Afternoon snack

I love a good snack. Big bonus points if it's a healthy snack that tastes good and uses up random stuff in the fridge.

While the baby sleeps away a fever, I made a winning snack: a hummus, fresh basil and kale sandwich on toasted bread. Fab!

Other quick snack ideas I love:

• Chips and salsa
• Avocado toast
• Simple spinach salad
• Pistachios
• Granola with almond milk
• Leftover noodles with olive oil and vegan parmesan
• Crackers with Toffuti cream cheese
• Crackers with chocolate hazelnut spread, I love the Justin's brand.
• Smoothie, Current family fave is Strawberries, blueberries, avocado and kale.

Share your favorite simple afternoon snacks!

Non-toxic weed killers

I don't mind weeds in the lawn and while he tolerates my love for some weeds, my husband favors the classic American sea of green. We compromise. All weeds are welcome in the back yard. Clover, wild violets and a few others are acceptable in the front. In fact, I plant clover readily around my entire yard for two reasons... it's a great nitrogen source as fertilizer for the grass growing around it. And two, it's a source of nectar for bees! (More on this in a future post.)

I love the look of clover in the lawn, the bees love it too. Plus it's a natural fertilizer!

Dandelions, oxalis, sorrel and a host of others are less welcome. I have to admit, getting dandelion stems stuck between our toes while walking through the grass isn't all that pleasant. We've finally found a solution that doesn't make me cringe with the thought of us walking barefoot through the lawn. Iron.

Liquid iron is sold at some online garden stores. I bought Iron-X for around $35 that makes 3 gallons in a pump sprayer. I gave it a good try and I'm kinda thrilled. I tested it on a variety of weeks in my yard. Dandelions, creeping Charlie, some oxalis, spurge, prostate surge, black medic and many others were dead within the day.

In a pump sprayer I mixed the iron with water according to the package directions. If ingested, Iron is dangerous. Spray it on and the weeds turn black as they shrivel. Grass may darken a bit but that recovers quickly and the grass is left unharmed. It's a miracle!

Black Medic after iron application

Wood sorrel after iron application

Dandelion after iron application

Creeping Charlie after iron application

But nothing is perfect. The iron does not kill grassy weeds like crab grass. I'm still on the hunt there. It has trouble with  oxalis in some areas. For now I'm pulling those by hand or leaving them. It's a daunting task that I tackle a little at a time.

Prostrate Spurge after iron application

For weeds in the cracks of the driveway and sidewalk or rocks things get interesting. Some say iron can stain your concrete or stone. I haven't found that to be the case in my small test areas. But because iron is a bit expensive I like another option for sidewalk and driveway cracks anyway!

That's where the weed torch comes into play! Keeping safety top of mind this torch is excellent for removing weeds. And in my experience they stay away for some time!

Because the torch scorches everything in range, the weeds and their seeds are destroyed.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Unfortunately grasses and dandelions tend to come back and new weed seeds eventually make their way back in. Others though are goners. I'll take that.

Vinegar with epsom salt and dish soap is another popular option but I've found the results don't last as long. Plus vinegar has it's own clash with the environment. It's very toxic to amphibians, for example. (I have a lot of tree frogs that show up.)

Anyone else have a non-toxic weed solution to share?


Note: At time of this post I have no affiliation or sponsorship from any products mentioned.

Hidden Veggies: Kale Muffins

I love eating things that are both healthy and tasty and I think this combo that comes together as kale muffins fits that description to a T! It started out as an experimental recipe, adapted from a spinach muffin recipe I had made before. As I"m typing they are out of the oven, and a couple are in my belly.

It's September and there is still a lot of kale in my garden. I do like to freeze some to add to soups throughout the winter, but I have a lot. For some reason my mom and I are really good at growing kale. Peppers never turn out so well for us, but we can raise kale with the best of them. This year we had both curly and dinosaur kale in the garden. For this recipe I used curly but I'd swap out any variety any day and bet it wouldn't make much difference.

The muffins turned out just how I like them. A little sweet, with a hint of banana. I recall teh spinach ones being a little brighter green, but the slightly more dull color doesn't bother me. If you're looking to "trick" kids into eating a green muffin, I might go with the spinach instead. Swap it out, tit for tat, no problem.

Here's how I made them...

Ingredients:
6-7 cups fresh kale leaves, washed and roughly chopped with stems removed
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted just enough to be a liquid.
2 ripe bananas
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup quinoa, cooked and cooled
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup slivered or chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Using a stick blender in a large bowl, puree kale with milk and oil. (This part starts off slow but picks up speed as more kale turns to liquid. Regular milk is just fine if you don't have almond milk.) Add bananas and vanilla and continue blending to combine. Add quinoa, stir to combine and set aside.

