Roasted Vegetable Tostadas

One thing I’ve noticed recently is that many of my favorite dinners, the ones I come back to over and over again, include tortillas. Spaghetti squash tacos, Greek antipasto wraps, tortilla crusted asparagus quiche with goat cheese (it’s a real thing) – and these roasted vegetable tostadas – all include tortillas, are all delicious, and are all capable of being made easily on a weeknight.  No wonder I consider them favorites. I added this particular recipe to my book via an old Real Simple magazine that I was reading at the gym a couple of months back. These are pretty cost-efficient in terms of ingredients, but I think my favorite thing about making these is that they’re so easy to time. You should expect to spend right around forty minutes making these, from chopping the vegetables to putting them on a plate. I can guarantee; however, that it will not take forty minutes for these to disappear.

Ingredients:

-10 oz. button mushrooms, chopped

-2 zucchini, chopped

-2 red bell peppers, chopped

-3 tbsp. olive oil

-8 corn or flour tortillas

-1 15 oz.  can refried beans

-4 oz. cheddar, grated

-plain Greek yogurt, cilantro, chopped red onion, for serving

Directions:

-Heat your oven to 450◦. Toss together the chopped mushrooms, zucchini and red bell peppers with two tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast on 1-2 baking sheets (depending on the sizes of yours) for 20-25 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through if you’re using two. Transfer to a bowl.

-Wipe the baking sheets clean with a paper towel and put the tortillas on them. Brush them with the last tablespoon of olive oil, spread evenly with the refried beans and sprinkle on some cheddar. Place in the oven and bake for about six minutes, so the cheese is melted and beans are warm.

-To serve, top the tortillas with the roasted vegetables, plain Greek yogurt, red onion and cilantro.

{vegetable medley}

{worth the slight splurge}

{spread & sprinkle}

{enjoy! w/ wild rice & salsa :)}

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Do you like baseball?  Matt and I love to get to at least one baseball game each season if possible.  A couple weeks ago we got to go to an Iron Pigs game (the local baseball team in Allentown) thanks to Matt's parents who have season tickets to all the home games.  Unfortunately, the night we went, it rained pretty hard but we got to see a couple innings and enjoy a traditional baseball game dinner.

Do you see that rain?!  It was crazy but those people there in the picture...they sat through the entire storm right there under their umbrella.

After the storms went through it turned out to be a beautiful night.

Lucky for us, our seats were just under the overhang so we could wait out the rain sitting down!

Our delicious dinner.  I have to go for a hot dog when I'm at a baseball game. 

And Matt always has to get a sundae in a helmet cup.  I have never quite understood why but it's becoming a little tradition. :)

Night-time baseball games are my favorite. 

 

My favorite things about baseball games are the food, the seventh inning stretch and singing 'Take me out to the ballgame!'.  

So, if you are a baseball fan, who do you root for?  Do you have a favorite part of the game?  I'd love to know!



lemon and artichoke chicken

Happy Monday!  Hope you've had a great weekend.  Ours was pretty low-key with two under-the-weather kids.  Yesterday they both seemed to finally be feeling better.  Glad that's behind us! 

A lot of quiet coloring and reading in the (new!  I'll take you on a tour of our newly switched up rooms next week!) playroom over the weekend.

Today, as promised, I'm posting the recipe for the lemon and artichoke chicken that I made last week from Practical Paleo.  Definitely give this one a try - it's really good.

Lemon and Artichoke Chicken
Recipe from "Practical Paleo" by Diane Sanfilippo, BS, NC

4 TBSP butter, ghee, or coconut oil, divided
2 shallots or 1/4 of an onion, sliced
2 cups of artichoke hearts, thawed and/or drained and rinsed
1/4 cup of capers, drained
juice from 2 lemons
2 lbs of bone-in, skin-on chicken
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375.

Heat a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat and melt 2 TBSP of the butter.  Add the shallots and cook until softened.  Add the artichoke hearts, capers, lemon juice, salt and pepper; stir.

Put the chicken pieces in the skillet and top each with a small bit of the remaining 2 TBSP butter.  Put the skillet into the oven for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Enjoy!

Notes:  For this recipe, I used what I had on hand:  butter, onion, half a jar of artichoke hearts, no capers, 1 lemon, and just over a pound of thin-cut boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Since the chicken was so thin, I made the sauce as she suggests above, but when I added the chicken, I just cooked it on the stove top until the chicken was done.  Also, I added a little bit of the juice from the jar of artichoke hearts, which I think really contributed to the overall flavor. 

Sorry there are no photos to go along with the recipe.  I'll be making it again this week so will share some photos later.  I really think you'll like this one!  All of the recipes in this book are so simple and use minimal ingredients - something I really like.  Every once in awhile, I love making really involved recipes, but most of the time I like to keep things simple.  "Practical Paleo" is full of simple, easy, recipes.  Win!  

I will, however, show you a photo of the muffins I made yesterday...

