Favorite Wears: Summer Cookouts

This past weekend we attended 3 cookouts! It was the perfect way to start summer and only the beginning of all the season's get togethers, bbqs and patio parties to come.  It's one of my most favorite things to do (with kids and without alike).  Getting dressed for it, I always want to be comfortable and casual, yet put together. This past weekend I gave this new jumpsuit a run, and loved how comfortable it was (the only pitfall of jumpsuits in general is going to the bathroom, but this is a simple tie, so easy to assemble and disassemble alone).
We love to host people, but also so enjoy getting out of our abode for other's homes. Never wanting to go empty handed, we hit up CostCo for good wine (keep it on hand!) and I usually attempt to make a side dish or dessert to bring.  My baking (well, cooking as a whole) skills could really use some work, but I was so excited something I tried for the first time this past weekend worked. I made lemon bars from scratch following along this recipe - and let me tell you... yum!
Once summer hits, I'm lemon everything (lemonade, bread, bars, pancakes, etc!) and the jumpsuit is proving to be my go-to piece to wear.  What dishes and clothing are you loving for this summer's cookouts and gatherings?
{Outfit Details: Cardigan, Jumpsuit, Sandals, Bracelet (holds my Fitbit - on sale!), Lips}

{P.S. I have learned I need a sifter for prettier powdered sugar topping!}

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Using those apples: Apple Danish

I'm still using up our apples from our Fall morning spent at the orchards and with a couple guests coming over for brunch last weekend, I had the perfect excuse to try out a new apple recipe. Originally I saw a similar apple danish recipe over at TfDiaries and adapted it a bit for my own enjoyment. This apple danish is so super easy and perfect for any brunch or breakfast you have this fall (and a great way to use up your abundance of apples).
Ingredients Needed: About 2-3 medium apples (or I used about 4 small orchard apples), sliced thin 1 tube of Crescent Rolls About 1/4 cup of Greek Yogurt - vanilla or plain (which I used b/c I didn't have cream cheese, but as this is healthier and turned out great, I'd do it again) 1T of Cinnamon  1T of Sugar Honey
Pre-oven to 350 degrees and grease baking pan.

First spread out the crescent rolls, pinching the perforated portions together to make more of a solid crust.  Slice about one inch slits about an inch apart along the the sides.  Once the dough is prepared, spread a thin layer of yogurt down the center.  Top with the thinly cut apples.

Sprinkle (or pile on) the cinnamon and sugar pre-mixed over the apple slices and then take your crescent roll sides and wrap over the filling.  Bake until golden - for me it took about 16 minutes (may start with 12 and check on it).

Serve and enjoy!  What other recipes are you enjoying this fall?

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Homemade Apple Pie (my first ever)

You guys, confession time. I've never made a pie, ever, never... until this past weekend.  After visiting the apple orchard and coming home with an abundance of apples, I decided to give it a go.  BUT, must admit, I didn't go all the way.  I used a pre-made dough by Pillsbury instead of making my own crust... baby steps here people.  I did cut the top layer of dough into strips to make a weave top to the pie, so that has to count for something.  Anyways, the best part is that the pie came out so delicious.  Even Liam thought so! So here is my first ever pie and the recipe I followed (and subtle alterations I made...).

I followed this recipe, but added a bit more cinnamon and nutmeg (because I love them).  Using the pre-made Phillsbury dough was so easy. It comes with two, already rolled out and perfectly round separate crusts. You take the first one, just unroll it, place and press into an ungreased 9" pie plate then pour in your apple filling and top with the 2nd crust.

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

For the filling, you combine the following into a big bowl and gently stir:

6 cups of thinly sliced apples (was about 9 small ones for me; or probably 6 medium ones)

3/4 cups sugar

2 tbls all purpose flour (I used wheat flour)

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon (I used a bit more than 1 tsb)

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (I used about 1/4 tsp)

1 tbls lemon juice

To make the basket-weave top:

I used a pizza roller to separate the pre-made dough into 10 strips.

Then I pulled every other up and laid about a finger width apart in one direction across the top of the pie.

I used the remaining 5 stripes to weave under and over the ones already laid down in the perpendicular direction.

I'd rotate between start over or under the already laid stripes and go from there.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, but check in about half way through.  I placed foil over the edges at about 20 minutes into the baking to keep them from burning/getting too dry.

It's actually so easy and was so much better than any (fully) store bought pie I've ever had. 

Any ideas what to do with the rest of our apples?  

I'm thinking about trying this recipe for salted carmel apple tarts...

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A first birthday success.

Liam's first birthday party was yesterday. We had our immediate family members and some of our closest friends with their littles over for a Winter One-derland. Liam was in a good mood, we had plenty of food, the decor came together to give our yellow house a frosty feel and most importantly, I think little man had a great time! This is just a sneak peek of the party and Liam, the daintiest first time cake eater ever.  More pics of the decor details, cake and party pics to come in a few weeks.

I made Liam his own personal and healthy cake with wheat floor, a small amount of sugar, egg whites and yogurt.  I found the recipe here and made the vanilla cake (Liam seemed to like it just fine, I even thought it was good).
The "1" sign was made with poster board and coffee filters. I just cut out the number then taped (you can glue if you wish) coffee filters all over! If you wanted a different color, you could use spray paint.  
How did your own kiddos eat their first cake? Attack or pick?

