Beet Hummus

Totally digging this new hummus recipe. And thinking I may need to grow my own beets next summer!

What you'll need:
1 small beet
2 cloves garlic
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons tahini
1/3 cup olive oil
Pepper and salt, to taste

What you'll do:
1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a glass baking dish with tin foil.

2. Wash beet and trim the leaves and stem. Place in the baking dish and cover with foil. I baked several beets at the same time and it took approximately 65 minutes. You'll know when the beets are cooked because a fork will easily slide through the center.

3. Remove the beets from oven and let cool 10 minutes.

4. Peel the skin from the beet and chop into chunks. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Collard Green Wraps

This is a Tone It Up recipe that I'm pretty please with. I really like how well the collards hold up as a wrap - and stay fresh in the fridge for weeks. I also really like the idea of the parsnip rice, but made some modifications to mine that (I think) made it taste sweet. The portions are also pretty large, so plan on having this all week for lunch or cut it in half!

What you need:
Parsnip Rice
2 parsnips, washed and peeled
1/2 cup cashews (original recipe called for pine nuts)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1 tbsp apple cider videgar
3 tsp dill
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp salt / pepper

Wrap fillings - whatever you have in the fridge!
4-6 collard leaves
2 bell peppers (your choice of color)
1 carrot
tomatoes
onions
cilantro

What you do:
For the parsnip rice
1. Chop the parsnips in a food processor until it is rice consistency.
2. Add the cashews and pulse together.
3. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until well combined.

For the wrap
1. Take one collard leaf and lay face down. Add 4-5 spoonfuls of the parsnip rice to the center of the leaf.
2. Add your preferred fillings on top of the rice - and any additional condiments (I added spicy mustard).
3. Roll like a burrito, then cut in half!

Cabbage Slaw

What's great about this recipe is you use whatever you have available, and the outcome can be very different every time.

What you need:
1 head of cabbage, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted
roasted red peppers (mine came from a jar), plus juice
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
pickled jalapeños, plus juice
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

What you do:
1. Prepare quinoa as instructed.
2. Mix together greek yogurt, taco seasoning and a couple teaspoons of the jalapeño and red pepper juice. Set aside.
3. Combine all other chopped vegetables in a bowl. Mix in greek yogurt dressing.
4. Serve slaw over a 1/4 cup quinoa and season with salt and pepper.

Dill Chickpea Spread

This spread could be my new spring go-to lunch or snack! It combines a couple of my favorite things - chickpeas and pickles - into a refreshing and healthy meal. And yes, when you serve the spread up on wasa crackers, it does kind of look like rice krispy treats...if only!

What you need:
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup greek yogurt (more or less depending on your preference)
1 tsp dill
4-5 pickle chips (can also use relish)
salt and pepper

What you do:
1. In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas and pickles.
2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.
3. Serve on toast, wasa crackers, cucumbers or eat it straight.

Mushroom Barley Soup

What you need

olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3/4 cup barley
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
12 ounces mushrooms, stems removed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

salt and pepper

What you do
1. Heat the oil over medium heat. Add in the garlic, onions and carrots. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft and tender, about 8 minutes. 

2. Add the barley and stir, until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the flour, stir so it coats the barley and vegetables, and cook for 2 minutes. 

4. Pour in the vegetable broth and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the barley is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

I only had 4 cups of veggie broth, so mine has the consistency of risotto. Add in up to six cups total of broth for a more soup-like consistency.

Southwestern Spaghetti Squash

What you need
1 spaghetti squash, whole
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1 green pepper, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
4.5 oz can diced green chilies
cheese, greek yogurt, green onions and cilantro for topping


What you do
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Half the spaghetti squash, scoop out the insides and place cut-side down in a glass baking dish. Add a bit of water to the bottom and bake for approximately 45 minutes.

2. When the insides of the squash easily shred into pasta-like pieces, remove from the oven and put all the squash in a bowl. Set aside.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add peppers, onions, corn and garlic. Saute until just fragrant.

4. Stir in tomatoes, black beans and chilies. Coat with cumin, chili powder and salt. Let simmer another 10 minutes or until veggies are at your desired consistency. 

5. Place a cup of the spaghetti squash on a plate cover with a hearty helping of the black bean mixture and top with your favorite condiments.

Portobello Pizzas

Super easy lunch for this productive Monday off from work. The original recipe was vegan, but I couldn't pass up a handful of cheese. It was totally worth it.

