June 24, 2010

Coconut Date Rolls

I’ve never been a fan of dates until I tried one of these rolls. A few months ago, my coworker introduced me to the Whole Foods coconut date roll and I was hooked. I immediately liked dates! Who would have thought?! Two days ago, I had a MAD craving for them and immediately drove to Whole Foods to pick some up. I must have spent 30 minutes looking for them in the bulk aisle & produce section. WHERE THE EFF WERE THEY?!! I stared at the shelves for a long time, hoping that they would magically appear. Nope. They didn’t! So I went home and obsessed about these rolls and decided to throw in the towel and make my own. I took another trip to Whole Foods and picked up the ingredients, whipped some up and and they turned out pretty awesome! The nuts weren’t in the original roll I tried, but they make a fantastic addition. I’ve eaten like 5 today and Cooper has had two! They are all natural and pretty guilt free (all the fat is good fat). It makes me feel good to know that something this good is not only simple, but free of heavy processing and unnatural sugars. It makes this momma happy.
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recipes, Uncategorized

June 23, 2010

Brown Sugar Berry Cobbler

I made this recipe on Father’s day primarily because I know my dad loves blueberries and is not a huge fan of super sweet desserts. I also knew that it would be a good medium for his whipped cream loving tendencies! Although he spends most of his time denying it, he does like dessert. When I see him indulge, it makes me sooo happy; I could scream! He loved this Brown Sugar Berry Cobbler and so did the rest of the fam! We had a very few leftovers after the 5 of us were served, and no whipped cream was left in sight! Strong work, Dad!

I should note that I was able to whip up this recipe, take pictures, carry on a conversation with my mom in the kitchen, and put away dishes during the whole process. If that doesn’t give you an idea of how easy it is, then I don’t know what will! This recipe also has a lot of room for improvisation. Because I didn’t have enough of the blueberries & blackberries for the original recipe, I added 4 yellow peaches to the mix. It added a nice texture to the end result. A perfect summer dessert, for sure! Let’s get our cobbler on!
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recipes, Uncategorized

June 22, 2010

Family Bites on Foodbuzz!

This week Shutterbean is being featured on Foodbuzz’s Family Bites section!!

What is Family Bites?

“A weekly collection of 9 convenient recipes your family will love. From lunch to dinner, and healthy snacks in between, family meals just got tastier.”

I had the opportunity to test out a few Newman’s Own® products and create a few family friendly recipes for you!

Here are a few:

Baked Falafel

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

Hamburger Grape Tomato Pizza

Turkey Meatball Subs

Tuna Celery Salad

One of my favorite products is the Newman’s Own® Balsamic Vinaigrette. I don’t always have the time to make my own salad dressing so it totally works when I’m in a pinch! Now I really have no excuse to not eat one! I used some of the dressing in the recipe below for a tasty Green Onion Dill Dip! I often whip up a batch so I have something to dip veggies in for work lunches! Hope you enjoy and please visit me over at Foodbuzz this week!
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recipes, Uncategorized

June 20, 2010

Buckwheat Belgium Waffles

I love waffles. There’s just something so satisfying about pouring batter into a waffle iron and watching a waffle magically appear. They are so much easier than pancakes, in my opinion. I get too impatient with pancakes. I either flip them prematurely or not soon enough. A waffle iron keeps me stress free and that something I appreciate when I’m not fully caffeinated in the morning. This recipe for Buckwheat Belgium waffles comes from a street vendor called Moxie Rx in Portland, Oregon. They were featured in the March ’09 issue of Sunset magazine, who thankfully shared the recipe with us. The waffles are incredibly light and perfectly crisp! I could easily eat 3 in one sitting because they are so airy and delicate! The buckwheat isn’t a very dominant flavor, so if that scares you, don’t fret! It just adds a hint of nuttiness to the waffle and doesn’t make it seem like a health food.

You need to make the batter 24 hours before you make the waffles, so plan on that! If you want a sweet waffle, you’re supposed to put the batter in the fridge overnight (which is what I did). If you want a more sourdoughy waffle, you let the batter sit on your kitchen counter overnight. I topped our waffles with cinnamon sugar, bananas, Greek yogurt & a really fast blueberry sauce. If that sounds like too much for you, they are just as great on their own with some butter & the cinnamon sugar. Trust me.
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favorites, Uncategorized

June 18, 2010

My current fave Trader Joe’s dessert

Let me introduce you to what I’ve been eating for dessert for the past two months. Two months? Yes you heard that correctly. I’m totally obsessed. It’s a combo of Nonfat Plain Frozen Yogurt with a few small scoops of Mango Tangerine Sorbet. Both items come from the freezer/dessert section of Trader Joe’s. The combination is totally swoon-worthy.

I love the light creaminess of the plain/tart frozen yogurt and the tangy citrus-y sweetness of the mango tangerine sorbet. My taste buds love it and I think yours might too! Tangy, tart & sweet! I’ve been known to throw a few raspberries in the mix, but mostly I just eat a scoop or two of each flavor in a little bowl. It’s EXTREMELY low in fat too, so you won’t feel super guilty if you put extra scoops in your bowl. I hope your nearest Trader Joe’s stocks these items because you are in for a real treat if you can get your hands on some!
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around the home, favorites, Uncategorized

June 16, 2010

Lunch Ideas– ROUND ONE!

Here’s what I had for lunch today!

Fruit salad: Chopped mangoes, green grapes, blueberries & kiwis

Pasta: Chicken, bell peppers, asparagus & broccoli in a light cream sauce

Lunch. I look forward to it more than anything while I’m at work. It’s important for me to fuel up at lunch or else I’ll fall deep into Zombieland. Over the past few years, I’ve taken photos with my camera phone of my lunch at work. Yes, I am weird. Don’t worry, my coworkers think so too. There’s PLENTY of days where my lunch is not photo-worthy. But every now and then there’s something fun, different and new in my rotation. I’ve decided to share some of them with you.

Most of the lunches below are leftovers of something I made the night before, or something I had in my freezer. Some of the lunches are just random things from my fridge- especially the salads. I like to bring a big bag of ingredients to work (the fridge at work is big) and assemble my food in the kitchen. The act of making my lunch is also a good break from number crunching. My point is, please don’t limit yourself. As long as you have a microwave & fridge, you don’t have to have boring lunches at work. If you have a toaster or a toaster oven, you are soo golden. We used to make french bread pizzas in the toaster oven at my old job. Talk about FUN. Anyways I hope these photos give you some inspiration for your boring old lunches. And yes, I am a dork. I freely admit it. A dork who loves food, camera phones and lunch! Brace yourself!
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out & about, Uncategorized

June 15, 2010

A Thomas Keller Weekend

We had the opportunity to go up to Napa this weekend to celebrate my niece’s 8th grade graduation and my sister-in-law’s big 4-0! While my parents watched Cooper overnight, Casey and I were able to act like adults and have two amazing meals from two Thomas Keller restaurants in Yountville. We went to Bouchon on Saturday afternoon and Ad Hoc for Sunday brunch! Everything was absolutely wonderful!

Wanna see what we ate? CONTINUE READING