Just a Glimpse of Yesterday

Vegetable wrap.

From the Whole Foods Cafe, this wrap is stuffed with lettuce, tomato, spring mix, spinach, onion, roasted red peppers, black olives, carrots, hummus, avocado and cucumber. It's named: The Johnny Mack. You can always create your own sandwich/wrap, but why mess with this one? 

Frozen yogurt.

I am officially obsessed with Publix brand frozen yogurt. I know I've said it before, but I really just can't get enough. I am always pleasantly surprised by not only their flavor choices, but also by the creaminess of their yogurt. They make a wide variety of ice cream flavors too. I haven't tried any of those yet, mostly because I love that their frozen yogurt only has 100-130 calories per serving.

This week I tried a new-for-me flavor, Peanut Butter Cup. I topped my bowl off with caramel sauce and chocolate sprinkles. I died at first bite. But don't worry. I came back to life and finished off the bowl. Cereals? Delicious. 

Today I am continuing my streak of deliciousness and going downtown to grab a doughnut to eat while I stroll through the Farmers Market. It's supposed to be crazy hot here today so I'm hoping an early start will help. I'm sure I'll be ready to hit the pool by 10:30!

Have a good one everyone. And, before I go, I have to give a special shout out to Christina. Happy birthday!!!!!

A Restaurant Review - TJ's Beef and Brew

Sorry I've been MIA for most of the week. I really don't know how it happened, but this week got away from me and all of a sudden it's Friday! 

Since I didn't do my usual grocery shopping last weekend, besides a few random things from Target, I ended up eating out much more than normal. Tuesday night, Greg walked in the door from work and immediately asked if I wanted to go to the new restaurant on Daniel Island: TJ's Beef and Brew. 

This is the restaurant's second location (the other is in Goose Creek by Greg's office and he had gone last week with his boss). This DI location took the place of Dublin Down, an Irish pub that had been open for about a year. I was interested to see if the restaurant could actually give some competition to DIG, because nothing else has seemed to be able to do so.

A short bike ride to the restaurant only made me more hungry than I already was. I had a feeling I wouldn't find too many vegetarian options on the menu, but I was ready to make a compromise for the Taco Salad. You have a choice of adding grilled chicken, beef or chili to the top of a taco shell with iceburg lettuce, jalapenos, olives, cheese, sour cream and salsa. I wouldn't have added any of the meat, but then I felt like it was stupid to pay $8.99 for lettuce and other veggies. So chicken it was.

Andddd don't forget my side of sweet potato fries. Greg said he was really hungry too and I didn't want to have to steal the fries that came with his burger. 

Speaking of his burger, he had the Southern Burger (a very popular name for burgers around here, but each place does it differently). This one was $8.99 and came with pimento cheese, bacon and cole slaw. Greg went without the slaw on his though. 

The bun looked delicious to me. I love a good bun. But the only part of this I tried was a taste of the pimento cheese. Yum. My salad and fries were keeping me plenty distracted from the rest of the burger.

TJ's was a hit with us. The menu is similar to DIG in that it offers a wide selection of burgers, and also has salads, wraps, and other entrees. There are plenty of differences too though and I think TJ's makes a great addition to DI. The prices are very reasonable too. 

Greek Yogurt Cinnamon Raisin Bread and a GIVEAWAY!

Are you excited? I'm excited.

Today I have a delicious and guilt-free snack recipe to share with you. But that's not all. You just wait...

This super moist and dense bread is make with Chobani's Non-Fat Vanilla Greek Yogurt. I have always been a yogurt lover, but baking with it is a newfound love.

I previously made Blueberry Yogurt Cake Doughnuts, but those are longggg gone. I was ready for more. 

With my fresh supply of yogurt from my lovely friends at Chobani, I am exploring all of its possibilities. The great part about it is that the wide variety of yogurt flavors make recipe adaptations easy-peasy. 

A slice of this bread weighs in at just about 120 calories. All the more reason to spread on some butter while it's warm and let it melt right into the bread.

Don't mind if I do!

If are looking for the instant gratification of enjoying a cup of thick and creamy yogurt the traditional way (with a spoon), you are sure to never get bored either. Blueberry, Strawberry Banana, Pomegranate, Black Cherry, Apple Cinnamon...I think my favorite so far is probably Strawberry Banana. Mmmm.

**GIVEAWAY**

Now for the reason you really should be excited today. I have teamed up with Chobani to give one of you lucky readers o' mine your own assorted case (12-pack) of greek yogurt! 

