Taking A Tiny Hiatus…

Hey bloggies! Just wanted to let you guys know I’m going to go on a small blogging vacation. I have a feeling the next few weeks will be crazy, I’ll be stressed (actually I already am), and busy getting life in order. Living in LIMBO is not fun. Unfortunately the Army is that way. We are waiting to hear where my boyfriend ends up going next, what will happen to me, etc etc.

I’ve been cooking (not baking) a lot and I wish I was able to bust out some posts to share with ya’ll but it is just not happening. I ended up backing out of The Secret Recipe Club for the month of August. I hope I don’t have to skip September either but we will see.

Today is my 25th birthday! Happy Birthday to me, YAY! For 2 months straight my boyfriend kept asking me what I wanted and I’m just not use to telling people what I want because no one ever buys me anything! It is just something hard for me to deal with but I figured let’s get out of Augusta and go to Charleston,SC! That is where I will be this weekend, hopefully enjoying myself and not caring about a thing. OH and I’ve been going cupcake crazy for these cupcakes, I had to get a dozen of them for my birthday. They are THE BEST!

If you have any awesome restaurant recommendations for Downtown Charleston email me at xladyf54 at gmail dot com. Just change the at to @ and dot to a period.

I’ll be reading my blogs regularly because it keeps me sane and still commenting. This was very hard for me to to decide on this but I needed to knock something off my daily agenda to not feel so stressed out.

I hope you guys understand and I’ll be back soon. I’ll definitely do an update once we find out where we are going and such.

Love you guys,
Fallon

Vegan Bean Burgers

I’ve been in the mood to make some homemade veggie burgers. I finally finished the frozen ones I had in my freezer from when we first moved here. Since these burgers were fresh and homemade they were going to be dinner for the both of us. My boyfriend was raised eating meat all the time unless the meal was heavily focused on pasta, then it might be okay. These bean burgers were made up of black beans, gluten free rolled oats, pistachios and delicious spices. To make the burgers more interesting I made my delicious guacamole and used it as a burger topping. I left the cheese off to continue with this being an entirely vegan meal.

My boyfriend’s burger was placed on some whole wheat Tuscan pane bread from Trader Joe’s and huge glob of guacamole. Served with some crinkle cut fries from Alexia and organic ketchup. I opted to enjoy my burger on a bed of spinach and yellow bell peppers. Guacamole for the dressing and a serving of crinkle cut fries.

This meal was DELICIOUS! The burgers were very easy to put together and the leftovers freeze beautifully. My boyfriend liked it but he said,” It wouldn’t be something I’d ask to have but would eat once in a while.” Blah blah blah! ;)

The Vegan Bean Burgers recipe came from the Daily Garnish. The burgers have been around the blogosphere for quite some time and I’m glad I’ve finally had the opportunity to make them. I ended up using salted pistachios in place of the pepitas and left the coriander out and used smoked paprika instead.

Vegan Bean Burgers with Guacamole
Adapted from Daily Garnish

Ingredients
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 carrots, grated
1/2 cup gluten free rolled oats
1/4 cup pistachios, salted
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Add the oats and pistachios to the food processor and grind until coarsely chopped. Let it run for roughly 10 seconds. Transfer to mixing bowl. Next add the carrots and pulse in the food processor till finely chopped. Add back the oats and pistachios. Add 3/4 of the beans, all the spices and the oil. Once all of this is in the food processor, give it a whirl and mix it all together.

Spoon mixture into a mixing bowl and fold in the rest of the saved beans. Wet your hands and form into 6 medium sized patties. Place patties on a non-stick baking sheet or pan, and bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once in the middle.

Cool until lightly brown and remove. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy,
Fallon

Pecan and Goat Cheese Crusted Chicken

Here is ANOTHER fabulous recipe from Tara of The Foodie and The Family. She takes a chicken breast and presses a pecan/goat cheese mixture on top and bakes it in the oven. I tweaked mine slightly by using a grainy mustard and adding a little honey. I’m sure the honey isn’t primal but it was delicious. My boyfriend has a hard time eating chicken, especially if it is dry so I wanted to make sure it had a little more flavor. The pecans went perfectly with the goat cheese. It was crunchy, sweet and savory all at the same time. If you don’t like goat cheese, I’m sure cream cheese would work since it is almost the same consistency. This meal was very satisfying and I enjoyed having chicken that was different from a typical grilled piece of chicken.

