If it isn't fresh, it isn't legal.

Picked up some Legal Seafood Lobster Raviolis this past weekend.  I could make them from scratch but I don't think I'd ever get around to stuffing the lobster meat into the pasta, because I'd be too tempted to just eat it right then and there!

Super easy dinner.  They only need to boil for 4 minutes!  In that 4 minutes I whipped up a small salad consisting of nothing more than spring mix, tomatoes, and a little balsamic.  I put some pasta sauce on the stove and added some half and half to it transforming it into a vodka sauce, which goes really well with Lobster Ravs.  Presto, dinner was ready!  The perfect dinner for a dreary Monday.  I have to say for prepared raviolis, these were pretty tasty!

A little chocolate pie, a little alcohol, a little buzz.

A few months ago, I had these really good pudding shots at a bachelorette party courtesy of the Maid of Honor, Ms. Lauren Sullivan.  She rattled off how she made them, and I committed it memory, which was not an easy task given the circumstances!

I decided to transform these delicious pudding shots into an Easter dessert!  This recipe has alcohol in it.  Do what you will with that information.

You will need:

• Chocolate cookie pie crust
• 12 ounce container of fat free cool whip
• Large box of sugar free chocolate pudding mix
• Jimmies (optional)
• 3/4 c Kahlua
• 1/4 c Vodka

Mix the chocolate pudding mix with the Kahlua using a hand mixer or a whisk.  Then add the Vodka.  Once that is well blended add the cool whip, and stir/beat until the cool whip has been completely folded into the chocolate mixture.  Pour the filling into your pie crust, top with jimmies, and place in the freezer for at least an hour before serving.

The recipe above is what I used for my Easter dessert, however, I did find the alcohol content to be somewhat potent.  With that being said, I would use less Kahlua next time, but maybe you are braver than I am.  You could also substitute Kahlua with Bailey's.  It might even taste a little creamier if you used that instead.  I'll try that substitution next time I attempt this one! 

Remember don't eat and drive! ;-)

What the...French Toast?!

We had a wonderful Easter breakfast with my in-laws.  My husband thought we should make French toast, so I said sure we can do that.  We don't have French toast very often at all.  I thought about going all out with stuffed French toast, but we decided to stick with the good ole regular French toast.

Together we dipped our Canadian whole wheat bread into our egg batter (I used egg beaters for half of the bread, and beaten egg with milk for the other half).  Once we put them on the a hot griddle, which we sprayed with cooking oil first, I sprinkled cinnamon over them.   We cooked the toast until each side was light brown and kind of crunchy.  We plated them and sprinkled confectionary sugar over the top and added sliced bananas and strawberries. 

Of course you need a little syrup for these once they hit your plate.

Hope the Easter bunny was good to you!

Max Brenner - Part Deux

It's Good Friday, so me and the hubby decided to make it a Great Friday and took a vacation day.  We decided we would head into the city and hit up the new Max Brenner restaurant in Boston.  This was our second time visiting this small chain; our first time was on our honeymoon in Australia.  We had heard that they were opening a Boston location, and couldn't think of a better way to spend our day off; reliving our honeymoon and indulging in chocolate desserts!

The atmosphere of Max Brenner's during our Sydney visit was amazing.  It was a rainy day, but we still sat outside on the patio under some umbrella's and heat lamps.   We each ordered a cappuchino, and decided to split Belgian waffles with chocolate sauce, fruit, and ice cream.  We inhaled everything!  It was by far the best dessert we had ever had.  All this being said, you now can understand why we couldn't wait to try the newly opened Boston location.

Upon arriving, our mouths salivating, we noticed a HUGE inflatable rat outside the restaurant, angry union workers, and a small child vomiting (pure coincidence).  We didn't let this scene scare us away so we walked through the crowd and right in to be seated.  The location in Sydney only served dessert and drinks, but the Boston location has a full menu.  We knew we wanted to stuff ourselves on dessert, so we decided to limit our lunch.  We split the unforgettable spicy tuna salad sandwich with waffle fries dusted with chili and chocolate powder.  The sandwich was delicious (I even recreated it the next day at home!), and the fries were incredible. I dare you to find better waffle fries.