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Muffins: 5 Minutes to Yum!

Seriously, this takes no time at all.  Thanks to my friend Mandy for bringing these muffins to my attention...Quick recipe to get these not-too-bad-for-you treats into the oven and in your mouth, fast!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Muffins

What you need:

Box of Spice Cake Mix

Can of Pumpkin (not pie filling, plain, natural pumpkin)

Chocolate Chips

Optional: Vanilla Greek yogurt, or natural apple sauce

What you are making:

So here's what you do:

Through everything in bowl and mix well!

The optional vanilla yogurt or apple sauce just add even more moisture (the pumpkin will do that too), I've made these both ways and there is really not much of a difference. And remember, no need for butter, oil or eggs as the cake box calls, you are replacing all that with pumpkin...MUCH HEALTHIER, and YUM!

Spray down muffin tins with Pam and stick them in the oven for 18-22 minutes (until a knife comes out the center of a muffin clean).

I'm really enjoying pumpkin right now (if you can't tell from this bunt cake and this cheese cake). 

Enjoy pumpkin season (which I think is October thru December)!

Pumpkin Spice Bunt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

Thanks to a co-worker and her amazing baking skills, I have found this amazing little pumpkin treat that is light on calories.  This is my new go-to dessert to bring to any party or cookout.  It's so yummy.  Anything pumpkin this time of year must be tried.

Pumpkin Spice Bunt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling...

For the cake batter: Buy any box spice cake mix, 1 can of pumpkin and pumpkin spice:

Mix it all together, including what the box cake directions call for.

In another bowl, mix (preferably with an electric mixer or something more powerful than your arm) Cream Cheese (of any levels of light or low fat) and your choice of sweetener:

I used 1 tablespoon of Blue Agave sweetener.  My co-worker used powdered sugar, you can use raw, or Splenda, etc.  Mix it together with the cream cheese (I used 1/3 low fat kind).

In a bunt pan, pour in half the cake batter mix. Then plop the cream cheese/sugar mix all around on top...

Then pour the rest of the cake batter on top and bake (as box directs, but might need to put it back in a few more minutes - I ended up baking it for around 45 minutes).

 

Once done, let cool and sprinkle with a little powder sugar:

Mmmm-mmmm Good!

Thank goodness for co-worker who know how to bake! :)

USA! USA! Go USA!

Getting ready for the USA Soccer game....

Funfetti cake, with white whipped frosting, blueberries and twizzlers

Flag decor...

And my outfit to carry on the theme...

haha...so much red, white and blue.

Seriously Healthy & Super Good

I was soooo pleasantly surprised how good my latest meal was. A-MAZ-ING.

First, Brussels Sprouts. I always shyed away from these tiny heads of lettuce look-a-likes and scoffed at the name. Brussels Sprouts? ew. But NO, not ew. oooooooo YUM!

They first made their way into a meal I had at a restaurant and thought, hmm, these are pretty good! After I looked into how healthy they are, I was at the store and grabbed some. I Googled recipes and chose one from AllRecipes.com.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts:

I mixed in a few slices of zucchini that were left over from the below recipe!

To go along with my roasted Brussels Sprouts, I made Cream of Zucchini Soup. I follow Gina's WW Recipe's Blog, and besides this soup, she has some AMAZING tried and true recipes.

But on to the soup:

You boil all the ingredients on the stove, and then transfer to your blender to puree. Little tip...


Make sure to hold the lid on TIGHT when puree-ing. Mine flew off (because I was basically just resting my hand atop) and HOT soup went flying everywhere. Thankfully, just a bit got wasted, but the splatters sure did hurt and make a mess...


After this yummy dinner, I got to making a birthday treat for my co-worker. I made a chocolate cake with an interesting twist. Found this recipe from Gina's WW Recipe's Blog, as well.

Chocolate Cake without the oil! Instead? Diet Dr. Pepper! I used Organic Cake mix:


The batter was a lot more liquid than usual and I was afraid I really messed something up...


But I didn't! Just came out super moist:


You don't even need frosting on top - this cake is so moist, but if you wish, fat free Cool Whip would be a good alternative and then topped with Strawberries, or any other fruit. I was really impressed. It was good and almost brownie-like!

Protein Pancakes: A Healthy Version of a Favorite

There are a lot of healthy variations of the carbolicious breakfast goody - Pancakes: ways that make it less carby, add more protein and nutrients that will sustain you into the day instead of putting you in a carbo-coma, but also tastes oh-so-yummy!

So, here is my tried (many times) and true Protein Pancakes.

What you'll need:


Equal parts of Eggs Whites (or Beaters), Low Fat Cottage Cheese and Oats.

I use 1/2 cup of each to make about 6-8 cakes.

Optional: add in protein powder for an extra kick (1 or 2 scoops thought, not equal parts to the other ingredients).

Blend up all the ingredients to make the batter (I used my magic bullet). Pour some of the batter onto a non-stick and/or greased pan to cook:


Flip with a rubber or plastic utensil to avoid scratching your pan (metal utensils). Cook on each side for 1-2 minutes on medium-high, but check - because every stove is different!




Add toppings (I like to stray from maple syrup - but that would be great, too):

Plain Greek Low Fat Yogurt with Chocolate Chips

Almond Butter and Bananas

I like to make a batch on Sunday evenings and put 2-3 in a snack bag to grab and take for breakfast throughout the week.