You will receive one entry for doing each of the following:

-Visit Chobani's "Chobaniac Creations" Pinterest board and tell me which recipe you would make first

-"Like" Chobani on Facebook

-Follow Chobani on Twitter

-"Like" CountingMyCupcakes on Facebook

-Follow me on Twitter

You must leave a separate comment on this post for each entry. 

Giveaway ends Sunday, July 1st at 11:59pm EST. Winner announced on this blog Tuesday, July 3rd. 

Greek Yogurt Cinnamon Raisin Bread

(Adapted from No Sugar Sweet Life)

Makes 10-12 small servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 container (6 ounces) Chobani Vanilla Yogurt

1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray medium sized bread pan with cooking spray and set aside. 

2. In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. 

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together brown sugar, yogurt and milk. Add to dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.

4. Pour the batter into the bread pan and gently shake to flatten out evenly. 

5. Bake 40-45 minutes or until bread begins to pull away from the sides and toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

6. Let cool about 5-10 minutes on cooling rack before slicing.

From Casual to Fancy

Casual: Friday night dinner from the cafe at Whole Foods.

Just me, a slice of cheese pizza and some steamed vegetables.

Greg was going out with friends, while I felt like being the homebody that I am and spending the evening by myself. I decided I wanted pizza for dinner, but didn't want to order a whole pizza just for myself. Even when I split a whole pizza with Greg, I'll end up eating more than I should. So I needed a place where I could get a single slice. Whole Foods is really the only place in Mt. Pleasant that I know of where you can get pizza by the slice at dinnertime. 

Fellow Charlestonians- do you know of any others?? A lot of places will do it at lunch, but not dinner.

Anyway, this slice was huge! The picture doesn't quite do it justice, but it was really more like two slices in one. Fine by me :) The steamed veggies were perfect on the side to balance everything out.

Even before I finished my dinner, I knew where I would be getting dessert. Menchie's! 

I did part Dulce de Leche and part Cake Batter yogurt, then topped it off with marshmallow sauce, caramel sauce, cherries, sprinkles and a couple of the frosted animal crackers (<--LOVE those things). This was one of the best mixes I've made in awhile. 

Fancy: Saturday night dinner downtown at Leaf.  

We had plans to go out to dinner for a friend's birthday. Greg felt like dressing up and told his friends he was going to wear a suit. They all agreed to do the same. 

We watched a beautiful sunset as we drove over the Cooper River Bridge. It's awfully easy to live in a place like this.

I had never been to Leaf before, so naturally I had looked up reviews beforehand. The reviews weren't outstanding, especially regarding the service. I was trying to keep an open mind anyway. 

Greg and I split a bottle of Malbec and munched on a few Frickles (fried pickles) that our friend ordered as an appetizer. Off to a good start!

The service was pretty dang slow though. We probably waited at least ten minutes to get our wine after it was ordered, and another twenty minutes until our server came back to take our food order.

Greg had the Leaf Burger and added pimento cheese and bacon. For his side, he chose the Parmesan Truffle Fries (a favorite ever since CPH entered our lives).

I ordered a large Greek Salad. 

The food was good and we had a great time with our friends. Although our server was very friendly, the speed of service could definitely use some work. 

Today is back to the casual life with cereal for breakfast, homemade sandwiches for lunch, and probably some kind of pasta for dinner. 

What's on your menu today?

Baked Goods and a Blogger Meet-Up

What a week.

I baked some treats for the Vacation Bible School-ers at church.

Nothing fancy, just Betty Crocker mixes for walnut brownies and cinnamon streusel muffins. 

On Wednesday afternoon, Christina and I met up for lunch. Christina is a fellow Charleston blogger and we have been trying to find a good time to get together for months! We went to Ali Baba on Daniel Island per her recommendation. This was one of the few places on Daniel Island I had not been to before so I was excited to try it...and excited to meet her in person of course!

We both got sampler plates with a few items from the deli case. I chose three dishes: Grilled Vegetables, Mediterranean Rice Salad and Grilled Chicken. Our plates were served with some delicious pita bread too. I loved the chicken and vegetables, but the rice was so-so. It was served cold which I was not expecting and the overall flavor just wasn't for me.

Christina writes the blog Hungry Meets Healthy and if you haven't already, you must check it out. She writes about food, fitness, and living a balanced lifestyle in general. She even wrote a guest post for me while I was on vacation. 

 

Happy Friday everyone! 

Simple Breakfast Sandwiches

For the second week in a row, Breakfast for Dinner was on the menu in this household. This time, the meal was much more savory than sweet.

