Parmesan and Garlic Lavash

Carson's mom, the woman behind this fried chicken, makes a lot of delicious things.  Most recently, this super easy appetizer that you will hover around like a creep until it's gone in your belly and your belly alone.  Seriously, if you're in charge of an appetizer at a party, assemble this and pop it in the oven when you get there and watch the madness ensue.  5 ingredients: lavash, olive oil, garlic, Parmesan and basil.  Soak the chopped garlic in some olive oil...    

...spread it on some lavash (which can be found at most grocery stores)...

...sprinkle the top with Parmesan and fresh basil...

...and bake it at 350 for 10 minutes or so (keeping an eye on it) until it gets all golden and crispy.  Break it apart into pieces, or just eat the whole sheet on your own.

Friday Giveaway!

It's been awhile since I have given you fine people something wonderful, so that's what I'm going to do today thanks to some wonderful products.  The people over at 'ips' (Intelligent Protein Snacks) and Stretch Island Fruit are letting me give away some delightful and healthy snacks.  I've been a fan of Stretch Island Fruit Leather for a long time - it's the perfect snack to keep in your purse - but I had never tried their fruit chews and was excited to let my hardest critic give them a go: Jack.  As a four-year-old, he's a fruit snack connoisseur and did I mention picky?  Well he loved them.  Also there are fun games on the packaging - sold.  Now ips - chips made with egg white protein - were something new to me.  The founder came up with the idea after realizing how much his kids (and I, even though he doesn't know me) enjoyed the crispy edges of eggs he cooked for them.  So he turned that concept into a chip!  Corn, egg whites, and other natural ingredients and they're awesome.  I'm giving away 3 different flavors.

Comment below to win!

Giveaway Rules:

1. You must be an official follower of this blog to win (click follow icon on the right).

2. Follow me on Twitter for an extra entry (comment below twice if you do).

3. Only open to residents of U.S. and Canada.

4. Winner will be chosen at random on Monday, August 19th at 8am PST.

Winging It.

Before I begin, I would like to make a bold statement: never again will I have a brilliant writing concept as I'm falling asleep and assume I will recall it the next day. I would like to tell you all right here and now that forever forward I will keep an adorable little notebook and a nice pen on my person at all times. Even in bed. Especially in bed.

That said, I promise this will still be just as great as my brain flower seemed last night, while half asleep and a few glasses of wine down the hatch.

I know this because I want to talk about wings. And, really, who doesn't like wings?

Actually, for the better part of my possible wing-eating adult life, I have been slightly repulsed by them. Wing consumption can appear a little desperate, a little cannibalistic, hands in face, both covered in cloying, sticky sauce, gnawing away at that tiny little bit of meat. I found the meat-to-bone ratio unnerving.

But I've been sheltered. I have not been around wings much. Wings are usually served in bars. To be specific, wings are usually served in bars with beer and sports and boys in baseball hats. And while I am a fan of sports and boys and baseball hats (though not necessarily together), you won't often find me with a beer in my hand. I am a wine drinker through and through. And the bars I just mentioned, often at these bars, when I ask what sort of wine they serve I hear, “Both kinds. Red and white.”

Call it lack of exposure, call it association, but you can clearly see why I'm not a wingophile. But a few, perhaps six or so, years ago, my then boyfriend (who always wore a baseball hat, followed sports (if they were New York teams) and drank beer in the appropriate bars with others like him)) noticed a blurb about wings in an issue of Saveur I was reading. The recipewas the original from the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. He was very into all things New York, being from Jersey himself. And so he tore the page out, shopped for the ingredients, including some ubiquitous and authentic cayenne pepper sauce, and made a batch of Buffalo wings that, to him, tasted like 'home.' I think he may have even smiled.

And you know what? More importantly, I liked them just fine. Even better, I secretly basked in the carnivorous, sloppy-faced, blue cheese dressing soaked process of it all. But I still paired mine with wine. A crisp white, I believe.

He made the wings once or twice more before our relationship ended. Funny thing, when he moved out, I'm almost positive he took that hot sauce-stained-ripped-out magazine page with him - and not a whole lot else.

In the years since, I've had very few wings. Until now.

