good friend Wendy, I can enjoy it guilt-free. Well, almost guilt-free. You've all seen Food Inc. haven't you?

For the muffins you will need:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups ground flaxseed
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 T baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups milk
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Add milk. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. Fill 3/4 full. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes (mine took 23 minutes). Remove from oven and cool before serving.

This was enough to make 24 small muffins, and I have to be perfectly honest with you...I added chocolate chips to the second batch! Everything in moderation, right? I reccommend microwaving for 10 seconds before eating. Or, like the BF does, you could completely defeat the purpose of baking healthy muffins and cut them in half, lather them up with butter, and then thrown them into a butter filled pan to enjoy a delicious "grilled" muffin. To each his own I suppose...

Enjoy!

Turkey Burgers and "French Fries"

2010-03-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

No lie, we eat turkey burgers quite often. I would say at least once a week. However, without fail, I always forget to take a picture! And I lit-rally mean always! I'll find myself blissfully enjoying the last few bites of my burger when I think to myself "Stop eating immediately! You forgot to take a picture!" And then I realize that no one is going to want to see a picture of one last bite of a burger, so I say to myself, "Oh well, I'll just make sure to take one next time." And clearly that next time never comes. So I decided to go ahead and post the recipe regardless of the fact that I sometimes get too excited about eating what I've made and forget to take a picture. This is our standard turkey burger recipe, however, we have changed it up a few times. But here you go.

For the burgers you will need:
1 lb. ground turkey
1/4 cup diced onion
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 slice of American cheese/burger patty
Whole wheat Kaiser Rolls (or any bun of your choice)
Ketchup, mustard, tomatoes, pickles, and any other condiments for dressing

Directions:
Combine first six ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Form into patties (I was able to get 5 good size patties from this amount of meat). Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray and add burger patties. Cook on each side 5-7 minutes, depending on how you like your burgers cook. Add cheese until melted and place on bun. And voila! You have a delicious healthy turkey burger!

For the "french fries" you will need:
1 large russet potato
Salt to taste
EVOO

Directions:
Spray an aluminum lined baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Cut potato into french fry shaped strips (this makes them more enjoyable because they look like fries, and I can enjoy them without all the guilt!) Arrange on baking sheet and sprinkle with salt to taste and a few shakes of EVOO. Bake them at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes depending on how crispy you like them.

This meal was great and for dessert (gasp! I said the D word!) we enjoyed whole wheat flaxseed muffins with chocolate chips! Post to come at a later date.

Enjoy!

Preppy Little Dress Giveaway!

2010-03-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

Let me just preface this post by saying, once I reach 100 followers I plan on hosting my first ever giveaway! Item TBD at a later date. I know what you're thinking..."100 followers? Good luck! Hardy har har!" Seeing as I currently have 10 followers, that's a very expected response, and clearly I've got a ways to go. So if you enjoy reading my nonsensical ramblings, spread the word! Okay, moving on.

*Preppy Little Dress* is currently hosting an uber fabulous giveaway! If you love stationary and all things preppy, then this is the perfect giveaway for you. She is giving away such a cute Lilly Pulitzer mix and match stationery set featuring bees knees patch. Isn't this just adorable?

Be sure to visit *Preppy Little Dress* and enter her giveaway. And best of luck to everyone! If you win, I expect a letter from your adorable new stationary!

Seriously, I Lust Over This Stuff, Fo' Real!

2010-02-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

It is unreal how frequently I look at, browse, check over, obsess over the J.Crew website. I've always said that if my wardrobe had to consist of one and only brand that it would be J.Crew. I just love how classy, timeless, and chic the clothes are. Outfits can be as varied as office chic to beach casual. I love a good variety. Here are a few various pieces that have whet my appetite recently...in no particular order...

J.Crew Applique Flower Art Tee - $78

(picture courtesy of Polyvore.com)

J.Crew Drawstring Deux Pant in Cobblestone - $69.50

(picture courtesy of Polyvore.com)

Ruffled Spring Celosia Cardigan in Wild Plum - $98