A Collegiate Weekend

This past weekend, I took a trip up to The University of Rochester with my mom and dad to visit my younger sister, who is a sophomore at the university for their Meloria weekend. Even though this is her second year, it was my first trip up and I was excited to see her – I haven’t seen her since the summer! I was also excited knowing there was some delicious food to be eaten – including BBQ and a trip to the original Wegmans.

First up was a trip to one of the university’s cafeterias that had ready to eat cookie dough! We needed a snack before dinner having been in the car for 6 hours, so it was just what I needed. I opted for the rocky road version, and it was awesome.

During my sister’s rendition of a campus tour, we of course had to stop at the full-sized Starbucks they have on campus. The University of Scranton had a Starbucks added to their new cafeteria my senior year, but it wasn’t much more than a countertop in the quick service section. At The University of Rochester, though, it’s a fully operating store which blew my mind. My sister’s boyfriend works there, and they operate regular (late) store hours as well, which I think is genius for a college campus. I also got my first glimpse of the trenta – I love coffee, but I don’t think I could drink that much!

Dinner on Friday night was at Benucci’s which my parents and sister had been to before. Go to Parks near Rochester, NY for a stroll after a nice meal. I had a really hard time deciding on what to get, but I ultimately went with their spicy penne vodka, and of course shared some fried calamari appetizer with the table. The pasta was delicious – it was at the perfect spice level for me, which was nice and spicy.

Saturday started early with a trip to the hotel’s gym, and unfortunately my run ended sooner than I had originally anticipated. The gym was 80 degrees (I wish I was exaggerating, but I checked the locked up thermostat) so I could only muster up 5 miles. Of course, when I was done it felt like I ran at least double that. We then headed to the university, first stopping at Starbucks (I scored a free sample of their pumpkin white mocha – yum!) and then continuing on to watch Bill Clinton deliver the keynote address.
Having heard only delicious things about Rochester’s BBQ, so we decided to check out Sticky Lips BBQ for lunch. Adam Richman’s Man vs. Food actually visited there and took on the atomic challenge, so we knew it had to be good. While no one at our table attempted the challenge, we all got a ton of food. I decided to go with the veggie sticky icky plate, because I’m not a big fan of ribs, pork, etc. It was so delicious. It had french fries, black beans, macaroni salad, and was smothered with vegetable etouffe and of course came with a slab of cornbread. I tackled about half, and saved the other half for dinner.

Our final stop of the day was the original Wegmans, where I discovered Maine Root’s Pumpkin Pie Soda!
Despite the 6 hour trip, it was great to spend the weekend with my parents (who celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary on Sunday – wow!), and get to see my sister and her boyfriend. The next time we’ll all be reunited is Thanksgiving, which we’ll be hosting for the third year in a row. This weekend reaffirmed my beliefs that my love and obsession with food is thanks to my family. The four of us have food on the brain, all the time.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway – you have until Thursday at 9pm EDT!

This Week in Yum and a Giveaway!

I haven’t been posting many recipes (or posts at all) lately, and that’s because I haven’t been making too much of my own. Instead, I’ve been re-creating, or exactly following, recipes from some of the many cookbooks I have. So, in an effort to not step on anyone’s toes in terms of copyright laws, etc., I’ve left those delicious meals off the blog. But, since this is a food blog, I figured I should still be sharing all the yummy things I’ve eaten with you – especially if they were created in my own kitchen! Who cares if it wasn’t my original idea, right? So, I’m going to try out a new weekly post for all of the really good things I ate that I didn’t have the opportunity to blog about. Hence the posts’s title, this week in yum. Oh, and I also have a giveaway for this week [scroll to the bottom for info]!

I bought two new cookbooks recently, and have already made two things from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and they have been awesome. I’ve been somewhat intimidated of vegan cooking because so many recipes I’ve read have really obscure ingredients. I’m still on a tight budget, so it’s hard for me to justify buying some of these odd ingredients for just one or two recipes. But this book has really accessible ingredients, which I of course appreciate.

First up was Curry Laska, which was flavorful and really easy to prepare. It had a little bit of spice, and nice coconut undertones from the coconut milk. I would absolutely make this again.

The second dish was Cajun Bean Balls, which I served just with some pasta and regular tomato sauce (though there is a great recipe for homemade tomato sauce with a lot of variations). This was my second attempt at meatless meatballs, and these were really good. I was surprised by the combination of ingredients (soy sauce, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, a bunch of herbs) but it all worked together really well. I also appreciated baking them, as I never seem to have luck pan-frying any faux meat (burgers, meatballs, etc.). I was too excited for it’s deliciousness to take a picture. But I will definitely be making them again, so I’ll be sure to snap a picture next time.

