Tag: food

Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash

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My initial effort at making dinner more often, started with a bang.  After I wrote the last blog post, I started meal planning and of course, I turned to Pinterest for ideas. I found a recipe I thought looked tasty for Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad.  It looked great, but I decided I wanted it to be a bit lighter.  I don’t want to be eating a pound of quinoa for dinner (not that there’s anything wrong with that, just not my taste).

So instead of quinoa, I went with spaghetti squash, because I’m a huge fan and it’s lower in calories than quinoa.  The result…

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Delicious, and ready in less than 30 minutes!  Not to mention it’s super easy clean up, since you only use one pot/skillet.  To make life easier, I bought pre-cut and pre-washed shredded carrots and cabbage.  So the only chopping I had to do was the green onions and chicken.

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Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash
3-4 green onions
1-2 lbs chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded cabbage (I bought cole slaw mix)
1 cup Frank’s Buffalo Sauce (or more if you’d like)
1-2 oz Blue Cheese (or more if you’d like)

Poke your spaghetti squash a few times with a fork or knife.  Microwave 10-15 minutes or until tender.

In the meantime, cut up your chicken and toss in onion and garlic powder.  Next slice the green onions.  Slice the white part of the green onions and reserve the green tips for garnish.

Heat olive oil in a skillet or pot (I used a 12″ cast iron skillet).  Add chicken and green onions, cook until chicken is cooked through (about 5 or 6 minutes).

Remove spaghetti squash from the microwave.  Once it’s cool enough to handle, slice in half, remove the seed and discard, the fluff the spaghetti squash with a fork to get the strands loose.  Add spaghetti squash to the skillet and mix.  Add Buffalo sauce, cabbage and carrots.  Toss to combine.  Serve and sprinkle with blue cheese and chopped green onion tips.  This recipe will serve 4-6.

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I was really pleased with this meal.  I liked how quick and easy it was, but also tasty.  If you wanted to make this spicier, I would definitely add some sriracha for a little added kick.  You can also just get the spicy buffalo sauce instead of the traditional buffalo sauce.

Now I have a ton of left overs for lunch, but I’m excited for my next dinner creation!

What are you having for dinner tonight?

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie in a Pretzel Crust

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This blog post was original a dramatic complaint about how my life isn’t perfect.  I just re-read it, and I feel dumb, capricious and immature.  Because I realize all the things I worry about are trivial.  There are far more serious things in life than the fact that I have a pile of student loan debt, a mean comment from a reader or a little bit of back pain.

Last week, I thought I was having a terrible week.  Things kept going wrong, or so it seemed.  But I was wrong.

This week is far more terrible, because terrible things didn’t happen to me.  They happened to my loved ones, and that is a million times worse.

So in those moments when I feel like my life is crumbling, like a pie crust that doesn’t have enough water to help it stick together, food is important.  Those moments are when pie is essential.

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Really though.

Even if you don’t eat it, because by now I know turning to food when things aren’t going well is wrong, make the pie and give it away.

Give it to a loved one who isn’t having the best day, or a friend you haven’t talked to in a long time.

Pie doesn’t heal all wounds, but it helps.

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Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie in a Pretzel Crust

1 1/4 cup of pretzel crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth natural
4 oz cream cheese, softened
7 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
1/2 cup + 3 tbsp strawberry jam

First make your crust by mixing together pretzel crumbs, butter and sugar.  Press into a 9” pie dish and place in the freezer until ready to use.

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Next, beat together peanut butter, cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk.  Beat 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream until if holds firm peaks.  Fold whipped cream into peanut butter mixture until combined.  Set aside.

Beat remaining 1 cup of whipped cream.  Once it start to form peaks, add in 3 tbsp of strawberry jam.  If you want to avoid clump, blend your jam before adding it to the whipped cream.  Set aside.

Next assemble the pie.  Spread half of the jam on the bottom of the pie crust.  If it’s hard to spread, feel free to add a little water or blend it to make it smooth.  Next spread on half the peanut butter mixture, then another layer with remaining jam. Top with remaining peanut butter mixture.  Transfer whipped cream to piping bag and pipe strawberry whipped cream onto the pie, alternatively you can just spread it.

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Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight and serve cold to someone special.

This is comfort food to the max, because sometimes we need a little comfort and a big hug.

Brie Tomato Basil Grilled Cheese Sandwich and My Top 5 Tips for the Perfect Grilled Cheese

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So remember when I finished the Paleo Challenge, I learned I needed to eat actual meals instead of snacks for dinner?

Well I’m trying to get better at that.  I’ve been trying to incorporate more salads into my dinners, like the Roasted Beet Asparagus and Arugula salad in my last post.   But today and yesterday were long days.  I’ve been stressed and I’ve had a headache since I woke up today.

To remedy all that, I did two things:

1. Went to the Good Will

Thrift shops in Orange County aren’t as cheap in the song, nor are they as cheap as they were in Central NY.  But I still managed a few good finds.

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A tart pan for $2.50, a lovely oval shaped plate for $4.99 (over-priced in my opinion) and a cake plate for $2.50.  I also managed to find a rotating cake stand that will be great for frosting cakes.

2.  Grilled Cheese

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Let’s be more specific.  Brie Tomato Basil Grilled Cheese.

Now don’t get me wrong, traditional caprese with mozzarella is lovely, but seriously.  This sandwich is out of this world.

Last week someone asked me for tips on a good grilled cheese.  Obviously it’s all a questions of taste but here are…

My Top 5 Tips for Making the Perfect Grilled Cheese

1. Good Bread.  If your bread sucks, your grilled cheese will too.  Don’t you dare you sliced white bread.  Invest in some good bread.  I used Trader Joe’s Italian Bread.  Tasty enough.  Orange County is seriously lacking in good bread bakeries.

2. Make sure there’s cheese on both sides of the bread.  If you’re putting something other than just cheese, you need to make sure the cheese is on both sides.  The cheese is the binding agent.  If you don’t have it on both sides, it’ll all fall apart.

3.  Use Real Butter.  If you’re going to make a grilled cheese, now’s not the time to be healthy by avoiding butter.  No.  You’re choosing to make grilled cheese.  If you wanted a healthy meal, you’d make a salad.  Use butter.  It makes your bread golden, toasty and delicious.  Don’t skimp.

4. Mustard.  Unless you’re making a grilled cheese sandwich with some sort of jam, mustard almost always makes a grilled cheese taste better.  Cheese and mustard just go together.  I’m not talking about yellow mustard.  I’m talking tasty dijon-style mustard or the kind with the wonderful mustard seeds in it.  If you hate mustard, you can ignore this comment.  But if you like mustard, trust me.  Give it a try.

5. Low and slow.  Don’t turn the flame on high! Heat your pan to medium/low.  It might take a few minutes for it to get golden and for the cheese to melt, but that’s way better than a burnt piece of bread with hard cheese in the middle.  Be patient.  It’ll be tastier.

That’s pretty much there is to it.  Oh and if you use sliced Kraft American Cheese or Velveeta… You’re dead to me

Brie Tomato Basil Grilled Cheese

2 slices of amazingly tasty bread of your choice
a big pat of butter
1-2 oz brie, sliced (keep the rind! it’s tasty!)
3-4 tomato slices
1-2 basil leaves, chopped

Spread each slice of bread with butter on one side.  On the other side, layer cheese tomatoes and basil.  I try not to use too much cheese because brie is pretty strong, so I put half the cheese on one side and the bread and the other half on the opposite half of the other piece (does that make any sense?  See the pic below)

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Heat pan to medium/low heat.  Place sandwich, butter side down on pan.  Cook about 3 minutes per side or until golden all around and cheese in the center has melted.

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Serve with a bowl of soup and enjoy!  I had it with a bowl of Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup.  Tastiest soup from a box ever.  I promise!

Added bonus: This month is National Grilled Cheese Month.  I have no idea who decided that but I support, and so should you.  Eat Grilled Cheese Today!

P.S. Dunking is encouraged.

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30 Day Paleo Challenge: Day 13. It’s Just Food.

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This morning, I woke up and did a St. Patrick’s Day themed 5k with some friends.

