Frozen Krispy Treat

Posted in Recipes Reel by meganandeggs

Let me preface this post with “I am not a baker!” I don’t enjoy baking, I don’t have the patience for baking, and it stresses me out because I can’t taste what I am making along the way. So when I found this recipe on Chef in Training and I saw nothing had to go in the oven I was all in!

I’m also not a huge sweet person, but to my surprise, this dessert is jam packed with sugar but I loved it. The vanilla ice cream is the perfect match to break up the crazy amount of sugar each bite has.

A few weeks ago Chris’s dad’s side of his family came own for the weekend and we brought them to Disneyland. The second day they were here they had a little pool party at our place while I was at work so I premade my Taco Salad and Chris grilled hotdogs and hamburgers. For dessert the Krispy Snickers snack was the perfect things to have after day at the pool.

I chose to use Snickers on top of the Krispy bars, but you can really use anything on top. Carmel and chocolate sauce drizzled on top would be great or even crushed nuts and chocolate flakes. For kids a fun colored cereal would be cute.

As the summer winds down we are going to be having a lot less days at the pool but it is always great to have a simple go to snack that you can just whip up and throw in the freezer for later. We kept ours wrapped up in parchment paper with a lid on the baking tin for about a week and the cereal held it’s freshness and it still tasted great. I truly enjoy this dessert and hope you can find a fun time you try it out also.

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups krispy cereal
2 Snickers bars, chopped
½ gallon vanilla ice cream
Ice cream toppings of your choice

1. Allow butter and ice cream to sit out for about 30 minutes to soften. Mix together butter, brown sugar, and cereal in a bowl using a soft spatula.
2. Line a 2 inch deep 9×13 baking tray with parchment paper. Spread the mixture across the bottom of the tray. Pat it down with the rubber spatula.
3. Layer vanilla ice cream over mixture. The softer, the easier it is to smooth over the mixture. If it is too hard still it will pick up the krispies when you try to smooth it out.
4. Chop Snickers bars with a sharp knife and sprinkle on top of the ice cream.
5. Freeze and cut into squares when ready to serve.

5Aug2015

Taco Salad

Posted in Recipes Reel by meganandeggs

The only thing missing from this recipe is my mom’s yellow Tupperware bowl. Growing up there were a few staple summer dishes my mom would make. They were in the fridge more often than not in case my friends or any of my brother or sisters friends stopped by. Taco salad was one of the essentials in our house and it was always in a big yellow bowl with a clear top.

It super simple to make and can feed a whole lot of people which is perfect for a house of teenagers who have friends stopping by all of the time. You can really alter it however you’d like. Basically if it goes in a taco, you can throw it in the salad.

This past weekend we had Chris’s dad and his younger siblings down to our house. We went to Disneyland one day and the next day everyone spent the day at the pool while I went to work. Since I knew I wouldn’t be able to cook for everyone I made my taco salad so they would have something to eat with their hamburgers and hot dogs. Chris just had to pull it out of the fridge, pour some extra dressing on top and bring it down to the pool area.

1 lb ground beef
1 package Taco mix
1 small red pepper
1 bag Cool Ranch Doritos
8 oz California French salad dressing
½ head iceberg lettuce
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Optional:
1 cup olives, halved
1 small onion
1 small carrot, shredded

1. Cook meet until browned, drain and remove from pan.
2. Add Taco seasoning and add a splash of water to smooth together seasoning and meat. Add cheese and refrigerate.
3. Chop veggies and set aside. Chop lettuce.
4. Open bag of chips and crunch chips to bite size pieces.
5. Mix veggies and chips into bowl with meat and cheese.
6. Mix in salad dressing.
7. Can refrigerate after serving for up to 5 days. Before serving left overs, add about a tablespoon of more dressing.

2Aug2015

Mock High Tide Salad

Posted in Recipes Reel by meganandeggs

While we were in Florida a few months back I faced one of my biggest fears, while doing something I’ve always wanted to do. We spend the morning of Chris’s cousin’s wedding paddle boarding along Jupiter Florida’s intercostal inlet. Now I hate water. I don’t go in if I can’t see my feet, but paddle boarding is something I’ve always wanted to do.

In fairness I’ve always picture somewhere a little more blue. Hawaii, or the Caribbean. Somewhere where if I fell in I wouldn’t be scared of what was lurking underneath my board. But to tell you the truth, it ended up not being so bad.

We were out on the water for about two hours & let me tell you, it was the hottest & sunniest day of our entire vacation. It was an absolutely exhausting experience that I fell in love with. Since we’ve been back in So Cal we have been keeping our eyes peeled for Groupons and Living Social deals to try out our new found muscles here in Orange County. We haven’t gone yet but are hoping to get one ride in before the end of the summer.

After our morning workout we went by the pool at the Jupiter Beach Resort to relax, even out our tans from being out on the water all morning, & veg out. We were all starving so we ordered some salads to eat & I had one of the best, most filling salad ever. Full of quinoa, fennel, cranberries, & topped with salmon. Yum! It was the perfect meal to have after an outdoor, summer workout.

When I got home I knew I wanted to recreate it so I ran to my grocery store & then remembered why I don’t by quinoa. Damn it’s expensive. I figured I’d make my own, budget friendly version of the salad instead. It was just as good the second time as the original. I hope you enjoy!

