Bites of My Life

By the looks of my pictures last week, my days seemed to be full of bright colorful plates of food. Meals aside, my days weren't so colorful. I was on a streak of weird mishaps happening each day. Little things like breaking a brand new compact of bronzer to getting tea all over my white comforter. But the cherry on top was a car wreck. Thursday evening ended with a boom, bump, crash. No one was hurt except for my car. Counting my blessings!

After the hump of weird occurrences I settled into the weekend with a delicious dinner with friends and drinks with more friends. Some of my oldest friends to be exact. Then a cozy Saturday night in with my Lindz for take out on the couch and a chick flick on the TV. Crossing my fingers for better karma this week. 

-I know this is so basic, but I've been making this salad dressing of equal parts dijon mustard, balsamic, & olive oil then a little s&p all whisked together. Been eating it on everything, but really loving it on kale/spinach with cinnamon roasted sweet potatoes, chicken and avocado.
-Snack plate lunch beats sad dreary salads any day.
-Dinner a la whole foods. Their hot bar indian food sucks me in every time. 
-Sneaking figs into every meal I can. Didn't have strawberries so I subbed in blueberries to make this fig smoothie recipe!  
-Proof to show my week didn't only revolve around food. A little blue and blue and lots of hugs and squeals at KKG alumni night. 
-Pretty plated Saturday breakfast. 
-Blueberry spinach smoothie bowl with all zeee toppings. Feeling the blueberry vibes clearly...
-Sunday morning baking is becoming my favorite "me time" activity. Blueberry Banana Streusel Muffins were yesterday's culprit. Loved them so much I already posted the recipe. 
-Sausage peppers and onions cooked in a tomato sauce is a take on a dish my mom used to make. Perfect Sunday night comfort food!

Annie

Blueberry Banana Streusel Muffins

I have decided Sunday morning baking is my favorite. I've also decided it needs to become a ritual. I love getting up while everyone is still asleep and the house is quiet. Make some green tea, put on my apron, turn on the oven and get baking. Food Network is likely to be playing in the background. 

A few weeks ago I woke up with a huge itch for blueberry muffins. I tried to make them healthy, but every time I try to make baked goods healthy I'm reminded that I should just stop trying. Baked goods are meant to be filled with sugar, butter and eggs and there really is no replacement. Anyway, my last Sunday morning baking adventure failed. Exhibit A. This morning was blueberry muffin redemption day. 

I woke up at 6:48am this morning. My body doesn't know what sleeping in is. With several hours ahead of me before my roommate woke up, I decided it was baking day.

Blueberry muffins had to happen. I also have a stock pile of overripe bananas in my freezer that were begging to be used. Blueberry banana muffins it was. With a streusel topping added because like I said baked goods require lots of sugar and butter. 

They turned out just perfect and helped redeem myself after my previous muffin fail. I edited my pictures and jumped straight onto my computer this morning because I decided you need this recipe NOW. Also, if you have little kiddos at home about to go back to school, make these for them. No better way to beat the back to school blues than with blueberry banana streusel muffins!

Blueberry Banana Streusel Muffins
yields 1 dozen

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Streusel:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. cold butter

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.  

Combine bananas, sugar, oil, milk, beaten egg, and extracts in a large bowl with wooden spoon.  Add in the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, and baking soda and stir to combine. Fold in the blueberries. Using an ice cream scoop, evenly divide the batter into the muffin tins.

In a small bowl combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and cold butter. Using your fingers, break up the butter with the sugar mixture to form the streusel. Evenly distribute over the muffins.

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Sunday morning baking for the win. What should I make next Sunday?

Annie

Chocolate M&M Cookie Pizza

Cookie pizzas strike again! I thought the sugar cookie pizza with strawberry icing couldn't be beat, but then this guy showed up. For all you out there that are team chocolate chip cookie over team sugar cookie, I have you covered. M&Ms also came to hang out making it that much better

I love a good cookie cake. When it comes to store bought cakes and you have the option of the sheet cake with overly sweet buttercream, or cookie cake, I go cookie cake. This M&M and chocolate chip flavor brings that classic cookie cake taste home!

