This explains my love of chips

While surfing through the internet I may have found out why I am always craving chips and french onion dip at 11 pm. As it turns out Sleep-Deprived People May Crave High-Calorie Foods and I would wager that this snack is pretty bad for me. Interestingly enough, I have been going to bed around 8:30 or 9 pm the last few nights in an attempt to get over a terrible sinus infection. At no point in time have I walked into my apartment, headed straight for the kitchen for the Heluva Good and Ruffles. Instead I have been going a more healthier route. So strange. In the end, I hope I can return to a lifestyle that consists of 6 hours of sleep and lots of fatty foods.

The Roof, The Roof, The Roof..

of my mouth is on FIRE!

Cabot and I normally on the same page. I love their Habanero Cheese big time and occasionally splurge on a block. (It's like twice as expensive as regular cheddar, thus a special occasion kind of cheese) Well, the other day I saw they had a spreadable version, I thought AWESOME. Snagged it, paid for it, and brought it home.

I realized I was in charge of snack for my staff meeting, so it came to work with me. (Don't worry, I also brought along some crackers and some chips/salsa too,. I know how to make a good good last minute snack) The meeting ended up getting canceled. Score! I don't have to share the spread. I get home, open it up, slather some on a cracker and take a bite.

YEA-OWWWW

That shit is hot. If you are considering trying it, be sure to keep a glass of milk near by, you will need it.

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Dear Cabot,
If you see this, don't worry. I still love your stuff, my mouth is clearly a big wuss when it comes to heat.
Me :)

When I started work I got such a great deal at the beach snack stand - free - that there was no cost benefit for bringing a sandwich from home. Two years later, my summer job changed and I started at an office. With no snack girls around throwing around free stuff, I realized there was a major advantage to packing a dinner (night shift 11 am - 10 pm) than buy a sandwich from D'Angelo. That advantage was $6 a day.

Nine years later, I am still bringing my lunch - a girl has got to save if she wants new snow boots! My one big beef with bringing a lunch is finding containers to put food in and then a bag durable to hold everything. For a while I tried using regular plastic bags but, since I bring along my silverware rather than plastic utensils, they were constantly getting ruined. I keep my eye out for shopping bags that are sturdy enough for the silverware but big enough to hold the containers I buy at the grocery store. (I am more of a leftovers than a sandwich kind of girl).

Well, I found what I have been dreaming of:

The Little Bento Box by Plastica

The only downside is that they are not microwave safe. So I would have to transfer food into a bowl to re-heat, but I try to do that now as I hear microwaving shortens the life of my rubbermade tupperware. I would lean towards the 3 tiered version as I now have to bring lunch and dinner most days with school and all.

Let's keep these on the "I want" list for when I have some spare change lying around.

Another Fast Food Conquest

I can proudly say, I have eaten a McRib, and it as glorious. Ok ok ok, I ate half a McRib because it was midnight just didn't have it in me to chow down. Either way, it was pretty damn tasty. The pickles were a nice touch, but I would suggest holding the onions, they didn't add anything.

Bacon Egg and Cheese. My hero.

I am not a huge breakfast person. Cereal tends to gross me out. I'm not sure why, I only assume it has something to do with the fact that I like crunch foods. In general, it takes me a while to eat breakfast and the cereal gets soggy. Uck.

Then there is the pancake, waffle, and french toast arena. Again, probably do to texture, I am not a huge fan. I rarely will use maple syrup, and if I do it is sparingly, instead I often go with jams. It might also be the sweetness. Not such a sweet person, well I'm nice and charming, but I prefer tart or salty whenever possible.

This leaves me with eggs. As much as I hate the smell of eggs, they are by far my favorite breakfast main course. All egg dishes must be accompanied by bacon (super crispy) and some sort of potato dish. Breakfast sandwiches and burritos are a personal favorite, as it allows for everything good and yummy to be within a super tasty easily portable setup. Back in college Culpeppers had the ultimate sandwiches. I miss them terribly.

Sigh.

This morning I was having a huge craving for such a sandwich. Last night I had a lot of fun with the second round of kickball playoffs. I needed that bit of grease to get the morning started off on the right foot. Realizing I had no where else to turn, I pulled up to my Dunkin Donuts and went for the Bacon/Egg/Cheese.

Scary enough, I had never purchased a breakfast sandwich from any fast food place before. Something about those premade circles of egg just freak me out. But, damn Gina, it wasn't half bad. I'm pretty sure this delicacy will become a staple in my life. Thanks Dunkins. You never fail me.

