AmyI loves me some fresh Summer tomatoes. So here is super easy extra delicious recipe to highlight the hell out of these bad boys! Nikita Last night, the family and I had dinner with some other family, and I was reminded of a time when I did not like tomatoes. The question came up, "And where did you grow up again?!" I know. I know. The South has some amazing agriculture and produce, but my household dinners growing up were primarily meat, potatoes, & corn. I do remember my parents making tomato sandwiches with Miracle Whip (not mayo). YUCK! It wasn't until I met Matt, and he said, "Just try it." It was a Wendy's cheeseburger fully loaded. I was hesitant because I was 18; I know what I like and don't like dammit! But I tried it....and I liked it. Then I started to crave it. We use to buy Wendy's burgers at midnight because it was close to our apartment. We'd come home and eat our burgers in bed watching Battlestar Galactica. Old memories! So much has changed. First - I don't eat anything at midnight because I'm 32 years old. Sleeping doesn't burn the calories like it used to do. Second - we don't eat anything in bed. Gross! Well maybe a bowl of ice cream here and there. Now I'm a changed woman, and I like tomatoes. We eat them every week in some kind of meal. Matt even eats grape tomatoes as a snack. Here is a Cucumber & Tomato Salad I made this week. Simple, Easy, and Clean Eating. Enjoy! GeorgiaI love tomatoes.. And that makes me the only one in our household who does. Since it's just me who likes them and they have a limited shelf life I really need to eat them quickly or.. Use up the rest to make sun dried tomatoes before they are completely spoiled. So I took a few each day to work and sliced the rest and put them in the dehydrator for about 8 hours. And now I can enjoy their tomatoey goodness for several more weeks. JenWe love tomatoes and I think I've eaten some every day this week, but I never got around to making something specific. See you all next week. :) Until next week,
Amy, Nikita, Georgia and Jen
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JenI had a lentil fail this week. I intended to make BBQ lentil sandwiches, which is essentially cooked lentils, mixed with BBQ sauce, served on buns. Easy, and my family likes it. Well, I cooked the lentils in the crockpot instead this time, and I either bought the wrong type, or I overcooked them, because I ended up with lentil mush!! So, with stuff I had on hand, I turned the mushy lentils into a BBQ lentil loaf. It was OK. Not bad, but not worth cooking again. AmyI love lentils! Especially with Italian sausage. But I made something different this time. Because a funny thing happens with me and these food challenges. A recipe will present itself. And it all gets thrown in a slow cooker. Nice! Say! My photo resembles the photo from the magazine. Bonus NikitaNikita has sadly been down for most of the week with a migraine.. :( GeorgiaLentils are so tasty and versatile. A terrific substitute for beef if you are looking for a good protein for either a vegan or vegetarian meal. We made a light and fresh lentil salad. We ended up adding it to a tossed salad. And I must say it was downright delish. The husband liked it so well he wanted to make sure we had the recipe saved somewhere. Thank you Pinterest!! Sad the Nikita was suffering with a migraine for most of the week.