What you need:
2 portobello mushroom caps
pizza sauce
veggies of your choice, I used red, yellow and green bell peppers and jalapeños
pepperoni
shredded cheese
olive oil
basil, crushed red paper, garlic salt

What you do:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the olive oil onto the top and bottom of the portobellos.
2. Place the mushrooms cap-side down on a baking sheet and season with herbs. Bake for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the caps and top with sauce, toppings and cheese.
4. Bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until the mushrooms are your desired consistency.

Easy Ramen Soup

I'm kinda obsessed with this easy ramen recipe I stumbled upon...and modified due to the lack of ingredients around the house.

What you need:
1 pound shrimp (I used pre-cooked and frozen - defrost in cold water)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Sriracha
1/2 onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp celery salt
3 cups veggie broth
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 packages ramen noodles
1/4 cup scallions

What you do:
1. Simmer the olive oil and Sriracha in a wok over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook until it becomes soft.
3. Add the carrots, garlic and seasonings and cook for another 2 minutes.
5. Stir in the veggie broth and bring to a slight boil. Add in soy sauce and ramen noodles.
6. Cook until the noodles have softened. Add shrimp.
7. Pour into bowls and top with the scallions.

Fall Veggie Soup

Tis the season of soups and crockpots. First new recipe, here we go.

What you need:1/2 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 large parsnip, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, chopped
thyme, salt and pepper to taste
4 cups water

What you do:

Place everything in the crockpot for 5 hours on low...or until all the veggies are soft.

Tomato Tart

A delicious summertime side dish.

What you'll need:
1 pizza crust
5 oz goat cheese
1 tbsp seasonings (I used a mixture of thyme, rosemary and Sel Magique salts)
3 large heirloom tomatoes, sliced 1/4"
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

What you do:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix the pizza crust according to the package. Roll flat and place in a pie dish or tart pan and prick the dough with a fork.
3. Bake for 15 minutes, or until crust starts to get a little fluffy.
4. While the crust is baking, slice your tomatoes about 1/4" thick. 

5. In a bowl mix the goat cheese and seasonings. Coat the pie crust with the mixture.

6. Next, layer the tomatoes, alternating colors. Drizzle with the olive oil and top with Parmesan. 

7. Bake for another 20 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Mediterranean Night

I'm a big dip person. It's a serious weakness, but a delicious one. With this said, naturally I have two 92 Days of Summer list items that are dips. For this Wednesday night, I tried an original tzatziki recipe that I'm so excited to add to my dip routine. And a falafel recipe that is simple and tasty as well. So, let's go!

What you need:
for the tzatziki (it's ideal to make this first)
1 cup greek yogurt
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cucumber
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dill
for dipping: cucumbers, radishes, bell peppers, banana peppers, tomatoes...you name it.

for the falafel
1 cup fresh parsley
1 cup cilantro
1 cup almonds, peanuts and carrots (almonds are ideal, but I didn't have enough - or of peanuts either so I improvised)
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp olive oil, more for the pan
optional: sun-dried tomatoes and/or sesame seeds

What you do:
for the tzatziki 
1. Grate the cucumber and place into a mesh strainer. Lots of recipes suggest letting it strain overnight, even through a cheesecloth...but I did not. I used a mesh colander and was able to reduce enough liquid to my satisfaction.
2. In a bowl, combine the yogurt, garlic, garlic and olive oil. Mix well.
3. Chill in the fridge and add the dill right before serving.

for the falafel
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray your baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. In a food processor, combine the parsley, cilantro and almonds/peanuts/carrots (if you are using carrots, be sure to chop first or even run them through the processor first).
3. Add in the chickpeas and chop until smooth.
4. Pulse in the oil, flour, soda and garlic. Here is where you could add the sun-dried tomatoes or sesame seeds.
5. Roll into 1.5-2" balls and place on the baking sheet. You can either leave as balls or pat them down into patties. Either way, top with a little oil.

#14: New Hummus

Or Yammis as this particular hummus is sometimes called. I had to alter the recipe I found online quite a bit due to an oversight of what I actually had in my cupboards (and draining too much chickpea juice). The outcome is different... I'm not sure I'll be making this hummus/mashed potato concoction again. 

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 can chickpeas, drained, but reserve liquid 

1 tbsp reserved,liquid 

1 medium sweet potato, baked with skin peeled

2 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tbsp light sour cream 

3 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp curry

1 tsp paprika 

Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. 

Snow Day Forecast

This is what happens when you've been up since 7 a.m. on a Snow Day, have had several cups of coffee and a very long to-do list. This is the most productive I've been in a long time and I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of myself. I knocked off the computer stuff first thing so I could leave the rest of the day to my creative juices. 

• I prepared this appetizing soup (minus 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, frozen spinach instead of fresh and a whole lot of extra herbs) last night for dinner. 

