WIAW: Around the World in a Weekend

Posted on February 22, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys!

I’m so glad to hear that so many of you were celebrating Pancake Day with me yesterday…and if you missed it…I allow you a free make up day! ;)

Well, it’s that time of week again:

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!
Be sure to head on over to Peas & Crayons and give Jenn a little comment love for being our gracious host each and every week!

Thanks to having Friday off as scheduled and asking off for President’s Day on Monday, I had a bit of a mini-vacation this past weekend, and after looking over the pics I accrued over the last few days, it seems I went on a little foodie trip around the world!

FRIDAY

It all started Friday night when BB came over and we both realized we were
STARVING…he suggested a little hole-in-the-wall place called Brunie’s that he claimed serves “the best bratwurst sandwiches”

And boy was he right on the money!

Served on a hot and toasty bun with warm German potato salad and a side of red cabbage…I thought I had surely died and gone to heaven Germany!

SATURDAY

When we woke up Saturday morning, it was cold and dreary outside…the perfect weather for a nice big bowl of oats:

Pumpkin peanut flour oats topped with dried cranberries and crack nuts

Later in the day after running some errands, all I was craving was a big plate of veggies and eggs so I broke out my latest TJ Maxx find and got to work:

Is this not the cutest thing ever?!

Ok, ok…so obviously it’s not cute enough to do the work for you…guess I need a little practice ;)

After lunch, I got a craving for something sweet, so broke out the Godiva and plucked out this little guy:

Eat a plate of green and get rewarded with chocolate…that’s how it works, right?

Saturday night, BB and I met some friends for dinner at a new-t0-me Japanese hibachi place called Sakura across town:

And let me just say, we had the best cook in the building…so entertaining!

BB ordered the fried calamari and soft shell crab for our starters. This was my first time trying the crab…not bad, but the calamari was ahhhhmazing…I swear I think they used the same breading/spices that is used for mozzarella cheese sticks…and I’m not sure what was in the sauce but it tasted of sweet jammy goodness!

I chose the Korean short ribs for my entree and along with it came fried rice, noodles, and stir fry veggies…yeah, I ate about 5 bites of this and the rest went home in a box!

SUNDAY

Sunday morning was pancakes…of course…

But you’ve already seen those :)

Or if you haven’t…go take a look…I’ll wait!

Sunday night, we met up with our friends again for dinner at our new Buffalo Wild Wings. This was only my second time there, but I knew before I even sat down, what I wanted:

Fried Pickles!…aka my kryptonite in the form of an appetizer ;)

I wasn’t really in the mood for wings, so I decided to go with the 1/2 rack of ribs seasoned to a saucy perfection and a side of french fries drowning drizzled in ketchup.

Let me just say this was my first time having french fries in I don’t even know how long!

MONDAY

Monday morning, I stirred up this bowl of yum:

Cold leftover pumpkin peanut flour oats with plain Greek yogurt and cranberry syrup

Mmmm, I forgot how much I love “yoats” :)

Monday afternoon, BB and I headed to the gym. I love having him as a workout partner…he helps motivate me to push harder AND I’m always learning new techniques or moves from him!

When we got done at the gym, we were both famished!

While he snacked on some salmon straight out of the can (yes I know, we were meant for each other, right?), I fried up some eggs for egg and avocado sandwiches:

I also threw in some steamed spinach and black beans mixed with salsa…and that plate satisfied every craving I had!

For dinner, we finally made it to that new Greek restaurant I was telling you guys about. It’s actually a hookah bar too and even more of a dive than the German place we went to on Friday, but I have to say the food was pretty decent.

My side salad with falafel and our shared basket of warm pita bread.

Then came our entrees!

His:

Khafta kabob with yellow rice, tabouli, and hummus

Hers:

Hummus platter with lamb gyro

And yes, that hummus WAS as creamy as it looks!

For some reason, every time I think about trying new restaurants, I always think I have to drive to Nashville. I forget how many places there are in my little town that I have yet to discover. I had so much fun this weekend “exploring the world” with BB…who knows, maybe one day we’ll get to do it in real life! :)

What is your favorite international cuisine?

What’s the best thing you ate this past weekend?

Posted in Breakfast, Lunch/Dinner, Restaurant Review, What I Ate Wednesday | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Happy Pancake Day!

Posted on February 21, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

To all my American peeps out there who may not have heard yet…

It’s Pancake Day over in the UK!
*pause to acknowledge my clever use of rhyming before 7am*

Also known as Shrove Tuesday…or the day before Lent.
(for more info, click here)

Now, I’m fully aware that I don’t live in the UK, I’m not Catholic, and I JUST celebrated Pancake Sunday two days ago, but c’mon…you can’t expect me (The Pancake Queen) to turn down a chance to wake up early and make pancakes instead of going to the gym!

I may have beat off the crowds at the gym tonight when I get off work, but believe me…

It was worth it!

Pumpkin Peanut Flour Pancakes topped with leftover Cashew Cream Icing and thawed frozen raspberries!

And the “recipe” couldn’t be simpler:

1 serving just-add-water pancake mix…this one is my favorite!

1/4 cup peanut flour

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice

Did you/are you celebrating Pancake Day today?

Are you giving up anything for Lent?
Like I said, I’m not Catholic or anything, but I have given up things for Lent in the past just as kind of a test of my willpower. One year I gave up chocolate…that’s the year I found out cocoa is in red velvet cake! Lol

I’ll have to do some thinking today and decide if I’ll be doing it this year.

Hope you all have a fantastic FAT Tuesday!

Now go make some pancakes!

Posted in Breakfast, Food Holidays | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Posted on February 19, 2012 by kissmybroccoli

Good morning loves!

So, it seems after taking January off, I seem to be on some sort of pancake making spree! Just when I think I’ve run out of flavor combinations or ingredients to stuff inside, I dream up something new!

Now, I’ll go ahead and tell you that without even looking, I KNOW I’m not the first person to come up with the idea of cinnamon roll pancakes…or even PUMPKIN cinnamon roll pancakes, buuuuuuuut here is my series of thoughts whenever I see those recipes and their drool-worthy pictures with perfect cinnamon swirlies and the creamy white icing that looks so good I want to lick my computer screen:

“Oh wow, that looks ahhhhhhmazing…”

“Wonder what’s in it…”

“Hmm, butter, butter, sugar, more sugar, and oh look…MORE sugar”

*insert sad face*

So I just thought I’d try whipping up a recipe that still has all the same wonderful flavors but with less of the butter and sugar…you know, because I want to enjoy a plate of pancakes without going into a diabetic coma ;)

So this is what I came up with:

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

by Heather Powers

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Cook Time: 10-12 minutes

 

Ingredients (Serves 2)

For Pancakes

  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 egg

For Cinnamon Swirl

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon water to thin if necessary

Instructions

1. Heat a large skillet or electric griddle to medium heat and coat with butter or cooking spray.

2. Combine flour, leavening ingredients, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. Pour 1 cup of milk into a measuring cup, add apple cider vinegar and set aside for 1-2 minutes. This is your “buttermilk”

4. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, egg, butter, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Whisk until smooth.

5. Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

6. Combine melted butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, and water if needed to make the cinnamon swirl sauce.

7. Scoop batter into/onto skillet/griddle by 1/3 cup, swirl with cinnamon sauce and allow to cook 4-5 minutes or until edges start to brown.

8. Flip and allow to cook for 4-5 minutes more or until done.

9. Transfer to plate and top with cashew cream “icing” (recipe to follow) and sprinkle with more cinnamon.

Powered by Recipage

And don’t even try to tell me it’s not pumpkin season…my pantry filled with 12 more cans of the stuff begs to differ!

I need a bit more practice in my cinnamon “swirling”…guess I’ll just have to make these again sometime soon.

Oh darn! ;)

Flipped and plated and waiting for their icing bath!

Oh yeah, THERE it is!

I know, I know…I’m totally wishing I could be that pancake right now too!

The cakes came out so moi….um, yeah…you know what I mean and the cinnamon swirl added just the right amount of sweetness…I totally could have eaten them plain, but once I got a taste of this icing, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that they were getting smothered drizzled with some!

Cashew Cream “Icing”

by Heather Powers

Prep Time: 3-4 hours (for soaking cashews

Cook Time: N/A

 

Ingredients (Serves 2)

  • 1/3 cup soaked cashews (allow to soak in water for 3-4 hours or overnight)
  • 1/3 cup milk of choice
  • 1/8 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a mini food processor or Magic Bullet and blend until smooth and creamy.

Powered by Recipage

Now you guys know I stand firm on my belief that you should go with the “real” stuff when it comes to syrup (the fake sugars will only leave your body wanting more), but I accidentally picked up this “table syrup” the other day instead but didn’t notice until I cracked it open this morning…

Turns out, it’s made from brown rice syrup, it’s pretty flippin’ tasty, AND has about 22-23 grams less sugar!

I hope you are all having a great weekend! Now that BB has done finished all the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and waited patiently for me to get this post up (how lucky am I?), it’s time to get ready and head to his family’s house for his niece’s birthday celebration!

What are you guys up to today?

What seasonal flavor can you just not give up lately? 

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments