Pumpkin and Peet’s

I know, I know. Everyone has probably had enough with the pumpkin recipes and so I’m not going to give you another one. I made a batch of vegan pumpkin pancakes last weekend. You can probably find the recipe if you google and the only reason I made them “vegan” is because I didn’t have eggs. I also didn’t have syrup so what you see on top is coconut cream made by mixing coconut flour with almond milk. A fantastic combination if I do say so myself.

The reason behind my showing you these pancakes I’m not giving the recipe for is to tell you about the coffee I received from Peet’s Coffee as a member of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program. Peet’s sent me two bags of their new medium roast coffees to try – Café Domingo and Café Solano. I tried the Café Domingo which is a blend of Central and South American coffees that is smooth, balanced and medium-bodied with more pure coffee taste. Peet’s coffee experts describe it as a medium roast cup with hints of toffee sweetness and clean crisp finish.

For someone who doesn’t typically love non-flavored coffee, I thought this was great (and I mean it)! I added just a splash of half-half and some sweetener and paired it up with the pumpkin pancakes. I feel that pairing this with a fall-flavored dish was a great choice because the coffee truly is smooth and therefore went great with pancakes packed full of spice like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Peet’s also sent me a bunch of $2 off coupons (their coffee is now available in grocery stores) so if you are interested in some coupons let me know and I’ll send some off to you.

*I received the Peet’s Coffee at no cost as part of my participation in Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker program. The opinions expressed are solely mine and I’d tell you if I didn’t really like the stuff, promise.

Faux Fall

Through my participation in Foodbuzz's Tastemaker Program, I received this Tervis Tumbler at no cost. Though I’ll admit the first beverage it held was Atwater's Vanilla Java Porter, the next was this Pumpkin-Banana-Coconut Smoothie I made for breakfast yesterday.

I’m not usually a smoothie-for-breakfast kind of girl but the warm weather inspired me so I popped open one of my coveted cans of pumpkin and whipped one up. It hit the spot – refreshing yet filling and deliciously reminiscent of pumpkin pie but with a twist.

Pumpkin-Banana-Coconut Smoothie

serves 1

• 1 c milk (I used combination of unsweetened almond and skim)
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 c pumpkin puree
• 2 T shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 t pumpkin pie spice
• 2 ice cubes
• 2 packets stevia sweetener (or sugar… or you can omit all together for a less sweet drink)
• cinnamon, for topping

Add all ingredients to Magic Bullet tall cup and blend until smooth (or use blender/food processor/whatever you have) top with cinnamon.

Enjoy!

I am loving this tumbler. It seems to keep my drinks nice and cold. It will be getting lots of use – and I’ll let you know when I try a hot drink in it!

Hot Mess

No… I’m not talking about myself. I’m talking about this fantastic dinner I made the other night and subsequently have been eating the leftovers from for the past three nights. That’s good for something because this girl usually can’t stomach eating leftovers more than one time.

Isn’t it a beauty?

I kid.

But who cares when it tastes incredible and leaves me so full and satisfied?

Not me.

As a Foodbuzz Tastemaker, I received these three bottles of Crisco Olive Oil at no cost to sample and review. You know I love olive oil, I use it all the time. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty psyched. I was sent Crisco’s Pure Olive Oil, Extra Virgin and Light. As you can see in this picture, I cracked open the Pure. It sounded like the perfect one to use for roasting the veggies in the above dish.

Oh yes, more about that. What you see there is Vegetable Moussaka. Apparently Moussaka is a “Greek favorite”. Anyone out there who is Greek/more worldly than me (probably most everyone), is probably rolling his or her eyes. But listen, I’d never heard of Moussaka and fortunately now I have because this is going to be a regular around here.

Vegetable Moussaka adapted from The Illustrated Kitchen Bible

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cubed
• 1 medium zucchini, cubed
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
• 4 T Crisco Pure Olive Oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 t dried Thyme
• 1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes, undrained
• 1 15 oz can lentils, drained
• 1 1/4 c plain non-fat yogurt (or Greek if you have it)
• 2 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
• pinch of paprika
• 3 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 T sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss eggplant, zucchini and red peppers into roasting pan. Drizzle with oil and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme. Continue roasting for 35 minutes or until tender. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Stir in tomatoes with juices and lentils into roasted vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a four quart baking dish.

Beat the yogurt, eggs and paprika together and season with salt and pepper (if desired). Spread over vegetables and sprinkle with feta. Place on baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 10 minutes more, or until top is golden brown. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Vacation Memories–Kodak Gallery Photo Book

As a member of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program I was selected to create my own complimentary Kodak Gallery Photo Book and share both the product and the experience with my readers.

This opportunity seemed like the perfect way to showcase my recent vacation photos so that I could share them in an organized way. I don’t know about you but I usually either upload vacation photos to Facebook or they sit around in a folder on my computer that I barely look at.

The process is fairly simple to make a photo book. You create an account, pick the book you want to make and then upload your photos so you can drag and drop them into the book. So easy I could do it. Apparently you can also import pictures from your Facebook account. I didn’t do that but that’s a pretty cool feature.

These are a few of the pages in the book I created. As you can see, I could choose different photo layouts and the size of the pictures on the different pages.

I’ll show you the finished product when it arrives but since I thought this was such a great and fun product, I have a discount code to offer all of you to use to make your own Kodak Gallery Photo Book!

Click here to receive 40% off your own photo book!

