Jared spent most of the week between Christmas and New Years in Florida with his family (I stayed here and went to work…).  I was excited to see him when he got home….but even more excited when I saw his step-dad had sent him home with a bag FULL of key limes.  Key limes!  Here in California, they’re silly expensive and we rarely have them in the stores so I never buy them.  But there in my kitchen was a whole bag of them!

So….what to do with them?

My mind went to only one thing….why not replace my favorite lemon bars with limes for an added twist.  And what about a graham cracker crust?  Yes, please.

So on the last day of 2012, I happily spent an hour or so in the kitchen with my key limes making a recipe that I will likely make again and again and again and again.  They just may be in the top 15 of things I ate in 2012…

I didn’t have a recipe and thought of just literally replacing the lemon bars with limes, but wanted to spice it up a bit.  So I changed things and wandered through the grocery store and came up with stuff and started cooking…..but then in the middle of it, I randomly found a Martha Stewart recipe and realized mine were almost exactly like hers…..even with the key limes.  So, I’ll just give you her tried and true recipe here and hope that you make them, like now.

Martha Stewart’s Key Lime Bars (i changed mine just a tiny bit, so they’re pretty much still hers so this is her recipe…)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons finely ground graham cracker crumbs
•  1/3 cup sugar
•  5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
•  3 large egg yolks
•  1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
•  2/3 cup fresh lime juice
•  1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

And P.S. ummm…in the middle of squeezing my precious key limes into juice, I noticed the sticker on the limes said “Mojito Limes”…..so maybe they turned out not to actually be key limes (Jared and Joe, you tricked me?) but the good part is, I’m pretty sure this recipe would be fantastic with any kind of lime, so no need to wait to go to Florida and pick up real key limes.

Happy baking!

– Have you ever thought you were making something up only to find out it’s already an “official” recipe?
– What’s the first thing you ate in 2013? (I know it’s almost been a week now so you might not remember..)
– Do you like lemons/limes and tart flavors?

Happy Hannukah!

We celebrated the second night of Hannukah at my parents’ house last night. I don’t know about you, but I am Holiday-partied-out! Already. And the month is only a third over. Gulp.

I had five parties over the weekend and another one tonight. All fun, of course…but I am craving some pjs and couch time. Anyone else?

Anyway- what’s Hannukah without potato pancakes? I thought I’d share my mom’s tried and true recipe.

Hannukah Latkes

– 4 medium potatoes, peeled
–1 onion
– 2 eggs
– 1/3 cup flour
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 3/4 tsp salt
– oil for fying

How to:
Grate potato and onion in a bowl (ummm food processors come in handy here). Add remaining ingredients except oil. Pour oil about 1/8 inch deep in large skillet. Brown well on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

Eat with applesauce…lots and lots of apple sauce. Preferably homemade from my mom.

Then be like us and…..have a cookie decorating contest with oodles of blue frosting and sprinkles.

My cookies came in last (Jared was the judge because he “forgot” to wait and ate all of his before the judging started..ha!). My sis and her bf had great ones…maybe they’ll open a bakery someday and I can come lick the bowls for them

Truthfully, Hannukah’s not a holiday I care much about, but I like tradition and am glad I celebrated at least one day of it this year. I’m sure that’ll change if/when I have kids and I’ll get more into it.

But I’m loving the lights everywhere and all the decorations. I wanted to pose in front of the big huge pretty union square Christmas tree this weekend (we were downtown looking at wedding venues…I think we’re nixing the destination wedding idea, but that’s another story…) but there were so many people taking photos, I settled for the less crowded menorah instead.

Happy Monday!!

–Have you ever eaten a latke? I found out on Sat that a lot of my friends didn’t even know what they are!

–Are you good at decorating cookies or being creative like that? Who is the best at it in your family?

Sunday was Jared’s birthday.  It was also the one-week to-go mark for his Ironman.  November 18th has been the day he’s marked on the calendar for almost a year and I can’t believe it’s finally here.  Because he’s Ironman-focused, he wanted to keep his birthday celebrations pretty low-key this year.  He had a joint birthday happy hour with a friend Friday night.  Saturday night, we meant to go out to a nice dinner, but changed our minds last minute and just went local instead (after the other friend’s bday bonfire).

On Sunday, his actual birthday, Charlie and I tagged along to his last group training.  They’re still in major taper mode, so it was just a short swim followed by an hour long run.