I some what halved the recipe and and still had leftover of the pecan/goat cheese topping. Remember to preseason the chicken with salt and pepper.

Pecan and Goat Cheese Crusted Chicken
Adapted from The Food and The Family

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
1-2 tablespoons grainy mustard
2 teaspoons clover honey
1 cup raw pecans, crushed
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the honey, crushed pecans, goat cheese, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Put the chicken breast onto a baking sheet that has been oiled with olive oil or use a nonstick foil/parchment paper. Season with salt and pepper on both sides and brush the chicken breast with mustard. Press the pecan/goat cheese mixture onto the top of the chicken breasts. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

 

Yum yum,

Fallon

New About Me and Contact Page

It has come to my attention that my blog was lacking an actual page where you could easily contact me. I also added a small summary about me for my newer readers that have recently joined my blog and my regulars. ;)

I love getting emails from my readers! Questions, comments etc. So send away.

Always,
Fallon

Happy Monday + Gluten Free Scones

Exactly 5 days from today will be my 25th birthday! I can’t wait because my boyfriend and I planned a really fun trip together for that weekend. I know Friday is a pamper day for me with a manicure and pedicure. Then I’m picking up some amazing cupcakes to enjoy for my birthday week! I can’t wait to show you guys how delicious they are. Although it will be a fun weekend, turning 25 hasn’t exactly hit me yet. I guess you could say it’s a big deal because it is your quarter century birthday. But I just don’t feel it yet!! I’ll probably feel like, “Gosh I am getting old!” But in reality I know I’m still young. ;)

I made these delicious scones over the weekend. I’ve been meaning to make them for over a month now and finally decided to get to business. These scones are very nutty and slightly sweet. I had one with an afternoon iced coffee and it kept me fueled up for grocery shopping during the afternoon. I didn’t have any dried apricots, so I subbed in dried mango instead. These will help me get through the work week during my afternoon break. I found the recipe from Elana’s Pantry for Gluten Free Muesli Scones.

Gluten Free Muesli Scones
Adapted from Elana’s Pantry

Ingredients
2 cups almond meal (a bit heavier than blanched almond flour)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried mangoes, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
1/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
1 large egg
2 tablespoons agave nectar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a skillet on medium heat, toast the sunflower and sesame seeds. Every few minutes mix and shake the pan so the seeds get toasted evenly. Once you start to smell them, remove from heat and pour into a medium bowl to cool off.

To the bowl of seeds, combine the almond flour, salt and baking soda. Stir in the dried fruit and nuts. In a small bowl combine the egg and agave nectar.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Wet hands with water and form the dough into 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 square that is about 3/4” thick. Cut the dough into 16 pieces place on a baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake for 10 minutes and remove. Cool on baking sheet and then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. (Some pieces were just too small, so I ended up combining them so they all be about the same size. I ended up with 13 scones, rather then 16.)

     

Enjoy,

Fallon

Roasted Eggplant Hummus

Tara who owns the blog The Foodie and The Family has recently changed her ways of eating by going grain-free and sugar-free AKA a primal diet. I’m really proud of her and her efforts to trying something new. If you check out her blog she has come up with some amazing recipes following her new primal diet. I don’t follow a primal diet but I’m all about changing it up once in a while. I know I need to incorporate more protein into my diet and her recipes have been very helpful.

She calls it eggplant hummus but it could also be called babaganoush. My father makes the best babaganoush (or eggplant salad as we like to call it). It has been a while since I had my father’s delicious eggplant salad and Tara came up with eggplant hummus. My father uses olive oil and real mayonnaise (this is probably the ONLY exception where I have mayo, I can’t stand mayo). A real babaganoush uses tahini which is ground up sesame seeds. Hummus also uses tahini to give it that nutty and creamy texture.

