New Layout, New Me!

so i'm married... (almost for a whole month now!)

boy does time fly!

and there's a new layout, 

as you can see. 

more understated. 

to remind myself it's ok to leave some time between my posts. 

here we are, happily married and on our honeymoon!

more recipes are coming your way. 

i'm back to cooking like a mad woman. 

check out these pictures and tell me how stoked you are!

yep, my mouth is watering too. 

i'm backlogged. obviously. 

and i'm off to make dinner for my husband. 

you heard me right, my husband! 

Simply Sweet Ingredient Challenge: Hummus

This week's Simply Sweet Ingredient Challenge was to make hummus! Such an easy, but so fun and creative way to make a tasty treat that you can use as a dip, a condiment, a garnish, or fun tasting dish! 

I couldn't help myself and made a little trio of Triscuit toppers that J and I gobbled up several nights in a row as an after dinner snack! 

(sorry for the poor pictures... I left my camera at home so iPhone photography it is!)

The first of the trio: 

Spicy Black Bean Hummus

Ingredients: 

• 1 15 ounce can of black beans
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 heaping scoops of jarred jalapeno slices
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Red pepper flakes to garnish

Directions: 

1. Drain the black beans of their liquid and pour it down the drain. 
2. Add all other ingredients into a food processor and pulse away. 
3. Add salt and pepper (or even jalapeno or red pepper flakes) as you like. 
4. Enjoy! 

*Simply Sweet to Note: Chill it in the fridge and it firms up a little nicer than the warm soupiness you may originally end up with.

The second of the trio: 

Spicy Cilantro Lime Hummus

Ingredients: 

• 1/3 cup cilantro 
• 1 lime, both its juice and zest
• 1 15 ounce can of cannelloni beans 
• 2 heaping scoops of jarred jalapenos, sliced 
• Drizzle of olive oil 
• 2 cloves garlic 
• Red pepper flakes (to garnish and taste)

Directions: 

1. Drain the cannelloni beans of their liquid and pour it down the drain, then drop the beans in the food processor. 
2. Zest the limes then cut in half and juice in the food processor.
3. Add all other ingredients and pulse away. 
4. Add jalapeno or red pepper flakes as you like. 
5. Enjoy! 

 And finally, the delicious recipe I debuted here!

(It's my first made all by myself recipe so I'm sort of proud!)

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup of crumbled goat cheese

• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic 
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil (plus some to drizzle on top!) 
• 1/2 of a really juicy lemon
• Dash of pepper
• 1 bunch of basil 
• A handful of sun dried tomatoes (mine weren't in oil, but if so just drain)

Directions: 

1. Place the feta cheese, goat cheese, and garlic in a bowl. 
2. Sprinkle with pepper and add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. 
3. Mix together with a spoon (sort of smashing the cheese together into a paste). 
4. On a cutting board mince the basil into finely chopped bits. 
5. Layer basil on top of the cheese in the bottom of the bowl. 
6. Chop the sun dried tomatoes on a cutting board into smaller pieces. 
7. Sprinkle these on top of the basil and cheese. 
8. Drizzle with olive oil and dash with pepper. 
9. Use pita chips or triscuits to scoop up the tasty topping. 
10. Enjoy!

Now for the other recipe from my Mama Bird... Check her sun-dried tomato hummus recipe here. This is absolutely irresistible and loved by all (especially J!). 

And the next challenge's ingredient... 

(drum roll please) 

Strawberries

Their season is thriving and they are so wonderfully tasty... So cook away with these tasty fruits!

Simply Sweet Sunday Ingredient Challenge #3: Beets!

Time for challenge number three! Yipee! Things are still going strong and I'm just loving sharing this with everyone. The other gals and I are truly enjoying talking about our time in the kitchen with one another.

I'm out of town today, so I set up a linky just to make sure that everything was linked to without my help... Please feel free to enter your delicious little number on here!

Now, to my recipe!

