Healthy Vegetables over Quinoa

We are starting to see signs of summer here in Chicago. The weather teases you though, one day it will be beautiful and it makes you think summer has finally arrived! Then the next day it's gloomy, windy, and rainy. O well, I'm hanging in there and can't wait till it's consistently nice!

One of the warm, summery days we had got me in the mood to make a light and fresh summery meal. I have been making a lot of quinoa lately and am constantly trying to find new ways to incorporate it into a meal. This recipe is great for using up left over veggies in your fridge. It's light, fresh, and delicious. I didn't stick to this recipe exactly because I didn't have all the veggies it called for. Instead of green onions I used red onions, and for the vegetables I used red and green peppers, zucchini, and corn. So it really is full proof and you can throw in whatever you want! A tip: make a bunch of quinoa the beginning of the week, keep it in a tupperware in your fridge and then you can pull it out for a quick meal like this:)

Quinoa with Veggies

Ingredients

* 1 cup quinoa
* 3 cups water
* 1 pinch salt
*
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 red bell pepper, chopped
* 1/2 cup corn kernels
* 1/2 teaspoon cumin
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Bring the quinoa, water, and 1 pinch of salt to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes. Once done, drain a mesh strainer, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook until the garlic softens and the aroma mellows, about 2 minutes. Add the red pepper, and corn; continue cooking until the pepper softens, about 5 minutes. Season with cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook for 1 minute more, then stir in the cooked quinoa and green onions. Serve hot or cold.

New Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe-Seriously

So I guess yesterday was National Chocolate Chip Day-without even knowing this I got the urge to make some chocolate chip cookies. It must have been some sort of inspiration:) I wanted to try a new recipe though. I've had some coconut oil for a while and haven't used much of it yet, so I searched for chocolate chip cookies made with coconut oil. I found a winner! Seriously, these cookies turned out so yummy I really think they will be my go to chocolate chip cookie from now on. Now, for those of you who know me you know how big of a deal that is because I swear by my cookie recipe and am very faithful to it. I like how easy these cookies are to make, and I also love that they are made with a good fat-coconut oil. I've always hated that the chocolate chip cookie recipe I use calls for shortening. I always try not to use any shortening in my baking. So now I think I have a win win-a cookie recipe that's just as good as my old recipe and is better for you!

The coconut oil I used was Nutiva extra virgin organic. It has a mild coconut flavor which I LOVED for these cookies. Some coconut oil has no flavor which is what I like to use for sauteing, but this coconut oil is great for baking if you like a little coconut flavor. If you want to learn about the health benefits of coconut oil go here. The texture of these cookies were soft, chewy, and gooey. The key I found is to take them out when they look pretty under done. They harden up pretty quickly. I got three batches of 6 larger cookies and the batch that turned out the best was the one where I baked it for 9 1/2 minutes. But everyone's oven is different so you may need to find out what works best for you:)
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Cheeky Kitchen

1/2 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspon baking soda
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
8 ounces mini chocolate chips
8 ounces large chocolate chips

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together coconut oil, eggs, and brown sugar until very well mixed. Add remaining ingredients, mixing together until all are incorporated. Roll into massive balls (I made my cookies from 3 tablespoons of dough. That’s just how I roll.) and place 6 on a cookie sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 9-11 minutes, or just until the outside of the cookies have browned ever so slightly around the edges. Remove, cool slightly, devour.

Someones birthday is coming up:)

So tomorrow is Eleni's birthday. I can't believe it! I have been flooded with so many emotions this past week. I've been thinking a lot about this past year. First of all I can't believe it's already been a year. I've been thinking about the ups and downs. The countless hours Micah and I spent pacing the floors with Eleni during her colicky days, and then my mom and dad coming to the rescue when I was spent and taking a turn to hold Eleni. Finally at about 5 1/2 months Eleni getting over her colic, I was so happy for her that she wasn't in pain anymore and she became such a happy baby. I think about her little quircky ways, some things she doesn't do anymore and some things she still does. Like her crazy, twisting hands (those of you who know my baby know what I'm talking about;) ) These memories make me so emotional. I'm not sad that my baby isn't staying a baby. I'm actually really excited to see her grow and to see her at new stages. Maybe some of my sadness comes from not having family around to help me celebrate her birth. I wish so bad they were by me right now!