I made these new Door Knob Wreaths from miniature grapevine wreaths my Mom found for me at the Goodwill (score!). 

I tagged and inventoried brooches, hair clips, all new hair combs and succulents (now selling individually) for Kitsch. 

I finally got around to making this custom request for a bestie overseas. Now I'll just need to find a box to ship this oddly shaped pillow and stuff with the rest of the goodies I've been stashing for the last couple of weeks. I have left to cross off some Wedding blogs, but the night is still young. 

One last photo for the evening and then it's time to get on to the next list item. Here's to hoping another five inches of snow comes overnight and we get another day at home!

Weekend Fun

Another weekend come and gone, and this was the last three-day weekend until the Summer is over. We definitely made the most of it with great friends, delicious food and lots of laughs. Thursday night we started with a Chesapeake Bay view and Scattergories.

#63: Play a Board Game

After our Summer Hurricane Arthur cleared up on Friday, we celebrated Independence Day with fresh clams and lobsters from Maine. Our friends Kristi and Carr are pros at dismembering these little guys, so we had a quick lesson and got to eating.

#28: Freebie: Eat Lobsters

Saturday morning we got the fun started early with a Bloody Mary Bar. Thanks to Harris Teeter, we grabbed a variety of appetizing additions for our beverages, which included: Zing Zang (the base), celery, feta cheese, pickles, jalapenos, garlic-stuffed olives, artichokes, Old Bay seasoning and hot sauce. I have to say, nothing beats sitting by a pool with a cold Bloody Mary and having not a care in the world!

#46: Blood Mary Bar

#62: Blow Bubbles

Here's Miss Sienna testing out the new bubble machine, which was a crowd pleaser. Turns out, kids can't resist trying to pop 500 bubbles floating in the air. For as much as we did the past four days, it was so nice to retreat to The Martin Resort (as we lovingly called it all weekend) and veg out with no plans other than to enjoy ourselves.

I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Click here to read all about it and here to a see a gallery of pictures of everyone participating. 

#15: Eat Lunch Outside

I need to make take more lunch breaks sitting outside and actually taking a break. Especially before it gets too hot! Today I enjoyed my Mexi-Quinoa Salad, which I got from here. I altered the recipe a bit to fit my tastes and love all you can do with it. Mike ate it in a burrito last night and I layered it on some crisp Iceberg lettuce. Today I ate it cold with a heaping pile of hot sauce. It's up to you how to enjoy it!

What you need:
1 serving of couscous
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp jalapeno, diced
1/2 cup yellow, green and/or red peppers, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 cup corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes (with juice)
1/2 cup salsa, hot sauce, extra diced tomatoes + juice (optional)
1 1/4 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp cumin
juice of one lime

What you do:
1. Prepare the couscous as directed. Set aside.
2. Saute the garlic, jalapeno, peppers and onions in the olive. After onions start to soften, add the chili powder, cumin and some salt and pepper.
3. Once the mixture is tender, add the corn, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes and couscous. Let simmer for a few minutes. If you're finding the mixture is to dry for your taste, add in the salsa, hot sauce and or extra diced tomatoes.
4. Right before serving, squeeze fresh lime juice over mixture and stir once more. Add cheese and sour cream if desired.

I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Click here to read all about it and here to a see a gallery of pictures of everyone participating. 

Girls Day

#30: Girls Day doing #41: Wedding Dress Shopping

I think you could say this weekend was extremely successful. Extremely fun, sweet and perfect. And I feel extremely blessed to have such a wonderful Mom and family I'm marrying into. Since she doesn't live here and has done most of her wedding contributions via the phone, I decided that dress shopping would be the thing that my mom and I get to do together. She drove down on Thursday to spend the weekend with us (#36: Host Guests) and our first stop was The Women's Club. Of course she thought it was super perfect for us - although Mike and I started having our doubts about the reception hall size, the stage, the ceremony setup and everything else. But she calmed our nerves and we headed over to Smartmouth for dinner and a beer.

Friday we woke up early, went for a walk and played in my grandmother's wedding dress. We had our first dress appointment at 11 a.m. at Silk Bridal Consignment in Virginia Beach. And it was all so suddenly real that I was a grown up girl, trying on wedding gowns and getting married. That first look at myself in a white dress nearly took my breath away (probably also because the dress was very tight). But the look on my mother's face when that curtain opened made me feel like a million bucks and I realized with her as my cheerleader we were going to power through this days.

#42 New Restaurant

After lunch at a new (to me) sandwich place, Philadelphia Cold Cuts, and what seemed like a hundred dresses at Ava Clara (our second appointment), we went back to Silk and bought The Dress. It's not at all what I imagined myself in. But it's exactly perfect for me. Almost too perfect in that I can't gain a single pound before we get married. And I won't!