It's made very similarly to the sugar cookie pizza. You want to make sure and under cook it a bit for ultimate doughy taste. I found 10 minutes to be perfect. And here is a tip I learned while developing the recipe to help make it extra pretty. Right after the pizza comes out, press a few extra chips and M&Ms into the surface. It's all about visual appeal first. 

Chocolate M&M Cookie Pizza

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup M&M's (plus a few)*

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
splash of milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a large mixing bowl or round object, about 10 inches in diameter, trace a circle on the parchment paper. Flip the parchment paper over so you don't get any pencil or pen marks when you spread out the dough.

Cream butter and sugars in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract.  Add flour, baking powder and salt, and mix on low until the dough comes together. Add your chocolate chips and M&M's and give it another quick stir. 

With clean hands spread the dough out on the parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the dough out, filling the circle shape you drew. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Start on the low end. The key to yumminess in this cookie pizza is for it to be slightly underdone! You want to take it out just before it starts to brown. *Right after you take it out, lightly press a few M&Ms into the top of the pizza. This ensures for an extra pretty cookie! Then let it cool completely.

While the pizza cools, make your glaze. Using a hand mixer or whisk, whisk powdered sugar and vanilla, and a splash of milk until smooth and glossy. Add a touch more milk if you need to. It should be the consistency of Elmers glue. Using a spoon drizzle the glaze over the top in a swirly whirly pattern of your choice ;)

Cut with a pizza cutter and enjoy!

I love serving these cookie pizzas in an actual pizza box. It's a fun play on the name and actually a great way to transport it. A local pizza shop has been nice enough to give me a few of their to go boxes when I go in. I may have lied and said I needed them for a school project...but still. I bet if you asked they wouldn't mind sparing you a few!

Annie

Bites of My Life

Around here kids are already going back to school, and I'm starting to feel a bitten from the fall bug. I came home from work today and lit my pumpkin scented candle, I was was also this close to buying fall decorations at Home Goods. I see a pumpkin recipe in the future...

I'm trying to hold on to every last bit of summer, but I'm slipping into the next season. I've also felt like I've been in a rut recently. A rut in all aspects of life, just a little stagnant. Maybe a new season would change that?

Rut aside, the current state of the union includes helping open a new restaurant, completing week 1, baking up a storm despite it, celebrating 27 years of sister with "white water rafting" and our favorite pie, and of course, the olympics. Gymnastics, synchronized diving, swimming and track and field fire me up, what about you?

-Pop, fizz, clink, champagne emoji, our 5th Oklahoma and 100th location nationwide opened last Monday!
-Bought a filet of smoked salmon last week. Worked it into as many meals as I could!
-Finally found a chia pudding recipe I like. This recipe has you heat the milk and chia together. Can be eaten warm or cold. Topped mine with figs and gogi berries!
-You all know I'm an apple and AB girl through and through, but there is something to be said about a creamy banana and nut butter. These banana coins got a drizzle of cashew butter, almond butter and a sprinkle of Himalayan sea salt!
-Cherry Lime Le Croix. Yes yes yup yup.
-Sometimes work involves gramming gorgeous cocktails, not mad about it. 
-It also includes taste testing the fish dishes for our next concept.  
-Nothing I love making more than my signature sugar cookies!
-Whole 30 has been nothing shy of delish. This was my best (and prettiest) lunch yet!
-Going for the gold with this new cookie pizza recipe, check back tomorrow for the recipe!
-This weekend breakfast on repeat Saturday & Sunday it was so simple and good. Two sunny side eggs cooked and sprinkled with turmeric on top, side of blackberries and broiled grapefruit with cinnamon. 
-Sis requested my Cherry Peach Pie for her birthday, so I through sprinkles in the crust to make it a bit more festive!

Annie

Summer Shrimp Rolls

Chrissy Teigen you genius. If you haven't heard of her recent cookbook, Cravings, then you may be living under a rock. Chrissy is wife to John Legend, momma to Luna, hot model and now, a New York Times Best Selling cookbook author. 

Cravings came out last Spring. The book's tagline is "recipes for all the food you want to it." It's just that. Page after page of recipes your everyday person actually wants to eat and make. When I received my copy, I did as I usually do with a new cookbook. I sat down with a stack of stickies going through marking each recipe I wanted to make. I read the book cover to cover. Like actually read all the little blurbs and antecdotes that no one usually reads. Chrissy writes the book like she is talking to her best friend, texting her husband or ranting on Twitter.  She also has insane pictures of her in hot pink ballgowns, sitting on John's lap shoving hot dogs in his mouth as well as modeling bathing suits by the pool chowing down on chicken wings. She pulls it off, it's too good.  

After reading through the book I found myself with practically every page marked with a sticky. Yellow Cake Baked Oatmeal, Caprese Salad with Crispy Proscuitto, Mac and Cheese, Baked Pasta with Mozzarella Bombs, Steak Bites with Melty Blue Cheese Butter, Artichoke, Spinach and Buffalo Chicken Dip, Cheesy Guacamole, Chorizo Queso, Sh*t on Toast, and BTI (better than Ina's) Roast Chicken and Vegetables. SO much goodness in this book. 

The thing I couldn't wait to make though were these Summer Shrimp rolls. Those sticky rice paper fresh rolls you get before your meal at Thai places can now be made at home. I made these for dinner almost every night for dinner last week. They are so satisfy and perfect for a summer dinner. Kudos to you Chrissy for bringing the fire to the world of cookbooks. 

Summer Shrimp Rolls from Cravings
yields 8 rolls*

Ingredients:
4 to 6 red leaf lettuce leaves
8 medium shrimp, peeled (fresh or frozen (thawed))
salt
1 ounce Asian vermicelli or rice noodles
8 large or 16 small basil leaves
8 large or 16 small mint leaves
1 medium carrot, cut into 3-inch long julienne strips
1 avocado thinly sliced
8 (8-inch) round rice paper wrappers (you can find in most supermarkets with the Asian food)
Thai sweet chili sauce, for serving*

Directions:
Rinse the lettuce leaves and pat dry. Remove and discard the center ribs then slice in half so you end up with 16, about 3 inch long pieces. 

Fill a saucepan halfway with water and salt the water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 2 minutes. Turn the heat to low, take the shrimp out of the pot with tongs or a slotted spoon and rinse with cold water, pat dry. Cut off the tails and slice lengthwise.

Place the rice noodles in the pot of still hot water to soften. Cook until soft. Remove and rinse in a colander under cold water. 

Create a workspace lined up with lettuce, herbs, carrots, avocado, shrimp and rice noodles. Fill a clean skillet or shallow bowl with warm water to soak the rice papers. Arrange a damp towel on your workspace. One at a time, dunk the rice papers into the warm water to soften. Remove from the water and run under cool water. They easily stick together, so the cool water is a good time to unstick them from themselves. Lay flat on the damp towel.

To assemble: place 2-3 shrimp halves pink side down about 1/3 from the bottom, layer over mint and basil, then avocado, then carrots, rice noodles, then lettuce leaves. Roll up like a burrito by pulling up the bottom, tucking in the sides, then rolling till the end. The rice paper will stick together sealing it shut. Repeat with remaining rice papers. 

Serve immediately with the chili sauce. *If chili sauce is too spicy for you, you can tone it down by adding a little bit of lime juice and water. 

*The recipe says it makes 8 rolls, but it is easy to make less if you are cooking for one. I would eat 2-3 for dinner. The components last well in the fridge, so I would keep everything prepped, then just cook the shrimp, noodles and rice papers fresh each night and assemble just before eating!

Annie

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. If you are a also a blogger make sure to check out their site on how you too can start Blogging for Books!