spicy cheesy

i am working hard on trying to earn the worst blogger award these days
i am so sorry i have not been posting as regularly as i normally do .. hopefully i will be better at that for these next few weeks before babyP gets here
after that i can't promise any kind of super regularity because i don't know what life will be like with our little love
don't worry .. i will still be blogging just maybe not several times a week :)

anyway .. last week i made this homemade jalapeno cheese bread and it was super delish so i wanted to share the recipe with all of you ..

start by proofing one and a half tablespoons of dry active yeast with one teaspoon of sugar in one cup of warm water

after about ten minutes it will get all foamy like this

to your mixer add four cups of all purpose flour .. two large jalapenos seeded and chopped .. one and three fourths teaspoons of salt .. one tablespoon of sugar .. one room temperature egg .. and three fourths of a cup of warm milk

add the now foamy yeast mixture and turn on the mixture to start kneading the dough .. as it kneads together add flour as needed until you get a dough that is soft and smooth but still a little sticky

meanwhile .. cube up {or shred if you prefer} two and a half cups of cheddar cheese

towards the end of the kneading process add in the cheese so that it gets well incorporated .. your total knead time will be about tenish minutes so i added my cheese when i had roughly two minutes left

put the dough out on a cutting board .. or your counter .. or wherever you want for about ten minutes to rest

then put it in a well greased bowl .. cover and let it rise at room temperature for at least an hour and a half

until it gets all poofy like this

punch it down and split it between two loaf pans {or you can be more rustic and form it to whatever two shapes you want on a sheet pan} 

cover and let rise at room temperature for at least another hour

brush the tops with an egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt
or parmesan
or sesame seeds
or nothing
and bake at three hundred seventy five degrees for twenty five to thirty five minutes depending on your oven

it will look like this

and it will taste really yummy !!

happy tuesday!!

muffins

cooking light .. morning glory muffins

i have officially begun my third trimester now and it is crazy how my body knows that automatically

heartburn .. oh hello .. you are fun
tired .. where did that second trimester energy go??
shortness of breath .. i swear i have tried to stay in pretty good shape .. but alas the breathing thing is harder and harder
gotta go again .. my bladder isn't thrilled {tmi?? sorry!}
oh you want to bend down and pick that up off the floor?? good luck!!
when is your baby due?? do you know if it is a boy or a girl?? have you picked out a name?? .. baby girl is plenty big enough for strangers to feel comfortable asking about my pregnancy
she is also working hard on her gymnastics skills .. homegirl even moves in her sleep .. i love it!!
i am still counting my lucky stars
this pregnancy has been really enjoyable so far!!

as far as cravings have gone .. i haven't really wanted anything crazy
pickles in ice cream sounds just as gross to me now as it did before i was pregnant
but during my first trimester i really didn't want meat
protein isn't an issue .. beans cheese peanut butter nuts yogurt milk eggs .. all still good but chicken beef turkey pork .. bleh!!
my second trimester i was fine with anything
now i am back to meatless

so this week as i was making my grocery list i was thumbing through my cooking light vegetarian cookbook trying to find recipes that could be dinner for me and a side for RT next to some sort of chicken breast or whatever

that cookbook is where i found the recipe for these morning glory muffins and they are the bomb not to mention pretty simple to make

here's what you will need ..
one cup of whole wheat flour
one half a cup of all purpose flour
one cup of regular oats
three fourths of a cup of packed brown sugar
one tablespoon of wheat bran {my grocery store didn't have that so i substituted oat bran}
two teaspoons of baking soda
one fourth of a teaspoon of salt
one cup of fat free plain yogurt
one cup of mashed banana
one large egg
one cup of chopped pitted dates
one half a cup of dried pineapple
three fourths of a cup of chopped walnuts {optional}
three tablespoons of ground flaxseed

here is what you do ..
preheat your  oven to three hundred fifty degrees
combine flours .. oats .. brown sugar .. wheat bran .. baking soda .. and salt in a bowl with a whisk
combine yogurt banana and egg
add wet to dry ingredients and mix it all up
fold in dates pineapple and walnuts {if you are using them .. i didn't .. RT doesn't like them}
line muffin pan with cupcake liners and spray with cooking spray
spoon batter into cups
top evenly with ground flaxseed
bake for twenty minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center
cool .. butter {if you want to} .. eat .. and then eat another one because i mean seriously!!

