What's the story morning glory?

Sometimes you just need breakfast on the go. And of course, the healthier the better. Since my daughter is now in full eating solids mode, I try to be versatile and prepare the healthiest foods I can.

This morning, in between Chuggington episodes, my daughter's giggles, and me attempting to work out, I threw this recipe together.

Morning Glory Muffins
1 1/4 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (or any milk)
2 Tbsp coconut oil (or any oil)
2 Tbsp water
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 mashed banana
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp hemp seeds
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice

Mix dry ingredients together, set aside. Mix wet ingredients together, combine with dry. Add in fruit and spices. Oil a muffin tin and scoop into each spot. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a knife/toothpick comes out clean. ***You may have noticed I did not use eggs, I didn't have any so I was resourceful. Great for anyone with egg allergies. Or anyone who has no groceries...like me.***

They are so delicious and my 14 month old gobbled hers down. Perfect for a busy day that needs a boost of healthy energy. Enjoy!

xo Lo

Whirlwind

This year has been a whirlwind, with having my first child and working, sadly, my blog has taken a back seat (and a little bit of my cooking). I have cooked some fun, creative dishes and, of course, I forgot my camera in the diaper bag, or in the laundry basket, or next to my bed. You may have noticed my new blog name, I wanted to re-vamp my blog. I am hoping to take it the next level eventually. I just felt like this name was more me. I mean what is better than homemade béchamel or whipped cream?

But, I am getting better at keeping my head afloat now. My little girl is 11 months old, her 1st birthday party (expect a special blog featuring this celebration!) is around the corner. 

Lately, my time has consisted of playing with my daughter, work, and focused on moving (back to Colorado we go!) In the midst of that craziness, I've realized how important it is to take time for what I love. Cooking. There is something about taking a bunch of beautiful, random ingredients and conduct them in a symphony of flavor that produces something that makes you smile. One morning, it was that perfect temperature outside that I wanted to start my morning off with a cup off coffee on the front porch. Mind you this mellow morning lasted about 30 seconds, until my daughter wanted to play in the grass. But hey, I had 30 seconds... :) 

To give my plain 'ol coffee a little bit of fancy, I topped it with a whipped vanilla meringue. Added the perfect pop of sweetness, and just made me feel special. 

After my daughter made it pretty clear this was not a morning of relaxation, I decided to introduce her to pancakes for the first time. Since, she is still being introduced to a lot of foods I chose to kick out the sugar, add in goat's milk (what we've decided to transition her to once she turns one), and I had some mascarpone cheese in my fridge, along with some oranges that needed zesting. And voila! Halen's Pancakes. 

Halen's Pancakes

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 eggs
2 cups goat milk (buttermilk or whole milk would work deliciously)
1 tsp vanilla 
zest from one orange
2 Tbsp butter
honey for serving
berries for serving

I started by combining the dry ingredients together. Then I whisked the vanilla, milk and orange zest into the eggs. Then I combined wet and dry ingredients together, I added the butter, being careful not to over mix. Let the batter sit for a few minutes. I got my skillet hot, placed a bit of butter and then I made silver dollar size pancakes for Halen using a tablespoon. For my husband and I, I used a 1/3 measuring cup. 

Once the pancakes are done, I drizzled the adult pancakes with honey and placed a few blueberries and strawberries on top. For Halen's I placed them on her tray along with the berries. Needless to say, she approved! 

My friend's birthday was this past weekend, and with the rising heat I decided a regular cake just wouldn't do. I had seen these watermelon faux cakes on Pinterest and decided to give it a go. I bought a small watermelon, sliced almonds and fruit all from Trader Joes to make this springtime gem. 

Dana's Watermelon "Cake"
one small watermelon
2 kiwis
a handful of raspberries
1 cup sliced almonds
Homemade Whipped Cream 

I sliced the watermelon to model the shape of a small cake, making sure the top and bottom were flat. Then I made my whipped cream. I iced the cake and used my hands to stick the almonds onto the sides of the cake. I sliced up some kiwis and fanned them out on top. I finished by placing a few raspberries on the very top. 






Homemade Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp sugar

Whip the heavy cream on high, add in sugar. Let beat until peaks start to form. Do not over beat, or you will get butter. 








And for a perfect centerpiece to any dinner table, any celebration you can always make a personalized flower pot. We did this for Valentines Day, and we love using it for all different flowers. Made from yours truly, my dear Halen girl. 

Mama's Brunch

I love watching Food Network, I gain a lot of my inspiration for cooking from here. Bobby Flay is a pretty incredible cook, I love his show Brunch at Bobby's. Brunch is my all-time favorite meal. I absolutely love it. When I became a mom I knew I would want to host a brunch with all the mamas and babies. After a few months to get my bearings, I was able to do so. I utilized one of Bobby Flay's brunches as my foundation and tweaked the recipes just a bit to fit in my cooking style.

Orange-Ricotta Pancakes with Fig Compote

3/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp  baking powder
salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla
orange zest
butter

Fig Compote
12 oz figs
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup trail mix (or any nuts you have around)
salt
pepper

Mix dry ingredients together. Then combine ricotta, milk, egg yolks, vanilla and zest in a separate bowl until smooth. Beat the egg whites in a standing mixer until stiff. Add dry ingredients to the ricotta and milk, fold to combine. Whisk in small amount of egg whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining egg whites. I heated up my griddle and brushed the surface with butter. Use 1/3 cup to scoop batter onto the griddle. When bubbles start to appear, flip.

Add all ingredients for compote together in a small sauce pan, cook over high heat and stir frequently. Should take about two minutes for the figs to soften and break down. Pour into bowl for serving.




Italian Home Fries

3 Tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic
1 small onion, sliced thinly
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 small yellow pepper, diced
1 1/2 lbs small new potatoes, diced
8 oz Italian hot sausage, remove from casing
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
drizzle olive oil
salt & pepper

The night before (to save time) I chopped everything up and put it into a ziploc bag. I stuck it into the fridge and the next morning, heated up the butter on the griddle and poured the ingredients onto the griddle pan. I added the fresh herbs once the onions, peppers and potatoes started to cook. The smell is incredible! Once the sausage is browned, cooked through and potatoes are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, your home fries are done!

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Italian Cheese and Tomato Bruschetta
1 loaf of Italian bread
olive oil
salt & pepper
3 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
handful of basil, julienne
10 large eggs
4 oz Italian cheeses

Preheat grill pan over medium heat, slice bread, drizzle with olive oil and place down on pan. While bread toasts, toss tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper and julienne basil in a bowl. Once bread is toasted, mound the tomato mixture on top.

Melt butter into a large saute pan over low heat. Crack eggs into a separate bowl and whisk until fluffy. Add in coarse black pepper. Add eggs into the pan, mix gently with rubber spatula. Fold in cheese and after a few minutes remove from heat. Serve eggs with bruschetta.

Orange-Pineapple Mimosas
champagne or prosecco
orange juice
pineapple juice

I love changing up mimosa flavors, find any yummy juice or nectar and top that off in your champagne glass.

Blueberry-Fennel Ice
ice cube tray
water
blueberries
fennel sprigs

I decided to jazz up my ice for serving water, so I put a few blueberries and fennel sprigs in the cube tray. Freeze and it looks pretty with the color. You can use any fruit, herbs, etc.


It was so wonderful to get together with my great mama

friends and to see their babies. Our little ones played and we took some adorable pictures. This brunch is great for any gathering.

Enjoy! xo Lo

Pizza!

My husband LOVES pizza. Every time I ask him what he wants for dinner, his answer is always, "pizza." Sometimes I'll ask him a question that is completely unrelated to food and his answer will still be, "pizza."

I've always wanted to make homemade pizza but I've failed many times...the crust has always given me a hard time. While grocery shopping a few weeks ago I stumbled upon frozen cornmeal crust pizza crusts. I was elated! Finally I could make homemade pizza! They were gluten-free which is a plus for many people and they were smaller so we could still use portion control.

