Bacon-Wrapped Figs Stuffed with Cayenne Peanut Butter

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For my first recipe post-hiatus, I've created something amazing. These taste like peanut butter and jelly, with bacon. All that's missing is bananas and Elvis would be turning in his grave.

I hear he never died, you know. 

Next time I bring an appetizer to an event, this is it. The ratio of required prep time to flavor is rather favorable, so your dish can be the star of the show without too much work. Between the slight kick from the cayenne in the peanut butter, the sweetness of the fig, and the salty flavor of the bacon, this appetizer has just about everything you could ever want... all wrapped up into a bite size piece.

These are for my sister and inspired by my friend Diane.

Bacon-wrapped Figs stuffed with Cayenne Peanut Butter
Servings: 8-12 food items
Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 8-12 dried figs
• 4-6 strips of bacon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine peanut butter and cayenne pepper and mix well.  
3. Remove fig stems and cut figs in half. Stuff with peanut butter mixture and then place back together.
   
4. Cut bacon strips in half so that you have two strips of the same length but now half as long as they were before.
5. Wrap reconstructed figs with bacon strips. 
6. Bake until bacon is golden brown, about 20 minutes. As it gets hot, the peanut butter mixture will liquefy a bit more and some of it may seep out.
   
7. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Easy Paleo Grilled Carrots

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First off, can I get an amen for spring? I feel like I have been holed up inside for months - oh wait, that's because I have. Now that spring has... well, sprung... I can't get enough of it. Running. Walking. Grilling. Check, check, check.

When it comes to grilling, we are going crazy with the filets over here. My husband is a grillmaster, so we are in pretty good hands with the meat. But then come the sides. We're doing paleo over here, so that means fruit or veggies. When it comes to veggies, I don't feel like standing at the stove while it's gorgeous outside, just because I'm trying to throw together some veggies to serve with said filet. Know what I'm sayin'?

So we just figured... hey... two birds, one grill. Maybe that was a bad analogy... Okay, on to the food!

Easy Grilled Carrots

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch carrots, washed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Start your grill!
2. Cut some of the greens off of the carrots. I like to leave about half an inch, just because I think they look really cute and authentic on the plate with a smidge of green left, but you can feel free to chop it all off if you don't dig that idea.
3. Place carrots on a large plate and lightly drizzle olive oil, then turn them around with your fingers until they are evenly coated. 
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, turn around again, and sprinkle again.
5. Grill on low heat for 20 minutes, turning two to three times in between. Remove when soft. 

Notes: 

• Leave them on a little longer if you like them burnt! I do :)

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

What are your favorite spring time recipes?

What do you make most on the grill?

Valentine's Day Weekend

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We celebrated Valentine's Day weekend in Chicago, and spent some time visiting with my parents as well. My husband and I headed up to my parents' on Thursday night.

On Friday morning, I worked most of the morning and then headed to the gym... downstairs. I had a 6 mile run planned, and busted it out while watching - you guessed it - Netflix. Once 6 miles were up, I spent a while walking and then did some abs.

I followed this until mile 6, when I started 'freestylin' aka jogging at 6mph

There is clearly something wrong with my Polar Heart Rate Monitor, because there is no way this is accurate. It was a good workout, but my heart rate definitely did not reach 204 (I would have probably felt on the verge of death if it had). What's up with that? Do I need to replace my battery?

Did I die and come back to life?

Once my workout was done and dusted, I took a shower and started getting ready for Valentine's Day errands. I realized that I had packed nothing red or pink to wear, and I am a festive girl so this was unacceptable. I took the liberty of raiding my sister's closet and came up with this. The benefits of having a same-sex sibling who is a similar size.

I'll take it!

After I was sufficiently dressed in Valentine's worthy garb, I headed out to pick up some Valentine's Day necessities for the meal I was preparing. My dad recently had surgery and my mom has been busy taking care of him, so I wanted to make a nice meal not only for my husband but also for my parents. I headed to Mariano's Grocery to pick up filets, brussels sprouts, sage, dried apricot, and arugula.

En route, I savored the green juice I had brought from Holland the day before.

My dad had requested a chocolate cake, so my next stop was Portillo's to pick one up. They make such a good chocolate cake, and I am more of a cook than a baker anyway, so it was definitely worth it to leave this one up to the pros (also: less mess to clean up). 