But always thankful when these ladies come together with their little piece of yumminess. Jen,Amy and Georgia GeorgiaSo this week was my week to choose and anyone who knows me knows I always ask the husband what he would like. And as per usual he pulls the craziest thing out of nowhere. Chiffon Cake. That was his request. Chiffon cake. I've never made chiffon cake before. So another fun thing to try I substituted the raspberries with blueberries Flavors were terrific. The cake was light and fluffy. The lemon curd, marscapone frosting.. Ah-Maze-Ing!! JenI had never heard of a chiffon cake before this week! I found a recipe for blueberry yogurt chiffon cupcakes that I put into a few ramekins instead. There’s a haphazard layer of blueberries hiding in the middle – my four-year-old was in charge of blueberry placement. 😊 My cakes are a little dark because I accidentally used wheat flour. I was simultaneously making oatmeal raisin cookies and made an oops! The recipe was already a bit of a challenge because I needed to convert the measurements. These mini cakes turned out light, fluffy, and delicious. I love the hint of lemon flavor in them. AmyIt was a dark and stormy night. Okay, it was daytime. It wasn't terribly dark. More of a dinghy gray. It wasn't terribly stormy. There was precipitation! It was four days ago and I've forgotten what was happening weather-wise. It had rained and it was one of those delicious end of summer rains that offers the slightest hint of Autumn. I decided to live in the moment and opted to create a slightly Autumny kinda cake. I made a couple of cupcakes because there aren't enough people I'm willing to share an entire cake with. So three cupcakes for Little Lady Beatrix and moi. I'll share the cake recipe as it is in the cookbook. I adjusted measurements to make the cupcakes and made them diabetic friendly as well. I made cream cheese frosting but I think in Autumn a maple frosting would be perfect. I feel it coming! NikitaChiffon Cake? What's that? I learned quite a few lessons this week! First - a Chiffon Cake is similar to the popular Angel Food Cake except it has all the yummy fats (i.e. yolks and oils) that Angel Food Cake does not. I also had to buy a special pan this week to successfully make this cake. Fortunately it is the same cake pan you would use for an Angel Food Cake...hmmm...maybe I'll try that soon. When cooling the cake, you should flip it upside down to ensure it stays light & fluffy rather than dense from settling. The recipe I used called for a 7 inch pan when I bought a 9in pan. I did not realize this until the batter was made, and I was pouring it into the big pan. So.....my cake is a little short. LOL! But it tastes great! I went with a Lemon Chiffon Cake because I love everything citrus. This cake was so light that it could pass for a Saturday morning breakfast! Same cake - 4 different ways!!
Because that's how we do. Until next week!! Happy cooking, baking and eating.. Georgia, Jen, Amy and Nikita NikitaPurple foods are fun! Sometimes we focus on the ingredient and flavors so much that we forget the visual appeal that food has. I made a Berry & Banana Smoothie. I may have put too many strawberries in the mix because my drink came out more pinky-purple than the purple that was shown on the recipe. ALSO, I believe photoshop may have been involved in the picture below because that color is radioactive purple. BUT! I did find a purple straw to make my point! HA! This smoothie is delicious. All natural sugars too! Check out the recipe below. I could not get the link to work. Credit: www.peanutbutterandpeppers.com GeorgiaPurple food.. Hmm So for reals. I haven't been feeling it lately.. Just moved back. Husband is still looking for a job (Interview on Monday :) ) Things feel normalish, but not completely normal. While I've been working Randy has been making dinner. Which is very nice. But it tends to throw me off a little. Anywho.. Nikita said purple.. We keep loose hibiscus tea in the house.. I found this purple popsicle recipe. Voila. Mission accomplished. I substituted the honey with stevia.. No regrets The flavor combo is really fantastic. Perfect for a hot, hot summer in the desert You're welcome!! Oh.. Really thankful my kitchen is clean.. Since it's the backdrop of my pic.. And the husband doesn't take direction very well.. Hence the bow-legged popsicle posing.. JenThanks Nikita for the really fun challenge idea! I made “Chicken and Black Bean Street Tacos” using red cabbage, red onion, and blue corn chips, which ironically are all purple. And, I made a batch of the Cilantro Peach Salsa recipe I shared last week to top it off. My recipe isn’t super detailed since I made it up as I went along, so bear with me. :) I’m really proud of how they turned out – thinking about color lead to a very appetizing dish. AmyWell, well, well, I wasn't feeling it for any of the purple food recipes that I looked through. Then I remembered that I still had a decent amount of culinary lavender in my kitchen and went on a whole new search. Most of the recipes are baked goods and more often then not the lavender is coupled with lemon (which is great). But something completely different caught my eye. Lavender latte. I was intrigued. A handful of ingredients and a simple process. I was so excited about this latte. From the first sip to the last drop this drink was , in a word, exquisite. Some people love serving peppermint iced tea to mix things up a bit. To them (and everyone) I say try this unique and sublime little drink just one time. Step outside of your comfort zone and taste this comfy cozy beverage that will surround you like a warm blanket. I found the recipe on this lovely blog (She's also on Facebook and Instagram), take an opportunity to have a look-see. Until next time ladies(and readers old and new).
Nikita, Georgia, Jen and Amy |
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