Tag Archives: sweet

I’m Sure Immortals Was Great

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It feels good to be back!  It will feel even better to actually have my computer back, but I’ll take what I can get.  I will admit that it’s felt a little freeing not having a computer this past week.  Sure, I still check my e-mail on my phone every 10 minutes, but not being tethered to a seat reminded me of how much the old me hated sitting in one place for hours, even in front of  a computer.  Something to think about.

I spent yesterday cooking and Adam spent the morning cleaning.  I like having company because it makes us pretend to live like adults!  While he worked, I munched on a simple but delicious sandwich.

Half a jalapeno cheddar bialey with 2 slices of Applegate Farms Honey Maple Turkey and a thick schmear of Crofter’s Organic Grape Spread.

I know I say it every time, but the spicy + sweet combo makes my world.

My brother-in-law got into town around noon so we took him to lunch at JP Bullfeathers.  We were sat in the downstairs “wine cellar” area, which was fun.

It was in the 40’s at that point so I relished a warm lunch.

I got a cup of jalapeno corn chowder which I was thrilled to see contained lots of whole kernels of corn.

And an order of garlic bread which I was sad to see was topped with cheese.  Who puts cheese on garlic bread?  I ate three pieces nonetheless.

The lunch as a whole was very heavy and it left me feeling full but not satisfied, if that makes sense.

I had to leave the boys to head in to work.  They went to Blue Monk while I was gone, a trip that required me to have to drive them to the movies later, ahem.  I actually walked from school over to Blue Monk to pick them up on foot first.  It was a nice walk, made even nicer by the purchasing of green juice from O3.

I made my own mix instead of ordering off of the menu, but I believe that what I ended up with was spinach, celery, cucumber, and carrot.

I had no desire to see “Immortals” so I stayed home and did some work.  I knew the dinner plan was pizza so I made sure to eat a nice salad when I got home.

A spinach bed with chopped apple, crumbled blue cheese, groats, and Wegman’s Yogurt Casaer dressing on top.

I’m not sure the salad will make me any less hungry for pizza, but I’m glad I at least got in some produce first.

I also ate a serving of Lindt truffles.

And as soon as I pick up the movie-goers it will be pizza time!  I’m not going to blog again today so the husband can have his computer, but assume I’ll have 1-3 slices of the good stuff.

I will see you all again (phew!) tomorrow.

Tasty/Slow

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Hello there.  Long time no see.

Between going to work on Friday night and eating an unphotographable lunch via food lab, it was just too difficult to blog yesterday.  But apparently it was quite easy for me to stay up until 1:30 am watching tv with the husband.  (Sidenote – how freaking off-the-charts fabulous was the newest “Bones” episode?!?!)  I was the walking dead all day today.

My morning actually had an early start because I had an 8:30 am volunteering commitment.  I had to pick up a friend on the way there, and shower before I faced the public, so my alarm felt super early.  But I was done and picking the husband up for a fun lunch date before I knew it.

Necessary back story ahead:  A classmate’s family owns a great local restaurant (Romeo and Juliet’s).  Their restaurant generously provided the cookies and bread that we sold as sides during the Chili Sale.  The bread was mini rolls made of panettone dough and it was completely fabulous.  The taste was like a very elevated King’s Hawaiian Roll.  Adam loves Hawaiian Rolls.  After we all raved about the rolls, our classmate told us that R&J’s also makes them for a local restaurant that centers their sandwiches around that bread.  There were leftovers after the sale and we all were thrilled to take some home.  On Thursday I brought home 10 mini rolls.  Adam got home around 4pm that day.  By 5pm all 10 rolls were gone.  Last night, when Adam picked me up from work he brought me a cannoli.  “Because [he] knew [I] wanted to try one.”  Upon further pressing, I found out that the cannoli was from R&J’s.  Because he went to see if they had more rolls.  (They did not.)

So long story long, today we dined at the restaurant that centers its sandwiches around R&J’s epic buns.

SoHo Bar had this funky, industrial vibe to it that we loved.

I took Adam as a surprise and while he was excited to be getting a lunch date, he had no idea why we were there.

(e) Read the menu.

(a) The salads look good.

(e) Look at the burgers.

(a) The meat is provided by Johnny’s Meats?

Sometime I think it’s a good thing he’s so book smart!  But once I pointed out the only sentence on the menu he had yet to read aloud, he was thrilled.

Adam went with a classic burger on an amazing bun, and I got a #4 combo so we could try multiple menu categories.

I had the turkey burger, with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and red onion.

Plus I requested some cranberry chutney to add on too.