I also picked up lunch for my dad, husband, and I. I went with a chicken breast, sans sandwich, and the staff at Portillo's kept yelling out that I wanted mine "nudie." It was funny. 

Once I got home, I ate my nudie, did a little more work, and then poured myself a glass of wine around 4 as I prepped for dinner. 

My husband knows how to give gifts. While I gave him a Gymboss workout timer, he gave me a David Yurman. Clearly I got the better end of the deal, honey.

I made an appetizer of dried apricots with melted aged cheddar cheese and sage, which was delicious and hard to stop eating. I also prepared roasted brussels sprouts with parmesan and maple syrup, a side salad of arugula and whatever veggies/nuts I could find in my mom's fridge/pantry. My husband roasted up the filets around 6:30 and we went to town.

Dinner fixings, and yes, that would be my plate with two wine glasses. 

After dinner, we were all pretty full and tired, so we laid low. My husband and I started watching the new season of House of Cards and we went to bed early.

The next morning, we met my friend Sara and her husband at Meli Cafe. It is both of our favorite lunch spot in the city, so there was not even a discussion about where we would meet for brunch. It was just Meli's, assumed.

Double fisting like a champ

After brunch, my husband and I headed over to East Bank Club for a workout. My friend is a member and gave us a guest pass for the day, so we made sure to get in a killer workout and took our time.

We left sore and happy, so clearly it was a success. Afterward, we headed to West Loop. I had my final laser hair appointment at Ellehome Med Spa, and it was a painful but necessary fifteen minutes.

Post-pain, we headed back to my parents' house. I had been steeping lemon rind and vodka at my parents' for a while, so I finally strained it and combined with homemade sugar syrup to make some homemade limoncello (I used this recipe). 

God bless my parents for putting up with all of my weird experiments...

My aunt and uncle stopped by, and we hung out with them for a while before having Bill's Pub pizza for dinner and ordering a movie.

Sunday consisted of a lame attempt at a workout (I was cranky, it happens randomly sometimes), an awesome church service, and a visit from our best man. It is always nice to see people you love smiling!

On the way back from church, we had stopped at Sunset grocery to pick up some dinner fixings. I was surprised to see that they now offer a beer counter in the grocery! My kind of shopping, but probably not at noon on a Sunday.

We put together a delicious meal and then spent a few hours helping my parents re-do their internet and wireless set up. Or, I should say, my husband did that... and I sat on Realtor.com and played house.

You win some, you win some.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• How was your Valentine's Day? 
• Do you have any Valentine's Day traditions? I am not much of a traditionalist, and I end up changing  things up all the time, but I love learning about other people's traditions so I can try them out!

P.S. WANT TO WIN A MONTH'S WORTH OF POP CHIPS!? My giveaway is open until this Friday, so be sure to stop by and check it out!

Curry Roasted Cauliflower

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Cauliflower is coming back, folks. From mashed cauliflower to cauliflower crust, it is back in a big way as a substitute for the typical carby culprits (I'm looking at you, potatoes and flour).

I tried curry roasting a whole cauliflower a year or two ago, and it was just an epic failure. I am sure it can be done (in fact, I've seen it), but I clearly did not do it the right way. (Who knows the right way? Enlighten me!)

But, I was determined to make it happen, because curry is my favorite spice and cauliflower seemed like a good thing to cover in it. So, I recently took a second crack at it, making no changes other than to cut the darn thing up before roasting it.

Worked. Like. A. Charm.

Curry Roasted Cauliflower

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 3-4 side dishes
Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower (or a bag of cauliflower florets)
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Mix spices (curry powder, black pepper, salt) in a large bowl.
3. Cut the cauliflower into evenly sized florets.
4. Add florets to the bowl and pour coconut oil in as well. Toss until all florets are evenly coated.
5. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (this just makes clean up faster) and spray with cooking oil. Place florets in an even spread on foil. Add another layer of foil on top to keep them from drying out too much.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the top layer of foil and turn the florets.
7. Bake for another 30 minutes, turning every 10-15.

Before roasting

After roasting

What about you?
What's your favorite cauliflower recipe? I have made mashed cauliflower with parmesan, cauliflower crust, and regular roasted cauliflower... but I am sure there are new recipes or twists on those that I have yet to discover! Enlighten me!
What other ingredients are making a resurgence? Like, besides avocado, kale, and quinoa... which I have been crushing on in a big way, too!

