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Healthy & Hearty Mushroom Stew

January 12, 2015

Bring on 2015 and a fresh start!

I love the new year. It’s a chance to start over. To resolve to better yourself. And if you don’t like to make resolutions then just enjoy that you are just getting closer and closer to warmer weather, which is what I live for.

This year I’ve resolved to eat ‘smarter’. I am on a mission to be more conscious about what I eat and how much. I’ve lost a lot of weight over the last year and I would like to loose another 15 or pounds before our wedding in June. But even aside from that I want to be more careful about what I put into my body and be more considerate regarding how it could potentially negatively effect how my body feels.

We’re about 2 weeks into the new year and so far so good. I have my moments when I eat a cookie but then I try to balance the sweet out with more paleo meals or salads. I’m just hoping to keep this up and settle in on something that feels good and is good for me.

Lately, I’ve noticed that I keep seeing an old New York Times article getting shared and shared over and over again on Facebook. I think it has to do with the New Year as people are looking for some insight to a better life in the new year.

The article talks of how the people on these Greek island live significantly longer than most people, it’s known as “The Island Where People Forget to Die”. People are reaching their 80’s, 90’s and even to 100 at a greater rate than the rest of the world. They are not immune to cancer and other illnesses exactly, but if the are living longer than other cultures before getting ill.

They live their lives at a different pace than the rest of the world. They enjoy slower days that are filled with friends and families while they tend to their gardens and livestock. The food that they harvest is the focal point of the meals. Fruits, vegetables, and beans are diet staples, as well as goat and fish. Rich olive oils and red wine are, of course, enjoyed as well.

But if you don’t live on Ikaria and want you experience some of their cooking yourself then get the Ikaria: Lessons on Food, Life, and Longevity from the Greek Island Where People Forget to Die cookbook by Diane Kochilas. Kochila divides her time between New York and Irakia, her family’s ancestral island. She has first hand experience cooking the foods native to the famous Greek island. She has foraged for mushrooms, dried vegetables, and made cheese, which she has made into incredible meals.

This cookbook shares the foods of the people living on Ikaria in a creative way by mixing in story telling with the recipes. And photos too!! The recipes are focused on Mezedes, which are small plates that are perfect for snacking while catching up with a friend, salads, soups, beans and legumes, meats, and fish. There are some sweet treats in there too. (I swear that one day I’ll make Loukoumades!)

There were so many recipes that I tagged to make but the one that first jumped out to me was the Mushroom Stew as I wanted something comforting for the cold weather. It was a perfect pick!

The stew is easy to prep, I think it took me just a few minutes to cut up the onions and while they were cooking I sliced kale into very thin ribbons. And as that was cooking I sliced the mushrooms. Super simple.

The recipe calls for red wine but if you don’t want to use it or have it on hand then feel free to substitute in beef broth. Skip the wine and it will be a great Whole 30 meal. Yum!

The Mushroom Stew is healthy and hearty. It’s rich tasting but not rich for you. The flavors are earthy and it has great texture. It’s great served with mashed potatoes, rice, freekeh, or crusty bread. Just be sure to have something to absorb the flavorful broth.

Embrace the ingredients, recipes, and lifestyle of the people Ikaria and you’ll live a long and happy life. Oh, so you can’t take midday naps? Well, at least make this amazing Mushroom Stew! Enjoy!

Healthy & Hearty Mushroom Stew

Makes 4 generous servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds (750 grams) mixed mushrooms, such as white button, oyster, boletus, porcini, chanterelles, portobellos,
1/4 Cup Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 large red onions, coarsely shopped (yields approximately 2 Cups)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1-2 pounds sweet greens, such as chard, spinach sweet dandelions, sweet sorrel, kale, and/or wile fennel (optional)
1/2 Cup dry red wine, or beef broth
1 Cup chopped canned tomatoes
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
pinch of ground allspice
3 or 4 sprigs fresh or dried oregano
3 sprigs fresh or dried thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Process

Slice the mushrooms, into 1/4″ thick slices, as needed, depending on the size of the mushroom.
In a very large, wide pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Add the onion once the oil is shimmery. Cook until translucent and soft, about 6 minutes. Stir a bit so they don’t brown.
Add the greens, and cook for about 8-10 minutes until they are wilted.
Add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes to soften. Add the red wine and bring to a boil.
Add the canned tomatoes, red wine vinegar, bay leaves, all spice, oregano, and the salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, until everything is tender.
Enjoy with rice, mashed potatoes, freekeh, quinoa, or slices of toasted bread that has been drizzled with olive oil. A glass of red wine doesn’t hurt either!

Sourced from Ikaria: Lessons on Food, Life, and Longevity from the Greek Island Where People Forget to Die

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While I received this complimentary cookbook for review, all opinions are my own.

