Smile! There's a cookie that resembles one of America's favorite foods-burgers!

Recipe: Meredith's Mini Burger Cookies
Song: McDonald's "Put A Smile On"


Yikes! I can't believe how long it's been since I posted something on this blog. I'm going to take a moment to be brutally honest with you-I tried making/creating a couple recipes in November for this blog, but they didn't turn out as good as I hoped they would be. Because of this, I didn't post them. Until recently when my editor, Mary Ann, asked to see my blog, I had no idea that my last post was in October!

Anyway, Mary Ann is very sweet, and I was thrilled when I got my first-ever blog request from her. She asked me to feature a recipe by her daughter, Meredith, on my blog! When Mary Ann first showed us Meredith's unique dessert creation, all of us were very impressed. I don't even like mint, but I thought her cookies were delicious!

Yup, this is a real dessert! Meredith was able to craft mini burgers out of cookies and other ingredients. Read on to see how she did it!


Meredith's Mini Burger Cookies

What you'll need:

• 1 box Nabisco Nilla Wafers cookies
• 1 box Keebler's Fudge Shoppe Grasshopper Mint cookies (You could also use thin mints because Girl Scouts will be selling cookies soon! Hey, did you hear the recent news about Girl Scout cookies being sold online and through mobile apps? Yup, it's true! Why couldn't this occur when I was a Girl Scout?)
• 1 cup Vanilla Frosting
• 1 Package Shredded coconut
• Green food-coloring
• A handful of sesame seeds
• A small amount of honey

* The amount of each individual ingredient depends on how many burgers you want to make. I just find that having a little extra of everything is always a safe idea in case something goes wrong!

They're tiny and full of flavor!

Directions:

1) With the food-coloring, dye the shredded coconut green.


2) Frost the bottoms of two Nilla Wafers with the vanilla frosting


3) Attach one Grasshopper Mint Cookie to one Nilla Wafer.


4) Place a little shredded coconut on top of the grasshopper mint cookie


5) Put the remaining Nilla Wafer on top.


6) Lightly brush the top "bun" of each burger with honey

7) Sprinkle a few sesame seeds on the top of each burger


8) Repeat steps 2-7 until you get the amount of mini hamburger cookies you desire


* Note: If you'd rather have "iceberg" lettuce on your burgers, than liquefy the green food coloring a little bit before you dye the coconut. Also, depending on how much coconut you decide to use, you might need to put more icing on the grasshopper cookie as well!


Now you know as well as I do that there aren't too many songs about burgers out there. The only song I could think of that would go with this recipe was "Put a Smile On" from the old McDonald's commercials back in the day. Click here to view the song with the commercial. Maybe it's not what you had in mind for a song, but it works for me!

*All credit for this recipe goes to Meredith. All credit to the song and video goes to McDonald's.

Cookie Butter Cookies to Share!

Recipe: Cookie Butter Cookies
Song: Cookie Monster's "Share it Maybe"


Many months ago, my friend introduced me to Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter and I both loved and hated her for it. Once you get a jar of your own, you just can't stop eating it. And now I work close to a Trader Joe's so it's easier and more convenient for me to visit the spectacular grocery store.

Soon I realized that the delicious cookie butter actually has a twin called "Biscoff Spread," which I found at Stop and Shop. I tried it, and it was just as good as the Trader Joe's brand. The problem with these cookie butters is finding foods and recipes to use it with. It's so good that it's like Nutella where you want to eat it right out of the jar!

When I realized that I had an unopened jar of it sitting in my pantry, I knew I had to use it quick-especially since it would expire at the end of the month. Obviously I didn't want to eat it all by myself, so I looked up cookie recipes that would feature it. The more cookies I could make, the more cookies I would be able to give away. The recipe I used was adapted from this one, featured on Courtney ODell's blog, Sweet C's Designs. I know that this recipe might be similar to the Nutella cookies I made, but so what?


Cookie Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

6 Tbs butter
1/2 c almond milk
1 1/2 c brown sugar
3/4 c Crunch Biscoff Spread
2 Tsp Vanilla
3 1/4 c quick-cooking oatmeal (I used Quaker Oats)

Directions:

1. Mix butter, milk, cookie butter, and sugar in a large saucepan. Stir the mixture occasionally until it comes to a boil.
2. Remove from heat.
3. Add the vanilla to the warm mixture and mix.
4. Add the oats and stir well. You might need to add more oats or milk depending on the ingredients you use. The cookies should end up thick and gooey, and stay in the shape you mold them into when they're placed on the wax paper.
5. Place the mixture in rounded spoonfulls on the wax paper, and refrigerate them until they're cool and firm.
6. Enjoy!

