5 min.Prep Southwest Salad

I have been trying to eat healthier, as I have come to realize I am in a mid twenties body crisis. (aka time to head to the gym) My body was in a teeny bopper stage (or at least I would like to think so)  for a couple years after giving birth but yeah. Things are changing. It may have a lot to do with the fact I am just as satisfied eating my toddler's leftover lunch of dino chicken nuggets or mac and cheese to save time and effort. or just flat out being lazy. 

I have also been trying to make an effort to buy less canned goods. Too many chemicals. 

Yesterday, for lunch I whipped up this quick Southwest Salad. I had made fresh black beans a couple days ago-- btw these are awesome to have cooked in your fridge and make a quick side addition to any meal or side addition. They have high nutritional values. 

Southwest Salad

Ingredients

Fresh Spinach 

1/4 of a whole tomato (diced)

1/2 of an Avocado 

1/3 cup of black beans

Shredded Cheese (Taco Style)

Makes 1 salad. 

Make sure you rinse all of your veggies. Cut the avocado into squares. Cut the tomato into squares. Serve enough spinach to where it covers the plate you are using. (A generous portion) Then just place all the toppings over the spinach. And Vuala. 

You can also add a piece of grilled Salmon or Chicken over the top of the salad for some extra protein. 

Bon Apetite. 

xoxo

Elda 

Easy Lasagna Bake

Happy Thursday!! We are one day closer to the weekend!! This week has flown by! 

Weekday nights are a bit hectic around here, now that Gus is starting to go to school five days a week. I really love to cook but I normally don't have time to make a fabulously delicious meal with the toddlers running around here before Gus gets home from work. That being said I turn to "easy" and quick meals pretty regularly. I am sharing the recipe to, what has become, my favorite "go to" meal ....

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef

1 box of Mueller's "Oven Ready" Lasagna (Best thing ever invented)

1 Bottle of Barilla Traditional Pasta Sauce

16 oz. of Ricotta Cheese (Half of a tall container)

Extra Italian Blend shredded cheese 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Season ground beef with a little salt and pepper. Cook the ground beef in a medium sized sauce pan over medium-high heat. When cooked, pour the whole bottle of pasta sauce in the pan and bring to simmer--just for a couple minutes. 

Spray your 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Spread a layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan then place 3 pieces of the lasagna on top of it. Spread a layer of ricotta cheese on top of the pasta. Repeat. 

When you have filled your pan all the way to the top sprinkle some shredded cheese and cover with aluminum foil. I always spray the side of the aluminum foil that is going to touch the lasagna with cooking spray, so it doesnt stick. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hr. 

This is the easiest lasagna recipe ever and the kids LOVE it and so does the hubs! So its a win win situation! 

Feel free to email me if you have any questions! 

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

Lately, always being on the go, time doesn't always allow me to have a complete, sit down breakfast so I tend to look for quick, to-go yet healthy alternatives. I am going to share one of my favorite breakfast smoothie recipes packed with fiber and antioxidants!!

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 of a banana

1 cup of strawberry halves

1/2 cup of Old-fashioned Oatmeal

1/2 cup of vanilla flavored Soy milk

Pop it all in the blender and blend away! I served mine in a stemless wine glass with a pink paper paper straw just because everything is better in a wine glass with a pink straw, right?? hahah

Hope you enjoy!

**Makes 1 serving**

** If you like a more liquidy consistency, you can reduce the oatmeal or add more Soy milk**

Valentine's Day {Heart Shaped French Toast Bites}

Hello Friends! Since Valentine's Day is just a couple days away, I wanted to share a cute Valentine's Day themed breakfast idea....

All I did was make french toast and made them heart shaped by cutting them out with heart cookie cutters when they were done cooking :). The cookie cutter I used was a mini heart cutter.

You just make them how you normally would and add that extra step at the end...super simple and super cute and the best part is that they are perfect for chunky little fingers! My toddler loved to dip them in the syrup and the size was just perfect for him to just pop in his mouth. I kind of liked eating them too hahha...something cute is so much more fun to eat! 

As you can see I served them a plate with dividers with strawberries and syrup in the other sections. Strawberries are a huge toddler favorite and they are red...perfect for the Valentine's Day theme!

Enjoy!

