Lunch for the Week

I like to use Sundays as a time to get a couple meals together to carry me through the week and keep me from eating lunch or dinner out too often. One item I like to throw together is a fresh salad where I incorporate some type of bean or grain. For this I will use things like garbanzo beans, quinoa, tabbouleh, etc and then add in any veggies that I have on-hand. From there I usually drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Throughout the week you can use this salad as your base and mix it up. For one meal add in tuna, another meal you can stuff a pita or atop spinach leaves.

The salad I made below consisted of garbanzo beans, celery, cucumber, onion and tuna. I put the mixture over kale leaves and topped with feta for a delicious and healthy meal.

Let me know what combinations you try!

Weekend Brunch: Salmon Frittata, Potatoes and Strawberry Bread

For Mother's Day I wanted to plan a special, delicious (and somewhat healthy) brunch for my mom. I knew right away that I would be making a frittata with some of her favorite ingredients and along with that I made strawberry bread and rosemary potatoes. I made the bread the night before so it was ready to go and the potatoes and frittata were pretty quick to throw together in the morning and are perfect for a homemade brunch!

Salmon, Asparagus & Goat Cheese Frittata

This is definitely a "use what you have in the refrigerator" kind of recipe with no strict recipe or measurements to follow. For this combo I used the below ingredients, but you can really use any combo of ingredients that you want to use up!

Ingredients:
- Eggs (2 eggs per person) mixed together in a separate bowl
- Asparagus, chopped
- Red onion, chopped
- Smoked salmon
- Goat cheese

Directions:
Throw the asparagus and onion (or whatever vegetables you are using) into the pan and saute for a few minutes with olive oil, salt and pepper until they begin to get tender. Next add in the smoked salmon and saute for a few more minutes to combine the ingredients. Add the egg and do not stir. Let the frittata cook until the bottom is light brown (check by lightly lifting with a spatula). Once this happens, the top should still be pretty "eggy" and add in crumbles of the goat cheese. Once the egg starts to set transfer to the oven and broil for a few minutes to brown and cook the top. The broil will happen very quickly so watch it closely so it doesn't burn!

Rosemary Potatoes 

For this I used a small bag of fingerling potatoes that I had on hand and simple chopped, coated with olive oil, salt & pepper, and dried rosemary. Mix together and spread out on a greased cookie sheet. Cook time will vary for the amount and size of potatoes you use but at least 20 - 30 minutes. Watch and stir them every ten minutes or so until they become golden brown and tender.

Strawberry Wheat Bread

I was so excited when I saw this bread on a great blog, Cate's World Kitchen. It's such a fun, summery idea to use fresh strawberries in bread. This was the perfect pairing to the egg and potatoes, but I will also be making this on Sundays to have for breakfast or snacks during the week :).

Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups fresh diced strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease an 8 x 4″ loaf pan.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until the evenly yellow, but not so much that it turns frothy. Stir in the yogurt, oil, and vanilla and stir until evenly mixed.

Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until there are no longer traces of flour. *Note: this will be rather sticky and you'll be wondering if you missed an ingredient b/c it seems to dry... not to worry though, this is normal!

Gently fold in the strawberries, then pour into the prepared pan.

 

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool before slicing.

I hope you enjoy these recipes and would love to hear what you like to make for brunch!

Stack'em Bracelets Trend

I am currently loving the trend of stacking many bracelets together on one wrist and even adding a watch in the mix. It's such a fun way to wear multiple pieces of jewelry and mix styles. It's a great complement to any outfit!

Below I paired a couple bracelets with an oversized watch. This is a trend where you can definitely mix metals, fabrics, etc... so go look through your bracelets and start stacking!

Pictured above:
Watch: Michael Kors (at Nordstrom)
Mixed gold chain bracelet: Jewel Mint
Gold sparkle bracelet: Jcrew

Double Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Well these may be the most delicious cookies that I've ever made (and my Dad seconds that claim!). I had a craving for peanut butter cookies, then I decided that I must add oatmeal because that just makes them seem slightly healthy right?! :). To top that off I remembered that I had a bag of the Reese's peanut butter chips to add a special twist to a great cookie recipe that I got from a cute blog, Pink Parsley.

I hope you make these soon and tell me what you think, they will for sure be a regular in my house!

Recipe
(Adapted from Pink Parsley)

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter,at room temperature
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 2 handfuls of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

Directions

Throw all of the wet ingredients (butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg, vanilla) in a bowl and mix together with a standing mixer or hand mixer. Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt) and mix together thoroughly. Next stir in the oats with a spatula. Lastly add the chips and work them through the dough with your hands. Roll into balls and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until light golden brown (I like to leave them a little doughy).