This next dish was completely random, and totally awesome. I could see this being a huge favorite at parties, or while watching a game. I threw this together after a run and it was the perfect amount of melted cheese, soft and puffy biscuit, and a little kick from the pepperoni. This recipe is from Baking Serendipity, and it’s awesome. You should make it next weekend!

Last but certainly not least are Funfetti cookie bars. It can’t get any easier than this. All you need to do is prepare the Funfetti as you usually would (1/3c oil, 2 eggs), and instead of putting it into a cake pan or in a cupcake pan, simply spread it out on a greased baking sheet, and bake it at 350 for 8-10 minutes! Then once it’s cooled you can frost them. They look kind of like Poptarts, but taste like those delicious soft sugar cookies that have globs of frosting on them. You know what I’m talking about – they come in a 12 pack and scream “buy me!” at places like Target (I had to resist the urge last night). This was the perfect way for me to use the extra Funfetti mix I had laying around.

So now I’m sure you must be thinking to yourself, “great, I don’t really care what food you’ve eaten recently. Just make with the giveaway details!” So here’s the goods: Just in time for halloween, the folks at Hormel are giving away the following to one lucky FoodosaurusRex reader! You’ll get some limited edition chili cheese dip, pepperoni minis, and chunk breast chicken. Perfect ingredients for party snacks to watch the games! To enter, you can do any of the following, and make sure to leave a comment telling me for each!:

1. What’s your favorite game-day/party snack?
2. Follow me on Twitter – @FoodosaurusRex
3. Subscribe to the blog via reader or e-mail

You have until Thursday 10/28 at 9p to enter!

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.)

Spicy Polenta Bake

Training for the Philadelphia Marathon has been a marathon in itself. My husband and I have had our share of setbacks and injuries over the past year, but are thankfully on the up and up. Neither of us have been able to tackle 20 miles yet, but it isn’t for lack of trying. Saturday was a 15 miler for me, and an 18 miler for my husband. Next week, I’m hoping to break 16 (my longest run yet) for at least 18 miles so I can get at least one 20 miler. Fingers crossed I can do it!

Since our mileage has been higher, we’ve definitely been hungrier. After Saturday’s 15 miler my husband insisted we had Five Guys for dinner. Since we had ran so much, I figured it was an acceptable treat, and really enjoyed it. After that indulgence, though, I was full aware that I needed something a little better for me on Sunday. So, after waking up and getting my husband to do yoga with me for the first time ever (he’s finally realizing how helpful it can be to stretch out), I decided to use up the little bit of pre-made polenta I had in the fridge.

This dish came in handy for a small brunch, followed by a late dinner, as we went to an Oktoberfest at a bar nearby, and enjoyed our fair share of German food and beers. It was just what I needed after mid-day Sunday drinking!

Spicy Polenta Bake
– Serves 4 –

Ingredients:
4 oz. pre-made polenta, sliced thin
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 can corn, drained
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup salsa (I used Herdez chipotle flavor)
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp Adobo

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place sliced polenta on a greased baking sheet, and bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in skillet, and sautee onion until soft (about 5 minutes). Add chili powder, cumin, and adobo, sauteeing for an additional 3 minutes.
4. Add beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, and salsa and cook for 5 minutes, until heated through.
5. Grease a 9×11 dish and layer with cooked polenta and bean and corn mixture, and top with cheese.
6. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

Meatless Monday: The TALT

There is something magical about a good sandwich. For me, it’s a little bit crunchy, a little bit creamy, and a whole lot of delicious. I’m a huge fan of club sandwiches, paninis, tortas, subs (also known as “hoagies”), and any other sandwich-like food. I grew up eating a sandwich pretty much every day for lunch, and I couldn’t complain – my dad makes a mean turkey and cheese with lettuce!

I had been craving a BLT for quite some time, but decided to make it meatless. Enter the TALT – tempeh, avocado, lettuce, and tomato. So simple, and so delicious. I used LightLife’s “Fakin’ Bacon” which has a smoky almost bacon-like taste when quickly fried in a little oil. For the rest of the sandwich, I just toasted some grain bread and topped the “bacon” with lettuce, tomato, and half an avocado. Perfect for a Monday night.

With the realization that sandwiches are perfectly acceptable dinners, I’m looking to incorporate them more in our weekly meals. If you happen to have any good sandwich “recipes” (I put this in quotes because sometimes, like above, sandwich making is a no-brainer), please feel free to pass them along!

