Weekend Dinner: Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Pesto Gnocchi

As many of you may know, I was feeling pretty fearless the other day and rather cocky about my strides in becoming a true blood runner. I signed up for my very first half-marathon with my friend Kelsey (who has a pretty sweet blog over at Starfish Snacks). Being only 13 weeks out from the marathon and seeing that I can barely run 4.5 miles (my first race), I have a lot of work to do.

So, while Kelsey was on vacation in Florida last week, I decided to take matters into my own hands and train by myself. I got in a pretty good run or two during the week, and then ate my weight in bratwurst and macaroni salad over the Fourth of July (and some pizza and tacos while my sister, Krissy, and her husband Pat were visiting from New York). Oh, and a pound of crab legs with Robin. No, I'm not ashamed. But when Sunday came around the corner (after having more bratwurst and taking a 3-hour nap), I decided it was time for Mr. Grumpy and I to get our butts into gear and get movin'. So, I proposed a sunset run so we could see the Tall Ships that were in town.

I only knew about the Tall Ships from my run earlier last week when I helped a blind lady cross the street so she could get to the Tall Ships exhibit. I noticed she was going to have to do WAY more than cross the street, so I took her all the way to the ships and then noticed they weren't there yet. Except the really big black and red ship that I kept calling the Matador. What…. you don't think this actually happened? WELL IT DID. I may have a stitch of niceness in my blood afterall. 

The Matador.. or whatever it's called.

I digress… let me preface this story by saying that Mr. Grumpy and I do not work out well together. We will never be that couple that shares a personal trainer or says, "You can do it, baby! Just five more steps!" In fact, most of our runs either begin with Mr. Grumpy sprinting away from me while I try to catch up, find the nearest bench and cry myself into running oblivion, OR with Mr. Grumpy trying to give me "running advice" of which I find extremely obnoxious and immediately run in the opposite direction. However, on this particular day, we actually did an excellent job pretending to be a couple who works out well together. Mr. Grumpy didn't even get mad when I stopped at the tall ships to take about 80 pictures (yes, I was stalling). 3.3 miles later and we were back at our apartment gorging on Reese Puffs cereal and watermelon. Not like we had an amazing dinner (don't worry, we're almost to the recipe). So, in case you missed the ships… here is a pic:

Arghhhh matey!! Don't these look just like pirate ships?

So Mr. Grumpy and I had mustered up quite the appetite (and it had been at least four hours since we mindlessly ate three brats, a half pound of macaroni salad and about a pound of buffalo dip while watching Lincoln – the longest most educational film ever). I decided if we were going to go for a run, we'd need a serious dinner. Enter Lemon Rosemary Chicken with Pesto Gnocchi. 

This Christmas, Mr. Grumpy and I traveled to Florida to spend time at his grandparent's and then at my cousin Sarah's wedding. On New Year's Eve, my family went to dinner at a super nice restaurant in Sanibel Island and I ordered this dish. Ever since, I have been craving it – trying to muster up the courage to tackle gnocchi at home. Until a few weeks ago when I was grocery shopping and NOTICED that you can BUY gnocchi already made. This was great news. So, I decided it was time.

I found a similar recipe for the gnocchi part on RealSimple.com and changed it up. Then, I improvised on the chicken. And it. was. delicious. (if I do say so myself).

 So, let's get cooking, shall we? 

What You'll Need:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp Lemon & Pepper McCormick's Seasoning
• 1 lemon, plus 1/2 lemon
• 1 lb gnocchi
• 1/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup pesto (check out my recipe for pesto here)
• 2 tbsp plain greek yogurt
• 3 cups green beans
• 1/2 small white onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese

First, we're going to roast our garlic. So, preheat your oven to 375. Next take a small piece of aluminum foil and lay it out on your counter. Remove the papery stuff from the outside of your garlic cloves. Place the cloves on top of the foil, smack dab in the middle. Drizzle them with 1 tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Fold up the aluminum foil to create a pouch (this is where being a Girl Scout earlier in life will really help you out). Place your pouch into the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until the garlic is smooshy. Let that cool a bit before you touch it. Or be brave and burn your fingers. You've been warned though. There's nothing worse than burning your fingers AND reaking of garlic all at the same time (sexy, right?).

Next, pound out your chicken lightly. Smoosh the roasted garlic over both sides of each breast. In a small mixing bowl, combine salt, pepper, Lemon & Pepper seasoning, and dried rosemary. Sprinkle over your chicken, rubbing it in a bit. Place your chicken in a small baking dish. Using 1/2 a lemon, squeeze the lemon juice out over the chicken. Using the other half, make small slices of lemon and place it on top of each piece. Bake in the oven about 25 minutes at 375 (your oven will already be warm, lucky you!). 

While that bakes, place two pots of water on the stove to boil. Lightly salt each. In the first pot, once it boils, place your green beans in there and cover. Let that simmer for 4 minutes. Remove the green beans from the stove and drain the water. Set aside. In the other pot, once it boils, lightly spoon your gnocchi in. The gnocchi is done cooking when they float – about 4 minutes as well. Once they're done, drain them and set aside. In a pan, heat 1 tsp of olive oil over medium heat. Place your onions in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, until transluscent. Next, add your pesto (you can also buy it premade if you don't want to make it from scratch. I made mine and froze it – which was SUPER handy). Let that cook for about 1 minute. Add in ricotta and mozzarella cheese, stir. Next, add in the greek yogurt. Stir and let that cook on a slow simmer for about 2 minutes. Add the green beans and the gnocchi and sprinkle with a little pepper.

Place the cooked chicken on top of the gnocchi mixture, and voila! Just like a fancy New Year's Eve dinner! 

Hello from Hilton Head! Vacation + Bruschetta = Happiness

I know what you're thinking – Cari, where the BEEP have you been? You haven't posted in like… a WEEK. 

Listen. I've been a little busy laying on the beach, snoozing on my raft in the pool and drinking whatever concoction our dear friend (and bartender) Dan mixed up for me. That's right, I went to Hilton Head. For seven whole days. I missed you so much it was hard to even have fun (cough, cough). 

