Live from Cincinnati!

My vacation is finally here! 5 days with no pigs! Hallelujah!

I chose to spend my vacation in Cincinnati with my dad. I don't get to see him often because it doesn't really make sense to drive down when I only have the weekend off. So this seemed like the perfect opportunity to spend some time with him.

That being said, my dad and soon to be step-mom do not live the healthiest lifestyle. They eat out for 90% of their meals and when my dad does cook at home, he makes waaaayyyy too much of everything. Like a whole pound of bacon at one time. I'm not kidding. So I told my dad I wanted to cook for them. It would give me a chance to try some new recipes and at least my diet stands a chance this way.

The best part of cooking for them? I got to go to Jungle Jim's for my groceries! I seriously love that store. They have EVERYTHING. They make cheese in house, have a butchey, international isles for everywhere and produce. Oh the produce section. You can find everything there, including things you've never heard of and it's all fresh!

Another reason I was happy to cook for them is that I've been wanting to try some recipes but not have to eat them 8 more times after I make them! Which tends to happen a lot when you're single and live alone. So, what's on the menu this week?

Wednesday night: Lasagna Rolls & Asparagus Gruyere Tart

 

Tuscan Sausage Soup &  Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread 

Homemade Pizza & Banana Pudding Poke Cake

I'm also planning to invent my salted caramel puppy chow if there's time!!! I'm really glad I decided to try the pasta here because there was way too much work involved for me to want to make it just for myself. It was delicious but, you know, I'm lazy. The tart, on the other hand, is definitley something I can see myself making again! Very yummy!

Well, I'm off to go spend the day with my dad, eating delcious food like Pappadeaux's! Yum!

Love,

Lauren

Raw Bars, Sweet Potato Fries and Chocolate Covered Kale Chips, OH MY!

I really should have titled my blog #DomesticGoddess. I use that hashtag whenever I make some yummy food and lately that seems to be all I've been blogging about! I guess it doesn't help that I gave up a lot for Lent, so now I have to make everything myself.

So far, the worst part about Lent is the fact that I discovered Larabars the week before. If you have never had one before, what are you waiting for? They. Are. So. Good. Larabars are made from no more than 9 ingredients each, gluten-free, kosher and vegetarian friendly. Actually, the only bars that aren't vegan friendly are the ones with chocolate chips in them and that's only because of cross-contamination possibilities. I knew after my first bite I was going to have to make these myself or not survive Lent! The recipe I based my Raw Bars on can be found here. From there I followed other links which used different ingredients and my recipe is a bit of a mixture of them all.

Blueberry Pie Raw Bars

 What you need:

1 cup raw cashews

1/2 cup medjool dates, pitted

1/2 cup raisins

2/3 cup dried blueberries, soaked for an hour

1 tsp vanilla

fresh lemon zest

What you do:

1. Soak your blueberries. I tasted a few before and after soaking to see if this was really necessary, and yes, it is. Soaking makes them softer and easier to incorporate.
2. Blend cashews in your food processor until they are in little tiny pieces.
3. Add everything else and blend. You may need to pause a few times and scrape the sides. Your "dough" will be VERY sticky.
4. Transfer to a pan lined with parchment paper and spread to your desired shape and thickness. Freeze for ~1 hour.
5. Cut into desired shape and store in the refrigerator. This is very important as these are raw and contain no preservatives.

For some reason, while I was grocery shopping I decided that I needed some sweet potatoes. I really don't know why, but I ended up with two of them. On President's Day, or more importantly, Subway Free Cookie Day I had to stop by Subway for a $5 footlong and free cookie. When trying to decide what to pack for lunch with the remaining half of my footlong, I rediscovered the potatos. Inspiration hit, Baked Sweet Potato Fries. I quickly looked up this Pin on my phone knowing I would find a recipe but all I really wanted it for was a baking time and temperature!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

What you need:

1 Sweet Potato

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Sea Salt to taste

What you do:

