Cooking: Slow Cooked BBQ Chicken Chili

Looking ahead to the next month, I realized I am going to be super busy with work, weekend/vacation! travel, and marathon training. In order to avoid having to eat out/eat unhealthy, I spent last weekend stocking my freezer with delicious meals in case I don't have a chance to cook. I think I ended up making 24 servings of three of my favorite meals (all blog posts to come). When thinking about what to make, I immediately thought of my go to meal - BBQ Chicken Chili:

It is super easy (a theme to a lot of my weeknight cooking). I usually make it for the winter, but with how cold my office is these days it constantly feels like winter. If you don't have a slow cooker, get one! I spent 15 minutes putting this together Monday morning (10 minutes worth of can opening - or at least it felt like that) and when I came home after a long day of work I had a delicious, hearty meal prepared and a house that smelled like BBQ. Win! 

I can't even count the number of times I have made this over the years - I discovered it in high school when I joined Weight Watchers and began my love affair with cooking. They have some awesome cookbooks! I have always gotten rave reviews of this one and people would never think the recipe came from them. As a note, I have discovered I definitely prefer my chili with ground chicken versus beef thanks to this and another recipe I make, but you could easily substitute ground beef

Let's get cooking!

Cooking: Maple Sausage Sweet Potato Hash

Prior to March, I would have said I wasn't a big brunch person. One of my lasting memories of the Ironman training is talking to my teammate about how her immediate plan for the weekend after the Ironman was to go to brunch for six hours - that thought had never even crossed my mind!

This changed when back in March, I was really enjoying cooking and really wanted to try a cooking class. I saw a brunch cooking class with Chef Egg offered @ Living Social's 918 F Street location for that weekend and while I thought I wasn't a big brunch person, the desire to take a class won out. This class changed my mind about brunch - I loved everything we made! My poor friends - after the class I promised to make them brunch (and raved about the food) but it took me 4 months to actually get around to it! It turns out I really just don't usually have time for brunch.

The best part about the class was that the Chef had a healthy focus, and the dishes are all super simple to recreate. This one is my favorite and I have made it several times since the class - just usually for lunch or dinner. The prep is really simple, but it does take awhile to cook because the sweet potatoes need time to soften and everything needs to caramelize. Have patience because the end result is worth it!

Cooking: Lemon Curd Pie w/ Graham Cracker Crust

Two weeks ago, the awesome admin at work (hi May!) had shoulder surgery. The recovery process has not been so much fun. Whenever I see someone sad/upset, I respond either with humor or food. Given we both love sarcasm, I have given her enough sass (and still continue to). For once, I decided to also go the food route. A few days after surgery, I asked her to send me a recipe & I would bake her something. The next day, she sent me a message "how about something with lemon curd, it's my favorite!" I had never even heard of lemon curd before, so I though "Challenge Accepted!"

Once I looked it up, I realized it sounded like something that would be really good as a pie filling (or on scones). My favorite crust by far is a graham cracker crust, so I thought this recipe would be a great way to try both at one time. My other coworker (who May affectionately calls Hoover for his healthy appetite) has requested next time I make a giant graham cracker block. I kind of agree with him. Graham Cracker crust is amazing pretty much just on its own. I am also itching to make a key lime pie with this crust.

I made a major mistake when I first attempted this recipe and I had to start from scratch. The lemon curd recipe called for you to heat the lemon curd filling until it thickened over the stove but it didn't have any images to go along with the description. I did not 1) look up a picture of what it should look like before cooking, and 2) read the reviews to learn useful tips. Both horrible, horrible mistakes I will never make again. Especially if I want to save my Sunday nights for relaxing.

My first attempt, I only cooked the lemon curd to this consistency:

When I read the reviews & realized it should be thicker, I attempted to pour the filling back into the pan and ended up with this result:

Please don't make the same mistake! Follow the recipe below & look at the pictures as a guide. Also, click the links to the original recipes & peruse the comments. There are also interesting tips for different use of the lemon curd (like on scones!). 

Warning: this is a RICH pie. Small pieces are recommended. Also, the pie is addictive. So you might need more than one small piece. This was a BIG hit at work.

Alright, let's begin!

Cooking: Black beans w/ spinach, tomatoes, and pecorino romano cheese

Because I got home super late Sunday night, I had to go grocery shopping Monday night to make sure I had food. That meant when I got home I wanted to make something super quick. I went to my FAVORITE go-to dish: Black Beans w/ Spinach, Tomatoes, and Pecorino Romano cheese. This may not look/sound like much, but the pecorino romano cheese gives it the most amazing flavor!

 This recipe is super simple and is ready in less than 15 minutes. The only thing I have to chop/dice/grate is the cheese. This dish was inspired by my trip to Puerto Rico in May. I spent a week eating great meals. I took the opportunity to test out different seafood,  and did not have a single meal I didn't enjoy. My hands down favorite dish inspired this one. I ordered yucca gnocchi w/ black beans. Honestly, I don't even remember what the yucca gnocchi was like because I fell in love with the beans upon first bite. For the first time in my life, I asked the waiter what was in them and recreated it my first night home (with a tilapia filet of course!). I have made it several times at home, and I am never disappointed. I could probably eat this every day and not get sick of it.

Alright, enough talking, let's get cooking!

Non-cooking: El Paso

This weekend I went to El Paso to celebrate my wonderful friend Valerie's wedding. Sadly, she will be leaving the area to move to Indiana so this was our last hurrah until Christmas. Valerie is actually a huge inspiration for me - my goal is to be like her where whenever I bring anything food-related to an event people get excited, regardless of what it is. These last few months, we have had a few cooking dates. I am pretty sure I am going to face time with her in my kitchen for more lessons although she may not know it yet.

 I am happy to report the wedding was a wonderful success and I enjoyed dancing the night away!

Cooking: Simple Pesto with Whole Wheat Pasta and Hot Italian Sausage

 So I came home intending to write up a dessert post and then I had the leftovers from a meal I made earlier this week. I was hit by how awesome it was and decided to switch it up & do this dish instead! Don't worry, the dessert post will come very soon.

Simple Pesto w/ Whole Wheat Pasta and Hot Italian Sausage
 (note the picture does not do the flavor justice)

I like pesto but I haven't really made it before. Usually when I go for pasta I go for tomato sauce - it's the Italian wannabe in me. I just love it. But lately I have been in the mood to mix it up. I found a recipe in this super informative cookbook, "how to cook everything: the basics" that made me realize how easy pesto is. The recipe in the book is meatless, but I decided to add some hot Italian sausage. When doesn't sausage make something taste better?! However, you could go meatless or add pretty much any meat you want (meatballs, tofu, chicken). Once you learn the basic recipe, the possibilities are endless as you can keep experimenting and mixing it up. For example, you could add a different type of nut, switch up the proportions of basil/nuts, add in more seasoning (i.e. red pepper), or switch up the cheese. 

Start to finish (including pasta cooking time), this dish took me less than 30 minutes, and that was with taking a million and 5 pictures.

Cooking: Simple Roasted Garlic Asparagus Fries

Since this will be my first cooking post (and it's a school night!), I will make this one short and sweet.

One of the things I have discovered this year is that most vegetables get about 10 to 1 million times better when you roast them. The roasting process really brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetable and softens it. For a sweet tooth like me, that is key. I even discovered I actually like brussel sprouts! The teenage me is rolling in her grave at that statement.

Generally, I try to roast some vegetables on nights I have leftovers from previous meals because I have the extra time and it's really easy. Once you learn the technique, you can substitute a variety of vegetables. The key is olive oil, salt, and pepper! All other seasonings/variations are optional and worth the experiment.

Ages ago, before I discovered this new found love of most vegetables (except beets, I still don't like beets), I ordered the Grilled Asparagus fries at the BGR joint and loved them. With this as an inspiration, I decided to see asparagus took to roasting, and realized I had a huge hit! It's by far my favorite thing I have tried. The roasting process makes them softer than in their natural state, but they also have this wonderful crisp to them which I crave. With the right seasonings (*cough*salt*cough), they really are a pretty good healthy alternative to french fries. Plus, it gives you your daily serving of essential fatty acids via the olive oil!