Caramel Apple Cider

Nothing screams fall to me like a cup of hot apple cider. Add some caramel and whipped cream to it and it's like drinking a warm apple pie.

Heaven in my mouth!


Here are the ingredients I used...

• Jug-o-apple cider
• Mulling spices that are in tea bags - genius!
• Torani caramel sauce - seriously, this stuff is the BEST for drinks!
• Whipped cream in a can. The only way to go if you ask me.

What ya do...

1. Prepare your apple cider on the stove, following the directions on whatever box of mulling spices you buy. Or, you can find a "real" apple cider recipe online (you know, actually using cinnamon sticks and orange peels and all that). In all honesty, I'm just lazy and I think these pre-packaged mulling spices are dabombdigity.

2. Once your cider is all hot 'n steamy, squirt in a generous amount of caramel sauce - as much as your heart desires. Just keep adding until it tastes the way you want. I don't really believe in measuring things.



3. Get some of that caramel apple goodness in a mug - pronto! Spray on some whipped cream with a drizzle of caramel sauce to finish it off. I promise, you won't be disappointed with this!



Share the love in a mug with your family and friends. This makes saying sayanara to summertime SO much easier. :-)

Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers Recipe

One of my favorite comfort foods of all time! And it's actually pretty healthy...

STUFFED PEPPERS!


Actually, I think I'll call the version we made: Stuffed Half Peppers with Brown Rice & Spinach. Boy oh boy are they tasty. And oh so easy.

Ingredients (recipe can easily be halved):

• 6 bell peppers - we like red because they're sweeter, but any color works
• 1 lb. ground beef or turkey or whatev your heart desires
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1/2 a large onion
• 1 large stalk of celery
• A couple handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• Some shredded cheese of your choice - we used an italian blend in the bag
• Option (but oh so recommended): a dash of red wine

Some of my ingredients posing for a picture. Wasn't a huge fan of this spaghetti sauce, though...


Here's what ya do...

1. Get your rice cooking and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.



2. Have your hubby cut up the veggies. :-) Cut the bell peppers in half the long way and clean out all of the seeds and white bits. Unlike most stuffed pepper recipes that use the whole pepper at once, we cut them in half. You get a lot more bang for your buck this way and I find that eating a half is plenty. Chop the onions and celery up, too.



Go hubby, go!


3. Take a break to admire your cute baby who's busy playing with your toes. Oh wait, maybe this is just me.



4. Brown and drain the ground beef (or turkey) and then add in your chopped veggies and saute it all together. Feel free to add some garlic or Italian seasoning, maybe some S&P... whatever you fancy!



5. While your kitchen fills with the smell of deliciousness, pour a little bit of your jar of spag sauce into the bottom of a glass baking dish and spread it around before laying your pepper halves down in it. We used a little dish since we cooked up a half batch this time.



Oh Andy, you missed a few seeds.


5. Pour the rest of the jar of sauce in with your meat/veggies and mix it all together. When your rice is done, add that in too. Oh, and add some handfuls of baby spinach as well. You can't mess this up people!



Someone just loves to help in the kitchen!


6. Okay, now it's time to put the "Stuffed" into Stuffed Peppers! Take a spoon and scoop the good stuff into your peppers - nice, big mounds! That is, after you pour some of the red wine you're drinking into the stuffing. We live by the sign that hangs above our kitchen sink...





7. Cover your peppers with tin foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. After that, remove the tin foil and top your peppers with as much shredded cheese as you desire. Stick them back in the oven uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. Your peppers will still have a little bite to them - we don't like mushy peppers around here.



Serve with garlic bread! No need for a salad - I say there's enough veggies in there!


Nom, Nom, Nom...

I heart spaghetti squash.

I was at the grocery store yesterday morning when I noticed a lovely pile of various types of squash calling my name. They were saying, "Hey Ariel, I know it's like 90 degrees out, but we think you should take us home and cook us anyway!"  I stood there for a minute and decided, what the heck, I'm gonna bake me a squash!  So, I bought three beautiful squash: 1 butternut, 1 acorn, and 1 spaghetti squash.

I've never cooked a spaghetti squash before, but one of my friends posted about how amazing it is on Facebook the other day and I instantly had flashbacks of eating spaghetti squash with butter, salt, and pepper on a cool Fall evening with my family. My momma used to make it all the time. So, I was craving it and decided to take a stab at coming up with a new dish for my family.

I present to you my spaghetti squash vegetable medley. Seriously, this was love at first bite. Even little Landon Drew chowed down on this!



What I used (but think of the possibilities!):

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 zucchini
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• Handful of sliced mushrooms
• 2 cloves of diced garlic
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional, but oh so tasty)
• Dash of Italian seasoning
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Sprinkling of shredded parmesan cheese

How to bake the spaghetti squash (I'm sure you can also just microwave it, but that kinda creeps me out for some reason):

• Chop that bad boy in half (tougher than it sounds) and scrape out all of the seeds and gooey insides (like a pumpkin).
• Put face down in 1/2 inch of water in a glass baking pan.
• Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until tender when poked with a fork.
• Once done, let it cool for a few minutes then shred all of the spaghetti squash goodness out with a fork.

