BSI Winner!

Thank you mucho to everyone who entered the Blogger Secret Ingredient competition this week.

Nutmeg was the ingredient of choice and multiple yummy-lookin’ recipes were sumbitted. Let’s get right to the good stuff:

VeggieGirl entered an adapted recipe from Gourmet magazine for applesauce pecan cake with nutmeg.

Applesauce Pecan Cake with Nutmeg

VeggieGirl said, “This cake was proclaimed by my family as ‘the best thing you’ve baked yet!'” Check out the recipe on VeggieGirl’s blog.

Jessica submitted these colorful fruit cake cookies.

Fruit Cake Cookies

Jessica said, “We loved them so much (before) that this year I purposely bought enough extra ingredients to bake a whole batch.” Check out the recipe for these fruit cake cookies on Jessica’s blog.

Naomi created a creamy-looking recipe for a pumpkalicious shake.

Pumpkalicious Shake

Naomi said, “a few shakes of Nutmeg and you have yourself one delicious shake!” Check out her recipe for this shake on Naomi’s blog.

Taylor emailed me with a recipe for carrot soup with coconut milk.

Carrot Soup with Coconut Milk

Ingredients:

5 carrots, chopped or shredded
1 onion, chopped
3 cups vegetable stock
1 can coconut milk
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon curry
1/2 teaspoon NUTMEG
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil and the chopped onion to a soup pot and cook over high heat until onions are soft.

2.  Add the garlic and carrots for a few more minutes, then stir in the spices, quickly followed by the stock and coconut milk.

3.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes. Blend in a blender or food processor, return to the pot and add the chopped cilantro.

Kelly’s recipe submission of a pumpkin gingerbread trifle definitely caught my eye.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

Kelly said, “My favorite holiday dessert is my Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle! It is AMAZING in taste AND calories!” You may find the recipe for Kelly’s pumpkin gingerbread trifle on Kelly’s blog.

Biz submitted an awesome recipe for chai tea mix.

Chai Tea Mix

Biz made this recipe to include in a gift box for her brother and sister for the holidays. To see her recipe for chai tea mix, check out Biz’s blog.

And the Winner is…

Kelly with her pumpkin gingerbread trifle! Seriously how good does that trifle look?

Kelly, please email me at pbfingers@gmail.com with your address so I may send you a lil’ somethin’ somethin’ for your big win.

I really did have a hard time chosing just one winner since every recipe submitted made me drool worse than Sadie when we’re eating chicken for dinner. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Be sure to head on over to Mellissa’s blog for next week’s BSI competition. 😀

Flax Hot Cereal and a Giveaway

Good morning!

Today started off on a good note with a good workout at the gym. After doing 25 minutes of cardio (10 min. stair master, 15 min. elliptical), today’s total-body workout looked like this:

15 reps, 3 sets each:

• Leg extensions
• Step ups
• Shoulder raises
• Bicep curls
• Deadlifts
• Side bends
• Tricep dips
• Hamstring exercise ball curls
• Ab work

For the first time this week my morning walk with Sadie was fog-free!

Breakfast

Today’s breakfast was delicious!

Wednesday's Breakfast

I enjoyed a bowl of Flax Z Snax vanilla almond hot cereal topped with Emerald cocoa roast almonds.

Flax Z Snax Hot Cereal

I filled my tumbler with free Barnie’s coffee from my gym. I am obsessed with the seasonal flavor Santa’s White Christmas.

According to Barnie’s:

“Our #1 seller combines Barnie’s® Blend coffee with the flavors of coconut, nuts, sweet caramel and vanilla.”

Coconut, vanilla, nuts and caramel? No wonder I like it so much!

Pop Secret Popcorn and Emerald Almonds Giveaway

Hooray for another giveaway!

Giveaway Goodies

One winner will receive:

• 3 packs of 100 calorie Pop Secret Homestyle Popcorn
• 3 packs of 100 calorie Pop Secret Kettle Corn Popcorn
• 3 packs of 100 calorie Pop Secret Butter Popcorn
• One box of Emerald 100 calorie packs of natural almonds

100 calorie snacks are fantastic for portion control and portability.

