Back to the Classics: Steakhouse Edition: Shrimp Cocktail

Yesterday, I realized it was a good thing that I did imitation. My Husband follows the old testament thoughts on shellfish to an extent. Not that he doesn't eat it ever, but I find that his thoughts are that shellfish are bottom feeders and should be eaten in a limited fashion. I agree with the Law (and husband) in this respect, but sometimes I just crave the cockroaches of the ocean: Shrimp. So I figured I would actually buy some and make some homemade cocktail sauce, while preparing something else for Husband if he wasn't in the mood for such things.

This dish is one of my Poppa Bear's FAVORITES. I remember as a child that he would order it at Red Lobster with a Caesar Salad and that would be his meal. I remember fondly how special I felt if he give me one of those shrimps, dipped deep in delishiously tangy cocktail sauce. We would make it at home occasionally and Broder and I would see how much horseradish we could get away with putting in the sauce. It is silly how much nostalgia is summoned up in me over this dish.

Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce

Ingredients
1 lemon
Kosher salt
2 pounds large shrimp in the shell (about 30)
1/2 cup chili sauce (recommended: Heinz)
1/2 cup ketchup (recommended: Heinz)
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
Preparation
Cut the lemon in half and add it to a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the shrimp and cook, uncovered, for only 3 minutes, until the shrimp are just cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cool water. When the shrimp are cool enough to handle, peel and devein them. Keep cold until ready to serve.
For the cocktail sauce, combine the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Serve with the shrimp.

so simple, so yummy

This was exactly what I wanted for a dinner alone with my "Konmari Method of Tidying" project plowing forward through my books. Again, didn't think there would be anything to get rid of, got rid of 2 bags worth...mind blown.

BFMH: Fruit Breakfast Quinoa

Sounds weird, but read on before you make any final judgement....

Breakfast Quinoa

2 cups whole or low-fat milk, plus more for serving

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

3 tablespoons light-brown sugar, plus more for serving

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for serving

1 cup (1/2 pint) fresh blueberries, plus more for serving

Directions

Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add quinoa, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until three-quarters of the milk has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Cook, covered, until almost all the milk has been absorbed, about 8 minutes. Stir in blueberries, and cook for 30 seconds. Serve with additional milk, sugar, honey, cinnamon, and blueberries.

The berries all sank to the bottom.

This was super yummy and I was incredibly surprised by that. It is sort of like porridge but it keeps it little al dente bite that I like so much about Quinoa. A nice alternative to oatmeal on a cold morning and a great way to use up left over Quinoa. try this, with the addition of the cinnamon, sugar, honey, and berries, it is sweet and filling with out being a danish or tasting like you have a bowl of rice for breakfast.

Week 14 of #100daysofthanksgiving

Week 14

Day 92: 1/31: Thankful for encouragement to step out of my comfort zone in a fitness class.

Day 93: 2/1: Thankful for the inspiration to make granny squares with all my yarn.

Day 94: 2/2: Thankfule for D'n'D (It's Dynamite)

Day 95: 2/3: Thankful for the start of The Konmari Method

Day 96: 2/4: Thankful for Konmari's work on my dresser

Day 97: 2/5: Thankful for a lovely evening of script reading and puppy petting

Day 98: 2/6: Thankful for everyone who donated to my goal of $750 for Cycle for Survival!

Day 99: Thankful for a great night of theare Not Les Mis for Matt's birthday!

Day 100: Thankful for a Disney Date and "Something Pretty" from my husband

Back to the Classics: Steakhouse Edition: Caprese Salad

This is one of my favorite dishes. My best friend, Mugsy, loves it as well. Being one of the first things we bonded over, I thought it would be a decent thing to post about. I remember in Sophomore year in college, my best friend and roommate at the time, Diggy, decided to have a night in and watch some movies together. I offered to make some food for us and as we were both vegetarian then, I decided to make this little dish as catch all dish: dairy, protein, carb, vitamin C, fiber, antioxidants, and most importantly, deliciousness. It now reminds me of both Mugsy and Diggy anytime I eat it.

Caprese Salad

Ingredients

2 cups Balsamic Vinegar

3 whole Ripe Tomatoes, Sliced Thick

12 ounces, weight Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Thick

 Fresh Basil Leaves

 Olive Oil, For Drizzling

 Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions

In a small saucepan, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil over medium-low heat. Cook for 10 to 20 minutes, or until balsamic has reduced to a thicker glaze. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl or cruet. Allow to cool.

When you're ready to serve, arrange tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter. Arrange basil leaves between the slices. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the salad, getting a little bit on each slice. Do the same with the balsamic reduction, making designs if you want. Store extra balsamic reduction in fridge for a later use.

End with a sprinkling of kosher salt and black pepper. Serve as a lunch, with crusty bread. Or serve alongside a beef main course for dinner.

So I was super dumb when I went to the grocers. I complete forgot the buy fresh basil. My little basil plant died about 6 months ago due to accidental over watering and I still forget that he is gone. RIP Basel. I realize this while I am prepping to make this yummy dish and have no more time to run to the store. Husband, who is a stupidly wonderful man, offers to run to the store. Being a quick thinker, I tell him know and instead re-hydrated some dried basil flakes and then infused the Balsamic Vinegar with the flavor of basil and garlic. While this quick fix tasted good, I missed the fresh basil still. It allows for the satisfying "tear" action of the leaf as well as equally distributes the basil flavor.

While a bit of a let down for me, Husband and I downed the plate as the salad course of our Lunch together and were happily satiated never the less.

A year ago I made a choice

A year ago today, I made a choice. I made the choice to start running/and walking regularly.

While I have not been doing so since December with any dedication, I will say that I consider myself a runner more than I have ever done before.

My year of running and walking in review:

January 28th - I signed up for Disney 10k

February - a total of 9 miles

March - a total of 2 miles

April - a total of 6 miles

May - a total of 30 miles

June - a total of 15 miles

July - a total of  24 miles (I got new Running Shoes at the end of the month, which helped a ton)

August - a total of 30 miles including the 6.2 miles of run/walking for the 10k

September - a total of 42 miles

October - a total of 48 miles

November - a total of 63.48 miles including the 3.2 miles of run/walking for the 5k

December - a total of  26.07 miles

January - a total of 19.43 miles

The Race Pace Numbers

I completed the 10k in 01:42:32 (aka 102 minutes).
That means my Race Pace was 16:30 minutes per mile.

That is 6.2 miles.

That is one way to run my first race.

Boom.

I completed the 5k in 44:16 minutes.

That means my Race Pace was 14:17 minutes per mile

That was on 3.2 miles, but I was not feeling great that day.

Way to up my race pace. 

Now to get to under 14 minutes per mile.

In Summation 

While the Month of December (Ty cold weather and Christmas) and January (thanks P90 for taking all my energy) have not been the best for track records, I would like to think that I didn't a pretty decent job. I went from someone who feared and scorned the idea of running or even jogging, to someone who likes it enough to set goals and pay money to do it. With the impending move and the last 2 months of P90, I know that February/March/April will not be great either, but I challenge myself to make them better than last year's stats!

Here's to another year of adventures thanks to my own two feet.

Back to the Classics: Steakhouse Edition: Caesar Dressing

OK, back to the kitchen with me. I finally found something that I really wanted to make: Caesar Salad.

I took this stroke of inspiration to formulate my next posts. As Caesar Salad is a steakhouse staple, I decided to go "Back to the Classics:Steakhouse Edition". I will be starting out with Salads and Appetizers and work my way through the typical Menus options that I can't decide between every time I go to an excellent steakhouse. I apologize in advance to all my Vegetarian and Vegan readers. Check back in a few weeks.

I don't know about you all, but I LOVE a solid Caesar dressing. I don't want it creamy or even heavy on the cheese. I want it tangy and tart and with a kick of anchovy saltiness. I want my mouth to start watering when I smell it and I want the garlic to burn my nose a bit. I'm not the only one.

So after an awesome work out with KimmyG and Kris, I whipped up some dressing to dress my romaine hearts and some slow cooked shredded chicken I had made in the Crockpot early today.

Classic Caesar Dressing

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 6

The Dressing

6 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained

1 small garlic clove

Kosher salt

2 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more

¾ teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Chop together anchovy fillets, garlic, and pinch of salt. Use the side of a knife blade to mash into a paste, then scrape into a medium bowl. Whisk in egg yolks, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, and mustard. Adding drop by drop to start, gradually whisk in olive oil, then vegetable oil; whisk until dressing is thick and glossy. Whisk in Parmesan. Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired

I was only serving 3 people so I halved some of the ingredients, but not all of the recipe. I actually increased a few things to my tastes: Mine was more like this:

3 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained

1 large garlic clove

Kosher salt

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Freshly ground black pepper

I didn't use Parmesan either (I know, I shouldn't really even call it Caesar then!) as I am attempting the Slow Carb Diet again.

All of these changes and exclusions considered, it was amazingly good. So good that this is how much was left from 2 hearts of romaine!

A perfect elevenses snack.

Next time I will have to try this recipe for the dressing. The addition of the Worcestershire sauce and the use of green garlic intrigue me. Also, I like her method of boiling the egg briefly.

BFMH: Quinoa Muffins

I finally made these darn things. I have been thinking about making these for nearly a year.

Quinoa Muffins

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cooled, cooked quinoa

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup packed dark-brown sugar

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

½ cup mini chocolate chips

¼ cup canola oil

½ cup buttermilk

1 large egg

¼ cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350º. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, mini chocolate chips and quinoa.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk, egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir just until combined. Divide among muffin cups.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

These turned out REALLY well! They moist and filling, and the chocolate chips add a little bit of sweetness without being a dessert for breakfast. I would suggest keeping them in the fridge though as they are SO moist, I am concerned that they will mold.