I just recently ordered and received the Peas and Thank You cookbook, and also Appetite for Reduction. I’ve already bookmarked a bunch of recipes I can’t wait to try, and have been inspired to try and create my own concoctions from them. Hopefully this month will be full of cooking (and baking!), now that I’m finally a married woman with slightly more time.

Master Marinade

As a member of Foodbuzz and an eager Tastemaker, I was excited to receive a bottle of KC Masterpiece’s Hot Buffalo Marinade. Having just made buffalo tofu tacos, I wasn’t sure exactly what to whip up with the delicious sauce. I remembered back to my buffalo chicken pizza fail, and wanted to do something more than just grill up some marinated chicken. Enter the buffalo chicken calzone!

One of my very first posts here on the blog was about buffalo chicken pizza, so it’s clear I really enjoy it. I was hoping that by putting it in calzone form, I would have more success than my attempt at recreating the pizza. There are a few reasons for my thinking, mostly dealing with the fact that I could add copious amounts of cheese. My husband loathes blue cheese, though, so it’s always tricky when a recipe calls for that or Gorgonzola (since they taste somewhat similar). Instead of trying to add just a bit and hide the flavor, I omitted it completely this time, and replaced it with feta. I realize the tastes are different, but the consistency is somewhat the same, and feta is creamy when melted.

This was definitely a win. As I was putting it together, my husband insisted that it was more of a stromboli than a calzone, but it looked delicious regardless. I’m not one for technicalities, so I’ll stick to calling it a calzone. But either way, it was delicious. A perfect reward for making it through a Monday.

Buffalo Chicken Calzone
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
1 package pre-made pizza dough (I used Wegmans whole wheat)
1 can diced chicken
3 Tbsp KC Masterpiece Buffalo Marinade
2 Tbsp ranch dressing
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup feta, crumbled

Directions:
1. Marinade chicken with buffalo sauce for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
3. Roll out dough, and layer one half first with cheese, then onion and celery, and finally chicken.
4. Spread the ranch on the other half and around the edges. Fold that half over the first, and curl the edges to keep it closed.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Serve with additional buffalo and ranch for dipping!

Childhood Favorites: Monkey Stew

This month’s Hormel Extended Family Food Blogger post is in regards to childhood favorites. While it’s true I grew up loving hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, macaroni and cheese, and all the other things deemed “typical” for a child to like, there was one dinner that was my hands-down favorite. I think the name might have played a part in why I liked it, because it was fun telling people what I was having for dinner, and seeing the extremely confused look on their faces. But, it also tasted great. As you can guess by the title of the post, it’s Monkey Stew!

Monkey Stew itself is super easy to make, and versatile. In my house, it was usually served over pasta or mashed potatoes, with a side of peas. It could definitely be made into a sloppy Joe styled sandwich, or as a base for chili, and more. My favorite style of Monkey Stew was over mashed potatoes, and if an extra vegetable was needed, with peas. We always had salad with our dinners growing up, but we often had other vegetables as well. I’m not sure why, but peas seemed to always be the go-to with this particular recipe.

Now that I’m married, I’ve been thinking about recipes that I want to keep as “go-to’s” in my recipe arsenal for when I have a family. This recipe will definitely be on that list, since it was such a favorite growing up. So, of course for my re-creation I made mashed potatoes, and served it with peas. Instead of using ground beef, though, I went with Jennie-O ground turkey. When you put it all together, it’s a hearty meal that takes no time at all to make. This was just what my husband and I needed after Sunday’s long run, too.

Monkey Stew
– Serves 4 –

Ingredients:
1 package Jennie-O ground turkey
1 15 oz. plus 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce (I used Hunt’s)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. In a sauté pan over medium heat, brown the meat, and season with salt and pepper.
2. When the meat is almost fully cooked, add the diced onions and sauté them together until the meat is cooked, and the onions are soft.
3. Add in the tomato sauce, cover, and let simmer about 5-10 minutes.
4. Serve over mashed potatoes or pasta.

Buffalo Tofu Tacos and a Bake-off

I really enjoy tofu. I know that many people are turned off by its texture and lack of flavor, but those are two qualities I appreciate. I’m not one of those people that is easily persuaded by texture, as I know a lot of people are (though I do have my limits with super-slimy). And as for flavor, that’s easily fixable – tofu is so incredibly versatile and it’s like a sponge; almost any flavor can seep into its pores.

