Cookie Day

For our Christmas Cookies this year we used this recipe from Glorious Treats and we loved it!

Rolled Sugar Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract

Parchment paper

Directions:

-In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

-In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  This should take about 3 minutes.

-Add the egg and vanilla and beat another minute or so.

-Add the flour mixture slowly.

-Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a piece of parchment paper.

-Using your hands, knead the dough a few times.

-Place the dough in a large plastic (ziplock type) bag and refrigerate for about 2 hours.  If you want to speed up the chilling process, place the bag of dough in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes. Just don’t forget it in the freezer, or it will become to firm to work with (and then you’ll have to wait for it to thaw).

-When it’s almost time to remove the dough from the refrigerator (or freezer), preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).

-When the dough has chilled and is firm, take out about half of the dough, leaving the rest in the refrigerator (until your ready to work with it).

- bake cookies 8-10 minutes

For more detailed instructions you can visit the original link HERE.

Holiday Inspiration

{ Images Via Pinterest }
I have really been enjoying pinning holiday inspiration this season and not just pinning it but also actually putting my pins to use ! This season I'm all about staying inside and cozying up with some hot chocolate, good company, baking and crafting ! Im looking forward to sharing some cute holiday ideas with you all and getting back to blogging regularly !

Chicken Avocado Soup

Ingredients

Rotisserie chicken (or two 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded )

3 teaspoons olive oil, divided

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups green onions, finely chopped, divided

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tomato, diced

3 - 14.5oz cans chicken broth

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

2 avocados, diced

1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

lime wedges

Instructions

Shred rotisserie chicken and set meat aside 
In a dutch oven or equivalent, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat until hot.
Add the 1 cup chopped green onions and minced garlic to pot; Sauté about 2 minutes.
Add diced tomato; Sauté 1 minute, until soft.
Add chicken broth, cumin, and salt to pot.
Stir well and bring to a boil.
Cover pot and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes.
Layering in separate bowls; Fill each bowl with shredded chicken, diced avocado, chopped green onions (from the remaining 1/2 cup), and cilantro. Next, ladle the chicken broth onto the layered chicken in each bowl. Serve each bowl with a lime wedge.

I found this recipe on Pinterest, it is not my recipe. I just copied and pasted from mamamiss.com, the only thing i changed was using a rotisserie chicken for the meat instead of cooking the chicken breasts. This recipe is my new favorite it so delicious i didn't need to change a thing! I had to share it with my readers, i hope you all enjoy this soup as much as i do ! 

Zucchini Muffins with Chocolate Chunks

Ingredients :

2 eggs

1 cup of shredded zucchini (i usually use a little more one whole medium sized zucchini for extra moister)

1/2 cup of canola oil

1tsp vanilla

1 cup of sugar

1 1/2 cups of flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 Bag of Trader Joe's Chocolate Chunk 

Heat oven to 350

Spray Muffin pan with non stick cooking spray 

In a large bowl beat eggs with mixer until foamy. Stir in shredded Zucchini, canola oil and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients and mix by hand with a wooden spoon. Add chocolate chunks, i used a little more than half of the bag =) Pour batter into muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

I've had a bag of chocolate chunks from Trader Joe's that have been sitting on my counter staring me in the face all week! I couldn't find a recipe anywhere that i already had all the ingredients for….but i did have a zucchini that needed to be used and all the ingredients for my favorite zucchini bread recipe. So i decide to just make them into muffins instead and add the chocolate chunks. They were a hit around our house just like the bread usually is!
You can find my mom's original Zucchini Bread Recipe in an old post HERE. Its one of my favorites ! Enjoy !

