See my life is all about balance.  Yesterday I posted what could be one of the most fattening recipes I’ve ever made.  Today?  Spinach burgers.

You can now see the inner workings of my eating habits.

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs: the domestic mama and the village cook.  It’s a fabulous blog with a wide range of recipes & foods which I like.  This caught my eye, because I absolutely love spinach, and it looked quick.  I made a few changes, but nothing major.

First, I have to be upfront.  Nathan hated these.  He took one bite and said he couldn’t eat it.  Apparently he doesn’t like cooked spinach.  I had NO idea.  I never make spinach as a side dish, so it had never really come up until Wednesday when I made these for dinner.  You definitely have to LOVE spinach to enjoy these.

Spinach Burgers {modified from the domestic mama and the village cook}

Ingredients:

• 1 box frozen spinach, slightly thawed
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tbs red pepper flakes
• 2 egg whites
• 1 whole egg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbs basil

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, cook the spinach until it is soft.  Not completely done though.
2. Meanwhile, in a bowl mix the egg, egg whites, bread crumbs, cheddar cheese, salt, basil, and red pepper flakes.
3. Drain the spinach very well.  Add to the bowl mixture.
4. Mix the ingredients thoroughly.
5. Heat a non-stick skillet on medium-high.  Spray with olive oil.
6. Shape the spinach mixture into burger patties.
7. Cook the patties until brown on each side.  About 5 minutes a side.
8. Serve on a whole wheat bun with veggies!

Grade: B

Comments: These were definitely good.  Like I said earlier, Nathan hated it, but his opinion is null & void due to his apparent dislike of spinach.  I’d probably make them again for me as a lunch food.  It was definitely not enough for a dinner meal.  Also, I’d add more.  The original recipe called for garlic salt and onion, but I am currently avoiding both of those items.  I think that they would have added a lot of flavor to the dish.

So.

Paula Deen.

After Martha Stewart, Paula is my favorite cook.  First, she seems like she is probably super fun.  Secondly, I know where to turn when I decide to throw caution to the wind and eat rich foods.

I don’t like most “Southern” foods.  However, I always find myself lusting after recipes from Paula Deen.  For some reason, I can forgive her for the 1,000 sticks of butter and 10 cups of heavy cream it seems most recipes need.

Last year, I read her autobiography, It Ain’t All About the Cookin’.  Even if you can’t stomach the idea of eating something so fattening and rich, you need to read this book.  It is easily my favorite autobiography of all time.  She is so honest and raw.  It is incredible to see her journey from young girl to single mom to megastar cook.  Plus, each chapter has a recipe at the end!

Here’s the thing about Paula Deen recipes.  You just have to eat them as they are.  Lightening up one of her recipes is pointless.  The flavor comes from the butter, cream, chocolate, etc etc.  You just go with it.  I wouldn’t make one of her desserts every week, but a few times a year I find myself digging through her cake recipes.  This was one of those times.

Mississippi Mud Cake {Paula Deen – It Ain’t All About the Cookin’}

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 bag miniature marshmallows

For the icing:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tbs cocoa
• 6 tbs milk
• 1 lb box of confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 13 x 9 baking pan.
2. Combine the sugar, salt, and flour in a large mixing bowl.
3. Bring the butter, oil, cocoa, and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a saucepan.  Add to the flour mixture.
4. Beat together the eggs, baking soda, buttermilk, and vanilla.
5. Add the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture.  Mix well.
6. Pour into the prepared pan.  Cook for 25 minutes.
   
7. While the cake is baking, make the icing by melting the butter in the cocoa and milk over low heat.
8. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat.
9. Stir in the confectioners’ sugar.  Slowly mix in the vanilla.
10. Taking the cake from the oven and let it cook for a few minutes.  



11. Cover the cake with marshmallows.
12. Pour the warm icing over the cake and marshmallows.
13. Cool the cake before serving.

Grade: A+

Comments: O. M. G.  I wanted to eat the entire thing after I had my first bite.  It was every bit as delicious as a Paula Deen dessert should be.  Rich, flavorful, and just melts in your mouth.  Pouring the warm icing over the marshmallows melts them into this gooey layer.  The icing tastes something between cake icing and donut icing.  I’d make this 100 times over if I didn’t think it would lead to me gaining 200 lbs.  This is definitely a must try recipe.  You will love it.  I promise.