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It was nice, relaxed and fun.  At the end of the race, they passed out a bunch of snacks.  I’m not really sure what I was thinking but I grabbed a Kind bar, a Think Thin bar and a Gnu bar (all mini sample sizes), along with an apple and banana.  Those bars are totally NOT paleo.  But I figured I’d hold on to them for after the challenge.

So I came home after the race and had the usual green smoothie and paleo pancake breakfast.  That was all good and fine.  It was a cloudy day and I had no plans, so I curled up in my pajamas and watched Girls.

Around 1pm, I got hungry.  I looked in the fridge and there was a paleo meal waiting for me.

Left over pork chops and cauliflower and sweet potato fries.

I totally did NOT want to eat that.  I also didn’t want to leave the house to get a salad.  So instead, I ate the Kind bar, ThinkThin and Gnu samples. Then I had a spoonful of peanut butter with jelly.

Paleo Fail.

For a while, I felt bad about it.  But then I remembered.  It’s just food.  It’s NOT a big deal.  Some sample bars aren’t going to kill me.  Neither will some peanut butter and jelly.

For the sake of all female-kind, let’s remember, it’s just food.  No matter what our relationship to it is, it’s just food.  Eating the “wrong” thing shouldn’t make me feel bad.

So I’m over it.  I messed up.  Last night, I also had a few bites of Pad Thai.  Then I had a massive stomach ache.  Karma? No.

It’s just food. 

I probably ate the Paleo-friendly coconut soup too fast.  That’s it.

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Now I’m going to the mall to distract myself…

Do you feel guilty after a diet mess up?  Should we?  Thoughts?

Roasted Pineapple with Cardamom Whipped Cream

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We’re mid-way through January and resolutions are in full swing.  Most people have a resolution that is health/fitness related.  I certainly do.  Believe it or not, in 2013 I want to:

1. Eat less sugar
2.  Keep up my work outs 3-5 times per week
3.  Be able to do 50 pushups without having to drop to my knees after 10

Not the loftiest of goals, but I’ll take it.  This doesn’t mean I’ll stop baking.  Nope.  In fact, last week I made a cake and a pie and today I made cookies (don’t worry I didn’t eat it all).  But I might to diversify my recipes to be a little more health conscious.

So for the sake of resolutions, here is a lighter (I say lighter, not light because whipped cream is not healthy) dessert.

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It includes fruit, a bit of sugar, some spice, nuts and cream.  It’s all about balance after all right?

Roasted Pineapple with Cardamom Whipped Cream

1 pineapple, thinly sliced into rings
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans (or other nuts)
Honey for drizzling

Pre-heat oven to 450F.

Slice pineapple and rub slices with brown sugar (about 1/2 tsp per slice).

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Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.  Flip and roast for another 5-10 minutes or until golden.

In the meantime, make whipped cream.  Using a mixer, beat cream until it starts to foam and thicken,  add cardamom, sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until it forms firm peaks.  Set aside.

Once pineapple is done.  Allow to cool slightly.  Place a few slices on a plate top with a dollop of whipped cream, sprinkle with nuts (whichever you’d like.  I used pecans but I bet pistachios would be awesome), and drizzle with honey.  The whipped cream will melt a bit because the pineapple is hot.  Depending on the size of your pineapple and how thick your slices are this should serve about 10 people.

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The beauty of this recipe is that it’s ok to NOT measure things.  It’s easy to scale up or down, just take however much pineapple you want, rub it with some sugar, roast it, serve it with whipped cream (or ice cream?!?!), sprinkle with nuts, drizzle with honey and BAM!  Quick and easy light dessert that will impress all.

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So whether your new years resolution is to lighten up, throw more dinner parties or become a master chef.  This should set you in the right direction.

What’s your New Year’s Resolution?

Orange-Pistachio Biscotti

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Sometimes I wish I had a fashion/style blog like Kendi Everyday, but then I remember I lack a unique sense of fashion (hence why I feel the need to text pictures of my outfits to my friends for approval).

I simply cannot accessorize. If you can, bless your heart.

More importantly, I’ve noted that these style bloggers all have fabulous significant others (or something or other) who can take fantastically flattering pictures of them in random parts of cities.  No luck there for me either.

Instead, I oogle style blogs on a regular basis and stick to making food… like biscotti.  Biscotti is like the silky scarf of cookies, don’t you think?

