weekend recap

It's been a very busy few days in my little life...

On Wednesday evening, I was sitting in bed at 10pm when I got a text from a friend asking me if I wanted to go to the U2 concert with her in Philadelphia the next night. My response...

*blink blink* 
Huh? On a work night?


Mind you, my spontaneous side flitted out the window when I left my city life years ago.  Now I'm a too tired after work, sitting in bed reading by 10pm, asleep by 11:30 at the latest kinda gal.  Realizing how old and sad that made me sound, when the opportunity arose, after some thought, I went for it.  It was a great time...the ride down was an experience when I became co-navigator but got a phone call from Hubster at the absolute wrong time and we ended up one state further south than where we wanted to be.  Oops!

Friday was none other than Harry Potter Day!  I wasn't a fan from the start...I only recently began reading the books, but I caught the movie bug around the Half Blood Prince - that might very well be the first movie made after I started dating Hubster.  I loved the movie and kinda want to go see it again..oh...and Hubster bought me a replica of Hermoine's wand.  Before that, I was running around the house with a chopstick casting spells.  Go ahead and laugh...I'm letting my geek peek thru :)

Saturday and Sunday were spent hosting parties at our house.  Hubster is turning the big 3-0 tomorrow and we had a friend pool party on Saturday and then a family party Sunday.  Needless to say, I'm tired and partied out.  Aside from seeing friends that I haven't seen in awhile, the bonus is that we've go so much leftover food I won't need to cook for a week (which works out because this is supposed to be a HOT week).  I also got my refurbished Canon dslr camera on Saturday!  I was so excited to see the FedEx man backing into our driveway that I ran out of the house and slammed the door on my finger.  Ouch.  I kept telling Hubster it's throbbing and the fleshy part of my finger felt hard (yup, I'm that kind of patient) and he told me to ice it, but I was too preoccupied unwrapping my new toy.  Buddy was over, so he and Latte were the lucky models for my test pictures.  I'm pretty sure they were tired of the crazy lady chasing them around with a camera.  I'm planning on taking a workshop so I can learn how to take good photos.  

Here's to hoping it's a quick work week!

{ cindie }

what I learned this weekend

Happy Monday!

Even tho this weekend wasn't a long weekend like the last, it was still enjoyable and I'd have to say kind of educational for me.  I made a few discoveries that I'd like to share {because, well it's Monday and who couldn't use a nice distraction?}

My dear friend, aka Twinnie transferred her CSA share to me this weekend and I got to pick my own veggies, fruits and herbs!  For those who don't know, CSA is Community Supported Agriculture and you essentially pay a membership to a local organic farm and during the spring/summer months when crops are in harvest, you go to the farm and pick your own veggies {depending on what is available/ready for harvest on that date}.  It's pure awesome and I'm seriously thinking of doing it next year.

{ via }

I got spinach, bok choy, lettuce, strawberries, snow peas, sugar snap peas and a ton of different herbs that I can't wait to use!  It felt good picking my own veggies and knowing they were free from pesticides and all that other nasty stuff.

I also learned that Chobani pomegranate greek yogurt is amazing!  For those that know me well, I am a huge fan of pomegranates.  I don't eat them often because of the work involved, but if I go to the market and I see something with a pomegranate flavor, or if I'm in a bar and they have a pomegranate cocktail on the menu I'm for certain going to get it.  And this stuff is no exception!

yum!

No doubt that I just devoured one minutes ago.

Lastly, but not least, I learned that I have some truly amazing friends {not that I didn't already know that} whose strength in some of the most difficult of times is inspiring.  I've learned that along life's path, you meet many people, some who call themselves your friends and then those who really are your friends.  While my numbers have dwindled in the past few years, it's because I've been able to distinguish who is a 'friend' and who actually is a friend.  It sucks when you make that discovery, but it's something that has to happen.  And after awhile, you start to feel better about it.  I'm a better person because of my real friends because they help me discover the person I want to be, and I can't thank them enough for that.  They've stood by and supported me through some of the most difficult times in my life, and I only hope that I've been able to do the same for them as well as they did for me.  Right now, as I type this, one of my oldest and dearest friends is dealing with the discovery that she may soon have to say goodbye to her best friend, her dog Lucy.  My heart breaks for her, her husband and their little boy.  It kills me that because of our physical distance, I can't be there to hold her and hug her and comfort her, that all I can offer are my words.  So, if you are reading this my dear friend, I love you and I'm so incredibly sorry that this is happening.  Your family is in my thoughts and prayers.

