glazed carrots

So, in case you all haven’t heard about the Malware that was being hosted via my blog, I believe the situation has been taken care of…Please accept my sincerest apologies! I also hope that you guys will be coming back more often! Theres so much awesomeness to share!

When Roomie gave me the veggie loot to repurpose, i had a good time making scalloped turnips and a great time eating (not cleaning) the artichokes… the last remaining item in her loot was a massive load of carrots.

Immediately upon washing the carrots, i knew i wanted to make glazed carrots. Its a simple and tasty way to get in those beta carotenes (i dont even know how i knew that!). Its simple enough to put together when you need a quick side dish that healthy and will likely please all palettes.

Ingredients:

1 lb of carrots (washed, peeled and sliced on the bias)

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Optional: sprinkle of sat and pepper

Once I peeled and sliced all my carrots, i placed them in the steamer for 20 minutes to get them nice and soft (and to reduce the cooking time). When the carrots were crisp tender, I melted my butter in a cast iron skillet. I think for this recipe, a heavy skillet is helpful since it stays on for a while… and you dont want to ruin your cookware (heaven forbid!)

When the butter was completely melted, i threw in the carrots and kept them over a medium heat.

and then added the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. I tossed to coat and then let it do its thing for 20-25 minutes.

I came back periodically to stir it. When it was done it had a lovely thick syrup and some caramelization.

It was a delectable side dish, One that I think will be on the table this Thanksgiving (whether my mother likes it or not!)

Lazy Pizza

What. A. Day.

Ever have a day at the office and nothing seems to be inspiring?

I totally had a day like that.

On days like that I really want to throw in the towel. Put on my stretchy pants and order some take out. Sometimes it helps. Sometimes it makes it worse.

I had a surplus of groceries this week and really really hate throwing things away. I was going to order some pizza.

with peppers.

and black olives.

My fave.

And i discovered that i had everything necessary to make my own pizza.

Pizza that wasn’t going to make me feel guilty. And that wasn’t going to take very long to make.

Pita Pizza (for one really hungry and lazy diva)

Ingredients: 2 small whole wheat pitas, 1/2 cup of your favorite marinara sauce, 1/3 cup shredded part skim mozzarella, 1/4 cup sliced black olives**, 1/2 bell pepper thinly sliced**.

**optional..you can add whatever you want on your pizza.

Preheat the oven to 400*

Spoon 1/4 cup of marinara on each pita. If you are not lazy you would have shredded your mozzarella, but i sliced mine thinly because i didn’t want to wash the grater. Arrange peppers and olives the way you like…

or add your own toppings.

Arrange pita pizzas on a baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes. or until cheese is melty and pita is crisp.

This was after 8 minutes.

I dug in.

i’m so impatient sometimes.

Later that evening while enjoying a glass of wine, my roommate AKA cheese eater was futzing around in the kitchen.

Lately, he likes to cook…

so i stuck my nosey self in the kitchen to see what he was up to and make sure he wasnt eating my cheese again.

he was looking for brown sugar to make his oatmeal.

There wasnt any. It was late. I didnt want to go out. Neither did he. So i sat for a moment and thought: Make my own.

DUH.

So i took 1 cup of white sugar and added 1 tbsp of dark molasses. Using a fork, i folded the sugar till the molasses did their thing:

Boom. Homemade brown sugar.

It was awesome and I was doing a homemade brown sugar dance in the living room when cheese eater starts calling me a genius and laughing.

Obviously I’m a genius…but why so sarcastic Cheesey?

He walks into the living room holding a sealed bag of brown sugar.

i knew that. (maybe)

How do you even stand me sometimes?!?!

Happy Weekend!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

As much as I talked about how much I hate winter, I have to admit there is something really awesome about stepping out into the brisk air, properly bundled and taking deep breaths of fresh cold air….

But I still hate the snow.

I am still working on posting some really awesome holiday recipes and am hopeful that you will make some yummy dishes for your next family get together.

When mom and I were hashing out the deets for our holiday menu, she pretty much gave me 85% control over the cooking…she held the power of whether what I requested made it onto the menu… Mom is very traditional. I am very open minded. I wanted to scrap most of our family recipes in favor of new recipes. When the brioche stuffing I wanted to make was vetoed, we agreed on a mashed potato recipe. And pushing the envelope a little further I asked if it could be sweet potato mashed…

“UGH. Fine Monique. But Dont get TOO crazy!”

