crab + weekend

On Friday we had a big crab dinner at our house. Andrea planned the whole thing and Ben and I hosted it. I never knew how easy it was to make! You pretty much just boil the legs for around 4 minutes and they're done. We had so much fun! I covered the table with newspaper and we gobbled up tons of crab legs and mashed potato's (and of course ramekins of melted butter). Besides for the crab, Ben and I made SO MUCH FOOD this weekend. Homemade pizzas, asparagus tarts, and homemade garlic cheesy bread. I'm getting use to this not eating out idea.

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How was your weekend? Other than eating tons of food (because clearly it looks like that's a priority in my life...) Ben and I went for a long hike, checked out an estate sale, and saw the movie 2012. BOO HISS. It was so long and cheesy. I kind of knew it was going to be but didn't think it would be that bad. It was. Tomorrow I am planning on going to the Banff Film Festival. That should cleanse myself of bad movie syndrome.

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I can't believe Thanksgiving is on Thursday! I'm heading to Minneapolis to celebrate it with my sister and brother. I plan on making about 8 pounds of chex mix (Ben is king of the chex mix) for the occasion and I may just have to partake in some vino (it is a special occasion, no?)

A taste of "healthy" heaven

I'm not going to lie, I have weak spot of the egg McMuffin. Don't get me wrong though, I think fast food is terrible for the human race, but maybe once or twice I year (usually if I have been out late) I'll get an egg McMuffin and it tastes like heaven. In my defense, Saveur magazine did an article on this breakfast sandwich not too long in honor of the man who invented it, Herb Peterson. Even the editor at Saveur admitted to its deliciousness. Ben and I decided to make our own "healthy" version of these last night along with a new potato salad we had never tried. The result was heavenly. We decided to use whole wheat English muffins, and VEGETARIAN "fake" ham as meat substitute in the sandwich. I was a little hesitant, but I thought it was pretty tasty. Anyway, here are the recipes: Vegetarian (octo) Egg McMuffin Serving 4
ingredients:
4 Whole wheat English muffins
4 eggs
2 tbs olive oil
4 slices of vegetarian "meat" ham
4 slices of sharp cheddar

1.)Start toasting the muffins in toaster. Heat oven to 350
2.)while they are toasting heat up oil in skillet, once hot add veg ham & cook till ends get crispy. Flip if needed.
3.)Remove "meat" once done and place on paper towel. Using existing oil, add four eggs to pan and cook sunny side up.
4.) While eggs are cooking place a "meat" slice on each muffin.
5.) remove eggs with spatula and place one egg on each muffin. Add cheese on top of egg.
6.) Now that you have the sandwich built you can stick it in the oven until the cheese begins to melt or fry it like a grilled cheese in a pan. and your DONE! Easy peasy.

Purple Potatoes and Snap Peas (we found this on the bag. So good!)
Ingredients:
1lb of Petite purple potatoes rinsed
1/2 lb of sugar snap peas, trimmed and washed
1/4 cup of feta cheese crumbles
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
10 fresh mint leaves slices small

1.)Cover potatoes in a medium saucepan with cold salted water by 1 inch and simmer until tender (15 min)
2.)Use a slotted spoon and take cooked potatoes out to cool. Keep water in pot and add snap peas. Boil water and blanch peas for one minute. Remove and drain. Run cold water over them. Pat dry.
3.) Cut potatoes into quarters.
4.) Throw all ingredients into a big bowl and toss. Done!