O, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING! O,WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY!!

I walk into work today like I usually do – tired and grumpy. I didn’t sleep well and didn’t have time to pick up my coffee so I was all-grump and no-smiles. My only saving grace is that I look quite lovely today; but, this morning even that isn’t going to be enough. I sit down at my desk and open my emails and an avalanche of requests comes crashing straight at me. Grrrrrr…

All of a sudden, I hear rustling in our break room and then laughter and glee. How, I asked myself, can anyone be so happy this early in the morning??? I’ll tell you how…

BABKA from The Bagel Café!!!!! Holy mother of all that is good and holy! This light, airy and moist cake tastes like HEAVEN! The inside is an amalgam of cake and bread, so soft you could lay a baby’s head on it, and the filling, OH THE FILLING, the filling is a beautiful blend of cream cheese and almond and sugar… STOP IT, I say, but they don’t, they keep going! The outside of the babka is flaky and COVERED! with powdered sugar, or, as I like to call it, snowflakes from heaven! I am NOT EXAGGERTING, PEOPLE! This is a MUST try when you’re in Las Vegas, or as something that you put on your bucket lists!
I wish I could post a picture of this delectably divine creation but we were little piggies and ate it all up. SO, I will just leave you to The Bagel Café’s website. TRUST ME, you will not be disappointed!

http://www.thebagelcafelv.com/index.html

The, I’m-so-tired-but-I-still-have-to-cook-dinner, Episode

Some nights it is just too much of a pain to go to the grocery store or even to go through a drive thru to get dinner. Last night was such a night. I wanted a no-fuss, no-muss dinner but since it wasn’t 3am, hangover tacos from Jack in the Box was not going to cut it.

So, I did what any respectable home cook would do, I threw together a quick and easy dish with whatever was in my pantry (well, ok, not only the pantry…the fridge helped too). The resulting recipe is a child of imagination and also it’s freakin’ delicious! (yes, I did just pat myself on the back…). This recipe begs to be varied so feel free to change it up as you wish!

Pantry Pasta


Ingredients
- 1lb to 1 ½ lb of rotini pasta
- ½ a bag of frozen O’Brien Potatoes
- 1-2 cans of chicken (or) tuna (or) 1 bag of pre-cooked chicken breast, cut in pieces
- ½ cup of Italian dressing (or any oil based dressing)
- ¼ cup of balsamic dressing (or, if you just have balsamic vinegar, use 1/8 cup)
- 1-2 tbls of Dijon mustard
- 1-2 tsp. of onion powder
- Salt & pepper to taste

Directions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt. Add pasta. Cook to al dente. Once drained, add back to warm pot.
- While the pasta is in the spa, heat a medium skillet with 2 tbls of olive oil on medium high heat. Put O’Brien potatoes in the skillet (still frozen), add salt, pepper and onion powder, toss in oil. Once tossed, leave potatoes alone for 3-4 minutes. (The point is to get them a little crispy on the bottom.)
- In a small bowl, add Italian dressing, balsamic dressing and Dijon mustard. Whisk until well incorporated. Set aside.
- Into the potatoes, add the chicken (or whatever protein you can find), salt & pepper and sauté. Taste potato/meat mixture to make sure it is seasoned well and that potatoes are cooked through.
- Mix together the pasta and the potato/meat mixture and toss well with the dressing you made earlier. Taste and add salt & pepper as necessary.
- Shovel a big portion into your bowl and sit and enjoy your creation!

Why people get their tonsils removed...

Ok, so I didn't get my tonsils removed, as the title of this blog entry would imply. BUT, I did get my wisdom teeth removed and it’s just as bad. Since I can’t really eat too much lately, I’ve had to find treats that would satisfy my sweet tooth (no pun intended).

Well – guess what I rediscovered… JELLO PUDDING CUPS! I’m not sure why these miniature dishes of chocolate goodness are so comforting, but they are. I suppose they remind me of those times in childhood when we weren’t feeling well and my mom would buy Jello to make us feel better. Since my mom is in another state and I can’t annoyingly call out, “MOMMY – I don’t feel good!!,” Jello Pudding Cups are the next best thing!

So, let that little kid in you back out and indulge in a good ol’ fashioned childhood treat!