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Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

December 29, 2014

The year is winding down. Just a few days to go!! I just can’t believe it. Time is flying.

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Sure, sure, I can comment on how fast Autumn is growing but the real thing that ‘gets’ me is that the show Friends has been off the air for 10 years. And that it started 20 years ago. OMG.

That is just too much for my brain to comprehend. I mean, I still watch Friends A LOT.

I can tell you the story-line just by hearing the title of the episode... all of which start with “The One Where…”

I know random factoids about the show. I know silly little things about the cast, characters, and the show. I will kick some butt at Friends trivia. Kick butt!

I pride myself on that fact that I can quote a lot of it. “They don’t know, we know, they know!”

Anyway, when I was making these Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups, I remembered that Rolos are Joey’s favorite candy. Loved them so much that he ate them all over the apartment, including in his recliner, Rosita. I’m sure that he would love these babies.

I suggest that you make these guys for a party or cookie exchange as you get a lot from a batch. 60 cookies in fact! Hey, just invite Joey Tribbiani over. He will help you eat all these cookies. Or just eat them all yourself. I don’t judge.

These cookies are super simple to make. I actually had Autumn help me. She helped push some of the Rolos in the cookies. Aww! Anyway, the only thing that is ‘tricky’ about the cookies is that you need to wait until they are completely cooled before taking them out of the muffin tin. If you rush it the cookies will break apart or collapse in on itself. I ending up putting mine in the refrigerator for a bit so they were really cool before running my knife around them and just popping them out. I just put the chilled cookies in the microwave and nuked them for bout 15 seconds to get ooey gooey again. yum!!

So, enjoy some of these Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups while watching your favorite Friend’s episode.

What’s my favorite episode? ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!!

Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

Makes 60 cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 Cup (2 sticks) butter
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 Cups mini chocolate chips
60 Rolos (you’ll need 2 12oz bags)

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini cupcake cookie tins with non-stick cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels.
Spray your hands with cooking spray. Pinch off the dough to create balls just bigger than 1″ around. Roll in your hands and drop into your cupcake tins.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are set and golden brown.
While the cookie cups are baking, remove the wrappers off the Rolos.
As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, place a Rolo in the center of each cookie cup. Let cool, you may chill in your refrigerator to speed up the process. (If you remove the cookie cups while warm they will break apart and collapse.)

Cookie dough adapted from Nestle

Brown Butter Sea Salt Cookies

December 15, 2014

I love cookie season!!!!!!!

This is cookie season right? Let’s go with it. It’s basically the only thing I like about winter.

I just love the variety of it all. Cake it great but you can’t eat 4 slices of different cakes without someone raising some concern for your well being. But eat 4 cookies, eh not so horrible.

So that is exactly why I was so excited for the First Annual Cookie Carnival from Secret Recipe Club. I’ve had so much fun with my monthly Secret Recipe Club posts the I knew this cookie themed post would be a blast. It’s just a blast to try a new recipe, especially cookies.

I was given Kates’s blog, A Spoonful of Thyme. I checked out her recipe index, which boasted plenty of cookie recipes. I checked them all out but the one that caught my eye was her Brown Butter Sea Salt Cookies.

I made browned butter recently and now I want to browned butter all the things. So I was gavitated to this recipe. Plus, Kate kinda put up a challenge for the recipe as she felt it could use some tweaking as it wasn’t as sweet as she preferred and a bit to dry. Of course, I wanted to give it a try then. I figured I would play around with it, like I do with more recipes anyway, and see what resulted.

I amped up the butter amount from 1 1/2 sticks to 2 sticks since she thought they were too dry. Plus, instead of browning both sticks up butter I would just brown 1 stick and cream the other stick of butter with the sugar, before adding in the browned butter. That would keep great browned butter flavor, but lighten up the texture.

Next I added more sugar to the original recipe. I noticed the recipe called for 1/2 Cup of browned sugar, but most cookie recipes I see use more so I added some more granulated sugar to help sweeten things up.

While I didn’t have the bakery cookies that inspired Kate to make her own, I can say that these are kick butt cookies. They are buttery, tender, crumbly, and totally amped up from the seat salt sprinkled on top.

I brought these into my office to share and they were a huge hit. I would love it for Kate to try out how I adapted her recipe and see what she thinks of it.

Brown Butter Sea Salt Cookies

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks of butter
1/2 Cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 Cup sugar
1 teaspoonp vanilla extract
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Sea Salt for sprinkling

Process

Using 1 stick of butter, make the browned butter following these directions. Let cool.
Cream the other stick of butter with the brown sugar and vanilla extract. When that is light anf fluffy, pour the brown butterand mix to incorporate again.
In a small bowl whisk together the flour and the baking soda. Add to the butter and sugar mixture and mix. The dough will be slightly crumbly.
Roll the cookies into 1″ balls and sprinkle with sea salt. Press the top of the cookies lightly- to shape and help the salt stick. Let chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325° F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper/silpat. Arrange the cookies on the baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Overcooking will make them dry and crumbly. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes prior to removing.

