Easter!

Although I love them all, Easter is my favorite "holiday". Partially for the time of year... The weather is finally warm and the trees and plants are full of beautiful blooms. Outside play-time and sunshine on my skin are like fuel to my heart- like I've come to life again after another long winter! Brunch, family, church, egg hunts, and fun-filled baskets... Easter Sunday holds some of my favorite memories. 

Most of all, the reason for this celebration hits me deeper than any other. As a Christian- recognizing the ultimate sacrifice of my Savior, celebrating his miraculous resurrection, and realizing the life-changing forgiveness of my sins. What a HUGE statement. Spring time... when I see the light at the end of winter's tunnel, new-life budding all around me, and I'm given a day to simply ponder on the unimaginable and celebrate the new life I have been given through this LOVE. 

New physical life for our family as well as we await the arrival of our new baby boy! Two week count-down, but I'd be happy with him arriving any day now :-) I'm also finishing up my final pieces for my senior show which opens in just three weeks. I will finally be graduating with my Bachelors in Fine Arts with a concentration in Drawing & Design! Needless to say, this upcoming month is a very exciting (and busy) time for us! 

Walter was able to meet the Easter bunny a couple weeks ago at a local egg-hunt. W is so excited for him to come back and visit our house! Soooo... the bunny has been working to gather things for his Easter basket ;-) W will also be blessed with quite a few treats from his loving grandparents, so again this year, I steered clear of candy-treats. He is so funny about treats- not much interest in sugar-candy like jelly beans and fruit snacks but will do anything for "chocolaté"! He likes the good stuff like his mama. 

Here are some toddler-friendly & candy-free ideas for last minute filling of your Easter Baskets! This year, I decided to fill a big dump truck (instead of a basket) with his treats! I think he'll enjoy filling it up with dirt and sand since we're starting to enjoy most of our day outside. I found this truck at Target, unavailable online. Below is the list and direct links to his other goodies! 

Walter's Easter Basket
1. Washable Paints
2. Melissa & Doug Paint Brushes
3. Happy Easter Book
4. Parachute Military Man
5. Travel Sized Doodle Pad (I found at the Dollar Tree, but similar linked here <<)
6. No-Spill Bubble Bucket (also available at Target)
7. Stickers
8. Annies Cheddar Bunny Crackers 

I hope this list helps put the finishing touches on your little-one's basket! Each year, his baskets have been full of new outdoor activities for him like chalk, bubbles, spring outfits, sunglasses, beach-toys, gardening-toys, and balls... baskets can still be fun-filled with a little less sugar ;-)  Enjoy your weekend, & Happy Easter! 

xo,

Monica

Corned Beef + Sweet & Purple Potato + Kale Hash!

As I've said before, breakfast is by far our favorite meal- we often find ourselves making a different version of breakfast for lunch and sometimes dinner ;-) During the week it usually consists of smoothies, overnight oatmeal, yogurt, and quick egg dishes. So, come Saturday and Sunday we truly relish in the event of being home together for this "event". 

While going out to brunch is fun and all, waiting in lines with a toddler ain't always so fun. So we've been on a quest to recreate some of our restaurant favorites. Recently, Matt and I have fallen in love with a new restaurant down at the beach called Stock-Pot. Ammmmmazing home made soups and whole-food inspired entrees sourcing from locally farmed ingredients. Matt's favorite menu item is their sweet potato corned-beef hash. Skeptical me... not a huge red-meat eater, tried a bite of his beloved hash and loved it! 

After attempting to make this brunch dish a couple times now, I feel I've truly mastered it and made it my own version. While at the farmers market this weekend, I picked some beautiful sweet potatoes along with my favorite- the purple potato! First off, they're a gorgeous color, and secondly, they contain four times as many antioxidants than a normal russet potato- but still taste the same. Cullipher Farm Stand also has a large variety of kale this time of year, so per Hunter's (4th generation Cullipher) referral, I tried the "less-tough" Japanese Kale this week. These tricolored orange, purple, and dark green veggies were the building blocks of this yummy hash! 

^^ Pic I snapped at the market this morning... had quite a tough decision when it came to choosing the greens for this dish! 

