A Mini Friendsgiving

11/25/13

Months and months ago, Justin and Reid surprised me and Sarah by making us a full Italian meal consisting of chicken parmesan, spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. It was so tasty and we were pretty impressed. Sarah and I were long overdue on creating our own meal for the guys, so we decided to have a relaxing night with cooking, drinking, and games. Since we have already started dreaming about upcoming Thanksgiving food, we decided to get a little head start by making mashed potato stuffed chicken with asparagus. This recipe doesn't require many ingredients, but it sure is delicious! Check it out…

Mashed Potato Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

3 Baking Potatoes (Peeled and cut into chunks)

1/4 Cup Skim Milk

4 Tbsp Butter

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper

4 Bone-in Chicken Breast Halves

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Chopped Parsley

1 Bunch Asparagus

Chicken Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Place potatoes in a saucepan and fill up with cold water just enough to cover. 

2. Bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20-25 minutes. 

3. Drain the pan and return potatoes to the pan. Add the milk, butter, parsley and lemon juice and mash until smooth. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.

4. Using your fingers, find an opening in the middle of the chicken breasts and fill the center with the mashed potatoes. It is okay if some of the potatoes leak out of the chicken and are exposed.

5. Place the chicken in a baking pan and drizzle them with olive oil. Finish by sprinkling the chicken with salt and pepper.

6. Bake in the oven for about an hour, until tender and juices run clear.

Asparagus Directions:

1. Break off the end of the asparagus and arrange them onto a baking pan.

2. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Finish by sprinkling lemon juice on top.

3. Bake in the oven at 400F for 10-15 minutes, flipping the asparagus halfway through. They should be golden-brown and slightly crispy.

Give Thanks with Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

11/20/13

A new restaurant has opened up next to my train stop that bakes delicious doughnuts every morning. As I wait for my train, the smell travels through the waiting platform and triggers a donut craving every time. This gave me the inspiration to try my own hand at homemade doughnuts. Since I try to stay on the healthy side, I tried to find a recipe for baked doughnuts rather than fried ones. I came across a baked pumpkin doughnut recipe and decided it was a perfect recipe to try around the holidays. The recipe called for a doughnut pan, but since I don't own one, I decided to make doughnut holes and doughnut "muffins". These muffins are awesome because they have the look of a muffin, but the texture of a doughnut with a more moist and spongy consistency. While everyone prepares for their Thanksgiving dinner, you can dazzle their tastebuds with this Thanksgiving breakfast!

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Large Eggs
1 Can Libby's Pumpkin Puree
1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
2 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 1/2 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 3/4 + 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Cinnamon & Sugar
2 Tbsp Butter, Softened

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Beat together the oil, eggs, pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices, and baking powder until smooth.
3. Add the flour and stir until smooth.
4. In a separate bowl, combine butter with the cinnamon and sugar mixture to create a crumble topping.
5. Lightly grease muffin pans/and or a baking sheet (if you decide to bake doughnut holes).
6. Fill muffin pans 3/4 full with batter and generously top with cinnamon crumble.
7. If baking the doughnut holes, use a spoon to create walnut-sized balls of batter onto baking sheet.
8. Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Bake doughnut holes for 10-15 minutes.
9. Roll doughnut holes in a cinnamon and sugar mixture.
10. Enjoy and give thanks!

 

Wasting Away Again In Naples

11/18/13

Eat, drink, relax, drink, drink, eat, relax. That pretty much sums up my Florida trip last week, so it will be no surprise that this post will consist of fun vacation-ey drinks! One of my favorite things to do is unwind at either a bar or restaurant with live music and sip on a martini =). My favorite martini is probably a French Kiss, but i love to try out different kinds as well. Our favorite spot in naples is a club/bar called the Blue Martini. Every night from 4-8 they have half priced martinis and small plates so we definitely took advantage of this deal and tried out some fun 'tinis! They also have great live bands in the evening, so if you are in Naples you definitely need to try this place out! We did...3 times =) Take a peek:

Top left: Palm Beacher, Top right: Almond Joy, Bottom left: Sex in the City, Bottom right, Mojito, Far right: Creamsicle Crush

They have the BEST lemon chicken skewers drizzled with pesto sauce... I'm slightly obsessed.