Yesterday we took Samuel in for his 1 month photos.  How is he already a month old?!?  Anyway, they turned out spectacular.

Here is my favorite:

Last week, I resigned from my job that I loved.  It was a tough decision, but Nathan and I talked about the realities of what it would entail for me to keep working I knew it was the right thing to do.  My commute was over an hour each way, and it just wasn’t worth it to me to be away from Samuel over 10 hours a day!  So, I’m officially a stay-at-home mom.  As much as I love working and having a career, I’m excited to spend the days with my little boy.  We’re having a blast together, and I’m glad that won’t be up at the end of 8 weeks.

On that note, I am trying to get into some sort of routine which I realize is a joke with a newborn.  I signed up for FLYlady to help me keep on top of the cleaning.  I’m also really trying to stay on top of my correspondence and emails.  Sending handwritten notes is one of my favorite things to do, so I want to make sure I find the time to keep doing that.

I’ve also signed up for a mom’s group, and I’ve taken on a new volunteer position at Church in addition to teaching Sunday School!  I also have my Junior League commitments and placement at Grady Hospital and the Nearly New Shop.  Keeping busy definitely shouldn’t be a problem.

The exciting thing about where we live now is that there is room for me to have an office.  I’m definitely going to need one to stay on top of everything.  I have a lot of the things I need already, because I’ve always decorated my offices at work to my taste {down to pink legal tablets!}.  My hope is to have that all set up by the end of next week.

Any suggestions on how to decorate the office are more than welcome!  I’m trying to do bright colors: pinks, greens, yellows, etc.  The walls are an off-white, and I’m not going to paint them.  There is a big window right next to where I am going to put the desk.

Ready…GO!

{This week’s menu is posted}

Before I get to the review, I just have to give a huge THANK YOU to my lovely Junior League girlfriends.  Yesterday we all got together for what I thought was just an afternoon of snacks & gabbing, but those girls had a surprise up their sleeves!  It was actually a wonderful get together in Samuel’s honor.  There were balloons, cake, a very generous gift, and most importantly my lovely friends.  They got to meet Samuel for the first time, and it was just an absolute blast.  I am SO lucky to have such wonderful girls in my life

Okay, now onto the review.

A few weeks ago I was sent the new Eggo Fruit Pizzas to review {through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program}.  I received one Strawberry Granola Real Fruit Pizza and one Mixed Berry Granola Real Fruit Pizza.

Here are my thoughts.  They were pretty good, but at 400 calories a pizza, I would never eat one by myself for breakfast especially because I think I could make a healthier version myself.  That said I could definitely see where these would be a fun special treat breakfast for a young child.

The strawberry one broke when we opened it, but the berry one stayed together.  Also, for the sake of comparison I cooked the strawberry one in the microwave, and I did the berry one in the oven.  The oven was definitely the way to go.

Overall, I honestly would not buy these again.  Not because they weren’t great, but because I take issue with the nutritional info.  I don’t understand why these are 400 calories each especially because they aren’t that big {the size of a personal pan pizza}.  They also have 13 grams of fat.  It is just too much for a breakfast in my opinion.

Hopefully Eggo will come out with a lower fat and healthier option.  If they did it would change my mind about not buying these.

I was given these items for free through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.  My opinions are honest and are my opinion alone.

Happy Sunday!

Yesterday was a busy day for us despite the ridiculous heat.  My in laws left in the late morning to head back to Ohio, and then Nathan, Samuel, and I spent a few hours running errands: Home Depot, Target, Zesto’s for ice cream, and finally Samuel and I took a long nap.  Nathan also finished designing Samuel’s birth announcements!  I can’t wait to send them to the printer.  It is awesome being married to an artist.

We’ve been waiting for Samuel to fit into his cloth diapers.  His legs were so skinny that even set on the tightest fit, they were all too big.  Yesterday we tried again, and the Bum Genius 3.0s FINALLY fit him!  They are ADORABLE.

{Seriously cloth diapers are the cutest things ever.}

This morning I tried his GroBaby diapers on as well, and they fit too!  I’m just waiting for the FuzziBunz, Flip, and Econobum to fit a little better.  So we’re still {very reluctantly} using disposable at night.

Since I haven’t been to the grocery store in what seems like forever, last night’s dinner was a “use what we have” kind of night.  I made Nathan pasta with tomato sauce, but I’ve been trying to avoid anything with garlic in it {like onions it seems to bother Samuel}.

