Tag: favorite recipes

Weekend Things

Lauren2 Comments

If I told you the best parts of the weekend were making friends with a group of regulars at The Med just so we could snag their table after they left, eating a slice of cherry upside down cake while watching The Little Mermaid and laying in a bunch of sample beds until it stopped feeling weird and started being a little too fun, would you need more explanation?

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On Friday, the snow clouds rolled into Boulder the same time we did, but we had plans to celebrate my sister getting a new job with happy hour at The Med and snow wasn’t going to stop us.  We also neglected to make a reservation for our party of six and were quoted 1 1/2-2 hours for a table.

There was ONE big table in the bar so Joey, Wayne, my sister and I were hovering and ready to pounce, when we overheard someone at the table explaining “when we start getting our checks and you can see people closing in, pretending to look off in the distance but they’re really waiting for us to leave” and Joey turned around and said “you pegged us!”  And next thing we knew, they had invited us to sit down with them while they finished their drinks.  They’ve been having drinks at The Med every Friday for 20 years!

So with our prize table in hand, we proceeded to eat, drink and be merry.  Such a fun and perfect night with my family ♥   Also, Joey and I went home and watched A Goofy Movie afterwards, so doesn’t get much better than that.  I maybe fell asleep but woke up in time to sing along with “I2I.”

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On Saturday, I woke up to Joey saying “those meteorologists weren’t kidding with the snow!”  It was coming DOWN.  So we did what you do on snowy Saturday mornings: make oatmeal and drink too much coffee on the couch in your pajamas.  Truth: I felt SO OUT OF IT all morning and couldn’t figure out why or how to make it stop.  Eventually decided to take a trip to the gym, ran on the treadmill and felt 100% better afterwards.  I like to call that feeling a “brain cloud” a la Joe Versus the Volcano and if you get that reference, let’s be friends forever.

Treated ourselves to lunch at il Porcellino afterwards and we’ve officially added a new weekend sandwich shop to our arsenal because that lunch was goooood.  Then a quick trip to the grocery for snow day necessities.  The world’s biggest sweet potato, a can of refried beans and three (unpictured) chapsticks is all you need in desperate times, okay?

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Should probably tell you how we sat on the couch and read for an hour and how it felt really good and perfect, but let’s just get to the crowing jewel of my life of the night: EASY ONE-BOWL UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE!  I’ve had the recipe pinned for a month and am trying to be better about baking stuff and enjoying it instead of playing that mind game where I convince myself I don’t “need” to be eating dessert for no reason.  Life’s too short, ya know?  And this cake’s too good!  The recipe mostly makes it sound like “anyone can make this!” but I’m still going to feel crazy impressed with myself for how perfectly it came out.  Also, sweetened whipped sour cream on cake??  So good, who knew!

We watched Harold and Maude during dinner because I’d never seen it and I have a feeling that movie would not fly (especially as a comedy) in this day and age — we’re all a little more easily offended, aren’t we? — but I kinda liked it and the soundtrack is real good.  Followed that macabre vibe up with something a little lighter, aka The Little Mermaid.  Joey fell asleep and I had to try really hard not to sing “Poor Unfortunate Souls” loudly into his ear.

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Sunday was a magical day that felt like it had a million hours in it, so we could fit in breakfast at Devil’s Food (first time and we already have plans to go back next weekend!), grocery, laundry, food prep, buying a new mattress, watching the Rockies game, cleaning the entire kitchen/bathroom, making dinner and still getting in bed early enough to read.  Can all Sundays feel that long, please?

Mattress shopping is the weirdest experience!  You go to a big store and just pretend to sleep in a bunch of different beds with strangers who are also doing the same thing.  We maybe also had too much fun and were just about to ask if they had any glasses of wine so we could test out that jumping on the bed thing but decided to hold back.  I thought buying a house together or getting married would be the “real adult couple” experience, but nope, it came when we bought a new mattress together!  😛

In other news, this post is way too long and I’m way too happy that it’s May!  Wishing you a Happy Monday!

Summer BBQ Recipes 2016

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I first started drafting this post at the beginning of the summer when — after a BBQ-packed summer the year before — I was sure we’d be BBQ-ing all summer long.  Turns out we didn’t go to OR host many BBQs this year, but we DID turn on the grill plenty of times for ourselves and these were the things we made and loved.  I’m sharing with you in the hopes that it’ll help you (and I!) out NEXT year when we’re faced with that age old question: “WHAT DO I MAKE?!”

