Post Workout Smoothie for Restoration!

I have to admit: I am obsessed with making smoothies! In addition to being an excellent way to get fruits and veggies you normally wouldn't, they are also filling! I created this one before going to workout last week. But after some research, found that this would be better for one's body POST workout. It's great for restoration since it has oats, peanut butter, and banana in it. I hope that you enjoy this twist on an Elvis Presley milkshake! Enjoy! <3

I Wanted Ice Cream After Midnight...

I have a TERRIBLE habit of eating sweets, like cupcakes, ice cream and cookies, really late at night. In addition to loads of sugar I then put into my body, I typically go straight to sleep and those calories are not burned. Last night, a craving came again. Instead of pulling out some Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla & Strawberry half & half, I created something even better. This requires no "cooking". All you need to grab is a spoon, a knife and bowl...and your ingredients, of course.

Ingredients:

• low-fat vanilla yogurt
• fresh strawberries
• fresh raspberries
• oats
• brown sugar
• ginger slices

Combine in a bowl and enjoy! This serves as a great alternative to eating fattening ice cream late at night or during the day!

Funnel Cakes!

Since I can remember, funnel cakes have been one of my most favorite desserts! I recall being a child and making sure my parents bought me one each and every time we went to Six Flags. In the last few months, I've played around with a few recipes to see what works best. I know it's not healthy, but I've gotten better with eating these. It used to be a multi-weekly treat...now it's like once a month! GROWTH :) I hope you all enjoy it!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tspn of vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tspn baking powder
• fresh canola oil
• a gallon Ziploc bag
• powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, mix your egg and milk. Then add each ingredient individually and mix after adding. Pour your batter into your Ziploc bag and seal it.

In your skillet, add about a cup and a half of oil. Once it's heated, you can test your oil by dropping a small drop of batter or flour and seeing the reaction. Cut a tiny hole in the corner of your freezer bag. The hole should be no larger than a small stud earring. Drizzle the batter in a weaving pattern and cook on each side for about a minute to a minute and half. Use tongs to flip when frying.

Once done, drain on a paper towel and top with powdered sugar! Add other toppings such as fresh fruit, syrup and/or whipped cream if you'd like!

Lemon Garlic Shrimp & White Cheese Pizza (plus a bonus)!

Last weekend, my 14 year old brother held a sleepover at our house. This meant that I was in charge of feeding 10 hungry teenagers...who are mainly taller than me. I needed to create something that would be filling and could be done in bulk. So in addition to the pizzas, they had Rotel Dip and Italian Meatballs. I will warn you and let you know that due to the types of cheeses I used, it can get pricey. But a lot them can also be found outside of the deli and in the dairy aisle of your local grocery store. Additionally, due to the time constraints, I didn't have time to make anyone's dough from scratch. Thank you Pillsbury! The first recipe is everything listed in the ingredients sans the colored peppers, broccoli, shredded Mozzarella and cilantro. The second one includes everything. I hope that you enjoy!!!

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of whole wheat pizza crust. (I chose to use Pillsbury's brand, but I've heard that Trader Joe's has some awesome ones as well.)
• fresh spinach
• lemon juice
• garlic evoo
• mushrooms
• parsley
• cilantro
• basil
• 1 1/2lbs of jumbo deveined shrimp
• red onion
• red and orange bell peppers
• broccoli 
• crumbled Feta cheese
• shredded Asiago cheese
• shredded Parmasan cheese
• shredded Mozzarella cheese
• shredded Romano cheese 

After cleaning and removing the tails from your shrimp, cut them into quarter of an inch pieces. In a mixing bowl, add 3tbsp on lemon juice, 3tbsp of garlic evoo and freshly cracked black pepper. Mix evenly and sit in the refrigerator as you prepare your veggies. Cut about about 1/2 of your red onion Julienne style. Wipe your mushrooms off with a damp paper towel, remove the core and slice evenly. Also, I like pizza FULL of toppings. So I used the entire package of mushrooms, half of each bell pepper and the entire bag of spinach while making these two pizzas. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease your baking pan with a non-stick spray and roll your dough out. Once in the pan, rub garlic evoo on your dough and place in the oven. Depending on how you like your crust, will determine how long you initially leave your crust in the oven. I like my crust on the softer side, so I left it in for 5 min. While your dough is browning, cook your shrimp. Since they're already seasoned, spray your skillet with a non-stick spray and cook on medium to high. Once they are pink, they're done. 

