Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash + Holiday Amazingness

December 27, 2012 By Laura

Mind-readers scare me.

No, I didn’t go to a psychic to find out of the world would really end.

My friend a bi-weekly guest blogger (Kat), sent me her post last night and it appears we have been miles apart but on the same wavelength.

In the past, Kat has blogged about yoga, running + nutrition, and even homemade peppermint mochas! I really excited that today she’s sharing her first entree recipe. This girls loves food just as much as I do.

I’m at the gym working off my cookies, complete with a new top thanks to ~~my mom~~ Santa…

Top by Lucy

…and with a new toy! A fitbit one to replace my old ultra:

I hope you enjoy Kat’s first recipe today – while I haven’t had the pleasure of eating this dish (yet), I can tell from the pics and ingredient list that it’s a great, clean way to bring us into the New Year!

Who relaxes during the holidays?!?!

Yeah, I didn’t either. I think I raced through the holidays!

Recap. I flew into Orlando for a party on Friday (my mom had an end of the world party – she is such a hippie), worked all day Saturday, traveled over an hour to Dad’s on Sunday, Dad’s parents Monday night (for the first time in almost a decade), Tuesday with Mom and then later to her mom’s, and later to my sister’s boyfriend’s family. Talk about a holiday marathon (many of you know the drill)… but I have so much to be grateful for and it really felt like Christmas for me this year. Nevertheless, glad to be home!

This had my whole family laughing…even my dad.

It can be hard to keep up, but it’s also nice to catch up with family, have some sister love, and enjoy the holiday spirit with old and new friends. I managed to keep up my runs, and get plenty of quality time.

Honestly, none of the time would have been quality because I would have been completely mentally unbalanced without my runs. It just gets my head in the right place. Man, Laura and I have a similar philosophy… she recently wrote about having no excuses NOT to work out recently! (Editor’s note: You can click here to check that out). I even got to run through my old neighborhood – yeah, the one I grew up in. It’s crazy that what felt like a long run when I was 15 (about 3 miles) felt like such a short run to me today!

Holiday Run Time – Getting your head in order! No excuses!

Keeping with Laura’s theme from her past few blogs about cleaning up your kitchen and the winter weigh in about letting yourself indulge in your favorites (without going overboard), I managed to keep a pretty healthy diet too!

It’s totally okay to let your family and friends know what you do and do not eat. (Editor’s note: Yes! And you’d be surprised how often they feel the same way!) My mom, sister, and I told my Grammy we wanted to eat light and healthy, and that’s exactly what she did for Christmas lunch/brunch! She put up a wonderful spread of super healthy food. I also made it through without any dreaded gluten mistakes!

Christmas Brunch at Grammy’s

Needless to say, I have also been having meals at home that feel like winter indulgences but are also SUPER healthy! My first – real – recipe to share. Firstly, I LOVE squash, all squash, so it was hard to decide which “recipe” to share. But, I have been into stuffing my squashes lately, and acorn squash is a great size for stuffing – with almost anything, I would argue!

I always think of quinoa as a summer-y light and healthy meal, but made the right way, it can be comforting and winter-y too! I made this for a friend last week, and it was satisfying and comforting, but keeping with the kitchen workout. (Editor’s note: Where’s MY quinoa?!)

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 medium acorn squash
½ cup of quinoa
1 cup of water or vegetable stock
½ cup of mushrooms
¼ red onion
¼ cup frozen peas
Some chopped kale and/or arugula
Touch of cayenne
Maybes: thyme, basil, rosemary
Salt & Pepper to taste
Parmesan to top, and your pasta sauce of choice (I like Whole Foods’ 365 brand)

Disclaimer: I don’t actually measure anything when I cook so please take all of these as amazingly close guestimates as to what actually happens in the kitchen

There are two ways to roast the squash, depending on how you want to present. You can either chop the top off, scoop out the seeds, put the top back on and throw it in the oven… or just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and throw it in the oven at about 375 (prettier presentation for two people).

