Oscar Night!

How was everyone's weekend?!  Chris and I had a blast back on campus at Miami!  We definitely had a busy weekend filled with wedding venue meetings, alumni meetings, campus/uptown eats and even an alumni awards dinner.  When we got home we decided to have a little fun with Oscar Sunday and make some flavored popcorns and cocktails, turn on the fireplace and relax before a busy week!

For the popcorns I had seen an article on BuzzFeed with recipes for unique flavors.  I picked Parmesan & Garlic and S'mores, when making the S'mores I ran into an ingredient snafu so I switched it up and made peanut butter s'mores popcorn instead.

Parmesan & Garlic Popcorn
(I made a half batch of this by splitting a microwave bag of popcorn in half)

Ingredients:
- 1/2 bag of plain microwave popcorn (you could also air pop it if you have a popper)
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 to 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste


 

Instructions:
- Pop popcorn in microwave or using an air popper or over the stove.
- In a small saucepan, melt butter and olive oil together.

- Pour butter and oil mixture over popcorn and slightly toss to coat.
- Sprinkle Parmesan, garlic powder and salt and pepper and mix.

- Enjoy!

Peanut Butter S'mores Popcorn

 Ingredients:
 - 1/2 bag of plain microwave popcorn
- 1/2 c. light corn syrup
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 3/4 c. peanut butter
- 1/2 sleeve of graham crackers, about 4 crackers
- 1/2 bag mini marshmallows (I didn't have that many but I just used the rest of my bag)
- 1/4 c. chocolate chips

Instructions:
- Pop popcorn in microwave or using an air popper or over the stove.
- Break up graham crackers and toss with popcorn to combine.

- In a saucepan combine sugars and corn syrup until combined and boiling, stirring so it won't burn.
- Stir in peanut butter until all of it is incorporated.

- Pour mixture over popcorn (I did this a little at a time so I could mix it well) lightly mix with a greased mixing spoon until well coated.

- Add in marshmallows and chocolate chips and lightly mix till all is incorporated.

- Serve and enjoy!

Both were delicious!  Chris preferred the Parmesan Garlic, I preferred the PB S'mores.  Now for the cocktail!

Sparkling Cosmo
(This makes two)

Ingredients:
- 4 and 1/2 oz. citrus vodka
- 2 oz. cranberry juice
- squeeze of lime juice
- splash of grenadine
- small bottle of champagne

Instructions:
- In a shaker over ice mix vodka, cranberry juice, lime juice and grenadine.
- Strain into a chilled martini glass.
- Float with champagne.
- Enjoy!

These were my glamorous take on a classic which I thought would be fitting for a night like the Oscars.  I was so excited Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway won in their respective categories!  Anne has always been a favorite of mine but Jennifer is a new addition to the favorites group!  The fashion was fabulous as well as the musical numbers during the show (aka I LOVEDDDDD the Les Mis number).

Next up a Lent friendly dinner and maybe a new Sunday Soup!

Cheers!
Steph

Balsamic Chicken Drumsticks

So after a fabulous weekend of food in Chicago my innermost foodie self was utterly content and giddy!  I took some of that excitement and put it into lining up a week of all new recipes to try!  In this blog I'll be featuring Balsamic Chicken Drumsticks with Sundried Tomato and Basil Orzo.  Typically I don't go for bone in chicken in any form unless its wings at a restaurant or rotisserie.  But I had seen chicken drumsticks at Meijer for a reasonable price and thought why not give it a try!  I had remembered seeing a recipe somewhere in my Pinterest plethorae so I hunted it down and here we are!  We paired it with Sundried Tomato and Basil Orzo and a salad.

Balsamic Chicken Drumsticks
(Makes two to three servings)

 Ingredients:
- 5-6 chicken drumsticks
- 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 c. honey
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- a few shakes of rosemary




 

Instructions:
- In a bowl, combine balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic and rosemary then pour into a resealable plastic bag.