Adapted from A Spoonful of Thyme

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There are TONS of Secret Recipe Club members posting cookie recipes today. Check them out!!!

How to Make Perfect Brown Butter

December 11, 2014

Do you remember that moment when something just clicked for you? It was like the stars aligned.

Like when you were learning to ride a bike and then all of a sudden you got it? Or when you were practicing a piece of music and you played it through without any mistakes?

That is what I felt like when I made brown butter for the first time. Exactly that.

Everything else before then had been practice and okay, but once I made browned butter things were so much better. There was a richer flavor to things that just brought things to life. Cookies! Rice Krispie Treats! Pan Sauces! Pastries! Pies! Mashed Potatoes!

I basically want to use brown butter in ALL THE THINGS.

Side note: is it Browned Butter or Brown Butter? I’ve seen it both ways. I dunno.

Anyway, it’s so super simple to make that you will be kicking yourself that you didn’t make it earlier.

Let me walk you through the process…

Cut your butter into small pieces. This helps the butter melt evenly.

Over medium low heat, slowly melt the butter.

Once the butter has completely melted, turn the heat up slightly and begin to whisk it. Whisk the butter while it boils and gets frothy. Just don’t stop whisking it as it can easily burn.

The butter will start to turn a light golden color. It’s really important to keep a close eye on it can easily and quickly go from toasted, golden perfection to burned butter that you are tossing in the trash. If you’re phone rings while you are doing this… just ignore it. Call them back.

The process will be complete when the butter of a light brown color and the solids in the bottom of the saucepan are brown as well. Immediately pour into another heat proof container once the bits at the bottle of the saucepan are a light brown color.

And that’s it!!

Seriously, give it a try and head over to Pinterest and look up all the delicious recipes that use brown butter. You will love it!

Brown Butter

Ingredients

Butter- any quanity will do. I typically do it in half or whole stick incriments

Process

Slice the butter into thin pieces.
Add to a saucepan and melt over low heat.
Once the butter has melted, turn the heat up slightly and begin to whisk.
The butter will begin to bubble, just remain whisking. The butter will then get frothy on top, again, remain whisking.
The butter will start to turn a light golden color. Keep whisking while being cautious as the butter will continue to darken and then quickly burn.
Remove from the heat and pour into another heat proof container once the bits at the bottle of the saucepan are a light brown color.
Cool per the recipe that you are using the brown butter in or store in the refrigerator until needed.

Chocolate Mint Chip Sandwich Cookies

December 9, 2014

I’ve put in my time off requests for the holidays (and for our upcoming cruise in January)!! Once it was all signed off (by 4 diferent people) I almost danced around the office.

I am taking Christmas week off for some ME time… lots of PJ wearing, garlic noodle making, You’ve Got Mail watching, with some scrapbooking in the mix. Damn, I really miss scrapbooking. I could have a sob fest about it right now, but I will soilder on and focus on how I get 2 whole days to myself (the others will be with Miss Autumn) to make a mess with pictures, washi tape, stamps, and such. Bliss.

In the 9 days from when I leave work to return from the holidays I’m sure I’ll do some baking as well. Or plan on it and maybe I’ll just scrapbook instead. I dunno. I’m trying to stay quite focused on that so that I can zen out while I watch Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan exchange witty emails back and forth while I work on our 2014 project life.

I am thinking about making these babies again though. They are perfect. Minty. Chocoately. They scream winter to me. And there is plenty of minty frosting smack dab in btween 2 cookies. Aren’t cookie sandwiches the best?

I have a funny story about making these cookies.

It involves a thief (Price) who snagged a cookie while they were cooling before I had put a generious amount of frosting between the paired off cookies. So when I was a nearly done with the sandwiching, I noticed I was off. I searched the counter. I recounted. I looked on the dining table. A cookie was missing. I knew had made 13 pairs. And then I asked…

“Yeah, I took a cookie. Why?”

UGH!!! And that is why you must notify other thieves in your house when making sandwich cookies. ha!

I’m starting to think that all cookies should come in pairs with frosting in between. The world needs more cookie sandwiches. Def.

I brought they babies into work to share so I cut them up. They cut in half pretty easily as the cookies are delightfully soft, and yet dense to hold up to the frosting filling.

If you don’t feel like making sandwiches cookies then at least the cookies since they are so Christmasy good.

What are you doing for the holidays? Any movie marahons? Crafting? Cooking and baking? Traveling? Stuffing your face with cookie sandwiches and spiked nog?

Chocolate Mint Chip Sandwich Cookies

Makes 12-13 Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients

For the Cookies

2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 Cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (10-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels

For the frosting

1/2 Cup butter, at room temperature
4 Cups of powered sugar
10-12 drops green food coloring
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1-2 Tablespoons milk

Process

To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper/ use a silpat.
Wisk the flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a bowl to combine. Set aside.
Combine the butter and sugars in bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the sugar mixture and beat until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until a dough as formed. Once the dough has combined add in the minty chocolate chips and continue to mix.
Divide the dough in half. From each half, scoop out even sized cookies until you have made 12 or 13 cookies (24 or 26 total).
Bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove cookie sheets from oven when the center of the cookie is still soft to the touch. Let cool and set up for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet prior to removing.
While the cookies are baking, make the sandwich cookie filling by beating the butter until light in color and fluffy in texture. Add the powdered sugar in small amounts and beat until combined. Add the food coloring, and extract. Add a bit of milk until you have reached your desired consistency, which should be thick but spreadable.
Once the cookies have cooled completely, put a big dollop or pipe the frosting on the underside of a cookie. Add another cookie to sandwich it off.

Quick Apple and Pecan Cinnamon Swirl Cake Bars

November 25, 2014

I always told myself that I’d never have a fake Christmas tree.

It just didn’t jive with me. I couldn’t imagine not going to buy one and the smell. Oh, the smell is the best part!

But…

…

Pillowy Cream Cheesy Chocolate Chip Cookies

October 29, 2014

I have a project under construction that is in Miami that I needed to visit so I just ‘dragged’ Price and Autumn along with me this past weekend. Friday was a work day for me and the weather was down right crummy, but the weekend was beautiful so the trip was totally worth it.

Since I was working, Price and Autumn hung around the hotel in the morning and then they went to the Miami Children’s Museum in the afternoon. It was so cute to see their pics pop up on my phone while I was taking pics of stone tiles. Let me tell you, it’s a wee bit stressful to have to select pallets of stone tiles when each tile is about $120 each!! Anyway, Price suggests taking kids to the museum, it’s pretty cool.

After my site review, construction meeting, and nerve wrecking tile selection, the fun began for the weekend!! The weather got better and better so we got to enjoy the pool on Saturday. We took dips in the pool and splashed around with Autumn. And then while she took her afternoon nap in the room I snuck away for some solo lounge time!

I was initially really bummed that we didn’t go to Miami Beach but once we figured out the logics of getting from the hotel Downtown to the beach associated with the hotel (25 mins each way for a cab/1 hr each way on public transportation) and the cost (~$50 round trip for cabs & $15 per chair & umbrella), it was very clear that we made the right decision to stay at the hotel.

Plus, it gave us a chance to hang out on the hammocks, we couldn’t have done at the beach. I put Autumn in one and at first she was spooked but then she relaxed and settled in. Within just a few minutes her eyes began to flutter so I hopped in a different one and Price brought her to me and we snuggled while she (we) slept for about an hour. Pure bliss I tell you!!

Speaking of bliss… these cookies!

I’ve been recently making chocolate chip cookies with cream cheese since I had a 1/2 of an 8 oz block left over that was begging for me to use it in something. I was craving chocolate chip cookies and when I went to grab the butter out of the fridge I saw the cream cheese and figure ‘hey, why not!?’ I had made a 1/2 batch of cookies then since I knew I would have inhaled them all so the proportion worked out perfectly. Since then I’ve scaled back up to a full batch of cookies and a full 8 oz block of cream cheese.

The cream cheese just adds a bit of tang to the cookie, which goes well with the semi sweet chocolate chips. And since you don’t completely mix it in you get some streaks of it in the cookie which changes up the texture, but in a really good way. They are still super soft and not dense so they hold up their fluffy texture well, making them pillowy. I suggest eating them hot from the oven- well that holds true with any cookie, no? But they will last up to 2 days in an air-tight contianer.

PS- Sprinkle a tiny bit of sea salt on the top right before baking and it will knock your socks off.

Pillowy Cream Cheesy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 32 Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups chocolate chips

Process

Preheat oven to 375° F.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
Beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cream cheese and beat until just incorporated, it’s okay if it’s a bit streaky. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Add the chocolate chips.
Drop heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased non-stick baking sheets or onto non-stick baking mats.
Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Copy Cat Almond Joy’s- SRC

May 26, 2014

Yay! Today is Memorial Day!

We are sticking home today to hang out, cross some things off the to do list, and grill. We made steak last night so I think some hot dogs for lunch and chicken for dinner. Autumn even had her own piece of steak (not seasoned, well done) that she sucked on and then dropped for the dog. I swear I try to grab what she is about to do but she is sneaky. And when she isn’t dropping him food she hangs a hand over the edge for him to lick. Those two are going to be trouble as she grows up. It’s going to be too cute! And a bit awful!!

