Limonchello

This christmas I decided to make Limonchello to give as presents to family and friends. For those of you who don't know, limonchello is an alcoholic dessert which is to be chilled and sipped. We made a 3 batches of this recipe (yes...which meant I had to sit there and carefully zest 60 lemons total). My sister was visiting santa barbara and was able to help me cook and bottle all 16 of them. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
20 lemons (secret ingredient: Meyer lemons)
2 bottles (750 ml) 100-proof vodka
4 cups sugar
5 cups water

Banana, Walnut, and Apricot Jam Waffles

I’ve been on a low calorie diet since summer but I made waffles with my boyfriend one morning as a celebration for losing 10 pounds. I was also celebrating staying on my diet through Halloween…we don’t get trick or treaters here but I was really tempted to still buy a bag of reeces pieces and devour them! This recipe makes about 6 waffles (this might be off from what you get because I have a tiny little waffle machine). There are different ways to go about making this, but through some quick googling, I found that the best way it so mush up the bananas rather than cooking them into the waffle as slices. The walnut and jam is obviously optional (I just happened to have them in stock). Feel free to make your own combinations with syrup or almonds or other fresh fruit. Hope you find this as delicious as we did!

Ingredients:

1 and ¼ cups all purpose flour

3 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Pinch of cinnamon

1 cup milk

1 egg

2 bananas

Sausage (optional)

Apricot jam (optional)

Walnuts (optional)

Balsamic Kale with Caramelized Onions

About 3 months ago I discovered kale and how amazingly healthy (and yummy) it is. I’ve gotten kale in the past and made kale chips (hmm I should remember to take out the camera next time I do this) but I wanted to try something new. When I was wandering around the store earlier I got some balsamic herb marinade and made some really good chicken (again I’ve been failing with the camera!). I only used half the bottle so I had plenty for this recipe. I also had onions so this recipe was perfect for tonight (plus I absolutely LOVE the taste and smell of caramelized onions). This recipe made enough for one person and took about a half hour to cook. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

1 bunch of kale

½ a yellow onion

A splash of balsamic vinegar (or balsamic marinade in my case)

4 tsp. olive oil

Pinch of Sugar (optional)

Pinch of Salt (optional)

Almond Milk Hot Chocolate

So this is definitely the easiest recipe I have on here but its so yummy and so quick and so healthy I just had to share it! Where I live, its starting to get rainy and yesterday I found the perfect cold weather drink! Once you buy the ingredients, it literally takes 2 minutes to make and it always fills me up, so its a great healthy snack. It seems silly to put this recipe on here since its pretty obvious how to make, but I wanted to show the pictures so you can buy the same brands and have the same yummy taste!

Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk (I used the sweetened/original flavor which only has 60 calories a cup, there is also a 40 calorie version)
2 tbsp. sugar free chocolate syrup (0 calories and 0 carbs)

Recipe:
Pour one cup of almond milk into a mug (I used 1.5 cups since my mug was big). Heat up the milk in the microwave for 1 and a 1/2 minutes and stir in 2 tbsp chocolate syrup. Feel free to cover with whipped cream or add peppermint syrup! Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash With Garlic and Parmesan

In order to stay healthy, I've tried to avoid calorie heavy foods such as my favorite meal of spaghetti. I want to share this little secret with you of how to substitute that great taste with squash! Be aware that the texture of the spaghetti squash is rather crunchy instead of soft like a noodle. Feel free to experiment with different cooking times and spices. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash (carried by Albertsons)
Pam or Olive Oil
garlic powder (optional)
Italian spices blend (optional)
Spaghetti Sauce (any jar, I look for low calorie choices)
Parmesan cheese (I chose reduced fat)
butter (optional)

Chicken Fajitas

I've been recently trying to eat healthier, since next month is Halloween and as you may or may not know, Halloween (meaning dressing on the scandalous side) is a big deal at UCSB. Grilled chicken is always a healthy option, especially with some yummy red peppers, onions, and low-cal tortillas. This recipe made about 5 fajitas (enough  for two people). Enjoy!


Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow onion
vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 3/4 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
tortillas (I used five 5-inch wheat tortillas)
sour cream (or 0% fat plain greek yogurt to be healthy!)
lemon juice (optional)

Baked Potato and Sauteed Lemon-Garlic Asparagus

I've been recently trying to eat more veggies so I decided to try out an asparagus recipe! We also had some left over potatoes so I decided to cook this yummy meal. This recipe is for 2 people. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
2 potatoes
1 bunch of asparagus (I used about 15 stalks)
olive oil
sea salt
minced garlic (either 3 cloves or 1.5 tsp)
sour cream (or 0% fat plain greek yogurt to be more healthy!)
lemon juice (optional)
cheese (optional)
pepper (optional)

Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry

I've come to the realization that I mainly only have recipes on here of assorted desserts and breads, but that is about to change. I made this recipe a while ago, but I just had finals and had to deal with moving apartments and so it's been really hard to sit down and update this blog. Enjoy the recipe!