Gotta give mom Props for this one. She sure does love her some mashed potatoes (as do I) but for our other thanksgivings I made cheesy garlicky mashed potatoes. And her giving those up in favor of some new recipe was pretty brave of her.

YAY!

Ingredients:

5 lbs of sweet potatoes, Washed.

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 cup brown sugar

Salt

pepper

1 cup marshmallows

1/2 tsp chinese 5 spice powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425*. Arrange sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Using a fork poke holes all over the surface of the sweet potato. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 40-55 minutes or until the potato is wrinkly.

Slice the potatoes in half and using a spoon, scoop out the flesh into a baking dish. Using a fork (or, you know, a potato masher) smash the taters. Fold into the smushed taters the butter, half and half, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Smooth into pan. Lower the oven to 350*.

In a separate bowl, combine the marshmallows with the 5 spice powder. Stir to combine. Then loosely sprinkle on top of the mashed sweet potatoes.

Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until the marshmallows are toasty.

Serve. and Enjoy!

I am happy to say that My family really enjoyed this. There weren’t any leftovers. :-/

Jamba Oats

When you come to work to find this outside your window, it really puts a damper on your mood. It was a ghost town too which means there wasnt much work to be done. I was a good girl and packed my lunch but when lunch rolled around, I took one look at the peanut butter and fluff sandwich in my tote and made a bee line to the elevator.
I met my coworkers for a midday feast at our nearby pub (and maybe a beer… ) I learned my lesson last time when I mistakenly chose a Deep Fried Veggie Burger thinking it was the healthy alternative. But now, having made the mistake already I used my brain for real this time. I was torn between the cobb salad and the grilled chicken sandwich. Everyone around me was living it up ordering tater tots with cheese, Loaded Chicken and Cheese Nachos, and even someone who ordered a chili cheeseburger with cheese fries (oh, to be a man and eat like that!). Craving something bready, i opted for the grilled chicken sandwich and asked for a side salad instead of a side of fries.

Some asshat was playing with my settings and this was the best image I could get with my camera. But the grilled chicken was dry. The spicy mustard was lacking. The bread was perfection however, and so was the pickle! And my side of mixed greens with a sweet balsamic vinegar was delicious and quite filling. I had a beer (or two) with my lunch and left feeling satisfied with the choice I made ( minus a few bites of the tater tots, cheese fries, and loaded nachos).

Eating this much food left me feeling sluggish for the remainder of the day and on a slow day like yesterday, it was torture!

I got home craving a hot bowl of oats. But not just any oats. I wanted the oats that i got on $1 Wednesday from Jamba Juice… but its not $1 Wednesday and there aren’t any Jambas nearby. So I made my own jamba oats. I looked up the nutritional info for the Banana oats (my FAV). My father is madly in love with these oats too!

The ingredients: vanilla soy milk, steel cut oats, brown sugar and a banana.

THATS IT! Can you believe that is all that stands between you and perfect oats?

i added some instant oats to the mix for a creamy texture. I cooked it according to the directions on my irish steel cut oats.

Added half a banana and a heaping spoonful of brown sugar and a sprinklin of cinnamon.

Verdict: AMAZING! I cannot believe the difference the vanilla soy makes! It is still very creamy but has a slight vanilla aroma and flavor that really compliment the oats. The brown sugar provides the perfect level of sweetness… and bananas make this baby complete.

I just stocked up on vanilla soy milk because I cannot see myself making oats any other way! Save your $1 and make this at home!

Making it all Work Out

Really trying to stick to this resolu-…. ahem, i mean goal to get fit this year. I have set realistic goals and am marvelling at my dedication.. I beleive its in part to my buddy system (hey mari!) The other part is me kicking my own butt! (and the shiny new ipod momma got me with all the helpful healthy apps!)
So, last night after my freezing walk with Mickey- who gets really picky about where to go in bad weather – i went home and mapped out my game plan. I was gonna do my EA active while dinner was cooking.
Since steaming brown rice takes 45 mins, I set it up and got ready to work out. Then I prepped some fish and let it marinate while i was getting my sweat on. I had some Lovely Mahi Mahi to cook up. I was debating on what to put on it because i was a little over the panko and plain old salt and pepper… and after finding a few recipes that piqued my interested i finally settled on a combination of a few different recipes with similar themes. I chose a korean style marinade… you know how much i love Korean Food!

Soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, brown sugar and scallions. I realized i forgot to buy scallions so i omitted them.. but it still was fab!