Did you know research suggests that eating a handful of almonds daily can help fight abdominal fat and protect you from heart disease? Sounds good to me!

To enter this giveaway, simply comment on this post telling me about your favorite recipe or food featuring nuts.

My favorite nutty treat would have to be oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies or a hot fudge sundae topped with candied pecans. Healthy, no? 😉

I will announce the winner tomorrow morning using Random.org’s random integer generator.

Blogger Secret Ingredient

Don’t forget to submit your recipe featuring nutmeg for this weeks Blogger Secret Ingredient competition. 🙂 You have until Sunday night to enter. Please email me at pbfingers@gmail.com with your entry!

Blogger Secret Ingredient: Week 61 – Nutmeg!

Woop,. woop! I’m hosting Week 61 of the Blogger Secret Ingredient super-fun competition! 😀

(Thank you to Jenn for passing hosting duties along to me!)

Get your thinking caps on because this week’s secret ingredient is…

NUTMEG!

Nutty and Delicious!

With the holiday season in full-swing, I figured this spice would be a good selection since it’s used in both sweet and savory holiday (and non-holiday) dishes.

In case you’re not familiar with BSI here are the details:

The rules:

1. The host picks an ingredient, preferably one that is in season, readily available, and not too expensive.
2. The host links back to all the other previous weekly hosts.
3. Participants create a unique recipe using the BSI and e-mail the host with their recipes.
4. You do not have to have a food blog to participate, and you do not have to submit a photograph (although it is preferred).
5. If you don’t have a blog, you can submit your recipe to the host, and she will post your recipe for you on her blog.
6. The host reviews the recipe submissions by Sunday night of each week.
7. The hosts pick a recipe that is her favorite.
8. The host posts the winner Monday morning and sends the winner a token prize of her choosing.

Here is a list of all the past hosts of BSI. Check ’em out because they’re pretty awesome:

