Greek Salad

April 1, 2013 / mikeysinmykitchen / 1 Comment

Signs of spring have just begun to appear here in Chicago bringing with it the thoughts of warm weather and long sunny days.

Spring also reminds me that summer is coming and that it is time to prepare for swim suits and shorts…which means healthy eating and exercise. Mikey signed up for the Chicago Marathon in October and healthy eating has become a priority as he gets geared up for training.

So here’s a nice, healthy recipe to celebrate the new season. This salad is fast, delicious and can be altered depending on the vegetables and herbs you have on hand. Toss them all in a simple vinaigrette and you have a light lunch or dinner salad!
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Classic Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

March 22, 2013July 8, 2014 / mikeysinmykitchen / 56 Comments

If bread pudding is on the menu…we are going to order it.

I felt as though I needed to redeem myself after my last bread pudding incident and finally found a recipe that I was able to adjust to my liking. I prefer my bread pudding simple. No raisins or nuts (but you can easily add whatever you like).

I was torn between making a hard sauce, butterscotch sauce, caramel sauce or vanilla sauce and ended up going with a vanilla/caramel.

This bread pudding is served warm with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of vanilla sauce.

It is pretty close to perfection.

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Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

March 5, 2013 / mikeysinmykitchen / 9 Comments

I made about 100 cupcakes last weekend for a birthday celebration and was thrilled to hear there were only about a dozen left after all was said and done. I am always nervous when baking for an event so I like to stick with what I know and love. In this case I made my tiramisu cupcakes as well as these carrot cake cupcakes with brown sugar cream cheese frosting.

We are preparing for yet ANOTHER snowstorm here in Chicago. The fluffy snow that looks nice for about 5 minutes before it turns into brown slush and melts away after only a couple days. The weekend ahead is supposed to be warmer so we can look forward to the snow being (hopefully) gone soon! March = St. Patricks day, March Madness and hopefully some warmer days and lighter jackets! Best of luck in your commutes home today my Midwestern friends!

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Easy Chicken Enchiladas

February 27, 2013 / mikeysinmykitchen / 8 Comments

Everyone gets busy during the week and it is nice to have a couple go-to, simple recipes that are semi-homemade.

You can throw these enchiladas together in about 10 minutes, and they bake up in about 20-25 minutes. Or you can freeze them for a quick week night meal in the future. You can easily add or subtract any of the ingredients from these depending on what you prefer! You can make them spicy by adding more hot sauce, you can add green chiles or jalapenos, or you can add more veggies/make them vegetarian. I would make them with zucchini, cooked spinach, sweet potatoes/squash/potatoes or carrots.

Best of luck digging out of your houses and getting into your cars (for those of us in the midwest). It is a soggy and messy day here in Chicago! But it’s already Wednesday and we are that much closer to the weekend!

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Spicy Feta Dip

February 21, 2013 / mikeysinmykitchen / 3 Comments

I’ve had my eye on this recipe for about a year and finally made it this past weekend. We had a little get together with family and I thought it was the perfect snack, considering my family is obsessed with spicy food.

The dip was a hit and I will definitely be making it for parties in the future. It makes a really big batch because a little goes a long way and I thought the leftover feta would be great crumbled over a salad, or used in a cold chickpea/lentil salad with some fresh veggies and herbs.

Mikey and I are headed up to northern WI this weekend for some snowmobiling, R&R and massive food consumption! We also want to avoid Chicago as this “snow storm” approaches (It will probably bring less than an inch of snow). Have a great weekend and stay bundled!