Here are some pics of our fun times together! 

Mr G was not interested in getting a "cute new Facebook pic for my profile!!!!!" with me…

But… he did one because he loves me THAT MUCH.

We took naps on the beach…

Some were sleepier than others…

Some got Grumpy when you woke them up from said nap to get a Daiquiri refill…

We ate at Salty Dog for lunch (I had the Shrimp Po Boy! It was so delicious. We also ate three appetizers… Don't judge).

We only had to wait 45 minutes for a table, which was amazing because it gave us gals time to shop (below pic – my dear friends Kim and Katie)…

Mr. Grumpy and his brother, Mr Why Aren't You Grumpier (seriously, he didn't really get any grumpy genes, and I can't figure it out) were super excited when we got our table.

Then, I beat Mr Grumpy at a sick game of Scrabble. Actually that's not really true. In this photo, he was losing by 50 points, but I eventually lost to his word that included both an X, and a Y, and a Z, and a Q…. it was worth about 80 points.

Then we went to a nice dinner, and ate some amazing seafood at the Old Oyster Factory (go there. go there now. It was that good). 

Then, it was time to say goodbye, and head back to reality.

But! Not before we climbed the old historic Lighthouse (Mr Grumpy didn't want to go all the way up. Actually his exact words were, "Why do I have to pay $3.75 per person to climb up those stairs? It's not even a real lighthouse." Which is true (we learned this from our kayaking guide) but still… I just had to go and see the view. So we (he) paid, and we climbed. AND WE WERE HAPPY ABOUT IT.

Hilton Head was a blast – we could not have had more perfect weather, the food we ate was delicious to say the least, and we got to spend seven days with Mr Grumpy, his family, and his best friends and their family. It was exactly what I needed. And the best part? I got a TAN. (As tan as Irish-German girls with ginger-like tendancies can get… Aka, I'm covered in freckles). 

Each family was in charge of cooking one night for dinner. And Mr Grumpy's mom is probably the BEST Italian food cooker on the planet. She makes her sauce and meatballs from scratch, and sometimes even makes her own pasta, which is amazing too. So naturally, the Grumpy family was in charge of Italian night. She asked me to be in charge of the appetizer – bruschetta. I was nervous – there was a lot of pressure being that I am not even a speckle of Italian, and also that I've only ever helped my dear friend Robin make bruschetta and maybe made it on my own like twice (and put a jalapeno in it, naturally). So, like any good girlfriend would – I improvised people!

I knew how to make pico de gallo (obviously), so I decided I'd just make that, but with Italian-like ingredients. And man, it was a hit. (Our bartender Dan ate about 3 cups of it). 

Now, remember that this recipe serves about 10 people, so if you're just making it for your family or for you and you're super hungry, I suggest cutting the recipe in half or even into quarters.

What You'll Need:

• 3 cups of grape tomatoes, chopped into small pieces (each tomato gets cut into about 10 pieces)
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, chopped into pieces similar to the tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp chopped fresh basil (mine were heaping)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh mozzarella, chopped into pieces similar to the tomatoes
• 1 loaf french bread, cut into small pieces (about 1/2 centimeter)

Cutting everything is literally the most time consuming part of this recipe. So, start early. It took me about 30 minutes to cut everything up. Once everything is all chopped up, combine all ingredients into a bowl. Let that sit in the fridge for 2 hours prior to serving. 

Preheat your oven to 350. Bake your bread for about 5-10 minutes, until it is nicely toasted. If you're super hungry and want to eat right away, you can do two things:

• Less Desparate Option: Broil the bread for 3-5 minutes
• Super Desparate Option: Toast it in a toaster. Seriously. We did this the next day. It was awesome.

Mr Grumpy's mom helped with food styling. She's pretty good.  

(Giveaway Closed!) Review & Giveaway! Darling, Let’s Go to France w/OrganicGirl (Roasted Chicken, Brie & Cinnamon-Apple Paninis, plus a Peach-Bacon Salad)

Disclaimer: I received free OrganicGirl product to review for this post. All opinions are my own. The prize for this promotion is provided by and shipped by OrganicGirl and/or its representatives.  

Phew, now that THAT'S out of the way… let's talk about France. AKA, one of my favorite places on the planet. Now I know what you're wanting to ask me, "Cari, did you go to France and have a 10-day middle-school style love affair with a bleached-blonde-hair boy named Nicolas (pronouced Neec-oh-LAH) and wish you never had to return to the states?" Um, I would say SOME of that is true… But, I did get in trouble for talking too loudly during our tour of Versailles. I also misread a menu and ordered horse, instead of steak… and then two hours later proceeded to go horseback riding. Very traumatizing. But despite my completely unromantic trip to France at a ripe 14 years of age, I did come back completely in love with the culture. What can I say? France and I share a certain… je ne sais quoi … about us. Maybe it's because I used to be la canadienne .. er Canadian (a story for another time…). 

So, when OrganicGirl reached out to me, and I perused their website only to find they had a product called Vive la France… well, I just had to try it. Let me tell you first about OrganicGirl (right now they're mostly focused in greens for salads and yummy cookin') – they have such a great story. They are a group of men and women in California who literally police the BEEP out of your produce. This means that when you buy a container of their product, it's been washed three times before being packaged; it's completely organic; and it won't be brown the day after you buy it. Which is awesome because I think I have probably wasted like $300 alone this year buying lettuce in plastic containers that gets slimy on day two, and I'm left to ponder whether I should suck it up and eat it, or throw it away (Mr. G usually makes me throw it away, though he's very grumpy about wasting food). 

I went ahead and tried the Vive la France blend, which is a combination of mâche rosettes, baby chard, baby arugula and radicchio. It arrived today, and I was well-prepared. Of course, it took us like 45 minutes to track down our security dude, Chris, to unlock our package from his super stealthy case. But it was worth it – these greens are seriously delicious. Typically when we buy lettuce at the store, it's wilty and not very crunchy. The Vive la France mix was crunchy and slightly spicy (likely from the arugula). And we all know I love me some spice. So, I took Mr. Grumpy on a trip to France (aka, our super European couch), and made Roasted Chicken, Brie and Cinnamon Apple Paninis, plus a Peach-Bacon Salad avec Lemon Vinaigrette. L'awesome (that's not real French, ok?). 

Want to know what is EVEN MORE L'AWESOME? One of YOU lucky readers is going to win a package of Vive la France blend from OrganicGirl JUST LIKE ME! I know, you're thinking – this simply cannot be true. How can I be so lucky? Well, you can, my friends. You can indeed. How, you ask? You can enter my giveaway in three ways:

• Follow me (@carijeanne) on Twitter, and tweet at me using #homewithyou with what you'd most like to see if you visited France. Feel free to leave a comment below with the link to your tweet for an extra entry. 
• Leave a comment below with your French vacation dream – where would you most like to go? The south of France? Nice? Paris? The Spanish border? French Canada? 
• Like OrganicGirl on Facebook or Pinterest, and leave me a comment below saying you did it! 

The giveaway will close on June 22 – so get to commenting les petite chous! If you do all three, you earn three entries (meaning your chances will be INCREASED!). Best day ever, right? May the odds be ever in your favor, friends. I will announce the winner the week of June 24 here on my blog (and on social media too, obviously, because I will be so excited that I'll just want to share it with everyone). 

Now that I've talked your ear off, let's get cookin'! (Let's start with the panini!)

Roasted Chicken, Brie & Cinnamon-Apple Panini

Every holiday, I make baked brie, which uses candied apples (like you'd put in a pie), crescent dough and brie. It's my sister Erin's favorite. In fact, one holiday I failed to make the brie, and she felt that warrented not speaking to me for most of Christmas. I have to agree – the brie really makes Christmas feel warmer. 

So, this little sammy is just like that slice of heaven, except I'm totally going to blow your mind by taking it out of the crescent dough, and putting it onto bread. Whoa. Right? It's seriously delicious.  

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 cup Vive la France blend from OrganicGirl 
• 1/4 lb of brie
• 1 green apple
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon, divided – plus 1/2 tsp extra 
• Juice from 1/2 orange
• 2 cups organic, unsalted chicken stock
• 1 chicken breast
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander seed
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 4 slices of fresh ciabatta bread (DS pronounces like CHEE-AH-BAHTTA bread. And I think it's awesome)
• 1 tbsp butter
• Baking non-stick cooking spray

First, you want to cook your chicken. I did mine in the crock pot the day before. First, combine 2 cups of chicken stock, chicken breast, rosemary, 1 tsp cinnamon, and salt and pepper to taste. Let that cook on low for 2 to 2.5 hours until fully cooked. Let it cool enough that you can shread it with your fingers. Completely shread the chicken. In a small bowl combine 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground coriander and ground cumin in a bowl. Sprinkle it over the chicken, and toss until the chicken is coated. Add salt & pepper to taste, as needed. 

Next, preheat your oven to 375. Spray a small baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Cut your apple into long, thin slices. The thinner, the better. They cook faster that way. Next, take your half of an orange, and squirt the juice over the apples. This is a trick Suzie Q taught me because I used to think that when apples turned brown, it meant they rotted. This was obviously an exaggeration, but she would help me out by putting juice on them to keep them looking normal. Toss the apples until they've been coated evenly with the juice. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and the remaining cinnamon (1 tsp). Sprinkle slowly over the apples, tossing the entire time to ensure they get nicely coated. Place the apples uncovered in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove them from the oven and stir. Return the apples to the oven, and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let them sit for 5 minutes.

Coat one side of each slice of bread with an even layer of butter. Begin warming a pan with grill marks (seriously, what are these things called), over medium heat. Have another pan handy (can you tell I  don't have a panini maker?). Next, cut up your brie into long slices, about a centimeter thick. Place evenly over a slice of ciabatta bread. Next, place the cinnamon apples on top of the brie. Add a layer of chicken, and finally cover the top with Vive la France greens. Smoosh the second piece of bread on top. Repeat on the second – so you have two sandwiches. That was kind of obvious…

Now, place both sandwiches on your pan (butter side should be down, obviously). Place another pan on top of your sandwiches and gently press down, for about 3 minutes. Flip your sandwiches, and repeat on the other side for an additional 3 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, and let your sandwiches sit until the brie cheese is melty and gooey and ready to be devoured. 

Peach-Bacon Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette 

To go with the paninis, we had a lovely Peach-Bacon Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette. Ok, I know you're wondering why on earth I would ever put peaches and bacon together. Well, just as Mr. Grumpy and I go together (even though I'm sweet like a peach, and he's salty like a slice of bacon), so do peaches and bacon in real life. I'm serious.

What You'll Need:

• 2 cups Vive la France blend from OrganicGirl
• 3 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 peach, cut into slices
• Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1 tbsp)
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp Lemon & Pepper Seasoning (from McCormick) 

Note: I adapted the recipe for the Lemon Vinaigrette from Martha Stewart. She's really great, isn't she? 

First, put 1 cup of greens in each salad bowl. Place slices evenly on each salad. Crumble the bacon over the top. 

In a small jam jar, combine dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, McCormick seasoning, and lemon juice. Close the lid tight, and shake until combined. This makes about 4 tbsp of dressing. Dress your salad – we put about 1 1/2 tbsp each on the salad. And, voila! As Julia Child would say, "Bon Appetite!"

 

To learn more about OrganicGirl and their products, you can check them out online too at www.iloveorganicgirl.com. 

Happy National Running Day + I’ve Got a Fixin’ for Huevos Rancheros

First of all… Happy National Running Day! I started the day at 6:30 a.m. with a 3.33 mile run with my friend Melissa (blogging over at icrashedtheweb.com about our awesome run today). Yes, this actually happened. For those of you who know I don't do mornings… I did one today.

