S'mores Cupcakes..

So this weekend I decided to ignore my Lose it! app and pretend it wasn't bathing suit season. I have ALWAYS wanted to make s'mores cupcakes and Sunday turned out to be the perfect day for them.

While I was in Dallas for Ali's graduation I watched Tia Ana make the merengue for the Tres Leches and took serious notes. These cupcakes provided the perfect opportunity for me to practice that recipe.

*CAUTION* these are delicious cupcakes so there will be lots of sugar... and it will be worth it. (I might have had one for breakfast this morning)

makes 24 cupcakes
Components
1. Graham Cracker Bottom (from scratch)
2. Chocolate Cake/Cupcake (from box)
3. Merengue Top (from scratch)

Graham Cracker Bottom 
(I had leftovers of this so next time I'm either making the base thicker or only making half of this recipe)

3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
10 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line a cupcake pan with baking cups.

In a large bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until evenly coated. Place a tablespoon sized scoop of the mixture in the bottom of each baking cup. Using a glass or bottle the size of the base of the cupcake, press down the graham cracker crumbs until they form a solid crust.

Bake for 5 minutes to allow the base to harden. Cool for 5-10 minutes before filling with cupcake batter.

Cupcake Batter
I went to the grocery store and bought Betty Crocker's Devil's Food Cake Mix and made the batter according to the instructions.

Scoop the batter on top of the graham cracker base and bake for as long as the box tells you to.

Mine was on 325 degrees F for 18-22minutes.

Set aside and let cool once that is done.

Merengue Top

Sugar Part:
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup water
- Boil on med/high heat in a pot
- Until sugar drips off fork slowly (thicker than olive oil but not as thick as honey)

~Meanwhile~

-Place 4-6 egg whites in Kitchen Aide Mixer (Yoli and Tia Ana fight about how many egg whites to use- Tia Ana says 4)
- Put on speed 6
- When REALLY frothy (starbucks frothy..) increase speed to 10 then...
- Pour sugar mix (from above) sloowwlly into kitchen aide
- The bowl will get hot from the warm sugar mix - keep mixing at that speed until bowl had cooled down

*Dad says the secret is to add a pinch of Cream of Tartar during the mixing process too

Oh and I don't have one of those fire torcher things so my cupcakes look like the picture above but without the fire look..

And you're done! Sorry for the delicious temptations that are now on your kitchen counter! I brought some into work today.

Cris

Short Week's Menu

I have to write this menu down or else I'll forget! Even though it's a short week I HAVE to stick to the menu. This past weekend, we had fried cheese curds at every meal. This is not a joke. Every. Meal. We also went to a farm in what is now being called Amelia's Worst Day Ever. It turned out alright because she's such a trooper.

So...Menu...

Monday: Got in late so ordered in salads. Yes. Salads. They were awesome.
Tuesday: Carne Molida with ground turkey + black beans + rice
Wednesday: White Fish Special with rice and roasted broccoli
Thursday: Honey Dijon Pork with brussel sprouts
Friday: Leftovers or out.
Saturday: Brisket with corn tortillas

What have yall got going on??

Wknd review + weekly menu

Whhaaaaaat a weekend I just had! It was so amazing to get some QT with the Mirshak fam and to nuzzle lil AMELIAAAAAA.... obsessed with her. Chicago was far cooler than I had imagined and I really, really love it there!!! It's like NYC but you can actually drive around and park the car. Seriously- what an awesome city. Michelle, you have a great setup there, and I can't wait to come back when the guest room is ready :)
Anyway, it was a super indulgent weekend. I never really have desserts but when I do, I just crave them more and more after. So I'm scaling back this week on sugar and carbs and such. This week's menu:

Mon: Ratatouille and grilled whole grain bread
Tues: Sushi for a girlfriend's bday
Weds: Grilled whole fish and sauteed rainbow swiss chard, OR spicy orange stir fry w/ brown rice
Thurs: I just can't stop myself... poblano and mushroom tacos
Fri: Out! Tyler moved here and Taylor's in town for another wknd, so we'll all go out somewhere

Carne Molida Recipe

The actual name is Carne Enchorizada. Carne Molida is easier to say though :) This is something that we grew up eating at least once a week. Yoly would whip this up along with rice. I remember coming home from school or practice and seeing the serving dishes ready and waiting on the kitchen island. Ahh... to have a Yoly in my life again.