Outfit Ideas: Dress for Spring

As the weather gets better it is tempting to go shop up a storm for all of those cute spring clothes out there. As fun as that is (and believe me I've been adding some new little additions to my closet), there are probably quite a few things already in your closet that you can carry into spring. And beyond that even if you have treated yourself to some new spring dresses and tops, the crazy Denver weather does likes to surprise us with 70 degree days followed by a snowstorm... makes it tough for a girl to dress!

Don't give up on those dresses just yet though! Below are two outfit ideas for this spring time weather that incorporate your winter boots and tights to get a few more uses out of them.

Outfit Idea #1 - Spring dress with tights and a cardigan

The concept: Take a look through your spring and summer dresses and see what you can pair with tights and cardigans that you already have in your closet. Depending on the dress and heels that you choose this can either be dolled up for a night on the town or a bit more reserved for the workplace. My outfit below was for my birthday party where I was determined to wear my red heels!

Dress: Target - They have SO many cute & affordable dresses right now
Shoes: Nordstrom Rack (see the details here)
Tights: These are a charcoal grey... I believe from Gap awhile back
Embellished Cardigan: Forever 21... it's hard to tell from this picture but this is embellished with gold beads on the shoulders

Outfit Idea #2 -Spring dress with boots and leather jacket

The concept: Once again shop your dress selection and see what you can pair with your winter boots. The bare leg will help take this look from winter to spring. From there if you have a great leather jacket or cropped/structured jacket of any kind throw it over to keep you warm and not looking like it's summer time. My outfit below worked for at the office and then a night out. Some offices aren't quite as casual but this would be a great weekend look as well.

Dress: Pink's Botique in Denver... if you live here you should check it out. Unique pieces at good prices.
Boots: Brown suede wedge boots from Nordstrom
Brown Leather Jacket: Nordstrom

Happy dress wearing!

Fast & Healthy Breakfast: Muesli

I always make sure to eat a substantial, healthy breakfast and like to mix it up with new ideas and creations. If you like oatmeal then you will love muesli. I've had it for breakfast out, but have never made it... until now :). I searched and read through quite a few recipes online and found a basic one on Epicurious that is easily adaptable for whatever ingredients you have laying around. I love recipes where you can just throw things in... for this one you can use up whatever fruit and nuts that you have on hand.

Muesli Recipe
(Adapted from Epicurious)

1 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats
2/3 almond milk (substitute any milk you like)
2/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tbsp ground flax
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup agave
2 apples chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 handfuls of dried cranberries
Any other fruit or nuts that you want to add in

Directions:
Mix oats, milk, yogurt, vanilla and flax seed in large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes to soften oats. Whisk orange juice and agave in medium bowl. Stir in apples, walnuts and any other mix-ins. Stir fruit mixture into oat mixture and add dried cranberries.

Eat right away or make the night before for a delicious breakfast!

Easy Flatbread Pizzas

Thanks to Whole Foods you can make flatbread pizzas in no time at all. I recently used these to make appetizers for a party but you could use for a quick and delicious dinner option. You can get these flatbreads for b/w $2-3 next to their pizza section.

When I was coming up with recipes for the flatbread appetizers at the party I knew that I wanted one with savory flavors and another sweeter option.

These are so great, all you have to do is compile with your favorite ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until cheese is milted, greens wilted, etc. Just watch it carefully to make sure not to burn the flatbread as it is very thin.

Flatbread #1 - Savory:

1) Spread pesto (I grabbed a small tub from hot bar at Whole Foods) as your first layer onto the flatbread

2) Prosciutto (about 4-6 slices per flatbread)

3) Add Arugula (use as much as you would like)

4) Top with sun-dried tomatoes (I grabbed a small tub from hot bar at Whole Foods)

5) Sprinkle fresh parmesan (as much as you would like to top with)

Before: 

After:

Flatbread #2 - Sweet:

1) Drizzle aged balsamic vinegar and olive oil on the flatbread 

2) Next add thin slices of pears (about 2-3 pears)

3) Add crumbles of blue cheese (you can get a pretty good deal on a wedge of blue cheese at WF)

4) Add walnuts (however much you like for some delicious crunch)

5) Drizzle with more balsamic and oil oil

-- BAKE--

6) After baking drizzle with agave nectar and serve!

Before:

 After: