Dinner For a Crowd

Sunday night was one of those perfect nights including good food and great company. I love to cook for my small family or myself, but cooking for a crowd makes me slightly anxious. I planned out a menu that ended up being ready on the table all at the same time without stress or hours slaved away in the kitchen. A gourmet fruit salad, veggie side dish and my favorite chicken recipe is my perfect 'Dinner for a Crowd" meal.

Watermelon Feta Salad:
serves 8-10

Ingredients:
1 medium watermelon
6 oz or about 1 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
large handful of fresh basil, chopped
balsamic vinaigrette
salt and pepper

Directions:
Dice your watermelon into 1 inch cubes. Sprinkle in feta and basil. Dress with dressing, season with salt and pepper and toss together. 

Sautéed Yellow Squash:
serves 8-10

Ingredients:
4 yellow squash, sliced
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
salt, pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Slice your squash. Once the oil is heated begin to sauté your squash, about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper then sprinkle with parmesan cheese and let it melt over the squash. Continue to sauté for about 3 minutes. 

Parmesan Baked Chicken with Arugula Salad
serves 8-10

Ingredients:
4-6 large chicken breast sliced in half length wise
1 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
2/3 cups parmesan cheese
juice of 2 lemons
2 Tbsps. olive oil
salt and pepper
olive oil spray

Arugula Salad:
4 cups or one large bag/container of arugula
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of two lemons
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a large pan in the oven to get hot. Combine bread crumbs and cheese in one dish or bowl and the lemon juice, olive oil and pepper in another. Slice your chicken in half and pound out thin. Season the chicken with salt and pepper then dredge the chicken into the lemon/oil mixture, then the bread crumb/cheese mixture. 

Take your hot pan out of the oven and spray with cooking spray. Place your chicken on the pan then spray the chicken with cooking spray (this will help brown the bread crumbs). Bake the chicken, flipping once halfway through for 15-20 minutes or until browned and crispy. 

While your chicken is baking whisk or shake together all the ingredients for your lemon vinaigrette. Toss the arugula with the dressing. Remove chicken from the oven and top with arugula salad. 

**see tips below

**Minute by minute tips for a low stress meal

During the afternoon or at least an hour before your guests arrive:
-Cut your watermelon and leave in the fridge.
-Make the vinaigrette for the arugula salad.
-Slice your squash and leave in the fridge until it's time to sauté.
-Set the table.

30 minutes before:
-Preheat your oven and prep your chicken. 

15 Minutes before:
-Begin to sauté your squash.
-Add the feta, chopped basil and dressing to the watermelon.
-Toss the arugula with the dressing.
-Bake your chicken.

Once your guests arrive:
-Your squash should be tender, your chicken should be finishing up and the watermelon salad is ready to go!

Paper plates, plastic silverware and Styrofoam cups, just keepin' it real. 

"People who love to eat are always the best kind of people." - Julia Childs

Cheers to you people!

Annie

What's in My Bag?

At work this summer I did a blog series called "Bag in a Bag in a Bag." It was one of my favorite posts, getting to show off SCOUT bags and the different kinds of products you would carry in each bag. Today I'm doing my own version of the bag in a bag post!

I carry a big ole periwinkle bag that is slightly obnoxious, but I love it. Inside I keep very simple essentials like sunglasses, gum, a makeup bag and car keys. 

My purse is the Rebecca Minkoff Jules Satchel and my wallet is SCOUT's Cash-N-Carry, it's seriously the best wallet to switch from big purse to little purse, every girl needs one. I got my "I Live To Eat" makeup bag in NYC at Chelsea Market, but found the girl and all of her funny saying canvas bags on Etsy! Inside I keep Revlon's lip stain, Chapstick original and a sample of Bond No. 9 Hudson Yards perfume. My sunglasses are cheap polarized aviators (similar style below) and my camera is a Sony cybershot. The version I have is discontinued but I have a similar one listed below. I recommend it to everyone. My other essentials are Extra spearmint gum, a purse size brush and a huge tassel key chain so I can keep track of my keys in my big bag!

Rebecca Minkoff Jules Satchel

 SCOUT Cash-N-Carry wallet / SONY Cybershot camera / Russell+Hazel tassel key chain / blue polarized aviators / Extra Spearmint gum / Conair purse brush / Revlon Color Stay Overtime in Infinite Raspberry / I Live To Eat canvas pouch

Now for what my purse really looks like when I dump it out. Gum wrappers, bobby pins, my Epi-Pen and a mess of other random things. 

Annie

She's My Cherry Pie

This is a yet another variation of my family's granola recipe. I went for dried cherries and lots of cinnamon which gave it a cherry pie taste (hence the name) and filled the kitchen with the most incredible smells.  

