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The Yogli Mogli Experience

02/24/2011 in Chocolate, Guilty Pleasures, Highlands, Tricks of the Trade, Where we're Eating by Lindsay | 7 comments

Move over Paolo’s Gelato – there’s some serious competition who’s just landed across the street from you…

Easy-peasy, self-serve yogurt with a much more fun name to say!  Aloha, Yogli Mogli.  So nice of you to take over the sketchy dentist’s office who used to occupy the space.  (I’m sure he’d be thrilled to know that a sugar shack opened up where he formerly filled cavities on a daily basis.)  Oh, the irony… 

Slick, some of his buddies + I ventured out to the Highlands on Saturday to enjoy the gorgeous Atlanta weather.  Lunch at Yeah! Burger followed by some super tasty yogurt at Yogli Mogli.  Below are our pictures + a brief instructional:

Geoff demonstrates how to select a yogurt flavor + properly fill up your yogurt cup.

Then, make your way to the toppings counter + go to town!

Don’t forget the mochi…  (My fav!)

On to the register.  Yogurt at Yogli Mogli is 39 cents an ounce, which doesn’t seem that significant…

…but consider yourself warned, it can add up (see below).

Ouch.  It’s worth it, though, because YM yogurt is totally delicious, there are so many fun flavors to try (i.e. Root Beer) + you feel exceptionally independent having complete freedom to stock pile your toppings! 

Feel free to share with friends…

…or don’t.  Up to you, selfish.

And, enjoy!  :)

Trick of the trade: Select different toppings to compliment your various yogurt flavors.  (Andes Mints were delish on Chocolate, but not so much on Cookies + Creme.)

Yogli Mogli – you’ve arrived. 

xx, L

Yogli Mogli
1002 N. Highland Ave.
Atlanta, GA  30306
404.347.3100
www.yoglimogli.com

Yogli Mogli on Urbanspoon

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More on Spaghetti Squash…

02/04/2011 in Health, Tricks of the Trade, What we're Cooking by Lindsay | No comments

I’ve been thrilled to hear that my post a few months ago about spaghetti squash has inspired many of you to try it out for yourselves! 

S. squash is still one of my favorite healthy items, but I’ve recently changed up my very plain preparation of it to something a bit fancier, thanks to Bethenny Frankel.

love you. mean it.

Seriously – thank you, BF(F?)!

So here it goes, s. squash lovers…

Bethenny Frankel’s Delicious Spaghetti Squash

bethenny's squash

Ingredients:
1 medium to large spaghetti squash
3 T C store-bought pesto
1 T toasted pine nuts (quickly warm in pan until golden)
3 T shredded parmesan, asiago or grana padana cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T shredded fresh basil

Directions:
Fill a Pyrex with salted water. Cut squash in half with serrated knife, remove seed portion and place face down in water.  Microwave for 12 – 14 minutes.  Allow to cool enough to handle.

Using a fork going lengthwise, scrape entire squash until only left with skin.  Discard skin.  While still warm, add pesto, 2 T of the cheese and salt and pepper and toss.  Warm pine nuts in saute pan.  Sprinkle the squash with nuts, remaining cheese and basil.  Serve + enjoy!

Super simple, right?  Here’s the best part…

Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 148.4
Fat: 9.5 g
Carbs: 12.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.7 g
Protein: 4.6 g

Now that is something to celebrate!  It’s so yummy, too, and looks much fancier than it actually is (which is always nice)!  The pesto is a great compliment to the crunchy spaghetti squash strands + the pine nuts are a perfect final touch to the dish.  Slick eats almost an entire squash by himself when I make it Bethenny’s way.  It’s definitely a pleaser!

Enjoy, budding chefs!  :)

xx, L

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Cooking w/ L+L: Picture Perfect Pizza Bagels

01/25/2011 in What we're Cooking, Where we're Eating by Lindsay | No comments

My favorite Roberts family comfort food is, without a doubt, my mom’s Picture Perfect Pizza Bagels.  (Please witness in all their delicious glory below.)

I have to admit that they are my mom’s specialty, but I attempted to help her make them watched her make them when I was in Dallas over the holidays + they’re surprisingly much easier to put together than I’d anticipated.  Here’s how you you do it:

Ingredients
1 package of plain sliced bagels
1 package of sliced mozzarella
1 jar of Ragu Pizza Quick traditional sauce
Italian herbs + red pepper flakes

Directions
Take as many bagels as you need, separate + place cut side up on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Toast for only a couple of minutes.  (Try to not over-bake.  This step just prevents a soggy crust.)  Separate your cheese, using one slice per half bagel.  You can use a large plastic cup to cut out the rounds of cheese like a cookie cutter to put on each half bagel if you are into precision.  (I get my anal retentiveness from my mom…)  Spread about a tablespoon or more of sauce on each bagel half, top with a cheese round + sprinkle the top with Italian herbs.  Repeat with remaining bagels.  Toast in the oven on broil until the cheese starts to turn a little brown.  Remove, add red peppers to taste + ENJOY!