But on a more positive note:) I'm so excited for the little party I am planning for Eleni! Even though her birthday is tomorrow, the party will be Saturday. I can't wait to share with you the pictures from her little party. I can't wait to see what Eleni does when I give her her little cake. I wonder if she will go right at it or be a little tentative. I can see it going both ways:)

I can't believe she used to be this small!

O how I love my little Leni, leni pie, lenard, lens, lenners, lenekins. She has kept this year busy, not a dull moment. Micah and I both feel so blessed to have received such a sweet little spirit...well a sweet and spicy spirit:) I love our little family. I couldn't imagine doing anything else right now with my life other than being a mom. It's so rewarding. Greatest joy I have ever felt.

A personal blog is in the works, so I don't have to keep mixing personal life and cooking:) Sorry for those who come to this blog expecting a recipe and instead you get a long post about my baby girl:) It will happen-soon:)

Painting, Family, and Best Ever Rice Krispie Treats

These past few weeks have been sooo busy! I will quickly sum up what I have been up to...painting. And lots of it. A week before our carpet was scheduled to be installed I decided I wanted to try and paint our upstairs before the carpet was put in. So within 6 days we painted 3 bedrooms, our upstairs hall and ceiling, our bedroom ceiling, the baseboard thingy's going up our stairs, and part of our banister. My life for those 6 days consisted of waking up before Eleni to get some painting in, take care of Eleni till her nap-paint during her nap, repeat for 2nd nap, then as soon as she went to bed I would paint till 11-12, then repeat the whole process the next day! It was such an exhausting week and I am so glad it's over! Our upstairs is painted and I am excited to start painting our main floor, but I will take my time and not rush this one:)

I really wanted to blog the past couple weeks but painting took it out of me and I didn't have one second to do anything else, and this past week my family came to visit. It was so much fun to have them here! It broke my heart to see them go, but I am starting to get back into the swing of things and I am realizing once again that things will be ok even though we live quite a ways apart.

So, I finally have a recipe for you! A few weeks ago I wanted to make rice krispies, but I started thinking how I could take them to another level. I thought, what if I browned the butter? So I googled to try to find a recipe that used browned butter, and I found one that called for browned butter and sea salt. I decided to try it out, but also add a few things of my own. I added 1/4 tsp. almond extract, 1 tsp vanilla, and I added white chocolate chips and drizzled the top with dark and white chocolate. Wooooaaah baby were they good! Kinda ridiculously good, best rice krispies ever! There's no way I can go back to plain old rice krispies ever again:) Make these for your next pot luck or friendly gathering and you will sure to impress.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

from smitten kitchen

Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars

4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

My additions:

1/4 tsp, almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
about half cup of white chocolate chips
white and dark chocolate for the top

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.

As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth. Add white chocolate chips at this time if you want.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan.

Drizzle with white and dark chocolate:)

Chicago!

So we're here! Well...we've been here for about a week and a half:) Things have been so busy and I am so happy I finally have a chance to sit down and write about what's going on! There's been a lot of trying to settle in, trying to find my way to the grocery store, and a lot of trying the yummiest foods this place has to offer! We sure have been eating well and I can't wait to make a post about my favorite yummy places so far...I'm getting a little worried though I may gain a few lbs while I'm here:)

So far, I love it here! I was really worried how I would do at first because leaving Utah (mostly leaving my family and friends) was really, really hard for me. But as soon as I got here I started loving it. I am really busy which leaves me very little time to get homesick:) The first weekend we got here we went down town and were able to go to my favorite, Sprinkles Cupcakes, and we had dinner at Gibsons. Wow-best steak I have ever had in my life. Ever. I didn't even know steak could taste like that!!

Soon after we got here my best friend from Wisconsin came to visit. We have been friends since we were about 3 and have stayed in touch all these years. It's really fun to only be a couple hours away from each other now:)

We have been really busy since the move, that I think we are all getting a little run down. Me, Micah, and Eleni have bad colds, and last night while I was cutting a grape fruit I sliced through the top of my thumb and even through my finger nail! It was super ouchy, and I am realizing how helpful thumbs are because it is making everything 10x harder today trying to work around it! So I am excited to get over our colds, get my thumb healed, and continue to try and settle in, and hopefully be back to my regular food blogging!

We are going to paint the inside of our house soon, and I have been trying to find the perfect robin egg blue paint. Does anyone have any ideas??

Going to try and rest/get some things done while Eleni is napping. I will be posting again soon! :)

Would you forgive me if I lied to you???

So remember when I said I was going to post about ribolita??? Well, that's not going to happen I decided until I move :) So sorry, but things have been craaazy! Micah's been gone, leaving me to pack pretty much the whole house by myself, with a darling 10 month old baby who wont sit still :) It's been a challenge, but it has been possible because of my amazing mom who wins the mom and yia yia of the year award!!! It seriously overwhelms me with how much she has done, can't put it into words how grateful I am for such an amazing mom who is seriously the hardest worker I know, and who will do absolutely anything for her children.

Packing has brought up a series of emotions. Last night my mom and I took a break to watch some American Idol, soon after we both found ourselves crying, for no specific reason. Just a lot of emotions came up. It's hitting us both that I will soon be gone. But the tears weren't all sad tears, I would say they were mostly not sad tears. I could maybe describe them as tears of something new if that makes sense. A new and exciting part of my life that is waiting. Definitely a new part of my life that will have different challenges, but many wonderful things as well.

My mom and I worked all day yesterday, as we had been doing since Sunday. My mom left around 9:30 and I continued to work until 12:30. After feeling like I had accomplished a lot I got ready for bed and knelt for my evening prayer. After I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I found myself crying again!-this time by myself :) I was feeling something I hadn't felt for a while. I moved a lot growing up, and each move made me draw closer to the things I love most, which are my faith and my family. I had such a gratitude last night for my faith, it is truly the one constant in my life that is there wherever I go. I peeked at Eleni while she was sleeping, she looked so precious that my heart skipped a beat. I know that as long as I am with my little family and draw near to my Heavenly Father everything will be ok.

I had a huge realization last night that if I don't experience change, I wont draw as close to the things that are so dear and special to me. I am excited and grateful for this new chapter in my life. A new chapter that is only 6 days away! I better get back to packing, I think the end is semi in sight :)

Pro Bieber

This is going to be a very odd post for my blog :) This is probably the last thing anyone would expect to find on my blog-a post about Justin Bieber :) And I know there has been a shortage of cooking posts lately on my blog and for that I'm sorry, I promise one is coming soon! But for now, I want to share some thoughts about Justin Bieber :)

Justin Beiber- I don't follow him much but certainly can't get away from news about him because he is the hot thing right now, so certainly I am hearing the huge uproar people are having about his comments he made to Rolling Stone about his feelings on abortion. His words exactly ""I really don't believe in abortion … It's like killing a baby." When asked about situations in which women become pregnant after being raped, Bieber said he believed "everything happens for a reason," but noted, "I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that." That's his opinion, so no big deal, right? Well a lot of people think it's a big deal and I just have some comments I'd like to share.

What really got me to sit down and write this post were the comments made on the Joy Behar show. She had a panel of people, all slamming the Biebs and one lady made some pretty creepy comments, even going so far to say "why wasn't he aborted?" My stomach got sick. I was in awe while I was listening to this, how is that considered to be an ok thing to say? I am grateful for blogging, it's a wonderful ability to share with others many things including the things you believe, I love these words regarding the sanctify of life, I believe them very strongly, I am entitled to my beliefs, so is Justin Bieber, and so is Ms Behar who disagrees. I will not type in lenghth my opinions about the matter because they are much more eloquently expressed here.

They also commented on the show how young Justin was and how could he have an opinion about such a grown up issue, but if his opinion was the opposite would we even be talking about this? Or would they have said he had such a mature mind? Possibly, who knows. I normally don't interject my personal opinions on my blog much :) however, I have been so unsettled with what I have been hearing that I just felt like getting my opinion out there :)

I am so grateful for the precious little life I have been blessed with and entrusted with. I saw my little Eleni's heart beat at just 6 weeks. It was amazing.

Again, never would I have thought I would be posting about Justin Bieber hehe, but I feel very strongly about this issue. I promise a post will be coming very soon of a lighter topic :) How does ribolita soup sound??

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and I hope you have a great day :)

Still Alive... :)

Hey everyone! Wow it's been a while! So sorry but I have been pretty busy. I have also been living with my mom and don't have my computer so it hasn't been the easiest to blog. But I will try to keep you all updated the best I can until we move. It looks like the big move will take place second week in March. Yikes! I can't believe it's so soon!

So this is how the past 3 weeks have been. Micah had to go through training for the job in Dallas for two weeks. He was able to come home for a weekend and then straight to Chicago to start the job. He was able to come home this past weekend again but is now going to be gone for two more weeks. Not fun! I was talking with a girl in my neighborhood about my husband being gone and she said "I know how you feel my husband has been in Iraq for 6 months." Now the two situations aren't even comparable! I felt pretty dumb acting like being apart for a couple weeks was hard, these military families are amazing to me.

Eleni hasn't been sleeping the best at my moms (she's nine months now, has anyone else had babies who didn't sleep through the night till they were older?) She gets up every couple hours and wont go back to sleep till I nurse her a little. She's also gotten in the habit of sleeping with me at my moms, she wont sleep in her crib at night. So fingers crossed things change! I would even be happy with a 3-4 hour stretch at night:)

So that's what I've been up to, taking care of my child who wont sleep at night while daddy's away. Cooking/baking and taking pics of my creations hasn't been that much of a priority because sometimes I feel like I am just in survival mode :) But I really wanted to update everyone and I promise I will start blogging again! I have made a few yummy things that I really want to try to get up in the next week.

This is a crazy, stressful, wonderful new stage of life :) Moving is beyond stressful, the thought of leaving my family is beyond stressful as well :) but there is a certain excitement that comes with all of this thinking about the new memories I will be making with my own little family in the wonderful city Chicago, have I mentioned how much I LOVE the Midwest? And I know when we go through changes, especially changes that are hard we grow, and we all need some of that:)

Stressed. Tired. Still no Sugar. Peanut Butter Balls.

Started packing a little today. We are still going to be here a few more months but wanted to get a head start on things. We just started in the office and I am quickly realizing I am a bit of a pack rat. There was a lot of throwing away to be done. I felt overwhelmed. So overwhelmed that I just froze and sat on my couch and played angry birds while I watched "The View". I'm feeling tired, my baby girl is over 8 months now, still not sleeping through the night. I sure wish she would :) And I am still off sugar, but I really want a cupcake. Having a weak, stressful, especially tired day. But we all have those:)

These little peanut butter balls, or "Snowball Cookies" have saved me since I've been off sugar. Yes they have honey and brown rice syrup in them, but they are natural sweeteners and they sure make a yummy little snack. Even if you aren't on some "no sugar" diet you will still love these. The Chia seeds are optional, but they sure are good for you :)

Off to snuggle up on the couch, watch Biggest Loser, snowball cookie in hand :)

Snow Ball Cookies
by Desiree from Unconventional Kitchen-I've fallen in love with her site!