Week 60: Jenn Eats Nutritiously Now – Garlic

Week 59: homecookedem—Cinnamon

Week 58: The Balance Broad – Flax

Week 57:  CookinFanatic – Bleu Cheese

Week 56:  Foodie In the City – Ricotta Cheese

Week 55: Savvy Eats– Maple Syrup

Week 54: Sound Eats – Dried Fruit

Week 53: MegaNerdRuns – Acorn Squash

Week 52: Healthy Tipping Point – Pancake Mix

Week 51: Live, Laugh Eat – Almond Butter

Week 50: Balance, Joy and Delicias! – Cauliflower

Week 49: Healthy San Diego Living – Chickpeas

Week 48: Thought 4 Food – Yogurt

Week 47: London Foodie in New York – Chocolate

Week 46: Johnstone’s Vin Blanc – Oats

Week 45: Guilty Kitchen – Figs

Week 44: Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet – Peanut Butter

Week 43: The Sophisticated Gourmet – Brown Sugar

Week 42: My Kitchen Addiction – Lime

Week 41: Nutmeg Nanny – Coffee

Week 40: Chaya’s Comfy Cook – Broccoli

Week 39: Healthy Delicious – Plums

Week 38: Zoe – Feta

Week 37: ChezWhat– Potatoes

Week 36: Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice – Blueberries

Week 35: Girlichef -Greens

Week 34: The Ungourmet – Watermelon

Week 33: Bread + Butter – Bell Pepper

Week 32: Burp and Slurp -Corn

Week 31: Say Yes to Salad – Kabocha

Week 31 1/2: Simply Fabulous Now– Cherries

Week 30: Thinspired – Bananas

Week 29: To Be The Whole Package – Almonds

Week 28: Kristas Kravings – Lemon

Week 27: From French Fries To Flax Seeds – Coconut

Week 26: Plentiful Plants – Avocado

Week 25: Training Fuel – Eggs

Week 24: Dinner at Christina’s – Cabbage

Week 23: Hey What’s for Dinner, Mom? – Strawberries

Week 22: One Bite at a Time – Basil

Week 21:  Just Sweet Enough – Black Beans

Week 20: What I Ate Yesterday – Kale

Week 19: What’s for Dinner – Orange

Week 18: Bran Appetit!–Spinach

Week 17: Tales of Expansion -Dates

Week 16: Biggest Diabetic Loser – Zucchini

Week 15: Sweet & Natural –Peppermint

Week 14: bella eats [and runs] – Ginger

Week 13: Coffee Talk – Walnuts

Week 12: For the Love of Oats – Pumpkin

Week 11: Trying to Heal – Sweet Potatoes

Week 10: The Inner Workings of a College Graduate – Eggplant

Week 9: Itzy’s Kitchen – Pears

Week 8: The Fitnessista – Cranberries

Week 7: Tri to Cook – Lentils

Week 6: Rhodey Girl Tests – Polenta

Week 5: Eating Bender – Butternut Squash

Week 4: Care to Eat – Apples

Week 3: On a Lobster Placemat – Mushrooms

Week 2: Hangry Pants – Tomatoes

Week 1: sportsnutritionliving – Quinoa

• Please e-mail  me (pbfingers@gmail.com) when you post your BSI recipe on your blog. If you don’t have a blog, send me your recipe and a picture if you took one.
• You have until Sunday, December 20 at 10p.m. EST to enter
• Recipes will be posted on Monday morning along with the winner.
• Please email me (pbfingers@gmail.com) if you’re interested in hosting BSI next week.

I will select the winner Sunday night and post the winner Monday morning. The winner will receive a nice lil’ gift so be sure to enter!!!

Garlicy Dinn-ah!

Since I began fostering my love for Brussels sprouts this year, I’ve only tried a small handful of recipes involving the yummy vegetable. 

Fresh Brussels Sprouts

I typically limit my Brussels sprouts preparation to tossing the sprouts in olive oil, salt and pepper before roasting them. 

When I saw that this week’s Blogger Secret Ingredient was garlic, I knew I wanted to use garlic in my next Brussels sprouts dish. 

Garlic

To begin, I chopped up the Brussels sprouts, getting rid of dingy leaves and the hard bottoms. 

I then tossed the Brussels sprouts with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper before roasting them at 400 degrees for 13 minutes on one side. 

Pre-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I then flipped the sprouts and roasted them for another five minutes on the other side until they were soft, but slightly crispy on the outside. 

Balsamic and Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

This recipe was fan-flippin-tastic. I loved the added oomph of flavor from the garlic and balsamic vinegar. Delish! 

Though the Brussels sprouts were the highlight of my meal, I also enjoyed a salmon burger on a whole wheat Arnold sandwich thin with cucumber and plum tomato slices and a dill dijonaise sauce made with  light Miracle Whip, dijon mustard and dill. Great dinner! 

My Dinner!

Balsamic and Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts 

Ingredients:

• 1.25 lbs. Brussels sprouts (roughly 5 c. chopped)
• 1.5 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chop Brussels spouts, removing hard ends and wilted leaves. Combine all ingredients, tossing to coat the Brussels sprouts in the mixture. Spread on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 13 minutes before flipping the Brussels sprouts and baking for an additional 5 minutes.

Is .wordpress.com a Big Deal? 

I have a question for all of you blog-followers out there. Do you think having “.wordpress.com” in the domain name of a blog hurts readership?  

  

Wordpress "W"

 I am not computer saavy at all and have toyed around with making the jump from WordPress to my own domain name (I even purchased peanutbutterfingersblog.com – peanubutterfingers.com was taken. 😦 ) I am happy using WordPress right now, but know it’s much easier to remember blog names when it’s just the blog name.com. 

Please share your thoughts! 🙂 

Wedding Dress Input 

Thank you to all of you who commented on my simple vs. sha-zaam wedding dress post! It was so interesting to read such a wide variety of opinions. No wonder there are bazillions of wedding dresses out there to choose from. I hope I find a beautiful dress and I will be sure to keep you guys updated on my progress. 😀