Strawberry salad with caramelized almonds

In the summer I love to eat salads, especially ones with fresh fruit mixed in. This one has been on rotation all summer and is super simple to make. I used to buy already made caramelized almonds until I realized how easy it is to caramelize your own in a skillet with sugar and chopped up almonds. Stir them around until they are golden brown. Plus, what a difference it makes to pour warm almonds onto your salad!

Strawberry Almond Salad

Mixed Greens

Chopped celery

Shredded carrots

Crumbled blue cheese

Sliced strawberries

Caramelized almonds

Shredded chicken (optional)

Other variations could include diced grapes, blueberries, or mandarin oranges. 

For the dressing you could easily make your own, but I personally like to mix the Brianna's Poppyseed Dressing with the Blush Wine Vinaigrette Dressing.

 

Make your own tortilla chips

We eat a whole lot of chips and guacamole at our house. I think we picked it up while living in Arizona. We always make our own guacamole, but until recently, I had never thought to make my own chips. They taste soooooo much better than store bought chips and are simple to make! Plus, I can control the amount of salt I want. 

Basically it's corn tortillas (I like the white corn ones) cut into triangles, sprinkled with sea salt, and baked on a cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until slightly brown. I also brush some olive oil on the cookie sheet to get the salt to stick, but it's not necessary. Do you ever make your own chips or have you ever? 

   

Tips for making your own pizza: part 1

I've always loved pizza! I mean, who doesn't? But my love for pizza has gone to a whole new level since we started making our own. I got Brandon the book My Pizza for Christmas. Since then, we have been making pizza like it's our second job. We've been trying different toppings and working on ways to perfect the crust, sauce, cheese, etc. It's a fun way to be creative and now we love to invite friends over for "pizza night."

The process didn't start out pretty, but we've learned several tips along the way....

Twin Cities Food Tour: The Buttered Tin

One thing I don't share about often is food, but my husband and I are major foodies. Even though we have favorite places to eat, we love finding new places and are constantly reading reviews about restaurants and eateries in the areas we live. So I thought it would be fun to start a new food series sharing places to eat around the twin cities. Plus, there are so many good places to eat around here.

I recently discovered a newer breakfast/brunch place in St. Paul that I wanted to try, so a couple of my friends and I decided to go. We went on a weekday before the lunch crowd so it wasn't too busy (by the time we left, the line was out the door). 

They serve typical breakfast dishes with a unique twist as well as delicious baked goods. I had the daily special scramble which was filled with mushrooms, capers, chorizo, and olives. It tasted really fresh and was complemented nicely with mixed greens and toast for a perfect sweet and savory mix.

 Because we had two 3 year olds in tow, I also got a taste of the pancakes which were equally good.

And of course we couldn't leave without a treat. We opted for a cupcake (designed after the hostess cupcakes). I also loved that they had Twinkies as well, however they called them "Twin Keys"

Do you like trying new places to eat or do you stick to your favorites?
 

Basil Salad Dressing

Have you ever tried making your own salad dressing? It's kind of surprising how easy it is to make and if I have time, I like to make my own. It tastes much better and is usually more healthy. Right after I had Will, one of my friends brought me dinner and she made this homemade salad dressing. It was something so simple, but so good. I've been making it ever since. Here's how to make it...

Basil Salad Dressing

1/2 c fresh basil
1/4 c lemon juice
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix together in a food processor or blender. I like to eat mine with a spring salad mix, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta or fresh mozzarella cheese.
 

Easy Appetizer Idea

Now that summer is here it seems like we having been getting together a lot more with family and friends. With lots of barbecues and picnics to go to, sometimes you need something easy and quick to make. I found this recipe for a really simple appetizer and tried making it while we were on vacation last week. It was super easy to make and ended up being pretty tasty. 

More pictures and how to make it after the jump...

Pineapple Salsa

In preparation for Cinco de Mayo this weekend I thought I would share one of my favorite salsa recipes. There are two things I can't get enough of: salsa and pineapple. This recipe is super easy to make and the colors alone make it a perfect snack to share or to take to a party. It would even be great to add in a little mango.

    

Pineapple Salsa

About 5 or 6 Roma tomatoes

Pineapple (I used half of one)

Handful of Cilantro

1/3 of a Red Onion

Juice of 1/2 a lime

Dash of Sea Salt

Dash of Garlic Salt 

None of the measurements are exact because it depends on how much you like of each, but really there's no way to really mess it up. I like mine to have a little less onion and cilantro and if you want a little kick consider adding a jalapeno. 

