Top 10: My Favorite Phone Apps

Hey everyone! Welcome to the first re-installment of my top 10 lists! I used to do this on my old Youtube channel, and it was always a favorite between my viewers and I. Everyone is encouraged to share their favorites with every list that I make.

For the first list, I wanted to keep it simple and do my top ten favorite phone apps. I have to admit, I didn't get my first phone until I was 18, and I've only had a smart for for a couple years. That being said, my phone is definitely one of my go tos to cure boredom on my breaks at work or when I don't feel like firing up my laptop or doing something productive. I definitely go back and forth between my favorites, but these are my top ten of all time.

These are in no particular order, aside from how they are displayed on my phone. All of these apps are free, by the way!

(source)
1. Instagram

This is probably the first app I check every morning when I'm waking up and trying to motivate myself to get out of bed. I love posting pictures, liking my friends pictures, and going through different tags for inspiration.

2. Facebook

This is definitely one of my favorite apps to check when I'm on a fifteen minute break at work. I don't always check Facebook on my laptop, so it's convenient to have the notifications sent to my phone when one of my best friends posts something.

3. Pinterest

I've noticed that a lot of apps kind of suck in comparison to the actual website, but sometimes I actually prefer the Pinterest app to the website. It's so easy to use and I love the (semi) new feature of being able to send pins to people, because my friends and I used to always have to send each other separate messages via text or Facebook when we found a pin that we thought they would like.

4. Snapchat

Not to toot my own horn, but I have been called "The Queen of Snapchat" on multiple occasions. Seriously, you get to make ugly faces to amuse your friends, and after ten seconds it's gone forever. Best. Idea. Ever.

5. Pyramid Saga: Solitaire

I don't remember why I downloaded this app, but I'm really glad I did. It's basically solitaire with a twist. Each level has a different layout, and as you level up there's different obstacles to overcome and power boosters and you can use.

6. Candy Crush Soda

I honestly didn't get into the original Candy Crush game until most people were already "over it." When Candy Crush Soda came out, my mom kept telling me how she liked it a lot more than the original, and after downloading it-I have to agree. There's more ways to make combos, the characters and backgrounds are cuter, and the levels are challenging without being obnoxiously hard to beat.

7. Sudoku

I've loved Sudoku since I was a little kid and even own a wooden Sudoku set, but sometimes I like to just play it on my phone so I can relax in bed while doing it. There's multiple Sudoku apps, so I downloaded a couple and played around on each one to decide which one was the best for me.

8. Bingo Pop

This is another app based off of a pre-existing game. I've had a couple other bingo games before, but the Bingo Pop one is definitely my favorite. You play the round, and can win little prizes and helpful boosters for the next time you play. If you get a bingo that round, you get to pull a slot machine that gives you another prize as well. You can also buy boosters with "money" you earn from each round to help you win.

9. IMDb

Almost every time I'm watching a tv show or movie, I see someone who looks familiar, but I can't place their name or figure out what else they were in, so I go to the IMDb app to figure it out. Before my boyfriend told me to download the app, I would get so annoyed trying to figure out who certain people were in because I don't always have my laptop turned on.

10. Gmail

This app isn't very exciting, but I love being able to access my e-mail on the go. I also get notifications if someone in my contact book sends me an e-mail, which is really convenient. I also love that I can jump from my personal account to my business account with the press of a button.


Well, that's it for my first re-installment of my Top 10 series. What other Top 10 lists would you like to see and what are your favorite apps?

Until next time...

Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise

Cinnamon Honey Almond Spread

While I was at Whole Foods the other day, I was trying to find a decent almond butter that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg. No such luck. So, I decided to make my own, which meant I got to control the flavor and ingredients while saving money. The cheapest almond butter I saw there was $13 for a jar. I made two jars for the price of a bag of almonds (just under $12) and some stuff I already had in my kitchen. In about half an hour, I had my own delicious almond spread that I can't wait to use in as many ways as possible!