Next I needed to find the toppings, our family friend gave us a jar of her homemade marinara sauce, so we definitely wanted to use that. Then I decided on leeks, chipotle sausage, and mozzarella cheese. But you can put any toppings you like on it. Leeks are a great alternative to onions, especially when they are all caramelized...yum!

Leek-Sausage Pizza on a Cornmeal Crust
2 frozen cornmeal pizza crusts (or make your own or get regular crust)
1 lb chipotle sausage
1 large leek, sliced
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup marinara sauce

I baked my crusts just a tad so they were a little crisp. Meanwhile I sauteed my leeks until they were tender and caramelized. I also cooked the chipotle sausage until mostly cooked through. Once the crusts were ready, I ladled the homemade marinara sauce on top, a big scoop of sausage, leeks and finally, shredded mozzarella. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes. This pizza was outstanding, we can't wait to make it again.

We served this with a simple romaine lettuce salad, raw mushrooms and southwest cheddar dressing.

This is a fantastic meal if you need to whip something up quickly, if you are craving pizza but don't want to ruin your healthy eating habits or just want a yummy dinner for a Friday movie night.

Enjoy! xo Lo

Chicken Milanese

Chicken Milanese is one of those iconic dishes that seems to be forgotten or skipped over. I wanted to rejuvenate this recipe a bit.

Chicken Milanese

chicken breasts (2-4)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup flour
2 eggs
fennel bulb
cherry tomatoes, halved
garlic
1/2 cup cream cheese
penne pasta
 salt
pepper

Preheat oven on the lowest setting, 150-170.

Boil water for the pasta, put plenty of salt in the water, once bubbling add in whichever pasta you prefer, I used penne.

Take your chicken breasts and pound them until they are about a 1/2 inch thick. Sometimes the breasts are so large I cut them in half. In three bowls add flour, salt and pepper in one, eggs in the second and panko in the third. Dip the breasts into the flour, then coat with the eggs and dredge in the panko bread crumbs. Once pasta is al dente, drain.

Brown each side of the chicken using olive oil in a hot pan, about three minutes per side. Then place the coated chicken breasts on a baking sheet with a wire rack on it, put in the oven to cook through and keep warm.

In the same pan you browned the chicken in, add in the fennel, let it cook until soft. Then add in the garlic and lastly the tomatoes. Once the vegetables are soft, add in the cream cheese to create a creamy sauce. Retrieve the chicken from the oven. Spoon pasta in bowl, top with crispy chicken and finally the creamy sauce. I garnished with a little of the fennel sprigs. The panko makes this chicken even more crispy and slow cooking makes the chicken extra moist. The bite from the fennel and creaminess from the sauce makes this dish irresistible. Any guest will love this meal.

Enjoy! xo Lo

Baby Shower for Morgan and her little dove Cora Elizabeth

One of my favorite things to do is plan a party and of course make food for that party. Every day there is a new reason to celebrate. This past Saturday was my wonderful friend, Morgan's baby shower for her baby girl on the way: Cora Elizabeth. I signed myself up right away to make a few savory and sweet items for the special day.

Morgan's friends did an incredible job, decorating, creating fun games and putting together some additional tasty treats. For Morgan's shower I wanted to take a large onion tart that I had made before and make tartlets. I wanted to do the same for a citrus cake I had made previously, make mini cupcakes. And what good is a baby shower without some onesie cookies...right? Here are my recipes below.

Caramelized Onion Tartlets with Manchego Cheese
3 pie crusts (premade or homemade)
2 medium/large yellow onions
3 pieces of cooked ham (or bacon or proscuitto)
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 stick butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup manchego cheese
1 cup half & half
1 egg
salt
pepper

First you want to take your pie crusts and use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to cut out some circles. Grease you mini (or regular) muffin tin. Then put the pie circles inside so they look like mini tart shells. Bake these at 425 for about 15 minutes.

