Fallen Souffle

At 26 years old, my Mom still makes me an easter basket/bag I was in Va Beach last weekend for my Dad’s birthday and since I wasn’t going to be able to make it back for Easter she sent me back with my easter “bag” and under strict instructions was told not to open it until the morning of. So first thing this morning (after preheating the oven and starting the water for fresh bagels) I opened the Bed Bath and Beyond bag tied with the Bath and Body Works ribbon (Mom is so creative on the fly) and there it was, in all it’s glory….plastic easter grass, Reese’s eggs and loose M&M’s which were all over my counter Nonetheless, it was awesome to still have a piece of childhood even when I can’t be with my family today.

I have been baking a lot this weekend, in addition to the bagels this morning I made Potato Rosemary Rolls for tonight and Honey Ricotta Orange Cheesecake. I also made some Banana Walnut Bread last week. It’s nice to be back in the kitchen and back into baking. Recipes to come, the bagels are calling me now! Have a great easter!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Cravings have been dictating the menu this week (really lack of menu as I am fighting a cold) and luckily I just needed to grab some lettuce and bread and cheese at the store to make this salad. Caesar salads are not something I ever order out because I find most to be really gross. The dressing is too heavy, the cheese if fake and the croutons are from a box. I first made this salad back in college, junior year if I remember correctly. Thinking back to that year in school, I cooked a lot. I was in my first apartment so I took advantage of having a full kitchen at my disposal. Food Network was always on the TV (somethings don’t change) and I was always printing up recipes in the computer labs, quickly snatching them up from the printer so I wouldn’t get in trouble for doing non-school related computer work. I think that year in college really molded me as a cook, I would try just about anything and was not afraid to accidentally set off the smoke alarm making chicken parmesan.

This recipe was inspired by the Alton Brown recipe but I tweaked it by making the dressing in the bowl and not on the leaves. I think the consistency is better and better incorporated the anchovy paste (if you decide to use it). The Worcestershire sauce provides enough saltiness if you don’t want to use anchovy paste but I felt it wouldn’t be a caeser salad with out it

Caesar Salad
1 loaf day old Italian bread
3 garlic cloves, mashed
9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon plus 1 pinch kosher salt
2 eggs
2 heads romaine lettuce, inner leaves only
7 grinds black pepper
1 lemon, juiced
6 drops Worcestershire sauce
squirt of anchovy pasta if you so desire
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut 1/2 to 3/4-inch croutons from the loaf of bread and place on a baking sheet and put into the oven until dry but not browned.

Use a mortar and pestle to mash the garlic with 4 tablespoons of oil and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Strain the oil into a skillet over medium heat. Add the dried croutons and fry, tossing constantly until all of the oil is absorbed and the croutons turn gold. Set aside. (Or you can be lazy like me and just finely mince garlic and add garlic to the olive oil in a pan over low heat until you can smell the garlic, raise temperature a bit, add croutons and fry)

Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the eggs and cook for 1 minute. Chill in ice water to halt cooking. Set aside.

In a very large bowl, add remaining olive oil, salt and pepper, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy pasta and egg yolks (yes they will be raw) and whisk vigorously. Add lettuce leaves and toss until coated. Toss in Parmesan cheese and serve with croutons.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Well, it has been quite some time since I have looked at my 101 list much less update it!

However today, I checked off a pretty major one, I donated hair. Yes 8 inches of hair to Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths. I figured it was time for a change since there have been a lot of changes in my life, so lopping off 8 inches of hair is a pretty major change. I was a little nervous going into it but once I got in the chair I was so excited. I have a fabulous stylist and I knew she would make me look amazing. And she did not disappoint. If you live in the Raleigh area and need a new stylist go to Shannon at The Spa by Mitchell’s at Cary Towne Center…she rocks!

So I will be sending my pony tail off to be made into a wig. It’s funny how many memories are in that hair, but I’m ready to make lots of new ones with my new sassy short do! So I am challenging you to donate 8 inches, hint hint, especially to my sister! She is quite attached to her hair and I don’t know if she would ever do it, but I can at least try

There were also a few other items I checked off including attending a wine festival (went to two last fall), went to the NC Art Museum and went dancing at a club.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

That’s right, I won a chili cook off with the most unlikely recipe…Chicken Tomatillo Chili. I was going to re-create this awesome chipotle chili that I made on a recent ski trip but decided to go out on a limb and try something totally different. I figured people would either love it or hate it. One of these days these experimental recipes are going to back fired but for now I have a pretty good track record!

Since everyone was going to go with a traditional beef chili (some with beans) I decided to make something with chicken and without tomatoes as there seem to be a growing population of tomato haters. I have seen many new recipes using tomatillos and thinking back to my love of salsa verde, I decided to take a stab at these little guys. Tomatillos look like little green tomatoes with these weird paper like husks on them. I found them in the tomato section but they are not related, I think I heard they are related to gooseberries but I could be making that up. To prep them, remove the husk and give them a rinse as they are a little tacky on the surface. I roasted mine in a 425 degree oven until they burst and started to blacken a bit. I also used some canned tomatillos because my Harris Teeter didn’t have many fresh ones (I needed about 4 pounds all together) but I think this worked well because they are already softened.

