Our Fabulous Bites

I'm not thrilled with this photo at all. I whipped these up and the time of day was not great for photos. So I'll work on a better one ;) Anyways, LOVE these!!! Super delicious, and great for summer...and all year :) We could eat bowls of this stuff. Seriously simple, quick, and scrumdidliumptious. Balsamic Cucumbers Cucumbers, as many as you'd like Kosher or Sea Salt Balsamic Vinegar, you could really use any vinegar you love, as well Slice up the cucumbers and cover with salt, mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. After refrgerating, rinse off the cucumbers. Pour vinegar over the top, sprinkle some ground pepper, and mix well. That's it! Then enjoy those babies! Bon Appetite!

You put mushrooms , onions , and garlic in a sentence, and I'm there!  The original recipe called for sage, but I do not have sage. I do however have fresh thyme, and it turned out very yummy! We all enjoyed this dish, and I look forward to making it again since we have a plethora of thyme out there! I truly enjoy cooking with fresh herbs (and any food) straight from your own little garden :) Something about it makes cooking even more peaceful for me. Mushroom, Onion, & Garlic Sauce over Pasta 1/2 lbs mushrooms, sliced 1 onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1/2 c. stock 1 1/2 c. cream (I didn't have cream, so I used almond milk, and put in some butter, then a little corn starch at the end) 2 tbsp fresh thyme (dill or sage would be good as well) S&P Saute mushrooms, onion, and garlic until the mushrooms start to golden and the onions are soft. Add stock, cream, and herbs. Let simmer for 5 minutes and season with s&p. ...

This cereal mix is insanely filling. Like, 1/4 cup of it along with the added fruit will FILL YOU UP! And that's coming from a nursing mother who can eat like a maniac lately. I got this mix from the website Engine 2 Diet . They just throw each ingredient in each morning, but Josh and I decided to just make one gigantic cereal mix, so all we need to do in the morning is throw in some fruit. Like I said, it's filling, it's healthy, and loading that bowl up with fruit, how can it not be yummy! Man I love myself some fruit. Lots of fiber in this folks, so that is fantabulous:) Ultimate Cereal Bowl (Mix) Old Fashioned Oats (NOT quick oats) Grape Nuts Shredded Wheat Uncle Sam cereal Ground Flaxseed We bought a pound of the oats, and then the boxes of the other cereals. Throw it all in a big bowl, mix it up, and store in an air tight container. To each bowl we sprinkle ground flax seed (it needs to be ground, or you don't really get the benefits), a...

 I really like jello popcorn, and this will be the only way I make it from here on out. I feel way better about allowing myself and Abigail to consume this, knowing there is no corn syrup! I thought it was delicious and I didn't even feel guilty scraping at the bottom of the bowl, knowing it wasn't just corn syrup I was sucking down ;) Jello Popcorn   Popcorn, popped Jello flavorings, possibilities are endless Vanilla extract  Honey Salt, optional Simpy replace the honey for the corn syrup! Yep, it's that easy. I don't have specific measurements for our small portions, because we just pop the amount we want, and make a little 'syrup' to go on each bowl. Which means everyone can have whichever flavor they want!  If I had to guess... 1T honey 1t flavoring Few drops of vanilla Pinch of salt Soup bowl size of popped popcorn   You can just use the standard recipe for a large batch of this stuff, follow the ...

(note: lyndsay posted this previously, and allison just made it and got a photo of it, so i moved it to the top of the blog, because the picture is so flippen adorable!)                                I found this recipe for Sand Pudding from Ma Nouvelle Mode  and couldn't wait to try it, knowing the kids would love it! The perfect opportunity came when Mom and Dad surprised us by coming to town and planned a family dinner last Sunday. My kids are already asking me to make it again! I did buy a sand bucket ($1 at Michael's) and served it out of that - using the shovel as a utensil, too. Really adds to the presentation! I made just a few changes from the original recipe, I will post the recipe as I made it... Sand Pudding 1 pkg Vanilla Wafers 8 Oreos 8 oz Cream Cheese, softened 1/4 C Butter, softened 2/3 C powdered sugar 1 small package cheesecake pudding 1 small package white choc...