With a coupon for a free loaf of bread from Great Harvest, I walked into the store during my lunch break and grabbed a fresh loaf of Oregano Basil bread. I was so tempted to get the heavenly Cinnamon Chip, but I wanted something more versatile. The girl behind the counter recommend this herb bread and described it as extra soft, and similar to focaccia. Sold! (But not really, because it was free! Yay!) She had also mentioned this was the bread they use to make breakfast sandwiches. That's when I knew it was really perfect. As much as I love a good sandwich for lunch, breakfast sandwiches can be pretty special too. 

A breakfast sandwich sounded great for dinner, especially now that I had fresh bread to do it. 

I kept my sandwich very simple. Scrambled eggs mixed with a little shredded cheese, topped with sliced onion and tomatoes, pressed between two toasted slices of Oregano Basil bread. 

So. Good.

If you have a man in your life that can't bear the thought of a meatless meal, bacon or sausage patties make good additions to the sandwich.

Need more inspiration for a breakfast sandwich? You may be interested in my homemade Bacon Egg and Cheese McMuffins. 

Individual Biscoff Layer Cake

Good Monday morning! I hope you all had a great weekend and Father's Day. Although being hundreds of miles away from my dad prevented us from seeing each other on the holiday, I did have a good weekend for a more selfish reason...I found my wedding dress!! I can't believe it happened so quickly, but it is gorgeous and was on sale just through the weekend so I couldn't pass it up.

I spent Father's Day mostly lounging around after church. But with a fresh jar of Biscoff Spread in my pantry, I couldn't sit still for too long. I was ready to bake something delicious.

I admit this cake isn't the best looking thing. I almost didn't bother taking pictures or blogging about it at all because of that. But then I took a bite. And another, and another, and another. 

This cake is rich. This cake is indulgent. 

This cake is not healthy and it is not low in calories. 

But let's not worry about those pesky details. After all, it's cake like this that makes you realize that salad for dinner was worth it. And so was that early morning workout. So enjoy it!

The cake was super moist and perfectly sweet with just a hint of saltiness. I am a frosting-loving girl, but a thin layer is all you really need. 

You might also be wondering what the heck is going on with the top of the cake. Well, I originally just spread on the cream cheese frosting, then decided maybe a little more Biscoff wouldn't hurt. So, I melted some to drizzle over top, but the drizzle looked like a sloppy mess. Thennn I tried to swirl it into the frosting, but that didn't turn out so great either. Obviously. 

Regardless of its looks, this cake tasted amazing. And that's all that really matters. 

Individual Biscoff Cake

Makes 1 serving, possibly 2 if you can manage to share ;)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons margarine
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons beaten egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Biscoff Spread
1/4 cup cream cheese frosting
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat small ramekin with non-stick spray and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda.
3. In a separate medium bowl, add margarine and suger. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until well mixed. Add egg and vanilla extract. Continue to beat until well blended. Add Biscoff spread and blend until smooth.
3. Add wet ingredients to bowl with dry ingredients. Beat with hand mixer until well combined.
4. Pour into ramekin. Bake 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool about five minutes. Remove from ramekin and slice cake in half for layering.
5. While the cake is cooling, prepare frosting by softening in microwave (only takes about five seconds). Stir in cinnamon. Spread about one tablespoon across the top of the bottom half of cake. Set the other half of the cake on top and frost completely. If desired, swirl additional Biscoff Spread across the top.

Light Meals and Pancake Wine

Today I have one of those "what I ate" posts for you. I know, I know...What I really need to do is get myself in the kitchen, put an apron on, and bake something sweet. It's been too long. And it is about time I go all out to make up for lost time.

Maybe today. Maybe tomorrow.

Until then, here are some tasty ideas for everyday eating.

As part of my lunch yesterday, I had cottage cheese mixed with blueberries and strawberries.

I have always liked cottage cheese, but mostly only ate it plain, with salt and pepper shaken on top. At some point in the past year or so, I saw someone mix berries into cottage cheese and gave it a try. Now that is by far my favorite way to eat it. 

The center of my lunch was this wrap. I stayed at my desk to eat, which usually works out fine if I don't have something too messy or that doesn't need much preparation. 

I allowed myself a little bit of meat to make this wrap more substantial. Into the whole wheat tortilla went two slices of deli sliced buffalo chicken breast, roasted red pepper hummus, chopped onion, tomato and spring mix greens. Yum. So fresh and light. The best kind of lunch!

By the time dinner rolled around, Greg and I were more indecisive than usual. Stay home? Go out? If we go out, where should we go? The options in Charleston are endless.