Now, we could just smother this with butter and S&P and eat as is, but I stepped it up a notch with the following:

• Saute chopped veggies and garlic in a little bit of olive oil until tender.
• Poor in chicken broth, white wine, Italian seasoning, and some S&P.
• Let this all simmer together for a couple of minutes and then toss in your shredded spaghetti squash.
• Poor that goodness out on a plate and top with shredded parmesan cheese.
• Eat with a side of chewy garlic bread.

This makes for one super filling and healthy meal that tastes divine! Serious!

Now I'm off to go eat the leftovers! YUMMO!

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PS - I totally slept off my attitude from Saturday and I'm back to my old self! I just hate hate random bad days. Those of you who commented totally lifted my spirits, too! Thanks!

Easy Peasy Fresh Strawberry Soft Serve

Our strawberry picking adventure left me with 8 pounds of red, ripe goodness. While enjoying some vanilla ice cream with strawberries on top I thought, how good would some homemade strawberry ice cream be? Well, since we don't have an ice cream maker, I did things the easy way.

Easy Peasy Fresh Strawberry Soft Serve Ice Cream...

• Blend store bought french vanilla ice cream together with about an equal amount of red, ripe strawberries.
• Add a tiny bit of milk if needed, just to get things going.
• Eat up OR stick in freezer for 30-60 minutes to firm it up a little.

Ok, so I realize this is pretty much just a really thick milkshake served up in a fancy cup, but I'm telling you, it was the best strawberry ice cream I've ever eaten. It was all about the fresh picked berries.

My people loved it, even Leila's baby doll...

Breakfast Quinoa

Remember when I made that kick arse quinoa? Well, I've pretty much fallen in love with quinoa and I decided to try to make a breakfast version in hopes that my picky girl may take a liking to it as well. After all, she does love oatmeal.



Here's what I did:

• I pre-cooked a bunch 'o quinoa the night before - just followed the directions on the bag.
• The next morning I put some cooked quinoa in a bowl and added some pumpkin pie spice (we were all out of cinnamon) and some brown sugar.
• I poured some milk on top of that, stirred it all together, and heated in the microwave.
• Finally, I topped the bowl with chopped nuts and dried fruit.

Here's the fruit/nut mix I used - from Costco...

Okay, now that I've got you all interested in throwing together some breakfast quinoa, I've got to be honest. At first it tasted really good to me, but then something just didn't seem right. I think I'm so used to the taste of quinoa with lunch or dinner - as a savory dish - that it just didn't really work for me. However, my hubby really liked it and Leila actually ate some of it, too!





I think I will give it another shot and maybe play with some different combinations...

• Peaches & Cream - with fresh peaches!
• Strawberry Walnut
• Apple Pie - applesauce & cinnamon

Or maybe I'll just stick with oatmeal. I just love all the good stuff that quinoa has to offer, though! 

If ya try to make some breakfast quinoa, let me know what ya think!

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WINNER WINNER WINNER!

Congrats to AMY ~ the winner of the Stick To Kids Customized Temporary Tattoos giveaway! Check your email girl.  ;-)

Malibu Mojito Recipe

So, ya know how I talked about making mojitos in my last post? Well, I totally forgot to mention that I changed things up a bit this time and used Malibu Coconut Rum instead of the plain ole stuff. It ROCKED my world! Thought I'd share with you how I make a quick single serve mojito. Warning: I don't believe in measuring things.



Ingredients:

• Malibu Coconut Rum
• Club Soda
• Lime
• Some mint leaves
• Sugar
• A straw (to avoid drinking the mint leaves)

What ya do:

• Cut your lime up in slices and squeeze them into a fancy glass (I swear it tastes better if it is in a pretty cup). For the glass pictured above, I used 1/2 a lime. Drop the squeezed out slices into the glass.
• Tear up a bunch of mint leaves (as many as you see fit) and drop those in the glass, too.
• Sprinkle some sugar on top. Just sprinkle a little bit - you can always add more at the end if it isn't sweet enough for you. I prefer a less sugary mojito, but you can make yours as sweet as you'd like.
• Now the fun part! Mash it all together! We own a bad ass tool that is made specifically for muddling (it was a stocking stuffer for my hubby - you can buy it on amazon HERE for $9!), but you can easily use a spoon or fork, or the handle of a spatula, or your own fingers.
• Pour in the Malibu Rum. Again, no measuring here for me. I just eye it. It will depend on the size of your glass/how strong you want your drink.
• Muddle it all together one more time.
• Add ice.
• Fill the rest of your glass with club soda.
• Try your drink & tweak as needed. Not sweet enough? Add more sugar. Too strong? Add more club soda. You get the idea.
• ENJOY! Preferably with your feet kicked up and the sun hitting your face.

You can also enjoy a virgin mojito if you aren't a drinker! When I was preggo, I would just use 7-up or Sprite and add lime and mint. Super refreshing!

Some kick arse quinoa...

Me weekend was spent in a hot and heavy relationship with about 20 bowls of this...



