October Giveaway! Happy Halloween MONTH!!!

We're hosting a giveaway this month for our Facebook FANS!!
Nate and I both LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Halloween, we go 110% full "in the spirit" tilt.
We'll be sharing our favorite party recipes here all month long to get you in the SPIRIT, so stay tuned and enjoy the creeeepy goodness!!
Be sure to visit our Facebook Fanpage and join up to participate in our Halloween-tastic October giveaway!!

CLICK HERE TO BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK!

Here's a hint to what we'll be giving away:

Martha, Martha, Martha!!
I don't know about you, but for me, if there is only ONE "Martha" thing you do, it's the annual Halloween Handbook, because it never  will never disappoint.
This is going to be the theme of this giveaway- so hop on over to our Facebook page and scope it out!

Oh! And while you are hip-hopping all over the interwebs- check out this AWESOME blog to get you in the mood for the Halloween Holiday!

Vintage Halloween Collector

Cold Cous Cous Salad

So clearly being in the final 4 weeks of my first pregnancy has made me a little obsessed with making cold side dishes...and eating Popsicles.
I'd wanted to try some sort of cous cous, veggie, feta combo for a while and this actually came out exactly as I was hoping!
Just like the White Bean Salad, this was very, very easy to make- and also like the white bean salad this made enough to make it a great "take-to-BBQ" or general entertaining recipe. It'd be really yummy alongside grilled salmon.

2 boxes cous cous, prep according to package directions (they have it next to the Rice-A-Roni & such...or if you have a large dry goods container of it make enough for 8 servings- very easy...)
Let cooked cous cous cool.

In a large bowl combine;
1 cucumber, chopped
1/2 a red onion, chopped
1 small-med red bell pepper, chopped
1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
12-15 pitted kalamata olives, sliced
add a few handfuls (probably about 3/4 of a cup) crumbled fat-free feta cheese
Drizzle with olive oil
Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon
Toss in the cous cous, add salt & pepper to taste

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight, serve cold.

Any guesses as to when the little guy is coming? Yours is as good as mine.....
:o)

Summer-y White Bean Salad

It's HOT!!! ....and our baby is due in 4 days....I didn't realize how antsy I'd be in this "home stretch". My pregnancy has been AWESOME, time flew, I didn't even notice the weeks screamin' by! Now, I'm so excited to meet our son, it's hard not to count the minutes. Also, I'm startin' to FEEL it, can't tie a shoe, sleep is laughable, and it takes me a million years to do stuff!
However, the best thing for me has been to keep busy, so I gotta keep that up right up till go-time (which is SOON, I hope...)
We made some fun plans to eat with friends last Friday night. They've been amazing and keep inviting us over for dinner, which has been such a blessing for us- I still always want to bring something, but with the temps sizzlin and the extra lbs I'm hauling around these days, baking is out of the question for a bit.

I decided to make my version of this white bean salad to keep it cool, budget-friendly and SUPER EASY to make (standing in the kitchen with my puffy feet is no bueno, so I have to make stuff that has sitting breaks, or make stuff that I can bust out FAST, I prefer the latter)


In a large bowl combine
2 15oz cans white beans (drained, rinsed and patted dry)
1 15oz can sweet corn (drained & rinsed)
1/2 a red onion, chopped
1/2-3/4 of a cucumber chopped (you can peel it or not- totally up to you, I did not...)
a couple handfuls of arugula
Drizzle with olive oil and squeeze the juice o12/ to 3/4 of a lemon
Sprinkle w/ salt, add some cracked black pepper and stir up with a big spoon.

Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours, serve cold.

HAPPY SUMMER :o)

Since I'm not baking- go to (fonuts)!!

With the baby due in just a week and the temps topping 90 degrees outside, I have no desire to turn on my oven these days.
Lucky for me a new sweet-stop opened just in the nick of time!
(fonuts) are steam-baked donuts, the delicious creation Waylynn Lucas, genius pastry chef. She and business partner Nancy Truman opened the shop last week on 3rd street in West Hollywood...right near Bar Method, so I knew I'd have to get over and try it before the baby came!
Following along on twitter I'd been reading the buzz and it sounded like it was going to be awesome, then the first day they sold out- FAST. So I made sure to get there on the second day as early as I could, which due to a doctor's appointment was about an hour and a half after they opened.

The space is inviting and beautiful- a little vintage stove sits to the side for a coffee fixin's station and there's plenty of room for the long lines they are sure to have going forward.
The ONLY downside to my visit was that they were already out of Hawaiian, P.B. & J, chorizo, Maple Bacon and Glazed- all flavors I'm very excited to try on my next trip there.
I got a strawberry, a lemon, a rosemary, a gluten free chocolate-hazelnut, a banana chocolate and a cinnamon-sugar. I'm on maternity leave but still taking class, so I took the box down to Bar Method to share with my fellow teachers so we could all have a fun taste-test and compare favorites. Also, so I wouldn't eat the whole box on my own after I took class.