You can make this recipe heathier if you use low-fat cheese + whole wheat bagels.  Also, you meat lovers out there are welcome to add turkey bacon, chorizo or cooked chicken cubes.

Picture Perfect Pizza Bagels are a nice addition to a hearty homemade brunch or paired with fruit or a green salad to balance them out for lunch or dinner.  Just beware of these little guys – they may be picture perfect, but they are so incredibly delicious we often look like THIS after scarfing them down! 

(Except I usually try to keep my shirt on.)

xx, L

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Cooking w/ L+L: Peanut Butter Mousse

11/23/2010 in Guilty Pleasures, Holidays, What we're Cooking by Lindsay | 2 comments

Did you get stuck on the Thanksgiving dessert detail?  Need a last minute no-bake item to add to the sweets table on Thursday?  Don’t fret – I’ve got you covered.  :)

This weekend, I made Randodi’s Famous Peanut Butter Mousse for a Friday night dinner Slick + I attended (Shabbat dinner for all of you good Jews out there.  We’re trying…).  I first tasted the mousse when Randodi made it for a baby shower we both attended a few months ago.  I had to have J Gorms force me to back away from the table after I took my first bite because I wanted to bathe in the thick peanut butter goodness.  Kidding but not kidding…  I begged Randodi for the recipe for the following three weeks.

When she finally got sick of hearing from me sent it to me, I was absolutely flabbergasted (just wanted to use that word) about how easy it was to make! 

Ingredients:

- 2 large tubs of thawed Cool Whip or store brand (fat free works fine)
- 2 large containers of marshmallow fluff
- 1/2 cup of crunchy or smooth peanut butter softened in the microwave
- broken graham crackers

Directions:

Soften marshmallow fluff* in the glass store containers in the microwave on high for 20 seconds w/ the lid off.  If you buy the plastic containers like I did, heat it up in a bowl.  It should start to puff up in the jar or bowl.

*Note: From my experience, marshmallow fluff is the biggest pain in the tuckus ingredient I’ve ever worked with.  Consider yourself warned.

Soften the peanut butter in the microwave on high for about 20 – 30 seconds.  It should be liquidy.

Get out the Cool Whip…

…and your already broken up graham crackers (I used a bunch since the directions didn’t specify), because they are getting ready to go to work!

While the marshmallow fluff + peanut butter are still warm, stir them together in a large bowl.  Fold in the Cool Whip and the broken graham crackers.  (At this point I tasted the mousse and decided to add a few more spoonfuls of Cool Whip + some more peanut butter.  I harnessed my inner Barefoot Contessa + didn’t measure but instead just eyed it.) 

Transfer to a serving bowl + sprinkle the top w/ crushed graham cracker crumbs.  Freeze.

Take it out of the freezer about ten minutes before serving. 

I needed the dessert to be portable, so I ended following the directions here + instructed folks to scoop it out of the bowl like ice cream or tapioca.  However, Randodi informed me that I should pour the mousse into small graham cracker crusts for better presentation.  That would definitely make this easy-peasy, delicious dessert so much more presentable. 

I ended up trying it later + they came out totally adorable!

The peanut butter mousse took me all of five minutes to make + it was a huge crowd pleaser!  Try it out, but beware of the marshmellow fluff.  That stuff gets EVERYWHERE.  Took me almost an entire day to get it out of my hair.  And, I’m still trying to figure out how it got in there in the first place…

Enjoy!  Thanks, Randodi!

xx, L

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Why Thank You, Daily Candy!

06/30/2010 in PSAs, Random Musings, Tricks of the Trade by Lindsay | No comments

In case you missed it, today’s Daily Candy video is very important. 

Expert Tips for Looking Good in Photos:  Watch the video here!

Nowadays, everyone and their grandmother has a camera phone and a Facebook account.  To maintain my sanity, I’ve learned to combat my inability to get to my Facebook page ASAP to see how I look in a string of photos I’ve been tagged in from a fuzzy night out, by learning how to line up on the same side of the photo every time and strategically jumping into my high school cheerleading pose – ala Barney Stinson – whenever I see someone digging around in their purse for a camera.  (That was a v. long sentence.  Thank you.)

