Try It: Grilled Cheese Egg in a Hole

I love Egg in a Hole. aka Toad in a Hole. But last week, I took it to a whole new level with Grilled Cheese Egg in a Hole!!

Usually, I like to present these via youtube video, but frankly, the videos with this recipe are pretty awful. So I'm just going to post a link to the recipe instead. It is a ridiculously easy recipe, although I did not know about the mayonnaise trick (use mayo instead of butter on the outside of the sandwich) and makes a fantastic brunch.

Sunday in the Kitchen

This weekend, Nick and I took our first steps to regaining normalcy following Otto's diagnosis. We reached some decisions (we're not doing chemo, only pain management), and have started to more fully embrace our time with Otto rather than worrying about what is to come. I don't know, maybe these warmer temperatures have something to do with our more positive attitude? Anyway, our diet has been terrible over the past few weeks and we decided that it was time for a massive cook-and-freeze session so that we would have easy meals to reach into over the next few months.

Nick and I went to the Westside Market on Saturday to stock up on ingredients. Every time I visit, I wonder why I don't go more frequently! Although the thing about visiting the market on Saturdays is that you have to either go really early, or go late--around 2. Anything between the hours of 10am - 2 pm is a madhouse! We went with a list, and split up, so a very efficient 30 minutes later, we were out of there, stocked with all the ingredients for Nick's meatballs and 3 different types of chicken.

Nick's meatballs. I could give you the recipe, but its a family secret ;)

I made chicken pot pie, cajun chicken, and tandoori chicken. I wish I could tell you I used some fancy recipe for the cajun chicken or tandoori chicken, but its basically boneless, skinless chicken thighs, some type of fat (oil or melted butter) and a seasoning mix. Marinate for 90 minutes- 2 hours, and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Foolproof and freezes exceptionally well. And when I'm ready to eat it, I just nuke the pre-portioned chicken pieces in the microwave for 2 minutes. Pairs well with salads, over pasta, in pita pockets, in enchiladas. Endless versatility with minimal effort.

Do you cook big batches over the weekend, or do you cook every night or some combination of both?

Try It: 3 ingredient Nutella Cookies

My diet recently has had four main food groups: wine, eggs, cheese and chocolate. One of my favorite things to eat are Nutella cookies--a recipe I discovered on Pinterest a few years ago. Basically, you take 1 cup of nutella, 1 cup of flour and 1 egg, mix it together, form it into little cookie balls, and bake it in a preheated over at 350F for 7-8 minutes.

There you have it. The easiest cookie recipe of all time.

Here's a video (that I didn't create) if you don't believe me.

PS: I didn't smash them or use a fork for the indents. Neither step is necessary.

Try It: Soft Boiled Eggs + Toast Soldiers

When things get tough (see my last post), I find myself gravitating toward comfort food. And soft boiled eggs + toast soldiers are one of my favorite things to eat! My aunt used to eat these all the time, which is where I think my love for these originated. As a bonus, you get to eat them in a fun egg cup!! If you don't know how to make them, here's a quick little video (that I didn't create, but is the recipe I use) to help!




Quick, simple, yummy, and endlessly comforting! And you can find some lovely egg cups on Etsy or at vintage stores! Enjoy!

Try It: Steamed Artichoke

I had no idea that I like steamed artichoke until I ate my first one at L'Albatros a few weeks ago, and subsequently couldn't stop thinking of it. Problem is, I was terrified of cooking artichokes, until I watched this video:



Its easier than you think!!! I steamed an artichoke earlier this week (and ate the whole thing), and it was absolutely delicious. You could make your own lemon aioli, or you can go the super lazy route and just buy Annie's Lemon & Chive Vinaigrette. Either way, super easy, mostly healthy, and super delicious. Don't forget to squeeze some lemon over the artichoke before you eat it!

Happy eating!

Weekly Weigh In and I'm Blending Like Crazy

Weight on 11/4/2013: 153 lbs
Weight on 11/11/2013: 153 lbs
Weight loss: 0!!!

UGH! I am really mad that I didn't lose ANY weight this week, but I can pinpoint the exact combination of things I did wrong:
1. I ate WAY too much artificial sugar, mainly in the form of dessert left over from the Divali party we hosted last weekend. This problem has since been fixed: I threw all the dessert in the trash. (If you're curious Divali/Diwali/Deepavali are all the same thing)
2. I didn't work out enough. I normally work out 5x a week, and this week I only did 4 workouts. Zumba, Strength Training, Barre, and a workout DVD. While not bad, I didn't work out at ALL this weekend, which certainly didn't help with..
3. Alcohol. This is my downfall. This Friday we were are at a going-away party, which ended up with late night Taco Bell (I know, I know…) and Saturday, we were at Matt's #GiveMe30 Birthday party. Champers and pudding shots. Tabitha is a pudding shot genius, and unfortunately, I had too many.

So, lessons learned.

On the plus side, I made a life-changing new purchase: a reconditioned Vitamix!! If you're not familiar with the Vitamix, where have you been? Its the absolute gold standard for blenders, and is seriously amazing. It blends everything so so smooth, and can even make soup!! Tonight I made a broccoli-cheddar soup for dinner, but adapted the recipe to make it lower calorie!

1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup 1% organic milk
1/2 cup sharp cheddar
1 head broccoli (from Fresh Fork)
1/4 leftover cauliflower
salt + pepper to taste
And ALL I had to do was blend it!! It made 3 huge cups of soup, so I have lunch for tomorrow too!! I also made a beet and apple smoothie this week, but I loathe beets (they taste like mud) so I just sucked it up and chugged it for the nutrients.

Anyway,  I am committed to doing better as far as food + exercise go this week. I need to lose these 3 lbs ASAP! I am missing out on some really awesome sales!!!

A Thanksgiving Cocktail

I LLLUUUURRRVVEEEE Thanksgiving. Its my most favorite holiday of the year!! We always do Thanksgiving with N's family, and about a year or so after we were married, we started a new tradition of always bringing mac n cheese to Thanksgiving dinner. We've tried many different recipes over the years, including carbonara, but this year, we're going back to basics with The Pioneer Woman's Mac & Cheese recipe.

Over the summer I pinned a recipe for an Autumn Sangria and on Saturday, I decided to take it to our neighborhood party.

Source: kirantarun.com via cleshopaholic on Interest

However, I'm practically incapable of following a recipe exactly, so I modified it as follows:
1 bottle red wine (I used a tempranillo)
3 cups cider
3 apples cut in small pieces
1/4 c craisins
1/8th tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (which is what I did) or ideally overnight.

And here's what my final product looked like:

It was DELICIOUS!! Lets just say it didn't last very long, and there was definitely none left over!! I am definitely taking this over to N's parents on Thanksgiving day for pre-turkey cocktail hour(s)!!!

Do you make a special Thanksgiving cocktail? Please share recipes!!!