Orzo Pasta Salad

This is my absolute favorite pasta salad.  I make it All.  The.  Time.  Seriously.  Like, I made it for New Years Eve. Who makes a cold pasta salad in the winter??  this girl. That's who. 

It is pretty basic, but I thought I would share so you too could become an obsessive pasta salad maker like myself.

Welcome to the club.

Orzo Pasta Salad

Makes 12 big servings

225 cals / 6g fat / 36g carbs / 8g protein

1 box orzo pasta (about 16 oz dry)

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

3 TB olive oil

3 TB sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 red onion

6-8 plum tomatoes

1-2 red peppers

1-2 seedless cucumbers

1/3 fresh dill (or mint)

8 oz crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

1.  Cook pasta to al dente according to directions, then rinse with cold water to cool when done.

2.  While pasta is cooking, finely mince the garlic cloves, then whisk garlic, vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl.  

3.  Finely dice the onion (hey...if onion taste bothers you, rinse the diced onion with cold water, it will remove a lot of the onion's power), seed and dice the tomatoes and pepper, dice the cucumbers, and chop the dill.  Toss together with the dressing, cooled pasta, and feta.

Life Via the Camera Roll

Sorry for the absence....I have been busy being not busy lately.  Spending time at the pool, playing with the kids and neighbors, and trying to get as much out of summer as I can.  I have also been preoccupied getting ready for the kids' 4th birthday party (OMG, 4 years already!).  So here is a photo download of all sorts of goings-on in my life....

Getting to hang with my adorable niece and nephew and taking them to magical places such as Culvers, complete with face-painting clowns.

I have been rocking my recent JCP sale purchases a ton lately.  Both of these are from the Joe Fresh line.  Seriously, I can't say it enough, if you haven't checked out JCP recently, you need to.  They have lots of adorable things for cheap cheap cheap.  Also, J took the second photo.  Gotta make these kids earn their keep somehow.

I also got to enjoy a wonderful date night with B to celebrate my birthday.  And I finally got a chance to wear the dress B surprised me with for our Anniversary.  Annnndddd....I tried out fake lashes for the first time ever.  I picked up some cheap ones from Walgreens, watched a couple YouTube videos on how to apply them, and gave it a go.  It was actually fairly easy and a fun/cheap way to add some glamour. I will definitely be trying these again.

Check out these sleeves....just like Stevie Nicks.

 

And look at these lashes.....just don't look at all my wrinkles.

And lastly, we have had our friends daughter visiting from California this week.  I love this kid...she keeps L and J occupied, and I put her to work helping me make these adorable sugar cookies (favors for the party).

Root Beer Cupcakes with Vanilla Ice Cream Frosting

Today, of course, is the greatest day of the year.  The day I was born.

And so to celebrate, I thought I would share this fun little cupcake recipe.  All the flavors of a rootbeer float without all the melty-mess.  Just kidding, I'm not celebrating with cupcakes (I am a pie girl).  I am celebrating by taking the kids to swim class and then the grocery store.  Be jealous.  

Rootbeer Cupcakes with Vanilla Ice Cream Frosting

Makes 24 cupcakes

2 3/4 flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs

2 TB root beer extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup milk

Frosting:

1/3 cup vanilla bean ice cream

2 1/2 sticks butter, softened

4 cups powdered confectioners sugar (or more or less depending on desired consistency)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

Cherries for garnish

1.  Heat oven to 350.  Prep 24 muffin tins with liners or grease and flour. In a medium bowl, sift flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder, set aside.  

2.  Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating to mix well between each addition.  Mix in rootbeer and vanilla extracts.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, and mix until just barely blended.  Stir in 1/2 the milk.  Add another 1/3 of flour mix, again stirring until just barely incorporated, then repeat with the last of the milk and then flour mix.  Portion into each of the muffin cups (I like to use an ice cream scoop).  Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 20-24 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

3.  While cakes are cooling, make the frosting.  In a large mixing bowl, melt the vanilla ice cream.  Beat the melted ice cream with the butter, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla extract until creamy and fluffy.  To make thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar.  To thin the consistency, add milk.

