Tag: recipes

link love

Posted on by jplatt27

snow covered rooftops.jpg

It’s a snow day–for everyone in DC but me and my colleagues. I can’t believe the university I work for isn’t closed. Seriously, I can’t believe it. On the bright side: I’m glad I have new Hunter boots to wear and I’m taking this as permission to wear leggings to work 🙂

If you’re enjoying the beautiful snow fall from the comfort of your couch–maybe in your robe while drinking coffee with your Christmas mug (like Mike), here are some links to enjoy while you relax. Enjoy!

The salad version of comfort food. We’ve made this twice now. I’m obsessed.

As a book lover, I love this idea for a Secret-Santa.

Should is a warning sign. Yes.

Completely agree with this video about the best workout.

You’ve got to download this wallpaper. I couldn’t agree more.

Stumbled on Elizabeth’s blog this weekend and am fascinated by her 30 Days of Hair Series. I’ve watched beach waves and blowout and can’t wait to watch more. I’ve recently been getting into beauty more and these hair tutorials are perfect. Not only does she have videos, she has a list of exactly the products she’s using right on the post. Brilliant! Don’t you love when exactly what you need/want shows up at exactly the right time?  I do.

Pretty sure this is the best Buzzfeed ever. As a huge Home Alone fan, I literally laughed out loud.

This question is radical and will change the way you think about goals. (Click this link and watch the video.) And then, if you’re in the DC area and want to be in a soulful book group that really gets into how you want to answer this question, email me. I’d love to have you.

Any links you’re loving lately? Please share in the comments!

link love

Posted on by jplatt27

Coffee and cinnamon buns

 

Happy Friday! Hope you had a good week. I did. I’m looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend before we hit the road for Thanksgiving travel next week. I’m also looking forward to celebrating my birthday with Mike on Sunday. I’m not sure what the plans are–it’s a surprise!

Alright, onto the love!

1. I loved this honest post about starting a business. Good things to keep in mind.

2. A friend sent me this post yesterday about the question you should ask yourself. It was a perfectly timed read for me.

3. I can definitely relate to this post from Emily about how life is messy sometimes.

4. We made this soup for dinner last Friday…mmm…mmm…mmm. So good, so easy, and quick too!

5. I haven’t been making it to the gym recently so I was excited to see this at-home workout Kristen shared in one of her Friday Favorites posts. I’ve done it twice and it’s a good one!

Have a great weekend!

link love

Posted on by jplatt27

There is nothing better than waking up on Saturday morning, getting coffee, and reading. Each Friday, I’ll share some links that I think are worthy of falling into that precious Saturday morning time.

Mug.jpg

1. We’re heading on vacation with a group of friends this weekend so this post on traveling in a group caught my eye. I definitely agree with tips 5 and 6, even for life in general.

2. Mmm, mmm, mmm. This may have to be the first recipe we make when we get back from vacation.

3. This post about writing caught my eye. It’s definitely one I want to re-read at some point.

4. Jess Lively wrote a post on praying and relationships this week. Though I’m a little nervous to try it, I definitely think it would be immensely powerful.

5. I’ve definitely been thinking about how vacations fit in with life, how I want to spend my vacation doing simple things I wish I did all the time in my “normal” life. I even wrote a newsletter about the vacations you daydream about and how to use that inform your life.  This post about escaping to reality versus escaping from reality made me think even more.

new on love always, jo this week:

link love

Posted on by jplatt27

I think there is nothing better than waking up on Saturday morning, getting coffee, and reading. Each Friday, I’ll share some links that I think are worthy of falling into that precious Saturday morning time.

Coffee cup

1. This beautifully written article about body image: A 5 year old called me fat and changed my perspective

2. I love flavored water and may make one of these three recipes for my next vision board party

3. Part of my dream job is helping other people find their dream job so I loved this article from Fast Company that confirmed what I already know to be true: in order to find your dream job, you have to know and be able to articulate exactly what you’re looking for (if you want me to help you find work you love, ask me about my what do you REALLY want to do session)

4. This video has been going around on Facebook this week but I just love it…kids are so sweet

5. Do you feel stressed? Try tapping. Short intro with demo. Longer video that explains tapping and has demo. 

What you may have missed on Love Always, Jo this week:

 

three links and another for good luck

Posted on by jplatt27

Happy Monday!

