Getting By, Dreaming Big

This is a blog for me to share my thoughts on my favorite things: books, traveling, food and entertainment!

Recipe Wednesdays: The Cupcake April 1, 2009

Filed under: NYC Experiences,Recipe Wednesdays — readerbean @ 12:57 pm


I am a sugar addict – there – I said it! Every afternoon I get this craving for something sugary whether it’s chocolate, candy, a cookie, whatever. Sometimes I give in to my craving and sometimes I just have the snack I packed.

Since moving to NYC I have been eagerly awaiting trying the infamous Magnolia Bakery cupcake. However, the location was not really close to my house, and the long lines that I constantly heard about kept me away.

That was until last December on the way to our Theater Benefit, my co-worker Rachelle and I, spotted Magnolia Bakery midtown (photo above). We were very excited! We decided that for the next birthday or celebration we’d have Magnolia cupcakes.


The first celebratory event was the engagement of our other co-worker. I gladly walked to the corner of 49th and 6th (not too far from our offices) to have my first Magnolia Baker experience. It smells like heaven when you walk inside. There are separate lines depending on what it is you are looking for (cakes, cookies, cupcakes, etc). See the cute cupcake sign to the left!

Since that day last fall we have had 3 other occassions for celebration and I’ve decided which cupcake I prefer. The first time I got a cupcake I got chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. It was delicious but it was a little too sugary and that’s saying a lot coming from me. The red velvet frosting looking more creamy then sugary so I wasn’t really interested in that, but the chocolate cake with choclate frosting intrigued me….

It is so deliciously decadent, it is everything that a cupcake should be! NYC is cupcake central. I’ve had Crumbs cupcakes (they’re alright – I personally do not like their frosting), I’ve had Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery’s cupcakes (those are pretty good), I’ve had Amy’s Bread’s cupcakes (those are delish) and now I’ve had Magnolia’s Bakery (I don’t think I’ll return to a different cupcake store when I can get Magnolia!

So when you come to NYC and you see that line the answer is, Yes, it’s worth it, you should wait, they’re delicious!

Post in Comments:

Have you had a Magnolia Bakery Cupcake? Did you think they were worth the wait?

If not, what’s your favorite cupcake in NYC? And if you’re not from NYC, what’s your favorite cupcake place from where you’re from?

 

Recipe Wednesdays: Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs March 25, 2009

Filed under: Cooking,Recipe Wednesdays,Recipes — readerbean @ 9:56 am

Last week I made another Giada creation: Orecchiette with Mini Chicken Meatballs. Once again, it was delish!

If you would like the recipe you can click HERE. It was fairly simple, more prep time than cooking time. It was more flavorful then I thought it was going to be. The chicken meatballs were divine and I was nervous seeing as I had never used ground chicken as a base before in place of ground turkey or beef.

This meal heated up great as leftovers, I ended having it for lunch most days last week. I just added a little bit of chicken broth each morning and some salt, pepper and cheese and it was delicious once heated in the microwave for about 2 minutes.

This is definitely a recipe I would recommend!

 

Recipe Wednesdays: Comfort Food March 18, 2009

Filed under: Cooking,Recipe Wednesdays,Recipes — readerbean @ 10:05 pm

This Sunday I was making my meals for the week and I made one of my favorite dishes that is totaly comfort food for me – Skillet!!! Skillet was something that we ate all the time growing up. I don’t know if my mom just made it up or if she got the recipe from someone but I have very fond memories of skillet night (my brother and sister might feel differently!)

Here is the recipe:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion
1 box of frozen peas
1 box of beef rice a roni

Chop up the onions and cook them with the ground turkey. Drain the fat from the ground turkey. Add the margarine/butter and the rice to the pan and brown the rice. Add the water, seasoning packet, ground turkey, peas & onions to the rice and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

On a cold day I find a piping hot dish straight out of the pan extra yummy! The great thing about this meal is that it heats up in the microwave well so it’s great to have for lunch for the week.
The drink in the background is my new concoction – 1/2 seltzer water and 1/2 grape juice – yum!
Post in Comments:
What is your favorite comfort food?
 