The rest of the weekend we were able to relax and enjoy the sights around Norfolk. We checked out a few potential places for rehearsal dinners, went thrift store shopping, hit up Table Seven, even went to the beach so my mom could check some things off her 92 Days list.

My mom just packed up her car and is on her way home. Just like that the weekend is over and we're back to reality. Although now there's a wedding dress hanging on the back of the guest bedroom door that makes me smile ear to ear, affirming I am one step closer to marrying the best guy in the world.

I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Click here to read all about it and here to a see a gallery of pictures of everyone participating.  

#4: Grilled Swordfish

A simple, yet tasty recipe for a marinade that we used both on swordfish and chicken. I had to alter the main recipe significantly after I realized half way into making it I was out of most of the ingredients, but it still worked out and made for a light, delicious lunch.

What you need:
2 swordfish steaks, about a pound total
2 large chicken breasts
1 1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup soy sauce
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1 cup (canned) artichokes, chopped
fresh cracked pepper

What you do:
1. Mix all the ingredients together, reserving a 1/2 cup of the sauce.
2. The chicken can marinade as long as you'd like, but the swordfish no longer than 30 minutes.
3. Grill the swordfish about 10 minutes on the first side. Flip and add more marinade and artichokes on top. Grill another 10 minutes or until flaky.
4. Top with reserved marinade, if desired.

I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Click here to read all about it and here to a see a gallery of pictures of everyone participating.  

Cucumber Salsa

More of a chutney, but refreshingly delicious, nonetheless. #24 is off the list!

What you need:
3 cucumbers
1 tbsp diced jalapeño (more if you want to spice it up!)
a big handful of cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 small Cubanelle pepper, diced
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

What you do:
1. Mix all ingredients in bowl.
2. Let sit at least an hour.
3. Serve with chips.

I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Click here to read all about it and here to a see a gallery of pictures of everyone participating.  

Homemade Veggie Corn Dogs

I used to eat veggie corn dogs all the time, they were taken off the shelves of every grocery store around here a few years back. This summer I was determined to try and make them myself and I think I'm onto something here! The taste was exactly right, but the appearance has little to be said. I've seen people make mini corn dog muffins, but that just doesn't seem the same to me. However, they are waaaaay cuter than my attempt. Like I said, a work in progress...what would you suggest?

Here's what I did:

1. Mix together Jiffy cornbread according to directions.
2. Grease bread loaf pan. Pour 1/4 of the cornbread batter onto the bottom of the pan.
3. Cut the ends of the veggie hot dogs so they fit short-width-wise. Hold on to the ends though, you can use those! You can fit 4-5 dogs, plus the remnants can make up one.
4. Pour the rest of the batter on top of the veggie dogs. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 5. Let rest a few minutes and pop out of dish. If you're so inclined, you can poke popsicle sticks into the ends...I didn't get that far though.

I'm participating in my third 92 Days of Summer challenge. Read about the project here.

Monday Musebles

 

We did it! We finally threw our housewarming party (#4)! We invited our closest friends and family to a get-together with food, drinks and yard games. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans for us. About an hour before our guests were supposed to show up, the heavens broke loose and filled our backyard, frontyard, driveway and streets with water! We actually were able to make the backyard look quite hospitable with our cornhole boards, tiki torches and makeshift firepit, but that will have be for another party (I will mention that in the middle of the blackness and rain, the sun came out and we have this amazing rainbow in the backyard. I suppose that has to be a little good luck, right?). So instead of the backyard games, we hosted 40 people indoors. Note to Self: 40 people definitely fit in our house, no problem. Another Note to Self: At least 17 of those people will try to hang out in the kitchen and only 6 in the biggest room of the house (the living room).

Regardless, we had a blast. I picked up some essential party decor from Table 7 (their Summer stuff is on sale!). Deb made her yummy meatballs and Italian sausage. I stuck with my old faithful dips of roasted red pepper dip, jalapeno ranch dip and hummus (although this time I added some chipotle peppers) with lots of veggies, cheese, crackers and salami. I tried a new puppy chow (or trash as I was informed it is called in the South) that tastes like Reese Pieces.

We also cracked open our bottle of Almond Champagne (#5), which I finally found at Trader Joe's. The consensus was that the little dixie cup taste was just the perfect amount. I, however, could have had the bottle to myself :)

Mike and I are so fortunate to have so many wonderful friends and family around to celebrate such an exciting time in our lives. I wish we could host parties every weekend but just not pay for them, haha.

I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Read about it here.