Super Seeded Soda Bread

No, not soda from a can, baking soda! This recipe contains six different seeds, poppy, sunflower, seasame, pumpkin, and flax! Though, next time instead of using whole flax seeds I'll use ground flax seeds since those are easier to digest and you'll get full nutritional value.

Stuffed Shells*

These stuffed shells are out of this world exquisite. They were so good my folks requested I make them a second night in a row. The ricotta cheese filling was so divine, and really could be adapted with anything else you have in your fridge or pantry. The originial recipe called for chives as an add in, but since I didn't have any chives I started looking around for a good substitute. I added in a few thin slices of leeks, some fresh basil, and some parsley. There really is a lot of room for exploration. The sauce was super simple, just some crushed tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

It is best, I think, to make a few things ahead of time or to really start making the dish an hour and a half before you're wanting to eat. It does take 45 mintes to cook and you'll need to wait for the shells to cool before you stuff them. But they are so worth the wait! I had so much fun making the shells I really wasn't paying attention to the time at all. If you're pressed for time I'm sure you could just put a glove on and stuff away.

This recipe is originally from Heidi Swanson, one of my favorite women right now. She keeps things healthy and simple, just the way I like it! She also has a ton of great recipes at http://www.101cookbooks.com/.

This recipe also makes a huge serving of food. I prepared just enough pasta for the night and made all of the sauce and ricotta filling so I could store the leftovers in the fridge.

Homemade Naan

Naan is an Indian flatbread and it's becoming increasingly more popular here in the United States. It's also super easy to make! I followed this recipe and didn't have to make any modifications! I loved it, my folks loved it, and it's definitely on the list of something I'll need to make again. I put a few in the freezer just so they would keep a little bit longer. This naan went wonderfully with the feta dip I made yesterday.


Homemade Naan
Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 2 cups All Purpose Flour Or Wheat Flour
• ¾ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ½ teaspoons Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• ½ cups Warm Milk
• ½ cups Yogurt
• ½ Tablespoons Oil, As Needed
• Garlic and Rosemary to season (or herbs or butter of choice)

Feta Dip with a kick

 Looking for a nice party pleaser or a cheese dip to eat throughout the week? I really wasn't, but I stumbled across this recipe and immediately wanted to try it. I knew my folks would like it since the jalepenos gave it a little bit of a kick, perhaps more than just your average cheese dip. The crumbled feta gives it a nice texture in your mouth and the garlic and lemon zest really gives it a nice flavor.

"Crazy Feta"
Recipe from How Sweet It Is
Yields 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 bricks of feta cheese, 8 ounces each
3 whole jalapeno peppers
1/4 cup olive oil + 1 tablespoon
1 bulb garlic
the juice of half a lemon
the zest of half a lemon
salt and pepper

Strawberries and dumplings

Strawberries and dumplings? At first it sounds like an odd combination, but then you start to really think about it and it's brilliant! Especially when strawberries are in season.

And if you're like me, you have a weakness for all things made out of flour.

Brussels Sprouts

Who doesn't like brussel sprouts? Okay, my Dad doesn't, but who else? Well, probably a lot of people, but they really shouldn't.

Here's a handful of facts about brussels sprouts from health diaries:

Like broccoli and some other members of the Brassica family, Brussels sprouts contain something called sinigrin, a glucosinate that may prevent colon cancer, according to research.

One cup of Brussels sprouts contains 1,122 IU of Vitamin A.

That same cup also contains 669 IU of beta carotene.

A cup of cooked Brussels sprouts contains about 60 calories.

1/2 cup contains 80% of the RDA of Vitamin C.

And well, they are just plain cute. Vegetables can be cute, right? Brussels sprouts definitely win my vote.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

I know it's not fall, but I love foods containing pumpkin during every season. I also love ice cream during every season.
So why not have pumpkin ice cream in the summer? I couldn't find a reason why not to have it, either.

I think this would go great with a nice cup of coffee.

Everything goes great with a nice cup of coffee.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Recipe from Food.com.

