Monthly Archives: February 2012

An Academy Awards homemade dinner

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Oscars night everyone! I’m sure you’re all busy watching, but I wanted to share my dinner I made with you all. It’s very simple and thrown together, but why not share!

I started off with a very simple salad consisting of fresh spinach, chopped braeburn apple & crumbled feta topped with my favorite Cindy’s balsamic dressing.

The bulk of the meal was spaghetti with marinara, sautéed broccoli & spinach feta chicken sausage. It was a delicious combo and I definitely couldn’t finish that huge bowl.

Star of the show?

This organic Malbec. It’s so smooth I’m finding myself drinking it like water..uh oh!

Who is everyone rooting for tonight? I loved The Help so much and hope they get lots of Oscars. So far Hugo is doing pretty well…thoughts?

Bon appétit,

ThatFoodieGirl

Brunch at Cane Rosso: bigger than Texas

Posted on by
6

Cane Rosso [pronounced kahn-A row-so]

What: Pizza & brunch on Saturdays

Where: Deep Ellum

After hearing so much about this hyped up little Deep Ellum Neapolitan pizzeria and especially after seeing it on the D Magazine’s recent list of best egg-tastic brunches in Dallas, I wanted to see if it lived up to its name. (p.s. Malai as one of the best brunches? Hmm…we’ll have to see about that)

We parked in the lot across the street where several cars including BMW’s were booted on multiple wheels (why?) and I fed the parking meter and hoped my car would be there when I got back.

I walked in to meet some friends who were seated towards the very back and a dimly lit section of the restaurant.

The dimness was sort of off-putting for a normally bright and cheery time of the weekend: brunch on a Saturday. The lighting was especially horrendous for a food blogger needing to photograph her food (oh well).

I ordered their breakfast panini stuffed with eggs, prosciutto, fontina, tomatoes, arugula, chili aioli all on wood-fired bread with a side of crispy pancetta and breakfast potatoes.

This “sandwich” was bigger than my face. I don’t know if you can tell from this photo, but it was HUGE. I could only finish half of one of those pieces and I was really hungry. Besides the size, it was an awesome sandwich. The bread was crispy on the outside and nice and dough on the inside which really paired well with the egg texture combined with the flavoring of the prosciutto on the inside. The breakfast potatoes were boring and bland. Kind of soggy too.

Speaking of large and in charge, take a gander at my friend Lisa’s “starter salad”:

Their very basic starter Mista salad with mixed greens, balsamic, tomatoes & parmesan, this family sized salad came in at $8, so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining about the large sizes of these plates. But there’s something offensive about getting a massive joke of a plate set in front of you when you only wanted a side/starter salad or just a breakfast panini. You almost feel like the joke is on you and the waitress could have at least warned you. But, again, at least everyone got a bite, right? Anyone else feel this way?

My friend Katie ordered their Regina Margherita with tomatoes, bufala mozzarella and basil. I had a bite and it was wonderful. I loved the texture of the pizza and the almost slight doughiness of the end of the piece and the crispness towards the crust. Simple and good.

And finally, another brunch item Jeff ordered. The biscuits and gravy with ricotta biscuits with spicy sausage gravy and oven roasted potatoes. He said it was good but this photo doesn’t really do a great job of conveying it.

All in all, it was good food but not great atmosphere back where we were sitting. The portions were way too big and the service was alright. One thing I loved was this table up at the front of the restaurant:

My suggestion? Share a plate with someone. Oh, and I can’t wait to try their ricotta pancakes with nutella marscapone & fresh berries with a side of pancetta.

Thanks for dealing with me photographing all the food (and for taking photos). The girls at brunch: (me, Katie, Lisa)

The boys: (Jeff, Andrew)

Bon appétit,

ThatFoodieGirl

A delicious and nutritious morning: chia seeds included

Posted on by
Reply

Good morning everyone!
I should be really tired from the recent lack of sleep, but it’s such a gorgeous day in Dallas, I’m very awake!

Breakfast this morning was delicious and very nutritious. Like my zebra print plates?

I took a Rudi’s whole grain wheat english muffin and toasted it in our little panini grill. Then I lathered on some almond butter, sliced banana and sprinkled it with chia seeds (a.k.a. little seeds of health).

I wanted to jump on the chia seed train and I’m so glad I did. It’s such an easy way to add an instant boost of multiple nutritional benefits: fiber, Omega 3, fat, to name a few… and you can use it as an egg replacer (1 tbs chia + 2tbs water)

It filled me up, and in the best way possible and I was able to get in my healthy fats (almond butter), Omega 3′s (chia), fiber (chia), fruit (banana) and a complex carb to keep me going (english muffin).

Today is going to be a great day! I hope you all are having good weather wherever you may be and are excited for the weekend ahead.

Bon appétit,

ThatFoodieGirl

Grocery store finds, Fat Tuesday and a fun foodie survey

Posted on by
6

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone!

