Indulging

I'm not sure I should share our breakfast with you.

It may be too much to handle.

It was a full-on indulgence...

Chocolate Cinnamon Pancakes topped with Cinnamon Honey

You read that correctly

Chocolate.  Cinnamon.  Pancakes.

!!!

The recipe is my standard go-to:

1/3 C Cottage Cheese

1/3 C Oatmeal

1 Egg

Carob Powder

Cinnamon

Almond Milk to thin

A sprinkle of Baking Powder & Baking Soda

Blend it all together & cook on a hot griddle.

Topped with whipped Cinnamon Honey.

I couldn't wait to dig in.  I gave Kai her plate of Chocolate-Cinnamon Pancakes and you know what she said?

She wanted a Birthday Candle...and Banana's on top!!

Apparently she's spoiled!!

We were out of fresh bananas so I sliced up a frozen one (I have to admit - it was an excellent addition to the plate).  Then we agreed to just light a "pretend" candle and sing the A Very Merry Un-birthday song seeing as how it was BOTH our Un-birthdays. :)

I also indulged while shopping  yesterday.  I'm nearly out of Chia Seeds and am dangerously close to an empty Nutritional Yeast bottle so I REALLY needed to refill some of my "staple" foods.  I went in to Georgetown Market for Chia Seeds & a 1/2 lb of Nutritional Yeast and came out with this...

Nutritional Yeast, Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, Chia Seeds & Amande Yogurt Cups

They were out of the half pound bag of Nutritional Yeast so I went ahead and bought a full pound...I'm sure I'll eat it all eventually (I keep it in the fridge and it doesn't really ever expire).  The bag of Chia Seeds set me back almost $10 BUT this is only the third bag I've bough since January so it's really a very good deal.  Then I saw the Whole Wheat Pastry Flour - on sale, $2 off!  Almost every recipe I read now calls for the WW Pastry Flour, not WW Flour which can make foods dense.  I can't wait to try using the Pastry flour in something and see if it comes out "fluffier".  Then as we were about to leave I noticed that the Amande Yogurt was on sale too!! I've been dying to try it since it's yogurt made with Almond Milk instead of Cow Milk.  Kai picked the Strawberry and I picked Coconut.  They were both quite tasty and if I had the funds to buy unlimited yogurt cups I would definitely stock up. :D

Lunch was left over soup. (boring)

Dinner was Moe's. (Fun but un-photographed: I had nachos topped with rice, black beans, sauteed onion, sauteed Bell Pepper, Queso, Salsa and Lettuce)

Then right next to Moe's (ok not RIGHT next to, but within sight) was a Traverse Pie Company.  The Hubs asked if I wanted to go over and get P.I.E. for dessert.  My response: Umm, Yeah! duh!  Seriously who would say, "no, I don't think there's room for pie".  There's always room for pie.  Always.

The Hubs got Pumpkin which I feel was a foolish choice since we're going to a Thanksgiving party today and there will be homemade pie there - but what ever.  I didn't marry him because of his brains anyway.

I indulged in Mountain Berry.  If I hadn't been taking Kai into consideration I would have gotten Peanut Butter Chocolate but she wanted something pink.  Girls!

Oh wait, I like pink too. :)

After finishing most of the pie (and hogging it quite a bit I must add) Kai started making goofy faces.

Maybe it was the sugar??

CHEESE!!!

Back Off Mom, the rest is MINE!

The Fork is just not effective enough. 

Then the Hubs and I got in on the act...

Stealing a bit of OUR pie!!

My last bite. :(

Last night I also roasted some sweet potatoes for a Sweet Potato Dish for today's party and made up some Pumpkin Humus.  I'm hoping to remember to take LOTS of pictures of the food.  I KNOW it will all be so good. :D

A Rose Watching Over My Kitchen...

Our VERY last rose of the season.  

This little guy decided to bud in mid October and then fully bloomed earlier this week.  Upon seeing it Kai ran over a picked it!  It really caught me off guard because she's usually so good about not picking flowers with out permission.  So now it sits on my kitchen windowsill.

I kinda love it!