Recipe Wednesdays: Food Blogs March 11, 2009

Filed under: Recipe Wednesdays — readerbean @ 12:30 pm

I didn’t cook anything mind blowing this week so instead of focusing on a recipe I wanted to write about Food Blogs. I like reading food blogs for a number of reasons: 1) You get great recipe ideas, 2) they provide suggestions for products that are healthy and delicious (as someone who is constantly striving to become a little less picky and introduce new foods into my world this is great for me!), 3) I find that it motivates me to eat healthier throughout the day when I read a couple of people’s blogs who always eat healthy (within moderation!), and 4) I just like reading blogs and reading what people have to say.

There are two particular food blogs that I follow on a relatively regular basis. The first is, Carrots’n'Cake, written by Tina in MA. I was introduced to this site by a friend of mine. I’m currently participating in The Yoga Challenge on this blog. It’s been interesting thus far, although I confess that I have not been able to do (or rather have not made room for) Yoga every day since March 1st. But I have done it more than half the days this month. It was nice to have something to motivate me to add it to my routine. I enjoy the peace, the balance, the time to center, and I can certainly use the stretching! (I have horrible flexibility). My breathing has gotten better and I can see slight improvements in my yoga. The most difficult thing for me is to calm my mind. I naturally am thinking about a gazillion different things at once so it is a challenge for me to be in that quiet place in that quiet moment for a full 20 minutes.

The second blog that I follow is Kath Eats Real Food. I actually found this blog through Carrots’n'Cake. They both have a very healthy outlook on food and balance and that is something that I’m working towards achieving. Reading about how they always fit in activity, fruits, veggies, protein, fiber, and all that good stuff helps me to realize that I can do it to with just little adjustments here in and there. They also both are obsessed with OATS! Now I’ve eaten oatmeal packets before but I’ve never made my own oats. After months of reading about it next week might be my week…I wonder if I’ll enjoy them.

The other things that I’ve realized from these blogs is that I need to go to bed earlier each night. When we lived up in Boston I would be in bed at 10-10:30PM and awake at 6-6:30AM without fail every day of the week (weekends included). When we moved to NYC that all changed. People in NYC are nightowls and they always sleep in and arrive later in the day never earlier. The best time to go outside for a run in this city is from 7:00-8:00AM – there is no one around, not even cars, it’s awesome! I miss being an early bird and I hate waking up and feeling like I’ve already missed part of the day. I think maybe next week I’m going to aim to get to bed 30 minutes earlier each day and try to get up 30 minutes ealier each day. I’ll keep doing this till I work my way back to a sleep pattern that I’m happy with. I know this is a random thought and has nothing to with food really…but it’s something I noticed while reading both food blogs so I thought I would throw it in there!

Post in Comments:
Do you like reading food blogs?

If so, which food blogs do you follow?

What do you like about food blogs?

 

Recipe Wednesday – Giada’s Turkey & Artichoke Stuffed Shells March 4, 2009

Filed under: Recipe Wednesdays,Recipes — readerbean @ 11:14 pm

I’ll admit it – I love Giada recipes. They have never failed me! Recently I received her new Everyday Pasta cookbook (now I have all 4) and I wanted to try a new recipe from it. My mother made these stuffed shells when I was growing up with ground turkey and eggplant that we all LOVE so I thought I’d try a new variation on stuffed shells. I made them on Sunday for the purpose of having them for lunch each day this week. They are delicious and they heat up well in the microwave. I would definitely recommend these for anyone who loves bakes pasta.
Click HERE for the recipe! The only change I made was that I did not use the arrabiatta sauce because I do not do spice and I used jar sauce as opposed to home made. It was still delicious.
Post for Comments:
If you were to make stuffed shells what would you use as a stuffing?