Yesterday, we saw a purple-ish hue around the Tidal Basin, signs that the Cherry Blossoms are going to start blooming soon! Then this morning, we woke up to a winter wonderland. I wish I would’ve taken a picture during my commute this morning.  The trees were perfectly snow coated and looked so magical against a snow-covered Cathedral.

Today I want to share three posts that were shared with me this weekend that really spoke to me.  If you’re looking for something fun to do on your lunch break, take a look!

My best friend, Tina, and I are doing a 21-day meditation challenge and can totally relate to the realizations about spirituality and meditation shared in this article from hellogiggles.com.

It’s hard having friends all over the place, at “home,” in New York, and with work and other responsibilities, it’s hard to see friends that are even just scattered across DC as much as I’d like to.  I often wish my favorite people lived in my apartment building and I loved how that sentiment was shared in this post and the questions the author poses about it. Thanks for sharing, Jen!

And last, but certainly not least, I loved this post and recipe that Kristen shared in Friday Favorites this week. I agree that sometimes we just need to shake things up and I loved how she applied that message to this recipe.  Mike and I made this for dinner last night and it was yummy.  We used turkey sausage and I think it would’ve had deeper flavor with pork sausage so we’ll definitely use that next time!

And, because I truly believe that just because someone says you “should” do something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for you, another one for good luck: Danielle LaPorte’s newest.

two for two going on three for three

Posted on by jplatt27

This week marks our third week of new recipes.

We’re making it a priority to try one new recipe per week.  Cooking is one of our favorite things to do together and this is a fun way to make sure our weeknights don’t get away from us.  (Read this morning’s post for more on the background here.)

So far we’re two for two on choosing good recipes and recreating them well.

The first week we made a recipe I’ve been wanting to make for like 3 years: Rachel Ray’s Greek Beef Tenderloin in Togas.

This was a great, balanced meal and though it looks difficult, it really wasn’t.  It was a little time consuming but so worth it.  And the recipe made 6 servings so we had lunch for two days in addition to this dinner!

I loved that the steak, orzo, and vegetable salad recipes were all listed in one.  It was a complete meal in one recipe–no need to worry about finding multiple recipes to complete a meal.

Last week, our second week, we made Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach and Parmesan Risotto from SkinnyTaste.

This dish was so satisfying.

Mike’s thoughts:

“one of the best meals we’ve ever made”

“This is restaurant quality.”

I agree. It was delicious. And again, relatively simple. We love risotto so that wasn’t a problem and the scallops and spinach were super easy in a skillet.

Tonight, we’re trying Tyler Florence’s Cheese Fondue recipe! Hoping we go three for three!

a new recipe for balance

Posted on by jplatt27

If there’s one thing I want in my life it’s balance, something that’s not always easy to come by.  My weeks are always packed and I find myself at one of two extremes: either go-go-go or zonked out in front of the TV until bed.

But I recently found a new way to create balance during the week.

A few weeks ago I made Jessica‘s BBQ Spiced Salmon with Pineapple Jalapeno Salsa.  It was the first time I had cooked in months–or cooked something new. Ok, kind of both.  No, I don’t count pancakes.

It felt so good.

I’m telling you, cooking is good for the soul.  Or good for mine anyway.  There is just something about cooking, especially something new, that grounds you in the present moment.  The brightness of the foods, the fresh smells while prepping and the hearty smells while cooking, the sound of onions and garlic hitting a hot pan, the feel of actually doing something with your hands.  It’s awesome.

I was so happy to serve Mike a delicious dinner, impressed with the finished product, and completely energized by the whole process.

It was then that I decided that I need to prioritize this.  If I don’t make room for it in my life, my week nights will get away from me.  In our discussion about the dishes, when I asked Mike if it was about something bigger like wanting to spend more time with me, he said that he did miss us cooking together.

I decided that we should make one new recipe a week together.  Mike liked the idea so it’s our new thing.  One new recipe a week is my new recipe for balance. One new recipe a week to keep me grounded and to connect with my husband.

It’s great.  We’re making new meals and we’re spending quality time together. Win-win.  (You know I love win-wins!)