With this being harvest time, and often finding zucchini in abundance, this is a delicious change from zucchini bread, fried zucchini, and other typical zucchini recipes. It is even said that when you get one taste of this soup, you'll wish you had fresh zucchini throughout the year.  Try it and see what you think! 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped 4 medium zucchini, finely chopped 2 cups vegetable broth 1/2 teaspoon thyme, minced 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1/2 to 1 cup unsweetened almond milk Salt and pepper to taste Place onions in a large saucepan and saute over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the onions are tender.  Add water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time to keep the onions from sticking to the pan.  Add the zucchini, vegetable stock, thyme, nutmeg, and lemon zest and cook for 15 minutes, or until the zucchini is tender. Puree the soup using an immersion blender or in batches in a blender with a ti...

Have I said how much we LOVE couscous? Well we do, because it's yummy, healthy, and what? Only 5 minutes to cook?? Yep! Really great when you're in a hurry to get dinner on the table. If you haven't jumped on the couscous train, get on it, because it saves time, and it's so versatile...just like rice. So this is the same thing as fried rice, just with couscous. Delicious :) Fried Couscous Couscous (cooked per instructions- we like 1:1.5 couscous:water ratio. You can cook it in water, or broth, and we sometimes add seasonings, maybe butter, or chili paste is really awesome. But for this it can be plain since you're adding the soy sauce) Veggies: carrots, celery, garlic, broccoli, onion, mushrooms...whatever your heart desires. Soy sauce s&p Chop up your veggies, and saute them in oil, or you can use water. By adding a little bit of salt, it helps the veggies sweat, which will in turn saute them as well :) Throw in your cooked couscous, m...

I've posted this recipe before but I'm re-posting it with updates and my own picture. This recipe is great when you don't have a lot of time but really want some buns for some burgers and don't want to run to the store. I replaced regular yeast with bread machine yeast and it clearly improved the results.  You can still use active dry yeast, it just results in a slightly dense bun but not bad at all.  With the bread machine yeast, it rises faster (the point of this recipe is quick) and you get a really good bun. If you have more time, you can let the buns rise longer as well to get more air in there. The down side to these buns, they won't last well sitting on the counter.  Those buns from the grocery store stay soft for much longer but these buns were really dry 2 days after baking them.  So use them the day you bake or the next day. Makes 8 - 10 buns Ingredients : 2 Tablespoons Bread Machine Yeast (Active Dry Yeast will work) 1 Cup plus 2 Tablespo...

Ways to search for recipes a little quicker... 1) you can use the Labels on the right side of the page. 2) there is a Search box at the very top left hand corner of  the blog (on most blogs, unless someone removes it). Type in 'cupcake', it'll take you to all the posts with cupcakes. I had added a 'Search' gadget to the right hand side a week ago, but it did not work...at all. So I removed that, and thought maybe some hadn't noticed the search box at the top. It works perfectly! So there you go! Now go search for a recipe and cook :)

This is a pleasant side salad made with sweet tomatoes and I loved the bright colors.   Some of us like to eat this on top of a bed of spinach, so I set out a small bowl of spinach along with the tomato salad.      Ingredients 3-4 cups red and yellow cherry tomatoes*, washed and halved if too large Kosher salt and ground black pepper 1/3 cup milk 1 tsp lemon juice 2-3 Tablespoons sour cream 2 Tablespoons sliced fresh basil leaves 1 shallot, minced (use 1 - 2 T of red onion if you can't find the shallot) Spinach (optional) Directions Put the cherry tomatoes in a large serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss. In another small bowl, whisk the milk, lemon juice, sour cream, basil, and shallot. Season with pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes.  Give dressing another quick stir and pour over tomatoes and toss all together.  Salt and pepper to taste. Serve as is or over a bed of spinach. *you can use grape tomatoes also