Steak dinner.

One of my favorite things about a low carb diet is steak.  I spent years avoiding red meat because of a fear of fat, and I have been happy to welcome it back into my lower carb life.  It's still important to try to eat beef that is grass fed and free of hormones and antibiotics, but an organic steak for dinner is a tasty part of a low carb plan.

This is a New York strip steak that spent a couple of hours in my famous not-so-secret recipe marinade.  I pan fried it in some cooking spray and topped it with a sliver of butter.  I ended up splitting it with the awesome boyfriend because I decided it was too much food for one person.  

I served the steak alongside a Garlic Roasted Artichoke, one of my most favorite side dishes.  You can see in the picture that I had run out of garlic cloves so I just smeared some minced garlic over the top of the artichoke.  I prefer the whole garlic, but this was fine in a pinch.  

Brunch in the city.

I recently visited an exhibit at the American History Museum called Food: Transforming the American Table.  It was amazing and if you are in the DC area or planning a trip to DC you should add it to your agenda.  The American History Museum is one of my favorite free things to do in DC anyway, so I was double excited for this visit.

The featured display at the Food exhibit is Julia Child's kitchen.  She donated her entire kitchen to the Smithsonian and it has been set up, exactly as it was when she cooked in it.  There is also a lot of Americana to see: old microwaves, the evolution of wine making, historical food pyramids.  I spent about 2 hours in the exhibit and still didn't read everything.  I'm going to try to go back on a week day when the crowds will be smaller and get to everything that I didn't see the first time around.

After leaving the exhibit my friends and I headed over to The Hamilton for brunch.  I had never been there before, but I was familiar with the building because it is kind of a big deal.  It's massive, with multiple floors, and features a restaurant, bar, and a performance venue downstairs where there is often live music.  It's just off the metro and pretty centrally located, so if you are planning a visit to the city this might be a good stop.

A classic brunch conundrum for me is always, coffee or booze?  It's hard to get my day started without coffee, but what's brunch without alcohol?  Enter, the Irish Coffee.  An Irish Coffee is a pretty simple drink.  It's made with coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar.  Some fancy bars will use brown sugar.  You can also order your with Splenda if you don't want the sugar.  The amount of sugar in an Irish coffee is usually pretty small, less than a teaspoon, so I decided to go ahead and get mine with regular sugar, and over ice.

Holy Irish coffee.  This is literally the best alcoholic coffee drink I have ever had in my life.  I had to restrain myself from just chugging the whole thing because it was that good.  As i'm writing this I'm thinking about trekking into DC right now for another one.  

For the meal I ordered a pork belly and egg dish that was also delicious.  The meat was so tender that I was able to break it up with a fork and eat it.  There were two eggs, some kale, and a generous portion of navy beans.  I tried to go easy on the beans (too many carbs), but I gobbled up the pork and the eggs.  The waiter told me that they cook the meat for something crazy, like 12 hours, to get it to fall apart like that. 

After brunch I hopped on the train to head back to the burbs, sleepy and satisfied.  This was a very successful museum and boozy brunch outing.  I'll keep you posted on what we get into next month.  

Cheese Steak Pizza

Some of you will remember my post about the almost religious experience I had discovering Steak-Umms a last year.  I've been trying to choose unprocessed meats as much as possible lately, but I do still have a box of them in the freezer at my office for emergencies.  By emergency I mean, of course, that I was too lazy to make time to go to the grocery store.  

Yesterday I woke up and realized I did not have any food so I threw a bunch of stuff into a grocery bag and hoped for the best.  I ended up with half of a green bell pepper, a couple slices of cheese, a flax pita, and some other odds and ends.  I cooked the Steak-Umms and peppers in a pan, then layered the whole thing over the pita and cooked it in the toaster oven for a few minutes.  

The results were good, for a last minute work lunch.  The gourmet Tortilla Pizzas that I make at home are better, and I wish that I had though to add some pizza sauce to the mix, but this was a perfect meal in a pinch.  I love how versatile and easy to work with the Steak-Umms are.  They are a great product to keep on hand because they make a good last minute addition to lots of dishes.  

  

Mini Mart Snacks

I love to stop by 7-Eleven on Wednesdays because all coffee is $1.   If you've never experienced the coffee bar at 7-Eleven you should really go and check it out.  There are generally about a dozen different brews to choose from, as well as a multitude of flavored creamers and syrups.  There are also toppings like mini marshmallows and cinnamon sticks, which I think is weird but someone must be using them if they are out there.

My perfect cup of coffee is pretty simple.  I like a dark roast, no fancy flavors, and cream but no sugar.  I don't need the fancy coffee bar for this, but it makes me feel good to know that it's there if I ever change my mind.

I was at the checkout when I stumbled over this cute little mini version of the Green & Black's dark chocolate that I have been loving lately.  You'll remember from my Dark Chocolate Love post that this chocolate is super rich and low in calories.  It's dangerous that I now have access to it within walking distance from my office.  The mini pack was so cute and tempting that I impulse bought it along with my coffee.

A word about this mini chocolate bar for all you choc-aholics out there.  This package has more than one serving!  Don't be fooled into eating the whole thing in one sitting because it's smaller than the original version.  This should be broken down into at least two servings; three is better.  When I was ready to eat mine I had to cut off the portion that I wanted and then wrap the rest back up, tape it closed, and hide it in the recesses of my desk drawer.  

After I finished my usual one egg and flax pita breakfast I enjoyed the rest of my coffee with a serving of chocolate.  It was the perfect way to start my day.  