I get to look at it when I make what has become my go-to breakfast...

A BIG bowl of pumpkin topped with chia seeds,
cinnamon, pecans, raisins, oatmeal & almond milk.

It's so satisfying and just starts my day off right!

I also looked at the rose while Kai and I made our lunch.

Some delicious tuna salad - 

1 can of tuna

1 spoonful greek yogurt

1/4 Avocado

squirt of dijon mustard

Kai stirred, and tasted, and stirred, and tasted, and tasted, and stirred, etc...

Finally I had to call an end to the tasting or there'd be nothing left for our lunch.

[sorry, no picture]

And then I looked at my Lovely Rose as I started dinner.

I decided to make a simple egg drop soup so I started by sauteing some onions.

"Simple".  Famous last words...

I had an eggplant in the fridge so I decided to go ahead and add a 1/3 of that to the onions.

Then after they were good and sauteed I looked in our freezer and then decided to add some

frozen okra and some carrots to it.

...and of course I added some Veggie broth.

Then I thought, I need to use up my mushrooms, so I added those.

Then I saw my Kale and thought - duh! I need kale.

Then I looked at my sauce pan and thought, I should have used a bigger pan!

There was no way I could add any more to it....

Well except for the eggs.  It's not egg drop soup without any egg.

Oh, and maybe a handful of Orzo.  :)

NOT-SO-SIMPLE EGG DROP SOUP

1 onion - chopped

1/3 Eggplant - Peeled & chopped

1/2 Bag Frozen Okra

1/2 Bag Frozen Carrots

Veggie Broth to bring the level up to the top of the veggies

1 C Mushrooms - chopped

2 Kale leaves - De-stemmed & chopped

2 Eggs - scrambled together

1/2 C Orzo Pasta

Saute the onions & Eggplant

Add the okra & carrots & saute until not frozen anymore

Add the veggie broth

Add your mushrooms & kale

Let simmer until about 10 minutes before you want to eat.

Pour your eggs in slowly stirring.

Stir in your orzo.

Serve!

Looking good!

Eggs and Orzo added - not as pretty but definitely tasty!

mmmm, I can't wait to eat!

Now, that soup was good.  Like, REALLY good.  But dessert was better.

Dessert was an apple crisp topped with a cinnamon "soft serve".

Yes, that is your mouth drooling!

For the apple crisp I used my slicer to cut up 3 Granny Smith Apples.

Then I topped those with a mix of (amounts are truly approximate - I was just tossing stuff in the bowl):

1 C Oatmeal

1/8 C Sucanat (or brown sugar)

2 T Ground Flax Seed

1 T Maple Syrup

All stirred together and then crumpled over the apples.

Then I spritzed the top with some butter to help it "golden" when it cooked. 

I baked it at 350° for about 30 minutes.

When I went to serve it I realized I didn't put any cinnamon in the mix!  I MUST have cinnamon. :)

Well, nothing goes better with crisp than some soft serve so into my little blender went a frozen banana and a bit of cinnamon (ok maybe 3 bits of cinnamon).  Blended until smooth and placed on top of the crisp - it was definitely the right way to end the day!

Cinnamon "Soft Serve"

YUM!!

Food Love Day

Today was a food love day.  Everything I ate was delicious.  But the most delicious part was some chocolate-almond butter humus (VERY similar to the dessert humus)

Oh, yeah!!

This morning/afternoon, after picking up Kai from school, we went to visit Grammy and Grandpa for a bit.  We snacked a little while there (Kai more than me - she's got Grammy wrapped around her finger!) and by the time we got home we were WAY past lunch time.  I decided to make up some humus since I didn't really want or need a full on meal.  Then I got to thinking...I want almond butter...and chocolate!  Of course I always want chocolate & almond butter but this time I had a real reason to make something with it. :)

Into the blender went:
1 can chickpeas - drained & rinsed

1/8 C Almond Butter

1 T Carob Powder

2 T Nutritional Yeast

1 T Maple Syrup

1/4 C Almond Milk

Blend until smooth and then taste test.  Taste test again.  And then at least one more time.  Ok, maybe I was taste testing it a lot but you gotta be sure it's good right?  If you have the patience, put it in your fridge so it can chill.   It makes a GREAT dip.  I can't stop dipping my spoon in it! :P

Then for dinner we were going to have some left over soup that I've frozen in the past.  But I didn't really want that.  I wanted the Hubs to make Quesadilla again.  They're just so good! :D

He asked me to chop up my spinach and heat my beans this time.  I did that, and then added some mushrooms to the pile.  He took one look and said, "There's no way all that is fitting in a quesadilla!".  :(

So then he made me 2!!! :D

Pay no attention to the dirty dishes in the sink. lol!