The sour of the chutney and pickles went so well with the sweetness of the bun.

Adam and I split my fries, which came in an adorable mini fryer basket.

And finally we split a spiked shake (2/3 to 1/3, his favor).

We went with a Kentucky Caramel, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, vanilla ice cream, caramel ice cream, caramel sauce.

The bourbon-caramel combo was pairing perfection.

We continued our date with a long walk around the mall and it was the perfect afternoon.  At 2:30 I had to go to work but it was a short 2-hour shift that flew by quickly.  Plus, I was the ‘top earner’ yesterday and I went home today with a $5 gift card! 

My $ was promptly spent on snacks for the husband.  I carried a jumbo tub of movie-butter popcorn for many aisles through Target before I decided I’d probably ultimately be happier not consuming 5-bazillion calories before dinner.  Instead I ate the 2nd serving of Chia “Rice” Pudding.

Still tasty, but calorically dwarfed by the popcorn and packed with omega-3 fatty acids.

It was delicious straight out of the fridge, topped with cinnamon, and I highly recommend trying it yourself.

I don’t recommend dinner.

Don’t get me wrong, the flavors were amazing. 

But not 60+ minutes in the kitchen amazing.

for 2, quickly written but slowly cooked

  1. Place 3 oz prepared whole-wheat spaghetti in the bottom of two bowls (6oz total, 3oz each).
  2. In a large pan, working in three separate batches, use chicken broth to steam 6 oz fresh spinach, 1 small graffiti eggplant, and 22 large frozen shrimp.  Split between bowls.  Use the same pan for every step in the recipe to allow the flavors to build.
  3. Cook 2 slices Applegate Farms Turkey Bacon.  Chop and set aside.
  4. Heat 2 tsp evoo in the pan over medium heat.  Add 2 chopped shallots and 3 chopped cloves of garlic.  Cook until translucent.
  5. Add 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour and cook 1 minute.
  6. Stir in 1/4 cup chicken broth.  Add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup light cream and continue to stir.
  7. Return chopped bacon to pan.  Add 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese and cook until melted.  Pour sauce on top of veggies and pasta.

The sauce was fantasmic but I needed a bigger pan because cooking each layer separately took up waaaaay too much time.  My favorite part was the bacon, which I stole a slice of during prep.

Yum.

And I must smell like bacon, because look at how the dog has insisted on sitting all evening –

It’s sort of making my life.  Plus we watched “Crazy/Beautiful” while we ate and it’s one of my favorite movies so I’m pretty blissed out in general.  Hope everyone else is having a good weekend!

Ch-ch-ch-change It Up!

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Some people think you should never mess with the classics.  I say a good thing can always get better.

My Chia “Rice” Pudding versus Traditional Rice Pudding –

Pros:

  • you don’t have to cook the rice so mine only takes 15 minutes from start to finish
  • unless it’s wrapped around sushi, rice is boring (yeah, I said it)
  • chia seeds are a great source of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids

Cons:

???

Click here for the recipe.

On Both Hands

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On one hand, I want to try to keep posting speedy tonight because I’m interrupting tv time with Adam.  On the other, I ate some mind-blowingly amazing things today and I want to talk about them.  What to do, what to do?

I started my morning with a Sweet Tango apple.

I ate it during my walk to school and the crunching, munching, strolling, sun-rising combo was just perfect.

Though not as perfect as the 2nd half of my breakfast.  I bring you, my new all-time favorite sandwich.

The 2nd half of yesterday’s cheddar jalapeno bialey, with 2 slices of Applegate Farms Smoked Turkey, and a schmear of Crofter’s Organic Grape Spread.

Spicy plus savory plus sweet rocks my world.

Not food but also pretty exciting, I packed this Herban Essentials Lavender Towlette to wipe my hands with after my sandwich.

The smell rocked my face off and I felt uber-classy.  Confession  – my mom bought me this bag years ago and I’ve been hoarding them because I think they’re so special.

We did an interesting case study in class today but I’ll save time by not talking about it.  I just say this – you can only help someone who wants to help themself.

We went down to the lab after class to deal with the chili sale leftovers and I snagged a m&m brownie cookie.

Lunch was free too; I went to a club meeting that provided sub sandwiches.

I got half a turkey (with lettuce, tomato, and a slice of swiss) which I topped with lots of yellow mustard and a few chips.

When I got home I made myself something exciting for dessert.

That is “rice” pudding made with chia seeds.  I topped my bowl with a splash of maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

It was amazing I pinky swear to share the recipe with y’all tomorrow but I’m going to save time by skipping that now.

