Zombie cakes pt. 2- cakes (and more) for zombies!

Last year some of you might remember my blog about how to make your own zombie cakes. Well this year for Halloween I thought I would continue the zombie theme, but this time with treats you can make for your zombie guests! Because lets face it…if theyre busy eating these treats, they wont eat your brains ;)

Zombie Brains Cupcakes

Craftster user OhThat made these deliciously brainy cupcakes for her son zombie.

Panna Cotta Brains with Pomegranate Sauce

Omnibrain of Science Blogs posted this deliciously realistic looking dessert altered from an Alton Brown recipe. Its so realistic looking Im planning on making some in case the zombie apocalypse happens and I need decoys!

Brain Pate

While a brain pate might sound gross, this particular pate isnt made from actual brains, it just looks like them. But it will food a zombie long enough for you to plan your escape.

Watermelon Brain

For the zombie thats watching their waistline, this melon brain is healthy and…well…brainy.

Brain Dip

Food blogger Canary Girl posted this simple and effective brain party dip. All you need is some cream cheese, ranch seasoning and salsa and youve got yourself a tasty zombie approved treat.

You can get the recipes for all these treats by clicking on the above links…enjoy!

<3
seanalyn

PS- oh and Im sure you noticed many of these recipes require brain molds which can be purchased in many stores this time of year or online at a site like amazon. Mini brains and big brains!

Quick Quinoa Dinner

Im always looking for new and tasty vegetarian dinner options so when I was flipping through the latest issue of RealSimple I was stoked to see a tasty sounding (and quick) quinoa dish! I decided to try it out the other night and was not only thrilled with the results, but immediately thought of one lovely lady who could certainly use this recipe. Our darling Erin of Operation: Domesticate Erin!

What I love about this recipe is that it is incredibly simple yet packed with tons of flavor. Those who know me know Im a spice queen, I LOVE spices and am always incorporated multiple spices into my recipes. So, when I first read the recipe and noticed that its only spices were salt, pepper and garlic I was a little suspect of how much flavor it would hold. Amazingly enough, the white wine, cheese and natural flavor of all the veggies made this one flavor packed dish. The reason why I chose this dish as something to point towards Erin is because its quick, healthy and can easily be adjusted for one portion or made into two (one for dinner and one for lunch). Plus the dish doesnt require a lot of white wine so youre left with a glass or two to reward yourself after a hard work day ;)

Below is the recipe from RealSimple with a few editions I made to add a little extra punch (ie- more garlic and wine!) If you want to add a little extra protein to the dinner you could easily add in some shrimp, tofu or chicken breast while cooking the potatoes and mushrooms.

Quinoa with Mushrooms, Kale and Sweet Potatoes

Serves 2
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 30m

Ingredients

1/2 cup quinoa (uncooked)
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 small sweet potato (about 1 pound) and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (the original recipe said to peel the poatoes but I decided to leave the skin on for extra flavor and nutrients)
5 ounces button mushrooms, quartered
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch kale, stems discarded and leaves torn into 2-inch pieces
3/4 cup dry white wine
kosher salt and black pepper
1/8 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)

Directions
Place the quinoa and 2 cups water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all the water is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes and mushrooms and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden and beginning to soften, 5 to 6 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the kale, wine, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, tossing often, until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve over the quinoa and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Nutrition info:Calories 361 // Fat 12g // Sat Fat 2g // Cholesterol 5mg // Sodium 560mg // Protein 13g // Carbohydrate 51g // Fiber 6g

Ice cream gyoza!

Ok so its no secret that Im a fan of food that looks like other food. Thats why when I saw this recipe for Ice Cream Gyoza on Evil Mad Scientist I was absolutely tickled!

Ice Cream Gyoza

Now this seems like it might be difficult, but if you can play with playdough, Im pretty sure you can pull this one off. All you need to do is make some eggless cookie dough (it has to be eggless because the dough will not be cooked), buy some vanilla or any other flavor ice cream and get a gyoza mold and youre pretty much done! These would make for a great unique desert treat at any party or dinner.

