Loaded Baked Potato Soup - Warming up Chiberia

I think to date, Chicago has officially entered one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record in decades. So far, in this winter alone, Chicago has accumulated almost 40 inches of snow. Early last week we were released early from work because of such severe weather alerts! That can only result in one solution - some homemade soup and fresh flowers to cheer up the gloomy day. The hubby loves soup of any kind - and while chicken noodle is a crowd favorite, I always like to see if I can create a new favorite. This time around I opted for Loaded Baked Potato Soup. Who doesn't love loaded anything? It has bacon, creaminess, cheese - cheesy, carby goodness.  #Winner.  

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

4 Large Red Potatoes, skin on, diced

1 Onion, chopped

8 - 10 Strips Bacon, cooked and chopped

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

4 TBSP Butter

1/3 C All Purpose Flour

1 C Half and Half 

1 C Skim Milk

3 C Vegetable or Chicken Broth

Salt and Pepper to Taste

1/3 C Sour Cream

1 C Shredded Sharp Cheddar + Garnish

Green onions - garnish

Microwave or quick boil potatoes to cut down on cook time. 

 Saute onion, bacon (less 2 slices for garnish) and garlic in large stockpot until onions are browned and bacon is crisp. Remove and set aside.  Melt butter in stockpot on medium heat and whisk in flour, creating a roux. Add milk and half and half and whisk together, cook several minutes and allow to thicken.  Add in broth, potatoes, bacon, onion, salt and pepper. Cook on low at least 40 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender and base has thickened.  Stir in sour cream and 1 c cheese. Serve with extra bacon, cheese and green onions. 

Bodybuildin' Banana Bread

I always tell the story of how when the twins were younger, since they had a lot of ear infections and were slightly delayed in speech that my mom took them for and evaluation (don't worry, they're fine). What sticks out about the evaluation wasn't that they were completely normal (although living with them almost their entire lives, "normal" is a relative term) but what they did with the bananas. The psychologist had them each in separate rooms and allowed them to just play while she observed. At the conclusion she came to my mom and said, "Mrs. Shirahama, the boys are developing just fine. Although I do have to say there was something that struck me as a bit odd. They both took the bananas and put them in the freezer. I've never seen such a thing."  To my moms embarrassment, she was always putting whole bananas in the freezer once they started to brown. Those did, after all, make the best banana bread. So there you have it folks. Want good banana bread? Freeze the bananas. 

I told a lady at work this secret and she scoffed saying how disgusting bananas are when you've frozen them and then try and revive them, their skin nearly disintegrating as you try and peel them. She had one bit of my banana bread, made with browned, frozen bananas and she was singing a different tune. 

So as you all know, I'm eating like a meathead (I don't hate it) and Steve would prefer that I abstain from my baking a bit and I'm left feeling...empty? And yes - the same mind of empty that I felt when we completed all seasons of "Breaking Bad" and again at the conclusion of "Sons of Anarchy". So to my kitchenaid I went, ipad in hand, superb google skills at bay and searched for something to make with those brown, frozen bananas that were starting to overtake my freezer door. I stumbled upon, ok fine, on bodybuilder.com (insert hand slapping forehead and shaking in shame), a banana bread recipe that had no flour, no sugar and...no taste? No, all joke aside, the components made sense and I could see this turning into something beautiful, or at least tasty. 

BODYBUILDIN BANANA BREAD
Adapted from Bodybuilding.com

2 medium-sized ripe Bananas
3/4 cup rolled Oats
3 Whole Eggs plus 2 Egg Whites (beaten)
1 tsp raw honey
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup light vanilla almond Milk
1 tsp Baking Powder

2 scoops of vanilla protein powder (I used Nectar by Syntrex, next time I'll try the Usana)

                                                   1/4 c dark chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. If using frozen bananas, allow to thaw and mash thoroughly. If using overripe bananas, just mash. Add in almond milk and eggs, mix to combine. Add honey and vanilla and mix until combined.  Add dry ingredients, blending until a batter forms. This batter will be somewhat thin if you use the Nectar protein powder as it is a whey isolate. I would imagine with a thicker powder, usual get a thicker batter. If using chocolate chips, fold in now. Pour into greased loaf pan and cook 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Whaaat? Puppy Chow Bars?