*Please note that I made the cookies small, and cut the recipe in half. Because I didn't have a car available that night, I couldn't go to the store and had to work with the ingredients I had. You know I love cooking and baking, but I wasn't about to walk a mile in the pouring rain to get Oatmeal! I had even tried getting some at CVS earlier in the day because it was on sale, but they ran out of it. Figures.

I kept a few cookies for my family. The rest went to work with me and my brother!

The song I decided to pair with this recipe is a bit goofy, but because cookies are for sharing, I thought it would be appropriate. I grew up with Sesame Street, and although I don't watch it anymore, I still have a lot respect for the show! Click here to see Cookie Monster sing "Share it Maybe." When "Call Me Maybe" first came out, I hated it because one of my roommates played it practically five times a day. I did grow to like the song, and thought that Cookie Monster had a funny parody of it.

*All credit for the original recipe goes to Courtney ODell of at Sweet C's Designs.
*All rights to the song "Share it Maybe" go to the Sesame Street Workshop

Everything is awesome with this lego cake!

Song: Everything is Awesome
Recipe: Lego cake

My mom, her friend Barbara, and I visited my mom's Godmother (Hilda), during the summer. While we were there, Hilda's granddaughters also came over and watched Rosanna Pansino's channel "Nerdy Nummies." Pansino makes interesting baked goods, and we ended up watching this video of Pansino making a lego cake. After we saw her make the cake, my mom turned to me and said "Are we going to make this for Chris's birthday?"

For those of you who are new to my blog, Chris is my brother. His birthday was earlier this month, and I figured I would make this cake. Pansino says in her video that this cake is easy to make, but I should tell you that it makes a mess, and creating it takes a LOT of patience. I practically spent half the party slaving over the cake-and my brother was very grateful. Chris must've thanked me a dozen times for making it, and devoting some of the party to it's creation.

I like this cake because it's divided into a bunch of sections, and anyone can choose whatever color they want. I also loooooooove marshmallows. However, because it makes a mess and takes a lot of time, I probably won't make this dessert for a long time.

Anyway, I'll stop talking and give you the recipe. You can also find it Betty Crocker's version of the recipe here.

I'm not the artistic one in my family so this came out a bit sloppy lol

LEGO Cake!

What you'll need:

• 1 box of white cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Since they're the best brand in my opinion)
• Ingredients for the cake mix
• Red, yellow, and blue food-dye drops
• About 2 containers of vanilla frosting
• 12 Marshmallows cut in half

Directions:

1. Bake the cake according to box instructions.
2. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan before placing it on a cooling rack.
3. Cool the cake for an hour, before placing the cake in the fridge or freezer for an additional hour. I froze the cake overnight because I work full-time now, and had to make the cake late a night.
4. Cut the cake so that there are two rectangular pieces, and two square pieces.
5. Grab three small bowls to color the frosting. Make 1 cup of the frosting red, 1 cup of the frosting yellow, and 2/3 of the frosting blue. Leave the remaining frosting white.
6. In order to seal in the crumbs, you need to frost each piece of cake with a thin layer of frosting. Frost one square white, and another square blue. Frost one rectangular peice with yellow frosting. and the remaining rectangular piece with red frosting.
7. Rerigerate or freeze the cake for 30-60 minutes before giving the cakes their final coating of frosting.
8. Frost 4 marshmallow halves blue, and four marshamallows halves white. Frost eight marshmallow halves yellow, and the remaining eight marshmallows red.
9. When the marshmallows are done, put them on their respective places on each cake.

*Note: Betty Crocker and Pansino tell you to level the cake but I skipped that part because I was in a hurry. The marshmallows still stayed on the cake! I also ended up making one cake pink instead of red because red is hard to make-says my mom! If you're hosting a party where children of both genders are present, having a pink section of the cake is a good idea!



As for this recipe's song, I chose "everything is Awesome" from The Lego Movie. The song may not be about Legos, but everyone who knows the movie knows the song. And even if you've never seen the movie, many shirts will portray the main character with the caption "EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!" If you don't know the song, listen to it on Youtube.

Cornbread muffins made from Trader Joe's Cornbread mix!

Hey guys!

I'll admit that I can get lazy sometimes, but then again, a lot of people can! That being said, I thought that I would create a new section of my blog titled "Jenna's Cheats." Here is where I'll be rating different packaged products (such as cake mix) from time to time. Sometimes with a busy schedule, a lot of us don't have time to cook everything from scratch. We all need to take the easy way out once in a while!

Love always,

Jenna

Whip yourselves into shape with this shake!

Song: Whip it, by Devo

Recipe: Jenna's Peanut Butter and Chocolate Protein shake

Wheeeeeeeee! I'm back. I'm sorry guys-I know I've disappeared for a while but things have been hectic. But hey, at least I'm blogging again! And this recipe that I have for you is simple, and it's gotten many likes on Instagram. Why? Because it's a good thing to have if you're trying to stay in shape, or get in shape.

Yes, this week's recipe is a protein shake.  I'll admit that I didn't really try to make shakes that often until earlier this year. You see, my brother (Chris) surprised me with a HUGE jug of it for Christmas. Chris's wanted to get me a huge jug because he knew I wanted to try using protein powder, and he didn't want me to run out of it for a long time. Because it's so huge, he'll use it sometimes, too. He keeps saying he wants to get his own since it was my Christmas gift, but I don't mind. I'll have that thing for a year!

Personally, I’ve been very into eating healthy and working out for the past couple of years. Everyone knows that getting a lot of protein is very important to your health-especially when you work out and you need the strength and energy. I believe that protein is also great, because it can make you stay fuller longer, and not want to snack as much.

There are many different types of shakes that you can make with vanilla whey protein, but I like this shake because it's delicious. It’s smooth, and creamy texture makes it taste like something you would get from a diner, and it’s practically a dessert! Who doesn’t like to have dessert for breakfast?

Anyway, I'll stop talking about this shake and actually give you the recipe.

Jenna's Peanut Butter And Chocolate Protein Shake:

What you’ll need:

1 c. Vanilla Almond Milk

2 tbs Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup

1 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1 tbs Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter

Directions:

1. Place the above ingredients in a blender, and blend them on whatever settings you like until the 

          shake gets to your desired texture. (I did the whip and the puree settings).

2    2. When the shake is ready, pour it into a large glass (like a beer glass) because the

    texture will make the drink rise a lot!

MMmmmmmmm

*This sugar free chocolate syrup tastes terrible, unsurprisingly. If I wasn't trying to lose weight and cut back on my sugar, I wouldn't have bought it. But I do want to mention that this syrup tastes fine with this shake because of the vanilla almond milk, peanut butter, and vanilla whey. Also, when I used the sugar free chocolate syrup in a different shake later that week (it had the same ingredients minus the peanut butter), the flavors
from the protein powder and vanilla almond milk were enough to make the chocolate syrup not taste too bad.

I chose the song "Whip It" by Devo for this recipe. I like this song because it can be inspiring for getting into shape. It’s catchy tune, and lyrics “now whip it, into shape, shape it up, get straight, go forward, move ahead…” make a good work out song. And I believe that the perfect recipe for this song would be none other but a protein shake.  Visit this link to see Devo perform this song live.

Have a wonderful labor day weekend! Mom and I will be making more recipes this weekend because of our Labor Day Barbeque. You will definitely be seeing them here!

*All rights to the song "Whip it" belong to Devo.

Incredible Veggies and Protein!

Recipe: Vegetable Salad With Chicken
Song: The League of Incredible Vegetables Theme Song by The Newsboys


I once heard of someone who didn't like fruits and vegetables and decided not to eat any. How can that be possible? There are so many different types of vegetables and fruits out there, how could you not like at least one?

Since I started eating healthier a few years ago, fruits and vegetables became my best friends. I used to be on Weight Watchers, and they were zero

points (except for the avocado, but that didn't matter to me). Even after I was off of Weight Watchers, vegetables were obviously and important part of my eating habits. I love them because they're a "feel-good food." They have a small amount of calories, they're fresh, and they're filled with water so they fill you up. I can go on and on about the benefits of vegetables but I'm not here to do that. Instead, I'll just cut to the point and tell you this week's recipe. By the way, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post something on this blog! I was on vacation two weeks ago, and I just started a new full-time job (whoo-hoo!) so I'm not used to being on a new schedule just yet!



This week's recipe is a vegetable salad with chicken. It's a perfect lunch to bring to work because it's fast to make, it's portable, and it contains protein so you'll get energy and be full for a long time. Here's the recipe below:

This recipe is perfect for lunch when you're at the office!

Vegetable Salad With Chicken:

What you'll need:

1 fully-grilled chicken breast
1 cup of salad
1 small tomato
A few slices of cucumber
1 tablespoon Nakano Vinegar (or some type of rice vinegar)



Instructions:

1. Toss together all of the vegetables.
2. Add the rice vinegar and toss the salad again. Note: If you don't want your salad to be drenched in the dressing for a while before you eat it, simply put it in a small and portable dressing container so that you can add it later. My mom got me a cheap one at The Christmas Tree Shops!



