Hanukkah Chanukah

I purchased my first menorah yesterday! Its small and traditional and I really like it. It adds some personality and character to our apartment. Odd, but I guess in a way it's one of those things that helps make a house a home. We celebrated Chanukah every year growing up, and i'm happy to continue the tradition.

gregs...lets get a tree for your apartment

"SSSAANNNTTTAA, I know him!" -buddy

What gets you in the holiday spirit?

Usually the first snow does it for me. We have had such great weather in nyc (knock on wood) that I have not yet seen snow! Yesterday at the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting it was 54 and rainy.

Anyways, since there has been no snow to spread holiday chear, the starbucks holiday cups do it for me.

As soon as these puppys come out, I start getting excited for the Holidays. I can't wait to spend time with my family.

Flat vs. Fluffy

Note: This is flat- Not Fluffy

Have you ever wondered how to get your omelettes fluffy? If so, this is a post you will definitely want to read.

I've made a lot of omelettes and have never managed to get them really fluffy (like Sunny's fluffy). I've tried many things - adding water, adding milk, whisking, whisking, and more whisking, but nothing seems to work.

I was on the treadmill the other day watching the food channel, and Ina was making meringue's by using an electric mixer to whisk the egg whites. The egg whites started rising and got huge and fluffy. This is when my AH HA moment came! I need to use an electric mixer and my omelettes will be fluffy!

I have not tried yet, but when I do I will post some pics.

my favorite sporting event

My brother surprised me with tickets to the US OPEN on tuesday night. Best surprise ever! I love the Open. Definitely a perk of living in NY. It was my first time in a suite at the open, and it was so nice and comfortable. Unlimited food and drinks, and really close to the court. We caught the end of Sharapova's match (which was during the day session) and then watched Nadal (the #1 seed) for the night match.

Greg took some really great pics of 'us' at the end of the night...

Love the Open! Thanks for a great night Greg!

top of the rock

E's parents came to NYC this past weekend to visit us. It was basically 4 full days of eating and drinking! Donna loves Bobby Flay, so we tried out one of his restaurants, Bar Americain, which was really good. We also went to Rouge Tomate, which i really liked, and of course Landmarc.

We decided to take a break from the eating and drinking, and went up to the observation deck on the 76th floor in rockefeller center.

27!

Greg

For the past 9+ years my brother and I would see eachother on holidays and occational visits/ vacations through out the year, but never more then a week at a time. Now we live a mile apart (same street and 8 avenues over) and have weekly bachelorette (his choice)/dinner dates.

Living close to a sibling is highly underrated. There is always a place you can go and always a person you can talk to close by. Now if only we could get our sister here... who by the way has a blog, and you should check it out --delightedtobehere.blogspot.com.

I'm so excited to spend many more birthdays with you greg. Love you always!

i love my job

Karen (left) Frederique (Middle) Me (Right)

This was taken in the 5th Ave Digital YOUBOOTH at our 2nd Anniversary Event.

You stand in front of the camera and step on a button when your ready to take the picture. It prints out the picture for you seconds later.

home is where the heart is

Our favorite features in our apartment are definitely the windows and high ceilings. We get an abundance of sunlight all hours of the day (which is very hard to come by in nyc), and the high ceilings help make the apartment feel larger.

Eric put those shelves up... didn't he do a great job!

Shout out to my mom for the apartment-warming gift...we LOVE our stools!

If you look closely you will find a football sitting on the mantle. This was Eric's way of making the apartment more manly. I'm okay with it considering our dvd collection mainly consists of legally blond, the devil wears prada, in her shoes, and sex and the city.

We really lucked out with our bathroom. Brand new marble tiling, toilet, sink, and re-glazed tub.

We can't complain, we love this place. For our first apartment, this is perfect.

Come visit us! We can squeeze anyone in!

my chicken noodle soup

so i know my last post was about food, but i have now mastered a chicken noodle soup recipe and wanted to share it (with all of the many followers i have).

Since its been so cold out i've been constantly craving hot soup. I wanted to make something that was light, low cal, protein rich, and simple. Canned soup is easy to make, and some may seem 'nutritious', but they're not. Who knows the crap they put in them. I would much rather make my own so I know exactly what i'm eating. I was a little nervous to start from scratch and not follow a recipe, but it turned out okay. I started by picking out what i wanted in the soup-

here is the ingredient list:

lots of veggies: celery, carrots, and onions

protein: chicken (white meat only)

a handful of comforting carbs: noodles

broth: organic chicken (low sodium)

Seasonings: salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, parsley, marjoram, chicken bouillon cubes

this is how i made it:

1. I poured in 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil in a large soup bowl. While that was heating up on medium I started to roughly chop up 1 large sweet onion, around 5 carrot stalks, and 4 celery stalks. I tossed those veggies into the bowl and gave them a good stir. I let them saute a little to get the juices flowing.