Charlie liked loved being at the park, but he wasn’t too crazy about Jared getting into the water and disappearing….

He kept his eyes glued to the lake for the entire 45 minutes they were swimming (aka, no luck getting him to hike a little with me) and as soon as they came a little closer as they were finishing, he jumped into the water and swam towards them.  It was pretty far.  But once again, the little dog was so determined.

off he goes

so pleased with himself for “saving” Jared

After the swim, Charlie refused to let Jared out of his sight.  Either he knew it was his birthday or else he really felt like being “one of the guys.”

When they left on their run, Charlie followed.  And with his short, little legs, the little guy ran 6.2 miles! An average pace of 9:05/mile.

I was pretty proud of him.  They passed me every mile so I gave him the option to stay with me, but he wasn’t hearing of it.  He sprinted faster.  It was super cute and made for a memorable last Sunday training run.

Afterwards, we went out with his teammates for lunch.  I brought the chocolate peanut butter cupcakes, as requested by the birthday boy.

These were VERY chocolaty with the hint of peanut butter.  They were rich and not quite what I was picturing, but still good.  I’ve eaten 3.  I can’t resist sharing the recipe, of course.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I chose to go the easy route (have to pick your battles when you’re really busy and I was feeling crazed this week/wknd) and so I had some help with a mix.  Just a disclaimer…

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
1 box of chocolate cake mix
3 eggs, 1/3 cup oil, 1 and 1/4 cup water (per the box instructions)
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 bag mini peanut butter cups

Frosting:
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup peanut butter
7oz semi-sweet bakers chocolate

Steps:

1) Mix the cake mix, eggs, oil, water, and peanut butter in a bowl.  Beat on medium until mixed.
2) Put cupcake liners in pan.  Fill halfway with batter.  Add one mini peanut butter cup in the middle.  Add a “drop” of peanut butter.  Fill with another tablespoon or so of batter.
3) Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes.
4) Let it cool.

Frosting:

1) Chop chocolate into pieces. Put into a small bowl with the peanut butter.
2) Put cream into saucepan.  Heat until it just starts boiling.  Then pour into small bowl with chocolate.
3) Mix, mix, mix.  It will eventually cream together.  After it does, let it sit for about 10 minutes, mixing every minute.
4) While the frosting is cooling, chop peanut butter cups into pieces (for topping).

Frost cupcakes and sprinkle peanut butter cups on top.

Lick the chocolate off your fingers.  Pour a big glass of milk to drink with it.

Let cool and then……..

Eat!  Share with hungry triathletes, if possible.

After the park, cupcakes, and lunch…we went to see the new James Bond movie.  Now that the holidays are here, ’tis the season for the movies! I foresee many movies in my 8-week forecast.

– Last movie you saw?
– Would you rather….swim or run?  frost cupcakes or make the batter? 
– Do you know a lot of people born in November? I do!

I’m back from Boston!  I took the red-eye last night and with the added 3 hours, was able to get a full night sleep and feel bright and cheery this Tuesday.  The trip was great.  Sunday and Monday were spent in Boston.  With the day in New Hampshire, it felt liek autumn all the way.

Pretty trees

Farms

And good friends.   We spent a lot of time just walking around the City and and just had a great time.  Oh yeah and the rain I was afraid of?  Never really happened (okay, a little at night, but nothing to deter our plans)

And oh yeah, you know all those apples we picked on Saturday? 

Well we made the most amazing apple pie!  I already said that I’m not one for pie, but this was incredible and completely changed my opinon of pie.  Freshly picked apples+a really good recipe= amazing apple pie.

I couldn’t resist sharing our OH MY GOODNESS APPLE PIE recipe with you:

Ingredients:

• 7 cups of apples, peeled, and thinly sliced.  We used 7 apples, three different flavors
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (and a dash or two more…can never have enough cinnamon)
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
• Refrigerated pie crust (no, we didn’t make out own…but you could if you wanted to)

Super easy instructions:

1.  Grease pie pan and place one of the refrigerated pie crusts in the bottom.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a large bowl, combine the apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon,  nutmeg, and vanilla  Toss to combine.

3.  Pour the apple mixture into the dough-lined pan,  making the center higher than the sides.  Place pieces of butter evenly on the top.

4.  Place the other dough round on top over the filling.  Press the sides together. Cut vents into the dough.  Place aluminum foil around the sides.