^^ After briefly boiling the potatoes, be sure to fully drain and pat dry of any water. 

^^ Any corned beef will do, but I am partial to this one! It was really tasty and not too salty. 

^^ Ahhh look at all those colors!! So good.

 ^^ Carefully crack without puncturing the yolk.

^^ Perfection... Breakfast is served! 

(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 medium purple potato
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 1 cup of washed and deveined kale
• 1/2 cup chopped corned beef
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 325. 
• Wash and peel potatoes, then cut into 1 inch cubes. Place in a pot of cold salted water and bring to a boil for about 5-6 minutes. Immediately drain from the water and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Heat two tablespoons of coconut oil in an 8 inch cast iron skillet. Add potatoes and cook until browned. Then add the corned beef and onions and cook until caramelized and brown- about 4-5 minutes. Add kale and cook just one minute, until wilted.
• Lastly, carefully crack 4 eggs on top of the corned-beef mixture, and place the skillet in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until your eggs are done to your liking! Keep an eye on it!
• Removed from the oven and immediately serve! 

This amazing & nutrient filled brunch can be done at home in just 30 minutes! "Fancy brunch" doesn't have to be saved for restaurant outings. Generally, I am a very simple- oatmeal or yogurt with coffee- morning person but I LOVE this meal. Head to your local market next weekend, buy what looks beautiful, and try it! Next week, I want to experiment with different potatoes, brussel sprouts, and chicken sausage. 

Have a great week!

xo,

Monica

Oatmeal Raisin Energy Bites

Our family loves a good "energy bar", but most of the time, I have a hard time finding one without a million foreign ingredients. I started making a variety of pressed bars and energy bites at home so that I can be sure exactly what is giving me energy... 

This is a GREAT recipe for toddlers because it's full of things they love! They also takes a convenient 10 minutes to make!

Oatmeal Raisin Energy Bites:

Ingredients:

-1 cup oats

-1/2 cup natural peanut butter or almond butter  ( I like to use Trader Joe's smooth unsalted PB)

-1/3 Trader Joes Super Seed & Ancient Grain Blend

-1/3 cup honey

-1/3 cup unsweetened raisins 

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

-Put all ingredients in your food processor and pulse until mixture clumps. Will be loose, but you can press together with your fingers.

-Roll into 1 inch bite sized balls and store in a tupperware in the refrigerator for the week!

Healthy + Savory Game Day Snacking

Today was a big play-off game day for our team, The Steelers. Although the outcome wasn't great, we still had fun preparing and enjoying our game day grub!

Matt was in charge of grilling burgers and I made the accompaniments. We had a few friends over, so while we finished the main course and watched the first half of the game, I placed a snack on the coffee table for everyone to enjoy. 

I don't know about you, but I love dip + something crunchy! A great alternative to chips & a heavy dips are cucumbers, carrots, and hummus. These two veggies totally achieve the crunchiness I'm looking for and I paired it with a spicy Sriracha hummus. (store bought)

To go with our burgers tonight, I made yummy Sweet-Potato Skins... Normally, potato skins at a football gathering is something I avoid. Although they taste great, they leave me "not feeling so great" after I eat them. Loaded with sour cream, cheese, bacon, etc... they tend to be a heavy and greasy finger food.

My goal today was to lighten them up by using alternative ingredients. These Sweet-Potato skins are gluten-free & guilt-free too! 

Sweet-Potato Skins

Ingredients:

-2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed, washed, and thinly sliced

-2 tablespoons coconut oil

-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

-2 avocados

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon cumin

-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

-8oz. plain greek yogurt cup

-6 turkey bacon slices, cooked and chopped

-1 sliced jalapeño (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 425. 

2. Using a mandolin slicer or sharp knife, slice your washed sweet potatoes 1/4 inch thin. Place on a baking sheet lined with a silicon baking mat (or parchment paper) and brush with melted coconut oil. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. 

3. While the potatoes are baking, cook the turkey bacon according to the packaging and chop finely, set aside. Mash the avocado with salt, pepper, and cumin, set aside. De-seed and chop jalapeños, set aside. 

4. Remove sweet potato slices from the oven and immediatly sprinkle lightly with cheddar cheese; cheese should melt from the heat of the potatoes. 