{ cindie }

Sorry for the abrupt change from jolly to sad...

a failure of epic proportions

...or let's just call it Wednesday, May 25th.

And no, I did not within 6 days of my end goal fail to fulfill my no meat challenge diet.

But for some insane reason, I thought that I would for half of the last days of my month-long meatless diet also partake in a 3 day juice detox.  You know...to really clean my system...and cuz I'm just crazy.

So determined was I while I was researching juice detox recipes.

Ambition and glee were in my eyes when I purchased my juicer on sale and with a 20% off coupon.

Furrowed was my brow at the supermarket as I perused the produce section to pick only the best fruits and veggies for my juices.

And then I began to make juice.  Glorious juice.  I was so excited I hopped on gmail chat and sent Hubster a message that contained one word and one word only...JUICE!!! :D

I made three different yummy juices, one for breakfast, one for lunch and one as a snack.  As I lay in bed last night, I worried about how hungry I would be in the morning...but alas I woke and was excited for my juice, so off to work I went with my three bottles of juice in hand.  And I had a good feeling about the day.

Breakfast juice was good..Grapefruit & lime with mint.  Mmmm....hit the spot.  I was still excited about my juice diet and convinced that I could do it.  Went out for an appointment then came back for my lunch juice (watermelon-apple-lemon & lime)...mmm good and refreshing.  An hour or two goes by and then....oh, and then...

I'm EFFING HUNGRY!!! I don't want juice! I want food!  I want...a BURGER!

....but a burger I did not have.  I'm sticking to that one folks.

So I then talked to a friend who I refer to as Twinnie and she said 'Why don't you supplement your juice diet with a raw food diet?'  Genius!

So off I went researching raw food diet recipes with a new sense of determination.  I have rolled oats! I have raw almonds! Yeah!  This is such a great idea!

Yup, I went online looking for recipes.  For food.  To eat, not drink.  When I'm already hungry.

Suffice it to say, about 10 minutes later I had a bag of popcorn and 3 teaspoons of peanut butter because that's what I have at my desk.  Oh...and I still have a bottle of juice.  And I want an effing burger...with bacon.

{ cindie }

SND: Pesto!

Eight more days left of my 30 day no meat diet! Truth be told, it's been difficult, but not as hard as I thought.  Perhaps I have mother nature to thank tho, since the weekends have been too rainy to bbq.  Would I have had to restrain from eating burgers cooked on the grill every weekend...well let's just say I'd either be a super grump, or I would have failed my diet.

Anyway, since starting my no meat diet there has been a serious lack of posting recipes here.  The last three SNDs didn't even make it.  So now here I am, like a bad boyfriend with a bouquet of gas station purchased roses the day after Valentine's day, with a new recipe.

This recipe features one of my favorite herbs that just so happens to be one of the most elusive things for me to grow and maintain...

Basil Pesto Penne and Meatballs

This was Hubster's bowl...mine was sad without the meatballs

Ingredients

For pesto sauce
- 2 cups packed basil leaves (washed and dried)
- 3 cloves garlic (quartered)
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper

For meatballs
- 3 slices of whole wheat bread (crusts removed)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3 scallions (mine were fresh from my garden! yay I can grow things!)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup pesto sauce
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3 TBS olive oil

For sauce
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup light cream
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- salt
- 1/4 cup basil (finely chopped)
- reserved pesto sauce
- 1 ladle-full of reserved pasta water

Let's get started shall we?

Prepare the breadcrumbs for the meatballs.  If you use pre-made breadcrumbs you can skip this step, but I prefer to make my own cuz...well it's simple.  Break up the de-crusted bread and put into a small food processor and pulse until you get fine crumbs. 

