Wine Pasta: Pasta Cooked in Wine

This one time. I realized (don't you love Pinterest?) you could cook pasta in red wine, instead of water.

Click for Link

So obviously, I tried it.

Tastes like...subtly wine soaked pasta.
Ain't nothing wrong with that!

Served simply with olive oil and a ton of parmesan cheese.
Then, I tossed it with some caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms.
Even better.

Plus, the pasta just looks cool.
I say, why not?
I'm into it.

So There.

Chickpea and Nut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies - Keep Reading...I swear they aren't weird!

Pinky Promise! Stay with me here.

I keep seeing these healthful dessert bars on Pinterest: brownies made with black beans, and blondies made with garbanzo beans, or cannellini beans.

Especially now that people are Resolving to eat healthier for the New Year.

These recipes sound crazy, but people keep saying they really work, and taste good, so I finally had to try one out!
These blondies are made with super healthy, protein-packed ingredients, and turns out. They are delicious!
They taste totally indulgent and like a real dessert.
The only difference is a bit of a hearty, nutty taste, mostly from the whole wheat flour, and a little from the nut butter.
I swear, I don't taste beans at all! They get pureed, and disappear.

Try these!!

And because they are so filling, I most definitely had a large portion of the pan couple of these for dinner. Don't judge me.


Recipe:
Adapted from: WeekNight Bite and Chocolate Covered Katie

1 (15oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed. (with all the little skins peeled off if you are crazy, like me!)

1/4 cup sunflower seed or almond butter (any nut butter will do)

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix the beans and nut butter in the food processor until totally pureed.

Add all remaining ingredients to the food processor (Except chocolate chips), and mix until smooth.

My food processor is small, so I only added the baking powder, salt, vanilla, and 1/4 cup brown sugar.

Then, I poured the batter into a larger bowl and combined the remaining sugar and flour with a spatula.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into a greased 8x8" pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Don't overbake. The middle, when cut, will look a bit raw, but they taste best this way. The corners will be more well done.

Let cool, and cut into bars.

I totally give you permission to eat a quarter of this pan as your dinner.

You're welcome.

I told you they were good, huh?!

Enjoy and indulge guilt-free.

Linked Up with Clarks Condensed

Slow Cooker Stuffed Acorn Squash

My amazing Sister has been lapping me in the Crock Pot cooking department lately, so I jumped on Pinterest to try and get inspired to make something in the slow cooker this weekend.

Slow cooker meals always are a bit of a challenge for me.

Why?

Well, I am the only one person living here, so I have to commit to a large quantity of something I can freeze, or bring to work for lunch all week.

I am gone at work all day, and that slow cooker can only stay on the 'warm' setting for so long, before I start to worry about food going bad, so I prefer to only use the Crock Pot on the weekends when I can make recipes that call for shorter cooking times, and can be home when it is done.

Also, I don't eat a lot of meat. And I especially don't buy a lot of meat to cook at home.

So, finding a weekend crock pot meal that is not a giant roast for a family of 6, is always my goal.

I came across a version of these rice stuffed acorn squash peaked my interest. I love squash (butternut, spaghetti...), but had not cooked acorn squash in a long time, so I decided to give it a try!

Plus I was able to cook only two squash halves for the recipe, not feed the Brady Bunch.

Recipe:

Slow Cooker Stuffed Acorn Squash

Adapted from: Vegetarian Slow Cooker

1 large acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut a tiny bit off bottom to sit flat

olive oil

1 cup water

1/2 cup red wine (optional)

1/4 cup cooked quinoa

1/4 cup cooked brown rice (you can use any type of grain you prefer: barley, wild rice, couscous, etc.)

1/8 cup sunflower seeds (can use pumpkin instead.  I'm allergic. wuah wuah)

1 Tbsp minced garlic 

1/4 cup tomato sauce

sprinkle black pepper

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1 cup vegetable stock

1/4 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese

I cut the acorn squash in half, scraped out the seeds, and brushed with olive oil.