Paleo Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

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I'm pretty sure going paleo is just my personal excuse to eat as much bacon as I want. And meat. All the meat. 

This recipe is my new favorite, because it tastes so seriously decadent and, dare I say it, naughty. I was browsing Nom Nom Paleo and stumbled upon a recipe for proscuitto wrapped asparagus. I had intended to make it, but I was in a rush and couldn't find proscuitto at the store, so I decided to go my own way. I grabbed bacon instead, wrapped two at a time instead of one, and sauteed them one at a time instead of baking them. It ended up being quick, easy, and pretty much fool proof.

At the time, I made this just for my husband and I as a side dish for dinner. This is really best made as a quick, two-ingredient appetizer for any party. It is paleo and gluten free, so unless you have someone coming over who can't eat meat, this is going to be a serious friend pleaser. But seriously, just invite them to a different party...

Paleo Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Calories Per Piece: 50
Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of asparagus (for this recipe, I used 2 spears per piece of bacon, and made 10, so that is 20 total spears of asparagus)
• 1 package thinly sliced, uncured - nitrate free, no added salt - bacon. (I used 10 pieces)
• 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Rinse and dry asparagus spears. Make sure you pat them down with a towel so that they are dry or else the bacon may not stick. 
   
2. Take the asparagus spears, two at a time, and wrap with bacon slices. I started toward the bottom and wrapped upward at a diagonal angle. 
   
3. Heat olive oil on the stove in a large pan over medium heat (you can try to fit them all in at once or do them in two rounds). 
   
4. Delicately place each piece into the oil. Use tongs to flip every 3-4 minutes, until bacon is cooked and all sides are brown.  
   
5. Serve! 
   

What about you?

Are there any other sneaky or fun ways you use bacon?

Chili Chocolate Almond Truffles

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The rich sweetness of chocolate, the slight kick of chili powder, and the delicious crunch of almonds... what's not to love?

Warning: You're going to want to make these. I would advise trying to make them before a social gathering, so that you don't blink and accidentally eat them all. I also should warn you that you may inadvertently "taste test" far too many heaping tablespoons of the melted chocolate mixture. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Another warning... as I made these, I started singing a little song. The lyrics are simple, so you should probably join in: "Everyday, I'm truffling... Everyday, I'm truff-fa--fa--faling." <--There you go. Now you have an awful song stuck in your head. You're very, very welcome.

I made these for blogger book club this month. I hadn't spent much time thinking of recipe development for the group, so I had to kind of scramble the day before. I found a recipe online that looked pretty good, but I didn't have all of the ingredients, so it turned into a bit of an experiment.

This recipe is adapted from this Chocolate Chili Truffles recipe from Elana's Pantry. I love her recipes and would have followed it to a "T," except that I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand, so I had to improvise. Since I was bringing this to a book club where I know at least one person has a coconut allergy, I omitted coconut milk in exchange for almond milk (with almond extract already in the mix, I figured anyone with that allergy was already out!). Also had run out of agave, so I subbed honey for that. And had no finely chopped almonds (and no desire to chop whole ones), so I just subbed chia seeds there.

Chili Chocolate Almond Truffles

Ingredients... For Truffle Base:

• 2 cups Chocolate Chips
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 1 tsp Almond Extract
• 2 tbsp Chili Powder
• 3/4 cup Almond Milk
• 1 tbsp Chia Seeds

...For Truffle Powder:

• 2tbsp Cacao Powder
• 3 tbsp Chia Seeds
• 1/2 tsp Chili Powder

Directions:

1. Melt Chocolate using a double boiler or the microwave. I put it in the microwave for 90 seconds, take out and stir, then again for 30 seconds, and take it out and stir.
2. Add honey, almond extract, chili powder, chia seeds, and almond milk and mix well. If the almond milk is not mixing in with the chocolate, try heating it for another 30 seconds with all ingredients in the bowl, and then stir again.
3. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, until it reaches a frosting-like consistenct.
4. Scoop into balls and place on parchment paper-lined sheet. Set aside.
5. Combine ingredients for truffle powder (Cacao Powder, Chia Seeds, more Chili Powder). 
6. Roll balls in truffle powder.
7. Serve.

Savory Parmesan Pancakes with Chorizo and Feta Cheese (Plus an exercise in gratitude!)

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If you ask my fiance what his favorite food is, here's what he'll say: Pizza.

Which is funny for someone who is engaged to a woman that pretty much never makes true pizza. Sure, I'll use similar ingredients, but it is always somehow slightly different. Smaller. Healthier. In a different form. Which reminds me: Anyone ever had a pizza shake? Ew?

Lately, I've been experimenting with pancakes recipes. After we had some delicious savory pancakes at Belly Q, I was interested in creating something similar. Basically, they took a savory, cheesy pancake and topped it with meats and cheeses. It's like if pizza and tostadas had a baby. Here's how they described it at the restaurant:

 

Via BellyQ

I know... it sounds delicious, right? We had the Goat Milk Feta Cheese & Rice Noodle Pancake, and I think we may have also tried the Double Smoked Bacon & Kimchi Pancake. It was a delicious meal and really got my creative wheels turning.

Finally, while working out, those creative wheels finally found their traction, and I had the perfect idea. We had some delicious chorizo left over from a meat and cheese plate we made for our Speakeasy Party earlier this month. And we also had, as we always do (because it is a staple of our kitchen), some delicious feta cheese.

And thus, these parmesan pancakes were born! They were such troopers and cried like total babies. I topped them with some broken up chorizo sausage (chorizo is so soft to begin with that it was pretty easy to break into small pieces with a fork), feta cheese, some mixed shredded cheese, and cholula. The result was something perfectly savory, filling, and low carb. Justin scarfed it up within minutes.

We ate ours with a knife and fork, the way you'd eat a traditional pancake, but feel free to just roll it up and eat it like a taco or something!

Savory Parmesan Pancakes with Chorizo and Feta Cheese

Ingredients for Pancakes:

• 1/2 Cup Oatmeal
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Egg Whites
• 2/3 Cup Cottage Cheese
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients for Topping (to taste):

• Chorizo
• Feta Cheese
• Mixed Cheese
• Italian Seasoning
• Cholula

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Place chorizo in a greased pan and heat on medium, breaking apart and moving around every few minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine pancake ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed. In a greased pan, pour batter to the size you'd like your pancake to be. Heat over medium-high heat until your pancakes look a little bubbly and you're able to lift them up with a spatula and see that the bottom is beginning to brown. Flip and heat on the other side for just enough time until both sides are beginning to brown. Then, remove from heat and place on a plate.
4. Once chorizo is done, take a cookie pan and line with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place cooked pancakes on the pan (you may need to use more than one or do them in shifts if you're making a big batch), and top with chorizo, mixed shredded cheese, and feta cheese. Then, place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until cheese is sufficiently melted.
5. Remove from the oven, add cholula (or the sauce of your choice!) and serve!

Delicious! 

• Have any of you ever made savory pancakes?

P.S. From now on, I'm going to try a little exercise in gratitude at the end of every post. Feel free to join in and add your own via comments!
Dear Nasty-Watery-Slushy-Melted-Snow all over Chicago,
Sometimes, when I am boarding the CTA bus, I imagine I am stepping over hot lava instead of 3 inches of dirty snow water. Thanks for making me feel like a kid again.
Love, Carly

Basil Brie Mushrooms

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Delicious mushrooms with spicy basil and a layer of creamy, melted brie cheese. Easy. Small. Delicious. And (probably) the perfect cure for even the meanest hangover.

I gotta be a little honest here, folks. I was hungover on my birthday. That's how I discovered these.

You see, I'm typically a salad girl. Salads = produce trail mix. Delicious. I eat a salad for lunch almost every single day.

But on this day... the day after my self-guided gangster tour of Chicago... I wasn't feeling a salad at all. The thought of acidic and leafy foods entering my mouth was mental torture. All I wanted was some V8 (hangover cure number one) and some brie cheese (hangover cure number two).

And then, in the early afternoon, I emerged from my room cave actually wanting to bake something. And that, my friends, is how these delicious Basil Brie Mushrooms were born. Because I had all three ingredients in my fridge. And because sometimes, a girl just needs to smother everything in basil and brie cheese.

Basil Brie Mushrooms

Calories: 30

Servings: 3-5
Serving Size: 2-3 mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 10 Small Mushrooms
• Brie Cheese (to taste, but you likely only need about 1/8 of a regular President's wheel)
• 5 leaves Basil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cut Mushrooms. Cut from bottom to top, ending up with about 2-4 thin slices per mushroom.
3. Rip Basil leaves and place on each mushroom.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown.
5. Cut thin slices of Brie and place on