I Scream, You Scream

5/23/14

     I have had the biggest sweet tooth lately. I'm not sure if it's because summer is around the corner or if I just have too many ice cream shops near my apartment. One of my favorite desserts is cheesecake, and when ice cream companies started making strawberry cheesecake ice cream, it instantly became my go-to flavor. Sometimes it can be hard to find a good brand with the right amount of strawberry to cheesecake ratio, so I decided to put myself up to the challenge and make my own. I had to browse a bunch of recipes on the internet to decide what would work best. This dessert definitely put me in a happy, summer mood and I am excited to share it with all of you!

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 Cup Plain Low Fat Greek Yogurt

8 Oz Reduced Fat Cream Cheese

1 Cup Skim Milk

1/2 Cup Sugar (plus a few extra tbsp)

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

10-12 Strawberries

1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust

*Make sure your ice cream maker has already been previously chilled in the freezer

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.

2. In a bowl, combine yogurt and cream cheese. Once mixed, add in the milk, sugar and vanilla.

3. Add mixture to your chilled ice cream maker and follow the directions according to the manufacturer. I mixed mine for about 20 minutes (You'll notice it start to thicken up).

4. In the meantime, chop up your rinsed strawberries into small but chunky pieces.

5. Add strawberries to a baking pan and sprinkle sugar on top. Bake for 10-15 minutes until they have a more vibrant red color and juices begin to run.

6. Take the strawberries out of the oven and place them in a bowl and let cool in the refrigerator.

7. Place your ice cream in the freezer and let it sit for about 1-2 hours.

8. Grab your graham cracker pie crust and crumble it up into small pieces.

9. Once you notice your ice cream start to have a heavier consistency, grab a freezer-safe container and begin to layer the ice cream, strawberries, and graham cracker crumbles. I also mixed some ingredients in previously to turn my ice cream a pretty light pink color.

10. Place ice cream back in the freezer until its completely frozen.

11. Once you have pushed through the hardest part (waiting), it's time to scoop and enjoy! Make sure to save some extra graham cracker to top off your ice cream!

If you're preparing this treat for guests, throw it in a fancy bowl and add some strawberries as a garnish.

I hope everyone has a lovely Memorial Day weekend! xo

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

 5/17/14

     Now that I have begun school again, I've been pretty busy and haven't been able to cook as much as usual. But don't worry, I'm making up for it by sharing this awesome dish: Chicken Quinoa with Asparagus and Roasted Red Peppers. My friend and classmate from Iowa, Dan Piguy (also a blog follower =)), started a sustainable farm called TDn'Guy Garden Oasis back in 2012. Since I love his passion for providing fresh and healthy produce for local schools, businesses, and families, I decided to start incorporating some of his seasonal vegetables into my recipes (I recently visited the Lincoln Park Farmers Market last Saturday and was inspired by the sustainable farmers there, too!) Dan's company is so awesome, they even send out weekly newsletters with information and recipe ideas for their CSA members. I'm excited to experiment with new types of fresh, seasonal vegetables and encourage everyone to buy local produce whenever possible!

     One of the vegetables on his first list was asparagus, one of my favorites. Since I had purchased some asparagus last weekend and had a bag of quinoa waiting to be used, I decided to whip up this tasty meal. It's SO simple to make and you can brag to all your friends about how fancy you are that you used "quinoa"-they may even mistake you for a wealthy Lincoln Parker who only shops at Whole Foods =0. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts (Thawed)
1 Bunch Fresh Asparagus
1 Cup Dry White Quinoa
2 Cups Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
1 Can Roasted Red Peppers (You could incorporate fresh, but these have more flavor)
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Pour dry quinoa into a stovetop pan and add chicken broth. Cook on medium-high heat until it starts to boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pan until the quinoa absorbs the broth and becomes fluffy (this should take about 15 minutes).

(It may look weird at first but look... "It's so fluffy!!"-Despicable Me)

2. Chop up the asparagus into smaller pieces (make sure you break off the bad ends beforehand!) Chop up the red peppers as well. Set aside.

These look so pretty I almost don't want to cook them!

3. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add it to a saute pan with olive oil. Cook on med-high heat until both sides are golden brown.

4. Add oil to another saute pan and cook the asparagus and minced garlic until the asparagus becomes softer and limp. Next, add in the red peppers and the quinoa.

