Monday, March 29, 2010

Cinnamon Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel

I'm eating this RIGHT NOW!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. + 3 tbsp. Trader Joe's Multi-grain Baking Mix
3 tbsp. oil
1 egg
1/2 + 3 tbsp. c. sugar
1 c. buttermilk
1 tbsp. + 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. butter


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a shallow pan (appx. 8x8x2). Set aside.

Combine oil, egg, and buttermilk. Stir in2 1/2 c. baking mix, 1/2 c. sugar, and 1 tbsp. cinnamon until just combined. Spread into baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine baking mix, sugar, cinnamon, and butter until crumbs form. Sprinkle on top of coffee cake and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Slice and serve!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

BBQ Chicken and Steak

Ingredients:

5 chicken tenders
2 steaks
2 tbsp. ground mustard seed
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. pepper


Sauce:
1/4 c. chicken stock
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. horseradish mustard
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. soy sauce

Directions:

Whisk together spices. Coat chicken and steak in spice mixture. Place in crock pot.

Whisk together ingredients for sauce. Pour sauce into crock pot. Place on lid, and cook on low for 10 hours. Turn off. Shred chicken and steak. Enjoy!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Cuchi Guidos and Fake-Detox Diet Week!

Well, my roommate Corey and I finally went to Cuchi Guidos for dinner tonight. First of all, I was kinda grossed out that I had to say both the words "cuchi" (and yes, in case you were wondering, there is in fact a poster which says "Everyone needs a little cuchi" in the actual restaurant) and "guidos" in the same sentence (or, really, having to say them at all).

In honor of Sunday (AKA- my break from Lent, AKA- I get to eat meat day!), I ordered a philly cheesesteak (and also because they claim to have authentic philly cheesesteaks). Not gonna lie...I was kinda disappointed. The meat was not great, the bread was OK, and the sauteed onions and peppers were not all that sauteed, and not all that peppery (couldn't find one?). The potato chips it came with were like the ones you get at Top Dog on campus....which I'm not a fan of. Sooo, overall, D+ on the food.

Corey said that he liked his pizza, though, so maybe I'll get that when I go back (if I go back).

ALSO! I'm doing a somewhat detox this week (clearly, starting tomorrow. I don't think that Philly Cheesesteaks are on ANYONE'S detox list!). It's a "healthy" detox I saw in my Glamour magazine. It looks like LESS of a detox (AKA scary Master Cleanse Lemonade Death Diet), and MORE like just eating healthy. SO, I went to Martin's (which, by the way, I found out is buying out Ukrops...sad day. Must stock up on White House Rolls while I can!), and did my shopping for the week! Greek yogurt, frozen fruit, milk, eggs, hummus, avocado, black beans, sweet potatoes, low carb/high fiber tortillas, sprouts, spinach, and apples. Basically, this is what I'm thinking:

Breakfast Options:
-Greek yogurt, frozen fruit, and a little bit of honey
-Oatmeal, fruit, cinnamon, and a little bit of honey (maaaaaaybe peanut butter?)

Lunch:
-Hummus and veggie wrap

Dinner:
-Southwest black bean sweet potato

Welcome to my menu for the week! I'm actually pretty excited...it doesn't seem painful at all! (And PS, totally tried the Master Cleanse this summer...lasted for abouuuuuut 23 hours. Also tried the cabbage soup diet. I just don't think I like starving myself? I mean....I have a food blog).

Saturday, March 13, 2010

The Tobacco Company and Legend Brewing Company

I fully plan on blogging like a maniac ASAP...things have just been crazy lately! Lots of applications, shows, rehearsals, spring break, boyfriends (OK...just one boyfriend!), families, etc.

BUT...in the meantime, I thought I'd blog about our trip to The Tobacco Company. Mom, Dad, John, and I went here for dinner before seeing Wicked this past Thursday. Don't let their Cheers-esque website fool you...The Tobacco Company is class all the way. John and I, after doing the Canal Walk, got there around 5:00 for drinks (for John: Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, for me: Legend Brown Ale...more on that later). Then mom and dad got there, and we all sat down to eat. 1 delicious basket of bread later, we had our wine (me: Canyon Ridge Chardonnay, John: another Dogfish Head...Mom and Dad ??), and our food. I got the Linguini Cioppino (scallops, mussels, clams, and shrimp in a spicy red sauce), John got the crabcakes and...wait for it...GRITS! Mom got the wedge salad and bbq shrimp and crawfish (I think?), and dad got the shrimp bisque and a spinach salad. Everything was FABULOUS! My only complaint? They didn't have Parm for the pasta! Seriously, though, it was awesome, and no wonder why it's such a Richmond staple.

YESTERDAY, after a failed attempt to get to Mass at the Cathedral on time (VCU...your parking sucks), John and I headed to Legend Brewing Company in what I can only imagine is the industrial section of Richmond? I'd never been there...it was across the water in the OPPOSITE direction from Chesterfield, soooo, never been there. We found it, however, and started off with the beer sampler, substituting the Lager and Pilsner (yuck-o) with their seasonals, a tripel and their "hopfest". Also in there was the brown ale I'd had at TTC, a golden ale, and a pale ale. The conclusion? Brown ale was kinda weak/malty (which I don't like), pale ale was also somewhat weak/too malty (the waitress said it was balanced, buuuut I think pale ale should be a bit more hoppy), and the golden ale was juuust right. Tripel was...well...a belgian, so I couldn stand it, but wouldn't order it again (I just don't really like that clovey after-taste), and the hopfest was pretty darn hoppy. I ordered another pint of the Golden, and John ordered another Hopfest. That, plus two pretzels, hummus plate, and spinach artichoke dip = a pretty darn good lunch! Food was OK...hummus was weak. Would go back...but only after Lent so I could get a burger with my beer!

Coming Soon: Actual recipes/cooking adventures...no more apologies!


Tuesday, March 2, 2010

I'm Back!

These past couple of weeks have been INSANE! BUT, one show, two auditions, one grad school application, and a fight with bronchitis later, I AM BACK! I've done SOME cooking over the past couple of weeks! Vegetarian chili, brownies....I'm sure there's been some more, but I'm sooo blanking right now! I have up meat for Lent...not sure if I'd mentioned that yet. So, today I made a vegetarian lasagna...and NO! It's not that gross kind of veggie lasagna that has a white sauce and veggies...can't stand that stuff. This is plain old lasagna, just no meat (and a little tofu that I needed to use up!)

This is somewhat from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but as always, I altered it to what I had available!

Ingredients:

1 package oven ready lasagna noodles
1 jar plain pasta sauce
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. tofu, diced
1 jar ricotta (15 oz.)
1 package shredded mozzarella
1 egg
1/4 c. Parmesan (plus more for on top)
Salt
Pepper
Italian seasonings (I used basil, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, parsley)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 F

2) Saute onion and tofu in olive oil and butter. Add pasta sauce, salt, pepper, and italian seasonings. Set aside.

3) Combine ricotta, egg, and 1/4 c. Parmesan. Set aside.

4) In a 13x9 pan, spoon a thin layer of pasta sauce. Layer lasagna noodles, 1/2 of the cheese mixure, 1/2 of the sauce, 1/2 c. mozzarella. Repeat. Top with more Parmesan.

5) Bake on top rack for 30 minutes. Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving!

ENJOY!