Vegetable Fried Rice & a Giveaway!

First week of school has come and gone. I must say it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. The breakfast muffins were a life saver and I have found that leftovers have become my new best friend. For instance, I had some left over brown rice in the fridge and I came home with a craving for some Chinese/Asian type food. So, I threw this together, it was done in under five minutes, and I was in heaven.

Vegetable Fried Rice
Ingredients:
-1 to 2 cups of left over brown rice
-1/2 (more or less) a red bell pepper, sliced
-1/2 (more of less) an orange bell pepper, sliced
-1/2 cup of fresh snow peas
-2 tsp. soy sauce (reduced sodium)
-1 tbs. water
-juice of half a lemon

Add some olive oil to a sautee pan and allow to heat up. Then add the bell peppers and sautee them for about 2 minutes, you still want them to be crispy. Add in the snow peas and cook for an additional 2-4 minutes.

In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce, water, and lemon juice.

Add the rice to the sautee pan and allow it to heat through. Then pour the wet ingredients into the pan and coat the rice and vegetables with the sauce. At this point, the rice is ready to eat!


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I am so very excited for this week because I am participating in my very first giveaway! This past weekend Pink Stitches celebrated it's one year blogiversary and I was invited to participate in a whole week of giveaways! My giveaway will begin tomorrow and I will be giving away a box of 24 fresh made macarons in four awesome Valentine's day themed flavors.

-Dark Chocolate and Cherry
-Raspberry
-Milk Chocolate
-Champagne



I hope you all have a chance to head over to Pink Stitches to enter the giveaway, along with the rest of the others! The rules for each giveaway are posted on her blog.



Here are some of my lemon macarons. YUM! These are probably my favorite.

Vegan Breakfast Muffins

School starts tomorrow and I thought that I should probably make my life a little easier by baking up a batch of breakfast muffins I can take on the run. Seeing as how I usually wake up late, thanks to the ease of the snooze button, it is unlikely that I will have time to whip up some breakfast before my trip to the daycare and school.

I really like eating vegan at home for many reasons, main one being the health benefits. We don't eat vegan 100% of the time, but I would say about 85% of the time we are eating either vegetarian or vegan (without any animal products at all). So, I thought I'd go with vegan muffins since I rarely buy eggs and I didn't have any on hand and because we never buy animal milk. (Although, now that I am pregnant I had a hanckering for skim milk..Lactose free of course and I gave in and bought some, but still haven't gotten around to using it.) Anyway, this recipe is so easy.. there is no need for any weird vegan ingredients and you can make then any flavor you'd like. Today I made two kinds, apple with cinnamon and berry medley with almonds... both are awesome. I love that they form crunchy tops and still maintain that super moist interior. I hope my husband and baby girl don't finish them today because that will totally ruin my "think ahead" plan!


Vegan Breakfast Muffins
Ingredients:
-3 3/4 cups flour (I did 2 cups regular and 1 3/4 organic whole wheat)
-1 cup sugar (or 1/2 regular sugar and 1/2 brown sugar)
-2 tbsp baking powder
-1/2 cup melted margarine (or vegan butter)
-1 3/4 cups soy/almond/rice milk, warmed (any of them work great)
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk to get rid of any lumps.

In a smaller bowl, add the milk of choice, margarine, and vanilla.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry in two seperate parts and fold gently. Overmixing will result in TOUGH muffins, sounds cute but doesn't taste good.

At this point you can add anything you'd like and in any combination. Here are a few ideas:

Apples with Cinnamon: Fold 1 cup of finely chopped apples and 1 tsp of cinnamon into the muffin mix.

Berry Medley with Almonds: Fold 1 cup of thawed frozen berry medley (unsweetened) and 1/4 cup of slivered almonds into muffin mix.

Bananas with Chocolate Chips: Fold in 2 ripe, smashed bananas and 1 cup of dark chocolate chips (you can use milk chocolate if you don't care if they are 100% vegan) into the muffin mix.

Line cupcake tin with liners and fill each cup all the way to the top. This will make for a gorgeous round, crispy top. Bake for 25-30 minutes.


On another note- Morgane has been working significantly hard at improving her coloring skills. She has gone through 1 brand new coloring book in the last week! She really has gotten better and today she colored a page for me and a page for my hubby. (the mermaid is mine) Evidence, too, of her improvement. Check out the colored picture on the right of a nicely colored Sponge Bob. I am so proud!

Baked Fish with Carrots

One of my favorite things about cooking is the smell of things. Did you know that memory is the strongest memory trigger? I learned that in one of my classes and have never forgotten it because this happens to me all the time when I'm in the kitchen. I love being taken back to happy, almost insignificant little moments of my childhood. This baked fish is one of those smells. I remember living at my grandmother's house and my godmother always making this. All of us kids would gather around the table waiting to dig in. It was fun and very delicious.

Now, that I get to cook for Morgane I like to bring back all these recipes that I had nearly forgotten about. Hoping that when she gets older those same smells will bring to her memories of her childhood. Another great thing about this, is that it is quick and easy. You don't even have to defrost the fish fillets! I often don't and just cook it a little longer, still tastes great.

