Surprise Cupcakes: Happy 100th Birthday, Oreo!

I came across these birthday cake Oreos at my local Stop & Shop and I knew I exactly what I wanted to do with them. 

Unfortauntely, the boy nipped my plans in the bud the first time around because we’d been “eating like crap for way too long.” While entirely true, I would prove his decision to be wrong – a month later.

I told myself it’d be fine; I’d find the birthday cake Oreos at another grocery store. But weeks went by and trip after trip to Shaw’s, Market Basket, Star Market, Hannaford, proved to be birthday Oreo-less. I was getting frustrated. Angry, even – that my perfect baked treat would never see the light of day.

We finally went back to that Stop & Shop (which I might add is 4 blocks from our apartment, but I avoid going at all costs), and I found my precious treasure. I topped off the shopping basket with a classic store-bought funfetti mix & frosting and almost ran home to make them.

Before I could even begin mixing the batter, I died a little at the adorable “Happy Birthday” message to Oreo on each cookie – I am an idiot for not noticing these special flavors were a celebration of sorts, but absolutely cute nonetheless. 

The end result was honestly better than I imagined (so good that I forgot to take a photo of the end result...). I had had Oreo surprise cupcakes in the past from a colleague, but my coworkers all said these were even better. 

It will be forever a mystery if that was the special Oreo or the fact that S&S was sold out of the standard Pillsbury Funfetti and I was forced to go with runner-up Betty Crocker.  

Oh, and after all that, the boy almost died over the cupcakes and haorded 2/3 of the entire batch for himself. So for the record, I'm always right.

Pumpkin Banana Bread, Skinny-Style

Now that fall has really arrived (and, okay, I finally unpacked my mixer), I've been on a complete pumpkin binge, along with the rest of the blogosphere/world.

I made these Pumpkin Donut Muffins from my girl Martha last week, and while they were borderline orgasmic and the coworkers I pawned them all off on were huge fans, they were not a pretty sight to see in-progress. I’ll just say that 75% of my countertops were covered in melted butter, cinnamon, sugar and flour by the end of it, and leave it at that.

So of course, to balance out the gluttonous donut muffins, I baked a dessert bread. But it’s fine, because it’s got “skinny” in the name, right? Right.

This bread is not any old pumpkin bread. The mix of the classic banana bread taste with the pumpkin was unexpectedly delicious, and still had a very strong, cozy, nutty, autumn-y taste to it, thanks to the added spices.

This recipe was super easy to make, and the end result was a dense, moist, almost fudgdy – but  altogether heavenly – bread that you don’t have to feel (too) bad for indulging in.

SkinnyTaste has quickly been my go-to for straightforward recipes for health(ier) dinner menus and desserts, and especially lightened-up gameday snacks. If you don’t already lean on this fantastic recipe resource, I HIGHLY recommend!

What are your favorite recipes to cook/bake in the fall?

Rise From the Dead

I'm alive and back on the interweb!

Between the move, work, family parties, and all of the subsequent fallout from the aforementioned, I have been a terrible blogger. In my defense, I did not have internet in my apartment for an entire SIX DAYS (travesty, I know) and with the short week following the Monday holiday, blogging at work was out of the question.

Here's what my last week has looked like, in a few, totally hot mess photos:

All three of these are full of shoes. Not okay - until you see my now totally organized closet situation!

One of my biggest fears (OCD moments) of moving was things breaking; I drove over 3 carfulls of items I was convinced would break if I packed them for the movers. Clearly my new gold-rimmed champagne flutes from the SoWa market were at the top of the list and therefore were packed delicately in my Serena & Lily duvet. They made it!

This was our first, sad-looking dinner in our new place at approximately 1 AM, complete with delivery and the table in the middle of the living room. On the bright side, I found out the sushi place in Southie is actually pretty good - AND delivers late night.

Then, circa 5 AM, we FINALLY called it quits on unpacking and organizing (and were not even close to finished) to take a much-needed pre-bedtime bubbly break (obviously with aforementioned champagne flutes). Veuve never felt so good.

Flash forward just one week, and I come home yesterday to find THIS situation in our living room ("I rearranged the furniture while you were at the gym!"), plus our first visitor in honor of the start to the NFL season.

Despite my high anxiety around the place not being totally perfected and organized yet, I wanted to break in the kitchen with some football Sunday treats for the boys (pepperoni bread and buff wings above) - which then somehow warped into me cooking dinner (buffalo turkey burgers, raw veggies and freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies) for my parents later last night. I'm crazy, I know.

Now that my spending  freeze is over (and mostly to try to calm my anxiety), I have started in on a little shopping for fall basics. While I am often one for a great accessory or a really unique or loud print, there's nothing better than finding the perfect basic to fill a hole in your wardrobe - and it's even better when you get a good deal!

