homemade bruchetta.

some of my favorite things.

bread. oil. cheese. fresh tomatoes.

i dug around the fridge and  found  pesto & a jar of sundried tomatoes which made for a lovely spread.

baking for a craving.

it's official. i'm a terrible baker. 

good thing i usually only crave all things savory. but when i do want something sweet and my dear husband obliges me and runs out to the market for whipped chocolate frosting at 8:30pm, it's a shame i can't pull off the boxed Trader Joe's Golden Yellow Cake (supposedly delicious). burnt to a crisp and i pulled them out of the over 10 minutes early!

my baking disaster was almost as bad as Scottsdale's Amy Bakery & Bistro meltdown... actually, no. it wasn't that bad. 

did you hear about this recent fiasco? a couple of years ago, the Scottsdale restaurant's owner became infamous after publicly bashing a Yelper for a poor review. well, the restaurant was recently on Gordon Ramsey's "Kitchen Nightmares" show (watch both clips here) and then last night the couple had a full blown public Facebook meltdown (read some here) which they're now blaming on hackers. this will go down in history books as the #1 case study of how brands should not use social media. holy smokes. it's epically bad. enjoy. 

trader joe's easy & delicious greek gyros.

hers & his chicken sausage gyros made with all trader joes ingredients in less than 6 minutes

{mine with extra tzatziki, his with spicy sriracha}

we eat these a lot. just ask my husband. i'm kinda addicted to them. they're super easy, light & tasty.

...the ingredients... 

(any pre-cooked trader joe's chicken sausage flavor you'd like. we mix it up each time.)

trader joe's middle eastern flatbread. so delicious.

veggies: chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce & slivers of pepperoncinis.

...the steps...

                         1:  slice-up 1 chicken sausage per gyro & heat as directed (microwave or stovetop) 

                         2:  shred lettuce, chop tomatoes & pepperoncinis (also consider cucumbers & onions) 

                         3:  heat up flatbread for 20 seconds & spread tzatziki sauce all over.

                         4:  add warm chicken sausage, veggies & sprinkle with fat-free feta cheese and pepper

                         5:  serve with a side. we like hummus & pita chips, fries, couscous or a greek salad 

approximately 305 calories per gyro 

apoláf̱ste
(enjoy in greek. duh)

doin' our willo thing.

a little spread to get filled up on before the willo home tour. 

we chatted. we sipped. we toured. 

it was a lovely little sunday in the neighborhood we're proud to call home.

side note: i picked up a box of Trader Joe's Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake and it was the hit of the morning! After 55 minutes of baking I was convinced I'd ruined it (forgot to mix the crumble topping with butter - just dumped it on), but Mr. Fix Anything saved the day. Yum.

ting and scott ridin' molly the trolly

our first spaghetti squash.

(yes, i changed half way through making dinner because i knew the white knit sweater was going to be bad news)

have you made spaghetti squash before?

it was our first time and we didn't really know what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised. 

danny was happy it didn't taste like squash. because apparently he "hates" squash. 

making spaghetti squash is super duper easy (watch this video) and obviously a much healthier "pasta" option.

for the red sauce, we did diced tomatoes, italian chicken sausage, diced onion, basil and parsley. 

all topped with a sprinkling of parmeasean cheese, of course.  

pretty good. i won't be craving it anytime soon, 

but will def keep it in mind for the next night we're craving comfort food but want a lighter option. 

healthy dinner in 7 minutes.

if you're lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's close by, grab a bag of Quinoa Duo next time you're shopping. we always have a bag in our freezer. it's our go-to meal when we're not in the mood for cooking. it couldn't be easier: empty the bag into a skillet with water for 7 minutes and serve. we typically add frozen shrimp and any veggies we have in the fridge plus a little Sriracha for spice. 

quinoa is super filling, so we split the bag as our entire dinner. per person: 330 calories + 9 grams of fat + 9 grams protein.

 

cooking class for two.

not the two you're thinking...

... danny and kayman, say cheeeeeeese (literally).

a couple of weeks ago danny let me know that he'd be home later than usual because he had cooking class with his friend kayman that night. oh, okay. 

one romantic thursday night, danny and kayman spent two hours together at the classic cooking academy sipping wine and learning to make the "world's tastiest homemade caesar salad and pizza."

kayman said it was the best pizza he'd ever had. danny, um, got a little aggressive adding cheese, so his sentiments weren't the same, but he did come home with some awesome make pizza-at-home tips.... 

1. if using a pizza stone, pre-heat it in in a super hot oven and then put your pie on it for just a few minutes.

2. do not mess with your dough too much. the more you manipulate it, the more elastic it will get. 

3. a little sauce goes a long way.

danny's mozzarella monster

cooking in our new galley kitchen.

after just a week in our new home, we were feeling settled enough to make dinner and spend the night in front of the TV. we're so over take-out. it's funny how the novelty of take-out and fast food so quickly wears off when it doesn't feel like a treat. at least it does for us. after just a few days you can physically feel the difference.

so on monday night for the first time in our new house, we made dinner together. it was nice to get back to an old familiar routine... home from work, cocktails and catching up, making dinner and then coffee table style eating and catching up on our recorded list of TV shows before reading in bed.

we made pesto pasta with spicy chicken sausage and roasted brussells sprouts using a modified version of this recipe (we replaced the pasta with trader joe's pesto-filled mini ravioli). yum.

and a bonus of the meal was making danny clean-up and put the dishes away so he could "learn where everything goes" since i unpacked the kitchen.

