A Sweet Summer Treat

It's Sunday evening and the Tony Awards (my favorite!) are coming on and I want something sweet to eat, but not with sugar. So I searched clean desserts and found this amazing ice cream recipe - with no sugar and no cream. 

If you need a sweet treat, try one of these ice cream recipes. I made the strawberry ice cream and it is ROCKING MY WORLD. It'll be only as good as Hugh Jackman singing and hosting the Tony's.

The Hawaiian One Pot Wonder

A few nights ago, I tried a new recipe that required pretty much every pot, spoon, knife, cutting board and measuring cup we own. Sean, who usually does the dishes, did not love it. So Friday night I figured I'd save both of us some time and whip up this easy, delicious, healthy one pot wonder - Hawaiian Sloppy Joe's. 

It's based off this vegan recipe by Chef Chloe, who I love. However, her recipe calls for mushrooms, which I'm allergic to, and Sean likes meat, so I've adapted it. You can use hers, mine or a combo! Either way - dinner will be done in no time and with only one pot to clean. And that's something we all love.

I put them on mini Hawaiian Bread rolls,
to keep with the Hawaiian theme. 

5 Weeks in Photos

Hi friends! It's been over a month since I've blogged. I'm so sorry, but I've been quite busy living my awesome life. I'm hoping to get back in the regular blogging swing, but for now here's a quick photo update on where I've been and where I'll be off to next!

First up was a big work event - our annual 5K at Soldier Field with over 4,200 participants! 

Then I was off to New Orleans! Say hello to my little friend....

Next up was Sean's law school graduation weekend. I've never been so proud! 

We also caught a bunch of Yankees games in Chicago. I've never been so disappointed :(

The face of disappointment

Speaking of the Yankees, next stop was New York for one of my lifelong friend's weddings. It was a most beautiful day for a most beautiful couple!

The new Mr. & Mrs. Betz!

The most amazing view of the NYC skyline at cocktail hour.

And now I'm back in Chicago. It's been a whirlwind, but totally awesome. Once I make my way overdue to the grocery store (a place I vaguely remember....) I'll be back with more recipes, more updates and more fun! 

Easter Dinner

Though I'm not 100% Italian (okay, not even 50%), it's my favorite side. I have a lot of Italian traits - I'm loud, I'm passionate and I love to cook. I cook when I'm happy, I cook when I'm sad, I cook when I'm angry, and I cook when I'm celebrating. (I also cook when I'm just hungry. That happens too).

So, since I was feeling a little blue and missing my family on Sunday, I decided to whip up an awesome meal. I made eggplant manicotti and homemade whole wheat bread (WAY better than store bought and no preservatives or added crap!). It was AMAZING! We'll start with the main dish:

Eggplant Manicotti:

You need:
1 Eggplant
1 cup Ricotta Cheese (I use organic whole)
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (or just parmesan is fine)
1 cup fresh basil (chopped)
2 cups tomato sauce (I use Trader Joe's organic tomato basil)
Mozzarella to top (I only use a little fresh, some people like a lot, so however much you want)

Here's how:

• Pre-heat oven to 400.
• Cut the top and bottom off the eggplant and two sides, so its kind of a square, and you can stand it on its bottom. Slice the eggplant longway, top to bottom, in about 1/4 inch thick slices. (I ended up with about 9 and one sorta wonky thin one from the end)
• Place the eggplant on parchment paper lined baking sheets,  spray with olive oil (or brush), and sprinkle with salt and paper. 
• Roast eggplant in the oven for 20 minutes (I had them on two trays, so at 10 minutes I swapped the racks so they cooked evenly).
• Take eggplant out to cool after it's roasted, but leave the oven on.
• Grab your pan, and pour 3/4 cup of sauce into the bottom (I used my 2 quart square pyrex dish).
• While cooling, mix the 1 cup of ricotta, 1 cup of basil, and 1/4 cup of parmesan in a bowl.
• When the eggplant is warm but cool enough to handle, scoop about 1 tbsp of the ricotta mixture into the bottom end of an eggplant strip. Roll up (like a jelly-roll) to the top, then place the eggplant seam side down into the sauce. Repeat with all the slices of eggplant.
• Pour remaining sauce on top and top with some extra parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
• Put back in the oven, about 18 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

And ta-da, you have a delicious, healthy, gluten free amazing meal. It's about 150 calories per each slice of eggplant. 

There it is, all rolled up!

The bread recipe is from the website A Well Floured Kitchen, and I used it almost verbatim. I ran out of whole wheat pastry flour after about 3.5 cups, so the rest was plain ol' whole wheat flour. The bread came out awesome, though I didn't make the top cuts big enough, so it didn't get that crusty separation. 

Now that I've made and ate this delish meal, I'm happy again. Which is a perfect emotion for heading back into the kitchen for some dessert! 

Centerpieces: The Epicenter of my Universe

One of the benefits of having a long engagement is the lack of stress. If I don't want to do something today, most times, I don't have to. If I want to spend six hours scrolling through wedding invites online, I can. It's been nice being able to do things when and how I want without rushing.

The one thing that I find funny, however, is that many of the things I thought I would care about in wedding planning, I don't. And the one thing I said I couldn't care less about has now become priority #1. Centerpieces.

When we got engaged I said (multiple times), "just throw some flowers on the table and call it a day. I don't care." Then, Pinterest happened. And now, our centerpieces and table settings have become (in my mind) one of THE most important pieces of the wedding. 

Despite the fact that I know almost no one remembers them, and no one has ever left a wedding saying 'those were some great centerpieces' (myself included), I can't stop myself. I have a vision. And the vision must be met. And that was fine, until the candles I wanted were out of stock. 

I've spent countless hours this weekend hunting down candles, so now I'm turning to you, friends. Does anyone know where I might find candles that look like this: 

I will be forever indebted to whoever can help me out!