Jillian Michaels said this, and it's been a huge inspiration for me – Cari, who last year could hardly finish a mile. Now, just in one week, I've run more than 10 miles (2.75 on Monday, 4.12 on Tuesday and 3.33 today). I'm actually having a moment here, and yes, bragging a little. But this has been such a struggle, and I feel really amazing that now I'm able to do something that I've never been able to do before. The result? My friend Kelsey and I signed up for the Rock 'N' Run Half Marathon in October. That's right. I said HALF MARATHON – which I heard was like 13.1 miles, but I don't really want to think about that right now… My feet hurt from kicking so much ass.

Anyway, on to talking about food. One of my favorite, favorite, favorite things to eat when I visit my family in Colorado is Huevos Rancheros. In fact, the last time I went for a visit, my sister made several fat jokes as I downed my THIRD day in a row eating Huevos Rancheros. Much deserved. But still, I was not ashamed. You can't get that here in Ohio. You especially shouldn't get it if you go to ChiChi's or any of the Mexican restaurants in Findlay (which surprisingly are all owned by the same Italian family. I am not joking). I digress…

So, for those of you who don't have the money to just fly out West whenever you get a good breakfast craving, this recipe for at-home Huevos Rancheros is going to rock your world. I just made it up, based on what I'd had in my native state. Kim Kardashian and Kanye, if you're reading my blog, I'm sure you can probably skip making it at home and just fly to Mexico for the afternoon. (Ah, the life). Kim, actually that's really bad advice I just gave you, since I'm pretty sure you can't fly when you're that preggers. Anyway… 

Mr. Grumpy was really excited about this one for two reasons. A) Usually I substitute the sausage for turkey or chicken sausage. Which he is usually pretty grumpy about (where's the REAL meat… Uhh, that is real meat, Mr. Grumpy). And B) He loves breakfast for dinner (even though he also asked if we could have pancakes, to which I replied, "You're joking, right?"). Also, I had been hyping up this dinner for about a week so there were extremely high expectations.

NOTE: This recipe calls for one-half of a chopped jalapeno. When you chop up your jalapeno, take a moment and wash your hands. I was feeling real cocky and thought I was above washing my hands after cutting up a jalapeno. A jalapeno for god's sake, Cari. Like really? You thought you were above this? Yeah, I know. Listen. I was having a kitchen diva moment. So, I did not wash them but merely wiped them off briefly on my paper towel. So, after enjoying my Huevos Rancheros, taking a shower and getting snuggly on the couch, I noticed this terrible burning feeling on my fingers. All of them. Especially my thumbs. Immediately, I knew I had a flesh eating bacteria and I was going to be without hands in about an hour. So that's what I started Googling, obviously. And screaming, "MR. GRUMPY. WHY DON'T YOU CARE! I'm going to lose my hands! I will never be able to write again! I AM DYING!" To which Mr. Grumpy replied, "I am certain you're fine. Do you want some ice?" He actually was extremely displeased with my chaos, as I was interupting his STUPID awesome TV show about buying Alaska or whatever it is they're doing. So, he asked me if I burned it on the oven, to which I said no. Then, he asked if I washed my hands after cooking the jalapeno, to which I said," NO! I JUST CAUGHT THIS OUT OF NOWHERE! SOMEONE PROBABLY HAD IT AT WORK AND NOW I HAVE IT." So, he started Googling something obviously not as smart as my Googling "death from flesh-eating bacteria." At this point, I was pretty sure it was over for me. Until Mr. Grumpy told me to come to the kitchen, as he had the cure.

For the record, if you do not wash your hands after cutting a jalapeno, it doesn't form a bacteria… it just really, really hurts. So, the cure? Take 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and mix it with 1 tbsp of sugar. Rub the mixture all over your burned area (aka, my fingers in this situation). Who knew that Mr. Grumpy would come so in handy? He found all of this on the Internet, although he was still really displeased when all of a sudden my fingers felt better, and I had changed the channel to watch TLC.

Ok, so you've been warned. Also, do not ever Google "flesh eating bacteria." You will never be the same.

Now, let's get cooking!

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 can of Bush's Brothers Bush's Black Bean Fiesta, drained and rinsed slightly
• 1/2 can of unsalted sweet corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of fire roasted garlic diced tomatoes
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 1/3 cup red, orange and yellow sweet peppers
• 1/2 jalapeno, deseeded and chopped 
• 1/2 lb (about three sausage links) chorizo sausage
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 4 Mr. Tortilla uncooked soft tortilla shells (taco size); or your favorite brand of small soft tortilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup of Helluva Good Monterey Jack Cheese with Jalapeno

First, preheat your oven to 350. Now, chop up all your veggies. Wash your hands. Seriously. Do it. In a strainer, combine the black beans and corn. Drain and rinse. Add the tomatoes. DO NOT RINSE. Set aside. 

In a medium pan, heat your olive oil over medium-high heat. Take the chorizo out of the sausage casings, and add into the pan with the oregano. Cook chorizo all the way through (about 10 minutes). Remove the chorizo from the pan, and set aside. Drain your pan slightly, leaving about 1 tbsp of the juice from the sausage. Add onions and garlic, and cook for an additional 5 minutes until you can smell the garlic and your onions are see-through. Add the peppers, and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the chorizo back in. Add in the black bean mixture with the tomatoes and corn and cilantro. Let that cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove your pan from the stove heat, but keep your burner on. Take your tortilla and, over medium heat, place it directly on the burner. If you're using uncooked tortillas like we were, let it sit on each side for about 20 seconds. Do this for all four tortillas. If you're using already cooked tortillas, which is more likely, only put them on the burner for about 5-10 seconds on each side.

Spray an individual deep dish (you can use anything you can put in the oven with high sides) with olive oil cooking spray. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of the black bean/chorizo mixture to cover the bottom of each dish. Place two tortillas on top to completely cover, and put about 1 additional small scoop of black bean mixture on top. Crack your two eggs over the dish, gently letting the eggs rest on the top. Careful, careful, careful not to break the yolk. Sprinkle the top with cheese.

Place your dishes in the oven, and bake for 14-15 minutes, careful not to overcook the eggs. Now, don't worry. If you DO overcook the eggs, just scoop them off the top, make a fried egg in a pan really quick and replace it. Listen people. No one's perfect. Ok? Great. Now that we've had this talk, go forth and eat your Huevos Rancheros! Eiyiy! 

