Sunday Night Dinner: Take 31 - Part 2

In this post last Sunday, I mentioned there was a Part 2 to come. And I'm sorry it's been a week, but Part 2 is FINALLY here! I hope you're not disappointed because I honestly think it was worth the wait! 

When I made the Pesto Chicken, Rice and Grilled Veggies I intentionally make much more than I'd be eating that night because I knew I'd be able to use them in meals the next few day. Meals, yes - I said meals as in using one meal's cooking for multiple other meals! I learned to do this awhile ago and it's GENIUS if done right!!

Everything cooked Sunday Night

So what did I do with the leftover deliciousness? I made three different things actually, but unfortunately only have pictures of two of them! :( Have no fear - the unpictured rice bowl was still amazing and I would have one right now if I could.

For lunch Monday, I took leftovers.

And made a chicken, rice, grilled veggies, hummus and sprouts 

pita sandwich that was so tasty. 

A co-worker even asked where I'd purchased it!

Tuesday night I made a salad with chicken, rice, grilled veggies, sprouts and a little light ranch dressing. 

All the different meals were amazing and different enough so I didn't feel like I kept eating the 

EXACT SAME THING!

I'll try to share more meals I make like this as I do it. It makes cooking delicious homemade food SO much easier and even quite enjoyable to some extent. 

Elina and Robyn Make...BLONDIES!

We'reeeeeeeeeeeeee back!

And back with some AMAZING Blondies! These are crazy delicious and SO easy to make. I made them one weekend for co-workers, and after discovering how great they were - Elina and I made them the following weekend. I decided to blog about them so no one missed out on these tasty treats!

Check out how to make them and then do so - you WON'T be upset!

The Goods:

1 cup Self Rising Flour

OR

1 cup All Purpose Flour AND 2 tsp Baking Powder

3 1/2 ounces Unsalte Butter

1/2 cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 to 3/4 cup Macadamia Nuts - roughly chopped

3 1/2 ounces White Chocolate

Parchment Paper

Preheat Oven to 350.

Lightly grease 8" square pan and line with parchment paper.

Set aside until batter is ready.

Bring water to boil in large sauce pan.

Remove from heat and place heat proof bowl on top.

Add butter and white chocolate to heat proof bowl, 

stirring occasionally until melted completely. 

Add the sugar.

And then the eggs and vanilla too!

Fold in the flour and nuts until fully incorporated.

Pour batter into pan and smooth with spatula.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

If top starts browning before fully set,

cover lightly with foil.

Anddddd they're done!

Cool in the pan a few minutes.

Remove and then cool completely before baking.

Now...go make some and enjoy!!!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 31 - Part 1

Another Sunday Night Dinner post, but this one is Part 1 of 2 for the meal! Keep your eyes posted for Part 2! Until then, let me tell you about tonight's amazing dinner!!

Yesterday, while I was planning out my meals for the week I decided I was going to make some homemade pesto and make Pesto Grilled Chicken for dinner tonight and to enjoy a few more times this week! With the chicken, I would have Herbed Basmati Rice and Grilled Peppers and Onions. YUM!!!

I pretty much just ate this meal, but I'm getting hungry again just thinking about it... Go make this meal and see how delicious it is for yourself! 

Bacon Friday With Friends!

I unexpectedly had some friends over for dinner on Friday night. I got a call saying they were going to be near me and were curious if I wanted to hang out. I didn't have any plans so I told them to come on over! 

None of us really wanted to go out and spend money, so we quickly figured out what we had in our fridges and made a meal out of that! And because bacon is SO delicious, we decided to include it in everything we made - including dessert! And that's how Bacon Friday came about!

ALL the goodies!

Ranch Fries with Bacon Crumbles

Spring Mix Salad with Figs, Goat Cheese and Bacon

Grilled Cheese with Bacon. 

YUM!!!

And for dessert...

We enjoyed Chocolate Covered Bacon!

They picked it up at the fair earlier in the day.

And it was a perfect ending to a bacon filled Friday!

Watermelon Juice

Now that it's officially Fall (woohoo!!), I'm finally getting around to posting about one of my favorite little treats that I discovered this summer - Watermelon Juice!

I've always loved watermelon, so it's no wonder I love the juice just at much! I had just never really thought about making watermelon into a juice. One of my amazing co-workers is the one that gave me the idea! Now that I've done it, I'm sad that I hadn't discovered the refreshing amazingness of it sooner! 

