Costa Rica

Hello friends,
Sorry it's been so long. I knew it had been a while but I didn't realize how long. Yikes!

So, on to the food! I am currently in manuel antonio, CR, for a short 3 remaining days of our 12 day trip with the fam! And I have to say, as far as food goes, our favorite place so far is mexican.. Go figure. Everything in this part of town is geared towards tourists and is way over priced and not very authentic :( but despite that we've manger to enjoy a few spots here or there and making our own food.



FYI.. I love yucca root and plantains!!

But one thing I can share with you is the sour cream. Its freshly made! It easily made at home and I promise you won't regret trying your hand at it.

Sour Cream

Ingredients:
1C. Heavy whipping cream ( not ultra pasteurized)
1/4 C. Buttermilk

Directions:
Heat cream to 180 degrees F. Let cool pour into Tupperware container, add buttermilk, stir. Cover loosely with lid or a cheese cloth. Let sit out on counter for 8+ hours, till cream curdles and thickens. You'll know it's done when it smells like sour cream. Stir.
Cover tightly with lid and refrigerate l. Lasts about 7-10days, or more.

Dulce De Leche Cereal Bars

Want a quick and delicious breakfast? try these delicious and easy to make cereal bars. You can use pretty much any cereal you like; i decided to try cheerios new dulce de leche flavor. Turned out pretty well, especially if you like sweet.

As soon as i saw these beauties i knew i had to try them! I'm always looking for new breakfast recipes, especially easy, "to go" yummie's for my busy husband who never has time to sit down and eat. If you like the store bought cereal milk bars..you'll love these!

Dulce De Leche Cereal Bars
Adapted from Simply Scratch on Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:
12 Oz Dulce De Leche Cheerios*
1/4 C. Almonds, sliced
7 Oz, Mini marshmallows or 12 large marshmallows
1/4 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tbs Salted Butter

* If you like, get a little creative with the kind of cereal, honey nut cheerios or golden grahams would work great. Whatever sounds good to you.

Directions:
Mix together cereal and almonds in a large bowl, set aside. In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium-low heat, stir in marshmallows until melted and combined. Add in the vanilla and stir.
Pour over cereal and stir.
Pour into a greased 8x8 baking dish, press down and let cool.
Once cool cut up into bars and serve.
Enjoy!!   

Green Smoothie

The green smoothie. Something i never thought i would enjoy but has recently swept the "fit" world. So, i thought, why not try it. It has now become my favorite breakfast or post work out sip. I know what your thinking...you're not sure about that bright green color, can you taste the veggies you ask?

I get it, cause those we're the exact questions i asked myself. But let me reassure you, the spinach in this yummy smoothie is, though visibly vibrant and noticeable, is practically invisible when it comes to taste.   

The spinach (or green veggie of choice) adds a great dose of nutrients the the already healthy and sweet fruits. I usually add a little honey, but if you wanted just the fruit alone would make it sweet and satisfying.

Go on. Give it a try...you won't regret it!

Green Smoothie
Adapted from Nutrition to Invigorate Mind, Body and Spirit

Ingredients:
2 small handfuls of Spinach (or green leafy vegetable of choice)
1/2 C. Frozen Peaches *
1/2 C. Frozen Mango *
1 Banana
1/4 C. or more of Almond Milk or Water
1 Tbs Honey , to taste (if needed). 


*You can use any light colored fruit instead of peaches or mango if you prefer, such as kiwi, pineapple, apple or pear.

Directions:
Rinse spinach, measure out ingredients, and place in blender. Blend together until smooth and enjoy.

Tri Color Scramble and Home Fries

When i first saw this video, it had me laughing out loud. This is exactly what happens every time i try to make an omelet and i thought it was the perfect intro to this delicious and healthful omelet turned scramble with a side of home fries.

I made this meal a couple weeks ago as a way to use up some of the fresh veggies sitting in our crisper. It turned out to be quite tasty.

I love breakfast for dinner, on occasion; and mostly because of how simple it is to make. Despite the fact that my veggie omelet turned into a veggie scramble i was happy with 

The end result...