Since I didn’t have turmeric, I opted to use curry powder instead. I also thought 2 teaspoons of garlic wasn’t enough, so I used 2 huge cloves instead and made it extra garlicky. Our digestive system will thank us later. ;)

Roasted Eggplant Hummus
Adapted from The Food and The Family

Ingredients
3 small eggplants or 1 large
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (coconut oil would be good too)
Optional: whole sesame seeds and smoked paprika for garnish

Direction
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prick the eggplant(s) a few times with a fork and coat them in a bit of olive oil. Every 10 minutes turn the eggplant for 30 minutes and/or until fork tender. Cool in a plastic shopping bag or in a bowl covered in plastic wrap. This will create condensation and will help the skin peel away from the meat of the eggplant.

Peel the eggplant(s) once cooled and remove the stem/seeds. In a food processor, puree the eggplant(s) until smooth. Add in the garlic, tahini, curry powder, salt and pepper. Puree until combined. While the food processor is running, drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until combined.

We’ve been enjoying this dip on sandwiches as a spread or with fresh vegetables! I love adding it on top of salads and using it as a dressing. I topped it with raw sesame seeds and smoked paprika to bring it up another level! Plus it looks pretty. ;)

Enjoy,

Fallon

 

Protein Ice Cream

If you don’t already know by now my birthday is at the end of the month and my parents thought a Vitamix would be something I’d may enjoy. umm YEAH! I use it at least 2-3 times a day. Fruit juice in the morning, post-workout protein shake and then at night after dinner if I have a hankering for something sweet I try to whip up a batch of ice cream. I had some successful ice cream attempts and not so successful. With your typical blender I use to add a lot of ice. I’ve found out with the Vitamix that too much ice will ruin the creamy consistency and make it very icy.

A long time ago before I had a Vitamix, I remember Heather from Heather Eat’s Almond Butter was always making some sweet concoction and adding in protein powder. I was checking out her recipes and sure enough I was finally able to try her protein ice cream! I had all ingredients on hand and within minutes Mike and I were enjoying this creamy concoction. I’ve already tweaked up flavors and we’ve been sharing this after dinner each night with him.

It is AMAZING! It always fills the void of getting self-serve frozen yogurt which I truly love. We have a rule in the house that I can only have self serve frozen yogurt once a month because I complain I’m eating too many sweets! So in the mean time I’ll enjoy my protein ice cream which is low calorie and high protein.

 

Double Chocolate Protein Ice Cream
Adapted from HEAB

Ingredients
1 cup non-dairy milk (almond milk is my choice)
1 scoop (30g) chocolate protein powder (I like Gold Standard 100% Whey)
1 heaping tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 packet of stevia
Pinch of sea salt
1/3 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
17-18 ice cubes

Directions
Into the Vitamix or blender, add in all the ingredients into the order listed except for the ice cubes. Blend on setting 1 to incorporate everything together. Add all the ice cubes (or if in a blender a handful at a time) and blend on high. Use the tamper with the Vitamix to get the ice into the blades and blend smoothly. It will be done once it forms 4 pillows on top, process any more and it will start to melt.

Serve in a bowl or in an empty peanut butter jar. We like to add toppings to our protein ice cream like cereal, bananas, fresh berries, muesli, chocolate chips and/or shredded coconut. My favorite way was putting it into a partially empty peanut butter jar. Chocolate ice cream and peanut butter, I died and went to heaven for a moment!

This is just a basic recipe and can be easily swapped to change the flavors up. The other night I used a vanilla ice cream flavored protein powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 2-3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup. I subbed in about 7 frozen peach slices and added the remaining 11 ice cubes. This tasted like a marshmallow it was so good!

You will get hooked.. I promise.

Fallon

Welcome to Fallon’s Waffle House

 

When I moved to the south I saw many new franchise restaurants that I never saw on the west coast. One of them being the Waffle House. They are everywhere. We actually have one right near our home and I drive by it all the time. I’ll be honest and admit I’ve never been to the Waffle House. I hear it has good greasy food to eat around 3 in the morning after a night of drinking. Well guess I’ll never get to enjoy that because I’m not the type to drink till 3am. I’m usually sleeping instead. hehe!