Although I love having fancy drinks made for me, it was also fun trying to make our own fancy drinks back at the condo. While out shopping, Justin and I came across a pomegranate martini mix that was just $2.30. We were able to make fun, low-cost martinis...rimmed with sugar of course.

Pomegranate Martini

Ingredients:

1.5 Oz. Vodka

3 Oz. Pomegranate Martini Mix

1 Oz. Sprite

1/4 Cup White Sugar

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a shaker heavily filled with ice. Wet the rim of your martini glass and roll it in sugar. Fill the glass with the contents in your shaker and garnish with a lemon slice. (I could have sworn we took a picture of one, but I guess not... so until next time you'll have to visualize it for yourself!)

After spending a night at the restaurant, Handsome Harry's, in downtown Naples, I also felt the need to create my own drink at the condo. While at Handsome Harry's, I saw an Orange Crush on the menu and had to order it because it is a staple drink in Ocean City, Maryland. While bartending in MD, I used to cut fresh oranges for each and every Orange Crush and they were so refreshing and delicious. At the restaurant, I noticed they used bottled orange juice instead. I decided that Justin needed to try an authentic one, so I made a few at the condo. They are very simple to make and do not require many ingredients, but they definitely make you feel like you are on vacation!

Here we are enjoying some music and drinks at Handsome Harry's.

Orange Crush (Ocean City Style)

Ingredients:

1.5 Oz. Vodka

1 Oz. Triple Sec

1 Orange, Squeezed

Splash of Sprite

Directions:

Combine above ingredients into a shaker with crushed ice and add more/less of each ingredient depending on your liking. Garnish with an orange slice.

Okay, by this point you are probably thinking... these people are alcoholics. But we are just on vacation, I promise! And this next one... you can blame my wine-obsessed parents =). While visiting Epcot, it happened to be the last day of their annual Food and Wine Expo. In lieu of the event, we decided to try a wine tasting:

We enjoyed a Riesling, Pinot Gris, and a Pinot Noir from King's Vineyard in Oregon.

After a day full of fun rides and visiting the countries around the world, we ended with a delicious dinner at the San Angel Inn located in Mexico. The scenery is romantic with bright, colorful lights in a dimly set room. While we waited for our table, we were able to take a boat ride to visit the three caballeros. Olay! =)

I'm usually skeptical about eating at parks, but this restaurant had an upscale feel and the food was awesome! I definitely recommend this place with dining out at Epcot.

This post is really making me wish I was back in Florida. Now back to sipping on my coffee...

Minty Fresh

11/17/13

In preparation of leaving for Florida soon, people would normally place themselves on a strict diet and exercise regime. What have Justin and I been doing?... Making ice cream of course! After running across a collection of amazing ice cream recipes, I decided to buy a small ice cream maker. This purchase was one of the best ideas I have had in a while. It's fun to use a basic recipe to make all kinds of different flavors and combinations. It's fairly easy and you pretty much can't go wrong with whatever you decide to experiment with! One of my favorite ice cream flavors is mint chocolate chip and when Justin grabbed a bag of Andes mints at the store, we immediately knew those would be tossed in our ice cream that night! Most homemade ice cream is made with whole milk, but this recipe is much lighter and easier on the stomach because it is made with skim milk. If you own an ice cream maker, I dare you to give it a try!

Andes Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 Cups Milk (I used skim)

2 Eggs

1 Cup Sugar

1/2 Tsp Salt

1 Cup Half & Half

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Tsp Mint Extract

3/4-1 Cup Crushed Andes Mints

Directions:

1. Unwrap the mints and crush them in a bag to desired consistency.

2. In a saucepan, whisk half & half, eggs yolks, sugar, and salt. Cook and stir over low heat until the mixture is fairly thick and will coat the back of a metal spoon.

3. Remove mixture from heat and let it cool for a few minutes.

4. Stir in the milk, vanilla, and peppermint extract.

5. Chill mixture in the refrigerator until it is completely cooled.

6. Once cooled, pour the mixture into your already frozen ice cream maker.

7. Just before the freezing cycle is completed, stir in the crushed mints. (This allows the mixture to combine evenly and prevents the chocolate from falling to the bottom.)

8. Once the ice cream is completely frozen, it's time to scoop and refresh your mouth with a minty fresh dessert!

(We did not do this, but if you want your ice cream to look "minty" feel free to add a drop or two of green food coloring to the mix!)