earth to victoria

Okay I eat this multiple times a week because it's literally so good!  I use Justin's Peanut Butter (vanilla or honey or whatever flavor you want, I've even tried almond butter which works great too), organic Stonyfield plain yogurt, and just a touch of honey!  Than I mix it all up and dip apples in it, and sometimes eat it just with a spoon because that's how good it is.  It's simple, healthy, and taste great!  Literally my go to snack whenever I'm home. I'm trying to make a lifestyle change, the cliche trying to 'get healthier' and be healthier.  I'm not looking so much for weight loss, even though that's an added plus, but what I really want is to finally tone up.  My entire life I've always killed myself with cardio and would wonder why I never looked that great.  Well now I know why, so that's my goal, get healthier and leaner. 

This past Thanksgiving I made a new appetizer that everyone went crazy for, cranberry walnut brie crostinis with a maple sugar glaze.  Ingredients: 1 cup homemade cranberry sauce (I did this with one bag of whole cranberries, about 4T orange juice, and 1/4 cup of sugar. I made this on the stove and had a lot extra that we used for Thanksgiving dinner.)  1 loaf of baguette bread, thinly sliced 1/2 pound wedge of brie cheese, warmed 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/4 cup brown sugar, for sprinkling  Maple Sugar Glaze 3T pure Canadian maple syrup (leftover from my recent Canadian vacation!) 3T brown sugar Directions: First thinly chop a loaf of baguette bread and arrange it on a sheet pan.  Toast bread in oven for about ten minutes on 350F just until crispy. While bread is in the oven, start the maple sugar glaze. Over a stove top on low heat cream the maple syrup and the brown sugar together until smooth. Set aside. Next take bread out of...

My boyfriend and I decided to make a savory pie out of some leftover pie dough we had in the freezer.  Basically we made a pizza in a pie crust.  First we cut up fresh tomatoes and tried to dry them off as much as possible, because we didn't want a soggy pie bottom.  We laid the semi dry tomato pieces on the bottom of the pre-made pie crust and then added a pinch of sea salt and onions, green peppers, orange peppers, yellow peppers, garlic, and jalapeños, but honestly you can added whatever your heart desires.   After we mixed Munster cheese and mozzarella with a 1/3 of a cup of mayo so all the cheese would stick and stay together.  Next we smoothed the cheese and mayo mixture over the pie as even as possible and sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top and baked for 30 minutes at 350F. The pie came out excellent.  The only advice we got was to next time maybe add some chicken or turkey or some kind of meat to make it more filling and more of a meal. ...

I bought this retro cook book a while ago at a pretty unexpected place, Marshall's !  But it's one of the absolute best things I've ever bought there.  I've made a few recipes from this book, all recipes inspired by the 1950's and 60's, and so far they've all been great.   I've found that recipes back then were a bit simpler then some more modern day recipes.  Whether it was simpler ingredients or just simple instructions, they appear to be more straight forward.   Here's one recipe I made the other night for dinner, turkey and cranberry meatloaf. Ingredients: 10 slices of prosciutto 1 large onion 2 green scallions 2 cloves of garlic 1 1/2 pounded ground turkey 2 tablespoons ketchup 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 egg yolk 1/2 cup stale breadcrumbs 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley 1/2 cup homemade cranberry sauce 2 tablespoons orange juice Directions: Preheat oven to 400 F. Oil 6" by 8" loaf pan. ...

Ingredients: 1 pound of linguine pasta 2 heaping tablespoons of sea salt for pasta water 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic, minced 2-3 tablespoons of fresh ginger, minced 1⁄2 cup organic, low-sodium chicken stock 1⁄2 cup organic peanut butter, smooth or chunky 3 tablespoons of soy sauce 3 tablespoons of honey 4 teaspoons of hot red curry paste (or hot Chile paste) 3-4 fresh scallions, chopped 1⁄4 cup dry-roasted peanuts, no salt added, rough chopped (use more if using creamy peanut butter in the sauce) Directions: Boil water, add salt, and than add the pasta. After slice the scallions and chop the peanuts. Set aside for garnish. Peel and mince the ginger and the garlic. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken stock, peanut butter, soy sauce, hot red curry paste, honey, garlic and ginger. Stir all ingredients gently over medium heat until the peanut butter has melted. It will turn from a dark brown to a beautiful caramel color. Simmer gently for 1-2 minutes...