That being said, when I had a craving for buffalo chicken, I figured I would give buffalo tofu a shot. I didn’t want to simply marinate some tofu in Frank’s Red Hot and call it a day – it needed some frying action first. That reminds me of the other reason I like tofu – it’s so easy to prepare. All you need is a deep skillet with canola oil, slices of extra firm tofu that’s been pressed to get rid of excess water, and buffalo sauce. Heat the oil, add the tofu (try not to touch it except to flip) and cook it on either side about 2-3 minutes. It’s that easy! I served my tacos with red onion, shredded lettuce, avocado, diced tomatoes, and some shredded cheese. YUM.

On Tuesday night my kitchen was put to the test. Aside from making the above dinner, I also had to prepare my entry for our company bake-off. I decided to make How Sweet Eat’s Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles, and RecipeGirl’s Oreo Cheesecake Bars. I didn’t have time to snap a picture of the truffles, but look at these Oreo bars. I knew I had a pretty good chance at placing.

After all was said and done, I wound up taking first AND second place! I scored a gift card and a dessert cookbook – two things I can’t wait to put to good use.

Scallops and Spicy Pasta

When I went to The Frog & Peach for a New Brunswick Patch review, I ordered their seared scallops, and fell in love with them. When I was a toddler, I used to eat scallops all the time, when I would eat anything and everything. A few years later, I went through a super picky phase, and stayed away from scallops far after that phase had ended.

I assumed preparing scallops was difficult, but after checking out a few different recipes online, I realized they only took a few minutes in some butter and oil over a medium-high heat. Unfortunately the only scallops that Wegmans had were gigantic, so instead of having a few little scallops, we had three huge scallops each. That’s right, we got about 6 huge scallops when we ordered a pound.

Deciding what to pair the scallops with was a no brainer – pasta. What exactly to put with the pasta, however, was a little more difficult. Eventually I decided on some garlic, shallots, and a soon-to-go-bad zucchini in a white wine butter sauce. The kick came from red pepper flakes, of course. I would definitely make this again, but maybe next time with smaller scallops.

Scallops and Spicy Pasta
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
1 lb. sea scallops
5 oz. spaghetti
1 zucchini, diced
2 shallots, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil + 4 Tbsp
2 Tbsp butter
4 oz. white wine (I used chardonnay)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1 Tbsp of butter in a medium skillet. Season the scallops on either side with a pinch of salt and pepper. Once butter is melted, add scallops and sear on either side 2-3 minutes, making sure they don’t touch.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a separate skillet, and sauté zucchini, shallots, and garlic for 5 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and white wine, and allow to simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes.
4. Combine the pasta and sautéed vegetables with an additional Tbsp of butter. Serve with the scallops atop the pasta.

Faux Delicious

I’ve been craving meatballs for awhile, but haven’t gotten around to making them. Instead of making regular meatballs, I wanted to give a vegetarian version a try. Turns out my version was vegan, which is even better! After checking out a few different recipes on VegWeb for inspiration, I decided on lentil styled “meat”balls. A lot of recipes used faux meat products, and while I’m not against them, I wanted to try something just with beans, grains, etc. I’ve come to learn that lentils are a fabulous substitute.

While I don’t think these are exactly like meatballs, I think they’re awesome as what they are – Italian lentil balls (yes, I just made that up). The spices make them smell just like meatballs, and they have a crumbly texture, similar to meatballs. This was definitely one of my more successful meat replacement meals, as they actually stayed in the balls I formed, and didn’t crumble upon contact with the skillet, like I’ve experienced with some of my bean burgers.

They are definitely on the drier side of things, but if you mix them into your sauce/gravy, you won’t be able to tell the difference. Or, departing completely from the intended purpose of them for my dinner, you can use them in a pita almost like a falafel. And now I’m thinking about a meatball hero. These would be great on some crusty Italian bread with marinara and cheese. So many good for you possibilities!

Lentil “Meat”Balls
– makes 10-20 meatballs, depending on size-

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked lentils
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup yellow corn meal
3 Tbsp red pepper flakes (or less depending on your spice preference)
2 Tbsp oregano
2 Tbsp garlic powder
Salt & Pepper to taste
Oil for frying

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Bring 4 cups of water to boil with lentils. Reduce to a simmer and cook until all water is absorbed (about 20 minutes).
3. Meanwhile, combine oats, corn meal, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, oregano, and salt & pepper in a medium bowl.
4. Once lentils are cooked, allow them to cool (I put them in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes). Then mash using a fork or potato masher until a paste forms. Add the lentils to the dry mixture. Form into balls.
5. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a skillet, and lightly fry about 5 minutes, adding more oil when needed.
6. Place lentil balls on a greased baking sheet, and bake for about 10-15 minutes.