Links You'll Like

I totally slacked this weekend on updating! I think I'm better suited to blogging only monday thru fridays, anyway - that way, I won't feel guilty for not doing it on the weekends ;)

So instead of just a post on what I did this weekend, I figured I'd links some sites/articles/whatever that I've been finding interesting lately!


Definitely going to be trying this recipe for Crockpot Mashed Potatoes- seems so easy!


Toilet Paper Roll Owls would look so cute on the Christmas tree this year!


I'm loving the use of cookie cutters and photos for this holiday decoration


Beaded curtains. I am obsessed.


Set yourself free. Awesome article on TinyBuddha


100 of the most beautiful words in the English language; interesting!


2013 Food Trends. Fermented cherry juice could be right up my alley...


Fifty smoothie recipes; favorite this!


Eyeliner looks {10 styles to try}



{the past weekend was a good one though; I had a great time seeing my friends as usual, and it was nice to get out of my own head for a little while. sunday morning was all cuddles and movies and being comfortable, and yeah, perfect.}


Enjoy your tuesday! xoxo

{recipe} - Vegetable Sauce!

One week last night, I became frustrated while searching the internet for a decent homemade Vegetarian tomato sauce recipe.

*Side note: I had tried to make homemade sauce once before (English muffin pizza night with a few friends), and while it wasn't exactly a failure, I really had no idea what I was doing. It turned out to be "eh".

After maybe a half hour of browsing many sites, I didn't find any to pique my interest. I decided to try again, and this time I was determined to succeed.

Succeed I did! This recipe came out excellent, and I'm proud to say it's completely created off the top of my head. I've named it (very creatively ;) Vegetable Sauce. Enjoy!


Ingredients needed:
Butter/Spread (we use Earths Balance)
Tomatoes
Red + Green Peppers
Onions
Garlic cloves
Pasta
Spices (I used oregano+parsley)


I have a habit of peeling tomatoes, so that's what I did first, since it is the base of the recipe after all. Since it was just Ari and I eating, and I'm not much of a sauce person, I used 3 medium sized tomatoes, which was just enough to have a little bit left over (which was quickly eaten shortly after!)



Cut them all up into chunks!



I'm not a fan of chunky sauce, so after I cut the tomatoes up, I threw them in my Pampered Chef Food Chopper. *If you can get one, do it! I seriously use this all of the time.



Meanwhile, Ari snacked on an onion (her fave!)



After the tomatoes were all set, I used a small sauce pan to melt 3 tablespoons of butter. I added my tomatoes and let simmer while I got my vegetables ready to go.






I added the veggies and let simmer more while I cooked the pasta. Intermittently, I added a few pinches of organic flour to thicken it up.





Lastly, I added my spices, cooked for a few more minutes, and that was that!



This is an extremely customizable recipe, so have fun with it, and enjoy!

Lemon Balm Haddock

This past weekend while grocery shopping, C, Ari and I stumbled upon the fish counter and actually didn't just brush it off. We've been wanting to expand our palate and try something new, so we purchased some fresh Haddock.

I searched for recipes online and couldn't find anything interesting, I knew I didn't want to bread crumb it and wanted something more than the classic lemon butter.

So I just created my own recipe! I didn't have anything to touch base off of, just went for it. and it came out wonderful! We will definitely be making fish a more prominent part of our diet :)

Ingredients:


In a food processor or blender, put a little more than a tablespoon of butter, a tablespoon of olive oil, inside of 3 lemons, 3 garlic cloves, Kombu seaweed, and about 6-7 lemon balm leaves.



Get your fish ready by washing it, lightly drying with a paper towel, and lay on some foil.



At this point your mixture will be finished, and should look like a paste. Brush it on the top and bottom,




close foil, and then bake @ 400 degrees. Around 10-15 minutes, I kept checking mine. When it's finished, the fish will be a nice white and super tender, the seaweed was soft as well.




I made chive potatoes and steamed broccoli as sides; it was a nice,filling but light-feeling meal. Ari loved it too!




If you are enjoying the recipes, would you mind giving me a vote here? Just click on the link; you can vote daily! Xoxo

Beef Stir Fry

A few nights ago, C and I got the basics of how to make a stir fry, then added our own ingredients as we went along. I really am not a red meat person, but we've been doing Spring cleaning of our fridge / cabinets to make way for our clean eating 'challenge' that starts today (More on that in a new post- and I say challenge because it sure will be!)

Things you'll need:
2 tablespoons cornstarch (I used organic wheat flour)
2 teaspoons sugar
8 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 pound shaved steak, cut into little strips
1 tablespoon ginger
3 tablespoons olive oil
cinnamon
*Whatever vegetables you want*
*Whatever spices / herbs you want*

The best thing about this dish is that it's so customizable, able to adapt to whatever vegetables etc. you have on hand.



