Announcement!

Hi guys!

I know it's strange not to see a food post on this site, but there's a reason for that.  I've been blogging here at The Bitchin' Kitchin' for the past 5 (what?!) years. Over the past few months, I've been doing some thinking about the progression of this blog and where I want it to go in the future.  I finally came to the conclusion that I wanted more control over what I could do and how I would represent my blog to everyone. So I took a big step and created a new food blog: The Hobo Kitchen!

All of my previous posts will be transferred over to the new site, so you can enjoy them there as well.  Don't worry, though.  I have no plans to shut down this site anytime in the near future.  If you have been subscribed to my blog post emails, please consider signing up on the new site to continue receiving them!

I want to say thank you to everyone who has ever taken a few minutes out of their day to read my little ole' blog posts.  Hopefully you will follow me on this new journey and we'll see what food we can create along the way!

xoxo

Ellie

Coffee Pancakes

I used to drag myself out of bed with the promise of a cup (or two) of coffee.  It worked every time.  Lately, though, I've been waking up voluntarily at 7:30am just to get a jump start on the day.  This is insane!  Am I becoming a morning person?  I don't even know me anymore.


When I came across this recipe for coffee pancakes on Pinterest, I knew it was something that I would need to make.  As you can see, I already have an excellent relationship with coffee.  Now that it seems I have some extra time in the mornings, I can even whip up some pancakes!

These pancakes were so easy to make and so tasty.  The coffee flavor definitely shines in these.  Of course, I did use instant espresso granules instead of the instant coffee granules which were recommended in the original recipe, but that's just me.  Go big or go home!  OK, you're probably already home if you're making these.  Oof.  Never mind.  Too much coffee.  Just make these!

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

You guyssss...

I have to tell you about the NYC Cat Cafe.  I just heard about it and it's going on right now!  Clearly I'm going because I love cats and coffee.  So why can't I have it all?  I can.  I'm going to sit in there all day and survive on coffee and pre-packaged snacks forever and ever.

OK, I can't do that.  I do need to step up my game in the dietary department, though.  I've been eating Tostitos tortilla chips, brie cheese, and almonds like it's my job.  So here's my attempt at pulling my life together.

We're finally getting some warmer weather in these Northeastern parts, so we must celebrate with asparagus.  And cheese.  You know this.  Tender, fresh asparagus is tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper and then roasted until it's perfect.  Top with freshly grated Parmesan and you've got yourself a wonderful side dish, or a questionable (but healthy!) lunch.  Your choice.

Easy Chilaquiles

I have decided that the only reason I eat those Tostitos Hint With Lime chips is as a vehicle for that tangy, salty stuff they cover them with.  I feel like an addict.  Of course, Tostitos knows this and only sells this wonderful stuff in huge bags meant to be shared with at least 8 people.  I usually finish it all by myself in 2 sittings.

During the course of one of these "events", a few things also took place around the same time.  I was really into making scrambled eggs (because I had purchased a dozen eggs so that I could bake with only one of them).  I had recently made my crockpot salsa verde chicken.  I also had a container of feta in the fridge just begging to be used up.

In a moment of (what I like to think of as) pure genius, I decided to throw these things together in an homage to a new favorite breakfast item: chilaquiles. I wasn't sure whether or not to post this recipe since it's not truly a recipe, but then I fell in love with this so much that I wanted to record it somewhere.  Not that I'm going to forget it anytime soon.

Crockpot Salsa Verde Chicken

Last week, my trip to Pittsburgh primarily revolved around Mad Mex margarita-drinking festivities.  Mad Mex was always a favorite place to visit when I was in college.  Unfortunately, I would sometimes (um...almost always?) end up a tad too inebriated as a result of drinking one to one-and-a-half Big Azz margaritas.  Those were the days.  The only thing I don't miss are the hangovers.

Of course, no visit to the 'burgh is complete without at least attempting to drink yet another Big Azz marg at Mad Mex.  Since it's a pretty small location and can become packed quickly, my friends and I had several discussions regarding the optimal time to go there.  (PS - We discovered the best time to visit, but I'm not divulging!)  And we drank margaritas.  Two each...

Now, in our "heyday", we would have been completely done for the day.  We would have stumbled home and passed out.  But.  We were not.  We had excellent appetizers and entrees and we drank our margaritas like the adults that we are and headed back to our hotel.  Like a boss!

OK, maybe we did fall asleep pretty early that night.  But it was a conscious decision on our part.  For sure.

In the spirit of eating even more quality Mexican food, I have an easy salsa verde chicken recipe for you.  Bust out those crockpots once again.  Let me assure you that this is a quick, easy, and tasty way to ensure you have some delicious protein on hand.  This time, I decided use the chicken in a burrito, but in a future blog post, I will be showing you another way that I decided to indulge in this mouth-watering chicken.