Remove your crust from the oven and top with toppings! Add a hefty bed of spinach, then your onions and mushrooms, then your shrimp, then all of your cheeses. Lastly, top with parsley and basil. Bake for an additional 10min and you're ready!

Now for the next pizza, you'll almost do the same thing as the first one. Except, in a mixing bowl, add a 1/2cup of each bell pepper (chopped), 1 cup of sliced mushrooms, 1 cup of red onions, 2 cups of broccoli and 2tbsp of evoo. Mix evenly. After browning your dough, add all of your toppings, shrimp, all the cheeses mentioned in the ingredients section, parsley, basil and cilantro.

Bake for 12 min on 400 degrees. Remove from oven and let stand for 3min. 

Slice and serve!

Garlic Olive Oil!

Whenever I can, use garlic and/or EVOO in my foods. Not only do they enhance your foods, but they're really healthy for you. EVOO is much better for you than regular cooking oil. Additionally, fresh garlic helps your body in fighting off sickness. Because garlic cloves can become tiresome when mincing by hand, I figured out a way to infuse the flavor of garlic into EVOO. It is not a long process at all and doesn't require much thinking! All you need to have handy is a 25fl.oz bottle of extra virgin olive oil, 2 garlic bulbs, a saucepan and a stove.

Open your garlic bulbs and peel. Then in a saucepan, pour the entire bottle of evoo on top of your cloves. Turn your heat to medium-high.

Allow the oil and cloves to come to a boil.

Once the cloves have charred, remove from heat and allow to cool. Discard of the charred cloves with a slotted spoon. And if you don't have a funnel, pour the oil into a measuring cup and pour back into the original bottle. Add the oil to your dishes and taste the difference!

Enjoy!

DIY Jewelry Project!

I did this post for my Spelman Sisters over at TheHighLifeSuite and wanted to share with my readers as well. I'll be adding more DIY projects on here...I don't only cook ;) Enjoy <3!

Recently, I had to call a truce with my jewelry and my dresser…SOMETHING HAD TO GIVE! Outside of my expensive pieces like my authentic pearls and diamonds, all of my everyday jewelry was always thrown about on my dresser. Well, I have had enough! I pulled all of my pieces from dresser and stared at the them for a long time.

I was going to go out and thrift for something to hang all my jewelry on when I looked up and saw I already had this bare lady on my wall!The only additional thing I had to buy were clear push pins.I also had these small jewelry bags which were leftover from beads I’d ordered from the beaded jewelry line, Kill Pink before they went under to revamp. The bags came in handy for those jewelry items that couldn’t be secured using the push pins.Since you most likely won’t have these things readily available to you, I suggest going to your local Goodwill, Salvation Army or any other great thrifting spot to find your centerpiece to hang your jewelry. Though I hung all of this without a ruler, I’d suggest that you use one to be on the safe side.

Once you’ve found your centerpiece, grab your clear push pins, your ruler, mini mesh bags and you’re ready to go!

 

When placing my jewelry on my centerpiece, there was no rhyme nor reason. I hung pieces as I was led. I put all of my beads and necklaces on the centerpiece because I knew I wanted my watches and African bracelets to appear as if they were floating.  Once I finished hanging my pieces, I grabbed my push pins to hang my watches and wooden bracelets. I placed each pin inside of the the first hole of each watch with about an inch and a half apart and 3 inches below each other. Of course, this is all dependent on the types and amount of watches & bracelets you have. So feel free to do what works best for you! Inside of my bags, I put my pins, rings and earrings to create easy access.  To hang my bracelets and watches, I placed them on the wall and then put the push pin inside to secure placement.

