the morning after

Getting out of bed this morning was hard. I mean, a lot harder than usual. Probably because I stayed up way past my bedtime to watch Glee's super-sized, post-Super Bowl show! So many emotions - the team spirit, the girls joining the football team, the Cheerios quitting, Quinn kissing Finn! I'm SO glad there's another episode on Tuesday!


Before my Glee-induced coma, I had a fabulous Super Bowl party! If I know one thing, my grad school friends and I sure won't be lacking any food at our get-togethers - we had so much that it barely fit on my table!! I wish I had a picture of the whole spread, but instead I just have my contributions.


I made baked brie, queso, and tomatillo salsa (recipe to follow). The brie was delicious, as always. I love baked brie! Add some cinnamon, brown sugar, and pecans on top, wrap it in puff pastry and call it heaven! It was a big hit, if I do say so myself.

As for the salsa recipe, I have to thank my dear friend Bridgette. She brought this yummy treat over to a Christmas party I threw, and I have been dying for the chance to make it ever since! You can get the recipe from her blog, The Delectable Adventure, and follow her and her sweet hubby as they cook dishes from around the world. But for sake of convenience, I'll post it here as well:

Tomatillo Salsa 
12 medium tomatillos, husked and finely chopped
6 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
6 tablespoons minced cilantro
2 teaspoon hot sauce
Salt 

This salsa was a huge hit with so many people asking for the recipe! Wish I could claim it as my own, but credit where credit is due :)

Overall, the party was a blast! So much good food with great friends and lots of laughs along the way. Can't wait for my next hostess-ing gig!

Snowed-Out

No, I am not actually snowed-out of my apartment or anything like that, but this constant barrage of snow is becoming quite tiresome. I know it's my fault for moving to Boston from sunny South Carolina. I know I brought this upon myself. But if I had any idea it would snow THIS MUCH, I don't think I would have moved!


Don't get me wrong, the snow is beautiful at times. When I can be inside, bundled up all nice and warm with a blanket and some tea, the snow is lovely. It makes the outside world sparkle. It's nice to take a pause and relax, slow down, and enjoy the winter wonderland. However, the winter wonderland only last so long. Once this beautiful, white, fluffy snow turns to mush, it becomes messy, dirty, and unattractive. Melting snow is a mess. 


I'm going to quit complaining, suck it up, and learn to love (or at least tolerate) all this snow. After all, if I'm ever going to live in a snowy city, my 20s is the time to do it. I found this recipe from Bobby Deen (Paula Deen's son) and thought that a nice, yummy, healthy chili would be just the thing to get me out of my should-be snow-day slump. (I mean, come on, we got almost 10 inches!) I'm so looking forward to coming back from work tonight and making this hopefully delicious meal!

Update: This recipe is DELICIOUS!!!! I halved the recipe so I wouldn't waste the leftovers, but I'm somewhat regretting that decision. Super filling without being heavy and making you feel disgusting afterwards. Next time I'm going to try a little less chili powder and some red pepper flakes instead. Can't wait to heat up my leftovers :) 

Bobby’s Lighter Chili

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 green bell pepper diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 tablespoons finely chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans petite cut diced tomatoes
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can red kidney beans
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans
1 cup medium salsa
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded cheese
1/2 cup chopped scallions

Directions:
Heat oil in large nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until the turkey is browned, about 6 minutes. Add the bell pepper, onion, celery, jalapeno, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, beans, salsa, chili powder, cumin, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the flavors are blended and the chili begins to thicken, about 1 hour. Serve with the cheese and scallions.

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
Yield:  8 Cups  

Per Serving: (1 cup) 260 Cal

Cooking Fiasco

I'm finally (somewhat) settled into my apartment again after being gone for a month, so I decided last night was the perfect night to refresh my culinary skills. One of my favorite new meals is stuffed peppers, thanks to Bethenny Frankel. Yes, the woman from Real Housewives of New York and other Bravo TV shows. I admit, I got sucked into the Real Housewives craze, and it is one of my guilty pleasures that I love TiVo-ing for snowy nights where I refuse to leave my apartment.

Her recipe is relatively simple, fast, and delicious! I've tried other recipes of hers from her website, but this is by far my favorite. I've changed my own version up a little bit, but here is her actual recipe:

• 6 peppers (cut off top and bottom and use them)
• 1 pound turkey meat
• 1 cup quinoa (cooked)
• ½ large onion
• 2 cups jarred tomato sauce
• 1.5 tsp garlic salt
• 2 tsp tabasco
• 2.5 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1/3 cup feta cheese
• 2 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
• Parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Cook for 30 minutes Prep Time 30 minutes

1. Cook quinoa per directions. Add one cup grain to 2 cups water. Boil, then simmer until water is gone
2. Crumble turkey meat with wooden spoon over medium heat.
3. While turkey meat is cooking, chop the tops and bottoms of peppers into pieces and combine with chopped onion, garlic salt and tomato sauce. Saute over medium heat and add remaining ingredients except the feta and pine nuts
4. Combine the above with cooked turkey, quinoa, pine nuts and feta cheese (save a small amount of feta to sprinkle on top later on)
5. Remove the inside of the peppers. Portion the mixture into each of the peppers and place them on a baking sheet. Top with feta cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Now, I use mixed Mexican cheese (like the kind you would use for tacos) instead of feta; leave out the pine nuts, thyme, tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce; and half the time I don't actually stuff it into a pepper. It tastes just as yummy if you put it in a casserole dish and bake it!

This supposedly easy dish has been a go-to of mine since moving in by myself. However, last night's dinner could not have been more of a fiasco if I tried. I couldn't open my tomato sauce, burned my meat, and overcooked the veggies. The quinoa however turned out perfect! :)

Voila! Not the actual recipe, but close enough!

Once that was in the oven, I decided to reward myself with some wine -- BAD idea. I cut myself on my corkscrew (it's cheap and doesn't really work properly), spilled wine all over myself and my floor, AND burned myself on one of the pans.

All in all, last night was a disaster. Will it stop me from cooking this delicious dish again? No. But I will be investing in a better corkscrew, and I will always open my tomato sauce BEFORE everything is done cooking!

If you decide to try this recipe, let me know how you like it!!