Meatball Sub

Posted in Recipes Reel by meganandeggs

This past week or so I have been getting a huge urge to wanderlust. Literally my favorite thing is to see the world & experience this planet & all the cultures to their fullest. This past year we went to Portland & it was long overdue & absolutely amazing. Now all I can think of doing is traveling, seeing new things & tasting new flavors.

We are planning on taking a little road trip in March for Spring Training in Arizona. Now I know, it’s not the Yankees, which I can’t wait to go to see in the Grapefruit League one day, but Scottsdale is a little easier to get to then Tampa is. We are hoping to hop on the 10 Freeway here in Orange County & just head west until we see a sign. I can’t wait & already want to plan all of our food stops. What are some great places to eat in the Scottsdale area? What are some fun hikes?

Before we head to Scottsdale though, we are planning a very belated trip to Connecticut. This has been the longest since I have been home since I moved to the west coast. Chris & I haven’t been to the east coast since my cousin got married last August. Before I was coming home every 8-10 months but now it will be almost a year & a half & my heart breaks when I think about it.

I miss my friends, my family, the food, & even the weather. Okay, I only miss the weather sometimes.

I am definitely hoping the winter weather holds up while we are there so Chris & I can explore a little. One place I have never been that I definitely want to discover is Arthur Ave in the Bronx. I know I know, an Italian that hasn’t been to Arthur Ave!! It’s terrible. My parents will take day trips with their friends or my aunts & uncles to pick up meats & cheeses but I haven’t even been able to hop onto any of those day trips. This January I definitely plan on making my own trip though.

To get myself in the mood I made my own meatball sub. I love anything in the form of a sandwich but the rolls & breads out here just aren’t the same. So to make due I over compensate on the meats & toppings to cover up the lack of flavor in the bread. For my meatball sub I like to use Trader Joe’s Half Baked Rolls. If you’re back eat, grab a Portuguese roll & try it out. However you have it, enjoy!

1 lb ground beef
1 roll or 2 slice of left over bread
1 egg
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
¹⁄₈ cup bread crumbs
6 half-baked rolls
1 cup mozzarella cheese

1. Empty ground beef into large mixing bowl and set aside. Preheat oven to 400⁰.
2. Place bread under low running sink to moisten bread. Allow bread to become lightly wet and remove any crust.
3. Work into meat with your hands kneading out any clumps of bread. Make sure the bread and meat are blended to the same consistency.
4. Add egg, mix with hands until fulling mixed together.
5. Add salt, pepper garlic powder, parsley. Knead together with hands.
6. Add bread crumbs as needed.
7. Roll into 1 inch balls. If meat sticks to your hands, add in more bread crumbs in small amounts.
8. Bake meatballs 20-25 minutes.
9. Mix in with tomato sauce.
10. Build sandwich. Cut 1 meatball in half and place on open roll. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 5 minutes.

4Sep2015

Vegetable Crustless Quiche

Posted in Recipes Reel by meganandeggs

Labor Day is the last true hoorah of summer. Whether you are going back to school or not, there is something about September that screams you need to get back on a schedule & focus. For me, in retail, it is a reminder that I have two months to get my team ready & prepared for the holiday season… aka two months of straight hell in November & December.

When I was coaching cheerleading a few years ago September meant practices got more intense, every Friday I had two football games I had to sit through & working two jobs during the busiest season for both, would be craziness.

Getting out of the door in the morning can really be a struggle sometimes, but I am not the type of person that can skip breakfast & be happy & perky until lunch time. No mam, this girl needs a little something to get her morning going. Granola bars can get old, & a few years back I totally did it in on hard boiled eggs. If I don’t have another for another year it’ll be too soon. So I am always looking for something easy to grab on my way out the door.

My mom obsesses over crustless quiches. I honestly don’t think she makes them that often, but whenever I say I am having people over for the weekend, or need something easy for the morning, she always suggests, “you know, I make this crustless quiche…” So I thought I’d finally try it. Honestly one of the easiest things I have thrown together.

One Sunday I was doing a bunch of cooking for the week & I threw this together pretty quickly, & even better… cheaply. You can really grab whatever veggies you have in the fridge, & it is really good for those weeks that you over buy in veggies & you know you’re going to end up throwing some stuff away.

I had kale, broccoli and bell peppers in my fridge and just a little extra mozzarella cheese leftover from a lasagna I made. With my aunt talking me through how she makes her quiche, ironically she had made one for brunch that day, I made a few tweaks to her directions & there I had it, breakfast for the entire week.

Since my boyfriend is one of those weird people that don’t like cheese, I was able to enjoy this all to myself. Next time you are thinking, how am I going to eat all of these veggies before they go bad tomorrow, grab a carton of eggs & bake them together. Enjoy!

3 eggs
½ Tbsp salt
Pepper to taste
1 ½ cup cream
2 broccoli heads
2 cups kale
1 bell pepper, chopped
¾ cup mozzarella cheese
1 oz goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350⁰ and spray pie dish with vegetable cooking spray.
2. Sauté cleaned broccoli and kale in a dry pan. Do not add any oil, you are simply trying to remove any excess water from the veggies so the quiche doesn’t get watery.F
3. Layer in kale and broccoli along the bottom of the pie dish. Top with an even layer of bell peppers.
4. Layer the mozzarella cheese evenly over the vegetables and then crumble the goat cheese evenly throughout.
5. Crack eggs into a separate bowl and beat. Add salt, pepper and cream to mixture and continue to beat allowing the eggs to aerate.
6. Pour egg mixture into pie plate and bake for 45-60 minutes or until cooked through the middle.