I'm pretty much obsessed with quinoa lately. I love the texture, taste, and especially the nutritional value. According to good ole Wikipedia...

In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), and like oats, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it a complete protein source. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest.

My mother-in-law gave us her AMAZING sundried tomato & mushroom quinoa salad recipe, so the hubby & I (okay, maybe not I) cooked up a batch and I have been so obsessed with it that I wanted to share it with you. The hubby also took the liberty of adding a couple twists of his own which sent this salad over the top...

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quinoa (rinsed thoroughly... although we forgot to do this, but ate it anyway... and we're still alive)
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or just water if you're a veg)
• 1 package of sundried tomatoes (not in a can... in a bag)
• 1/2 cup minced garlic
• 3 small lemons (zest & juice)
• A bunch of chopped green onion 
• A bunch of chopped cilantro 
• Big-o pile of chopped fresh basil
• 8-10 chopped medium sized crimini mushrooms (or whatever kind you like)
• Splash of olive oil
• Splash of white wine (optional)
• Salt & Pepper (to taste)

(Sorry I don't have exact measurements for the herbs... just use as much as your heart desires.)

What ya do:

Bring chicken broth to boil, add quinoa, reduce to simmer, cover & cook for 20 minutes. Set aside. Heat olive oil in skillet. Add green onions, garlic, mushrooms & sundried tomatoes. Throw in a splash of white wine (if ya have it on hand). Cook about 5 minutes. Mix in basil, cilantro, lemon, salt & pepper. Toss with cooked quinoa. Chill (or don't) and dig in!

This recipe can serve like 25 people, but Andy and I devoured it in 2 days. It's pretty dang healthy, so no guilt here!

My next goal is to figure out a way to get Leila to eat some quinoa. She continues to be a crazy-picky eater and since she pretty much won't touch meat, quinoa would be a good way for her to get some healthy protein. I'm thinking it may be good prepared like oatmeal... some cinnamon, a little maple syrup and some milk. Maybe she'll go for that. I'll keep ya posted.

Fun in the kitchen?

In our house the kitchen is my hubby's domain. Kitchen & I aren't too close. I don't really care much for her and I don't think she cares much for me. However, since starting this blog I have been "trying" to cook more. And the other day my hubby went ahead and purchased this beauty (and I think he may even love her more than me):



Lovely isn't she? Well, she's been eyeing me the last few days, so I finally decided to give her a try. So while Andy was at work and I was home alone with the kiddos, I decided to bust out a batch of Christmas sugar cookies (geez, I make it sound like it was easy - ha!). Needless to say, Kitchen Aid did make the job much easier (and kinda fun) but our kitchen ended up a disaster and the process took FOREVER with the kiddos distracting me.

Leila "helped" me...




The buttery goodness baking away...


The finished product!


Okay, maybe they aren't the most beautiful cookies ever made, but you try frosting and decorating cookies while entertaining a 2 year old and holding an infant in one arm! They are DELICIOUS, though! I found the recipe via my newest BFF, Pinterest, of course! And I highly recommend it... you can find the recipe I followed HERE.

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In other news... my little ole blog was selected as a winner of eCollegeFinder's Top 115 Parenting Blogs Award! You can check out the list of winners HERE. I'm pretty excited about it. :-)

Lactation Cookies

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm... Mmmmmmmmmm... GOOD!



I have been fully embracing playing housewife/stay-at-home mommy. Today Leila and I got busy in the kitchen baking up these most delicious & nutritious cookies. And these aren't just any ole cookie...

The other week my good friend Rachel brought me a bag of lactation cookies... cookies that are supposed to help increase your milk supply (not that I need any help in that department - seriously, I am one crazy milk-making machine!). She warned me that they were healthy and probably wouldn't taste too great. BUT, they were awesome! Andy, Leila, and I devoured the bag in like 2 days. They satisfied my sweet tooth without making me feel guilty, so I knew I needed to try to make them.

Soooooooo, I'm too lazy to type up the whole recipe, but you can find it here (courtesy of DrMomma.org, the recipe was created by Kathleen Major, PNP, RN). Key ingredients include whole wheat flour, oats, peanut butter, flax, brewer's yeast, cinnamon, sugar, nuts, & chocolate chips. I didn't have any brewer's yeast, so I left it out.











Leila had a ton of fun helping me make them (it got VERY messy!) and little Landon just slept through the whole process. :-) It was a great way to pass some time at home and I definitely plan on baking some more with her! Anyhow, I totally recommend these cookies, even if you aren't breastfeeding or don't even have boobs. They make a great breakfast cookie to have along with a banana and a cup of coffee. Yummo!

I also made progress in the kitchen last night when I busted out the good ole crock pot. I took a look around at what we had and threw in some chicken, teeny tiny potatoes, red bell pepper, onion, Italian seasoning, and about a cup of store bought balsamic vinaigrette. Turned out mighty tasty! (Although I did forget to season with S&P, which it needed).

Isn't she a beauty?




All in all, I'm pretty dang proud of myself for staying busy and productive on the home front! Now if only I could get to that dang laundry...