Anyway, we did some crafty stuff for our room yesterday and we’re going to do some stuff for her room today. I have most of the elements together for a gallery wall for her so I am going to put it up while mapping out some place holders for the 2 little canvases I am going to order. I just love to be able to create something new for our house. I only wish we did it more often.

Anyway, May has sped by and it’s now time for this month’s Secret Recipe Club post I was given the blog Sew You Think You Can Cook. Lauren shares recipes on her blog that she makes when she is not busy with quilting scrapbooking, and cross stitch. When she is not cooking and crafting she is an aerospace engineer… hello smarty! Sounds like a cool profession says the person who pulls out a calculator to figure out a tip. ha!

While I was eyeing a few of her savory recipes, like the Vineyard Chicken, her homemade Almond Joy bars jumped out to me. I hadn’t made candy in the awhile and never a candy bar like this. I was up for the little challenge!

I really suggest using a stand mixer to make these Almond Joy’s. The mixture is sticky and would require a bit of muscle so I think it’s best to use the stand mixer so you knew you evenly mixed everything together. If you need a workout then be sure to just a greased bowl and a wooden spoon. Assembling the bars is a breeze. The trickest part is the chocolate part. I never have much luck coating candy evenly, and neither did Lauren, so I decided just to coat the tops. If you are a pro at coating candy then feel free to do that instead, you’ll just need more chocolate.

So a big thanks to Lauren for such a wonderful recipe. As well, a very special thanks on this Memorial Day to her and her husband, who is in the Air Force!!!

Copy Cat Almond Joy’s

Makes 24 candy bars

Ingredients

10 ounces sweetened condensed milk
2 1/2 Cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt
3 Cup sweetened shredded coconut
48 whole salted almonds
8 ounces of milk chocolate

Process

Line an 8″ x 8″ baking pan with aluminum foil. Then spray the lined pan with cooking spray.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, pour the condensed milk and half of the sugar. Using the paddle attachment, beat until combined. Then add the remaining sugar and beat.
Add in the vanilla extract and salt then beat for another minute until really whipped.
In one large batch, add in shredded coconut and beat together until the coconut evenly coated with the condensed milk mixture
Using greased hands, press the coconut mixture into an even layer in the lined baking pan. Score the candy bars by dividing the pan in 3 pieces in one direction. Then rotate the pan and score it into 8 equal pieces in that direction. Place 2 almonds onto each candy bar.
Freeze for at least 30 minutes.
While the bars are still in the pan, completely cut through where you had previously scored the candy bars.
Melt the chocolate and then evenly pour it over the bars. Let cool complete prior to removing the liner from the pan. Gently flip the candy over onto a cutting board. Cut out each candy bar by cutting through the chocolate at each location where you had cut through the candy previously.

Adaped from Sew You Think You Can Cook

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Check out my 2 years of Secret Recipe Club posts!!!!

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Satisfying my Sweet Tooth with Yasso

May 8, 2014

Have you heard of Yasso?

If not then you are missing out!!

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Ever since I was pregnant I’ve been craving sugar. Lots and lots of sugar. But the thing is I don’t want to gain tons of weight stuffing my face with cookies. I took that approach while pregnant, which is why one day I ate 6 peaches. It paid off since I only gained 15 pounds. And since then I’ve tried to moderate what I eat so all the weight I’ve lost since then doesn’t come back. I’ve had my moments with pie but for the most part I grab something that is healthy that satisifies my sugar craving.

That is where Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt Novelty Treats come in!

Yasso Frozen Treats_03

These frozen Greek yogurt treats come in creative flavors like strawberry, coconut, and raspberry dark chocolate. They have a slight tang from the Greek Yogurt but the sweetness from the flavors really shines through. These are not your usual ice cream treats, these are a more adult and contemporary dessert fit for adult summer parties or a nice picnic at the beach.

There are 5 new flavors that just came out this spring. They released Mint Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Fudge, Dark Chocolate Raspberry, Sea Salt Caramel, and Peanut Butter Cup. Each of the three flavors we tried had its own unique flavor and even, dare I say, design.

The Sea Salt Caramel had a delicious swirl surrounded by the signature Greek yogurt so each lick has both contrasting flavors. The sea salt and caramel creates a rich texture with the melting yogurt.

This pop is fat free and is only 100 calories! That is a guilt-free treat! Especially since it has 6 grams of protein.

Mint Chocolate Chip has bits of chocolate throughout the bar. The mint flavor is inside the greek yogurt so each bite has a hint of mint and perhaps a piece of chocolate.

