A New Twist on Hummus - Guaca-Hummus!

We've been on a major hummus kick lately. It's easy to make, healthy, and super cheap to make so it's a perfect snack for our family. It's versatile so it never goes to waste in our house since it can be paired with veggies, pita chips (Stacy's are the absolute best!), and even used on sandwiches instead of other high fat condiments.

The other week I was cruising my Pinterest (add me) and came across a chart with all different hummus variations.  Since I was getting a bit tired of the original recipe I use, I figured maybe I'd try something different.  I took the basic bones of the recipe, but added a few extras for added flavor and tang. 

I'm so glad that I did! We've been obsessed with this new recipe and may have devoured it rather quickly. ;) It's a combination of hummus and guacamole and it's delicious! Read below for recipe and let me know if you give it a try! I promise, you won't be disappointed. 

Guaca-Hummus

Ingredients:

1 15 ounce can of garbanzo beans (drain, but reserve liquid)

1 medium avocado

1/2 cup cilantro

1-2 Tbsp lime juice, to taste

3 cloves of garlic

1 jalapeño (add more or less as desired)

1 tsp cumin seasoning

Red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions: 

Add all ingredients, except red pepper flakes, to food processor. Blend until puréed. Add reserved liquid from beans, if needed. Add red pepper flakes to taste. Refrigerate for several hours to let flavors enhance. 

Seriously easy! I love this as a midday snack with lots of fresh veggies and pita chips.

I hope that you all enjoy this recipe and let me know what you think! 

Make These: Healthier Homemade Chocolate Granola Bars!

I've been loving on these granola bars for months now!  They are just so tasty and so much better than anything you buy in the store.  And to make it better: They are much less expensive and go further than store bought granola bars and have no high fructose corn syrup.

This recipe is an adaptation from Joyful Abode (another great blog you should check out).

Homemade Chocolate Granola Bars
Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 1 cup wheat bran
• 1 cup sunflower seeds (salted)
• 1 cup crushed peanuts
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp. butter (unsalted)
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup dried cranberries (could substitute other dried fruit)
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

On a baking sheet mix and spread out the oats, wheat bran, sunflower seeds and crushed peanuts.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until brown.  Be sure to stir every couple minutes to avoid burning. Once browned, take them out and let cool several minutes. Transfer to large bowl.



While baking the dry ingredients, mix brown sugar, butter, honey and vanilla extract in small pan.  Cook on medium heat and bring to a simmer.  You will also need to stir this often in order to prevent burning of the sugars.  Cook until mixed well and the sugars are no longer granulated. the last few minutes add the cocoa and stir well.  Turn heat off and let cool. This will be your “glue” mixture that holds the granola bars together.




In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients (add the cranberries at this point) with the “glue” mixture.  Mix extremely well and make sure that everything gets mixed in well and covered with the “glue”.



Once mixed, transfer to a baking sheet (I use a 9 x 13) that is covered with wax paper (spray wax paper with non-stick cooking spray). Spread mixture across pan with spoon or spatula.  At this point I cover the bars with another piece of wax paper and press down hard in order to spread and compact the granola (put a little muscle into it). 




Wait several hours for it to cool and then cut (use a pushing down motion, instead of sawing).




Each batch makes about 14 full-sized, delicious bars. Store in sealed container or individual wrapped.

I’m thinking that one of these times I’d love to make a batch with toasted coconut in it…or maybe dried bananas and peanut butter. The options are endless!

What are your favorite granola bar flavors? Any mix-ins that you’d enjoy?

Perfect For a Chilly Morning...

There is nothing more that I love than having the weekend off, especially those days where nothing is planned.  I forgot what it was like to actually have time for yourself after working myself to the bone for the past 2 years.  I’m still busy as ever, but have made it a priority to always make sure to save time for myself & those I love. 

But I digress…

I get bored with most recipes pretty quickly, so I’m always on the search for new recipes to try.  I kept reading about amazing egg breakfast dishes so I decided to finally give quiche a try.  This recipe is simple, hearty & full of veggies.  It was a freezing morning here as well (it got down to -15 that night) so I was looking for any excuse to use the stove and warm the house up.