Greg finally made the executive decision to go to one of our favorites places, Coleman Public House. 

Old trusty CPH never let's us down. I was in the mood for something lighter for my entree since we ordered some Truffle Parmesan French Fries as an appetizer, and I knew I'd be helping Greg with his mac and cheese ;) I ordered the Greek Salad, my first salad ever from CPH, and just like everything else I've had, it was delicious. 

We got home after dinner and I poured myself a glass of this white wine from Trader Joe's that I had opened the night before while having a girls night with a friend.

I think you can guess the reason why I bought it in the first place. I am more of a red wine girl, but really enjoyed this white. Especially for less than five dollars. It had nothing to do with the name though. Nope, not at all.

I woke up this morning and got my workout out of the way, because in about twenty minutes I'm leaving to try on wedding dresses! Since the shop I'm going to is right by the new Chipotle in town, I'm thinking it only makes sense to pick up a burrito bowl for lunch. 

Just one good thing followed by another....

Life is good.

What I'm Loving....THURSDAY!

Everyone's heard of What I'm Loving Wednesday posts, even I have done one or two in my day. But why not tell you about tell you about some things I love on Thursday too?

Oh, because then there wouldn't be alliteration like there is with the words "what" and "Wednesday"?

Well I guess that makes sense.

Whoops. I'm breaking the rules this week so please forgive me.

1. Breakfast for dinner (BFD)!!!! This will always be a staple in my household. Always.

On the menu this particular time included blueberry pancakes (banana cakes for Greg), and one giant veggie omelet that we split. Red bell pepper, onion and shredded cheese went inside the omelet. Then I topped my half with crumbled goat cheese and diced tomatoes.

2. Biscoff Spread! 

After flying Delta on vacation, I was reunited with the greatness of Biscoff cookies. I knew it was finally time I ordered the spread that I have seen all over food blogs. My order came in the mail earlier this week and I'm narrowing down the recipes of what I will bake with it first. I've been on cookie overload recently so cupcakes sound awfully good.

3. Speaking of cupcakes....how do you like free cupcakes?? I just so happened to be on a late lunch break yesterday when I saw Cupcake announce a Power Hour on Twitter. This means all you have to do is walk into the bakery and ask for a "Power Hour cupcake, please!" and they hand you the special selected flavor for the day for FREE. 

This White Chocolate Raspberry cupcake is one of my favorite flavors from the bakery. It got a little bit smashed, but still tasted ahhhhmazing. I have always been a fan of Cupcake, but I have to say, this cupcake was even more moist than I remember! I don't know if something changed or I just got lucky. Either way, I felt like a winner.

4. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Oh my goodness. I have totally rekindled my childhood love.

Almost everyday this week I have had a PB&J on a Publix whole wheat bagel. 

Christina, if you're reading, I coincidentally saw your post about Uncrustables. Maybe we should have a PB&J picnic. Bring that Press 'N Seal!

Oh. my. gosh. I just had a revelation. I will be replacing peanut butter on my next PB&J with the Biscoff Spread! Yessssss.

Tell me something you're loving!!

Goat Cheese Vegetable Medley

I have a thing for cupcakes and all sweets in general. But I also have a thing for vegetables, especially vegetable medleys as I like to call them. Some people may have a hard time calling a plateful of vegetables "dinner," but this particular recipes makes one filling meal with such a variety of flavors that I don't miss a thing. It proved itself to my three times last week and it's safe to say I'll be eating it a couple more times this week too. Hey, that's what local farmers markets will do to you! 

Top it off with a Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Burger drizzled with ketchup (salsa would be ideal, but I didn't have any) for a little more substance if you need it. Tortilla chips and salsa would also pair well with this (very similar to my Veggie Nachos). 

Recently I have been struggling to be satisfied trying to keep a semi-vegetarian diet, but this dinner reassured me that I don't need meat in my life to enjoy a flavorful meal. 

Goat Cheese Vegetable Medley

Makes 1 serving 

Ingredients:

1-2 tablespoon butter or margarine 

1/2 cup diced sweet potato

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped zucchini

1 cup spring mix greens

2 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/8 teaspoon cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter/margarine in large skillet over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add sweet potato chunks. Let sit for about a minute, then flip with spatula. Add 2 tablespoons of water and cover skillet with lid. Let cook for about 3-4 minutes. Remove lid and stir around sweet potato chunks. 

2. Add pepper, onion and zucchini to skillet. Stir all veggies together and add second tablespoon of butter. Toss all veggies to coat with butter as it melts. Let cook about 1-2 more minutes.