1. Cut potato into fries or wedges, trying to keep a consistent size. *To do this, I used a mandolin to first slice the potato and then I cut fries from there.* 

2. Toss in a bowl with the olive oil. Then add seasonings.

3. Bake on a foil-lined pan for 20 minutes at 450, turning them over about halfway through. 

I have been wanting to make kale chips for a while now. Kale is just so gosh darn good for you and I know that I need to eat more of it but I don't want to slather it in some creamy sauce just to make it taste good. Then I saw this and I knew I was a goner. Oh man, oh man, oh man, this is one of the best things to ever come out of my kitchen. I have just about killed an entire bunch of kale since I made it less than 24 hours ago. Trust me, you will not regret making or eating these.

Chocolate Covered Kale Chips

What you need:

1 bunch kale, washed and de-stemmed

1/2 cup cashews, soaked (4-6 hours is ideal)

1/2 cup agave/honey/maple syrup or any combo

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

What you do:

1. Drain the cashews and add everything except the kale to your blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Pour mixture over kale and toss to coat. 

3. Spread kale out on parchment lined pans and bake at 300 for 20 minutes. 

4. Flip and bake another 10 minutes. 

*It is very important to spread the kale out. I used two cookie sheets like the one pictured. Spreading ensures that you get individual chips and not big clumps. Once you flip the kale be sure to watch it closely. It may not need the whole 10 minutes. Some of my smaller pieces got burnt and burnt chocolate just doesn't taste good.*

Well, I'm off to go make some banana icecream with the bananas I rescued from my roommate. I hope you have enjoyed the multitude of food posts. I know I have!

Lauren 

When life gives you lemons...

I feel like life has done a pretty good job of giving me lemons here lately. Like today, I was supposed to go run after work but my running buddy got an assignment last minute so we had to wait, and when we finally got to go, it was raining! We ended up only doing two miles instead of five because it was just sucky to run in that wind and rain. Or how about the fact that apparently people who work normal jobs get President's Day off but I don't?!

Well, you know how the old adage goes. Now I'm supposed to make lemonade. I guess I could do that...OR I could tell you about the Lemon Hummus and Lemon Agave Poppy-seed Dressing I made this weekend. I think I'd rather do that.

As you know, I gave up for Lent anything that I could make myself. Both salad dressing and hummus easily fall into this category. I've even made hummus before, the salad dressing, not so much. Hummus is such a budget friendly snack and it is so customize-able. For the Superbowl I made Guacamole Hummus and it was supper delicious! Hummus also happens to be my favorite way to make myself eat celery. I really don't like celery...but it fills you up for practically nothing. I try to make myself eat it a few times a week. I also try to eat salad a few times a week.


Now salad, I love. Recently I've been on a strawberries and chicken salad kick. Lemon dressing just goes perfect with that. The best part about making the dressing? I finally got to use my sweet new KitchenAid Hand Blender that I got for Christmas. I just mixed all the ingredients right there in the little cup and it even comes with a lid so I could store it! Pretty nifty if you ask me!

I found my recipes here:
Lemon Hummus
Lemon Agave Poppyseed Dressing

For the hummus, I swapped non-fat greek yogurt for the tahini and left out the cumin and cayenne.
I made the dressing as instructed but I left out the poppy seeds. I see no point in paying for something I'm just going to pick out of my teeth!

I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading!
Lauren

    

Two Terrific Trysts

Okay, before you go a google search the word "tryst" I'll just give you the definition.

Tryst: A private, romantic rendezvous between lovers. 

No. I do not have a lover. The word tryst is also a synonym for the words date, meeting, rendezvous, etc and I wanted to use some alliteration in my title.