Stuffed Savory Prosciutto & Cheese French Toast

I totally got called out over this french toast last weekend.  There I was, finishing up my weekly group workout class and boasting about how I've been working towards eating healthier lately.  Then my friend sidles up and says "Hey, what about that stuffed french toast you posted to your Instagram account yesterday? And those chocolate donuts, and those cappuccino muffins, and that biscoff cheeseball?"

OK, I get it.  It appears that I may be a health-food fraud.  BUT!  It's not very interesting to post that apple or avocado that I'm snacking on to Instagram.  And no one wants to see me eat scrambled eggs for the third time in four days.  Decadent meals, though?  I got you covered!

This time, I had a solid excuse.  It's Secret Recipe Club time!  I was matched up with Cindy from Hun...What's For Dinner.  She's got a multitude of recipes that I fell in love with, especially the Grilled Mac and Cheese with Pulled Pork Sandwich.  However, I finally settled on making the Stuffed Savory Ham and Cheese French Toast.  I didn't have any ham on hand, but I did have prosciutto, so I figured that would do as a quick substitute.

This french toast was creamy, cheesy, and slightly salty/sweet.  It was so easy to make that I can't wait to recreate it for a brunch someday.  In fact, I may have promised two of my old coworkers that I would host a brunch for them pretty soon.  I may have been slightly tipsy when I promised this, but I guess a deal's a deal.

Cappuccino Muffins

I'm in a breakfast mood lately.  I'm either eating Mexican food or breakfast food these days.  Oh, and fries.  Because I always have room for fries.

This weekend, I'll be eating a ton of fries.  They're a special at the fine establishment that we lovingly called "The Dirty O" at my college in Pittsburgh.  That's right, folks.  I'm heading back to Pittsburgh for a few days to meet up with some old friends and hang out at all the local hotspots.  There will be pictures...some heavily edited pictures.

While I work on getting those fry pictures for you, you should check out these muffins I made.  They have coffee and chocolate and you can eat them guilt-free in the morning.  That's the best I can do for today, but I think that's pretty dang good if I do say so myself.

Crockpot Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers

Last weekend, I wore MC Hammer pants.  I will vouch (for myself) that I never thought I'd see the day that happened.  But my group workout class had a 90's theme!  Of course I had to buy the drop-crotch pants to match.  I would say "ugh" right about now because I'm over myself, but since wearing them this past weekend, I've developed a fondness for those pants.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to wear them in public.  As in, it won't be a part of a costume.  Thankfully they're black and not some fugly patterned mess.  So there's that silver lining, right?  Someone out there is understanding my thoughts.  I'm sure of it.


Here's something that easier to understand: the amazing-ness of making Mexican stuffed peppers in a crockpot.  I've made stuffed peppers once before but I refused to revisit it again because it was such a chore to make those at the time.  Fast forward to today, hand me a crockpot, and I'm back in business!


Lately, I've been obsessed with Mexican food.  This should not be a surprise, because cheese is my kryptonite.  I would like to make it known that I can eat Mexican food at any time.  If there is a Mexican food throwdown, I'm there.  Needless to say, you may be seeing a few Mexican-inspired recipes from me in the near future.  I have to say that these pepper turned out to be mighty tasty.  The combination of the meat, rice, vegetables, and sauce made this an excellent dinner option for me the other night.

And cheese. And sour cream.  They just get me.

Livin' The Life 3/30/2014

 NYC on a rare, non-snowy, non-rainy evening

Breakfast is coming at you soon!

Biscoff Cheeseball

I've been holding out on this recipe for almost a year.  Sorry about that.  

I first made this tasty appetizer for my housewarming party back in May 2013.  I was hoping to snap a few pictures of the final product before putting it out to be devoured, but of course time got the better of me and all of a sudden it was already half eaten.  I must say that I think this was the life of the party.  If you happen to love cookie butter and cream cheese, then this is probably a bandwagon that you will want to jump on.

This week, my client had a "breakfast for lunch" event, or as I like to call it, "brunch for lunch".  I described this biscoff cheeseball to someone last week and their reaction was: "Oh, so it's like a biscoff cream cheese frosting."  Technically, I guess that could be correct, but I like to see it as a dip.  You can serve it with fruit or graham crackers or whatever else you desire.  I picked up some Nilla wafers as well, because why not?  (Ok, I know this cheeseball has nothing to do with breakfast, but I really just wanted to make it again, so I volunteered it for the party.  That's a good enough excuse to make this, right?)

This biscoff cheeseball is quick and easy to create and it only requires 5 ingredients.  Blend the first three together, freeze the result, then roll it in the final 2 ingredients.  Freeze once again.  I can pull this together in no time and lately, I've been realizing that most of my recipes have required less than an hour of active time to make.  What can I say? A girl has things to do.