INGREDIENTS

(this recipe is done per cup-to make enough to fill a medium mason jar, you're going to want to double the recipe below)
1 cup almonds
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1-1 1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
almond milk (this get drizzled in, so there's not an exact measurement)

EQUIPMENT

baking sheet
food processor
rubber tipped spatula
mason jar (or any jar with a lid)

DIRECTIONS
Start by preheating your oven to 350F and spreading the almonds out evenly on the baking sheet.
Bake for 3-5 minutes. You don't need the almonds to be super toasted, you're basically just "waking them up."
Place the almonds, cinnamon, salt, honey, and vanilla in your food processor and puree for about five minutes, stopping to scrape the sides with your spatula once or twice.
The mixture will be grainy at first, and almost powder-like. Don't worry, this is normal.
Scrape the sides of the food processor again and then turn it back on.
Slowly drizzle in the almond milk, about a tbs at a time, until the mixture is spreadable without being runny. Make sure to add the almond milk very slowly to avoid making the mixture too runny.
Store the spread in a mason jar and refrigerate in between uses.

What would you pair with almond butter besides cinnamon honey?

Until next time...
Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise

Southwestern Frittata

Last night my boyfriend and I were looking through a cookbook I received from a friend for Christmas (Thanks Bernadette!) and came across a recipe for a tomato and asparagus frittata. Since our weather is still transitioning into spring here, our fruit and vegetable selection is really hit or miss right now, so we decided to use the instructions, but with whatever veggies we could find at the store that didn't look questionable. We decided to go with a Southwest theme and it was so good Bart is already on his second helping and asked if I could make it again soon.

I was only able to get one picture of it because we wanted to eat it before it got cold-and eggs can get cold pretty fast, but you can still see the veggies poking through and the yummy, bubbly cheese on top-and that's all that matters, right?

INGREDIENTS
*8 large eggs
*4 oz pepperjack cheese
*1 yellow onion
*2 green peppers
*4 tomatoes (I used Roma-if you use a larger tomato, use 2-3 instead)
*1 medium can of corn
*1 medium can of black beans
*salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and paprika
INSTRUCTIONS

*Start by preheating your oven to 350F and cutting the veggies. You'll want the onions to be smaller and the peppers and tomatoes to be medium sized.
*Once the veggies are cut, melt 2-3 tbs of butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat and add the onions and spices in. I didn't measure the spices at all, so you'll just want to add them to taste.
*While the onions are caramelizing, rinse the corn and black beans so they don't add unnecessary starch to the frittata.
*When the onions are about halfway caramelized, add the green peppers in. Sautee for about five minutes and shred the cheese while you stir occasionally.
*Crack the eggs into a large bowl with 1/4 cup water and half of the shredded cheese. Beat until fluffy.
*Add the corn, black beans, and tomatoes into the skillet and cook for about a minute before pouring the eggs over the top. Make sure the eggs evenly coat the veggies. It's ok if a little bit pokes out of the top, but you want them to at least be mostly covered.
*Cover the skillet and cook for ten minutes or until the eggs are fluffy and cooked all the way through.
*Top with the remaining cheese and bake in the oven for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
*Serve immediately with avocado, sour cream, and/or salsa.

This was honestly one of the easiest dishes I've made in awhile and definitely the tastiest dinner we've had in weeks.

Let me know if you make this and if you used any substitutions or add ons!

Until next time...

Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise

Pumpkin Chai Scones

I know it's been awhile since I've posted, so I decided I needed to come back with something really good to make up for the lack of posts.

For those of you who don't already know, I'm in the process of opening a delivery based bakery. I'll go into more details about that in another post when I'm closer to "opening" though. All of my days off from my day job have been spent doing legal work or perfecting new recipe ideas.

I decided to treat myself today as I finish up my business plan and cost confirmation layouts. It's a little gloomy outside-my favorite type of weather-so I'm spending all day in my pajamas in bed finishing some stuff up.

Since I'm going with a comfort theme today, I decided to combine two of the first foods that come to mind when I think of comfort: pumpkin and chai spice. Thus, my pumpkin chai scones were born!

(as always, click on the pictures to make them larger)

The recipe is super simple and you probably have most of your ingredients in your cupboard already. As for the chai spice seasoning, I got mine from a specialty spice store in town. If you can't find chai spice seasoning, you can substitute with cinnamon to still add a warm undertone to the scones.

Scones
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chai spice seasoning
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/8 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter-diced

1 large egg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3 tbsp half and half
1 tbsp honey
splash of vanilla extract


Glaze
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp+1 tsp pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp chai spice seasoning
splash of half and half

Preheat oven to 425F

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chai spice, brown sugar, and white sugar. Add in cold butter pieces and work in with your hands until the butter is completely incorporated and mixture resembles corn flour.

In a separate bowl combine egg, pumpkin, half and half, honey, and vanilla. Create a well in the middle of the dry mix and use a rubber spatula to get as much of the wet mix as you can into the larger bowl. Use the same spatula to combine the mixes by folding the dry mix into the wet mix while turning the bowl. After the mixes are completely combined, use your hands to knead a few times. You want to use the spatula at first to prevent yourself from getting pumpkin Hulk hands.

Put a decent amount of flour onto a clean, flat surface and place the dough on top. Pat a tiny bit of flour on the top of the dough and then press into an eight inch circle. Cut into eight pieces like a pizza and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 13-16 minutes until thoroughly cooked through. If you want the scones to be more crunchy than soft, just leave them in an extra minute or so.

While the scones cooling, combine all the glaze ingredients in a small pot with a whisk over low heat. Heat for about two minutes, but do not boil. Drizzle the glaze over the scones and enjoy!

I hope you all enjoyed this post and I'll try to make time for some more posts soon. Until next time...

Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise

Pumpkin Potato Soup

This pumpkin potato soup is another one of those dishes where I've made so many times that I've lost count. I've been making it for almost two years now, so I've tried plenty of substitutions and fixins. This recipe is for the basic soup, but I have some substitution and fixins ideas (and some to avoid) at the bottom.

This soup is incredibly easy to make. The hardest part is trying not to cry while chopping the onion up. It takes about 30-45 minutes to make from start to finish and will make 6-10 bowls depending on how hungry everyone is.

(as always, click on the pictures to view them larger)


INGREDIENTS
1/2-1 yellow onion
1 small spoonful of butter
6 cups chicken broth or stock
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (make sure you get plain puree and not pie filling)
3 large russet potatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste

TOOLS
2 pots (one for the soup and one to boil potatoes in)
1 cutting board
1 knife
1 colander or slotted spoon
1 wooden or metal spoon for stirring

DIRECTIONS

Start by filling the potato pot about halfway with salted water and setting it on high to boil.

While waiting for the water to boil, finely dice the onion and cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces. I use a whole onion because they're one of my favorite foods, but you can opt for half an onion if you'd like.

Turn your soup pot on to a medium heat and completely melt the butter. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and stir in completely before adding the onions in. Take your time to make sure the onions are completely caramelized. Trust me, it's worth it to take your time building the layers of flavor in this soup.

Once the water in the other pot is boiling, add the potatoes in. I keep the skins on my potatoes, but you can peel them if you'd like. You need to cook them separately or else your soup will be too starchy.

After the onions are completely caramelized, add the chicken broth, pumpkin puree, and salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Bring the soup to a boil while stirring to make the the pumpkin puree is completely incorporated into the broth and then turn the heat down to a simmer.

When the potatoes are done cooking, transfer them to the soup using a colander or slotted spoon. Add your heavy cream, stir to make sure everything is combined, and taste to see if you need to add any more spices.

Put a lid on your pot and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes before serving.

SUBSTITUTIONS AND FIXIN IDEAS

Since I've made this soup so many times, I've tried experimenting with it and have a few ideas for what you could add (and what you shouldn't) to pump it up a little more.

So far I've discovered that trying to substitute the heavy cream for milk or greek yogurt didn't end very well. The milk just wasn't creamy enough and the greek yogurt made it so sour it was inedible.

I also tried using olive oil and vegetable oil instead of butter and the soup turned out all right, but the butter does taste a lot better.

I only use Libby's brand of pumpkin puree because I've tried some different brands and they all taste "off."

As for the onion, white works fine, but purple is too overpowering.

You can substitute vegetable broth/stock for chicken broth/stock to make it vegetarian and it tastes just as good.

For fixins, I've added different cheeses on top as a garnish and they've all tasted good. My personal favorite was some grated parmesan.

You can also add in some meat to make it even heartier. My mom made carnitas for dinner last night, so crisped some up in a pan and topped the soup off with it today. My boyfriend and I were both fans of this fixin.

I hope you all enjoyed this post! If you end up making this soup, let me know how it turned out and any experiences you have with substitutions or fixins of your own and until next time...

Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise

Mini Frittatas

I'm a big fan of anything that I can make ahead and freeze for busy days and these mini breakfast frittatas are perfect to pop in the microwave on a busy morning.

One of the things I love about making these is that you can essentially add anything you want to them, which makes them great for using up stuff that's nearing it's expiration date. I chose to keep this batch very basic, but by all means, substitute stuff to your liking and add in any extras that you'd normally have inside an omelette, because these are basically little omelette muffins.

INGREDIENTS
1 dozen large eggs
8 oz cheddar cheese
1 lb ground breakfast sausage
1/2-1 onion (depending on how much you like onion)
1 green pepper
1 bunch chives
milk
salt, pepper, and any other spices you like


Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and preparing your muffin tins. I used silicon baking cups, but if you don't have those you can spray some nonstick spray in the tins. I haven't done this with paper liners before, so I'm not sure how they'd hold up in the freezer to be honest.

Brown the sausage (or your choice of meat) in a skillet with salt, pepper, and any other spices you like. While the meat is cooking, dice up 1/2-1 onion, a green pepper, and any other veggies you want to add in. Once it's done, drain the majority of the fat and set the meat aside in a bowl to slightly cool because you don't want it to be screaming hot when you add it to the eggs. Toss the veggies into the skillet and caramelize.

While the onions are cooking, crack the eggs into a mixer (or a bowl if you don't have a mixer) and mix with some milk. I never measure, but if I had to guess I use about half a cup. Just add it until the eggs are a pale yellow without looking too milky.

Chop up your chives while the onions are caramelizing and the eggs and milk are mixing. Spice the egg and milk mixture and add in the cheese. Once the cheese is fully incorporated, add in the meat and all of the veggies.

When the mixture is ready, fill the muffin tins about 2/3 full with the mixture. Make sure to get egg in every tin, because it will try and sink to the bottom of the bowl. You will more than likely have to bake multiple rounds of the frittatas.

Bake each tin until the tops are golden brown and bubbly-about 20-25 minutes. If you are choosing to store them in the freezer, a freezer safe gallon bag with the date you made them written on it is the easiest way to go.

When you take them out of the freezer to reheat, place them on a plate with a paper towel on top to keep the moisture in. It should only take about 30 seconds for each frittata.

And that's it! The last time I made these, they didn't even make it to the freezer and were gone within 24 hours because the people I live with couldn't stop popping them into their mouth. I took that as a sign that they had to be shared with the world.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe and until next time...
Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise

Hearty Beef, Corn, & Potato Soup

The first time I made this soup, I was low on cash and needed to make something that would fill my boyfriend up and actually taste good. I rummaged through the kitchen, pulled out hearty ingredients and decided I wanted to turn it all into a soup. The only thing I needed was chicken broth, so I had sent my boyfriend to the store to get that while I got the rest of the soup ready. Needless to say, it was a hit as I'm still making it a year later.

This soup is perfect for these chilly months, because it's like a hug in a bowl that leaves you feeling satisfied and all of the ingredients are easy to find year-round.

(click to view the picture larger)

I never said it was a pretty soup, but it tastes pretty good if that counts!

Did I mention this is super inexpensive to make? I made a pot that made about ten bowls for less than $15! Let's get on with the instructions, shall we?

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef
1/2 an onion
3-4 russet potatoes
2 boxes chicken broth or stock
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 large can of corn
salt, pepper, & any other spices you like

Start by getting a large pot of water (with some salt) on the stove over high heat. Next, brown the ground beef in a skillet with salt, pepper, and any other spices you have on hand. I used an herb blend from a local spice shop, but anything that you normally like with these flavor profiles will work just fine.

While the water is boiling and the beef is browning, dice up half an onion and cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces. You can choose to peel the potatoes if you'd like, but I always keep them on.

Once the water is boiling, place the potatoes in. When the ground beef is browned, put it to the side in a bowl and drain the majority of the fat out of the skillet. After this, caramelize the onions in the same skillet.

When the potatoes are about 1/2-3/4 done, drain the water and replace with the chicken broth and crushed tomatoes. Add in the ground beef, onion, and season to taste. Cook until the potatoes are fully cooked through. Once the potatoes are cooked thouroughly, add the corn and cook and additional five minutes. This will ensure that the corn does not because mushy, which has happened to me before when I've added canned corn into a soup too early.

