Browsing Tag

chocolate

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 2/10/14

February 14, 2014

I hope that whether you’re single, in a relationship, or some weird and ambiguous third option that you have a happy and chocolate-filled Valentine’s Day weekend!

This week’s quote comes from food photographer Karl Petzke and sums up how I’m feeling today.

“Chocolate symbolizes, as does no other food, luxury, comfort, sensuality, gratification, and love.”
–Karl Petzke

Great. Now I'm craving chocolate AND champagne.

Great. Now I’m craving chocolate AND champagne.

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 4/22/13

April 22, 2013

This weekend was definitely one of excess for me. I decided to have a “Treat Yo Self” Day on Friday (which stretched into the entire weekend) by ordering Red Curry for lunch, and then it just kind of devolved into a weekend of tater tots, mac and cheese, Chick-fil-A, and regret.

This week’s quote comes from Alanis Morissette, because I definitely took her advice a little too far.

“I still indulge in a glass of wine or chocolate – treats are mandatory. Without deviating from the day-to-day healthy diet once in a while, it wouldn’t be sustainable for me, and that’s what I wanted: an approach to eating to last my entire life.”
–Alanis Morissette

"Isn't that Ironic?" No. No it is not.

“Isn’t that Ironic?” No. No it is not.

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 7/9/12

July 9, 2012

So this was possibly the most boring weekend in recorded history. I had to take this online course from Market Motive for work, so my entire weekend was spent watching instructional videos and taking quizzes based on that material. All in all I probably spent 22 hours on my couch over the course of the entire weekend. I only left the couch to make food and to pee. It especially sucked knowing Sherlock: Season 2 was sitting in my mailbox, BEGGING me to watch it. But I resisted! Go me!

I was also dieting this weekend (and for the past few months in general). So far, I’ve lost about ten pounds since May, which is great, except that it’s 5 pounds more than what I weighed this time last summer. Being so busy was good because it kept me from cheating, but it also kept me from the gym. Normally I’m totally okay with that, but after 12 straight hours of Search Engine Optimization videos, I was itching for any excuse to get out of my apartment. The good news is that I am now certified in Conversion Optimization and Pay-Per-Click Fundamentals. Wooo!

This quote from Ali Landry kind of sums up how I am as a dieter. I need something sweet after dinner. I rewarded myself for being productive with 2 chocolate chip cookies, which was definitely not on my diet plan, but I didn’t care. Today I’m actually looking forward to going to the gym and stretching my legs after 2 full days of sitting on the couch.

“Chocolate is not cheating! After a salty meal, you need a little bit of sweet. This is living, not cheating.”
–Ali Landry

Also in the Ali Landry Diet: Bathtubs full of crackers.

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 2/14/12

February 14, 2012

Greetings love birds, and single minglers alike. It is Valentine’s Day again, the holiday everyone loves to hate. I think I’m dating the only boy in the history of existence who actually enjoys Valentine’s Day. I wish I could get as pumped up about it as he is. Old habits die hard, I suppose (I am the girl who spent Valentine’s Day 2010 making a Red Velvet cake in the shape of a heart, iced with black frosting, so the black heart would look like it was bleeding when we cut slices of it to eat. I am not a V-Day kind of girl). So instead of posting a quote from Liz Lemon about today being Anna Howard Shaw day, I’m going to at least try and make the most of it by highlighting the only part of Valentine’s Day I ever actually enjoy–the food.

All you really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.

–Charles Schulz

You can really learn a lot from Peanuts.

Recipes

Mexican Chocolate Cookies

December 24, 2011

So, for Santa this year, I decided to branch out from my usual Place-and-Bake-Sugar-Cookies-With-Holiday-Shapes for Santa and make something different. I figured Santa would probably appreciate a little variation.

Not this year, Dough Boy.

Not this year, Dough Boy.

After some searching online, I found a nifty looking recipe for a spicy chocolate cookie, which I used as a starting place to creating my own recipe. Since my mother has a self-diagnosed gluten allergy, I tried to keep the cookies gluten-free, but also still delicious. I think I succeeded, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see how much Santa enjoyed them before I make a final judgement.

Santa’s feeling a little spicy this year

Ingredients:

  • 1 heaping 2/3 cup chocolate, coarsely chopped (I recommend dark chocolate, but if you only have milk chocolate on hand, that will work, too, just cut the sugar down by 1/4).
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • non-stick aluminum foil

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
  3. Combine almond and coconut flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, black pepper and red pepper in a small bowl and whisk together.
  4. Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes).
  5. Add egg to the sugar mixture and beat well.
  6. Add cooled chocolate and vanilla; beat just until blended.
  7. Add flour mixture; beat just until blended.
  8. Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with non-stick foil (if you don’t like non-stick foil, you can just spray the bottom of the pan with a non-stick spray).
  9. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven. Cool on pans 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooking.
  10. Sprinkle the cookies with cinnamon sugar. I dusted them with a bit of red pepper, just to accentuate the spiciness.
Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice (And by "everything nice" I obviously mean "CHOCOLATE")

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice (And by “everything nice” I obviously mean “CHOCOLATE”)

Hoping everyone has a safe and satisfactory Christmas tomorrow! And to my non-Christmas-celebrating-friends, enjoy your regular, non-special Sunday!

Recipes

The World’s Best Lasagna

December 13, 2011

So for my official “Night Before My Last Day Dinner Party” I decided to make lasagna for the coworkers I invited over to share in the feast. I had all of these people to impress so I knew I had to do something more than just thaw out a Stouffer’s lasagna (although Stouffer’s is delicious). So I found this recipe online HERE and tweaked it a bit to fit with what I had and how much time I had to do it in. Here is my tweaked recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound sweet Italian sausage (I used Johnsonville)
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup minced onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
  • 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
  • 2 tomatoes, sliced
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
  • 6 tablespoons dried parsley
  • No-boil lasagna noodles (I used about 24)
  • 32 ounces ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 12 slices provolone cheese
  • 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

  1. In a large saute pan (one with high sides, you’re going to be adding a bunch of liquid to it), cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 4 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

    Meat sauce done right.

  2. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with eggs, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  4. To assemble, spread 1 ladle full of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Arrange noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with ricotta cheese mixture, and layer with sliced tomatoes. Top with sauce, and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. I eyeballed this, so just use what feels right. I topped it with a bit more meat sauce and then stacked the noodles on top. Repeat layers.

    Noodle meat. (that’s what she said)

  5.  Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Add 6 slices of provolone and cover with foil. I used non-stick foil with the non-stick side down toward the cheese to keep the cheese from sticking. You could do the same basic thing by spraying aluminum foil with some Pam or other non-stick spray.

    I’ll have a side of cheese with my cheese, please. Also, noodle meat.

  6. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. I noticed that the cheese was browning a bit too much around the 19 minute mark, so I took it out a bit early.

    Right after I took the foil off.

    19 minutes later. aka perfection.

Needless to say, the lasagna was pretty ballin’. Everyone ate pretty much all of it. I made two casseroles full and only one little slice was left over. I laid out hors d’oeurves to accompany the lasagna, including buttery crescent rolls, meat balls and tomato sauce, and mini caprese salad bites (grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil on a toothpick).

I seriously could eat ten thousand of these things. So. Good.

Les brought salad and we all drank wine to go with it. We laughed and talked for like 3 hours. Probably the most fun I’ve had in a really long time. Plus the lasagna was delicious. Then I made chocolate chip biscotti for dessert. It was pretty decadent.

Biscotti is italian for “Cookies from Heaven”

I’m pretty freaking awesome.