 
Once your bread is all crumby, transfer into a large bowl and add 1/4 cup of cold milk and combine well.  Set aside.  Unless you have more than one mini food processor, wash and dry because you'll need it again.  

Make your pesto sauce.  Again, you can always buy the pre-made stuff in the grocery store, but I prefer to make my own.  In your now clean mini food processor, combine the pine nuts and garlic and pulse until combined.  Add the basil, pulse again until a paste is formed.  Add the olive oil, cheese, a couple grinds of salt and pepper then pulse again.  Taste. 

 
If you're like me and you used two regular sized cloves of garlic and one huge clove, your pesto will taste a little hot.  If that happens, add a few more pine nuts and cheese and pulse.  Once you get your pesto to how you like it, set aside and start on the meatballs.

On a baking sheet, pour the flour.  Combine the ground beef with all the ingredients except for the flour (cuz you already just used it, duh) and olive oil.  Once everything is well combined, begin forming your meatballs.  After all your meatballs are formed, roll them in flour. 

 
In a large skillet or saucepan (or in my case my favorite dutch oven) heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Once the oil is heated, place your meatballs in to brown.  Once browned, add the broth and cream.  Bring to a boil and then simmer to allow the meatballs to cook through and the sauce to thicken (if after 10 minutes or so your sauce is too thin for your liking, add some more cream). 

Happy meatballs swimming in yummy sauce

While the meatballs are simmering in the sauce, start cooking the pasta.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain (remember to reserve some pasta water!) and add to the meatballs and sauce.  Add the cheese and salt.  Make sure everything is well combined.  Depending on how thick/thin you like your sauce to be add some of the reserved pasta water.  Once everything is well coated, add the reserved pesto sauce and chopped basil and mix well.  Serve with an extra small sprig of basil to make it pretty and some parmesan. 

Oh...and while I was uploading the pics for this meal, I realized I never posted my recipe for Oreo truffle balls!!! Stay tuned...those will be coming this week :)

{ cindie }

the number twelve

Twelve. 
One dozen.
Six times two.
The square root of 144.

It's a number featured in a Christmas carole.  The number that precedes the stigmatized 'unlucky' number 13.  It's the number of months in a year.  And perhaps most importantly, it happens to be the number of days left in what seems to be to me the LONGEST.MONTH.EVER!!!!  It just so happens to be, at the time of writing this post, the number of days left of my 30 day no meat challenge. 

I'm more than halfway through and let me tell you, the last 8 days have been hard.  I was doing well up until day 10...until I realized that I still had 20 more to go.  Add to that the fact that there was one perfect grilling weekend and a Mother's Day feast thrown in there.  And I've been watching a lot of Food Network.  And I just watched an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay where it was a fried chicken throwdown.  Hubster might just come home tonight to see me rocking and shaking in a corner.  Ok, maybe not really....

12 more days.  I can totally do it!  The question is...what should my first meal be when it's over?

{ cindie }

running in shoes?

Well damn Blogger...glad you fixed your problems but now I'm missing comments (and when you only have a few you notice!)

Anyhoo...

Remember how excited I seemed to be when we got an elliptical?  And how I was sure it was going to help kick my butt back into gear?  Well I've been using it (not as much as I'd like) and burning calories galore, but I'm not so sure I'm seeing the results.  Since we opened our pool last week (and it is now Seattle rainy and chilly here, go figure) it made me realize that if I want to fit into the many swimmies (yes I call my bikinis swimmies) I own without feeling self conscious about my perceived problem areas I need to kick it up a notch.  So a running I will go.

Those of you who know me in the real world, outside of being in a computer (they're in the computer? - sorry I can't help the Zoolander reference), know that I used to run...a bit.  I've run two 5Ks and had aspirations of running more races.  But then I got married and figured...well hell, Hubster's stuck with me now...commence ass explosion.  But not really...I didn't plan for my butt to grow, it just did.  And that's my fault because I went from hardcore exercising before the wedding, to 'settling in' after and using excuses like, 'I'm tired', or 'well the gym isn't set up in the new house yet'. Well...no more excuses for me.  Now that the weather is nice(r) it's time.  Instead of pushing myself too hard, too fast which will result in burn-out, I'm going the way of the Couch to 5K program.  