- Place drumsticks in bag with marinade, seal and turn to coat drumsticks.  Place in refridgerator to marinate.  (The original recipe says for two hours, I didn't have that kind of time so I only did it for 15 or so minutes)

- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- Place chicken on foil lined baking sheet and place in oven for about 30 − 35 minutes, until skin is carmelized and dark in spots.  At about 15 minutes turn the drumsticks.
- While chicken is baking, pour remaining marinade in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer on low until it thickens (about 15 minutes).

- Use a pastry or sauce brush to brush the cooked marinade on the chicken about 5-7 minutes before its finished baking.
- Serve, you can add a garnish of toasted sesame seeds if you'd like.
- Enjoy!

These were delicious!  The sauce was just right and the chicken was nice and juicy.  Not to mention other than taking some time in the oven its a pretty simple recipe.  

Sundried Tomato and Basil Orzo
(this makes four side servings)

 Ingredients:
- 1 c. orzo pasta
- 1/4 c. fresh basil leaves
- 2 to 3 Tbsp. sundried tomatoes (rehydrated or oil packed)
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/4 c. and 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add orzo and cook for 8 minutes or until al dente.  Drain and set aside.
- Mix basil and sundraied tomatoes either in a food processor or with an immersion blender until blended.
- In a bowl, toss orzo, basil tomato mix, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

- Serve warm or chilled.
- Enjoy!

The great thing about this orzo is it can be warm or cold, offering some versatility.  This was equally as good.  Altogether Chris gave it a thumbs up and "make again please" rating!  Not bad for a Thursday night dinner. 

Next up we're headed back to Oxford for alumni and wedding meetings!  Very excited to get back to campus but I am hoping mother nature cooperates with us.  It's about time I get a cocktail recipe up here so I'll do my best on Oscar Sunday!  Happy Weekend everyone!

Cheers!
Steph

Sunday Soup! (part 2)...on Monday!

Greetings from the Windy City!  We have had a fabulous weekend here in Chicago!  Unfortunately Miami lost in their outdoor hockey game but thankfully the weather was pretty cooperative.  We packed a lot into a weekend!  In addition to the game we ate at some amazing restaurants and got to catch up with friends and family.  Here are some pictures from the weekend!

We got to have dinner and drinks with one of my best friends from home, Holly!

Solider Field

My college roommate, Nikoo, and I were able to meet up at the game!  Her and her fiance drove in from Indiana for the game, they are getting married this summer!

I was digging through my Pinterest boards for some soup recipes for my Sunday Soup and came across this Mexican Chicken Soup.  I knew Chris might not be a huge fan because of the black beans in it but I figured it was worth a shot.  It was so easy!  Instead of simmering on the stove all you do is put it in the crockpot for a few hours.

Mexican Chicken Soup
(This made four lunch portions and one dinner for two portion)

 Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts, cubed
- 1/2 c. water
- 1 envelope taco seasoniong
- 32 oz. tomato juice
- 1 jar of salsa (I used my Gran's homemade)
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 package frozen corn, thawed
- olive oil
- cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips or fresh cilantro for garnish

Instructions:
- In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat, saute chicken until no longer pink.

- Add water and taco seasoning, simmer until chicken is well coated.

- Put chicken in slow cooker.
- Add in tomato juice, salsa, beans and corn.

- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
- In the last 5 minutes of cooking I stirred in a handful of chopped fresh cilantro just because we like it but its not required.

- Serve with cheese, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips or fresh cilantro for garnish.
- Enjoy!

This was so easy, the pictures of the steps almost seem silly!  It's a delicious soup, the chicken and black beans definitely give it more substance and the thickness is just right.  It's not too spicy either, I suppose if you wanted to add some kick you could add in red pepper flakes when cooking the chicken.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Cheers!
Steph

Valentine's Day!

So last blog I talked about loving Fat Tuesday since high school, well since high school I haven't really loved Valentine's Day.  Insert your typical wah, wah teenage drama of dumb exs or mean girls...spare me.  Being the pretty independent woman that I am I never loved the idea of a day centered around people in relationships regardless if I was in one or not.  I guess I've always felt that you shouldn't need one day to tell people you love them, if you love them you should tell them every day!

For Chris and I the 14th is our "special day" it marks the day we started dating a zillion years ago (okay maybe not a zillion exactly).  On this February 14th it marks 64 months that we've been together.  My favorite part about the 14th (of each month not just February) is I get to think back to how our relationship has grown over the years.  How it all began one day in Emerson Hall when at the time I was meeting a guy I thought would just be my friend or merely an acquaintance, he turned out to be my best friend and the one I get to spend forever with!  In college our special occasion restaurant was DiPaolo's, now that same place is a possible wedding vendor for us!  Sheesh time does fly!

Usually we go out for Valentine's dinner but this year with our upcoming Chicago trip we thought we'd eat at home, save some $$ and calories for the weekend!  But we still wanted to make it special so we got some steaks and I planned to make a little dessert for after dinner.  I decided on making Nutella Mousse Pies.  I liked that it looked easy and that it could be made for two because we don't need leftover sweets around.  I also decided to try a new recipe for one of our sides, oven-baked risotto.  I've previously blogged about making risotto over the stove but I found this recipe on Kitchen Daily and was intrigued.

Oven-Baked Risotto
(This makes more than four generous helpings as a side)

Ingredients:
- 1 c. Arborio (or long grain white) rice
- 1 can Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom with Roasted Garlic soup
- 1 1/2 c. water
- 1 c. milk
- 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 c. frozen peas (optional)
- 2 Tbsp. chopped sun-dried tomatoes (rehydrated and drained)
- 1 Tbsp. parsley (if using fresh use 2 Tbsp.)




Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Stir rice, soup, water, milk, cheese and tomatoes in a medium bowl.

- Pour mixture into a shallow baking dish and cover with foil.

- Bake 30 minutes then remove from oven and stir.
- Bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until rice is tender.  (I had to bake it for 15 minutes uncovered given my baking dish wasn't quite shallow enough)
- Let cool for a few minutes, sprinkle with parsley and serve.
- Enjoy!

The baking dish I used ended up being a little small and things got a little messy trying to pull it out of the oven.  Other than that, it was delicious and easy!  You could probably experiment with different frozen veggies to put in it, a mixed medley, corn, green beans, the possibilities!  Although it does take some time (at least 45 minutes) its not much quicker than the stovetop version it just takes less stirring and standing at the stove.  I plan to make Arancini with the leftovers, I've featured how to make Arancini previously in this post.

Nutella Mousse Pies

Ingredients:
- 6 or so Ritz crackers
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp. Nutella
- 1c. Cool Whip, plus some extra for topping

Instructions:
- Grind crackers in food processor or roll over them with a rolling pin a few times in a plastic bag.

- Combine crushed crackers, sugar and butter. Divide mixture in half and put in bottom of ramekins, set in fridge to chill.

- Whip Nutella and Cool Whip with a hand mixer (I just used a whisk by hand) until well combined.  Divide among ramekins, top with additional Cool Whip and sprinkles or dust with cocoa powder or shaved chocolate.

- Chill then serve.
- Enjoy!

These were easy peasy to make!  I actually whipped them up over my lunch when I was home.  The original recipe I found called for shortbread cookies but I didn't have those on hand nor did I want to buy them so I improvised.  You could also use crushed Oreos or Thin Mints to make it more chocolatey or even some graham crackers would do!  Or you could leave the crust out altogether.  The crackers give it some saltiness rather than being super sweet which was nice.  Chris rated this a "good, you can make again but not right away" rating.

Next stop, Chicago!  Can't wait for a weekend of friends, family and fun!

Cheers!
Steph

Mardi Gras!

Once again this post is a little late, with all the Fat Tuesday festivities I was too pooped to get my blogging done day of!  But to make up for it I've got FOUR recipes for you!