4.  Top each cupcake with frosting and a cherry for garnish.

Salty Honey Pie

I have this little "if I won the lottery fantasy" where I move to an amazingly gorgeous house in my absolute favorite place in the country, New Mexico (somewhere in between Albuquerque and Santa Fe).  And just to have something to do, I open a little pie shop/cafe.  I even have a name for my imaginary store.  Part of this fantasy (and because I am just a touch crazy) means I am constantly thinking of things I would add to my menu....tasty soups, salads and sandwiches.  And of course, pie.  

The other week I went to a wine tasting that served little bites to accompany the drinks at a local family restaurant and this was the finale.  It totally knocked my socks off.  I mean, it combined three of my favorite flavors...sweet, salty, and pie.  What's not to love?

After having it, I was determined to be able to recreate it.  I found this recipe online and got to work, using B's family as my guinnea pigs.  And they loved me for it.

This one is definitely a lottery-fantasy pie shop staple.

Salty Honey Pie

Makes 1 9-inch pie

1 unbaked pie crust

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup sugar

2 TB white cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup honey

2 tsp white vinegar

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

1/2 cup cream

1-2 TB flaked sea salt

1.  Heat oven to 350.  Press pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate and prick the bottom all over with a fork.  

2.  In a large bowl, using a whisk or an electric mixer, combine sugar, butter, corn meal, and salt until it is thick and paste-like.  Add the honey, vanilla, and vinegar and beat to mix well.  Beat in the eggs, one at at a time until fully combined and mix until lightened.  Mix in the cream.  Pour into the prepared pie shell and bake 45-50 minutes, until just set (center may still be a little jiggly). Let cool and then sprinkle with sea salt flakes for garnish.

Note:  my pie got pretty brown, I think covering it with foil after baking 1/2 the time would help this...if anyone makes this and tries this, let me know how it turns out.

Also, unfortunately we were all to busy stuffing our pie-holes to get a picture of this cut....you will just have to trust me that underneath that delicious brown top is a pale yellow, creamy custard.

Confetti Quinoa

Hi.  I am interrupting my stream of summertime sweets to bring you this delightful salad.  Look at all that colorful delicious goodness.

I got the idea for this one from Pinterest....which is just a wealth of "pinspiration."  Especially for quinoa, which is so hot right now. This recipe comes from Whole Foods, which is another great source of inspiration for me. 

This makes a ton which is great because you can just keep it in your fridge and eat it all week.  Perfect for lunches, side dishes, snacks, or even as a quick meal.  And the great thing about this is you can easily adjust it to leave out things you don't like or swap for things you like.  And there is so much good-for-you stuff in this salad, it just makes sense to make this.

Confetti Quinoa Salad

Makes 12 servings

190 cals / 7g fat / 31g carbs / 6g protein

1 1/2 cups dry quinoa (I mixed red and white, any kind will work)

3 cups water

1 cup shelled edamame beans

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 red onion

2 mangoes

1 red pepper

1/2 cup cilantro

1/2 cup slivered or sliced toasted almonds

3 limes

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

1 TB olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1.  In a large saucepan, bring the quinoa and water to boil over high heat, then cover and reduce heat to medium low.  Cook until water is absorbed and quinoa is done, about 15-20 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

2.  Meanwhile, dice the red onion, red pepper, mango, cilantro, and carrot shreds.   

3.  In a large bowl whisk together juice from the limes, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Add the  quinoa, edamame, coconut, cranberries, almonds, onion, red pepper, mango, cilantro, and carrots.  Toss to combine and mix.  Serve chilled.

Mango Sorbet with Ginger and Lime

If you are looking for a cool, refreshing ice cream treat without all the guilt...meet sorbet.  Yes, they are still full of sugar, but at least we are skipping the half-and-half and heavy cream....right?  

This one is especially refreshing and awesome now (when mangoes are so cheap).  Enjoy it plain, or mix it up with a little lime seltzer (and vodka, tequila, or rum if you are so inclined) for a quick slushie.