2. I got my seasonings out. I threw in a handful of dried parsley, 1 tbsp of salt, a couple shakes of pepper, 1 tsp of thyme, a couple shakes of marjoram, 3 bay leafs, and 5 chicken bullion cubes. After stirring that up and letting it heat up for a minute, i poured in a big box container of organic low sodium chicken broth. Depending on how much soup you want will determine the amount of chicken broth you will need. I did a box and 1/2 because I wanted a couple meals out of it.

3. After this comes to a boil, you will want to put it on low, and cover it. I let mine simmer for around 45 min, before adding my chicken.

4. I took the easy way out and bought a cooked rotisserie chicken. I only used the white breast meat and cut it up into little pieces. I added it into my soup and let it simmer for even longer (15 or so min).

5. This part is optional, but if you are in the mood for some starchy carbs, i used a cup of no yolk egg noodles. I boiled a small pot of chicken broth and then added the noodles in for about 5 min (they cook up fast). I then added the noodles into my large pot. I let it simmer for another 15 or so min, and then took it off the burner. Feel free to add more salt and pep to taste!

6. BON APPETITE!

** A couple things to remember: Don't forget to take the bay leaves out. Also, don't cook the pasta in the soup because it will absorb up all of your broth!!

I will take a picture the next time i make it, and post it!

my favorite chef

I am loving Ellie Krieger on the foodnetwork. If you're not familiar with her show, she's the host of Healthy Appetite. Her recipe's are great because they are 1. hard to mess up 2. healthy and balanced without tasting bland and 3. quick

<-------Isn't she a cutie! She looks so fresh and clean, i think thats why I like her!

She has multiple videos on foodnetwork.com and i find myself sitting and watching them one after the other for hours (yes, i live a very boring life at the moment). She's not annoying like rachel ray, and everything she makes is so easy. Even my sister Ashley could follow her recipes, and Ashley's idea of cooking is blending a smoothie.

Ive posted some of my favorite recipes.... ENJOY!

Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic, and White Beans

Ingredients

• 3 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled (**I changed this to 6)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1(15 ounce) can cannellini beans
• 1/2 pound penne pasta
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• ***I added escarole (a green similar to spinach)
• Directions - Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Slice each tomato into 8 wedges and discard the seeds. Put the tomato wedges and garlic into a 9 by 13-inch roasting pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and a few turns of pepper. Roast in the oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

Saute the escarole in non-fat cooking spray or a little evoo until it is soft and wilted down

Drain the beans into a large colander in the sink. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta into the colander containing the beans, so the hot pasta water will warm the beans. Return drained pasta and beans to the pasta pot. Add the escarole into this mixture

When the tomatoes are done, pick out the garlic cloves, squeeze the garlic out of the skin into a small bowl and mash with a fork. Pour the roasted tomatoes into the pasta pot, add the garlic, the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the basil and additional salt and pepper, to taste. Toss to combine. Serve topped with the Parmesan.

Tabbouleh Salad

Taco Salad

Ingredients - For the Meat:

• 3/4 pound lean ground beef (90 percent lean or higher) (**or ground chicken if your like me and dont like beef)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/3 cup water

For the dressing:

• 4 medium tomatoes, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (i also added lemon)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

• 2 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar
• 2 ounces baked corn tortilla chips (about 32 chips)
• ***I also added some chopped up avocado on top of my salad, and my dad put some sour cream on top of his.

Directions: To prepare the meat, heat a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until no longer pink, stirring occasionally and breaking the meat up with the spoon. Add the garlic and beans and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the chili powder, cayenne and water and stir until well combined and some but not all of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly. Meat mixture may be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

To make the tomato dressing, in a medium bowl, combine tomatoes (with their juices), oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Dressing may be prepared up to 2 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Place 2 cups of lettuce on each plate or in a lunch container. Top each serving with 1 cup of the beef mixture then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of cheese. If making to-go, pack 3/4 cup of the tomato mixture in a separate sealable container and put about 8 chips in a separate bag. Right before eating, pour a portion of the tomato mixture with the liquid on top of each salad, and crush tortilla chips on top.

Saucy Salmon

Fig Bran Muffins