<3 seanalyn

5 ways to eat a veggie burger

i love Boca and Morningstar farms burgers! but sometimes, the same old becomes trite. here are some fantastic alternatives brought to you by SELF Magazine:

1. In a wrap. I slice a burger into half-inch strips, place them in a whole wheat wrap and layer with low-fat Swiss cheese, red onion, lettuce and a bit of ranch dressing.

2. With a salad. A traditional flavored burger, like Morningstar’s, tastes great on top of a Southwestern-style salad: spinach with corn kernels, sliced bell pepper, tomato, cilantro and lime juice.

3. For breakfast. Use in place of a sausage patty on a breakfast sandwich- you’ll get more meal for a similar amount of calories! Top a whole wheat English muffin with 1 tsp trans-fat free margarine, a scrambled egg and a slice of cheese.

4. In a sauce. I cut a warm patty into squares and stir into a microwaved cup of marinara sauce to soup up my whole wheat penne. Of course, I much prefer my mom’s meatballs, but this is an effortless way to add protein to an individual serving of pasta!

5. As a salad. Morningstar’s recipe for a re-vamped potato salad sounds perfect for late summer! Plus, it’s mayo-free, flavored only with fresh veggies and BBQ sauce.

PS: Check out Morningstar’s website, where they currently have a $1 off coupon posted! Or, want to find your own fave veggie burger? Look for one that meets these RD-approved guidelines:

Best Veggie Burger (per patty)

* 150 calories or less
* No more than 1 g saturated fat
* At least 10 g protein
* No more than 350 mg sodium

<3 kt

alternative ways to eat waffles

im always looking for exciting new ways to freshen up breakfast and lunch.  sometimes you are in a hurry and don’t have time to fix an appropriate meal.  frozen waffles are easy, something to grab on the go.  thanks to realsimple.com, here’s some ways to dress them up:

They’re not just for breakfast anymore. Try these delicious ideas for waffle sandwiches.

by Kate Merker

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Heat the sandwich, pressing occasionally and flipping once with a spatula, until the waffles turn crisp.

Frozen waffles can be more than just a vehicle for butter and maple syrup. When used to make grilled cheese or panini-style sandwiches, they really are the greatest invention since sliced bread. Using your choice of fillings or any of those below, assemble a sandwich, then follow the directions.

• Bacon, avocado, and Cheddar
• Peanut butter and jelly
• Red onion, black olives, and Feta
• Egg, spinach, and Swiss cheese
• Smoked turkey, watercress, and Brie
• Butter, banana, brown sugar, and cinnamon
• Chocolate bars and marshmallows or Marshmallow Fluff

<3 kt

leftover bagel ideas

i love these ideas from thekitchn.com!!!  you can also freeze bagels so they do not go bad and pull them out to defrost when you are craving one!

1. Make Sandwiches – Because leftover bagels are a little too chewy for our taste, we pack the bagels and the sandwich fixings separately in our lunch. At work, we toast the bagels before assembling them into warm, crunchy sandwich.

2. Make Bagel Pizzas – A favorite from when we were kids, and still a great quick weeknight meal! We smear the bagel with a little tomato sauce, a sprinkling of cheese, and whatever pizza toppings we’re in the mood for, and then we bake them under the broiler or in a toaster oven until the cheese is bubbly.

3. In Salad – Leftover bagels may be too stale to eat on their own, but we’ve found that we really like them torn up into big, soft croutons in our salad. They soak up a bit of the dressing, and add some substance to the salad. Sometimes we toast the bagel first for a little crunch.

4. In Frittata – Like leftover pasta, we’ll throw cubes of bagel into a dinner frittata. Think of this as a quick, extra-eggy bread pudding!

5. In Bread Pudding – And while we’re at it, why not make savory bread pudding?! We don’t usually have enough bagels left for a full-sized pudding, but we can make smaller ones in individual ramekins. Just fill a ramekin with bagel chunks, cheese, and veggies, then pour a mixture of egg and milk over the top. Let it sit for a little while and then bake at 350°.

<3 kt

leftover cooked rice ideas

yo, we are in a recession!  using EVERYTHING and wasting nothing is key to survival.  i had a fiesta bbq and made way too much rice.  now i need ideas of what to do with it.  searching the internet, i found some unique recipes:

• workitmom.com is a working moms’ blog and they always have fantastic ideas:

1.) Fried rice. Scramble an egg, add diced whatever leftover meat you have (smoked ham and roasted chicken are always winners, though I’ve even used up leftover Chinese food with awesome results), diced carrots and celery, diced onion, and any leftover cooked vegetables from the fridge. Mix together soy sauce, a little honey, and rice wine vinager; pour it over, toss to coat, and serve it up.

2.) Quiche with a rice crust. Combine rice, an ounce or two of grated cheese (something hard, like cheddar or swiss), and an egg; press into a pie plate and bake until set. Then pour in the quiche filling and bake some more.

3.) Thicken a soup or stew. Seriously, just add it to prepared broth by the handful. If you add too much, call it porridge. No? Fine… make some chicken soup and add just enough so that you can call it chicken soup with rice (singing the song is optional).

4.) Rice pudding. This recipe from Slashfood.com is easy and delicious. If you serve it for breakfast, your kids will think they’re getting away with something.

5.) Jambalaya. Think fried rice with a Cajun twist. Pick a recipe here, or make up one of your own: Start with a diced sweet onion sauteed in olive oil. Add crumbled hot sausage and cook until the sausage is no longer pink. Add some tiny shrimp (thaw ‘em first) and chopped bell peppers, toss in the leftover rice, and douse with a tomato-based sauce. Authentic? Nah. Tasty, quick, and economical? Yes, indeed.

• eatdrinkbetter.com had some more suggestions:

Garlic Rice - This is a simple Philippine fried recipe that calls for adding pantry staples plus some ground pork, but after reading comments made on the recipe from users, the pork can be omitted and vegetables such as mushrooms and green peppers can be added.

Calas – A sweet rice fritter made with leftover rice, flour, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Like the garlic rice above, this too can be made with things you most likely already have in your pantry.

Tomatoes Stuffed with Rice - If you’re looking to use up your leftover rice and the baskets full of tomatoes you’re bringing in from your garden, here’s a  Giada De Laurentiis that will help you. I’ve never made a recipe from Giada that I didn’t like.

Anything Rice – This recipe takes your leftover rice, some eggs, onions, green peppers, and anything else you have leftover in your frig and creates a meal out of it.

Rockin’ Rice Pudding - Tyler Florence’s recipe for rice pudding using three cups of cooked rice. Hmmm. I have three cups leftover from last night. Guess what I’ll be making tonight!

One other tip – Cooked white rice can be frozen after it’s cooled, so if you can’t use it right away, put it in an airtight container and freeze it.

let me know if you have any suggestions too!

<3 kt

Cornmeal Crusted Whitefish

I love fish and am always looking for new ways to make tasty easy healthy fish. So the other night after long day and a long workout, I decided to cook up some Dover Sole fillets I had chilling in my fridge. Being tired, I didnt want to slave over the stove so I decided to use my ol friend the oven. I also had some leftover cornmeal that wasnt enough for making dough so I decided to try a spicy cornmeal crust and it turned out so delicious and so easy.

Cornmeal Crusted Whitefish

BTW this isnt the actual fish I made, Im getting a new camera next week so I’ll finally be able to take pics again!!

Ingredients
2 Fillets of any whitefish (sole, tilapia, basa swai, etc)
Cumin
Red pepper flakes
Garlic salt
Pepper
Paprika
Cornmeal

Mix all the spices (not including the cornmeal) together until it has a nice robust and spicy flavor. Unfortunately I didnt exactly measure the spices but it was mostly cumin and paprika with a healthy sprinkle of the peppers and salt. I rubbed the fishes on both sides with the spice rub and placed them on a lightly oiled pan. On the side facing up I gave it a healthy coating of the cornmeal until the fish was fully covered on the top. After this I gave it one last sprinkle of salt and pepper before popping it into a 400 degree oven and baked for about 15 minutes until the fish was nice and crispy. I gave each fillet a squirt of lemon juice for a nice addition of citrus and served them as fish tacos.

See nice and easy huh? Its all about playing with the spices until you find a nice flavor, you could even change it up by adding chiptole, curry or any other flavor profiles that you like. Just make sure you play with the flavors BEFORE you add them on the fish that way you can taste as you go along ;)

<3 seanalyn

Red Snapper in a Spicy Coconut Sauce

Last night I tried out a new recipe I had found on www.self.com and as usually I modified as I went along and ended up creating something wonderful (not that the original recipe didnt sound wonderful). I hardly ever follow recipes, except for baking, because I like to let my palate guide me. I usually will use recipes as a reference or jumping off point, I get a basic idea of the ingredients and the order and proportion and adjust and add as I go along. What started as Coconut Spinach Snapper ended up as Red Snapper in a Spicy Coconut Sauce! So in my usual fashion, the following recipe is a rough estimate of what I made, I tried to remember the exact amount of each ingredient but I very highly encourage you to taste and alter as you go along!

Red Snapper in a Spicy Coconut Sauce

INGREDIENTS

Olive Oil
2 snapper fillets (about 6 oz each)
Salt and Pepper to taste
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 cup diced white onion
2/3rd to 1 can of light coconut milk
Juice of 2-3 limes
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I highly recommend Safeway brand soy sauce…I cant explain why but it has the best flavor)
About 1/2 tablespoon of Sriracha (adjust to your spice preference)
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
1 bag (10 oz) spinach, washed (not dried)
1 broccoli crown chopped

Heat a bit of oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Season fish with salt and pepper and cook 2 or 3 minutes per side or until the fish is cooked but not too flakey. Remove fish from skillet and cover to keep warm. Return skillet to heat; cook garlic, ginger and onion until tender. Add coconut milk, lime juice and cilantro and bring to a boil. Add soy and sriracha; simmer 1 minute. Heat oil in a separate, large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté remaining the bell peppers and broccoli, season with salt and pepper. Add tomato and spinach and cook until greens are just wilted. Plate the veggies then top with the salmon and sauce. Garnish with a bit of lime.

I served this dish alongside some mild curry spiced rice but any rice or quinoa would be excellent. Bottom line is have fun with this recipe, you can play with the flavors a lot and really make it your own. If you come up with any tasty variations please share!

<3 seanalyn

Miso Scallops and Shrimp over Stir Fried Rice Noodles

Recently I hit up Japantown and picked up a bucket of miso paste since its one of my favorite flavors yet I never have it on hand to cook with. Its been chilling in my fridge for over a week while I mulled over the different ways to use it. Then it dawned on me…scallops…the perfect match to miso. I had recently picked up some bay scallops for cheap and also had some shrimp left over so I decided to throw those together with some rice noodles and see what happens…and what happens is pure magic.

Miso Scallops and Shrimp over Stir Fried Rice Noodles

I didnt take a picture of dinner so heres a picture of a tub of miso.

Ingredients

2 servings of dry rice noodles (medium thickness or flat rice preferred)
3 tablespoons white miso
2 tablespoons filtered sake
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic minced
3/4 pound scallops (I used Bay Scallops because its what I had on hand but I HIGHLY suggest using Sea Scallops)
1 diced red or yellow pepper
1/4 cup of diced white onion
Pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes or according to package directions, cook them slightly underdone because they will cook a little more later and rice noodles easily overcook. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

In a bowl whisk the miso, sake, vinegars, olive oil, ginger and garlic. Add scallops and shrimp and stir gently, let marinate for 5 minutes (scallops will begin to break down if marinated longer). Using a slotted spoon, remove the scallops and shrimp, reserving the marinade for the sauce.
Heat some olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallops and shrimp and cook until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.

In the same pan add a little oil and quickly saute the peppers and onions, add the noodles and continue to saute. Add a little bit of pepper to season. Slowly toss in the reserved marinade to the pan and cook until the noodles and vegetables are tender.Transfer the noodles to a plate and top with scallops and shrimp and serve immediately.

<3 seanalyn