It's a Power Muffin kind of Day

Today is day 4 of Zach being gone. It is starting to feel longer than just a drill weekend… but we have be apart longer so this is nuthin right? I was hoping to post a post every night… not doing as well as I hoped. Ivy is all about the early mornings, and I am all about trying to nap… “Trying” is the key word. Like most however we just keep on keeping on.  

Today is a bit gloomy so during Ivy’s nap I decided to cook! I’m beginning to realize this blog is more about cooking and less about the other mog pog of things I was originally thinking. The photos I take of my food are not artsy or designed to make the food look perfect. I want to show what it will probably look like to the average cook. But I will put the pictures that inspired me so you also can get inspired!

I am very addicted to Pinterest right now, so I am trying to eat healthy using Pinterest inspired recipes! Please feel free to request a recipe of you would like me to take the plunge first!

Today’s recipe is brought to you by Domesticated Academic

 

Power Muffins

Makes 12 regular muffins (depending how full you pack your muffin tin)

Ingredients

• no-stick cooking spray or muffin liners
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup oats–quick or regular oats, plain
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces honey nonfat greek yogurt or 1 1/2 cups (Chobani)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

 

1. Heat oven to 350°.
2. Coat muffin tin with cooking spray or liners.
3. Combine flour, sugar, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
4. Combine yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla in a second bowl.
5. Fold yogurt mixture into dry mixture; stir to combine completely.
6. Gently fold in blueberries.
7. Spoon into muffin tins.
8. Bake until top is golden and springs back when you gently touch it, 20-25 minutes

 

My power muffins!

I found this recipe to relatively easy and delicious… I do however eat more than one in a single sitting… I love muffins, but I have a hard time knowing how much batter to put in each section. They always either way to low or overflowing, but with the batter being thicker than usual I was able to make them almost perfect.. With a few low ones. If you want a healthy muffin that’s not to sweet this is a great recipe! If you’re a person who’s not a fan of blueberry’s don’t be afraid to substitute a different berry!

Thanks for joining! Any questions or comments please let me know!       

Babys love salad!

Today is day 3 of Zach’s deployment, my day today was not very eventful. It turned into a late night last night and Ivy thought it would be great fun to wake up at 5am…. I’m trying to drink green tea rather than coffee, due to all of the extra health bonuses… which left me with a lovely headache..

After my power nap I did feel slightly livelier, so I put Ivy in the Baby Bjorn and put the leash on Chassi and we went for a nice stole around the neighborhood. Being outside always makes me feel better, I forget that some times. I really think we need to go on a camping trip! It has been way to long!

I planted my tomato plant today in that Topsy Turvy thing,

 I sure hope it works! You may be asking yourself why I don’t plant it in the yard, because I do have a yard now. Chassi (my dog) is a pit of a digger and if she want that plant it doesn’t stand a chance! So at the moment while she’s learning how to be in a yard, my tomatoes are going to have to try and grow upside-down. I also planted my rosemary seeds today in a mason jar. When they start growing I think I’ll trans plant them in the front yard. I will also take pics when its more then dirt in a jar. 

For my dinner tonight I found this great recipe on Pinterest   

 

Photo from The Diva Dish

Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

1 Cup dry quinoa

2 Cups Vegetable broth

2 Cups spinach

½ a bunch cilantro

1/4 Cup onion

2 cloves garlic

1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

1 ½ Cup cherry tomatoes cut in half

2 avocados diced

Dressing:

Juice of 2 lemons

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoons agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

1.     Make your quinoa first. Turn on the heat to medium high and let the quinoa come to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium/low and let quinoa simmer. Stir every so often, and cook quinoa for about 20-25 minutes just until the liquid absorbs. You don’t want it completely dried out, so when there is just a TINY amount of liquid left in the pot, remove it from heat and put a lid on it. Set it aside, and make the rest of the salad.

 

2.     In a food processor, add spinach, cilantro, onion, and garlic cloves  

 

3.     Process until they are finely diced. You can do this by hand as well if you don’t have a food processor.

 

4.     Add to a bowl, next add your chickpeas and stir until everything is combined and coated. If the quinoa is cooled, you can add it to the chickpea mixture.

 

 

5.     Make your dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. Pour over salad, and mix until combined. Add in tomatoes and avocado and mix. Set in fridge for about 10-15 minutes before serving so the flavors set.

 

 I was going to take a nicer pic but Ivy really wanted to be in it!

 

I thought that this was a delicious salad, and very healthy! Ivy seems to like it too! It took a little bit of prep time, and if you don’t have a food processor it will take much more, but it is very refreshing for the summer. I was also surprised by how quickly it filled me up! It can sometimes take a lot to fill me up, I mean I’ve been known to eat a whole box of cheez-itz in one sitting…

Thanks for visiting! If you have any questions or comments please let me know! Or if there is a recipe you would like me to make, don't be afraid to ask!