Citrus Beet Ginger Salad

Ingredients: 

• 2 bunches beets (about 5 or 6 medium beets)
• 3 tangelos 
• 2 Tablespoons ginger
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Drizzle of olive oil 
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 f. 
2. Cut the beets in half and then slice the halves into quarter inch thick slices. 
3. Place the sliced beets in a glass baking pan and drizzle with olive oil. 
4. Cover the top of the pan with tin foil and place in the oven. 
5. Let cook for 40 minutes or until the slices are tender to a poke with a fork. 
6. Remove from oven and let stand until cool. 
7. Drain juice into a medium bowl. 
8. Add the 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, and ginger to the juice in bowl and whisk. 
9. Peel the tangelos and break in half. 
10. Slice halves in quarter inch slices.
11. Place beet and tangelo slices in a large bowl. 
12. Pour dressing mix from step 8 over the beets and oranges. 
13. Enjoy! 

And the challenge for next time (due on May 15)... 

Hummus! 

Now, it's not so much about finding a new use for hummus, 

but instead, making your own hummus recipe! 

I have fallen head over heels for all of the amazing hummus they have at the local farmer's market and decided why not try it myself! Plus you can use many types of beans to make it! 

Now, before I sign off...
Share your beet recipe with us!

Beginners who were worried about the challenge being too tough, this is the perfect one for you! 

Baked Cajun Rubbed Salmon

J loves seafood. I am picky about it. But I've resolved to be better about making fish not only since its so good for you, but also because my dear J loves it so and I wish I could be not so finicky about it.

Last week when I went to the grocery store their fresh, never frozen salmon steaks looked so perfectly pink (and I love pink!). I bought three and brought them home to make them yummy and yummy they were!

Ingredients: 

• 1 salmon steak, fresh not frozen, per person or serving. (J eats two so I got three) 
• Drizzle of worcestershire sauce
• 1 large lemon

For the rub:

• 1/4 cup ancho chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano 
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons dried mustard
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
2. While the oven is heating, combine all of the spices in a bowl and whisk together. 
3. Rip pieces of foil that are twice the size of the filets. (One per filet) 
4. Place the salmon in the center of the foil (as seen in picture below).
5. Drizzle worcestershire sauce over the top of each filet. 
6. Rub top of salmon with spice blend. (There will be extra, it's GREAT on steak too!) 
7. Cut lemon in half and squeeze over the salmon. 
8. Close up the foil around the spiced filets and place on a baking sheet. 
9. Cook for 20 minutes. 
10. Remove from the oven. 
11. Unwrap and slice the lemon in half (or more parts for more filets!) and squeeze the juice over the fish.
12. Enjoy! 

J was going to make a sauce to put on it and I said to just try it before he made anything... He did, it was so moist and tender the sauce idea was scrapped and he ate as is! I even really liked it and I'm not a huge lover of fish! 

Espresso Infused Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

This week is the celebration of two things: 

1. National Chocolate Chip Cookie Week 

2. Finals. My FINAL finals ever. 

That said, I wanted to make a really great little sweet treat that would make finals just a little bit more bearable. And these puppies, yes they make it so much sweeter! 

Simply Sweet Note: I made these with whole wheat flour, you don't have to do that, but their texture is so wonderful... A little bit grainy and just so nice. :) 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 package instant pudding (I used vanilla, chocolate would be tasty too) 
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt (or you can use sour cream) 
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (or white should you prefer) 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
• 3 Tablespoons espresso powder 

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 f. 
2. Beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. 
3. Add the egg, yogurt, and vanilla and beat thoroughly. 
4. Add the pudding, flour, salt, baking soda, and espresso powder. Mix together completely. 
5. Add the chocolate chips. 
6. Use a spoon to scoop the batter into one inch balls and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 
7. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes. (This is a little more difficult with the whole wheat because you can't tell if the cookies are browning... Keep an eye on them so they don't over bake!) 
8. Enjoy with a glass of milk! 

IMPORTANT! These little treats are full of caffeine... I ate three after I made them and was bouncing off the walls. Keep out of the reach of children (or you may have a major price to pay) and please consume responsibly.

This recipe makes about 30 so make sure that you have friends or neighbors to share with! :)

Bangin' Blueberry Muffins

J and I went to Costco yesterday and picked up a WHOLE lot of a few things. When I saw the clamshell full of blueberries I immediately wanted to come home and make muffins. J was all game. So I made them and we ate them for dessert! They were absolutely delicious and so shabby chic (yep, I'm obsessed)! 

Ingredients for the muffins: 

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup canola oil (remember it's healthier than veggie!) 
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk 
• 1 cup fresh blueberries 

Ingredients for the crumbly topping: 

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/8 cup butter (melted) 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 f. 
2. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. (I didn't line, but would advise you to!) 
3. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. 
4. Place canola oil in a one cup measuring cup. 
5. Add the egg and milk to fill the measuring cup. 
6. Mix with the flour mixture. 
7. Stir in the blueberries. (Make sure to wash them first to clean them of the dirt from the packaging process)
8. Fill muffin cups to the top (this will make the muffins all puffy and out of the top!) 
9. Mix the topping ingredients together: sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. 
10. Sprinkle the topping mix over each of the muffins. 
11. Toss into the oven! 
12. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
13. Enjoy! 

My muffins overflowed and spilled the topping on the pan as well as the bottom of my oven. It's okay for this to happen, but just know it's a little bit of a task to clean. Soaking in water helps!

Old Town Temecula Farmer's Market and My First Original Recipe

One of my family's favorite things to do on the weekends is go to the Farmer's Market in Old Town Temecula. I just love the Farmer's Market, but with all the business of life going on it's been hard to find myself there. Although it was rainy here this morning, Mama Bird, Baby Bear, J and I decided to get out and enjoy the organic wonderfulness of the Old Town Temecula Farmer's Market. 

Nothing like an awkward (SUPER AWKWARD) picture on your way into the Farmer's Market! 

Please appreciate my sweet little ladybug umbrella! And our ever important recyclable bags!

Future Mayor of Temecula paying respects to her constituents! (Just kidding, but doesn't it look like it?) 

Aren't these berries so beautiful in their arrangement? Oh, and they are just amazing to eat!
Completely organic and sold within 24 hours of their picking. 

Yep! We bought these and they are so perfectly, sweetly wonderful!

Baby Bear showing his excitement about all of the organic veggies! 

Leaving the market for home with our bags of spoils! 

Baby Beat loving his Asian Pears he bought! J and he ate three whole ones today! 

One of the stands at the market had a big box of sun dried tomatoes. Oh boy they were so vibrantly red and so savory looking. As soon as we got home I got to work on making a delicious little dip for the sun dried tomatoes to be used in!

Feta, Basil, and Sun-dried Tomato Trio Dip

We got absolutely amazing sun dried tomatoes from a local community farm, Terra Bella. You can check them out on their Facebook page here! They sell amazing organic fresh nuts, dried fruits and veggies, as well as greens. 

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup of crumbled goat cheese 
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic 
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil (plus some to drizzle on top!) 
• 1/2 of a really juicy lemon
• Dash of pepper
• 1 bunch of basil 
• A handful of sun dried tomatoes (mine weren't in oil, but if so just drain)

Directions: 

1. Place the feta cheese, goat cheese, and garlic in a bowl. 
2. Sprinkle with pepper and add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. 
3. Mix together with a spoon (sort of smashing the cheese together into a paste). 
4. On a cutting board mince the basil into finely chopped bits. 
5. Layer basil on top of the cheese in the bottom of the bowl. 
6. Chop the sun dried tomatoes on a cutting board into smaller pieces. 
7. Sprinkle these on top of the basil and cheese. 
8. Drizzle with olive oil and dash with pepper. 
9. Use pita chips or triscuits to scoop up the tasty topping. 
10. Enjoy!