5.  Bake for 1 hour, removing the foil around 40 minutes into baking.  Let cool for 20-30 minutes before eating.

The results were deee-licious.  We each ate three slices…and I even carried one home on the plane.

If apple pie doesn’t scream FALL, I don’t know what does.

Happy October!

– Do you have a pumpkin yet?
– What’s your favorite city (that you don’t live in)?  Boston and DC are mine
– Do you have a lot of friends who live in different cities from you? (i.e. ones that require long car trips or plane rides?)
– Are you good at keeping in touch with friends who live far away?

I attempted to make Tina‘s Two-Ingredient pancake for breakfast today, but it didn’t end up looking much like hers.

It tasted okay (I forgot how sweet grilled banana is!), but I don’t think I’ll be making it again….I’d prefer a regular scrambled egg and banana on the side.

My coffee hit the spot today though. And still, it’s always fun to try something new.

Tried any new recipes lately?

On Sunday, my cousins from New Jersey were in town, so my parents hosted a bbq with a few other family members.

I said I wouldn’t post photos unless I told everyone they would be on the blog, so you’ll have to settle for a drinks photo (yes, they still drink soda…)

I baked cookie brownies and my mom made an amazingly delicious lemon-raspberry cake that I just had to share with all of you. If you like lemon desserts, you really should try this.

Lemon-Raspberry Cake (from Sunset Magazine, not my recipe, I just cut and pasted it here)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup lemon curd
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 3/4 cups raspberries (about 18 oz.)
Powdered sugar

Directions:

• 1. Preheat oven to 325°. Butter a 9- by 13-in. baking pan. In a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, salt, vanilla, yogurt, milk, and lemon curd until mostly blended.
• 2. Add flour, baking soda, and baking powder to bowl and beat until smooth. Spread half of batter in pan and scatter half of raspberries on top. Gently spread remaining batter over berries. Scatter remaining berries on top.
• 3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour; if cake begins to brown too quickly, tent with foil. Let cake cool about 1 hour, then dust lightly with powdered sugar.

Last night, we went to the Summerland Concert at the Mountain Winery!  What a great night.  Mountain Winery is a terrific outdoor venue smack in the middle of a huge winery.  Such a great place to see a show!

We were the first stop in the Summerland Tour– it’s a mix of five bands including Gin Blossoms, Sugar Ray, and Everclear.  My favorite? Gin Blossoms! I barely knew who they were before the concert, but as the guy from Sugar Ray said when he announced them, “their songs are the ones that you constantly find yourself singing…..you just didn’t realize that they were Gin Blossoms!” (i.e., remember Hey Jealousy ? that’s them)

Summerland is off to Cincinnati next and touring through the summer, so check if they’re going to a venue near you, go check it out!

Yesterday evening after work, we drove about an hour to the concert.  It was warm and sunny.  They serve food inside the venue, but it’s pretty pricey, so instead we picnicked.  They have special picnic tables just for that (most people do it).   I packed a great chicken pesto pasta salad.  Another one bowl meal, which is so easy to carry for trips like this.

(Recipe below)  I also packed some carrots and cherries.  Yum.

Since it’s at a winery, they serve their own wines.  I got a pinot (of course).

We had tickets to the general seating area, but it wasn’t completely sold out, so the usher asked us if we wanted to move to better seats because they needed to fill them.  Ummm, yes we do!

It was a really nice night and totally felt like summer.  The only downfall was the long drive home and the late night (midnight on a weeknight is late for me….).  But I’d go to Mountain Winery again in a second, it was way worth it!

And now, back to the pasta.  It was so easy to make and really good.  I have leftovers and am already planning to eat it for dinner tonight!

SUMMERLAND PESTO PASTA SALAD

Ingredients:
–  1 lb bow-tie pasta
– 1 cup pesto
– 3/4 cup frozen corn
– 3/4 cup frozen peas
– 15 cherry tomatoes (i just put in a handful, but it was about 15)
– 1/4 cup chopped basil
– parmesan cheese

Super easy instructions include:

Saute peas and corn for just a few minutes (spray pan with olive oil).

Cook chicken.  Cut into chunks.

Cook pasta and drain.  Reserve about 1/4 cup pasta and put back into pasta.