5. Mix around the quinoa and vegetables until everything is heated and the flavors are incorporated (1-2 minutes).

6. Pour the mixture on to a plate and top with your sauteed chicken. Delish!

Below is some information about TDn'Guy- check it out!

Happy Sustainable Eating! xo 

A Winning Side Dish

5/4/14

     I fell in love with sweet potatoes not too long ago. A sweet, savory, smooth yet crispy love (best in the form of baked fries). I'm happy that I prefer these over regular potatoes because they pack in more nutrients, especially vitamin A&C, unlike regular potatoes.
     The other day I realized I had a couple of sweet potatoes sitting in my refrigerator that I was starting to neglect, so I decided to make something quick before they went bad. I threw in some other ingredients that I had left over from my previous recipe and the results were awesome! This dish shows that it is sometimes best to limit yourself to a few ingredients in order to bring out the full flavors. Use this recipe for a side dish, meal, or even a snack. Enjoy!=)

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Onions

Ingredients:
2 Sweet Potatoes
1/2-1 Red Onion
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
Salt & Pepper
1/8 Cup Feta Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.

2. Chop up sweet potatoes into 1 in. thick pieces. Chop up onion as well (keep the pieces thick as they will shrink in the oven).

3. Add olive oil to pan and toss the sweet potatoes and onions to coat and lay them flat.

4. Sprinkle the vegetables with spices and put in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

5. Remove pan from oven, flip the vegetables and add more spices.

6. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until the sweet potatoes are soft and golden brown and the onions are crispy.

4. Throw everything together in a bowl, top with feta cheese, and dive in!

Going Greek

5/6/14

     Happy Saturday! Although it's still a bit chilly in Chicago right now, the sun is shining and it's supposed to get in the 60's today =). If you're in the summer mood like me, here's an easy and healthy salad to fix in no time. Although mexican food is my favorite, mediterranean comes in a close second. If i'm not finishing off a container of hummus, I'm dreaming about kebabs and cous cous. I specifically love Greek salads because they are loaded with vegetables and you don't even need to pile on much dressing for flavor. This is probably my favorite salad that I have posted on my blog so far and I'll probably be eating it for days! Oh, and for all of you Portillo's salad lovers out there, I added in ditalini pasta noodles too! You're welcome =).

Mediterranean Salad with Chicken

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1-2 Heads Romaine Lettuce
1/2 Cup Ditalini Pasta
1 Cucumber
2 Tomatoes
1 Red Onion
1 Can Olives (or kalamata olives if you want to splurge)
1 Can Artichokes
1 Jar Pepperoncini Peppers
1 Small Container of Feta Cheese
1 Bottle Light Greek Dressing (I actually used vidalia onion dressing on mine)
Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper

1. Prepare all of your vegetables by chopping them up, sprinkling them with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Set aside.

2. Cook your Ditalini Pasta according to the directions on the package. Once cooked, shock the noodles in cold water and drain.

3. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat until golden brown. I chopped my chicken up beforehand so it would cook faster. If you have lemon pepper spices or anything similar, feel free to sprinkle that on your chicken as well.

4. Toss all of the vegetables and chicken together and finish by topping it with feta cheese and dressing.

5. Enjoy this colorful, feel-good salad!

Dinner with the Chefs

5/5/14

     Nestled in the Noble Square area just west of Lincoln Park, there is a small upscale restaurant called Ada Street. I was invited to dine here courtesy of Howaboutwe and I'm so happy to have found it because this place is a true gem. Justin and I were extremely excited for this date because we had "chef counter seats" which allowed us to face the chefs and interact with them throughout our dinner. The best thing about this date was not receiving a menu. I was so relieved about not having to make a difficult dinner decision and have each dish come as a surprise!

     I loved being able to experience and taste different types of food i would have never thought to order. The other amazing perk was the unlimited fancy drinks, and again I was able to experiment with different flavors and liquors I have never tried before. The staff was very inviting and warm and I can't wait to go back and try their brunch! We definitely felt like celebrities as we were handed drinks and plates left and right. Follow along and witness my closest chance at living like William and Kate.

The entrance is very romantic and dark-fancy, fancy!

As you can see from my drink, we were up close and personal. The rest of the restaurant was towards are back and they have a cute outside patio as well.