The song that I decided to pair with this recipe is a bit cheesy, but I ultimately decided on "The League of Incredible Vegetables"-the theme song for the well-known children's cartoon. This song is by a band called The Newsboys. I heard it once and since it sounded good, I thought that it would be nice for my blog. Besides, it's a song about vegetables so it goes perfect with this recipe! Check out the song at the link below. Have a a great rest of the weekend!

Click here to see The Newsboys perform "The League of Incredible Vegetables."

*All rights to the song "The League of Incredible Vegetables" goes to The Newsboys.

The Declaration of Indpendence...and amazing chocolate buttermilk cookies!

Recipe: Chocolate Buttermilk Cookies
Song: Jimi Hendrix's cover of "The Star Spangled Banner"

As you know, I wasn't able to make myself a cake for my birthday. That meant that I was left with all of the ingredients to make the yellow cake with chocolate buttercream icing. One of those ingredients was buttermilk, and I had to use it before it went bad.

Let me just say that Google is amazing. It's always come in handy for me, and it came to the rescue once again by giving me Kadie's  chocolate buttermilk cookies, that were featured on her blog, Barefoot and Baking. You see, I didn't want to waste a full carton of Buttermilk, so I googled "cookies to make with buttermilk." And that's how I came across Kadie's blog. This recipe was so good that even though I was short on cocoa powder the first time, and had 3/4 c less of chocolate chips the second time, the taste of the cookies were still amazing! I went to two 4th of July Parties last weekend, so I ended up baking two batches of them. And guess what? The cookies vanished both times! Once you have one of these cookies, you'll want to have another one. In fact, one of my friends ate five of them, and someone else I know ate three! Anyway, here's the recipe I adapted from Kadie's below. I made some changes to it to make it a little bit healthier.

This platter wasn't full for long!

Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies

These are just as good as they look!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup butter
a little bit less than 3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1 t vanilla
1 egg
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. (Every recipe tells you to do this first, but I usually do this once I'm sure
    everything's measured out because I move slow sometimes!)

2.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together baking soda, flour, and salt.

4. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl (about 30 seconds to a minute).

5. In a large bowl, combine the warm melted butter with the cocoa powder, and whisk everything
    until the mixture is very smooth.

6. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the egg, buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla. Gradually stir in the
    flour mixture until no streaks of flour are present.

7. Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips, or divide the dough in half to make two different kinds of
    cookies. I would've experimented by using two different types of chocolate chips for this recipe,
    but I was in a hurry!

8. Drop by spoonful onto the prepared pan about 2 inches apart. This is important because these
    cookies really spread!

9. Bake the cookies for about 10-15 minutes, until they are set on the edges.  The middle will be
    doughy but firm up as they cool.

10. Once the cookies are removed from the oven, they should cool for a few minutes on the pan
      before cooling completely on a wire rack. 



Because I baked these cookies for the 4th of July, I decided that a patriotic song would go perfect with them. That's why I chose Jimi Hendrix's cover of "The Star Spangled Banner." Click here to watch him play it!

If a ton of people (myself included!) enjoyed these cookies, I'm sure you will, too! Happy belated 4th of July!

*All rights to the original recipe go to Kadie of "Barefoot and Baking."
*All rights to the song "The Star Spangled Banner" go to Jimi Hendrix

Snap. Crackle. Pop. Happy Birthday to Me!

Song: "Birthday" by The Beatles

Recipe: Rice Krispie Treat Cupcakes (or Rice Krispie Treats in Cupcake form)

I loooooove making Rice Krispie Treats. They're quick, they're easy, and they're better for you than many other desserts! I'm also a huge fan of marshmallows, and love crunchy foods.

Now I'll admit that I really wanted to make myself a cake for my birthday, but I was just too lazy to do it. I'm also trying to eat healthy and wanted to make better choices since I was eating out twice that week-once with my family, and once with my friends. I also wanted something that was liked by many people, so that I wasn't stuck with a lot of leftovers. That being said, Rice Krispie Treats are the perfect thing to make since everyone loves them. My little cupcakes were so good that some of my friends even had two of them! I even brought the leftovers to work on my last day (which is a whole different story). One of my managers ate four of them for lunch-there's nothing wrong with that!

Basically what I did was shape the warm Rice Krispie Treat mixture into cupcake shapes, instead of just pressing it into the pan. I should tell you that this was challenging, and you need to move quickly before the mixture sticks to the saucepan, but if you want to be creative and try something new, definitely go for it! I've posted the recipe that I adapted from Kadie's blog, "Barefoot and Baking" below:

They taste just as good without the icing!

