First of the Smoothie Recipes > Kiwi Strawberry!

FINALLY! My first smoothie is made! I started my smoothie project over a month ago by ordering the Oster My Blend 250-Watt Blender on Amazon. I found a crapload of sweet recipes that I couldn't wait to try.

Don't forget your smoothie grocery list and healthy add ins like flaxseed and raw cacao! If your fruit man is back - grab your cheap fruit and you are ready to go.

Fruit Man shopping

The first recipe we tried was a Kiwi Strawberry - sounds refreshing and makes me crave Spring like anything.

Dice up your Kiwi

Dice up your strawberries (like 5 or 6 - whatever you can fit in there)

Add in your milk and a teaspoon of flaxseed for good health :)

Blend her up!

First smoothie of bikini season :)

Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie Recipe:
1 Kiwi - diced
6 Strawberries - diced
Almond Milk (or soy/rice/etc)
Teaspoon of flaxseed
Ice cubes
> Throw them in together and blend it up to enjoy!

The blender had some trouble with our larger ice cubes so we need to break up the cubes more in the future. Also you could taste the flax seeds in the shake so I need to figure out how to make that better - any suggestions?! My husband and I also agreed it needed to be sweetened up - maybe we will add in honey next time. Any other sweetener suggestions?

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Recipes of the Week: Bacon Bow Tie Pasta & Guinness Crock Pot

SH here and I am loooving all my new recipes! It's getting a lot less intimidating with each new thing I try, and I'm really loving trying new foods in my own home :)

Bacon Bow Tie Pasta
I picked this gem up at MyRecipes.com and the full bacon bow tie pasta recipe is right here for you!
The recipe is pretty simple and it didn't take long for me to make. I did use gluten free pasta instead of bow tie pasta to keep the gluten out of this dairy heavy recipe. Honestly anything with bacon is f$%^& delicious for me! The sauce was easy to make... and dude, bacon for dinner? Yes please!
My husband is not a huge cream cheese fan and did think this sauce was a bit heavy and creamy - but it's bacon, he'll be fine.

All ready and stirred up in the pot with sauce, noodles and crispy bacon!

Serve hot :)

Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew
I made this recipe for my office - we had a pot luck to celebrate St Paddys Day so I knew this sick twist on my usual crock pot fav would be amazing. BakedByRachel.com had a great recipe that I followed for this one - you can check it out for yourself right here.

It does take a bit of prep work (crock pot always does) but it's so worth it and it smells so damn good when you wake up! (I got wifey points for waking up to an apartment smelling like beef and guinness) :)

All chopped up and ready to go

Add that Guinness in! I used a whole bottle :)

Pure St Paddys Day food joy!

What new recipes have you all been getting yourself into? Trying out holiday themed recipes? Sharing with your office or family? Post links below - I'm always looking to try something new :)

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Baked Falafel & Tahini Sauce

Lacey, here!

I've been meaning, for years, to try homemade Falafel. And tonight was the night.

Falafel

Ingredients:

1 can garbanzo beans (rinsed & drained)

1 Tbsp EV Olive Oil

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon dill weed

1 small onion, quartered

1/3 cup parsley leaves

3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon baking powder (optional, but it makes them fluffy)

dash of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place all items in food processor. Process for 10 seconds.

Scrape down the sides and then pulse about 10 times, or until it's the consistency you'd like. Some like little chunks, some like it smoother.

Form your batter into ping-pong sized balls. Press down a bit if you want patties.

Bake for 20 minutes, flip, bake another 20 minutes. Ta-da! (I know these are traditionally fried, but we don't need that!! Bake at a high temperature for a crispy outside!)

Tahini Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Tahini
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp coconut water (or regular water)
1 small tomato, diced
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
1 small dill pickle, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced and then mashed into a paste
Dash of paprika

 Diretions:
Place tahini in bowl. Add in lemon juice and stir with fork until blended into paste.

Slowly add in coconut water. Stir, stir, stir.
Add in remaining ingredients.

The finished product. I'm quite proud of it! The falafel was a great consistency. I'd love to try out some other sauces in the future! Maybe some peanut butter based sauce. Mmmm.

The final meal included spaghetti squash with a Thai seasoned carrot/onion/tomato topping.

I hope this encourages you to try out new meals that may seem intimidating. I really regret not making Falafel sooner!!

Breakfast for Dinner

Hey, SH here with breakfast for dinner! After a super long day at work, sometimes I just don't have it in me to cook a huge dinner. My alternative option is usually just to order food ~ a New Yorker favorite. Except that ordering food is expensive and you don't have control over how it is cooked.

One of my favorite solutions is breakfast for dinner. Breakfast foods are my favorite, and they are easy to cook. Throw in a few eggs and you have a decent meal. May not be the healthiest. meal. ever. ... but it beats ordering food or grabbing fast food. Gotta have some balance here.

My favorite: Egg In A Hat!

I just popped by the Incredible Egg website and found some egg facts to further convince you that breakfast for dinner is the way to go:

1. The amount of cholesterol in a single large egg has decreased by 14 percent according to the new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition data*. Consuming an egg a day fits easily within dietary guidance, which recommends limiting cholesterol consumption to 300 mg per day.