Here it begins, our first round of cocktails. Good thing I felt okay in the morning because I mixed so many types of alcohol that night. It would have been worth it anyway! 

Speaking in Tongues- Tito's vodka, Aperol, St. Germaine, lime (definitely my favorite cocktail of the night)

Whiskey Smash- Buffalo Trace, lemon, Demerara, Angostura

Like me, you probably thought this was chips and salsa. It's actually Yellowfin Tuna Tartare with avocado creme and housemade tortilla chips. Surprisingly it did taste similar to salsa. It was delicious and the entire time I just didn't think about the fact that it was raw.

My eyes lit up when I watched our server bring the Crispy Chicken Thighs which was accompanied by a bean salad and chimichurri. They were crunchy and had a delicious asian style flavor to them. Ada Street really knows how to dress up chicken wings!











In this next round of drinks, I ordered the more masculine looking one and these were both very strong and full of flavor. I especially loved the chile salt around the edges.

Ashes to Ashes- Pineapple infused Altos Reposado, Del Maguey Vida mezcal, lime, jalapeno honey syrup, chile salt

Miraflores- Pisco Porton, grapefruit, honey syrup, lime, egg white, Peychaud's

(the egg white may scare you away but they use it to add a little frothiness to the drink and it tastes smoother and light)

I was so busy eating and drinking that I forgot to take a picture of the Truffled Asparagus and Poached Egg. I luckily snagged this picture off of yelp. This dish was a unique pairing and I especially loved the truffle sauce on the asparagus.

To keep our buzz going, here came another round of drinks! Some drinks come out like something you would have not pictured at all from the description on the beverage menu.

Cigar Fizz- Pig's Nose Scotch, Laphroaig 10 Yr, honey, lemon, Peychaud's

Las Palabras- Del Maguey Vida mezcal, Green Chartreuse, Luxardo Maraschino, lime

Next comes my favorite dish of the night (other than dessert). It's the Duck Confit which consists of cavatelli pasta, roasted duck, poached egg, spinach, and parmesan. I realized that I love duck more than I thought!

Dun, dun, dun, dun... more drinks!

Lincoln and Rose- Old Heaven Hill Bonded bourbon, honey, grapefruit, Pimiento Dram

Moscow Mule (one of Justin's go-to's)- Tito's vodka, house ginger syrup, Kina, lime

Although we were getting pretty full, we were still anxiously awaiting our main dish. It turned out to be a Bronzino white fish with Spaghetti Squash. This fish reminded me of tilapia and it was light yet extremely flavorful. This dish was not on their menu yet as they change it constantly due to seasonal changes.

Last but not least came the desserts and just when I thought I could not eat anymore, I just HAD to. Here's a little teaser...

If you were thinking Chocolate Hazelnut Toast topped with sea salt, then congrats!...you were spot on. I could not get my hands off of this. It was like eating warm Nutella on crunchy, savory bread. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

We thought our meal was probably over when all of a sudden the Pretzel Bread Pudding came along. Bread pudding is one of my favorite desserts to order when I'm out at restaurants. It's warm, creamy, and reminds me of ice cream but has a thick texture to it. It was topped with homemade maple whip cream as well. I was SO excited about this dish. What a perfect way to end an amazing meal!

Since the chefs and servers were so kind, fun, and informative, Justin decided to buy everyone a round of shots. They chose Bourbon as it's their favorite liquor. After trying all types of different dishes, I did not turn down this shot either =).

Cheers to Ada Street, Howaboutwe, and a fabulous dinner! I'll definitely be back soon=)

Thirsty Thursday

5/1/14

     Happy May Day! Since it's rainy here in Chicago and you are probably wondering why it's May and you are STILL wearing your winter jacket, here is a simple Pomegranate Berry Lemonade cocktail that will cheer you up! I am a huge fan of lemonade packets or as my friends call them "shakies".
     One time I decided to throw frozen berries into my lemonade drink and I instantly felt like I was on vacation or at a restaurant. By throwing frozen berries into your drink, it works as eye-candy, ice cubes, AND fiber! (It's even better if you throw in some Smirnoff pomegranate sorbet vodka ;)). Sip on this low-cal drink and you'll start feeling tropical in no time.

Ingredients:
Crystal Light Lemonade Packets
Frozen Berries Mixture
Smirnoff Pomegranate Sorbet Vodka
Water

Stay thirsty my friends...xo ;)