Now time for dessert!  The dessert menu is pretty large so it took us a little while to decide on what we wanted.  I decided I needed to re-experience Sydney and ordered a cappuchino with the banana split waffles.  The banana split waffles consisted of 2 Belgian waffles, caramelized bananas, ice cream, chocolate sauce, and chocolate covered wafer crisps. I have to say I was completely disappointed with my cappuchino.  As you can see from the picture above, in Sydney they served my cappuchino in a cute mug with chocolate on the side.  This time it came in a plastic cup. I kid you not!  The cheapest cup ever, and the presentation was just awful.  So sad.  The dessert made up for it though.  It was really good, just short of great.  I have to say Sydney takes the cake on the better dessert, pun intended.

Most ginormous dessert ever!

James decided to hold off on the cappuchino (which was a good idea given my review above), and get the euphoria peanut butter chocolate fudge sundae which was deep chocolate peanut butter ice cream, dulce de leche ice cream, caramelized toffee bananas, pure chocolate chunks, milk chocolate sauce and warm peanut butter sauce garnished with whipped cream and crunchy hazelnut bits.  It was absolutely ridiculous!  Needless to say, when we each got our desserts, we knew immediately, we should've split one! 

We left feeling very stuffed, on a sugar high, but with light pockets.  Max Brenner does charge a pretty penny for all that chocolate.  I think we will return, but next time we'll skip the sad looking cappuchino, and definitely split a dessert.  Don't forget to take a nice stroll through the city after visiting Mr. Brenner, you'll definitley have some calories to burn off!

Two words. Filet Mignon.

When it comes to fancy dinners, I almost always get filet mignon.  I can't help it.  That delicious, so tender you can cut it with a fork, steak is just too good to pass up.  But let's face it, we all know where I work, and we all know that I shouldn't be going out for fancy dinners all the time; they can be pricey!  I improvise and make my own, just call me Chef Bresnahan.  Now, if I only owned a little white chef jacket and a ridiculous hat (I would so pick a crazy looking chef hat over a hair net any day).

Thursday night.  The Bruins are going to be on soon, and me and the hubby have tomorrow off.  I think that means a little celebration is in order.  I wasn't totally prepared to be making a "nice" dinner tonight, but I pride myself on throwing things together and making some sort of meal.

I quickly seasoned my filets with some pepper, olive oil, garlic, and some Montreal steak seasoning (they aren't that great at hockey, but they make a good steak seasoning) and threw it on the grill.  I have some zucchini in the fridge, so I cut that up in french fry formation and throw that in the pan with some olive oil and garlic.  And now, I need a starch...is red wine a starch?  Hmm, not sure, I'll pour a couple glasses of that, and throw some rice pilaf on the stove while I drink it.  As you know, my favorite is Near East. 

Everything is cooking, and I'm sitting here sipping on my wine waiting for it all to be done.  I've got about 10-15 minutes to kill.  I know, I'll make some chimichurri sauce.  Yes, this is best made a day before, but who's counting?  I pour a little less than 1/4 c of olive oil in a bowl add a tablespoon of garlic, because I love garlic, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, a little salt, some parsley, and some chopped basil.  I whisk that together and admire how beautiful it looks.  My mouth is watering as I think about how good this steak is going to be. 

That killed about 5 minutes.  I still have about 10 minutes to go until feeding time.  I guess I'll keep sipping on my appetizer.  Make sure that while you're sipping away, getting little red marks on the corners of your mouth, that you're flipping your steak (cooking it to your liking - feel free to use a meat thermometer), and stirring around that zucchini so it cooks evenly.

Dinner should be ready in no time...and at a quarter of the cost as Capital Grille (although I still hold a special place in my heart for their Kona-crusted steak).

Light some candles, and spend some time with the one you love..  :-)

P.S.  The Bruins won....it's a series now baby!!

We eat a lot of tomatoes and mozzarella in this house.

Have you seen the backyard farms on the vine tomatoes at your grocery store?  They have been showcasing them at my local store, and serving samples with mozzarella cheese and basil with a lil balsamic mixed in.  So good, because you know I'm a sucker for tomato, motz, basil anything.  The upside is they give me a coupon to buy the tomatoes, and yes the marketing ploy sucks me right in and I buy them...consistently...for weeks.

