A few of my favorite things: June edition
PIN IT!“I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don’t feeeeeeeeeeeeel, soooooo baddddd!” I mean, come on, that song has to make you smile just a leeetle bit! Right? No? Well how about this face? That should instantly melt your cold, cold heart. Another thing that always perks up my mood?
and
and often this too.
Obviously in no particular order. The reasoning behind today’s “off the beaten path” kinda post was because of a favorite blog of mine, MK in Wonderland. She did a fun little roundup and that inspired me to do the same. But don’t worry, a few of these favorite also link to recipes on She Knows. I mean, have you met me? Clearly food is something I care about deeply.
She Knows [aka work].
For more reasons than I can count. I love every single second I am working. Even if it’s on days like Monday where I worked from 8 am until 11pm and my hand was like crippled from typing. Yep, even on those days. Because I get to craft statement necklaces, play with flour, experiment in the kitchen and make gigantic messes every single day.Oh, and in 2 weeks they are sending me somewhere that looks like this.
Jamaica! I can’t wait. I hate to brag I’m just happy. And for those who have been reading me since last year, you know it’s something I haven’t always been.
Farmers market pizza
aka this.
With an egg! You have to make it. You’ll die. [RECIPE HERE].
Mason jars
I am in DEEP DEEP LURRVEE with mason jars lately. I honestly can not get enough of them. I love them SO MUCH I’m going to give some away (and more props) in a giveaway tomorrow! Yep, STAY TUNED!
Hanging with lights…
Filled with gin drinks…
or filled with s’mores!! Look at this amazing idea from Lovely Little Details, photo courtesy of Jessica Burke.
I also love them in a hat, with a cat, with green eggs and ham.
Rustic photo boards
I mean, I’m just obsessed. I made a few trays for work [DIY HERE!] and I’m astounded at how much of a difference they make in my photos. It’s like night and day. For another great tutorial, check out Running to the Kitchen.
That’s it! Just a few of my favorite things 🙂 Also be sure to check out the new series I started, Skinny Bitch Tuesdays! The Skinny Bitch herself even commented on it!
Claire
Tags:diy mason jar projects, easy pizza crust recipe, farmers market pizza recipe, featured, food prop boards, how to make a food board, mason jar DIY, mason jar food props, mason jars, pizza recipe, rustic diy
Skinny Bitch Tuesdays: Vegan Rice Pilaf
Hi, y’all! Happy Tuesday! Boy, do I have a fabulous new little series for your viewing (and eating) pleasure, Skinny Bitch Tuesdays! This idea came to me while cookbook shopping in Dupont. I stumbled across the lovely cookbook in front of your eyes and thought “yup, I need this.” Shamefully, it was because of the title. I mean, who isn’t drawn to a book labeled skinny bitch?
Well, after I perused the recipes, it was an instant “have to have.” All vegan, all healthy? Right up my alley way. After I bought it, an idea starting brewing in my head. Hey, why don’t I find some healthy bloggers to join me as we cook our way through this, like the PW Wednesday girls and the Milk Bar Mondays. So, I emailed a few of my very favorite healthy food bloggers (Stephanie, Jennifer, Michelle and Kelly) and TA-DA! We’re here and we’re ready to cook skinny, bitch.
To kick things off, we decided to whip up the tantalizing and delicious looking rice pilaf. I mean, you can’t go wrong with a rice pilaf.
The rules for our link up were simple. Make the dish in the book but add your own spin to it. I mean, that’s what we food bloggers do right?
For one, I opted for barley instead of a second rice. Because barley needs love to, guys. Then, I decided to add in a splash (read, 1/4 cup) of dry white wine to the caramelizing veggies. Because, I mean, it’s me, do you really need an explanation?
I may or may not have had some for breakfast. I also may or may not have eaten it with a giant wooden spoon last night while it was cooking causing me to burn my tongue. Speculative, of course.