Cucumber Avocado Salad

I had an avocado going bad in the fridge and some fresh cucumber from Paul's garden that I wanted to find some way to make a delicious salad with. This recipe was very simple and I found all of the ingredients right in my fridge. I liked the lemon-lime salad dressing because it didn't come from a bottle with any added sugar like most bottled salad dressings.

Okay, I have to admit, I wasn't in love with this recipe. I guess you have to really love avocado and cucumbers to love this recipe, which Mom does. She probably could have eaten the entire bowl of this stuff.  Which is the main reason why I am adding this recipe to this blog. I wish I had liked it more, and I will definitely make it again and eat some because I should like this more.

Did you know avocado's lower bad (LDL) cholesterol and raise good (HDL) cholesterol?

I didn't until yesterday. But this is just another reason to eat more avocados.

I have two more in the fridge that I'll need to eat soon anyway.

Lemon-Ricotta Poppyseed Pancakes

I had these pancakes yesterday morning and they were so good I decided to make them two mornings in a row so I could take pictures this time. The recipe doesn't call for milk, but instead ricotta cheese! I found this recipe while searching Martha Stewart Recipes. I cut this recipe in a third since I didn't need 16 pancakes and I even had a little bit leftover to put in the fridge to make another morning. I also heated up a handful of mixed berries with a pinch of turbinado sugar in a small saucepan while I was cooking the pancakes for a nice compote.

Lemon-Ricotta Poppy Seed Pancakes
(originially from here)

Makes 16 pancakes

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Zest of 2 large lemons
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• Vegetable oil, for griddle
• Maple syrup, warmed
• Berries, for garnish

Mocha Cappuccino

This is just what I needed on this rainy afternoon, and I'm not even a chocolate lover!

1/2 cup espresso

1 cup steamed milk

1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

(or keeping to the standard 1/3 part espresso 2/3 steamed milk)

Steam or froth milk with cocoa powder and add espresso.

*Can be garnished with nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla powder, ground chocolate, etc.

Apple and Onion Omelet with Brie

I love the sweet/salty taste of this omelet. It's definitely my go-to omelet if I'm in a rush. I also added a splash of almond milk to my egg mixture to fluff up the eggs a little bit. The brie only takes seconds to melt on the omelet, just long enough to fix yourself a glass of water or a cup of coffee.

1/4 apple

1/4 vidalia onion

2 eggs

splash of almond milk (optional)

a few small chunks of brie

Caramelize the apples and onions in skillet or omelet pan until they start to brown, about five minutes.

Whisk two eggs with a splash of milk and pour over apple and onions.

Let sit about a minute or two then flip once.

Cut a small sliver of brie in a few chunks and put in fold and on top of omelet.

Serve. Makes 1 serving.

Zucchini-Flecked Dinner Rolls

What? Zucchini-Flecked Dinner Rolls? Yes, you heard it right! These were so delicious and the zucchini really added a nice color to the rolls and didn't make me feel as guilty for not using whole wheat flour.

(Recipe adapted from 17 and baking)

Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:

2 tsp dry yeast
1 1/4 cups water
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp salt
1 medium or large zucchini, grated

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
Poppyseeds

Dutch Baby Pancake

These were a lot like my German Pancakes I made the other morning but a little less fluffy. I got the recipe from Martha Stewart and I found many other pancake recipes I want to try very soon. I used to like a lot of syrup on my pancakes, but now I've found like I love them plain or with fruit. I also was a little bit distracted from the snake in my house when this came out of the oven, so it had cooled off a little when I finally got around to eating it. It was good cold, but I will definitely eat it straight out of the oven next time like the recipe suggests.  

Broiled Eggplant with Capers and Mint

...with a side of baked macaroni and cheese.

Broiled Eggplant with Capers and Mint from Smitten Kitchen, of course. The mac-n-cheese also came from her. She's such a genius!