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Exhibit D

Exhibit E

It takes effort, people! (I mean, not all of us are as lucky at JHol to look the exact same in every photo…EVERY time.)

jhol 1

jhol 2

jhol 3

jhol 4

So thank you, Daily Candy, for helping everyone out!  :)

xx, L

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Spaghetti Squash – xo

06/22/2010 in Health, Random Musings, Tricks of the Trade, What we're Cooking, Where we're Eating by Lindsay | 9 comments

God bless spaghetti squash.  It really is one of the most brilliant veggies.  (Or is it a fruit b/c it has seeds?  Regardless, you get what I’m saying…)

I started eating SS on the regular while I was in college.  When you comb out the insides of the squash after you cook it, it comes out in fine strands that resemble spaghetti.  SS is relatively tasteless and very filling, just like pasta, but it’s a much healthier substitute.

Cooking Instructions for Spaghetti Squash:

(You can bake, boil or slow cook SS, but I prefer to just microwave it.) 

- Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds.
- Place squash cut sides up in a microwave dish with 1/4 cup water.
- Cover squash with plastic wrap.
- Cook on high for 10 – 12 minutes, depending squash size.
- (Add more cooking time if necessary.)
- Let stand covered for 5 minutes.
- Use a folk to comb out the strands, like so…

You can incorporate spaghetti squash into a variety of dishes, but my preference is for it to be a marinara sauce vehicle.

In my experience, spaghetti squash is good for about two – three days (tops) after you cook it.  I usually only cook half of the squash at a time and then Tupperware-up the remains.

Spaghetti squash is available year-round in most grocery stores.   It really is a dieter’s dream, as a four-ounce serving of SS only has about 37 calories.  Plus, lugging the 4 – 8 pound squash from the grocery into your house is a workout in itself.

xx, L

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I Make Incredible Take-Out.

04/26/2010 in Buckhead, Tricks of the Trade, Where we're Eating by Lindsay | 9 comments

I do – REALLY!  The v. best in town!  :)

Although I realize that many people will disagree with me about this one, my favorite place for take-out is Genki Noodles + Sushi on Roswell Road in Buckhead.  Slick + I really think it’s the best thing since sliced tuna.  

genki noodles + sushi: buckhead location

We’ve heard y’all complain about Genki from time to time, but we love it – especially for take-out.  We’ve never had a problem there and find their sushi to always be plentiful and fresh – and certainly not as boring as getting it pre-packaged from Whole Foods down the block.


Our favorite rolls for take-out @ Genki are:

1- Dragon Roll: Cucumber and crab topped with salmon, avocado +tobiko

2- Florida Roll: Avocado and cucumber roll topped with tuna +yellowtail

3- Falcon Roll: Soft shell crab and cucumber roll topped with fresh water eel, red +black tobiko

genki take-out (or rather what was left once i realized i needed a picture...)

We’ve had Genki delivered to us – I believe they do this w/in a small radius of the restaurant – but we still prefer to run over there and pick-up our order.  I am definitely cool with pizza or Chinese food delivery, but in my mind sushi needs to not sit in a hot car for too long before you eat it…  It’s much faster to call in an order and swing by to scoop it up on the way over to Slick’s pad.

If you are a hater, and we know there are more than a few of you, I encourage y’all to give Genki another chance.  If you haven’t actually eaten at the restaurant in a while, Genki has undergone some serious renovations over the past two years, and now it looks great inside.  The outside patio is still hard to beat in Buckhead, too.  Take my word for it.

ALSO, they recently opened a new location in Sandy Springs @ the Prado.  Just a little FYI… 

xx, L

Genki Noodles + Sushi
3186 Roswell Road NE
Atlanta, GA  30305
404.844.8319
http://www.genkiatl.com/

Genki Noodles & Sushi on Urbanspoon

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Cooking w/ L+L: Candy Cookie Bars

04/23/2010 in Chocolate, What we're Cooking by Lindsay | No comments

My close friend, Stacy, made the most delicious dessert while I was in Austin last weekend. 

stac + me

Stacy is a very intelligent woman and I’m confident that she can handle v. complicated recipes, but this one is honestly a no-brainer.  So easy, in fact, I whipped it up for Slick on Tuesday evening in all of 20 minutes.  And, these aren’t Rachael Ray minutes either (30 minutes actually = 1.5 hours)…  Now, I am the most popular person @ Slick’s office.  He brought the leftovers to work on Wednesday, and his colleagues loved the recipe as much as Slick, Stacy and I did.

