COFFEE!!

I am a BIG coffee drinker...are YOU?

When I think coffee, i think LOVE.

Coffee is warm, soothing, calming and uplifting,

it wakes me up, it calms me down and it's both a treat and necessity at the

 same time...AHhhhhh COFFEE how i love thee.

 I have had the great pleasure of drinking Kona Coffee in Kona, HI and i've had a morning cup at a McDonald's restaurant in Germany and that is almost all over the world!

The coffee I like best is HOT and FRESH and NEVER ENDING.

I am a total sucker for mocha's with lot's of chocolate and syrup. Almond Roca or Blackberry are my go-to flavors now, but that can change!

I suppose I like coffee more than bagels, but if I had my own cafe...there would be bagels too! 

FRESH and HOT...just like the coffee.

Mmm....

Remember these...so cool!

I do NOT like Folgers, but a lot of people do. My boyfriend will not drink anything but Folgers Classic Decaf.

Here is a coffee I must have...

TRY THIS!!

Ahhhh yes...the 'ole "French Press"!

Great for camping or at home and the french press method is good for making more than one cup and less than 12. 

Read About COFFEE

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HOT Artichoke, Spinach & Parmesan Dip with Lime Chips or a Bagel!

A lot of my recipes include a bagel on the side, but I am telling you, if you don't have a fresh baguette handy for this...a plain bagel goes just fine.

But what is better than bread with this?

CHIPS!

But what is better than chips with this...LIME chips!!

find these AWESOME chips here:

I found that Lime tortilla chips really tasted good with this cheesy dip. As for the dip...kinda like the chips and bread, just find a really good pre-made dip that you love at your local deli. It's gotta be artichoke, spinach and parmesan...and serve it HOT.

Mmmm so good.

Smoked Turkey & Blue Cheese Salad with a Bagel or Tortilla...?

Try it...you will LOVE this salad. You should add or subtract any ingredients you want. I made this salad yesterday and it was perfect. The grapes and blue cheese and smoked turkey go so well together. Trust me.

Mmmmm...I Love Food!

To make One serving...

Start with: 

some Sliced Cabbage

a handful of Baby Spinach

a handful of Mixed Greens

some Red Grapes (two handfuls)

Then add:

Smoked Turkey pieces 

*my dad bought a Traeger Grill and keeps me in stock of smoked meats, it's WONDERFUL!

Fresh Sliced Mushrooms

Sliced Roma Tomatoes or Grape, Pear or Cherry Tomatoes 

*or any of your favorite tomatoes that are in season!

AND LAST...

...top this AWESOME salad with your favorite Blue Cheese Vinaigrette dressing!

Mmmmm, I'm telling ya...so good!

TIP:

This salad goes really well with a fresh toasted Bagel or a Cinnamon and Sugar Tortilla!!

I LOVE Juicing

I've got a JUICER now and i'm just starting to learn how to use it.

TIP: put Wheat Grass into cored apples to keep it from just flying around the juicer and not getting juiced.

I just recently watched that movie called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead by Joe Cross. It's a great feel good uplifting make you want to eat (or Juice) better movie. Perfect proof that juicing is GOOD FOR YOU!!

 check it out here at: http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/

One of my girlfriends likes to juice on a daily basis and she really enjoys the green juices and juicing all kinds of things you wouldn't think to juice like beets, watermelon, squash, cucumber, lettuce and the list goes on. All I know is that fresh juice pure from the fruit...is way better than paying $4/bottle of some processed juice with mega sugar added. Right?

I made us some Pineapple juice to start.

Then I added Mango, Apple and Ginger root. Mmm, really good.

What is your favorite Juice recipe?

Carrot-Apple-Ginger is my favorite so far.

TIP: Use left over pulp from juicer to make fruit leather!

Gluten Free Zuppa Toscana Soup recipe

This soup tastes awesome and is so easy. I found it on GF Magazine by Andrew Cordova.

TIP: I suggest you go easy on the chili pepper flakes as I made mine way too spicy to eat the first time.

 Ingredients:

1lb Italian sausage

3-4 russet potatoes, sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices

1 large onion, chopped

3 pieces chopped bacon (cooked) for garnish

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups kale, chopped

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1 cup heavy whipping cream or canned coconut milk

2 tsp chili pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Instructions:

Chop sausage into small pieces (I made mine into meatball shapes. see photo).

Brown sausage in soup pot. Once sausage is cooked set aside and cook onion and garlic in same pot until translucent. 

Add sausage back to pot. 

Add chicken broth, salt, pepper, chili pepper flakes and water to pot and stir.

Simmer for 10min.

Carefully add potatoes to pot and cook on medium heat until potatoes are done. 

Turn to low heat. 

Add kale and simmer for 10 min or until kale is tender.

Add cream to taste. 

TIP:

Instead of adding cream to pot have it at the table to add as much or as little as you like.

TIP #2:

Canned coconut milk (full fat) can be used in place of cream and tastes just as great!

"Love Every Moment"

Are Fortune Cookies random...or are they meant for you?

I find guidance and inspiration on chocolate wrappers and fortunes from cookies all the time. Is that weird? 

A perfect example is Dove chocolate wrappers. Today mine reads:

"Love Every Moment"...

Enough said right? 

That is SO great! Life is too short not to, right?

Another example would be Daily Horoscopes. 

I must admit i do find a little guidance and inspiration from random horoscopes here and there. 

Don't YOU??

DIY:

This is from Better Homes and Gardens magazine...I just love the idea of making cloth Fortune Cookies for gifts and or decorations

Snowflakes on...a Toasted Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with a little-bit-o Peanut Butter on it.

#SoYumm

Snowflakes on...a Toasted Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with a little-bit-o Peanut Butter on it? Yes.

Late, late last Fall in Northern Oregon we saw our first snow of the season. I took the opportunity to go outside and burn the extra fallen branches and twigs we had been tossing in our fire pit since October. It had been zero degrees outside for a few days, so having a little fire gave me a chance to stand outside, with my morning coffee and enjoy the snowflakes falling all around me. I even cleaned up the yard a bit at the same time.

TIP:

Use your umbrella while walking in the snow so you won't get too wet and you'll be able to enjoy the flakes with a dry head.