Roast the squash first, and roast the squash about 20-30 minutes. While this is happening, cook your quinoa (boil water, add quinoa, 10 minutes pass, turn of the stove, leave the lid on until totally absorbed – basically follow the instructions on the box), and then sauté your onions, then add your mushrooms and frozen peas (and any other fresh veggies you have in your fridge), as well as your kale/arugula.

Combine all of your quinoa with the veggies, and add your spices and potentially herbs (I like thyme and rosemary for this one). Mix.

Remove the squash form the oven, stuff the mixture into the squash, top with a ton of Parmesan cheese and put it back in the oven at 375 for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese browns.

Remove and top with warm pasta sauce.

This is delicious, packed with protein from the quinoa, but low calorie and super filling!

I need to work on taking pictures of my food, and writing recipes (so feedback please!!!). But, I guarantee this will be a great way to switch up what you’re eating while bringing in some healthy New Year’s habits!

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Don’t forget tomorrow’s 3rd #strangebutgood link up! Click here for the details, and grab the image below to share in your post:

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Did you make a point tell anyone what you needed to eat/not eat for the holidays?

What is your favorite squash?

Brandied Baked French Toast

December 26, 2012 By Laura

What didn’t I eat Wednesday may be a more appropriate title.

I may have over-done it on the sweets…

Do you look forward to the holidays being over? After I left my mom’s last night, I was sad to be going home alone, but at the same time a little relieved to get back into a normal routine.

I do hate leaving this beautiful scene though!

Today I was going to take another “break” from blogging. Then I realized a) I don’t really have anything else to do and b) this would be a fun way to shock myself into going cold turkey on the sugar. I didn’t get pictures of it all, and we slept in so it is kind of a random slew of snack rather than meals. You’ve been warned.

We didn’t totally fail at Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday theme this month… but it could have been ~~better~~ less sugar-filled:

Check out my Christmas eats, and then be sure to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons and see what everyone else ate on this most wonderful day of the year!

Meal 1:

I didn’t have Fitmixer Aminos at my mom’s, but I did have my ACV and water first thing

Christmas Eve I prepared an overnight baked french toast to be ready to pop in the oven Christmas morning (almost afternoon… we didn’t eat until 11a). We open presents while it baked. Before the toast, we started out with a Christmas tradition: mimosas!

The french toast was served with an easy cranberry sauce. I soaked fresh cranberries in Gran Mariner (orange liqueur), and placed it all in a small sauce pan with some vanilla liquid stevia and cinnamon. I let that simmer on low heat while we opened presents, adding a little water as needed.

The Brandied Baked French Toast recipe is below. It will look like it has a lot of booze in it, but it really isn’t strong once you bake it. Most of the booze cooks out. I tried to keep it a little lighter using unsweetened almond milk rather than a traditional cream or whole milk. Making that simple change save a lot on calories and fat, but you don’t loose any flavor. This resulted in a flavorful, surprisingly light, fluffy French toast… it may have to happen once more on New Years Day.

Also on our breakfast table was French-pressed coffee, ambrosia (my mom and sister’s favorite… I passed), and fresh figs wrapped in prosciutto.

Meal 2:

Popcorn. We devoured a bag of Smart Food’s Parmesan & Herb Popcorn while watching Elf.

I grazed some more on almonds, random sweets, an extra bite (or 5) of breakfast… but we really enjoyed sea salt-breadcrumb dark chocolate by Chuao that Santa brought me:

Meal 3:

I don’t know if this counts as a meal… but we snacked on more prosciutto with Trader Joes’ Raisin Rosemary Crisps (like the Raincoat crisps sold at WF, but much cheaper), cream cheese with strawberry-champagne jam, hummus, carrots, and celery while dinner cooked. With a pear cider cocktail (pear cider + brandy, ginger liqueur, and lime juice).

Meal 4:

This meal was probably unnecessary after all of that. In my family, Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas brunch are a bigger deal than Christmas night, so we didn’t do anything too fancy.

I kept my plate small, but everything was delicious. We made a quick salad, wild rice with pomegranate and kale, roasted sweet potatoes, and grilled lamb chops. All drizzled with a thick balsamic. There was also an unpictured glass of Alamos Malbec… ~~did I mention the return of Sober January?~~

Also unnecessary was dessert… which I happily enjoyed. German Chocolate Cookies, coming to you Friday!