The Mint Chocolate Chip is low- fat with only 1.5 grams of fat. As well it is just 100 calories and has 6 grams of protein. The best is that it just has 13 grams of sugar. This is far less than some other low-fat, low-calorie frozen treats.

The Peanut Butter Cup has the contrast of the savory peanut butter inside the Greek yogurt bar and a coating of sweet chocolate. It appears hand dipped which is rare for cold sweet treat you find in the frozen section of your local grocer. The flavor contract of peanut, Greek yogurt and chocolate is wonderful on the palette.

These treats are only 130 calories and just have 6 grams of fat. Definitely not bad for a treat with peanut butter! Plus, it’s made with without any artificial sweeteners and only all natural ingredients. Yum!!

Yasso Frozen Treats_11

For a more sophisticated approach to sweet treats, try Yasso. While each Greek yogurt pop has its own individual character and approach each has one signature ingredient that sets it apart from every other sweet dessert. The Greek yogurt is not the usual vanilla ice cream with a high intensity of sweetness and added topping which make it more sweet, instead the yogurt has a tang, almost savory flavor that allows the additional flavor and topping to be expressed while the yogurt binds it together. Each aspect allows each other to shine.

Be sure to add Yasso’s Frozen Greek Yogurt Treats to your cart the next time you are out grocery shopping. You can locate each flavor by using their awesome, easy to use search system. You won’t be disapointed!

**While I received complimentary product from Yasso, these opinions are entirely my own.**

Kentucky Derby Chocolate Walnut Pie

May 2, 2014

This time last year Price and I were visiting his family back in central New York so we could attend his niece’s Christening. And we just happened to enjoy watching the Kentucky Derby there as well. It was so much fun with the big group of us cheering on the horses kick up lots of mud. Plus, Price won the money in the pool in the super competitive pick-a-piece-of-paper-with-a-name-on-it game. (Thanks Orb!!)

While there we also did the fun game of “pass the drink”. It was still early on in my pregnancy so we didn’t want to share the news just yet so we were trying to act normal so no one would suspect anything. So Price would drink his beer and I would hold on to a beer then we would each out our beers down and swap so it would look like I had been drinking. We did this over and over until our beers would run out and I’d say that I was getting ‘us’ new beers. ha!

Well now I’m able to enjoy a fun bevie every now and then so I am ready to enjoy one tomorrow while we watch the Kentucky Derby. And while enjoying a Mint Julep I can enjoy some Kentucky Derby Pie.

The offical Derby Pie recipe is Top Secret! (And the name is even trademarked too!) So this is a version that is close to the pie that the Kern family created and has made ever since.

This pie is very similar to the Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie I made back in January. But with Bourbon!!!! Oh man, I L-O-V-E Bourbon. I actually missed white wine and bourbon the most while I was pregnant. The bottles of bourbon I had on hand just sat there collecting dust. So sad! But now I can enjoy making Kentucky Mules again with my favorites, Woodford Reserve and Bulleit Bourbon.

I bet you have all of the ingredients for this pie at home and it only takes about 10 minutes to mix together so you better make one to enjoy while watching the Kentucky Derby.

Kentucky Derby Chocolate Walnut Pie

Makes a 9″ pie

Ingredients

1 9″ pie crust
1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons Kentucky bourbon
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the 9″ pie crust in the pie plate.
Combine flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat in the eggs and butter. Stir in the bourbon, walnuts, chocolate chips, vanilla, and salt.
Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie crust.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

Sightly adapted from American Food

Our Babymoon at Hawks Cay Resort, Duck Key, FL- Review

April 30, 2014

Do you know what happens when you have a baby? You get Mommy Brain (I swear it’s a thing- don’t argue with me!) and forget that you drafted this whole post about your babymoon. Thankfully, when your mom is visiting you, giving you some free time to do some blog housekeeping, you discover the draft (and a few others) sitting there, just waiting to be published. So that is exactly why I am sharing this babymoon recap 5 1/2 months after Autumn was born… derp…

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When Price and I were looking around for places to go for our Babymoon we eyes places where we could get a nice tan since we needed some fun in the sun! Plus my Dr’s advised that we should stay in the U.S. incase anything happened, like pre-term labor. While that would be stressful, dealing with the baby’s omphalocele would make things extra complciated. So we eneded up focusing on Florida, The Sunshine State!

Price then found a great deal through Jet Blue. We like flying Jet Blue so he was checking out their vacation packages and found a great one including our flights, hotel stay, and a car rental. Win!

A silver Mustang convertable… a must!

We flew into Ft Laurderdale on a Thursday morning, grabbed our rental car, and headed south to The Keys. First we stopped off for some lunch and then for some pictures at the Homestead Race Track. We passed through Key Largo, Islamorada, Long Key, and then ended our drive at Duck Key. We pulled up to our hotel, Hawks Cay Resort, in the early evening.