The LBD

This ponte knit a-line dress is made of the same material as my beloved Pixie pants (I have them in 3 colors) so I couldn't wait to try this on. When it sold out online I almost shed a tear, but was fortunate enough to stumble on one in-store in my size - at which point it became clear why this stunner sold out so quickly. I legitimately said WHA-BAM out loud (okay, in a whisper) to myself in the dressing room mirror when I got it on; it is outrageously comfortable and incredibly flattering (despite being a stretch knit, which is usually much too clingly for my not-so-toned tummy). I also got to exercise my "student" discount on the in-store purchase - and I know it will be worth every penny when I'm throwing this on once a week with ballets or tights & boots for work.

The Boyfriend Jean

I have been on the search for the perfect pair of boyfriend jeans for months now after seeing countless gorgeous and effortlessly styled outfits by the likes of Blair, Kendi and Jules. I finally met my match with the Gap Sexy Boyfriend Jean; they're much more reasonably-priced than the ever-popular Current Elliott pair (though now that I have officially fallen in love with the cut I may invest down the road), but I also scored at 30% off during their sale last week). I wore them on Friday and did not put anything else on my body (aside from PJs) until this morning. They are out-of-this-world comfortable but don't make you look like you're just wearing 2-sizes-too-big jeans. And I wasn't even wearing heels.

What are you top picks for fall so far?

The Final Coutndown

The count to move-in with the boy is officially at 2 weeks as of today. I am incredibly excited but completely beyond stressed at the same time. Packing has officially started - but barely. I am making little to no progress because I just feel completely overwhelmed and don't know where to begin. Right now, I'm wishing my life looked like this:

I'd even settle for this - which is what I'm sure I'll feel like as we depart for a 3-day weekend in Ocean City, NJ - the weekend before we move (smart choice, right? Ugh.):

So what's the logical solution for this weekend? Avoid and deny? Sounds great. Remember that time I was supposed to go peach picking? Welp, it never happened (peaches are late this year, apparently - who knew that could happen when it's been so hot?). And as you can tell by just glancing at my Pinterest-ed recipes, I can't get them off my mind; they may just be the new figs!

We're off to my parents' house tomorrow morning to grab brunch at our favorite diner, drop off a few things from my place that I don't want to move myself (thanks, mom and dad!) and weather permitting, pick some fresh peaches. 

I plan to get my bake on on Sunday...while I simultaneously force myself to start packing, since it's my only full day off before the move...but I've resolved to just not think about it :).

Happy weekend!

Homemade Pizza with Figs, Prosciutto, Gorgonzola and Ricotta

Fig obsession is still in full swing; I just HAD to find another way to use them so the rest of the 9-pack I searched long and hard for last week didn’t go bad (I would have shed real tears throwing them in the trash). Answer? Pizza.

Pizza is basically the answer to all of life’s problems. Have a bunch of ingredients but you’re too lazy to find a good (likely complicated) recipe to use them in? Throw ‘em on some dough with a hefty helping of cheese and you’re set. I had basil, onions, figs, prosciutto and gorgonzola leftover from my Stella app recreation earlier in the week, so all I needed was some dough (cheated and bought it – shh), mozzarella and ricotta. True story: I recently discovered what ricotta tastes like on pizza and I will never go back. Seriously, if you haven't tried it, you have not lived.

Figgie Fig Figs

I’m obsessed with a little fruit called a fig. It’s possible that this is being thrown into hyperdrive by the fact that the boy has been out of town all well, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking (and admittedly, dreaming) about them since my gushfest about Stella and the STELLAR (see what I did there?) appetizer I had on Saturday.

By yesterday around 3 PM, I had made the decision to take matters into my own hands after work and hunt down some figs and prosciutto. I HAD to recreate that dish if I was ever going to move on with my life. And granted, I don’t have local honey on hand and my prosciutto was store-bought, it made for a delicious solo Wednesday night dinner.

There’s no real recipe here, but this is what I used for a 1 person serving:

2 very thin slices prosciutto

2 fresh figs, stemmed and quartered

3 basil leaves, thinly sliced

4 TBSP gorgonzola crumbles

Drizzle of honey

2 TBSP drizzle Honey Ginger Vinegar (I know this place is local, but I HIGHLY recommend all of their products – post coming soon. And clearly I need to invest in the Fig balsamic, stat.)

Thinkin' of Peachin'

So, it’s officially August. As much as I want to be sad about summer starting to wind down, August always means one thing to me: PEACHES.

Quick sidenote: Follow my blog with Bloglovin 

As huge of a peach fan I am, I have never been peach picking. Shame, shame, shame. I have always loved apple picking in the fall (one of my all-time favorite weekend activities), but I actually prefer peaches to apples in terms of actually eating them (though I will happily bake with both).

So, suffice it to say, peach picking is on the agenda this weekend. And of course, I’ve already been planning my outfit (and nail polish...duh. Essie's A Crewed Interest is the PERFECT peach polish).

Quinoa with Corn, Scallions & Mint.

I am a firm believer in cooking for the season – partially because I have such a hard time making decisions about what I want to eat, but also because, as with almost everything in my life, I want my meal to fit in with the atmosphere and my mood. In the summer, this means “refreshing” is quintessential.

This recipe caught my eye a long while back when I was gathering literally TONS of recipes in the midst of my quinoa obsession. Hopefully you have all at least tried quinoa – it is really the perfect base to a dish; it’s completely versatile and bland alone, but packed full of protein. 