Rice Krispie Treats:

What you'll need:

6 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal
1 tsp vanilla extract                                 
5 c. miniature marshmallows
4 Tbs. butter


How to make them: 

1. Place cupcake liners into muffin tin.
2. Melt the marshmallows and butter in a LARGE saucepan over medium-low heat.
3. As soon as the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla and stir the mixture until it's combined.
4. Now add the Rice Krispies and stir until the cereal is coated well. 
5. Quickly take a spoon and drop the mixture into the cupcake liners. You can also shape the mixture with your hands if you 
    like once it's in the liner.
6. Decorate the treats if you please. I originally bought a pink, glittery Betty Crocker decorative icing tube for my cake, so I 
    just put dots of it all over the cupcakes.
7. Share and enjoy!



Obviously, the song that will go with this recipe is a birthday song. I decided to use "Birthday" by The Beatles. Here's a clip of the famous British band performing it.


*All rights to the original recipe go to Kadie of "Barefoot and Baking."
*All rights to the song "Birthday" go to The Beatles.
 

Enjoy a nice Italian dish with some Italian music!

Recipe: Jenna's Healthy Whole Wheat Spaghetti Dish
Song: Andrea Bocceli's "Mille Lune Mille Onde"

Imagine spending a semester abroad in Florence, Italy where you study with great students from other schools, and wonderful professors who are kind and understanding. That was me during my junior year of college a couple years ago. It was a wonderful experience that I'll always treasure and remember forever. While I wouldn't change anything about my experience abroad, there was one thing that was a problem-my Italian was terrible. I was awful at speaking and writing in Italian, and all I could think about was how my grandma (Antonette) would've jumped right in to help me with the language if I ever needed her to. Unfortunately, my grandma died six years ago and we haven't stopped missing her since. She was such a sweet and funny woman. My Great Grandma Carmella (who was her mother and is credited with giving me my really tan skin that somehow no one else in my family has) immigrated to America from Italy as a teenager, so she taught my grandma how to speak Italian.

I just love eating spaghetti, don't you?

But enough about my family. One day when I was out shopping with my friends by The Florence Cathedral, I came up with an idea. Maybe if I tried listening to some Italian music, it would help build my Italian vocabulary! Immediately, I remembered those Barilla pasta commercials that used to be on. You know, the ones where a guy would provide a woman with pasta and be romantic about it? As soon as I got back to my apartment, I googled "What was the Italian song that played during the Barilla pasta commercials?" I would find out that the song was Andrea Bocceli "Mille Lune Mille Onde." Don't ask me why I chose that song to help me learn Italian. I guess at the time when I thought of it, I must've been hungry.

For some funny reason, I've always enjoyed playing that song constantly since I returned home from my trip abroad. I especially like to listen to it whenever I'm making pasta. I just think that it's a sweet, beautiful, and romantic song with a great tune. Because I found out about this song through a pasta commercial, I decided to pair it with my own pasta recipe! Check out this dish below :)




Jenna's Healthy Whole Wheat Spaghetti Dish


What you'll Need:

1/2 Package of Whole Wheat Thing Spaghetti (I used the one by Barilla)
2 Tbs of grated cheese (I used Pecorino Romano)
1/2 10 oz package frozen spinach
2 Tbs low-fat butter
1/2 16 oz package ground chicken
About 2 Tbs olive oil
A couple dashes of ground, dry basil


Instructions:

1. Heat skillet over medium-high heat for a moment before adding olive oil.
2. Spread oil around the pan before adding the chicken. (I cooked the whole package so that we had the leftover chicken ready for something else).
3. While the chicken is cooking, add the dry basil (your whole kitchen will smell like basil!) Be sure to cook the chicken all the way through.
4. While the chicken is cooking, cook the frozen spinach according to it's instructions.
5. Cook the pasta according to the box's instructions. Once the spaghetti is drained, immediately return it to the pot and toss it with the butter.
6. Once the butter is melted, add the chicken.
7. Finally, add the spinach and the cheese, and combine everything together.
8. If you're a cheese lover like I am, feel free to sprinkle additional grated cheese on top of the pasta!

Serves 2.

*All credit for the song "Mille lune Mille Onde" goes to Andrea Bocceli, and can be heard here.

Feel Good Frittata

Recipe: Slow Cooker Spinach and Mozzarella Frittata
Song: "I Feel Good" by James Brown

I'll never forget the day I had my first frittata. During my sophomore year of high school, I took a cooking class where I learned everything related to cooking such as safety tips, measurement abbreviations, and obviously how to cook and bake. One of our assignments was a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Frittata. It was so good that I made it for my family's Thanksgiving breakfast that year.