Anyway...this weekend I had the wonderful privilege of having not one, but TWO awesome evenings with great people and good food! Last night I met up with an old friend for bowling and dinner at Red Lobster. We met freshman year, thanks to a campus program, and have stayed in touch since. It was great to get together again and spend an evening talking and having a great time. Let me just take this moment to mention that I had the most amazing shrimp last night. Seriously. I'm not really crazy for shrimp, or coconut but something got into me and I just had to try the Coconut Crusted Jumbo Shrimp. Let me tell you, it was delicious! Especially paired with the pina coloda sauce served with it. Okay, back to the point. I believe plans are in the works for another dinner again soon, and since last night was his treat, the next time is home-cooked on me!

This evening my mom and step-dad made the drive up from Indy to have dinner with me! Thanks to my work schedule I don't go home often and it was really nice to get to see them. One perk to being an adult: sometimes people will come to you, instead of you going to them! I really wanted to take them to South Street Smokehouse but apparently they aren't open on Sundays! Blasphemy. Instead we went to Firehouse Subs because I keep hearing radio adds for their brisket sub. Definitely worth the calorie splurge.

Overall, a wonderful weekend even if it was shorter than normal. I gave up having today off in order to have next Sunday off. Now I'm going to spend the whole week thinking it's the next day like I spent all day today thinking it was Monday!

I hope you all have a wonderful evening, I'm off to make these!
Lauren

Slow Cookers: A love story.

 Do you know what my favorite kitchen gadget is? My crock pot. Absolutely, 100% without a doubt, I could not live without it. Don't get me wrong, I have some pretty handy gadgets. I have a mandolin that lets me slice my fruits and veggies. I even have my own dehydrator! Still, without the crock pot, food just wouldn't taste as good.

If you use a crock pot, and by use I do not mean own one but it sits in the cabinet all the time, I'm sure you understand me completely. But if not, please allow me to explain myself. No other kitchen gadget allows you to dump all of your ingredients, including RAW chicken, into a pot and then forget about it for 4-8 hours. I love that I can prep everything the night before and then wake up just 10 minutes earlier (AKA 4:20am) to put everything in my crock pot and come home to delicious smells awaiting me. It's so nice to know that when I've worked all day and then sweated myself out at the gym that I don't have to do any additional work to eat. Another perk? You can make things that may seem really difficult with no trouble at all. Like pulled pork. Mmm...I love me some BBQ but very few people own their own smoker, I know I don't. Good thing I don't need one! All I have to do is pick out my pork shoulder, season it with a little salt and peppers and toss it in that crock pot with a wee bit of water. 8 hours later I walk in the door and my hardest decision is what sauce to use. Seriously guys, I could go on and on about why slow cookers are so great.

Now take this love and couple with it the fact that I can make recipes that fit into my diet and you have a match made in heaven.  That's what today's recipe is! I don't remember when or how but a while ago I discovered SkinnyMs on Pinterest. So many of her recipes look amazing and she has an entire section of her website dedicated to slow cooker recipes. This is where I found Slow Cooker Polynesian Chicken. It was so easy to make and is quite yummy paired with some brown rice. My secret? Make extra rice so that when you go to store your leftovers you can store them on a bed of rice. This will allow the sauce to soak in to the rice and the next time you eat it, it'll be even better than the first!

Now that you know how crazy I am for loving a kitchen gadget, I'll leave you with the recipe!

What you'll need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 20oz can of pineapple chunks in juice
2 Tbsp lite soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp freshly grated ginger - just buy the root! The flavor is so much better than powder.
1/3 cup honey
2 Tbsp cornstarch

What you do:

1. Drain pineapple juice into a bowl and add the soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger. Whisk to combine. Add cornstarch and whisk until combined.
2. Put chicken in crock pot, then add pineapple. Pour liquid mixture over everything and cook on low 4-5 hours. Add the bell pepper for the last 15 minutes and cook.

WASN'T THAT EASY?!?!?!
Lauren

Cinnamon Rolls - A labor of love!

Happy Valentines Day/Singles Awareness Day! Hopefully whichever one you were observing was a good day. 