I did something bad today. And by bad, I mean dangerous.  And by dangerous, I mean delicious, oh dear God so delicious and decadent...and EASY.  I made puppy chow...bars.  Did your mind just get blown? I wanted to make a little something sweet but also wanted to save the cookies for Valentine's Day (which I didn't make...) and wanted something quick since I was traveling this week. OH. EM. GEE.  These are the best of both worlds when it comes to bars and puppy chow.  Everyone loves puppy chow, but no one loves the powdered-sugar coated fingers that they experience from digging in, time after time, after time. Problem solved. Bar form = clean hands without the delicious flavor sacrifice.  

The only downside? When there is cup after cup of puppy chow, no one really notices when you eat a huge handful here, a huge handful there - but when you've got them in a 9 x 9 inch pan...its pretty obvious when you've devoured the whole pan before you could share it.  Simple solution? Cut them up...plate them, and indulge without anyone knowing :). 

Puppy Chow Bars

Makes 16 Bars

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

6 Large, Jet-puffed Marshmallows

1 1/2 c Chocolate Chips

3/4 C Chunky Peanut Butter

1/2 C Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

4 C Chex Cereal (I used rice but you can use any grain you wish)

Powdered Sugar

In large, microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate, mashmallows, peanut butter, and peanut butter chips. Melt for 45 seconds, remove and stir and continue to melt in 15 second increments until melted, being careful not to scorch the chocolate. Add the cereal and stir to combine, crushing the cereal roughly as you go. NOTE: you want the cereal to blend but not be finely crushed.  Think kind of half and half - half crushed roughly, half full cereal. Once fully combined, pour into lightly greased 9x9 inch pan.  Press down ensuring bars are tightly pressed.  Dust with powdered sugar and allow to cool completely before cutting.  Cut, serve, say "Mmmm". 

The Good, the Bad and the Healthy

We hosted the Superbowl this year.  As usual, I made way too much food because I suffer from Notenoughaphobia - the fear of not having enough food at a party (don't look it up, it's not a real phobia, I'm only a Psychologist per undergrad degree, take nothing from me as gospel). I opted to crockpot it up to keep things simple - I love hosting parties, but on a Sunday, the last thing I want to do is spend my entire weekend cooking.  The menu included: Lime Tequila Chicken Tacos, Enchilada Shredded Beef Tacos, Chili Cheese Dip, Buffalo Chicken Dip, Quesadillas - you get the point.

Needless to say, there were leftovers and since I'm eating relatively bland these days, Steve reaped the benefit of the leftovers revamped.

Enchilada Shredded Beef

Adapted From Becoming Betty

2-3 Lb. Chuck or Pot Roast

1 C Red Enchilada Sauce

1 C Brown Sugar

1 C Coke

2 Cans Roasted Green Chilies

1 TBS Chipotle in Adobo Sauce - use the sauce for medium heat, chop one pepper for hot

Trim large quantities of fat off of roast. Add all ingredients in crockpot and cook on high for 8 hours. Remove meat and shred, add back to crockpot and allow to continue to cook another hour or until beef is tender and has soaked in flavor.  Serve in corn or flour tortillas. 

Beef Chimichangas 

4 Large Flour Tortillas

1/2 Can Refried Beans

1 1/2 - 2 C Shredded Beef (use recipe above)

1 C Cooking Oil 

2 C Shredded Mexican Cheese (combination of Monterey Jack, Mild Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero)

Salsa 

Sour Cream

Warm refried beans and meat (if leftover from the previous day).  Place tortillas in dishtowel and microwave 45 seconds to warm and make tortillas pliable. Add 2 TBS refried beans, spread throughout tortilla. 