It's summer, and Fred (who rarely wears baseball hats or goes to bars, but does enjoy his sports) not New York teams, however)) is back in full-on grill mode. And, in addition to all of the steaks, pork tenderloins, salmon, veggies, brick chickens, shisito peppers, and the like, Fred has been grilling wings.  A lot. About five or six times, now. Each time he has riffed and each time he has done something slightly different, be it in the marinade, the dipping sauce or the garnish. But every single time, with my sticky fingers and my smiling face, messy like a five year-old playing in the mud, I look down at my plate of carnage, my mountain of tiny, little chicken bones, and the cloth napkin, so dotted with sauce it resembles a Pollock painting, and exclaim how much I absolutely love wings. With a crisp, white wine, of course. I'm not an animal.

And I always want at least one more.

So, after all of this, I still don't remember what my brilliant, masterpiece brain flower was from last night. But I do remember I was thinking about the concept of 'winging it', and that I thought I had some extraordinary watershed concept with regard to that phrase. And, I suppose since it had dissapeared completely by the time I opened my eyes this morning, in writing this today, I did in fact, 'wing it'.

But I'm still keeping an adorable little notebook and a nice pen next to my bed from now on.

BBQ Buffalo Wings with Avocado-Ranch Dip

Serves 2-6, depending on your appetite.

Wings:

3 pounds chicken wings

Salt

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Marinade:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

½ cup Frank's Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

2 tablespoons Texas Pete's, Tabasco or hot sauce of your preference

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon black pepper

To make the sauce, mix all of the ingredients together in a small pot set over low heat and stir constantly until the butter melts. Once the butter melts, whisk the sauce vigorously off the heat and set aside. It should remain liquid throughout the cooking process. If it starts to solidify, heat it up just enough to melt it, whisking all the time. You don't want this sauce to boil.

Toss the wings with the vegetable oil and the salt, and arrange in one layer on the grill set over low heat. If you are using charcoal or wood, it will be very difficult to do this, so set your fire on one side of the grill and arrange the wings on the other side, away from the direct heat. You want them to cook slowly, with little or no sizzle. Cover the grill and cook like this for 30 minutes.

Turn the wings and paint with the sauce. Close the grill and cook for another 30 minutes. Repeat the process, until the wings are done to your liking, this time painting the wings every 15 minutes or so. Make sure you have a little leftover sauce to toss the wings with at the end and serve with the avocado-ranch dipping sauce.

Avocado-Ranch Dipping Sauce:

1 ripe avocado, halved and pitted

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon diced red onion

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 clove of garlic

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (like Tabasco)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

salt & pepper to taste

Place the avocado in a food processor and add hot sauce and lime juice. Set the food processor to puree or high, and puree the avocado for 30 seconds or until it is a smooth paste.

Lift the lid from the food processor and to the avocado add buttermilk, mayonnaise, red onion, cilantro, garlic, sugar, and 1 pinch each of salt and pepper.

Replace the lid on the food processor and pulse the ingredients 5 or 6 times for about 15 seconds each time until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. It may need a few more pulses if the garlic is not chopped finely enough.

Check the dressing for salt and pepper and adjust if required. You can add a bit more hot sauce at this point as well, if you want it a bit spicier.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Printable recipe.

Two years ago: Yerp: Part 6. Barthelona (Part 2), THE HAMOVER.

Four years ago: Vichyssoise

Crispy Artichoke Hearts

I ate a ridiculously good appetizer over the weekend - which was creamy burrata cheese served with crispy artichoke hearts.  Simple, but the different textures and flavors were incredible.  While I don't know how to make my own burrata (one day... one day I will have cows and churn butter), I did figure out how to make crispy artichokes and it was stupid easy.  Buy a can or jar of artichoke hearts, drain them, heat about 1/2 inch olive oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat, add artichokes and pan fry! I left them in for a couple of minutes per side.  Using a slotted spoon, I removed them onto a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkled them with sea salt.  Eat these plain or with burrata or over a salad or... you tell me.  The possibilities are endless.  Hope you enjoyed your weekends, Internet friends!

It's like, a heat wave.

My word. June strutted out with a lasting impression. We've got a full-on heatwave out West. It's that kind of heat, that muggy, oppressive heat that crosses over into kind of sexy. I mean, you just can't help it if it's so hot that you must walk, or rather, sashay, around in nothing but a slip and and something cool to drink in a glass beaded with sweat. You may even have to put said glass up to your forehead or the side of your neck to further assist in cooling off. I'm just saying...

Or you could grab your bathing suit, an exceptionally cute looking, breezy throw over, and call your friends with a pool. Then you are able to do all of the above, but while sporting a bikini under an exceptionally cute looking, breezy throw over in lieu of the slip, and actually be cool – while acting sultry.

