Powered by Protein

I have really been trying to up my protein intake, but I just never seem to get enough. Enter the smoothie. Yup, plain and simple a berry smoothie with an extra punch of protein. It is a simple way to add an additional source of protein into my diet and smoothies have always been a favorite of mine. Adding this extra kick with the vanilla protein from Pure Goodness just made it even better. It took some trial and error to get my perfect mix but here it is!

I received this protein powder from Pure Goodness for testing purposes, but as always all thoughts and opinions are my own. I would never tell you guys I liked something if I didn't.

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With Sprinkles on Top

Or around the edges. Whatever it takes to put a little extra sparkle on your day. Nate gave me a hard time about wanting sparkles or something when we went to the store to buy the ingredients for these cookies. Yeah, I don't have to be a 5 year old to get sparkly things okay? It is my birthday, I'll add sprinkles and sparkle until I'm gone.

Anyway, thankfully I got a nice little coupon for a tub of Country Crock in the mail from Influenster to test out a new, simpler buttery spread that was made up of things I can actually pronounce. There are no artificial preservatives, no artificial flavors and 0 grams of trans fat per serving. 

So yup, the butter used in these cookies was free but I was going to make cookies anyway. Plus the butter tasted good, smelled like butter and worked for baking. Winning. Let's get on with the cookies shall we?

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Whack for My Daddy-O, There's Whiskey in the Jar

Ireland Countryside

In case you are starting this post with no clue what song I am referring to in the title, here you go.

Anyway, HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! Drink a beer or something, and wear green to save yourself. I myself am going to have a Smithwick's and dream about being back in Ireland. Where I had my first Guinness, first taste of Jameson and got to see some pretty amazing places. Pictures of these things below. I tried to find my journal from this trip and do a whole throwback recap of it, but I couldn't find it. Another day then. 

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Gluten/Dairy Free Cranberry Orange Quick Bread

It is time for a Gluten and Dairy free recipe! To see all the holiday fun in one place check out the Countdown to Christmas page here.

Valerie from The Kitchen Revival shares her gluten/dairy free recipe for waking up on Christmas morning to the sweet smell of Cranberry Orange Quick Bread.

Learn how to make your own by heading over to her page now.

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The Snowball Effect: Sweet Giving that Grows

It's another Christmas post! To see all the holiday fun in one place check out the Countdown to Christmas page here.

Today's post is by Rachel from Officially Stoked. Share the love of Christmas with a new tradition of sweet and delicious giving. With 'The Snowball Effect', it will have your neighbors, friends and family joining in too.

Learn how to make your own by heading over to her page now.

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Sriracha Shrimp Lo Mein

Nate and I are somewhat similar when it comes to our food choices. I am typically more adventurous and am not quite as picky, but he has definitely gotten better and will try things. We both really like Chinese food and spicy food though so this was the perfect meal for us. It was also decently easy, and working together it probably took about 30 minutes from start to finish.

Ingredients:

Lo Mein noodles

Shrimp (we used cooked/cleaned salad shrimp)

Zucchini 

Mushrooms

Onion

Soy Sauce

Sriracha Sauce

Brown Sugar

Garlic

Butter

Olive oil

Red pepper flakes

Eggs

 Cilantro

Start by cooking the noodles according to the package instructions. While the water for the noodles comes to a boil, mix the sauce ingredients (Soy, Sriracha and brown sugar), gently beat the eggs and cut up the veggies. Melt butter in skillet with red pepper flakes, and once the completely melted add eggs. Stir the eggs until completely cooked then remove from skillet and set aside. 

Increase the temperature of the stove to medium-high and add the shrimp to the skillet (heat up half the oil in the skillet before adding shrimp). Cook the shrimp until they are bright pink and firm, then remove from skillet and set aside with the eggs. 

Add the last of the oil and all of the veggies (zucchini, onion, mushrooms and garlic) and increase the heat again to high. Cook until slightly charred or to desired texture (Nate doesn't like soft zucchini so I didn't cook it as long).

Mix egg, noodles, shrimp and veggies in the skillet and top with the sauce. Continue to mix until everything is coated evenly and finish it off with a sprinkle or a handful of cilantro. 

This recipe is a good one to add your own personal touch to. When I first found it, there was only zucchini and I wanted more vegetables. They also included ginger and sesame oil in the sauce and I am not a big fan of either so I opted out. We added a little extra sriracha and soy sauce at the end just because we felt like it too. 

Overall the husband gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars, and we both said it is something we would make again. It is a very hot dish, but the brown sugar helps balance it out a bit.

The whole recipe is available below in index card form - perfect for a recipe box!

Download full PDF version here.

Recipe adapted from Baker by Nature.

How would you make this your own? Will this make it in your recipe box?

Thanks for reading!

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Taste of Philly

There is a love for Philly in my heart because of my family and although we don't make it there often, I have a blast when we do. My family also has a love for Philly Cheesesteaks - like it is all we get at Jersey Mike's. I have made cheesesteaks at home before but Nate and I weren't overly thrilled with them. This recipe however looked like a winner - Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers. Yes please!

The whole recipe was pretty simple and took less than an hour to make. Most importantly Nate liked it - granted he liked it more on bread than in the pepper but that is because he isn't a huge fan in the first place. Anyway, it tasted great and will be made again in our house I am sure. The rest of the post has pictures and the process and at the end there is a PDF of a recipe card for the dish. Hope you like it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

8 oz Sliced Roast beef

8 Slices Provolone

2 Large Green Bell Peppers

1 Medium Sweet Onion

6 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms

2 tbs. Butter

2 tbs. Olive Oil

1 tbs. minced garlic

Salt and Pepper to Taste

I started out by sauteing the mushrooms and onions in the butter, garlic and olive oil. Also, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and prepped the peppers - cut in half and removed ribs/seeds.

Once the onions and mushrooms were caramelized I added the roast beef and continued to saute until it was nice and brown. Make sure to chunk up the roast beef before you add it to the vegetables.

As the Philly mixture was finishing up I prepped the peppers by adding a piece of Provolone to each half.

I then added the Philly mixture inside each pepper and topped with another piece of cheese. Then they went into the oven until the cheese was nice and melted/brown.

So delish! We ate them just by themselves but you could add a side of homemade chips or fries or anything really. They were really filling too so we ended up having leftovers which is always a plus.

Full Recipe Card

What is your favorite meal to recreate at home?

xo,
KatiAnne

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