Let's hope this gets me back to where I want to be!  Oh and my no-meat diet...I made it to day 14 when I decided that I was going to become a pescatarian for the remainder of the month.  Mmm...spicy tuna here I come! 

{ cindie }

coming clean

So remember that 'no meat' challenge I took to?  Well I'm glad to say that I was successful in my week of no meat...trust me it was hard.  Like, last day of challenge, going to a food party where two of the guests are amazing chefs from Italy who made homemade sausage and spiedini hard.  But I prevailed.  Yay me!

And remember how I was so proud of myself that I said I was going to go another week without meat?  Well...it's time to be honest.  I failed.  Like 5 hours after saying I was going to go another week ate a 1/2 lb burger with bacon failed. 

my Everest

Sigh...

When people asked me why I was not eating meat, I told them it was a sort of detox.  The best part was when I gave that answer to my MOH-H whilst drinking a beer.  Yeah...she totally called me out on that!  Truth is, though, now that I've gone back to my regular diet, I've noticed that my veggie diet did have an effect on my body.  See I have a number of GI issues and well, my adopted diet gave my system a much needed rest (even if only for a week).  So....

As hard as it may be for me, I am going to try to give up meat for a month.  A.WHOLE.MONTH.  wow that was hard to type I can't guarantee that I won't slip up (especially if I make it anywhere near a BonChon Chicken) but I will try.  My GI system (and I'm hoping my waistline) will be all the more better for it. 

My no meat for a month challenge won't start until May (because we just got a new grill and popping it's cherry with a veggie burger seems wrong to me) so it gives me a week to research some yummy veggie recipes.  If you know of any, please send them my way!

{ cindie }

P.S. If you haven't done it yet, check out my post below and vote on what you think of my possible new hair-do!

SND : prelude to a hard week for this foodie

Meat.  Oh meat.  It is so good.  Beef, pork, chicken and fish.  Grilled, sauteed, broiled...however you like it.  It's just so good...oh I already said that.  Yah, well I unapologetically love meat.

For some reason, I thought I would try something new this week.  Oh, what is it, you ask? Well this week I will challenge myself by not eating meat.

That's NO meat people

WTF is wrong with me?!

via

I'm going to attempt this week to be more healthy and not eat any meat.  I'm not doing it for animal rights or anything like that, I just want to kind of detox.  But I am allowing myself things that are cooked with meat or using a beef or chicken stock. Oh and eggs...I'm going to be eating a lot of eggs for my protein.  I'm just not eating meat.  It's gonna be hard.  Props to those who do it everyday, I just know myself and I couldn't go vegetarian. 

I wouldn't dream of making Hubster join me in this journey...I don't think we'd like each other much if we both didn't eat meat for a week.  So I'm still cooking like nothing's different.  Except it is for me...sigh.  SND this week is a dish I love and thankfully everything about it is full of flavor so even tho I can't eat the meat part I can still enjoy the meal.

Arroz con Pollo

It's an old recipe I've had for so long I can't remember where I got it from

Ingredients

For chicken:
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
4 TBS fresh orange juice
2 TBS fresh lime juice (if you microwave the lime for ~10 sec you can actually get more juice from it!)
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
chicken (I used 4 drumsticks and 6 thighs)
1 TBS vegetable oil
1 TBS butter

For rice:
1 large onion, diced (I use Spanish onion)
2 green bell peppers, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp crumbled saffron threads
1/4 cup dry white wine (if you don't have wine you can substitute with light beer)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
1 can diced tomatoes, including juice
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups white rice
1 cup frozen baby peas

Prepare the chicken

In a blender puree the garlic, oj, lime juice, salt and pepper until smooth.  Pour the puree over the chicken pieces, turning to coat.  Cover the chicken and marinade and chill in the fridge for about an hour.

After marinating, transfer the chicken to paper towels, letting the marinade drip back into the bowl.  Pat dry.  Heat the oil and butter in a large oven safe pot over medium high heat until the foam subsides.  Brown the chicken in batches, trying not to crowd the pot, for about 7-8 minutes per batch.

Damn you chicken for taunting me!