I sort of combined a couple recipes to come to this one, and then added to random stuff which makes it difficult to recreate when people ask for a recipe

This chili got RAVE reviews, seriously I was blown away by how many people liked it. After I was awarded first place all of the guests were told to go eat all the leftovers, well there was none left of mine This is a mild to medium chili but you could add more poblanos or even some canned green chilis to kick up the spice level. This chili has a really fresh flavor to it which I really liked. The texture is nothing like traditional chili, the tomatillos have seeds much like tomatoes so a few people commented on that. This is also a pretty healthy chili and it reheats really well, which is good because this makes a big pot full!

Award Winning Chicken Tomatillo Chili
4 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 pounds of tomatillos, canned or fresh ones that are roasted
3 poblano peppers
2 cups chicken stock
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the poblanos on a foil lined baking sheet and place under broiler until skins are blackened. Turn peppers to allow all side to blacken. When completely black, remove from oven, place peppers in bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

2. In a large dutch oven, heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Brown the chicken thighs in batches (mine too about 3 batches). Remove all thighs to a plate.

3. In the dutch oven, add a bit of oil if necessary and add onions and garlic, cook until soft. When soft, add chicken, tomatillos, stock, cumin and salt and pepper. When it starts to bubble, reduce heat to medium low.

4. Remove poblanos from bowl and peel off blackened skin, stem and seeds. Finely chop peppers and add to chili.

5. Allow chili to simmer about 45 minutes so as to allow it to thicken. The chicken will get tender and I would go in with some forks and shred the chicken a bit so you don’t have huge chunks of chicken. If you find it too thick, you can add more stock or water. The tomatillos have a lot of pectin in them so you will notice it does tighten up.

6. Serve with cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice, if desired.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

This breakfast is so good! Seriously, it is the best of all possible worlds. Bread, cream cheese, sweet blueberry…it’s awesome. This french toast reminds me of the blueberry cheesecake bread I used to make at the bakery, sort of the same idea, dough wrapped around a mixture of cream cheese and berries with some brown sugar. Next time I may whip up the cream cheese and sweeten it with some sugar but this wasn’t a bad start at all!

I didn’t use a recipe, I used more of a technique. I smeared some cream cheese on some slices of french bread, sandwiched two together and dunked it into a mixture of about 3 eggs, a splash of cream, about a tablespoon of sugar and a sprinkling of cinnamon. I cooked these on a medium high griddle until golden then flipped. In a small saucepan, I added half a bag of frozen blueberries, about 1/2 water, a couple tablespoons o sugar and some vanilla. Brought it up to a boil and allowed to thicken a bit. I let mine cook too long and didn’t have a ton of syrup so if it looks too thick add some more water. Drizzle the blueberry sauce over hot french toast. YUM!

Next I will try this with nutella and a bananas foster sauce

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

So the Abs Diet is going well. I have lost 12 pounds since I first weighed myself at the Restoration Hardware in Crabtree mall earlier this month and realized I had to do something. I have been working out 5 days a week, 3 days weight lifting and 2 days of cardio. Sometimes I don’t get in 2 days of running like I would prefer, but I get at least one in and then take Bella for a long walk on the weekend. I increased my lifting weight this week and am feeling the pain! I am eating better, taking in 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, I just can never seem to get in that snack before bed but I don’t think that’s hurting anything. I try and cheat at only one meal a week, and the past two times have been wings and I have felt miserable after eating, so I may retire the chicken wings for a while. I am cooking alot, packing alot of lunches (which is helping me save some money) and am loving the smoothies.

I make a few of the recipes in the book but don’t follow it strictly just because the recipes tend to get boring, but I do get the gist of what I’m suppose to eat. I made this soup this week after realizing I had a huge jar of roasted red peppers from my sister. I also wanted to try and re-create a roasted red pepper soup I had at a local deli. This isn’t quite the same but it super easy to make and is really tasty.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 quart jar of roasted red peppers, drained and chopped into large chunks
2- 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes, undrained (you can also use whole tomatoes that you crush in your hands)
2 teaspoons chili powder (can add more if you like)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup or so of fat free half and half
1/2 cup shredded gouda, white cheddar etc (pretty much whatever you have on hand)

1. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add chopped red peppers, tomatoes, and spices and allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
3. Blend with a stick blender or in a standard blender until smooth.
4. Add half and half and cheese and allow cheese to melt and soup to heat back up.
5. Serve with a grilled ham and cheese (whole wheat bread please!) and enjoy!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The Money-Free weekend was a success. I was able to accomplish just about everything I wanted to do and some extras like taking Bella on a 3+ mile walk and setting up/organizing the 3rd bedroom. The pantry isn’t as full and I was able to try a few new recipes!

