This Week in Yum

I haven’t done one of these posts in awhile, but figured it was worth bringing back. There weren’t any tests this week for the first time in a month (though I’m getting ready for a HIDA scan right now – fingers crossed I get a superpower as a result of the radiation!), so my schedule was pretty normal.

Of course the most interesting meal of the week is going to go undocumented, but I still think that you need to make them. I found the recipe on Pinterest (of course), and it ruled. I mean, how could pizza cupcakes not rule?! I made a few adjustments (used veggie sausage and no pepperoni, and added some red pepper flakes and oregano), and was pleasantly surprised. These were baked in a regular cupcake tin, but I could see them being a really great finger food at a party if you use a mini cupcake tin instead. Check out the recipe over at Make Ahead Meals.

I mustered up enough self-restraint to snap a picture of everything else I made for the week, and first up was salmon. While there isn’t anything special about the salmon when you look at it, what matters is the cooking method. I’ve had a jar of coconut oil in my pantry forever (that stuff really lasts!), and I’ve used it numerous times in baking. However, I never thought to use it as an oil replacement in savory dishes. I was afraid the fish would be a little too sweet with the light coconut flavor, but I was pleasantly surprised. Served alongside some sautéed zucchini with red onion and some brown rice, this was a great (and filling!) meal. I’m definitely going to try cooking with coconut oil more.

Mac ‘n cheese was the next (easy) adventure in the kitchen. I stumbled upon Budget Bytes a few months ago, and have made a ton of stuff from it. Everything is so quick and easy, and obviously budget friendly. All you need for this is milk, cheese, noodles, and then any type of spices you want to add. I also threw in some nutritional yeast to pump up the cheese factor (since I don’t think you can ever have too much cheese), and it was delicious. I could definitely see adding some vegetables into it, especially for kids that typically don’t eat their vegetables. While I didn’t wind up eating it until almost 9pm (hello marathon training), it was well worth the wait. I like when pasta dishes come together in about 15 minutes!

My last creation was far from creative – a Dr. Praeger’s California veggie burger with a fried egg on top. It was so simple, but so good! I love veggie burgers that taste like veggies, and Dr. Praeger’s is just that – the California burger has whole peas and pieces of carrots – so good. Sometimes (ok, a lot for me) you need something quick and easy on hand just in case you don’t feel like cooking. Having options in the freezer is always a good thing. Plus, you can dress them up when you are feeling a little creative.

I already have my meal plan for next week, and things are looking good again. So, if all goes well hopefully I’ll have another yummy week to report back on!

But, I want to know: did you have anything delicious this week? Do you have a go-to “no-brainer” meal? Do share!

Meatless Grilling

By default, when it comes to thinking about grilling, I gravitate towards your more typical fare – hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, etc. But as I find myself eating meat less frequently, I’ve had the opportunity to experiment a bit with what I throw on the grill. We all know I’ve complained in the past about my inability to make non-fall apart veggie burgers, which I’m happy to report is improving. Since that was never much of a success (the one time I “grilled” homemade veggie burgers, they never cooked), I was weary about grilling things like tofu, and tempeh. Alternatively, if you are interested in grilled meats, check out the best turkey injection recipe, for you and your family.

Over the last few months I’ve learned just how versatile tofu and tempeh are, and finally decided to bite the bullet and grill some. While I haven’t grilled tofu yet (it’s on my to-try list, I promise) I did make the easiest BBQ grilled tempeh sandwiches. There is really little to no thinking involved, and for those hot summer nights post work-out where you really don’t feel like turning on the oven or even thinking about dinner, this can be yours in no time.

I’m really looking forward to trying out some new things on the grill this summer, so if you have any suggestions, send them my way! But in the meantime, go make this.

BBQ Grilled Tempeh and Veggie Sandwiches
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
1 package of tempeh (I used Trader Joe’s)
1 medium green pepper, sliced into rings
1 large red onion, sliced into rings
4 Tbsp your favorite BBQ sauce, plus more for dipping and dunking
2 hamburger buns

Directions:
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Slice the tempeh in half as evenly as possible (they should be somewhat square shaped).
3. Coat each side of the “patty” with a Tbsp of BBQ sauce. Feel free to add more or less depending on your flavor preference.
4. Spray a grill basket with cooking spray, and fill with the onion and pepper.
5. Bring everything out to the grill, and cook the onion and pepper on the top rack while the tempeh is on the bottom rack, all for 10 minutes, flipping everything halfway through.
6. Assemble your sandwich with the tempeh patty, and onion and pepper rings. Add more sauce if you’d like, and keep some nearby for dunking!

