A Rambling Brain Post, and a VERY TASTY FLATBREAD PIZZA

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Sometimes, on the worst days, all it takes is a little flatbread pizza.

Wake up at 4am to help my husband finish packing and then drive him to the airport. Think I've thrown a travel pack of Pepto into his belongings, but I have no memory of where I've put it, so I double the effort and throw a second one in.

Make it home from the airport before the sun's up. Contemplate letting my dog take a piss because I know she's going to need to before I wake back up after the nap I'm about to take. Decide not to because I can barely keep my eyes open.

Nap. Nap. Wake up and text my husband. Nap.

Wake up at 8:45, walk the dog, pick up her warm gooey poop, hold my breath as I walk it to a trash can in the park.

Return home, ignore breakfast, ignore the kitchen.

Look at the laundry list of chores that need to be done on top of regular, actual work. Feel a little guilty about how desperately I want to mope on the couch.

Finally decide to make my breakfast at 10am. Mother freaking pizza.

Get giddy as the aromas of oregano and melted mozzarella fill my house. 

Feel like a genius.

Deal with the kitchen. 

Scrub bathroom floors.

Send important work emails.

Vacuum. Vacuum. Vacuum.

Run errands, come home and wash laundry and dry it and make the beds.

Finally sit down at a computer.

And write.

Easy-As-Pizza-Pie Flatbread White Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 Flatout Bread Wrap (I used 100 calorie whole wheat)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded mozzarella
• 2 tbsp feta cheese
• 1 tbsp white onion, chopped
• 1 handful spinach
• 1/2 tbsp italian seasoning (any kind of mixed seasoning will do, or you can simply use oregano in its place)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place flatout bread wrap on a baking sheet. Spread olive oil around with a spoon to smooth it out and distribute evenly.
3. Add shredded mozzarella (freshly shredded truly is the best!), feta, and white onion. Distribute spinach evenly.
4. Sprinkle italian seasoning like it's freaking fairy dust all over that thing.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges have begun to get brown and crispy.
6. Cut. Serve. Devour.

Go Big or Go Home

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More than a few times this week, I've made the decision to Go Big. On Saturday, at CostCo, I spotted my favorite white roses. It's not the biggest splurge of my life by any means, but it's still not something I do every week. But, into my cart they went. Now I'm enjoying them in three rooms in my house. Well done, Carly.



Example two... Pizza and wine. On our way home one afternoon this week, we walked past our favorite neighborhood pizza place and saw that they had half priced wine. Delicious coal-fired pizza and discounted vino? Not a hard decision. Done and done.

White pizza with lots of cheese, basil, and extra parm. Winning combination. So worth it. 

Part three... the next day, my fiance got a text inviting us to watch the Cubs game that night from the skybox at Wrigley. Yet another easy decision... free seats, free food, free drinks, and great company? Done.

And then there's the dessert cart. I had a peanut butter cookie (peanut butter with peanut butter cups in it, omg) with a scoop of ice cream on top and a side shot of kahlua in a chocolate shot glass. Yes, I ate the whole thing. Yes, I enjoyed every bite. #GoodDecisions

Do you go big every once in a while?

What are your big "splurge" items?

New York Pt 2 - Manhattaning

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Traveling To New York

New York Pt 1 - Brooklyn

New York Pt 2 - Manhattan

New York Pt 3 - Manhattan Birthday

New York Pt 4 - The Final Day

Welcome to this year's edition of "True Life: I Ate Pizza for Breakfast."

After a pretty... uh... festive evening, we seriously needed something carby and greasy for breakfast. Because my fiance's sister lives above a pizza place, it seemed like a great way to do it. We were packing up to leave her Red Hook apartment and head toward our hotel in Midtown Manhattan, so it was our last chance for stuffing our faces at that pizza joint. 

Obviously, we did it.

After we got cleaned up and packed up, we walked to the subway to head into Manhattan. God bless my fiance, who lovingly carried two bags up and over the bridge. You're wonderful.

There were no seats on the subway, so I holed up in a corner and sat on my bag. It was a stiff 30 minute ride, and I tried not to lose my mind or any of my belongings. We emerged intact.

I love Manhattan. Everything is so alive. I suddenly felt so pumped about every little thing that, even on our walk from the subway to the hotel, I had to snap some dorky pictures.

We stayed at The Kimberly, which is a nice spot in Midtown, just off of Park Avenue, with some European flair. After we checked in, I freshened up a bit and then we were off.