Once you've finished, you have a beautiful, yet easy access, to your jewelry!

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes!

As most of you know, I don't get my culinary skills from my mom...bless her heart! She wanted potatoes to go with her chicken & started to make instant potatoes. I had to put my foot down! These homemade cheesy mashed potatoes took about 30 min to make, from prep to completion. 

Ingredients (serving size: 4)

• 2 large white potatoes 
• 4 medium red potatoes
• salt
• pepper
• parsley
• chives
• milk
• butter
• shredded mozarella & colby cheese
• garlic powder

Instructions: Boil 2 quarts of water in a large pot. Peel the white potatoes completely, unlike the red potatoes. Rinse the potatoes to remove any dirt that may have been left. Cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch slices.  Once the water has reached a boiling point, add the potatoes and cook uncovered on high for 15min. Once done, drain all water from the potatoes. MIX INGREDIENTS IN THE POT...THE HEAT HELPS TO MELT EVERYTHING! In your pot, then add 3tbsp of butter & 1/2 cup of milk. Season with salt, pepper, parsley and cheese to your taste. Use a whisk to mash the potatoes in your pot. Once you've reached your desired taste, top with chives and serve your side dish!

Stuffed Peppers with Ground Turkey and Shrimp!

I have been craving stuffed peppers for the LONGEST! But I knew I wanted to add a twist to mine. Most traditional stuffed peppers call for ground beef and ground pork. However, I'm not a huge beef nor pork eater. So after some brainstorming, I took a chance on a recipe I concocted while in the grocery store. AND GOOD GAWD was it AMAZING?!

Ingredients:

• turkey sausage
• cherry tomatoes
• green onion
• yellow onion
• white mushrooms
• heavy whipping cream
• multi color bell peppers
• 1/2lb raw shrimp, deveined
• jasmine rice
• shredded parmesan cheese
• garlic cloves
• evoo
• salt
• pepper
• cayenne pepper

In a large pot, boil 6qts of water. While the water is beginning to boil, remove the tops from your peppers, slice in half and remove seeds. Rinse your peppers to remove any excess seeds and dirt. By the time you finish, your water should be boiling. Depending on the size of your pot, add 5-6 halves at a time. Allow them to boil for 4min. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow them to dry on a paper towel facing down.

Next, it's time to prepare to cook your jasmine rice. In a saucepan, combine 2cups of water and 1tbsp on evoo. Once it's reached its boiling point, add 3/4cup of rice. Reduce your heat from high to low and cover with lid, occasionally stirring. Be sure to check on your rice! We don't want you to burn anything. 

Next it's time chop your veggies. Hopefully you have a chopper. It really makes this much easier. In your chopper, add 1/2cup tomatoes, 6 mushrooms, and 2 garlic cloves. Chop for about 5-7sec and sat aside. Seperately chop 1/4 cup of yellow onion. Then remove the tails and legs from your shrimp and rinse. Once they're done,  cut in half and add them in a mixing bowl with your tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 1/4cup of green onion, yellow onion and 3tbsp of evoo. Mix evenly. Then take two sausage links, remove the casing and add to your mixture as well. Heat your skillet and spray with a non-stick spray such as PAM. Once hot, add in everything from your mixing bowl. Cook thoroughly until both meats are done. When done, reduce your skillet to low and add 1cup of heavy whipping cream. Continue to cook until it begins to become less soupy, but not thick. By this point, your rice should be done as well. Remove both from heat and add all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir evenly.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a baking dish, place your peppers face up and add about 1/8in of water. This prevents the shells from burning in the oven.

Begin to stuff your peppers and I mean STUFF them!

Bake for 15min, uncovered. Then top with shredded Parmesan and bake until cheese is thoroughly melted. Once done, remove from oven and allow to sit for 10min. 

Remove from dish and dive in! Hope you enjoy!