Birthday Cake Balls and an Actual Birth Day!

I did it.  Today, I delivered a baby, like a real baby, all by myself!  It was a little boy and oh my God it was amazing.  It may have taken me too long to get the sterile gloves and gown on, and I may have been soooo nervous, but there's a doctor-esque milestone if I've ever seen one.  I can now leave the field of OB peacefully, and it's an experience I'll never forget.  And everyone made it out of the experience just fine, thank you very much :)  (HIPPA, we're still cool, right?  There must have been about 60 million boys born today).

Well now that's off my chest, we'll now turn to cake balls.  Delicious, unbelievably moist, a little putsy but totally worth it.  It's really more of a method than a recipe.  Here's how it goes

Bake a boxed cake (any kind) in a 9x13 pan.  Follow the instructions on the package.  Easy peasy.

Cool completely and cut the cake into big chunks.  In a large bowl, take two forks and shred each chunk until you're left with fine crumbs.  Continue until the whole cake is crumbled in the bowl.  Stir in 1 can of frosting (any kind that would go well with the original cake flavor you chose.  Mine was spiced cake and cream cheese frosting.  It will look like moist ground beef at this point.  Go with it.

Put it in the refrigerator for a while until it firms up (cover so it doesn't get too dry).  Using a small spoon or a cookie scoop, put a dollop into your palms, roll into a circle, and place on a lined baking sheet.  Refrigerate or freeze until firm.

Next, melt a bunch of chocolate, or those meltable candy chips from craft stores.  Any color or type of chocolate will do.  You can dye the white chips for a holiday or special occasion.  Dip and coat each cake ball into the chocolate.  Using 2 forks is best for this.  Place back on baking sheet, and quickly sprinkle with a topping, like chopped nuts, candies, sprinkles, mini-chocolate chips, whatever you want. Let harden and serve!!

I made these cake balls when we were home last weekend, to celebrate several special birthdays:  my mom's (14th), my grandma Bonnie's (1st) and my dear cousin Macy's (8th).  September is always such a great month because of all that above-mentioned celebrating.  Now I can add one more thing to remember in September: the first time I helped bring a life into the world.  Way cool.

Here's to baby catching and cake balls,
Amy

Creamy Lemon Spaghetti

Everyone is busy, and we all know what it's like to get to Wednesday around dinner time and be like, "Oh God, I have ingredients but no plan," or, "I have no plan and hardly any ingredients...great."  I fell into the second category this evening.  Peter had a long day of clinic and TA-ing some second year labs, and I have been catapulted head first into OB day shift...aka 6am-5pm, get home at 530 and try to throw something together to eat.  I am a huge advocate of meal planning a week in advance, so when I grocery shop, I shop with a purpose and don't end up with too many (or too little) ingredients.  I follow this rule about 64% of the time.  Not this week...oh no, not this week.

So I got home and what do I have....an onion, lemon, some sour cream that is really just about done being useful, and 2 sad left over chicken sausages...and some spaghetti.  Well, alright, we can work with that.  It turned out pretty good, and it's even one I'd do over again.  I threw in some frozen peas for color and veggie factor.  Really, use whatever you have.  It is Wednesday, after all, and we have no plan.

Forgive the picture quality...poor lighting + rushing=mediocre photos

This weekend we are going home, and I'm sure there will be many great recipes to share (like Spiced Cake Pops).  Stay tuned!!

We made it through Wednesday!

Amy 


Creamy Lemon Spaghetti
4 oz (quarter of a box) spaghetti or any noodle you like
Olive Oil
1/2 onion, sliced thin
2 servings protein (leftover chicken, sausage, beef....etc)
2 lemons, zested and juiced
1/2 cup sour cream
Pasta water, to thin out sauce
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/2 cup frozen peas

Prepare noodles according to package directions.  While they cook, saute onion in olive oil until soft.  Add meat, and warm through/cook if raw.  To the onion mixture, add lemon juice and zest and sour cream.  Turn the heat to low, and stir the sauce until it comes together.  Add the pasta directly to the pan, and add pasta water if needed.  Throw in frozen peas and simmer together until peas are warmed through.  Add seasonings, stir, and serve!

My Mom's Sugar Cookies

Every family has an iconic recipe that is just instant comfort food.  For my family, that's sugar cookies.  Originally, the recipe came from a woman my mom worked with (Audrey, I believe), but if we begin citing everyone who has used this recipe, we'd be here all day.  So, we'll call them Rox's Sugar Cookies, because that's what they are to me.  I know what you're thinking, "I have like 60 recipes for sugar cookies, what's the big deal?"  Like any heirloom, it's really most special for those who grew up with the recipe, but I think it's worth a try for you as well.  Seriously, these are amazing.

Action shot: cream butter and sugar together super well
You can't overmix at this stage.

The secret?  Like a ton of almond extract, especially in the simple frosting.  My brother goes nuts for this stuff, and during the holiday season, I usually reserve a small bowl for him to eat with a spoon.  I do the same thing...embarrasing.  The cookie dough itself is pretty basic, but yields a tender, flaky cookie that is a great palate for such a zinger of a frosting recipe.  I did make a change that I'm not sure has been tried in my family before:  I folded in tiny dot sprinkles into the cookie dough before rolling and baking.  They don't melt when they bake, and they give a fun texture and color, kinda like funfetti.  It makes the recipe a bit more "summer-ish," I think.

For the frosting, it's just butter, powdered sugar, a little milk and almond extract.  I added just a few scrapings of lemon zest, which really cuts through the sweetness.  Take it or leave it, up to you, but I think it's a nice addition.

I'm making these today for the OB night shift people, as my last night shift is tomorrow night (thank God). I'm just deliriously tired from last night's shift, but my brain apparently can bake on autopilot.  Good to know.

Rox's Sugar Cookie Recipe
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour

In a mixer, cream butter and sugars well.  Beat in egg, vanilla, and almond extracts and lemon juice.  Being careful not to overmix, mix in dry ingredients.  Chill and roll out, cut with cookie cutters or a round glass.  Bake at 350 for 6 minutes until just done and only slightly brown.  Cool and frost!

Almond Frosting
1/2 stick butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp milk (as needed to find right consistency)
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp lemon zest (just a few microplane swipes)

Combine ingredients until desired consistency (could be runnier to drizzle, or thicker to spread).  Color, if desired.  Spread on cookies (or eat straight out of the bowl, whatever).

Get a good night's sleep,
Amy

PS:  Just a pic of Lady being cute.  I just love her underbite :)

Sweet Potato Fries

Do you ever have days when the dinner combination is just...awkward?  Like cereal with a side of broccoli or spaghetti with a side of baked beans?  Well tonight, our odd combo was fajitas and sweet potato fries.  I don't know how this happened!  I am usually very organized in the dinner department, but fajitas were scheduled for tonight, and I also had a huge sweet potato that seemed like a great idea in the grocery store last Thursday, but we are running out of opportunities to use it (#OBnightshift-any twitter people out there?  No one? oh well).  So whatever, fajitas and sweet potato fries.  Could be worse.

It's super easy to make your own "fries"at home, in the oven, which is clearly more healthful than frying them in a gallon of oil, or buying them in the frozen section (those have been pre-fried a lot of times).  It works great with either regular potatoes or sweet potatoes.  It just requires some knife skills, a hot oven, and any number of seasoning combinations.

You could use a mandolin or just a sharp knife to cut the potato into rounds (if using a mandolin, USE THE GUARD and throw away the end that gets too short to use...from personal experience, it gets bloody if you don't, and blood is not a fry topper option, sorry).  Or, you could cut the potato into "fry-shaped" planks.  Cut the potato along the equator, then stand it up.  Cutting longitudinally, make sections that are around 1/2" thick.  Lay those pieces down, and cut longitudinally again for strips.  Here, I'll show you.