1 C peanut butter
1/2 C honey
1/4 C brown rice syrup, or more honey
2 1/2-3 C cereal, I used a brown rice cereal from Good Earth that is like rice krispies
1 C puffed millet cereal, also found at the health food store, again any puffed grain cereal would do, or you could do 1/2 C of oats (I just used the brown rice cereal, couldn't find puffed millet
2 T chia seeds, or flax, or both

Mix all of the ingredients together and scoop out with a mini ice cream scoop, or you can press the mix into a baking pan to make bars, they will soften as they sit. After lettting them soften for 1-2 hours cut into bars.

Feel free to add coconut, wheat germ, dried fruit, mini chocolate chips, really whatever your heart desires. You can also make them with almond butter instead of peanut butter.

Best Meal. Ever.

Seriously. This is a good one. And I know this wont surprise any of you that it is an Ina Garten recipe. I'm sure if you follow my blog you are getting the jist that I LOVE Ina's recipes. I recently saw her make this steak with bernaise sauce on her show for her and Jeffrey's 35th anniversary. Don't you just love Ina and Jeffrey? I think they are so cute:)

So first of all, I have never made a Bernaise sauce before. But it looked so divine I was so excited to try it. After reading the reviews of this sauce online many people said it tasted way too vinegary and they would next time completely leave the vinegary out and just use all white wine. That's exactly what I did and I have to tell you, this sauce was one of the best things I have ever had. I made this meal for my family for Sunday dinner and everyone's eyes were practically rolling in the back of their heads-it was so good! We couldn't get enough of it-we were dunking our potatoes in the sauce and I ate way too much steak because I wanted to keep eating the bernaise sauce! It's so so good. I'm excited to make this meal some sort of family tradition of mine, maybe I will make it for every Christmas Eve or something.

I served the steak with green beans and shallots and garlic roasted potatoes. It was all so very yummy. The recipes for everything is bellow. Bernaise, where have you been my whole life?! You are my new favorite thing:)

Steak with Bernaise Sauce
by Ina Garten
Ingredients
For the sauce:
• 1/4 cup Champagne or white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup good white wine
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, divided
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 extra-large egg yolks*
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 6 (1-inch thick) rib eye steaks
• Olive Oil
• Coarsely ground black pepper
Directions
For the sauce, put the Champagne vinegar, white wine, shallots, 1 tablespoon tarragon leaves, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is reduced to a few tablespoons. Cool slightly.
Place the cooled mixture with the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon salt in the jar of a blender and blend for 30 seconds. With blender on, slowly pour the hot butter through the opening in the lid. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of tarragon leaves and blend only for a second. If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon of white wine to thin. Keep at room temperature until serving.
Season the steaks liberally with salt and coarsely ground black pepper on both sides. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat until it's almost smoking, then sear the steaks on each side for 1 minute. Lower the heat to low and cook the steaks for about 7 to 10 minutes, turning once, until very rare in the middle. Remove to a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Serve with the bernaise sauce on the side.
Note: To make the sauce in advance, prepare an hour before serving and allow it to sit in the blender. Before serving, add 1 tablespoon of the hottest tap water and blend for a few seconds.


String Beans with Shallots
by Ina Garten

Ingredients

* 1 pound French string beans (haricots verts), ends removed
* Kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 tablespoon good olive oil
* 3 large shallots, large-diced
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for 1 1/2 minutes only. Drain immediately and immerse in a bowl of ice water.

Heat the butter and oil in a very large saute pan (12-inch diameter) or large pot and saute the shallots on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned. Drain the string beans and add to the shallots with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper, tossing well. Heat only until the beans are hot.

If you're using regular string beans, blanch them for about 3 minutes, until they're crisp-tender.


Garlic Roasted Potatoes
by Ina Garten
Ingredients

* 3 pounds small red or white potatoes
* 1/4 cup good olive oil
* 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes in half or quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic; toss until the potatoes are well coated. Transfer the potatoes to a sheet pan and spread out into 1 layer. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking in order to ensure even browning.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, toss with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.