Zucchini Feta Quiche

No, seriously though...can Spring just show up already?

Ever since I returned from the Caribbean last week (Can we talk about how amazing Grand Cayman is?), I've realized precisely how tired I am of heavy coats, layered sweaters, and winter boots.  I need these seasons to get a move on right now.

Can a quiche hurry things up?  Let's investigate.  I have zucchini and feta at the ready, along with some eggs and a pie crust.  Of course I have the cheese too.  Why are you even asking?

A quiche is my go-to food when I'm feeling lazy and still want something light, nutritious and tasty.  Sometimes I love to trash it up with many things, but sometime I keep it simple.  This time I chose simplicity.  I also chose to add a dose of freshly grated zucchinis to help old man winter realize it's time to peace out.  The warm weather is coming soon.  I can feel it!

Sausage and Mushroom Risotto

I should probably be embarrassed about this, but I'm not.  I must admit that I've had a box of arborio rice (aka risotto rice) staring at me from my pantry since I moved into my new apartment.  To put this into perspective, I moved in back in April 2013...

I'm probably in the minority when I say that I think risotto is one of the easiest things to make.  I feel as if I overlook it so often in my attempt to whip up other dishes or treats that I feel I haven't "done" yet.  Risotto is simple and delicious and cheesy and I-just-need-to-reach-for-that-darn-box!

When I opened the cupboard door for the umpteenth time and saw the risotto again, I finally decided that it was time for action.  Even though I have an endless list of risotto recipes bookmarked online and torn out of magazines, I had recently been assigned Heather's blog, Join Us, Pull Up A Chair, this month's Secret Recipe Club.  There are so many tasty recipes on this site that you really must do yourself a favor and check it out!  While I tried to give each recipe a fair shot at being "the one" for this month, I have to say that I definitely honed in on the Baked Sausage and Mushroom Risotto recipe.  Come on!  You know I feel some kind of way about sausage.  Once we add in the mushrooms, cheese, and risotto, this was a clear winner in my eyes.

Another disclaimer here: I didn't bake the risotto like the original recipe recommended.  I wanted to, but I ran out of time and just quickly finished it on the stovetop.  I did use all the ingredients though, so I'm about 100% sure the taste was spot on, which is a good thing because this risotto was insanely delicious!  All I can say is that you must give this is a shot if you even only halfway love this combination of ingredients.  Don't walk to your kitchen.  Run!

Mini Double Chocolate Cake Donuts

As you're reading this, I am relaxing somewhere on the island of Grand Cayman.  Yes, my friends.  I am on va-ca-tion.  I'm sure I'm loving it.  Most of that probably also has to do with the fact that it's barely spring in the Northeast and it's definitely much warmer down here.

Unfortunately, the, uh, "preparation" I needed to make it here and hang out in public in my bathing suit required me to pack up these delicious baked donuts and remove them from my kitchen the same day that I made them.  Because it makes sense to bake chocolate donuts even when you can't eat them.  That's practical, right?  Sure.

To be completely honest, I did have to taste test a few of these suckers.  I'm always skeptical about the freshness factor of baked donuts.  I don't think they taste as good a day or two after they're made.  Since I sent these donuts out in three different batches, I had to taste three of them to make sure they were still as good as when they were made.  I do have a reputation to keep, you know!  (They were fine, by the way.)

You also don't have to make these into mini baked donuts.  You could use a regular-sized donut pan, but seeing as I don't have any of those, mini donuts it is!

Bahamian Fire Engine

Over the past year or so, I've received several positive emails or comments from my relocated Bahamian people about the Bahamian recipes that I post here.  When you grow up on a small island with a culture that predominantly revolves around food, and then you end up moving elsewhere, sometimes you just crave the comfort of a home-cooked meal.  Depending on where you move and with whom, sometimes that's just not possible.  Another thing I've come to realize is that, dang, sometimes I want Bahamian food too, but I don't actually know how to make it.  That's when we turn to the internet.

So, I recently decided to profile a new series on the blog.  I'm planning on featuring Bahamian recipes once in a while so that:

1) I can actually document my family's recipes (Let's be honest.  We know most of these recipes have no written instructions anywhere!); and

2) My fellow Bahamians and I can have a reference to recreate these dishes in the future.

I've begun to request that my family provide me with some recipes that I can include on the blog and they are working overtime to put measurements to some of our favorite meals. In the meantime, I looked to the Bahamian calendar to help me create a fire engine breakfast dish.  First of all, yes, our national calendar contains recipes.  Second of all, you're probably wondering what fire engine is.  Fire engine is a very popular breakfast dish in the Bahamas.  It's composed of steamed corned beef and vegetables, then served over rice or grits.  It sounds strange but I swear it's delicious.

