Lets Get Roasted!

Hi Friends!

I need to let you in on a little issue I have. It's called ROASTING VEGETABLES! I am seriously out of control. I've already shared my Cauliflower love, but it goes beyond that! Brussels, Mushrooms, Onions, Peppers, Carrots, shall I go on?!?! But I wanted to share my favorite way of Roasting. It involves 4 staples that you should already have... Ready?

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Ground Sea Salt
• Ground Black Pepper

Yes, SERIOUSLY, that's it. So let's do this!

Preheat your oven to 450, I know that's high, but it's what I do to get them really good & brown. You could clearly lower your heat to 400 for a not so brown effect :) I just love how caramelized they become!

Line a baking sheet with foil.

For Mushrooms & Peppers, here's what I do..

• 1 big Portobello Cap  wiped clean & cut into large slices (I buy a large Cap & slice it myself)
• 1 Red Pepper cut into large slices
•  Place them in a medium size bowl
• In a small bowl, combine 1 TBSP Oil, 1 TBSP Vinegar, 1 TSP Salt & Pepper.
• Pour mixture over the mushrooms & peppers & lightly toss until completely coated.
• I often drizzle a little more of the oil & vinegar, I like them really saucy :)
• Place them on the lined baking sheet & roast for 15 minutes.
• Turn & roast for an additional 15 minutes. And there you have em!

Why have just plain ole veggies, when you can bring out such a delicious flavor this way!

Before Roasting

After Roasting

Creamy Buffalo Chicken Salad

Hi Friends! 

Here is a quick & yummy new recipe for you! I made 2 different variations of this, one with Ground Chicken & one with Ground Turkey. So you can decide which you like best! I made this Salad for 2 of my girlfriends this past week, and they both really enjoyed it. I hope you will as well! What I love about this particular recipe is it's so versatile! Just as one of my girlfriends said, you could even make it as a dip! And that's where my original idea actually came from. I always hear people rave about Buffalo Chicken Dip. This is a great variation of that as well! So here we go...

What you'll need:

1 lb Ground Chicken or Turkey

2 TSP Garlic Powder

2 TSP Onion Powder

1 TSP Ground Sea Salt

1 TSP Ground Black Pepper

1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt or they make a Whipped Greek Yogurt/Cream Cheese you can find by the Cream Cheese

Hot Sauce (I love Franks) But use your favorite here!

Toppings of your Choice (Lettuce, Tomato, Scallions, Cilantro, Cheese, Avocado, Red Peppers, Etc.)

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the chicken or turkey for 5 minutes, or until no longer pink. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the Yogurt & Hot Sauce. I usually start with a teaspoon of sauce & go from there. This is YOUR dish, so make it as Mild or HOT as you like!Once you reach desired heat, set that aside. Add the garlic & onion powder, salt & pepper to your meat. Let spices combine for 2 minutes, then drain. Reduce the heat to Low. Add your Buffalo Yogurt mixture to your meat & stir until well incorporated. Now, you can turn the heat off & let sit with a lid on it, while you prepare what you want to top it with! 

If you decide to make this as a dip, you could just add this to a bowl, top it with cheese & start dipping! Or, you can do as I did, and make it into a Salad! When I was at home, I kept it simple with just some lettuce, scallions, Mexican Blend Cheese & additional dashes of hot sauce! But when I made it for my girlfriends, we loaded it down! So just have fun with it, & add whatever you love! 

I hope you will make this delicious salad! Better yet, call some friends & make it for them. 

Be a blessing to someone, it's truly rewarding to put love into a dish. 

This is what my Ground Chicken looked like after I added Greek Yogurt
& Hot Sauce. If you use the Greek Yogurt/Cream Cheese combo,
it will be creamier. Just wanted you to know! :)

Salad at Home

Salad with Girlfriends

All Mixed Up

Mushroom Monday

Hi Friends!

Well once again, it's a nasty rainy day here in Ohio.. Therefore, what a PERFECT day to show off my new & improves Blog design!! I hope you all love it as much as I do. I still need to update my about me area, but all in due time :) My new favorite part is the Recipe section! And today, that's what this post will be about!

Last week, my little Mr. was sick with an ear infection. It was a rough week to say the least, with a lot of sleepless nights for Danny & I. So, I decided some soup was just what we needed. For lunch, I made us just that. I made a delicious Mushroom Soup for my Mom & I to enjoy. She was my guinea pig since it was my first time ever making it! And she LOVED it, as did I! So here's what I did..

"Cream of Mushroom Soup"

Serves 2

1-2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 Onion - Finely Chopped

1 Minced Garlic Clove

8-16oz Finely chopped Mushrooms of your Choice (I used a combo of Shiitake, Crimini & Oyster)

Sea Salt to Taste

1/2 TSP Ground Black Pepper

1.5 Cups of Chicken or Beef Stock (I used Beef)

1 Cup Almond Milk (or Milk/Cream of your choice, I used Almond.)

1 TBSP Chives or Scallions

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Cook the onion for 3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic & cook for 1 minute. Add the Mushrooms, salt, & pepper. Reduce the heat to medium & cover & cook for 5 minutes or until mushrooms are softened.

Stir in the stock of choice & milk. Bring to a slow boil & simmer for 3 minutes. 

Now, at this point you could do one of two things. You could pour the mixture into a blender for a smooth texture, or you could do what I did & leave it chunky. 

Top with chives, and you are done! 

I hope you all have an awesome Mushroom Monday! 

{Leslie}

Just can't get enough!

Do you ever just get hooked on a certain food, and you could literally eat it all day, everyday?!?! 

Well, Hello, my name is Leslie, and I can't get enough of this right here...

Yes.. that's right, I am hooked on Cauliflower. But not just raw cauliflower, that you would dip in ranch or put on a salad.. I'm hooked on Roasted Cauliflower.. So here's how you get it..

1 head of Cauliflower

1-2 TBSP Olive Oil

Ground Sea Salt

Ground Black Pepper

Yes, literally, that is all you need!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Break down your Cauliflower, into pieces like this. 

You can cut them to any size you desire. If you go too small though, they will brown more quickly than the other pieces. In the above picture, I have drizzled with the olive oil & then Salt & Pepper went on after that. 

I allow to roast for 15 minutes, I then turn the pieces over & allow to roast for 15 more minutes. And then I even sometimes roast them a little longer, because I LOVE to get them really brown. :)

And here is what you get.. I have no words for the taste that occurs.

It can only be experienced :) Jeremiah LOVES them as well! I actually add some Franks Hot Sauce to mine, and it's just so "Licious" as Jeremiah says!

I hope you will try this Simple, yet tasty treat!!

I hope you all are having a great week so far. It's been a challenging week for me, by my own doing of course.. I've been dealing with some personal things, that I have tried to take control over to deal with myself. Which, is always the WRONG answer! So I've really had to ask God to take the lead, and guide me. Our human nature always wants to think, Oh, I've got this, or I've got that under control. When, lets face it, we don't. So, I'm taking steps in the right direction, that's for sure! I'm just so thankful that I am loved by an amazing God, who doesn't look at my faults & failures that occur on a daily basis. I'm a work in progress, I'm under construction! 

{Leslie}

Oh, here's my #TBT for this week. My brother & I swimming at my Grandparents house.

I'm ready for some WARM weather!