I just got back from Central Market and I’m currently sipping on an ice cold glass of vanilla coconut milk. This is a first. Now I have to share a few finds I am most excited about:

Kashi cereal, almond butter, strawberry jam

2 new Kashi cereals: 7 whole grain puffs and Island Vanilla wheaties. Some raw almond butter and the best item…

As you may or may not know by now, I’m obsessed with rhubarb. I’m already dreaming up ways to incorporate this jam into my meals–one being on one side of my whole grain english muffin + goat cheese cheddar + egg= perfection.

I really haven’t been a huge breakfast person until a few years ago and now I find myself getting excited over breakfast items than anything else. Maybe it’s due to all you food bloggers out there with delicious breakfasts like oats with almond milk, nut butter, bananas and chia seeds. Does that get anyone else excited?

Now, because Kayla at Sprouty Buns so sweetly tagged me in the 11 Things survey, I will now partake in this cute foodie survey that may help you newcomers (to my blog) get to know me better!

Rules:

  1. List 11 random things about myself
  2. Answer the 11 questions she asked me
  3. Come up with 11 questions to ask other bloggers
  4. Tag 11 bloggers to do this next

About Me:

1. When I was really little I would have rice, beans & ketchup for several meals. I really loved that flavor combo… *ick*

2. I have to crack my neck on both sides in the morning before I get out of bed

3. I feel naked without the beautiful ring my boyfriend gave me 4 years ago

4. I crave fruit and chocolate everyday like it’s my job

5. I took fencing lessons in 5th grade

6. I once gave myself a concussion while jumping the wake on a wakeboard

7. I’m addicted to chapstick and have to have some at all times

8. I have an unhealthy obsession with puppies

9. I have always stuck to my theory of health: if you’ve eaten something unhealthy, eat an apple afterwards. It all balances out in the end.

10. I am a certified scuba diver and have been down 120+ feet

11. I met Robin Williams and he was kind of an @$$ hole

Kayla’s Questions:

1. What do you most love about blogging?

getting feedback from people like you :)

2. What food would you never try?

bungie jumping. not after that girl’s bungie cord snapped.

3. What food did you hate when you were younger that you love/like now?

broccoli. love broccoli.

4. What is your favorite way to relieve stress?

run. which I can’t do right now :(

5. Early bird or night owl?

night owl. I struggle a lot in the mornings…

6. What’s your dream job?

an in-house social media strategist for a company like Whole Foods. Or a food blogger.

7. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

This is tough. I want to go to so many places. The next place I want to go? Greece.

8. Do you keep color on your nails or au naturale?

color!

9. What is your favorite thing to cook?

I love to bake cupcakes. I like to cook lots of things.

10. What do you most love about yourself?

My ability to be super fast and productive under a lot of stress and deadlines.

11. What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

Right now? Put my stupid boot on.. ha.

My Questions:

1. What’s your go-to breakfast?

2. What’s your biggest pet peeve?

3. Cookie or cupcake?

4. What’s your favorite fruit?

5. Running or walking?

6. What’s the best book you’ve ever read?

7. Favorite movie(s)?

8. Is there a food you just can’t stand?

9. Where’s your favorite vacation spot?

10. What does your ideal weekend look like?

11. Salty or sweet?

I’m tagging Jenny, Samantha & Brianna

Some Monday snapshots: Hotel Lumen, hot coffee & family

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you all enjoy this day off (if you have it) and get in some rest & delicious food. Today I will be hanging out with my mom, sister and dog, as they are in town to visit SMU (and me)!

Yesterday I finally got in a good workout despite me still being in a boot.

It went like this:

10 mins abs– medicine ball twists & situps

10 mins stationary bike– level 7

30 mins swimming 12 laps

All in all a great workout, and afterwards I rewarded myself with a delicious veggie taco from Velvet Taco. Kind of a weird way to refuel, but it was close to the Apple store that I had to make for a Genius bar appointment.

On to the snapshots:

Hot coffee in bed on a cold day. Where I’m currently and always doing work/blogging/relaxing. [Dunkin Donuts brew + hemp milk + agave]

Hotel Lumen: new addition to the hotel just opened up 2 days ago. A gorgeous living room with my cute sis in it.

Molly + Maddy. Molly saw a puppy. :)

Ice cold citrus water. Yum.

In their hotel room with a few of my favorite things in life: red wine + chocolate.

Enjoy your Monday.

Bon appétit,

ThatFoodieGirl

Chicken and wild rice: an easy fiber-filled dinner

Posted on by
4

Ok, this dinner didn’t photograph too well, but it was so delicious and filling. I had a full day filled with work, bowling with the office (yep you heard it) and 2 hours of physical therapy. Without enough sustenance during my day I found myself craving protein and carbs.

I found myself dreaming up a recipe in my car on the way to the grocery store. Thanks to Ryan’s second cousin, he shipped us a box of all sorts of wild rice straight from his company called Floating Leaf in Canada.

I was so excited to see such an assortment: wild rice & brown rice, wild rice & basmati rice, wild rice, quinoa & lentils and so much more! Naturally, with all the rice, we had to use it up in a creative way.

