Holiday Eats | Herbed Aubergine (Eggplant) Soufflé

This post is sponsored by Stella® Cheese but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

What makes a dish Holiday worthy? For me, it's something that feels fancy, something I wouldn't normally make - a recipe that might be super labor intensive, using the best of ingredients. In this case, it's a multi-step soufflé, using fresh breadcrumbs and gourmet Stella® cheese. 

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Fall Snacking | Hot Wing Baskets

This post is sponsored by Frank's Red Hot but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

There are so many snacking opportunities during the fall - football, baseball, pumpkin decorating... here's an easy snack to serve up - individual hot wing baskets!

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Taco Tuesday | Ice Cream Tacos

Tuesdays are for tacos, and you haven't lived until you've had one made of... ice cream 💃

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Super Easy 2 Ingredient Popsicles

This post is sponsored by Dannon® Oikos® Traditional Greek Yogurt but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

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A Birthday and a Cake (Vol. 4)

It's become a tradition to celebrate Max's birthday with a different homemade cake each year (see cakes from years past HERE, HERE, and HERE). This year, I went for a light, fluffy, orange angel cake (the perfect way to follow up our ginormous birthday dinner at Texas de Brazil!).

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My A+ Plan for Back-to-School Lunches

This post is sponsored by Pepperidge Farm, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Back-to-School time is almost here! For us, it's the beginning of kindergarten... and it's happening in just a couple weeks. We have shopped for our supply list, know what to do for car line pick-up, and my mind has wandered now to school lunches!

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Fresh Caprese Chicken Burgers

This post is sponsored by Stella® but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

With the heirloom tomatoes and abundant basil of summer, StellaⓇ Fresh Mozzarella is the perfect way to round out a caprese anything... in this case, caprese on top of a spinach and chicken burger! 

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Classic Strawberry Shortcake

Freshly picked spring strawberries are heaven on earth! I feel we need just one more trip to the strawberry patch this season before it's over, because, seriously. Those strawberries. And, I'll be definitely making this recipe again...

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Mint Chocolate Treasures

Happy March! I'm not sure about your neck of the woods, but here in Alabama, everything is starting to bloom. As my little guy points out every time we see a bud, "It's a sign that spring is near!" This was no-doubt learned in pre-school, but he's so right - spring is just around the corner! And now that we're in a climate that gives us freezing temperatures and even snow, I appreciate spring so much more.

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Coffee + Donuts

Cheers to Friday! I love a bright, happy donut to make a Friday (or any day) just a bit more special.

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Sausage & Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers | Gluten Free + Dairy Free

We recently joined a new CSA at a local, sustainable "permaculture" farm. It's a year-round program, so right now we're receiving lots of amazing meat! One of our items was pork sausage, and the farm suggested using it to make stuffed peppers. I searched around and adapted a few different recipes to make the dish below. The filling was so flavorful, I didn't even add the cheese that most of the recipes suggested, so these are completely gluten free and dairy free. While the sausage/mushroom combination makes them super rich and tasty, I feel that they're still a "light meal" since they don't have the heaviness of dairy. 

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Easy Eats for Game Day

 

Although we're mostly television-free in our house, we totally make exceptions for big games, because what's more fun than cheering on a team going for a championship? Adding fun snacks makes the whole event even more special. Here are two easy eats for your next game day...

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Super Easy Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Max was on travel earlier this month, and while he's away, I skip out on cooking. Tell me I'm not the only wife who does this?! Usually I'm all about sit-down weeknight meals, but if Max is gone, Parker and I are happy with snacking (I've even been known to make whole meals out of ice cream and popcorn, though I at least try to get in some kind of veggie for Parker). Sometimes I need a real meal though! Enter this super easy creamy mushroom pasta - no measuring, very few dishes, and really no actual recipe! It's a perfect bowl of happiness on a chilly day or night.

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American As Apple Pie

Happy Labor Day! We spent yesterday at the pool (our last session of the season) explaining to our four-year-old that Labor Day Weekend unofficially marks the end of summer. I mean, it's pretty sweet that the U.S. sends us off into fall with a holiday 😊

What screams fall? Why the bushel of apples we have in our kitchen right now, courtesy of our local CSA. And what's more American than... apple pie? If you're looking to usher in autumn properly, whip one of these up and you won't be disappointed!