 

Tri Color Scramble and Home Fries: 

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. Olive Oil 

1/2C. Chopped Kale 

1/4C. Red Pepper 

1/4C. Red Onion

5 Eggs, beaten

Salt and Pepper 

Handful of Parmesan 

2C. Multi-color potatoes, chopped

1/4C. Yellow onion, chopped   

Handful of Chopped Parsley 

Directions: 

Prep the veggies and potatoes. Heat 2 frying pans with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in each. 

Beat eggs in small bowl. Mix in dash of salt and pepper. 

Place potatoes, parsley and yellow onion in one of the pans, salt and pepper to taste, fry for 2-5 minutes. Add small amt of water and cover. cooking for 8 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until water is completely gone and potatoes are crisp. 

Meanwhile fry up the veggies in the other pan for 1-2 minutes until soft. Add eggs and cook, gently stirring until done. Scramble should be soft and fluffy but not runny. Taste, and sprinkle with salt and pepper if needed. 

Dish up and sprinkle with a little Parmesan for the eggs, potatoes or both, your choice.

Enjoy!!  

Roasted Winter Vegetable Pasta

One of those last minute, what am i going to put on the table? meals. This veggie pasta dish was absolutely delightful and i can't wait to make it again!! The combination of garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan with sweet potato and brussel sprouts served over pasta created a combination of rich and light flavors. It was something I could enjoy eating and at the same time not feel guilty about it.

A couple of weeks ago Alex was feeling poorly and we decided to shut ourselves in and spend the day watching Lord Of The Rings 1, 2 and 3, Followed by a slew of chick flicks. Somewhere in between watching Frodo save middle earth and Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fall in love over email, i had to figure something out for dinner.

After raiding my pantry, this meal is what i came up with. It took all of 40 minutes and was a great ending to a wonderful day!

Roasted Winter Vegetable Pasta

Ingredients:
1 Large Sweet Potato, peeled and chopped into small pieces.
1/2 Lb Cleaned and halved Brussel Sprouts
1 Tbs Olive Oil
3 Tbs Butter
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced, divided.
1 Lb Spaghetti
1/2 C. Pine nuts, toasted
Salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash, peel and chop vegetables.
Spread out the veggies onto a rimmed cookie sheet or shallow baking dish. Drizzle olive oil, add 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 2 Tbs. of butter. Roast in oven for 25 minutes; stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in pan over medium heat (no butter needed) for about 5 min. Watch carefully as they burn easy.
Boil water and cook pasta according to package. Drain pasta then place back in pot. Mix in the remaining 1 Tbs of butter and 1 clove of minced garlic.
Once Vegetables are nicely roasted remove from oven, mix in the pine nuts, season with salt and serve over pasta with a sprinkling of Parmesan, or not, whichever you prefer and Enjoy!!
  

Swirled Creamy Fudge Pie

I love making the usual favorite desserts in this household, one of those being Hot Fudge Pie, but every now and then i like to experiment, change things up.

Get creative. 

For this particular dessert i took the hot fudge pie, and decided to add a cream cheese base and swirl to get the look you see here. I was immediately pleased with the look of the pie, but a little nervous about the taste.

Despite the fact that it was my first time swirling, and there's always things to improve on first tries, i felt this pie was a great addition to my dessert file and wanted to share. I hope you enjoy the creamy, fudgey flavor of the filling with the crisp, buttery and flaky pie crust.

Swirled Creamy Fudge Pie
Adapted from Island Eat , first seen on Pinterest

Ingredients:

For the Pie:
1 Pie crust
4 oz Cream Cheese
1 C. Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs, Beaten
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/3 C. Flour, scant
2 Tbs Milk 

For the Chocolate Swirl:
4 oz Unsalted Butter, Melted
1 1/2 oz Unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease pie dish and roll out pie crust.
Beat the cream cheese, and sugar together with a mixer. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix.
Add the vanilla and mix.
Add in half the flour and mix, followed by the milk then the rest of the flour.
Melt the butter, add in the chocolate and stir. Microwave for 10-20 seconds or until chocolate is melted.
Pour cream cheese mixture into pie crust followed by the chocolate. Swirl gently using a small spatula until you get the desired look.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean. 

Chocolate Ice Cubes for Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day!! Hope you all are enjoying the day with your loved ones. Just a quick little treat to share with you. Some chocolate Ice Cubes to liven up that glass of milk with a little chocolaty goodness!