I also got an iced decaf latte- they've got great coffee...one note- I'm so used to going to Coffee Bean or making it myself, I ordered just like that "iced, decaf, late." didn't make any milk indication and it was WHOLE milk- so I couldn't really drink it because that is INTENSE. Totally my bad though, I'll be sure to be specific next time.
The overall favorite was the lemon- it's super zingy, REAL lemon flavor and the glaze is delicious. I also loved the chocolate hazelnut- it was super moist and had a deep, rich chocolate yumminess.
The strawberry was the sleeper/surprise. I wasn't sure I'd like that one and wish I'd ordered three of them- again REAL strawberries, freshness, oh, so delicious.
We didn't meet a (fonut) we didn't like, so I am very excited to go back and try their other flavors.
I got a little flyer/menu to add to our "take-to-the-hospital" folder so I can send someone for coffee & (fonuts) next week (or the week after) when I'm snuggled up with my newborn son.

Wishing (fonuts) all the best and sold-out success for a long time to come! Welcome to the fabulous 3rd Street area, I'm thrilled you're there and glad I can always go burn it off with a Bar Method class.

(fonuts) is located at 8104 West 3rd Street Los Angeles, CA 90048
I believe their hours next week will be 7am-7pm
Follow along @fonuts on twitter for all the latest info!!

Bad Blog Mommy!!

Oh, my sweet dear little blog, how I've forsaken you!!!
Apparently being pregnant and baking up sweets and teaching and enjoying every second of this gorgeous summer have left me little time to blog it up. Shame on me!!

The pregnancy has been going great, but with 6 1/2 weeks left until baby is due, I'm definitely feeling a little more tired & achy than usual. BUT, we're still in full-on fun-food mode and I should try to get here more often to share that with you guys!!

Lately, it's allllll about quick & easy. I pretty much get stuck on a simple snack that I make myself every day for a week or two, then move on to my new favorite.
These aren't "recipes" but more little inspiration posts that I'll try to get done more than every 3 months, lol, let's hope.
I know I'm gonna need some quick, easy, healthy ideas for when I've not slept at all but need to eat, right?

This is so easy it's crazy, it's delicious and really good for you!!

Piece of whole wheat toast, topped with low-fat or non-fat cottage cheese & a sliced avocado (1/2).
Add cracked black pepper or balsamic vinegar if you want to.

Chili Delayed

I wrote this post over a month ago when the weather was crazy, now summer has settled into LA and the sun is shining bright!! Still, slow-cooked, full-of-flavor chili is a fabulous dish year-round....so if you're headin' to a bbq or cook-off anytime soon (or want a SUPER easy crock-pot dinner to save some time so you can make more out of a longer day).....ENJOY! (and enjoy reading my old post to take you back to a colder time or bookmark it for later in the year! LOL!)

Oh Boy, there was some RAIN on Sunday, big, torrential rain. We had to cancel dinner in OC because the 405 had zero visibility, insane wind and every crazy nut driver you've ever seen- after 5 minutes on the freeway and almost getting sideswiped twice- we pulled right off the exit, turned around and went HOME.
Sooooo, what do you do when the weather gets crazy and cold and not fit for hangin' about outdoors? Bust out the crock pot and make some spicy chili OF COURSE!

I love this recipe for trips to Mammoth too- it's super quick and easy to prep- like get the coffee pot percolatin' mix up the chili, throw it in the crock pot and head for the lift lines while dinner gets itself ready for ya! Then, after an exhaustingly fabulous day of braving the cold out on the slopes, you come back to a hot delicious dinner- perfect to serve in individual bread bowls if you can find em- or over a baked potato, or alongside some corn bread and a giant salad!

Here's how to make it happen....lots of notes below because we like it with some HEAT, so if you prefer a more mild chili- read on, it's all there.

1 lb ground beef, browned & drained (if you are in a mad rush you can skip the browning- ONLY if you use EXTRA LEAN beef or turkey- not to exceed 5% fat), the browning & draining is mostly to cook the fat off the meat so your chili's not swimmin in it.
1 pkg/ about 1lb Beef for Stew, steak already cut into 1-2 inch cubes
1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 of a finely chopped red onion
1/2 tsp cyanne pepper (you can do 1/4 for a little less spice)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp oregano
2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup chili powder
1 finely chopped jalapeño pepper 
(I don't know about your market, but ours has GIANT jalapeños these days- so weird!- so I use   about 3/4 of one of the gigant-O jalapeno peppers- and leave some of the membrane in there for heat- be sure to get all the membrane and seeds OUTTA there if you don't want that kick....I chop the other 1/4 to garnish the chili later!)
1 15oz tomato sauce 
1 1lb 12oz can diced tomatoes, not drained
salt & pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl & stir with wooden spoon until well combined. 
Pour into crock pot. 
Cook on low for 7 1/2 to 8 hours.


See above for a few various serving suggestions & try to stay warm as we welcome the first week of SPRING!!!!! 

HAPPY EASTER

HAPPY EASTER!!!
As you may have seen earlier last week on Facebook, I have been counting down the minutes to making Kitchen Runway's easy and amazing Peanut Butter Egg Brownies.
Nate and I had fun making these together last night and we anticipate even more fun eating them after our ravioli feast this evening!!
Hope you all have a Happy Easter an a beautiful Sunday!!