Transfer chicken to a plate.  In the same pot you cooked the chicken, saute the onions, peppers and garlic, stirring occasionally and making sure to scrape up the yummy brown chicken bits from the bottom of the pot.  Cook for about 8 minutes, or until the veggies are soft.

veggies are my friends

 In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 and then using a small skillet (or the other half of a fritatta pan as I did), heat the saffron threads over low heat, making sure to shake the skillet about for about 45 seconds.

 
Add the wine and bring to a simmer, then remove from heat.

Back in your veggie pot, add cumin and salt to the veggies and stir for about 2 minutes.

Stir in the saffron mixture, bay leaf, tomatoes (including juice), broth, water and reserved marinade and bring to a boil.  Once the mixture boils, add the chicken ensuring each piece is submerged in liquid.  Cover and turn heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes.  Stir in rice and return to a simmer.  Cover pot tightly, then transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

it may look like a hot mess but soon it's a thing of beauty

Scatter peas over the rice and chicken and let stand in the covered pot.

see?! looks much better!

If you can find it, discard bay leaf and enjoy.  If you like some spice, you can add some Cholula too!

Have you ever tried 'testing' yourself by doing something really hard?  How long did you last?  Do you think I can make it?

{ cindie }

btw...the picture of the finished plated dish is Hubster's.  Mine was just way too sad to take a picture of.

if I could eat anything..

with no consequence whatsoever it would be some variations of french fries every day

with cheese!

or crab fries!

or garlic fries!

I could go on, but I think you get the point...and I'm torturing myself looking up images of fries.  

It then got me to thinking about that show 'America's Next Great Restaurant'.  I know what my proposal would be.

Disclaimer: Let it be known that today is April 5th, 2011 and I'm (possibly idiotically) sharing my idea with you before I know that such an establishment exists.  If in a couple of months something like my idea pops up and makes you a millionaire...I reserve the right to do you bodily harm.  Or, if you have the money to invest in my idea, let's chat! :)

My next great restaurant idea would be a place that serves burgers and sammies...but that's main feature is french fries of any variation and combination you wish! Think instead of an ice cream shop, a fry shop!  (Yes, I would include those impersonating sweet 'potatoes' as a french fry option).  

You want waffle fries with melty cheese and a dash of paprika? You got it!  

Or garlic shoe string potato fries with a chipotle dipping sauce?  Coming right up!  

Or for the more discerning taste buds, maybe some creamy yukon gold natural cut fries infused with truffle oil topped with fresh parmesan shavings and finely chopped chives......OMG I totally need to get moving on this idea!

Ok, so maybe it's not the healthiest food option out there...but let's be honest...you know you want it!

What do you think of my idea?  Would you visit my restaurant?  And how much do you want some fries right now?

{ cindie }

confession #387

Confession #387

As much of a foodie as I am, one of my favorite guilty pleasure meals is....

spicy ramen!
...with cut up hot dogs...

via

 No lie...this stuff is the shiznitz (do people still say that?  well...apparently I do)

 

Also, when I enjoy this sodium rich meal, I must enjoy it out of my big green bowl with what looks like simplified chinese characters on it using chopsticks and my yellow chinese soup spoon..what?  Go hard or go home...

What's your favorite guilty pleasure meal?

{ cindie }

one potato, two potato...

Mmmm....potatoes

One of my best friends once gave me the nickname 'My little potato'.  

Hubster has called me more than once 'Queen of Potatoes' and refers to potatoes as my subjects.  

While some might think that a nickname like 'potato' or being referenced as 'Queen of Potatoes' might be an insult because potatoes are round and stumpy, I actually embrace those nicknames.  Because I love potatoes that much.  I love them so much that had I thought of it before our wedding 'theme' was established, I would have wanted a Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head in tux and gown as our cake topper.  To be honest...I still totally want them just to have and display in our house.

As promised, here's the recipe for the yummy potato and cheese croquettes!