Ingredients:
1 frozen bag of green beans or broccoli
1 sweet/yellow onion
3 raw chicken breasts
1 bottle of sauce (can be teriyaki, or curry, etc-- we used a sauce found at our local market)
1 cup of brown rice

Chocolate Chip-Walnut Banana Bread/Muffins

I decided to make two batches of this recipe, and split the batter between a bread pan and a muffin pan. I grabbed a ton of ingredients at the store and wanted to mix and match each batch. In the bread pan batch I added chocolate chips and walnuts, while in the muffin batch I added chocolate chips, walnuts, and sweetened coconut flakes. In my personal opinion I looove coconut so I thought the muffins came out the best! The ingredients below are measured out for one batch (about 10 muffins).


Ingredients:
4 Bananas
1/3 cup melted butter 
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp.vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
mini bag of walnut pieces, chocolate chips, or sweetened coconut flakes (all optional)

Cinnamon Graham-Apple Crisp

I've gotten in the habit of always grabbing a box of graham crackers at the grocery store to dip into milk (yum), and this time I wanted to do something new with the graham crackers! This recipe is on the back of the box and I happened to have the right ingredients so I went for it. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
3 apples (I used Granny Smith)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup flour
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 stick butter
8 cinnamon graham crackers (there are 8 together in clear wrapping within the box)
vanilla ice cream (optional but highly recommended)

Oatmeal Cookies!

I bought a huge container of Quaker Oats and wasn't eating nearly enough oatmeal cereal to even make a dent in it...so I decided to make some oatmeal cookies! I got this recipe off of the bottom of the Quaker Oats lid and I only made half of the original recipe. Below is my version. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
1 stick butter (its easier to mix if you put the butter in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften it)
1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 
3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)
1 and 1/2 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned--I used the quick kind)

Ice Cream Cake!

This past weekend was my boyfriends birthday so I decided to make him an ice cream cake! His favorite ice cream flavor is Reese's peanut butter so he naturally voted for that. Enjoy! 


Ingredients: 
any flavor of cake mix (he decided on yellow cake)
1/3 cup of cooking oil
3 eggs 
1 cup water
1 quart ice cream
any flavor of frosting (I chose milk chocolate)

French Toast

This Saturday morning I was going to go to an awesome bagel cafe here in santa barbara but then decided to not spend my money and instead made french toast at home! This is a suuuper simple recipe and I'm sure everyone already knows how to make it...but I just can't help taking out my camera to snap a few macro photos, so I thought I might as well share it on this blog!


Ingredients: 
4 pieces of bread (I just used wheat sandwich bread)
2 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup milk
maple syrup

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

This recipe is handed down to me through my cousin who stayed to live with us for a year or so. This is a quick and easy dinner or lunch recipe that only requires a few ingredients. It will serve 2-4 people depending on how hungry you are (my boyfriend came over to help make it and we ended up having left overs). 

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (optional) OR you can use pre-cooked/shredded chicken

Tortillas (corn or flour)

shredded cheese (I used "mexican cheese" which is a 4 cheese blend)

canned enchilada sauce (I used the large family size can)

sour cream (optional)

Rosemary and Thyme Popovers

This is another recipe that reminds me of the holiday season. My dad would usually make these for dinner parties for Thanksgiving/Christmas. Since these are best served fresh out of the oven, I always loved helping him cook (and eat) these while he had to entertain the guests. Enjoy! 


Ingredients:
1/2 stick of butter
6 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups flour 
1 tsp. salt 
1 1/2 tsp. thyme
1 1/2 tsp. rosemary

Pumpkin Bread

To get in the holiday spirit, I decided to try out a pumpkin bread recipe. This has to be my favorite recipe! I even managed to carry a loaf onto a plane to give to my parents in Dallas TX for them to try, but it only made it as far as my sister's house in Tucson AZ. At least someone got to enjoy it! This recipe makes two loaves. 


Ingredients: 
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree (found at local grocery store-albertsons) 
4 eggs 
1 cup cooking oil- I think I used canola oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups flour 
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt 
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Mini Pizza Puffs

A little twist to the classical pizza! Enjoy!


Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp oregano
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
about 1 cup mozzarella cheese
about 1 cup pepperoni (works well with mini pepperoni, found at albertsons)
1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 tbsp basil