4. Transfer potatoes to the serving plate and top with avocado, greek yogurt, turkey bacon, and chopped jalapeños. 

5. Serve as an appetizer (or side dish) to your hungry football fans! 

I love using my mandolin slicer for recipes such as this... in order to get consistent slices, this tool is key! Can also be done with a knife, it just takes longer.

After the bake time, a little sprinkle of cheese...

And made complete with the lightened-up toppings! 

These lightened-up Sweet Potato Skins were a total hit! Not a single one was left on the plate and our friends honestly couldn't believe that the "sour cream" and "bacon" was replaced by greek yogurt and turkey bacon! They were shocked. 

Try these for the next play-off game or perhaps The Super Bowl! They're a guaranteed crowd pleaser and they won't leave you feeling guilty about your game-time snacking. 

The Steelers are out for now... until next year, Pittsburg! 

xo,

Monica

Happy New Year! 2016!

Happy 2016! It may sound cliché, but man, I love the fresh feeling of the New Year. 2015 is a year I'm very proud of and I wanted to spend the evening celebrating it by doing something fun. Since we had some family in town, we debated going out and reserving a table at one of our favorite restaurants to enjoy a quiet (kid-free) dinner. Most restaurants have a fixed menu on NYE with wine pairings that the chef has spent time researching and preparing; generally pretty expensive. 

After discussing the idea with Matt and our guests, we came up with a better idea: wait until Walter to goes to sleep (7:30) and enjoy an equally as good five course meal at home! As parents, all we wish to achieve in going out to eat is to be able to eat our meal slowly (or even eat the meal at all) without a toddler asking you questions, dropping food, and taking most of our attention. This can be done at home!

Since Matt and I love prepping and cooking our own food, we figured this would be way more fun too. We were able to select exactly what we wanted to eat verses finding a menu that fit us. Five courses can sound intimidating, but we spent the morning grocery shopping, spent nap time wisely prepping, and when company came- the serving & cooking was timed and done accordingly. In eating this much food, portions were also scaled down and spanned over a period of four hours. We made an entire night of it and it truly made midnight come faster than we had expected! It was fun!

Our New Years Eve Menu:

Butternut Squash Soup

Spinach Apple and Feta Salad

Shrimp Tacos

Bacon Wrapped Filet & Twice Baked Potato

Mocha Icebox Cake 

 Butternut Squash & Coconut Milk Soup

This course totally took care of itself... yes, I used the crock pot! In making so many meals, I wanted at least two courses that could be done totally ahead of time. This soup was prepped in the morning, left to cook all day, and then quickly blended before serving.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups vegetable stock

-1 carrot, peeled and diced

-1 granny smith, apple cored and diced

-1 large butternut squash, peeled seeded and diced

-1 yellow onion, diced

-1 sprig fresh sage

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1/4 teaspoon black pepper

- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne

-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions:

1. Toss all ingredients in the crock pot (except for coconut milk). Cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

2. Use an immersion blender to blend all ingredients- or transfer it to a regular blender. Blend until smooth and then stir in coconut milk.

3. Plate while hot and sprinkle with cinnamon. 

Spinach Salad:

This is another course that was totally prepped ahead of time and filled with simple ingredients. 

Ingredients: 

-baby spinach

-crumbled feta

-dried cranberries

-sliced gala apples (or honey crisp)

-walnuts, roasted at 350 for 10 minutes (makes a huge difference in flavor)

-Greek vinaigrette - make your salad dressing- it's easy 

-cracked black pepper to top

Shrimp Tacos:

After soup and salad, we had a brief intermission while I cooked the shrimp and assembled the tacos. In a skillet over the stove, shrimp only takes a matter of 5-6 minutes to fully cook. 

Ingredients:

-2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined 

- 1/2 teaspoon smoke paprika

-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

-salt and pepper to taste

-pico de gallo (Trader Joe's)

-cilantro vinaigrette (Trader Joe's)

-lime wedges

-shredded cabbage

-corn tortillas

-cilantro for garnish

Directions:

-Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.