Pumpkin, cranberry, walnut!

They're really good, but I'm going to play around with the recipe a little to try and bring out more of the pumpkin flavor.  It's not pumpkin-y enough for me.  More pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice?  We shall see!

Hope you're week is looking good so far.  Things are starting to wind down for the summer around here for us.  Soccer is over, Wednesday-night church is over, Will's youth group weekly meetings end next week - which means we'll have more time to ride bikes and play outside with the neighbor kids.  Looking forward to summer!

Photo Friday!

We've had some rainy days this week, and like usual, I've sort of been enjoying the excuse to read a book on the couch and make braised chicken and spring vegetables for dinner. :)

Thanks for reading this week! Have a lovely weekend.

xoCarrie

We had a tough day over here yesterday.  While I had Annabel at the doctor for an ear infection, Will was home with Tommy who came down with the stomach bug.  Good grief.  Annabel hasn't been eating much (and Tommy hasn't eaten anything), but I finally got her to eat a mango slice last night.  Hooray for mango slices!  Hoping for a healthy weekend, for us, and for you!

-chelsey

We're moving this weekend so we'll be super busy.  Hope you get to relax and enjoy yours!

-Dana

egg-celent

Do you ever feel like you're in a food rut?  I've sort of been feeling that way recently, and I've also been unhappy with the way I feel physically.  Even though I'm getting plenty of exercise, I don't feel like my energy level reflects it.  I definitely have a sweet tooth and eat a fair amount of sugar, and I also eat a lot of bread.  My stomach has been bothering me more and more since Annabel was born almost two years ago now, and I'm wondering if it's a combination of a slight gluten and dairy intolerance.  When I was nursing Annabel, we found out that she had a dairy intolerance so I had to stay away from everything dairy in order to keep nursing her.  Since then, I can't drink milk at all, and I can only handle small amounts of ice cream, cheese, and other dairy products. 

All of that was a somewhat long-winded explanation as to why I picked up a copy of "Practical Paleo" by Diane Sanfilippo at the bookstore over the weekend.  Have you heard of the Paleo Lifestyle?  It's "gluten-, grain-, legume-, dairy-, and refined-sugar-free!"  So basically you eat meat, eggs, vegetables, and fruit.  This book has a ton of interesting research, meal plans to help with specific ailments (neurological, heart health, digestive health, etc.) and 120 recipes.  After reading up on it a little bit, I decided to try it for a little while and see if it makes a difference in how I feel.  

My new book next to my pretty overflowing bowls of fruits and veggies.

I felt bad gloating about my fruits and veggies in that last photo so I thought I better share this one...the pie that's directly beside the fruits and veggies.  It was SO good (my in-laws brought it over for our cookout on Sunday), but tomorrow it's going to work with Will.  Someone other than me will be finishing it!

Yesterday was my first full day of eating Paleo and after waiting on pins and needles after each meal to feel the familiar stomach pangs, I realized before I went to bed that I hadn't felt a thing all day.  Win!  But while I'm not quite ready to say that Paleo is definitely the answer to my problems (I think I'll give it a month or so), I am encouraged by how I felt today.  Here's what I ate:

Basically I ate the same thing for breakfast and lunch, but in different (both delicious) forms:
Breakfast:  crust-less quiche with sausage, mushrooms, onions, and spinach, mango slices
Lunch:  sauteed zucchini, onions, and mushrooms over sausage with an over-easy egg on top, banana
Dinner:  lemon and artichoke chicken, steamed broccoli, sweet potatoes, mango slices
Snack/Dessert:  apple streusel egg muffins

I was a little concerned about my kids liking dinner since neither of them have had artichokes before and they're not big broccoli or sweet potato eaters, but they both gobbled everything up just as fast as I could fill up their plates.  Tommy had two whole pieces of chicken and ate all of his vegetables, and Annabel asked for seconds of everything.  Win!

While I will definitely be sharing that chicken recipe with you next week (SO good), I'm here today to tell you about those egg muffins.  I know what you're thinking...."egg muffins?!" Yes, egg muffins.  They're egg-y and pancake-y and popover-y, and surprisingly, they're really good.  (Yes, I had my doubts, too, but I needed something that felt dessert-y (goodness that's a lot of "-y's") without the gluten and dairy.)  

Tell me you wouldn't want to eat that.

With a generous bit of butter and a drizzle of maple syrup, it's the perfect sweet gluten-, dairy-, legume-, grain-, and refined-sugar-free treat! :)

It was good.

Here's the recipe:

3 green apples cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 2 cups)
3TBSP warm water
2 tsp cinnamon, divided
9 eggs
1 1/2 TBSP butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled
3 TBSP coconut milk
1 1/2 TBSP coconut flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350.

Saute apples, water, and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon until the apples begin to break down and look sort of like apple pie filling.  Allow the apples to cool before adding them to the egg mixture.

Whisk the eggs, butter, coconut milk, coconut flour, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.  When the apples are cool, add them to the mixture, reserving 1/4 cup to garnish.