Here’s what I came up with: (don’t judge its looks)

Wild Rice, chicken & broccolini bowl (makes 6-8 servings)

1 package wild rice & brown rice (about 1.5 cups rice of your choice)

2 heads of broccolini

2 small chicken breasts

1.5 packages of Campbell’s Slow Kettle portobello mushroom & sadeira bisque OR cream of mushroom soup)

Start with the rice, boil water & add rice, cover and cook on low for about 35 mins. Wash the chicken breasts and cut into little pieces. Wash broccolini and chop into florets. Sauté the chicken and broccoli in a dash of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Set aside in a bowl. Next, when the rice is about done but is slightly undercooked, add the cream of mushroom soup. Stir in completely and cover for about 10 mins. Finally, add the chicken and broccolini and stir. Cover for a few mins, add salt to taste and enjoy. (Tastes better the next day as leftovers!)

My favorite part about this meal is the fiber content in the wild rice, the protein in the chicken, the green veggie and carbs in the rice. A perfect meal.

Hope you all enjoyed my chicken & rice casserole-esque dish. We don’t say casserole around here because it brings back bad memories of pot lucks gone bad.

Bon appétit,

ThatFoodieGirl

A home cooked Valentine’s dinner

Posted on by
Reply

My handsome Valentine was sweet enough to cook this delicious meal for the two of us on Valentine’s Day. Because we’re both homebodies (and because this has become tradition), Ryan wanted to celebrate at his house since it’s much more romantic than overpriced food at a stressful and overpacked venue. Right? Right.

And Ryan can cook a mean steak. He’ll even tell you so himself :) I hadn’t had red meat in over 6 months, so it was different for me but very delicious. He made a filet mignon for me and a ribeye for himself. On the side are lightly grilled asparagus and a spinach salad prepared by moi.

He even bought an amazing bottle of Perrier Jouet. Delicious. For dessert we had chocolate fondue with fresh strawberries, bananas & apples to dip. A wonderful night with a wonderful man!

I hope you all had a great Valentine’s Day regardless of whether you’re single or taken. It’s a great day to celebrate love.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post about a recipe I came up with having to do with wild rice and broccolini…

Bon appétit,

ThatFoodieGirl

Valentine’s Day love

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Valentine’s Day, foodies!

 

Yes, I’m a sucker for this “Hallmark holiday” and I don’t care what you think! This is a special day out of the year devoted to letting all your loved ones know how much you love them.

I will be celebrating with my boyfriend Ryan, who will be cooking for us this evening.

I hope everyone has a great Valentine’s Day filled with love, chocolate and good food :)

What are your plans for the evening? Restaurant reservations or a home cooked meal?

Saturday means baking and brunching.

Posted on by
Reply

chocolate chip cookies

HAPPY SATURDAY everyone!!!

Saturday afternoons are one of my favorite times of the entire week. And we finally made it here!
This morning I woke up with many things on my mind but the 2 pressing things were:

1. BAKING

2. BRUNCHING

Just think about those two glorious things. If you know me at all, you know I love a good brunch. And now that I am WALKING without any crutches at all (!!!!) I decided it’s time to bake. To keep things simple, I made chocolate chip cookies with Ghiradelli chocolate chips. They turned out really well and were super easy to make.

The second thing I made was homemade almond milk. The easiest thing in the world to make thanks to our trusty Vitamix. Just add almonds and water and blend for about 4 minutes. There ya go! You don’t even have to pre-soak the almonds! I used one of our many bags of almonds and it’s a win-win for everyone: using the almonds we forget about in the back of the pantry AND save money on expensive almond milk from the store!

I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ll be sure to let you all know in the next post!

And I finally got to use my cute jug:

It’s a sunny day in Dallas and despite it being 34 degrees (wait, hello winter?) I’m in an awesome mood as you can probably gather from this post.

And about the second thing: brunching. That hasn’t happened yet but I’m on the search for a yummy spot for a late Saturday brunch. I’m thinking mimosas and waffles…

So I hope you all get inspired to make something in your kitchen today or just get out and do something different!

What I ate Wednesday: fruits & veggies central

Posted on by
4

Hi everyone! Happy What I Ate Wednesday. I am so proud of myself for finally remembering this week to link up to this fun weekly foodie party.

I know it’s already 7pm here in Dallas, but better late than never, right?

Here’s a little sampling of things I’ve been eating this week:

Breakfast:

homemade banana waffles with a dollop of peanut butter & maple syrup drizzle.
(An odd-sounding combo, but tasted delicious)

Lunch (feast):

My go-to salad these days has been tons of spinach, carrots, bell pepper, apple & a tiny bit of goat cheese. YUM. On the side I had my favorite Out to Lunch hummus and some amazing vegan artisan crackers from Central Market. And for dessert you can see these beauties:

Who doesn’t love berries? I find that if I keep them in a bowl in my fridge, they only last a few days if that.

And finally, a newfound love for my green drink:

That was actually my dinner the other night before I passed out post-Nyquil at 8pm. I’m getting better so that’s good!

Green Drink:
1 banana
1 handful or 2 of fresh spinach
1 cup frozen mango
OJ
1 scoop of protein powder of your choice

So refreshing and does a body good!

Hope you’ve all had a great week so far!