       

Black Bean & Quinoa Burgers

I'm not a vegetarian, but over the past couple of months I've been trying to incorporate a few meatless meals into our diet, and surprisingly I have found some really good options including this recipe for black bean and quinoa burgers. It has become a favorite at our house, and I actually prefer these over regular burgers.

Black Bean & Quinoa Burgers

1 can of black beans drained and rinsed (15.5 oz)
1/2 c cooked quinoa
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix together and somewhat mash the black beans. Flatten into patties and cook in a pan with olive oil for one min on each side (to brown them up). Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. I like mine topped with cheese, caramelized onions (a must), lettuce, and tomato.
(recipe originally from here)
   

Grilled cheese sandwiches

When it's cold outside, one of my favorite food combinations is grilled cheese and soup. I love how easy a grilled cheese sandwich is to make (especially when you don't feel like cooking). Here's how we made ours:

two slices of bread (the key is getting good bread, not just plain sandwich bread)
pesto (ours was from Target, but you could certainly make your own)
gruyere cheese
jarlesburg swiss cheese
sharp cheddar cheese
sliced tomatoes

What do you put on your grilled cheese sandwich?
 

Couscous for lunch

While hanging out with one of my friends a couple of weeks ago, she whipped up this delicious mix for lunch. It was surprisingly so simple and healthy so I thought I would share with you.

Couscous (she used Israeli Couscous from Trader Joe's)
Grape Tomatoes
Avocado
Feta Cheese

She cooked the coucous (according to the directions) in a bit of chicken stock. As you can see, there are no exact measurements, it's just a little mix of everything above. It would also be a good lunch to pack for work or if you're on the go.
 

What are your favorite Thanksgiving Day foods?

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Since this week is Thanksgiving I would it would be fun to hear some of your favorite holiday foods and if you have any good recipes I'd love to hear those as well. This Thanksgiving we are going to a friend's house since we don't have family nearby (plus, our house is filled with boxes).

My favorite food on Thanksgiving is usually the stuffing (probably because it's one of those foods I eat once a year). And since I'm not really a fan of pies, last year I decided to try making a toffee pumpkin pie cheesecake instead of the typical pie.

Do you stick to traditional Thanksgiving foods or do have different foods you make? What are some of your favorites? I thought it was pretty cool to hear some of our friends actually do fondue on Thanksgiving.
 

Cooking with Quinoa

Have you ever cooked with Quinoa? After buying a huge bag of it, I decided to try a couple of recipes and I'm kind of hooked (and it's good for you). These quinoa cups are tasty and have all the ingredients you would find in a breakfast dish plus more. They would work perfectly as an appetizer for a party or for a brunch. We made them for dinner and even my picky toddler boy ate them. Do you have any good quinoa recipes I need to try?

Ham & Cheese Quinoa Cups - (recipes from Iowa Girl Eats)

2 cups cooked Quinoa (3/4 cup uncooked)
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced ham
1/4 cup chopped parsely
2 tbls grated parmesan cheese
2 green onions sliced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Add all the ingredients together. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray (you are supposed to use a mini muffin pan, but I used a regular one). Spoon the mixture into the cups and bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes or until the edges of the cups are golden brown.
 

Mashed Potatoes

How do you cook your mashed potatoes? It seems like everyone has a special way to make mashed potatoes. I even knew of a girl who used to boil the potatoes in cream. Can you imagine how delicious they would be? You don't get many food posts from me and there is a reason for that, but these mashed potatoes are worth sharing.

Red (S)mashed Potatoes

2.5 lbs red potatoes (I peel half of them and keep the skins on the other half)

1/3 block of cream cheese (I didn't say they were healthy)

1T ranch dressing

1/2 c (or more) of milk

1/2 tsp garlic salt (or more)

salt and pepper

  

Beignets

Hope you all had a good weekend. Ours was pretty low key. Our plans to go to the zoo came to a halt when it started pouring rain. My husband was actually in New Orleans (for March Madness) and brought me back what he claimed to be the best of New Orleans: the beignets from Cafe Du Monde

Homemade Pizza...

(a regular at our household)

Pizza #1

Pizza #2

Good News

Our neighbor girl showed up with some of these tonight.

Good Food

Snowed in again! And this time we really aren't going anywhere because we can't get our car out of the driveway.

Thank goodness we went out last night and happened to go to one of our favorite restaurants in Arkansas: Table Mesa

It never disappoints.

pictured here: dates wrapped in bacon and stuffed with cream cheese and gorgonzola (they are amazing)