Since high school I've always loved the concept of Fat Tuesday (who doesn't?).  My friends and I used to load up on junk to hide in our lockers and we'd munch between classes.  Now I usually make some treats to send to work for Chris and I then make a cajun dinner with a fun cocktail.  This year of course was no exception.  And what a treat my Daddy and brother joined us!

Unfortunately I haven't been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras but I did visit the city in college.  Talk about a fun and vibrant place!  If you haven't been I'd highly suggest going.  Obviously they know how to throw a party but the food, culture, sights of the city are fabulous!

For Chris and I's work treat I made mini king cake knots.  I did this last year and didn't love the texture of the end result, it was too crunchy.  While perusing through Pinterest I couldn't pick what treat to make so I ended up siding with same as last year but tweaking the recipe.  Last year I used french bread dough (thus making it too crunchy) this year I switched it up and used crescent roll dough and didn't bake them for as long.  They turned out just right!

Mini King Cake Knots
(This made about 16 knots, I doubled the recipe to make 32)

Ingredients:
- 1 tube of crescent rolll dough (the seamless sheet works nicely)
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 3 to 4 Tbsp. milk
- green, purple and yellow sprinkles for decorating

Instructions:
- Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, set aside.
- Roll out dough on a flat work surface.
- Brush with butter, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture over top.
- With a sharp pairing knife, cut in half lengthwise then cut strips horizontally.

- Take two pieces, twist them together then tie into a knot, stretching if necessary.

- Place on a baking sheet (I line mine with foil for easy cleanup) and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Be carefully not to let them get too brown or they will end up crunchy!

- Remove from baking sheet and let cool (make sure to remove them pretty soon after taking out of the oven, the longer they cool the harder it is to get them off the sheet, that cinnamon and sugar bakes on!
- While they cool, mix together powdered sugar, vanilla and milk.
- You can use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the cakes or what I do is take the cake, flip it upsidedown and dunk it in the glaze.
- Sprinkle with colored sugars or sprinkles while glaze is still wet.

- Enjoy!

For dinner we had cajun chicken pasta (side of salad), hurricanes for cocktails and bananas foster for dessert!  The bananas foster idea came about when I was packing my breakfast and realized the bunch of bananas I recently bought was getting ripe very fast!  Plus any excuse to try new cooking tricks and I'm in!  My brother brought his camera and snapped some (much better quality) pictures.

Hurricanes (recipe from The Chew)

Photo credit: Mitch Andrews Photography

Ingredients:
- 2 oz. light rum
- 2 oz. dark rum
- 1 oz. orange juice
- 1 oz. grenadine
- splash flat Sprite/7up (the original recipe calls for simple syrup, I didn't have any already made so this was my substitute)
- juice from 1/2 lime

Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients in a shaker or pitcher over ice.
- Pour into hurricane glass or tall glass filled halfway with ice, garnish with an orange slice if you'd like.
- Enjoy!

These were pretty potent but still pretty delicious.  Originally I was going to go get a mix from the store but I'm glad I didn't as those always turn out too sweet.

Cajun Chicken Pasta
(this was dinner for four, if making for two just reduce the recipe by half)

Photo credit: Mitch Andrews Photography

Ingredients:
- 8 oz. fettucine
- 3 to 4 chicken breasts, cut in strips
- 2 tsp. cajun seasoning (or just to taste depending on how spicy you like it or the strength of your seasoning)
- 2 medium bell peppers (I did one red and one orange)
- 1 shallot sliced (or 1/2 red onion if you have it)
- 1 c. chicken broth
- 1/3 c. milk
- 1 Tbsp. flour
- 3 Tbsp. cream cheese
- garlic powder

- salt and pepper

- olive oil

Instructions:

- Cook fettucine in boiling water until done.

- While pasta is cooking, prep chicken and veggies.  Slice peppers and onion, set aside.  (The original recipe calls for 2 tomatoes and 8 oz. of mushrooms but tomatoes aren't in season and Chris doesn't like mushrooms.)  Slice chicken in strips and season generously with Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and salt.  