Apple Pie Recipe (adapted from Lauren Conrad)

Ingredients:

• 8 apples (I used golden from our CSA), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

• 1 Tbsp cinnamon

• ½ cup brown sugar

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• 3 Tbsp flour

• ¼ cup caramel sauce (recipe below)

• 1 recipe pie crust (I used store bought refrigerated)

• egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 Tbsp water)

Caramel sauce

• ½ cup butter

• 3 Tbsp flour

• ¼ cup water

• ½ cup sugar

• ½ cup brown sugar

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour to form a paste. Add water and sugar, and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer for about 10 minutes. (You want the sugars to be melted in and not grainy anymore.) Note: you don’t want to turn this into a dark caramel sauce—just a good sugar/butter mixture that caramelizes once baked. 

Instructions:

1. Mix apples, sugars, flour, and cinnamon all together in a bowl.

1. Roll out your pie dough circles and add one into a pie pan. Add the apple mixture into the pan and drizzle caramel sauce over apples. Cover with another crust and flute the edges. Cut vents in top, or use cut cookie cutters to cut out shapes in the tops of pies. 

1. Brush top of pie with egg wash. Bake pie in a 425-degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350, and bake for an additional 35 to 45 minutes, until top is golden and the juices are bubbling.

makes 1 pie

Happy Baking!

                           

        

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A Birthday and a Cake (Vol. 3)

For the past two years, we've rung in husby's birthday with a homemade dinner and cake, and this year was no exception! (See cakes from years past here and here.)

This year, I went with a Tres Leches cake, one of husby's favorites! If you've never had a Tres Leches cake, it uses exactly what it claims - three different kinds of milk. The actual cake is soaked in this mixture, which makes it ridiculously moist. We all gave it a thumbs-up!

I just couldn't be more grateful for this birthday guy. He's caring, protective, loyal, engaged, and still hands-down the most intelligent person I know. He takes the best care of his little family (keeping us calm during a nine-hour flight delay), takes charge in crises (literally putting out fires), and has an incredible work ethic (someone just earned million miler status for all his business travel!). I couldn't be luckier to call him my husband. Cheers to his thirty-five years! 

Tres Leches Cake (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup All-purpose Flour

• 1-1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

• 5 whole Eggs

• 1 cup Sugar, Divided

• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

• 1/3 cup Milk

• 1 can Evaporated Milk

• 1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk

• 1/4 cup Heavy Cream

•  _____

•  FOR THE ICING:

• 1 pint Heavy Cream, For Whipping

• 3 Tablespoons Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs.

Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.

Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter and allow to cool.

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small pitcher. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork several times. Slowly drizzle all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture—try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can.

Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes. To ice the cake, whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable. Spread over the surface of the cake. Cut into squares and enjoy!

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What We Do With Our Strawberries

It's that time of year - strawberry season!

Whether you're picking your own, getting baskets from your CSA, or buying a bucket at the farmer's market, you might end up with strawberries for days. We certainly have (we even got more this week from our CSA). Whenever we get new strawberries in the house, I always wash and slice some to have on hand, and leave the rest unwashed in an open container (I've read it's best not to wash until you're ready to use - I've had them last about a week this way). The ready-to-use washed and sliced ones are perfect for topping yogurt...

Adding to a sandwich...

Or blending into a vanilla milkshake to make a strawberry one (I also added vanilla bean to this one, yum).

I tried two new recipes with our fresh strawberries - the first was for Strawberry Biscuits (recipe from Southern Living found here).

They were a bit of work and made the kitchen a hot mess, but they were delicious. Not very sweet, and perfect to snack on any time of day :)

The other recipe was for this Strawberry Salad with Strawberry-Poppyseed Vinaigrette. I cheated and instead of making goat cheese croutons, I just subbed in plain crumbled goat cheese (because, #momlife).

I also tweaked the dressing (I reduced the amount of sugar) - it was so pretty in person!

Towards the end of the week when the strawberries look like they're on their way out, I rinse and slice the remaining ones and freeze on a baking sheet (then transfer to ziplock baggies). My friend Courtney does this step with half her strawberries the first day she gets them, so that's another option.

