Spinach Smoothie

I don't know about you but it is definitely time to try to get back into the healthy swing of things.  I've been horrible since the holidays and now I have no excuse.  Here's where the spinach smoothie comes in.  I have been really bad about making these lately but normally the girls and I try to have one every morning and I can really tell a difference when we are having these regularly.  The girls love them and so do I.  If you're a little worried about the taste of the spinach, don't be.  I was skeptical for a long time.  The thought of spinach in a blender can be a little hard to look past at first but I promise you can't taste it.  So go make one.  It's so good!

Recipe:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup coconut milk (or almond milk)
large handful of fresh spinach
large handful of strawberries (or whatever fruit you have on hand)
1 banana
4-6 ice cubes
1 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tbsp. lingonberry preserves

Throw it all in the blender and mix it all together.  How easy is that?!  Change it up however you want.  I add the honey and cinnamon in the winter to try to ward off illnesses.  So those are totally up to you.  The lingonberries I add because Dr. Oz says so.  (He says it's the new superfruit and we do what he says, right?)

Have a great Tuesday!

Ina Garten

So you may or may not have heard of this wonderful lady, Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) on a little network called the Food Network.  All of her recipes and advice are wonderful.  I am new to the Ina love affair (I am ashamed to say).  I don't know what happened, if something changed in her or I, but I can't seem to get enough of her all of a sudden.  All of her dishes are so classic and simple.  And I don't think it'll be much longer before the Mr. starts singing her praise as well.  He mentioned last night all we seem to eat is Mexican food.  And it's true, I could easily live on Mexican food, with an occasional sushi trip, for the rest of my life and never think twice about it.  Anyways, back to Ina.  If you haven't checked her out, well, what is wrong with you?!



Nick & Toni's Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup good olive oil
2 1/2 cups chopped Spanish onion (1 large)
1 tablespoons minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1 cup vodka
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled plum tomatoes, drained*
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound penne pasta
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves, plus extra for serving
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat the oil in a large (12-inch) oven-proof sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the red pepper and dried oregano and cook for 1 more minute. Add the vodka and continue cooking for 5 to 7 minutes, until the mixture is reduced by half.
When the onions are ready, crush each tomato with your hands into the pan. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and the pasta and cook for 11 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain and set aside.
Carefully pour the cooked tomato mixture in a blender in small batches and puree until smooth. Return the tomato mixture to the pan (be careful - the handle is hot!). Add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 2 tablespoons of the fresh oregano, and the cream and simmer partially covered for 10 minutes. Add the pasta to the sauce and cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and serve hot sprinkled with extra Parmesan and chopped fresh oregano.

*I had read reviews that it was much easier if you substituted the 28 oz. cans of whole tomatoes for crushed tomatoes.  So I used crushed tomatoes and skipped the blender step.  It still turned out amazing in my opinion.  And as with most sauces, it was better the next day.  So good, go make it! (Sorry I'm being so bossy today!...Okay, maybe I'm not.)



Oh, and make these Ina blueberry muffins too!

what we've been up to

Last weekend my hubby and I went to my 10 year high school reunion.  This officially made me feel like a grown up. 

It wasn't as bad as I expected, not that I know what I really expected.  It was great to spend time with my lovely friend Catherine back from California.  She's amazing and these days I try to live vicariously through her.  I miss her so much!  The red lipstick was fun, but I probably wouldn't do it again.  I'm not known for wearing very much makeup and I felt a little like I was on drill team.  It kind of ages me (not something you want to happen for your reunion), and seems to smear really easily.  I'm sure there are ways to avoid this but as I said, I'm no pro.  I was kind of going for a modern take on the 1940's, the era that I'm so sad I don't live in, that and the 1960's.  The shirt was my own design.  It has a few flaws but as long as I don't look to close I'm pretty proud of it.

      
I made these cake batter truffles...

recipe here

They were soo good!  Found (of course) via Pinterest.  The bottom of the bowl looked pretty in the sink after I was done so I just had to sneak in a picture.

Made new drawer pulls for Gidget's armoire...