Baked Fish with Carrots
Ingredients:
-4 (or more) tiliapia fillets, frozen or thawed
-1 small sweet onion
-3 garlic cloves, chopped
-2 carrots
-2 tbs of butter (add 1 tbs. for every 2 fillets)
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

On a sheet tray lay out a piece of foil paper that will fit all the fillets. Place the fillets on the foil, they can be overlapping.

Peel and dice the carrots into coins. Skin the onions and cut into thin rings.

Add half a tbs of butter onto each fillet, then place the onions and carrots over the fish. Add salt and pepper to taste, then place another piece of foil over the fish and seal the edges to make a little pouch.

Place in the oven and cook for 30 min. if thawed, or 40 min. if frozen.

Once out of the oven, open package (beware of the steam) and squeeze the juice of one lemon over all the fish.

Serve with a bed of steamed brown rice, or long grain, and a side of sauteed spinach.

Go to Spaghetti Recipe

Four days into the new year and it has been a great beginning so far. I've caught up with old friends, gone to the gym, and have made a serious effort to eat at home. Lately, it has been way too easy to just stop somewhere and grab a bite. It may not seem like a big deal, $5 here another $6 there, but when you add it all up it becomes a burden on our budget. Something that is easily avoidable and should be avoided because I also spend money on groceries. The thing is that I just have no patience to cook sometimes. I have the bad habit of waiting to start cooking until I am really hungry. Then that just leaves a huge mess in my kitchen beause I work like a speedster and don't bother cleaning as I go. I've decided on these occasions to stick to really, really simple dishes that I've made before and know that I will truly indulge in.

This recipe is one that I've made countless times and it has never failed to be a crowd pleaser. I made it for Morgane's birthday last month and it disappeared fast. It is so simple to make and requires minimal ingredients. I usually just make the pasta without any added meats and load it up on artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, and mushrooms; but you can most definitely eat this with some chicken or even fish. It literally takes 13-15 mins. from start to finish. The finished product is tangy, citrusy, and sweet. Right about now, I am so glad that I had a little bit of leftovers!



Spaghetti with Artichokes, Sundried Tomatoes, and Mushrooms
Ingredients:
-1  13oz. package of spaghetti (I use whole wheat)
-water to boil the pasta
-1  14oz. can of artichoke hearts (quartered) and keep the liquid
-1 cup of sundried tomatoes (quartered)
-1 cup of button mushrooms (sliced)
-2 cloves of garlic (chopped up)
-2 lemons
-1/2 cup of white wine
-extra virgin olive oil
-salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot cook your pasta as directed on the package. MINUS 3-4 minutes because you want the pasta to be a little undercooked, since it will be added to the sauce to complete cooking.

In a deep skillet add 1tsp. of olive oil and heat it over medium heat. Add the clean, sliced button mushrooms to the skillet and sautee for 3-5 minutes until browned. Then remove from the skillet and add the sundried tomatoes and garlic. Using a measuring cup take 1  1/2 cup of cooking liquid from the pasta and pour into the skillet. Let the tomatoes and garlic simmer. Meanwhile zest and juice the lemons. Add the white wine to the skillet, along with 1/2 cup of the liquid from the artichokes and zest of the lemons. Let this simmer for 3-5 minutes then add in the artichokes, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the spaghetti and add it into the skillet, combining it with the other ingredients. Let this simmer until the pasta has absorbed some of the liquid and cooked to al dente. It should only be about 3-4 minutes. Once the pasta is served, add the mushrooms over top and enjoy!

End of the Year

I cannot believe that tomorrow is the last day of 2011. It is incredible how fast time flies by when you are a grown-up. I see my baby girl and wonder if time seems to drag for her, the way it did for me when I was her age. Now, I think back and wonder how so many years went by that quickly. This year was incredible. My family and I enjoyed countless of happy moments, making this one of the best years to date. I can still hear my daughter's little giggles with every new discovery, but it sometimes seems to be moving into the distant past to be stored away. Not that she doesn't still giggle on a daily basis, but it is hard to keep track of all the other simple moments she enjoyed. Like the day she spent nearly an hour watching a spider climb up the window with her nose glued to the glass knowing the spider was on the other side. Then there was the excitement of the holidays, her birthday, celebrations, sleep overs at grandma's house, or helping me cook in the kitchen. As hard as I try to hold on to these things, I know that they may soon be forgotten if not written down for later. It may become necessary to have a daily journal because I really don't want to forget.

My husband and I had a very fruitful year. The laughter and fun seemed never ending this year and I am so terribly happy for that. Our relationship has reached a new level, I guess. The point where silly little arguments dissolve within minutes and  important issues don't get thrown onto the back burner. A great improvement from where we have been at other points and that's how I know that we are growing together- as a family and as a couple.

Honestly, I could not have asked for a better year. Many people await the new year in anticipation of new opportunities and a chance to make up for mistakes they've made, but not me, at least not this year. I wish that this year could be continuous and perhaps that the new year will only be an extension of the many great experiences we had as a family this year. For those whose year was not as amazing as they would have hoped, don't fret because as Scarlette O'Hara says: "Tomorrow is another day." And another day brings with it a new beginning if you need it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here are my favorite moments and pictures of 2011. Oh and BTW, my New Year's resolution is to take more pictures. I had to seriously scavange for some photos of memorable moments from this year.