Veggie Quiche


Ingredients:

• Pastry pie shell
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 3/4 cup broccoli heads (fresh)
• Handful of fresh spinach
• 1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 4 eggs beaten
• Liquid egg whites
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:


Preheat oven to 375.  Also be sure that your pie crust is completely defrosted.

In small skillet, sauté the onion, broccoli, spinach and tomatoes with 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.  Sauté until the onions are slightly transparent. 

Once sautéed, place the veggies into the bottom of the pie crust.


Doesn’t this look amazing already?

Sprinkle with half of the cheddar cheese.

Beat 4 eggs well and mix in the rest of the cheese to the beaten eggs.

Pour egg and cheese mix over the veggies.


Add egg whites until pie shell is nearly full.  I would estimate it would be about a half cup of egg whites, but it varies depending on the amount of vegetables you use.

Place in oven & let bake for 30-35 minutes, until it is golden, puffed out and no longer wiggly in the middle.

We ate soon after it cooled and then nestled back into bed to catch up on reading and enjoy some movies on a freezing day.

The condensation on the windows made it so dark and gloomy in our kitchen.  It certainly makes it much harder to take pictures that aren't blurry or dark.

Winter wonderland out there!

What’s your favorite cool morning breakfast recipe? Have you had quiche before?  How do you like to spend your weekend mornings?

Fast, fabulous & filling!

Want a quick & healthy recipe for those days where you have little to no energy to cook up dinner?  This is definitely one of my favorite recipes for days when I’m short on time or motivation (like today after studying all day).  It’s great because it’s very few ingredients and also uses few dishes for prep so clean up is a breeze.  Within 30 minutes you’re in and out of the kitchen with a fabulous, healthy meal to boot!

Balsamic Tilapia with Brown Rice


Ingredients:

• 1 cup instant brown rice
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 tilapia fillets (any white flaky fish would work)
• 1+ cup of fresh spinach leaves
• 1/8 cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing
• 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes (Italian seasoned are my favorite)
• 1 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Directions:


Heat oven to 375.

Assemble 2 sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil on a baking sheet with the sides slightly turned up (into a shallow bowl).  Pour 1/2 cup of brown rice into center of each foil. Pour 1/3 cup of water over each mound of rice. 

Spoon 1/4 of can of tomatoes on top of rice and then place tilapia on top of rice and tomatoes.

Drizzle balsamic vinaigrette dressing onto each fillet, then top with remaining tomatoes (including the juice).  Finally, pile high with plenty of fresh spinach. 

Doesn’t that look delicious?!


Once assembled, bring up foil sides.  Fold ends and sides up to seal (allow a little room for heat circulation).
Bake 25 minutes.  Cut several slits in the top of foil when you take out of oven in order to let steam escape.  Sprinkle with parmesan & enjoy!
 
I know this isn’t the most appetizing picture, but I promise you that it’s amazing & super simple!

What’s your favorite 30 minute and under meal?

Mamma Mia!

Lately I’ve been craving veggies like it’s my job.  No matter what I do I can’t seem to get enough of them…what’s going on?  Whatever it is, I sure hope it keeps up.  Seeing as I was craving some yummy veggies and had some leftover chicken & pizza crust that needed used, I decided to throw it all together for an absolutely amazing pizza.  I’m not kidding, this is my new favorite!  This was perfect because we had so many things in the fridge that we had leftover and really need to use them.  Added them all together and poof! A tasty & healthy (-er) pizza!  I think it would be amazing without the chicken too if you wanted a meat free version (will probably use this for Meatless Mondays).

BBQ Chicken Pizza
Ingredients:

• Whole wheat pizza crust (pre-made or make your own)
• BBQ sauce (I like Baby Rays)
• Chicken
• Black beans (rinsed and drained)
• Corn
• Veggies of choice (I added lots of red onion &  fresh tomatoes)
• Low fat mozzarella cheese & cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Slather pizza crust with BBQ sauce, add your chicken, beans, corn and veggies of choice and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese (I went light on the cheese because I wanted a healthier pizza).  Bake for 12-14 minutes or until crust is browned.  Enjoy!
Ever since this little creation I’ve been searching for bazaar pizza’s.  There is a sauerkraut & kielbasa pizza I’ve got my eye on and might try this weekend. 
What’s your favorite pizza concoction?  Any interesting combinations that you’ve had?
On a side note, I finally signed up for Warrior Dash.  Super excited & hoping to not kill myself! 