- Make a "slurry" (cooking term that just means a thickening agent for your sauce), combine milk, cream cheese and flour.  You can whisk it by hand, I used my immerison blender.  Set aside.

- In a pan over medium high heat, drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil, saute chicken until no pink remains, remove from pan and set aside.

- Add a little more olive oil to the pan then saute veggies until tender, season with salt and pepper.

- Reduce heat to medium, add chicken broth and slurry and stir.

- Add chicken and cooked pasta to pan and stir.

- Adjust seasoning to taste and cook till pasta is warmed through and well coated.

- Enjoy!

Note: this also called for three cloves of garlic to be sauted with the other veggies, I left this out.

This is a yummy, lighter pasta.  The cajun seasoning makes it different, with a little kick!

Enjoying our Fat Tuesday Feast!  Photo credit: Mitch Andrews Photography

Bananas Foster

(This made four servings)

 Ingredients:

- 1 stick butter

- 1/2 c. light brown sugar

- 1/4 c. dark rum

- 3 to 4 bananas, peeled, cut in half then sliced in half lengthwise.

Instructions:

- Melt butter in a pan over medium high heat.

- Add brown sugar, mix well until sugar is bubbling but be careful not to burn it.

- Add bananas and cook until carmelized.

- Add rum and catch a flame off the stove if you have a gas stove or catch flame using a BBQ lighter.  Be careful!  Stand back when igniting.

- Let flame die down.

- Serve over vanilla ice cream.

- Enjoy!

For all the hype restaurants/people put around bananas foster, it's really a cinch!  Four ingredients and some kitchen caution and you're all set!  And talk about a delicious dessert, yummmm yummm!

How did you like the pictures my brother did?  Way better than mine right?!  I told him I might have to hire him on full time as my personal blog photog.  Somehow my Dad was not as convinced that I should provide such distractions from his schoolwork.

Well I hope you get to enjoy one or all of these Mardi Gras treats!  Next up, Valentine's Day then Chris and I plus our families are hitting the road!  We're off to Chicago for the Miami vs. Notre Dame outdoor hockey game.  I've got one more Sunday Soup recipe up my sleeve from last week so hopefully I'll get that posted over the weekend.

Cheers!

Steph  

Sunday Soup!

So I recently posted about making soup on Sundays, its been a great way to switch up Chris and I's lunch options as well as gives me an easy weeknight dinner.  Last Sunday while prepping Superbowl party food I made Chicken Parmesan Soup.  Chris has given this rave reviews and it made a "this is delicious, you should make it again" rating (see Chris recipe rating scale here).  The best part was this soup was easy peasy!

Chicken Parmesan Soup

Ingredients:
- olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts pounded thin and cubed into bite size pieces
- 1can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
- 1 qt. chicken broth
- salt and pepper
- 1 c. fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped 
- sprinkling of parmesan cheese

Instructions:
- In a large pot, heat a couple tbsp. of olive oil over medium high heat.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, cook until cooked through, remove from pot and set aside.

- Add a couple more tbsp. of olive oil, saute onion, garlic and red pepper flakes, until onions have softened.

- Add tomatoes and chicken broth, bring to a simmer and cook around 5 minutes.

- Put chicken back in and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add chopped basil and some shakes of grated parmesan cheese and stir.

- Enjoy!
Note: the original recipe called for toasting crusty artisan bread with parmesan and garlic then placing a piece in the bottom of the bowl of soup then one on top.  I eliminated this for easy of serving purposes for lunches as well I wanted to eliminate the unnecessary carbs.

This made about three lunch portions and one dinner for two portion.  The chicken gives it a little more protein making it more satisfying.  When we had it for dinner we paired it with salad and split a gouda/pepperjack grilled cheese.  This has a bit of a kick to it so if you aren't a fan of the spicy I'd leave out the red pepper flakes.

Next up, Mardi Gras and Valentine's Day all in one week!  Plus another Sunday Soup!

Cheers!
Steph