Anyways when I am out on the weekends many of the guys want to go to the Waffle House! So I decided to bring the Waffle House to my own when my mom surprised me with my own waffle maker. She came  to visit me last week and brought me presents. I love presents and the waffle maker was a fun surprise. The last time I made waffles was last year when my boyfriend had to go back to Iraq from his leave. I woke up at 5:30am to make my boyfriend a special waffle breakfast before taking him to the airport. I decided to remake the same waffle recipe in my new waffle maker because my boyfriend declared them as the best waffles ever back then. And guess what? They still are the best waffles.

Waffles
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups 1% lactose free milk (any milk will work)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Direction
In a medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside. In another medium bowl beat eggs slightly; stir in milk, oil and vanilla. Add egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir until moistened. Batter will be slightly lumpy.

Pour 1 to 1 1/4 cups of batter onto grids of a preheated, lightly greased waffle maker. Close lid and bake according to manufacturer’s directions, It took me about 4-5 minutes for each waffle to get nice and crispy. To remove use tongs and set on plate. Serve with real maple syrup, butter, plain Greek yogurt and/or nut butter. Enjoy!

Something so simple and easy, definitely a recipe not to mess with. It is perfect as can be.

I enjoyed my waffle topped with plain Greek yogurt and real maple syrup.

Love,
Fallon’s Waffle House

PS: My recipe page is finally updated from the beginning of July! I let that get behind for a second. ;)

TSRC: Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Another month of The Secret Recipe Club has arrived and I love the blogger that was given to me this month. Erica from Stuff I Make My Husband is a featherweight female boxer and makes delicious food to fit into her low carb/high protein diet. I spent a few hours on her website deciding what to make because it all sounded good. I ended up trying her Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream because I haven’t used my ice cream maker in months and it is hot outside! If you would like to join The Secret Recipe Club, just fill out the online form.

If I didn’t have ricotta cheese in the fridge I would of followed her recipe exactly but since we don’t really eat cottage cheese, I didn’t want to just buy it for this reason. I think ricotta tastes better anyways. Although I think the cottage cheese is what makes it creamy, the ricotta cheese was a bit more grainy but other then that it tasted delicious. The ice cream was higher in protein and lower in fat thanks to the use of almond milk and reduced fat cream cheese. What really made it over the top is the use of graham cracker crumbs. This really reminded me of cheese cake since the crust is my favorite part. I really liked the recipe she shared for her low carb graham cracker version but I honestly had no time. The store-bought brand worked for us.

    

I’ve made ice cream in the past and whenever I kept it in the freezer it was rock hard and icy. Still edible but nothing that was easily servable like you get from the store. Erica mentioned to add vodka in the mix so it would stay creamy if you plan to keep it in the freezer. I thought that was a great tip and added it. Since fresh strawberries carry a lot of water, I think I needed more then 1 tablespoon of vodka. It was very hard and icy. We ended up giving it a few seconds in the microwave and it was good as new.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Adapted from Stuff I Make My Husband

Ingredients
12 ounces strawberries, washed, stemmed and sliced
6 ounces reduced fat cream cheese
3/4 cup stevia
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup skim ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon of vodka (optional)
Graham cracker crumbs

Direction
In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients except for strawberries and graham cracker crumbs. Puree until smooth. Stir in the strawberry slices.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After 20 minutes mixture should be ice cream and ready to serve. Top with graham cracker crumbs.

This was a great month! I’m really enjoying The Secret Recipe Club because I’ve met so many new people and found so many new blogs. I’m inspired constantly by everyone!

Fallon

Athens Food Tour

While my mom was visiting me in Augusta, GA we ended up driving up to Athens,GA to embark on our very first food tour. I thought while she was here we could go and see something besides Augusta. There is only so much shopping you can do, till you are finally burnt out. I thought about heading up to Hilton Head but that would require staying overnight at least once. I decided to search for activities and found Athens Food Tour rated as the #1 thing to do while in Athens on TripAdvisor. It was less then 2 hour drive from Augusta to Athens. I was sold. I told my mom about it and she thought it sounded like a good time.