I found this recipe on The Nest message board which came from Eating Well. It uses tahini which is a sesame seed paste. It is used in place of most of the oil/butter and adds a slight nuttiness to the cookie. These were great out of the oven but were a tad crunchy the next day, which could be due to over baking. I will certainly make these again as I have a full container of tahini and a girl can only make so much hummus.

I only made half of the recipe as I was limited on rolled oats, so I just used one whole egg. You could also make these with chocolate chips and walnuts instead of the raisins which I may try next.

Tahini Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Makes about 45 cookies

2 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup tahini
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup granulated sugar or ½ cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 raisins

1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk oats, all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat tahini and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until blended into a paste. Add granulated sugar (or Splenda) and brown sugar; continue beating until well combined-the mixture will still be a little grainy. Beat in egg, then egg white, then vanilla. Stir in the oat mixture with a wooden spoon until just moistened. Stir in raisins.

3. With damp hands, roll 1 tablespoon of the batter into a ball, place it on a prepared baking sheet and flatten it until squat, but don’t let the sides crack. Continue with the remaining batter, spacing the flattened balls 2 inches apart. (I just scooped these with a small ice cream scoop)

4. Bake the cookies until golden brown, about 16 minutes, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Cool on the pans for 2 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the pans cool for a few minutes before baking another batch.

Per cookie: 101 calories; 5 g fat (2 g sat, 1 g mono); 7 mg cholesterol; 13 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 1 g fiber; 45 mg sodium.
Per cookie with Splenda: 97 calories, 12 g carbohydrate.
1 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 other carbohydrate, 1 fat

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I am taking on the challenge. After an expensive Christmas, an unexpected vet bill, new ski boots and a sofa bed…it’s time to stop spending money. I have a freezer and pantry stuffed with food, my closets are in disarray and I still have a box of paperwork that need to be sorted through. It’s time to get my butt into gear! So after I pick up a prescription at lunch, it’s no more spending until Tuesday! Yes Tuesday because I have Monday off and I figured why not go that extra day. I am secretly excited about this challenge because I plan to do things I haven’t had time to do because I was too busy shopping!

On the list include:
-Make Bella new dog beds
-Bake bread
-Make cinnamon rolls
-Organize outside utility closet
-Get clothes ready to donate/consign
-Steam clean carpets

There will also be some working out, dog walking, house cleaning and movie/DVR watching.

So there will be lots of cooking and lots of new recipes coming your way!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

This chicken is REALLY good. It so simple to put together with ingredients that can be stored in your pantry or freezer and it is healthy for you! A winning combo! You dirty one pan as all the mixing and baking are done in one baking dish which I always appreciate. I tweaked this recipe from a Martha recipe in which she uses peaches and some other ingredients but I loved the simple taste of these few ingredients. I also had frozen mangoes instead of peaches so figured that would be just as good. The mangoes get soft and the onions carmelize…ooo so good. Definitely a keeper. I added some leftover brown rice and steamed broccoli for a perfect well rounded meal.

Ginger and Mango Chicken
1 bag (1 pound) frozen mangoes, unthawed
1 onion, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger (I used the crushed ginger from Trader Joe’s)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 bone-in skin-on chicken breast halves, (10 to 12 ounces each)
Cooked rice, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place mangos and onions on a large rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with ginger, soy sauce; toss to coat.

2. Spray chicken with Pam/olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken skin side up among mangoes and onions.

3. Roast until chicken is opaque throughout and registers 160 degrees.on an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast (avoiding bone), 30-40 minutes. Serve chicken with white rice, mangoes, and onions.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I LOVE beef stroganoff. I think I could actually do without the beef and just double up on the mushrooms, but that may be a different dish all together. Regardless, beef stroganoff is not the healthiest dish as it has sour cream, egg noodles, and butter to saute the mushrooms but is so good I crave it. I don’t have the nutritional facts on this but it came from the Ab’s Diet book so it must not be that bad.

This is so easy to throw together and tastes sooo good. I used whole wheat egg noodles and found I could not even tell the difference. I did throw the noodles in the beef and sauce and let it soak up the goodness a bit so I don’t know if that helped.

I steamed some brussel sprouts (I don’t know why I always crave brussel sprouts with stroganoff) and had quite a nice little meal.

Healthier Beef Stroganoff
1 1/2 pounds lean sirloin steak, cut into 1″-long strips 1/4″ thick
1 medium onion, sliced
2 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 14 1/2-oz can nonfat beef broth
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
1 cup fat-free sour cream
4 cups cooked whole wheat egg noodles

Brown the beef and onion in a large nonstick skillet. Add the flour to the skillet and stir the beef until coated.

Add the mushrooms, broth, mustard, paprika, and sour cream to the mixture, stirring constantly until the sauce develops a creamy consistency.

Serve over noodles.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!