That's literally it! The hardest part of making this soup is trying not to cry while cutting the onions ;)

I hope you all enjoyed this recipe and until next time...
Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise

Off With Their Heads, Pippi the Pumpkin Patch Princess, & National Dessert Day

I went to Portland again last weekend to do makeup for my cousin's homecoming dance and of course hang out with her, my aunt, and their dog.

On the way up, Bart and I stopped at the shelter we adopted Pippi from to drop off some blankets and treats since the weather is getting colder out here and they asked for donations. Seeing all of the doggies who need homes makes me so sad and I wish that I could bring all of them home with me but realistically the best thing for me to do right now is just drop off donations whenever we're in the area (it's an hour away from where we live).

When we arrived in Portland, we went to a McMenamins because we haven't been even though there's one in town. I got this amazing veggie wrap that was so filling I could only eat half of it and was completely stuffed. After that, we went back to Aunt Teri's and hung out watching Netflix and catching up on the last month while we waited for Elise to get home from her water polo tournament that was out of town. Of course I also took this opportunity to get in as many Libby (their dog) cuddles as possible.

Saturday was homecoming, and Aunt Teri and I made card corsages (which I forgot to get a picture of) for some of Elise's friends and finished up her awesome crown while Elise was getting her hair and nails done. The dance was Disney themed, and her and her friends decided to do a group costume based off of Alice in Wonderland. Elise was the best Queen of Hearts ever of course.

I did her makeup before we went to her friend's house, where I set up a little makeup studio in one of the bathrooms and did makeup for four of her friends. I forgot to ask them for pictures too because I was so worried about getting them all done in time, but three of them wanted silver and black smokey eyes and one wanted natural makeup with false eyelashes, so it wasn't anything too crazy exciting. Here's a picture of Elise being perfect though!

After I finished doing makeup on the girls, Aunt Teri took us out to her favorite Thai place and we got these Thai teas that tasted so good it should be illegal. I had yellow curry, Bart had a curry that tasted like Chai Tea (in all the right ways) and Aunt Teri had a mango chicken plate. She also ordered two appetizers because her goal is to send us home fifty pounds heavier every time we visit obviously...not that I'm complaining because FOOD.

Elise got me this absolutely perfect train case to thank me for helping out with homecoming stuff. No more lugging my stuff around in random boxes and bags when I travel!

On Sunday we went to Multnomah Falls, which was breathtaking. Aunt Teri and I went up about halfway and decided we wanted to go back to the bottom and get coffee while Bart decided to try and go all the way to the top. It was really crowded and the bridge you had to cross to continue on the path was so crowded it was essentially at a stop, which is why Aunt Teri and I decided to chill instead.

While we were sitting on a bench, every kid that passed by exclaimed "Mom! That lady has purple hair!" which my Aunt thought was a hoot, but I'm used to by now because I get it everyday at work and it never gets old.

After that, Bart and I went home and were greeted by a very happy Pippi who had clearly missed us. She turned six months old on Sunday and my mom brought her to the pumpkin patch with my little sister and her friend to celebrate. I got a text from my mom that said "Pippi got a pumpkin because she licked it and said 'I want this one' so I had to buy it for her." She also sent me some adorable pictures of Pippi having an awesome half-birthday (or should I say un-birthday to keep with the Alice in Wonderland theme?). This one is my favorite.

In honor of National Dessert Day on Tuesday, I baked cream puffs and sugar cookie sticks dipped in frosting. The cream puffs had a thin layer of boysenberry preserves (because they're pretty strong) and chocolate expertly globbed on top by my little sister. I'm really happy with how they came out.

That's basically how my week has been! I wanted to share it with all of you since it's been such a crazy but awesome week! I'm baking viking cupcakes tomorrow for my friend's daughter's third birthday which is How to Train Your Dragon themed and I'm really excited about it. Until next time...
Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise

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Fresh Tomato Garlic Sauce

Today is my day off and my mom suggested I make a sauce for myself using the tomatoes she just picked from her garden. I wanted to make a sauce that was chunkier than my normal tomato sauce and would take less time to cook. This is what I came up with.

click to view picture larger


INGREDIENTS
(keep in mind this is one serving, so if you're cooking for more than one person be sure to multiply everything by the number of people you'e cooking for)

*4 small or two large tomatoes
*2 cloves of garlic
*2 tbs olive oil
*2 tbs butter
*1/8 cup+ low sodium chicken broth
*salt & pepper
*basil
*oregano

Start by cutting the tomatoes into pieces about the size of your thumbnail. For this sauce, you only want the outer chunks of the tomato, because you don't want a ton of mushy pieces and seeds that can come with the center of the tomato. You should have about 1/2-2 cups of tomato chunks when you're done. Add them to a bowl, add a little salt and pepper, mix, and let them marinate while you get the rest of the sauce ready.

For the garlic, you can choose to finely mince the cloves or just dice them up a bit. I love chunky garlic, so I chose the latter.

Turn a saucepan on medium heat and melt the butter and olive oil together. Add the garlic, a little salt and pepper, and basil and oregano all to taste. I used about a tsp of basil and oregano to start. I continuously mixed at this point to avoid burning the garlic.

Once you can start to smell the garlic and spices, add the chicken broth and tomatoes and bring the heat up to high. Bring it to a boil, return to medium heat, and cover. After about five minutes, remove the lid and mix. You'll know it's done when the tomatoes have completely burst and the sauce has turned red. Taste to make sure you're happy with the flavors, and if you are-get ready

If your sauce is looking a little too thick, feel free to add some more chicken broth.

Once your sauce is finished, spoon it over some gnocchi, noodles, chicken, etc. and enjoy!
Stay Stellar,
Paige

Garlic Pinto Beans

When I was in 7th grade my dad married my now-stepmom who is half Mexican and half Native American. I remember being really excited about the possibility of her teaching me authentic recipes from both sides of her family only to find out that the only thing she could really cook was garlic pinto beans. But if you're only going to be good at cooking one thing, you're probably really good at it, right? Right.


When I was at their house one time, she was making the beans for dinner (they're so good that we would just eat them with tortillas and call it a meal) and said she would teach me how. Let me start by saying this recipe is so easy that a monkey could do it. Once you do it once, it's stuck in your head forever, because it's literally THAT easy, which makes the result even more surprising. Let's do this thing!

All you need for this recipe is dry Pinto beans, fresh garlic, salt, and pepper. That's literally it. You can add peppers if you want, but they're just as amazing without.



The first thing you're going to do is soak the beans overnight. Get a bowl, pour the bag of beans in, and cover with water. Depending on how wide the bowl is, you're going to want at least an inch of after over the beans, but I usually just fill the bowl up most of the way to be safe. The beans will soak up some of the water and expand overnight, and if you don't add enough water they'll soak up different amounts and cook unevenly, so when in doubt-add more water.

You can either use a crockpot or a large pot to cook the beans in the next day. I prefer using a crockpot even though my stepmom uses a stove top pot because I don't have to worry about checking the beans as often. You're going to drain and rinse the beans and then place them in your cooking vessel followed by about twice as much water as beans. I was taught to just eyeball it and that once again more water is better than less, so that's what I do.

You're then going to peel and smash anywhere from a half a bulb to a full bulb of garlic depending on how much you like garlic and how big your bag of beans is. I almost always use the whole bulb no matter what, because garlic is one of my favorite kitchen smells and tastes.

Pop the garlic in with the beans and add salt and pepper to taste. I actually normally use garlic salt when making these because I'm a garlic freak, but you can use whichever salt you like best.

And that's really it! If you're using a crockpot, the beans should take about 6-8 hours on low and around 4 hours on high, but if you're using a stove top pot they should only take 2-3 hours. Make sure to keep the temperature on low if you're making them on the stove.

When the beans are done, they should be soft to the bite and have created their own sort of soup, which is why I like adding extra water. Everyone I know loves the soupy water with the beans, but you can use a slotted spoon to serve them if you just want regular beans. I chose to leave the garlic bulbs in because I like the way the bulbs taste when they're cooked, but you can take them out as well.

Like I said, this recipe is so easy a monkey could do it. I really only made this post because every time I make these beans for people they ask for the recipe, so I figured I'd share it with all of you too!




Until next time...


Stay Stellar,

Paige Elise