Frozen ones are great for smoothies and baking. This past week I unearthed the recipe for Strawberry Freeze (which calls for frozen strawberries), courtesy of my college roommate, Lindsay.

I literally hadn't made it since we were in undergrad, so it was such the trip down memory lane! It's the perfect fun, summery dessert to serve a crowd (or to keep in your freezer and nibble on each night, oops).

Just a note - I used my stand mixer, something we did not have in our Santa Barbara apartment. I think the stand mixer is a million times stronger because instead of 20 minutes of beating, I did maybe 10 (and stopped once the mixture tripled in size and started overflowing over the mixing bowl).

If you're like this cutie and you just need more strawberry goodness, click here for my blog post from a couple years ago with my other favorite strawberry recipes!

Who else is loving strawberry season?

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Throwback Thursday: Beef Pot Pie

In 2009, I found myself recently married and living in a new state (Arizona), away from all my family and friends (though with my new-husband/love-of-my life). To keep everyone in the loop on our new adventure, I started blogging and sharing bits and pieces of desert living and newlywed life. Occasionally I'd write about my shenanigans in the kitchen (as a newbie home chef, there were some epic fails that unfortunately husby had to stomach, bless his heart). I also posted my successes, including a Beef Pot Pie that has stayed in my recipe binder to this day. 

Over our Christmas holiday in California, I had the thought of whipping up the pie for family dinner one night. Not having my ginormous recipe binder with me, I took to the internet and searched my blog for the recipe. And y'all. I found it. Kind of. In my 2010 post, I had linked to the original recipe (a Rachel Ray creation), but the link was no longer functional. What was most disturbing, however, were the photos! I'm not sure if I should be proud of how far I've come, or appalled at where I started (before I had discovered SLRs, fancy lenses and the importance of natural lighting). If you are curious, the original post can be found here, though promise me you'll at least pretend to shield your eyes from the hideousness ;)

What looking back at the archives did do was inspire me to create some re-boots. The Beef Pot Pie recipe literally wasn't in the original post anymore, so why not give it the 2016 2017 treatment? Thus, Throwback Thursday. An old blog post with a new twist!

I originally baked this pot pie in the desert of Scottsdale, but found a new appreciation for it here in Alabama, where our winters are actually chilly. Comfort food on a cold night is the best. This is also a make-ahead recipe - it can be fully prepped well in advance, then popped in the oven to bake whenever you're ready. Here's what you'll need:

I just love having all my mise en place ready, don't you?? If I can prep earlier in the day (say, when Parker's at school), I'm all about it. Come cooking time, it makes the experience so much more relaxing and enjoyable. If I'm really on my game, I'll wash and cut the whole bunch of celery, or all the carrots, or whatever I'm working with to have prepped and ready in the refrigerator for future cooking or snacking. If you are wondering about the Guinness, it's not a mistake that it's in the photo (and it wasn't just for sipping, ha!) - it's the secret ingredient that gives the pot pie lots of flavor and depth. The recipe only calls for 3/4 of a cup, though, so you will have leftover Guinness if you are wanting a swig or three ;)

Beef Pot Pie (adapted from Everyday with Rachel Ray, November 2009)

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

2 diced carrots

1 diced onion

3 stalks celery, diced

2 chopped garlic cloves

1 peeled, diced baking potato

3/4 cup Guinness

8 oz. grated sharp cheddar

salt and pepper

2 sheets frozen puff pastry

1 egg yolk, beaten with a touch of water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375. Start thawing puff pastry.

2. In a skillet, combine beef, carrots, onion, celery, garlic and potato. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Lower heat, add Guinness and cook for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cheese, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Let cool.

3. On a floured surface, roll one puff pastry sheet and place in a deep pie dish. Roll the second and leave ready. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat mixture to the pie dish. Make egg wash and brush on the edge of the crust. Cover with second sheet of puff pastry. Press the edges to seal and trip with kitchen shears. 

4. Brush the top with more egg wash and cut an X into the pastry. Bake for 45 minutes, tenting with foil about halfway through (or whenever crust begins to darken). Cool on a baking rack for 15 minutes, then enjoy!