I wrote Mary Charles, she is the owner of Athens Food Tour. She was a SUPER nice lady, very helpful on advice and answered questions very quickly via email. I felt more then confident signing up for a food tour. We ended up doing the Downtown tour where the UGA campus is located. It was a 3 hour tour and $45 a person. We were able to go to 6 places and sampled anywhere from 2-3 courses at each place. We also were able to taste wine at one of them!

I’m so glad I decided to go to Athens, instead of the beach. Mary Charles was like a book and knew everything about Downtown Athens. We learned how historical the area is, how it has changed over the years and sampled some of the best local foods they had to offer. My mom and I both agreed that she felt as if she was a really close friend and it didn’t feel like you were on a tour following a “tour guide.” I really hope I am able to make it down to Athens again and try another food tour. I love learning about history where food is involved. ;)

We visited a really fun clothing store that sold local chocolates, one was a peanut butter cookie dipped in dark chocolate and the other was a peanut butter pretzel in dark chocolate. Somehow I didn’t have any photos and I can’t remember the name of the boutique at all. :( The chocolate was fabulous and the peanut butter pretzel… gave me ideas for the holidays!

La Dolce Vita

Inside the restaurant

Carpacci with shaved leaks and goat cheese

Homemade buffalo mozzarella with
roasted peppers and fresh basil

Rigatoni alla Buttera (Italian sausage,
mushrooms, tomato and cream)

Athens Bulldogs

These were throughout the Athens area but this was the only
one we saw. The painted statues became permanent because of
all the positive feedback they received.

Sorry mom ;)

Jittery Joes

We had iced coffees to cool us off BUT I forgot a picture of them!

Organic coffee.. I approve!

The coffee is roasted in these machines at around 400 degrees.
The place was exceptionally hot because of this.

Just like a nut, they toast up nice and brown. Once cooled the oils
are released.

King of Pops

The original location is in Atlanta, GA but a popsicle
stand is the highlight near The Georgia Theater.

Enjoying a Grapefruit Mint pop, perfect on that warm day!

The National

Cucumber Gazpacho (My favorite)

Mixed green salad with fresh mozzarella and fresh local
fruits in season.

Umm yeah.. their bar was pretty awesome!

Toasted crostini, with local mushrooms and greens, topped with
a sherry vinaigrette.

Teddy Bear Sunflowers, we loved these!

    
We liked The National!

Clocked

Check out their decorations!

We started with a chocolate milkshake…

                                  A unique diner with great burgers and milkshakes.

If you could guess.. she ordered us the Peanut Butter and Bacon
burger. They call it the Elvis burger. Let’s just say peanut butter
on a burger is my new favorite condiment! It wasn’t powerful of
nutty flavor but it just tasted right. Plus their beef is all local and
it was extremely moist and juicy. Great burger!

The burger came with their homemade tator tots which were
very spicy but went well with the feta ranch dipping sauce.

The tour was amazing. Each dish we tried was delicious. I probably should of mentioned some food dislikes and we had to send back some items to be remade. Now I’ll know for next time whenever I get to embark on another food tour. Thanks again to Athens Food Tour. This review was done on my own terms and I’m not being compensated for it.

Always,
Fallon

   

 

St. Louis BBQ Pork Ribs

I’m at ribs again and this time I purchased St. Louis pork ribs. I’ve tried beef ribs and baby back pork ribs all with the same homemade rub and favorite BBQ sauce. I bake them in the oven at 350 degrees F and in about 2 hours you have awesome ribs.

How did the St. Louis ribs turn out?? For me not a favorite at all. They were very fatty and had a more pork flavor to them. My boyfriend enjoyed them but agreed that the best by far were the baby back pork ribs!

My life is finally getting back to normal, well normal for me. I had a wonderful visit with my mom for 5 days. We did a food tour in Athens, GA that I can’t wait to write about. It was amazing! I’ll be getting back to my usually blogging soon, just trying to fit it all in with full work days, cooking dinner, working out and finding time to chill with my man!

Love you guys and I appreciate you hanging out while I get through this slow time!

Oh and did I mentioned my birthday is now 19 days away? ;)

Fallon