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.