Curried Eggplant with Tomato and Basil

When I was in college, I made sure to hit up the salad bar every night. After swim practice, we all loaded up our trays and on my tray at least one corner had a little plastic bowl full of salad in it. The lettuce, though, was usually buried underneath a pile of chickpeas. Teammates and friends used to joke that I was having a little salad with my chickpeas, but I just couldn’t help it – they’re so good! So whenever I find a recipe that has chickpeas in them, I do my best to make it.

This recipe came from Real Simple magazine, which always seems to have such great (and usually pretty easy) recipes. Hmm, maybe the title of the magazine lends to the easy, or should I say, simple recipes. I was lucky enough to score a subscription to the magazine after my friend got me the bridal edition. I look forward to each issue!

It wasn’t until a few months ago that I began cooking with curry, and I LOVE it. Now that we don’t have any neighbors upstairs, downstairs, etc. we don’t have to worry about “stinking” up the place with our cooking. I think all aromas coming from the kitchen are great, aside from the garbage of course. Now that I have curry powder, Thai red curry, and a big bag of garam masala, I have every intention of adding to that collection and making more curry-based dishes.

I was able to put this all together post-gym since I didn’t get up early enough to run Tuesday morning (but I did Monday!). Being able to have the rice cook while taking care of everything else was definitely helpful. In addition to the regular recipe, I added some dried red chilis to the mix. My fiancé decided to throw some hot sauce we recently got from Serial Baker during her trip to California, and he over did it. I stuck to a squirt of Sriracha and was fine, while he was guzzling water. Oops!

Next on my chickpea to make list is RhodeyGirl’s Chickpea fries. I just need to figure out how to prevent oil from flying all over the counters as well as my arms.

Curried Eggplant with Tomato and Basil
– Serves 4 –

Ingredients:
1 cup white basmati rice
kosher salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt (preferably Greek), optional

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, combine the rice, 1 ½ cups water, and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Stir the rice once, cover, and reduce heat to low.
2. Simmer for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomatoes, eggplant, curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
5. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until eggplant is tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
6. Stir in the chickpeas and cook just until heated through, about 3 minutes.
7. Remove the vegetables from heat and stir in the basil. Fluff the rice with a fork. Serve the vegetables over the rice with yogurt, if using.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

This particular recipe came to fruition by accident. On Saturday my fiancé and I headed to my boss’ house for a lovely evening of eating and playing Just Dance on Wii (which rules, by the way) as a celebration for successfully getting through our conference in October. Since she was doing all the cooking, I knew I needed to bring something along. After finishing my longest run post-injury (oh hey 6 miles!) I didn’t have much time to whip up anything fancy, so I fell back on PBFingers‘ two ingredient pumpkin cake cookies.

There were a few left over, and I was forced to take them home with me. Since we still have a ton of Halloween candy laying around, I wasn’t sure what to do with them. On Sunday, though, I awoke with a genius idea – whoopie pie! And let me tell you, this will be the easiest whoopie pies you will ever make in your life – trust me. Since the cookies themselves are literally two ingredients, adding some cream cheese frosting in between was perfect. They were a great morning treat, and would translate well any time of the day.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
– makes 6 –

Cake Ingredients:
1 box of spice cake mix
1 can pure pumpkin

Frosting Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine cake mix and pumpkin until completely mixed and fluffy
3. Bake 10-12 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean
4. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar.
5. Liberally spread frosting mixture on each side of the cookie, and press together

Not Your Typical Burger ‘n Fries

Sometimes you just need some less-than-super-healthy-for-you food. This week’s dinners involved a lot of meat, which has been different for us since we really don’t eat meat much these days. There were quite a few yummy recipes in my queue that involved meat, and I didn’t feel like trying to find substitutes, so I went with it and I’m glad I did!

I had been all set to whip up Mexican Stuffed Shells (numero dos) for Thursday night’s dinner, until the crafty Katie of You Are What You Eat or Reheat posted yet another mouth watering, less-than-good-for-you dish. Seriously reading her blog makes me feel like we’re food twins. Mexican Stuffed shells? Fiesta in my mouth. Pepperoni and cheese puff balls? Classless deliciousness. Tater tot casserole? Been there, loved that. So, when she posted her latest weekly installment of “White Trash Wednesday,” I knew I needed to make it immediately. Enter the Burger and Fries Pot Pie.

There’s been a trend in most of my dishes recently; casseroles, soups, chili, and savory pies have definitely become the front runners for weeknight dinners. I think the big reason why I enjoy them so much is because they make a lot, and this leaves my fiancé and I enough for leftovers either the next day for lunch, or even the next night for dinner. So when I realized that I could have a burger and fries in a casserole dish with likely leftovers, I was all about it.

Since I hadn’t planned on making this at the beginning of the week, we had to stop on our way home to grab a can of diced tomatoes and frozen French fries. Luckily there’s a pretty stocked Target on our way home, but that often times results in me spending more money than I should. Seriously, is there anyone out there that can go into Target and actually leave with just what they went there for?

Other than browning the meat and onions (and some habaneros for good measure), all that’s required of you is to layer everything into a baking dish. As much as I love cooking and making extravagant and delicious meals, sometimes it’s just as enjoyable to throw a few things together, put it in the oven, and be done with it. Yep, despite my façade of running, cooking & baking, working, going to school, and trying to have a smidgen of a social life, I’m a lazy girl at heart. And to be honest, as Katie says, we all have a little white trash in us.

Burger ‘n Fries Pot Pie
– Serves 4 –

Ingredients:
1 1/2lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
2 cups frozen crispy French-fried potatoes (from 20-oz bag)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 450°F. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain well. Sprinkle flour over beef mixture. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomatoes; heat to boiling. Remove from heat.
2. In ungreased 1 1/2-quart casserole, spread beef mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Arrange frozen potatoes evenly in single layer on top.
3. Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

After watching the NYC Marathon on Sunday I was inspired to head out for 5 miles of my own (after all it was World Run Day!). Somehow, I’ve managed to drop my per-mile pace each run I’ve been on post-injury. I suppose my two month break was like an extended taper. If that’s the case, I’ll take it!

For dinner, I decided to make this Turkey Pumpkin Chili recipe from Whole Foods. I think, if I remember correctly, I found it on The Runner’s Kitchen blog, but I can’t be sure. At any rate, it was absolutely delicious. I substituted the jalapeño for habaneros, since the grocery store’s jalapeños were rather wimpy. This of course kicked up the heat a lot, and it was well worth it. Aside from that substitution and an additional tablespoon of chili powder, I followed the rest of the recipe exactly.

There’s really no other way to describe this recipe aside from YUM. It was the perfect consistency. Often times I find that chili is either too soupy, or too thick – this was right in the middle. There was a nice amount of heat, and the beans and puree pumpkin really added a great consistency. Plus, I’d like to think adding the 99% fat-free ground turkey made it healthier than your average chili recipe! Since it serves 6, there’s plenty left for me to enjoy throughout the week.

Turkey Pumpkin Chili
– Serves 6 –

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped (more or less depending on your heat preference!)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound ground white or dark meat turkey
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 cup water
1-2 tablespoon chili powder (I used 2)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeños and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned.
2. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, water, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and add beans. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Candy Stuffed Cupcakes

The idea of putting a little surprise inside a cupcake gets me giddy. Cupcakes are awesome on their own. Throw in something extra in the center, and you have my full and undivided attention. I think that’s why I gravitate towards bakeshops like Crumbs, where most of their cupcakes have some type of delicious filling. Since I don’t [yet] have the proper tools to stuff my cupcakes with ganache, buttercream, or things of that nature, I decided to take it the easier route – shove some Halloween candy into cupcakes!

For whatever reason the trick-or-treaters were sparse this year, especially at our new place. We actually only had two sets of vistors. We did go out to dinner between about 6p and 8p, so I’m assuming we missed some others, but the overall feeling in the office the next day was that there just weren’t a lot of trick-or-treaters out and about. Fiance and I had spent quite some time in the candy asile at Target earlier that week, trying to pick out the perfect combination of candy – we wanted to make sure as the new neighbors the kids were impressed. Now, though, we just have two bowls full of leftovers. We’ve been taking a few pieces to work every day (to have 2-3 each), but at this rate, we’ll have candy until the new year. That’s when I realized I needed to bake with them!

I had found a recipe for deep-fried candy, but unfortunately I just don’t have the proper tools. Since hot oil is seriously dangerous, I figured it’d be best to wait until I have things like a deep fryer [hello wedding registry!] and other important and safety related items. I haven’t baked in awhile because of packing and moving, so I thought that would be a nice treat. Initially I wasn’t sure as to what flavor cake to go with, or even what type of frosting. Since I was using chocolate candy, I decided to go with a simple vanilla cake, and let the candy do the rest of the work. As for the frosting, I still battle with buttercream, and am still slightly afraid of cream cheese frosting. So, sour cream chocolate it was! The cake recipe came from Ming Makes Cupcakes and the frosting recipe came from AllRecipes.

The frosting was okay – It wasn’t nearly as thick as I had hoped the first time around. After eating a cupcake each I put the rest of the frosting in the fridge. When I went back for number two, I added a little more confectioner’s sugar, and since it was cold, the consistency was much better. The cake was delicious, I really enjoyed the surprise center. I would suggest popping any leftovers you have in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up the center, since the melty chocolate was one of the best parts. I stuffed my cupcakes with pieces of Kit-Kat, Twix, Almond Joy, Take 5, and Snickers.

Candy Stuffed Cupcakes
– Makes 12 – 15 cupcakes –

Cake Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
5 of your favorite “fun-sized” chocolate candy bars, broken into pieces

Cake Directions:
1. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat in butter gradually. Beat in sugar and mix thoroughly. Beat in eggs, then vanilla and milk. Beat till mixed.
2. Pour into lined cupcake pan. Place a piece of the broken candy into the middle of each cupcake, placing it mid-way down in the pan.
3. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out almost clean.

Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

Frosting Directions:
1. Melt chocolate and the butter together. Let cool and blend in the sour cream, vanilla, and salt.
2. Gradually add the confectioner’s sugar until the frosting is of spreading consistency, beat well.

An Early November Fiesta

Similar to Tuesday’s dinner, Thursday was another long prep meal. It actually required to be refrigerated for at least 8 hours, so I prepared everything on Wednesday post-run then threw it in the oven after work on Thursday. Thankfully I read the directions way before I planned to make it, giving me enough time to figure out which day of the week would be best to have it.

I’ve somehow been subscribed to Betty Crocker’s weekly e-mails that come Sunday nights. Often times I don’t really find anything I’m interested in (they’re your typical family styled meal), but every so often I find a gem. Enter the Fiesta Taco Chicken Lasagna (that’s a mouthful!). I decided to omit the chicken just to make things a little easier on myself as well as the black olives because the fiancé isn’t a big fan, and instead of taco sauce I used salsa to give it more texture.

These big bakes with a fiesta, Mexican, or Southwestern label seem to be some of my favorite meals (like this one, or this one). They take some time to prepare because of all the ingredients, but in the end it’s so worth it. I imagine you could throw some eggs into this bad boy to make it a great brunch item. Of course the mention of brunch brings up thoughts of booze (is that normal?), and this would probably go quite nicely with a giant margarita… yes please!

While it wasn’t the most photogenic meal I’ve made, it was delicious. The fiancé was extremely impressed at how great it was, despite it being “a big bunch of mush.”

Since the recipe makes enough to feed a family, I’ll be enjoying this for days.

Taco Fiesta Chicken Lasagna
– Serves 4 –

Ingredients:
2 (14 1/2-oz.) cans diced tomatoes with zesty mild green chiles, undrained
1/4 cup taco sauce
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 (16-oz.) can Old El Paso® Refried Beans
1/2 cup sour cream
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
12 oz. (3 cups) shredded colby-Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives, if desired
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1. Spray 15×12-inch sheet of foil and 13×9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl, combine tomatoes and taco sauce; mix well. Stir in chicken. In medium bowl, combine refried beans and sour cream; mix well.
Spread about 1 cup chicken mixture in bottom of sprayed baking dish. Top with 4 uncooked noodles, breaking to fit if necessary. Spread with half of bean mixture and 1 1/2 cups chicken mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese, half of the onions and half of the olives.
2. Layer 4 more noodles, remaining bean mixture, 1 1/2 cups chicken mixture and 1 cup cheese. Top with remaining 4 noodles, chicken mixture, onions, olives and cheese. (Be sure top noodles are covered.) Cover with foil, sprayed side down. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
3. Heat oven to 350°F. Bake covered lasagna for 50 minutes. Uncover baking dish; bake an additional 18 to 22 minutes or until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with cilantro. If desired, garnish each serving with dollop of sour cream, chopped tomato and shredded lettuce.

Pie for dinner

Sometimes I wonder if I think at all before I set out to do something. If I did, though, I’d probably wind up second guessing myself and missing out on a lot of things. After a stressful weekend of moving and unpacking, you’d think I would schedule the following week’s meals to be easy and straight forward, and probably not time consuming. Yet I seem to almost always skip over the process portion of the recipes, and pick them solely based on ingredients (and a picture too, of course).

Yesterday started off bright, well rather dark, and early. The fiancé and I were up at 5:30a and out the door by 5:45a to do our first pre-work run. Now that we’re a bit closer to the office we have more time to get ready in morning, so by waking up about an hour early, we’ll be able to get in anywhere from 4-6 miles, depending on our pace. We did 4.22 at about a 9:15 pace – I wound up getting a serious case of runner’s trots about a mile in, and spent the next two miles struggling, so it was slow and steady. At the same time though, it’s also the longest run I’ve done since the dreaded injury, so I’m more than okay with it.

After work and voting, it was time to start on the first of two long and involved recipes for the week. I went with the “Not Your Grandma’s Sweet Potato Pie” recipe, which jumped out at me due to the Southwestern styled ingredients (pobalano peppers, cumin, etc.). I can’t remember where it was linked, but this recipe comes from Grist. Since sweet potatoes were involved, they first needed to be softened. I decided to take a short cut and microwave them instead of waiting up to an hour for them to roast in the oven. When getting ready to put all the ingredients into the crust, I came to the realization that I don’t have a rolling pin. Seriously?! I need to get one of them! It amazes me how much I’m lacking in the kitchen in terms of tools and utensils, but I still manage to make almost everything I want.

It was really good – it was completely worth the effort and time involved. Even though I’ve never made a traditional sweet potato pie, I would make this one again and again as it’s a great twist on a classic. Having left-overs is also a huge plus. I’m sure a lot of guests at a Thanksgiving dinner or brunch would be thoroughlly impressed (especially if they’re vegetarian and skipping the turkey)!

While everything was in the oven I had the opportunity to get some homework done. If we hadn’t ran in the morning, there definitely wouldn’t have been enough time for this dinner, voting, and homework. I’m going to miss the longer days come this weekend, even if it means not waking up in complete darkness. But in the end it looks like morning runs have their benefits!

Hopefully I’ll get to do some baking this weekend. I’m thinking either cupcakes or brownies with Halloween candy inside. We have an entire bowl of candy left over from Sunday since we had two trick-or-treaters. Maybe it was because I was prancing around the house like this?

Power tools aside, I highly recommend making this bad boy!

Not Your Grandma’s Sweet Potato Pie
– Serves 4-6 –

Ingredients:
9-inch uncooked pie crust, rolled into a 10-inch diameter circle and refrigerated (I used pre-made)
3 medium sweet potatoes
3 to 4 medium poblano or Anaheim peppers (or substitute 1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle peppers)
4 whole shallots or 2 small white onions, quartered
1/2 cup Mexican crema, or sour cream
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
a pinch of Mexican oregano
a pinch of cumin seeds
salt and pepper
wedge of lime