Chop basil

Mix veggies, pasta, chicken, and pesto.  Add basil and parmesan cheese.  Mix well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Let sit until it reaches room temperature.  Serve at room temp or put into fridge.  Personally, I like it best when it’s been in the fridge overnight and the flavors have blended together.

Enjoy!

And Happy Friday!  I’m feeling so lucky and summery this week.  I went to a baseball game, went swimming outside, went to the outdoor concert, and then tomorrow morning, we’re leaving for a weekend “vacation” to the beach (just one night, but we’ve deemed it our vacation because it will just be us and there’s no race/wedding/friends etc involved!).  I heart summer!!

– What’s the last concert you saw?
– Any concerts coming up?
– Any great venues near you?
– Weekend plans?

I had a big work event all day Saturday, so we’re closing the office at 11am today after a breakfast event (so many events lately!) to make up for the wknd workday. My plans are one thing: the beach with the dog! Already excited

I tried a new recipe last week and friends, if you like peanut butter, than you have to try these Peanut Butter Krispie Bars.

They’re gluten-free, vegan, protein-filled, and so quick and easy to make– Perfect for a snack, dessert, or before/after a tough workout. I guess since it uses cereal, you could probably eat it for breakfast too?

I found the recipe on the back of TJ’s cereal box. Anything with only 4 ingredients is a win in my book. Scratch that– anything with peanut butter, even if it has 12 ingredients- is a win!

And just fyi- I followed the TJ’s directions, but they were a little too sweet for me, so I’d actually probably use a tiny bit less agave (1 tbs less?) if I made them again. Still good though– I’m sure they’ll be gobbled up in no time.

Here’s how to make them—

Only 4 ingredients:

• 7 cups of rice krispies
• 1 cup agave——>(or a bit less so they’re not too sweet)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup salted peanut butter

Pour the agave and brown sugar in a saucepan.

Heat to almost a boil, stirring until the brown sugar evaporates.

Take it off the heat and add the peanut butter. Mix together.

Add the rice krispies and mix.

Pour into a greased 9×11 pan.

Stick it in the refrigerator for a few hours (I left it there overnight).

Cut, eat, and enjoy!

And that’s it. An easy Monday morning recipe for ya!

So–

– Do you prefer crunchy or smooth peanut butter? I’m crunchy all the way!

Last night, I made Stuffed Peppers for the first time. I love that they’re a one-stop-shop for a meal. You get your protein, carbs, and veggies all in one dish!

I made a variation of this recipe, which is a mix of couscous, meat, cinammon, tomato sauce and other yummy things. Among other things, I added kale, carrots, and more peppers to the insides. I used red, orange, and yellow peppers instead of green. I used grass fed beef. And I didn’t add the onions.

Result? Not bad. Not bad at all. They were good. Savory with a touch of sweet. And very, very filling. Couldn’t finish one. Also, aside from the long 45 minutes in the oven, the prep work was fairly quick and easy.
Next time, I’ll vary what I put inside a little bit more. But otherwise, makes a colorful meal!

Someone else got a good dinner too. It was Charlie’s birthday weekend

I made him a mini-grass-fed-beef-burger. He loved it, of course. And ate it in T-minus-3 seconds.

Yes, I ended up cutting it up more so he didn’t choke

He also got doggie-cupcake treats from the bakery that he shared with his dog friends. How cute are these?

Yes, I spoil my dog a little bit. I enjoy it. And the puppy kisses at the end of every day make it more than worth it.

– Dogs– Feed them human food or only dog food?
– Stuffed Peppers- What’s your filling suggestions?

Well, you know me– I’m ALL ABOUT the few ingredient, incredibly simple recipes. Honestly, the least amount of steps and the fewer ingredients the better….as long as it doesn’t cut down on taste, of course.

So, Jared has been bugging me for requesting enchiladas for weeks now. Actually, that’s not really true….a few weeks ago, I announced I was going to make enchiladas and then something came up and I never did….and then I promised them the next week….and something came up again and I never did….and that *might* have happened again twice more after that….so you get the point. I finally put an end to that though and I made enchiladas!

I looked through a bunch of different recipes, most of them I ended up dismissing because they either had too many ingredients (which I didn’t have in my cabinets and would be expensive to buy), used cream cheese (which I weirdly can’t stand) or they were too onion-y (which neither of us like much).

And eventually, I just sorta winged it and created a REALLY simple, few ingredient, extra cheesy enchilada bake. They came out good!

