Chia Seed Breakfast Pudding

Lately I have become bored with my breakfast routine...greek yogurt and granola...or English muffin and peanut butter... after a while I just crave something different. Do you? I scoured my favorite websites for breakfast recipes that I could incorporate what I already have in my fridge into something different, tasty, and healthy! This recipe seriously tastes like dessert...I promise you that when you eat this heavenly pudding your taste buds and body will thank you later! For this recipe you will need

1 cup PLAIN greek yogurt
2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup( pref. grade B) but whatever you have on hand doesn't matter.
one teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup chia seeds *** chia seeds are extremely healthy for you they are known to lower blood pressure, full of fiber and Omega 3, and have tons of antioxidants :)
a handful of freshly washed blueberries and rasberries
1/4 cup of sliced almonds, toasted OR blanched-plain


Directions:
** I like to make a big batch of the pudding so I tend to get a big bowl with a lid and just keep it in the fridge until ready to eat.

In a bowl whisk together the Greek yogurt and almond milk until smooth
then add the maple syrup, vanilla extract, and chia seeds.
cover bowl and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning add the handful of fresh berries as well as the sliced almonds ( I also add a touch more maple syrup)
Enjoy!

Stripe Obsession Confession

I cannot stop wearing stripes. I don't know what it is.. everything striped is so cute to me right now!! The mixing and matching of stripes..the color coordinating of stripes.. the wearing striped shirts..to solid shirts with  striped tanks underneath with a mixy striped scarf. It's my thing right now and I don't care. Its my bod and I'll stripe if I want to. I was going through my OOTD  pics and realized..I might just be a little obsessed with stripes. :)

Turkey and Sweet Potato Shepard's Pie!

I did not post any recipes last week due to the fact that I could not stop vomiting enough to pick up a spatula and cook book bleh!! TMI sorry. We have had a yucky stomach bug floating around here and it landed on me. Needless to say..you are never to old for your mom when you are sick..and Brandon is not a good mom substitute. Onto more appetizing things!!


It has been such crazy bi-polar weather here in Texas that just as I am getting all ready for my Spring recipes and outfits.. winter appears leaving me hungry for comfort food and staying in my sweats. Since we have been on a health kick here lately I decided that whatever dish I made I wanted to tweak it and add healthier substitutes. That is the beauty of cooking.. its your creation!!! I love looking at old school southern recipes that are normally super fattening and tweaking them just enough that it still tastes like the same ole' good cookin'..except healthier. Here is my twist on Shepard's Pie. You will need:

Ingredients:

four sweet potatos: peeled and cubed
one ripened banana
two lbs of turkey( you can modify and just do 1 lb..I like to cook for leftovers)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup frozen peas
Salt and fresh ground pepper
one package brown gravy mix ( or you can make your own-I save time and do the quickie version)
4 tablespoons butter
two cups shredded sharp yellow cheese

Directions:
Pre heat oven to 425 degrees
In a deep Dutch oven cover your potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Boil them until tender and then rinse and return to the pot. Then add your banana and mash together until mixed well. Add salt and pepper and butter to your taste and even a little dash of hot sauce.

While your potatoes are boiling you can grab a skillet and pour a dash of EVOO and crumble your meat along with the onions and brown them. Once browned then add the celery, carrots, and peas mix well until the veggies are TENDER.

Once the meat mixture is done pour into a casserole dish ( I use 9 by 12 but it doesn't matter) then add the cheese on top of the meat mixture and lastly pour the potato mixture over the meat and cheese and spread smooth. Pop into the oven until the cheese has melted!
YUM AND HEALTHY!

Inspiration.

I am always so inspired by beautiful writing. I absolutely love reading blogs or books where words just capture my senses and make me feel like I am living and breathing an author's story. As many books as I delve into each summer or read while staying up late in my office I can say with a full heart that there is not a story on my bookshelf that houses more beautiful imagery or truth than the word of my savior. As I was reading my morning devotional these beautiful words struck me and I am just in awe of what a beautiful author Jesus really is. Through his death he wrote our story and because of him we can use our stories to inspire. I was inspired this morning by these words;
 " By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his
 mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars, he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm"

I don't have any followers(except my mom..thanks mom!) but just maybe one day I will inspire someone to cook something they never would have thought to make for their family. Thank you Jesus for being such an inspiration to us all!

Weekend Happenings in the SA!