So, hopefully this recipe is mouth-watering enough to get you on board with SB Tuesdays. Because skinny never looked, or tasted, this good. (I’m done with the tag lines, I think).
Recipe adapted from Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook.
Barley & Wild Rice Pilaf
Serves about 4.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup wild grain rice
- 1/3 cup barley
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 small onions, finely chopped
- 5 baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Liberal dashes of salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons roasted walnuts * (optional)
Directions:
- In a small saucepan, heat 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add wild rice and boil for 2 – 3 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let cook 30 – 40 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the rice is tender. Leave on the warm setting so the rice doesn’t cool.
- While the rice is cooking, heat remaining 3/4 cup vegetable broth and 1/4 cup water in another sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, carefully stir in barley and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook about 45 minutes, or until most of the liquid is gone and the barley is soft. Remove from heat and stir into the wild rice mixture.
- Heat olive oil in a medium size pan over medium high heat. Add onions, garlic and mushrooms and cook until soft and fragrant, about 4 – 5 minutes. Add oregano, white wine and rosemary and cook until wine has reduced by more than half. Remove from heat and add to the rice/barley mixture. Liberally season with salt and pepper and garnish with additional rosemary!
Nutritional information per 1 cup serving:
Calories: 88
Fat: 2 grams
Protein: 1.5 grams
Fiber: 2 grams
Carbohydrates: 13.5 grams
Weight Watchers Points:
Be sure to check out these other amazing pilafs by these skinny bitches!
Stephanie: Quinoa pilaf
Jennifer: Wild rice pilaf
Michelle: Pilaf
Eat Skinny: Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
What a weekend, friends! I spent the past few days in Ohio celebrating the wedding of my cousin Curt and his lovely bride Clare! I want to share just a few pictures of the wedding before we dive into the amazing strawberry rhubarb jam I made last week.
They were such a BEAUTIFUL couple and the wedding was gorgeous. It had a rustic, elegant vibe with burlap and mason jars. It was held at the Hillbrook, a stunning country club in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Seriously, gorgeous. The house itself is a giant Tudor style mansion and it overlooks tons of gardens and trees! Congrats again you two!
Now, let’s talk jam! And not just any ol’ jam, low-sugar strawberry rhubarb jam!
I am SO into jam making these days. I honestly can’t believe I haven’t made it sooner. Not only is it the easiest thing in the world to make, it’s SO delicious. I refuse, flat out REFUSE, to buy jam at the store now. Because I’m sorry Smuckers, you just don’t compare.
Plus, it’s low-sugar, which means you won’t get a cavity eating it! That’s one thing I hate about store bought jams, how high in sugar they are! Luckily strawberries are so natrually sweet anyway, you don’t need cups of sugar to make it taste good.
As you know, I’m still new to the rhubarb trend but its safe to say I’m obsessed. This jam is sweet, but earthy and so perfect on toast. Plus, one jar of this stuff will last MONTHS so even when rhubarb season is over, you can still enjoy it with your coffee.
Oh and it makes the best gift idea! Who doesn’t love jam, I mean really? If you don’t, I’m not sure we can still be friends.
Recipe adapted from Delectable Musings.
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Yields about 3.5 pints (and 56 servings)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 – 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh strawberries, tops removed & chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, diced
- About 1 – 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Directions:
- Place strawberries, rhubarb, sugar (1 cup) and lemon juice in a large sauce pan.
- Carefully mash the strawberries a bit (with a fork or wooden spoon) until they are squishy.
- Cook until sugar has completely dissolved, about 3 – 5 minutes. Taste the mixture to see if it needs more sugar. If so, add another 1/4 – 3/4 cup. Then cover and reduce heat to low. Let jam simmer for about 20 minutes, or until mixture reaches 220 degrees F.
- Remove from heat and immediately transfer to sterile mason or canning jars. Cover with lid and chill for an hour. Then serve, keep or enjoy!