Kale, Carrot and Lentil Soup

• Ingredients :
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup green lentils
• 8 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme 
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 cups kale, chopped with stems removed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 
  
• Instructions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, add in the olive oil than Add in the chopped onion, and carrot. Cook until softened and slightly brown. Add in the garlic, paprika, cayenne pepper, and lentils. Mix and cook about 1 minute.
2. Add in the vegetable broth, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stirring once or twice.
3. Add in the copped kale, cover and cook for 15 additional minutes. Add more salt and pepper if needed (since i used low sodium broth i needed a bit more salt ).

My Mom's Homemade Carmel Apple Pie Recipe

My Mom's Homemade Carmel Apple Pie Recipe
1 pie crust (my mom uses pillsbury)
1/2 cup sugar
3tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
6 cups thinly sliced and peeled apples ( my mom likes macintosh for this recipe)
1 recipe crumble topping (below)
1/4 cup carmel topping

Carmel Topping
Stir together 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats. Using a pastry blender, cut in 1/2 cup butter until the topping mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Preheat oven to 375
Spray pie pan with non stick cooking spray then put pie crust in pan.
In large mixing bowl stir together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add apples and gently toss till well coated. Transfer apples to pie crust and sprinkle crumble topping over pie. To prevent over browning, cover edge of pie with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 25-30 mins or until top is golden brown. Remove and drizzle with carmel topping. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread + {1 year blogging anniversary! }

This pumpkin bread is dangerously good! I found this recipe on Pinterest and wanted to share it with you all!



Ingredients
Bread: 3/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

 Streusel topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp cold butter, cut into small cubes

Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees Grease Loaf pan (I used a 9x5 loaf pan). In a large bowl, mix oil, eggs, vanilla and pumpkin. Add 1 cup of flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and mix until just combined. Pour batter into loaf pan.

For the streusel topping: In a separate small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, brown sugar and butter and mix with pastry cutter until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter. Bake 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of bread comes out clean.



Also today marks one year since i started blogging ! I absolutely love blogging and am so thankful for all the great connections and relationships i have made in this blogging community! Thank you all for following along and for all your sweet comments !

Pumpkin Oat Muffins + {Wild and Lovely Fall Link Up}

Yield makes about 3 large muffin trays

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sugar
• 1cup oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 (15-16 oz) can pumpkin puree (be sure it’s not pie filling)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup dried oats
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray
• Beat sugar and oil in large bowl
• Mix in eggs and pumpkin puree
• Mix dry ingredients in another bowl
• Add dry mixture to pumpkin mixture a little bit at a time
• Divide batter into greased muffin pans.
• Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 20 -25 mins

 

You guys these muffins are sooo good! My husband even said they were the best muffins I've ever made! We will certainly be keeping this recipe around and making it for many years to come!

Also I know we missed last weeks link up because I was blogging for All things lovely daily deals , but we are back with our regular link up this week so don't forget to join in this weeks fall link up !

We are two Mamas who believe fashion is still possible after motherhood, that our babes are a blessing & that life is wild & beautiful.  We share our wild and lovely with you each week. 

We would love if you would join us every Wednesday in sharing anything you like. 

 There are no rules except to follow Alycia and Lauren, 

& link up your posts below to meet some new friends. Help us share by linking back.

Homemade Pickles

I know we all have fall on the mind and this is definitely a bit of a summer post, but i took these photos months ago and have just now gotten around to posting them! I wanted to share my Dads homemade pickle recipe with you all because it is just so good ! He picks all his cucumbers from the garden so they are home grown, organic and delicious !

Recipe:
1/4 cup pickling salt
1/2 gallon of water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tsps pickling spice
2 cloves of pressed garlic per jar
Cucumbers

Instructions:
Boil salt, water, sugar, and vinegar in a pot for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add pickling spice (wrapped in cheesecloth bundle). Let cool for 5 minutes. Fill a mason jar with sliced cucumbers and pressed garlic, then pour slightly cooled pickling water to the top of the jar. Seal and refrigerate for up to a week before eating.








Enjoy!

