Do you believe in Magic?

:) I just whipped these up for an after dinner/weekend snack! Yum!

Here's the recipe.  I know they are no big secret, but they really are a bit of magic!  ;)  And oh, so, yummy!

Easy Vegetarian Lasagna

This is something that I've been meaning to make for years...but just hadn't.  So, when I made pasta yesterday I thought this was a perfect time to do it!  :)

Vegetarian Lasagna:

Lasagna Noodles (Homemade or store bought)

3 cups veggies, I used 1 c. carrots, 1 c. zucchini and 1 c. eggplant

1 c. cheese (ricotta, cottage cheese, goat cheese or other)  (I used goat cheese this time, and we both loved it...so I will probably stick with that, feel free to experiment though!)

Sauce of your choice (Use what you like, homemade or store bought)

1.  Start by filling two rather large pots with water and heating them to a boil.  Once they are boiling cook the pasta in one and the veggies (Cut up)  in the other.  Times will vary, so check them both frequently.

2.  Once the pasta noodles and veggies are cooked and drained you can start assembling the lasagna! :)

3.  Alternate layers of veggies, pasta and cheese until everything is gone. (Obviously it doesn't have to look perfect...as you can tell from mine. :)  I had three layers in mine and used 1/4 c. of cheese on the frist two and then 1/2 c. on the top.

4.  Pour the sauce over the top making sure that all the pasta is covered.  (You could also top this all with shredded mozzarella.  I just didn't.)

5.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

6.  Enjoy!  :)

Peanut Butter (Clif - like) Energy Bars

Peanut Butter (Clif - like) Energy Bars

2 c.  quick oats

1/2 c. instant non-fat dry milk (powder)

2 T.  seeds (sesame, sunflower, flax....)

3/4 c. honey or agave nectar

1 c.  peanut butter

This makes 6  half cup bars.

1.  In a medium saucepan, bring the honey and peanut butter to a boil--stirring constantly.

2.  Mix together dry ingredients.

3.  Once the honey/peanut butter mixture boils immediately add it to the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and either use a mixer or large spoon to combine.

4.  I came up with this technique today when making these.  Just put plastic wrap over a 1/2 cup measuring cup and fill pressing it to ensure it sticks together.  Then wrap and viola, mega cookie looking energy bars!  :)

That taste just like clif bars!

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan.  I suppose it's something you either A. love or B. hate.  I am one that falls under A, and completely, utterly and absolutely LOVE it!  :)  But I don't really like that it's fried typically....so here's a healthier recipe for it!  :)  And it still tastes delicious!!

Eggplant Parmesan:

Eggplant, sliced (about 1/4 inch thick slices)

Breading:  (mix together)

3/4 c. bread crumbs (I prefer Italian style but you could definitely use plain)

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Egg wash:  (mix together)

1 egg white

2 T. water

1.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Start with your slices.  It's okay if they aren't all perfect.  As you can tell, mine weren't.  :)

2.  Take a slice of eggplant and coat each side with the egg wash.

3.  Once the eggplant has egg on it, coat it with the breading on each side.  (Above and below pics)

4.  Place the first eggplant Parmesan on a baking sheet that was prepped with baking spray.

Then repeat steps 2 and 3 for the other slices.

5.  Once your baking sheet is full (like so) bake for 10 minutes on each side.  (or until golden!)

Then you can serve along with spaghetti or just by itself!  They will be crispy on the outside and perfectly tender on the inside.  Enjoy!  :)

Homemade Sweet Potato Pasta

Well, I can now say that I have made homemade pasta!  I guess I already could say that though, because this time last year I made some gnocchi.  But, now I really, truly, and in every sense of the word, have made pasta!  I made lasagna noodles, spaghetti noodles and a few little curly ones.  :)

I used the Fannie Farmer cookbook for general instructions, but since I wanted to make sweet potato pasta I just made up my recipe.  I fell in love with sweet potato pasta last year at the farmers market in Fort Collins where we could buy it.  So, I wanted to make some, and hopefully be able to recreate that!  :)  Plus it's good experience for general cooking expertise, etc. (And fun!!)

So, I will put the recipe and then also a tutorial like normal.  :)

Sweet Potato Pasta

3 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cooked (boiled)

2 Eggs, separated (or equivalent egg substitute)

Pinch of salt

~2 c. Whole Wheat Flour

1.  Start whipping up the egg whites in your mixer.  They'll start out looking about like this...

2.  Keep whipping those egg whites until they expand and look something like this...

3.  Mash the sweet potatoes until most of the lumps are gone.

4.  Add the mashed sweet potatoes into the egg mixture by the spoonful.

5.  Keep adding the sweet potatoes, and also add the salt at this time until well combined.  (As well as adding egg yolks if you are using them.)

6.  Start adding flour to the mixture about a 1/2 cup at a time.  (I still was using my flat beater, but really should have switched to my dough hook.  So if you have a dough hook, I recommend using that for the flour stage!)  :)

7.  Keep adding flour and mixing until it pulls away from the sides and into a ball.  (About like this, but I actually added a little more flour after this pic was taken.)

8.  Then turn it out onto a floured surface and divide into 4 rather equal sections.

9.  Take one section and start rolling it out.  Roll it as thin and evenly as you can. (I started rolling on my floured pastry board, but then switched to using floured wax paper to be able to move it easier.)

10.  Let it rest for a few minutes, and roll out the other sections of dough while you are waiting.

11.  Cut into desired strips.  Half of the pasta I made today I made into lasagna noodles.  So here are some....

And here they are ready to dry on the cooling rack....

12.  Repeat 11 for the remaining dough.  Here's a way to cut spaghetti noodles that I learned from the Fannie Farmer cookbook.

That did work well but I couldn't get them very thing that way....so I just did my own thing.  And they turned out pretty well!  (Pictured below)  :)

Ooo, then I had some scraps left over and decided to just make some fun little curly noodles.  So, here they are...

And last but not least, here are some of my spaghetti noodles hanging out to dry.  (Okay, truth be told they weren't hanging "out" to dry...but they were hanging, and drying! :)

Now!  I just can't wait to cook these all up for dinner this week!  Be sure to be on the lookout for a new lasagna recipe to go along with these noodles too.  :)

I'm so glad I finally just made some homemade pasta!  It's something that's been on my list, and I guess I just hadn't done yet.  So, now I can check it off...and just may be making some more very soon.  :)  It was fun, pretty easy and I am SOOO excited to really see how they taste!

Picnicking

Hope this finds everyone doing well after the long weekend!  I sure am!  We had a great weekend watching football, taking photos, hiking, swimming and picnicking!   :)

We spent Labor day at Falls Lake State Rec. Area.  The weather was great and it really wasn't too crowded.  Here's some pics from our little trip....

Here's my adorable picnic basket!  I had wanted a traditional wood picnic basket for a few years, and my mom found one and got it for us for our 2nd wedding anniversary!  Isn't it cute?!?  I just love it.  :)  Plus it's big enough to hold lots of food for picnicking, as well as silverware, plates and cups.

What we ate for our picnic.  I know you are probably thinking it's kind of boring and heavy on the carbs.  You are probably right....BUT we really enjoyed it.  :)  And we burned a TON of calories hiking, swimming, playing catch, playing frisbee and walking this weekend....so I think we're fine.

I brought applesauce (the kind with no added sugar, that's just sweetened with other fruits), mini apple pies, "laughing cow" light swiss cheese wedges and saltine crackers, and Salmon Pasta Salad.   :)

Anyway, we had a great weekend, and I hope you did too!!

Salmon Pasta Salad

Salmon Pasta Salad:

2 c.  cooked pasta (bow ties, elbow, rotini, whatever works)

1 c. carrots, diced

1 T. onion, finely chopped

1 Salmon, small pouch

2 T. lemon juice

1 T. olive oil

1 t. dill weed

Mix together in medium bowl.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight before serving.

Mini Apple Pies

So, I'm planning a picnic for this weekend.  I wanted to make some cute little desserts...and this is what I came up with!  Mini apple pies!  We love apples.  We had apples.  We love apple desserts.  So, I made mini apple desserts.  :)

I did two with the crusts on the bottom, sides and top.  Then I did two with crust just on the bottom.  I thought I would try it both ways, but I am not a big fan of crust anyway, so I prefer the ones with the crust just on the bottom.  But feel free to experiment!  Also you could put a streusel on top of the apples instead of a top crust.  Oooo that would be fabulous!  :)

Here's the recipe and keep in mind that you could use any filling in place of the apples.  :)

~4 little 4oz. canning jars or 4 little 4 oz. oven safe containers.

~Crust (Or you can use your favorite crust recipe.)

1 c. flour (I used whole wheat, you can use whatever you have!)

1 t. butter (Yep, really is a little t for teaspoon.)

3-5 T. cold water

Pinch of Salt

~Apple Filling

2 apples, cored and diced

3 T. sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon (I prefer Ceylon, but use what you have!)

1.  Preheat oven to 375degrees.  Then start on the crust.  Combine the butter, salt and flour until it is somewhat combined.  Then add the cold water by the Tablespoon until it is all moistened and forms a ball.

2.  Start filling the jars with pie dough.  I just pressed it in with my fingers, but it would probably be better if you rolled it out, cut it and then put it inside though.  :)

3.  Mix up the diced apples, sugar and cinnamon.

4.  Fill the jars with apples.  Do this a layer of apples at a time to ensure it will be full after it is cooked. So be sure to press down each layer as you go.

5.  Top crust (if you'd like).  Just make a small layer of pie dough for the top crust like so.

On my first two I did them as above.  Then I did my other two like this with just a bottom crust.  :)

Again, either way you do the crusts be sure to layer the fruit and press them down until full.

6.  Just about ready to bake!

Another view of being ready to bake.  Don't you think they are SO cute?  Especially the ones without the crust up the sides.

7.  Before you put them in the oven be sure to vent any top crusts you have!!  Then bake them at 375 degrees for about 25-30 minutes!  :)

Just getting out of the oven.  See how the crusts look slightly golden?  (If they had been made with white flour they would be golden, but since it's whole wheat it only looks slightly different than before it was baked.)

Crusty apple pie.  Yum.

Or my fave, the less crust apple mini pie!  :)   Enjoy!!  But be sure to be careful these little cuties come out of the over SUPER hot!  But yummy!! :)

Just in time for Labor Day.

New healthy additions/subtractions

So, as you know my hubby just started a new job last month.  With that new job came lots of changes.  Some you already know, like moving to North Carolina and starting a new life there.  Then there were things like finding a new Church home, friends, etc.  And then there were things like benefits paperwork, etc.

Anyway, my hubby also had a sort of pre-employemnt health screening.  You know, just that run of the mill thing that employers do when you start a new job?  Anyway, we weren't worried about it because he is an active guy in his late 20's who eats what his wifey (who has this food blog) feeds him.  :)  So what could be wrong right?!?!?  Everything checked out fine, but they did this rapid cholesterol test that just measured both types of cholesterol together and it was a little high.  Now, we're not too concerned because it turns out those tests aren't too reliable since they test both types together.  (As opposed to the regular tests that state levels of HDL and LDL.)  So I geuss we don't really know what his LDL (bad cholesterol) is and if it's even high.  Or what his HDL (good cholesterol) is either...

Either way, I have decided to make some definite healthy changes in our diets.  (Not that we are on "diets", it's just the word for the food we eat...you know.)  Anyway, it all has to do with additions of good things and subtractions of bad things.  :)

On a side not though, have you checked out:  Inspired to Eat Better. ??  It's a great blog!!  Check out this post that has inspired me recently.   It's about just those things of adding good things like veggies and subtracting fast food.  Go ahead and read it though, I really can't do it justice.  :)

So, for some changes around here.....  I have stopped buying eggs in the carton.  It turns out that the most cholesterolic food you can basically eat is an egg yolk...so, I've cut them out completely.  I now buy eggs whites that come in the carton.  They are just egg whites, and contain 0% cholesterol.  It's super easy to use in recipes instead of eggs too.  And everything comes out really well!  I made banana bread and peanut butter cookies with them yesterday and you can't even tell!  :)

Also, I made the switch from using bleached all purpose flour to whole wheat flour a couple months ago.  Although, I have somewhat re-entered all purpose flour into our kitchen for some certain purposes.  But I have heard a rumor that King Arthur Flour makes a mean white whole wheat flour that I have yet to get ahold of.

So there's some ideas for you to healthy up your life!  :)  Have a fabulous Labor Day weekend too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :)

Edamame Guacamole

So, do you know those great little things called edamame?  They are super healthy and super yummy!!  I got some fresh edamame at the farmer's market last Saturday and ate some cooked with salt earlier this week.  (Which is the tradiditonal way to eat them and super good!)  Anyway, I love guac and made some guacamole out of edamame today.  Then I saw I wasn't the first to think of that...oh well.  It's super, super healthy and yummy for guac!!!  Here's my recipe:



Edamame Guac:

1 c.  edamame, cooked and shelled

1 roma tomato, diced

1 small jalepeno, diced

1 t. lemon or lime juice

3-4 T. water

1.  In a food processor or blender start chopping up the edamame.

2.  Add the tomato, jalepeno, lemon juice and water.  Then pulse the processor until smooth.  (You can add more water until you get to your desired consistency.)

3.  Scoop into serving dish.  Serve with chips or veggies.  Enjoy!  :)

Cookies

Do you love cookies?  Me too.  :)  Anyway, I made some peanut butter cookies today, but actually used all whole wheat flour in them.  Surpirsingly they turned out great!!!!!!!!!!!

I just put a little piece of hershey's chocolate on top of my peanut butter cookies when they came out of the oven.  (You know, kind of like those kiss cookies, but I used my family's peanut butter cookie recipe and just a piece of chocolate.)

Mix it up!

Alright, so as you already know we just moved over 1700 miles away from home just last month.  Along the way there were a few minor fatalities of small things that broke...but nothing major.  Anyway, I hadn't found my stand mixer yet...but I wasn't too worried because I still had a couple of kitchen boxes left to unpack.  So, on Tuesday night I finally had a look through my spreadsheet on my computer of all the boxes....only to find no boxes containing my mixer.  Still hopeful, I went through the rest of the kitchen boxes Wednesday morning.

Still not finding my mixer, I ripping through our apartment like a tornado going through every last thing we own.  (With the exception of the attic because I didn't really want to go there, plus I was confident that it hadn't made its way up there.)  So, alas I broke down and called my mom to tell her my poor mixer had been left behind.  (Keep in mind this was the super nice sunbeam heavy duty mixer she gave me when I got married just 2 short years ago.)  She advised me to call the apartment management of our old place to see if they knew anything about it.  So I did.

I called around noon on Wednesday to leave a message for the "broker" there.  Then after not hearing anything from them, I decided to call back 5 hours later and leave a message on their general answering machine.  (Thinking that maybe the broker was out of town and not able to get messages.)  Finally around 6pm I got a very rude call from them.  Basically stating that they didn't know about the mixer, and basically had no way of knowing.  Saddened, not just because my poor mixer was gone, but also because that company had been SO rude to me, I went on my merry way to pick up my hubby from work.

We had a nice chat on the way home.  Then he suggested we go look at mixers that night and see what kind of deal we could find.  So, to make this long story a little shorter I will spare you the details of our search that night and just let you know that we found a great, I mean G.R.E.A.T. deal!!!!   We got a 5 quart, 325 watt, black Kitchenaid stand mixer for 1/2 price!!  :)  So, I am a happy girl.

Then, to my surprise this morning I got a call from my old management company.  This time it was the same girl, but being super nice.  She told me that they found my mixer and had it at their office for me to pick up.  I was SO happy they had found it.  (Closure and all.)  I had to break it to her that I was now living in NC not CO, but that my parents could pick it up for me.  So this morning, my parents went over and picked up my Sunbeam mixer!!!!!!  Isn't that sweet of them?!?!?!  Anyway, I was talking to my mom and wondered if I should take back the new Kitchenaid and we decided that I still should keep it.  For one, I don't know how or when I will get my sunbeam here and I can have a mixer to use for now. (plus I eventually wanted a Kitchenaid anyway...just thought it would be 15 or so years down the road and not now...but I did get a great deal on it, so that's super!)

Anyway, I was busy in the kitchen today getting back in the groove of being a foodie.  I had kind of been in a funk lately...I suppose it was a lot in part to the lack of a mixer.  Anyway, I am back and at it!  I made Banana bread, peanut butter cookies and edamame guac today!  :)