Spring Salad



I was watching Giada at Home day before yesterday and the large-chested Italian wonder (sorry...it's true) made a California Chopped Salad that looked delicious. I was craving it all day yesterday and today, so after Zumba I went to Kroger to pick up some delicious romaine lettuce. If you look closely at the photo above, you will see NO delicious romaine lettuce. Nor will you see any romaine lettuce. That's because every bit of lettuce in the dang store was rotten (except for the boxed arugula and one head of boston red leaf...which are found in the photo above). Boooo. I think I'll be shopping at Publix from now on.

Anyway, back to the salad. It was pretty darn simple and so very tasty (even without the romaine)! I used me golden rule (except for the lettuce) and used what I had! I chopped up an avocado, a tomato, a mango, and a few strawberries. I put them in the salad bowl. There they be:

Then I added the lettuce and some leftover chicken breast and drizzled on some homemade dressing (fresh squeezed orange juice, balsamic vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, and EVOO).

Then I tossed it all together and topped it with some toasted slivered almonds! The avocado and chicken added protein and the fruit added vitamin C and other goodies! It was quite healthy and very delicious. The perfect spring salad!

 Happy Spring everyone! :)

~ Mari

Homemade Granola Bars

Granola bars are great. Quick, tasty, and very portable. You know what's not great about granola bars? They aren't the best things for you. Even if you get the 90 calorie kind (Ryan's personal favorite), they still have things like caramel color, corn syrup solids, and all kinds of other lovely things I can't pronounce. In other words, they are processed. Plus, they only have about 1 gram of fiber each! So, I decided to take a crack at making a healthier, more protein-filled granola bar that isn't too hard on the wallet either. I've made a few different versions, but I like this one best. Keep in mind you can substitute things to your liking. If you don't like almonds, use walnuts. If you don't like chocolate chips (you're an alien), use carob chips or dried fruit. Get the idea? Good.

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

1 cup organic rolled oats, toasted

1 cup crispy rice (that's Rice Krispies to you)

3/4 cup wheat germ (you can find this at health food stores and Publix)

1/2 cup toasted & chopped pecans

1/2 cup toasted & chopped almonds

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 cup nonfat dry milk

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/4 cup real maple syrup (you know how I feel about Mrs. Butterworth...)

1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce

3 eggs

1 egg white

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Heat peanut butter and maple syrup (in a microwave safe bowl) in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir to combine. Add peanut butter mixture to dry ingredients. Beat eggs and egg white in bowl and add. Next, add applesauce. Stir to combine. Mixture should be moist, but not runny. Spray a 9x13" pan with cooking spray. Place a piece of parchment paper in the pan so that two sides (the 13 inch sides) of the parchment stick out over the sides. This will make is super simple to pick up the granola bars out of the pan and cut them. Now, bake them for 20-25 minutes (until set and lightly browned). Take them out and let them cool. Then lift them out of the pan using your parchment paper handles and place on a cutting board. Cut into rectangles and wrap individually with cling wrap. Refrigerate half and freeze half. Or don't. Whatever you want!





Hope you like them! :)

~ Mari

Herb Garden Transformation

I'm back! I've been a bit on the busy side lately (catering in Atlanta, social media marketing, writing dessert articles, writing videography proposals, helping at an elementary school, working in the yard, etc.), but I've missed you! So, I thought I would post some transformation pics of the herb garden! Who doesn't like some good "before & after" shots? Exactly.



So... here is the herb garden from last year: mint, sage, and basil.
(Not pictured: parsley and oregano)



Here it is a bit later in the summer... I added some sunflowers that promptly died.
Awesome.

And here it is at the beginning of this Spring.
OMG Weeds.

Whew. No more weeds.
I also added a little mulch... because I only had one bag.
Clever, right?



Then I added a few little guys: basil (it's an annual, so it died at the first freeze), dill, and thyme
(Notice how ginormous the mint has gotten! Yay!)



And then.... there was pine straw. :)

So - there you have it! The above photo is what it looks like at this very moment (I literally took the picture about 8 minutes ago). I'm quite pleased with the transformation and I can't wait until the dill and basil get big enough to actually use them! Stay tuned for more yard updates...

Thanks for looking!

~ Mari

I'm Still At It...

I haven't stopped writing articles for M Food & Culture Magazine, I've stopped posting about my articles. Oops! That's the only problem with doing a fun blog like this for myself - there's no one there giving me a deadline and telling me I must post! So, just like everything else in life, it sometimes falls by the wayside.

So- here is my newest article (page 62, of course) about Creme Brulee from The Downtown Grill in Macon, GA.

Thanks for looking and keep on cooking! (that could be the worst ending ever. but I like it.)

