Layered Vegetable Dish (Vegetable Tian)

Layered Vegetable Dish

(Aka Vegetable Tian)

Get ready for a delicious, healthy, garlicky, veggie dish that would be a perfect entrée or side dish to roasted chicken or chicken sausage. This also makes a ton, it fed my husband and I for about 6 meals. I put some leftovers on a bed of spinach for lunch, so you got some options!

Feel free to add any herbs or spices that fit your fancy, however, if I do say so myself, the garlic and thyme make a pretty good match.

Recipe inspiration from good ole' Pinterest: Vegetable Tian 

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion (finely diced)

1 tsp minced garlic (minced)

2 medium zucchinis

2 medium yellow squash

2 medium potatoes

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 medium tomato

1 tsp dried thyme

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup parmesan or romano cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add olive oil to your skillet. Once hot, add diced onion and minced garlic. Sauté until softened (about five minutes).
2. Meanwhile, start thinly slicing the rest of the vegetables (zucchini, squash, potatoes and tomato)
3. Spray the inside of a 9x12in baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.
4. Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with both cheeses and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

YUM! Enjoy!

White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

These are the perfect treat to get you in the mood for the holidays! They look festive, too! I would also suggest dipping them in chocolate halfway for a little extra sweetness. 

HAPPY BAKING AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2 cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup white chocolate chips

2/3 cup crushed candy canes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheet with olive or coconut oil spray.

2. Combine flours, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. Cream butter, coconut oil and sugars together until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Stir in the white chocolate chips and candy canes.

4. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough on prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool completely.

ENJOY!

Full Body Interval Workout

30 Second Interval Full Body Workout

Quick, easy, AWESOME.

RAWR, just kidding, this isn’t scary! I call it the 30 second Interval Full Body workout (Super original huh! Haha). Now, don't get too excited because that doesn't mean the workout is 30 seconds, BUT, you'll watch the clock and do each exercise for 30 seconds without a break in between. Then get a quick sip of water and do it again.....and then one more time for a total of 3 sets!

I love fast workouts because not everyone has a lot of time in the day to fit it in, BUT it is the best thing we can do for our bodies, in addition to eating healthy. Let's take care of ourselves, especially during the holiday season when we inevitably will be baking, cooking and eating more than normal.....which is so fun, but with a healthy balance.

You'll need:
Yoga Mat
Bench or chair
Exercise Ball

Ready Set GO!

Quick warm-up:
30 jumping jacks
30 high knees
30 butt kickers
30 opposite elbow to opposite knee

WORKOUT: 30 seconds each - no rest!

1.     Fast Squats

2.     Hip Raises (feet on chair or bench)

3.     Tricep Dips (on bench or chair)

4.     Curtsy lunges (or regular lunges - in place alternating legs)

5.     On all fours - right leg pulse towards ceiling

6.     Left leg pulses towards ceiling

7.     Plank

8.     Crunches with opposite leg pull

9.     Fast Russian Twist (legs off the ground)

Total time including warm-up and short break in between sets (~18 minutes). 

YOU CAN DO IT! 

Apple Pumpkin Bread

Apple Pumpkin Bread

I was SO happy with how this turned out! This bread is full of healthy ingredients making this a great option to make for breakfast or as a snack/dessert since there are chocolate chips in the recipe! You might have already noticed, but I believe all of my baking recipes have chocolate in them, it's a must! 

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup  brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
• 1/4 cup  vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup walnuts or pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamonuts pumpkin pie spice and salt together until combined. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, applesauce, yogurt, vanilla, and brown sugar together until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil, and apple cider. Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. There will be a few lumps. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 60 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be done before or after 60 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes at the 50 minute mark or so.

Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing and slicing. The bread will stay fresh in an airtight container.

Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

TO DO: Make these this week!

Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These might look a little scary with the green poking out of the cookies, BUT no joke, you get the taste of a normal yummy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, BUT with the nutrition of delicious zucchini! These were such a wonderful surprise with how good they turned out :)

Inspiration from: cookingclassy.com

HAPPY BAKING!

