Today we made the 3 hour drive to celebrate my nephew’s second birthday. His party was tractor themed and so adorable. Fitting since he lives in the country!
I wanted to wear something cute but still casual and comfy since we would be spending so much time in the car.
Camo shirt – cami – jeans – shoes
Spring has arrived (for now) in the midwest! Even though it’s a little too windy to enjoy it too much, we officially have a high of 57 degrees today. I’m putting on my new wedge sandals and pretending like summer will be here any day. I also have this adorable new top on that I’ve been waiting to wear.
top – jeans – wedges – nail color
(from left, clockwise)
1. Urban Decay ‘Naked2″ Basics Palette (here)
2. Zella ‘Live In – Spectrum’ Leggings (here)
3. Voluspa ‘Maison Noir – Crisp Champagne’ Two-Wick candle – my FAVORITE!! (here)
4. Dolce Vita ‘Louise’ Ghillie Lace Wedge (here)
5. Stem Flowy Lightweight V-Neck Tank (here)
6. Rebecca Minkoff ‘Mara’ Saddlebag (here)
Sunday night/Valentine’s Day dinner… We’ve had an abundance of veggies since I ordered groceries late last week. I decided to throw them together for a simple asian stir fry. This is another meal where you could use whatever veggies you have on hand – green beans or mushrooms would also be a great addition to this.
ingredients
for stir fry
for sauce
preparation
Sometimes you just need some pasta. Nothing is more relaxing than sitting down after a long week of work (or a long week with two crazy little ones, in my case) and eating bowls of delicious, creamy pasta with veggies.
My mom started making a version of this pasta back when Jerad and I first starting dating and it has become one of our favorites over the years. It’s great because you can keep it simple with cherry tomatoes and spinach or you can add lots of veggies, like I did with mine – mushrooms, asparagus and cherry tomatoes this time. It also tastes great with more spice – whether you want to add more cajun seasoning or hot sauce. This version is pretty light so that it’s kid-friendly… Finn gobbled up three servings of this tonight!
Ingredients
Preparation
If you have leftovers, I suggest adding more broth to the pasta so that the sauce doesn’t thicken up too much when you go to re-heat.
Almost a year, and I’m back! Now we have two kiddos and life is even busier. Our little girl was born on June 3 and just turned 3 months.
Cooking was a bit of a challenge for a while when we were figuring out how to get it all done while managing a toddler and newborn. We’ve gotten into a rhythm though, and while most nights are quick dinners, sometimes it’s fun to put in the time to make something really good. Enter Spicy Thai Quinoa bowls… I had been off the quinoa train for a while, but lately it’s all I want. It’s the perfect way to get that stuffed tummy carb feeling, but without loading up on real carbs. Also a great way for a vegetarian to get protein!
Spicy Thai Quinoa Bowls
Ingredients
For the dressing:
3/4 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts
1/4 cup Sriracha hot sauce (less if you don’t love spicy)
1/4 cup lime juice (fresh is great, we buy the container for convenience)
2 tbs toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 medium garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
For the quinoa:
2 cups quinoa
1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/3 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 (14- to 16-ounce) package firm tofu
5 medium carrots
1 medium broccoli head
4 medium scallions
2 tablespoons avocado oil
For the dressing:
Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 1 minute. If you don’t have a food processor or don’t want to use it, I’ve also just swapped the peanuts for about 1/4 cup of peanut butter and whisked all the ingredients together for similar results.
For the quinoa:
Rinse the quinoa in a strainer under cold water until the water runs clear. (Even if your quinoa says its pre-rinsed, still rinse it! It will make it super fluffy and is so worth the extra step!
Place in a large saucepan; add the coconut milk, vegetable broth, and measured salt; and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the white outer casings on the quinoa have popped, revealing translucent little beads, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Next, drain the tofu with paper towels. (If you think of it ahead of time, drain and cut up a few hours before and put it back in the fridge.)
Trim the carrots and cut them into 1/4 inch-thick rounds; set aside. Cut the broccoli into 1-inch florets; set aside. Thinly slice the white and light green parts of the scallions; set aside.
When the quinoa is ready, put in a large serving bowl and set aside. Wash the saucepan, fill it with water, and season generously with salt. Cover with a tightfitting lid and bring to a boil over high heat.
Meanwhile, heat the avocado oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and cook without stirring until the bottoms are golden brown, about 5-6 minutes on each side. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Add the carrots to the boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove them to the bowl with the quinoa. Return the water to a boil, add the broccoli, and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and place in the bowl with the quinoa and carrots.
Add the cooked tofu, dressing, and scallions to the bowl and stir to combine.
Hello again. Yes, I’m baaaaack! I’m trying to keep up at this and not doing very well. Lately my favorite way to make dinner has been to google a few ingredients that I have/sound like they’d be good together and see what I come up with.
I had a pre-made flatbread to use so tonight I started off by searching “vegan pizza recipes” — I stumbled upon this: onegreenplanet.org/plant-based-recipes/caramelized-vegan-onion-tart-with-olives/ — While the pizza sounded good, I wasn’t quite feeling the vegan option so I searched “caramelized onions and gouda” and found this: epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Smoked-Gouda-and-Caramelized-Onion-Quesadillas-699.
I decided to combine the recipes and made my creation: Caramelized onion and mushroom pizza with balsamic glaze. I’m not a big olive eater but J loves them, so I added them on half the pizza.
