Friday, February 28, 2014

Closet

It's been sooooo cloudy and rainy and greeeeyyyyyy here. So I decided to match.


White t-shirt: Nordstrom Rack
Cardigan: Forever 21
Scarf: TJ Maxx
Black Skinnies: Nordstrom Rack
Shoes: Vans
Silver cuff: Charlotte Russe

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Bell Peppers


I have been wanting to try these for a while. The funny things is, I'm not a huge fan of philly cheesesteaks OR stuffed peppers. But then again, I wasn't a fan of champagne or orange juice on their own either and now I am a mimosa swigging FIEND! So why not give it a shot. We had some friends over last night when we made them and they were super easy and DELICIOUS! 


Ingredients: 

  • 1 lb thinly sliced roast beef
  • 8 slices provolone cheese
  • 4 large green bell peppers
  • 1 small sweet onion
  • 6 oz. baby bella mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. minced garlic
  • salt and pepper to taste


How To Cook It

  • slice peppers in half lengthwise, remove ribs and seeds
  • slice onions and mushrooms
  • saute over medium heat with butter, olive oil, minced garlic and a little salt and pepper  
  • saute until onions and mushroom are nice and soft
  • preheat oven to 400*
  • slice roast beef into thin strips and add to the onion/mushroom mixture and cook until juices start to flow - maybe 5 minutes
  • line the inside of each pepper with a slice of provolone cheese
  • fill each pepper with meat mixture until they are overflowing
  • top each pepper with another slice of provolone cheese
  • bake for 10 - 15 minutes until the cheese on top is golden brown

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Closet

Phew! I have been soooo bad about the blog lately, I am sorry. Life has just been so hectic that I have not tried anything new in the last, ohhhhh... month? Same old outfits, same old recipes, etc. etc. But hopefully I am back into the swing of things and I've got new stuff! So here goes....


Purple shirt (sorry it's kind of dark): Nordstrom Rack
Black skinnies: Nordstrom Rack
Leather Jacket: Urban Out fitters
Scarf: hand made my the lovely Momma T
Boots: Target

Friday, February 14, 2014

Simple Valentine's Day Gift

Husband and I never really go full out for Valentine's Day. I don't really like the commercial-ity (yeah, I just made up a word) of it. And, like a lot of people I know, I don't really like being told when to show my love and affection for my husband. I'd prefer to do that every day. That being said.... I love all holidays! So we will usually do something to celebrate a little. For the past couple of years we have just popped a bottle of wine, ordered a "Heart Baker" pizza from Papa Murphy's and invited some friends over. This year is not much different, except I got a weird cheesy urge to decorate with doilies and cupids from the dollar store.


So what kinds of gifts do we get each other? Small, cheesy ones. For example, husband looooves candy, so this year I bought him a bunch of different red candies (and a Mountain Dew Code Red) and even a red tupperware (don't ask my why but he want's his own tupperware for whatever reason).


  • Included in the basket are: 
  • regular twizzlers
  • twizzlers bites
  • hot tamales
  • a "red variety" box of Mike and Ike's
  • red hots
  • strawberry fruit roll ups
  • Mountain Dew Code Red
  • a red tupperware 
  • and a cheeeeeeeesy card I found that says: "Studmuffin Stout" and on the inside "I found the perfect beer for you this Valentines' Day" .... or it says something like that. 

See? It's got a bit of a theme, but it's not overtly Valentine's Day-y. And it's just a little extra punch of I love you.

And don't forget our heart shaped pizza! Mmmmmmm....


Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Apple Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

I cannot tell you how much I love this sandwich. Which is weird because I don't usually like fruit in/on stuff. I prefer fruit as is. But I guess that is just the magic of peanut butter, it makes everything wonderful!


Ingredients


  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 green apple
  • peanut butter
  • whole wheat bread (I prefer Dave's Killer Goodseed bread)



How To Cook It


  • spread the peanut butter on both sides of the sandwich 
  • pop into the toaster oven
  • slice up your fruit (no need to peel the apples)
  • once bread/peanut butter is out of the toaster, slap your banana on both sides and put the apple slices up the middle
  • enjoy the crap out of this amazeballs creation...

Monday, February 10, 2014

Homemade Falafel


I've been trying to branch out a little bit lately, and also for some reason I've really hated cooking meat lately (I still LOVE eating it, but I've become tired of preparing it...) Anyway because of those things, falafels seems like a perfect storm of a recipe to try, so I did! And so far, I'm loving it!


Ingredients: 

  • 2 c. cooked chickpeas, drained 
  • 2 c. roughly chopped white onion 
  • 6 garlic cloves 
  • 1 c. lightly packed parsley leaves 
  • 1 c.lightly packed cilantro leaves 
  • 1 tsp. salt ¼ teaspoon chili powder 
  • 2 tsp. baking powder 
  • 1 c. all-purpose flour 
  • canola oil, for sauteing 
  • 1/2 c. cucumber, sliced 
  • 1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese
  • 2 tbsp. greek yogurt, cucumber, dill dip (I prefer this kind) 
  • pita bread



How To Cook It: 

  • add the onion and garlic cloves to the bowl of a food processor and pulse just until they are finely minced.
  • remove the mixture and set it aside
  • add the chickpeas, parsley, cilantro, salt, chili powder, and cumin to the bowl of the food processor and pulse until they are roughly blended but not pureed
  • return the onion mixture to the food processor, along with the baking powder and just enough flour so that when you pulse the processor, the mixture begins to form a small ball and is not sticky (start by adding ¼ cup of flour, and then another 1/4 then another....)
  • transfer the falafel mixture to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour
  • once the falafel mixture has chilled, use a small ice cream scoop or spoons to form the mixture into balls (roughly 1-2 Tablespoons per ball) (you can also add additional flour at this point, if the mixture is too wet to scoop)
  • set a large sauté pan over medium heat and add a liberal amount of canola oil so that the pan is well-coated let the pan pre-heat for 3 minutes then add the falafel one by one, browning them on the first side for 3 minutes, then flipping them once and browning the second side until the mixture is cooked throughout 
  • season with salt through out cooking process
  • transfer the falafel to a paper towel-lined cooling rack 
  • place three or four falafel inside a halved, warmed pita with cucumber, feta, and greek yogurt dip


Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Skinny Turkey Burgers


I've been on a bit of a health kick lately but I got to the point where I was really craving just a nice juicy burger. I've always wanted to try my hand at turkey burgers so when better time to start than right now? With some easy substitutions I was able to satisfy my craving for a nice burger while simultaneously not breaking the calorie bank. Boom!


Ingredients: 

  • 1 lb. ground turkey meat
  • 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 c. red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 c. fresh parsley, minced
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 4 slices pepper jack cheese
  • 4 slices pineapple
  • 4 thin, whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted
  • lettuce (or I used spinach)
  • (optional) spicy brown mustard for topping - some in our group liked this and others didn't think it was necessary

How To Cook It

  • I used a griddle/panini press (think George Foreman) for this but you could easily do it on a grill, anyway preheat your grilling device to medium high
  • combine ground turkey, onions, peppers, parsley, and garlic powder and mix evenly and form 4 patties
  • place burgers and pineapple slices on the grill
  • grill for about 7 minutes a side, 2 minutes before burgers are done, place pepper jack cheese and pineapple on top
  • meanwhile, butter and toast your buns (they are thin buns so they will burn easier, make sure to watch them)
  • serve burgers on toasted buns with lettuce and mustard if you need it, most in our group thought the pineapple and cheese were plenty moisture for this burger
  • enjoy!