Oh, hello Avocado!

Inspired by the green-ness of March I decided to highlight the awesomeness of avocados.   It's one of my favorite super fruits! Although it didn't used to be.  Before I tried them I imagined they tasted very "earthy" but was pleasantly surprised at how creamy they are and oh so versatile. They can be used in both sweet and savory dishes. They not only have healthy fats, they provide tons of nutrients, and help boost your body's absorption of nutrients! It's a great alternative mayo: spread it on sandwiches, use it in egg salads, deviled eggs, chicken salad, get creative with it.

Today I share with all of you one of my favorite recipes courtesy of Two Peas and their Pod. It's a delicious bowl of green creamy goodness. Again it satisfies my addiction to pasta masked with a healthy overtone of our guest du jour today. This recipe made me fall even more in love with avocados.

Guest Du Jour

The link for the website is for the full recipe. I went ahead and cut it in half this time.  You can visit their site for the full "how-to."  Below are just some of my pictures from the process.

As your pasta is boiling in its generously salted water, shred your cheese.   Don't forget to shred a little extra for yourself to enjoy as your cooking.

Get your green goodies together and blend - for this particular mixture I feel a blender is better than a food processor.  I learned that this time around.  And when your taking out the meat of the avocado, be sure to watch out for the little belly button (the part where it was once attached to the tree).  That sucker pops out very easily and could get lost in your mixture.  I always remove it before I begin scooping.

After you've blended your avocado and other green veggies mix it in with your drained, cooked pasta.

Next make your ooey gooey cheesy sauce.  I love this part, because it means I'm so close to eating!

Lastly, mix all the goodness together and...

ENJOY!

This normally looks much more green, but with the use of the food processor over the blender, I ended up with chunky bits, rather than a cream.  It still tasted excellent!  Are there any special green foods you like to eat? Or, other tasty uses for avocados up your sleeve?  

Do Share!

Peace, Love, & Yummy Stuff

Oh, hello Bloggers!

Today I decided to put a list together of my favorite food blogs.  Of course I want you all to remain my faithful followers (look into my eyes...ha ha ha), but I think getting to know what's out there helps you build your own cooking style and relationship with food.  It can also be helpful for bloggers to continually do research and see what they can do to make their blogs better by looking at those similar to their own.

A good place to start for anyone who wants to build a collection of food blogs to follow is Pinterest.  This virtual bulletin board provides free access to a variety of sites (and not just those of the cooking persuasion) that you can preview very easily.  By clicking on a few recipes that seem interesting, you may be led to a food blog that becomes your go-to when you want to try something new or be inspired to make something of your own.  That's pretty much how I discovered the lovely ladies below.

Budget Bytes - details cost of both the whole recipe and serving, includes step by step process in pictures

• She has educational tabs that include "pricing and portions" and "how to stock your kitchen" - essential know-hows if you want to adhere to a food budget
• Each recipe has a convenient link to access it as a pdf file
• She has plenty of labels that help you find just what you're looking for
• She shares my love for Sriracha!

Kalyn's Kitchen - lots of healthy meals, includes step by step process in pictures

• Her focus is on healthy, low-glycemic recipes - inspired by south beach diet, but healthy nonetheless
• She includes cooking tips, info on vegetable gardening, and products she loves
• Great for lots of vegetarian options
• Includes a variety of search options to find her recipes: by picture, by ingredient, by recipe category, and by cooking method

Lauren's Latest - lots of great desserts and fun ideas.

• This site infuses a lot of personal anecdotes and family updates since she's currently expecting their second child.  Her voice comes through clearly and it feels as though you're interacting with a friend.  I also believe this personal touch, although not necessary to maintain loyalty, does help to keep her followers coming back. 
• She includes tons of her own creations, but also blogs about food she tries when out traveling.
• Personally I think this is the most visually attractive of the sites.  The font and background have a retro vibe and she includes a lot of great pictures to reel you in.
• Her recipes can be searched via category or ingredient.

I hope you take the time to visit one or all of these sites.  They help keep me moving through my own culinary excursion and remain inspired to create exciting new recipes to share with all of you.  Are there any sites you visit regularly? If so, why?

Do share!

Lastly, here is a screen shot of one of my Pinterest boards I titled "Veggie Delights."  I've tried most of the recipes featured.  I absolutely LOVE the roasted garlic veggie tostada (the inspiration for my sweet potato enchilada casserole), the avocado mac & cheese (drool worthy), and the avocado egg salad wrap (the jalepeno/cilantro wraps from Fresh & Easy are the perfect edible compartment to house all that creamy healthy goodness).

Peace, Love, & Yummy Stuff