~ Mari

If You Can't Buy It, Make It

Remember that Pottery Barn wreath I posted about a while back while dreaming of spring decor? I didn't buy it. But, I made my own version and I'm quite happy with it! And, in case your door is looking a little drab, here's a little how- to:

What you'll need:



Twig wreath ($6.99 from Hobby Lobby)

Glue Gun (heavy duty one from Home Depot)

Assorted Faux Eggs, Feathers, Bird Nest, Assorted Floral Stems, and inexpensive wire 

First, hot glue some feathers and the eggs into the bird nest (remember to put only an odd number of eggs in the nest - it just looks better).

Next attach the nest to the twig wreath with the wire. Last, stick the floral stems into the wreath around the nest and any other place you think needs a little extra love. I just stuck the stems in and they stayed, but if you have trouble, you can wire them into the wreath or use hot glue to secure them. I only used greenery on my wreath (since that's what they did at PB), but if you want to use floral stems, go for it!

There it is hanging on our front door!

Just leave a comment if you have any questions! It really is THAT easy to get the Pottery Barn look... and it doesn't have to be as hard on your wallet! Hope you enjoyed this post, and happy crafting!

~ Mari

Just Another Reason to Love Google...

Even though it's a little scary that Google is taking over the world... they're doing it so well that you really can't hate them for it. I recently heard about a new search mechanism they have: Google Recipe Search. You can see why I was excited. It's fairly simple, really, but us food folk out there can really stand to gain a lot from this new feature.

All you have to do is type any ingredient into the search box on the main Google homepage and as you type, some options will appear on the left. Just click "Recipes" (the photo above is artistically decorated to draw attention to it...) and it will filter your search for recipes only! The best part? You can filter your results by ingredients, cook time, or calories. Awesome opossum. Filtering by ingredients is super cool because you can check which ones you would like included and check which ones you don't. Hot dog.


Thanks for making searching for the perfect meal that much easier, Google... and happy recipe hunting, everyone!

~ Mari

I Love You *This* Much

Happy belated Valentine's Day everyone!  Mr. Smith and I don't tend to celebrate V-day very much  - no gifts, chocolates, or flowers for us!  But, I still wanted to do something sweet for him.  Yesterday I got pretty ambitious and wanted to make a special meal for Valentine's eve.  I found a recipe for Italian meatloaf that I've been wanting to try forever in this month's Fine Cooking Magazine.  I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but DANG that was good meatloaf. Definitely the best I've ever made (...or had, for that matter).  I closed the meal with homemade chocolate lava cakes.  Needless to say, it was a happy Valentine's Day!

Note: Fine Cooking has this awesome tool online where you can make your own meatloaf!  That's all I did, but I didn't use their online tool, I just made it up as I went along.  Check it out when you get a chance!

Italian Meatloaf

STEP 1 - The Aromatics:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots

3/4 cup white wine

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add all ingredients except the wine and saute until softened and beginning to brown (6-8 minutes).  Add the wine and simmer until almost dry (4-5 minutes).  Transfer to a large bowl and let cool.

STEP 2 - Soak the Bread:

4 oz. sliced french bread

1 cup whole milk (if you don't have whole milk, any milk will work, but whole is better)

In a shallow dish (I used a 9x13" clear baking dish) soak the bread in the milk, flipping once, until soggy (10 minutes).  Lightly squeeze a handful at a time and place on a cutting board.  Finely chop and add to the bowl of aromatics.

- the aromatics & the soaked bread -



STEP 3 - Mix the Meatloaf:

2 lbs. ground bison

1/2 lb. lean ground pork

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. black pepper

1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

1 Tbsp. dried thyme

1 handful fresh basil

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup shredded parmesean cheese

2 Tbs. honey

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line the bottom of a 9x13" baking pan with parchment paper.  Add the meat and eggs into the bowl of aromatics & bread.  Scatter all other ingredients (except honey) on top.  Use your hands (I use disposable gloves) to gently mix ingredients until just combined. 

Transfer the meatloaf mixture to the baking pan and form into a rectangular-ish block.  Drizzle honey over the entire thing as evenly as possible.

- ready for the oven -

STEP 4 - Bake the Meatloaf:

Bake meatloaf until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the meatloaf registers 160 degrees F (about 1 and 1/2 hours).  Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.

- how delicious does that look? -

STEP 5 - Serve!

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (I used jarred)

1/4 cup shredded parmesean cheese

Slice into 3/4 - 1 inch pieces.

- look at all that good stuff in there -

Put the slices on a plate (I did two per person) and spoon that tomato sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle it with cheese!  Voila!



- I served it with some blistered green beans... we were happy campers -

 The meatloaf didn't even really taste like classic (kinda boring) meatloaf.  It was like the best Italian meatball you've ever eaten, in loaf form.  The honey carmelized on the outside and gave it a sweet, sticky crust and all of those spices and herbs in the meatloaf really gives it that fresh-from-Italy taste.  YUM!  I hope you enjoyed reading this recipe as much as we did eating it!  Don't get bogged down with all the steps - just make it.  I promise you'll be glad you did.

~ Mari

P.S. I made a mess. ;)