Next, heat up your pan or skillet and drop in the butter and oil. While that heats up, peel and thinly slice your onions. Place them in the skillet to caramelize, this will take about 15 or so minutes. Keep your heat to medium low because you don't want them to get crispy. Keep stirring every few minutes. Then chop up your ham (or bacon) add that to your onion mixture. You want to chop up your fresh parsley very finely and add that to the onion mixture as well. Add a bit of salt and pepper and mix around. Remove from heat and once your pie shells are cooled spoon the mixture into your mini shells.

Grate your manchego (you can also use gruyere) cheese and place about a spoonful on top of each tart. Then beat your egg and add in the half and half, add about a spoonful of that onto each tart (this creates your custard for the tart). Bake these at 350 for about 20 minutes. They will be a bubbling golden brown.

Lemon-Chiffon Cupcakes with Citrus Buttercream Icing

Lemon-Chiffon Cupcakes with Citrus Buttercream Icing
Topped with Candied Grapefruit and Cranberries
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 large eggs separated
3/4 cup orange-banana juice
3 Tbsp orange, grapefruit & lemon zest
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350. Combine first four ingredients in your standing mixer, in the center add in egg yolks, oil and juice. Beat on a medium speed for 3-4 minutes until the mixture becomes smooth. Stir in zest. Remove from mixer into a large bowl. Clean mixing bowl and add in egg whites and cream of tartar, beat on high until you see stiff peaks (like whipped cream or meringue). Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Spoon into your greased mini cupcake tin and bake for about 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before adding the icing.

Citrus Buttercream Icing
1/2 cup soft butter
3 Tbsp orange, grapefruit & lemon zest
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp fresh Meyer lemon juice

Beat the butter with the zest on medium speed, when the mixture becomes creamy start slowly adding in your powdered sugar (about 1/3 cup at a time). Then add in your fresh lemon juice. You will begin to see the consistency turn into a frosting. Apply to each cupcake.

Candied Grapefruit and Cranberries
1 grapefruit
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
3 cups water

Add water to a medium sized pot, put heat on medium and add in sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Slice up grapefruit into small pieces (rind intact). Add in cranberries whole. Stir so the sugar water coats each piece of fruit. Let the water come to a gentle bubble. Occasionally stir the fruit around, keep in sugar water for about 30 minutes. This will remove the tartness from the berries and the sourness from the grapefruit rind. Use a piece of parchment paper or foil and spoon the fruit onto the paper to cool. After about 10 minutes check them, they should be sticky, like gummy candy. Place on top of your cupcakes for a unique, delicious topping.

Onesie Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies with  Orange Icing
1 cookie cutter (any shape)
3 1/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 package of cream cheese
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsps vanilla
1 egg

In your standing mixer add in butter and cream cheese. Cream until smooth. Meanwhile add, flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside. Add sugar into butter mixture, beat for about two minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. On low speed, gradually add in flour mixture. Dough will be soft and sticky.


Divide dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. Preheat oven to 350 and grease cookie sheets. Once dough has chilled, roll out and use cookie cutter to cut out 1/4 inch thick cookies. Spread out about two inches apart and bake for about 12 minutes. Let cool before icing.

Orange Poured Fondant Icing (Naturally colored)
1 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp of orange extract
3-5 tsp light corn syrup
1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar
1 Tbsp beet juice

In your standing mixer, add in milk, corn syrup and 1/3 a cup of confectioner sugar at a time. If you need to use more add more, if you need to add more milk to keep the icing smooth add a bit more. Add orange extract and beet juice. The beet juice is a natural way to color your icing instead of using chemical-laden dye. And you can't even taste it! Plus the color was perfect. Use immediately. When you apply to cookie the icing will dry pretty quickly so decorate right away.


The baby shower was a huge success! Delicious food and wonderful company. It is a precious time watching all my friends transform from beautiful women to beautiful mothers.




These recipes would be perfect for any party. Your guests will feel incredibly special and your guest of honor will feel showered with love. Enjoy! xo Lo

Who says you can't camp in style??

Every year about one third of our population goes camping. There is quite an extensive list of "must take" when you go on a camping trip. Of course, food is a very important part of this trip away. On Memorial Weekend, my husband and I decided to take a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. We were thrilled to immerse ourselves into nature. And to finally put all our collected camp gear to use.