I really liked the 2:1 ratio of cheese to macaroni in this recipe. I also used 1% fat free cottage cheese, almond milk, and gluten free pasta to make it a little bit healthier.

Baked Mac-N-Cheese (original recipe from Smitten Kitchen.)
Ingredients: Yields 6-8

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup cottage cheese
2 cups milk (or Almond Milk)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch cayenne
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 pound elbow pasta, uncooked.

German Pancakes

This is probably my favorite breakfast recipe right now. It was so easy to make and only about 1 minute of hands on activity and the rest is in the oven. So much easier than regular in-the-skillet pancakes. It was very light and filling and can be served many different ways: with maple syrup, jam, fruit, plain, etc. The possibilities are endless!

I found this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, which is probably one of my favorite websites right now. The only modification I made was using almond milk instead of regular milk and the pancake turned out great!  I added a strawberry and a tablespoon of pure maple syrup on top and paired it with a nice cup of coffee. Wonderful, even for a lunch treat!

Kale Chips

Kale chips are a great substitute for potato chips. They were very easy to make and the outcome was wonderful, though next time I will use a lot less salt.

Summertime Strawberry Cake with White Chocolate Chantilly

I am so glad I made this cake! I was absolutely delighted with how well it turned out. This is a good cake to make when you will have others around to enjoy it with you. It is too beautiful to enjoy alone. The cake was spongy with a hint of lemon flavor and decadent strawberry syrup soaked into the cake. This would be best made the day before serving so the juices really have time to soak into the cake to make it nice and moist. The icing could probably be held off until just before serving, but really - make the cake ahead of time and pour the simple strawberry syrup over it and stick it in the fridge for at LEAST a few hours. It makes all the difference! The white chocolate chantilly that topped this cake was so creamy and delicious. I mean really, who doesn't love melted and then stiffened white chocolate? You will want to lick the bowl after you've applied all that you can to the cake - trust me.

I actually made this cake for someone. Can you believe it? This was my very first culinary item to actually have someone pay for! I really think making it layered is key. I guess a sheet pan might work, but it just would not be as aesthetically pleasing as the layered cake would be. Of course, if you look at the side of this cake it isn't all that pretty. Hopefully you're better at icing the side of a cake than I am. I'll learn one day.

Candied Coconut Sweet Potatoes

These candied coconut sweet potatoes were so easy and so delicious. My folks said the coconut jasmine rice I made the night before went better with steak than sweet potatoes, but I disagree. I just love sweet potatoes! It doesn't need to be Thanksgiving for me to admit that. I also seem to be on a coconut freenzy lately, which is weird because I'm usually not a huge coconut fan. I used to say it was a "texture thing", but now I just think I was being picky and I didn't really know what I was missing out on. Well, now I'm a part of the coconut lovers club, unofficially.

Multigrain Rolls

So these days anything multigrain is something that catches my eye. I'm trying to be more health conscious, but that also means not trusting "multigrain" wrappers in the grocery store because they are usually filled with a lot of sugar and other ingredients I can't even pronounce. But, that said, I am all about multigrain made-from-scratch recipes because I think they are a much healthier option and aren't filled with a lot of sugar. The original recipe came from How Sweet It Is, which is my go-to blog for dessert recipes when I'm having weak moments when I just want to fill my body with sugar and things that will stick on me forever.

Welcome

I decided to start blogging since I see all of these wonderful recipe ideas in other blogs. I'm not sure how long I will stick with this. I mainly try to find recipes that won't force me to buy bigger pants, or feel too guilty. But unfortunately I have a soft spot for sweet spots. I also have an addiction to bread.

So who am I? Without getting too personal, I am a 22 year old college student studying to be a teacher for special needs children. I have a deep love for the Lord and my family. When I'm not in school or cooking I can be found crocheting, sewing, or gardening. I've recently really started taking care of my body by losing a few pounds (still in the process of losing more), exercising daily, and really thinking about the food I am consuming. I'm also an animal lover and a lover of all things colorful (especially fresh flowers!). Welcome to my blog.