Ingredients:
– Flatbread pizza crust (I like using Rustic Crust’s Organic Old World Flatbreads kind)
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 3 medium-sized sweet yellow onions, julienned
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 tsp sugar
– 5-10 pitted Kalamata olives (can omit if you prefer)
– 1 tsp garlic
– 2 cups Gouda cheese
– Handful of mushrooms
– 1/2-1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Start julienning the onions. They don’t have to be perfect, but try to at least get them all about the same thickness.
2. Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. While onions are sautéing, wash and cut up the mushrooms into slices. Add approximately 1 tsp of salt to the onions.
4. Keep sautéing the onions. After about 10 minutes, add 1 tsp of sugar. You may want to add more to get them extra caramelized.
5. At this point, push all the onions to one side of your pan and add the mushrooms and a TINY bit of olive oil. Sauté the mushrooms until soft and then stir into the onion mixture.
6. Once your oven is preheated, you may want to put your pizza crust in for a few minutes so it cooks completely once toppings are added. With my crust, I put it in for about 4 minutes.
7. Pour the balsamic vinegar into a separate pan and heat to medium heat. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Keep stirring to prevent it from burning. Balsamic will begin to reduce and turn into a glaze. Take off the heat once it thickens up.
8. Take your crust out of the oven (if you pre-cooked it) and start by putting a layer of gouda. Use about half of your cheese. Place the onion & mushroom mixture evenly on the pizza. Add the Kalamata olives. Add the last half of the gouda mixture.
9. Cook pizza per crust’s instructions or until the top is melted. Let cool & cut. Serve with reduced balsamic glaze on top.
YUM!
Now that I figured out the secret to tofu, I’ve been on a tofu kick. I’ve always wanted to try making a homemade “cajun tofuwich” like the ones they serve at NewPi. I could never figure out how to get the texture right, until now! I started by boiling my tofu per my new usual. After 5 minutes, I patted the tofu dry and cut it up into strips, which I then sauced. I baked the tofu in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. While the tofu baked, I sautéed some yellow onions to add to my sandwich.
NewPi’s description of the sandwich — Blackened organic tofu and pepperoncinis steamed and served on grilled Bakehouse sourdough bread with Vegenaise®, avocado, and tomatoes.
Since I didn’t have avocados or pepperoncinis, I just made a simple sandwich on a bun with sautéed onions. While it was a little more simple than theirs, it still tasted quite delicious. I can’t wait to make it again when I have some fresh sandwich bread, pepperoncinis and avocados.
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
3 tablespoons Frank’s Hot Sauce (If you need more sauce, add more Frank’s!)
1 package of extra firm tofu
1 yellow onion
sandwich bread
1. Bring the tofu to a boil in a covered saucepan. Remove cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Pat the tofu dry and cut into strips.
2. Cut up the onion into rings and sauté in some olive oil, mixing until they are soft and browned.
3. Mix all of the spices + mustard + Frank’s in a bowl.
4. Dip tofu strips into the sauce mixture and place onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes.
5. Place tofu and onions (and pepperoncinis and avocado if you have them!) on sandwich bread.
Serve and enjoy!
I’ve always loved the way tofu is prepared at restaurants but I’ve always found it difficult to make the same thing at home. Either the texture is off, it’s too crumbly, etc. Recently I tried a new recipe and figured out THE SECRET to great tofu. When I first read the recipe, I was a little bit worried. I usually spend half of my cooking time draining as much of the water out of it as I can. 36 paper towels later, and I have my smushed up block of tofu, ready to cook.
This recipe took a 180 degree turn. Instead of pressing all the tofu out, you put it in a pot of boiling water and simmer it for about 5 minutes. “Wait, what?!” You say? Yep. That was my initial response. But it turned out so great! For some reason, simmering it actually allows all the water to be extracted, so you get the great tofu texture you want. You can then either eat it like that or add some seasonings and bake it a little longer.
1. Bring tofu to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat with the lid on. Take the lid off and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the tofu and gently pat dry after it’s cooked.
2. Cut up the broccoli and sauté it in a pan with a small amount of olive oil.
3. Cook the rice as specified on rice container.
4. Meanwhile, whisk the garlic, scallion, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes and sugar in a bowl.
5. Layer a bowl with rice, broccoli and tofu. Spoon the sauce over the mixture.
adapted from this recipe
Well, almost an entire year has gone by without any posts. While I wanted to blog my pregnancy… it’s too late now! Baby has been born… and is already almost four months!
Jerad and I welcomed Finn Seven Ruth on Thursday, November 7th, 2013. He was 6 lbs, 10.8 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. He has changed our lives in so many ways, it’s hard to even describe. Taking care of him is the most rewarding and challenging job I’ve ever had, but I love it. I think the hardest thing lately has been trying to balance spending time with him, work, household chores and more. The longer I’ve been back at work, the more I want to be a stay at home mom. Unfortunately it’s just not in the cards for our family at the moment. Jerad is working hard to hopefully eventually make it a possibility.
We also recently welcomed our new nephew into the family. My sister-in-law, Haily and her husband Mitch, just had a baby boy on February 17. His name is Luke Cohen and he is super adorable. We got to meet him last Saturday… It was amazing to see the difference in how big and mature Finn has gotten in such a short amount of time. Mr. Finn looks gigantic next to Luke!
Jerad and I are getting excited for our trip to Florida coming up. It will be Finn’s first time in an airplane. I keep researching as much as I can so that we have the smoothest trip possible, but I’m sure there will be some speed bumps. Hopefully we survive! 🙂 We will be there for a full week, which will be awesome, but I’m already dreading having to leave Una in Iowa. She loves going to doggie camp, but I just miss her so much when we’re apart. She will always be my first born!
Hip Herbivore 