This weekend went by way to fast maybe because it was so nice and relaxing! I just love a weekend :) Brandon's parents came to visit the house for the first time so we enjoyed the past two days shopping, cooking, coffee drinking, and fixing things. See, my father in law is kind of the ultimate Mr. Fix it. A leaky faucet, a running toilet, and hanging T.V. cords that need to be drilled and dropped into a wall are a few chores problems  EASY FIXERS that just put a little more pep in his step. The desire just sparks inside of him and then the glorious words seep out of his mouth " I'll fix that!!" Its kind of a dream and its even more awesome that he LOVES to do these things..its not a chore.. its a passion!! Sadly however that super jean that did not exactly find its way to my husbands DNA.  So anytime Doug comes to visit our house feels pretty much like brand new!!! This weekend we spent some time at La Cantera and The Quarry.. pretty much my homes away from home:)  but the best part about the whole trip was that Doug The Fixer fixed up my pretty homely cabinets with some new cabinet handles and made them sparkle and shine!!!

 

Us before our big day of shopping :)

 

My new MK glasses from my man!

 

fixing at its finest

 

They look pretty!!!!!!

 

Church day on Sunday :)

Jalepeno Popper stuffed Snapper with Orange Marmalade Sauce

So you can probably figure by my last post and now this one that I am kind of obsessed with snapper. Even better than that, I am kind of obsessed with awesome neighbors who share their fresh caught snapper with this girl and her husband!! WHOO!! It's SO good. The contrast between the jalapeño and marmalade are the perfect combo of sweet and spicy!  Every Sunday I make a big Sunday dinner for Brandon and myself and usually our next door neighbors or whatever friends we invite over.. my kitchen is literally always open!!! This Sunday I was looking for something to make that was interesting and different but I was craving fish! So when my friend gave me this recipe I had to have some. It was devoured in minutes. WINNING. For this appetizer recipe you will need the following:

two filets of snapper ( you can also use any firm clean white fish of your preference EXCEPT TILAPIA)
oyster sauce
orange marmalade
soy sauce
candied jalapeños (or sweet and spicy ones)
WHIPPED cream cheese

Directions:

Horizontally slit your fish all the way down without cutting through the skin ( kind of like making little pockets..make sense?)
next slice your jalepenos into slivers( make sure you slit them to where they can be lenghthy and fit into the slots)
pour a little juice from the peppers over the fish to juice it up and give it some spicy flavor!
then spread the fish with cream cheese
*
in a bowl mix together 1/4 cup marm.
1/4 cup oyster sauce
two table spoons soy

and finally pour the marmalade mixture over the fish

bake at 375 for 20 minutes

the fish will flake and you can serve with crackers..DELISH

Snapper Tacos & creamy cilantro sauce

The weather has been so beautiful in San Antonio lately so I was inspired to make one of my favorite summer dishes. Normally all through the summer we are at my family beach house just lounging around and fishing or laying out. My dad always catches fresh fish and shrimp and makes the best tacos! Lucky for us our next door neighbor recently came back from a successful fishing trip with some FRESH snapper!!!! Even better then that news was that they shared some with us!!!!!

I make fish tacos of all different kinds however my favorite are snapper. If you don't have an ocean in your backyard to catch fresh delicious snapper from you can just go get some tilapia, halibut, or mahi mahi- these all make great tacos.

For the cilantro sauce you will need:

bunch of cilantro
8 oz of cream cheese
16 oz of  sour cream
one jalapeno pepper-(diced and seeded)-unless you like super spicy
two packets of the hidden valley ranch seasoning

place all of the ingredients in a food processer and process away!!!!!

It will look something like this

 

 

 

 

Next

 

 

Pico de gallo ( I really hope I am spelling * GIYO right)

 

one large tomato-chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion 

small bunch of cilantro chopped

2-3 limes juiced

salt/pep

jalapeño pepper-optional

 

place ingredients in a shallow bowl and squeeze the lime juice over then place in the refrigerator so it can marinade while you cook the rest of your dinner

 

*** I also make a small bowl of guacamole but will not include the recipe since everyone has their own way of making it

 

SNAPPER TACO TIME:

 

two large snapper filets or any fish of your choice

Seasoned with salt, pepper, and either lemon pepper or a seafood rub

Juice of one large lemon

pre cut cabbage for the tacos

Bake in the oven at 375 for 13 minutes OR my personal favorite is to grill them on the grill either or works great

 once the fish is cooked and flaky take it out of the oven and place on some delicious homemade corn tortillas and top with the pico, cilantro sauce, cabbage, and guacamole!

 

TADA!!!!

 

Oh and a beach pic..because I am really missing the beach right now

 

 

DELICIOUS!