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Saturday, November 26, 2011

So Thankful {Brown Sugar Baby Carrots recipe}

Hey there!  I think I am finally coming out of my food coma from Thanksgiving.

Between my mom and I, we could have fed an army for dinner.  For FIVE people we had a huge turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mushrooms, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and brown sugar baby carrots.  Yes, we still have leftovers.  yummm....

The carrots are amazing and you can adjust the recipe to your liking.  Normally, I use a little bit of butter and brown sugar, but, seriously peeps, it was Thanksgiving...I went Paula Deen on your @$$ and busted out a crazy amount of butter!

Brown Sugar Baby Carrots


Ingredients:
1 lb. baby carrots
2 TB Butter
2 TB Brown Sugar


Directions:
Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat.
Add carrots and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add brown sugar and mix together.
Let cook another 10-15 minutes or until carrots are to your liking.

Hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving!

I will leave you with my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner:


**How was your Thanksgiving?  What's your favorite part of the meal?**

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

"I Want" Wednesday

As much as I am loving this cooler weather, it has inspired me to do NOTHING productive!  I come home, eat dinner, and veg.  Oh, and I obsess over Pinterest!

Here are a few of the things I am loving on this week.



  • I just watched Zombieland for the 1st time this past weekend and loved all the rules.  "Always double tap."










  • If you are looking for a good read, here it is.  I am a sucker for books that explore the relationships between women (mother/daughter, sisters, friends).  Get this book, a cup of tea {or whatever you like}, some tissues and you are set for the weekend!




  • I have so much in my life to be thankful for and this is the time of year I like to reflect on all of those things.  I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving; enjoy time with the people you love the most this coming holiday weekend!


{GOBBLE GOBBLE}

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

"I Want" Wednesday

Hi.

My name is Mo and I am Pinterest-aholic.

A few weeks ago, I requested to be added to the "exclusive" website, Pinterest.  {notice the bit of sarcasm}

This past Sunday, I got an e-mail letting me know I was accepted!  While all my students are being accepted to great universities around the country, this was my own acceptance letter...I knew I had made it in life.

I am only partially kidding, because, since Sunday, my life has been Pinterest.  I spend my lunch hour pinning away.  I go home and pin some more.  I eat dinner, then pin a little more before bed.

What is Pinterest?  THE MOST AMAZING WEBSITE EVER!!  It is seriously an online pin board.  The way I explained it to my husband {after he noticed my absence from my side of the couch for a few nights} is Pinterest is like a virtual website bookmark.  You can categorize your pins, like a bookmark folder would do.  The cool thing is that you post a picture of what you are bookmarking and can write something about it that will help you remember WHY you are "pinning" it. 

Since I am already obsessed with this site, I am going to try and post a few of my favorite pins every Wednesday.




  • I want you all to know that this happens to me all the time!
And, finally:
  • I want to always remember how awesome I was at 5 and realize that I am now even AWESOMER!
How cute is this girl?  

Are any of you part of the exclusive Pinterest family?  If so, link up your page so I can follow you!


Let's all remember this week just how awesome we were at 5 and how much more our awesomeness has grown!


Sunday, November 13, 2011

(Almost) Wordless Weekend

Here is partially what my 3-day weekend consisted of:

 Friday Night!

 Saturday AND Sunday morning!

Yumm-o!

Shared a Gyro for Sunday lunch

We also cleaned out our 2nd bedroom, but it wasn't much fun, so no pictures of that.

Here's to a 5-day work week!

Friday, November 11, 2011

November Rain

Who doesn't love a little rain?  Me, I guess!

I have been waiting for a cold, rainy day for months and today, I got my wish.  Unfortunately, my attitude today went right along with the weather.  So instead of being productive and cleaning house like I wanted to, I went to Safeway and Raley's and wandered the aisles looking for inspiration.  I found lots of food, but no inspiration to go home and clean.  After coming home and changing into my "relaxing" clothes (old gym pants and a SF Giants tee), I made lunch and have done about 3 hours of Facebook nothing here and there.  

Here is what it looks like in good old Central Cali right now.



Someone doesn't mind laying around listening to rain!


Okay, Mr. Rain.  I am done with you and you can politely move on to some other region that needs you.

Maybe tomorrow I will wake up and Mr. Rain's handsome brother-from-another-mother, Mr. Sun will be peeking at me through my window.  One can only wish!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Pumpkin Cake

It's been a crazy week for me, but I HAD to share this recipe with you before I forget!

 Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 15oz can pumpkin
1/2 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup quinoa flour
1 cup millet flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 TB milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl, mix eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin.  Mix until smooth.  Turn mixer to low, and add remaining ingredients.  Batter will be thick.

Spread batter into a greased 9x13 pan.  Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Once cake has cooled, frost with frosting of your choice.

Enjoy!


Thursday, November 3, 2011

Mac-n-Cheese Please

One of my favorite foods as a child was macaroni and cheese.  Not from scratch, but the boxed kind.  As a teenager, I knew the evenings my parents were gone, I could whip up a batch of good ol mac-n-cheese, watch some Beverly Hills 90210 and call it a night.

Since I am forcing myself enjoying healthier eating, I know boxed mac-n-cheese is no bueno for my body.  That left me searching the internet for a homemade mac-n-cheese recipe. I found this ridiculously awesome  recipe from "How Sweet It Is."  I think this recipe may have changed how I look at macaroni and cheese for the rest of my life.  It is healthy, yet sinful at the same time.

Here is the recipe I found...I have noted my changes in red.


Autumn Mac and Cheese
1 pound whole wheat pasta (I used gluten free quinoa shells)
1/2 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small cubes
1 large apple, peeled and chopped
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
2 cups brussels sprouts, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I used 2 teaspoons.  1 for the squash/apple roast and 1 for the onion/brussel sprouts)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups milk
8 ounces cheese, grated (smoked cheddar) (The smoked cheddar was awesome!)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese + more for topping (I grabbed asiago cheese by mistake...best mistake ever!)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs  (I used crushed corn flakes)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lay chopped squash and apples on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Roast for 25 minutes, flipping once.
While the squash is roasting, heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add onions and brussels sprouts with a pinch of salt and pan roast for 6-8 minutes, turning frequently. Heat a large pot of water to a boil, and begin to cook your pasta.
Set aside squash/apples and sprouts/onion mixture. If pasta is cooked, set it aside as well. Reduce oven heat to 350.
In a medium saucepan, heat one tablespoon of butter on medium heat and whisk in the flour to create a roux. Add the milk while continuing to whisk, and begin adding cheese as well. I find that adding cheese in batches about 3 minutes apart works best. Continue to whisk together so the cheese melts and doesn’t stick to the bottom. The entire process takes about 10 minutes and you want the heat on medium-low, this will help thicken the cheese sauce. I find you don’t want it too thick, as it will thicken in the over.  Mine took about 15 minutes, and she is right, you do not want it too thick as it thickens in the oven.
Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray. Begin to layer pasta, vegetables and apples, and cheese sauce in batches, just mixing to make sure all is combined. Top with panko and another sprinkling of parmesan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.





I was not too sure how Gary would react to this meal, since he is typically a "meat and potato" guy, but he LOVED it.  For our lunch the next day, I added a bit of leftover roasted chicken I had on hand and it took the meal over the edge in such a good way.
What is your comfort food of choice?  Mac-n-Cheese is only one of my MANY!