Directions:
1. Wash the sweet potatoes well, pat dry, and prick with a fork several times. Place on a baking pan with the shallots or onions. Drizzle the shallots or onions with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Roast at 400 degrees F until the sweet potatoes are very tender and beginning to caramelize. If the onions begin to burn before the sweet potatoes are done, remove them from the baking tray and set aside.
3. Cool cooked sweet potatoes completely.
4. When cool, slip the skins off the sweet potatoes and cut into rough 2-inch chunks. (This step can be done up to several days in advance.)
5. If you have a gas stove, roast the poblano peppers over direct flame until blistered and blackened all over. Otherwise, you can broil them until they begin to blister. Place in a paper bag or wrap in foil and set aside to cool. When cool, rub most of the charred skin off the peppers, deseed them, and — with your fingers, if your peppers aren’t of the hot variety — tear the peppers into strips. Set aside.
6. When your vegetables are cool, remove your pie crust from the refrigerator. Roll out and be sure to patch any holes. Drape your circle of dough over your rolling pin and transfer to a pizza pan or baking sheet if not already on one.
7. Spread the bottom of the crust with the crema or sour cream, leaving a 2-inch border around the outside of the crust.
8. Next, spread the sweet potato chunks, the onions or shallots and the pepper strips over the crema. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, cumin, oregano, the cilantro and the green onions.
9. Fold the edge of the dough up over the top of the filling, pleating the dough as you work your way around the circle. Place the tart in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to firm up while you preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
10. Bake the tart for 45 minutes or until the crust is dark golden brown. Remove from the oven, squeeze the lime wedge over the filling and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Spicy Quinoa Salad

Promising myself two legitimate dinners in the kitchen this week, I went for a Spicy Quinoa Salad and paired it with just some chicken breast we had hanging out in the freezer. I’m trying to use as much of any perishable items I can, which is why I decided to pair this with just some plain ole chicken.

I actually had a hard time spotting Quinoa at the grocery store on Sunday. I found Bob’s Red Mill right away in the organic section, but it was $8! I know, I know, that’s not much. But for a grain I’d never had before and wasn’t sure what else I’d be using it with, I just couldn’t plunk that down. We also try to stay under $75 a week, and I knew we wouldn’t if I grabbed it. I headed over to the rice and pasta aisle, and spent a solid 5 minutes staring at all the different rice trying to find it. Turns out I had my back to where it was, and after almost giving up, I found a nice box for $3.50! Sure, it wasn’t whole wheat or organic, but sometimes you just have to cut corners.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know I struggle with cutting onions. Over the summer I had the great idea of using my swimming goggles to help combat the tears, and it works. I thought it was about time I shared a little treat with my readers. So here’s a picture of me from my Macbook in the kitchen (I bring it with me to read off recipes), post run and gleefully holding a red onion and a knife while sporting my goggles. Laugh away!

The recipe was super easy, and quick, which in these final packing days has been much appreciated. Trying to finish up packing and cleaning, doing homework, and trying to finally get back to running has jam-packed my week. I was able to tackle 2 miles on Monday night, and another 3 Tuesday. It’s definitely on it’s way to recovery, and feels a lot better than it did when I tried to start running last time. I’m really hoping I can be smart about this one. At this point, I’m not concerned about PRing the Disney Half Marathon, rather I just want to be able to finish the 13.1 pain-free. I’ll set my sights on a PR for the Rutgers Unite Half Marathon in April.

This was my last “real” dinner in this kitchen. In retrospect, I’ve really come into my own here. I started off making burritos and stir-fry, and really blossomed to making intricate desserts, scrumptious dinners, and just having a lot of fun. I’ve also given my fiancé plenty of opportunity to work on his camera skills (thanks babe)! Aside from making my work BFF/bridesmaid a sweet birthday treat on Thursday night which I’ll be sure to post about, next week’s food blogs will be from a new kitchen. How exciting!

I didn’t have any good pictures for the recipe, so head over to Serious Eats for a picture, which is where I got this glorious recipe!