I'm sure she used ground beef, although I don't remember the flavors being all that different. I loved it with ground turkey and to be honest I don't think I have ever bought ground beef. So I'll stick with the turkey.

I'm new at the documenting process and completely forget to take a shot of the finished product.... I was starving and couldn't shovel food in my mouth and snap a picture at the same time. But here we go!

Weekly Menu - week of April 23

Oh what a couple of weeks! Between San Francisco and New York, I don't really know where my head is. And I definitely left my stomach in San Francisco. There has been very little that draws my attention to food lately. Chicken tenders did it yesterday. Hopefully getting back into the routine will force me to start making better eating decisions. Since my brain hurts and I'm still in my robe (NO JUDGEMENTS!), I'll just cut right to the chase- below is this week's menu:

Monday: Roasted Tarragon Chicken
Tuesday: White Fish Special
Wednesday: Carne Molida (ground turkey with potatoes, green peppers, tomatoes, and carrots)
Thursday: Roasted Salmon (probably a la Louise with dill yogurt sauce)
Friday: Leftovers or Out
Saturday: Brisket

Juicin' tomorrow

Ookkkaayyy scratch everything for tomorrow's menu- a PR company just delivered 6 juices (fo' free!) for tomorrow from Snap Kitchen's Clean Start program. That's ALL I'm allowed to have tomorrow. I've never done a juice fast before so I'm a tid bit terrified. But it's just one day and it's not like I'm gonna go to bikram after (or ever), so it'll be fiiiine. I have to track my day/hunger/energy level and post about it on my blog, so yall will be able to read the results there on Thursday.

Snap Kitchen Clean Start Juices (in the order that I'm supposed to drink them):

- Super Greens (kale, spinach, cucumber, lemon)
- Energy Boost (coconut water, papaya, watermelon)
- Antioxidant Juice (beets, apple, cayenne pepper)
- Carrot Ginger Elixir (green apple, carrot, ginger)
- Spicy Basil Lemonade (coconut palm sugar, basil, lemon)
- Raw Protein Cashew Shake (raw cashews, agave nectar, cinnamon)
>>I'm missing one of the juices in the pic above

Is it wrong that I now want to binge tonight at dinner? I won't... I won't... think wedding dresses, think wedding dresses.

Vegtastic

Going greeeeeen this week with no meat or cheese (and very litte bread and crackers). I had a really, really, REALLY indulgent wknd and I just feel like Oprah. I'm 1 month out from trying on dresses in Chicago with Michi! Time to prioritize fruits and vegetables. I also watched Food, Inc this wknd and OMG scary. I went to the grocery store after and it was way more expensive to buy mostly organic eggs and veggies... but it didn't make that much of a difference, and not buying meat or wine def brings down the gro bill.

Monday PM: mushroom/poblano tacos
Tues lunch: leftover tacos
Tues PM: spicy orange veggie stir fry
Weds lunch: big greek salad with pepperoncini, olives, artichoke, tomatoes
Weds PM: Kale with mushrooms and poached eggs I've never had kale before.. so we'll see how this goes
Thurs lunch: out to lunch at Leaf for a big salad
Thurs PM: spaghetti squash with tomato sauce and a side salad
Fri lunch: big greek salad with pepperoncini, olives, artichoke, tomatoes
Fri PM: out somewhere? maybe sushi

I've been making blueberry banana smoothies with iced coffee blended in for breakfasts... so good.

Weekly Menu - Week of 4/2

I am going in the complete opposite direction as Beth apparently. I haven't gone grocery shopping this week for dinners. Trying to use up what we have before the big birthday weekend!

My goals from last week, which were the same, rendered the same results 5/6 for eating-in, 3/4 for exercise. I'll get there soon! Just have to push myself a liiiiiitle harder.

Below is what I have going on- totally uninspiring.

Monday - Porterhouse steak with sage-butter mashed sweet potatoes (pic at left!) Dad sent us some crazy waygu steaks a while ago. Finally made this one and it was beyond words good. Of course I spend 15 minutes fanning the smoke alarm because it was going berserk over the smokiness. 
Tuesday - Leftovers (had Chinese food Sunday - love that tradition)
Wednesday - Honey Hoisin Chicken wings (didn't make this last week)
Thursday - Carne molida (just ground turkey with some veggies) with rice
Friday - Amelia's birthday and Louise in town!!! We'll have to do a birthday dinner and sake bombs as is the tradition.
Saturday - Pork shoulder with tortillas + fixings and hamburger buns with bbq sauce. and lots of cake. Dinner at The Bristol with the birthday girl and the Hannas!
Sunday - Easter Sunday! Brunch at the Rhineharts. Probably order in dinner since we'll be recovering from a party weekend.

