Category Archives: Uncategorized

Healthy Homemade Hummus

Posted in 2019 Recipes, Adventures in the Kitchen, Uncategorized by

IMG_8978

This is a basic hummus recipe that I enjoy making because it is easy, quick and healthy.  I don’t add a lot of salt, so you may want to add more to yours.  My daughter actually likes this version better than the ones I have made with a lot more salt and olive oil.  Give it a try and let me know if you like it or share your favorite recipe!

Homemade Hummus:
Ingredients:
1 garlic clove
1 can drained chickpeas or cook your own (garbanzo beans) according to package directions
1 lemon freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon Tahini paste
1/2 tsp salt (or 1 tsp if you prefer)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tblsp olive oil
Fresh parsley and paprika

Instructions:
In food processor pulse the garlic then add the chickpeas, lemon juice, salt, tahini paste, cumin and cayenne pepper.
While this is processing, add the olive oil in a stream.  If you need more to make it smooth, continue adding. (I added a little extra lemon juice)
Place on plate or bowl and garnish with the parsley and paprika.  I used smoked paprika and it added a nice flavor. Swirl olive oil on top also.  Eat with veggies, pita chips, crackers, etc.

ENJOY!

Spinach,sun dried tomatoes & goat cheese frittata muffins

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Uncategorized by

 

I have only posted my photos and stories of trial and error from my own experiences on my website. But I saw these lovely Frittatas and wanted to repost here. I am assigning my daughter the job of making these and will post our pics after. Even if you don’t love eggs, these just look delicious!

foodbycamilla's avatarfoodbycamilla

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The recipe I want to share today is frittata muffins. Frittata is an egg-based Italian dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche.Frittata muffins are pretty easy to make. You just will up the muffin cups with eggs, milk and whatever vegetable and cheese you prefer. Frittata is one of those recipes that you can hardly call as recipe, as you can use what you have one hand ( although there is a specific ration eggs to vegetables). In this recipe I used sautéed spinach, dried tomatoes and goat cheese frittata muffins. These turned out even better than I expected.

Frittata muffins makes the perfect dish to bring along to a picnic , since they are just as good warm as they are cold. Making frittata muffins requires much the same effort as making an omelette or scrambled eggs, but somehow the end result look fancier.I have just been making frittata muffins for…

View original post 194 more words

Plain Vanilla

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Uncategorized by

Vanilla is my signature flavor!  In my family I am the only one who wants white cake and vanilla buttercream icing for their birthday.  I secretly only want vanilla at Amy’s Ice-Cream or Lick Ice-Cream when there is obviously so many unique varieties and flavors to choose from.

Most people crave chocolate.  I crave vanilla. Sometimes I just need a piece of white cake.  The kind that you taste at your friend’s wedding.  I love biting into a moist cake with the strong flavor of vanilla and just the right amount of icing. YUM!

Below is a picture of a white cake with vanilla buttercream icing. I found this recipe on Pinterest.  I had to make it because it said it was “the best white cake recipe” ever!

IMG_2608[1].

IMG_2615[1]

While this cake was good, it was not quite what I was looking for.  So I will continue to bake-on and let you know when I have found and perfected that one and only “White Cake”!

 

If you give a girl a cookie…

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Uncategorized by

…she’s going to ask for a glass of milk!

IMG_2098[1]

I LOVE milk and cookies.  I heard milk “does a body good”, but does that mean in large quantities and served with a side of cookies? Even so…I do allow it on special occasions.

IMG_2079[1]IMG_2074[1]IMG_2081[1]IMG_2082[1]

These delicious M&M cookies were split between my husband’s office and mine!  Yum!  I love baking and sharing with others!  It not only puts a smile on someone’s face, but hopefully keeps a few pounds off of mine!

This recipe is simply the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip recipe with M&Ms instead of chocolate chips.  I am going to try to venture out next time and see what I come up with!  Stay tuned 🙂

 

Whoppers Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Uncategorized by

My family, like many of us, with the start of 2016, made a resolution to embrace a more healthy lifestyle.  So far, so good.

In fact, even when I am choosing to make healthier choices, I can usually bake cakes or cookies and not sample the batter or eat the cookie dough.  So when I decided to bake this wonderful “WHOPPER Chocolate Chip Cookies” recipe I found in my new cookbook, Sally’s Candy Addiction, I was not worried at all about blowing my healthy choices.