I like them with ketchup, but you could make up a creamy dip (my mom likes to combine light mayo or sour cream, lemon zest, and garlic...yum!  you could substitute fat free plain yogurt here as well).  As another idea, you could make sweet ones, by tossing them with olive oil, salt, sugar, and cinnamon.  That's a nice fall side dish idea!

Sweet Potato Fries
-serves 2

1 large sweet potato
Salt, Pepper, olive oil, and any other seasonings (see below for combinations)

Preheat oven to 425, and line a baking sheet with foil.  Spray with cooking spray.  Cut a washed potato into thin rounds, or thin planks.  Dump on baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil and generous amounts of seasoning.  Bake for 30 minutes, turning a few times, until golden brown and delicious.  Let cool (will crisp up a bit), and serve!

Flavor possibilities
-seasoned pepper, garlic salt, and chili powder (what I did tonight)
-Italian seasoning (tossing with parmesan cheese in the last few minutes of cooking)
-cinnamon sugar (don't serve these with ketchup....)
-Grill seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes

Brownie Muffins

Today was a completely "OB-free" day for me, which of course means frazzled household chores, catching up on reading for my clerkship, grocery shopping, working out, walking Lady, making dinner...you know how it goes.  Baking had to be on my list, because really, why not?  :)

Don't get the big jar of pumpkin...get the smaller one (14.5 oz).
This was all Peter could find :)

I'm a big fan of sneaking in hidden vegetables in unnoticeable places, and making sinful treats healthier.  Double score with this recipe.  This is a recipe from Hungry Girl, and like many of her treats, they are yummy and magically lighter than regular cupcakes!  You need literally 2 ingredients:  chocolate box cake mix, and a 14.5 oz can of pumpkin puree (DO NOT use pumpkin pie filling...make sure you check the label at the store!).  I can just see your nose turning up right now but give them a chance!  (as a matter of fact, select members of my family have been served this recipe in cake form by my mother...sneaky!!)

Literally pour out the powdered cake mix and dump in a can of pumpkin, and mix well.  Don't add anything else, like eggs, oil or water.  Just trust me!  The batter will be very very very thick.  This is good.

Then scoop into a muffin pan with greased liners.  Bake at 425 about 16-18 minutes or until not gooey inside.

They will puff up slightly.  You could do this recipe in a 9x13 pan and frost with some light Cool Whip. After I took the above picture, I sprinkled some untoasted coconut on top of a few of them.  While baking, the coconut got all golden.  I'd imagine other sprinkled items would be great as well.

Brownie Muffins
Recipe from Hungry Girl

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 14.5 oz can pumpkin

Preheat oven to 425, and line a muffin tin with liners and grease.   Mix two ingredients together, and using an ice cream scoop, fill muffin tin.  Bake 16 minutes or until cake is done but not overbaked!  Enjoy warm, cold, with ice cream, with cool whip, the possibilities are endless,

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

So before I tell you about a super easy and wonderful enchilada recipe, would anyone like to hear about placentas?  (In my world, most people would answer with an enthusiastic "YES!", but you may not be so excited...that's ok, I'll make it medicine-G-rated).

I had my first 16 hour OB call last night, and it went much, much better than expected.  Once my med school partner Nina and I figured out what we needed to be doing, where we could find precious lab information, and how exactly to put on those weird sterile gowns, we were off.  I saw 3 1/2 deliveries (the "1/2" was because I was called to the OB triage unit right before the lady I had been following for several hours delivered...bummer), and I even delivered a placenta!  That may seem just strange to you, but truly, I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life.  It was my first real "medical intervention" experience, besides just asking people about pain, listening to hearts, or, well, doing psychiatry things.  Everyone made it safely through the experience, and although the chief resident pretty much had her hands on mine the whole time, I'm going to go ahead and say I did it "myself."  Success!

Enough OB stories?  As my mom likes to say, "sandwich in one hand, something bodily-gross in the other."  Enchiladas!

This is a rather healthy dish that's easy to make ahead, freezes well, and bakes pretty quickly.  That's a winner in my book.

I believe the original recipe is from Campbell's Soup's Website, but the recipe below contains a few modifications from my kitchen.  I meant to take some instructional pictures on how to best fold the tortillas to make the enchilada, but I sort of went on autopilot and before I knew it, all the enchiladas were in the pans.  Epic fail.  But really, all you need to do is evenly divide the filling between 5-6 whole wheat tortillas, placing the filling centrally and near the bottom (so, while leaving a border, putting the filling at like 5, 6, and 7 o'clock).  Then fold in the right and left sides of the tortilla, and roll the whole thing away from you a few times.  Place seam-side down in a baking dish, and top with reserved soup mixture.  Bake!

Wishing you a great weekend!

Amy

Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas
1 can light Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 cup salsa, any kind
2 tsp chili powder
3 cups cooked chopped chicken
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I like to use cheddar)
6 whole wheat tortillas

Heat oven to 350F.  Stir the soup, sour cream, salsa, and chili powder in a medium bowl.

Stir 1 cup of soup mixture, chicken, and cheese in a large bowl.  Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas.  Roll up the tortillas and place seam-side down in a shallow baking dish.  Pour remaining soup mixture over filled tortillas.  (You can freeze at this point).

Bake for 40 minutes or until enchiladas are hot and bubbling.  Serve!

On a walk with Lady

Instead of posting a recipe today, I thought I'd take you on a walk with Lady!  We have such a pretty neighborhood, and it's good extra exercise for everyone.  Here we go!

This is literally right outside our lobby door.  

 We live in a neighbhorhood called the Fulton River District.  It is right on the Chicago River where it splits to go north and south.  We are like 100 feet from the Loop (downtown area) and the same distance from River North, a trendy, yuppy-type area.

I took this as Lady and I were crossing the Kinzie Street Bridge, about a block north of our apartment.  The really tall building in the far back center is the Sears Tower (or Willis, or whatever they call it now).

River North is a really cool neighborhood with TONS of restaurants, cafes, etc.  This one is called Scoozi, an Italian restaurant that Peter and I have reservations to on Saturday night.  I'll be both post-call and pre-call, so I informed him that our home kitchen will be closed that night.  I hate it when that happens :)

This is one of two parks that we frequent:  the Erie Street Park.  Lady loves to sniff around in the grass and meet up with some of her canine friends.

Walking nicely without her Gentle Leader!  Score

This statue-flower bed thing is in the Erie Park.  I just think it's neat.

This is the River Walk, which is sandwiched between the East Bank Club (spendy gym near our apartment where Obama and Oprah frequent supposedly...I've never seen any secret service) and the Chicago River.  The Kinze Street bridge (where we started our picture tour) is in the background.

We are on our way to park number 2, but I had to show you the Blommer Chocolate Company.  They have been open for like 65 years, and make chocolate 24/7.  It's notable because it makes the ENTIRE neighborhood smell like a melted chocolate bar...I'll take it.

This is the Desplaines Street Park, about 3 blocks from our apartment.  It's a great park to get a quick walk/potty time in, and she usually sees a lot of friends in here.  In the background is the grocery store we frequent, Jewel-Osco.  It's obviously walking distance, but they have ample free parking for larger trips (that's a MAJOR commodity in the city...it's hard to drive anywhere unless you're willing to pay $15 to park for 20 min :)

Almost home, but this is Peter's El (train) stop to get to school.  Only like 1 1/2 blocks...not bad!

I hope you enjoyed your walk!  Lady sure did, and she's napping now.  Success.   Tomorrow is my first night reporting for OB duty...yikes!  I'm bringing snacks and iced coffee...and an "act like you've been there" attitude.  I'll report back on whether I help bring anyone new into the world.  Double yikes.