First, I got all of my vegetables out and peeled / cut. I used carrots, snow peas, broccoli, sweet potato, wheatgrass, 2 garlic cloves, and an onion (In the pic there is scallions; I wanted to use an onion for a choppier meal).



Next I got out the ingredients for my sauce. In a bowl, combine 8 tblsp of Soy sauce, 2 tsp of sugar, 1/4 cup of water, 2 tblsp of wheat flour, and a little bit of cinnamon (less than a tspoon but more than a pinch). Put to the side.



Now to start cooking. Heat your wok or pan and put 3 tablespoons of olive oil in it. Saute garlic and 1 tablespoon of ginger, and then add meat. Cook for 2-4 mins until brown, and then add your snow peas.



Cook for an additional 3 minutes, then add your mixture. Add all the vegetables short after, then let it simmer for 4 minutes. At this time I added a bit more soy sauce and also some curry powder (I swear I try not to add it to everything.. lol).



When all the vegetables are soft are when the dish is finished. We put ours over leftover plain macaroni because we didn't have the time to make rice. Turned out great!



Enjoy! If you've tried a recipe, let me know how it turned out for you, and what you did differently if anything :) And if you're enjoying these posts, please click here and give me a vote!

vegan watermelon banana smoothie

Last night our friend J came over to cut C's hair, and I ended up making smoothies for all of this. Super simple and delicious - all you need it some watermelon and a banana!
It's kind of important to make sure your banana is frozen beforehand, because that's what is going to give the smooth texture and coldness. It's also vegan, because no milk was used in it





Scoop out decent amount of watermelon and put in blender


Peel two bananas (1 per serving), a knife is handy because they're frozen


Throw in a blender, and enjoy!

Serbian beef...

So last night, C wanted a non-vegetarian meal and chose ground beef for dinner. We wanted something different, so I searched for something that sounded good and we might all like. I eventually found something: Serbian beef, veggie, + potato bake. I never follow recipes exactly, but I'm sure its just as delicious if you do

ground beef
onion, carrot, green pepper, celery, potatoes
paprika, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, cloves
water, red wine, half and half
beef bouillon cube


First, take out the veggies you'll be using (1 onion, 2 celery stalks, 2 carrots, etc.) and cut them up *shred carrots with a peeler. *We also added a clove of garlic + scallions


Put your lb of thawed beef in a large saute pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown. When it's finished, put it aside in a different bowl, along with a little bit of the remaining liquids. We dumped most of the rest, except for just enough to saute our veggies in.

Saute the veggies until they are nice and tender, then add beef to the pan once again.

By this point you will be ready to add your spices *the recipe calls for paprika, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, and cloves, along with the bouillon cube. We substituted curry powder for paprika which made it much spicier.




Everything should be smelling amazing by now, and will be ready to go in the baking dish.

Line the bottom of the baking dish with thinly sliced potatoes, then add the meat + veggies on top. cover the top of the dish with more sliced potatoes (if i could do-over, i definitely would add more potatoes to the dish)



We didn't add a cover, and let it cook @ 400 degrees for 30 minutes in the oven before we enjoyed it. The top layer of potatoes became crispy but tender, a delicious combo. The dish was spicy, but it tasted like food you would order from Kabob and Curry, so naturally we were in love! Even A gobbled it all up!



This may seem like a heavy caloric meal, but you can burn calories from being on the computer, so give those fingers a workout and give me a vote here, please? xo

Butternut Squash Soup!

So we have a lot of food from the farmers market, and we needed to find a use for the rest of our butternut squash. We decided to make some butternut squash soup last night, and I'm glad we did! It has a nice, subtle taste and a nice texture.

Things you'll need:
Butternut Squash
One Onion
Olive Oil
Butter
3 Cloves of Garlic
Cinnamon
Ginger
Cloves
Broth (Chicken or Veg.)



First, cut about 1.5 lbs of butternut squash into chunks


Dice a whole onion (pic taken before dicing)


put the onions and squash in a large saute pan along with 2 tablespoons olive oil, medium high heat


saute until golden brown and soft, then add butter (we use earths balance), 3 cloves of garlic and a dash of sugar


stir well, then add a tablespoon of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of cloves, and 2/3 tsp ginger


Saute on low and mix the spices well


Add 1.5 cups of broth (we used organic chicken broth, but vegetable etc works too!)


Let simmer for about 10 minutes, then pour in a blender


puree for a minute, then pour back into saute pan to stay warm. salt and pepper to taste- enjoy!


This dish is super customizable, so experiment and make it your own! Aside from the regular recipe above, we added celery bits, curry powder, apple slices, and pastina. We all enjoyed it, but I think A had had enough....................




Try the recipe, but before you do that, can you please give me a vote at topmommyblogs? Xo