Smoothie Queen

I am on a serious smoothie kick right now. And I blame it on my Grandma. You see, my sweet Grandma Shirlee bought me an immersion (or hand) blender for Christmas. It was arguably one of my very favorite gifts (1) because it was unexpected & (2) because I'd secretly been wanting one for my kitchen. Grandma = generous mind-reader.

This hand blender is a game-changer. Besides being able to blend soups in a jiffy (& if you've ever tried to do that in batches in a regular blender you know how messy/time-consuming/annoying it can be), it also can be used as a mini-food processor, electric wisk, chopper, & most importantly ... single-serving smoothie/shake blender! I rarely made smoothies in our regular blender because there were too many parts to wash & often I couldn't get all the good stuff out of the bottom of the blender. With my new blender, I can make the smoothie in the same cup I drink it out of & I only have one part to wash.

While I'm gushing about my new favorite gadget & treat, I have to let you in on a new smoothie secret of mine: throw some vegetables in your otherwise fruity smoothie. I'm telling you, it's an amazing way to pump up the nutritional content, get some extra vitamins & supplement an otherwise fruity, sugary, blended drink.

My favorites? Carrots & spinach. If you're thinking, "YUCK, no way jose"... I'll challenge you to give this little recipe a try & tell me if you can taste the veggies. I'll bet you can't!

Suz's Go-To Smoothie
Mix the following in your blender. Note that I'm not specifying measurements because that's not how I roll. I just eye ball & adjust if it's to thick/thin for my taste. It's how I live on the wild side.

• Vanilla or fruit-flavored low-fat yogurt (I'm not a fan of non-fat yogurt, but you could certainly use that)
• Frozen berries (I stock up on the big bags at Target when they go on sale -- note that you can buy frozen fruit in a sugary syrup, but you definitely don't want this. Just the regular frozen whole fruit will do.)
• 1/2 a banana
• A couple handfuls of baby spinach (I'm getting more & more adventurous & adding a lot more every time I make a smoothie. So far, I can't taste it!)
• Milk or Juice (I usually go with OJ)

Enjoy! I've also made this carrot smoothie a few times. I substitute frozen peaches or mango for the pineapple (it makes my tummy upset). Definitely has a bit of a carrot consistency so you know it's there, but it's still delish. Try it!

Matt used to have the reputation of smoothie king in our household. In fact, we've had overnight guests specially request a Matt-McA-smoothie. Move over, Matt...there's a new smoothie queen in the house.

[Photos from Real Simple (a.k.a. my favorite magazine). I can't be bothered to take a picture after I make myself a smoothie, I dig in too quickly! Also, I've gotta give credit where credit is due. The January issue of Real Simple prompted me to try throwing some veggies in my smoothies. You can check out all of their smoothie recipes here... just enter "smoothie" in the search box.]

Photo of the Week: From the Fall Archives

I found this winner while I was transferring photos from my hard drive to Smugmug. I was on a cupcake kick for awhile & Matt snapped a series of photos one fall afternoon while I made yummy caramel apple cupcakes (which actually tasted more like muffins...but they were still delicious).

Look at that yummy caramel. Please. Take me back to fall.

This is proof that I'm not always the one behind the camera! And proof that Matt knows what he's doing!

We actually made way too much caramel, but we managed to find another use for it.

Want the recipe for caramel apple cupcakes? You can find it here, although I'd strongly recommend trying the sour cream raspberry cupcakes first. Divine.

Feels (& Tastes) Like Fall!

Gorgeous fall bouquet courtesy of Nicole!

It's finally cooled off in North Carolina & it's feeling like fall around our home. Despite my efforts to inject a little autumn in our house decor-wise, I think it's the fresh, crisp air that's doing the trick.

I have put up my pumpkins, lit my apple-spice candle, changed our table up a bit, switched out some of rotating photographs with fall photos I took in Oak Park with my old point & shoot (I'm hoping to replace a few of them with some new shots since my equipment & skills have improved), & even found a new home for some gorgeous flowers my best friend Nicole gave me.

Nicole was in a wedding the past weekend in the Triangle so while she, Carson & Liam celebrated (& Matt worked all day), I hung with Wrigley, their adorable, loveable, goofy goldendoodle. As a "thank you" for taking care of Wrigs & letting them crash at our place (not that it was necessary at all) she gave me her stunning bridesmaids bouquet. I popped in in a mason jar & I've been enjoying it all week. Thanks, friend! It's my favorite bit of fall in the whole house.

I've also pulled out some of my favorite fall recipes & added a few new ones to my repertoire.  This Sunday, our house looked like a disaster zone as experimented with a new soup, made my favorite fall cookies, & whipped up a delicious loaf of bread. If you're interested in the recipes... check 'em out below! But first... the mess:

Our kitchen = disaster this Sunday. Totally worth it! Lots of tasty treats in the making!!!