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (softened)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 medium zucchinis (shredded) 
• 1 cup quick oats
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flours, cinnamon, baking soda and salt, set aside.
• In the bowl, whip together (with an electric mixer)  coconut oil, granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Mix in egg and vanilla extract, then fold in shredded zucchini. 
• With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in flour mixture. Stir in oats, walnuts and chocolate chips with a spatula.
• Shape dough into balls, 2 Tbsp each, then transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet (I rubbed a tiny bit of coconut oil on them), spacing cookies 2-inches apart. Bake in preheated oven for about 12 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

THEN, eat up! :)

CREAMY BUTTERNUT SQUASH PASTA

CREAMY BUTTERNUT SQUASH PASTA 

 This was the perfect Saturday night dinner! Then we ate it and realized it was the perfect anytime dinner because it was that good! With recipe inspiration from www.cookiemonstercooking.com, I made some fun changes to the original recipe with more veggies and other fun flavors.

This was super yummy and flavorful, and also very filling, so this recipe would serve at least 4 hungry people.

HAPPY COOKING!

INGREDIENTS

16 ounces whole wheat pasta shells or spirals

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 large carrot, peeled and chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1 /2 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped

3 cups chopped kale (without stems)

1 ½ cups butternut squash puree (homemade or store-bought)

1/2 mashed up ripe avocado (could do a whole one for a creamier flavor!)

1 cup 2% milk

½ cup low-sodium vegetable broth

1 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon sage

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or your favorite cheese!)

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

⅓ cup toasted walnuts or pecans, finely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

1 Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2 Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add in the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

3 Meanwhile, set a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add in the olive oil. When hot, add in the onion and cook for about 2 minutes, until it starts to soften. Add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add in the carrot and bell pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until tender. Add in the kale and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, until bright green and slightly wilted.

4 Add in the butternut squash puree, milk, vegetable broth, rosemary, sage, and salt and pepper. Mix until combined then bring the mixture to a gentle simmer (increasing the heat slightly). Let the mixture simmer gently for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring fairly often, until it thickens up a bit, but still pretty saucy. Turn off the heat. Add in the drained pasta and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Mix until combined. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese, parmesan and walnuts.

5 Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes (no lid), until the cheese is nice and melted. 

NOTE:

If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, proceed as directed above and then transfer the everything to a 9x13 baking dish and then top with the remaining shredded cheese and walnuts. Bake as directed. :)

Vanilla Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vanilla Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I can't seem to get enough of PUMPKIN these days AND vanilla pudding mix was so fun to add because the flavors fit perfect together. They are so soft and so tasty and this recipe makes a TON, so bake for a party or something fun this season!

They do have butter and brown sugar (and pudding mix, but it was just too good not to add)! I did, however, trade out some of the bad ingredients with better ingredients (greek yogurt, honey, whole wheat flour, etc) from the original recipe, so you can at least get some health benefits from this treat!
Recipe inspiration from: www.picky-palate.com

If you really want to take out the butter, you could try substituting that for applesauce, just skip step #2 with melting the butter. Be adventurous if you'd like, but below was my tried and true recipe for a delicious vanilla pumpkin bite!

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter

12 oz. (two of the 6 oz. cups) plain greek yogurt

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 4.6 oz. box instant vanilla pudding mix

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 generous cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

- Place butter into a small saucepan over medium heat. Let melt and bubble until browned. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes. 

- Place browned butter, honey, and sugar into a stand mixer or bowl with hand mixer. Beat until well combined. 

- Add pumpkin, eggs and vanilla, mixing until combined. Add flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips and nuts. Beat until just combined.

- Make dough into tablespoon size balls and place onto prepared baking sheet 1 inch apart. 

- Bake for 12-14 minutes, until baked through. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring. 

- SHARE and EAT! 

Makes 4-5 dozen cookies

HAPPY BAKING!