This pie is decadent and flavorful, and often I serve it by itself since it covers all my requirements for dinner (a veggie, a protein and a carb). The meat to veggie ratio actually favors the veggies, so I feel good about serving it to my boys, and they're both fans (after I served it last, Parker insisted on writing "Pot Pie" and drawing a picture of his slice).

Yay for Throwback Thursday! 

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Diary of a Smoothie Bowl

I've been smoothie bowl obsessed for the better part of 2016. I just can't. get. enough. They're gorgeous,  fun, and full of ingredients you can be happy about putting in your body. I'm sure there are a million different ways to make them, but I thought I'd share my smoothie bowl MO...

First, I always use frozen fruit. It gives the smoothie bowls a great thick and creamy consistency. To puree that frozen fruit, though, you'll need a heavy duty machine. If you have a fancy blender (you know, one of the ones that costs as much as a pair of Manolo Blahniks) you can use that. I don't own one (and given the choice I'd rather have the shoes), so I always just use our normal kitchen food processor, and it works fine. It will take a couple minutes in the food processor to achieve the desired consistency, so don't be alarmed if the mixture just looks like chopped fruit at first - keep blending and it will finally turn creamy.


The best thing about smoothie bowls is that you can mix and match them according to whatever ingredients you have on hand. It's also very easy to tailor them to dietary restrictions or programs (like Whole30 or Vegan). Here's my general guideline for ingredients and quantities:

Smoothie Bowl Mix and Match Recipe

2 cups chopped frozen fruit (I like to freeze our own!)
1/4 cup something creamy (greek yogurt, coconut cream, almond milk)
1/2 Tbs. - 1/4 cup Add-Ins (nut butters, honey, maple syrup, unsweetened cocoa powder, spinach)

Just combine ingredients in a food processor and puree for 2-3 minutes until creamy (stopping and stirring occasionally of needed). And that's it! Then the fun part: pour into a bowl and decorate as desired. I usually go for chia seeds, shredded coconut, cacao nibs, fresh fruit, nuts, and granola.

Here are some of my very favorite combos...

Strawberry Banana with Almond Butter

1 cup chopped frozen strawberries

1 cup frozen banana chunks

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1/4 cup almond butter

1/2 Tbs. honey

pinch of salt

Chocolate Strawberry Banana

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 cup frozen banana chunks
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbs local honey

Banana Blueberry (Vegan/Whole 30 Compliant)

1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen banana chunks
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup almond milk

Peanut Butter Banana

2 cups chopped frozen bananas
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
¼ cup peanut butter
1 Tbs. honey

Peanut Butter & Jelly

1 ½ cups frozen blueberries

½ cup frozen banana

¼ cup plain greek yogurt

¼ cup peanut butter

1 Tbs. honey
pinch of salt

Just Peachy

2 cups chopped frozen peaches
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
2 Tbs. honey
½ Tbs. lemon juice

Berry Vegan

1 cup chopped frozen strawberries

½ cup frozen banana chunks

½ cup frozen blueberries
¼ cup almond milk

2 Tbs. almond butter

½ Tbs. maple syrup

A couple more tips: I've been freezing our own fresh local fruit this summer. Just take whatever fruit you're using, wash and peel/slice it, then lay it out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and pop into the freezer overnight. The next day you can transfer the fruit to ziplock baggies. Since they were frozen individually, the pieces won't all stick together as they would have if they'd just been tossed in the ziplock bag to begin with. I just love freezing our own fruit since it's so abundant now during the summer, and it also gives me a chance to save whatever fruit we get in our CSA that we might not be able to use otherwise (right now we are up to our necks in peaches!). This works double for bananas - not local, but I love being able to "rescue" a trash bin-bound banana by slicing and freezing it! Also, no need to do the baking sheet trick for bananas - I just put them directly in ziplocks.

My second tip - smoothie bowls make great popsicles! Parker is a big smoothie bowl fan, so usually we have no trouble polishing them off. But once in awhile, if he's not around and I can't finish one, I'll pour the leftovers into a popsicle mold and freeze it, and voilà - instant popsicle!

Is anyone else out there smoothie bowl obsessed?

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