A storm off to our West on our drive down to the keys

There are tons of shops and restaurants to check out on the way to/from the hotel. We did skip the shops since we didn’t want to get touristy T’s and sea shells but they are always fun to browse.

I do suggest stopping off at Robbie’s of Islamorada to feed the tarpons there. There is a restaurant there, where we enjoyed a fantastic, massive breakfast one day. Plus, there is a facility where you can feed the tarpons at the docks there. It is soooo much fun. But be careful since they jump and will get ya!

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The Hawks Cay facility covers a large portion of Duck Key. There are plenty of options for where to stay and what to do, including a kids camp, marina, and plenty of tennis courts.

We stayed in the main area of the Hawks Cay Resort complex that had the hotel rooms and suites. But there are also rental villas in the Sunset Village, Sanctuary Village, and Harbor Village, and Marina Village. They range from attached 2 bedroom villas to detached 3 bedroom villas with private plunge pools.

The large beautiful lobby showcasing big fans and a water feature

We checked into our room to get our stuff put away and to explore the rest of the resort quickly. We had one of their standard rooms with a king size bed that was crafted in West Indies island decor syles. The room had a TV and plenty of outlets, which were great for using out laptop at the desk. There was plenty of room for our bags and for lounging around. The rooms have ceiling fans which was nice to circulate the air and keep things cool without having to blast the AC.

The room came at a great rate but it was extra affordable with the promotion of staying 3 nights and the 4th was free. When booking the room, keep in mind there is a daily $29 fee. The fee local and toll free phone calls, includes wireless Internet access, transportion throughout the resort, self and valet parking, and access to the Indies Club and Calm Waters Finess Center. As well unlimited use of the Putting course, Sports Field, hard and clay Tennis Courts.

Checking out the balcony

Price had requested that we have a water view room but in the end we ending up with a room that was back facing of the property. While at first glance it was disappointing to not get what we requested, we ultimately realized that we put us in that room because while he requested that we have a nice view he made note in the reservation that we have a quiet room. When we were at the pool we realized they put us in the back because the water view rooms were packed and adjacent to the pool.

The very large bathroom in our room

This would be such a nice bathroom to have at home! A big mirror, a seperate toilet from the rest of the space, plenty of hooks, and lots of counter space to use as well. Plus, it was well lit, which is always helpful when needing to check if you got your back completely covered with sunblock.

I do suggest being a bit careful in the shower. We found the floor a bit slippery.

The first night there we went to the ocean-fed saltwater lagoon and took dip in the water. It was nice and refreshing but if I am floating around in salt water I want some waves, which this did not have.

The large pool had plenty of chairs around the perimeter giving you the option of sitting in the sun or enjoying the shade with the umberella that is paired between every few chairs.

You have to sign out towels so be sure that you keep track of them. I suggest getting 2-3 per person so you have some to cover up the chair, which gets hot from the dark fabric, and for drying off after dipping in the water.

On our last day there we noticed on the map that there was a separate pool just on the other side of the Beach Grill. Such a bummer since it was the Tranquility Pool, which is reserved for guests 21 years of age or older. This would have eliminated our feelings towards the swarms of kids who though that used drink cups and their parents used metal beer bottles were appropriate toys for the pool although the staff kept telling them otherwise.

Next to the pool is a big fire pit with a lot of loungers around it. It was always nice to relax next to it at night when it was lit up!

While at the pool we often enjoyed food from the Beach Grill. You can either sit there and enjoy lunch (11am-5pm) or dinner (5pm-10pm) or have it served to you at the Resort Pool, Tranquility Pool and outdoor sandy dining area. For it being on site dining we felt it was pretty reasonably priced.

The food and drinks served were always fresh and really tasty. For example the Fish Tacos were realy good as the mahi mahi was marinated in fresh, local citrus juices and then grilled. The tacos were served with a green papaya slaw and chipotle mayo. They have several gluten-free options as well.

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Price enjoyed some of the mixed drinks there including the Rum Punch Bucket from their 32 oz Rum Buckets of Fun menu. I on the other hand suck with water, iced tea, and virgin drinks. I had a virgin pina colada one day as a treat (yikes- lots of calories!) but only had it once because I was a bit bummed that the virgin version was $9 and a regular one is $10.

You do have to be careful when you are enjoying your meal as the sea gulls there are fearless and will try to steal your food if you are not careful. Do not leave it uncovered!

Hey Flipper!!

One day we got to watch the bottlenose dolphins at the Dolphin Connection perform some tricks while they were getting fed. Fonded in 1990, this is the only on-property resort dolphin program in the continental U.S. In 2010 Dolphin Connection became only the 2nd marine mammal facility to be accredited by the International Marine Animal Trainers Association (IMATA).

