Anniversaries, Family, Chefs, Pasta, and Shrimp...they all go together, really.

1 year and a few months ago, Joel's parents celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary.  We lived in Chicago. They lived 13 hours away in Lancaster. We knew it would be a little difficult to throw them their much deserved party. 

So, we decided to hire a couple of chefs to cook them dinner. Except the chefs were busy. Very busy. So busy it took the chefs until tonight to arrive at Joel's parents door and cook them dinner. 


These were not just any chefs, these chefs were my sister and her boyfriend. 

We heard Joel's parents had a good laugh when they saw these familiar faces at their door tonight when they thought a strange, professional chef was to arrive instead. They even invited them to eat dinner at their table.


Thank you Will & Julie for showing off your great cooking skills tonight!


In case you're curious about the main dish tonight, you'll need to make this recipe. It is pretty close to heaven on earth. 

Engagement Scampi

 (thank you Eat Live Run)

1.5 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

about 3/4 pound of large shrimp

1 tbsp chives

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 stick butter, cut into small chunks

1 tbsp lemon juice

pinch of red pepper

1 tbsp chopped parsley

3 slices thick Italian bread, toasted and kept warm in the oven

6 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked (2 ounces per person)

1. heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for a few seconds

2. Raise the heat to high and add the shrimp. Toss until seared on all sides and bright pink. Remove shrimp and set aside.

3. Stir in the chives, wine, butter, lemon and red pepper. Boil until the sauce is reduced by half. Stir in the parsley and the shrimp again and heat through.

4. Toss the pasta with a bit more olive oil (to coat) and divide among 3 plates, along with a slice of bread. Put the shrimp on top of the pasta/bread and serve with a lemon wedge.

You'll want to be sure to have your favorite wine nearby to enjoy with this meal.

My New Favorite Breakfast

I am a little obsessed with this recipe. When I say a little, I mean that I ate an entire pan in less than 24 hours this week. It's bad...dark chocolate has those types of effects on me. 


This recipe is adapted by me from a recipe I  saw on  Eat Live Run. I did my best to make myself feel a little less guilty by making the recipe a little healthier. But, if you're opting for more of a treat and a better taste go ahead and use the oil &  white flour!

Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bars

(picture from Eat Live Run)

2 Ripe Bananas mashed in a bowl

1/3 cup all natural (no sugar added) apple sauce

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups quick cooking oats

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

Mix all ingredients together and pour into an 8 X 8 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.

Then, try really hard to not eat the entire pan in one day.

Summertime Refreshment

Anyone else having way too fun growing a little garden this year? Living in Chicago, we merely had a shaded patio that we attempted to grow 2 tomato plants.  I think we yielded 1.5 tomato's that year.

Living in Pittsburgh we have a mini yard that we have planted with a few seeds. Those seeds have yielded us a few plants of lettuce, green onions, tomato's and herbs. We are a little obsessed with our basil plants and decided to try them in our new favorite summertime beverage: Strawberry Basil Lemonade.

Picture adapted from whatsgabycooking.com

Strawberry Basil Lemonade

Using fresh lemons, water and sugar make home made lemonade or use a frozen lemonade mix and 1/2 the recommended water to create lemonade in your pitcher.

Next, place the following ingredients into your blender:

Approximately 1 lb of strawberries

15-20 leaves of fresh basil

A handful of ice cubes

1/2 cup of your lemonade mixture to help blend the ingredients above

Mix strawberry mixture into the lemonade mixture. Adding a touch of Sprite to your Strawberry Basil Lemonade is optional.  Enjoy!! 

Bretzel Rolls

Hungry for some dinner rolls that are amazing?  They literally taste like a soft pretzel. We've never had a guest eat just one....in fact, my dad, who is on a low carb diet ate 4 the other night.

 

Place ingredients listed  below into a bread maker:

• 1 and 1/3 cups warm water
• 2 Tablespoons warm milk
• 2 and 1/3 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup light  brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 4 cups all purpose flour

After running the dough cycle on your bread maker. Take out dough and cut into 12 even pieces shaped into rolls or form knots and arrange on a lightly floured surface about 1 inch apart and covered in plastic wrap. Let the pretzels rise.  

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

In a large stockpot, bring 2 quarts cold water to a rolling boil. Add 1/2 cup baking soda. Drop rolls into the  boiling water and boil for no more than 30 seconds, turning once. Remove with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle rolls with kosher salt or pretzel salt. Arrange rolls on baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until browned.  Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

My Daily Drink

I don't like lunch. I don't like sandwiches very much. It's far too easy for me to eat cereal for every.single.meal.every.single.day. 

My new lunch meal of choice:

Almond Milk

1 Banana

Whey Protein (I like chocolate)

Ice Cubes

and yeah, I've been substituting some Jillian Michael's for my usual run. I usually dread my daily Jillian time, but she makes me feel so, so good the rest of the day.  If you're looking for a good work out DVD--buy this one!

Tortilla Soup

One of our all time favorite recipes that people are always asking for.  We found it in our favorite cookbook--The Test Kitchen. We usually make half the recipe for Joel & I. It's oh so yummy!!!


Tortilla Soup

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 garlic cloves
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken, shred into bite size pieces
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
5 oz tortilla chips, crushed into large pieces
3 plum tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped (about 1.5 cups)
2 ripe avocado's, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup fresh cilantro


1. Heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, jalapeno, chili powder, and garlic. Cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken and simmer, partially covered, until no longer pink. 


2. Remove the broth from the heat and stir in lime juice. Divide portions of avocados among individual bowls. Ladle the broth over each bowl and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve, passing any extra tomatoes, avocados, tortilla chips, and cilantro separately.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Often, date night for us involves staying home, cooking food, and watching a movie. Tonight we made our favorite peanut butter cookies. They're soft and chewy even after freezing. Maybe, like us, you will find leftover peanut butter cups on clearance from Valentine's Day.


Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, softened 2 tablesoons milk
1/2 cup white sugar 40 chocolate covered peanut butter cups
1/2 cup peanut butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside
3. Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well.
4. Shape into 40 balls and place onto an ungreased pan.
5. Bake at 375 F for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.