Instead, I went through the fridge and came up with this:

Summer Pasta {my recipe}

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked linguine
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup fresh diced tomatoes
• 1 hard boiled egg, chopped
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to box.
2. In a bowl, mix olive oil, egg, tomato, spinach, and cheese.
3. When pasta is done cooking, add to bowl and toss.

Grade: A

Comments: Delicious!  It was so light but incredibly filling.  The veggies tasted wonderful with the pasta.  I wasn’t sure I’d like the egg, but it was actually really good.  It gave the dish some texture and added protein which this dish was severely lacking otherwise.

Yesterday I went on a bit of a baking spree.  First came the Blueberry & Strawberry Boy Bait and then came muffins.  Samuel took an extra long nap {2 whole hours!}, so it freed up some of my time.

These muffins were good.  However, my tastetesters {in laws & Nathan} suggested more sugar.  I thought they were perfect, but in the interest of full disclosure you may want to add another teaspoon of sugar if you like things sweeter.

Whole Wheat Berry Muffins {my own recipe}

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg
• 4 tsp softened margarine
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup strawberries {chopped}

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with papers. {The Cars papers are back in action!}
2. In a large bowl of a mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. 
3. In another bowl, mix the egg, milk, and butter.
4. Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture.  Mix on medium  until just blended.
5. Split the batter in half.  In half of the batter fold in the strawberries, and in the other half fold in the blueberries.
6. Pour the batter into the papers.  Mine made 5 strawberry muffins and 7 blueberry muffins.
7. Cook until golden brown.  About 20 minutes.  Let cool before serving.  {Um, I forgot to take a finished photo…}

Grade: B+

Comments: I love whole wheat muffins, but the rest of my tastetesters weren’t completely sold on them.  Whole wheat flour does give foods a slightly different texture, but I prefer it.  I’d definitely make these for breakfast again!

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Brown Eyed Baker, back in early June.  I just KNEW I had to make it when we had company here after Samuel was born.  Originally I had planned to make it while my mom was here right after he was born, but thanks to a c-section incision, standing in the kitchen wasn’t on the top of my to do list.  Instead I held off until today while my in laws are here.  Samuel went down for a nap leaving me with just enough time to make this {and berry muffins to be posted tomorrow}.

First things first, this recipe is in no way healthy.  Two sticks of butter & whole milk do not a healthy recipe make.  However, don’t alter it.  Just bite the bullet on this one and enjoy every delicious calorie.

The original recipe was just for blueberries, but I couldn’t resist adding some strawberries.  So, this is really a blueberry & strawberry dish.  I’d call it a coffee cake, but it would totally work as a dessert.

Blueberry & Strawberry Boy Bait {adapted from Brown Eyed Baker}

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tsp
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup strawberries

For the Topping:

• ½ cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Adjust the oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13×9-inch baking pan.
2. Whisk 2 cups of flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated. 
5. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of the flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of the milk. Beat in half of the remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally remaining flour mixture.
6. Toss the blueberries and strawberries with remaining 1 teaspoon flour. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the berries.
7. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
8. Scatter blueberries and strawberries over top of the batter.
9. Stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the batter.
10. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and place on serving platter (topping side up). Serve warm or at room temperature.

Grade: A++

Comments: This was absolutely amazing.  I can’t speak for how it would taste with just blueberries, but the flavor of the strawberries & blueberries together was DIVINE.  This would make a great brunch dish when entertaining friends.  I can see myself making this again and again with different types of berries.  You definitely have to try it!

Hello hello!

Things have been wonderfully busy around here these days.  My in laws are in town to visit with Samuel, and we’ve been keeping active.  I haven’t been at my computer for more than 5 minutes it seems {and that was to pay bills…ugh}.  So far we’ve been to brunch, the library, dinner, Target, and we’re heading out to Stone Mountain later today I believe.  Samuel is enjoying his time with family, and he is eating up all of the attention.

A few days ago, Samuel was spitting up pretty badly {or at least I thought it was bad…no one else did}, so I called the pediatrician.  They had me cut out a LOT of foods from my diet to see if something I ate was making his stomach upset.  {This is going to lead to a whole post on breastfeeding one of these days.}  During my 48 hours of staying away from most vegetables and a lot of other foods.  I decided I had to do something to make my oatmeal a little more filling & delicious, so I added some peaches!