My plate (minus the 2nd quesadilla).  Yes, I also made a very small salad out of my left over filler.  I really did make too much!  BUT not to worry, it was all eaten. 

And can I just say how much I love our new Walgreens!  They remodeled it to include fresh foods.  I've bought fruit there a couple of times now. So this evening, when we realized we didn't have Salsa, I made the quick trip to buy some.  Since I was there sans Kai I took the opportunity to really look around.  I came out with some dried figs & apricots.  And a plan to buy some Popchips very soon (I can only buy so much in a single trip).  I've been really wanting to try Popchips but the call of figs was too strong.  I've never had them (unless you count Fig Newtons, which I don't).

Could have been worse

I think that if yesterday had a theme it would have to be "It could have been worse".   


The two events that really stand out?  


First I heard Frodo barking...and I couldn't find him.  It actually sounded like he was in the den closet?!?  I looked everywhere in the house.  Then I looked out the front window.  There he was, sitting on our front porch waiting to be let in!  Apparently one of the fence boards in the back yard broke and so he took that as an invitation to explore.  Now, he's a beagle, which means he can REALLY explore.  He'll follow his nose anywhere so I'm in constant fear of him getting out and not finding his way home. Granted he has a collar, and is micro-chipped, but still...


So imagine how happy I was that he was just sitting on the porch.  I guess he knows where he's loved.  See, it could have been worse...he could have run off and been lost all day!

I'm so ashamed...I'll never leave home again!

The second thing that happened?  Well the Hubs was on his way home, less than a block from our house, in fact he was stopped to turn onto our street, when the car behind him decided not to stop!  I actually heard it happen and looked out the window to see the second car in the intersection.  That car did NOT look good.  The front was seriously scrunched up.  But I didn't see the first car (MY HUB'S) and other cars were stopping so I didn't see a point in taking Kai near a busy street to make sure everyone was ok. Traffic started moving again and about 30 minutes later the Hubs got home.  

Now, let me also mention that he forgot his cell phone this morning AND he's working on a project that has it's own, random, time frame so I knew that he may be late and wouldn't be able to call to let me know.

Once he was home he told me it was his car that was hit!  I was shocked and concerned...after all I saw the 2nd car and it was REALLY trashed!!  He told me his care was, for the most part ok.  I went out to see it and he was right!  There was just a little puncture/crack in the rubber-ish bumper.  Apparently his car is a TANK!!  He said that the lady's care sat so low that she basically ran into the hitch and that part of his car is solid.  No doubt!  So tomorrow the insurance guy is going to come out to take a look at it and make sure there are no real problems.  Once again, it could have been worse...I'm pretty sure my little Focus would not have stood up to the second car like his did!

Now that you've had that little insight into our bit of good luck yesterday, lets move on to the food...

Remember, I promised I'd cook something?  Well, I did!  Yay!!

First I "kinda-sorta-peeled" a Butternut squash, chopped it up with some onion and roasted it for about an hour.  It was delicious.

BUT I was hungry when I started so I wound up filling up on snacks before it was done.  Lunch consisted of more & more almond butter, laughing cow on bread, and apples...and then some of the squash. :)

All chopped up.

Dinner had to be fast.  I wasn't sure what to make and the car accident meant the Hubs was running really late.  When choosing between the breakfast pizza or croissant sliders he went with the sliders....