Combine next six ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk or stir to combine. Add dry mixture to the kale mixture and stir until just combined. (If batter is very thick and dry, add an additional splash of milk.) Add nuts and stir gently to combine.

Drop 1/4 cup batter into greased muffin tin. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Expect about 20 muffins.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Baby bump!

Some people have (daringly) asked if I had a baby bump these days. Well it is true! My husband, Bryan, and I are so excited to let everyone know that we are expecting our first little one in January. The due date is January 9th to be exact so that puts me at 14 weeks today.

Answers to the obvious questions...

Yes we are planning on finding out the gender.

And yes we have a couple names picked out for either a boy or a girl but we aren't telling those! 

Pasta alla Belinda

The inspiration for dinner last night began when Bel came into the office with a bag of beet greens. She had used the beets but brought the greens to me because she knows me well enough to know I'd make good use of them.  I've never cooked with beet greens before, but here's what I came up with...

It was an all day rain... gloomy for days. So a good belly-filling pasta made sense to me. This is how pasta alla Belinda was born.

First, the sauce. It's an artichoke and dry salami red sauce. Made from scratch but almost as easy as dumping in a jar of marinara.

In a heavy sauce pan heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Add chopped salami, onion and garlic along with crushed red pepper, dried Italian herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Saute until onions are translucent and salami is starting to brown a bit. Add 2-3 Tbsp tomato paste and incorporate.

Add 1 quart tomato puree and chopped artichokes and stir to combine. Simmer 10-20 minutes to your desired thickness. If you want it even thicker, just add more tomato paste.

Next, the noodles and greens.

Preparing the greens just involves a very rough chop and lots of rinsing. You don't want dirty grit in your pasta! Also make sure to pick out any slimy greens or any that have begun to brown.

Because I can't tell the difference I always use whole wheat noodles. My husband doesn't notice the difference either and he is definitely not a whole wheat kind of guy. These noodles have really been improved over the last couple years. Good news there!

Anyway, prepare the noodles according to package instructions, making sure to add salt to taste. I chose thin spaghetti, but feel free to use any type of noodle you have on hand.

Then during the last 3-4 minutes of cooking time, add your washed and chopped beet greens.

Strain them together in a colander when the noodles are done al dente.

Lastly, plate it up!

  
Top noodles with sauce and grate some fresh Parmesan on top if you wish. Serve with some crusty bread and a glass of red wine and you're good to go!  This dinner takes about 30 minutes start to finish.

Sauce:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped dry salami
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp crushed red pepper, more or less to taste
1 tsp dried Italian herb blend
salt
pepper
2-3 Tbsp tomato paste
1 jar artichokes, chopped
1 quart pureed tomatoes ( diced tomatoes in juice will also work just fine.)

Heat oil in saucepan. Add next seven ingredients and saute until lightly browned. Add tomato paste and combine. Add artichokes and puree. Simmer 10-20 minutes to desired consistency.

Pasta and greens:
1lb whole wheat pasta
2 bunches beet greens, chopped and thoroughly washed.

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Add greens during the final 3-4 minutes of cook time. Strain. Top with sauce and serve.

Magical Muffins.

I got a new oven, so naturally I needed to bake something. Scraping together what I had in my nearly empty refrigerator and paring that with a few different posts on Pinterest I whipped up two different versions. Both super healthy and super yummy!

Version 1: Carrot and quinoa muffins with wanuts.

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 coconut oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine first eight ingredients in a stand mixer and beat just until incorporated. It help to slightly warm the coconut oil so you don't get chunks, but if you're lazy like me and don't want to dirty yet another dish, just turn the mixer on high for 15 seconds or so and that should do the trick.

I know with baking you're supposed to be as accurate as possible with measuring, but that's just not my style. I loosely measured and the muffins turned out great, so have no fear.  Throw them together and they should be fine.

Combine the last three ingredients in a separate bowl and give them a quick mix before adding them to the wet mixture. Do not overmix. Just get everything together.

Divide batter into a lightly sprayed, 12 cup, muffin tin and bak at 350° until a toothpick just comes out clean. This should be about 18 minutes or so. Let them cool a couple minutes in the tin before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy or store in a plastic container!

Review: I could taste the quinoa in this recipe so if you're not a fan, move on to version 2. But I was a big fan of these and snacked on them through the week without feeling one ounce of guilt. I feel like they were a good make up snack since I ate lunch at Culver's twice last week.  Love Culver's! In fact, that was my first job. #Memories.

Version 2: Coconut, banana, walnut muffins with quinoa and summer squash (long name, I know)

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 coconut oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 very ripe banana
1 small summer squash, shredded
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

I ran out of eggs so the banana and baking powder takes their place. The summer squash I had was in the freezer from last summer's crop. I actually had it cut into 1 inch pieces so I threw it in the food processor for a couple pulses to "shred" it up but it more or less turned out as a chucky puree. No prob.  Whatever you have is fine. Substitute zucchini here if that's what you have.

