Category Archives: Eating In

July 16, 2012 · 8:20 pm

Date and girls night

Mondays always seem to come around so quickly, but I like to see that as the sign of a great weekend. Kevin and I jumpstarted our weekend Friday evening with a trip to Shin. The weather that evening was surprisingly nice with a break in the humidity and a breeze in the air. We took advantage of the weather and sat outside. Coincidentally, Kevin’s parents drove by while we were eating. They were planning on grabbing dinner just two doors down from us at Citrus…and they were meeting my parents there. What a small world. We swung by to say hello after our meal. Is it embarrassing that our parents were out later than us?

We started out our evening with some drinks. Kevin ordered a giant beer, and I ordered lychee sake. I love the difference in our drink sizes.

Shin - Drinks

Of course, I ordered sushi at Shin. Shin is quickly becoming my favorite sushi place in Orlando. I ordered their spicy sandwich (spicy tuna and avocado between rice and bean sheets) and a rainbow roll. Shin’s sushi always tastes so fresh, and I love the originality of their menu.

Shin - Sushi

Kevin ordered the chicken katsu, which he really enjoyed.

Shin - Katsu Chicken

What a perfect start to the weekend. On Saturday, I was busy in the kitchen using two of my favorite ingredients:

eggs

bacon

I attended a girls get-together Saturday evening and wanted to bring an appetizer. My friends Katie and Sharon hosted the party, and we seem to always order deviled eggs when we go out to eat (example here, here and here), so I decided to make a homemade batch. I found a recipe for bacon cheddar deviled eggs. The recipe is super simple to follow. My only modification was that I used extra sharp cheddar cheese to really make sure the flavor came through.

bacon cheddar deviled eggs

I used a frosting piping bag and tip to fill the eggs. They were a hit at the party. Of course, I had to conduct some quality control before I served them to the girls.

plate

These are truly delicious. It was hard for me to not eat them all before the party!

How was your weekend?

6 Comments

Filed under Appetizer, Asian, Eating In, Japanese, Sushi

July 9, 2012 · 9:09 pm

Fondue and quinoa

How is it Monday again already? I have a feeling this work week will require extra caffeine after last week’s mid-week break for the 4th of July. Luckily, I took full advantage of last weekend. We got a lot of wedding details done, including going over some details with our officiate/family friend and wedding band shopping. I also finally got to lay out a little poolside, so my skin no longer looks like I live on the moon.

I spent Sunday by the pool, so what’s the most natural thing to do Saturday evening? Stuff my face, of course. Our neighbors invited us over for fondue night at their house, which was a blast. I ate way too much.

Course 1

Course 2

Course 3

I seriously felt like I was at The Melting Pot. It was probably even better than The Melting Pot because we got to make everything ourselves. Our neighbors did an amazing job with the fondue recipes. They melted down gruyere with white wine for the first course, simmered together broth, mushrooms, garlic  and probably a million other delicious ingredients a la coq au vin for the main course, and who could forget the chocolate course?

I baked up a batch of brownies, courtesy of Duncan Hines, to dip in the chocolate.

brownies

I’m so thankful that we have such fun neighbors. I feel so spoiled by their generosity. Saturday was actually Kevin’s first time trying fondue, and he probably ate his weight in steak. We were both pretty happy campers.

Tonight’s dinner was a tad lighter. I might still be a little full from Saturday! I decided to try a new recipe by using the fried rice recipe I’ve always made but with quinoa instead of rice. I learned how to make fried rice by watching my grandma, and I’ve always winged it using whatever ingredients I have on hand.

Quinoa Fried Rice

Quinoa fried rice

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 2 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 16 ounce package of pre-cooked ham, cubed
  • 2 eggs
  • Assorted frozen vegetables (I used green beans)
  • Soy sauce to taste

Directions:

Rinse quinoa thoroughly. We found it helpful to use a sifter. In a small pot, bring quinoa and water to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

While quinoa is boiling and simmering, heat vegetable oil over medium heat in pan and add onions. Sauté until translucent. Add ham and sauté together. Crack eggs into small bowl, and scramble with fork. Pour over onion and ham mixture. Mix to cook egg. The egg should coat the onion and ham as well as create scrambled egg bits.

Lower heat to medium low. Once the quinoa has absorbed the liquid, add to pan. Add frozen vegetables, and stir until they are soft. Season with soy sauce to taste. I used about six tablespoons, but Kevin added a little extra to his portion. Stir to incorporate soy sauce.

Serve and enjoy! This was my first time cooking with quinoa, and I really enjoyed it. It’s a little pricier than rice, but it has more fiber and is easier to digest.

Have you ever cooked with quinoa?

11 Comments

Filed under Asian, Chinese, Eating In

June 6, 2012 · 7:56 pm

More egg adventures

I could probably have  an entire blog dedicated to eggs. They’re so delicious and versatile. It’s no secret that I love them any time of day. My go-to meal is over-medium eggs over pretty much any ingredient that can swim in all the delicious yolk. It really doesn’t matter what the ingredient is—I haven’t found anything that hasn’t worked. I’ve tried kale, avocado (two ways), sweet potato puffs, mashed potatoes, Thanksgiving stuffing, etc.

Eggs

Kevin worked late tonight, so for dinner I turned to the old reliable but jazzed up the eggs with a new combination.

Brussel sprouts

Eggs and Brussels sprouts!

I halved the Brussels sprouts, placed them on a baking sheet and tossed them with olive oil, salt and garlic powder. I baked in a 425 degree oven for about 12 minutes.

Ready to roast

They roasted perfectly and paired well with the runny eggs. I haven’t had Brussels sprouts in awhile and had forgotten what a flavorful vegetable they are.

Eggs over roasted brussel sprouts

The roasting just intensifies the flavor, and the browned bits had a nutty flavor.

Eggs over roasted brussel sprouts 2

Yolk

What is your favorite food to pair with eggs? Something classic or offbeat? Brussels sprouts ranks up there now for me. I also love my eggs with avocado!

9 Comments

Filed under Eating In

May 17, 2012 · 8:36 pm

Slow cooked pulled chicken

Orlando has felt like summertime for awhile now, and the summer  season always puts me in the mood for barbeque, which also happens to be one of Kevin’s favorite cuisines. Kevin’s the griller in our house, but I think I’ve found a way to keep up in the barbeque department via the slow cooker.

Slow cooked pulled chicken

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 1 medium Vidalia onion
  • 1 bottle of barbeque sauce
  • 1 bottle of beer
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder

Ingredients

Directions

Add barbeque sauce, beer and cider vinegar to crock pot. Wisk together to incorporate.

Chop onion and add to slow cooker.

Onion

Season both sides of chicken with any combination of salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Place in crock pot. Cover and cook on low for at least six hours.

Crock Pot

After six hours, remove chicken breasts and onions and place in medium bowl. Using two forks, scrape chicken to pull it apart. Once shredded, ladle enough sauce from crock pot to cover chicken and onions. Let sit for five to ten minutes to soak up sauce. Add more as needed.

Serve on hamburger buns.

Pulled Chicken Sandwich

This recipe makes a lot of chicken: enough for at least four people plus leftovers. The chicken ends up really moist with a lot of flavor. I love how simple this is to throw together and how much flavor comes out of just a few ingredients.

What signals “summertime” to you?

4 Comments

Filed under BBQ, Eating In

May 10, 2012 · 5:49 pm

Working from home

When I arrived at work this morning, a bunch of people were crowded in the walkway leading up to my building. An electrical short occurred last night, and our building was closed so the fire department could assess the situation and the property owners perform necessary repairs. They weren’t letting anyone into the building, so we were sent home to work. The building ended up being closed all day.

Since I worked from home, I wanted to take advantage of being able to make a hot lunch. I had packed a sandwich using a leftover Flat Out Fold-It from the other day’s pizzas.

Tupperware

My original sandwich had turkey, avocado and spinach. I decided to add some cheese and stick it under the broiler for a melted sandwich.

turkey avocado and spinach

with cheese

I also decided to make a quick batch of mac and cheese. Kraft now makes a veggie pasta version of their mac and cheese.

Kraft veggie pasta mac and cheese

Lunch came together in a snap.

lunch

The veggie mac and cheese was good but not a great substitute for their normal mac and cheese. The pasta had an earthier taste than the normal noodles. You can definitely taste the veggie flavor. It actually tasted a lot like a baked cauliflower and Velveeta dish my grandma used to make.

We’re also going to be working from home tomorrow. Hopefully we can get back into the building soon!

What are your go-to meals when working from home?

5 Comments

Filed under Eating In, Lunch