Spoon the batter into muffin tins (if you don't line them, be sure to use cooking spray or oil).  Carefully spoon a tsp of the reserved apples onto the top of each muffin.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Notes:  I only needed two apples to make two cups, and I used granny smith.  Also, I peeled the apples before cooking them since I knew my kids would like them better peel-free.  I ended up adding about 6 extra TBSP of water to my pan to help the apples break down.  Just make sure you watch them so they don't start to stick and burn.  Also, to make them just a tad sweeter since I used a tart apple, I added a couple teaspoons of maple syrup to the apples.  Since I couldn't find coconut flour (I'll be checking Whole Foods next week) I used Red Mill Gluten-and Dairy-Free All Purpose Baking Flour (see photo below). My oven runs hot so I only baked these muffins for 30 minutes.

Gluten- and dairy-free!

If you're looking for something a little different, I would definitely give these a try.  It's eggs, it's pancakes, it's everything good about breakfast all rolled into one.  Also, they'll make your house smell heavenly.  Breakfast today?  Apple streusel egg muffins, bacon, and coffee.  Good start to the day.

I don't know if I'll be eating this way forever, but as I give it a try for the next month or so, I'll be checking back in to let you know how it's going.

If you follow the Paleo lifestyle, I'm curious to hear how you like it!  Any advice for someone just starting out? 

P.s.  It's almost Friday!  Whoo!

Gold Dipped

One thing that I really love having in my house at all times is fresh flowers. In terms of brightening up the space, they really just make all the difference in the world. I don't often buy them, because they tend to be expensive, but somehow I always manage to have an abundance during the springtime months.

Where I seem to be lacking; however, is in the vase department. I had one that I liked, but beyond that, I was using mediocre cups and glasses that just didn't look exactly the way that I wanted. When I saw these simple gold dipped milk bottles on Pinterest, I knew that I had to re-create them in some way and set about gathering the minimal materials:

{plain bottles}

(I purchased these at T.J. Maxx for ~$2.99 each)

{metallic gold paint w/paint brush}

These obviously require no brain power, but they do require several coats of paint, so be patient. After the first layer they looked pretty pathetic, but once I let that dry and created a base, the next two-three layers went on much more smoothly and created the opaque look you see in the finished product.

{first coat}

 {second coat}

{dunzo}

Pretty with yellow, but I am sort of partial to the bright pink --

 the gold/fuschia combo is a favorite of mine!

I ended up giving two away for mothers day, but I did keep one for my own table and am considering it to be a welcome addition to my growing vase collection. :) Enjoy the day! xoCarrie

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Long ago, when taking off multiple days at a time and coordinating said days with friends and family was much easier, we (as a family + our extended best friend family) used to attend something called an Owners Party in the Outer Banks of North Carolina around Easter. These parties were probably geared more towards our parents (the owners, after all) and really I only remember two things about them: 1) they were cold, and 2) they had sweet potato biscuits. There were probably things to do, prizes to win, people to schmooze; but I never noticed because I was too busy sneakily slipping multiple biscuits into my pockets, knowing I wouldn't be seeing the likes of them for another 365 days.

Over the years I have tried and tried to recreate them, and these are absolutely the closest I have come. They are somehow both dense and light, in the way that breads made with potato doughs tend to be, and have a lovely mild sweet potato flavor that is as good for breakfast as it is paired with barbecue chicken and green beans for dinner. I really love these.

Ingredients:
-2 cups flour
-2 tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
-1 tbsp. baking powder
-1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. + 1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (separated)
-1 stick unsalted butter: 7 tbsp. chilled and chunked; 1 tbsp. melted
-1-2 orange fleshed sweet potatoes to yield 3/4 cup mashed potato
-1/2 milk
-1 tsp. granulated sugar

Directions:
-Place the sweet potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Allow water to boil and resume until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork (~20 minutes). Remove and allow to cool. Discard skins and mash the potato into burnt orange pulp. Measure as stated above.
-Preheat your oven to 400◦. Line your largest baking sheet with parchment paper.
-In a bowl, stir together the following dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice. Add the cold butter and, using a pastry blender, mix into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
-In a measuring cup, stir together the mashed sweet potato and milk. Pour into the butter mixture and stir with a fork or wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together. You will probably need to use your hands to gather and knead some of the remaining bits.
-Turn dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a disc about one inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter, begin stamping out your biscuits. Re-gather the scraps and continue stamping until all of the dough is used up. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet.
-In a bowl, mix the granulated sugar and 1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice.
-Brush the biscuits with the melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar/spice mixture. Bake for 18 minutes, until puffed. Cool for 10 minutes  & serve.

My one and only recipe tip for these is to invest (and I use invest lightly here, as it will only set you back about $3) in a biscuit cutter. It makes all the difference when shaping! I hope you enjoy!

Recipe Source: Rachael Ray Magazine