in Drinks 0

Cider and Cream Mocktail

My favorite fall drink this month: Apple cider (get the good stuff) Diet Cream soda (Target carries Zevia brand with no artificial sweeteners and it’s amazing. Boylan is another favorite) Mint (crush with ice before you put liquid in) Top it off with #justadash of fresh nutmeg (fresh nutmeg is definitely something you should have in your pantry this time of year-use a zester to shave it off)  

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in Breakfast, Brunch, Healthy 0

Steel Cut Oatmeal

A delicious and quick Steel cut oats (that your kids will love too): Mix unsweetened vanilla almond milk with your favorite steel cut oats in the microwave or stovetop (@courtneyzwick turned me onto Country Choice Organic which is now my favorite -it’s what they use at Jamba Juice) Mix in more almond milk to get desired consistency A dash of kosher salt Maple syrup And a little bit of butter Top with TJ pumpkin spiced pumpkin seeds 

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in Dinner, From the Sea, Side Dishes 0

Ahi Tuna Stack

I’m up to my eyeballs in Turkey, green bean casseroles, and Apple Pie, so tonight I needed a break. I devoured this in 3 minutes flat, and it’s so easy! Layer: brown rice (I love TJ frozen microwaveable bags) Avocado – with kosher salt and ground pepper Hawaiian Ahi Tuna- add sesame oil, green onion, soy sauce glaze, s&p Drizzle soy sauce glaze, you’ll want a lot!   Soy sauce glaze- boil then simmer low sodium soy sauce and sugar until it’s reduced by 3/4

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in Eat Your Veggies, Healthy, Lunch, Side Dishes 0

Tomato soup with cornbread croutons and jalapeño cream sauce

Fall food at it’s best: Tomato soup with cornbread croutons and jalapeño cream sauce and an open faced pastrami melt. Tomato soup- Roast (on the Traeger or oven) tomatoes, peppers, mirapeaux (already chopped TJ mix is the best), drizzled with EVOO and a lot of s&p. After they’re cooked through, blend roasted ingredients in a blender with a can or two of fire roasted diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, vegetable broth (if you need to thin it out) and boxed tomato soup (if you want to add more volume). I leave it slightly chunky so blend to your desired consistency.   Cornbread croutons- cube and toast store bought cornbread (freeze what you don’t use)   Jalapeño cream sauce- in a blender, combine roasted jalapeños that have been deseeded and sour cream.     Pastrami melt- toast wheat sourdough bread Layer-mustard, pastrami, low fat Swiss cheese and Trader Joes sauerkraut with Persian pickles (the best out there)

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in Chocolate Lover, Dessert, Indulge 0

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Because it’s Friday, and I’m not cooking, and so you won’t have to scroll through my whole @kristinandrus feed of my kids to find the recipe! 1 C butter- barely softened 1/2 C white sugar 1 C brown sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 3 C flour 3/4 tsp salt 3/4 tsp baking soda 10 oz really good chocolate chips *I suggest doubling the recipe and adding one bag of milk chocolate, one bag of semi sweet and some butterscotch chips if you’re feeling crazy! Cream butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla together really well. Add flour, salt, baking soda to creamed mixture and blend together only until combined (don’t overbeat). Hand stir chocolate chips into dough. Put balls of dough onto baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 7 to 9 minutes. They are done when starting to get golden brown on the outside but still pretty gooey on the inside. (My secret to the gooey inside, is to refrigerate the balls of dough before they go in the oven).  

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in Dinner 0

Lasagna

First a tip, then the lasagna recipe. When you’re in the mood for…. Lasagna or whatever it is you’re thinking about cooking, look up at least 5 recipes so you get an idea of the ingredients, how it’s prepped, and the end result. Don’t worry about following any one recipe exactly just gather the gist of how the dish works, and make it your own. This helps if you don’t have all the exact ingredients and will help you become a more creative, confident cook! sauté EVOO, onion, and garlic until it softens add any kind of ground meat you like (extra lean hamburger, chicken, and turkey all work great.) Stir in mushrooms and fish cooking. Add at least one to two bottles of your favorite pasta sauce (I love Rao brand). Make sure it’s pretty soupy so that once again you have moist lasagna. In another bowl combine, ricotta cheese, an egg, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, frozen chopped spinach that has been thawed and drained, basil, oregano, s&p. Start by layering red sauce on the bottom of the dish,…

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