Orange-Pistachio Biscotti

Better than the average cookie and even more divine when dipped in hot coffee.  The orange and pistachio combination.  Classic.  Like a black dress.

Orange-Pistachio Biscotti

Orange-Pistachio Biscotti

adapted from Allrecipes Biscotti

1/2 canola oil
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
zest of 2 oranges
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup shelled pistachios
2 cup white chocolate chips (plus more for drizzling)
1-2 tsp canola oil

Preheat oven to 375F.  Beat together canola oil, sugar, eggs, orange zest and vanilla until well combined.  Beat in flour and baking soda until almost combined.  Add pistachios and 1 cup of white chocolate chips.  Divide dough in half.  Form into two logs about 2 or 3 inches wide and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden.  Remove from oven allow to cool until you can handle it without burning yourself.   Reduce oven temperature to 325F.  Then slice at a slight diagonal into half inch slices.  Lay onto baking sheet again and bake 5 minutes on each side.  Allow to cool completely.

Orange Pistachio Biscotti

Once cookies are completely cooled, place white chocolate chips into a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir and repeat until chocolate is melted.  Add a teaspoon or two of canola oil until the chocolate is a little runny (but not too much).  Drizzle over cooled cookies.  Allow chocolate to harden and serve with hot coffee or tea.  Makes about 40 cookies and can be stored in an air tight container up to 1 week.

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If you, like me, are lacking in the style department, don’t despair.  These cookies will distract anyone from noticing that your shoes don’t match your outfit and you’re missing an earring.

Orange-Pistachio Biscotti

Save the cash you would spend on a new pair of boots and get yourself a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  That’s what I did today…

…And oh yeah, Happy New Year!

Lemon Cupcakes with Berry Whipped Cream Icing

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I’m starting to realize I have a tendency toward repetitiveness.  I do things over and over again without really getting tired of it.

Example #1: Today I listened to the same song over and over again from about 10am until 4pm. I literally kept hitting repeat on YouTube.

Example #2: Every so often, when I have nothing to do, I like to watch Pride and Prejudice alone in my bed and cry my eyes out when Elizabeth is telling her father how much she loves Mr. Darcy.  It gets me every time.

Example #3: I make lemon cupcakes for any number of occasions.  I never get tired of experimenting in my quest to make the perfect lemon cupcakes/cake.

I think this is the jackpot though.  Oh wait, do I claim that every time?  Who knows… let’s go with it.

Lemon Cupcakes with Berry Whipped Cream Icing

adapted from Epicurious Moist Yellow Cake

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup sugar
5 eggs
zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4- 1 cup milk*
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup powered sugar
3-4 tbsp berry jam (i.e. strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, etc)

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

Combine lemon juice and milk.  You want enough to make 1 1/4 cup of the mixture.  So squeeze the lemon juice into a measuring cup and fill until you get 1 1/4 cups.  Set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar.  Beat 3-5 minutes until fluffy.  Add lemon zest, vanilla and one egg at a time, beating 30 seconds between each egg.   Add flour mixture 1/2 cup (ish) at a time and milk mixture, alternating add each one.  Lastly, mix in the instant pudding mix.

Pour batter into line cupcake pan.  Bake 15-20 minutes depending on the strength of your oven, or until golden brown and cooked through.  Makes about 30 cupcakes.

Allow to cool completely and make the icing.  Beat heavy cream to soft peaks.  Add powdered sugar and jam, a bit at a time.  Keep beating until stiff.  Put icing in a piping bag and top off cupcakes (or spread with a knife).

Serve immediately or keep refrigerated until about an hour before serving.

This is definitely something I’d like to repeat, not just because I like making cupcakes but because they were delicious. I think this is going to replace any other lemon cupcake recipe I thought was best.  These are better.  Trust me.  Give it a try, then repeat.

I’d also like to repeat the shrimp tacos I made for dinner last night that I’m kicking myself for not photographing.  Oh well.  For the sake of repetition, here’s one more photo…  Is that okay?

It’s past midnight.  I can’t sleep.  I’m listening to the same song I listened to all day and am tempted to go into my kitchen to make these again.  Or maybe I should break my repetitive streak and make something new.  What do you think?