We made the couple hour drive to Estes Park, met up with some friends for lunch. After a couple of Elk burgers our group decided to take a hike with friends. We witnessed a beautiful waterfall, as the winters last breath was leaving the mountains. Before nightfall sprang upon us we needed to set up camp, get our fire going and start dinner. Our campsite was incredible, the campground called it the honeymoon suite and after arrival, we understood why. We had a large site are with gorgeous Longs Peak puffing it's chest at the valleys below. Tall pine trees kept us privately tucked away and we were in heaven. We set up camp and started to ready our evening.

We brought most of the "typical" camping foods but tried to jazz it up a little bit. Instead of regular burgers, we brought turkey burgers. We brought sandwich thins, instead of giant hunks of bread. But of course we couldn't help ourselves with bringing bacon and eggs. (They make everything better.) I wanted to relish being out in the middle of nowhere and not have to have fancy food. But I knew there had to be more creative ways to prepare the food. So as my husband collected firewood, I started with our cocktail for the evening.

I found this awesome peach bellini wine freezer...perfect for camping! All I had to do was fill it with wine, water and then freeze. Talk about simple! I poured each of us a glass and felt excited for the camping trip to unfold. Once I had my cocktail to sip on, I started to prepare dinner. We were having bacon-cheese-turkey burgers. We wanted to use the grill that came on the fire pit, so I had to figure out an easy way to keep all the food on the grill. Obviously the turkey burgers and buns would be fine but the bacon, if left alone would probably fall through the cracks into the fire. I had seen people create a bacon lattice on turkeys and chickens and felt this would be a perfect way to cook this bacon for our burgers. I cut a few slices and laced them together creating a bacon patty.  Then we put everything on the grill and waited patiently. As the flame hissed with bacon grease, we enjoy our mountainous bliss. We watched as the sun faded behind the pine trees and scarfed down our healthy yet hearty camp fire meal. We sat by the fire for quite awhile staring into the flames and talking about how much we'd miss Colorado. (We were moving back to Texas in a few short days.) We would miss the smell of the mountains, the chilly summer rains, being the first ones on the ski lifts, grabbing a local brew at the Dam Brewery, being able to spot the mountains from almost any activity we were doing, the color of the autumn leaves and our cousins.

 

The next day we hiked six miles straight up to Green Mountain. I remember my hands swelling up so much I thought my pinky finger pad would pop. Hydration was important. Thankfully we were mostly shaded by the towering trees. Once we reached the top we sat down to enjoy the panoramic view of mountains and valleys. Tiny, social chipmunks scurried up to see if we had any bits of food for them to munch on. Then we found the seal and took a picture of our wedding rings on it to symbolize our exceptional year in colorful Colorado.

When we returned from our hike we realized there were no showers at our campground. We made a discovery trip into Estes Park and found some showers at a Laundromat. Unfortunately it was cash only and our pockets were empty AND to top it all off the place closed in 10 minutes. We were sweaty and desperate for a shower before hunkering down in our tent. The nicest girl doing laundry must have saw the looks of exasperation on our red faces and paid for our showers. We gratefully accepted, offered a Starbuck's gift card (which she refused to accept) and hurried into our cleansing stalls. After a good scrub and rinse we were as good as new, but hungry. We made our way back to the grounds and cheffed up some good ole freeze dried camping food. I chose beef stroganoff and I served Evan cheesy chili mac n cheese. We cuddled next to our fire and ate in silence.

This may have been our last camping trip in 2013 but we knew we'd be back for more.

 

Have a great end of your summer! xoxo Lo

 Oh and if you see a bear locker on your camp site...use it!

Autumn Brunch

Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year, I love cozying up next to the fire with some hot soup or warm cup of tea. I love cuddling with my husband, while the snow falls outside. But most of all I love the seasonal foods...an array of colorful squashes, figs, apple cider, apple butter, freshly baked breads and so much more.

