Crumbs’ Lemon Cupcake, in my very transitional kitchen….I can’t believe I managed to take a picture before I chowed down.

Cupcakes

Eaten monthly

When the going gets tough

The tough get delicious cupcakes

Consumed.

Filed under: Uncategorized ]]> http://kellysstellarkitchen.com/2012/06/18/a-penchant-for-cupcakes/feed/ 0 kjistrouble IMG_1027 http://kellysstellarkitchen.com/2012/05/31/my-new-favorite-snack/ http://kellysstellarkitchen.com/2012/05/31/my-new-favorite-snack/#comments Fri, 01 Jun 2012 02:15:12 +0000 kjistrouble http://kellysstellarkitchen.com/?p=478 ]]> This post may be one that warrants all of y’all calling me a hypocrite: I know that I have gotten on my (virtual) soapbox a few times about eating whole, unprocessed foods. 

I digress from time to time, and my latest digression has become something of an obsession.

At one of my (many) places of employ, I came across some nuts. (Go ahead and insert jokes <here>. I’ll wait).

Anyhow, one of my coworkers brought in a big sack of nuts. Heh. 

Blue Diamond Almonds, to be precise. 

Specifically, Blue Diamond Almonds BOLD Wasabi & Soy Sauce variety.

And they.are.to.die.for. So much so that I had to buy my own bag for home, and measure it into individual serving sizes so I didn’t eat the whole thing.

If you like wasabi on your sushi, or even those awesome little wasabi peas (omg, NOMS?) these REALLY hit the spot in a pinch. I love a snack with a little bit of protein.

Except now, I want sushi all.of.the.time.

True story. Try them out. Unless you’re allergic to nuts. I don’t condone reckless behavior. 

However, I do feel a lot like a winner today. I graduated with my Master’s degree, and I’m piling heaps of hope upon even more hope that I will be get a permanent job with a competitive salary in my field. The job market doesn’t look good, but I’m doing my best to stay positive.

You haven’t seen me for all of April and most of May because, while I was working on my 60-page Master’s Thesis and Action Research, I was also working 4 jobs for a total of about 70 hours a week. I even injured my ankle, which has truly sidelined my cooking/running/training. 

I guess it was all for the better, because with every spare moment, I worked laboriously on my Thesis. I took my trusty MacBook and jump drives everywhere, even squeezing in some lunch-break-work at my various jobs. Aside from disappearing off of the blogosphere, my social life also took a serious dive.

Today was my commencement ceremony. I feel good. I feel accomplished. I feel ready to dive back into life outside of academia. I feel ready to have time for leisure reading and leisure writing.

Anyhow, what does this have to do with blogging?

Well, my dear friends, it means I have time to cook again, in my barely renovated kitchen. But I want these recipes to be flavorful, beautiful, and carefully sought-and-thought out.

My plan is to hold off on posting recipes for a bit. Starting July 1, you will see the recipes (hopefully some quality food porn) coming at you again on the regular. At that time, I hope to have a new layout and blog design. Call it a relaunch, if you will. A “Kitchen” renovation, of sorts.

In the meantime, I will be diving back in to “What I Ate Wednesdays” and telling you about some of my favorite food/kitchen products. There are more new favorites than I thought I could even have! I’ll pick my best for you. 

I’m glad to be back, kids, and I hope you will welcome me with open arms.

After all, I am a MASTER of something. Imagine that! (I have the bill to prove it). 

My kitchen is being majorly renovated right now. I’m beyond excited, but it’s limiting my cooking. Truthfully, so is my work schedule.

I spent most of the day in NYC yesterday, seeing a taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. My love for Jimmy Fallon goes way back to the SNL Days and THE Debbie Downer Sketch. I  saw myself on TV today! Clearly, I am a big star now.

Not above taking (many a) screen shot, I should mention I'm in the last row with a shiny silver clip in my hair. Later, I would go on stage, onto the band bench. I can totally see me clapping, and on TV, I can make out my own face. MADE OF WIN.

In my head, I had planned for yesterday to be a manageable day, food wise, but I really digressed. We all have those days. I am far from perfect. Yesterday was truly a day of indulgence.