Weekend Dinner: Cobb Salad Chicken Tacos… and that time I tried (twice) to cut a mango

Ok, can we first start by talking about mangos. I mean.. how the HELL are you supposed to cut those things? Does anyone else have these struggles or is it just me?? I bought two mangos at the supermarket, and both ended in a mish mash of mango goo, about three slices of mango that could ACTUALLY be used, mango juice everywhere and three cuts on my skin. Needless to say, my mango addiction is really selfish. Because I now know I will never be able to do this on my own. And I refuse to Google "How do I cut a mango" because I'm POSITIVE some super simple trick exists, and I've now wasted too much time trying to figure it out. So, if you'd like to be hired as my lifetime mango cutter, please inquire via comment below. I can't really pay you, but I have a sweet second bedroom you could live in, and I promise to throw away all the boxes so you can get to your bed. You can't have a closet, though. I'm currently using all of them.

So, I needed a major ego boost after trying to cut these mangos. And let me tell you – Cooking Light's May issue? Um, the best issue they've ever created. It's basically dedicated to all the foods I love – ahi tuna? CHECK! TACOS? CHECK! Deep Fried Chick Peas? HOW DID YOU KNOW COOKING LIGHT? How did you know… 

We started on Saturday with one of their taco recipes, which I adapted slightly to be more realistic for those who spent a very quick morning helping Mr. Salty and Robin move into their new apartment. We have learned that no move-in is perfect, but it goes NEAR perfect when you have the organizational skills of Mr. Salty. Near perfect means that there is still a chance to accidentally drill through a waterpipe… :( 

Then, Mr. Grumpy and I went for a hike at one of the Cleveland Metroparks, which is the home to Squire's Castle. Basically this super rich oil dude bought this castle in the middle of Mentor-ish that he used as a weekend getaway. It was pretty amazing.

And then Mr. Grumpy took me to the mall so I could buy a new purse since I'm officially a walking commuter and needed (YES I SAID NEEDED) a commuter bag. Now, I'm going to go on a slight tangent here, but look at how amazingly adorable my bag is:

I got it on SALE at Dillard's for just $33 (originally $69). It was Ah-mah-zing. Especially because my other option was a $200 Michael Kors bag… Now, I was really confused because I found this bag at the very end when I happened to walk around the corner to BFE purseland in Dillards – way around the corner, where I'm sure very few people get to. And we found the entire line of Kate Landry bags, which were probably the cutest, most reasonable bags in the store. Those babies need to be upfront and center. Dillard's, take note. I would have bought two if Mr. G hadn't been with me.

So, needless to say, by 5 p.m., Mr. G and I were super famished (especially because we did ALL of this with a terrible cold that just kept getting worse by the minute), so I got to cooking. These tacos are the perfect mix between a summer salad and a taco. It's all the things you love put into one. I'm officially a huge fan.

Cobb Salad Chicken Tacos

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 rotisserie chicken with the skin on it (Mr. G was SUPER mortified when I brought home an entire rotisserie chicken, but when he found out that it meant he could take chicken legs for lunch, he was at ease again)
• 2 large eggs
• 4 slices of bacon 
• 1 shallot onion, cut into small pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard (I did a heaping one)
• Ranch dressing for drizzling (about 2 tbsps)
• 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles 
• 6 flour tortillas
• Thinly sliced Boston lettuce
• 1/2 cup diced tomato (we cut up Roma tomatoes)
• 1/2 avocado, diced and peeled

First, you want to hard boil your eggs. If you've never done this before, it's really simple. Put your eggs in a pot, and fill it with water so that it covers the eggs about an inch above them. Then, put the pot on the stove and bring it just to a boil. Cover immediately, and turn off your stove. Let that sit for 13 minutes. Then, drain the water, and cool the eggs by placing them in ice water. They should be really easy to peel, but if they aren't – well, that's just life. That just means the eggs were super fresh when you boiled them. I crack the shell and then roll it gently to crack it all around. But everyone does this differently. You really can't mess it up. I mean, I've known people who have, but I'm sure they'd rather I not mention them by name here since it really is THAT easy (not like cutting a mango at all). 

While your eggs are cookin', you can shread up your chicken. You're going to pull the white meat from the center (i.e., the breast) and just shread it with your fingers. You want about two cups of shredded chicken when you're done. If you're like my sister Erin and hate touching meat, you can just use two cans of shredded white meat chicken, but it won't be as tasty.

Then, go ahead and cut up all the rest of the ingredients that need to be cut up. Then, in a small bowl, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar and the Dijon mustard. 

Next, heat a pan over medium heat. Add the four slices of bacon, and cook until they are crisp. Remove the bacon, and DO NOT DRAIN YOUR PAN. Put the bacon on a plate covered with paper napkins. Let those sit so they can cool because you're going to want to crumble those up. Again, if you're a vegetarian or just don't like touching bacon you can get the veggie version of bacon bits in the freezer section – or the real bacon bits that you can find in the salad condiment aisle. Next, in the same pan using the drippings from the bacon, add the shallots and the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then turn off your stove, and add in the red wine vinegar/mustard/olive oil mixture. Toss in your chicken to coat, and let that sit. Peel and cut up your hard boiled eggs, and crumble up your bacon.

Now comes the fun part. You're going to think I'm crazy, and I promise you this time I'm not joking. You're going to heat a small burner on your stove to medium. Place one tortilla DIRECTLY on the stove top, and count to 10 (a quick 10). Flip it over and count to 10 again. Do this for all your tortillas. 

Next, you're ready to compile your tacos. Take your charred tortilla, add chicken, lettuce, tomato, crumbled-up bacon, blue cheese, ranch, avocado and your eggs. Drizzle some Ranch dressing over the top, and voila! Enjoy! These are so tasty, you won't even believe it. As Suzie Q says, they're so good your tongue will slap your brains out… or at least I think that's what she says… 

Mr. G and I moved… and didn’t kill each other (yet)

Well… that was fun. The rumors flying around the CLE are true – Mr. G and I relocated from quiet little Lakewood to the bustle of the city – DOWNTOWN. And let's just say it took us three days, two sets of parents, a surprisingly cheery Mr. Salty, a Robin, four cars (two trucks, my SUV and a moving van), and a LOT of beer. And what did I learn from our big move? A very valuable lesson – hire movers. Do it. Don't follow in my footsteps – movers are the way to go (no offense, Moving Squad. You guys were awesome. My nerves are still shot though…). 