2 Salads

1 lb salmon
1 cup less sodium soy sauce
1 garlic clove
Salt and pepper
½ cup prepared brown rice
2 cups baby greens
2 cups baby spinach
4 marinated artichoke hearts, chopped.

1. Allow salmon to marinate for 20 minutes in soy sauce, garlic, salt and pepper.
2. Preheat an oiled grill on medium heat.
3. Place salmon skin side up and don’t flip.
4. Grill until ¾ of the fish becomes opaque and the fish begins to curl up from the grill.
5. Flip and continue cooking.
6. Assemble salad by making a bed of greens and spinach, add rice and artichokes. Can also top with dried cranberries.
7. Add store bought white balsamic dressing and top with salmon.

23Jul2015

Beer Braised Brats

Posted in Recipes Reel by meganandeggs

Everyone knows I am a little bit of a wino. I love the taste, the fact that there are independently owned wineries all over California & I love even more that more & more wineries are opening up around the country. Love supporting local businesses. Anyone who has the balls to put themselves out there & start something deserves to be supported.

Last year Chris & I started getting more & more into beer, for all of the same reasons. Breweries are popping up all over the country & a lot of breweries feature great pup foods & snacks.

A few months ago we spent a long weekend in the West Palm Beach area of Florida. We were there for a wedding but my cousin moved there a few years ago so we spent a day with him & his wife brewery hopping to three different breweries. Two were seasoned breweries but one had just opened that week, which was pretty cool.

They were each so different from their ambiance, to their taste. My favorite was probably Due South Brewing Company. A large 15,000 square foot brewery with an onsite taproom, private back room & yard games to play. Due South was the second gastropub we stopped at so we started by grabbing dinner at the food truck on our way in the door. We each got a flight & played a game of corn hole. Sounds like a perfect Saturday to me!

If you talked to me 6 years ago I would say pass me a Michelob Ultra for the girlie taste & the $4 price tag. Now a days I’d like only a freshly tapped Double IPA with an amazing basket of sweat potato fries & pumpkin dip. I know, pretty specific.

This recipe I kind of just winged. I tried it a few times, & it didn’t always work out. Chris ate it with a smile, but maybe he actually liked it. I didn’t though. So I changed it little by little each time I tried it & finally figured out how to make it so we both liked it. Crispy but still full of flavorful beer with an amazing caramelized onion flavor. Yum! I want to eat it right now. I hope you enjoy just as much as I do.

5 Tbsp olive oil
1 sweet onion
5 bratwurst
12 oz blonde ale

1. Heat oil on low.
2. Cook brats over low heat for about 5 minutes per side. Try to get as much of the surface spaced browned for an even cook.
3. Add onions and raise heat to medium. Cook down onion for about 4 minutes or until soft, but not translucent.
4. Add beer and cook covered. Allow beer to bubble up around brats.
5. Once beer is reduced to half, uncover and continue to cook until only a small layer of beer remains. Onions will be caramelized.

20Jul2015

Baked Tomato Mac and Cheese

Posted in Blogging, Recipes Reel by meganandeggs

It rained!! Rain was falling from the skies in California! I am so excited. My car is excited, the grass is excited, the avocados and oranges are excited! Everyone is excited! Haha

When I was living back east rain was nothing but a pain in the butt! It meant I had to pull out my umbrella, the streets were going to get dirty, and my poor little car would have water marks on it. Now, living through this crazy drought the west coast has been going through for the past three years, everyone gets so excited when it rains.

We drove up to Los Angeles to spend the weekend with Chris’s family and during our drive up the storm rolled into downtown L.A. It was pretty cool to be downtown during a lighting storm. People were pulling over and recording the thunder and lightning with their phones and taking pictures of the lighting bolts.

This was actually only the second time since I moved to California that I have heard thunder and I think it was my first time seeing lightning. It definitely made me miss the summer storms back east. A warm rain shower was always the best, being able to go to bed with the window open and hearing the sound of the rain outside.

So now that you have the So Cal weather report, here is some blog news. I am finally starting to dive into Bloglovin’. What do you all think about it? Is it a good tool to find others and have readers find you? Follow me and let me know what you think about the site. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

This recipe I got from my cousin’s grandmother. I honestly can’t tell you the first time I had this but I remember as a child having it a lot. I don’t even know where. So last year I texted my cousin and said I needed the recipe. I was pleasantly surprised when she sent me it and it was even easier than I thought it would be. It sounds a little weird but it’s a great homey mac and cheese recipe. Enjoy!

1 lb elbow macaroni
28 oz whole peeled tomatoes
½ stick unsalted butter
12-16 slices of white American cheese

1. Boil pasta to time on box. Pre heat oven to 350˚.
2. Spray 8 x 8 glass baking dish with non-stick spray and layer ¼ of macaroni along the bottom of the pan. Top with an even layer of cheese.4 slices should cover all the pasta. Squeeze 1-2 tomatoes, depending on size, on top of the cheese breaking apart the tomato and allowing the juices to cover the cheese. Place tablespoon sized slices of butter on top.
3. Continue process until all pasta is used. Top later should have a layer of cheese. Pour remaining juices from tomato can on top.
4. Cover with foil and bake 40-45 minutes, until edges are bubbly.