Mine was, even though it was the later of the two. I started the day off by taking some delicious homemade cinnamon rolls and bacon over to the boys for breakfast. Making these rolls was quite the experience. I actually had to spread the process out over the course of a few days because there was no way in hell I was getting up at 4 am this morning so the dough could rise! Instead I made the dough Tuesday night, then rolled it, made the filling and assembled the rolls last night. All I had to do this morning was let them return to room temperature and then bake them! 

After breakfast it was off to the doctor for a follow up appointment which we'll discuss in another blog...later. That was followed by lunch with my Kappa Kappa Psi family where I finally got to give them their Cupid's Crunch! Good thing too, it was getting awfully tempting sitting there on my counter. 

Once I got back to my place, the real fun began! I quickly got some dinner together in the crock pot, once again to be blogged later. Armed with a bottle of Barefoot Red Moscato I went to work watching Magic Mike and the Amazing Spiderman. Somewhere in there my nails ended up painted :) 

All in all, a good day off. Everyone needs those days once in a while where they just don't do anything and today was mine! I guess I'll go ahead and post that cinnamon roll recipe now! I know that's what y'all came here for anyway!

What you'll need:

Dough Ingredients

1 packet active dry yeast

1/2 tsp honey

1/8 cup warm water

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/4 cup honey

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

1 egg

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Filling Ingredients

1 cup honey

1 tbsp molasses

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbsp cinnamon

What you do:

1. Pour yeast into a large mixing bowl and mix in the warm water and 1/2 tsp of honey. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

2. Add milk, honey, salt, oil, egg and whisk until combined.

3. Stir in flour until it becomes to thick to stir. Knead by hand until you have a firm ball of dough. Your dough will be SUPER sticky at first, just keep kneading.

4. Coat dough in thin layer of oil and set in the bowl. Cover with a towel and let stand 1 hour.

5. Punch down dough, re-cover and let sit another hour.

6. Punch down dough, cover and allow it to sit while you mix the filling.

7. Blend all filling ingredients together. 

8. Roll dough out on a floured surface, in to a rectangle. Trim ends of dough, place in the middle and roll them in until dough is desired shape and thickness. 

9. Pour the filling mixture in to the center of the dough and spread, make sure it only touches 3 of the 4 edges. The edge with some space needs to be on a long side. 

10. Roll up the dough, jelly roll style, and seal the dough by rubbing some water on that uncoated edge and then pressing it in to the roll. Cut the roll into individual rolls and place each one in an oiled baking vessel. Leave a little room around the rolls so they can rise. 

11. Cover with a towel and let rise one last hour. 

12. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes. If you want nuts on top, add them now and bake. 

They are delicious! I hope you enjoy!

Lauren

Neapolitan Bars

Hello readers, happy hump day! You've made it to that halfway point in your work week! Not me!!! Tomorrow is my day off! The first one in ten days, might I add. I'm super pumped, I have a pretty full day planned and some plans tonight!

What?! I have a social life? Where did that come from?

Anyway, it's time I shared with you the last of my Valentines Day treats Gooey Neapolitan Bars. These were not my favorite. Don't get me wrong, they were delicious but mine came out way more like cake and not like the bars pictured from the original blogger. I think if I were to make them again I would follow the directions I used to the White Chocolate Cookie Bars. That being said, here's how I made them the first time.

What you'll need:

1 box of your preferred strawberry cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1 cup mini marshmallows - I ended up using waaaaay more than that...

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup valentines candy - I went with M&Ms 

 What you do:

1. Oven = 350. Pan = 9x13, foil-lined and greased.

2. Combine the cake mix, oil and eggs. Spread in the pan and bake for 10 minutes. I wasn't happy with how done mine was so I went 15.

3. Quickly spread the marshmallows on and bake again for 5-6 minutes. I think I did mine for 10...

4. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle on the remaining ingredients. Mine was not done at this point so I popped it back in the oven, toppings and all.

5. Allow to cool completely before cutting. I tried to use a heart shaped cutter on mine. It worked but it's kind of hard to tell they're hearts...