But let's start earlier in the week – on Wednesday, when I went to make a crock pot dinner for Mr. G  to find that my crock pot was missing. And where was it? Well, Mr. G had PACKED it at the BOTTOM of our kitchen box. So, we ate pizza all week and stayed up until 1 a.m. on Friday packing the rest of Mr. G's junk treasures. Now, I am required by Mr. Grumpy Law to disclose that I had four tupperwares full of my shoes. Mr. G suggested I bring only one, and get rid of the rest. I reminded him that I could still claim his closet in our new apartment as my shoe closet, and that he was LUCKY that I was letting him have a closet to his self… but he was still pretty grumpy about the amount of shoes that had to make the GIANT 4-mile move downtown. I also discovered that Mr. G has not only a Playstation, but also has an Xbox AND a Super Nintendo… so I think we're pretty even on things we don't need… 

Despite the fact that it took us 4.5 hours to load our moving truck (plus two more days of moving sh*t over to our new apartment), we survived. And we already love it here. Suzie Q and DS helped us with some home decor renovations – including painting our old kitchen table, and refinishing the top to look brand-spanking new (isn't it beautiful???).

We also power decorated (I was being slightly spazzy about getting everything put together. Basically after making Mr. G hang artwork for three hours after work on Tuesday, we got in a slight grumptastic argument about how I didn't need to make everyone suffer when I was having a … moment… I may have also thrown a fit about the location of a piece of tupperware… This is life, people.). 

These are pictures hanging from antique door knobs! 

This is where the magic happens (note all the beer we had to drink to stay sane while moving). And yes, those are chalkboard jars! I'm obsessed – we got 4 from Target, and one cookie chalkboard jar from Anthropologie to finish the set.

I got my cake stand from TJ Maxx, and made the picture using an old birthday card Ashley got me a few years ago. 

Mr. G would argue that THIS is actually where the magic happens… disgusting.

This is where the snuggling happens.

Welcome home, Mr. G! (That's the Bike Art I made – plus we reno'd the dresser by buying new knobs from Anthropologie, and we dusted it for the first time in like… 12 months). 

One of the reasons we had to get everything decorated so fast was because we were having an unofficial Welcome to Downtown get together with our friends – Kels, B-Rad, Samantha and D-Train (he's really proud of his nickname). We were so pleased that we could literally WALK to Bar Louie, drink $1 beers all night, and then stumble walk home. It was a pretty amazing time – had by all attendees (despite the fact that we were supposed to go to the Indians' game, but never moved from Bar L). 

So, since it only took me a few days to completely unpack everything, I went ahead and stocked up on food – and got to cooking right away. I couldn't wait to use my new kitchen that had more than 2 feet of counterspace. Plus, I got to talk THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS COOKING because our kitchen opens up to the living room. Mr. G was really pleased. 

So, for the first time in our lovely, swanky downtown apartment – let's get cooking, people!

It's Springtime, Baby Pasta!

I made my grocery list today whilst sitting in the parking lot of my eye doctor, and managed to only forget one item ($325 later…). Don't worry – Mr. G got an entire bushel of bananas (bushel? bunch? What is a group of bananas called???). 

(I had a moment at Anthropologie, obviously. I got new bowls – this is one of them. I love this. I'd love it even more if it were full of ice cream – the one thing I forgot at the grocery store). 

I adapted this recipe from the lastest issue of Cooking Light – mostly because it said to use fava beans, and I have NO idea what those are. They sounded really involved – and needed to be deshelled… And I wasn't really feeling that. So I used lima beans. YES. LIMA BEANS. And they were delicious, so bear with me here, people. 

What You'll Need: 

• 1 8.5 oz. can lima beans
• 1 1/4 cup uncooked campanelle pasta (that's the kind that is squirly-queued on the edges). 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 6 center-cut bacon slices, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup white mushrooms (broken into chunky pieces)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp grated parmesean cheese 
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, torn into pieces 

First, boil your water for the pasta. Boil your pasta for about 11 minutes, depending on how you like your pasta. Basically, it needs to be cooked. While you're waiting for the water to boil, you can cut up all the ingredients. And if you have a mile of counterspace like I do now, you can take up the entire kitchen and use 3 plates, 2 cutting boards and 3 knives. Just because you can, goshdarnit. 

Anyway, while your pasta is cookin', heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once that's hot, cook your bacon in it until it starts to crisp up slightly and get brownish. This will take about 3 minutes. Then, turn your heat down to medium. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are transluscent. This will take about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the lima beans (DRAIN THEM BEFORE YOU ADD THEM. Sorry, I don't know why I started screaming at you. You didn't know…). And add the peas. Cook for 1 minute. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil, lemon juice and zest, salt and cooked pasta, and stir and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, and add 3 tbsp of cheese. Stir. Put it into a bowl, and garnish with 1 tbsp per bowl of cheese and 2 tbsp basil per bowl. 

I was surprised at how much flavor this dish had. I knew of a similar recipe that a roommate from college used to make, and it didn't have this much flavor. This is really great. And took about 20 minutes total to make. Ah-mah-zing. Thank you, Cooking Light. (And did I mention that each bowl only packs 371 calories? YEAHHHHH!). 

Easter Bunnies Love Cupcakes

Ok, so I'm sure the Easter Bunny would much rather have a carrot cupcake. However, I don't really know him that well, and think that he should just be happy with what he gets. Mr. Grumpy and I made the short trek down to Bainbridge where his parents live to celebrate Easter Weekend. 