Brandied Baked French Toast

1 loaf Ciabatta bread in 1-inch slices
3 C unsweetned vanilla almond milk
3 eggs
1 T brown sugar
1 packet Stevia (can replace with more sugar)
1 T cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 T Cointreau
3 T Frangelico
1 T brandy
Optional: 1/2 grated apple

Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish (I used Pam).

Place bread in two tightly-packed layers in the pan. If you use the apple or other fillings (any fruit or nut would work), sprinkle them between the layers.

Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, spices, and booze together in a large bowl. Pour mixture over the bread. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The bread will absorb the milk mixture overnight.

Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes, until fluffed and golden brown.

Cut into squares and serve with fruit, syrup, or any other favorite breakfast topping.

Serves 6-8.

Notes: If you don’t like the alcohols, you may use a couple of teaspoons of vanilla or other extract. You could also experiment with other liqueurs like Irish cream, Gran Mariner, Kahlua, rum, etc.

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The gluttony will stop after this week… I swear. I have one more cookie recipe to share, and it’s slightly lightened up!

How were your holiday meals? What was the winner?

Are you a little relieved when the festivities end?

Winter Weigh In + Ginger Molasses Cookies

December 24, 2012 By Laura

I don’t do yoga.

I don’t have the patience/attention span.

There is one thing I do like about yoga: the clothes. Like this top I received from Yogi:

I wore this shirt (click here for better pics of shirt on their site) while braving the mall over the weekend. And then I wore it to the gym. I love a versatile outfit! Impossibly soft, breathable, and loose. During the winter months there is NO way I’m going to be rocking teeny tops. It’s a too cold… and I tend to eat a couple of cookies. They also sent yoga pants, but they are SO long – like an extra 6 inches of fabric – I need to get them hemmed before wearing them out.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this review (other than the free clothes). Opinions are my own… I could never keep my opinion to myself. 😉

Some people may beat themselves up over these winter indulgences, but I like my friend Lindsay’s perspective. The holiday season only comes once a year. Why not enjoy a few of your favorite things (like warm woolen mittens)? Don’t go nuts, but don’t feel like you have to sit in the corner with a salad while everyone else is having pie. Winter is bulking season, after all!

In one more week, things will be back to normal, nutrition plans will be followed more strictly, and – while I’ll still wear my yoga tops – the thought of those tighter gym shirts won’t made me squirm.

Now that we’ve gotten that established, here ~~is how I photograph~~ are the cookies!

Last week my concierge mentioned that he wanted molasses cookies. I’d never made them before, but I thought it would be nice to make him a Christmas treat.

I don’t know that I’ve ever had a molasses cookie, so I don’t have anything to compare these too. They remind me of a gingerbread cookie; however, these are chewier and have a deeper, more subtle sweetness thanks to the Blackstrap molasses.

I used a bit of almond flour, but you could use all regular flour. Your cookies will just be a little cakier. These are also a good candidate for whole wheat flour (I ran out), and you could replace the oil with applesauce if 1/2 C of butter is enough fat for you. 😉

Ginger Molasses Cookies

1.5 C flour
1/2 C almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 C salted butter, softened
1 C dark brown sugar
2 T canola oil
1/4 C Blackstrap molasses
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl whisk together flours, baking soda, and spices.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add oil, molasses, egg, and vanilla and beat to incorporate. Beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill until firm (at least 2 hours, preferably overnight).

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll chilled dough into ~1 inch balls. Place on baking sheet, leaving ~2 inches of space between. Using the bottom of a glass, flatten the cookies slightly.

Bake for 10-12 mins.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

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I’m taking tomorrow (and probably Wednesday) “off.” Wishing everyone Happy Holidays!

Do you allow yourself to indulge a little over the holiday season?

What is your favorite Christmas cookie? Who will you be enjoying them with tomorrow?

Strange But Good: Dessert Edition

December 21, 2012 By Laura

‘Tis the season for tradition.

Hahahaha… who am I kidding?