Potato and Cheese Croquettes with Chipotle dipping sauce

Ingredients 
*Croquettes

Chilled mashed potatoes (I use Yukon gold potatoes because they are super creamy!)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBS chives chopped
1 TBS worcestershire sauce
1 small shallot finely diced
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup Panko
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Peanut oil (or other oil with high heat index)

*Dipping sauce
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced
1/2 cup light mayonaisse
1/8 cup ketchup
juice from 1/2 a lime
1 garlic clove finely minced
salt & pepper
fresh parsely, chopped

Combine the first 6 ingredients and 1 egg.

Using a spoon (or a cookie drop scoop as I did), scoop golf sized balls of the potatoes.  If you have time, chill the potato balls for at least 30 minutes.

Heavenly balls of potatoes and cheese!!!

Prepare three bowls for breading the potatoes.  In one bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper and chipotle powder.  In the second bowl combine the remaining 2 eggs and milk.  In the third bowl combine the Panko and seasoned bread crumbs.

 

Dredge the potato balls (hehe) in first the flour mixture, then the egg, then the panko and breadcrumbs.

Once you have been breaded all the potato balls, heat the oil in a small pot over medium/low heat.  In batches, carefully drop the breaded potato balls in the hot oil.  Adjust the heat as needed.  Transfer the cooked croquettes onto a paper towel to drain (or if you have a handled strainer you can strain them over the pot of oil).

Whip together all the ingredients for the dipping sauce, saving the parsely to garnish the finished sauce.

Enjoy!

{ cindie }

Btw...I HATE sweet potatoes.  Loathe them.  They are only distant cousins to the potato and yet try to impersonate them by taking their last name..sneaky sneaky yam.

fried goodness

wow...I've been a bad blogger this week.  Hope you're still hanging around...

...all five of you lol (I don't count Hubster since he's only following cuz I told him as a good husband he has to)...subliminal message..follow me mkay? please? pretty please? I'll make you something yummy :)

Anyway shameless begging aside...I was bad this week.  I made a horrible SND last week and it soured the whole week for me going forward.  Needless to say my dinners consisted of ramen, lean cuisine and one night a semi-inspired meal of chorizo and spanish rice.  The term TGIF never meant more to me than it did today.  Bad week done, time to start fresh.

And by fresh I of course mean yummy fried goodness!

A couple of weeks ago, a dear friend suggested an evening of appetizers and board games.  With an emphatic 'yes!' I hemmed and hawed over what 2 appetizers I would make.  I dug deep and came up with fried wontons with dipping sauce and potato cheese croquettes (because I love potatoes and well what's better than a crispy pocket filled with creamy potatoes and cheese?...well maybe the creamy potatoes and cheese with bacon...mmm).  Anyway, here's the recipe for the wontons

Because you can't spell Friday without FRI-ed wontons

Ingredients

Wontons
1/4 lb ground pork
1/4 lb ground turkey
1 small onion chopped
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp white pepper
3 TBS low sodium soy sauce
wonton wrappers
1 can water chestnuts
1 egg
Peanut oil (or other oil with high heat index)

Dipping sauce recipe from here
12 oz apricot preserve
4 tsp yellow mustard
4 TBS teriyaki sauce

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the ground pork, turkey and onions until the meat is no longer pink. 

Drain and transfer the cooked meat to a heat safe bowl.

Chop the water chestnuts and add to the meat.  Stir in the ground ginger, soy sauce and white pepper.

Now it's time to wrap!

Crack one egg and separate the white from the yolk.  Using your finger, brush some egg white onto the edges of one side of the wonton wrapper.  Spoon a small amount of stuffing into the center of the square.  Be careful not to put too much or else when you fry them the stuffing will burst out.

Fold the bottom corner up to meet the top corner so you're left with a triangle.

Make sure the ends meet and seal tight..you don't want any of that yummy stuffing escaping!

You can either leave in these triangles and cook, or you can wrap the bottom corners of the triangle around and fold into a shape that kind of resembles some Georgia O'Keeffe paintings.

In a small pot, pour enough oil so that the wontons will be submerged and heat over a medium high heat.  Once the oil is hot enough, drop in your wontons, a few at a time (depending on how small your pot is).  Fry until golden brown and then transfer to a towel.

For the sauce, just blend all the ingredients together. Serve the sauce alongside the wontons and enjoy!