However, after I made these, the entire house smelled of warm, fresh from the oven, chocolate chip cookies.  And then I opened my fridge and saw a cold container of milk. Needless to say, I did sample one, maybe two, but that was it! And yes, it was worth it!   I set one aside for my husband and the rest went straight to work the next morning.

I received more compliments on these cookies than any other I have brought to work.  By lunch they were all gone, except for one lonely cookie.  No one wanted to be “that person” who took the last cookie.  Finally, one brave soul grabbed it and I took my empty container home.

These really were a perfect blend of chocolate chips and Whoppers, not to soft, not to hard and had that little something extra that made them stand out from the original Toll-House chocolate chip cookies I usually bake.

IMG_2146[1]

You can find the recipe here or order the cookbook Sally’s Candy Addiction.  If you give these a try, let me know if you love them as much as I do.  You can also send me a message on Instagram!

IMG_2139[1]IMG_2137[1]IMG_2153[1]

Thanks again Sally for a wonderful recipe from your cookbook!  at http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/sallys-candy-addiction/

 

Turkey Vegetable Chili

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Uncategorized by

It has been over 3 weeks and eating healthier is still on the menu.  So while I was at my local grocery store, with every other person in Austin, I decided to step away from the dairy isle and look up some of my favorite recipes.  It was cold outside and I thought a nice bowl of Chili would be the perfect dinner for my family.

I found this Turkey Vegetable Chili on one of my favorite websites, Cooking Classy.  So I pushed my way through the crowds and carts full of crying children and irritated mothers and found all the ingredients I needed.  I found the shortest line (which was not really short at all), paid and went home to make this delicious Chili! IMG_2121[1]

I was so hungry when I got home, that I immediately began cooking the ground turkey. Then the chopping and dicing began and I basically just added cans of beans, tomatoes, chicken broth and threw it all in together!  Very easy and very tasty.  This was great the second night as well for left-overs. I will be making this again!

Give it a try if you are looking for a healthier version of Chili.  You can find the recipe under Soups here or you can go to http://www.cookingclassy.com/.  I love every recipe I have found and tried from her website.

IMG_2102[1]IMG_2106[1]IMG_2109[1]IMG_2119[1]

 

 

the greatest of these is LOVE

Posted in Uncategorized by

LOVE comes in various forms and shows itself in many ways…

IMG_5642[1]

I love that Ronnie makes homemade cards every year for us
IMG_5628[1]

I love that my hubby has flowers delivered to my office and again at home because they just didn’t look right

IMG_5638[1]

I love making chocolate covered pretzels and strawberries to give to friends

IMG_5487[1]

I love that my father-in-law gave each of my girls a rose on Valentines Day

IMG_5641[1]

I love that Ronnie  made our dog Nellie a Valentines Day card

IMG_5632[1]

I love that my BFF sent a group text telling all of us she loves us

I love that I can send my oldest daughter a care package across the world and it brightens her day

I love my church

I love that I have 3 girls

I love that I have parents who call me on Valentine’s day to say they love me

I love that God loves me

These are a few of the loves in my life

Buon Appetito

Posted in Uncategorized by

IMG_4511[1]Claire, my youngest daughter, loves Italian food!  For her birthday in December she requested a homemade Italian dinner with the family.   I opted for Buca di beppo instead and it was delicious!  Since we are now trying to learn some new recipes and cook together at home, Claire chose Baked Ziti as our first official cooking adventure.  I ordered an Italian cookbook, but I’m still waiting for it to be delivered.  So we looked online and chose Lidia’s Baked Ziti. It looked easy enough and she seems to know a little more than I do about cooking an Italian meal, so here we go!

The Italians have quite a long list of “courses” when they sit down to eat.  We started with our version of an antipasto dish which was bruschetta. I should at least pronounce it correctly since it deserves that much…bru-sket-ta!   We could have stopped there and made that the main course, as we could not stop going back for one more bite as we waited for our primo portion of our meal to finish cooking.

Finally, the baked ziti was cooked to perfection, or maybe it was more like blackened to perfection.  It was appetizing though!  It was full of melted cheeses, homemade marinara sauce, garlic, onions and seasonings. We ate til we were full! We were all ready for a nap after lunch.  Although it may take a few more tries to get this recipe just right, my girls have an Italian dish they like and one they can make themselves.

Buon appetito
Bruschetta
Burnt is the new Black
Claire is ready to try