Tasty Tidbits

Last week, we got a heating pad. I was going to use it, so I plugged it in & got it set up (but didn't turn it on). I went to the other room to get a glass of water, came back, & saw that Tink had decided it was her new spot. She somehow knew it would be a warm place to sit!

We were off on Monday together & ended up going to Troeg's in the afternoon to try their new bourbon barrel troegenator. It was delicious!!! The first bourbon barrel ale I had was in Kentucky & I still remember how good it was. This was about equally delicious. Yum!!

The skies were so pretty during the cold spell earlier in the week. That sun!

Yeah, it was a cold week. But I'm very thankful for a safe house & lots of sweaters & winter jackets. We got a ton of snow, which was fun to watch fall, especially because we were at home & not trying to fight our way through it.

We're staying warm & doing lots of skiing this weekend. What about you?

Here's what we've been eating in the last week:

Breakfasts

• Triple Berry Green Smoothies
• Jenna's Elvis Granola
• Baked oatmeal w/ chia seeds & blueberries
• Bev Cooks' Toasted Coconut Chocolate Pancakes
• Bananas + Ashley's Coconut Pecan Walnut Cashew Butter

Lunches

• Classic hummus
• Bavarian pretzels with whole grain mustard
• Spelt pretzel bread bowls with broccoli potato soup
• Avocado toast on Summer's Oatmeal Sandwich Bread 
• Leftovers
• Grapefruit, oranges, apples & clementines

Dinners

Saturday:

• Ashley's Cheesy Veggie Taco Millet Bake - We seem to have officially made Saturday nights Mexican night & we're loving it! This recipe had several steps, but wasn't actually all that labor intensive. And it was really good! I'd make a few changes next time - less cheese, more veggies - but it's a keeper recipe for sure!

Sunday:

• Veggie burgers with sweet potato fries
• Casear salad

Monday:

• Mega salads
• Curried lentil veggie soup

Tuesday:

• Toasted Summer's Oatmeal Sandwich Bread topped with kale, onions, mushrooms, & smoked gouda cheese
• Roasted butternut squash cubes with thyme - our new favorite way to season this squash! The thyme compliments the sweetness so well.
• Green salad

Wednesday:

• Martha Stewart's One Pan Pasta - We had a lot of cherry tomatoes in the freezer from over the summer, so I used triple the amount, making this more of a soup than a traditional pasta. It was great!
• Green salad

Thursday:

• Broiled tofu strips dipped in almond lime sauce
• Baked sweet potato wedges
• Green salad

Friday:

• Out to eat on the way from skiing to the cabin

Treats

• Chocolate coconut ice cream with pb oatmeal cookie chunks
• Trader Joe's sipping chocolate
• S'mores brownies
• Angela's Peanut Better Balls

Tasty Tidbits

Tink has started to love sitting by the fire when we have it going. Typical cat, I suppose, but up until a few weeks ago she didn't seem to care one way or the other when we had a fire. Now she's into it. She look so cuddly, but she's really not into that. :-/

 

 

Snacking & beer happened before dinner last Saturday night. Isn't that a fun coaster? :-) We were having enchiladas, so chips w/ guac & salsa seemed appropriate appetizers. I could make a meal of just that, but it's lacking balance...

Lots of great food & new recipe testing this week! I had some spare time last weekend & did lots of cooking/baking/prep for the week, so we were eating well. :-)  It turned out to be a good thing, since we had lots of snow/ice this week. Thankfully, we stayed safe & only had our power flicker once.

 

I'm baking with friends this weekend! Bread, tortillas, pretzel bread bowls, & brownies. It should be lots of fun & we'll have goodies stocked for the week/freezer.

Here's what we've been eating in the last week:

Breakfasts

• Cherry Chocolate Green Smoothies
• Jenna's Elvis Granola
• Top with Cinnamon's Whole Grain Banana Bread Waffles - These are delicious!!! We topped them with Ashley's Coconut Pecan Walnut Cashew Butter which was also fantastic.
• Oatmeal w/ chia seeds & blueberries
• Donuts - We really went crazy on breakfasts this week. :-) I think this was the first time we've had donuts in over a year. I had a pb filled one, W had a boston creme. They were good, but I was hungry again so soon!
• Bev Cooks' Toasted Coconut Chocolate Pancakes - I made these last weekend to have in the freezer for quick breakfasts. They're really good! The coconut flavor really comes through, with a nice hint of chocolate that makes them feel super special.
• Bananas + pb