Every fall season I load up on acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, pumpkins and sweet potatoes for all my savory delights. This cloudy Sunday morning, I left for church early, while my husband slumbered away in our cozy bed. When I came home, I knew I wanted to create a fabulous Autumn-style brunch.

Pear-Sweet Potato Hash

1 golden bosque pear
1 sweet potato
3 bacon slices
1/4 diced onion
olive oil

First dice up your sweet potato and put in water to boil. While water is heating up, add olive oil in a cast iron skillet, add your diced onion and diced bits of bacon. Let onions cook til translucent. Dice up your pear and add to the skillet, by then your sweet potatoes should be partly cooked, drain the water and add them to the skillet. Cook until the potatoes and pears are carmelized. You could also use root vegetables, regular potatoes or any squash.



















In the meantime work on your crocque monsieur:

Pastrami Croque Monsieur

4 slices of bread (any bread you have)
4 slices of pastrami (or any meat you have)
slices of muenster cheese (or any cheese you have)
Dijon mustard
Bechamel sauce (recipe follows)

Make your pastrami sandwiches, spread your dijon mustard on bread and layer with slices of cheese and meat. Place in the oven at 400 degrees until the bread becomes golden and toasty. Meanwhile work on your Bechamel sauce.


Bechamel Sauce

1 stick of butter
5 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1tsp thyme (or any spice you prefer, bay leaves work great too)

Melt butter and whisk in the flour. Heat your milk (do not scald) and add in slowly. Sauce should start to thicken, add in thyme, salt and pepper. Let bubble for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat. Your sandwiches should be toasted by now, remove from oven, spoon Bechamel sauce over top of your sandwiches, place a few more slices of cheese and put under broiler for a few minutes (until golden and bubbly).

Soft-Boiled Eggs

4 eggs
water

This way to cook eggs is quite simple. Heat your water in a small saucepan over high heat until a rolling boil. Add in eggs and cook for 4 minutes. Remove the eggs from the water and place in egg cups (or shot glasses). Let cool for a few minutes, then crack the tops off with a butter knife. Lightly tap the knife against the egg shell and peel top off.

Fruit Salad
1 cup blackberries
1 cup sliced bananas
1 cup sliced kiwis
1 tsp lime zest
1 Tbsp lime juice

Slice up your fruit, add fruit to bowl, zest your lime and squeeze half the lime onto the fruit. Mix around and it is ready to serve.

Your guests will absolutely be blown away by this magnificent brunch- the flavors are exquisite, the meal is filling but not overly indulgent. This would be perfect for the upcoming holidays or to make any Sunday morning just a bit brighter.

Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Italiano Rustica

I love looking at separate ingredients and watching them marry into one fabulous, delicious meal. Italian food is a house favorite and one of the meals I truly love to make, tweaking it every time I make it.


Grilled Flank Steak
2 pounds of flank steak
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper
1 clove of crushed garlic

I chose flank steak because it is inexpensive, versatile and scrumptious! I marinated the steak in olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed garlic for 20 minutes, while I got my sides ready.

Cilantro Pesto Linguine
1/2 box linguine (or whole, depending on your guests)
1/2 cup cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parsley
1/4 cup parmesan
salt
pepper

I use either chicken stock or salted water to cook my pasta in (whichever I have). Add the pasta when the liquid is boiling with a bit of olive oil, so the pasta won't stick. While the pasta cooks, roughly chop your cilantro and parsley. Add all pesto ingredients together in a deep bowl and use an emulsion blender (or regular blender/food processor) to combine. Once pasta is done, lightly toss in the pesto and keep warm.

Roasted Carrots & Parsnips

bundle of carrots
bundle of parsnips
olive oil
salt
pepper

Rinse your veggies and slice lengthwise, toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

By this time you should be able to put your steaks on the grill, cook 4-5 minutes per side. Let rest for 7 minutes before slicing.

When plating, add pasta on the plate, slice steak and add to plate and finally the veggies. This meal is loaded with healthy carbs, protein and several other nutrients, plus it was at a low cost!

