New Recipe Review- Fish N'Chips

For my new recipe last week, I tried Rachael Ray's "better for you" Fish N' Chips. It was a slightly healthier version of the traditional favorite.

It was pretty good. It uses sweet potatoes for the fries, and bakes them instead of frying which I was so excited about- I love sweet potato fries! I used a bit onion powder, garlic powder, and cajun seasoning instead of the salt and pepper in the recipe, and I was glad I did- perfect combination! Sorry for such a blurry picture...

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
  
  
• Salt and pepper
• 2 sweet potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), each cut into 12 wedges
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
  
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Cooking spray
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/3 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• Four 5-ounce skinless, boneless tilapia fillets, each cut lengthwise into thirds

Directions:

1. 
   Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 450°. In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, shallot, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
   
2. 
   On a foil-lined baking sheet, toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil and 1 tablespoon parsley; season with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer and bake on the lower rack until tender and crisp around the edges, about 20 minutes.
   
3. 
   Meanwhile, coat another foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, breadcrumbs, the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk and fish, turning to coat. Working with 1 piece at a time, coat the fish with the cornmeal mixture; transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Spray the fish with cooking spray; bake on the upper rack until golden-brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve with the fries, dipping sauce and lemon wedges.
   
   
   

Original recipe here.

New Recipe Review- White Cheese Lasagna

Thankfully, it's finally starting to feel like spring again. But before spring hits, I had to get one more (and possibly last) warm-you-to-the-bones winter recipe in. So, for my new recipe last week (I've missed a few blog entries, but don't worry I have been doing the new recipes :P) I decided to try white cheese and chicken lasagna. I love traditional red lasagna, so this definitely sounded like a fun way to change it up.

Recipe here.

I made a few changes: I cooked two chicken breasts in the crockpot with chicken stock, garlic, and onion to shred it rather than the using cubed meat. I also used fresh spinach instead of frozen, and added chopped carrots (steamed first) and yellow squash (sauteed first) for some extra veggies. I added both the chicken and vegetables to the ricotta mixture to minimize the layering steps. I also didn't add all that mozzarella cheese in the layers, but I put sliced fresh mozzarella on top. Oh, and I also used the "no boil" lasagna noodles. They worked fine, I just had to bake it covered, unlike the recipe.


It turned out pretty good. The sauce was delicious, and I definitely had more than my fair share.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes- Part 2

Remember these?

I certainly do. That's because I may or may not have been drooling over them and dreaming about them since I originally found the recipe.

And although I wanted to make them sooner, I needed the perfect occasion. And by "the perfect occasion," I mean an occasion that involves being able to share them. Otherwise, H and I would eat all 24 within a few days and that is definitely not what our waistlines need.
So when we planned a pub crawl with some friends from college that involved hanging out at their apartment with snacks and board games afterward, I knew what I would be bringing.

Recipe here.

It's looking like a good night already, eh?

Creamy chocolate batter

Fresh out of the oven- a little sunken in. Good thing I'm cutting out the middles and filling them with ganache.

Butter and whisky waiting it's turn.

Simmering cream and chocolate pieces.

One creamy chocolate-y filling.

The filled cupcakes.

The final product.

Yum.

Master Bedroom Mood Board

I am very happy to be able to say that we are making progress in the master bedroom. Over the weekend, we got a new duvet cover and lamps. It's really starting to come together, and the only thing I'm really still on the hunt for is art for above the bed. I really couldn't put my finger on exactly what I was looking for, so I decided to make a few mood boards to help sort out my thoughts.

Here is a mood board of exactly how the bedroom looks now.

white curtains: from llph.co.uk (not ours, just similar); curtain rod: from bedbathandbeyond.com;
furniture: from raymourflanigan.com; bedding: from bedbathandbeyond.com;
lamp: from casasugar.com (again, not ours, just similar);

Here is the first series of prints I found that I thought could do the trick. I'm not sure what I think of them- they feel too matchy, but they don't match perfectly. And so, I'm thinking that means they kind of clash.

wall art: artist jan weiss from art.com

Then I thought about bringing in brighter and warmer tones. They've always felt more appropriate to me for a bedroom. I like the pop of red in the panels here, but it still doesn't feel right- it feels kind of random to me.

wall art: artist chen ping hung from shutterstock

Then I found this one, which really caught my eye. It had the pop of color, but the browns that were already in the room are the main palate. I also happen to think it's really versatile.

wall art: artist mark lawrence from art.com

I'm definitely leaning towards the last one for inspiration. I'd love to DIY something, we'll see how that goes.

New Recipe Review- Bacon and Cheddar Waffles

For my new recipe last week, I chose Bacon and Cheddar Waffles. I was craving breakfast for dinner, waffles in particular, but didn't want something overly sweet. So I googled savory waffles and found this recipe on mrbreakfast.com (who'd have thought?). Interesting...

I don't have too much to say about them- they were really easy and turned out well. They were a tad too salty, but that was probably because I accidentally used 8 slices of bacon instead of 6, oops. Apparently I can't count. Or I subconsciously really love bacon.


I served them with a bit of maple syrup (the sweet/salty combo really worked), hash browned potatoes, and orange juice. I would definitely try these again- perfect breakfast for dinner! Original recipe here.