Adam and I actually got next week’s grocery shopping done this afternoon.  It’s going to be a busy weekend and we want to get as much done ahead of time as we can.

Dinner was easy and quick, vegetarian tacos.

We mashed 2/3 of a can of pinto beans, spread them on small tortillas, topped with a bit of sharp cheddar, a handful of sautéed cabbage, and some sliced avocado.

This meal needed a dose of crunch and/or spice, but other than that it was perfect.

I also polished off a lot of this rosemary with olive oil and sea salt loaf.

Like a LOT, a lot.  4 big slices dipped in evoo and shoved into my face.  ‘Twas amazing.  I’m not quite sure what I think I’m carbo-loading for but I will say that I really wanted french fries too and at least had the good sense not to go get them!

Spicy plus sweet; gimme or gag me?

This Is Halloween…

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…and it just wouldn’t be Halloween without candy for dinner!  Seriously.  And it’s a good thing that dinner was easy to describe because I’ve got to keep this quick; I’m spending 8am – 9pm on campus tomorrow and I need to sleep.

Unfortunately I ran out of time this morning and didn’t even manage to finish more than 1/3 of my oatmeal.  My yogurt and pear held me over okay while I was busy, but the minute classes were done I needed to EAT!  I just had to get through my 30 minute commute (I walked today) to tear into this huge plate of bread with dipping oil.

Guys, this bread is so freaking good.  It speaks to my soul.

Mmmmmmn!

I was craving a Reece’s Cup all day but we were too cheap to buy candy so I settled on this peanut butter chocolate ice cream bowl instead.

I put a healthy scoop of chunky pb in the bottom of a cup, topped with mini chips, microwaved until melted, and then scooped on a bit of slow-churned vanilla ice cream.

So much better than the candy bar could ever be.

And I even did end up getting my candy.  I had to break a $20 before tomorrow so I bought 15cents worth of the good stuff from the bulk bins.

Followed by pumpkin beer!

We headed over to a friend’s house for a Halloween get-together and this Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin Ale was split three ways.

I also had a small cup of tasty punch,

a handful of pita chips with hummus,

and some organ sugar cookies.

I believe I ate a stomach and a humerus.

Other than cookies and company, the impetus for the get-together was introducing our friend Anna to the fabulousness that is “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

She’s a fan now!  Especially of the music.  Confession – I totally call “TNBC” by the title “This is Halloween” instead!  Happy Halloween, guys!

Pumpkin Double Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Muffins

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It took me a couple of days, but I knew I had to get this recipe posted for you guys.

This recipe is a little time-consuming – you have to make three separate batters and layer them together – but the end result is totally worth it. 

These are muffins and not cupcakes, no frosting and the texture is more muffin than cakey, but they still work perfectly for dessert. 

Pumpkin Double Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Muffins

Yield: 30 muffins; Prep Time: 1 hour; Cook Time: 23 minutes

Instructions

For this recipe you’ll need to prepare the pumpkin batter, chocolate batter, and cheesecake filling separately and then layer them together into the muffin tins.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.  Line muffin tins with baking liners then set aside.  You’ll need to prepare the batters in separate bowls but the prep time will go more quickly if you work on both simultaneously (i.e. measure all your flour at once, all your eggs at once, and so on).

for pumpkin batter

  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Combine pumpkin, eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Beat until well-combined.  In another bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour through salt).  Working in small batches, whisk dry ingredients into wet.

for double chocolate chip batter

  • 1.75 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Place dry ingredients (flour through mini chips) in a large bowl.  In another bowl whisk together milk, oil, egg, and vanilla.  Pour wet into dry and carefully fold together, taking care not to overmix.

for cheesecake filling

  • (2) 8oz packages 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Use electric beaters to cream together cream cheese and sugar for 3 minutes.  Beat egg whites and vanilla into the mixture.

muffin instructions

Place approximately 1.5 Tbsp of pumpkin batter in the bottom of a muffin liner.  Top with 1.5 Tbsp cheesecake filling, placing filling as close to the center of the cup as possible.  Top with 1.5 Tbsp chocolate batter.  Repeat process with remaining batters until all of the tins are full (you will most likely have a little bit of chocolate and cheesecake remaining when the pumpkin runs out, but 30 muffins are plenty).  You may wish to alternate which batters are the top and bottom layers, I did half of each.  Carefully use a toothpick or chop stick to swirl around the edge of each tin, ideally mixing the batters a bit but not moving the cheesecake filling.  Bake at 375* for 20-23 minutes, until muffin tops are firm and an inserted knife comes out clean.