I'll see if I can convince the mister to do a veggie only week ... or I just won't tell him we're doing it. mwahaha.

Weekly Menu!

Heyyy party people! I convinced Ryan to do 1 week of no-meat dinners. Miracle! I'm also gonna try to make it as dairy-free as possible for extra cleanliness. Here's what's on the menu:

Mon- Harmony's in town and we're doing dinner at this vegetarian/vegan restaurant.
Tues- Mushroom/poblano tacos on wheat tortillas with avocado, cilantro. No cheese or sour cream.
Weds- Spicy orange veggie stirfry with brown rice.
Thurs- Grilled whole fish stuffed with lemon and thyme with roasted garlic broccoli.
Fri- Chana masala and veggie korma with brown rice.

I'm gonna also try to do lunches and breakfasts the same way. Here are some ideas.

Breakfast ideas:
KIND granola with almond milk
Berries and honey
Wheat toast and scrambled eggs

Lunch ideas:
Baked falafel with hummus
Whole wheat toast with avocado, sprouts, tomato
Leftover mushroom/poblano tacos
Greek salad with tabbouli, pepperoncini, olives, tomatoes

Balsamic Fig Chicken

Making this new recipe tonight from Cooking Light... I've been craving figs so we'll see how it turns out. I will report back!

Balsamic Fig Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup balsamic
• 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup finely chopped dried figs (or can use fresh)

Preparation

1. Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.
2. Reduce heat to medium; add butter to pan. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth, vinegar, soy sauce, and figs. Simmer until sauce is reduced to 1 cup (about 3 minutes). Add 1 tablespoon thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Serve sauce over chicken.

Grades + Weekly Menu for 3.26

Happy Monday everyone! Hope yall had a great weekend and enjoying some spring weather. We didn't do much - saw Hunger Games on Friday and finally settled on a lightweight stroller. This is a huge deal, by the way. Deciding on a stroller. It takes up WAY too much brain capacity and it takes WAY too much time and effort. There are just so many options, and you have to decide if you want to recline, if you like the sunshade, if you are ok with the collapsing functionality. Does your brain hurt yet? Anyway, SUPERADO! Sunday we went to a delicious cajun restaurant for brunch and caught up with a friend from Paris and her finance. It's been fun reaching out and going out with new people.

Ok. Enough beating around the bush. I BARELY passed this week. I got a 3/4  - 75% - on exercise and a 5/6 - 83% - on cooking. We looked at a house yesterday at 5, so I couldn't cook the short ribs like I was anticipating. We went out for sushi instead. Poor us. 

I'm going to keep the same goals for this week. Until I'm consistently hitting the goals, I won't revise them.

So without further ado - this week's menu. I have most of this stuff on hand which is great! Love it when my grocery bill is only $40 for the week.

Monday: Short ribs with chipotle pepers
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Honey Hoisin Chicken Wings + rice
Thursday: Shepherd's Pie
Friday: Salmon with blue cheese and balsamic reduction
Saturday: Out (as a reward if we don't eat out any other night :)

I was sort of stumped for this week's menu. Need to make a list of old standby's that haven't made an appearance lately. What have yall got going on this week?

Random Fact - Eli wins the internets!

Eli's post on Tres Leches has the most all times views on this here little blog. I think that's a sign. We should all try to make it! Beth, Louise - project for Chicago visits!


That is all.

I bregrudgingly present: my weekly menu

This week, looking at food online just isn't interesting. I'm totally uninspired and feel like eating mac and cheese all week long. Which reminds me. Lou - you owe us your mac and cheese recipe!

I'm forcing myself though because we're just coming off of a weekend out and about, and are going to be traveling a lot in April. Need to save calories and money by eating in. So, blah blah blah, here's the menu.

By the way- We should have a Sunday night report card. I guess first we need goals and objectives. Ok, my goal this week is to cook/eat-in 6 times and go to the gym 4 times. I'll announce my grades on Sunday. What do yall think??(Right before hitting publish, I revised my gym goal down from 5 to 4. No judging.)

Mon- Cauliflower Soup and leftover Coconut-Basil Chicken Curry
Tues- Spicy Orange Chicken
Wed- Fajitas. I haven't made these in years, but used to all the time in college. I'll post the recipe after I make them.
Thurs- Yogurt Marinated Chicken with Greek sauce and pita
Friday- Baked Shrimp in tomato and feta sauce

Pickled Onions

I apologize in advanced for the vagueness of this recipe. DEAL WITH IT! Just kidding. It's incredibly easy and fluid and substitutions are welcomed and sometimes necessary and that's ok.

You need an old jam or mason jar with its lid. You also need to make these about a day in advance. They stay good in the fridge forever. They're pickled. Indestructible!

This recipe depends on the size of your jar. You're going to fill it all up.

* Onions, quartered and sliced
* Habaneros
* Apple cider vinegar
* Garlic, minced

- Prep your onions and peppers.
- Add the onions, peppers, and garlic into the jar
- Cover all the way to the top with apple cider vinegar
- Put lid on the jar
- Use the jar as your maracas and dance to La Cucaracha
- Set out in the sun for a couple of hours *you can also microwave for 2 minutes (without lid) or store it in a warm place (above your toaster) for a bit. Or skip the warming phase all together. I do that sometimes too.
- Store in the fridge

Some notes:
1. This is honestly what I do. I use an old Bonne Maman jelly jar, so it's not very big: Cut up one onion, add about a teaspoon of minced garlic, fill to the top with whatever vinegar I have on hand, and add about 10 dashes of hot habanero sauce. Then I leave out on the counter near my toaster for a couple of hours. Feels warm there. Then I put in the fridge and use whenever.

2. Like I said, I have used habanero hot sauce in the past and it works fine! If you need these onions and don't have peppers on hand, don't sweat. Hot sauce also works.

3. I don't always have apple cider vinegar. In fact, I almost always use white vinegar. Any type works.

4. I haven't added amounts because it depends on how big your jar is, how spicy you like it, and many other personal preferences. Perhaps a good place to start is 1:1:1. One onion, one habanero, one garlic clove. Adjust accordingly if you like spicy.
5. Some people add sugar. I never have, but some do.

6. When you're done with the onions, SAVE THE LEFTOVER VINEGAR! That is deliciously pickled and flavored. Just cut up some new onions, peppers, and garlic and top off with more vinegar if needed.

Life.is.good. A pork shoulder recipe

So much to celebrate! Beth is engaged (yay!) Louise is back from Africa (yay!) Elisa is back from Aruba tonight (yay!) and the cat is out of the bag on a surprise with Cristina so I don't have to pretend to be good at secrets anymore (yay!). All the stars seem to have aligned with my loved ones and that makes me happy.

In not-so-yay! news, we put an offer on a house and should hear back any second on whether it's ours to keep or just another heartbreak. I have a feeling that they'll pass, but we're hoping for a miracle.

On to the recipe, which was indescribably good. There are no words. There is only a picture of a hunk of meat.



Pork shoulder was on sale the other day at Peapod. I didn't have any plans to use it, so I threw it in the freezer and forgot about it for a while. When I decided to cook it, it took about two full days to thaw. That's a lot of meat so it just needed some time. I popped it in around noon on Sunday, and let it cook all day until dinner time. Definitely a good recipe for lazy weekends when you're not planning on going out or if you're working from home during the week. Below is the loose recipe I followed. I'm sure a pepsi can or two thrown in would be amazing too. I'll try that next time.

* Pork shoulder
* Minced garlic
* Olive oil
* 1 small can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
* 3 lemons' juices

- Preheat oven to 450*
- In a bowl or a jar, mixed together garlic, olive oil, and peppers (I was at the end of my minced garlic jar, so I used the remaining garlic and it's juices and threw the other ingredients into the jar, shook it up, and voila!)
- In a dutch oven, place the pork shoulder, fat side up
- Pour the marinade over the pork. Get all up in its bidness. Don't be shy. Really rub it in.
- Squeeze the lemon juice over the pork.
- Pop the pork in the oven, sans lid, and let it cook on high heat for 20 minutes.
- Drop the temp to 250*, put the lid on the dutch oven, and let it fly. I cooked it for about 5.5 hours and it was perfect. No peeking.

We shredded it up and ate tacos - corn tortillas, greek yogurt, pickled onions (recipe to follow). I can see this going in many different directions though. Put some bbq sauce on it and make pulled pork sandwiches. It made a crazy amount of pork, so either call your friends or be prepared for leftovers. Beth, stock up on eggs.