 Add 1/3 c shredded beef on one side ensuring that majority of the juice is drained.  Fold tortilla on two sides, rolling from the third to create a burrito.  

Tuck ends in tightly, using toothpicks if necessary to keep everything in, set aside and continue with remainder of beans and beef.

 Heat oil to fill frypan midway (think enough to cover half of the chimichanga).  Once oil is heated, add filled burritos.  Heat each side until browned, approximately 4 minutes on each side.  Turn down heat, add cheese over top of chimichangas and cover.  Allow cheese to melt - remove from heat, serve with sour cream, salsa and any other desired toppings. 

So why "The Good, the Bad and the Healthy"? His and hers - while Steve enjoyed this indulgent meal complete with Chile lime roasted corn and lime cilantro rice...I had this:

The Healthy

I know, this looks like a #cookingwithbae - quinoa, sauteed chicken and pan seared veggies.

The Bad 

The cold weather has Rosie dumpster diving, ripping up mail, jumping on furniture...

A Little Advice - Choosing the Right Sports Bra

This obviously has nothing to do with food, but part of my goal within this blog is to offer my journey through life as I see it: food, fitness, fun and travel.  That being said, with my new fitness routine, I've traded my intense running for high intensity walking...which means my ability to people watch while at the gym has increased.  As I stared at the blank tv screen on the treadmill in front of me (my gym is...how do I say...jenky) and only some of the TVs actually work with the mic input, I suddenly felt the urge to entertain myself.  I looked to my left and observed something frightening - a poor choice for a sports bra.  Now I've been there before in my "barely B's" - where I completely regret my bra decision as I look in the mirror at the gym and realize it looks like I have oddly shaped, medication induced, man boobs.  But here's the thing - when boobs are barely there, one can kind of get away without support - but if you're going to run with those things, you need a good over the shoulder boulder holder. 

I watched as this poor girl ran mile after mile, boobs-a-flapping every which way.  I couldn't help but think of how incredibly painful that must be...and how incredibly horrific that sight was. Strap 'em in ladies - here's a guide. 

http://www.jogging101.com/jogging-bra.html

Sports bras, like regular bras, actually come in different types depending on the function or appearance you are looking to get.  They come in typically, three categories: Max Support, High Support and Medium Support.  Sometimes you will see these in a combination such as Low to Medium Support etc. 

Max Support/High Impact (What my treadmill friend could have used versus the yoga s*** she was wearing)

Best used for high intensity sports: running, basketball, aerobics, mountain biking - think anything that you are doing a lot of  bumpin', jumpin' or high intensity activities. 

High Support/Medium ImpactProvides enough support to control bounce for cross training - think hiking, tennis, crossfit.  In my own personal experience, if you are not very...endowed, these will work just fine for running - but I would opt for more max support for sprints. 

Medium Support/Low Impact
These types of bras are best for coverage and low support.  They are typically best for weight training, yoga, walking - they usually are a little thinner in nature and don't have much shaping or extra pads to them. 

There are also other types of sports bras.  You have your compression versus your encapsulation bras.  These are both used to minimize breast movement during your activities (which again, my treadmill friend, did not choose wisely here, ouch!) Typically, compression bras are best suited for A and B cups. These usually come in racerback or scoop back, with racerback being better suited for your medium impact/high support type fitness situations. 

Compression/Encapsulation bras are better suited for your C and D cups and offer the restriction of compression but also offer movement - because of this, they offer more support than compression alone. 

Encapsulation bras are like your every day bra, but in a sports bra form. These are best suited for  D and DD cups.  They house two separate cups and offer no compression at all. 

LIFE OF A SPORTS BRA
Sports bras should be replaced every 6 months or so and typically will hold up best if hand washed.  I typically wash mine with my other gym clothes on a delicate cycle and no heat drying.  For the sports bras that have had a hard day, I add vinegar to the wash cycle to eliminate any stink. 

Check out some of the best sports bras HERE.