Nutritional information per serving (2 tablespoons):
Calories: 25
Fat: 0 grams
Carbohydrates: 6.5 grams
Protein: >1 gram
Fiber: >1 gram
Weight Watchers Points: 1 point
Like that? Try This: Linguine with Gorgonza Cream Sauce & Green Beans Recipe
Longest title in all the land. I really should just label this pasta “linguine with ALL THE THINGS!” However, to keep things profesh, I’ll stick with my mouthful of a title. Regardless of the title, this is something y’all gotta make. I mean, Gorgonzola cream sauce. Really, do you need more reason than that?
This pasta is so f*&()*(^(& good, guys. Really. The use of the gorgonzola gives the sauce a tangy, bold flavor which compliments the freshly steamed green beans and linguine perfectly. Like a boss, if you will.
It’s such a perfect meal for date night. Or Saturday night. Hell, even just a plain ol’ Monday night. It’s comfort food done with a gourmet twist. Plus, it’s lighter than traditional Alfredo, so if you like that, you gotta try this.
Plus, it was the first time I used my fancy rustic white bowl, so I’m even MORE excited about this pasta. How cute is that bowl? Oh, and it cost less than $10. Yep. On Overstock. Of all places. Who knew? Alas, I digress. This pasta? ES MUY BUENO.
Y’all, make this. And make this now. YOU CAN FIND THE RECIPE HERE! And because I know how much y’all love the nutritional stats (okay, that’s just me, I’m a nutrition nerd), they are below. Enjoy!
Per serving (recipe serves 6):
Calories: 328
Fat: 16 grams
Carbohydrates: 30 grams
Fiber: 6.5 grams
Protein: 8.3 grams
Weight Watchers Points Plus Points: 8
In case you missed my bold, underline link above, RECIPE HERE!
Eat Skinny: Vegetarian Barley Stuffed Peppers Recipe
Holy Wednesday, batman! I always forget how fast weeks go by after a long weekend. Even though I worked on Monday, it still feels like this week is BLOWING by. Which is fine by me because I’m going to a very special wedding this weekend in Ohio! My cousin Curt and his fiancè Clare got engaged the day after my wedding and I’m pretty excited to see their big day come together.
The bride to be and I in Arizona!
Even though I have packing, tanning and working out to do before we leave on Friday, I have to share this delicious stuffed pepper recipe I threw together yesterday.
When I say “throw together” I literally mean throw together. I was digging in my produce drawer and stumbled upon two large peppers. Then, I remembered I had some vegetarian sausage in the freezer. Ideas starting brewing. As I perused the pantry, I found barley. And that’s when it hit me. Stuffed peppers! Yes!
Barley, to me, is like quinoa’s neglected step sister. Never gets used in much of anything and is often overlooked. Well, I think it’s pretty awesome and it really stands out in this pepper. It’s filling without being too heavy and really absorbs the flavor of the sausage, onions and goat cheese.
This is the perfect dinner if you don’t really want to do dishes (aka every night for me) since all you need is a fork to eat it! Or, be like my husband and just eat the thing like an apple. I made him eat it over a plate since it was showering onto the floor and the dogs were getting a treat.
I know. That’s my life. Feel sorry for me please.
Barley Stuffed Peppers
Serves 2
Prep time: 15 – 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 bell peppers, hollowed out
- 1/2 cup ground vegetarian sausage
- 1/2 cup barley, cooked
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Dash of salt and peper
- Fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons goat cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium pan, add onion and cook about 2 minutes. Add sausage and cook until browned, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Add barley, chopped basil and pepper to the pan and mix well.
- Stuff peppers until full with mixture. Sprinkle with additional basil leaves. Top each pepper with about 1 tablespoon goat cheese.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is browned and melted. Enjoy!
Nutritional information per pepper:
Calories: 377
Fat: 14.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 32.5 grams
Fiber: 5 grams
Protein: 20 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 9
