Welp, this is just what I ate for dinner. During the work week, I come home too hungry, impatient, and tired to make a decent meal. But I work 2 jobs and my current schedule is to work 13 days in a row, so I decided to treat myself to some pork chops tonight, dammit. 

After rushing around the kitchen whilst drooling, I whipped up: ranch & peppercorn boneless pork chop, rosemary & olive oil brown rice and quinoa, sauteed zucchini, summer squash, and onion.

-Kara

Stuffed Pepper Jack-O-Lanterns!

• Category: Lunch, dinner
• Vegetarian: Yes/vegan
• Price: $$ (silly orange peppers are pricey ‘round here! This is definitely made for less than $10 though.)

This is a super easy and super festive Halloween meal. (Click here to see the recipe I modified.)

I didn’t have carrot ginger juice, so I used plain carrot juice by Bolthouse Farms with a little ground ginger added. I also added a healthy dose of cinnamon, which compliments the sweetness of the carrot quinoa quite well. I also didn’t have black quinoa, so I used plain, and it came up almost as festive. :)

You probably modify this recipe to include whatever else you may want, but just keep the black beans in the mix for the festive feel.

Never forget to have fun with your food! Happy Halloween!

xx, Christina

PUMPKIN PIE MILKSHAKE

• Category: Beverage, snack, lunch, breakfast, dessert, dinner, 4th meal
• Vegetarian: Yes, not vegan
• Price: $ 

This is so freakin’ delicious, it needs no introduction. Minus this one, obviously.

• 1 cup vanilla ice cream
• 1/3-1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1+ cup milk
• 1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• Whipped friggin cream

I threw this all [minus the whipped cream] into my handy dandy Magic Bullet and topped with the WC and autumn sprinkles. And then I cried.

-Kara

MANGO CHICKEN CURRY w. Coconut Milk

• Category: Lunch, dinner
• Vegetarian: No
• Price: $$ [Not too expensive, but I made a ton which used a lot of fresh meat & produce]

It’s really hard to stop eating Indian food once I’ve started. I require curry. So I made a huge batch of THIS recipe. It came out quite well - especially for my first time making my own! There was even enough to freeze, but keep in mind that if you do, prepare for the turmeric to stain the container. This is a delicious aromatic dish that is rich in flavor. It’s got a great balance of sweet, spice, and creaminess!

-Kara

Making breakfast on the weekends makes up for the whole week.

[“Eggs in a basket” and cheesy potato hash]

-Kara

Holiday Soup

It’s that time of the year again—soup weather! This was my first soup-making of the season. Hearty, easy and tasty… my kind of meal! It has a different broth than I’m used to, flavored with curry, cinnamon, and a bit of nutmeg. I liked the change. It definitely made it live up to the holiday-ness of its name! I also love this because it uses quinoa, a grain I’ve been trying to use more of because it’s so good for you!

• Category: Lunch, dinner
• Vegetarian: Yes (and vegan!)
• Price: $ 

You can find the recipe here!

I would maybe add more carrot, spinach and zucchini because I found that the last couple of bowls were lacking.

Grill up some bread for the side (I love grilled hamburger buns!) and it’s a great fall meal.

xx, Christina

Apple Crisp!

Okay, so after I went apple picking, I made five apples crisps. Five. One every day until I ran out of apples. I even had one for dinner. Needless to say, apple crisps are amazing. Here’s a great recipe that I’ve been using. :)

• 3/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/3 cup cold butter, margarine, etc.
• 3 medium apples (about four cups), peeled and cut into slices

1. Pre-heat oven to 375F. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Then, cut butter in with a pastry blender until crumbly. It takes a good deal a patience for this part. Also, the topping tastes delicious. Try not to eat it all before you.

2. Peel and slice the apples. Spread them in an even layer in a greased pie plate. Sprinkle topping over apples in an even layer. 

3. Bake for about 30 minutes. The top should be golden brown and the apples soft when you stick a fork in. Often times, it is done before thirty minutes, so keep an eye on it! You don’t want the apples to get overly mushy. 

I recommend this for any time of the day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner… or all of the above ;)

xx, Christina

Apple Cake!

Tis the season for apple everything! Yum! This year around here, the hurricane ruined our apple crop (huge bummer), but the orchard still had some local apples shipped there to buy. This cake is easy and delicious and quite apple-y! :)

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I put a little more because I love cinnamon!)
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 cups diced peeled apples
• 1/4 cup nuts (I used walnuts.)

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt cinnamon and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture. Stir in apples and nuts. The batter will be very thick and it’ll seem to be not enough… but it is!
2. Spread into greased 8x8 greased pan. Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes.
I made a quick icing to drizzle over the top. I took confectioner’s sugar, a couple tablespoons of milk and maybe a half teaspoon of vanilla extract. Just add more or less sugar or milk to reach a consistency you like! I think maybe next i’d sub apple cider for the milk to give the icing an apple-y flavor! 

This cake tastes sooo good right out of the over. It tastes good cold too, but warm is better. Enjoy! :)

xx, Christina