It's great alone - best if chilled, but also makes a great compliment to champaign!

After making this juice quite a few times, I noticed a different co-worker drinking a SPICY watermelon pressed juice from one of the local juice bars. I was a little hesitant, but tried it and absolutely love it as well! 

I don't have a juicer, but I simply cut up seedless watermelon into cubes, blend and then run through a fine mesh strainer. It's so easy and delicious. Give it a try if you can still find watermelon this year!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 30

For my 30th Sunday Night Dinner post, I made something SO tasty and it's something I haven't made in a very long time. In fact, I've never made this exact version either! My friend Alison got to be a taste tester and I think she went home full and happy! 

So what did I make? 

LASAGNA!!!

Kale, Spinach and Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups to be exact! 

And I served them with a spring mix salad and fresh garlic bread. 

I was very happy with the outcome and will absolutely be making these again in the future. And this time I won't wait as long to make them again! In fact - this would make an excellent dish this Fall and I seriously CANNOT wait for it to get here. C'mon Fall!!!

Note: I used this recipe and used Kale, Spinach and Zucchini instead of the Prosciutto. I'm sure either would be fine, but this was all veggie and still incredibly delicious! 

My Poor Garden

Yup, you read that right. My garden is looking pretty poor these days. Sadly, my flowers were already struggling, and the gross heat we've been having recently left the already puny flowers with no hope for survival. :( All, yes ALL of the window boxes now sit empty and I'm wondering if I should just keep them that way until the cool Fall weather is here... I'm thinking I just may!

Now take a look below at all the things that are doing well in my garden. I'm just praying the cooler temperatures come soon, so I don't lose anything else. 

Blueberry and Raspberry Plants

Jalapeno and Basil Plants

The Jalapenos are still goin' strong!

And the herbs are struggling a bit.

But the lime tree is doing just fine.

As is the tomato plant.

But sadly, it's been my least successful tomato plant.

Check back soon for updates. Hopefully I only have new additions and no more losses to report!! Oh - and I'd love any suggestions on things to plant in my FALL garden, which I'll be doing VERY soon!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde

I recently ran across a recipe for a Salsa Verde that sounded amazing and looked super easy to make! I saved the recipe and said to myself I'd make it soon. 

Less than a month later, I was roasting tomatillos, jalapenos and garlic to make this delicious salsa!  As I suspected, it WAS super easy to make and required very little effort! 

Take a look below and give it a try yourself! I don't think you'll be disappointed.

The Goods:

Tomatillos

Jalapenos

Garlic

Lime Juice

Salt

Apple Cider Vinegar

And not pictured...

Cilantro!

(OOPS!)

Before, After,

And all ready for Blending!

All done!

Now time to dig in!

Go make it yourself.

Seriously!!!

Labor Day Food!

Since I just got back from Kansas City, I just wanted to stay in LA and have a fun and relaxing weekend at home. And what long holiday weekend would be complete without some delicious homemade food? Not one that I'm part of, that's for sure! 

Last night, I had a few friends over for an assortment of tasty appetizers. It was a great time with lots of amazing food. I knew it was a success because we were ALL stuffed by the end of the evening.

Deviled Eggs, Caprese Skewers, Bacon Wrapped Bleu Cheese Stuffed Dates and Fresh Melon!

But wait...there's more!!!

Homemade Soft Pretzels, Sriracha Fried Pickles, French Macaroons and M&M Cookies!

Hope you all had an amazing long holiday weekend! Back to work tomorrow for me, but check back soon for other tasty treats!!

Regrowing Green Onions

On multiple blogs, I had seen posts about regrowing green onions, and at first I didn't think anything of it. But after seeing it time and time again, I thought to myself - Why don't YOU do that Robyn? I mean, what did I really have to lose? Nothing! That's what. 

So, shortly after deciding to give it a try, I bought some green onions. I used the green parts in a recipe or two and put the rest in a glass with the roots in the water. I hoped for the best, but didn't really think much of it.

Until I noticed that they were already regrowing THE NEXT DAY! 

I couldn't believe how fast I was seeing progress and couldn't wait to see what was next.

Unless I have to use the white parts for a something, 

I plan to keep regrowing my green onions and NOT have to buy them for quite some time!