And so, yesterday, that is exactly what Fred and I did. The only thing is, unlike Fred - and most people - I don't really care much for pools. Unless they are about as hot as a bath would be. And I also realized that it had actually been a couple of years (three) since I had put on a bikini. But, I figured, it was that hot and I would be spending the afternoon with good friends - very good, old friends. So I threw the bikini and my impossibly perfect and exceptionally cute looking, breezy throw over into a canvas bag, grabbed my just-so worn-in, flouncy straw hat, and my fancy sunglasses and hopped in the car with Fred to head over to Kisma and Jonathan's place for a beat-the-heat poolside, backyard picnic.

The backyard picnic is great, as it can be as ornate or pared down as you want it to be. Why? Because a kitchen is right there. You don't have to pack cleverly or concisely. Fitting everything into a basket or back pack is a non-issue. And another fun possibility with a backyard picnic: games! Backgammon, chess, croquet, volleyball, Yahtzee, water polo... if you have the game, you can play the game. But all the fun picnicy parts are all in place: blanket, lots of snackies and noshables, any number of drinks (even the adult variety) and, of course, the flies. It seems no picnic would feel like much of a picnic without flies, ants or mosquitos, so just man up and deal with it.

After a quick dip in the pool, some laughter while recalling the debacle that was the end of my birthday last week over a glass of wine, and oogling and googling with their baby, Jones, we all got into our various places in the kitchen and grill to begin cooking, slicing and assembling everything for our picnic. We had a cheese and charcuterie plate with rosemary crisps, some homemade pickles, roasted almonds, cornichons, an orzo salad with fresh veggies and herbs from the garden, blanched and chilled haricot verts with minced garlic, lemon and purple basil flowers, grilled bratwurst with lavender and thyme sauerkraut and brown mustard, grilled haloumi, celery stalks and homemade bleu cheese dressing for dipping, fresh strawberries and blueberries with candied ginger, a couple of watermelon and lime water cocktails and some chilled wine. But what ended up being the star of this glorious spread was actually all Fred's. He has made this dish a handful of times, now with much success: grilled then marinated Summer vegetables over grilled rustic bread topped with burrata. It can be a snack, it can be an appetizer or it can be lunch. It's fresh, seasonal, robust, bright, and has a medley of shapes, colors, flavors and textures. You can use whatever veggies you happen to have at a given time, making it versatile, fairly easy and extraordinarily delicious.

After our massive festival of grazing food and sipping drinks, we all jumped back in the pool for another cool down before some more lounging in the grass, a little more grazing and another glass of so and so. Next thing we knew it it was seven o'clock. You have to love these long, Summer days.

And so, with the end of June comes the end of our picnic posts (for this year, anyway). And I can think of nothing more perfect with which to close out a month of picnic ideas that this recipe for Fred's grilled, marinated veggies. And, likewise, I can think of no recipe more perfect which which to usher in July.  

P.S. Thanks to Kisma and Jonathan for hosting this picnic and Kisma for styling the shoot!

Grilled, Marinated Summer Vegetables over Rustic Toast with Burrata

Serves 6

3 summer squash or zucchini (about 1 lb.), sliced on a diagonal 1/2" thick

3 red, orange or yellow bell peppers, cut into 1" strips

1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

2 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons Sherry or red wine vinegar
1 small shallot, minced

4 sprigs oregano

1 loaf of rustic bread, sliced into large chunks and brushed with oilve oil, lightly grilled or toasted.

1 lb. burrata

Place squash, pepper and asparagus in a large bowl with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, salt & pepper and toss to coat. Spread out in a single layer on grill, turning peppers skin side up.

Roast until tender, turning squash once, about 15-20 minutes. Let cool slightly; remove skins from peppers.

Whisk garlic, shallot, vinegar and remaining olive oil in a large bowl; season with salt & pepper. Add vegetables and oregano; toss to coat. Cover and let sit at least an hour.

Portion burrata evenly onto slabs of grilled bread and top with marinated vegetables.

Printable recipe.

One year ago: Sausage, Egg & Fontina Cheese Pizza

Two years ago: Yerp: Part 4 - Les Sentiers Gourmands

Three years ago: Rustic Cherry Tart with Almond Ice Cream

Whole Wheat Soft Pretzel Bites

You would think after the debacle I experienced last time I volunteered to bake snacks for Jack's preschool, I'd be over doing it again.  But you can fool me once, or twice, and never again, as George W said, I think.  What I'm trying to say is... I don't learn from my mistakes!  No, I kid, this time it was actually a leisurely, enjoyable experience.  And I found a new recipe that I will absolutely try again!  Very healthy (I subbed whole wheat flour for all-purpose) and allergy friendly (dairy-free).  Great dipped in peanut butter (or soy butter if you have a nut allergy).  I doubled the recipe and it made A TON.  Plenty to feed a schoolyard of crazy kids.  I'm never there when the kids enjoy snack time, but I'd like to imagine the table chatter goes something like this:

Kid:  What a delicious and healthy snack for my tummy.  Who MADE these?
Jack:  MY MOM.  The BEST mom in the whole wide world.
Kid:  Wow.  You should totally bring her home a medal or at least a candy bar or some new shoes.      

Grilled Roasted Chicken Nachos

This is not a mommy blog.  But I feel it is my duty to share with you how tired I am, in case I need an excuse for writing something stupid or deciding to whip up an ambrosia salad or something.  The thing is, I do not give birth to babies who like to sleep.  And if you do, if your 8-month-old sleeps 12 hours a night, I can't hear about it, or I'll turn mean on you and make up a song that rhymes your name with bad words.  Like, if your name is LuLu I will sing, "LuLu is a PooPoooooooooo."  You get it.  I'm averaging 6 hours of sleep a night and if you think those hours are consecutive HA, ha ha, hahahahahaha NO.  Look, I'm not asking for sympathy, I know this comes with motherhood, it's all worth it, yadda yadda yadda.  But this blog has been therapy for me from the beginning, so it is helpful to write it all down.  Even if I might regret that poo poo part later.

You know what else is helpful?  When Carson comes home with two mystery chickens, and roasts them on the BBQ.  Then he shreds them atop sturdy tortilla chips and places that on a cast iron griddle and places THAT on the grill.  Cheddar and Monterey Jack.  Bubbly, melty, smoky nachos.  A side of his homemade guacamole, sour cream and jalapenos.  Wow they were good.  Perfect summer outdoor food, especially to feed a crowd.  p.s. That picture above looks like the state of Wisconsin.  Do you see that?  Or is that the sleep deprivation working its magic...       

Tempura Green Beans

*First and foremost, I want to say my heart goes out to everyone in Boston, especially those affected by yesterday's tragedy.  Rather than feel angry and confused about the bad people in this world, I am trying to focus on the good - those who run into a smoke filled crowd, those who donate blood and heal wounds.  And as a mother, this quote can help us all stay positive.  Ok, moving on...   

One of our favorite restaurants in Santa Monica is M Street Kitchen.  Kid AND adult friendly.  Cocktails, sports TVs, delicious food, a "kids-eat-free happy hour" with healthy, appropriately-sized portions and THE BEST adult happy hour burger.  Then there's the bakery - with homemade English muffins, sea salt chocolate chip cookies and brown butter rice crispy treats.  It's all stupid good.  If you're ever in LA, go there, for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  

One of our favorite appetizers is something called Three Green Bites.  It's edamame, tempura green beans and shisito peppers.  I decided to recreate it at home (with avocado in place of the peppers) by frying up my own tempura green beans.  It was so easy and they are so good.  And trust me, if your kids don't like green beans, they will eat these.  Hey, whatever works.  

Tempura Green Beans

(Makes enough batter for many, many green beans)

Printable Recipe

Vegetable oil

Green beans, cleaned and trimmed (I like to use French-style cause they're skinnier)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup light beer (or you could use club soda)

Salt

Soy sauce for dipping

Place 2 inches of vegetable oil (approx. 4 cups) in a deep pot.  Heat oil (over medium-high) until it reaches 350 degrees.  In a shallow bowl, whisk together flour and beer until combined.  Coat about 15 green beans at a time in batter.  

Using tongs, place green beans in oil one by one to avoid them sticking together.  Fry for a couple of minutes, until golden brown.



Remove with tongs and place on a paper towel to cool.  Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Serve with soy sauce for dipping (good for all the green bites).

Homemade Baseball-Shaped Graham Crackers

Jack had his first T-ball game over the weekend and it, was, comedy.  A bunch of little 4 year-olds wearing jerseys down to their knees, more excited than I'd ever seen them, running around after one ball and tackling each other to be the first to get it as we chanted, "you're on the same team!"  It brought back memories of my own childhood days in the outfield, where I chased butterflies and spoke to imaginary boyfriends and let pop-ups hit me on the head.  So I didn't grow up to be an athlete, but I did learn how to bake a thing or two which is why I volunteered to bring snacks for the first game.  The perfect excuse to try out this Weelicious recipe (found here) for Homemade Graham Crackers.  

I used a circle cookie-cutter and a fork to turn them into little baseballs!  Jack had so much fun helping. They were very easy to make and while mine were slightly thicker than the original cracker, the taste was very familiar and delicious.  By the way, I also brought 20 bags of baby carrots and I came home with 19 bags of baby carrots.  I think a dad ate one bag.  He's going to have great eyesight, I told all the graham cracker-eating kids who absolutely ignored me.    

SD on A Cup of Jo!

Pinch me... I have a recipe up on A Cup of Jo.

NO REALLY, I REALLY DO.

Thank you Joanna for featuring my Rosemary Parmesan Popcorn!

Go check it out and make some for yourself : )

(All photos shot by Katy at Chasing You Photo)

Sunday Snacks

What are your Super Bowl Sunday plans?  We're going to be out of town, but that won't stop me from hitting up a local grocery store for snack food.  Still not sure what to make this year.  Any ideas?  If you're also looking for ideas, here are some of mine... happy football + eating weekend!   

If you haven't made Lucy's Ham Sandwiches yet, you're missing out on a tremendous thing.  

Homemade Chex Mix is easy, fun and kids (talking about myself) love it. 

Cheese Straws. 

Spiced Nuts.

And these... I mean, I mean (Homemade Snickers)

Also, just because, weaved bacon.  

That is just the most beautiful sight.  And here are my ideas from last year.  

Go SF!  

Homemade Chex Mix

Was your New Year's Resolution to stop snacking?  Then quick, go away, close your eyes, throw water on your computer screen (or don't), ESCAPE!  ESCAPE!  ESCAPE!  

You still here?  Good, you're my real friends.  Because only my real friends would want to enjoy the most delicious snack known to man, even if it is HIGHLY addicting.  It's very easy to throw together and a fun activity for kids as well.  Jack threw on his new Star Wars apron and stirred away (then proceeded to do the dishes, per his request, not kidding).  Also a great football-play-offs-watching snack, even if the Vikings are out : (  

I followed this recipe, and only used peanuts because that's what I had.  Mmm, snacks.        

Leftovers

Christmas has come and gone. The gifts have been thought out, purchased, wrapped, received, unwrapped and put away. The guests have come and gone. What remains, however, is a lot of leftovers. Fred and I have done all sorts of things imaginable with all of the leftovers in the fridge - the most creative being a shepherd pie of sorts. We took the leftover prime rib, chopped it up with some carrots, celery and red wine and turned it into a boeuf bourguignon. Then we took the scraps leftover from the domino potatoes, boiled them and made a mash. We put the remains of the winter greens gratin in the mash and stirred it all together. Then we put the bourguignon in a casserole, topped it with the mash and baked it. That was dinner one night. And a snack the next day. The funny thing is that now we have that leftover in the fridge.


I feel like Sisyphus, but my rock is leftover food. Actually, my rock is the ham. We weren’t entirely certain we would have enough food to feed our seven, possibly eight, guests for Christmas dinner (a thought, that in hindsight, was absurd) so we asked Fred’s mom’s boyfriend to bring a ham (he had offered). Needless to say, the ham never even saw the dinner table on Christmas as we had an over abundance of food.


So I sent everyone home with some ham that night. And the next day there were ham sandwiches. And some ham biscuits the day after that. We even had ham and eggs for breakfast the next morning.


But even yesterday, when I opened the fridge, the ham was still there. And a lot of it. I wanted to get the hock to make ham and beans, but there was still so much ham left to use. So, I did what I often do in these situations; I called Mom. You see, my mom makes a killer ham salad.


My mom is also moving back to Virginia in less than two weeks. So right now, any excuse to see, or talk to her is welcomed. In fact, lately, we’ve been talking about five or six times a day. Yesterday it was about ham salad. She told me her recipe and her technique, and while Fred watched football in the den, I took every last shred of meat on that ham, got two chefs knives, and went cray cray on some ham salad. My mom told me Uncle Dougerton especially loves her ham salad, so I delivered some to him today. I also took some to my girls at Lindy & Grundy, since they love anything my mom makes.