My tradition is to eat dessert during this season of joy. The traditional part ends there. Today I have 2 non-traditional desserts to add to my dessert tradition: Lucky Popcorn Cake and Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I urge you to try something new this holiday season. Perhaps even something Strange But Good. The world won’t end, I promise.

Exhibit 1:

This cake is an epic creation. Other than it’s shape, it’s really not a cake at all. My girl Heather sent me a giant bag of Lucky Charms marshmallows. Just the marshmallows.

After I died of shock and joy, I begin thinking of the possibilities… most people would wait until St. Patrick’s Day, but couldn’t we all use a little luck on the day of the end of the world? Or, if we’re all alive tomorrow, extra luck ~~dealing with family~~ over the holidays?

Think of a rice crispy treat, but with popcorn rather than crispies. In this no-holds-barred dessert, I used buttered popcorn, a bag of Jet-Puffed marshmallows, the Lucky Charms marshmallows, and honey-roasted peanuts.

You can modify this easily to incorporate your favorite mix-ins (chocolate chips would be awesome).

Lucky Popcorn Cake

2 bags buttered popcorn
2 C Lucky Charms marshmallows
1/2 C honey-roasted peanuts
1/2 C butter
1 16 oz bag of marshmallows

Grease a large bundt pan. Set aside.

Pop 2 bags of buttered microwave popcorn as directed on the package and dump into a LARGE bowl. Pick out any unpopped kernels.

Mix in Lucky Charms marshmallows and peanuts.

Melt butter over medium-low heat in a large saucepan. When melted, add in a 16 oz bag of marshmallows. Stir until melted and smooth.

Remove from heat. Let sit a minute so it’s not painfully hot when pouring over the popcorn mix.

Place popcorn mixture into bundt pan and pour marshmallow butter mix even over the top. Press the popcorn down into the pan to consolidate and make more “cake-like.”.

Cover with foil and let cake set for at least an hour to set and cool.

To serve, loosen sides of cake from bundt by carefully running a knife around edges. Flip pan over onto serving platter.

Store covered tightly for up to 1 day. Best if eaten fresh.

Exhibit 2:

Is there anything better than the combination of chocolate and something salty? The salt balances the sweetness for a little explosion of happiness in your mouth (get your mind outta the gutter!!!).

This may seem a little “out there,” but I promise you it works. Did you even dip a potato chip in chocolate or a french fry in your Frosty? It’s like that. In cookie form.

Two words of advice: Don’t skimp on the chips. Try not to eat half the batter.

Potato Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 C (4 oz) butter, softened
1/3 C (3 oz) brown sugar
1/3 C (3 oz) sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C (6 oz) flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C crushed potato chips
1 C (6 oz) mini chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 – 3 minutes).

Add the egg, and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Beat in the flour mixture until just combined.

Fold in crushed potato chips and mini chocolate chips.

Scoop cookies onto a parchment -lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 mins.

Makes 24 cookies.

Want to Join?

All you need to do to join this link up is create a concoction that is Strange But Good, post it with the Strange But Good logo, and link up to your recipe. (See below for code.) In the Strange But Good post each week, you’ll see a link to add your own recipe and picture at the bottom of the page. I’d prefer you use a new strange but good dish, but if you realllly have a good previous one you can add it.

Not a blogger? You can play too! Send me an email with a picture of your food and a brief description by noon on Thursday and I’ll include it in Friday’s post (too late this week, obv… but next week it’s on!).

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instragrams of your creations. 🙂

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I hope Santa likes #strangebutgood cookies…

Do you crave the salty-sweet combo?

What was your #strangebutgood this week?

Mediterranean Salmon Burger

December 20, 2012 By Laura

Holidays in my family aren’t always traditional.

My family isn’t exactly normal…

We don’t have a set “meal” every year. Each of us enjoys food and trying new things, so we take the opportunity to get creative in the kitchen while we’re all in one place.

Last year we had a Taiwanese dinner. I made this Sweet Potato and Toasted Marshmallow Cake and Hot Buttered Rum.

The year before we had spaghetti and meatballs.

I also made this Gingerbread Martini:

This year… I have no idea what we’re doing. All I know is that I’m infusing bourbon with cranberries and cinnamon for a funky take on a Manhattan.

