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

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

Greek Chicken & Quinoa

My boyfriend and I are currently in the process of moving, so we haven't bought a lot of groceries lately. When I was looking through our kitchen deciding what to make for dinner, I came up with a simple idea that I thought was worth sharing. I really wanted something full of veggies for dinner, but we don't have any fresh veggies, so I opted to just cram this dish full of frozen spinach. What's great about this recipe is that you can add/take stuff out to your liking. For example: if I had a purple onion or some fresh tomatoes, those would have definitely gone in. Anyways, on to the recipe!


(click on the pictures to make them bigger)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
*Two chicken breasts
*One cup dry quinoa
*Spinach (fresh or frozen)
*Feta Cheese
*Olive Oil
*Greek Dressing (I made my own, but bottled is fine as well)
*Kosher Salt
*Greek Seasoning
*Lemon Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While it's preheating, line a pan with foil, drizzle a little Olive Oil in it, and place the chicken breasts on top. Add kosher salt, Greek seasoning, and lemon pepper to taste. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes until it's cooked all the way.

While your chicken is baking, cook your quinoa according to the directions on the box. I bought pre-rinsed quinoa, but if yours is not, you will have to rinse it before you start everything.

Once your quinoa is fully cooked, add your spinach (or other veggies), and some of the spices to add flavor throughout the dish.

Stir thoroughly and let sit until veggies are cooked all the way through.

Place the quinoa on the plate and top with feta cheese, chicken, and some Greek dressing.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Let me know if you tried it and how you liked it/any variations you made :)

Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise

Banana Blueberry Power Smoothie Packs

I've never been someone who could eat a huge breakfast without feeling sluggish all day, but just a piece of toast was getting boring day after day and didn't really give me much energy. I've always been a big fan of anything that comes in blended form (frappes, slushies, milkshakes, smoothies, etc.) but I don't want to wake up early everyday to put stuff together for one. So I decided to make smoothie packs with some of my favorite ingredients that I can just pop into the blender in the morning before I leave for work.
I work at a daycare, so I need all of the healthy stuff you can think of to get me through the day (don't get me wrong, I love my job, it just requires a lot of energy that a piece of toast wasn't giving me), which is why I decided to put together this combination of powerful foods to get me ready to take the day on!

First off, here's what you need for the smoothie packs:

*Small freezer bags (must be freezer bags to avoid frost)
*Sharpie
*Cutting board
*Knife
*Spoon
*Bananas (help battle depression, maintain blood sugar, give you energy, full of antioxidants, the list goes on...)
*Blueberries (proven to have more antioxidants than any other fruit or vegetable, promote brain/sight/heart/bone health, and helps get rid of belly fat) *Raw Almonds (aid in weight loss/maintaining your weight, help with brain function, and lower your cholesterol)
*Greek Yogurt-I have two different flavors and regular yogurt for the fifth smoothie pack shown for people who don't like Greek Yogurt (full of protein and calcium, has probiotics which help with digestion and improve your immune system, and keeps you feeling full longer)

After you've gathered all of your ingredients, label your freezer bags so you know when you made them and what's in it (you can tell for the most past just from looking, aside from the yogurt flavor).

Next, slice each banana and place one in each bag.

After you've done that, place two handfuls of blueberries in each bag.

Then, add a handful of the raw almonds to each bag.

Lastly, add half a container of Greek Yogurt to each bag (2-3 spoonfuls if you're taking it from a large container), flatten it to get as much air out as possible, then tightly seal it.

Your smoothie packs are now ready to freeze! You won't need to add ice, but you might want to add a splash of milk if it's too thick once it's blended. I suggest storing them flat so they take up less space in the freezer. Have fun making/drinking these and coming up with your own variations!

Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise