Kale & Brussel Sprout Salad

My friend Kate served this delicious kale and brussel sprout salad that I had to recreate it! It is earthy, crunchy, and very easy to prepare. This salad would accompany a breaded chicken breast or pork loin very well.

Kale & Brussel Sprout Salad

1 bunch of kale, stems removed and thinly sliced

10 brussel sprouts, coarsely grated

1/4 cup of sliced almonds
1 teaspoon olive oil

Dressing: 
1 lemon juiced

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of Parmesan grated

1 tablespoon of mustard (stone ground, spicy, brown)

1 teaspoon agave or honey 

1 tablespoon of shallot diced

1/2 clove garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

-Add the sliced kale and grated brussel spouts to a fry pan with a little olive oil. Saute for 5 minutes, then add the almonds and saute for another 3 minutes
-Combine all dressing ingredients together and pour over kale mixture
-Can be serve salad hot or at room temperature

Enjoy,
Jamie

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

My sister was raving about this root beer float cupcake recipe which sounded good, but the best part is that it is only three ingredents! Yes three ingredients--white cake mix, diet root beer, and cool whip. Defently would recommend this recipe for a last minute dessert or for a nostalgic treat!

More about this recipe is found here.

Warmly,
Jamie 

Apple Tart

For a quick dessert that works well for brunch or any time of the day is this apple tart. It takes about 10 minutes to prepare, 30 minutes to cook, and will impress!

(not the prettiest slice)

Apple Tart

1 puff pastry sheet, defrosted

2 granny apples

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter, cubed

2 tablespoons apricot jam

1 tablespoon water

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 400

-Defrost puff pastry for 10 minutes

-Peel apples, cut the apple into thin slices, lay them in rows on the puff pastry

-Sprinkle sugar, cinnamon, and butter on top of the apples

-Bake for 30 minutes and rotate half way through

-Combine water with jam and spread over the apple tart once removed from the oven

-Serve at room temperature with whip cream or vanilla ice cream (will make four servings)

Enjoy,

Jamie

Happy Valentine's Day

Wanted to wish everyone a special V-Day! Here are a few of my favorite romantic movies that I wanted to share with you all:

What movies makes your heart go pitter patter?

Warmly,

Jamie 

Animal Photos

I stumbled upon this website today and it made me smile.

Seth Casteel has a great eye photographing animals and I particularly loved his section with dogs being photographed in pools chasing after their priced toys. These cute fuzzy animals ended up looking beastly, humorous, and slightly possessed!

Enjoy!
Jamie

Chili

Whether you're hosting a Super Bowl party this weekend or craving comfort food, this chili recipe will hit the spot!

I prefer cooking this in a crockpot so the flavors really marry together and you can taste the TLC of this being cooked for 10 hours! I think the below spices are spot on, but this recipe easily be altered by what vegetables you already have or what kind of meat you prefer.

Chili

1 1/4 lbs of ground turkey

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes

3/4 cup of onion

1 Anaheim pepper, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 1/2 cup of corn--frozen

2 tablespoon of oil 

1 cup of dark beer

3 chicken bouillon cubes

3 tablespoon of chili powder

1 tablespoon of curry powder

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons of hot sauce

1/4 cup of agave

Directions:

-Saute onions on stove top with oil, when they start becoming translucent, add ground meat

-Saute meat until until it isn't pink, then drain off extra fat

-Spray crockpot with non-stick spray, add all ingredients, cook for 8-10 hours on low.

-Some great toppings/accompaniments for this chili is cheddar cheese, sour cream or Greek yogurt, corn bread, baked potato, and chives!

Enjoy,

Jamie