Chicken Boob

I went to Costco and bought the multimillion pack of chicken breast. packed into 2 packs for convenience.

So... after seeing Reeni's post for Asian Chicken Salad... I attempted to make it too.
However, I had no romaine, and when I pulled out a cucumber... it was sad and broken and squished. No bueno. I also didn't have ALL the ingredients. I flubbed this recipe... but it was still yummy!

Instead of the fresh ginger, I used about 1 tsp. of ground ginger. I think that was actually PLENTY. I didn't have any seasame seeds, so I just skipped that. And the soy sauce I have is just regular old soy sauce - I would definitely do the low-sodium one next time.

My FAVORITE part though is the caramelized sauce... SO good. It turns into that sweet teriyaki that we all know. It was lots of fun running the chicken breasts around the pan to get each and every bit of that sauce.

I wish I had a cucumber to go with it... or romaine. Something to complete the "salad" part of the recipe.

giada's brownies - gianjuda bars

I forget exactly what/why these are called gianduja bars (is it a play on Giada's name?)... anyways. it is like a semi-homemade recipe.

totally easy. and delish.

I skipped out on the hazelnuts, since I tend to not like nuts in my brownies.
But otherwise... I just baked the brownies, spread on nutella, then sprinkled mini chocolate chips.

The chips didn't really MELT... but I guess that's ok.

Caution: Hot!

Today I got up early (super early) and went to the farmer's market! Working on Saturdays for the past 2-ish years has made it nearly impossible to visit... sadly. While I don't always pick up any fresh produce, I still enjoy walking amongst vendors and farmers and seeing their goods.

This time around, even though I had to get to work, I made it a mission to go!
Why? Because... of Blackmarket Bakery.





Amazing Chocolate Almond Bread Pudding. MMMMMMMMM!
The warm melty goodness of the caramel in contrast to the light sweetness of rum, and almond, and of course chocolate. Then there is the crunch of a few slivered almonds.
SOOOO GOOD! (The minor burns from the hot ramekin are absolutely worth it.)
I never really bit onto bread pudding until Ila's sweet potato bread pudding from the holidays (which I am still waiting for a recipe on). And ever since... I have been hooked.
If I see it, I will get it. No lie. (Unless there are raisins, then I will mull it over.)

Also, I love to see the buckets of flowers. I'm not a flower person... but they make pretty gifts! (So sad when they wilt and die...)


Getting up early was so worth it today! Got to grab a latte with a bud, and stroll the market together and look at random food things. AND, it wasn't hot! We went before the clouds had cleared for the afternoon... AWESOME.

And to continue this "active/productive" streak... I finally got my "corkboard" up!
Note to self: have a boy hammer nails into walls next time.

Friday Fat Day

Thanks to my lame ankles I haven't gone jogging in about 2 weeks now.
And gradually I am eating like crap again.

Cookies have started to sneak into my tummy ever since I made them...
but by far, today is the worst since my whole health kick began.

Started like usual with a nonfat yogurt with sliced strawberries and almonds.
For lunch, I planned to just have a small bowl of leftover brown rice and grilled chicken and veggies from FlameBroiler.
BUT I was still hungry, and when half a bean and cheese burrito was offered to me, I took it and INHALED it.
Then I had an orange.
Couple hours later, a chocolate chip cookie.
I was given a torta since a co-worker forgot to take it with him when he left work and insisted I should try it. So that was dinner.


It (barely) survived the trip home in a non-descript brown baggie... a quick reheat in the microwave and ta-da. It was definitely a knife-and-forker for me. I can only assume it is better fresh. Not several hours old and soggy. So I must say... I was not all that impressed.

And then to top off the insanely unhealthy day, I had... *gasp* a SODA. Oh coke zero... I missed you. I see you and your buddies tucked away in the back of the fridge everyday...

So with that... I fully intend to watch more carefully what I shovel into my mouth. and for gods sake to show some friggin restraint when it comes to cookies!

3 hour baking hell

I thought this recipe would go off without a hitch.
Chocolate Chip Overload Cookies from Evil Shenanigans
The recipe I'm sure is fine... MORE than fine... I mean it's a SUPER CHOCOLATE CHIP cookie! I, on the other hand, am a massive failure.

I think it began with me forgetting 1 entire cup of flour. Also, I was a smidgen short on baking soda. (I guess that's what happens when you pilfer scant amounts from home in ziplock baggies.)

SO! I had issues. MAJOR issues.

I didn't realize I was missing a cup of flour (in fact, I'm not 100% sure - it just makes sense.) until everything was mixed together... and the dough seemed less dough-like and more melting-ice-cream-like.

That's when I started to back track... and even for a million bucks, I could not remember exactly how much flour I had measured out.

So, I did a few trial runs... just in case I wasn't insane. I was proven wrong.
The first testers baked out to be a lot like the potato chip cookies. Too much butter over flour.

Then I added in just shy of 1 cup of flour. Did another test run... a little better. Not quite what the original pictures showed. (Which made me think... what is wrong NOW?)


So little by little I added in a few tablespoons of flour and just continued to bake. I must have added in at least 6 tbsps to get the the "final" dough.

These cookies are definitely super chocolatey! The dough part is good... much as expected for a chocolate chip cookie.

The dough was distinctly DARKER than any other cookie dough I've made.


Notes:

Instead of 3 bags of the same chocolate chip, I used a mish mash of "leftover" chocolate chips I've had laying around. I did use a whole new bag of Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet. Then I used some minis. Then some 60% cacao bittersweet Ghirardelli chips. And to finish it off, some white chocolate chips.

Baked at a lower temp of 325 for 15-ish minutes. Until golden brown of course.

The color was off too... not as warm and golden as you would want them to be, obviously a correlation to the darker dough. It was like it was "infused" with chocolate.


At least there was a nice breeze coming in through the window...

It's MARGARITA TIME

aka summer time (well... close enough).

Friends and I celebrated an early cinco de mayo with tacos, burritos, chips, nachos, and lots of margarita and mojitos poolside. Kate made most of the awesome food. Yummy meat... Tres Leches Cake! It was a beautiful day!

I contributed a whole #10 can of nacho cheese.

AND sweet corn cakes!

Yes its a mix... but an AMAZING mix. Not exactly the same as the restaurant, but definitely a close second. Slightly more grainy... but otherwise, MMMmmmMMM good!
The color is a wonderful sunshine yellow... the photos just can't capture that.

Add in some butter, creamed corn, and water... and voila!



In other news, my boss/friend appreciated me this past week with an awesome MAC Hello Kitty doll! It's so great to work with people you like and who like you too!

2 days - 2 quesadillas - one plate

I can never get enough of cheese. Hence my love for quesadillas, cheese omelets, grilled cheese sandwiches, and "extra" cheese on everything!

Been relatively lazy... so I've had quesadillas for the past 2 nights. easy peasy hand held food.


Sauteed Mushroom & Cheese in Garden Veggie Tortilla


Eggs & Cheese in Garden Veg Tortilla