This Week in Yum

I’m still here, I promise! I’ve been slowly taking over my cooperating teacher’s schedule, so I’ve been getting more and more work (yay!). My time in the kitchen has mostly been spent recreating favorites and making quick meals. However, there have been a few noteworthy dishes I’ve devoured recently.

On Sunday, I sent my husband off to a Superbowl party with some Buffalo Chicken Dip, a true football party classic. He surprisingly brought some home, so on Tuesday I decided to use the leftovers to make grilled sandwiches, my family loves sandwiches, we typically visit the sandwich shop at least once a week so I thought it was a perfect idea. It was super easy, and really delicious – it tasted like it was a million calories, but I promise it wasn’t! All you need to do is make this buffalo chicken dip (second recipe listed), put about 3 tablespoons on your favorite bread, and grill away. Yum.

The next night, I made veggie burgers, but not just any veggie burger. A few weeks ago, Megan over at Running Foodie posted a recipe for eggplant burgers. As luck would have it, eggplants and burgers are two of my favorite things, and combining them was right up my alley. So, I bookmarked the recipe and finally made them. My husband isn’t a big eggplant fan, but he was pleasantly surprised when he found out the ingredients. The recipe makes 8 burgers, so I was able to enjoy some for lunch throughout the week. Double win. Unfortunately I was so excited to eat it all I didn’t snap a picture, but you should absolutely make them.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge burrito fan, so I decided to add that to our menu for the week. This wasn’t just any burrito, though, it was a grilled burrito, which is something I need to do more often. It was such an easy way to upgrade the burrito to a whole new level. If you can muster up waiting a few extra minutes before devouring your burrito, all you need to do is spray a pan with some non-stick cooking spray and heat it for about 2-3 minutes on each side. So good.

To round out my week of yum, I received some goodies I ordered from Pure Bliss Eats, and it’s been a struggle not to eat everything right away! I ordered the Chocolate Chip Dough Balls and some Peanut Butter Chocolate Granola. Almost all of the dough balls are gone already, and there is only a bit of the granola left, too. They are both SO good and since it’s healthy, I have no problem indulging frequently. If you’re in the market for some delicious healthy treats I would highly recommend checking out Pure Bliss Eats, especially because it’s a fellow foodie fitness blogger’s brainchild!

There’s plenty of yum on this week’s menu, and also lots of running. I signed up for the Chicago Marathon in October, so base training for that has begun! This round both the husband and I are planning to incorporate weight training into our plan as well, and we actually spent an extra hour at the gym today doing some leg work. I’m looking forward to making that a more regular occurrence, because I really believe cross training can help someone like me who’s so injury prone. Bring it on, running.

Easy Baked Donuts

This past weekend was my first attempt at lesson planning. Sure I’ve made some mock lesson plans for courses I’ve taken over the last two years, but not plans for an entire week, that I’d actually be teaching. Thankfully it snowed on Saturday, so I was forced to stay inside and get it done. Teaching is no joke (not that I ever thought it was), and I definitely have a lot of work ahead of me.

othello — Nothing like a little Shakespeare

Teaching aside, the husband and I were in the mood for something sweet on Sunday morning. The mini donut pan I have from my bridal shower hasn’t been used in months (and was only used once), so I figured I’d break it out. These are your “old fashioned” style baked donut – it isn’t anything fancy, but boy are they good. With a simple cinnamon and sugar coating, they’re perfect with a cup of coffee. It certainly beat getting in the car and going to Dunkin’ Donuts, and then feeling bad about that decision later. The only time I allow myself to have donuts (and by “have” I mean devour) is after long runs – usually accompanied by a Coolata.

Easy Baked Donuts
– makes about 14 donuts –

Donut Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk or creamer (I used coffee creamer which makes it richer, but any % milk will work fine)
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 egg
4 Tbsp butter

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk together.
3. Combine the wet ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat, until the butter is completely melted. Be careful not to have the mixture get hot – the butter just needs to melt.
4. Add the wet mixture and egg to the dry ingredients and whisk together.
5. Using a tablespoon, scoop out the dough from the bowl and into your donut pan. You want the mixture to sit just below the rim of the pan.
6. Bake for 12 minutes, then take out to cool for about 2 minutes.
7. As the donuts are cooling, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping on a plate, and melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave (about 30-40 seconds).
7. Once the donuts can be handled, dip one side into the melted butter and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bang for your buck

It’s no secret that I’m a planner. Not only do I religiously keep my Google Calendar up to date, I also tote around a physical planner with me, just in case. Naturally this trait of mine has spilled over into the food realm, making me a big meal planner as well. As you can see below, this is just a snip-it of last week and next two weeks in terms of our planned meals, my runs, homework assignments, and any other noteworthy events (the green is dinner and there are some holes that need to be filled):

Now that I’m student teaching, even though I’m home earlier, those hours are spent doing homework for my seminar course, studying for the Praxis II, and a fun little thing called lesson planning. Last week was my first week and there wasn’t any lesson planning, but that changed this past weekend. It’s a good thing it snowed Saturday – I had no excuse. So, I’ve been trying to find meals that I can make on Sunday and then use in different ways throughout the week.

This week, I made Bon Appétite’s Cannellini Beans with Kale, that I decided to serve over brown rice on Monday evening. At first I wasn’t sure if there would be enough flavor, but I was pleasantly surprised. The recipe is actually intended to be used for a spin on bruschetta, but it was just as delicious served over rice.

On Wednesday, I took the cooking liquid from the original recipe and 3 1/2 cups of the cannellini beans and kale, and turned into a soup using this recipe. Being able to take something so simple and use it in two completely different ways was not only a time, but also a money saver. Since the weather has actually felt like winter the past few days, this hearty soup was perfect.

I’m definitely on the hunt for more recipes like this, where I can buy a bunch of ingredients and re-use them in multiple ways.

Halfway Happiness

For those of you that remember, back in October I started my own little Happiness Project, outlining the next four months. I guess you could say it was like doing my resolutions early, and differently. I’m not a big resolution person, because it’s usually a way for me to set myself up for failure. I find myself with grandiose ideas and plans in my head, but usually too lazy to actually carry them out. Creativity seeps from my pores – I just need someone else to carry out the projects for me.

Anyway, December was the month of running. I wanted to run as much as I could, regardless of the distance in preparation for the Goofy Challenge next weekend. I realized that there was little I could do to prepare myself for running 39.3 miles in 2 days, but I figured running as frequently as possible would help give me a confidence boost. I log all my mileage over at DailyMile, and am happy to report that I ran 4 times a week every week in December as promised, except for the week of Christmas. BUT, I ran 5 times the week before – so that evens out, right? Without doing any super long runs (longest was 16 miles), I was able to log my heaviest mileage month in awhile. I’ve steadily been going up since October, and hope to keep it that way.

Yes, I opened presents post sweaty run. These sweet socks will totally keep me running through the winter!

My plan is to keep my mileage relatively even throughout January, and then try to pick things up a bit come February for an April half marathon. My husband has his eyes set on a full marathon in early June, but I’m not looking for another marathon until next fall. Hopefully, though, I can keep my mileage respectable and run closer 4 hours instead of 4:30 next marathon. But we’ll see – I just need to keep myself injury free.

January has started, and that means it’s a new goal – going vegetarian. My husband giggled at me on New Year’s Day when I moaned that I wanted pudding, but wasn’t allowed to eat it because of the gelatin. I quickly ran to the pudding asile of the grocery store to discover that instant mousse is an acceptable treat. I plan on attempting to satiate my pudding craving with some mousse in the near future. It might seem odd for someone that loves burgers so much to try out a vegetarian lifestyle, and especially just for one month. Eating less meat is something that has been on my mind for awhile, and I figured this little project would be the perfect opportunity to give it a shot for a month. Who knows if I’ll continue it after January or not, but I will have at least given it a try.

(source)

I already have a ton of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks in my possession, and have already made so many delicious things from Oh She Glows, Post Punk Kitchen, Daily Garnish, and other veggie friendly blogs. If anyone has any other great resources for recipes (especially things to eat for lunch) that would be great! I’m looking forward to a month full of veggies, beans, and grains. To be honest, that’s most of my dishes these days anyway, but forcing myself not to cop-out and have something easier (usually involving meat) should be interesting. Since I’m the cooker of the household, I am still going to prepare any meat related dish my husband wants – I’ll just leave the meat out for myself. But, since I am in charge in the kitchen, he doesn’t eat much meat anyway. It should be an interesting month!

So I’m halfway there – I baked my way through November and ran my way through December. January will be meat free, and then February will hopefully be the month of yoga. Who knows what will be next, but I’m enjoying these little monthly goals.

2011: A Year of Milestones

And just like that, another year has ended. I always find that once we get to the Holidays, time seems to fly by. For me, though, this entire year flew by. So much happened – I got married, ran a marathon, and quit my job. It really was a growing and turning point year for me, and I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for me. But before we get to the new year, let’s take a look back, shall we?

The year started off with a bang (literally – our New Year’s Eve party always involves fireworks), and the momentum really carried us through the entire year. Our first order of business was to run the Disney Half Marathon and enjoy a little vacation time, which was awesome. Even though I had been battling some different leg injuries (hi shin splits that I still have), I was able to complete the race and have an enjoyable vacation. The winter was full of snow and work, while also taking classes and getting into the nitty-gritty of wedding planning.

Spring was a breath of fresh air – I had finished up my online courses and knew I was free until the following winter, and was able to devote most of my time to wedding planning. Looking back, I can’t believe how efficient my husband and I were at planning, saving money, and getting exactly what we wanted. Aside from a minor meltdown over the color of our bridesmaid dresses (which turned out to be amazing), and stress related to picking a honeymoon destination, the rest of planning went rather smooth.

By the time summer hit, my husband and I were picking up our training for the Philadelphia Marathon. We had both taken significant time off during the winter in an attempt to heal our injuries, but unfortunately that didn’t seem to help much. Most of my running was done at 5a, as the entire month of July was almost 100 degrees or over. It was at this point I realized that the second half of the year was going to be a whirl-wind, and I wasn’t really sure if I was prepared for all of the changes heading my way. By the time August rolled around, though, I was ready to tackle the months ahead.

And we had to get serious with our running. While I never got to the coveted 20 mile run, I settled for 18 and crossed my fingers. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t petrified of the race. I didn’t feel prepared at all, and had absolutely no idea what to expect. Somehow, I finished in an upright position and with a respectable (for me) time of 4:37. My goal is to run another one closer to 4, and then eventually get under the 4 hour mark. I think I’ll need to have a successful training cycle before that happens, though. So I’m planning to not sign up for any big races yet for 2012 and instead focus on building my mileage. That way I can get to a point where I can really follow a training plan and be successful.

The last big event of 2011 was quitting my job. Being this was the first job I had right out of college, and every previous job was seasonal, I had no idea how to go about the quitting process. I knew the day was coming for almost a year, so I had plenty of time to muster up the courage. It was a lot easier than I had anticipated, and I was even able to work it out so I’ll still contribute part-time, remotely. That will be extremely helpful since I’ll be student teaching from January to May, with no real income. It’s a good thing my husband and I were so serious about saving for the wedding, and we have enough left over! While making changes and doing the unknown is scary, I’m excited to start a new chapter of my life. I’ve always known deep down inside I wanted to be a teacher, and I’m excited to be on the path to make that a reality.

2011 was a big year, and I can’t wait to see what’s in-store for me in 2012!

Funfetti Cheesecake Bites

The past few weeks have been super busy with family events, work and work events, and this whole training for a marathon thing (which is on SUNDAY!). So, my time in the kitchen has been rather sparse – I think my husband has spent more time cooking for himself while I’ve been gone!

So this past Sunday after a successful last “long” run of 8 miles and a trip to get race day supplies, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the kitchen. I started with slow-cooker lasagna, going off of a recipe I saw posted on YumSugar. Growing up I remember my mom always bemoaning lasagna and how labor intensive it was (as you can guess we didn’t have it very often). So after seeing a recipe were I didn’t have to precook the noodles, I was all over it.

While dinner was cooking away, I got to work on my next project – Funfetti cheesecake bites. After the success of the Funfetti fudge I made for Halloween, I figured I could work Funfetti into more things. I had made Mini Oreo Cheesecakes before and they were awesome, so I took the same base recipe but instead used Golden Oreos, some Funfetti cake mix, and sprinkles. Not only was the recipe straight forward, but they are pretty darn tasty. The combination of cheesecake and Funfetti may sound weird, but it works – I promise.

This got me thinking – cheesecake is one of those vehicles that can really take on a whole bunch of different flavors. It might be time to branch out in the cheesecake world and try some different combinations. Or I can just stick to what I know and love – Oreos and Funfetti. Either way, these would be a perfect bite-sized treat to bring to a Holiday party… and you know that’s where you will be spending most of your weekends between now and the new year.