BBQ Chicken Croissant Sliders
1 can croissants (8 rolls)
1 packet of Crockpot Chicken
BBQ Sauce - I used Baby Rays since the Hubs was going to eat it.  I'd prefer something with MUCH less Corn Syrup in the ingredients list like this)


Pre-heat oven to 375 (following croissant package directions)
Heat the chicken up with a bit of water in the microwave.
Drain any excess water from the chicken and add your BBQ Sauce.
Roll out the croissants, add about a tablespoon of BBQ Chicken to the large end and fold the points over.
I made 5 "sliders" and 3 regular rolls.
Then bake for approximately 20 minutes - watch carefully.  You don't want them to burn!

assembly

Ready to serve

I on the other hand I made myself and AMAZING salad.  I haven't had many salads since the weather cooled and I'm definitely going to have to remedy that.

Into my salad went:

Lettuce

Spinach

White Beans

Pomegranate Seeds

Nutritional Yeast

DRESSING:  Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinaigrette & Honey, shaken together & poured over everything.

My Plate:  Salad, Green Beans + Nutritional Yeast, Left over Squash & Croissant Roll.

The Hubs & Kai's Plates

Yes, it was definitely a good day. :)

There will be something new...

Don't hate me.  Yesterday was another dud of a day for food blogging.  


It consisted of pure left overs and reruns. 

Green Avocado Smoothie

Chili

Not to mention Almond Butter, Popcorn/Raisin/Sunflower Seed Mix, Asian Pear, Apples, Bananas, Sweet Potatoes...

Sigh, It really was another sad, sad day for blogging.

BUT I have Grand Plans for tonight.  

Well, not plans exactly.  I'm still not sure what I'm going to make but I WILL make something.

Something NEW.

I'm leaning towards chicken/eggplant parmesan, or a breakfast pizza, or croissant sliders.  Hummm....

A Day of Nothing

You get to see pretty much everything that I eat.  I may not show EVERY morsel from everyday but you definitely see the majority of what I make and you get the idea of the types of foods I generally eat.  So you can imagine what a day of chocolaty sweets did to me.  I was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. lol!


Yesterday I paid the price for my indulgences.  I was tired all day.  My tummy hurt.  I felt overall yucky!


I'm feeling much better today (and am still looking forward to next year!) :) but yesterday turned into a sad day for a blogger.  I took no pictures.  I barely cooked!  What I did make was Crock Pot Chili.  Lately it's been one of my go-to meals since it's easy and I can make it in the morning when I still have all my energy. :)


CROCK POT CHILI


1 onion
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Can Diced Tomatoes with Chili
Carrots - chopped
Uncooked Kidney Beans -To Taste
Uncooked Wheat Berries - To Taste (I use about equal parts Beans to Wheat Berries)
* Peppers, Okra, Spinach, etc. - Add what you like
Veggie Broth - To bring liquid level to just below the top of the food (You want liquids for the beans & Wheat Berries to absorb)
Chili Powder - To Taste


In the morning...
Saute the onion.
Put everything in your crock pot on low.
Walk away until dinner time.


Top with Avocado, Greek Yogurt, Noodles, etc...

Old Photo - Same Taste!

Chocolate Walk

Guess what I did yesterday...

That's right, I joined some friends for the Brown County Humane Society Chocolate Walk. :D

For $20 (I missed the early registration special of $15) I got to sample 31 chocolates....

Oh yeah!  That's 31 tasty treats!

We walked all over Nashville, IN...not enough walking to come anywhere close to burning off the number of calories consumed - But who cares?  Sometime you have to take a day and eat, eat, eat!

There was so much to sample...

Chocolate covered pretzels / popcorn

Buckeyes

Cakes / Brownies / Truffles

Ice Creams

Even Chocolate covered Cinnamon Rolls!

and of course, Hot Cocoa

Yes, it was a chocolate lovers dream!

About half way through we stopped for lunch.  We may have had one of the worst waiters ever (poor guy, I'm not sure he's still employed tonight) but the pizza was delicious. :)

Actually called the "Rabbit Food" pizza, lol!

And I totally think our yard needs these this Christmas...

Such happy Reindeer!

At the end of the night these are my only left overs...

How long will they last???

And now I'm left wondering, Is it too early to sign up for next year?