iPad with our recipe on the dining room table

one of my favorite parts of the kitchen. an open nook above the microwave for accessible recipe book storage

i'm also loving having a few glass cuboards

hooray! a gas stove back in my life

a big 'ole kitchen sink

our delicious and totally sinful meal.

eat your brussels sprouts, mister.

why do brussels sprouts have such a bad rap? they're delicious! and we just figured this out. i also just realized that brussels sprouts is spelled like so... i'd always thought it was one word. i digress.

danny and i love veggies, but we find ourselves eating the same ones all. the. time. it feels like brussels sprouts are the trendy veggie of the moment (well, behind kale) so i picked some up and decided to give them a whirl.

how we made them:
- cleaned & cut in half
- tossed 'em in olive oil, salt & pepper
- roasted in the oven at 400° for 45-minutes
 - sprinkled with parmesan cheese

although both our moms say we did, neither of us recall eating them much growing up but we'll make up for it now. they were the perfect side to our beefless teriyaki burgers with grilled pineapple, mushrooms & avocado.

next veggie we're going to experiment with... eggplant. recipe suggestions welcome. the last time i ate much eggplant was in spain when it was breaded, fried & dipped in mayonnaise. i'm looking for something a little healthier this time around ;)

kitchen tip :: veggie storage.

we've started chopping our vegetables in bulk and storing them in mason jars in our fridge (or any old glass jar - pickle or mayo jars washed out). it's the best idea ever. all your veggies stay fresh and are chopped and ready to go. makes meal prep a whole lot quicker and easier! plus, your fridge looks super organized and nothing smells.

recipe: take-out at home.

i love me some asian food. it's by far my favorite type of cuisine, so i was really excited when this red curry recipe turned out and even danny loved it. we used this recipe, but decided on shrimp vs. tofu and definitley added srirachia to add some spice. it called for two boxes of noodles, but that was waaaaayyyyy to much. overall, it was super simple, totally tasty and if you make asian food a lot, you probably already have most of these ingredients in your kitchen.

{photo from the little foodie recipe website}

super simple & tasty vegetarian fajitas.

'tis the season to get back on track with healthy eating. no matter how hard you try, the holidays are just a lost cause when it comes to eating right. oh well. that's what the rest of the year is for, right? here's a healthy recipe that we weren't expecting much from, but we both really enjoyed. and the best part? this is stuff you'll probably have around the house and it's insanely simple and quick. plus, you can add any veggies you want.

vegetarian fajitas 

ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

1 small onion, quartered & sliced 

1 small red, green or yellow bell pepper, cut into strips 

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped 

1 can (15oz) black, pinto or kidney beans, rinsed & drained 

3/4 cup whole-kernel corn

1/2 cup bottled salsa

1/3 cup water 

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground oregano 

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

reduced-fat flour tortillas, warmed

optional: fat free sour cream & low-fat cheese 

directions

heat oil in large, nonstick skillet over medium heat

add onion, bell pepper & garlic, cook/stir for 3-4 minutes or until veggies are tender

stir in beans, corn, salsa, water, cumin, salt and oregano; bring to a boil

reduce heat to low, cook/stir occasionally for 3-4 minutes 

remove from heat and stir in cilantro 

warm tortillas, spread sour cream, a little cheese & add fajitas mix 

hummus. the homemade way.

homemade garlic hummus

the tings love us some hummus. its a go-to snack around our home but we can polish off a little $5 tub of hummus in a couple days, so we decided to try it at home to save some money and cut out any unwanted ingredients. we're happy with the result! i wouldn't recommend trying it right out of the blender - let it chill for a while before you taste it. 

simply blend all ingredients 

3 tablespoons stirred tahini (we bought a jar of organic vegan at Sprouts for $8)

couple cloves of garlic, more or less depending on your love for garlic 

1 (19 oz) can of garbanzo beans drained, but save 1/2 cup of the liquid to include

3-4 tablespoons lemon juice 

1/2 teaspoon of salt 

2 tablespoons olive oil 

cumin to taste 

garnish & serve with a little olive oil, paprika, pine nuts, parsley flakes - anything you want.


after you get that recipe down, have fun with different flavor combinations.

we just made a jalepeno + cilantro batch and its delicious!
(added one medium-sized jalepeno (no seeds) and a handful of cilantro to the above recipe - sans garlic)

faux beef with real beef cakes.

we (especially my ting) are so excited that our dear dan has landed a new job that requires him to be in phoenix one week every month! it's like friendship heaven to have one of our favorites back in town on a regular basis.

the best part is that dan and danny's office buildings are across the street from each other, so it's uber convenient to get together. the boys "came home" from work last night and the three of us had faux beef taco salad. i was a little nervous considering it was our first time trying this vegan beef (we got this one from Trader Joes), but all three of us gave it two thumbs up. for the dressing, i mixed a spoonful of fat-free sour cream with this guilt-free dressing and stirred in some chili pepper, lemon & lime juice and cumin powder to taste. delicious. our splurge was mexican cotija white cheese. yum.

i find that taco salad is the perfect meal for a casual night with friends. first of all, its pretty & colorful, but more importantly as the host it's nice to chop and prepare everything in advance so you can spend your time socializing. plus, it's a guaranteed crowd pleaser since your guests get to create their own salads with the fixings of their choice.

{the boys having a blast looking through old college photos on dan's phone. wow.}

{hot damn! i mean, dan! dan's photo from the year he officially made the UA greek calendar! <insert whistle>}