Funfetti Cheesecake Bites
– Makes 20 –

Ingredients:
20 golden Oreo’s
1 lb cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp Funfetti cake mix
2 Tbsp sprinkles

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 275°F. Line your cupcake/muffin tin with paper liners and place one Oreo into the bottom of each lined cup.
2. With a stand or hand mixer on medium-high, beat cream cheese until creamy and smooth, then gradually beat in sugar until combined. Beat in vanilla.
3. Drizzle in the eggs a little bit at a time until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and Funfetti mix. Add sprinkles at the very end (or the colors start to run).
4. Divide the batter evenly among the cookie-filled cups, filling each one almost to the top. Bake until the cakes are set (about 22 minutes), rotating the pans halfway through.
5. Remove from oven and place pans on wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, chill the cakes in the pans for at least four hours (or up to overnight).

Weekly Baking: Take One

The month of weekly baking started a bit early, since Monday was Halloween. My office decided to have some Halloween related festivities at the end of the day, including trick-or-treating to one another’s cubicles. So, instead of handing out store-bought candy, I thought it would be nice to make something since there are only about 25 employees in my office. Because one dessert just isn’t enough, I made two.

The whole purpose of this month’s attempt to bake something every weekend is because I enjoy the act of baking, but more importantly myself and my husband enjoy the fruits of my labor. It’s true that baking can be time consuming, scientific, and tedious, but it’s almost always worth it. Plus, who doesn’t like taking homemade treats to work as snacks?

I’ve been eyeing this Funfetti fudge from Little Bitty Bakes for quite some time now and finally remembered to pick up white chocolate chips at the store. I’ve had Funfetti mix and cans of condensed milk for weeks, but have somehow always managed to forget the chocolate. I know they aren’t Halloween related, and are instead much more fun and whimsical looking than scary, but I thought the idea was just so cool, and the recipe seemed easy enough. This was my first attempt at “fudge,” and considering how easy it was, I definitely need to make it more frequently.

Next up were homemade Oreos, or as Eat, Drink, and Run called them, Fauxreos. Either way, I was able to make them a little more festive by using some food coloring for the centers, and these were pretty simple to make. This recipe also gave me the opportunity to use my beloved KitchenAid stand mixer twice. My husband likes to make note that I don’t use it nearly enough (his way of trying to get more dessert from me), so this recipe let me really put it to work. I can’t believe not that long ago I used to try and make buttercream by hand. No wonder I couldn’t write for days.

These two treats weren’t particularly daunting or required much baking, so that is why I chose them both together, and as my first weekend baking project. I figured I could get more involved and creative from here. Who knows, maybe by the end of the month I’ll be making macaroons! Well, at least a girl can dream, right? I’m thinking next week might be a pie – since I just recently purchased and subsequently gave away as a birthday gift a cookbook simply called Pie. Of course before wrapping it I flipped through, and had a serious craving for chocolate pecan pie. We’ll see. I’ve got a week to decide!

Sweet Potato Chipotle Beer Chili

This month’s Hormel Extended Family Food Blogger theme was slow cooking, specifically with a Crockpot. They actually sent me one in order to create my meal – how awesome! Having only just made my very first meal a la slow cooker last week (it was this), I was psyched to give a new recipe a try. I really love the idea of a slow cooker, since it gives you the opportunity to set up your meal, go about your day, and come home to something delicious. I will most definitely be putting some type of slow cooker meal into heavy rotation in our house this winter.

Because it’s fall and the weather is slowly getting cooler, I first knew I wanted to make chili, and as an ingredient have what I consider to be a classic fall food – sweet potatoes! From there, all the other ingredients kind of fell into place based on what I invision a good chili to include. And, of course I had to add beer – its such a great cooking ingredient. This also made enough for leftovers, which is always appreciated. While I don’t mind bringing frozen meals for lunch, I would much prefer a leftover, and I can’t justify eating out more than once a week (if even that).

So, after a long run and making a trip to the Halloween store in hopes of finding a costume for my husband, it was great to come home to this!

Sweet Potato Chipotle Beer Chili… with Turkey
– Serves 4 –

Ingredients:
1.25 lbs ground turkey (or leave this out, use ground beef, etc.)
1 large Spanish onion, diced
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 15.5 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 8 oz. cans diced tomatoes with jalapeños
12 oz. Mexican beer (I used Corona)
2 chipotles in adobo, plus 2 Tbsp adobo sauce [or less depending on your spice preference]
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in your slow cooker
2. Cook on the high setting for 2 hours
3. Serve with your favorite chili toppings (shredded cheese, sour cream, etc.)