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.

Second chance dinner.

I got a coupon in the mail for a free app fromPizza Luce with the purchase of a pizza. Well that's a no-brainer. 

One 16" Spanish chicken and an artichoke dip later... The hubby and I were full and there was plenty of leftovers.

The pizza got reheated and eaten for lunches. But the artichoke dip? That became some entirely new tonight.

I was lazy and didn't feel like dirtying a bunch of dishes since we don't have a dishwasher and there is already several plates and glasses sitting next to the sink and waiting for me to wash them.

So dinner formed into a creamy artichoke marinara pasta with focaccia bread. Quick, simple and delish! It went great with a glass of a petit sirah.

The recipe is simple: 

Combine leftover Pizza Luce artichoke dip with one jar of your fav marinara and heat through. Stir to combine. Serve over cooked pasta with a side of bread for dipping!

If I didn't have the leftovers I would say the recipe would look something

Like this:

1 jar marinara sauce 

4 oz. cream cheese

Handful (1/4 c.) of grated Parmesan

1 jar artichoke hearts, chopped, diced or even Puréed to the consistency of your liking.

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Combine and heat through. Serve over pasta.  

This is just off the top of my head and untested but I'll make it sometime and update if needed... Enjoy!

Seed starters.

I can't wait any longer for Spring. Starting seeds indoors is my way of getting through the #worstwinterever.

Mom and I put them in today and already I feel just a little better about snow in the forecast four of the next seven days. (Ugh.)

We started with a potting mix with worm casings added. Peper towel and toilet paper rolls make great planters that can be transplanted right into the ground! Then of course, the seeds. We planted:

-Tomatoes, Roma and Beefsteak

-Peppers, Sweet bell and Hot mix

-Kholrabi (my favorite!)

-Sweet basil

-Sage

-Spearmint

-Zinnia

They sit under a grow light and the magic happens!

There's more to come, but it was wine drinking time so we will leave some for tomorrow!

Photo Shoot Day.

Today's photo shoot was several hours of prep, and about 5 minutes actually getting our photo taken.

First off, there was a couple hours of figuring out what to wear. It can't be seasonal, and it really can't be a print. It has to be formal, rather than casual. My choice: Classic black.

Next, 30 minutes of hair and makeup with the ah-mazing Bonnie.fake eyelashes, lipstick, eye liner... the whole gamut.

And then to the studio for the actual photo-taking. A couple rounds of serious face. (Which I have yet to master.)

And then some smiley takes. For me it was one round with the 11am team and another with the weather crew.

And speaking of the weather crew... In case you didn't notice, we have a bit of a height difference in the group.  Jerrid is 6'5" or something like that.  And Sven and I are significantly less than that, to say the least.

The remedy is to have Sven and I stand on a crate to even out the difference. (This happens during news casts too.)

Hope you enjoy the behind the scenes looks! Let me know what else you're interested in seeing and I'll try to hook it up...
 

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!