Apps/Sides:

Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers // What’s not to like about mini bell peppers stuffed with cream cheese and fresh herbs?  For what it’s worth, I’ve also made these in the oven (400° for 25 minutes) and it worked like a charm, but if you have the time and the weather is working in your favor, definitely go for the grill.

Cranberry-Almond Broccoli Salad // Have you had the Broccoli Crunch salad at Whole Foods?  Because this tastes EXACTLY like it, except making it yourself is way way cheaper and much more satisfying.

Lemony Millet Salad with Chickpeas, Corn and Spinach // Except we always use orzo instead of millet and arugula for the spinach.  Leave the greens out altogether for make-ahead-of-time-without-fear-of-sogginess ease. (Note: Literally just cut and pasted that blurb from last year’s BBQ recipe round-up :P)

Charred Shishito Peppers // It was the summer of the shishito pepper for us.  But they’re so easy and all they need is a little oil, salt and maybe a sriracha mayo to make them taste incredible. 

Grilled Corn with Sriracha Aioli // I think I already made it clear how good this was.

Super Clean Broccoli Salad with Creamy Almond Dressing // The dressing was A+ but if we’re being honest, and I always am, I liked the Cranberry-Almond Broccoli Salad (above) better.

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Mains:

Grilled Chicken with Honey-Chipotle BBQ Sauce // Got rave reviews on this chicken, plus the BBQ sauce is quick and outstanding.  It’s fun to brag that it’s homemade.  Chicken thighs are where it’s at!

Spinach Goat Cheese Turkey Burgers // These were in one of my “Make This Now” posts but I made them a second time on a Friday night when Bob and Becca were over brewing beer.  I loaded my burger up with lettuce, tomato and onion which I almost never do and I was kinda sad that all the fixins covered up the burger and most importantly, the goat cheese.  So, in other words, these don’t even need any doctoring up to taste their best.

Grilled Chicken Wings with Shishito Peppers and Herbs // Can’t stop won’t stop with shishitos.  This was my first time ever grilling wings — actually Joey did the actual grilling — and though I didn’t LOVE them, I liked them A LOT.

Grilled Lamb // Simply put, this was INCREDIBLE!

Tequila-Glazed Grilled Chicken Thighs // Oh the advantages of always having a bottle of tequila on hand!  It’s a toss up between these and the honey-chipotle thighs for best chicken I’ve ever grilled. 

The BA Burger Deluxe // All summer, I wanted to make a classic cheeseburger and this was the one.  The “recipe” is insanely easy and you probably only need to glance over it once to know it by heart.  

Green Chili Chicken Burgers // A loooong time favorite.  But there’s cheese, a green chili topping and they’re really easy to whip up.

Grilled Steak and Tomatoes with Tofu Ranch Dressing // Tofu and steak together?  I know, I know, but hear me out.  The dressing is so good and goes wonderfully with the steak.  Especially if you cook the steak to that perfect medium-rare like Joey did when we ate this.  We used green tomatoes this year and they held up MUCH better, though the taste is different.

Grilled Margherita Pizza // Grilled pizza is so easy that you definitely don’t need an actual recipe, but this one was my inspiration for the couple of times we made one this summer.  Kind of loved the addition of pepperoni!

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Desserts:

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies // This is my go-to cookie recipe because it’s SO quick and the result is always incredible.  I brought these to a BBQ early in the summer and got a weird sense of satisfaction every time someone grabbed a second or third one 🙂  I usually skip the strawberries.

Blueberry-Pecan Galette // I’m all about the crust and this crust was INCREDIBLE!  Also, because a galette involves folding the crust over, you get a double layer and I was in crust heaven when I ate it.  Not complete without a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Peach Cobbler // ALWAYS AND FOREVER.  If this was an alternate universe where I actually committed crimes instead of being a steadfast rule follower, this would be my Death Row dessert.  

Rhubarb and Raspberry Crostata // Not gonna lie, this wasn’t my favorite thing I made this summer.  Why do raspberries gotta be so seedy??  But it was super quick and easy to make, so I’ll give it that.  

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Guys, that’s it.  That’s the last of my “summer recap” posts.  So long, Summer 16.  You were good and long and full of good food.  Currently, we are en route to Washington, D.C. for a little weekend getaway/visit with Fletcher and the forecast says “feels like 100°” so I guess summer lives on for me!  Happy Weekend-ing, friends!