Running and Grilled Cheese
February 23rd, 2012 § Leave a Comment
I know. That blog title is intriguiging, right? What does running have to do with grilled cheese? Well, in my world, the two collide into my jam packed weekend schedule. Here’s what’s goin’ down!
The Ragnar Relay Del Sol is this weekend (February 25-25). What is Ragnar? Basically, me and 11 friends are going to hop into two vans and head up to Wickenburg to start a 200-mile relay race! (Yes, I said 2-0-0 miles!) It will take us about 32-ish hours to make it to the finish line which leaves plenty of time for laughter, great conversations and general silliness.
Next up, the Grilled Cheese Throwdown. Seriously. Best. Event. Ever. If I’ve never confessed it here before, I am a sucker for a good grilled cheese sandwich. Between grilled cheese and mac ‘n cheese, I scour a restaurant’s menu for the cheesy goodness – even if I ultimately order the spinach salad with cranberries.
Really, though. What’s not to love about grilled cheese? Bread…good! Butter…good! Melted, gooey cheese…ummm, hello!? Great! I attended this event last year and had a blast. I never knew some of the most popular local restaurants in Phoenix and Scottsdale had their own take on this classic meal. I can’t wait to wrap up my weekend of driving and running this Sunday (February 26) with an evening of stuffing myself with the best grilled cheese sandwiches the Valley has to offer. (NOTE: this year’s throwdown is sold out, but if you follow Girl Meets Fork, you’ll get the heads up on next year’s event!)
Bring it on, weekend! I am ready for all the challenges ahead.
Almond Butter Cookies
February 16th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
I love almonds. Roasted, raw, covered in toffee – you name it! Being a runner, I heard that using almond butter on toast or bagels is a great way to fuel up before long runs, so I decided to give it a try and wow! I have been missing out all these years. It kind of tastes like peanut butter, but it’s smoother, less salty and the nutty flavor isn’t as in-your-face. Plus, it contains more fiber, calcium, potassium, iron and manganese than peanut butter, and about half the saturated fat!
I buy MaraNatha almond butter. I’ve seen it sold at Costco, Walmart, Target and Sprouts Farmers Market, so it’s easy to come by. They have a variety of types to choose from: smooth, crunchy, organic, sea salt and maple. Lots of great choices, but for these cookies, I went with the smooth no-stir almond butter. (NOTE: It says no stir, but I still find it best to take a butter knife and mix it a little before using it.) The maple or sea salt version might be tasty, as well.
Almond Butter Cookies
Makes 2 dozen
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup creamy almond butter
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, almond butter and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Beat in both sugars. Scrape down the sides of bowl and stir in half of the dry ingredients. Add the egg and stir well. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients.
For each cookie, roll 1 heaping tablespoonful of dough into a ball and arrange on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart to allow room for spreading. Using the back of a fork, flatten the balls and form crosshatch design on the tops. Bake cookies until dry on top and golden brown on bottom, about 14 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing. Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to racks and cool completely.
Recipe adapted from epicurious.com
Sausage, Egg and Potato Bake
February 10th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
When I go out for breakfast, most restaurants serve the hash browns as a side dish, but it seems inevitable that the eggs on my plate get mixed in, then maybe some of the side of sausage I ordered – and before you know it, I have what looks like a tasty disaster on my plate. Why don’t they just put everything together in the first place? And so the Potato, Egg and Sausage Bake was born.
And the great part about this dish is you can mix it up each time you make it by substituting the sausage for other breakfast meats such as crumbled bacon, strips of crispy prosciutto or maybe some spicy chorizo (I may have to try that next time).
Sausage, Egg and Potato Bake
Ingredients
1 bag refrigerated shredded potatoes, such as Simply Potatoes
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup country sausage, cooked and drained
4 eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine shredded potatoes, shallot, chives, 3/4 cup of the cheese, onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper. Press potato mixture into an oven-safe dish, such as a ceramic pie plate and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove dish from oven and make 4 wells in the potatoes for the sausage and eggs. Sprinkle sausage into each well and carefully crack an egg over the sausage. Season eggs with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the potatoes. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until desired doneness of eggs.