Easy, cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

6 Flour Tortillas
2 Cups shredded Chicken (I used a rotiserrie chicken…and then used the leftover chicken for lunches, etc).
1 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 10-oz can red enchilada sauce
1/2 tomato, diced
3/4 cup frozen spinach
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup parsley
1 tbs lime juice
Extra lime wedges

This photo will always look upside down...whoops

Ready for the instructions? It’s super simple!

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×9 or 9×11 pan (I used ceramic, glass pan works too).

– In a blender, mix the enchilada sauce, parsley, cilantro and lime juice for 45 seconds.

–In a small bowl, mix the shredded chicken, 3/4 cup shredded cheese, frozen spinach and diced tomato together.

–Lay tortillas out flat, put chicken/cheese mixture, and roll up. Line up in pan.

–Pour enchilada sauce on top.

–Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese on top. Bake for another 5-10 minutes.

–After you take them out of the over, sprinkle some additional cilantro on top and garnish with a line (which you can squeeze on top, if you’d like). Serve with rice and beans for an extra filling meal.

They are extra cheesy and a perfect, simple enchilada that takes such little time to make! Yes, there’s a lot of cheese on there, but they aren’t as greasy as those in a typical Mexican restaurant, so can be counted as pretty healthy (as far as enchiladas go). I used white flour tortillas, but you can use whole wheat if you’d like.

And there ya go! Leftovers for dinner tonight- yeah!

– What do you usually order at a Mexican restaurant? I normally get soft tacos, fajitas, or enchiladas.
– When’s the last time you made enchiladas?
– Tell me something about your day!!

All the best days start with a Green Smoothie

And end with Salmon.  (Not together!! Eaten separately )

Green in the morning makes me feel awake and energetic and the Salmon does the same thing in a nice omega-3 kinda way.

My favorite way to cook salmon is to honey-glaze it and also to top it with cinnamon.
This is one of those “non-recipe” recipes that I love because it’s so simple and takes so few ingredients that I feel silly even posting them here. But honestly, when it works, it works! This is an easy, delicious way to cook salmon, especially on a busy work night.

For the salmon:

I alway buy wild, Alaskan salmon. It’s slightly more expensive, but it’s the best for you and I feel like it’s more than worth the extra few bucks.

– I rinse the salmon in water and put it on a broiler pan (skin side down).

– Squeeze fresh lemon on top.

– Then, just drizzle a thin layer of honey on top of the salmon. Spread it evenly (you should probably use a knife, but I usually just use my finger….I hope that’s not gross!)

–Sprinkle a very little bit of sea salt on top.

Then, just stick it into a 350 degree oven and bake! I usually bake mine for about 20 minutes, but cooking time varies depending on the thickness of your piece of salmon.

When it’s time to eat, I like to drizzle some more honey on top (sweet tooth!) too, but that’s optional.

And that’s it. Told you this was ridiculously easy!

My other favorite way (which I normally do with the other piece of salmon) is to squeeze lemon on top and then sprinkle generously with cinnamon. After the salmon is cooked, I add some sea salt.

Love salmon and this simple go-to is my fave. I cooked some this morning because I knew I wouldn’t be home until 8 tonight and am already excited for dinner!

Okay, next salmon-related topic……

What’s the deal with salmon skin? Do you eat it?

I’ll admit- I usually eat it or I give it to Charlie (dog). I know a lot of you are probably grossed out by that– seems like a lot of people throw it out? But regardless, I’m just curious what the deal is with it anyways and what you’re “supposed” to do.

I debated not posting this because it's really not very appetizing, but...

Here’s what I found out based on a slew of sites (thank you google)–

–  The skin includes healthy omega-3s (esp in that dark fleshy part between the skin and the pink part) and all the nutrients that make salmon good for you.

– However, some of the mercury and pollutants from the water are found in the skin (the skin protects the fish from getting the pollutants….) so by eating the skin, you’re getting more harmful chemicals.

Verdict? If you eat salmon all the time (aka, twice a week), it’s best to not eat the skin all the time so you don’t ingest as many pollutants. But if you are only eating salmon occasionally, go ahead and eat the skin. And dogs enjoy it as well (plus, it keeps their coat shiny), so feel free to share the goods.

Ok, so you tell ME

- Do you eat the skin?
- How do you normally cook salmon?
- How often do you eat fish?