Fast forward to a few years later when I started eating healthier and cooking more. My cousin makes frittatas all the time because they're filling and healthy. This egg dish is perfect to have during the summer when you have left-over vegetables that need to serve a purpose.

This past Mother's Day, I decided to make a frittata for my family's brunch. My mom originally wanted to go out for brunch, but then she mentioned how it's one of the worst days to eat out since every restaurant is packed, and people seem to be rushed in and out of restaurants due to the popularity of eating-out on that day.

Anyway, I decided to make something healthy and nutritious since my mom likes eating healthy like I do. I also wanted to try using the crock pot for the first time. The recipe I ended up settling on was a Slow Cooker Spinach and Mozzarella Frittata that I adapted from skinnyms.com. Below is my version of the recipe. If you would like to see the original version by Skinny Ms., click here.


Slow Cooker Spinach and Mozzarella Frittata:


What you'll need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 cup part-skim mozarella cheese (divided)
• 2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
• 3 eggs
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup baby spinach (the cup should be PACKED, and the stems need to be removed)
• 1 diced tomato
• dash of salt 

Directions:

1. Put oil in small skillet and saute the onion on medium heat until it's tender. This will take about 5 minutes. 

2. Spray the inside of the slow cooker (lightly!) with non-stick cooking spray.

3. In a large bowl combine the sauteed onion, 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, and the remaining ingredients. Whisk everything
    together to combine, and then pour the mixture into the slow cooker. 

4. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese on top of the mixture.

5. Cover and cook on the low setting for 1-1/2 hours or until the eggs are set. When you stick a knife in the center of the 
    mixture, it should come out clean.

6. Cut into 6 pieces and serve with ketchup or my personal favorite, Trader Joe's Peach Salsa!

Since crock-pots obviously make food cook at a slow a pace, I decided to measure out all the ingredients the night before Mother's Day. On the morning of the special day, I woke up real early and made sure everything was in the crock pot before I headed to the gym. Since the dish takes an hour and a half to make, I also stopped at Fairway once I was done working out to pick up sunflowers for Mom, and a fruit salad to go with our meal. By the time I got home, an hour and a half had passed and my mom and brother were ready to eat with me.

I enjoyed this frittata because it tasted great, it was a low-fat dish, and it contained two things that are essential for everyone's diet: vegetables and protein. Because of it's great nutrition, I like to think of this dish as a feel-good food. That's why I've decided to choose the song "I Feel Good" by James Brown for this recipe. When you're done eating this frittata you'll be thinking "I feel good... so good, so good." And later on you might just be thinking "I feel nice...so nice, so nice."

All credit for the original recipe goes to Skinny Ms.
All rights to the song "I Feel Good" go to James Brown.

*Sorry for this post being late-due to working two part-time jobs, I've been extremely busy! Magazines are even starting to pile up in my room because I hardly have time to read them!

Grab a bowl of Thai Chicken Quinoa, and listen to some Thai music!

Recipe: Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowl
Song: Thai Northeast Native Melodies- Nok Sai Bin Kam Tuung

My friend Alison loves quinoa, so I made sure that she saw this recipe from a blog called "How Sweet it Is" by a woman named Jessica. Alison made the recipe for me and her cousin, and it was delicious.

Since only me and my brother Chris were home last night (as well as my dog Nikki), I decided to make this dish. Chris told me that he wanted to start eating some more quinoa, and because this recipe is so good and healthy, I figured it would be perfect.  I was also drawn to this recipe because I never tried making a Thai-related dish before. In fact, I think I've only eaten at a Thai restaurant only once! I'm always game for trying something different, aren't you?

Chris enjoyed the recipe, and I was glad. I've tried making a couple of different healthy quinoa dishes for my mom and brother before, but they didn't find those dishes that satisfying. The thing about quinoa is that you need to cook it the right way with a lot of flavor or else it's very bland.This recipe has a lot of spices and veggies giving it tons of flavor. It even contains peanut butter and peanuts! It just doesn't get any better than that. Since I didn't have all of the ingredients that Jessica listed, I decided to just substitute some of her ingredients with what he had. Since Spring is just starting, the fresh vegetables aren't in our yard yet. I've posted my version of the recipe along with the link to Jessica's below:


Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowl

What you'll need:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 chicken breast, grilled and shredded
1/3 cup chopped carrots (I used baby carrots)
1/3 cup shelled edamame
1 chopped green onion (you can add more if you like)
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
Some ground cilantro (I eyeballed it. I think I added half a tablespoon, maybe a bit less)
1 garlic clove

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce
A little bit of chili powder
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon canned coconut milk
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon creamy peanut butter (you should melt it so it mixes more easily)
1 garlic clove
1/2 lime, juice
1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger ( I actually forgot to add this, but the recipe had so much flavor that the dish tasted just fine without it!)

*Note: My family puts a lot of garlic in everything. If you're not a big fan of garlic, leave it out and just put one clove in the sauce.


Directions:

Prepare quinoa according to directions-you'll probably need to cook it with 1 cup of water.

While quinoa is cooking, combine all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and whisk well to combine. Once quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid, stir in the sauce and toss well to coat. Add in chicken, carrots, edamame, green onions, garlic clove, peanuts, and cilantro, stirring to combine. Taste and season with a little salt and pepper if needed.

Once again, this dish was adapted from Jessica's recipe.


The song that I decided to pair with this recipe is Nok Sai Bin Kam Tuung's "Thai Northeast Native Melodies." I wanted this recipe to have a fun, catchy and relaxing tune. Because I find this recipe to be a 'feel good meal," I thought that it might be a good idea to have a tune you can dance to.  So grab a bowl of this quinoa, play this tune, and enjoy! Here is a link to the song.


*All rights to the song "Thao Northeast Native Melodies" go to Nok Sai Bin Kam Tuung.
*All rights to the original recipe go to Jessica of "How Sweet It Is."

I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover...And Some Bangers And Mash too!

Recipe: Bangers and Mash
Song: I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover by Emmy Rosum

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Let's not forget the real reason we celebrate this holiday. Today is the day that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland! I hate snakes. To be completely honest, they're something that I'm afraid of, so I give St. Patrick a lot of credit. Hey, I'm not the only one that's afraid of snakes-Michael Phelps is, too! 

Everyone loves St. Patrick's Day. It's a fun holiday, and everywhere you go, you're always surrounded by more and more green. So for St. Patrick's Day, I knew that I just had to make an Irish meal. I'm actually mostly Irish and Italian, but no one really sees that. Every year on this holiday, my mom makes the same Irish meal: Corned Beef and Cabbage. I decided to venture out and make something different. I really wanted to make Shepherd's Pie, but of course my mom doesn't like it so that wasn't an option. Instead, I decided to make Bangers and Mash and found a recipe on the internet.

Unfortunately, the recipe didn't turn out well. In fact, it was so awful that I didn't want to post it. However, I will definitely look for other Bangers and Mash recipes to try. If you have one, feel free to send it to me! I'm disappointed that I didn't have a great recipe for this holiday, but there's always next year, right?

Here's a picture of my Bangers and Mash with cabbage-it looks better than it tasted.

The song that I decided to pair with the Bangers and Mash is obviously an Irish one. You've probably heard of it. It's called "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover." And who would be better at singing it than Emmy Rosum? She was phenomenal in "The Phantom of the Opera." To hear her sing a cover of this classic Irish song, click here.

*All rights to the song "I'm Looking Over a Full Leaf Clover" go to Emmy Rosum.  

 
 

Come home to a nice bowl of "Squash Soup and Sage Orzo"

Recipe: Squash Soup with Sage and Orzo
Song: "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

A friend of mine works for Free People, and while I had been familiar with their brand before, she's the one who got me very into their clothing. If you're not familiar with the brand, their clothes follow a bohemian theme. I'm always careful with my money, but the last time I visited their store, I just had to splurge a little bit on a couple shirts. But enough about their clothing. I didn't know this at first, but their website features a variety of different recipes for everyone to make. When my friend told me about this butternut squash soup recipe, I thought I would give it a try. This recipe was posted on Free People's website, and it was created by a woman named Jill. I've posted the recipe below, but you can find the original post here:

Squash Soup with Sage and Orzo | Free People Blog http://blog.freepeople.com/2013/09/squash-soup-sage-orzo/#ixzz2l93n0sHI


What You'll Need For the Soup:

2 medium butternut squash (about 3 lbs)
1 large onion, diced
4 cups vegetable stock
1 tbs vegan butter
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp ground coriander, divided
1 tsp white pepper
2 tbs fresh sage, chopped, plus additional for garnish
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups orzo, cooked

How to Make It:

Preheat oven to 425°. Peel and halve both squash, scooping out the centers. Coarsely chop three halves of squash and set aside for the soup. Dice the remaining half, into large pieces for roasting (approximately 3/4” squares). Toss the cut pieces with 2 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp coriander, and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Roast the squash on two baking sheets for 30 minutes, flipping the pieces, and rotating the pan halfway through. When squash is done roasting, set aside for serving on top of the soup.