Adapted from Rachael Ray’s Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes and Food Network’s Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Way Too Busy For A Sunday

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Hi, all; hope everyone else had a relaxing Sunday!  My day has been busy and stressful, but cooking for the Chili Sale went even more smoothly than we could have hoped so I’m not going to complain.

I have some amazing, funny, hard-working classmates.

We made almost 200 servings of chili today!  100 beef and 75 vegetarian.  There was a lot to do, and all of the measurements were based on my math so I was pretty nervous, but we got it all done and finished just under our time goal.

I was too busy to eat breakfast but I did sip on this half-sweet, pumpkin spice latte throughout the day.

Plus a slice of veggie pizza that our instructor bought us for lunch.

A classmate whose family owns a local restaurant brought us fancy cookies.

I planned on eating half a jack-o-lantern but I got distracted by stirring and ended up only tasting a bite or two.

When I got home I made up for lost sugar by eating a small square of this chocolate-cheesecake bar I baked up with leftover muffin batters.

Did I mention what type of muffins they were yet?  Pumpkin Double Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Muffins!  Oh yes.  I’m posting the recipe some time tomorrow and I urge you all to copy it down.  I brought most of the mufins to school today and my classmates all gave them rave reviews.

Other afternoon snacks included a slice of 2% provolone cheese,

and this fruity yogurt bowl.

I topped some Fat-free Plain Stonyfield yogurt with TJ’s mango butter and a handful of (sweetened!) shredded coconut; the bowl was quite tasty.

I needed to be well-fueled because my main to-do this afternoon was shooting a fun video for my dinner post.  I’ll see y’all then!

Too Busy For A Saturday

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Oh man.  I’ve been “on” for 14 hours straight so please forgive me if this post is “off.”  I spent several hours on campus this afternoon and I’ll spend most of tomorrow there as well so I’m warning you in advance that Sunday’s recap will be cranky!

Today’s plan included three main objectives –

  1. Attend a training at school.
  2. Get all the shopping for Chili Sale cooking completed.
  3. Bake amazing muffins to help thank classmates for coming into school on a Sunday.

The training was actually for a job, thank goodness.  A short-term one though; I’m going to spend the next month working as a caller for the Buffalo State College alumni donation effort.  10 – 2pm today was spent in training sessions for the upcoming first week of work.

I didn’t have much time in the morning (I was trying to maximize sleep!) so I packed this NuGo Organic Double Dark Chocolate Bar for breakfast.

The NuGo people knew what they were doing when they stuck these samples in our HLS bags; every bar of theirs I’ve tried I plan on buying for myself!  This wasn’t as good as Balance Bar Cookie Dough (what is?!), but I liked the crunch and chewiness of the inside and the chocolate coating was sweet without being too sweet for breakfast.

I bought a sandwich for lunch on our break.

This was a book store cafe paninni with pesto, roasted tomatoes, and mozzarella.

Plus an Earl Grey with skim milk.

When I left campus at 2 I headed straight to the store to meet up with some classmates in the Chili Sale group.  We had to go to Wegmans, then BJs, then back to Wegmans again, but I think we are ready for tomorrow.

I bought a coffee with skim milk while we shopped.

And very happily accepted this chocolate sample with my beverage.

Guylian shells are my favorite chocolate candy of all time and they are pretty pricy so this 2-piece freebie put a huge smile on my face.

That smile was promptly wiped off as our hunt for dinner turned into an epic journey.  I got the first half of my work schedule for the week and it required some meal plan switching so we decided to go out.  But we don’t have much (any?!) money right now so we agonize over how we spend it.  Nothing is good enough to justify the expense and the dining options in Buffalo just aren’t that good to begin with.  Adam and I wasted a good hour driving around from vetoed, to closed, to 40 minute wait-listed.  We finally ended up at JP Bullfeathers and decided just to split two of the cheaper options.

I ate 2/3 of the Julius Caesar;

a salad with sun-dried tomato Caesar dressing topped with crab and rock shrimp salad.

Plus 1 triangle of Adam’s grilled avocado quesadilla,

which had cheddar, jack cheese, and roasted poblanos.

Mine was better 😉

Dinner wasn’t as filling as I would have hoped though.  I did a few nibbles whilst baking, plus I noshed on this bag of Combos.

These weren’t bad but I think my thing is finally over.

When we got home around 9, we finally got to baking.

I don’t have the time (or energy) to tell you about these muffins now, but I promise to blog the recipe soon because it’s a good ‘un!

Thank you to my amazing husband for playing medical intern to my lead surgeon (ie holding bowls, laying out supplies, and wiping my brow); without whom my baking project would probably still be underway.