 The perks to using a cookie cutter? All those awkward shaped edges, as pictured below. Yes, that is my fork.

I hope you all have a great day. I'm off to take my little out for drinks and dessert in celebration of her 21st birthday! I'm so        

                                                                excited to give her her present. I'll be sure to post pictures!

Love always,

Lauren

Fat Tuesday and White Chocolate Valentines Day Cookie Bars

Happy Fat Tuesday! Boy oh boy do I have a recipe to make you fat!!! Okay, the point of Fat Tuesday isn't to get fat, it's just one last hurrah before we buckle down for Lent, but let's face it we're going to get fat today.
I want to introduce you to the most delicious thing I've made in a while: White Chocolate Cookie Bars. These are sooooo good. It's a good thing I made them to give to other people because I seriously could've sat with the pan and a fork and eaten the ENTIRE thing with no regrets.

What you're going to need:

1 box of your preferred White Cake mix

1 egg

1 stick of butter - I used 8 Tbsp of I Can't Believe...

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 bag M&M's

 What you do:

1. Mix the cake mix, egg and butter in your mixer until it forms a delicious looking dough. See left.

2. Spread the dough in to a foil-lined AND greased 9x13. Unless your dough turns SUPER STICKY like mine and you cheat and use a 9x9.

3. Dump the bag of M&M's all over that bad boy. Repeat with the white chocolate chips. Finally, drench the whole thing with the milk.
4. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. Allow to cool completely (hahahahaha) before cutting. 

Since I used a 9x9, I didn't use the entire bag of M&Ms or the entire can of milk. These bars are so good, I couldn't resist sampling a little bit. The picture below is the only piece I kept for myself.
Want to know a secret? I stuck that piece in the fridge and ate it today, and it was EVEN BETTER than the freshly cooled little sample bites I had. Definitely worth it to wait my friends.

So there you have it, White Chocolate Cookie Bars. Just like Cupid's Crunch this recipe is easily customize-able for whatever holiday you're celebrating. Heck, you could even switch the M&Ms out for some other small candy. Reese's Pieces anybody? Maybe with chocolate cake mix instead of white? So many delicious possibilities.


In case you were wondering, I did decide to go with giving up "processed" foods for lent. I went through my pantry earlier this afternoon and put everything I wasn't allowed to have in a box, which is now in my storage closet! I was actually amazed at how many different types of cookies I had hidden in there. Amazed, but not surprised...I'm currently making sure I enjoy the last of my Blue Bell ice cream :)


















Thanks for reading!
Lauren

Cupid's Crunch

Last night was ridiculous. On top of my normal Sunday workout and grocery shopping, I decided to make THREE Valentines Day treat recipes. What got in to me?! Oh wait, I know...wine.

Since I'm lazy and don't want to think up multiple blog topics, I'm doing a blog on each recipe I made! Tonight's is Cupid's Crunch. I want you to imagine puppy chow for a minute. Now picture it as that sweet girl from high school that everyone loved. Cupid's Crunch is her hot older brother! Okay, maybe that's a bit drastic, but you get the point. Cupid's Crunch is everything you love about puppy chow (chocolate, candy of some kind...) but on a salty base of popcorn and pretzels instead of cereal! Genius! Salty and sweet all in one!

Just like his adorable sister, Cupid's Crunch is super easy to make. I got my recipe here but all you need is:


2 cups pretzels - broken into pieces
Popcorn - I used two 100 calorie serving bags
12oz candy melts - any color, I went with pink
Candy of your choice - I did Valentines Day themed M&Ms
Sprinkles - I went with hearts

How to make it:
1. Pop popcorn and mix with pretzel pieces and M&Ms in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Melt the candy in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between.
3. Stir 1/2-2/3 of the melted candy melts into the popcorn mixture until evenly coated.
4. Spread mixture onto wax or parchment paper.
5. Drizzle remaining melted candy over top and then coat with sprinkles to your heart's desire.
6. Allow the candy to harden completely, at least 20 minutes, before breaking in to chunks and storing in an air-tight container.