Here’s the Q+DD on Stacy’s Candy Cookie Bars:

Ingredients

- Largest roll of choco. chip cookie dough you can find…
           (Seriously, it looks like it’s on steroids.)
- 3 regular size Heath bars
- 3 regular size candy bars of your choice

Directions

1- Pull out all the items you need onto your kitchen counter.  This recipe takes no time at all, and you’ll want to have everything within an arm’s reach.  :)

2- Spray a 9 x 13 Pyrex with Pam.  Evenly spread the choco. chip cookie dough on the bottom of the Pyrex.

3- Cook the dough for the appropriate time (around 13 minutes or so).  While the dough is cooking, begin preparing the Heath bars.

4- Put Heath bars into a Ziploc bag and use a pounder to chop them up into tiny pieces. (Feel free to use a hammer, like me, if you don’t own a pounder…)

5- TADA!

6- Unwrap your candy bars.  I used Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, a Snicker’s bar and Twix. 

7- Use a sharp knife to cut the candy bars into small 1/4 inch slices.

8- When the dough is finished cooking, randomly place slices of  the candy bars into the dough.  Press down a little to make sure that they are not just sitting on top of the dough.  Then, put the dough back into the oven for 5-6 minutes.

9- Take the dough out of the oven and garnish the top of it with the Heath bar pieces.

10- Let it sit for about 10 minutes.  Cut into bars + enjoy!

Stacy’s Candy Cookie Bars are perfect as a delicious afterthought or a last minute dessert for pretty much any occasion.  Julia Child might roll over in her grave if she ever caught wind of this recipe, but I promise that the bars look and taste like you’ve been in the kitchen for hours!  Fact.

Bon appetit!

xx, L

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Slow Jamz

03/19/2010 in PSAs, What we're Cooking, Where we're Eating by Lindsay | 2 comments

Slick bought home the most amazing kitchen toy the other day – a slow cooker!  I honestly think it’s the greatest invention in the entire world…well…maybe second to hair straighteners.  Whatever – it’s really high up there! 

slick's crock pot

Anyway, he cooked dinner for me the other night and it was delicious – pretty easy to make too.  He made a ton of pulled pork – literally a ton – so much, in fact, that we are still eating away at it almost four days later.  He’s been a total whiz in the kitchen lately! 

what's cookin' good lookin'?

I felt inspired by the crock pot + Slick’s newfound interest in cooking, so I went online to look up some other easy recipes of things we could slowly cook over the eight(+) hours we’re at work and I found these:

1- Chicken + Dumplings: http://bit.ly/bsVh5U
2- Beef Bourguignon: http://bit.ly/YIsW0  (Harness your inner Julia Child!)
3- Creme Brulee: http://bit.ly/9BAdgA
4- BBQ Pulled Pork: http://bit.ly/cQ5Nw2  (Similar to what Slick made…)
5- Spinach + Cheese Dip: http://bit.ly/bLpiov

I’m convinced that a crock pot is God’s gift to the working woman (or man, obv.) – you get what I’m saying.  I love that there is a timer on it, too, so that if you are gone for longer than eight hours, it just turns itself off.  Brilliant.  I kind of want to slow cook everything now… 

You can even make bread in a slow cooker: http://bit.ly/bvz1Dc  Amazing!  Who would have thunk it?!

AND – Wait for it…Wait for it…  Yes – got it!!  :)

Crock Pot Pizza (Pasta): http://bit.ly/dw0zOl = heaven!  I just love carbs (sigh)…

yes please!

God Bless the Crock Pot!  Mmmmmmmmmm!

xx, L

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Cooking w/ L+L: Bruschetta + Cheese Stuffed Chicken

03/10/2010 in What we're Cooking, Where we're Eating by Lindsay | No comments

Bruschetta + Cheese Stuffed Chicken is Slick’s favorite dinner entree that I make and it’s SOOOOO incredibly easy-peasy.  The recipe can be found on KRAFT’s website (below, too, obv.) and was given to me from a culinary whiz colleague.  I made it – Slick loved it – and I passed it along to two of my best girlfriends, who have since made it for their husbands.  Their husbands raved about it, too!  It’s a little ridiculous how simple this recipe is, but it doesn’t look or taste simple!  Promise.

INGREDENTS:

- 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1-1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup chopped basil
- 1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
- 8 small boneless skinless chicken breasts halves (2 lbs.)
- 1/3 cup KRAFT Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing

DIRECTIONS:

Mix tomatoes, 1/2 cup of cheese and basil in a medium bowl.  Add stuffing mix; stir just until moistened.

