Bites of My Life

August 2018: fasted month ever? Y or N? Anyone else feel like we hopped, skipped and jumped right over August. I can't believe September starts this weekend. In preparation for a very busy fall, I spent this weekend laying low aka in bed by 9pm Friday and Saturday night. Despite the early bed times, I didn't skip on the eeeeeats. Take a bite below. 

-Crock-pot dinner win! I put 2 chicken thighs with seasonings and 3/4 cup water in my crock-pot Monday morning. Wrapped 3 sweet potatoes in foil and placed them right on top of the chicken. Put it on low while I was at work all day. Came home and shredded the chicken then topped it with guac, salsa, red onion, jalapeño all on the perfectly cooked sweet potatoes. A similar meal found here.
-Breakfast for dinner! The go-to when I don't have any other food in the fridge.
-Blender Bombs, who's heard of them? Excited to start using them today!
-May the #TacoTour commence! Dad and I have instilled a new Friday lunch tradition scoping out all the best taqueria's in OKC. Full round up to come after we add more to our list. First stop was at Taco San Pedro.
-Popcorn dipped in sriracha/mustard. A snack hack that started because of my roommates senior year of college. I still love this odd combination.
-Pool party board! All goods are from TJ's and were eaten at our Saturday pool party in less than 5 minutes. Along with all the other dips, hot dogs, etc. #FriendsWhoEat.
-Post photoshoot at our restaurant on OU's Campus Corner, pre Arbonne Healthy Happy in Norman, had me caught enjoying lunch on campus! 
-Healthy Happy with two girls I'm lucky I get to work alongside.
-Taste testing macarons Sunday night. See why in my post here.

Annie

Bites of My Life

My favorite part of early fall is when the afternoon stays warm, but the mornings and evenings are slightly chilly. Perfect early morning walking weather, preferably with a cup of coffee in hand. A walk a day keeps the doctor away!

Last week/weekend was spent snuggling with my niece, embracing football games and food ;), unapologetically getting my first pumpkin spice latte (almond milk + 1 pump PS), seeing Home Again (HIGHLY recommend) and then followed by a Miss America watch party. 

-Officially Pumpkin Green Smoothie time! One of my favorite smoothie recipes ever. 
-A version of my go to "loaded salad." Apple, rotisserie chicken, roasted sweet potato, red onion, mix of lettuce and homemade balsamic dressing. 
-Still working on my spaghetti squash 4-ways post. This week was shrimp scampi spaghetti squash!
-One with the weights and a new personal record!
-Gabe and I still aren't besties but we are pretty good at taking pictures together!
-Mom and dad's equals unlimited homemade lattes with their Nespresso and my new favorite Milkadamia nut milk. 
-A Mexican spread for the OU vs. Ohio State game. Made a big batch of my Crock-Pot Carnitas with all the fixings and tons of chips and dips. 
-Sister Sunday at Midtown's Commonplace Books. 
-A throw whatever is in the fridge into a bowl kind of lunch. Results = leftover cold spaghetti squash, cherry tomatoes, roasted red pepper, parsley, red onion, capers and a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper!

Annie

p.s. don't miss last week's recipe post for my Double Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Cookies! 

Acorn Squash Salad Bowl

I love food out of a bowl. Back in college in the Kappa house, I would always forgo the large dinner plates and pile all of my food into 2 to 3 of our little cereal bowls. I'd be sitting in the dining room with bowls on bowls in front of me, strange but go with it. Salad in a bowl vs. a plate, so much better. Casserole, loaded sweet potato, pasta, meat and roasted veggies etc. in a bowl, it's just better.

When I was younger I hated my food to touch. But now I love getting bite of each part of the meal in one bite. And a bowl is the vessel to assist with that. 

With this recipe, acorn squash becomes your bowl. Save yourself from having to wash an extra dish. We are taking roasted acorn squash and filling it with salad full of wintery ingredients. This is great for lunch, a light dinner of could be great as a side dish with some protein. It's just pretty enough to be a side for your Christmas dinner!