Try this next family get together, everyone will be pleasantly surprised. Enjoy! xoxo Lo

Tropical Bridal Shower

I love hosting parties and making my guests smile. When one of my best friends announced that she was going to get married on St. Thomas, I knew I had to throw her a bridal shower to celebrate. Parties can be as complicated or as simple as you want to make them. I prefer making 90 percent of my foods from scratch and ordering a cake from my trusty baker.

Sticking to a theme is an excellent way to keep organized and cohesive throughout your planning, prep and execution. Since Nikki was getting married on St. Thomas, I created a tropical theme for the entire party.

Fried Plaintains and Guacamole
5-7 plaintains
peanut oil
sea salt
pepper
3 avocados
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno
1 clove garlic
1 roma tomato
cilantro
blue chips

Plaintains can be a little difficult but if done correctly can be delicious! Plaintains can be done a few different ways, you can make little thin discs, long thin slices or giant chunks. If you want crispy plaintains choose one of the first two. For this bridal shower, I chose the small discs. Heat up your peanut oil til bubbling, slice up your plaintains and slowly dip into the oil using your wire utensil. Cook for just a few minutes until golden brown and let rest on paper towels. When all the plaintains are fried, let rest while making the guacamole.

Guacamole should be simple, mash up your avocados, dice up your onion, tomatoes and garlic. Mix everything together, add in a minced jalapeno and diced cilantro. Mix altogether, add salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime to taste. I also served blue corn chips in case the plaintains went fast.


Coconut Meatballs with an Agave Glaze
1 lb of ground beef
coconut flakes
plain bread crumbs
1 egg
salt
pepper
agave nectar

Add egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and a bit of the coconut flakes to the ground beef. Mix together very well then form into one inch balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Drizzle agave nectar on top and toss in remaining coconut flakes.

Tropical Baked Brie
one medium wheel of brie
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup dried mango
2 Tbsp agave nectar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 sheet of puffed pastry

Roll out your puffed pastry, cut wheel of brie into two big circle slices. Mix together nuts, coconut, dried mango, agave nectar and brown sugar. Put 3/4 of the mixture in the middle between the halves of brie. Place top half of brie on top and wrap with the puffed pastry. Flip over so the smooth side is on top and add remaining nut mixure on top and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve with crackers or bread. This can be made with really any nut and dried fruit, perfect for any season.

Chicken 'n Veggie Skewers
1 pound of chicken tenders
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
olive oil
salt
pepper
wooden skewers

Soak the wooden skewers for about 20 minutes in water, before using on the grill so they do not catch on fire. Skewer the chicken and chunks of the vegetables. Grill for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Pork Loin Sliders
1 lb pork loin
yeast rolls (frozen or homemade)
mango glaze (recipe follows)

Drizzle olive oil over your pork loin and add any spices you prefer. I added salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Then bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes (depending on size). Let your yeast rolls rise and bake for about 10 minutes.

Mango Glaze
1 small champagne mango
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp agave nectar
pinch of salt
squeeze of one lemon

Puree mango together with all the ingredients. Make sure you taste to see if you need to add more sugar or lemon.

Once the pork is done, let rest for 10 minutes and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Slice up the rolls as well. Spread your mango glaze on the rolls and add the pork.


Fruit Skewers
2 cups strawberries
1 large mango
5 kiwis

Fruit skewers are easiest with firmer fruits, slice in a delicate, pretty way and add to the skewers. Serve with a fresh whipped cream.

The cake was made by my favorite local baker, I requested a French vanilla cake with mango in between the slices with a buttercream frosting and large coconut flakes on the outside. I had a Hawaiian quote placed on the top to stay with the tropical theme.

As far as the decor went, I used beach towels as the table cloths and added sea shells on top. I created bridal advice cards that went on the table as well. For flowers, you want to choose the best for your theme so birds of paradise would work perfectly.

The bridal shower was a huge success! All of these recipes are quite easy and most of all they are delicious! I hope this helps give you the courage to throw a party for one of your dear friends.

Enjoy! xo Lo