Her armoire was a neighborhood find.  Someone put it in their driveway with a sign that said $50.  So, needless to say, we brought it home.  In true form, I've changed everything about it, and am still not done but am pretty happy with it so far.  The pulls have definately been a challenge.  The original ones were not screwed in.  I don't even know how to describe it, I've never seen anything like it, they were attached with wire and braided into the wood on the inside.  I cut them off (not an easy task) only to realize they were also made in a size that does not come standard.  I spent about two weeks searching every earthly place trying to find something that would work.  Finally I remembered I had bookmarked this tutorial awhile back and it worked perfect.  In the end I'm happy nothing else worked because I love these agate pulls.  I ordered the bases the same place that she did in the tutorial and ordered the agate off of eBay.  It was so cheap to do and it looks pretty high end.  (My husband rolls his eyes when I tell him this, but I love him for it).

I have been trying to get Gidget to color since the day she was born and this week she finally is interested, and in full force.  This makes me so excited!  And so proud! 

I don't know about you, but I think she is quite the artiste. 

In honor of her newfound love I made her this...

This has been all over Pinterest for a very long time and I finally decided to make my own.  It wasn't as easy as I had expected.  It took a lot longer that I thought it would and my hands are a little beat up from the process but I like it.  Mine has quite a few flaws but I think this is supposed to have a lot of imperfections.  That's what I love about dripping wax.  So, between that and my love for all things Rainbow Brite/Lisa Frank lately, this works perfect.  There are several ways on Pinterest that this is being done, I used the hot glue gun version.  Personally I didn't want the crayon wrappers on mine and a glue gun is only $2 so you're not heartbroken when you destroy it.  If you're hands are as shaky as mine are be prepared for random splatters, i.e. the bottom of the canvas and all over my kitchen.

I drink this all year round but this just tastes like fall to me and makes me happy...

Love it!

I just found this and can't understand why they have it priced so high.  After all, I don't think you will love it as much as I do if it doesn't have your last name on it...

via eBay

I think it would look perfect in my home, don't you?

I think this has been my longest post ever.  I have a lot more coming but I will save that for later.


PS if anyone knows of someone who would like to model vintage clothes for free let me know, please!!!  It would be pretty fun if you like to play dress up and I may be able to actually pay someone for it at a later date but my little business is just getting started so that, as well as a professional photographer, will just have to wait.  We did a "shoot" with several items for the store yesterday and I'm just not cutting it as a model.  Being borderline albino just doesn't make for great pictures.  I'll let you know when I get all of my new items listed in the store.  I love them all so much I am going to have a hard time parting with them. 

Until then,

 

call me betty crocker

It's no secret I spend a lot of time on Pinterest.  And for the first time in my life almost all of the recipes I have tried that I've spotted on Pinterest have been really good.  Today I made these Shirley Temple cupcakes for my former co-workers just because I love them and miss them so much!  I thought they were good and I got a few good comments about them so I wanted to share the recipe. 

Shirley Temple Cupcakes

Mine were not gluten free because I didn't have any gluten free flour but if you need to make something gluten free these would be great to try.

A few other great Pinterest recipes I've made recently:

Salmon with Sriracha Sauce

This was sooo good.  My husband had seemed disappointed when I told him we were having salmon for dinner but loved it and has been asking for it ever since.  I served mine with rice and it reminded me of a Philadelphia sushi roll.  So good!  I added sesame oil to mine just because I love sesame oil.  I think it always completes any Asian recipe.

Sesame Noodles

These were really good as well and so easy.  I added chicken to mine.  It should be pretty cheap to make if you figure out the cost per serving.  Gidget loved it!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

I can't lie.  I drink chocolate milk like a 5 year old.  And it was even worse when I was pregnant.  With both of my pregnancies my husband was always asking how I could eat every meal with a glass of chocolate milk.  What can I say, I love it.  Between that and apple juice (I told you I have the appetite of a 5 year old) I have set both of my girls up to be juice and chocolate milk addicts for life after both of my pregnancies.  So, thanks to me Gidget has lately become obsessed with chocolate milk.  About a week ago we ran out of chocolate syrup which has become an emergency in our house if Gidget doesn't have constant access to chocolate milk.  (For you concerned readers, don't worry I barely put any syrup in her cup).  I thought about running to the store to get more but it had also been bothering me that I didn't know exactly what was in the chocolate syrup I was giving her.  So I found this recipe.  It's so good, it tastes just like anything you would buy in the store.  It is good for two months, which is enough time in our house to go through a bottle before it goes bad.  And, when I compared the ingredients of this recipe with Nestle's recipe its the same except they have a few added chemicals at the end.  Needless to say, I don't think we will be buying chocolate syrup from the store anymore.  This recipe is so easy to make too.  Now I just need to find a cute bottle to store it in.  

Let me know of any great recipes that I need to try!