Acorn Squash Salad Bowl
yields 2 servings

Ingredients:
1 medium size acorn squash
2 handfuls spring green mix
pecans, chopped
pomegranate arils
feta cheese
s&p

Balsamic Dressing:
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. dijon mustard
s&p to taste

Directions:
Cook your squash to your preference. If you are reading this ahead of time, use your crock-pot! First cut the pointy edge off each end so it has a flat surface to stand on. Then cut in half, scoop out seeds, wrap in foil and place in the crock-pot on low to cook for 6-8 hours (perfect way to cook sweet potatoes too). If you don't have that kind of time on your hand, cut edges off, cut in half, scoop out seeds, drizzle with olive oil, s&p, and roast skin side up at 425 for 20-25 minutes.

Combine your dressing ingredients in a small mason jar or bowl and shake/whisk to combine. In a mixing bowl, add two large handfuls of spring mix, chopped pecans, pomegranate arils and feta. Just eye ball your ingredients and add as more or less as you want. Sprinkle in a little extra salt and pepper. Toss everything with your dressing, starting light and add more as you please. (Sorry these measurements are haphazard, but that's the beauty of a salad).

Fill the cavity of your acorn squash with a serving of salad. Dig in by scraping up a bit of squash with each bite of salad mix.

Want more ways to use acorn squash? Take a bite here and here.

Annie

Bites of My Life

It's the countdown to the big day. My favorite holiday is just 3 days away! I'm getting anxious and can't wait much longer. I can't wait for family to get into town, to make pies on pies on pies, to drown myself in dressing and creamed corn and spend the rest of the weekend with a massive food baby. This truly is the best time of the year.

I skipped ahead a bit and let myself start listening to Christmas music last Friday! It's all apart of the season in my mind. And last night I had a taste of Thanksgiving with my 2nd annual Friendsgiving. You can see bites from the night down below, and read about the 1st annual here. 

-Shared my tips last week on how I stay hydrated during the winter.
-My favorite salad in the city, is the grilled shrimp salad from Republic! Second location now open in Chisholm Creek!
-Loved have Madison & Peyton, formerly from Identical Ideals, soon to be from The Honeypot, here guest posting last week. Make sure to read their Book Club and Season for Senses posts!
-If you are in OKC, go try out the Provision Kitchen hot bar at lunch. It's so good and fueled mom and I all day while we started in on our Thanksgiving grocery shopping.
-Another spot you need to try is Goro Ramen + Izakaya (meaning Japanese pub). Their steamed buns and spicy miso ramen are phenom. 
-I posted about it last week, but I can't get enough. I had the other half of my Burrata, Prosciutto, Arugula Trader Joe's flatbread and it's too good. Make sure to add some maldon salt and thinly sliced apples on top!
-We last minute needed another dessert on our Friendsgiving table, so instead of pie, I made my Pecan Pie Bars, a delicious recipe from the TAB archives. 
-One of my contributions to Friendsgiving was the dressing. I love that this is a chance to venture out from our classic recipes a bit and try something new. I used this Barre3 recipe and LOVED it. I used their recipe for cranberry sauce too!
-Friendsgiving is starting to rival the real deal!

Annie

Bites of My Life

Happy halloween! Are your tricking and treating yourself? I sure did over the past week. Delicious bites, new recipes, handfuls of candy, matcha lattes, loads of junk food and all the proper halloween snacks were indulged in over the past few days. I do believe the holiday season of eating is here!

Last week was quick and fun and this week is shaping up to be the same, but I'm wishing it away with the anticipation of our family trip to see Claire this weekend. We have an itinerary set and I have a list of to-dos, but please send any NYC musts my way!

-BOOM! Easiest butternut squash soup coming this week!
-Ombre pumpkin sugar cookies to get in the spirit!
-I found another matcha to add to my list! Take my word and go try the one at Okay Yeah! 
-The yummiest modern mexican joint opens it's doors tomorrow! I was lucky to sneak a bite early.
-Happiest wedding day for my dear Lexy! 
-Try it --> savory oatmeal seasoned with s&p, turmeric and a poached egg.
-My cookie loving instincts helped channeled my halloween costume this year.
-Got to go behind the mic & be featured on the local food podcast, OKC Over Easy! Listen to my episode on Soundcloud or iTunes.
-Love celebrating this mom on her birthday and everyday!

Annie

P.S. Don't miss last week's recipes including Gingersnap Cookie Pizza and Savory Granola!