I Keep Saying I’m 25 but Really I’m 26!

Ben and Jerry’s ice cream cake. They make the best!

Birthdays come and go. We all get older and we all say, “Oh I don’t want to celebrate.” Well I know I’m one of them but deep down in my heart I know that it is a good excuse to just go out and have fun. Drink, fun dinners, silly laughs, dancing etc. Just today I had a compliment, someone thought I was 20. Umm thank you! Hehe. I get that a lot actually and I’m taking it!

My birthday was on July 30th and I actually had a weird fear of turning 26. In 4 years I’ll be 30, is what I kept repeating in my mind. Well it happened, I turned 26. I think I will be okay. This birthday was probably one of the best birthdays ever. I felt like a princess the whole day and it was the people I surround myself with. I never felt so good and so loved. Thank you to everyone who came to my dinners and had a few drinks with me. Thank you for the fabulous birthday cards too!

I know it has been a minute since I’ve made a post. I always use the excuse I’m really busy but I’ll just be honest. I don’t have the heart of cooking like I once did. I try to continue loving it and blogging about what I’ve made but I had to force myself to do it. It just wasn’t feeling right. I don’t cook as much as I use too. Thank goodness my mom has learned how to cook because I’d be drinking smoothies for dinner every night! I want to change the feel of my blog. I want you guys to know my personality and who I am. I tend to be very random and my posts will become very random. The blog will still focus on food but I’ll add in other tidbits like workouts and cool projects I’m working on. How does that sound? Perhaps a blog name change will be in the future as well!

Summer Veggie Slaw, from my favorite blog, Proud Italian Cook: http://prouditaliancook.blogspot.com/2012/07/summer-veggie-slaw.html

I sent my mom the recipe and she made it for my birthday dinner. Boy was this delicious!

My favorite Spinach and Mozzarella Turkey Burgers and honey mustard chicken.

Honey mustard glaze: dijon mustard, honey, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper. Season raw chicken with salt and pepper, grill and then glaze chicken while grilling.

My birthday meal! The only thing I cooked were the sweet potato fries and protein.

Dessert!

The best ice cream cake ever. It had a layer of vanilla ice cream, brownies, and a buttery toffee ice cream with huge chunks of heath bar and swirls of caramel. Whip cream icing and sprinkles! Oh and my Happy Birthday Fallon was in fudge, not the icky artificial frosting stuff! <3

Adios my friends!
Fallon

Shredded Cabbage Slaw with Radishes, Raisins, and Dijon Dressing

Summer is ALMOST here and I couldn't be more excited. Now is the time where people are throwing BBQs and everyone going out on vacation. The last thing anyone wants to be doing is working, but life can't always be that peachy. Not only do I love summer and this time of the year, but I like the fact that I crave foods that aren't as heavy and are much lighter. I always want salad and fruit. Okay and the occasional frozen yogurt or ice cream ;).

I like all types of salads, even coleslaw as well. I like when the cabbage has soaked up the dressing and everything is just perfect. Makes the perfect side dish for those BBQ nights. I found this recipe on Martha Stewart's website for Shredded Napa Cabbage Salad with Radishes, Golden Raisins, and Dijon Dressing. I like this recipe a lot because most coleslaw salads have a mayonnaise base dressing and I'm anti-mayonnaise, so the dijon dressing was a winner in my book. I made a few adjustments like usual. First of all I've been a total bum and didn't want to shred napa cabbage, so I picked up a bag of regular cabbage already shredded and mixed in some broccoli slaw. I found a white balsamic vinegar because I couldn't find white-wine vinegar.

Just like I couldn't find golden raisins, so I used normal Thompson seedless raisins. Other then that this recipe was very delicious with the adjustments I made. It was sweet, crunchy, tangy with a bit of heat. It was so good the next day. I had it with teriyaki chicken, baked sweet potato and baked beans. YUM! I will be making this salad again and again!

This salad was absolutely beautiful. Love the grainy mustard!

Click HERE for Shredded Napa Cabbage Salad with Radishes, Golden Raisins, and Dijon Dressing.

Ciao,
Fallon

Broccoli Galore! Part 1

Hey everyone! Wow I can't believe a whole week has gone by since my last post! Just been really busy working and getting in my workouts. I'm behaving very well and as long as I don't bake then I'm good! Well except till this weekend. I'm baking one last care package for my boyfriend and it is a sweet one! So I gotta taste the goodies to make sure they are safe, and since I'm making something I LOVE I have to have several pieces set aside for me. Don't worry I'll share it with you guys later. Let's get to business now. Broccoli. Not only do I love this vegetable but I love have versatile it is. From steaming, sauteing, roasting, any flavor works with this vegetable! Plus it is green and it is healthy for you in many ways! The first recipe I have to share is my go to salad. Like this week I really had no time to fuss in the kitchen but I wanted a way to get my vegetables in, this is my salad. It is a broccoli slaw mix you can buy in the store and put together in no time! It tastes even better the next day. You can eat it salad style or put it in your favorite wrap for a quick lunch or snack on the go!

 
Fallon's Simple Broccoli Salad  
Ingredients
1 16oz bag of broccoli slaw
1/4 cup of Asian sesame dressing (Store bought or home-made)
3 tbsp nuts/seeds (almonds, sesame seeds, pepita seeds and/or sunflower seeds)

First empty the slaw into a large bowl so mixing won't be messy. Pour in the dressing and toss till everything is coated. In the mean time heat a skillet with nuts and/or seed selection. I like to mix it up and use several varieties in my salad. Today I used pepita seeds, sesame seeds, and almonds. Keep shaking the skillet and mixing the nuts/seeds till they are toasted but not well done. Basically once you start smelling the oils, they are done. Take off the heat and let cool for a few minutes. Then add to the bowl of slaw and mix everything together.

That is all. I use Newman's Own dressing because it is simple and I like how it tastes. A homemade sesame dressing or peanut dressing would taste really good as well because you can control the ingredients. Sometimes I like to add dried cranberries to the salad or I'll use a poppyseed dressing to make it a creamy broccoli salad. If I feel I need protein, I'll add a can of chicken breast (garbanzo beans for a vegetarian option) to the salad and toss it altogether. That is my favorite combo!


I have a part 2 to Broccoli Galore which will be posted sometime around Sunday!

Thanks to everyone leaving me comments! Tell me if you try oats in your barely empty jar of nut butter!!!
Heres to a great weekend to everyone, including me. I'm off. I deserve it!

Adios,
Fallon