We celebrated Easter Eve by having one of our infamous Martini Nights. Mr. O.G. (original Grumpy – aka, Mr. G's dad) makes a pretty mean martini. And usually, Martini Nights end with me, face down on Mr. G's bed from his childhood (alone, thank you. Gosh! I'm not a Floozy!) with my PJs on backward, wondering how I got up there in the first place. This Martini Night ended with us watching Titanic in 3D, so let's just say that it was pretty calm compared to other nights when Mr. Grumpy may have accidentally drank 6 martinis and wound up puking all Sunday morning… I digress. 

Anyway, I was in charge of Easter Bunny dessert. I just could not resist making these lemon buttercream cupcakes when I stumbled upon them on Shugary Sweets. I did change the recipe a bit (duh), but boy – these were so delish. And the color of a lemon-flavored jelly bean, so I was pretty pleased.

Seriously. Your mouth is going to water until you eat one (or 30) of these… 

What You'll Need for the Cupcakes:

• 5 egg whites, room temp.
• 3/4 cup buttermilk*
• 2 lemons, zested
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp. (or softened in the microwave)
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon extract (or lemon juice would be ok, too)
• yellow sugar crystal sprinkles (in the cake decorating aisle of your grocery store)

What You'll Need for the Frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp. (or softened in the microwave)
• 4 cup powered sugar
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract, give or take (because I accidentally spilled about 1 extra tsp in there via a bad pour, and it was all good)

*Now, I did not have any buttermilk on hand. That's cool if you don't either. Why???? Because it's super easy to make from scratch. Just take 1 cup of milk and add 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Let it stand for 5 minutes. And voila! You've got a cup of buttermilk (you only need 3/4 cup for this recipe, so don't get excited and dump the whole thing in your mixer).

OK, let's get baking!! Preheat your oven to 350.

Make your buttermilk if you need to. Next, in a small mixing bowl, gently whisk your egg whites, 1/4 cup of buttermilk and lemon zest (the whole lemon makes about 1-2 tbsp of zestiness). Set this mixture aside.

In a larger mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. This will take 3 minutes, and it will look white and fluffy. Add in the lemon and vanilla extract, and beat for an additional minute. Then, add in your dry ingredients. Mix until this combines – it will be kind of thick and doughy. Next, slowly add in the egg white mixture. Beat for about 1-2 minutes, until creamy. Add in the remaining buttermilk (1/2 cup) and beat for another minute or so. You want the end mixture to be creamy – like… cake batter. I know… surprising, right?

Put your cupcake liners in your cupcake pan. Take an ice cream scoop, and scoop the mixture into each liner (about halfway full). Bake for a full 15 minutes until the cupcakes are spongy and slightly golden on top. Remove from the oven, and let them sit in the pan for 6 minutes. Then, put them on a cooling rack to cool. Make sure all your cupcakes are completely cool before you frost them.  

While those babies are chillin', make the frosting. Beat the butter (1 cup) in your mixer on high (my Oster mixer was set at level 9) for about 4 minutes. The butter should become pale in color and be thick and creamy. Add in the vanilla extract, and beat an additional minute. Next, add in the lemon juice (1 1/2 tbsp from your lemon), lemon zest, cream and powdered sugar (make sure you use a big bowl because I didn't at first, and looked like a snowman after the sugar exploded all over me. Mr. G proceeded to share this detail with his ENTIRE family at Easter. They still love me… I think.)  Beat this for 4-5 more minutes until everything is creamy and smooth and super delicious. You can test it by licking your mixing spoon, and you should probably let your Mr. G test it too. 

Fill a pastry bag with a flowered tip and pipe on the frosting. Sprinkle with those crystally yellow sugary things that you find in the baking aisle. And enjoy. (And if you have the best mom in the world like I do, you'll be able to use the watermelon decorations to make your cupcakes super special)

Cupcake Wars… here I come.

Weeknight Dinner: Meatball Slippery Sliders! (with spicy jalapeno cilantro sauce) and How I Met Josh Hartnett

Ok party people. It's about to get real delicious up in here. Mr. G and I got our BEEP together and finally went grocery shopping for the first time in like… a month? A few hundred bucks later… and I'm in weeknight dinner heaven.

Tonight I'm serving up meatball sliders with spicy jalapeno cilantro sauce. You think they're called sliders because they're on tiny buns, right? WRONG. They're called sliders because once you get them on that bun, they're going to slide all over the place until they go into your belly. So hurry up – let's get cooking.

I have adapted this recipe from one of Mr. G's favorite cookbooks – The Feed Zone Cookbook. If you are big at the whole working out thing and staying in shape – this is such a great cookbook. Lots of protein and energy packed recipes to get you from breakfast to dinner (and maybe even to dessert, if you're not too full). 

What You'll Need:

• 1 lb ground beef (I used the 85-15 kind because they were out of everything else)
• 1 lb italian chicken sausage
• 3 slices fresh bread, cut into cubes (we LOVE the light oatmeal bread from Pepperidge Farm)
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 jar of tomato sauce (we used a can of arrabiatta sauce)
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 soft hoagie buns, toasted
• 1/2 bundle of cilantro, chopped (about 5 tbsp)
• 1/2 jalepeno, seeded and chopped
• 2/3 cup plain greek yogurt 
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1/3 tsp ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
• 75 paper towels (slightly kidding)

Instructions:

Combine beef, chicken sausage, bread, garlic salt and egg in a large mixing bowl. Get in there and MIX IT WITH YOUR HANDS (it's really the only way). Once it's mixed, let it sit for a few minutes so the egg can soak into the bread. Then, roll the meatballs into round balls – about 2" round. It should make about 20 meatballs.

Line a baking sheet with a paper towel and set that near your stove (trust me, you'll thank me later for this). Take a pan, and cover the bottom in oil. Let that heat over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Then, place about six meatballs in a circle on the pan (don't put too many on at once!). Brown them on each side (this will happen fast. You want it to have a nice, dark brown crust on the meatball) about 2-3 minutes for the entire meatball (not each side). Place the browned meatballs on the baking sheet. Repeat this until each meatball is browned (the meat on the inside will still be rare. This is totes my plan, so stick with me). 