So, the directions are VERY similar to version one.

Combine first nine ingredients in a stand mixer and beat just until incorporated. It help to slightly warm the coconut oil so you don't get chunks, but if you're lazy like me and don't want to dirty yet another dish, just turn the mixer on high for 15 seconds or so and that should do the trick.

Combine the last four ingredients in a separate bowl and give them a quick mix before adding them to the wet mixture. Do not overmix. Just get everything together. here's a plus with this recipe: no eggs means the batter is free game. I LOVE MUFFIN BATTER! (I actually fully taste it with the eggs in too.)

Divide batter into a lightly sprayed, 12 cup, muffin tin and bak at 350° until a toothpick just comes out clean. This should be about 18 minutes or so. Let them cool a couple minutes in the tin before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy or store in a plastic container!

Review: These turned out a lttle flat on top, but their flavor was ah-mazing. This is the perfect version for those of you trying to hide healthy things in yummy tasting food. You cannot taste the quinoa or squash here. The coconut, banana and walnuts completely take over. I'm a fan.

Try them out and let me know what you think! Try substituting some of what you have in the pantry and give it a try. If it turns out, great! If not, oh well. Learning lesson.

PS, loving the new oven.

Quick Lunch with Some to Spare.

It was about noon on Saturday when the hubby and I started to wonder, what's for lunch?  I'm a huge fan of going out to eat, but cooking at home is typically my vote to keep the budget in line. So we agreed on some tomato soup with, of course, grilled cheese.

The thing is... I don't do canned soup. So here's the quick and super simple bowl of tomato love that I whipped up.
 

In the pot goes onion, garlic, carrot and celery. If you don't have all that, put in what you do have! Throw in some fresh or dried herbs, and blend will do. I used Italian seasoning and added some crushed red pepper as well. As you will see now and in the future, I'm not big on measuring. To help the veggies soften up instead of brown I added a splash of chicken broth to the pot.

Once the veggies were soft instead of crunchy, I added two cans of diced tomatoes. The ones I had in the pantry were fire-roasted tomatoes. Okay, fine! Regular old diced tomatoes will work too. Stewed? Yes. Garlic and onion? Even better.

Simmer for a bit and whir it all together with an immersion blender. Top it with some parmesan cheese and set it aside a grilled cheese sammich. Lunch is done in less than 10 minutes.

Of course I always make a bit extra for leftovers so I don't have to buy lunch. It was a risky decision to eat it today at my desk with a white shirt on but all came out okay in the end, no spillage. Half an avocado made it into the mix for a nice addition as well. Nothing fancy, but super tasty and healthy!

Save the Artichokes!

After extensive Googling, I have not found any decisive material on whether or not artichokes can successfully be grown in Minnesota.  But I'm trying.

My mom and I bought the plant from a sale not knowing anything about them, but thought it would be fun to try. Now it's October and although the plants grew very large, there have been no artichokes.  This is not all bad news... several online blogs and articles say that artichokes do not produce fruit in the first year.

Herein lies the problem.  Artichokes are not hardy enough to withstand a Minnesota winter.  My challenge is to figure out how to save them as the show falls and the temperatures drop this season.

From various sources, here's what we came up with for an experiment.  I have no idea if it will work, but here it goes.

Step 1: Trim the artichokes back to about 12".

Step 2: Cover plants with 12" of straw.

Step 3: Top with Manure. (I used 1 5 gallon bucket per pile.)

Step 4: Cover with a dark colored tarp or plastic and secure.

Step 5: Hope for the best.

We'll have to see what, if anything, comes up next Spring! 

Special shout out to Fritz at Gleason Farms in Corcoran for hooking me up with both the straw and manure for this project!

Sunday Dinner: Luxury Lasagna Night.

The girls literally spent all day cooking.  The morning started off with canning stewed tomatoes and we ended the evening with two lasagnas that are made to please.

Lasagna #1 used up one of the  many butternut squashes growing in our garden, and we took care of the remaining basil that my sister had been growing as well. This is a recipe from Food Network's Giada de Laurentis (one of my favs) that I have made once before.  Like most lasagnas, its one that gets better in the fridge overnight for lunch the next day.

Click here for the recipe.

Lasagna #2 is an ooey gooey pan of artichokes and sun dried tomatoes. My sister found the recipe through Pinterest.  We substituted the mozzarella for pepperjack.  That was a good move.  Just a little kick in the layers really added to the dish.  We also cut down just a little on the cream cheese.  It's a super rich supper.

Click here for the recipe.