Girl Date!

My professor let us know a few weeks ago that our class this week would be canceled. She had suggested that everyone work on their group projects as everyone should now have 7-9:30 free. Well, two of the members of my group saw the free night as a way to earn more money and agreed to work late, which meant free night for me! I mean, it would have been rude to work on the project myself, I wouldn't want anyone to feel bad about not pulling their own weight.

So instead, I thought why not have a girl date with one of my best friends. We agreed to enjoy a feast at Redbones. Thanks to a groupon that I had burning in my pocket, we were able to enjoy three different types of meat (sausage, ribs, pulled pork), sweet potato fries, cold slaw, beans, and of course some pie. Once we got to the point that another bite could not even be considered, let alone executed, we saw that it was almost 9 pm and time to head over to the movie theater to see The Town.

Let me tell you, this movie was amazing. As you may know, many scenes we re shot here in the Boston area. My friend and I had a great time picking out areas that we frequent.

Early on, Ben Affleck's character eats lunch with Rebecca Hall's. They are sitting on the patio of Grendal's Den. How do I know that? Well, first if you have ever walked in the area, you can tell based on the surroundings. But the main reason is that I stood in the park area for my entire lunch hour the day it was filmed hoping to see someone famous. Sadly, no one came out and I had to return to my office sad.

Later on there is a large sequence that was shot in the northend right by Bacca's. We had eaten there during restaurant week together, so of course we made a little girly shrill of excitement when the location was on the screen. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say, it was disappointing after about 2 hours of awesome.

Even taking into account the ending, this movie gets my stamp of approval, and I urge you all to go out and see it. I mean, come on, it's a Ben Affleck movie.

Summer Yum

Everyone knows a bbq isn't complete without corn on the cob. This vegetable is the ultimate picnic table accessory, and brings joy to all ages, minus those currently sporting braces. It is crunchy, butter, salty, and sweet all in one bite. Yum!

Per usual, when I get cravings for a food item, such as these ears of corn, I cannot wait to pick one up and munch. Unfortunately, this often means I

attempt to pick up the food item as soon as it hits the table, aka the minute after it came off the grill/out of the pot. This results in an awkward game of hot potato between my hands and my mouth. I loved that at a child my parents would attach little corncob holders to the end so that my delicate fingers did not get subjected to butter burns.

As an adult the practice of using holders is looked down on. I should just woman up and deal. Up until now, I was going along with this. But then I saw these:

Who wouldn't be excited to use a unicorn as a corncob holder?? I was super bummed that they were sold out because lately I have been in a unicorn mood. Most likely this is because I am still totally loving Agnes (from Despicable Me) and all her enthusiasm. I mean, just try to hide your smile after watching this!

Why I love Friendly's

The new sandwich at Friendly's looks amazing. I have seen and heard advertisements for the past few weeks and need to find time to try it myself. Who doesn't love grilled cheese? No one! (except maybe lactose intolerant people) Who doesn't love burgers? No one! (except maybe vegetarians). Therefore, any omnivore who has a love of cheese should be all over this monster of a sandwich! I cannot wait to find time to get to a Friendly's!

I think the words you are looking for are Fizzy Juice

Burger King came out with a new breakfast menu a few months ago. I am sure that you have either seen the ads on tv or heard them on the radio. One of the new items that is getting highlighted is their Mimosa.

When I first heard the ad, I said to myself "whaaaaaaaaaaaaa?". Since when can you get an alcoholic drink to go? Well, at the end of the ad there is a disclaimer that says, BK Mimosa does not contain alcohol.

Last time I checked there were two ingredients needed to great this breakfast treat - orange juice and champagne (or sparkling wine). I assumed that they just were adding soda to the juice so that it would have the carbonation. After a quick trip to Google, I found out that I was right on the money. This "mimosa" is no more than orange juice and sprite. I do love this combination, my church back home uses this exact recipe to make a punch for children whenever there is a post-mass reception. To this day, I would opt for the punch over the wine, but I still would not consider this a mimosa in any way shape or form.

Please, Burger King, don't just throw mimosa around like it doesn't mean something. There is nothing worse than getting fizzy juice when you are expecting to have your B.A.C. increased.

I Scream, You Scream, Boston Screams

For the Celtics win in game 2 of the NBA Finals and, of course, ice cream. Game 1 was miserable on Thursday, it was an embarrassment. Game 2, however, was intense, amazing, and ended with a well earned win for C's. I wanted to celebrate the win. Since I decided last week to limit my weekly alcohol intake, ice cream was the next logical option.