We feel like a little pasta tonight, and we deserve it.  We worked hard at the gym this morning and our knees are sore to prove it.  I'm actually planning to ice these knees of mine when I finish this post.  I like to blame my sore knees on the fact that I need new sneakers (just ordered a new pair today), and not on the idea that I'm getting older and so aren't my joints. 

Cook a fun shaped pasta in boiling water. I chose penne because that's what I had in the cabinet.  Good reason, right?

While that's cooking, slice those delicious on the vine tomatoes (I used 5 of them), chop some fresh basil, and cut some fresh mozzarella cheese (yes, I said it, cut the cheese).  You can estimate how much basil and mozzarella you want.  I just eye-balled it.

I decide to go the olive route (1/4 c) and add minced garlic (2-3 cloves) and some granulated salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon each) in a bowl.  Add your cooked pasta to the bowl, and toss it in the oil mixture. Plate the pasta, and sprinkle the tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella on top.

This dish was like every dish I make, pretty easy, but really good.  It was light and fresh.  Perfect for any summer evening...or a Spring evening.  It is only April after all. :-)

Saturday night smoothie surprise...

If you've been keeping up with me, you've come across my post on banana smoothies.  But I decided to do a little twist on my traditional banana smoothie. 

My husband wanted some Bailey's last night, but I had a better idea.

I stuck with the basics of my banana smoothies, 1 cup of milk, 2 handfuls of ice cubes, 2 bananas....I skipped the vanilla extract this time around.  Instead, I added Bailey's (I think it was around 1/2 a cup, not entirely sure, because I didn't measure it - don't judge me!) and some cocoa powder (about 2 tablespoons).  No cocoa powder laying around?  Maybe you have some hot chocolate from this extremely long winter laying around that you want to get rid of.  Blend for 1-2 minutes.  Serve and garnish with a slice of banana.

Having company over? Don't freak out.

My husband and I had his family over this past Friday evening for drinks and appetizers to celebrate a milestone birthday for his dad.  Given the limited amount of time between getting home from work and company arriving, I had to think of some quick appetizers that I could pull together.  Once again, it's Friday during Lent, so these appetizers shouldn't contain meat. 

No meat???  The first thing that comes to mind is a veggie platter.  Quick to put together, healthy, and looks pretty. 

• Baby carrots - simply take them from the bag and put them on your platter
• Cherry tomatoes - quickly rinse them off and add them to your platter
• Celery - a little more work required here, don't hurt yourself....rinse the celery and then cut into small pieces
• Broccoli - follow the same procedures as you did with the celery

To keep this dish relatively healthy, I served it with yogurt based ranch dressing versus the standard full of fat regular ranch dressing.

Next time saver appetizer.....your standard cheese and crackers.  Simple, yet goes well with wine, and is usually a crowd pleaser.  I prefer pepperjack cheese, which I paired with Toasted wheat crackers.  Want to add a little something more to this appetizer?  Throw some sliced pepperoni on the plate (only one week of Lent left!) or some grapes, or both!

Lastly, I made a spinach and artichoke dip which I served with sliced french bread.  But you could serve this dip with almost anything.  Maybe crackers, tortilla chips, some of those veggies from your veggie platter you made...whatever you like.  This dish did take some planning.  Since I knew I wouldn't have time to pull this together when I got home from work, I put the dip together the night before. 

First thing's first, take your block of low fat cream cheese out of the fridge so it can soften at room temperature.  While that's sitting on the counter, cook your frozen chopped spinach in the microwave.  And while you're microwaving, chop up your can of artichokes.  You could always buy your spinach and artichokes fresh, cook them, and then chop them, but you know how it is, I'm looking for time savers!  When your frozen spinach is done defrosting in the microwave, drain it. Try to get as much water out of it as possible, this will ensure your dip isn't watery.  Hopefully, your cream cheese has softened. 