Before this, I cleaned the outside peel of the squash well, since it would be left on during the slow cooking.

I pre-cooked some red quinoa and brown rice in salted water, before stuffing the squash.

Remember you rinse your quinoa first, before cooking!

I also shake it dry, and add to the pan with a bit of olive oil, before adding water, and let it toast for a couple minutes. Then, add recommended amount of water and let cook.

Once cooked, the grains got mixed with some tomato sauce, sunflower seeds, and spices, then filled into the cavity of the squash.

One cup of water and a good glug of red wine got added to the slow cooker.

Then, I placed the stuffed squash into the pot, and carefully poured as much vegetable stock over the squash as would fit, without causing the filling to spill out.

Dump any extra down in with the water and wine.

Place the lid on, and Cook in the Crock Pot on High for 4 hours (or on Low for 6-8 hours).

No peeking! Let the squash steam and bake away.

Yum.

When done, remove the lip, and spoon a bit of the remaining liquid from the bottom of the pan over the squash and filling.

Then, carefully remove the stuffed acorn squash from the slow cooker.

I had to use an over-sized spatula (pancake turner) and tongs to get the squash halves out of the pot in one piece.

 Let cool for a couple minutes, and top with feta or goat cheese for added awesomeness.

Then, dig in!

Yum. A hearty, filling vegetarian meal.

These Are A Few of Your Favorite Things

I just wanted to say Thank You to all my readers out in blog-reading-land!
It means a lot to know you read my little blog  :)

Here are a few of the most popular posts of 2013.

Cake Batter Fudge
Painted Pumpkin Forest
Sweet Potato Beer Biscuits
Coconut Milk Vanilla Ice Cream
Homemade Lavender Sugar Scrub


Happy New Year, Friends!
Stay Tuned for some new 2014 Recipes, Crafts, and other Shenanigans soon!

See's Candies - New Store!

You guys.  Want to know what is better than a store full of samples of the best chocolate?
That.  plus wine!

The new See's Candies store at the Tustin Marketplace invited me to check out their newest location:

This new prototype of a concept store is the first store of its kind. The headquarters of See's in San Francisco chose Orange County as the very first location. The Tustin Marketplace (Irvine/Tustin) location has great freeway access, and their hope is that OC residents will come visit this location for their holiday purchases.

The store grand opening is tonight! Friday, November 22nd - go check it out!!

Why would you come to this new store, instead of another one?
Because it is huge.  This new concept store has two candy counters, with double the cashiers, instead of the usual one.  The two lines are split by the size of your candy order!
Under 2lb orders are placed and completed at a separate Express counter, and larger orders form a line at a second counter.
These new store types have more capacity to move people through, during the busy Holiday seasons.

If don't need the capacity, a wall comes down from the ceiling, and it becomes a regular size, smaller store during their off season, from June to October.

But, from Halloween through Mother's Day, they are able to serve large crowds much more quickly.
Whenever needed, they are able to open it up for more capacity.

So even if there is another See's Candies store a bit closer to you, if it is the day before Valentine's Day or you are doing some last minute Holiday gift shopping, you are definitely going to want to visit this new concept store instead! Your wait will be much shorter!

My sister and me with  the President and CEO of See's Candies, Brad Kinstler!

Speaking of Valentine's Day, haha, the actual President and CEO of See's Candies, Brad Kinstler, came down from SF to this new store opening to explain this store to us!
In his talk he gave, he said he felt for us girls getting the generic box of chocolates, when all we really want is a heart-shaped custom box of only the milk chocolate Bordeauxs.  Umm, how did he know?! Those are my favorite! And I am always so torn whether to eat the only one in the box first or save it for last!

While I was stuffing my face with chocolate truffles and wine pairings, I learned that Mary See was an actual real person, and still today, they still make some of the cute lady's actual recipes - namely the bon bons.
Another item that is specifically handmade, is the rocky road chocolate egg for Easter.
Someone actually hand places all the nuts and marshmallows into the mold and then places that under...the chocolate waterfall!...to fill in the egg shaped treat.

Check out the chocolate waterfall in this video of the See's factory here!

Post by See's Candies.

Or, if you're more of a peanut brittle kind of person, check out how that is made here!

Post by See's Candies.

If you have been into a See's Candies store before, you know they always give each customer a free sample. Now that's customer service! I have always loved that about them. Dangerous...haha. But awesome!

On this visit, I sampled the apple pie truffle, which is made with real Granny Smith apples and cinnamon, and because of that, tastes just like real pie!! You guys, it is so good! You have to try it.

They sell this Seasonal Pie Truffles box of candies, where you can find Apple, Pumpkin, and more!
This is sold out online, but this new store has plenty in stock! The perfect hostess gift for Thanksgiving or a holiday party!

See's Candies really do make the best hostess or holiday gifts, and this new See's concept store has so many boxes of candy, pre-wrapped beautifully, and ready to go! 
Head on down to the Tustin Marketplace, grab a box, and jump into the Express line for quick check out service.
Grand Opening tonight! Friday, November 22nd!

Don't forget your free sample!! ...I had about ten.

I was compensated for this post with free wine, chocolates, and a humongously terrific, swagalicious bag of treats!

Spaghetti Squash Crust Veggie Quiche

I love quiche!  I always have.  My mom used to make it growing up for special occasion brunches.  I also recently had some authentic quiche in Paris which was amazing, too!

On Pinterest recently, I had seen the idea many times to use spaghetti squash as the crust, instead of a traditional pie crust! I had to try it out.

I sauteed some fall veggies: baby portobello mushrooms, kale, spinach, and a bit of sweet potato, and tossed those in with the egg mixture.

It turned out pretty well. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 small spaghetti squash
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2c shredded parmesan cheese
1 pinch each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and/or onion powder.
1 dash nutmeg (Mom's secret!)
2 large kale leaves, torn or chopped small
3 large handfuls of spinach leaves
8 baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/4c Cooked cubed and roasted sweet potato (if you don't want to roast, just microwave or bake under tender, peel, and cube.)


Recipe:

Saute kale, spinach, and mushrooms in a bit of olive oil under cooked and tender.
Set aside.

I usually just cook spaghetti squash in the microwave, instead of roasting.
Poke a few knife holes, carefully, in whole spaghetti squash, and microwave for 5 minutes.
Remove with oven mitt, and now that it has softened a bit, slice in half the long way. (hot dog, not hamburger? LOL. anyone remember that?)
Return halves face up to microwave and continue cooking for 5+ more minutes until tender.

It just terrifies me to try and cut a raw spaghetti squash in half, without losing a finger, or six.  Plus, that aside, it is really tough, regardless, to cut through. Maybe my knives just need sharpening.
But, you can also half, and place face down on a baking sheet, and roast at 400 degrees for about 30-40min.

Continue to handle with over mitts if you don't have the patience, like me, to let cool, and scrape out seeds and strings, and discard those.  Then, with a fork, scoop out the rest of the spaghetti squash stringy flesh.
If really moist, pat dry a bit, then press squash into an olive oil greased pie pan, or 9" round cake pan.

Mix eggs and milk, and spices, and whisk or beat until combined and a bit frothy.Add cheese, and veggies, including sweet potatoes, and mix gently.
Pour egg and veggie mixture into spaghetti squash crust.

Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes, or until eggs are just set.

Remove from oven and let cool.

You can eat quiche warm, room temperature, or chilled - whatever your preference.

Making a healthier 'crust', just means you can have two pieces, instead of one, right?
Enjoy!

Linked Up over at The Clever Chick's Blog Hop!

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes! (Vegan option!)

You guys.

I found the greatest recipe. (Vegan) Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes!
Holy fall awesomeness.

Sandra over at Vegan Mother Hubbard was gracious enough to ask me to make one of her amazing recipes, and do a guest blog post about it on her site!

She is so sweet, and her recipes are wonderful!

Check out my Guest Post over at Vegan Mother Hubbard Here.

So There.