I ate 3 of these bad boys for breakfast with a cup of coffee and an apple. Good, solid start to the day.

Then, I boarded a train to NYC, met up with a friend, and we took the subway down to Rockerfeller Plaza, where we ate here:

I had a turkey burger with mushroom and swiss, and a side of sweet potato fries. I only ate half of the burger, because I wasn't thrilled with it. But the sweet potato fries? Ate all of them like a BOSS.

What’s a girl to eat in Manhattan after seeing Jimmy Fallon and expending a lot of energy clapping? Obviously one of my favorite confectionary items from Crumbs.

White Hot Chocolate Cupcake? Yes, please. Have I mentioned lately that I am completely OBSESSED with Crumbs? Because, I am.

And lastly, when I arrived home at night, I ate some leftover slices of Papa John’s thin-crust pepperoni pizza, and 3 cheese sticks.

A day of excess, for sure. Today, I move on, and fuel my body much more adequately.

(But I’m still thinking about that cupcake. And Jimmy Fallon.)

Below is a post from my previous blog, and the reason that I quit fast food.

*Pizza is not fast food.

Don’t Eat this Book (Written May 2010 by yours truly)

At one of my WW meetings, a member said she was (RE)reading a book by Morgan Spurlock, the man who made Supersize Me. Another (lifetime) member said he owns the book and rereads it frequently – he hit goal 20 years ago and looks fantastic!

So, I signed my (shrinking) butt on to Amazon and found a copy for 25 cents. It’s been enlightening, despite the fact that it was published 5 years ago.

I’m reading this book for a number of reasons, but the primary reason is that I’m trying more and more to move away from processed foods in my diet, (not “DIET,” just meaning my daily intake) and something tells me Mr. Spurlock has a lot to share about what goes IN to all of these Fast Foods. I only eat fast food about once a week, it’s usually Chick-Fil-A or Wendy’s, but if I could get it down to once a month or once every other month that would be fab. **Edit (3/12): After completing the entire book, I stopped all fast food. I would still eat Chick-Fil-A if we had it in NY, as there is very little chemical content.**

I’m posting to share the following excerpt from The Washington Monthly via Spurlock’s Don’t Eat this Book.
” If a person drives instead of walks for only 20 minutes each day for a year, he will store about 26,000 calories, thus gaining about 5 pounds. Researchers at the University of Minnesota estimated that over a year, those who spend only five minutes each workday sending emails to coworkers instead of visiting their offices will gain an extra pound. Most of us gain weight this way, a few grams a day, a few pounds a year – but enough to shorten our lives.”

Pretty scary, no?

While icing my knee and reading through blogs Saturday after a training run, I decided that I wanted to add another layer to KSK. I want to write more, reflect more.

I decided to add “What I Ate Wednesday” to my blog. If you’ve never seen it before, I did most of my “research” on it at peasandcrayons.

The gist of it is that every Wednesday, you’re going to get photos and possibly some snarky commentary  on everything I shove down my gullet. (Such a comically ugly sounding word, isn’t it?)

My hope is that this will be interesting for you, but also make me think twice or thrice about what I am actually eating that day.

Every single solitary bite, lick, taste, and chomp will be documented by my iPhone on Wednesdays.

Happy Wednesday! I bring you: What Kelly* Ate Wednesday, Installation #1.

*Yes, I’m using my name. Does that make me a narcissist? Maybe, but this IS Kelly’sStellar Kitchen, right?

Breakfast: coffee with Nutella oatmeal, made with milk. This portion was too big, and I didn't finish it!

Small lunch on-the-go. Clearly not well-planned!

A mini-brownie I grabbed to snack on mid-afternoon.

Coffee, round two: Again, in my favorite coffee cup. 2tbsp half and half, TYVM.

WW.com recipe: Chili Soft Tacos. SO good.

For some reason, I would much rather tell you about a story that I associate with the food I’ve chosen to make.

Today’s experience changed that.

I’ve mentioned to you before that I’m a big proponent of real, unprocessed food. But I also know that realistically, I can’t always shred my own cheese or make pizza dough from scratch.

