Kate rides.

Masking

At the end of the month, I will celebrate another year in my 30's. More than ever, I'm feeling the need to tighten, brighten and whiten body parts. So let's hope these two new masks I bought help with any of the above. Hey, I'll even take 1 out of the 3.

Ode to White.

If you know me, then you know how much I adore white kitchens. Oh the kitchen I would design if the budget would allow. I love the charm of a simple small white kitchen to the elegance of the beautifully designed kitchen that needs not one decoration. Lately, I've been dreaming of shaker style white cabinets with carrara marble. A beautiful marriage in my mind. So thought I would share a few of my favorite white kitchens. Hope you fall in love...

Veggies - check.

So I pulled out my Jessica Seinfeld cookbook last week cause I was needing some inspiring. Seems Kate is not into veggies these days. Well I shouldn't say that, cause girl does like her peas. So last week I filled her grilled cheese sandwich with pureed squash, stirred sweet potatoes into her spaghetti and today I layered spinach on her pizza. She fell for it every time. *Smile*

For the pizza, I took a whole wheat pita pocket, spooned on some spaghetti sauce, then the spinach puree and topped it off with cheese. Simple.

2 Appetizers.

I made these two appetizers for a recent play group at my house. They look so impressive, but I'm serious when I tell you it took me like 25 mins. tops for both! The ladies raved over the Fig jam on the crackers. So delicious!


Fig, Apple and Pecorino Romano cheese Crackers





















Artichoke and Parmesan Cheese Dip

Taco Salad

This is a quick and easy recipe for any weeknight, but yet, it's still good enough to serve to company! For my Taco Salad, I used ground turkey (cause it healthier) and seasoned it with cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic and red pepper. If you want to make it even easier, you can buy the Taco seasoning packets from the grocery store to season your meat. I also added half a can of black beans to the turkey meat. Here are my salad toppings - feel free to use what you like.

• Butter & Romaine lettuces
• Yummy red & yellow cherry tomatoes from Whole Foods
  
• 1 whole Avocado seasoned with salt & pepper
  
• A sharp Cheddar cheese (for Brent)
• handful of tostito chips
• Low fat Catalina dressing. If you don't like Catalina, Ranch is a good alternative.

It's quick, it's delicious and it was Monday night's dinner!

Chicken Fried Brown Rice

I talked about this dish several months ago, but am just now making it. It's Chicken Fried Rice but with brown rice. I REALLY liked it. I will for sure be making this again. For the vegetables, I used red bell peppers, edamame, corn, broccoli, and green peas, but you could use whatever your family likes.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 4 scallions, greens included, rinsed, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 4 cups cooked brown rice
• 3/4 cup finely diced red pepper
• 3/4 cup cooked, shelled edamame
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen, thawed, corn
• 6 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (I used chicken)
  
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large skillet until very hot. Add the garlic, scallions and ginger and cook, stirring, until softened and aromatic, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice, red pepper, edamame, corn and tofu and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Make a 3-inch well in the center of the rice mixture. Add 1 teaspoon of canola oil, then add the eggs and cook until nearly fully scrambled. Stir the eggs into the rice mixture, then add soy sauce and incorporate thoroughly. Serve hot.

Pt. 2

Kate turns 2!

We celebrated Kate turning 2 this past week. As I was thinking about what kind of party to have for her, there was only one choice: Elmo. I mean, he has been so much apart of our lives for the past year. ;) Plus, I knew Kate would love it. Here are some pics from the party.