-Add shrimp once oil is hot, sprinkle the shrimp with paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Sauté 5-6 minutes until fully cooked. (pink and slightly curled)

- Arrange shrimp, pico, cilantro vinaigrette, cabbage, and cilantro on the corn tortilla. Serve with lime wedge. (Can add jalapeños if you like a kick)

Bacon Wrapped Filet + Twice Baked Potatoes:

After shrimp tacos, we left the table for a significant "food break". This allowed Matt time to fire up the grill and bring it up to temperature. We cut and wrapped the filets earlier in the day so they were ready to place on the grill. I also fully prepared the potatoes during Walter's nap time so they were ready to go from the fridge straight to the oven! Matt and the guys headed out to the deck where he grilled the filets along with a cast-iron skillet filled with mushrooms and shaved red onions. 

Filet Ingredients:

-6 four ounce filets

-6 strips of bacon

-butchers twine

-pack of button mushrooms

-1/2 red onion thinly sliced

Directions:

-Selecting the right cut of meat is important - for this recipe we went with narrow NY Strips that were 1"- 1-1/2" thick and about 7" long

-Cut each steak in half - this will give two 4-5oz steaks per strip

-Lightly massage the steaks giving you the ability to form them into round medallions 

-Wrap the medallions with a single strip of bacon and secure with butchers twine 

-Grill temp is another important step - you want a high-heat grill surface (450-500 degrees fahrenheit) to quickly sear the steaks as soon as they are placed on the grill. 

-Just before you throw the bacon wrapped filets on the grill, season with salt and pepper on both sides

-Place the steaks on the grill for 4-5 minutes per side to achieve an internal temperature of 145-150 degrees fahrenheit (mid-rare-meduim). If you want it rare drop that time down to 2 min per side, and if you want it cooked all the way through just make something else...(kidding). A fully cooked steak may have to be left on the grill cooking indirect for 15 additional minutes after you initially sear the filet on both sides. 

Twice-Baked-Potato Ingredients:

-8 yukon gold potatoes, washed

-3 tablespoons canola oil

-6 tablespoons salted butter

-1 cup bacon bits (fry your own!)

-1 cup sour cream

-1 cup cheddar cheese, plus more for topping

-1/2 cup milk ( I used 2%)

-2 teaspoons kosher salt

-5 green onions, chopped

-Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

-Preheat the oven to 400F.

-Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Rub them with the canola oil and bake for 1 hour.

-With a sharp knife, cut each potato in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape out the insides into the mixing bowl, being careful not to tear the shell. Leave a small rim of potato intact for support. Place the potato skins back on the sheet, hole side up.

-Mash the potatoes with the butter, bacon and sour cream. Add the cheese, milk, salt, green onions black pepper and mash together. (I prefer them to be chunky- and have texture- so don't mash too smooth)

-Lower oven temp to 350F.

-Fill the shells with the filling, top with cheese, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden on top. **At this point I didn't do the final bake, I covered the filled shells with plastic wrap and placed them in the fridge. I saved the last "bronzing bake time" for later that night, just before we ate them. I just pulled them out of the fridge and placed them right in the oven when the steaks were grilling.** 

Mocha-Icebox "Cake":

After an hour of visiting and watching some musical performances (Busta Rhymes was my favorite- haha *flashback to 2000*), we watched the ball drop and cheers-ed to the New Year! Before we parted ways to find our pillows (all parents of young children are lucky to make it to midnight), I served up slices of this Mocha-Icebox Cake. 

Many of my friends rave about Ina Garten's (my idol) Icebox Cake. Since it requires zero baking and I could make it all ahead of time and serve it cold, I figured tonight was the perfect night to try it out. Our cousin Sara is gluten-intolerant, so I centered our food selections around that fact as well. I used gluten free Tate Cookies (found at Taste Unlimited or Whole Foods) for this recipe. I followed her exact instructions to the recipe except I froze the cake instead of refrigerating it... it was soooo good this way and I definitely recommend it. 

Click here for the link to her recipe.

 While so much focus is usually thrown on celebrating the Eve of the New Year, last year Matt and I began the tradition of hosting a mid-morning brunch -best meal of the day and first meal of the year! We had family and friends gather at our house, all bringing their favorite brunch item to share. We had local donuts, coffee, mimosas, egg casseroles, apple muffins... you name it.