Summer Meal : Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs

Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs:
Serves 4

Fresh Pineapple 
1 Large Red Onion
Red Peppers
4 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts 
Brown Rice

Marinade:
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs light brown sugar
3 garlic cloves minced 
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup pineapple juice

In a medium sized bowl mix together all ingredients for the marinade. Next cut the chicken, onion, peppers and pineapple into 1 inch chunks.
Place chicken and vegetable in separate bowls and poor marinade over each (make sure to save a little for basting). Let marinade for a few hours.

Cook rice according to package. Place chicken on skewers and grill chicken and vegetables. You can grill vegetables on a skewer as well or in a grill pan. Make sure to baste with remaining marinade while grilling. Once everything is cooked serve over rice.







Enjoy!

Summer Pasta Salad

Summer Pasta Salad (gluten free)

Serving size : 2 large salads 

Ingredients:

• 3oz baby spinach 
• 1/2 box of gluten free pasta
• 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes
• 4 tsps white balsamic vinegar (baker and olive is my favorite!)
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Pepper to taste
• Grilled Chicken
• Parmigian Cheese

Directions:

Season Chicken with salt and pepper and Grill. Boil pasta in water according to package directions. When done, drain and rinse under cold water.
In a large bowl, combine the pasta, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pepper. Toss well then just before serving top with Parmigian and Grilled Chicken.  

Tried it , Loved it : Recipes

This week i actually had time to meal plan, i love doing it but rarely have had the time lately! But i have decided to bring it back into part of my weekly schedule and it got me to thinking that i would like to start a new little series here on the blog "Tried it, Loved it" where i share recipes i have tried and that i really like!

This week i baked the most amazing Paleo Blueberry Muffins, they are healthy for you and were such a hit in our house!




For dinner i made almost all my meals from the same blog because they all looked so delicious and healthy ! I know i mentioned this on instagram twice this week but for all my readers who don't follow me on there you guys have to go check out Honey and Brie. Her recipes are all healthy and she has lots of gluten free recipes as well !

Monday night i made Spaghetti with pesto broccoli-and arugula - This was so delicious and did not take long to make at all , its the perfect meal to make if you don't have much time, which is often the case with a little one around!


Tuesday night i made Cauliflower crust pizza
Wednesday night was Lasagna Soup - which i actually ended up making twice this week since my husband ate almost all of the first one i made and i barely got any! Seriously guys its to die for!
Friday morning I made Bre's Mini quiches with veggies for my breakfast club. Once a week me and some girlfriends get together at each others houses and have breakfast together and this week it was at my house ! All of these recipes are so good i can not wait to make some more of them from her blog!

Okay Well I'm off to go plan next weeks meals (exciting saturday night, i know)

xoxo,
Alycia

VEGETABLE CHOWDER

I came up with this vegetable soup recipe last week while trying to make a slightly healthier version of this recipe- cheesy-vegetable-chowder .I love the original recipe it is so yummy ,but i wanted something healthier and with more vegetables in it.




Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter ( you could use olive oil for an even healthier version)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped carrot

2 celery sticks, chopped 

1 small zucchini

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth

2 medium potatoes chopped

Kosher salt
Pepper

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk (It tastes just as good with out the milk as well, so this can also be left out but if you want it to be more of a "chowder" than you will need the milk)

2 cups chopped broccoli

1 corn on the cob, removed from the cob 

Melt the butter in a large soup pot.  Add onions, carrots, zucchini and celery and sauté over medium heat until tender.  Add the garlic and cook 1 - 2 additional minutes. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, than reduce the heat to simmer and cook until potatoes are tender.  Next in a small bowl, mix the flour with water, add to the pot and simmer until soup is slightly thickened.  Next add corn, broccoli and milk and cook until broccoli is tender. 

If you wanted to add some shredded cheese on top you can, it still makes for a healthier soup by adding a small amount to your bowl rather than the 2 cups of cheese the original recipe calls for. Of course my husband added some, cause it certainly tastes good with the cheese !


enjoy!