Thanksgiving Eve.

I'm all about being prepared.  If you ask my husband he would probably tell you that I think it through and worry about having everything prepped way too much when it comes to hosting a party/dinner.  My thought behind all of this is that I want to spend the day enjoying myself with family and friends, instead of slaving away behind the stove.  Don't get me wrong, I love the cooking aspect of it, but want to spend as much time with our guests as possibly, hence why I spend the day before prepping as much as I can.

As you probably already guessed, today was spent preparing for tomorrow.  Initially, it was just going to be the husband & I, but his family is now coming up to celebrate with us.  The only thing that could make it better would be if my family was also able to make the trip, but traveling is a bit more difficult for my family.  I woke up and headed to the kitchen right away.  First thing I started on was the cranberry sauce that I can wait to dive into.

I started with 3 cups of fresh cranberries, added the juice and zest of one tangerine, 1/3 cup of water, 3/4 cup of sugar and dash of allspice.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and then lower temp and simmer for 25 minutes. Once it cools it thickens up.

Let me tell you: This smells amazing.  I love pairing a nice juicy turkey breast with the sweetness of cranberry.

After this was complete, I jumped into the next project of stuffing.  Originally I planned on making an artichoke stuffing, but was unable to get all the ingredients needed, so instead improvised.  I'm always trying to make sure to waste as little as I can when it comes to food in our house.  Often times I'll find a recipe that sounds amazing, but use it as a base and add and subtract ingredients based on what we have in the house and what needs to be used.  For the most part it always works well, so I'm crossing my fingers that this one does as well.  

Recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

• 3 celery stalks, chopped into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces
• 2 granny smith apples chopped (with skin)
• 2 small onions - diced
• 2 medium loaves of french bread (it's what we had that needed used, could substitute).  Around 8 cups of bread needed.
• 1 1/4 cup of chicken broth
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1-2 teaspoons of italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning.

Heat oven to 375 & coat baking dish with butter.

Chop your bread of choice into small cubes.

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Once melted add the celery. apple and onion and saute until the apples are easily pierced with a fork.  

Add your broth, and also the poultry and italian seasoning and bring to boil.  Once you reach boil, reduce temperature and simmer for 5 minutes or so.

Add your veggie & broth mixture to your bread cubes and mix well, making sure it is evenly distributed.

Place into baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes until the top of the stuffing starts to brown.

I stored mine in a bowl and covered and placed in the fridge until tomorrow when I plan on baking it.  The smell of it alone has me excited for tomorrow.

What's everyone's holiday plans?  Anything in particular that you are making or excited to make?

Prepping the bird.

I've been thinking a lot about Thanksgiving this year.  This year will be the first year that I am not able to spend it with the whole family and though it saddens me that we won't be able to spend it with our entire family, I'm determined to have a fabulous one with our little family.   We will be spending it in our home, just the 3 of us (me, husband and our dog), with a home cooked meal and some Christmas decorating.

I consider myself a relatively experienced cook.  I spend a lot of time perusing the web for yummy meals to try and usually have a pretty good basis of what I'm doing, however, turkeys a whole new experience. Standing at the grocery store alone trying to decide what turkey to get along with all the other turkey panicked shoppers was an experience in itself.  Let's just hope it turns out well.  And that it doesn't burn.

I've started a tentative menu plan:

• Roasted Turkey
• Artichoke Parmesan Sourdough Stuffing
• Cranberry Sauce
• Mashed Red Potatoes with Garlic and Parmesan
• Gratitude Dinner Rolls (with surprise messages for the hubby)
• Pineapple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (Mom's recipe from old church fundraiser cookbook)
• Uncle John's Cranberry Wine (Amazing! Discovered on wine tasting last week)

I'm thinking I'd like some snacks for during the day.  Any suggestions?  What are your Thanksgiving traditions?