I will also be posting the recipe for the potato and cheese croquettes.

Oh it's good to be back!

{ cindie }

feeling hot! hot! hot!

I have a secret.

Sometimes I like nights where I cook for just myself.

Why? Because I love spicy food.  I love food that is so spicy it puts you on the brink of pain...just on the brink.

Hubster can't handle my spice.  Can't even come near it.  That makes me sad 

Mmm...spicy!

This is Hubster & I enjoying a spicy meal.  Note the flames coming out of his mouth and my blissful smile (from the meal...not the fact that my hubbers' mouth is ablaze).  Also note...even in cartoon form I have a large head.

Umm...too spicy?

oh....

cest la vie...the sacrifices we make for love.

But on the nights where it's just me and my belly I like to play a little game called 'I like my food hot and I can't drink milk to counter the heat so how many chilies can I take' ... ok I'm working on the game title.  Anyway here's a recipe I like to call:

Quickie Spicy Bowties
(because it's short and to the point)

Recipe inspired by the pantry and my hankering for something spicy

Ingredients


1.5 cups dry Farfalle pasta
3 TBS olive oil (plus extra if you like)
fresh basil
3 cloves garlic
handful of mini sweet tomatoes on the vine
salt
dried chili de arbole (optional)



Cook pasta until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, thinly slice the garlic cloves, wash and halve the tomatoes, and chop the basil.

If you're using them, decide how many chilis you want to use.  Remember, you can always add heat, but it's not so easy to take away.  Ok, you've been warned.  For reference, I used about 6 chilis.

Once the pasta has cooked, drain.  Add a little bit of olive oil to the pasta so it doesn't stick together.

In a sautee pan on medium high heat, heat the olive oil.  Add the garlic and stir around for about 30 seconds.  Then add the chilis (if you're using them).  Let the chili, garlic and oil mixture cook for about 45 seconds.

smells soooo good!

Lower the heat, add the cooked pasta, halved tomatoes and chopped basil and toss to make sure everything gets coated with the garlic and chili oil.  If it looks a little dry to you, drizzle with some extra olive oil.  Let cook for a few minutes to warm everything.

Salt to taste.  Spoon yourself a bowl, open up a beer (or beverage of your liking) and enjoy!

Mmmm...spicy goodness!

{ cindie }

take me to Brussels...sprouts

I feel bad for brussel sprouts.  They always seem to get a bad rap as the red-headed stepchild of the cabbage family.

You poor cancer-fighting mini cabbage...don't worry, I love you

One of Hubster's favorite side dishes to one of his favorite meals is Brussel sprouts.  So for SND this week that's what we had.

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts and Onions
*Hubster wanted me to ensure to give props that it was his idea to add the onions

Ingredients

Pretend the olive oil isn't even there

 1 package Brussel sprouts
1 clove garlic
1 small yellow onion sliced
3 TBS butter
1/2 lemon
salt & freshly ground pepper 

Wash and trim the ends of the sprouts.  Cut shallow cross-hairs into the ends of the sprouts.

  
Bring approximately a quart of water to a boil and add the sprouts.  Cook for about 7 minutes until they are a nice bright green.

Drain and put the sprouts into an ice bath to cool and stop the cooking.

While the sprouts cool, slice your onion and roughly chop the garlic.  Set aside.

Remove the sprouts from the ice bath and halve.  Seriously, how freaking cute are these little cabbages?!

In a sautee pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter.  When the butter has stopped foaming, add the garlic.

Butter? Garlic? Yes please!!!

Cook the butter and garlic (mmm) for about 30 seconds then add the onion slices.  Let the onion sweat a bit before adding the halved sprouts, face down.  Once all the sprouts are in your pan, add the remaining butter.

Cook for about 7 minutes and then squeeze in juice from your lemon (the lemon juice helps to cut some of the bitterness of the sprouts).  Continue to cook for another 5 minutes or until the bottoms of the sprouts have a nice golden brown color to them.  Off the heat and salt and pepper to taste.

I usually serve these as a side dish to steamed rice and panko crusted chicken breasts.  They're a hit in our household...even Latte likes them!

Hey! Where's my plate?!

{ cindie }