RECIPE: Quinoa Shirazi Salad

Well my darlings... this week hasn't started off too swell for me. Woke up with a small staph infection on my face... again. Attractive, I know. Unfortunately, this happens more than I would like to admit. I'm just very happy that I'm not going to be hospitalized this time, considering that has happened on a couple of occasions. But really, this is all beside the point. I've decided that I'm not going to let this small setback ruin my week! Soo... since I'm pretty much quarantined to our apartment, I've decided to make the most of it and bake & cook as much as I can! Earlier today I tried out a recipe for my sister in laws baby shower. I'll post about that when the baby shower rolls around though! The whole point of this post is supposed to be about the delicious quinoa salad I made this afternoon. I am very new to quinoa. In fact, this was the first time I have ever made it, but boy was it scrumptious! For those of you who haven't jumped on the quinoa bandwagon, you really should. You won't be disappointed!

xoxo

<3

Quinoa Shirazi Salad

Family Spice

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa

4 roma tomatoes

1 medium cucumber

1/4 cup onion (I used yellow onion)

1/2 cup parsley

lemon (to taste)

salt (to taste)

pepper ( to taste)

olive oil

Directions:

Cook quinoa to package directions. While quinoa is cooking, chop tomatoes, cucumber, onion & parsley and place ingredients into a large bowl. When quinoa is finished cooking, let it cool before adding it to the other ingredients. Drizzle with olive oil & season with salt, pepper & lemon. Give it a nice little stir to combine ingredients & then enjoy! 

RECIPE: Whole Wheat Brown Sugar Banana Bread Pancakes

Why do bananas go bad sooo fast!? I swear that I buy them & then two days later they are brown! Okay... maybe it takes a bit longer than that... & maybe I simply forget that I even have bananas... But still! Bananas never last as long as I want them to. Sorry for my little rant but this week I had an entire bunch of bananas go bad! Of course that only meant one thing...banana bread! So I made banana bread with half of them & then I made these magnificent pancakes with the rest! Let me tell you people, these pancakes are gooooood! Like really really good. I was a bit skeptical at first because the batter is a bit thicker than your normal pancake batter. But man oh man these blew me out of the water! They were amaaaaze! A must try for sure!

Whole Wheat Brown Sugar Banana Bread Pancakes

Found on: How Sweet Eats

makes 12 pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2/3 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions: 

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Measure out the milk and add the vanilla extract to it. Whisk together the dry ingredients and add in milk and vanilla, stirring to combine. The mixture will still be dry. 

Add in mashed bananas and mix. Add in melted butter and stir until batter is somewhat smooth.

Heat a skillet or grilled on medium heat. Using a 1/3 cup measure, spoon batter into rounds and cook until bubbles form on top – about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for a minute or two more. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve hot with butter and syrup, or the vanilla maple glaze.

Note: if you don’t have/can’t find whole wheat pastry flour, use 1 cup of regular whole wheat and 1 cup of all purpose. Or 2 cups of all purpose.

Our Night On A Yacht

We had such an amazing time on the Crown Jewel! It was the perfect celebration for our 2 year. Happy 2 years to us tomorrow! Here are some pictures from our little trip.

xoxo

<3

 

Almost 2 Years!

It's been a little while since I've posted. I've been a bit busy with work & life I suppose. Today Adam & I are headed down south for a little getaway on a yacht. We're celebrating two years of being married!!! Crazy, I know. We can't believe we have been married that long either. It's been the greatest two years of my life & I honestly can't wait to spend the rest of eternity with him! Love you eternally times eternally to the eternal power luv uh!!!

<3

 Yeah, so we kiss a lot. Get over it.

:)

OUTFIT POST: My new favorites!

No, I am not saying I have good style. No, I am not saying you should dress like me. Yes, I am simply showing you a few of my new favorites! I am just loving all of the brights & pastels that are being worn these days. They literally are perfect. With the sun shining so bright here in LA, I just had to start dressing for spring & summer! Who could resist!?

xoxo

<3

Blazer: Zara

Jeans: Zara

Shoes: Shoemint (Jolly in tan suede)
Clutch: Asos

Necklace: Juicy Couture

Bracelets: Forever 21

RECIPE: Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie (Healthy)

This is amazing. I'm not even kidding you, I think I would take this over a normal cookie pie. I was superrr hesitant to try it at first because if you'll look below, you'll see the weird ingredients it's made out of. Please don't be freaked out though! I promise that this is an incredible dessert! Warmed up with a bit of frozen yogurt on top is absolutely killer! But even just plain, it tastes like delicious chocolate chip cookie dough. So if I were you, I'd go make it. Guarantee no one will even know what's in this delicious ooey gooey cookie! Oh & you should definitely go check out the blog Chocolate Covered Katie (link below) because she has some great healthy recipes!

xoxo

<3

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Found on: Chocolate Covered Katie

Ingredients:
    •    2 cans white beans or garbanzos (drained and rinsed) (500g total, once drained)
    •    1 cup quick oats
    •    1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
    •    3 T canola oil
    •    2 tsp pure vanilla extract
    •    1/2 tsp baking soda
    •    2 tsp baking powder
    •    1/2 tsp salt
    •    1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar (*Katie's Note: Seems like a lot, but this makes a big pie. I think we got like 20 servings from it! You can try adding less, if you’re used to healthy desserts; I chose to use this much because the people to whom I served it are used to “normal” desserts. Also, white sugar will work if you don’t have brown.)
    •    1 cup chocolate chips (& a few extra for sprinkling on top before baking!)

Directions:
Blend everything (except the chips) very well in a food processor. Mix in chips, and pour into an oiled pan (I used a regular sized pie pan), then sprinkle a few more chocolate chips on top. Cook at 350F for about 35 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Enjoy!

RECIPE: Peanut Butter Blossoms V-Day Style

Why are peanut butter & chocolate such an amazing combination!? I mean seriously... who doesn't like PB & chocolate!? Okay okay, everyone except those allergic to peanuts... &&& my brother Jantzen. He hates peanut butter in general. I know, he's not human. Good thing he's pretty cool otherwise. Anyways, am I the only one who is obsessed with PB blossom cookies? They are such a simple little cookie but they are literally divine. Why are they sooo good? I can't ever stop at just one. That's why I had to have an excuse to bake these. I needed to get them out of the house before I consumed every. single. one of them. So I decided to make them for Adam's cast & crew for a little Valentine's treat. Thank goodness I was giving them away because instead of the normal Hershey kiss, I used a Reese's chocolate heart. Goodness gracious guys. I don't know how I didn't eat them all right out of the oven. They were THAT good. If you need an easy last minute V-Day treat, these are for you. Or if you are just craving some delicious cookies. Either way though, you should make these. They'll definitely put a smile on your face!

xoxo

<3

Peanut Butter Blossoms

makes approximately 48 cookies

2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling
2 bags Hershey Kisses (you only need ~48), unwrapped

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Cream butter and peanut butter together until smooth. Add sugars and cream for 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Stir in vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt, just mixing until combined, then add in milk. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

3. Roll cookies into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar. Lay on baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake at 375 for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and push Kiss down into the middle of each cookie. Return to oven and bake for 2 1/2 more minutes. Remove and let cool completely.

Plant Pico-Helpin out the neighborhood

Have you ever planted a tree? Yeah, me either...Until this morning!!! Yeahhh so I'm proud of myself. So what? Okay, so this morning me & Adam woke up & went to help out this project called Plant Pico. It was a service project to plant trees along the street (Pico) to help boost the neighborhood & help with the environment. Pretty cool concept! I'm really glad we got to participate in it. I haven't done a service project in years & I forgot how much I love doing things like that. I definitely need to find more to help with! Here are some pictures of our morning. Hope you likey! 

xoxo

<3