Farmers Market and A Strawberry Log

Today is day 2 of Zach being gone, and it's Saturday so Ivy and I headed up to the Sunrise Mall Farmers Market! My father in law, David, has a booth up there and I always love going to the Farmers Market! David sells grass fed Beef at the JV Ranch booth. Fun fact: the ranch has been in the family for well over 100 years! At the moment it’s looking like Zach and I will get it when David is done with it.

Ivy and Grandpa David

 

While I was at the farmers market I bought a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies, I also bought a tomato plant to put a

Topsy Turvy that I found up at the ranch.

I hope it works! I also bought  an oregano plant, I’m trying to grow my own herbs because they can get so expensive in the store! I bought rosemary seeds the other day that I will plant tomorrow!

 

Update on the No Excuse Workout from yesterday, I actually felt it today! Who would of guessed that a 6 minute workout could do that much! I am defiantly keeping up with this!

I didn’t end up cooking or baking anything today, but I do have a great summer dessert recipe that I made a few weeks ago that Zach says “O my gosh this is the best dessert you’ve ever made!) I decided not to make the cake from scratch because with my little one I don’t always have that much time, and it takes A LOT of egg whites!

This is the beautiful Picture from browneyedbaker

 

Angel Food Cake Log

  Ingredients

1 package (16 ounces) angel food cake mix, plus ingredients to prepare mix

The Filling:
2 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled
6 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups diced strawberries

Powdered sugar, for dusting top of cake (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. line bottom of 15x10 inch jelly-roll pan with waxed paper. Prepare cake mix according to package directions; pour evenly into prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes or until cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched. Cool on wire rack 15 minutes.  

2. Place clean kitchen towel on flat surface. Sift ¼ cup powdered sugar over towel; flip the cake onto the towel. Gently peel off waxed paper. Roll up cake in the towel jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Cool completely, seam side down, on a wire rack.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the cream on medium speed until it begins to thicken. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; increase the speed to medium-high and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the strawberries. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

5. Unroll cooled cake; spread filling to within ½-inch of edges (you will have some filling leftover). Roll up again. Place seam side down on a serving plate; sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired. Serve with any leftover strawberries and cream filling. Store leftovers, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.

My finished product!

This recipe is adapted from The cake mix bible and  The Brown Eyed Backer.

This was a relatively easy dessert that definitely has a wow factor! I am no dubitably making this again, maybe if we ever have a house worming party... I was not even hard to make it look like the original photo!

Any Questions or comments feel free to post and I will get back to you ASAP! I am also more then happy to help walk you though this if the instructions are not enough. Hope you all have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

6 min workout and Chickpeas

Today is the day that Zach left for his mini deployment, the reason I say mini would be because, he is still in the US and it is (hopefully) for a month. I don't want to compare it to the long overseas deployments. Although this will be the longest that we have ever been apart.

With that all said, after almost a year hiatus I am going to try the blog again! (Wish me luck!) When I started last time my computer broke the day I started and a few months later we welcomed little Miss Ivy into the world! Now Ivy is 8months old, and goes to bed at about 7pm every night, no idea how I lucked out with that!

I have decided that while Zach is gone I am going to try and shed some of the excess baby weight! With Pinterest at my fingertips, I have high hopes! I will admit however today started as a lazy day… My soldier had to be out of the house at like 3:30am, so I was a bit on the sleepy side…

 

This afternoon however was slightly more productive. I found this great Excuse Proof Workout click on the link for more detailed instructions!  

 

It even worked up a lil sweet! I think I will do it again before bed! Motivation here I come!

For a snack today I made Roasted Chickpeas, I went to Costco the other day and bought a case of chickpeas sooo this was a great thing for me to make! I decided to go with the Parmesan and garlic because I am a sucker for cheese... and garlic...  I had all the ingredients on hand, which made it that much more perfect! I even have Annie's Naturals Roasted Garlic Olive Oil, which is AMAZING!!

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or about 4 cups cooked chickpeas from dried beans
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• seasonings of your choice (see below for suggestions)
  

Directions

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Prepare the beans for roasting by draining and rinsing them, then letting them dry on a towel until most of the excess moisture is absorbed. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Roast the chickpeas in the oven for 45-60 minutes or until the beans are crunchy throughout (just test one- if they are still mostly soft on the inside and there’s no crunch, keep baking).
3. Immediately (while beans are still hot), toss with olive oil and seasonings. Serve hot or at room temperature. They are best the first day, but can be kept in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Seasoning Suggestions (add more or less if you like, these are just guidelines)

1. Sesame Soy- 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2. Honey Cinnamon- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 2 tablespoons honey (you can throw these back in the oven for 10-15 minutes to carmelize if you like)
3. Garlic Parmesan- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4. Smoky Spice Blend- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, pinch cayenne (optional)

I am Excited to try some of the other flavors!
Here are photos of my finished product.