Spicy Quinoa Salad
– Serves 4-6 –

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
Kosher salt
2 cups diced cucumber (about 2 medium)
2 cups finely diced tomatoes (about 2 medium)
1 to 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers (to taste), seeded if desired and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus several sprigs for garnish
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, finely minced (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 avocado, sliced, for garnish

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, cover the quinoa with cold water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Drain in a strainer and rinse until the water runs clear, then transfer to a medium saucepan. Cover with 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste (1 teaspoon or so), reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes until the grain becomes slightly translucent. Drain off excess water, cover the pot with a dish towel, replace the lid, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
2. In the meantime, combine the cucumber, tomato, cilantro, and olive oil in a large bowl with a pinch of salt. In a separate bowl, combine the onion, lime juice, and vinegar. Allow to sit while the quinoa finishes cooking.
3. Combine the vegetables and toss to coat, then stir in the quinoa. Season to taste with salt, oil, and/or more lime juic, and serve immediately with sliced avocado.

Spicy Soup and Lots of Packing

You never realize just how much you have until you try and pack it all up to move. Over the past month, I’ve learned that both my fiancé and I have A LOT of stuff. We thought we’d be proactive and start packing as soon as we signed our new lease, but here it was the weekend before the big move, and we spent all day Saturday and Sunday packing… and we’re not done.

Aside from going out for sushi on Friday night, a brief run on Saturday morning (I made it through 1.5 miles pain free! Going for two today!), and going out for a few drinks for a friend’s birthday Saturday night, the rest of our weekend was consumed by packing. We had to go box hunting two more times (we now have 100+ boxes stacked in our front room) and have been doing laundry non-stop. Thankfully, though, I think we’ll be able to safely say we’re done mid-week.

It would probably be smart to completely pack up the kitchen and just do easy dinners for the week, but not me! I’ve decided to make two involved recipes this week, and then keep the rest simple. Sure, the open half-full boxes strewn across the kitchen floor and dining room are difficult to maneuver in the dark and are rather ugly to look at, but they’ll be packed up soon enough. I did, however, pack up our nice dinnerware, so pardon the plastic plates and bowls in any posts this week!

After not getting to cook too much last week due to my company’s conference, I knew I needed to get back in the kitchen Sunday night. I found this recipe on YumSugar a few weeks ago, and since it had the word spicy in the title, I knew it was for me. Recently jalapenos at the grocery store have been HUGE, so when this recipe called for two, I knew it would really be more like 3+. I left out the chicken, and substituted the créme fraiche with plain low-fat Greek yogurt. Other than that, I kept everything else the same. And let me tell you – YUM! This packed serious heat and was really filling. Making homemade tortilla crisps was fun too! This is the type of soup that will definitely warm you up in the winter.

Spicy Broth with Chicken and Avocado
– Serves 4 –

Ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium-size ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 jalapeños, minced
1 quart chicken stock, homemade or store bought
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
canola oil, for frying
4 corn tortillas, cut into 1/8 inch wide strips
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
3 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, cut in wedges
4 dollops of sour cream or crème fraiche (optional)

Directions:
1. Put a stockpot over medium heat and coat with a 2 count of olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, tomatoes, and jalapeños and cook for 15 minutes or until the vegetables get pulpy. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 inch of canola oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add the tortilla strips in batches and fry until they are crisp on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoons to a paper towel-lined platter and sprinkle with salt while they are hot.
3. Divide the shredded chicken among 4 soup bowls. Ladle the hot soup over the meat. Top with diced avocado and fried tortilla strips. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

Pumpkin Cake Cookies

After being out of the baking scene for awhile, I decided to hop back in with what was hands down the easiest recipe ever. Aside from going to the store and buying a box of cookies, I don’t think this could have been easier (and it didn’t require me to leave my house!). This particular recipe comes from PB Fingers, who’s blog I stumbled upon recently. She’s got some super yummy recipes, and I love to see how her wedding plans are unfolding – everything is so cute!

I made a batch of these cookies and decided to bring a bunch to work the next day. Of course, I left some at home to enjoy as well. They were gone in a flash! My co-workers couldn’t stop talking about how great they were, and they were in shock after finding out they only required two ingredients, and a 10-12 minute bake time.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a big skeptical about the whole cake mix + a can of pumpkin = deliciousness, but I’m glad I went ahead with it anyway. All you need to do is combine a box of spice cake mix, and a 15 oz. can of pure pumpkin, plop them on some baking sheets, and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. That’s it! They’re going to be super moist and cakey which is just how I like my cookies. I have every intention of making these over and over again, and you should give them a shot too!