You can add almost anything you want with it and it becomes an insta-delicious and healthy dish. This one, in particular, screamed summer to me as corn is a staple in my summer diet, and the addition of mint is always inevitably cool and refreshing. 

I also love the flavor that the scallions add to this – I regularly add onions to my quinoa dishes, but the scallions are a stronger, welcome pop of flavor.

What might be best about this dish (or worst, if you want to eat it right away….) is that it tastes best served cold – something that’s always a plus in my book, living in an apartment with no central AC in the height of summer. 

A quick tip on this recipe: it makes a LOT of quinoa. Like, fills the entire bowl (pictured above) to the brim. And unfortunately, fresh mint doesn’t keep extremely well, so this is best eaten in 3-4 days after making it…which if you’re cooking for one (the boy is NOT a quinoa fan) is pretty difficult to do, even if you eat it for lunch & dinner. I keep forgetting this when I make it (dumb dumb) but I would definitely halve this recipe unless you’re serving it to guests!

Quinoa with Corn, Scallions and Mint (adapted from Epicurious.com)

4 ears corn, shucked (I used frozen because I’m crazy lazy)

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh lemon zest (1-2 lemons – I am not a huge lemon person so less is more)

Juice from one lemon (about 1 tbsp)

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups quinoa (about 10 oz)

4 scallions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

Preparation

Put corn in a 5- to 6-quart wide pot, then add water to cover and bring to a boil, covered. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer corn with tongs to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, cut kernels off cobs with a large heavy knife.

Meanwhile, whisk together lemon zest and juice, butter, honey, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until combined (don’t do this too far in advance or the butter will start to solidify on you!).

Cook quinoa according to package instructions, or until the water is almost soaked up. Cover and let steam until you’re ready for it, and remember to fluff with a fork periodically.

Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in corn, scallions, mint, and salt and pepper to taste.

Are you a quinoa fan? If you have any favorite recipes, please pass them along!

Al Fresco on the Fly

Like I mentioned here, I have been super into cooking lately. It’s really an amazing way to occupy your time and feel like you’re being productive – you know, honing your inner stay-at-home-mom (you think I’m kidding? I’m not).

Also, like I noted before – I am not skilled. I do really enjoy cooking, but I am easily overwhelmed – and while I know this is due to my tendency to choose very complicated recipes – I like what I like; I’m not going to waste my time cooking up something boring.

On a particularly “overwhelming” weekend day (read: PMS-ing, hardcore) – I almost had a panic attack about deciding what to have for dinner. I wish I was kidding. Sometimes I just feel entirely underwhelmed but the recipes I find searching online – there’s something not quite right, or I have no idea what I’m craving.

I LOVE eating outside in the summer – there’s something about the hot breeze and the quiet (I live in a not-so happenin’ area of South Boston) that gets me excited to eat – but it always needs to match the mood. And on that night, it finally dawned on me – “Why do you need a recipe, Carolyn? You might not be a master chef, but you can make WHATEVER you want.”

And so I did. Spicy chicken burgers with chipotle dressing, spicy guac and a side of green beans, to be exact. And it was amazing – exactly what I wanted on a hot summer night, with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Next time, it's getting coupled with the world’s best marg a la my mom (I’ll get to those at some point in this blog, promise).

Going into it, I had no idea what I was doing – just grabbing things off of shelves at the grocery store and hoping it all came together. The sauce was especially trial-and-error in terms of flavors and measurements (too thick, too spicy, not blending, etc etc) but in the end it was perfection.

And the boy agreed, despite the fairly healthy nature of all of the ingredients – so much so that he made me make it again the next weekend!

Spicy Chicken Burgers with Chipotle-Cilanrto Dressing

Burgers:

1lb ground chicken

1 chipotle chili in adobo

½ medium yellow onion (or red, if you like a kick, like me!)

Sauce:

Approx 1 cup strained greek yogurt (I prefer Fage 0%)

Approx ½ cup fresh cilantro (to t (preserved in tub will work, see pictures)

1 chipotle chili in adobo, plus 1 tbsp of sauce (less if you’re not a spice fan)

Juice of 1 lime

To make the burgers:

Chop 1 chipotle chili and ½ of an onion as finely as you can (but it doesn’t really matter), and add to a large mixing bowl. Plop in the ground chicken and get your hands dirty mixing the chili and onion into the gooeyness. Create 4-5 round patties and cook on a pre-heated skillet, grill (if you’re lucky!) or grill pan. If you’re grilling, it would help to add a little adobo sauce or lime juice to the mixture before making the patties to preserve the moisture. Cook time depends on your method of choice, but make sure you’re not eating any pink, raw chicken – duh!

To make dressing:

Remove cilantro leaves from stems and chop chili – add to immersion blender cup (you can use a regular blender but you’ll have to make a LOT more sauce, and it doesn’t keep well). Add ½ cup yogurt and 1 tbsp of adobo sauce (or less if you’re afraid – you can always add more later). Juice lime into the mixture and blend until the sauce is pink and fully-mixed.

ENJOY!

What is your go-to summer recipe?