We stopped for a mid-day pick-me-up. Double shot tall skinny latte for the win. 

Naturally, another dorky shot. In front of 30 Rock. I'm obsessed with the show, so it felt like the right thing to do.

We walked around for quite a while. Probably a few hours. After a lot of sight seeing and a few unsuccessful shopping adventures, we realized around 3pm that we were pretty starving for lunch. 

We loaded up on Carbs again (ugh, darn you, scotch drinking) and tea. Then, we headed back out into the wilderness (hah) and popped on over to Central Park.

I want to live in this park. I felt so happy just walking around and seeing all of the people and green space. Everything there felt so romantic. Like, take a picture on the bridge? Why not? There is nothing better.

Oh, right, and the freaking bulldog riding a skateboard. This was not just happenstance -- he was doing it for like 30 minutes, and the owner would just start it rolling and the dog would hop on. That's talent.

After spending an hour or so in Central Park, we headed over to Henri Bendel. My fiance's sister had suggested we make a stop there, and I cannot tell you how right she was. If you've never been, just think of it as Disneyland for girlie stuff. Makeup, jewelry, bags, sunglasses, scarves. You name it. I stocked up, and then we headed toward the hotel.

For dinner, we freshened up (read: dry shampoo) and headed to the rooftop lounge at our hotel. It's called Upstairs at The Kimberly and it is really a neat spot. The views are to die for and the lounge itself is quite swanky.

That said, $18 cocktails are somewhat painful, especially when they're not THAT good. I'm spoiled by The Violet Hour in Chicago, so maybe I'm hard to impress. Either way, I ended up switching to Champagne.

One of my good friends from High School lives in New York now, and she showed up to say hi. We had a few drinks at the lounge together, then walked over to Session House for a bit more.

And at midnight? IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY! The bartender made me a delicious cucumber and strawberry vodka drink, and we had a bit of celebrating before heading back to the hotel.

Savory Parmesan Pancakes with Chorizo and Feta Cheese (Plus an exercise in gratitude!)

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If you ask my fiance what his favorite food is, here's what he'll say: Pizza.

Which is funny for someone who is engaged to a woman that pretty much never makes true pizza. Sure, I'll use similar ingredients, but it is always somehow slightly different. Smaller. Healthier. In a different form. Which reminds me: Anyone ever had a pizza shake? Ew?

Lately, I've been experimenting with pancakes recipes. After we had some delicious savory pancakes at Belly Q, I was interested in creating something similar. Basically, they took a savory, cheesy pancake and topped it with meats and cheeses. It's like if pizza and tostadas had a baby. Here's how they described it at the restaurant:

 

Via BellyQ

I know... it sounds delicious, right? We had the Goat Milk Feta Cheese & Rice Noodle Pancake, and I think we may have also tried the Double Smoked Bacon & Kimchi Pancake. It was a delicious meal and really got my creative wheels turning.

Finally, while working out, those creative wheels finally found their traction, and I had the perfect idea. We had some delicious chorizo left over from a meat and cheese plate we made for our Speakeasy Party earlier this month. And we also had, as we always do (because it is a staple of our kitchen), some delicious feta cheese.

And thus, these parmesan pancakes were born! They were such troopers and cried like total babies. I topped them with some broken up chorizo sausage (chorizo is so soft to begin with that it was pretty easy to break into small pieces with a fork), feta cheese, some mixed shredded cheese, and cholula. The result was something perfectly savory, filling, and low carb. Justin scarfed it up within minutes.

We ate ours with a knife and fork, the way you'd eat a traditional pancake, but feel free to just roll it up and eat it like a taco or something!

Savory Parmesan Pancakes with Chorizo and Feta Cheese

Ingredients for Pancakes:

• 1/2 Cup Oatmeal
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Egg Whites
• 2/3 Cup Cottage Cheese
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients for Topping (to taste):

• Chorizo
• Feta Cheese
• Mixed Cheese
• Italian Seasoning
• Cholula

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Place chorizo in a greased pan and heat on medium, breaking apart and moving around every few minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine pancake ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed. In a greased pan, pour batter to the size you'd like your pancake to be. Heat over medium-high heat until your pancakes look a little bubbly and you're able to lift them up with a spatula and see that the bottom is beginning to brown. Flip and heat on the other side for just enough time until both sides are beginning to brown. Then, remove from heat and place on a plate.
4. Once chorizo is done, take a cookie pan and line with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place cooked pancakes on the pan (you may need to use more than one or do them in shifts if you're making a big batch), and top with chorizo, mixed shredded cheese, and feta cheese. Then, place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until cheese is sufficiently melted.
5. Remove from the oven, add cholula (or the sauce of your choice!) and serve!

Delicious! 

• Have any of you ever made savory pancakes?

P.S. From now on, I'm going to try a little exercise in gratitude at the end of every post. Feel free to join in and add your own via comments!
Dear Nasty-Watery-Slushy-Melted-Snow all over Chicago,
Sometimes, when I am boarding the CTA bus, I imagine I am stepping over hot lava instead of 3 inches of dirty snow water. Thanks for making me feel like a kid again.
Love, Carly

Mozzarella Naan with Basil and Balsamic Glaze (And My Hump Day Resolution)

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Before I share the recipe, I've got to share these First World Problems I've Had Today:

• Instagram Filters... Don't you hate it when you just can't decide which Instagram filter looks best? Should I go with Walden or Valencia? Or Amaro? I need a second opinion! What a dork... Does this happen to other people?
• Silly Pinky... My work computer is a PC. My personal computer is a Mac. My fingers are all confused. The short keys for copying and pasting are different and require my left pinky to hit Ctrl on the PC but Command on the Mac and THEY ARE IN DIFFERENT PLACES! This leads me to endless frustration as I go from one to the other. Why isn't my stuff pasting? Is my computer broken? No, silly, your brain just can't figure out how to make the change from PC to Mac to PC to Mac... 
• Clumpy Caffeine... I just stirred a Starbucks Refresher powder pack into my water. It's clumpy. No me gusta.
• Dark Photos... The photos for this recipe were shot at night in my mom's kitchen. That means they are D-A-R-K, D-A-R-K, DARK DARK DARK! Darker than the ocean, darker than the sea... Dark. Which makes me sad. Because dark photos are sad. Right?

We all have these silly issues that drive us nuts, right? Well, here's my Hump Day Resolution. I will laugh at myself. Laugh at my indecision over Instagram filters, my poor little pinky that is permanently confused, and the odd powder clumps in my drink. Because you know what? It's a wonderful day, I had a great workout, and, gosh darnit, I'm writing a book that kicks ass. Oh, and I've got something delicious to share. That pretty much takes the cake naan.

This is my new favorite thing. Yuhhhm. It's pretty much a fancier, yet easier version of homemade pizza. Credit to my lovely mother, who came home one fine day with a few pieces of Naan from Costco and a hunk of delicious Mozzarella. Add to that some fresh Basil from the yard and some delicious Balsamic Glaze and VOILA! You've got Heaven on Naan. Sounds like a movie title.

Mozzarella Naan with Basil and Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients:

• 1 piece prepared Naan
• Fresh cubed Mozzerella
• 3 leaves Basil, ripped into smaller pieces
• Balsamic Glaze (or Balsamic Vinegar), for drizzling

Directions:

1. Set a toaster oven to 350 (or regular oven).
2. Sprinkle Basil on the Naan bread.
3. Cut up Mozzarella into 1/4x1/4inch squares and spread on Naan, about 1/2 inch apart, on top of the Basil.
4. Bake/toast for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and just begins to brown.
5. Remove from heat and drizzle Balsamic Glaze or Balsamic Vinegar on top.
6. Devour :)

Healthy Pizza?! (No, this is not an oxymoron!)

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I don't eat pizza very often because most pizza doesn't please my taste buds enough to make up for the calorie expenditure required to eat it. Until now.

Instead of a tomato-based sauce, this recipe uses a very small amount of olive oil, all fresh ingredients, and a whole wheat crust (if you're adventurous, might even try making your own crust...).

What You Need:

• Whole wheat thin pizza crust
• Olive oil
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Feta cheese
• Mushrooms
• Spinach
• Chopped onions
• Minced garlic

What You Need To Do:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350
2. Lightly spread one tablespoon of olive oil on the pizza crust, leaving an inch uncovered on the edges
3. Add minced garlic and spread as above
4. Add spinach
   
5.  Add sliced mushrooms, onions, and feta cheese
   
6. Add a thick layer of mozzarella cheese
7. Bake in oven for 10-14 minutes (or until cheese is melted or golden)