To make the above oatmeal:

• 2/3 cup quick oats
• 1 1/2 tbs cinnamon sugar
• 3/4 peach, diced

It was so delicious, and it felt like dinner.  Thankfully, I’m back to eating regular foods.  It seems Samuel has an aversion to onion.  I’ll just need to avoid that so long as I am breastfeeding.  No big deal!

Samuel is 3 weeks old today.  I can’t believe we’re almost at a MONTH.  Next Tuesday are his month old portraits, and I am so excited to see how they turn out.  We got his newborn photos in the mail a few days ago, and they are just absolutely adorable.

In honor of Samuel turning 3 weeks old, I leave you with this adorable picture.  He’s in his monogrammed hippo towel after his bath a few days ago.  It just makes me swoon!

Yesterday was a great day.  Samuel and I slept in a little bit after he woke up sometime around 7:00 AM {for the fourth time that night} to eat.  We got back into bed and slept until around 10:00 AM: he in the Arm’s Reach Mini, me in the bed with Stitch.  After that we spent the day just relaxing on the couch singing songs and hanging out.  Nathan got home from work early, so he joined us on a quick trip to the grocery store.

Today my in laws arrive.  It is the first time they will see Samuel in person, so everyone is very excited.  I’m working on a great menu for the next two weeks!

Last night, I made chorizo tacos for dinner.  After I used chorizo in a dish a few weeks ago, I couldn’t stop thinking about it!  The kick is just enough, and it cooks so well.  When we were doing our stockpiling grocery trip before Samuel was born, I picked up another package.  I just wasn’t sure how I would use it.  Well, a few days ago I pulled it from the freezer thinking it would be great in tacos.  It is!

Chorizo Tacos {my recipe}

Ingredients:

• 1 package of chorizo
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 beefsteak tomato
• 1/4 head of lettuce
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 can black beans
• fat free sour cream
• salsa
• taco shells

Directions:

1. In a pan, heat the olive oil on medium.
2. While the olive oil is getting hot, cut open the wrapping around the chorizo and pour the contents into the pan.
3. Using a wooden spatula, break the meat into smaller pieces.  Leave the heat on medium and cover.  Check every 2-3 minutes until well cooked.
4. While the chorizo is cooking, chop the onion and tomato.  Put into small bowls.
5. Rip the lettuce into smaller pieces.  Place in a bowl.
6. Once the meat is done, put in a bowl.
7. Using the same pan that the meat was cooked in, heat the black beans for about 3 minutes.
8. Serve the tacos with sour cream and salsa!  {I ate mine as a salad.}

Grade: A

Comments: My instincts were right, and the chorizo made a FABULOUS taco filling.  I didn’t even need to add any spices to it, because it was just perfect.  This took less than 10 minutes to make, and it was still delicious.  It would make a great weekday meal for a family on-the-go.  You can add whatever toppings you prefer for a taco.

When I told Nathan chili was on the menu a few weeks ago, he looked at me like I was insane.  Who eats chili in the middle of 100 degree weather in Georgia?  Usually I’d agree, but I needed another freezable food, and chili works well.  So I turned on the stove to make some chili when it was over 100 degrees outside.  Sure, I turned up the air conditioner to compensate {I was 9 months pregnant!}, but it worked out well.

Chili {my own recipe}

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 1/2 red bell peppers
• 1 vidalia onion
• 2 tbs minced garlic
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 tbs chili powder
• 3 tbs BBQ sauce
• 2 cans light red kidney beans, drained
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 tbs sea salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. In a skillet, cook the ground turkey.  Cover until brown, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, chop the bell peppers and onion.
3. In a large pot, add the chopped vegetables, BBQ sauce, garlic, chili powder, salt, and red pepper flakes.  Mix and cook on low.
4. Once the turkey is done, add it to the large pot.
5. Add the beans and tomatoes to the pot with the rest of the ingredients.
6. Mix all of the ingredients well and cover.  Cook for 30 minutes on medium.
7. Serve with cheese and sour cream.

Grade: A-

Comments: I tend to just go with the flow when it comes to chili.  Whatever I have around that day usually ends up in the pot.  This was definitely one of my better chilis.  Since I don’t eat spicy foods, I have to make sure to add extra chili powder to Nathan’s when I put it in the bowl.  We ate this with some cornbread {YUM}, and it was great!  We’ve since eaten the frozen leftovers, and honestly, they were amazing.  Chili freezes so well.  It retains all of its flavor, and a few minutes in the microwave is plenty to make it delicious again!