Normally, I stay away from the stuff (being an ice cream scooper in high school turned me off of it) but ever so often I fall back in love. I recently found the best black raspberry ice cream that can be purchased from the grocery. It is by Hood, and called "Martha's Vineyard Black Raspberry". The part that seals the deal is that it has swirls of raspberry sauce - sooooo good. I highly suggest it to anyone who likes fruity flavors.

I bet you were afraid this post was going to be about sports, don't worry, I wouldn't do that to you.

Hungry and not sure what to do?

What The Fuck Should I Make For Dinner is your answer!

This website provides suggestions to the lazy cook. The best part is if you click on the meal it suggests, the website connects you to a recipe. This will be bookmarked on my computer!

Bacon on the Brain

This weekend I will be heading back to RI for a super fun bbq. My friend just got her Master's in Marine Affairs (and sadly, no, that does not mean she gets to stare at men in uniform all day). Conveniently, her graduation coincides with her moving into a new apartment, so of course, a party was a must.

My original plan was to make some bacon pasta salad*. Then life happened and now I realize I will be home and available to cook for maybe an hour between now (Friday at noon) and when I must leave to get to RI (sometime around 3:30 tomorrow). I would rather avoid the stress trying to get the pasta salad made, so I will probably go with option 2. Beer.

Just as I was about to write yet another post about bacon, I checked my email. In my over stuffed inbox I found an old one advertising a bacon scented candle. Could not make this up if I tried. I don't know how I feel about this product. Do I really want to smell like bacon if I didn't get to eat any??

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*Bow Tie Pasta Salad

1 (16 oz) box bow tie pasta

1 – 1 ½ bottles Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

Raw veggies (i.e. red peppers, green peppers, pea pods, etc.), cut up

Cooked bacon (approx. 4 - 5 slices), crumbled in pieces

Salt

Pepper

Cook pasta according to directions on the box. Rinse pasta with cold water, drain, and put in large bowl. Chill for about a half hour, and then add enough Ranch dressing to keep it from sticking. Chill again. When chilled, add cut up veggies, salt and pepper to taste, and enough dressing to coat the pasta. Toss well. Add bacon before serving, and toss again.

When I Grow Up....

I want to be a cougar.

Seriously.

Last night I had the honor of dining with four fine cougar women and had an absolute blast. Half of us at the table were under 30, the other half, well, weren't. But all were fantastic.

These women shared my love of crass conversation, high heels, big jewelry, and booze. By the end of the night I consumed more food than I care to admit and was quite happy about it.

I learned that as a cougar you must own fancy cars, arrange amazing trips with friends, go out for fun dinners, and be good at euchre. If that doesn't sound like the perfect lifestyle, I don't know what is.

Where does baby corn come from?

My cupboards are bare. Due to the water crisis in Boston, I opted to stay away from the crazies at the grocery store and instead have been living off of frozen meals. Not the tastiest lifestyle, but hey, it worked. At this point I am dying for some fresh food, maybe a veggie or two, and the company of a close friend. We decided that there was a Thai restaurant close by that would be perfect.

Both of us agreed that vegetable tempura would be a great idea for a starter. The selection was amazing. We had carrots, sweet potatoes, beans, peppers, onions, broccoli, zucchini, squash, and baby corn. While munching on my baby corn, I began to wonder, where does baby corn come from? Is it like baby carrots, cut from bigger corn some how? Is it its own plant? Or is baby corn, really just baby corn? Well my dining companion was just as stumped as I was. Hmmmm...

Well, thankfully, she has a longer attention span than I and googled the question when she got home. Baby corn is indeed, exactly what it sounds like, baby corn. I am extremely excited about this, and am not sure why. But in case anyone else has wondered about that cute little plant. Next time I get some, I think I will pretend I am a giantess eating regular big corn.

Nah, I just love Tots.

I stopped at the grocery on the way home from work. I needed lemons and limes so I figured I would be in and out in 30 seconds or less. Of course, that didn't happen.

As soon as I stepped into the store I got a craving for chips and dip. Since I was already there, why not grab some salty treats. By the time I got to the register I had a very strange array of products including a package of tiny tater tots. They had been a last minute grab, I mean how do you say no to tots that are on sale??

I was so excited about the idea of making my own tater tots that I must have been grinning like an idiot. The woman bagging up my groceries saw my smile and said "oh you must have a really good paying job because you look so happy". I immediately responded "no I don't make much, I am just really excited to eat some tots!" She looked at me like I was crazy, and well, I can understand that...