In a large dutch oven, heat 1 tbs vegan butter over medium heat. Cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the coarsely chopped squash, vegetable stock, 1 tsp coriander, sage, white pepper and generous shakes of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Remove soup from heat and either using a stick blender or working in small batches in a convention blender, puree until smooth. Depending on the size of your squash, your puree may be very thick. If this is the case, thin soup with water, adding one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

To serve, place 1/2 cup of cooked orzo in a bowl and top with roasted squash. Pour the squash soup around the orzo and garnish with fresh sage and freshly cracked pepper.

The song that I've decided to pair with this recipe is "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. When I visited Free People the past few times, I got a happy and relaxed vibe. If you listen closely to the lyrics, this song is definitely  filled with happiness. To me, the song is about being with people you love. When you watch the music video, you'll also see the band living a fun and relaxed lifestyle. Here's the music video for "Home."


I like this soup because it has a bit of a spicy twist to it, and it's on the healthy side. "Home" is the perfect song for this recipe, because when it's a freezing day out, this soup will be perfect for you to make for your family or significant other. A nice bowl of warm soup can bring people together, making them happy after a long and cold miserable today. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is also an indie folk band, so I wouldn't be surprised if their music was playing in a Free People store!

This soup is perfect for the butternut squash season (fall/winter). It's a bit too spicy for my taste, but I would probably make it again. While this is my very first homemade soup from scratch, I was very proud of the way it turned out!

* Chopping up butternut squash is just as annoying as carving a pumpkin is. My friend recommended that I buy it chopped, and next time I will! I would strongly suggest that you do the same. My friend and I also used regular butter instead of vegan butter.


All credit for this recipe goes to Jillian Guyette and Robert Luessen of "a Better Happier St. Sebastian."

All rights to the song "Home" belong to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Song: "Valentine," by Kina Grannis
Recipe: Betty Crocker's Valentine Chex Mix (1/2 Recipe)

Hey guys! So today is Valentine's Day, and I'll admit that I had trouble finding a song that was about this holiday. I was able to find one by a talented musician named Kina Grannis. I like this song because the lyrics are sweet, the tune is nice, and the animation that's featured in the music video is amazing. To see her video click here.

Today, I decided to make what Betty Crocker calls "Valentine Chex Mix." You might know it as "Valentine's Day Puppy Chow" or "Valentine's Day Muddy Buddies." I'm glad that Betty Crocker posted a smaller version of this recipe, because I hate having a lot of food leftover. Usually, I like to bake something for a party, but I thought that I would try something different for a change. The first time I was introduced to muddy buddies was at a hobbit-themed college party that my friends were having, and it was so good that I had to make it. Mine came out differently than theirs did, but it was still yummy. I also thought that this recipe would be appropriate for today, because I'm happy to say that I'm going to a friend's Valentine's Day party later on. This chex mix looks like it would be the perfect thing to share with a bunch of people!

The recipe can be found on Betty Crocker's website. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure what to make for the party until two days ago. That meant that all of the Valentine's Day M&Ms were sold out. I also forgot to get pink and red sprinkles or "jimmies" as Betty Crocker calls them. I ended up altering the recipe a little bit. I was short on sprinkles, so I used less than two tablespoons. I also used white chocolate chips because I didn't have vanilla baking chips. The recipe still came out good, though! I mean, come on. What really makes up this recipe is the chocolate and the peanut butter in my opinion. My brother even noted that the whole downstairs smelled like peanut butter!


"Valentine Chex Mix"


What You'll Need:

• 4 1/2 cups Rice Chex® cereal
• 1/2 cup white vanilla baking chips
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup red, white and pink candy-coated chocolate candies
• 2 tablespoons red or pink "jimmies" or sprinkles

Instructions:

1. Place cereal in medium bowl. In small microwavable bowl, microwave vanilla chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

They look like frosted chex...

2. Place 1/2 of the cereal mixture in 1-gallon food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil; cool about 15 minutes.








3. Meanwhile, stir candies and sprinkles into remaining cereal mixture. Spread on waxed paper or foil; cool about 15 minutes.

4. In serving bowl, mix both cereal mixtures. Store in airtight container.

   

I chose Grannis's song to go with the recipe, because it obviously fits the Valentine's Day theme. My version of the recipe may not look like it's Valentine's Day related, but it still tastes delicious and looks colorful! Feel free to try this party mix, whether you're making it for your loved one, family, or friends. There's also nothing wrong with making it just for you-it's very important to love yourself! Happy Valentine's Day! Let's not forget Saint Valentine, the person that this holiday is honored for!

*All rights to the song "Valentine" go to Kina Grannis
*All rights to the "Valentine Chex Mix" go to Betty Crocker