Wasn't that simple?! What I love about this recipe is that you can easily change it to fit whatever holiday you're celebrating! Cupid's Crunch, Leprechaun Loot, Easter Bunny Bait, I could go on and on.

Come back tomorrow for more treats!! 

Love always,

Lauren 

Lent

I don't know if you've realized this, but Lent is next week. I knew it was soon, but man! It snuck up on me! According to Google, this year Lent is from February 13th to March 30th. Seems kind of unfair that it is starting the day before Valentines day...especially if you were going to give up chocolate. Rethinking that one now? I know I am...hahaha

But seriously, I actually look forward to Lent each year. Not because I consider myself deeply religious, but because I love a challenge. There is just something so rewarding to me when I make it all the way to the end successfully. That being said, I have to make sure whatever I choose to fast from will actually be a challenge. It's not even worth it if it's not difficult! I actually have a few ideas for this year and while I'm leaning in one direction, I'm still unsure. Maybe telling you about them will help me to decide?

1. Giving up meat.

Yep, you read that right. Being a vegetarian for six whole weeks may sound daunting, but I don't think it's that bad. There are tons of vegetarian recipes out there, and it can be a very healthy lifestyle. This biggest reason I wouldn't do this one is that I've done it before, a few times actually. 

2. Giving up gluten.

I know what you're thinking..."Wait, didn't she write a blog about giving up gluten being silly?". Yes, yes I did, and I still stand by what I said. However, I live a very healthy (most of the time at least) lifestyle and would not be giving gluten up as a diet to lose weight. That is where I have the biggest issue with people who are gluten free. I do think that giving up gluten would be a very challenging task for me though, making it very appealing.

3. Giving up chocolate.

Let's face it, I LOVE DESSERT. I have a major sweet tooth and I seriously crave chocolate all the time. This would be pretty hard for me, but I feel like I would just find some other form of dessert to replace the chocolate. That would kind of defeat the purpose...

4. Giving up processed foods.

First of all, I should specify what I mean by "processed foods" because let's be honest, milk is a processed food and there is no way I'm giving that up! I would be giving up anything that I could make at home. So milk, cheese, yogurt, all don't count but things like protein bars, peanut butter and salad dressing would. I would also give up convenience items like canned or frozen fruits or vegetables. I really think this is the one I want to go with, and honestly the only thing holding me back is that I'll be visiting my dad halfway through Lent and I don't want to inconvenience him as far as what we eat. It would definitely help me try some awesome-looking new recipes though! Like this or these : D

If you have any thoughts/suggestions/concerns/whatever, I'd love to hear them! Anything to help me decide haha!

As always, thanks for reading!

Lauren     

Back in the Saddle Again

Wow...it has been over a week since I've blogged...

Bad Lauren!

Looking back, I'd like to say it's because I've been super busy with my life but honestly, it's because I'm super lazy.

Surprised? Yeah me neither...

I have some ideas for new blogs, like: what I'm giving up for lent, what tasty treats I'll be making for valentines day and one that's about more serious issues, but for now I think I'll just recap what's happened to me recently/whatever pops into my head.

You know how I know I'm getting "old"? I had ONE beer with my pizza tonight and my head is fuzzy...it's sad.

Fun Fact: I learned that my year anniversary with MP3 Farms is in 16 days! I cannot believe it's been that long already...

Ooh! In 18 days I'll be on vacation for 5 WHOLE DAYS! I mean, I'm just going to Cincinnati, to see my dad, nothing too thrilling, but I don't have to deal with pigs for 5 days! I should specify, pigs = coworkers. Haha, I know it's a terrible joke...

Get it? I work with pigs?

I discovered yesterday that Papa Murphy's is now my second favorite pizza place, behind Pizza Hut. I would say new favorite, but one good experience can't replace a life-time of loving Pizza Hut.

Wow...this blog is REALLY random. Maybe I should quit before I embarrass myself...

: D

Lauren