In a large bowl, mix your cream cheese, chopped artichokes, and spinach.  To that, add a large tablespoon of olive oil mayo.  I like the olive oil mayo because I feel like it's better for me, and I guess it is.  It does have less calories and fat than your standard mayonnaise.  The olive oil also gives it a nice flavor.  Not a fan of using mayo in general?  You can substitute it with either plain yogurt or fat free sour cream.  Mince a clove or two of garlic and add this to the bowl as well.  Finally, add 3/4 c of reduced fat mozzarella cheese.  You could add 1/4 c of your 3 favorite shredded cheeses if you don't want to stick to just one.

I forgot to take a picture before we dove into it!

Once you've mixed this together, put it in an oven safe dish, and place it in the refrigerator.  Tomorrow, when you get home from work, before you even take your coat off, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and cook this dip for 25-30 minutes.  Serve it hot.

My sister-in-law also made a wonderful appetizer as well.  I didn't take a photo, although I wish I had.  She took some small Melba toast, and covered each piece of toast with sliced tomato, mozzarella and basil,  and drizzled olive oil and balsamic over them.  Again, super simple, but super tasty.  They were gone in no time at all!

So the point is, you don't need to spend a lot of time slaving in the kitchen to have friends and family over.  You can put some simple dishes together that are sure to please...happy hosting!

Does apple sausage count as a fruit and a protein?

The Red Sox have finally won a couple of games, and what better way to celebrate the start of Spring with some sausages.  It's too bad ballpark type foods are so fattening because they sure make for quick and easy dinners, which I love since the last thing I want to do is spend a lot of time cooking after working all day.  Plus, I'm usually starving by the time I get home.

I picked up some apple and chicken sausage from the grocery store.  I decided to save on some calories and avoid putting them in a roll.  So I sliced the sausage and sizzled them in a pan with red and green peppers and sliced onions.  I was a little nervous the sweetness of the apple in the sausage wouldn't go well with peppers and onions, but it actually tasted fine.

Since we were going for a run tonight, I thought we needed some carbs to go with this meal.  I made some toasted almond Near East rice.  I always stock up on a variety of Near East rice when its on sale, otherwise it can be kind of pricey.

So again, nothing glamorous about this meal, but it was quick and easy, and hit the spot.  Good fuel for our run tonight....

Easy, Breezy, Beautiful...Salad.

If you know me at all, you know I have been bringing my own lunch since grade school.  I don't drink a Coke with my lunches anymore, but now drink a nice healthy glass of water.  And slim jims as a snack don't really fly either. 

Depending on the week, my lunches can range from your standard cold cut sandwich, to veggie wraps, to soup, to salad.  Today, I'm featuring the salad I've been making for the last few weeks.  It's simple, doesn't have a ton of ingredients, or calories for that matter.  This recipe isn't rocket science at all, but maybe its simplicity will give you inspiration to bring your lunch this week.  Bikini season IS right around the corner after all. 



I get a large container of the organic spring mix.  I highly recommend getting organic lettuce, as lettuce is one of the dirty dozen vegetables.  Check the date on the spring mix.  It doesn't tend to last more than 5 days, so you definitely don't want to get one that says it's only good until tomorrow, because it will never last you the full work week.  If you're making lunches for more than one person, you may want to pick up your spring mix at BJ's (yes, I know I single handedly keep BJ's in business with my 2 person household) because it will last you the whole week.  If you're cooking for 1, the container of spring mix at your local grocer should be big enough to last you for an entire work week.  And if you're cooking for more than 2, well I think you can figure it out. :-)



To my spring mix, I add halved cherry tomatoes, a little feta, some raisins, candied walnuts, and peppercinis (because I'm slightly addicted to them if you couldn't tell from my Pizza Stone post).  When I eat my salad at lunch, I always save my peppercinis for last, which is the same way I would eat the marshmallows in my Lucky Charms.  I measure out exactly one serving of balsamic vinaigrette to complete this salad (all the calories are in your salad dressing, so beware!).  Now, if you want a little something extra for your salad, you can add your favorite fruit, maybe some sliced strawberries or pears even! 

I typically have a Chobani yogurt as my snack with lunch (a new, recent addiction of mine).  It's delicious and filling!







Now this is a HOT-dog!

