In the Kitchen

I'm going to be honest, I have barely been cooking lately. Baking, I have no problem with, which is also leading to muffins and cake far too frequently throughout the day. Yes day, not week. woof. I tend to eat breakfast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because {1} I really like it, and {2} it's easy. I want to start trying a new recipe at least once a week.

Spinach Strawberry Salad // Spinach Salad with Chicken, Avocado, and Goat Cheese {I would use feta}

Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells // Tuscan Pasta with Tomato-Basil Cream

Coconut Cloud Cake // No Bake Nutella Cheesecake

I need to keep trying different salads and bring some more vegetables in my life. Any recommendations?

Homemade Granola

I did something a little crazy and out of the ordinary for once.  I created my own recipe.  I know, living life on the wild side.  But seriously, I always follow the rules, or in this case recipes, so this was a big deal for me.  

What You'll Need 

3 cups oats

1 cup sliced almonds

3/4 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup wheat germ
 1/2 cup maple syrup (I used sugar free and it worked just fine)

1/4 cup water

2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c dried blueberries (or dried fruit of choice)
1/2 c dark chocolate chips (accidentally typed cookies after this. Can you tell what's on my mind?)

 4 packages of Truvia
cinnamon (to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix oats, sliced almonds, shredded coconut, and wheat germ together.

3. Mix maple syrup, water, and vanilla in separate bowl (I got too excited about creating my own recipe that I forgot to take pictures)

4. Combine two mixtures and mix thoroughly.

5. Add in any dried fruit and chocolate chips or whatever add ins you prefer.

6. Add cinnamon to taste.

7. Add 4 packets of Truvia (or whatever sugar or sweetener of your choice)

8. Spread mixture on ungreased pan.

9. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour.  Check every 15 minutes and mix so the granola gets cooked evenly.

Enjoy plain or with some yogurt and fruit!

Christmas Party

J and I threw our first ever party at our apartment last night.  Also, our first classy college party.  Let's be serious, usually it's just the ugly sweater party, but this year, we wanted to do something different.  After all, she is in the real world now even though I'm still struggling through my 5th year with the worst case of senioritis known to mankind.  Did I mention that Thursday was my last day with my amazing first grade nuggets? I managed to only cry twice.  I'll get to see them at their Christmas concert next week, but after that, it's on to student teaching with the third graders!  So this party was also a much needed pick-me-up.

J had off on Friday, and I didn't have class so we had the whole day to prep.  Our apartment quickly became the cleanest it has been since we moved in.  During the week, we each chose recipes we wanted to make.  J chose Baked Spinach Dip Mini Bread Bowls and I chose Red Pepper Pesto Bruschetta with Fresh Parmesan in Tostitos Scoops - well that was a mouthful, literally.  Here's what they looked like after they were prepped:

Then we kept them cool until 30 minutes before friends came over.  I would highly recommend prepping the bruschetta in advance because then the EVOO had a chance to get soaked up much more.  Also, I added some balsamic, which I think completed the recipe. 

Since it was a smaller get together we stuck with those two appetizers in addition to a cheese spread because we're in Wisconsin and could eat cheese with every meal.  Then, as I'm sure most of you have seen on Pinterest, we made some Santa hat brownies!  

Inspired by: www.gourmetdaytoday.com via Deirdre on Pinterest

Since the phrase "too much chocolate" will never come out of my mouth, we bought a pack of fudge brownies, and I added dark chocolate chips to them as well.  Confession: I ate two for breakfast this morning because they are that good.  Judge away.  

I cannot wait to make these dishes for other parties as well.  I could not stop eating the bruschetta and J's bread bowls were incredible.  You can also just make the dip too.  We ate plenty of the leftovers while cooking.  I would also highly recommend trying Boursin Vermont White Cheddar & Sage that we had in the middle of the cheese spread.  Whoa, was that good.  

We welcomed each guest with our signature drink of the evening: champagne and cranberry juice with frozen cranberries to keep it cool.  

It was such a wonderful evening!  J even bought us matching aprons and has the best DVD for anyone who does not have a fireplace in their apartment (thanks for giving that to her last year Mrs. G)!  Oh, and I got to wear the shirt from Zara that J gave me when we opened our presents early.  I'll leave you with some more pictures from the night:

Do you have a go-to appetizer dish I should know about? Any holiday parties coming up?

On The Go

Have you ever had those, days...scratch that...weeks....scratch that...months where you feel like there is just never enough time in they day to even sit down?  Welcome to my October.  It has been one of the busiest months I can remember and my to-do lists (yes, plural) keep getting longer and longer.  Have you felt like this lately?  Join the club. 

My recommendation would be to find something, just one thing, to keep you a little bit more sane and have it be your time.  My outlet: teaching Irish dance.  I have been fortunate enough to be a part of Trinity Academy of Irish Dance for 16 years.  Wow typing that out just made me realize that I have been dancing since the students I teach were born. Reality check.

From my first Oireachtas...

...to my last Oireachtas

Besides the fact that I have had some of the most amazing opportunities to see and travel the world through Trinity, the people I grew up with and work with are just absolutely incredible.  There's really no other way to explain it, and I am truly very lucky to be a part of such a supportive organization.  You can find more info on their Facebook page.  By the way, if you are not a part of the Irish dance community and want to know what the heck Oireachtas means, feel free to ask at any time.

In addition to my Irish dance outlet, I have had to get crafty with making meals.  I now try to make one home-cooked, sit-down meal a week because that's all I have time for, but for the other days I need to get strategic, and the prep time needs to be short.  To prep for my week a couple weeks ago, I made pasta.  A lot of pasta.  This is great to keep in the fridge and there are so many different toppings that it changes enough to use throughout the week.  Here was my easy on-the-go meal (and I had plenty pasta left for some new creations throughout the week):

 

 Voila! Pasta with EVOO, parmesan, spinach and basil.  If I had bread crumbs and pine nuts I would have definitely added them into the mix, but I didn't.

What are some of your on-the-go meals and tips to stay somewhat sane through the madness?

Happy almost Halloween and cheers to November!