Swiss Chard Lentil Bean Soup

I am so happy fall is here! To me that means get out the dutch oven and crock pot because I'll be making soup nonstop. My first soup of the season was inspired while perusing Whole Foods and saw red lentils in the bulk bins. If you don't shop the bulk bins you really should try it! I have used it as a way to try out different types of grains, beans, dried fruits, etc. It's a good way to push yourself out of your standard grocery gift and spice it up :).

Lentils may not be the prettiest presentation once they are done cooking, but they are a super healthy source of protein and fiber. I also like to try out different leafy greens. For this soup I selected swiss chard. Another ingredient that I would encourage trying... it's similar to kale.

As most of the recipes I create this one can definitely be tailored to use up whatever veggies you have on hand and want to use up. Make a big batch to last you through the week and freeze the extra for a rainy day :).

Swiss Chard & Lentil Soup

3 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 red onion diced
1 small carton of mushrooms chopped
6 cups chicken broth (or vegetable stock if you want to keep this vegetarian)
2 cups red lentils (rinse thoroughly in a strainer)
1 T dried thyme
1/2 bunch of swiss chard (tear out the stem and rough chop the leaves)

Directions:
Saute the garlic, onion and mushrooms (and any other veggies you want) with olive oil, salt and pepper in your dutch oven. Add in the broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling add the lentils and reduce to a simmer. Cook the lentils for 20-30 minutes, until tender. With about 5 minutes left on the lentils add in the swiss chard. Let the greens wilt a bit and you're ready to eat! I added goat cheese crumbles on top!

Eat and enjoy!

Use Up the Last of Your Summer Peaches

I was lucky enough to have a friend give me a box of Palisade peaches... they are the best! I of course ate a bunch, but wanted to use the rest up before I left for a trip. I scoured by recipe books for the perfect dessert and settled on a peach cobbler from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Fosters Market, by Sarah Foster.

This was such a fun dessert to make and invite friends over to enjoy!

Recipe:
(From Sarah Foster)

The Filling:
8 cups peaches (about 10 peaches) - peeled, pittted and sliced. To see how to pouch and peel watch this video
1 cup sugar
3 T flour
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Crust:
12 T (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted, melted butter
2 1/2 cups four
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
2 t baking power
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish with 2 tablespoons of the butter, set aside.

For the filling toss together the peaches, sugar, flour and lemon (juice and zest) in a large bowl. Set aside for up to 4 hours until use (don't worry if you don't plan ahead that much... just do this first and it will have enough time while you make the crust).

For the crust mix together the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking power, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the buttermilk to form a dough. Simple dough right?! Next, flour your dough and roll out to a 12 to 14 inch round, about 1/4 inch thick.

Now for the lattice topping, just take a pizza cutter and make even strips of dough. Pour the peaches into the pan and then weave your dough strips accross to make a lattice topping (see picture below). Brush the top of the strips with melted butter to ensure a golden brown topping.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbling. Feast!

Outfit Ideas: Make Your White Jeans Work for Fall

I am loving the crisp fall air, but am not quite ready to say goodbye to all of my favorite summer pieces quite yet... especially white jeans! Is it just me or do you never feel like you get to wear them enough in the summer?

I wanted to get a few more wears in this fall and decided to pair them with some more "fall" type pieces to create the look.

The main staple of this outfit is the brown suede wedge booties... they just scream change of season. I just found these Franco Sarto's at Nordstrom Rack but they also have them at DSW.

From there I grabbed a camel colored Gap t-shirt and leopard scarf. Lastly I layered with my brown leather jacket.

 Let me know if you include your white jeans in your fall wardrobe!

Healthy Pancakes?!

Happy Sunday! I woke up early feeling rested and energized! I think I have finally caught up on sleep just in time for a crazy week to start :).

I haven't been home on the weekends to cook very much recently so I wanted to make something a little more special for breakfast today. One of my favorite blogs is The Fitnessista... she has great fitness ideas and nutritional recipes. Today I tried her Protein Pancakes and they were delicious! I made a few adjustments below.

I'm so excited to have a healthier, nutritious pancake that is quick and easy to make! This is something you could easily whip up at night before bed and cook quickly in the morning for work.

Protein Pancakes
(Adapted from The Fitnessista)

• 1.5 Tablespoons of vanilla protein powder (I like Whole Foods whey protein)
• 2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk (use whatever milk you like)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add in the egg white, almond milk and vanilla. Heat up a skillet, cook and enjoy with your favorite toppings (try almond butter and agave syrup... amazing!).

Avocado Pasta

More pasta recipes... this must mean that I need to plan a trip to Italy ASAP! I have been hearing about using avocado to help form a sauce in summer pastas and wanted to try it. Below is a great recipe for these warm summer nights keeping it healthy with whole grain pasta and lots of veggies. This recipe was for 2 people so just adjust as needed. Also there aren't any measurements for the veggies... just throw in as much as you want!

Ingredients:
2 servings of whole wheat pasta
1 avocado chopped
Chopped broccoli
Fresh baby spinach
Goat cheese crumbles

Quick sate of broccoli with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook pasta. Put broccoli, spinach and avocado in a bowl. Add pasta and goat cheese, let melt and mix together. Enjoy!

 

Summer Nail Trend

Hi all! I hope your summer is going well. I have to admit that I wasn't the greatest blogger during the month of July, but I am back! A quick post tonight on a new nail trend that I've been seeing on the fashion blogs. The idea is to have one nail on your hand (I've been seeing the ring finger) that is different than the rest of your nails. I have seen quite a few manis with one glitter nail on each hand and that's what I went with. I used Essie "Cute as a Button" as the base for all nails and then used Sephora "Traffic Stopper Cooper" as the glitter polish on the ring finger nails. I think this is really fun! Let me know if you try it :).

Sweet & Salty Gorp

Are you ready for the perfect snack recipe that you will not be able to put down? If you are from or have lived in the midwest you may have had gorp as your sweet and salty snack. My friend Katie always made this for us during college and we made it again today on our girls weekend in San Diego!

Below is a recipe... definitely make this for your friends, family or coworkers. It will be a hit!

Recipe (Makes two 11x9 inch pan)
Dry Ingredients: Mix the following in one large bowl.

• 8 cups Corn Chex cereal
• 1/2 bag of stick pretzels, crushed 
• 1 bag of M&Ms (we used peanut butter M&Ms... it was amazing)
• Optional ingredients: Cheerios, peanuts, raisins, etc.

Wet Ingredients: Melt & mix the following in a separate large bowl

• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 10 oz bags of marshmallows
• 2/3 cups peanut butter (add in after stirring the melted butter & marshmallows together)

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and spread evenly into two 9x11 inch pans. Let the mixture harden and cut into bars. Enjoy!