I stole this recipe off a tv clip from Frances Rivera's "The Dish".  She was visiting Spike's Junkyard Dogs in honor of Opening Day at Fenway.  It looked so good on tv I had to try it myself.

I used all beef Ballpark Franks, and threw them in the oven at 400 degrees for 14 minutes.  Of course, it's getting to be grilling season in New England, so you may prefer to grill them while sipping on your favorite summer ale.  While the dogs were cooking in the oven, I got the rest of my ingredients out:

• Bulkie sub rolls
• Yellow mustard
• Hot diced jalapenos
• Spicy Capicola Ham
• American Cheese (on The Dish they used shredded swiss)
• Dill pickles (spears)

I lined the inside of the rolls with yellow mustard, and the diced jalapenos.  Once the hot dogs were good to go, I added them on top.   I then topped the hotdogs with 2-3 slices of the spicy ham, and I added a slice of American cheese on top of that. I broke one slice in half and used the two pieces to cover the length of the dog.  Put the dogs under the broiler for a couple of minutes.  When the cheese has melted, the dogs are ready to hit the plate.  For the finishing touch, place the pickle spear on the top of the dog.  I served my dogs with a side of sweet potato fries.

I will warn you, this dog packs a lot of heat!  My mouth was blazing hot, and I love hot, spicy food.  Even my ice cold beer couldn't stop this heat.

You could get this dog at Spike's Junkyard Dogs, or you could enjoy this delicious dog at home...it's a much shorter drive to your kitchen, and the parking can't be beat!

Get your leafy green pizza here!

I promised a spinach, feta, and mozzarella pizza and ta-dahhhhh....here it is. 

Before - before I even put the tomatoes on!

Here it is before it enters the oven, and here it is after it left the oven.  Overall, the pizza was good.  While it was cooking, I was nervous it would be too bland and dry, but it wasn't at all.





After it came out of the oven...before we ate it all up!



I sauteed the spinach with some olive oil and minced garlic while the pizza stone was heating in the oven.  Once the pizza stone was ready for action (don't forget to lay down some cornmeal before putting the dough on that hot stone!), I added the spinach as the first layer on the dough, and then generously sprinkled feta and mozzarella cheese all over.  At the last second, I remembered I had a tomato in the fridge, so I cut that up and sprinkled that on top as well.  After that, I called it a day and put it in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Once I took the pizza out of the oven, I added some red pepper flakes on top.  To be honest, I think the pizza would have been better without the red pepper flakes as we felt like they added an unnecessary kick, but again, overall we thought it was good.  So it's really up to you whether or not you want that extra lil punch!

In order to really enjoy this pizza (or any pizza), you should couple it with a delicious brew.  Our choose for this evening was a UFO White Ale.

Pineapple Express

While we were food shopping this week, we found the most ginormous pineapple I have ever seen!  So of course we bought it.  How could we not?  It was only $1.99!  Done deal.

We have this amazing pineapple corer and I highly recommend you purchase one if you like to enjoy a pineapple from time to time.  It's very simple.  You cut the top of the pineapple off, and then you use your pineapple to corkscrew your way to the bottom.  Very similar to opening a bottle of wine.  You are left with perfectly sliced pineapple and a nice glass of fresh pineapple juice, which if you're anything like me you like to mix with some Malibu rum.

Perfect ringlets of pineapple!

Go out and get your pineapple corer today - you won't be sorry!  They sell them in the produce section of most grocery stores, but we got ours from Bed, Bath, and Beyond (don't forget your 20% off coupon!)

Good food, good friends.

Gibbett Hill?  Yes, please!

My husband James and I have wanted to eat at Gibbett Hill in Groton for quite some time.  So when my best friend Kristy and her husband Jeff asked us if we wanted to go out to dinner there, we couldn't say no. 

Cindy's Crab Dip

Upon seating, our waitress came over and asked if we had ever been to Gibbett Hill before.  James and I of course said, "no".  Our kind waitress then went on to overwhelm us by reviewing the entire menu with us in about 60 seconds flat.  Whoa, what just happened?