2. Eggs now contain 41 IU of vitamin D, which is an increase of 64 percent from 2002. Eggs are one of the few foods that are a naturally good source of vitamin D, meaning that one egg provides at least 10 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). Vitamin D plays an important role in calcium absorption, helping to form and maintain strong bones.

3. The amount of protein in one large egg — 6 grams of protein or 12 percent of the Recommended Daily Value — remains the same, and the protein in eggs is one of the highest quality proteins found in any food. Eggs are all-natural, and one egg has lots of vitamins and minerals all for 70 calories. The nutrients in eggs can play a role in weight management, muscle strength, healthy pregnancy, brain function, eye health and more. At less than 15 cents apiece, eggs are an affordable and delicious breakfast option.

Now for my favorite egg recipe - this comes from my Grandmother (MamMam) who cooked this for me all the time! She passed it on to my mom and now it's a favorite of mine to cook. I have the happiest memories of MamMam and loved spending time with her cooking.

Recipe: MamMam's Egg In A Hat

1. Butter up bread of your choice - on both sides

2. Use a cup to cut out a circle in the middle of the bread - this extra piece will be your toast

Perfect toast circle :)

3. Get the bread and your toast pieces warmed up, then drop an egg in the middle of your bread hat
4. Cook egg on both sides (I like to keep my eggs runny to have stuff to dip in!) ~ Don't forget to rotate your circle toast

This meal makes for a happy New Yorker :)

Egg In A Hat

Do you crave breakfast for dinner after a long day like me? Or do you hate breakfast? What is your fav type of food to eat after a long day? Did you realize that eggs can add in that extra daily protein you have been missing? Do you have a favorite recipe from your Grandparents that just screams comfort food and happiness to you? Check in with us on Facebook and let us know what you think :)

[all photos my own - SH]

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Snowstorm Nemo & Homemade Soup

Happy Monday! SH here. Hope everyone is safe from Snowstorm Nemo this weekend.

Snowstorm weekends are a great excuse to stay holed up and cozy in your apartment. As a New Yorker - I have no car to take care of, no driveway or sidewalk to shovel, so snow is a generally lazy event for me. I joined the rest of the NYC crowd at the grocery store on Friday ~ my greatest fear is that my diner won't be able to open and deliver any food to me at any time I want #firstworldproblems, so I went overboard due to the impending snowstorm.

View from our apartment on Friday night

I made a new homemade chicken noodle soup recipe earlier last week and LOVED IT. D and I love our homemade stews like Starving Taco Stew and Beef Crock Pot so I have no idea why I hadn't try to make my favorite soup ever at home. I found this recipe on Closet Cooking - one of my favorite sources for new recipes. It's the Chicken Noodle Soup recipe and it is simple and perfect. Definitely check out the website and try the recipe.

Stages of homemade soup # instagram

Once the snowstorm was on it's way, I took the day to work from my apartment (I work in online advertising so as long as I have internet, I can work anywhere) and stop by the grocery store to stock up. I decided to make double the amount of chicken noodle soup, and D volunteered to make grilled cheese sandwiches. A perfect way to spend a snowy night :)

Sledding in Central Park

Perfect combo after a long walk through Central Park :)

What are your favorite snowstorm comfort foods? Do you order food or cook food? Do you have favorite soup recipes from your family or do you scour the internet for new ones all the time? What is your favorite soup side - do you prefer grilled cheese like me?

Post storm stroll through Strawberry Fields

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Thai Sweet Potatoes & Green Beans

Lacey, here!

I'm always looking for new flavors for dishes. I almost always go towards Parsley, Garlic, Oregano, Thyme...ya know, the typical spices. So, when my mom gave me this amazing Thai seasoning for Christmas, I knew I wanted to do something special with it.

In an effort to use up my last sweet potato, I decided to keep it simple: a string bean "stir fry", with some other special ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 TBSP vegetable oil

1 sweet potato, diced

1 lb green beans

1 onion, diced

Mushrooms (as many as you'd like)

2 roma tomatoes

Thai Seasoning to taste (or make your own, found here, or look at the ingredients in the photo below)

Directions:
1. In a wok or frying pan, heat oil and cook sweet potato on medium-high heat, constantly stirring.
2. After 5 minutes, add in green beans and onion. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Add mushrooms, seasoning, and tomatoes. Cover and let sit on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
4. Serve and enjoy!

"Cream" of Broccoli Soup

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Lydia, from Made For More (a fellow English major while I was at Messiah), posted this rather tasty-looking recipe for "cream" of broccoli soup, which so happens to also be my absolute favorite type of soup.  Due to a normal cream of broccoli recipe being loaded with milk and cheese, I haven't actually had it in probably over 2 years. Needless to say, I've missed it, and this recipe was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

I made it in about 30 minutes and truly could not believe how true to the original it tastes. I thoroughly recommend you all try it. The only change I made was substituting the coconut oil for extra virgin olive oil. I just didn't have any coconut oil on hand.

Go to this post for the actual recipe!

Here are some photos from last night's cooking session!

Yikes! Too expensive at this store. Will be going to trader Joe's next time.

So, I don't own a big blender, so I used my food processor and
it worked just fine. It over-filled a bit so it leaked a teeny-tiny bit, but
I managed!

 

What dinner looked like!