Bear with me a couple more weeks

Is it pathetic that I feel guilty when I don't post for awhile? Or maybe its just depression from not cooking or eating anything new or amazing. As some of you may know, I am currently 2 weeks away from getting married, so I am doing my least favorite thing on this planet- DIETING! WOOF!

I am trying anything and everything to stay away from typical daily trips to the community candy jar at work...

and just dreaming of what life will be like eating whenever and whatever I want in Hawaii for 10 days after the wedding!

So bear with me these next few weeks, and I will be back in full force after Columbus day! Happy eating!...I'm so jealous of you right now.

One Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta

I guess I should start being a real human again. While its been nice and easy plopping some Willowtree chicken salad on a couple slices of wheat bread for the last month and a half, there's nothing like a good 'ol home cooked meal. On Monday afternoon, I spent my morning going through Pintrest for ideas and came across a few inticing recipes that I have made this week! The first was a one pot meal (the best) that actually came out really good!

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup diced onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 large chicken breasts (or 5 breast tenderloins)- cut into one inch pieces
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 tbsp flour
8 ounces dry fettuccini pasta
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Parsley

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add your veggies and minced garlic. Saute them over medium heat until the vegetables become tender (5-7 minutes)

 

Add chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper. Continue to saute over medium heat until the chicken is no longer pink.

 

Add your milk, broth and flour. Stir to combine and add your dry pasta (yes, dry pasta). Make sure the pasta is completely covered by the mixture- you can use more broth if necessary. Bring the pot to a boil. Cover, reduce to low and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the pasta becomes tender. MAKE SURE to stir the pasta every 5 minutes so it doesn't stick together!

 

Remove the lid and cook for 5 more minutes, so the sauce can thicken. Remove from heat, stir in your shredded cheese until incorporated. Top it with parsley and serve!

 

 

 

This is an awesome dish for a weeknight din! The pasta is tender, creamy and not too cheesy, and the veggies and chicken are a great addition (and make me feel like I'm kinda healthy-here's hopin). Will definetly be making this again!

Keltic Kitchen- 415 Massachusetts 28, West Yarmouth, MA

Ahhh its been so long! I feel like the worst bloggerfriend ever.

Well, I'm happy to be back and excited to write about a place that is very close to my heart. For as long as I can remember, me and my family would spend 1-2 weeks down the Cape every summer. While we have all grown up now, our traditions still stick: Beach, Candy Store, Pirates Cove and of course some of our favorite restaurants. THE BEST one is my favorite breakfast place of all time- the Keltic Kitchen in Yarmouth, MA. We usually carve out two (sometimes even three) mornings during the week to attend this traditional Irish eatery. It was originally a small restaurant, with about 15 tables max, but because of its popularity, now has outdoor seating on a deck with 10 additional tables.

Keltic is one of those places where you will ALWAYS wait for your table. I have never gone and been seated right away. Maybe its because we are a party of 6? But probably because it has a sick breakfast.

 

Now, on to the food. As a young tike, I always beasted their omelets. And I say "beasted" because they were made wtih seven eggs...SEVEN. With a side of homefries and toast, this is guarenteed food coma central. My sister still gets it, and its impressive.

 

With my age and sophistication I have moved on to the blueberry french toast with a side of their BOMB.COM homefries. It's just so good, I can't even handle it.

I mean....

 

Keltic really makes you feel like home (even if you're not Irish). The wait staff have all worked there for years and really make you feel like you are getting a true Irish breakfast experience (and yes, most have Irish brogues). Pretty sweet.

 

Anytime anyone asks me if I have a Cape recommendation, I always tell them to hit up Keltic. Be prepared to wait, but also be prepared to be completely satisfied for hours and hours, or until your food coma takes a hike.

http://www.keltickitchen.com/

Best Birthday Ever

My birthday is my favorite day of the year for only one reason. I get to pick WHEREVER I want to go to eat, and not be judged for it. I start brainstorming ideas around mid-June in preparation, and go back and forth for weeks. Do I go for...a "best of Boston" restaurant? a place I've always wanted to try? a place I could never afford normally? my typical go to burger spot? or a place with great dessert?

Can you see why this tortures me?

Well for the first time ever- I fulfilled my lifelong dream of actually going to two different restaurants to complete my birthday meal. I mean it is the day of my birth, so why shouldn't I get the best of both worlds?

So all day at work when people asked me how I was celebrating my birthday, I proudly announced that I would be heading to Shake Shack for a burger and cheese fries and then stopping by Cheesecake Factory for some cookie dough cheesecake. As you can imagine, I got several reactions. Some were horrified (no longer talking to those people), some amused, some surprised and my favorite type of people- the jealous ones.

 

I want everyone to know that you too can make your birthday (or any day) amazing by attending more than one restaurant for your special meal. HECK- next year I might even do 3. Its called CUSTOMIZING people! Life's too short! The hungry train is leaving the station, and I encourage you to join me on this amazing journey.

Yogurt Pie

Its kind of ironic that I am posting a healthy dessert less than 24 hours after posting a picture of frosting and grahams (aka homemade dunkaroos). Oh well, there's  no method to my maddness.

Here is a great summer dessert that is yummy, refreshing and light in cals!

What you need:
-1 Container of fat free cool whip (8 oz)
-2 of your favorite yogurts- preferably a fruit flavor
-1 pre-made reduced fat graham cracker crust
-Any chopped up fresh fruit you want!

This literally takes two minutes to throw together. In a medium sized bowl, mix your entire container of cool whip with your two yogurts (I chose low fat strawberry greek yogurt). Next, fold in your chopped fruit (I went with some strawberries and blueberries) . Pour your mixture into the pre-made graham crust. Smooth out the top, and then place the plastic cover on top. Freeze for at least 6 hours.

 

Take it out and let it sit about 15 minutes before serving to soften-then slice and eat up! Its the perfect dessert for a hot summer night. Also, its nice to make on a Sunday and enjoy a few nights throughout the week!

The Local- 1391 Washington Street, West Newton, MA

So if you haven't noticed...I haven't posted a recipe in a month or so. Well, sorry guys, its summer where my main priorities include eating out, going to the beach and drinking beer. Let's face it- there is nothing fun about cooking when its 90 degrees outside. No thanks. So I spend my nights eating chicken salad sandwiches, chowing on BLTs with extra bacon on the side (duh) or planning out my next restaurant attack.

So on this awesome Thursday that is like a Friday (i love when that happens), we celebrated the long weekend by kicking it off at the Local in Newton, MA. The Local is known as one of the best restaurants in Newton for its cool bar atmoshere and dynamite food. They breakdown their menu in my favorite way possible, having TWO categories of apps- "Snack things" and "Small things". We ordered the house potato chips with warm onion dip and the Parmesan truffle fries. Both were UNREAL and you NEED to get them if you go! The house chips were salty and crispy and tasted bomb.com with that onion dip and the fries were a good medium sized fry doused in truffle oil and parm cheese. The portions were awesome, and these two apps were perfect for a party of 3!

 

 

For meals, Jake and Brenna got the special flatbread of the night-chicken, bacon ranch, and I (clearly obsessed with truffle oil) got the mushroom and truffle mac and cheese. The mac and cheese was made with a totally different pasta than I had expected or ever seen before in mac and cheese. I looked it up and google says its called ditali rigati. The sauce wasn't overly cheesy but had a really good combo of cream, truffle oil and cheese. The shrooms were also tender and flavorful. I got about halfway through, and since it was an early dinner, I accepted the fact that I would plan on finishing it at around 8pm.... T minus 1 hour 29 minutes and counting :)

 

Since chicken, bacon, ranch is a common "thing" now- I think we really  need to recognize whoever decided to put these three impeccable flavors together. You are truly a foody Picasso. 

 

Sidenote: This might not look like much pasta, but this bowl ran DEEP - and so did my love and affection for it.

 

This is definitely one of those places that you recommend to anyone coming to the area. Great atmosphere, friendly staff and most importantly, REALLY good food!

The Clam Box - 246 High Street, Ipswich, MA

In my food aka only POV, one of the best things about summer is seafood. As New Englanders, we are lucky to have access to some of the freshest seafood in the country. As much as I love the stuff, I really don't go out of my way to eat it that much. However, my dad had mentioned that the Clam Box in Ipswich was known for the best seafood around, so this was a necessary trip to make!

The Clam Box of Ipswich has been serving customers for 60 years and has been recognized nationally by Food Network, Chronicle, U.S Airways and Yankee Gourmet for its fried clams and clam chowder. They are known for having a line out the door, and last Saturday, they did not disappoint!

We waited for 25-30 outside the tiny restaurant. We ordered a clam roll, and clam plate with french fries and onion rings at the single counter window. After waiting for about 15 minutes, our number was called and we ventured outside to grab a table! They also have a small dining room with indoor seating, but it was such a nice day, we wanted to take advantage.

As you can see, the clam plate was enormous. The clams were lightly fried, and tender. I hate it when fried clams crunch and chewy, taking away from the flavor of the seafood. These were literally fried perfectly. The fries and O-Rings were pretty standard, but also delish. These were by far the BEST clams I have ever had. You can tell they have been doing this for a very long time and have the freshest ingredients they can get their hands on! I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who loves seafood and isn't afraid of waiting in line for a heavenly feast!