After one slice of each lasagna a piece, we were stuffed. Add a glass of wine, or two, to the equation and I was falling asleep on the way home. Enjoy!

Homemade (Sort of) Foaming Hand Soap.

Easy DIY is so right up my alley.  This is one of those no-brainer choices...

Foaming hand soap is so much more fun than regular hand soap.  But it can cost like $3 to $5 a bottle!  So here's an easy DIY:

Take an old but clean foaming hand soap bottle and fill it almost to the top with water. (I used filtered water, but I'm sure tap will do as well.)  Squirt in some dish soap.  I'm not one to measure, but I would guess I put in 2-3 teaspoons.  Screw on the cover and gently shake to combine the soap and water.  Voila! 

Pump and scrub away!  Just like a new store-bought bottle!

DIY Fashion, The Pleated Wrap Skirt

My attempt at making my own clothes has begun.  I made this skirt a few months ago and today it made its on-air debut. 

I'll be honest, this probably wasn't the best choice for a beginner, but with a little help from Mom it turned out great.  The pleats take some patience but are so worth it... I think.

I'm so loving all the blogs of designers that post how-to's.  I'm completely taking advantage of their great skills in explaining and pattern making.  The best part is that you can alter many of then for shorter or longer lengths to custom design them for your own look. Here's the link to the blog that inspired my outfit today!

Sunday Dinner, Carnitas.

My brother-in-law said he felt like we were sitting in Mexico while eating this week's Sunday Dinner. The rest of us agreed.

I've made this recipe once before, a long time ago, and I don't know why I don't do it more often. Carnitas.

The recipe for these pork tacos is from a Martha Stewart publication, Everyday Food. It's a great monthly magazine that is ALWAYS stocked with great recipes. We supplemented with a Paula Dean Southwestern Salad that was so refreshing.

It's always a good thing when a recipe includes avocado. And in this case... Both the salad and the main dish have some!

Here's our recipes this week:

http://www.marthastewart.com/313403/pork-carnitas

http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/southwestern_avocado_and_black_bean_salad/

The All-Girl Show.

I'm filling in for Sven this week. Plus Tim and Pete are off and Janel and Shayne are filling in.  With Kim, that makes it all girls this morning!  We decided to have a little fun being girly and are sharing our favorite beauty products.

Hands down, mine are homemade make-up remover wipes that I found on Pinterest.  I've modified the recipe just a tad.  They are a huge money saver and they work great! Plus, they double as baby wipes, so I always make a double batch and give half to my sister for Ella!  She loves them too. 

Here's my recipe:

1 Roll good quality paper towels (I like Bounty or Viva.)
2 1/4 cups Water
2 Tbsp. Baby shampoo
2 Tbsp Baby oil
Plastic container (I use a sherbet container, My sister uses Tupperware made for storing flour.)

Cut the paper towel roll in half across it's "equator" using a sharp kitchen knife.  You'll have two smaller rolls that look like toilet paper rolls.  Make sure it fits completely inside the plastic container and set aside.  Put the next 3 ingredients into your plastic container and mix gently until combined. 

You're basically don't at this point.  It's super easy!

next put the paper towels into the container with the liquid.  I like to dip one side and then flip it over.  Allow all the liquid to be soaked up.  Then pull out the cardboard core of the towels.  Voila!  The towels will dispense from the center. 

Use and abuse them, they're fabulous!

Sunday Dinner.

Since moving back, the fam has started a tradition of Sunday Dinners, held at my sister's house.  Week to week we dig up recipes, new and old to make and eat as a family.  While the boys relax and watch sports, most likely having a beverage as well, the girls hang in the kitchen. 

There's a serious hierarchy when it comes to our cooking.  I'm the head chef.  My sister, Jenna, is second in command.  And my mom is the sous chef.  It's become a running joke and makes for a fun time.  There's always laughing, sometimes some arguing, and always some wine.  We all look forward to it as the week goes on.

Although a big part of the event is spending time together, the food is the star of the show.  Recipes range from fancy and complicated to down home comfort food.  Either way, they usually turn out fantastic. 

Here are a couple examples of previous Sunday Dinners.  Each Sunday evening you can look for a new post with a new recipe!

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Tenderloin Steaks with Gorgonzola and Herbs and Roasted Garlic and Grape Tomato Pasta with Basil and Arugula (Thanks to Bel for this recipe!)

Up in the Sky!

When I was little, my mind changed nearly every day when it came to what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I was a doctor, and a school teacher, and a rock scientist.  For at least a little while mixed in to all that, I was an astronaut.  How fun to fly up into the stars.

I'm reminded of how cool the starry skies look thanks to an appearance from Jupiter and Venus lately. 

In the western evening sky, the two planets can be viewed aroung 9:00pm.  They are moving past eachother but will be at their closest (3°) tonight.  Take a look up and see!