Can't wait to eat these mini tots. Now if only I had popcorn chicken bits to go with them!

PS - While looking for an image of tater tots for this post, I came across a recipe for tater tot casserole! I think I might have to give this a whirl

Stouffers for Lunch. Yum!

Considering I love their french bread pizzas, it is a no brainer that I found there frozen meals to be delish. When ever I go to the grocery I will cruise down the frozen food section to see if any of the frozen meals are on sale. The frugal fanny inside me will not pay more than 2 dollars for a sodium-filled, small-portioned, meal. I know that the dinners I prepare myself are not always huge, but I find the Lean Cuisine and Smart Balance dinners to leave me hungry.

For the first time, I saw that Stouffers had meals on sale for $1.99 so I decided to go for it. I always go for the fetachini alfredo (with chicken and broccoli) or thanksgiving dinners. Honestly, I bought about 7 different kinds (including the french bread pizza because it was on sale for $2.49! yay!)

Well, this morning I was far too exhausted to make a Dagwood style sandwich, so I grabbed one of these meals and went. It was honestly the best frozen meal I have had so far. I think I will now be on the look out for this brand from now on. Pass the word, they are actually relatively tasty!

Snacking in the Grocery

The general rule is that one shouldn't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Everything looks so tasty and the trip always ends in at least $15 worth of impulse purchases. The only time I think that you can ignore this rule is if you plan on hitting up the Deli. Basically the deli gives you free snacks and help tied you over on the way home to make dinner.

I was busy having fun on saturday and then opted to not leave the apartment on sunday, leaving me with an apartment with no food. Thus, I had to eat some baked beans, and cheese & crackers for lunch. It was actually way tastier than it sounds. On the way home, I stopped at STAR Market to pick up just a few items. I always start in the produce section and in this market the deli is right there. As I passed by I thought I would get some salads, and the meat section just stared back. I asked for some samples of provolone and turkey. Delish. I did go forward and buy some of each as well, but there really is nothing as satisfying as snacking on some good cheese while browsing through the grocery store.

Summer Sun in April? I'll take it.

The day was beautiful today. I think it hit 80 degrees at some point. As soon as it hit 1 pm I hopped on out of the office to take my hour lunch in the quad. Thankfully I stayed in the shade because even then, I began sweating in my new summer work dress. I knew right then and there that I would be heading back to my apartment for homemade nachos and margaritas on my balcony.

If you are in the market for a new type of guacamole, I would suggest you try out Santa Barbara. The company is genius, the guac is packaged in an air-tight plastic bag so you can squeeze out as much as you want and left the rest in the packaging. None of the unused guac turns brown, which happens whenever I have purchased a style that comes in a tub. There are some red peppers in the mix and I only like guacamole with a kick. Prior to about 8 months ago, I would have refused to try the stuff because avocado has a butter like texture and I prefer crunchy.

Also, this company makes a great pico de gallo. Just the right combination of veggies and spice. After baking my nachos I scattered a few spoonfuls over the pile. Delish!

Honestly, I hope to have many more afternoons filled with this Mexican themed snacks in the late sun. This apartment and I get along quite well.

Age Old Question

Pi or Cake?*

When choosing desserts off a menu, I always check first for pie and then settle down for cake if need be. I think it is the crust that I like the best. And to be honest, I am not a huge fan of super sugary frosting. When I found The Sweet Science: Proof that Pie Trumps Cake I almost busted a gut laughing. The diagrams are spot on. Pie really is the best. Maybe it is simply because everyone gets a chance to eat the best part, there are no sugar flowers!

In honor of March Madness** jezebel.com is having a bracket of pie vs cakes. I have been voting fairly regularly, and only just noticed today that cheesecake is on the pie side! The dessert has "cake" in the name! I guess there can be a small graham cracker crust, but I really don't think pie when I think about cheesecake. Seeing this dessert as the number two seed in the pie bracket caused me more distress than I would like to admit to... Seriously?? I hope it doesn't go to the finals, I don't think I would feel comfortable with cheesecake representing my favorite dessert!

*I totally own this nerd shirt. I got it from shirt.woot.com
** Munch Madness is also being hosted by boston.com, a race of local restaurants

Good Day for Pastry

Happy St. Joseph's Day!!

At this point I have already eaten 1.5 zeppolis and will probably continue on this trend through the weekend.