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We didn’t partake in the variety of interactive programs they offered because I was pregnant. But there is a nice selction of things to do that have different levels of involvement with the dolphins from just sitting on the dock feeding them to swimming with them.

Ahh, doesn’t get much better than this!

Hawks Cay was in such a great location because it was midway through the keys giving us easy accessibility to plenty to do on the keys. We drove to Key West for a day trip and didn’t have too much of a drive from the Ft Lauderdale airport to the hotel either.

There are plenty of beaches, resturants, and things to do around Hawks Cay Resort. We suggest grabbing dinner The Wreck and Galley Grill and The Stuffed Pig for breakfast. We enjoyed both places very much. As well, dinner at Lazy Days South and Morada Bay Beach Cafe, which are a bit further away than the other 2 places but worth the drive.

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We loved our vacation at Hawks Cay Resort! We will hold this vacation in a special place in our heart as it was our last vacation before our beautiful daughter arrived. As well, we got engaged after almost 9 years together on the docks at sunrise. We are looking forward to one day traveling back and staying there again!

Hawks Cay Resort

61 Hawks Cay Boulevard

Duck Key, FL 33050

888.395.5539

Swirly Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

April 22, 2014

My family is a walking, talking/immobile, babbling petri dish. We are a bunch of sicks. I have a stuffy, runny nose, Autumn has a juicy cough, and Price, poor Price, has the worst of it with a mix of everything from a sore throat to cough to a possible case of pink eye.

Oh and the dog won’t stop throwing up. But not because he is sick, because he is dumb and eats Autumn’s socks that he steals off her feet or steals out of the laundry bag. In fact, on Saturday morning he threw up a sock of hers, but before I could clean it up he ATE IT AGAIN. So infurating. And then he threw it up yesterday (Monday!) afternoon. Thankfully, I got it before he did again.

Ya, still reading? Good…

Besides all the germy stuff going on, my mom came up from Florida for a long weekend visit. She was last up in January so to her Autumn was huge and ready for college. They cuddled up and snuggled up while Price and I got to go out on a date on Saturday night. A SOLO DATE! We’ve been doing really well going out with the 3 of us but having this chance to go out alone was so good. SOOOO GOOD. 10x.

We went out for dinner for hibachi in our old stomping grounds in Brookline. After an amazing stuff-yourself-silly-dinner we strolled around a bit getting a scoop of ice cream to share and then doing some shopping at Brookline Booksmith. By then my buzz from my 1 lychee martini had worn off and we headed home (Price drove anyway, chill…). On our way home we stopped by the Yawkey Train Station project Price had worked on at his old job. Always fun to see completed work getting used by the public. And then we were home snuggling Autumn before bed.

Hey mom, sorry in advanced for your upcoming cold…

Anywho… Swirly Cheesecake Bars.

Cheesecake. Chocolate. A yummy crumbly pecan crust.

I fell in love with this crust. I think I need to use it with everything. I guess I just love pecans. And butter. It’s thick and crumbly and such a good base to these creamy cheesecake bars.

You can prepare the baking pan by greasing it but I’d also suggest placing two long pieces of overhanging parchment paper in the pan. This makes it really easy to remove the whole thing later to cut out the squares vs cutting them and then trying to remove them from the pan.

These bars are so good. Not super sweet which is really nice. It uses bittersweet chocolate so they still are a bit tart from the cream cheese and the chocolate, which I tend to like with some cheeescakes. If you don’t like it being too tart then just swap out the bittersweet chocolate for some semisweet chocolate and you’ll love these bars.

The top swirl is just for decoration. So be sure to swirl it up really pretty. Please don’t judge my lack of swirl skills. I need to work on them. Hey, maybe add some food coloring to jazz it up. And then send me a pretty picture. K, thanks.

Swirly Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Makes 16 bars

Ingredients

2 ounces Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bar or chocolate chips
1 cup flour
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
24 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Process

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 8 or 9-inch square baking pan. Or place overhanging pieces of parchment in the pan.
Combine the flour, pecans, butter, and brown sugar to make the crust. Press the mixture onto the pan. Bake 15 to 16 minutes, or until light golden brown. Let cool while preparing batter.
Break the chocolate into small pieces (or use chocolate chips). Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Remove 1 cup batter and set aside.
Add the melted chocolate to the batter in the large mixing bowl and combine. Spoon the chocolate batter over the cooled crust. Dallop the reserved plain batter over the chocolate batter. Using the blade of a butter knife, swirl the plain batter to create a marbled effect.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pan on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cover and transfer the pan to the refrigerator to chill in the refrigerator approximately 3 hours. Dip a knife in warm water to warm up, waire off and then cut out the 16 squares. Whenever the knife gets dirty clean it off by dipping it into warm water again. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Sourced from Ghirardelli