Happy Hour Wings

The awesome boyfriend and I moved from Greensboro, North Carolina to Ellicott City, Maryland almost 2 years ago.  Moving from one suburb to another doesn't sound like it will be too tough, but it is.  The actual move isn't so hard, and getting adjusted to new jobs isn't so hard.  The hard part is re-establishing your day to day life.  What dentist should you use?  How do you find an honest mechanic?  And for the love of God, why are 25 cent wings not a thing up here?!  Once you've calmed down you'll start to ask around and eventually you will fill all those holes.

When we first moved we found a couple of bars that we liked and pretty much stuck to them.  We got to know the bartenders and the other regulars; life was good.  But the hole in my heart still burned for the ability to order enough wings for a meal (plus some to take home) and not feel bad about the tab because it's only $6.  I eventually let it go, but I always kept an eye out for the next big happy hour.

One fateful day about six months ago we decided that we wanted to try something new and so we made our way to T-Bonz Grille and Taphouse.  Shame on us for not going sooner because this place is about 2 miles from the house.  The bartender handed me a menu and told me that all appetizers with a star were half price during happy hour.  My thought process went something like this: 'Oh, they have wings.  I wonder if the Cajun is any good?  I wonder if they make the blue cheese in house?  Wings are an appetizer with a star.  Wings are $11 so half of that is...wait a minute...wings are $5.50!  Ten wings for $5.50, that's almost like 50 cent wings!  Where the eff is the awesome boyfriend?  We need to order these right now...'

I know that 50 cent wings are not as good as 25 cent wings, but it is definitely a start.  As soon as the awesome boyfriend came back from the bathroom we picked three kinds and dug in.  The wings at T-Bonz are super crunchy.  The Cajun, garlic buffalo, and Old Bay flavors were all the perfect blend of salty and spicy.  The blue cheese dressing was lack-luster, but the wings were so good that I forgave them.  We each had a happy hour beer which brought our total tab to about $20.  Balance was restored to the world.

We also ordered some happy hour shrimp that came out topped with onions and lots of Old Bay.  They were so filling
that we ended up taking about 15 wings home.  Next time we order we will try to show a little restraint.  

Lemon Garlic Chicken and Veggie Skewers

The awesome boyfriend and I just hooked up a fresh tank of propane yesterday.  Fire up the grill, y'all!  In honor of spring and general laziness, I'm working on lots of easy and delicious grilling recipes.

I've been buying bulk frozen chicken breasts at Costco and I love them.  In the bag you get about 10 and each one is individually wrapped.  It's super easy to pull 1 or 2 out of the freezer and just toss them in the sink to defrost.

This lemon garlic marinade is pretty easy to make, and I actually had all of the ingredients on hand.  Again, in honor of general laziness, I love a recipe that doesn't require me to make a trip to the grocery store.

Ingredients

1 lemon

2 Tbsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 C dry white wine

2 Tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 chicken breasts

2 red bell peppers

1- 8 oz container of mushrooms

2 large shallots

bamboo skewers, or grill skewers

Directions

1. Submerge 10 bamboo skewers in water to soak.  
2. Mix minced garlic, olive oil, white wine, parsley, salt, and pepper together in a medium sized bowl.  
3. Cut lemon in half lengthwise and squeeze juice into wine mixture.  Remove any seeds.  
4. Use a citrus zester or a microplane grater to remove zest from lemon.  Add to wine mixture.  
5. Stir wine mixture briskly with a whisk until all ingredients are incorporated.   
6. Cut chicken breasts into 2 inch pieces.  
7. Add chicken breasts to wine mixture and toss to coat.  Set aside.  
8. Cut peppers and shallots into 2 inch pieces.  
9. Remove any dirt from mushrooms by rinsing under warm water in a colander.  
10. Turn on grill to medium heat.  Clean with a grill brush to remove any black, burned on bits.  
11. Thread chicken pieces, peppers, onions, and mushrooms onto bamboo skewers in random order.  
12. Lay bamboo skewers across a baking sheet to rest, and to avoid dripping.  
13. After you have finished threading skewers, brush skewers with any remaining marinade with a basting brush.  
14. Lay skewers on grill and close lid.  Cook for 4 minutes.  Flip and cook for an additional 3 minutes.  
15. Check chicken for doneness before serving.  Enjoy!  

Notes

• The awesome boyfriend does not like mushrooms, so I made a whole skewer of them for myself.  Yummy.  
• You can use whatever vegetables make you happy.  I happened to have shallots and red peppers in the fridge, but you could use green peppers, artichokes, asparagus, or even some fruit.  Experiment and see what you like.  
• Grills can be finicky, like microwaves.  I like to set mine on medium for most things, but yours might run a little bit hotter or cooler.  Make sure that you chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees to reduce the risk of food borne illness.  

Dehydrator has arrived!

The food dehydrator I ordered has finally arrived!  I can't wait to start putting things in there to see what happens.

Snacks I can't wait to make in the dehydrator: 

1.   beef jerky

2.   strawberries

3.   kale chips

4.   apple chips

5.   crunchy green beans

6.   herbs (not a snack, but still...)

7.   green beans

8.   zucchini chips

9.   craisins

10. fruit roll ups

The dehydrator comes with a base, 4 trays, and a lid.  The lid is the part that actually has the electrical components: heating elements and fan.  The base and trays are dishwasher safe.  

There's also a recipe book included with the dehydrator.  It does not have ton of recipes, but there are enough to get started.  I'm already adding dehydrator accessories, like a fine mesh screen for drying herbs and a tray with a lip for fruit roll ups, to my wish list.  In the meantime I've started collecting dehydrator recipes on a Pinterest board so that I can try them later.