3. Add mixed greens and continue to gently toss all veggies. Add seasonings and about half of the goat cheese while stirring. 

4. Remove from heat and pour onto plate. Top with remaining goat cheese.

A Restaurant Review - Purée Organic Café

I already told you about my very first visit to this new café in Mt. Pleasant last week, and I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't wait to get back for more! Sunday brunch was calling my name from the second I woke up yesterday. Greg must have thought I looked extra pretty after church, because I could tell he wasn't thrilled about going out to eat and spending more money, but obliged with my request begging anyway. 

I had been craving pancakes most of last week, but then I saw Purée update their Facebook page on Saturday night with their brunch menu. First on the list: Banana Bread French Toast ($11). I instantly knew pancakes, my go-to brunch meal, wouldn't be an easy choice like they so often are. 


When we walked into the restaurant, we were seated by the owner Jenan at a booth right by a window (as the majority of the seating is). After taking a few minutes to peruse the menu, I told Jenan I was torn between the french toast and pancakes. She told me the french toast really was awesome and that was all it took to sell me on that one. 

These two extra thick slices of banana bread were created into the most perfectly delicious french toast I have ever had. The outsides were crispy, while the middle was soft and dense. I was even surprised to find some nuts mixed throughout for some extra crunch (just like in the chocolate chip cookies).  

Happy, happy brunch-er you see right there!

The toast was so moist that I hardly even need syrup at all. Butttttt, that doesn't mean I didn't take the opportunity to make it just a little sweeter anyway ;)

Although this organic, vegan-friendly restaurant doesn't necessarily cater towards Greg's typical diet, he was ultimately happy with his meal as well. 

He chose the BBQ Sausage Tempeh Burger ($11), which is topped with onions, avocado and cheddar cheese.

Neither of us actually knew what tempeh was, but Jenan was so helpful in explaining everything to us. It is a soy-based product, kind of link tofu, and serves as an alternative to meat. 

Greg ate the entire thing before I was halfway through with my toast. Either he was extremely hungry or the burger was extremely good. I bet it was a little of both. 

Side note (unrelated to the food), I loved this hutch that was right across from us. Isn't it adorable?

When it was time to go, we went to the front counter to pay and I couldn't help but reexamine the bakery case full of nut breads, cookies, cupcakes and muffins. If it wasn't for the french toast already filling me up, I would have jumped at a Triple Chocolate Cupcake too.

Purée has done a great job so far in my book: cookies, french toast, decor, service. It's all be fantastic. Jenan even told me they are planning on starting dinner service within a few weeks!

One thing I was not overly thrilled with was the cost. It was not unreasonable, but for $11, I was expecting the "fresh fruit" that came with my toast to consist of more than just a single sliced strawberry (although, the presentation was pretty). Greg said the same about his dish. Again, for $11, he was barely filled up and could have used a side dish to go along with it. 

Regardless, the food is excellent and you know you are getting quality, nutritious ingredients. I highly recommend Purée to anyone looking for something fresh and delicious. 

More Cookies from The Cookie Chick

For some reason I just couldn't get enough cookies this week! That reason being, well, cookies are simply one of the most tempting things you can put in front of me. 

The same day I got the vegan chocolate chip cookies, I met Greg at the Daniel Island Farmers Market after work. We started out strong by hitting up the veggie bins. We bought a red bell pepper, onion, tomato, cucumber, along with a few peaches. 

Then temptation struck.

The Cookie Chick had about five varieties of cookies on display and I could not resist. They were huge! Plus, they looked extra chewy. And the sun was shining on them juuuust right ;) 

Faith, a.k.a. The Cookie Chick, told me they were $2 each, or three for $5. Greg said, "Well, I guess we're getting three." I must really be rubbing off on him. 

Our lineup from left to right: Coconut Lime, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Lime with a Strawberry Glaze. 

I had small samples of the lime cookies then let Greg have the rest. But I kept the oatmeal cookie all to myself. They were all excellent, but the oatmeal chocolate chip was my favorite (oatmeal cookies will always be at the top of my list, so the others have nothing to be ashamed of). Each one was perfectly thick and chewy. I didn't know if I would like the coconut lime, but I was pleasantly surprised. It even had a hint of saltiness and tasted like a pina colada. 

Now that I have been exposed to the greatness of the Cookie Chick's cookies, I don't know if I will ever be able to make it out of the Farmers Market without one...or three for that matter. I am dying to try the Snickerdoodle and Trail Mix cookies!

Check out the Chick's Facebook page and website to see all of the flavors and find out where you can find her.

Hope you all have a great weekend!