Cheese

How To: Eat Grits

7:00:00 AM


I love recreating dishes that I've had on vacations. One of my favorite dishes, and one of my family's favorite dishes while we were in South Carolina was Shrimp and Grits. Grits are a popular item down south and if you've never tried them, I would highly recommend that you hurry down to the southern states and try some. 

Shrimp n Grits


So, what are Grits? Grits are corn that is coarsely grounded and boiled. They're delicious. 
One night, we decided to recreate our favorite meal. With some hush puppies from Louisiana, cheesy-garlic grits from South Carolina and some shrimp, we started cooking. 

 When we first arrived in Charleston, and went down to our hotels breakfast, a woman told us about all the different ways they eat their grits. 
Fried Grits
Grits with Cheese
Shrimp and Grits
Grit Cake

The list was really long, and I'm sure there are a million ways you can make them!
We made our shrimp and grits spicy, which isn't for everyone but there are a ton of other ways you can eat it! It didn't take long for the grits to be done boiling, and the sauce to be made, so this dish is pretty simple and easy! 

 Here's what we did:
We had bought garlic cheese grits at a country store in South Carolina, and the package said to just boil the grits and cheese for about 15 minutes.

 Making the sauce:

 What you'll need:
1 large pan
 2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon garlic
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

 Add all ingredients into pan and cook for 10-15 minutes. Add in the shrimp, mixing until covered by sauce. 
Shrimp n Grits

It might not look totally appetizing, but let me tell you, it was amazing! 
Shrimp and Grits

We also made cheesecurds with our meal, as we were using the deep-fryer anyway! 
What is your favorite meal to recreate? If you could recreate any meal that you've had what would it be? 
I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know in the comments! 
x

Crisp

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

8:00:00 AM



Last summer, I made this Strawberry Pecan Crisp. While that went over really well, I decided that this year after picking fresh strawberries from a field, and borrowing my grandmother's fresh rhubarb from her garden, that one of my favorite summer treats would be made. 

Vegan

This recipe is dairy free (and vegan). It's also delicious and simple to make! 
Here's what you'll need
8x8 Pan
Bowl
2 cups rhubarb
2 cups strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup vanilla
1 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon

Topping:
3/4 cup + 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
1 and 1/4 cup oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
strawberries 

Here's what You'll Need to Do
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl, stir the sugar, vanilla, cornstarch and salt together 
Add strawberries and rhubarb and stir to coat. 
In a different bowl, stir flour, oats, brown sugar and salt until combined
Pour the fruit mixture into the pan and top with topping mixture. 
Top with a few strawberries, or wait until after
Bake for 40-45 minutes until top is firm and fruit is bubbly. 
Let cool for 30 minutes and serve warm!

Healthy

I used extra cinnamon in my batch (just because I like it), but you don't have to! 
It goes really well with any type of ice-cream when you serve it. 
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! 

What is your favorite summer fruit dish? This one is definitely mine and I cannot wait to make it again sometime soon! 
Make sure to comment below! 


Chickpeas

Savory and Spicy Chickpeas

6:30:00 AM


It's finally summer. Which means I'm home from University and creating new dishes and enjoying loads of time outside! Eating salads is one of my favorite things, but having salad two meals in a row just isn't my style, and thus I came up with this dish! 


A vegan chickpea dish with spices and veggies that's easy to make and doesn't take much time at all! If you're looking for a healthy, easy and quick dish to make for yourself (or one other person) this is the meal for you! 
What You'll Need:
1 can drained garbanzo/chickpeas
1 cup chopped peppers
1/4 cup mushrooms
1 cup chopped white onion
2 tablespoons Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Onion powder
1-2 tablespoons Paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

You can 100% play around with the flavors, personally, I really have been loving garlic powder so you can take it down or turn it up with any of these ingredients!

What You'll need to Do:
Drain the chickpeas
Heat 1 tablespoon Olive Oil in pan over medium heat
Add onions, peppers, mushrooms to pan and cook about 4 minutes
Add all the spices and stir
Add chickpeas and add more spices if you wish! 
Stir continuously and cook for about 5 more minutes


I found that I split up the spices and added more after the chickpeas were added and you might want to do that as well! I hope you all love this recipe as much as I did! I really love chickpeas and want to see what other dishes will come up next! 



Have you discovered any new dishes lately? Anything that you want to try out? I hope this inspired you to create your own and I cannot wait to hear what you have to say in the comments! Make sure to send me an email if you have any suggestions for blog posts! 
x Kenzie

Baking

No pasta-Spaghetti and meatballs

9:00:00 AM


If you've been a reader for awhile, then you already know that I love to bake. I also enjoy eating healthy and I've started my clean eating challenge just a few weeks ago. While my entire family seems to be a bit "Christmas-cookied-out", I've luckily still gotten the chance to bake quite a few times while being home! 

With clean eating I've discovered quite a few new foods as well as new recipes, mostly dinners as of right now. I've been trying really hard to eat things that are beneficial for my body. Whether it be having water instead of soda,having fruit instead of chips for an afternoon snack. Like many of you, I enjoy eating spaghetti, and I was really excited to learn how to make a new kind of spaghetti and meatballs that would help my body be the best it can be this new year!

Eat Simple
Here's what you'll need!
  • 1-3 pound spaghetti squash
  • 2 Tablespoons water
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley, divided 
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 1.25 teaspoons italian seasoning, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 pound lean ground turkey
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)
  • dash of crushed red pepper
Here's what you'll have to do!
Turkey Meatballs
  • Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds (you can save the seeds if you want to roast some for a snack later). Place facedown in a microwave-safe dish, add 2 tablespoons water and microwave uncovered about 10-15 minutes (I did 14 minutes)
  • Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
    Scrape squash flesh with fork into skillet and cook, stir occasionally until moisture is evaporated and squash has begun to brown. 
  • Stir in 1/4 cup parsley, remove from heat, cover and let stand
  • Combine 1/4 cup parsley, 1/4 cup parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning, onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper into medium bowl. Mix together. 
  • Create meatballs by using about 2 tablespoons meat and roll in mixture, setting in skillet. I put in 3 before turning down the heat until I had added the rest, then brought the heat back up again.
    Once meatballs are browned: push to side of pan add garlic and cook about 1 minute, add tomatos, crushed red pepper and 3/4 teaspoon italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir to coat over the meatballs. 
  • Serve over squash, sprinkling with parmesan or whatever cheese or topping you'd like! 


I made this dish for my mom and I one night, and we both really enjoyed it! I had never made anything with spaghetti squash before, and it turned out delicious! You can always play around with what you put into your seasoning if you'd like! I hope you get a chance to try this dish, and if you do make sure to comment below! I would love to hear from you! 
xx Kenzie

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