Happy Creating! On that note, I’m obsessed with this song. It’s the perfect one for a dreary Sunday afternoon.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KrmxavLIRM]

Buffalo Chicken Fajitas

These. Will. Blow. Your. Mind.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received this product sample at no cost. And I received no compensation for telling you that I like it. I just do. Honest.

Buffalo Chicken Fajitas

ever so slightly adapted from HungryGirl

Ingredients

• 1/2 c Fiber One Bran Cereal, crushed to crumbs (or breadcrumbs)
• 2 boneless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
• 2 T egg beaters (or 1 egg)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3-4 T KC Masterpiece Buffalo Marinade
• Crumbled Blue Cheese
• 2 bell peppers, sliced
• dash onion powder (optional)
• dash garlic powder (optional)
• dash of cumin (optional)
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

If using cereal, put in sealable plastic bag being sure to remove air. Pound into crumbs using a meat mallet or roll with an empty wine bottle if you don’t own a meat mallet like me. Add garlic and onion powders, give bag a good shake. Transfer crumbs to a plate and set aside.

Now you need to pound those chicken breasts until they are about 1/3 inch thick. Again, use a meat mallet if you have one. If you don’t, use a saucepan and hope your neighbors don’t mind the atrociously loud pounding.

Top chicken with egg substitute/egg. Dip in crumb mixture until completely covered. Place baking pan and bake in the oven until crispy, about 30 minutes. Flip breasts half-way through.

Heat a skillet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-heat on the stovetop. Add pepper and onion and cook until soft, about 6-8 minutes. I used frozen peppers and it took just a wee big longer. Add black beans when vegetables are mostly done. Sprinkle with a dash of cumin (if desired) and give it once last stir. Transfer to plate.

Once chicken is done and cool enough to handle, cut into strips. Place in plastic container with marinade and toss gently until chicken is coated. Put chicken strips atop vegetables and sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles.

You can serve with cilantro lime rice, as I did, for a more complete meal. I also warmed up a few whole wheat tortillas for serving.

*Serves 2

Cheddar Biscuits

I’ve started wearing my glasses again.

I have no idea whether my prescription is right or not… it’s been a year since I’ve been to the eye doctor but I’ve been getting headaches after spending time editing photos and reading blogs.

So back to the glasses it is.

The reason I stopped wearing my glasses in the first place was because Griffy got his hands teeth on them about a year ago and made them the most expensive chew toy. Ever.

The lenses are scratched, the frames are bent and an ear piece is missing. But I’m wearing them.

Why am I telling you this?

Because despite the return to wearing my glasses, tonight, I could not believe my eyes.

When I walked in the door tonight, there was a large package waiting for me. A package I wasn’t expecting. I cautiously opened the package tore the box open. Sitting in a sea of packing peanuts, A HD FLIPCAM!  I had pretty much forgotten that I had entered a contest through Food Buzz's Tastemakers Program to make a video using Newman's Own products! I’m psyched to share my recipe proposal with all of you but I have to get busy because the video is due by THIS Friday.

My elaborate dinner plans went out the window. After all, I have some serious brainstorming to do. Dinner quickly became my leftover sweet and spicy vegetarian chili. (Don’t forget, voting for this recipe opens tomorrow 3/1 at Marx Foods!) But I’ve had my eye on these biscuits.

Mine were not vegan, I used skim milk and cheddar cheese. I omitted the sugar and garlic salt too. They were delicious. Amazingly flakey and perfectly cheesy. You MUST make these.

And a warning, as soon as these are done cooling, store them somewhere out of sight. Don’t even think of leaving them on the stove-top like I did. Why? Because you will be tempted to break off a crumb every time you walk by them. Trust me on this.

Nature’s Pride

It was another wet, gross day here. The perfect day to lounge on the couch in my comfies and watch movies. But that didn’t happen. Instead, I went to work… hot coffee in hand. Yes, I’ve gone and done it. I’ve made the switch.

After the gym tonight, I didn’t want to make an involved dinner. So I didn’t. A simple sandwich on bread sufficed. But after, I realized I did want something warm. Then I remembered that I still hadn’t shared a recipe using my bread from Nature’s Pride. Ding ding ding! <--- bell signifying a great idea

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for a free loaf of Nature’s Pride bread! Nature’s Pride is a sponsor at the Foodbuzz Festival in November and a recipe contest using their product. Though I think I’ve missed the contest deadline, I still wanted to incorporate it into something great.

The great idea was born, Apple Bread Pudding!

First, I preheated the oven to 350. Then I cubed my bread (toasted lightly first since it was still nice and soft). Four slices of bread ended up being about 3 cups cubed… 1/2 to 1-inch cubes will do. Then I chopped up one medium apple (whatever kind you like to bake with!) into small pieces. In a large bowl, I added the bread cubes, apple pieces, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and at the end 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and about 1/4 cup of Starbucks Cinnamon Dulce Syrup. I used this syrup because it’s amazing but also has a bit of sugar, of course, so it added a bit of sweetness. You can use sugar, brown sugar, agave, etc.

Gently mix it all up with a wooden spoon. Let sit for about 10 minutes so bread can fully absorb the almond milk. Then spoon into greased 6 ounce ramekins. The mixture will fill about four of them. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Then, if you want, turn the oven to broil and leave them under the broiler for about 3 minutes until tops brown up just a bit.

These were amazing. Simply perfect. So much flavor and the texture was great. The bread held up so well… I’ll admit now that I feared a soggy mess, but no such thing happened here! You’ll love this so much, you will want to eat two ramekins full. Okay, maybe that’s just me.