happy tuesday!!

meatballs on monday

homemade meatballs are one of my favorite go to 'i don't really have anything to make for dinner' things to make. they are quick and simple and oh so yummy!!

here is what I do ..

combine one whole egg .. one fourth of a cup each of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese .. and a big pinch each of salt pepper and italian seasoning in a bowl {i also add a little pinch of crushed red pepper flakes sometimes if i am feeling spicy}

add one cup each of diced onion and bell pepper

then add one pound of whatever ground meat suits your fancy

i used ground bison this time but i often use turkey or beef too

mix it all up and roll them up into whatever sized ball you want and place them either in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray or your crook pot sprayed with cooking spray

then cover them with whatever pasta sauce you like {i thin mine out a little with vegetable stock but you don't have to do that}

if you are cooking them in the oven .. cover the dish with foil and bake at 200° for six to eight hours
if you are cooking in the crock pot turn it on low and cook for six to eight hours

then you can do whatever you want with them
serve them over pasta
put them on a hoagie roll with some fresh mozzarella and or provolone for a meatball sub
eat them on their own

it doesn't really matter .. they are great no matter how you eat them :)

happy monday!!

with love from portland

RT and i spent the long memorial day weekend in portland, oregon in celebration of our four year anniversary. neither of us had ever been and let me be honest .. it did not disappoint!! all of the restaurants use as many local ingredients as possible .. there are tons of local breweries and wineries so the restaurants serve all of that greatness .. the scenery is to die for .. the people are super friendly .. the weather was complete perfection .. all in all portland is absolutely amazing and i would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested

we flew out saturday morning and arrived at around noon

we had gotten recommendations from people and the internet about what to do so we went straight to portland's international rose test garden. it was gorgeous!! so many different kinds of roses and they are flippin' huge!! in TX our roses are pretty but they are miniscule in comparison to the beauties they grow up north 

saturday afternoon we checked into our hotel .. hotel lucia .. and then walked to clyde common for lunch. they were serving brunch which at first i wasn't super excited about but my scrambled eggs and whole wheat strawberry pancakes were so insanely yummy!! i also had a fresh made grapefruit pomegrante soda which was the perfect pairing. RT had eggs a big piece of thick cut bacon hash browns and biscuits and gravy with a local beer .. also really yummy!! then we walked around downtown for a while before we stopped for happy hour at nel centro .. more local brew for RT .. a non alcoholic beer and water for me :)
then we went back to the hotel and snoozed for an hour or so before getting ready and walking to tasty n alder for dinner. all of the food we ate while we were there was good but this was by far our best meal!! i had a burger and fries which sounds super ordinary but in reality was one of the best burgers i have ever eaten. RT had cowboy steak that was served with tortillas and fresh baked beans and a glass of pinot noir from right there in the willamette valley. for dessert we ordered fresh made chocolate potato donuts and butterscotch lava cake .. excuse me while i drool!!

sunday morning we woke up and had breakfast in the restaurant that was connected to our hotel .. the imperial .. i had the chilaquiles and fresh fruit coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice and RT had raspberry french toast with eggs bacon and coffee
then we jumped in our rental car and drove about an hour to see the water falls that are so awesome in the area. We actually didn't see them as we were heading there .. we stayed on the main highway and ended up crossing over the bridge of the gods into washington where we stopped at this pretty little park and beach

baby p and i checking out the view :)

sorry for the poor quality of this iphone pic

then we crossed back over the bridge and stopped to walk out on this peninsula that offered gorgeous views of the columbia river

from there we took the historic scenic highway back toward portland and stopped at horse tail falls where we hiked around for a few hours. the weather was cool and the hiking was out of this world. this was my favorite part of the trip i think

when we got back downtown we had lunch at cheryl's .. i had a tuna bake sandwich followed by a fresh decaf latte and RT  had a french dip sandwich
then we indulged in yet another afternoon nap {so awesome! i never nap in the afternoons .. the perfect vacation indulgence!!} before we went to deschutes brewery and public house for dinner. of all the food we ate while there this was very good but not the best .. i had mac and cheese {seems like a weird dinner choice but it was homemade and sounded so yummy!} .. RT had a bison burger with fries .. and then we had a fresh strawberry rhubarb crisp for dessert. RT was able to try several of their beers and he felt like they had the best selection of any other place we had been. his favorite was their fresh squeezed ipa
after dinner we walked back to the hotel .. watched a little monster week on animal planet and went to sleep

monday morning we went back to the imperial for breakfast .. i had eggs and ham with fresh fruit toast and coffee .. RT had a ham and cheese omelet with toast and a coffee and then we checked out and headed back home

this trip was exactly what we needed .. a quick getaway for just the two of us :)

happy wednesday!!

peanut peanut butter

my sister is the kind of person who likes to make everything from scratch and she is dang good at it

she makes the most delicious homemade bread you have ever tasted .. she works hard to grow her own veggies and herbs {not an easy task with as many little ones as she has running around in her backyard} .. pretty much anything canned that she wants to use she finds a recipe for it and makes it herself .. etc etc

so a few weeks ago she started talking about making her own peanut butter
"it's so easy" she said
"it's so yummy" she said

honestly i didn't think much of it

not because i didn't believe her .. pretty much everything she makes is delicious .. but because i have no problem with store bought peanut butter

jif and i are close buddies you see

but then i was at her house one afternoon and she whipped up a fresh batch of this peanut butter and i saw first hand how easy it was and tasted for myself how good it was so i decided to make some peanut butter of my very own

here comes the recipe ..
are you ready for this??
it's pretty complicated

put some peanuts in the food processor

turn it on and let it go until the peanut butter is at your desired consistency .. and enjoy!

my sister used plain peanuts .. but i couldn't resist the honey roasted when i was perusing the peanut selection .. yum!!

happy tuesday!!

a yummy snack

one thing that i have really noticed throughout this pregnancy is my hunger. it is not that i am eating a ton more than normal or anything. but there is no progression into hunger. one minute i am fine and the next i am literally starving to death

i haven't had any weird cravings .. sugar and carbs and italian are my favorites but that is very normal for me

so anyway .. i have been trying to eat and snack healthy and on things that contain the vitamins and nutrients i need in order to properly feed our little munchkin

i found this recipe for homemade fig newtons {which i LOVE} on the fit pregnancy website and honestly they turned out really good .. my only complaint is that it made too many for just me so i ended up throwing out several of them but taste wise they we super yummy :)

so here is how you make them:

in a large bowl mix together 2 cups almond flour .. ¼ teaspoon baking soda and a pinch of salt

in a smaller bowl cream together ½ cup sugar .. ½ cup butter and one egg

add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined

divide cookie dough into three parts and refrigerate one hour

place 1½ cups figs in a bowl and cover with hot water and soak for 10 minutes

drain and place in food processor with 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice .. 2 tablespoons molasses .. 2 tablespoons honey .. ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and blend until a smooth paste forms

preheat oven to 350° f

dust rolling surface with a little more of the flour

roll out one part of dough into a 10-inch-by-5-inch rectangle using as much flour as needed to prevent sticking

spread 1⁄3 of the filling evenly down the right side of the rectangle. fold the dough in half down the long side and gently press the seam together. repeat with two remaining parts of dough. cut each log into ten equal parts and place fold-down on baking sheet

bake 12 to 15 minutes .. rotating halfway .. until golden around edges

and this is what you get ..

enjoy :)
happy monday!!