Super Bowl Party Food Link-Up// Baked Brie

Today, I am linking up with Kaitlyn from Wifesessionals and Brittany from This Beautiful Life to bring you some ideas for Super Bowl Party Food. 

I am sharing a recipe for a baked brie that I absolutely LOVE. This tends to be my "go to" dish when I have to bring something to a get together with friends. It's quite simple, (I am a huge fan of simple, since with two babies I really don't have very much spare time to labor over amazing recipes)absolutely delish and has become quite the crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:

1 sheet of Peppridge Farm puff pastry (found in the frozen section at your grocery store)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 (8oz.) wheel of Brie cheese

1 egg beaten

Crackers for serving

You will also need a cookie sheet for baking and a saucepan to saute the walnuts.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Defrost Puff pastry for about 15-20 minutes and unfold. I like to just lay in the middle of the cookie sheet so you don't have to move it after you have put it together and also to avoid it falling apart. 

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and saute the walnuts in the butter until golden brown. (about 5 min.)

Add the cinnamon and stir until the walnuts are well coated. 

Unfold the puff pastry and place brie in center of the puff pastry. 

Place the walnuts on top of the brie cheese and on top of the walnuts place the brown sugar. It will look like the picture above. 

Gather the edges of the pastry,  pressing against the brie and gather at the top. you are going to have to press the dough together at the top, making like a little package. (picture below)

Brush the beaten egg over the top and side of brie. 

Bake for 20 min or until pastry is golden brown. 

Serve warm with crackers.

Sorry I don't have a picture of the finished product but it looks just like this last picture but golden brown!

I promise all of your guests will be asking for the recipe :)

90 Calories and 3 Ingredients. Can you guess what it is?!

Happy Friday! Well it's been a rough 48 hours for us lately. We've got one baby with a cold and another with an ear infection, high fevers and the whole nine yards. So yes, I've been running on very little sleep. I hate having sick babies. They're just so sad. Yesterday, I was at the pediatrician for about 3 hours with them. I literally almost cried because the wait was so long. But that's alright, as mothers we do what we have to, to make our little ones feel better.

Anyways, Yay for still being in pumpkin season! We've got about 2 more weeks of  it before the Christmas season officially starts! I LOVE pumpkin flavored anything and for some reason pumpkin seasonal foods are limited in grocery stores here. Don't ask me why. Such a bummer. So the minute I saw canned pumpkin at the grocery store the other day I didn't hesitate to grab it, whatsoever.

I love to bake as you may already know and always prefer to make baked goods from scratch instead of  using pre-made mixes from the grocery store but this little recipe you just can't resist. It requires only 3 ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to prepare. The best part its only 90 Calories!!!! wooohoooo!!! This is the Weight Watchers Pumpkin Spice Muffins Recipe! (This time I couldn't find my cupcake pan so I just made it in a 9x9 baking pan and cut it into squares.)

Ingredients:

-1 box of Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix

-1 15oz. can of Pumpkin (not pumpkin filling mix)

-1 cup of water

THATS IT!!! It really can't get any easier ladies!!

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Mix all 3 ingredients in a bowl

3. Let bake from 20-25 min.

This is the most perfect recipe for when you don't have much time to spend on making a little something sweet and festive!!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!
Happy Friday!

xoxo
Elda

Chocolate-Chip Banana Bread....yummmm

Baking is one of my most cherished hobbies growing up and still is :). I love to bake. There will probably be many more desert recipe posts on here in the future. Anyways, today I took one of my mom's favorite recipes and added a little twist ;). I added chocolate chips to her fabulous banana bread recipe...yummmm. After all ladies, everything IS better with a little chocolate! Is it not?! By the way, this is the best banana bread you will every have. I may be slightly biased but still, it's pretty delicious. 

I remember my sister and I would always argue over who would mash the banana. Of course we did. That's what sisters do!

Chocolate-Chip Banana Bread

(Makes 1 loaf)

Ingredients: 

2 large eggs

2 cups of self rising flour

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1/2 cup of milk

1 banana (mashed)

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Blend the eggs, vanilla, oil and milk together first. When those are well blended, add the dry ingredients and banana. After you have a nice thick mixture, gently stir in the chocolate chips. Spray your loaf pan with baking spray and pour your batter into the baking pan. 

Bake for 35 minutes.