My point? I don’t have one other than to justify the fact that less than a week until Christmas and I’m about to share a recipe for Salmon Burgers. Not a traditional holiday food… but I decorated them in holiday colors!

When I made these Lemon-Thyme Zucchini Salmon Cakes, I discovered that it’s hard (impossible?) to find canned salmon that is de-boned AND has no salt added. I made a mental note to attempt making salmon patties with fresh salmon. I promptly lost that mental note.

Months later, I finally remembered to try it out.

Lemon, rosemary, and dill were made for each other. Particularly when paired with seafood. We all know how well citrus and salmon compliment each other, but that extra herb-y punch takes this from hot bar to restaurant-worthy.

Not that there’s anything wrong with the hot bar – I adore it – but you know what I mean.

These were the perfect thing to thrown together and have for lunch during the week. If you prep your food at the beginning to the week, you already have cooked salmon and can whip this up in no-time mid-week. If not, add 10 mins to the cook time so you can broil the salmon first.

To make it festive, top them with pomegranate arils and edamame tossed in a quick nooch sauce (nutritional yeast mixed with vinegar and/or water). This may sound like a strange topping… but it was good!!!

Speaking of Strange But Good… Don’t forget to link up tomorrow! It’s the second week of the new link up here. thanks to everyone who participated last week! I’m continually inspired by you all!!!

Click here for the details, and grab the graphic below to share in your Strange But Good post tomorrow.

Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instragrams of your creations. 🙂

Mediterranean Salmon Burger

1/2 tsp olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1 pound fresh salmon filet, cooked
2 T chopped dill
2 T chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp paprika

Heat the olive oil in a small pan and sauté shallots until soft. Add garlic and continue cooking until fragrant.

Add salmon to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir in dill, rosemary, lemon juice, pepper, paprika, garlic, and shallots.

Shape into 4 patties. Place on a medium hot pan and cook until outside are browned (~3 mins each side).

Makes 4 burgers.

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I spent all last night baking… one item in particular I can’t WAIT to share for #strangebutgood tomorrow!

Does your family cook together for the holidays?

Do you like to do a traditional Christmas dinner and/or brunch? What do you have?

Attacking a Cold + WIAW

December 19, 2012 By Laura

I will not get sick. I will not get sick. I will not get sick.

Clicking my heels together 3 times…

I woke up Tuesday with a scratchy throat and stuffy nose. I spent all day feeling like I was about to cough… you know, that tickle in the back of your throat?

Time to attack. My solution (I hope):

Juice Plus – These are my ‘vitamins.” It’s awesome because the pills are made from fresh fruits and veggies. They juice them and then dry it into a powder, so you’re really getting a whole food-based pill vs. a vitamin (no, they don’t give me kickbacks… but they should!)
Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) – You guys know I love this stuff. In addition energy and digestive benefits, it is alkalizing. this is important because when you’re sick your PH balance is off
Water – LOTS of water helps flush out the germs
Luden’s Wild Cherry Throat Drops – I’m pretty sure these don’t do anything… but they taste good and have a comforting factor since my mom used to keep them on hand when we were kids #sorryimnotsorry
Zinc – Some studies have found that Zinc reduce the length and severity of a cold… some found that it does nothing. I’m covering all my bases
Vitamin C – Also questionable, but it potentially can shorten the length of a cold. Again, covering my bases
Bourbon – KIDDING. I’m not drinking away my symptoms… but I have a friend whose grandmother says to take a tablespoon of bourbon and a tablespoon of honey every hour until you feel better or pass out. In reality, I’m infusing this bourbon for a special Christmas cocktail… TBA

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Today I don’t necessarily have holiday recipes to share… but I have ~~recipes~~ creations! I’m exercising my Kitchen Workout (have you joined?), especially now that I’m feeling the ick. Lots of clean eats to heal and ward off sick germs. During cold and flu season, I think this still fits with Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday theme this month:

Below is my day of healing eats. Check it out, and then be sure to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons and see what everyone else is cooking up the week before the fat man come creeping down your chimney!

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