I like to use fruit juice to make the syrup...I think it kicks the flavor up a bit.  If you can't find it or don't have it, water works perfectly fine.

I have lots more ice cream recipes to share.  B and the kids are happy.  My skinny jeans are not.

Mango Sorbet with Ginger and Lime

Makes ~1 quart

1 cup mango juice/nectar

2/3 cup sugar

5 ripe (or even overly ripe) mangoes

2 limes

1 2-inch chunk ginger (2 TB grated)

1.  Grate ginger to get 2 TB.  Combine ginger, mango juice, and sugar in saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil and simmer 3-5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

2.  Peel and cut up mango.  Place in a blender and add zest and juice from limes.  Add mango syrup and purée until smooth.  Pour mixture through a strainer to remove any large solids, then chill in refrigerator until cool.

3.  Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions, then store in freezer in air tight container. 

Outfits Lately

Happy Independence Day to everyone!  I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th! I had a great day of parades, pie, and fireworks.  Some of my favorite things.  

Here are a few snapshots of some recent outfits....which can basically summed as 1) somehow my mirror got moved back into my closet.  I didn't do it.  I just found it there.  Apparently the other adults in my house don't like my reflection in areas where I might be exposed to natural light...? 2) I basically only know how to coordinate outfits where one of the items is white, and 3) I apparently really dig those Target sandals.

Running errands.  These shorts are actually a bright royal bluish-purple color.  The only thing I could thing to wear with them was a white T.  Any suggestions?

Running errands.  And welcome back to my closet.  Another thing I could only imagine with white.  Curse my lack of creativity.

And yet another item I can only match to white. Or maybe jeans in the fall.  But I did pick this shirt up at  a killer Penney's sale.  Where I also got these booties/bootlets/shooties things for $4.97.  Score!

 

And last but not least....all decked out for dinner with a friend.  Orthodox Jewish Mexican Food and margaritas just screamed optical illusion maxi dress to me.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Ahhhhhh yeah!  It's the most wonderful time of the year....ice cream season!

I love making homemade ice cream, it is so fun to experiment with different flavors.  Plus it just tastes so much better than store bought.  And what better way to kick off the season than with the much-adored combination of chocolate and peanut butter?

This ice cream is wonderful....rich, smooth, creamy, sweet with just a hint of salt.  Seriously, delicious.  And especially easy because no cooking is required.  And of course, the chocolate chips are optional....but a little chocolate makes everything better.  Right?

So, first things first, in order to make your own ice cream, you will need an ice cream maker.  I have a relatively cheap electric  Kitchen Aid one, and it does the trick just fine.  There is no sense in shelling out for the self-freezing kind unless you plan on making batch after batch of ice cream.  In which case, please invite me over so I can sample all your wares.

Also, for this ice cream, natural peanut butter won't work.  You need the regular old shelf-type stuff.

Another note...I almost always add a little booze to my ice cream.  If this freaks you out, keep in mind that the alcohol is totally optional.  I find it keeps my ice cream from getting rock hard in the freezer.  If you don't have any or want to leave it out, totally fine.  It wont affect the flavor, the only drawback is you might have to let your ice cream sit out a bit before serving.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Makes ~1 quart

1 cup regular peanut butter, creamy or chunky

1/2 cup sugar

pinch of salt

2 tsp vanilla

2 TB rum, optional

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup chocolate chips (I prefer the mini kind), optional

1.  In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, rum, and 1 cup half-and-half with an electric mixer until cream and smooth.  Add the remaining half-and-half and the cream and beat until just combined.  Let sit in the fridge for 2 hours, or overnight, to chill.

2.  Pour the chilled mixture into your prepared ice cream maker and let it run per the manufacturer's instructions until frozen and creamy, like a soft-serve texture (about 15 minutes for mine).  Add he chocolate chips and continue to let it churn until they are mixed in, about 3 more minutes.  Store in an air-tight container in the freezer.