16Jul2015

Mediterranean Spaghetti with Artichoke Hearts, Olives and Capers

Posted in Recipes Reel by meganandeggs

It hasn’t been terribly hot here in SoCal this past week but the humidity is starting to really put a damper on things. We spent the day at Disneyland the other day & the weather literally felt like we had stepped into a time warp & landed at Disney World mid-August. It was so humid we didn’t even have the strength to really walk around & enjoy the park.

We hoped from store to store soaking in as much A.C. as we could get. I only got on about 3 rides, & one was indoor Space Mountain, so again… soaking in the A.C. I haven’t experienced a hot summer day in the Park that made me truly not want to be there, since I moved out here over five years ago. But we were committed to staying through at least the parade & fireworks show.

Since it is Disneyland’s 60^th anniversary, they recreated & relaunched a lot of attractions to celebrate their Diamond Celebration. The firework show & Paint the Night Parade are two of the best shows I have seen in a long time.

I am not a big parade watcher. I think they can really kill your day at the park. You have to stake out a seat hours beforehand, & then you are still crammed into a small space with hundreds of other people all trying to take the same picture & see the same thing. This parade, however, is probably one of the most entertaining, fun & impressive parades I’ve seen at Disney & is totally worth the wait in the heat.

Anyways, I digress. Back to the heat.

Needless to say the last thing I, or anyone we were with wanted was a heavy meal. So after much deliberation, we finally gave in & headed over to Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante, the Mexican restaurant right next to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad & had some carne asada Caesar salads. If there was about a table spoon of less salad dressing, it would have been the second best thing for a summer day next to jumping into the pool.

Fast forward to today, where I don’t go into work until after lunchtime, it’s again, kind of gross out. Best part, I am home alone so I can cook whatever I want for lunch & Chris can’t complain that he doesn’t like just about every ingredient I am putting into this pasta.

This is a pasta that my mom loves to make during the summer also. It’s light, has a ton of flavor, & doesn’t need to be served piping hot, like how I like my pastas with red sauces. This is even a nice pasta you could make with really anything you have laying around, & it is great when you need to start clearing out the fridge of things that way have been in there for a little too long. Here is how I am making it today. Enjoy!

Serves 2

1/3 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves
10 olives
3-4 marinated artichoke hearts
1 Tbsp capers
Salt and pepper
Red pepper flakes
2 cups spaghetti, cooked

1. Boil water with a tsp of olive oil and a dash of salt. Once begins boiling, add spaghetti and cook to time on box.
2. Saute garlic in olive oil for 2-3 minutes on medium heat until golden but not browned.
3. Add olives, artichokes, capers and seasonings and continue cooking 5-8 minutes stiring every couple minutes. The artichokes with turn golden brown and olives will begin to wilt slightly when ready.
4. Add pasta to saute pan and toss using tongs until pasta is totally covered by olive oil and veggies are dispersed evenly.

12Jun2014

My Favorite Food at Disneyland

Posted in California, Travel Tips, USA by meganandeggs

When most people think of Disneyland they think rides, shows, and their favorite characters. Oh and standing in lines. My friends and I, however, we think about food. The Disney Resorts have some of the best food for hotels and definitely the best food for amusement parks. I am here today to tell you some of my favorite foods at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.

1. Clam Chowder Bowl at Royal Street Veranda at New Orleans Square in Disneyland

This is my go to snack while waiting to watch Fantasmic! at night. We usually stay to watch the show & everyone is ready for a snack. So if it isn’t a churro or popcorn, we usually end up splitting a bread bowl & they are amazing. You can get gumbo also if you are adventurous but I like to stick with hearty clam chowder.

2. Corn Dog at Corn Dog Castle at Paradise Pier in Disney’s California Adventure

I literally die. I am not a big fan of greasy foods but the Disneyland Corn Dogs are no joke. Up until a few years ago there was only one spot you can grab these beauties… at the end of Main St. but now they have expanded to California Adventure also. Nothing is better than a Corn Dog & a Disneyland Margarita at the happiest place on earth!

3. Mac and Cheese at La Brea Bakery in Downtown Disney

If you are just looking for a snack I suggest grabbing a Mac and Cheese off of the kids menu, but if you are ready for a full blown, cheesey meal of deliciousness… get the big one. So good!

4. Holiday Turkey at Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney

Now that we live just 20 minutes from Downtown Disney there are days where I just run over to grab a sandwich at Earl. Now I am sure if you have been to Las Vegas’s Planet Hollywood you have tried it there too but these are way better than Subway!

5. Lobster Nachos at The Cove Bar on Paradise Pier in Disney’s California Adventure

Recently the Cove Bar in DCA underwent a little bit of a remodel & expanded their seating but that doesn’t mean you won’t have to wait for a table. Get there early enough because if you try to get seats around World of Color show times, you will be waiting in a long line. But if you do get in… you need to have the Lobster Nachos… Amazing!!

6. Fried Chicken and Mashed Potatoes at the Plaza Inn on Main Street in Disneyland

Always a good go to, the fried chicken with mashed potatoes at the Plaza Inn is the perfect dinner date. And if you time it right, you can even catch a glimpse of the fireworks from your seats.