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 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

Green & Yellow Salsa

Having grown up in San Diego, I've had my fair share of salsas. This is one I came up with when thinking of ingredients that I like in salsa. I wanted to include avocado, green pepper, and corn, and decided to go with an all green and yellow theme. This recipe can easily be altered if you want to substitute any ingredients (ie: a purple onion or red pepper instead). What's great about salsas is that almost anything goes. Let's get started!

(as always, click on the images if you'd like to see them larger)

Here's all of the ingredients that you'll need:

*1 green pepper
*2 small avocados(or 1 large)
*fresh cilantro
*1/2 of a yellow onion
*1 jalapeno
1 lime
1 can of corn

*not pictured: salt, pepper, a knife, a bowl, a cutting board, and gloves for cutting the jalapeno (recommended)

To start, drain the corn and pour it into the bowl

Dice the green pepper and put that into the bowl as well.

Dice the jalapeno into tiny pieces (they pack more punch than the pepper, and you don't want it to overwhelm the rest of the salsa).

Dice the onion into pieces about the same size as the pepper.

Cut the avocado into pieces about twice as large as the pepper and onion.

Finely chop about a handful of the cilantro.

Add the juice of the entire lime (I recommend rolling the lime on the cutting board before slicing it and sticking a fork in the center while squeezing-doing both of these things will help you get more juice out) and salt and pepper to taste.

Mix it gently (you don't want the avocados to turn into mush), cover, and chill for a few hours before serving. This last step gives the salsa time to absorb the flavors of the salt, pepper, and lime better.

This salsa goes great on top of tacos (or even just chicken), with tortilla chips, or even just as a side dish!

I hope you've all enjoyed this recipe, and until next time...

Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise