Pina Colada Smoothie

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Andrea

It’s the end of March and yesterday Columbus was blessed with a snowstorm that lasted all afternoon. It was the last thing that any of us wanted. Okay, well there might be a few residents who don’t mind but the rest of us were cursing and shaking our fists in the air.

So to beat the winter blues, I’m posting something springy and fun! Something that nourishes both the body and spirit.

Pina Colada smoothie! Super green in color to perk up any blah winter day and tasty enough that you might start looking around for some rum.

Andrea’s Pina Colada Smoothie

1C OJ

1C Unsweetened Coconut Milk (like SO Delicious)

2 Large handfuls of baby spinach

1 Frozen Banana

1/2 C Frozen Pineapple

1/4C Frozen Mango

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This will be a thicker smoothie, like milkshake or frozen drink style. Makes enough for two large glasses.

Perfectly tart and creamy. It tastes just like a pina colada but looks like spring. The amounts of frozen pineapple and mango are estimates because I didn’t measure those out. Go by what you like. The pineapple is more tart while the mango is more sweet. You need to use enough pineapple to ensure you get the pina colada taste because that’s what makes the smoothie.

Quick and Dirty Guacamole

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Andrea

Guacamole is one of those things that I instantly fell in love with. I didn’t grow up eating it and only ever had it out in restaurants which was nothing fantastic I promise you. But to me it was creamy green heaven.

It took me a while to figure out how to make a guacamole that I liked and I tried everything. With chunks, without chunks. With tomatoes, with cilantro, and so on and so on. I discovered that what Scott and I really like is just a basic and simple guac that isn’t fancy but highlights the avocado well.

This version seriously takes maybe five minutes and then you can get busy stuffing your face with goodness.

Andrea’s Quick and Dirty Guacamole

2 Avocados

1/2 a Lime

Hot Sauce (I like Cholula, but whatever floats your boat)

Salt

Garlic Powder

Chili Powder

In a medium sized bowl, cut the avocados and remove the seeds. Scoop out the flesh with a spoon and place in bowl. With a sturdy fork, mash the avocado until it’s smooth or as smooth as you like it. Add in the juice of the 1/2 a lime, hot sauce, and all the seasonings. Stir and taste to see if it’s seasoned enough to your liking. If not add more and stir again until it’s right.

Read more on Quick and Dirty Guacamole…

Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Andrea

I grew up in Pennsylvania. Western PA as a matter of fact. Home of the Steelers, The Penguins (and the Pirates if we must) and the City of Bridges. I didn’t grow up in the city but in a rural coal mining and farming town which was only an hour south of the city. I now live in Columbus, which is only 3 hours away from my hometown.

Doesn’t sound like a huge difference but in terms of weather it totally is! Ohio gets some of the most crazy weather and by crazy I am referring to how extreme it is. It goes from one end of the spectrum to the other, sometimes in the same day.

This week we have the pleasure of dealing with an ice storm and then more snow. Good times.

Thankfully Scott and I work from home which means we can stay bundled up.

On the first cold and iced-in day, I decided to kick my normal bowl of morning oats up a notch and make it something special. I’ve seen others talk about baked oatmeal before and the concept always intrigued me. Baked oatmeal sounds really decadent and like a lovely winter treat, doesn’t it?

Thanksgiving Apple Stuffing

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Andrea

I have been cooking with apples more and more lately. Before I couldn’t stand the taste and texture of cooked apples and now I’m finding that I can tolerate it a bit more.

I still don’t want any apple pie though! You all can have that.

I’ve also been toying around with new ideas for some holiday dishes and one I played with was stuffing. Oh man both Scott and I love stuffing. Mmmmm! I love it super seasoned with crispy edges. My mom made alright stuffing but you know, I used to really like the box mix stuff! I used to make that for Scott and I all the time. Then about nine years ago, I started researching how to make stuffing from scratch and I discovered that it’s not hard at all.

From that point on, I started making homemade stuffing. This allows me to control the ingredients and how much seasoning I want, it’s a win-win for us all! Plus you know homemade is better than any box of whatever.

Cranberry Apple Sauce

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Andrea

While growing up, cranberry sauce was a staple at our Thanksgiving meal and truth be told I didn’t like it. We always had the canned version and there was just something about it that didn’t really sit quite right with me. I don’t know if it was the taste or texture, regardless it was a dish that I passed over.

When I started making Thanksgiving dinner for Scott and I, he told me that they always had cranberry sauce too and that he liked it.

Say wha?!

This meant that I needed to supply him with some cranberry sauce. In the beginning, I just bought the canned version and let him go to town. Eventually I came around and stared being able to tolerate it. When OHC was in it’s infancy and before we cut out HFCS, I even used it to make this salad.

Now taking a look at the ingredient list, yikes! Corn syrup and HFCS are the first two ingredients. Ick! That means we stay far away from the canned grocery store version and I had to start experimenting on my own to make cranberry sauce.

OHC Kitchen Staple: Cider

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Andrea

Growing up we had cider a good bit in the fall because my mom liked it. She always served it warm though and I just thought it was okay. Much like hot chocolate and grape juice, it dried my throat out causing me to be more thirsty than I was to begin with. Because of that, I was never on the big cider train because getting thirsty while actually drinking a beverage isn’t all that much of a good time.

Several years ago we were at a small town fall festival and it was hot. Like sun blazing, unseasonably hot and there was a booth that was serving cold cider. I got a cup and it was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.

Cold cider is amazing!

Who knew?!

Everyone is so busy serving up hot mulled cider that it just didn’t occur to me to have it cold. After that sip though, I could not get enough and have been purchasing cider in the fall ever since.

Read more on OHC Kitchen Staple: Cider…

Frozen Pumpkin Dessert

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Andrea

We eat a lot of bananas in this house. So much, that I’m pretty much convinced the grocery store checkout clerks find us a bit bizarre as we pile up at least 5 bunches of bananas.

They get used in oatmeal and frozen ones get used in smoothies. Rocky also gets a frozen one every night in his kong for his bedtime snack. We eat them a lot! So it’s a good thing we love bananas.

When I came across Gena’s tip for using frozen bananas to make a soft serve style dessert I was intrigued and knew immediately that we would love it. We’ve had frozen banana dessert a bunch of times now, our favorite way using chocolate soymilk and peanut butter.

I know, it’s pretty much heaven.

Being that it’s fall, it was only a matter of time before I tried my hand at using pumpkin in this dessert.

I used to be in love with pumpkin ice cream. It was my very favorite flavor! Then I started becoming more aware of ingredients and what exactly I was putting into my body. Sadly the majority of pumpkin ice cream out there (Jeni’s excluded obviously) has a ton of crap in it. I stopped buying it and became a very sad Andrea.

Guest Post: Brandi

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Andrea

Hi gang! I’m off to Atlanta this weekend to enjoy a foodie seminar put on by Food Blog Forum. If you think you cannot live without me, you can follow my adventures via Twitter. I’ll try and tweet when I get a chance!

While I’m out drinking, eating, and socializing learning how to better improve my blog and recipes, I do have some awesome guest posts lined up for you! First up is Brandi from Bran Appetit!

Just Peachy

With the end of summer inching closer, I’m trying to enjoy as many peaches as possible. If you have access to local peaches, I hope you’re buying as many as I am each week! It’s tough for me to save enough to actually make a dessert – we eat them with breakfast and lunch, as snacks, and in crisps and crumbles when we can.

Some of our favorite ways to enjoy perfectly ripe summer peaches:

Diced into oatmeal

Pineapple Mango Salsa

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Andrea

Remember how I said that I needed to get caught up on recipe posting? Well it’s time to start! I’m calling this week, Salsa Week and I’ll be posting a few of my newest salsa recipes. They are super easy and you’ll notice that they all follow a similar concept. You’ll be whipping up salsa in no time flat!

The first salsa to be showcased this week is a fruit salsa. I have heard many mentions of people eating salsa made from pineapple and mango but yet I’ve never come across any! I haven’t seen a recipe, nor a jar of it in the store, not even seeing it listed on a menu someplace.

The pineapple and mango salsa has been out of my grasp! I decided that it couldn’t be that hard to make and tried my hand at making a test batch. The first step was getting some fresh mango and fresh pineapple which can be tricky depending on the season and what your grocery store has available. Fresh ingredients are necessary though so make sure you have these for salsa time!

Coconut Lime Spritzer

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Andrea

Guys I am so behind on recipe posting! I have a ton in my little notebook of stuff that I need to get written up and published ASAP! So be prepared for a recipe posting spree over the next few weeks, K? :)

I again bring your attention to the fact that it’s summertime and that means HOT. Or if you live where I do, it means HUMID with a side of sticky. You don’t really want to do much of anything except take time out to sip on something delicious and preferably very cold.

I do not drink mixed drinks because that kind of alcohol always seems a little heavy on my stomach. Plus a lot of drinks are made so they are super sweet and I’m not one for sweet. Even with wine I do not like sweet. Scott on the other hand likes mixed drinks a great deal and I will occasionally make him a little sumptin’ sumptin’ to sip on while dinner cooks or perhaps while he’s manning the grill out back.