Romaine Salad Recipe

I LOVE salads!! I made this salad with a pasta dish, twisted parmesan breadsticks, and for dessert had tahitian gelato and raspberry sorbet with fresh pomegranate seeds!

Hearts of Romaine Salad

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 romaine lettuce hearts
8 radishes, halved and thinly sliced
Garnishes: freshly shaved Parmesan cheese, chopped fresh chives

Preparation
1. Whisk together first 7 ingredients until blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes. (Dressing may be stored in refrigerator up to 3 days.)

2. Cut romaine hearts in half lengthwise, keeping leaves intact. Arrange halves on individual serving plates. Sprinkle with radishes. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish, if desired.

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet, "young" man! I am grateful to be married to such a thoughtful, hardworking, handsome, loving, patient, forgiving, silly, sexy, wonderful husband! I love you babes! Happy 27th!

Weeks Activities

This weeks activities:

• Mike took me on a mile hike about 10 minutes from our house—a point overlooking the entire valley. A lot different terrain than Seattle and Utah but nonetheless beautiful. I am glad we can enjoy the outdoors together and love being active people.
  
  
  
  Mike was sweet enough to loan me his sweat shirt, man it was windy!
  
  
  

• For date night this week we stayed in and Mike planned a romantic dessert picnic on our living room floor—chocolate fondue and fruit. It was a yummy, perfect idea!

• I forgot to write last week that Mike has been skateboarding lately at a local skate park. He has also taken up swimming in our pool as part of his cardio regime. I have to say he's looking mighty fine and buff these days!

• We have been enjoying the second book to Hunger Games (looking forward to how it ends)
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• For FHE's on Monday nights we have listened to these marital relation cds by Matt Townsend; good reminders to work on throughout the week to make sure we edify our relationship and remember that marriage continues to be our number one priority.

• We went to a consignment shop—Kid to Kid, and bought our first stroller/car seat! Can't believe my little man is going to be riding in these soon!
  
  
  

• We rented Eat, Love, Pray one evening, which I actually enjoyed. There were many lessons I thought were so applicable for my life; it was a good reminder to listen to your heart, to not let fears hold you back, and to keep your life balanced.

• Thursday night we finally decorated our Christmas tree and put up all of our Christmas decorations. I love having the spirit of Christmas in our home! Nika loves hanging out under the tree every year as well!

Here are a few pics of our apartment since I haven't posted any:

The man of the house

Our patio

Our birds house

Merry Christmas

• We picked up my lovely mother on Friday. It was SOOOOO good to see her; I just love my mom! I love spending time with her, we have such a close-knit bond; I enjoy every time I get to be in her company. I can't wait to start working on some projects together, go out to eat, show her around AZ, etc.! I LOVE having fun things to do to keep me busy.

We took her to one of our favorite sandwich places called Which, Which. YUMMY hot sandwiches with all the condiments and veges you could possibly want on it! Then we walked around Westgate and showed her our apartment before taking her to Dave and Kimbers. The kids were SOOOO happy to see "grandma!" Tyler even made the comment "when are Mike and Amanda leaving?" so she could have grandma all to herself; it was so cute.

This is how mom lives it up when dad's not around: loadin up on Margaritas! :)

• Today, Saturday, is my baking/cooking day. I just LOVE cooking! I'm making two different breads (sandwich bread and french bread), spiced pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting, carmel apples (chocolate with peanut butter, chocolate with nuts, and white chocolate with cinnamon sugar), a bacon and leek dip, an olive with parmesean cheese spread, sausage and a cheese ball with crackers, and chili—all for tonights gathering/dinner at our place. Then we are all going to Goodyear Ballpark to play in 40 tons of snow, ice skate, and walk around the arts and crafts booths. So many fun things to do in AZ, I love it!

Below I've posted these yummy recipes for you to enjoy!

Olive Spread

I came up with this delicious spread to go on some toasted artisan bread. Serve with your favorite pasta dish or as an appetizer and you have a yummy dinner!

Artisan Bread
Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil (has to be good quality, nothing beats REAL olive oil)
Black Olives
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Black pepper
Garlic Salt

Slice and toast bread. In a small bowl mix the rest of ingredients (enough olive oil to make a good paste). Spread paste on bread and enjoy! Bet you can't eat just one!!!

Black Bean Chili

This had become one of my favorite Chili Recipes. If you want some chili with a bit of kick to it, this is delish!!! Simply serve with cornbread and you have a perfect winter dinner!

Black Bean Chili

Ingredients

3 cups of cooked black beans
1 can petite chopped tomatoes
1 T Cajun seasoning
1 T chili powder
1 4 oz can of green chili
1/2 chopped green bell pepper
1/2 chopped onion
1 T olive oil
1 pound ground beef

Directions

Saute onion and bell pepper in olive oil until tender. Add meat and cook. Depending on the % of fat your meat has, you may want to drain off some excess fat. When you have finished cooking the meat add green chili, beans, tomatoes and seasonings. Cook until hot. Serve with cheese, sour cream, cilantro and corn bread muffins.

I used fresh roasted green chili that I pulsed a few times in my food processor. I also added one fresh tomato that needed to be used from the garden.

For the Cajun season I mix up the following: 1/4 c salt, 3 T garlic powder, 3 T fresh ground black pepper, 1/4 t cayenne pepper, 1 T paprika. I put this in a jar and use it for all kinds of things.

YUMMY Recipes

OH the joys of being pregnant! I love and hate food even more! :) I figured since food is becoming more and more apart of my pregnancy I'd start blogging a few of the new dishes I have been making. I love cooking and I love trying new things. Here is the start to a few of my recent favorites, ENJOY!


I made this Blueberry Yogurt Cake because I had some plain yogurt in my fridge and wanted to find a way to use it. Let's just say I am so grateful for that leftover yogurt. If you want something you can't stop eating this is your treat; it stays moist for days! It is great for breakfast, as a snack with a delicious cup of Rooibus tea (my favorite), or dessert! Mike and I fell in love with it! AND if you are allergic to gluten, like me, I omitted the flour with Betty Crocker's Gluten-Free Bisquick Mix and honestly you can't even tell the difference with this one. I also used frozen blueberries instead of fresh; just zap them in the microwave for a few seconds before adding them to your batter. ENJOY!!

Prep and Cook Time: 55 minutes.

Yield: Makes 6 generous servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream 1/2 cup butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into butter mixture. Add yogurt and mix; gently stir in blueberries.

3. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts. Pour half the cake batter into a buttered and floured 8-inch square baking pan. Sprinkle with half the brown sugar mixture and top with the remaining batter.

4. Combine the remaining brown sugar mixture with 2 tablespoons butter and sprinkle over the top of the batter. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.