^^ Same flowers from last night.. left on the tablecloth and reused for the morning :-)

^^ Matt and my dad supervising the bacon & sausage. If Matt had it his way, charcoal grilling would take place for every meal of the day. 

Needless to say, we had a great spread and it was all gone by the end of the morning!

It must run in our blood because breakfast is also W's favorite meal of the day! This kid can eat and so can his cousins! 

With full tummies, the kiddos were ready to play and create! Grateful for this art table full of things to keep them busy!

Walter with his Abuela and Grandma- quite possibly his favorite people! 

This morning left me full of food and love! Being surrounded by these people I love truly sets the tone for how I want to enter this new season and exciting year ahead. 

Early this year we will welcome our new baby boy, Cooper, into the world. Days later, I'll graduate with my Fine Arts degree in Drawing and Design. I can't wait to accomplish these goals that I am so passionate for. I am most excited to watch my two boys grow together as brothers with the love of my life! Of course life has its every day challenges, and I have a long list of things I need and want to improve and work on this year. Above all, I am walking into 2016 with a load of blessings that are about to unfold and I still have to pinch myself at the fact that I'm going to be the mommy to TWO boys! My little guy fuels my ambitions and I can't yet quite comprehend the fact of having another bundle of joy! 

Before I get too emotional ;-)... Happy New Year! Make it a GREAT one. 

xo,

Monica

Felt Christmas Tree

The days following Thanksgiving, I so look forward to picking out our family's Christmas tree. We've had an extremely busy holiday season thus far full of family gatherings, traveling, weddings, and hours spent in the studio for my final critiques. So... we squeezed in our tree-picking-outing after a long day at work & school. After dinner, we bundled up and headed to a small tree-lot just a minute up the street. 

The space we have designated for our tree isn't huge, so we picked a small one! As we approached the lot, the tree-handler asked us what kind of tree we were looking for tonight... I quickly replied with, "short and fat!". I don't know why... but they're my fav! 

Walter had fun at the tree-lot and was completely occupied by his first candy-cane. 

Having a fresh (I loooove the smell) and fully decorated tree with all of the lights, garland, and glass ornaments is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. As soon as we set it up I told Matt that I wish we could keep it up all year. He responded with... "Well then it wouldn't be as special then, would it?" This is true! 

As much as I adore the aesthetic of our tree, with a curious toddler, it is a task to teach him to not to touch! I don't know about you, but my little boy is a hands-on learner and loves to "feel" everything. He thrives in all things arts & crafts. In aims to give him something special to touch that isn't necessarily our big tree, I created this felt Christmas tree!

This is a very simple craft that can be done in under an hour, during nap time or while you're catching up on Netflix in the evening ;-) It's also cheap! Costing me under $10! Felt sheets are 35 cents at Michaels. Joann's Fabric Store carries larger sheets of felt fabric for the tree green. I got a yard for $3 and it made two trees! Command strips are just a couple dollars as well. 

Supply list:

-Green felt for the tree, brown for the stump

-Variety of colored felt for the "ornaments"

-Command strips 

-Pom-poms (optional)

-Scissors

-Hot glue gun (optional)

I used command strips to attach the tree to the wall, next to our real tree. The command strips prevent any paint from being damaged! 

^^ Fold your green felt sheet in half and draw half of a tree (sharpie) on the folded edge. Cut along your marker lines. This ensures a symmetrical tree! 

Now cut different shapes for the ornaments! You can be fancy and use your hot glue gun to add pom-poms or just use sharpie markers to decorate them. Don't add anything too heavy to the felt ornaments (like rhinestones or jingle bells) or else they won't stick to the tree! Luckily, felt sticks to felt, so there is no velcro or adhesive needed! Your kiddos can have fun rearranging the ornaments over and over again! 

Lastly, attach your tree to the wall. I placed our felt tree in the same room that our "real" tree is in. This visual and tangible craft helped him realize that this is "Walter's Tree", while the more fragile tree is just for looking! 

 I hope you have fun making this Felt Tree for your kids, and I hope it helps save an ornament or two on your tree! ;-)

xo,

Monica