Caramelized Onion Beer Bread

Alright, one more beer-related recipe because 1) St. Patrick's Day is still on its way, and 2) I just can't help myself.  Can I ever post too many beer recipes?  Nope.

This time, I wanted to make something savory.  I also wanted a new way to incorporate my balsamic caramelized onions into another recipe.  While I love them slathered over meat or piled on top of toasted bread, I decided I wanted to try something new.  Why not put them into a bread instead of on top of it?  Also, add beer.  This is basically how my mind works.  I throw all the things together.

I found a recipe that was pretty close to what I was looking for, and I modified from there.  In the end, I must confess that in addition to easting this warm and slathered with butter, I may have spread a little honey and cinnamon on top of a slice to make it sweet.  No judgements, right?

Beer & Pretzel Cupcakes

The crazy cupcake lady is back!

Can we take a minute to recognize that I haven't posted a cupcake recipe on this blog since May 2012.  Now that's really crazy, considering how obsessed I was with them for such a long time.  Today, I am fixing this situation.

I'm coming in hot for St. Patrick's Day with some boozy cupcakes!  St. Patrick's Day used to be my favorite holiday to celebrate.  While it no longer is (because let's be real, I can't drink all day like I used to!) I still enjoy celebrating in spirit.  If you happen to live in Hoboken, NJ, as I do, we tend to celebrate this day twice each March: once on the first Saturday of March, and once again on March 15th.

I typically like to make something involving beer around this date and this year will be no exception.  Boozy cupcakes are always in style.

Livin' The Life 2/20/2014

It's been way too long since I've shared "real life" photos on this blog.  I'm really trying to be better at this.  I swear I am.  So without further ado...here ya go!

I'm really having a moment with spiked coffees lately.  The severity of this winter probably 

has something to do with it.  See pic below...

 Seriously, Tuesday?  Why?!?!!?

Snickerdoodle Blondies

I'm pretty sure my neighbors think I'm loony.  By "my neighbors", I mean the real estate brokers who work in the building next to mine.  My living room windows just so happen to look directly into two of their office windows.  I also just so happen to take my blog photos on my desk, in front of one of my living room windows. (Gotta have that natural light too!)

I'm sure these folks don't realize what's going on.  All they see is a flash going off every 20 seconds in this apartment.  No big deal really, but sort of weird if you're just minding your own business working at your desk.

This usually doesn't happen very often since I tend to cook or bake on the weekends.  However, recently I've been getting up early to whip up some treats and the brokers are in the office by the time I'm taking pictures around 8am.  "Good morning!" from the crazy lady across the alley.

This crazy lady did something really crazy the other day.  I made brownies without chocolate.  That is insane because I have something you may call a "chocolate obsession".  It's not always out in full force, but it's always there.  I have never, ever in my life, made non-chocolate brownies before.  But since there's a time and place for everything (and since I was out of chocolate chips and didn't want to leave my apartment to brave the polar vortex), I pulled together some cinnamon sugar goodness in blondie form.

Garlic Lime Salmon

I feel as if it's been forever since I've made a Secret Recipe Club post!  We took a break for the holidays and now we're back!

Since I've been blissfully working from home for the past few weeks (wait, can we ever be "blissfully working"? .... hmmmm), I've been trying to incorporate more seafood into my diet.  I rarely make seafood because I am not interested in eating frozen seafood.  While I have no objection to cooking salmon that was raw and was then frozen, it's completely another thing to eat salmon that has already been seared, roasted, baked, whatever, and then frozen.  Yuck.

So here we are, with me making salmon for dinner while actually living at home.

This month, I was excited to be assigned Angela's blog for the SRC, which is appropriately named Angela's Kitchen.  Angela's blog is chock full of recipes just waiting to be made.  She is also an expert on gluten- and dairy-free recipes.  From all the recipes I looked at, I decided to make a salmon dish (of course!) but I would also suggest popping over and having a look-see at Angela's site.  There's so much to learn and her information would be especially helpful to those of you living gluten- and dairy-free.

Avocado Salad with Bacon & Feta

Guys.  The day that I thought would never come, actually came last week.

I ate too much bacon.

Once you recover from the shock of that statement, let me tell you that it was my own fault.  I somehow thought that I could eat a package of super-thick bacon (yes, that's a thing now) and still feel good about myself an hour later.  Quite unfortunately, I have over-estimated my tolerance for that.

Thankfully, I had this salad the day before I ate too much bacon, so I can still give you an honest assessment of my thoughts on this.  And to be truthful, if there were no bacon on this salad, I would not have loved it as much.  There is no just nothing else that would complement the creamy avocado and tangy lemon dressing as well as a slice of crunchy bacon can.

The good news is that now I'm over my bacon overdose, so I'm back in action.  I will be having a few more of these easy and tasty salads in the near future and I will not be thinking twice about it.