Today I used Pillsbury Pizza Crust Classic, and I have a few things to say about this stuff:

1. I am hopelessly scared of the popping noise that will come when you peel open the can. I know it’s coming, but when is so unpredictable.

2. I applaud Pillsbury for calling it “Pizza Crust,” because as a New Yorker, I am snobby about my pizza, and this product is tremendously different from pizza dough.

3. When your pizza crust comes out of the can with a very large chunk of dough missing, it is incredibly difficult to make a “pretty” pizza. I am certainly not a sculptor, nor will I ever be. I hooted, hollered, and carried on in the kitchen while trying to stretch a piece of dough to cover an ugly, twisted, gaping hole.

The jagged edges are evidence of my sculpting.

Today, my friends, I spare you any of the lengthy anecdotes about the first time I had Barbecue Chicken Pizza to give you this:

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Adapted from Cooking Light’s March 2012 Issue

Ingredients:

• 1 can (13.8oz)  Pillsbury Pizza Crust Classic
• ½ cup Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce
• 7oz sliced roasted chicken breast
• ½ cup shredded 2% cheddar cheese (I used Stop and Shop Brand, NI is the same as Cracker Barrel)
• ½ cup sliced red onion
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a pizza pan or baking sheet with olive oil spray (I used my misto) and spread dough out on sheet.

2. Pour ½ cup Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce on the pizza and spread evenly using a spoon.  Leave about ½ inch at the edge of the dough to create a crust.

3. Top pizza with chicken breast, red onion, and cilantro. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

4. Bake approximately 15-18 minutes, or until crust becomes golden brown.

I sliced mine into 6 slices for a bigger serving, 8P+

Truth is that lately, I haven’t felt much like cooking. Writing, yes. Cooking no. I’m talking the talk, but not walking the walk. It’s a very strange place to be.

I’m cooking, but I’m not cooking. The world looks different when I’m not cooking: a little cruder, and a little bit darker.

Maybe, my friend, you are thinking “Kelly, it’s just cooking. Can it really have such an adverse affect on your world?” It can, and it does. And I promise, soon you will see my bevy of recipes, which are waiting anxiously and hopefully to impress you.

But for tonight, I answer the question: What do you do when life gives you lemons?

If you’re me, on Wednesday, February 8, 2012 (which is damn near impossible because I am quite busy being me, thank you) you take those lemons and incorporate them into your friend Emily’s Creamy Lemon Tortellini Bake.

Sorry it’s been a while. Sometimes, life gets in the way of blogging. Oh, the audacity.

Other times, you make a recipe you think will be great, and it’s only so-so.

Roasted Garlic Chicken Rolls went back to the proverbial drawing board.

Both of those things have happened in the past few weeks.

I went on vacation.

My favorite photo from the Dominican Republic.

I had a birthday. (But you already knew that.)

RIP Crumbs cake. 1/20/12 - 1/27/12

My car broke down.

I signed up to fundraise and train with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training again. Long Island Half Marathon, here I come. (Please donate if you can, it’s a great cause.)

And my Giants are going to the Superbowl!

So, dip will be had. I hope you will forgive my absence. Trust that I am working hard, and thinking of you. (And betting on the Giants – but that’s another blog.)

Lighter Bacon-Jalepeño  Dip

Adapted from Food Network Magazine’s “50 Super Bowl Snacks”

Ingredients:

• 4 oz Neufchatel Cheese
• 4 oz fat free cream cheese
• 4oz Cracker Barrel Jalepeño White Cheddar, shredded
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 4 slices 40% reduced sodium cooked bacon, cooked crisp and  crumbled
• 1 tsp bacon drippings
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup Progresso Plain Panko

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix first nine ingredients well in an 8×8 baking dish. I used a hand mixer.

Before mixing

*If you want some EXTRA heat, you can put in a few teaspoons of minced jalepeño. I used Chi-Chi’s brand for my extra-heat version*

3. Sprinkle panko over the top of the mixture.

4. Bake approximately 30 minutes, until golden and bubbly. Spray with cooking spray, and place under broiler on high 1-2 minutes to brown the panko.

I suggest serving with some whole wheat pita chips (make them at home!), but you can serve with whatever you would like!

Creamy and delicious with a hint of jalepeño.