Let's start with the good stuff... dessert first:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe courtesy of: The fabulous Liz Fay
Occasion: Early birthday treat for Nicole. Unfortunately, I made the dough early in the day, popped it in the fridge & then forgot to bake 'em for her before she left to go back to Winston. Luckily, we had another birthday girl this weekend (happy birthday, Ashley!) so she got to enjoy!
Verdict: These are kind of bread-like cookies. Don't be alarmed. They are delicious. Kind of taste like chocolate chip pumpkin muffin tops. Yummmm....

1. Cream: 1 c. butter & 2/3 c. sugar 
2. Beat in: 1 egg & 1 t. vanilla
3. Blend in: 1 c. pumpkin (the pie filling variety), 1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. salt
4. Mix in a separate bowl: 2 c. flour, 1 t. baking soda, 1 t baking powder
5. Add: dry ingredients to the wet ingredients
6. Stir in: 1 c. chocolate chip chips
7. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet (I prefer to line my baking sheets with parchment for easy peasy clean up)
8. Bake at 37 for 12-15 minutes
9. Enjoy!

I cannot resist squash at the grocery store in the fall so I picked up a butternut squash & scoured my cookbooks for a soup recipe. I love to make soups so as soon as the weather turned... I was ready to go. I've never made (or had for that matter) this soup, so it was a true experiment!
 
Butternut Apple Soup
Recipe courtesy of: The Junior League Centennial Cookbook (a gift from a bridal shower... so many delicious recipes!)
Verdict: I had no idea what to expect with this one, & I have to admit I was a little turned off by the baby food consistency of the final product. Night #1 Matt & I felt so-so about it, but the recipe said to prepare a couple days in advance & it did improve over time! Also, night #1 I garnished with heavy cream (recommended in the recipe) which didn't really do it for me. Night #2, I topped it with shredded sharp white cheddar & the salty really help balance out the sweet. Bottom line: This would be a great soup to serve at brunch or lunch with a tossed salad & loaf of bread (that's how we enjoyed it for dinner)....
Note: I doubled the recipe because I had tons of squash. When I chopped up my squash I had about 8 cups. I froze half of the diced squash & used the rest in the soup. The recipe below is not the doubled version.

Ingredients:

• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 T butter
• 2 c diced butternut squash
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled & chopped (any variety would probably do - I didn't really taste the apple & I had 2 in my batch)
• 3 T all-purpose flour
• 1 to 2 t curry powder (start with less....especially if you don't cook with curry normally...)
• Pinch of grated nutmeg
• 3 c. chicken broth
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• Grated rind & juice of 1 orange (The orange was very prominent. I might not squeeze 'em to death or use the zest of the entire orange next time around).
• Salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar to taste
• Chopped parsley and heavy cream for garnish (I would recommend grated sharp white cheddar)

Directions:  In a large saucepan, saute the onions in butter about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the squash & apple. Saute until the butter is absorbed, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the flour, curry powder & nutmeg. Cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, milk, & the orange rind & juice. Simmer slowly uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Puree the soup in a blender or food processor (note: you'll need to let the soup cool down a bit before putting in your blender). Add salt, pepper, & sugar. Serve hot, topped with a dollap o cream a sprinkling of parsley or (the Suz variety) grated sharp white cheddar.

Note: This soup improves with keeping. Prepare a day or two in advance if time allows. Keep refrigerated.

I went for a search through my cookbooks for a yummy bread to enjoy with our butternut-apple soup. Found a winner below...

Fresh Apple-Nut Bread
Recipe courtesy of: Kay Y. I was her flower girl back in the day, & when she came to my bridal shower 3+ years ago, she photocopied an entire cookbook of favorite recipes. How sweet is she?!?
Verdict: Way yummy. Matt thought it tasted like banana bread. I'm wondering what he did with his taste buds. Yes, the bread was dense & sweet like banana bread, plus it had walnuts, but after that, the main flavor was completely different. Oh well! Delicious either way! We enjoyed it with our butternut squash soup!

1. Cream: 1/4 c. butter & 1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
2. Add: 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
3. Combine: 2 c. flour, 1 t. baking soda, 1/4 t. salt, 1/2 t. lemon zest, 1 t. ground cinnamon, 1/4 t. ground nutmeg & 1 large apple, pared, cored & grated (about one cup)
4. Add: to creamed mixture, alternatively with  1/2 c. buttermilk, beginning & ending with flour mixture.
5. Stir in: 3/4 c. chopped walnuts
6. Pour batter into a greased & floured loafpan. Bake at 350 for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; remove & cool on a wire rack. Makes one loaf. 

Lastly, a favorite quick & easy dinner....

Quick Beef Bourguignonne
Recipe courtesy of: Real Simple. I tore this "Fake It, Don't Make It!" recipe out of my all-time favorite mag a couple years ago & it is always a hit at our house. Plus it's super quick!
Verdict: What's not to love! The only tricky part can be tracking down mini pearl onions & golden mushroom soup (I've found that they're hard to find at big superstores - aka Super Target - & require a trip to a traditional grocery store).
Recipe: Click here to go straight to Real Simple. Print & enjoy!

What are your favorite fall recipes????

Fall in the McA home. Warm & cozy.