I poured a tablespoon of sesame oil into a bowl and rolled the mahi mahi into it to coat. then free poured soy sauce to slightly cover the fish. I sprinkled a tablespoon of brown sugar into the bowl and rubbed it into the fish. then i splashed a few drops of vinegar into the bowl. I rolled the fish over to coat and then sprinkled garlic powder onto each side and on the top a nice layer of red pepper flakes. I left it to marinate in the fridge.

45 mins later. Very sore. Very hungry. and Very DONE with EA Active. I removed the rice and heated the grill pan.

then steamed some broccoli. 10 minutes to perfectly cooked veggies. Love my steamer!

And when the grill pan was nice and hot I transferred my yummy looking Mahi Mahi to the pan and grilled 3 minutes per side.

sizzle action!

Bon appetit! Dunno if it was because i worked up an apptetite or because this ISH was GOOD. It reminded me of my baked tofu recipe. The ingredients really complimented the flavor of the fish. Mahi mahi can taste a bit fishy but with soy glaze… it was a pleasant flavor. Guess what im having for din din tonight??

that is… if Im still alive. Im going to the gym with mari…

Pray for me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is the last post of the year!
Can you friggin beleive it??? I can’t!
I will be spending my New Year with my fam and puppy. Since its the biggest drinking night of the year, please be careful tonight! To prevent a horrible hangover please remember to stay hydrated when you are drinking alcohol. It doesnt matter if you have shots all night or beer all night- hangovers are killer because alcohol dehydrates you. And remember to have a meal high in protein around the time you are about to start drinking- this helps lessen the effects of alcohol absorption. And one more thing, if you have a shot- have one for me!

Ah, back to my holiday eats. While I was on my mini getaway my cuzo and I were thinking of making a bundt cake. She made a yellow cake batter and started to brainstorm with me on how to kick it up a notch. I suggested a center layer of brown sugar and cinnamon to make a crumb cake… and then said “APPLES! Lets make and apple cinnamon cake!’ and with the help of her tips and my tips we created something really yummy! and it was a semi homemade cake!
We used one box of yellow cake mix made according to the box directions. In a greased bundt pan we poured half of the batter. Then sprinkled a generous layer of cinnamon and brown sugar. I peeled, cored, and chopped an apple and tossed it in cinnamon and a little white sugar, then dumped it into the cake batter. Poured the rest of the cake batter on top and baked according to the package directions.
The house really smelled yummy and unfortunately we never let anything cool long enough before we dig into it.

Moist. sweet. and completely awesome. It turned out to make a really fab breakfast cake!

Try it! its easy!

Love peace and chicken grease bloggies!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

Obese? Really? Fine!

Dear Wii Fit,
Your Mother is Obese.
Love, Me.

Okay, Mom and dad bought me a Wii Fit for Christmas and I waited till I was ready to get back on track before I started to use it. I hooked it up last night and the damn thing was all happy like “Hi, You’re Obese”. Wii fit is a jerk! But thanks for the honesty. I know Im not skinny Minnie but I would never have classified myself as Obese…Chunky? Sure! Overweight? Definitely! Obese? eh, not really. But textbook is textbook and now Im ready to face the music.

With that being said I have a fridge fully stocked with healthy eats. So my posts (i hope) in 2009 will consist of delicious and healthful meals that will bring me out of the said OBESITY. *eek*

BREAKFAST

Mom hates ripe bananas so she gave me one yesterday and I happilly threw it into some instant oatmeal and rolled oats. I made oatmeal for the first time in months and am happy to report that I will use the other half of that ripe banana for another bowl of sinfully delicious Oatmeal!

Ingredients: Instant oatmeal, Rolled oats, Splenda Brown Sugar, 1/2 ripe banana, 1 tsp of french vanilla creamer, 1 cup of water, and cinnamon

Midmorning I enjoyed a Yoplait Light Key Lime Pie Yogurt. Delish!

LUNCH

I forgot to take a pic…but obviously it was good becuase its all gone!
Ingredients: 3 oz of grilled chicken breast, 1 grilled zucchini, 1 cup of steamed broccoli

And to accompany my veggies and chicken a cup of lettuce with a tsp of nonfat ranch dressing!
Ingredients: Nonfat Ranch Dressing, Letttuce

Dinner: Korean food with Henry (YUM!)

This is half of what was on our table. I only remembered to take a shot 10 minutes after we started eating… but there is a lot left over. (Thanks for hiding all the empty plates babe!)
It was delicious *burp*
See ya Tomorrow!