Next, once all your meatballs are browned, place them into a large sauce pot gently. Add the jar of sauce and 1/3 cup of water. Cover it with a lid, and let that simmer for about 20 minutes on medium to medium-high heat.

Now, let's make us some spicy sauce! Ok, take out your blender or food processor. Blend yogurt, jalapeno, cilantro, cumin and honey until it's a soft liquid. If it doesn't taste spicey enough, feel free to add in more jalapeno, you brave, brave person. Don't say you weren't warned. 

Once your meatballs have simmered for 20 minutes, you're ready to compile your slider sammies. Toast your bun if you'd like, then place the jalapeno cilantro sauce on the bottom layer. Put three meatballs across the bun – top with whatever you'd like (we used lettuce, tomato and monterey jack cheese), and get your chap stick ready. This baby is a spicy one. 

Note: Only 5 paper towels were harmed in the making of this slippery slider… Sorry.

Now.. onto more important updates on my life. If you're wondering where I was last week, I took a quick business trip to LA with my colleague Megan (her blog is pretty cool too – check it out here at My 3D Life). Of course, we got into some shenanigans, including sneaking into Chateau Monmart through the back door… and sitting right next to Josh Hartnett at lunch. Yes I said right next to Josh Hartnett. At the same table*. Now, if you know anything about me, you know that I may or may not have created a secret notebook when I was 12 completely dedicated to Josh Hartnett, and my love for him. I may or may not have also wrote Josh Hartnett a letter after some really outstanding internet stalking (especially outstanding considering we still thought AOL Instant Messenger was cool) and found his home address. Upon discovering that Josh Harnett was at the Chateau, I texted my mom. The conversation went as follows:

• Cari to Suzie Q: MOM! GUESS WHO I AM EATING LUNCH WITH RIGHT NOW?
• Suzie Q to Cari: Megan?
• Cari to Suzie Q: Obviously, Mom. NO … JOSH HARTNETT!!!!!! 
• Suzie Q to Cari: Ask him if he ever got your letter!!!!
• Cari to Suzie Q: I think it's best we don't mention that…

Needless to say Joshy Poo was extremely pleased to receive my phone number, and Mr. G understood of course. He's one of my five celebrity passes. Mr. G claims he doesn't HAVE one, but I know better, so I don't feel ashamed.  

*This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but all you need to know is that YOU were much farther away than I was from him, ok? Especially when I was walking past the men's bathroom (not because I was stalking it or anything) and Josh Hartnett came OUT of the men's bathroom and for a moment, we locked eyes, and well… the rest is history (in which my voice became extremely high and panicky and Megan laughed uncontrollably and blacked out for a moment). Then we took this picture:

That pretty much topped the trip, even though I also saw Ted Dansen… and claimed that I saw Ryan Gosling, which probably didn't happen as this dude had a really ugly leather man bag. 

Alright, that's all for now. Stay tuned for my first attempt at tilapia baja tacos, some St. Patty's Day baking and my most anticipated visit from Erin, my sister, for St. Pat's in the C-L-E (we're pretty good at celebrating it, if I do say so myself).  

The 31st Year: In which Suzie Q and DS allow me to crash their wedding anniversary dinner again…

This weekend, Mr. G and I traveled to Flag City USA (aka, Findlay, OH) to crash join my parents for their 31st wedding anniversary dinner. Sadly, I have been doing this for four years now. I can only get away with doing this because A) I am DS' favorite child (DS stands for Daddy Steiner, by the way. He asks that we call him this), and B) Because I am unbearably adorable and fun to be around.

They go to this super fancy place called Mancy's in Toledo (the cream of the crop here people) and I get to order steak AND dessert. But this isn't about me – it's about them, and their endless love for one another. Actually, it really is. I know a lot of people don't get to find what they have found, and for that I am truly thankful. Here, let's look at a picture of the happy couple at this year's dinner:

Note: Suzie Q and I decided we were going to have her wear every. single. bracelet DS has ever bought her. We had to stop eventually because Suzie Q's arm was becoming extremely heavy, and she looked like a hippie. Regardless – there were some major stones on that arm. Way to go Suzie Q.

The only rule of the weekend is that DS is NOT to call Suzie Q "Sweet Thing" in front of me. And Suzie Q is NOT to call DS "Wild Thing" in front of me, or Mr. G, because we'd like to at some point remember a world of innocence and happiness. However, they almost always break these rules, which is just absolutely unacceptable no matter how much their nicknames for each other make one another happy. I digress…

Anyway – at these dinners we drink a lot of wine. And sometimes Suzie Q, DS and Mr. G end the dinner with Grand Mariner (I don't go NEAR that stuff). So, in the morning, we typically need some aspirin and a good breakfast. 

Well, God Bless you Suzie Q – you knew just the treat to serve. Friends, let me share with you the most sweetest treat to indulge in the morning after a bottle of wine shared among… yourself (Suzie Q used the Pillsbury.com recipe, and I adapted it a bit). 

Here is what you'll need:

• A cup of coffee and an aspirin (This is for you to enjoy immediately upon waking up)
• 1/2 package of low-fat cream cheese, softened 
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar (like… normal sugar)
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup of fruit filling of your choice (Suzie Q used cherry pie filling. I am going to try raspberry preserves)
• 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dough (the kind without the seams!)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tsp skim milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375. Find a non-stick cookie pan (or grease one). In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Add almond extract and stir. Add fruit filling and stir. Set aside. Unroll the dough onto your cookie sheet, and spread so it fits the pan. Spoon your cream cheese mixture evenly down the center of your dough (about 1/3 of the rectangle. Like you're making a taco). On each side of the dough, make cuts 1 inch apart to the edge of the filling. Fold opposite strips of dough over the filling and cross in the center to make it look like a braid. Seal the ends. 

Bake about 20 minutes until golden brown (watch it the last few minutes!). Remove from the oven, and let it cool (you can use a cooling rack, but we didn't. Our heads hurt). 

In the meantime, mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth (like the frosting you get with Toaster Strudels) and drizzle it over the cake. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top. Slice a piece, put it on your plate and thank god it's time to sit back down. Phew!