I thought that these were easy to make, the cook time for me took over an hour, but I have a questionable oven so there is a high probability it wont take as long for others. I think I will try some of the other flavors because I am always eating snacks and I really need healthy ones! I think it might even be good on a salad. 

If you have any questions or comments please let me know! I also have a board on my Pinterest page that has food that I have actually made, some are fantastic others not so much... If you have any recipes you would like me to try let me know! Thanks for visiting!
~Tarcy    

Chile

Todays conquest was chili! You may be asking yourself why someone would make chili in the summer? My answer: don't ask questions that don't have answers! honestly iv never been good at cooking things that are right for the season... I had dried kidney beans and ground beef, so what else would someone make? The recipe I used is from the back of the market pantry bag of dried kidney beans (target brand.)

The biggest problem with this was the kidney beans! First of all the quick way to soften the beans was a flop! So I let them soak over night then you have to let them boil for one to two hours! I recommend the caned beans! Don't worry ill give you the recipe at the end.

This was an easy recipe, altho it was slightly time consuming.

The flavor was good, altho if your a fan of spicy I would highly recommend adding some hot sauce or something. Being pregnet I can't currently do spicy so this was perfect for me! Zach thought there needed to be more beef, I'll probably add more tomorrow. To top it off we put some sour cream and cheddar cheese! And who can have chili without corn bread? Not me! The recipe for corn bread muffins is on the next post.

Good luck! Any questions or comments please feel to let me know!

Easy bread

Like many young couples who are starting a family, money is not always on our side... So we do things to help save. We share a car, I don't currently have a job so most days Zach has it, and it works great.

Today however we were all out of bread, and I really wanted a sandwich! For those of you who don't know I'm 7 months pregnant, so me walking to the store on a 90+ degree day just isn't going to happen! So I went on a quest to find a bread recipe, that I had all the ingredients for. I'm not an experienced bread maker in the least so when I found one that was called: "Super Easy Bread for Beginners" I knew this would be a winner! I found this recipe at:
http://breadbaking.about.com/od/yeastbreads/r/1loafbread.htm

First off the things I had to change: I didn't have white sugar, so I used brown sugar, currently from what I've found it works just the same. I also don't own shortening, but I found that equal parts butter works (if it's a higher quantity of butter reduce the salt.)

Now the big question, how did it taste? We thought it was great! Don't get me wrong, it's not some amazing bread with herbs or cheese or something, but it's fresh bread! It probably cost less then $2.00 to make, and any one can do it. Another great thing about making bread is that you have to kneed it (also means punch it) which is a great way to relive stress!

Would I change it? I think that would defeat the point of this recipe. It is meant to be easy so I would keep it how it is.

Any questions or comments please let me know!

4th of July cake

Being that today is the 4th of July and Zach is in the military I thought I would make something festive! I decided I would make a cake that looks like the flag. I found my inspiration at the Foodnetwork web site (link at the bottom). What makes this cake great is that it's really not hard to make and it looks awesome! It is also made in a jelly role pan, so no worries on it rising right and how to transport it, or anything like that! I wouldn't normally change a recipe before I've tried it, but today that just had to happen. It stated with Target not having raspberries, not a big deal I used strawberries.

Now it was time to start, I had my music playing, just took the dog out, all was right in the world! Then I realized I only had a cup and a half of sugar, the recipe called for three... I know your probably thinking what kind of cook runs out of sugar?! First of all I'm just an at home cook, not a formal one. Second I just assumed I had enough and didn't bother checking (always check what you have before you start it will save you a lot of undue stress). Now the big question what is one to do in a situation like this? I substituted it with brown sugar, it seemed to work just fine. Some of the supplies this recipe needed I also had to edit slightly, I currently don't have a stand mixer so I used my hand mixer. I also don't have pastry bags, so I used a zip lock bag and cut a little hole in the corner and used the star shaped pastry tip. Personally, I really like the cream cheese frosting, however it's far from healthy... Due to the butter it's an off white color, I didn't mind and once you put the fruit on you notice it even less.

Now for the most important part, how was the flavor? I thought it was ok, nothing amazing. We put more strawberries on it. It's great for a group though. Some of my untested ideas would be to make it with banana bread, or carrot cake. Not only would you get more flavor, but you would also get some health benefits. The problem would be the rising factor...
Hope you had a fun filed 4th! Any questions or comments please let me know!

Flag cake