Cherry Pie Granola
yields 4 cups

Ingredients:
3 cups of old fashioned oats
1/2 cup chooped walnuts
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup quinoa, dried, uncooked
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg white, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients, listed first, in a large mixing bowl. Whisk your egg white and other wet ingredients together. Mix into dry.

Spread granola out evenly on a sheet pan with edges. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring and rotating your mixture halfway though.

*keep an eye on it toward the end to make sure your granola doesn’t burn!

More granola recipes include classic granola, crunchy quinoa, big cluster fall granola and vanilla lavender.

Annie

Cooking From Scratch

I'm about to tell you how I used the contents in this box, to make this...(see below)

Brined Chicken with a Strawberry Basil Reduction and Zucchini Cakes topped with Yogurt Dill Sauce.

ScratchDC is a company serving up hand-prepared dinner kits that come "chopped, measured, marinated, and delivered ready to cook!" Perfect for working parents, newlyweds, busy professionals or those who typically get lost in the kitchen. Also perfect for foodies spending their summers working in DC:)

I first heard about Scratch when my boss came into work one day raving about the meal she had for dinner the night before. Her roommate owns a cafe/coffee/wine bar that is now a retailer for Scratch. They tested out the product and decided it was good enough to sell in his store.

Scratch sells their kits through retailers or delivers them to you office, home or doorman. After reading up on it, I knew I wanted to try it out. They have a different meal every Monday-Thursday and provide the menu to order from for up to two weeks. This cute brown box was delivered right to my office desk completely prepared for me to take home and cook up in about 40 minutes!

Scratch was started by foodies who have a passion for quality meals and awesome ingredients. Each kit is hand packed daily with pre-measured containers including everything you need. They even give you olive oil and salt and pepper. All you need are a few pans and kitchen knives.

Step-by-step instructions lead you through each dish. The kits serve two people. That being said, you could definitely stretch it two three people, we had tons of leftovers. They only thing is one person will be left out from the two chocolate chip cookies that each kit comes with to finish off your meal! How sweet is that! 

I wanted to test the product and make sure my meal turned out exactly as expected. I made sure to follow the instructions closely, especially the part where it says pour glass of wine while you wait 10 minutes. 

It really can't get easier that dumping pre-portioned containers into a bowl to be mixed up in to a gourmet dish.

The zucchini cakes cooked up quick and easy. Just heat a little oil in a pan and drop about three to four large spoonfuls of the mixture. Flatten them out and let them brown, give them a flip and they are done. 

This strawberry basil sauce was out of this world. I was licking the bowl and wanted to put it on everything. It was made from chopped strawberries, a little OJ, coconut oil and chopped basil. It was the cherry on-top of the meal!

I mean, I can't even tell you how amazing this meal was. I have strict plans to recreate this meal at home, so I will be sure to post the recipe. It won't be as convenient as using Scratch's kit but I'll see how it goes. If you are in the DC area you must give Scratch a try. This is another amazing Washington novelty I wish I could franchise to Oklahoma! 

Thank you to ScrachDC for the chance at letting me try your amazing product! Read more about their food and how it works on their website and Facebook page. 

Annie

Bites of My Life

The past two weeks have been filled with lots of blue, sorority songs, catching up with friends, getting settled, and celebrating the few days between recruitment and school starting. 

I personally don't mind school starting. I like having a routine to stick to and reasons to be organized. I love things the school season brings. Football games, sweater weather and in the words of Kathleen Kelly, bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils.

-Got to escape a few hours of work week to make my favorite sugar cookies.

-Kappa cookies for treats during our alumni/skit night!

-Pistachio, almond butter, white chocolate and orange liqueur rice crispy treat! Yes that is all packed into to one treat and sis brought it back for me all the way from San Diego!

-When a friend offered to buy all the ingredients for omelets as long as I showed her how to make one, I quickly obliged. 

-Loved getting to do my last recruitment week with the best PC around! Go Kappa!

-Cutie cups for the new house! 

-Loved exploring around the new West Elm in Classen Curve. Way to go OKC, now if we could just get a Trader Joe's, Zara and H&M....wishful thinking.

-A fresh coat of paint for my new room. Full bedroom tour to come!

-Can't wait for more breakfasts like this. Love having roomies who also enjoy things like coffee, breakfast foods, sriracha and smoothies. 

-A day of laying out and dinner at my dear friend's parent's house!

-Only good things went into this Saturday night salad. Avocado, dried figs, red onion, prosciutto and basil.

-To rap up my two weeks of bites; a back to school dinner with my Kappa family! Parmesan baked chicken with arugala salad, sautéed summer squash and watermelon feta salad!

Today is my last first day of school, hello senior year!

Annie