Tasty Summer Treat: Peach Upside Down Cake

I whipped up one of our favorite summertime desserts tonight & it's such a beauty (not to mention super-tasty), I just had to share! This one is courtesy of Real Simple, my all-time favorite magazine. I took the liberty of switching out the plums in favor of peaches (Matt's not a huge plum fan), & it is the perfect summer cake. Think peach pie topped (or bottomed, actually) with pound cake. Serve it a la mode & enjoy!

Peach Upside Down Cake

 
are...

you...

hungry

yet??

Well then let's get cooking baking! Here's what you'll need: 

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 T butter, plus extra for the pan, at room temp
• 4 firm, ripe peaches, cut into wedges
• 1/4 cup plus 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 t baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 c sour cream
• 1 t pure vanilla extract

Here's how you do it:

1. Preheat oven to 350degrees. Butter an 8 inch cake pan & line the bottom with parchment paper. Suznote: I don't have an 8" pan, so I use my 9" and it still works out beautifully. The cake's just a little 'thinner.'
2. Melt 1 T of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peaches and 1/4 cup of the sugar and cook, tossing, until the sugar dissolves and the juices from the peaches become syrupy, 3 to 5 minutes. Arrange the peaches in the cake pan in slightly overlapping concentric circles, starting from the outside. Spoon any pan juices over the top.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt.
4. With an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup of butter and 2/3 cup of sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, sour cream & vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.
5. Pour the batter over the peaches & bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-55 minutes (or 40 minutes in the case of our whack oven). Let cool in the pan for 1 hour. Place a large plate over the cake pan and invert the cake onto the plate. Remove the parchment paper. Suznote: I've found that the batter really isn't 'pourable' & I am a perfectionist obsessive & I'm afraid of messing up my perfect concentric circles, so I just blob it on (that's a technical term) & then carefully spread.
6. Serve a la mode with vanilla ice cream!!!! Yummmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's what it looks like as it comes together:

(Can you tell I'm proud of my concentric circles...I took about 100 photos of this stage and neglected pretty much every other step of the process!)

What are your favorite summer desserts?

You're Gonna Wanna Eat This: Blueberry Chicken Salad

You can tell how much I love this recipe by the fact that I took a big bite before I remembered to grab my camera & take a picture to share with y'all. This photo was actually taken on leftover night, because the first night we ate this for dinner, Matt & I couldn't waste a minute before we dug in.

This is one of my favorite recipes from Momma Mac: Blueberry Chicken Salad. Yum-o. It's the perfect summer salad. Fresh & easy. Doesn't require you to turn on the stove or oven, keeping your kitchen cool in the summer months.... Plus it's good for you! As a side note, Matt & I aren't really wild about salad dressings. We usually eat plain old salads.... however, we both LOVE this dressing. It's light and yummy & really 'makes' the salad.

Here's how you make it.

Momma Mac's Blueberry Chicken Salad

The day before... Matt usually grills up some chicken the night before (4-6 boneless skinless breasts, depending on how many adults you want to feed) & then we refrigerate it overnight. The recipe calls for one whole roasted chicken, but we like the grilled flavor & I'm all for keeping the heat outside of the kitchen in the summer. You could roast, poach or grill your chicken. Whatever your pleasure.

Night of... I like to start with the dressing. Why? Because I hate to do dishes so by starting with the dressing, I can whip it up in a large bowl & then add all of the salad ingredients into that same bowl & toss.

Dressing... Whisk together...

• 2t Dijon mustard (I actually hate mustard, but I love this dressing so I make an exception)
• 2T minced shallot or red onion
• 2T honey
• 3T freshly squeeze lime juice (2 limes would probably be all you need to buy- I always over-do the lime & use 3)
• 1t salt
• 1/2t pepper
• 1T minced fresh rosemary leaves (we grow it in our herb garden!)

Slowly whisk in to make an emulsion:

• 1/4 c. olive oil

Add to the big bowl & toss...

• 1 roasted chicken torn into bite sized pieces (about 6 cups). Like I mentioned above, I use 4-6 grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 per adult serving), cut into bite sized pieces.
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, cut into bite sized pieces (I toss with fresh lemon or lime juice before adding to the bowl if I know that we're going to eat it for a couple of nights to prevent browning)
• 1 1/2 cups green grapes, sliced in 1/2
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh & cleaned (don't use frozen blueberries if you don't want blue chicken. I'm sure it doesn't change the flavor, but it might make you say ewwww)
• 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped  - I used almonds b/c I had them on hand
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese - I used feta b/c I had it on hand*
• *Alternatively, we've marinated the chicken w/ blue cheese vinaigrette before grilling & you still get the blue cheese flavor!

 Best served....

• Over a bed of baby greens with warm bread! 
• I find it better not to toss the greens in the bowl with the fixins because who likes soggy lettuce? Then you can eat it next day & still tastes fresh & delicious!

Look who loves blueberry chicken salad...

(Matt's mouth was full...but he was trying to say "This is great!") 

 Make this for dinner tonight! You won't regret it!