Place chicken breasts on a cutting board.  Spread chicken with the stuffing mixture. 

Starting at the narrow end of the chicken, tightly roll up each breast.  Place the chicken, seam-side down, in a 9×13-inch baking dish.  Drizzle with dressing.

Bake 40 minutes on 350 degrees or until the chicken is done (165 degrees).  Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake five more minutes or until the cheese is melted.  

voila!

Cool – serve – ENJOY!!

I hope it’s as big of a crowd pleaser for you as it’s been for me!  :)

xx, L

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Fast Food @ The ‘Bucks

03/04/2010 in Where we're Eating by Lindsay | No comments

I’ve never been a Starbucks coffee addict (I’m a tea drinker), but thanks to a colleague I’ve recently become addicted to two non-coffee items at Starbucks:

1 – Starbucks Reduced-Fat Egg White Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich*

yum!

It’s excellent!  Trust me.  I’d eat this over a bagel w/ cream cheese any day…

Nutritional Facts: http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/starbucks/reduced-fat-egg-white-turkey-bacon-breakfast-sandwich

2 – Starbucks Tomato Mozzarella Ciabatta*

double yum!!

I ate this for lunch twice this week.  It’s really great!

Nutritional Facts: http://www.thedailyplate.com/nutrition-calories/food/starbucks/tomato-mozzarella-ciabatta

*Note: Make sure you have your friendly Starbucks barista heat up these sandwiches for you if you plan to eat them right away. 

The nutritional breakdown of these two sandwiches are about the same as a Lean Cuisine - which isn’t terrible.  You could certainly do much worse getting fast food pretty much anywhere else besides Evos, of course!  :)

Thanks for healthy fast food alternatives, Starbucks!  See you tomorrow for breakfast…

xx, L

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Cooking w/ L+L: Brownie S’mores

12/09/2009 in Chocolate, Florida, Holidays, What we're Cooking by Lindsay | 4 comments

Remember Adele?

"hello, again!"

"hello, again!"

You may recall Adele from such posts as Cooking w/ L+L – Guilt-Free Key Lime Pie.  She’s a fabulous cook and just happens to be my mother.  Adele’s talented at whipping up all kinds of culinary deliciousness, but she’s especially outstanding when it comes to desserts.  In fact, I made her Brownie S’mores for Slick’s family’s Thanksgiving Cookie Competition and won 3rd place!  (1st and 2nd were nearly impossible to beat…)

like mother, like daughter...

like mother, like daughter? (fingers crossed!)

Brownie S’mores are incredibly easy to prepare and are excellent comfort food when it’s chilly outside.  They even make for a yummy hostess gift for all those holiday parties you’ll be attending over the next few weeks.  You’ll have people screaming for s’more!!

(Fine, that was lame…)

Here’s the Q+DD on Adele’s Brownie S’mores:

Ingredients:
1 package of Duncan Hines fudge brownie mix + associates items (eggs, oil, etc.)
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
1 cup of mini-marshmallows
6 Honey Maid graham cracker cookie rectangles in the “honey” flavor  
Directions:
Cook brownies in a 9×13 glass pan according to the instructions to make “fudgy” brownies – not “cake” brownies.  Under-cook brownies by five minutes.  Take the brownies out of the over and evenly sprinkle on the chocolate chips.  Then, evenly sprinkle on the mini-marshmallows.  Put brownies back into the oven and cook for the remaining five minutes.  You will want to prepare the graham crackers while the brownies are cooking.  One rectangular graham cracker will break into four smaller pieces along the perforated lines on the cookie.  The graham crackers break easily, so I suggest using a very sharp knife to carefully cut them.  Cut between 20 – 24 small rectangles total. 

Once the brownies are cooked, quickly take them out of the oven and place on/ push down the graham cracker rectangles onto the marshmallows.  Be sure and place them onto the marshmallows a little spread out as this will make the brownies easier to cut when they are cooled.  I suggest cooling over night.  Once completely cooled, gently cut the brownies using a plastic knife (tends to work better for me than a regular knife as the marshmallows are difficult to cut).  Brownie S’mores are supposed to look a little messy, so it is okay if they aren’t cut perfectly.

voila!

voila!

They are best served with a glass of soy or regular milk.  Just like the ones we made at camp minus the fire minus bugs minus 104 degree Texas heat plus brownies!  Eat and enjoy! 

Happy cooking!  (Thanks, Mom!)  :)

xx, L

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