Crepes!

Last weekend I went to Grand Lake to meet my family for a few days. Per the usual with the Moore family vacations, we take turns making meals. I was designated to the Sunday morning breakfast (slash I claimed it...) because breakfast making, and eating, is my favorite. I decided this would be a particularly good opportunity to learn how to make crepes!

A couple months ago, my sister and her family took me to a tasty crepe restaurant in downtown Kansas City. The breakfast crepe (eggs, bacon, butter, butter, and butter) was life changing for me. We also topped off breakfast with dessert, nutella and banana crepe. So, this weekend I re-created the magical meal. (Plus, when you're going out on a limb...it's always a good bet to try it on your family)

I didn't take a picture, so the one above is incredibly more impressive. But sure, they looked just like that (dodging eye contact).

The process was much easier than I thought, the biggest trick is getting comfortable with the pan. I set the crepes up like a breakfast taco bar and let everyone build their own. It was a hit! (Recipe below...stolen from smittenkitchen.com)


2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Two pinches of salt
Few gratings fresh nutmeg
2 tablespoons honey

Combine in a blender. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour (I did overnight). Heat skillet to medium high heat. Once heated, brush pan lightly with melted butter or oil. Pour 1/4 cup batter into skillet, swirling it until it evenly coats the bottom and cook, undisturbed, until the bottom is golden and the top is set, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip and cook on other side for 5 to 10 seconds. Transfer wrapper to paper towel covered plate. Continue with remaining batter.

**We also had some with chocolate flavored cool whip and fresh fruit. Yes, please.

Salad and Sangria!

A couple weeks ago several of us ladies found ourselves having a little Tuesday night get-together featuring salads and sangria. (Ahem, according to Julie sangria in itself IS a fruit salad. Marinated in a booze dressing)

If Annie would ever blog, I would request that she share her homemade ricotta. Mmmmmmm.

I put together a gianormous cobb salad. Because when it's salad, you can eat an obscene amount and not feel judged. Also, when you're drinking, you eat more. I guess it was a double whammy kind of night. We may have walked around the neighborhood afterward....

What's great about cobb salad, is that you can do whatever you want. Here is what I did:

1. Fill a bowl with several of my favorite lettuce choices. Chopped.
2. Protein, protein, protein. I had roasted chicken, hard-boiled egg, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, and bacon. I didn't even use the turkey kind. Everyone was SHOCKED.
3. Diced tomatoes and cucumbers. Sliced avocado.
4. A bottle of ranch on the side. I let everyone put their dressing on according to their liking.


Display it all pretty and you get to hear Marie gasp and say your name loudly. It's my favorite.

What's on the menu next ladies?!

sea food? yesssss please.

I recently went on a trip to Northern Cali with my bff Cassidy. When I say trip...what I really mean...is that I ate my way through Northern Cali. Starting with San Fran, continuing down Highway 1 (fresh strawberry stands, the capital of the artichoke, etc), and not slowing down in Monterey and Carmel. Hey, we hiked in Big Sur...so that's something??? What can I say..when a dietitian goes on vacation, she goes on vacation.

To blog on all the amazing food that entered my mouth would be equally embarrassing and time consuming. Instead, I will feature the seafood....this shall just be a "picture book" so to speak. Enjoy.



Oysters in Carmel. Cassidy hated. I ate the rest.



Scallops with Steamed Spinach and Pollented- Clint Eastwood (former Mayor of Carmel) owns this restaurant - thuuuuuumbs up.



And for my personal favorite...Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bread Bowl. I ate this twice :)

Tonight I'm having a girlfriend over for dinner. I'm making a salad (to be determined) and Pizza Potpie. She's bringing the wine. Happy Saturday!

Shrimp and Avocado Ceviche

My group of friends recently went to Kansas City, where Micah and I force fed ourselves one amazing meal after the next. Delicious though the trip was, it forced me to see how different my eating habits have become. My pants have been fitting a little too tightly and I'm also worried that the people around me are going to begin think I'm hiding a pregnancy or something... How embarassing.



That having been said, I put Micah and I on a diet. We get one cheat night a week (which is why we are having friends over tonight for grilled pizza), but otherwise, we are no-carb, lots of lean protein, lots of fruits and veggie kind of eaters. Which has been good because I've lost weight and I've been forced to branch out of my cooking comfort zone.

I had never made ceviche before, because it always freaked me out that you prepare the seafood with nothing but the acidity of some limes, but it actually worked. And we didn't get food poisoning.

Shrimp and Avocado Ceviche

1lb frozen shrimp, thawed, peeled, deveined
1/2- 3/4 cup of lime juice- enough to cover shrimp
1 roma tomato, diced
1/2 of a purple onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, diced with or without seeds
1 avocado, diced
1 tbsp of worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp of hot sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place shrimp in a medium bowl and cover completely with lime juice. Let shrimp set for at least one hour in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally. Be sure that the acid has fully prepared the shrimp before eating. Cut into a few bigger piece to be completely sure. Combine the remaining ingredients. Enjoy immediately.

Kebobs!

Sidebar: these kebobs were Inspired by Mrs. Toni Metheny!!

All you need is:
Kebob skewers
Allegro original marinade
Sirloin steak, cubed
Red bell Peppers, cut into pieces
Red onion, cubed


Marinate kebobs for about 1 hour, then place on a foil lined baking sheet and broil in the oven. Cook 2 minutes, and then rotate and repeat.

Enjoy!

Thai Chicken Pizza

Holy moly people, this is a good one.

Perhaps it was Toni's recent pizza blog. YUM.

OR it could be this amazing breakfast pizza I had at "Eggct" while we were in Kansas City (which should be named "food with friends...kc edition") See below...and prepare for a future blog on my attempt to re-create.




Nonetheless, I have had pizza making on the brain. And Alecia coming over for dinner on Monday night was just the occasion. Not to mention it went well with Julie's homemade key lime pie...I smell a guest blogger...

So Thai Chicken Pizza it was. A super simple recipe with some extreme flavors going on. I think you could even kick up the heat if you wanted to. As Julie put it, this pizza is a "Thai party in my mouth"

1 (14 inch)pre-baked pizza crust
1 (7 oz) jar peanut sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter
8 oz cooked skinless, bonless chicken breast halves- cut into strips
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
1 blunch green onions, chopped
1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees
2. In a small bowl, stir together the peanut sauce and peanut butter. Spread over the pizza crust. Arrange strips of chicken on top. Sprinkle on the green onions and cheese.
3. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes. Top with bean sprouts, carrots shreds and peanuts.
4. Eat it.

Homemade Kettle Corn

You know when it's 10:00 pm and you just need a lil something to munch on? This is your solution ! All you need is:

Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt

*Special Equipment – A large pot with lid

Directions:
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Place a few kernels in the pot, and once those pop, Add popcorn and sugar giving it a quick stir and then put the lid back on. Make sure to continually move the pot so the popcorn doesn't burn. Once all the kernels seem to be popped, take off the heat, and place in a large bowl, and sprinkle with salt.

Adapted from
Savorysweetlife.com