Today is New Year’s Eve, and I’m sitting on the sofa, writing this, completely swaddled in the blanket my mom knitted me for this Christmas. She has been working on it for well over a year and it shows. It’s huge. It’s like twenty feet long huge. It’s bright and colorful and filled with different textures and shapes. I know it will be in my life forever. My kids and grandkids will love this blanket. I look at the blanket and I know she touched, and thought about, and poured love into every thread, every millimeter of it. Did she know what she was giving me right before she is moving away? My favorite leftover of them all. An heirloom.


And this recipe for ham salad.

Kathy's Deviled Ham Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups ham, really finely chopped
1/4 cup sweet onion, finely diced
1/4 cup celery, finely diced
1 large dill pickle, diced
3 tablespoons mayo
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
Dash of sherry vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste


Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together until blended but not too smooth as you want a bit of texture. Taste and adjust any seasoning or add more mayonnaise if you like. A little drizzle of pickle juice is excellent as well.


Yield: About 3 cups. Keeps in the refrigerator for a few days.

Printable recipe.


One year ago: Domino potatoes
Two years ago: Linguine with pancetta mushroom cream sauce
Three years ago: 2009: The Year of the Food Truck

Homemade Strawberry Fruit Leather

Can I whine?  Ok, I'm going to, my blog, thanks.

I had a post ready to go yesterday - a slow cooked shredded pork for Taco Tuesday - went to get my computer and found it SWIMMING in a puddle of water.  Yes, 3-year-old, accidents happen, it's okay, giant fake smile on my face.  My computer won't turn on.  Was it backed up?  I don't know.  Will I lose all the recent photos of my daughter's birth?  Quite possibly.  CRISSCROSS APPLESAUCE!  (That's what my son's preschool teachers say when they're upset, which is much more pleasant than the words floating around my brain.)

Also there has been a confirmed case of lice at my son's school.  I know, I know, you have 3 kids and you get these emails all the time and I should not panic.  But I'm panicking.  Help.  How do I prevent him from getting it?  Send him to school in a swim cap, a friend suggested.  A Spiderman mask?  CRISSCROSS APPLEBUTTHEAD!  (I'd make a great teacher.)     

Fruit leather...

Now that my son attends school everyday in lice-land, I've been obsessing over the site Weelicious.  Catherine offers an infinite amount of healthy and creative lunch ideas.  I will admit, I'm slightly overwhelmed trying to find the time to make most of them with two kids, but this fruit leather was absurdly easy.  Puree some strawberries with honey and bake.  Done.  Recipe here.  

Thank you Catherine!  

Check out that cute head.  See any lice????

M Loves M Guest Post ~ Favorite Healthy Snacks

by Mara at M Loves M...

Hi everyone!  My name is Mara and I blog over at M Loves M.  I'm so happy to be here guest posting for Siri as she's busy welcoming her baby into the world.  Siri has been such a great blog friend since the beginning and I'm so excited for her and her growing family : )  This baby is going to be so loved, and fed a lot of amazing food!  I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite, easy and healthy snacks with you today:

Growing up in California I've always loved avocados.  I've found that they are extremely delicious with goat cheese so my favorite little concoction is mixing 1 avocado with 2 ounces {or more if you like!} of goat cheese.  Spread that on some whole wheat bread and it's delicious!  If you're going to take it to work, or give it to the kids, add a tiny bit of lime so that the acid prevents the avocados from turning brown.

Greek yogurt is so rich and creamy, it's almost like a dessert.  While I eat ice cream a few times a week {maaajor sweet tooth over here!}, on the other nights I'll have some greek yogurt with fresh diced strawberries and honey.  It's so satisfying! 

As we're getting into fall I'm starting to make this roasted nut recipe that my Dad created.  It's always at my parents' house and it's the perfect midday snack because it's so flavorful!  To make: roast almonds for 10-15 minutes depending on size {turn and check frequently}.  Once toasted add olive oil, salt and lots of rosemary.  Make sure you have enough olive oil on to make the salt and rosemary stick.  For 1 cup of nuts I used a little less than 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon of salt {you can always add more!}, and 2 tablespoons of rosemary {because it's so good!}.  

For the apples I cut them open, scoop out the centers, fill with peanut butter and top with granola.  So easy and so yummy!

These snacks are really easy and healthy, too.  If you try them let me know what you think!  I'm sure there are a bunch of great variations on all of them, as well.  Thanks for letting me keep you company today!  Feel free to stop by my blog and say hi anytime : )