Lunches

• Classic hummus
• Mega salad topped with tempeh
• Sandwiches
• Leftovers
• Baked sweet potato wedges
• Grapefruit, oranges, apples & clementines

Dinners

Saturday:

• Oh My Veggies' Black Bean Enchiladas With Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Cream - These were much simpler than a lot of enchilada recipes seem to be. We loved the roasted red pepper cashew cream!
• Guacamole & salsa with sweet potato chips

Sunday:

• Baked sweet potatoes
• The Kitchn's Cider Beans - Every year I made baked beans on Super Bowl Sunday. This year I tried this new recipe & we enjoyed them. I made a few slight changes, but generally followed the flavor profile of the recipe.
• Green salad

Monday:

• Jessica's 30 Minute Portobello Fried Brown Rice - This came together very quickly & was bursting with flavor. If you don't like mushrooms, it's definitely not for you, but we liked it (especially Walter, who is a mushroom lover!).
• Green salad

Tuesday:

• Curried lentil soup
• Green salad

Wednesday:
Out to eat at Lisa's Cafe (we walked/slid over in the ice)

• Me - Portobello mushrooms reuben (minus the thousand island dressing) + side salad
• W - Vegetable stromboli + side caesar salad

Thursday:

Dinner at Mom & Pops' before choir

• Gnocchi with Roasted Broccoli & Garlic Vinaigrette - This isn't the most beautiful dinner, but it is SO GOOD!!!
• Green salad

Friday:

• One pot pasta

Treats

• Angela's Peanut Better Balls - These are a lot like buckeye balls, but healthier. No butter or powdered sugar, but still tons of pb flavor & deliciousness!
• Angela's Crispy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF) - Mine didn't turn out crispy at all, which was fine by us! Especially since you can't go wrong with those flavors.
• Top with Cinnamon's Healthy(ish) Vegan, Molten Fudge Brownies - Mmmmmmmm these were super fudgy. We never ended up baking them because the ramkins I tried to make them in were way too big for the amount of brownie the recipe makes. So we ate them raw, which I think was the best idea anyway!

Tasty Tidbits

 

Anyone interested in a little glimpse of our dining room? This was taken from our kitchen during the last major snow. It's all white out the window, which was really pretty. We have tons of plants in our dining room because after we moved them there during living room renovations, we decided we liked them there. It's a bit of a jungle! Mom made us the table runner & I think it's perfect for winter.

 

 

 

It was fondue night with friends on Wednesday. This time, we made a lightened up fondue by using pureed white beans. It also had Troeg's Mad Elf beer in it. Yum! For dippers, we did apple slices, carrots, roasted broccoli, sliced cherry tomatoes, & Eating Well's Spelt Indian Flatbread. It was good, as was the company. :-)

 

In other news, I've basically been cold all week. Thanks, vortex! I'm planning to spend a lot of time this weekend either in front of our fireplace or in the kitchen baking. How about you?

Here's what we've been eating in the last week:

Breakfasts

• Jenna's Elvis Granola
• Maryea's Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Minimalist Baker's Peanut Butter Flaxseed Oatcakes with fig butter
• Spelt berries with almond milk, cinnamon, & puffed rice
• Bananas + pb

Lunches

• Eating Well's Spelt Indian Flatbread
• Roasted red pepper hummus
• Smoked baked beans
• Sandwiches
• Leftovers
• Grapefruit, oranges, apples & clementines

Dinners

Saturday:

• Food52's Wintry Mushroom, Kale, and Quinoa Enchiladas - The filling in these was delicious, but they needed more sauce. I would triple that part of the recipe if I make them again!
• Green salad

Sunday:

• Homemade spaghetti with tomato sauce
• Green salad

Monday:

• Stuffed acorn squash (stuffed with lentils, chopped veggies, & spelt berries) topped with almond-lime sauce
• Green salad

Tuesday:

• Potato kale soup
• Sauteed zucchini

Wednesday:

• Girls' night - Fondue (me)
• Leftover soup (W)

Thursday:

Dinner at Mom & Pops' before choir

• Whole wheat linguini with marinara sauce
• Green salad

Friday:

• Mega salads - lettuce, spinach, onion, mushroom, tempeh, almonds, & apples

Treats

• Chocolate cake with healthy choc pb icing (this cake recipe topped with my own icing recipe)