I think I need a drink.  Then began the question of what do we want to drink?  James and Kristy started with the Gibbett Hill Ale, Jeff began with the Steel Rail Ale, and me, I started with the Wachusett Country Ale. 

Should we get an appetizer?  Why of course we should!  Why not 2!  We went with Cindy's Crab Dip, and the Herb Ricotta Pizzeta.  The pizzeta was mediocre at best, but the crab dip was AMAZING.  We pretty much devoured it.  I would say it had crab, cream, cheese all bubbled together in a little crock.  We overloaded the crackers with the dip, and when those ran out, we started dipping bread into it.  We also had some cornbread - very tasty.

For dinner, the ladies got the smaller filet mignons with mac and cheese (cheddar and chive), creamed spinach, and mashed potatoes.  James went with the larger filet mignon, asparagus, and as he described them the best onion rings he's ever had.  "I don't even need ketchup for these."  He coupled his filet with a little Bearnaise sauce.  Delicious.  Jeff went with the large dry aged bone-in sirloin.  I actually don't even remember what sides he got with this steak, because his steak looked so amazing, I didn't notice anything else on his plate!  Not to mention I didn't really look up once my food was placed in front of me.  I was way too busy stuffing my face.

We all struggled with finishing our meals, but we did our best to become members of the clean plate club.  After squirming in our chairs because we were so stuffed, most of us decided ahhh why not, let's get dessert!  Shockingly, I got creme brulee.  I love breaking that sugar crusted topping!  I promise to try making my own soon.  I'll be sure to post my success or failure on that project.  Jeff went with the carrot cake, and James with the millionaires coffee.  No, there was no money in this coffee, just liquor.  Kristy decided she couldn't take anymore and skipped dessert.

All in all a great meal with great friends.  If you plan to be in the Groton area, I highly recommend making a reservation and checking out the grill at Gibbett Hill. The wood beams, and fireplace just add to the wonderful ambiance.  Good food, good beverage selection...you won't be disappointed.

Nutty cod!

So, it's Lent. The time of year when Catholics don't eat meat on Fridays (well 'good' Catholics such as myself). We all know I'm an angel 0:-).  Honestly, I couldn't even tell you why we're not supposed to eat meat on Fridays during Lent, but I do my best to follow this arbitrary rule.  I think there's some story about the fish industry doing poorly, and this was a way to boost sales.  It's either that or I missed the reading in the bible that explained why.  I'm pretty sure it's the latter, but I digress. 

What to have for dinner tonight??  Filet mignon!!!  Just kidding.  I do not want lightning to strike me dead.  Cod it is!!  Plus, it's on sale, only today, at my local grocer.  I kind of just threw together tonight's dinner.  I actually didn't feel like moving from the couch, but a girl's got to eat and so does the man of the house. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  I grabbed a baking sheet, generously applied some cooking spray (olive oil spray of course), and laid out my two pieces of cod on the sheet.  Seasoned each piece with a little salt and pepper, and squirted some spray butter over the top.  You might have just said to yourself, spray butter?  But really it's the best on corn on the cob in the summer, but also comes in handy when making fish!  And, we all know you can't prepare cod without a squirt of lemon juice.  Well, you could, but what fun would that be?

Time to make the topping.  Microwave 2 tablespoons of butter (I use I can't believe it's not butter) for about 25 seconds, and throw in enough wheat breadcrumbs to soak it up.  Then, evenly spread the butter/breadcrumb mixture over the cod.  Tonight, I had some crumbs at the bottom of some nuts I had purchased.  It was a mixture of candied pecans, cashews, and almonds, so I decided I'll throw these on top too.  What an amazing addition to the topping!  The nuts almost caramelized on top of the bread crumbs creating a nice sweet flavor to go with the mild fish. Oh yeah! In case you're wondering, you should cook the fish in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

We decided to skip the starch tonight and supplement our fish with some asparagus.  Rinse the asparagus and snap the bottoms off at their natural breaking point.  Place them in a baking dish, toss with olive oil, throw in some minced garlic and place in the oven for about 10 minutes.  You'll know its ready when it turns bright green but is still firm.  Plate and enjoy!

Now that I've eaten, it's back to the couch for some relaxing...