And we’ve been sitting at the table to eat which is so nice and not the norm for us.

I love this idea! It’s really helped me to be present on weeknights and has actually made my evenings seem longer and more energized. I hate when I feel like I just come home and do nothing.

Check back this afternoon to see what we’ve made so far!

I’d love to know:

What do you do to balance your weeks?

What's for Dinner? Vegetarian {Giveaway}

Posted on by jplatt27

While Mike was away, I had to fend for myself when it came to meals.  (I realized how much I rely on Mike for things like meal planning, grocery shopping, and laundry. Boy, I am grateful.) Without meaning to I ate vegetarian for Monday through Wednesday lunch.

Instead of eating pancakes for every meal like I usually do when Mike’s out of town, I took this opportunity to make a meal that Mike doesn’t really care for: black bean soup in the crock pot.

This soup is super easy, super cheap, delicious, and filling. It makes a ton and yields leftovers. (Believe me, it’s better than it looks in the picture!)

Enjoy!

—————————–

Crock Pot Black Bean Soup

4 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained

2 14.5 oz cans of vegetable or chicken broth

1 cup of salsa (not pico de gallo)

optional toppings: monterey jack cheese, cilantro, lime

Combine beans, brother, and salsa in crock pot. Cook on high for 2-4 hours or low 4-8 hours. Puree with an immersion blender. Top with cheese, cilantro, lime juice.

——————————

My First Giveaway!

In honor of my vegetarian meals, I’m giving away the cookbook How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman.  I’m giving away my copy so it’s slightly used (slightly just because we don’t often cook vegetarian) but it’s in very good condition and is a great resource for people looking to make vegetarian meals on a more regular basis.

There are three ways to enter:

1) leave a comment telling me your favorite vegetarian meal

2) Tweet about the giveaway and leave a comment telling me you did “@thingsafterings is giving away a vegetarian cookbook. I want to cook vege!”

3) like Things After the Rings on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did

I’ll pick a random winner on Sunday at 6pm.

Simple delights

Posted on by jplatt27

Happy Valentine’s Day!

My day started off on the right foot after wobbling on the wrong foot momentarily.  Mike had to leave early for work this morning so we set our alarm for 5 am to go to the gym. It went off and Mike decided that he wasn’t going to make it and I was laying there debating about whether to go or not.  I got out of bed to get ready and got kind of annoyed that we set the alarm so early and Mike didn’t even end up going to the gym.  Washing my face I realized that I was still really tired and could use like another half hour of sleep, wishing that we had just set the alarm for 5:25 or 5:30.  Though it’s just a half hour, there is a big difference between 5 am, 5:30 am, and 6 am. I got back in bed and said to Mike “I wish we would’ve set the alarm later, I could use another half hour of sleep” and then turned to see the time was 5:28.  I could still get a half hour of sleep and then get up and go to the gym. So that’s what I did.  And the extra half hour was amazing. I felt very different when I woke up. I love when things like this happen.  I would’ve hated to start my Valentine’s Day (and Mike’s) on the wrong foot.

But that’s actually not why I’m writing this morning.  I’m writing to share some simple, delicious foods I’ve been eating lately.

First, last night’s dinner and this morning’s breakfast.

 While I was making a smoothie yesterday morning, I noticed a recipe on the side of the Chobani container for gorgonzola and yogurt crostini. Gorgonzola is my favorite cheese and we just happened to have some in the fridge from a gorgonzola cream sauce we made a few weeks ago. We also had this delicious loaf of bread I bought at Trader Joe’s to go with dinner on Sunday night. So I thought, yep, this is what I’ll have for dinner tonight. (Mike has class on Monday nights so we do our own thing for dinner.)

I whipped it up pretty quickly: toast some bread, mix yogurt and gorgonzola in a 2:1 ratio in a bowl with a fork and spoon to mash the cheese and spread the yogurt mixture on the toasted bread.  I topped mine with fresh blackberries (BOGO this week and we needed some for tonight’s dessert) and a drizzle of honey.  Delicious!

Another simple, tasty breakfast I’m in love with is this apple cinnamon oatmeal (in the crock pot, no less!) from Cooking with Jax.  My boss shared this recipe and I tried it late last week.  I made a batch on Thursday night, brought it for breakfast on Friday morning and shared with two co-workers, had more Friday afternoon, and finished it up for yesterday’s 10 o’clock snack. Clearly it made a ton, and it stayed perfectly fine in the refrigerator.  I topped mine with some brown sugar.  Mmm, Mmm, Mmm.

And last but not least, my go-to snack this week is chocolate pudding with crunchy peanut butter.  I mentioned this here before but haven’t had it in quite some time. I take a Jello pudding cup, pour the pudding in a larger dish and add about a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter (for some texture, crunch and protein). So quick, so easy, so delicious.

I have some more delicious food coming my way today and I can’t wait to share our Valentine’s Day date here later this week. Until then, Happy Valentine’s Day!

I’d love to know:

What delicious things are you eating lately? 

A Valentine Treat

Posted on by jplatt27

I had big plans yesterday to make these beautiful Valentine’s Day cake balls and share them and clear instructions with you here today so that you could make them for your loved ones tonight just in time for the big day tomorrow. I thought it would be super cute to do strawberry cake with chocolate coating and then chocolate cake with pink coating.

Well, I made them and they didn’t turn out great even though I “perfected” the method two weeks ago. But this is real life and I want my blog to reflect that so instead of scrapping the whole post, I’ll guide you through the process–it’s actually pretty easy–and where I went wrong.

You’ll need:

  • 1 box of cake mix (and whatever ingredients it calls for)
  • 1 container of frosting
  • bag of chocolate chips
  • vegetable oil
  • food coloring (optional)
  • decoration of your choice (sprinkles, nonpareils, M&Ms, whatever)

Directions:

  1. Prepare cakes according to package directions.  Let cool completely. [The cooling is important.  The first time I didn’t let them cool enough and it didn’t turn out great.]
  2. In a large bowl, crumble cake until fine. 
  3. Add frosting and mix to combine well.  [Usually the ratio is one container frosting to one box of cake mix. However, with the strawberry cake I made one container was too much. So I recommend starting with about half the frosting and going from there.]
  4. Roll the cake mixture into balls and set on cookie sheet. [I like to use a 1 tbsp measuring spoon to help here.] Update: you can use a small cookie scoop for this step, my friend Amanda did and it saved her a ton of time.  I’ve thought about buying one but didn’t want to part with precious “household/personal items” money.  But I think I might have to invest.  Considering I’ve made about 4 batches of cake-balls and see many more in my future, it will be worth the six bucks.
  5. Put in freezer for 30 minutes or more.
  6. Melt chocolate chips and mix in vegetable oil (and food coloring if desired) in a double boiler. Use 1 tbsp vegetable oil for 1 cup of chocolate chips. [Double boiler: heat pot of water on stove and put a glass bowl on top.  The steam will heat the glass and the chips will melt.] Update: What does the vegetable oil do, you ask? It thins out the melted chocolate to make it easier to work with.
  7. Once chips are melted, pull cake balls out of freezer and dip each one in chocolate until fully coated. (I use a combination of spatula and fork to assist here.) Put back on sheet and sprinkle with decoration of your choice.
  8. Pop back in freezer about 15 minutes to harden chocolate.
  9. Enjoy!

Notes/Advice:

  • Leave enough time to complete this project.  Maybe like an afternoon or spread it out over an evening. Update: I’ve crunched the numbers and you probably need about 4 hours total for this project.  I’d say only an hour/an hour and a half is work time.
  • You can also use almond bark or the melting chocolates that they sell at craft stores.
  • Be sure to chill the balls before dipping them in the chocolate.  If you don’t the cake can start to crumble off into the chocolate and it’s just messy and difficult.
  • My love for cake balls started when my co-worker brought them in. He is engaged to Miki from Miki’s Kitchen and my team often gets to taste Miki’s latest creations. Miki has a great tutorial for how to make cake balls and cake pops.
  • Have fun with this and don’t get frustrated. Even if they don’t look that great, they’ll taste delicious.  And sprinkles make everything prettier!

I’d love to know:

Have you made cake balls or cake pops before?  How did they turn out?  Do you have any tips to share?