Spaghetti with Kale Pesto

06.17.14 25 Comments

Hi everyone! Happy Tuesday 🙂 My blogger friend, Becca at Two Places at Once contacted me to do a guest post on her blog while she is off getting married. If you’ve been a frequent reader, you will remember that we did a swap back in February. Blueberry Scones on this blog & Steamed Mussels on hers. Of course, I didn’t pass up the opportunity to appear on her blog.

I love pesto, but my basil plant is not yet producing enough leaves so I put a spin on it & tried kale! It was super delicious so head over to Two Places at Once to see my post & the recipe!

Valentine’s Day Blueberry Buttermilk Scones {a guest post}

02.11.14 13,132 Comments

Happy Tuesday! Valentine’s Day is a few days away! If it’s too late to make dinner reservations at a restaurant, check out Becca’s delicious recipe for breakfast in bed scones! A romantic & cozy way to celebrate with your loved one. You can check out her blog {link below} to see what I’m dishing up this Valentine’s Day. Meet Becca!

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Hi there! I’m Becca and I blog over at Two Places at Once. I’m so excited to swap blogs with Not so Doughie today. Sara contacted me a few weeks ago to swap blogs and after a bit of brainstorming we decided to serve up a couple of recipes that you might be able to use for Valentine’s Day!

This recipe is perfect for breakfast in bed on Valentine’s Day. It’s quicker than it looks and you’ll have one tasty breakfast. Once you’ve had your fill for breakfast, they make a great snack for later in the week.

Start by whisking together all purpose flour and cake flour. Cake flour adds a great texture to the scones. It makes them light and fluffy. Mix in the sugar and baking powder. Using cold butter instead of melting butter create a crumb-like mix that makes for an excellent final dough. Combine the wet ingredients and add them to the dry ingredients. Once you’ve got the dough mixed together, knead the dough a few times and pat into a large disc.

These scones are light and fluffy with a great tartness from the blueberries. Add a little bit of butter and you’re in for quite a treat for breakfast. My fiancé and I paired the scones with a couple of blood oranges. It made for a very refreshing pairing.

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones
original wording from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour (not self-rising)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup (½ pint) blueberries
½ cup buttermilk
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg lightly beaten for egg wash
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

2. Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers, until the mixture has the texture of coarse meal. Stir in blueberries.

3. Whisk together buttermilk, 1 egg, and the vanilla. Drizzle over flour mixture, and stir lightly with a fork until dough comes together but a small amount of flour remains in the bowl.

4. Turn out dough onto a work surface, and gently knead dough once or twice just to incorporate flour. Pat dough into a 1-inch thick round. Cut into 12 wedges. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 22 minutes. Transfer scones to wire rack to cool.

Be sure to check out Two Places at Once!

Cheers!

#Elf4Health Share Your Expertise Blog Swap

12.18.13 Leave a Comment

Happy Hump Day everyone! Today for Elf for Health the challenge it to share your expertise. A follow Elf decided to start a blog swap for the challenge. My blog swap Elf is Jen and she blogs over — here. Check out her blog, it has great running motivation, tips, recipes, and some great information. Also, her blog is sharing my expertise with meal planning & a vegetarian pasta meal! Below, Jen share’s her expertise about running. We all know I am by no means a runner, but her posts and this bit of information has motivated me to start hitting the pavement a little more often. I hope you enjoy and be sure to welcome her to Not So Doughie and check out her blog too!.

{Expertise By Marathon Mom}

I think I am asked at least daily for running advice whether it be from those wanting to start running or those wanting to improve. Recently I’ve had many questions from friends and family training for their first races. I love sharing my passion for running and hope I can pass this on to others too. I thought about the most frequent questions I am asked and decided to put together a list,

When do I start to like running? I think this is the most frequent question and I always hate to say “there are some days I still hate running!” For me the key is to take it easy some days and push myself other days, enjoy the surroundings while out and savor the victories whether this is running that 1st mile or a PR. Like anything new it takes work and does get easier, I still remember when 3 miles was a chore and now I can’t remember the last time I wanted to stop after 3 miles.

Along the same lines: When does it get easier? Everyone is different, but you need to listen to your body and not feel that you need to push right away or on every run. Like I said above it is something new and will get better. Remember it took us more than 1 step to learn to walk.

How do I motivate myself? Sign up for a race to have a goal and soak in the excitement of the race atmosphere. Find friends or a group to run with, making that commitment to others is motivation to get started and it is always nice to have company in tough times to push us further, then go out for coffee afterwards. Listen to music, buy new running clothes and enjoy the fact that you will feel better and have more energy.

What happens when I skip a run? Listen to your body and if you aren’t feeling it, having pain or need a short break then don’t run. Missing one run of the training will not hurt you, do not make this a routine but don’t be afraid to rest a sore leg, sleep in when you are sick or shorten a run. If something doesn’t feel right and your stride changes then don’t run through it, do something else (swim, bike, elliptical) and see how it feels later.

And finally don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Compete and push yourself to improve while accepting that things happen, life gets in the way and we all have bad days. Learn from these and work through them. Remember we are all different and can’t compare ourselves to someone with different talents and abilities. Work to improve on what you can do and have done, not what others can do.

How do you find time to run with as a mom? Before I was a mom I was told so many times “just wait you will stop running.” That didn’t happen and I knew it wouldn’t. It takes time management and some compromise. I often workout early in the morning (4am during the week), take advantage of nap time and hit the treadmill at home or the gym childcare is a great benefit. Take the kid with, for us it was the only way I was guaranteed a nap the 1st year! But now we look at animals, stop at the park and I get a complete workout. We schedule long runs, sometimes splitting days and other times splitting BOB duty. I might sacrifice an extra hour of sleep or time to read or clean the house for a run, but it makes me a better mother and everyone is much happier.

What are the best shoes? Don’t buy what is cute or the brand your friend has. Go to a running store for a proper shoe fitting and don’t be afraid to take them back if they don’t work after a run (most stores around here are fine if they are slightly worn). Please don’t wear that pair of shoes you bought 5 years ago for step class. Most complaints I hear from new runners is that their legs, knees, feet hurt and then I find out they are wearing bad shoes, such a simple solution to prevent frustration.

I have been running about 10 years and was instantly hooked. I have come a long way from those first steps and my first marathon (Disney 2003) where I finished 5:20 to consistently running 3:30 marathons and running competitively. I learned to love the sport and train right. I have coached runners of all abilities for the past 5 years and love it! I am a RRCA certified run coach and NASM certified personal trainer working with both in person and virtual training clients of all levels to complete their first 5K or set a PR at a marathon.

Check out my running, food and parenting adventures at http://www.runnershoe.blogspot.com

Twitter: @marathonmom10

French Onion Soup

12.15.13 30 Comments

This weekend we got a decent amount of snow to kick off the Christmas spirit even further. That being said, it was a good evening to enjoy a bowl of steamy soup. With Chase under the weather and the snowy wonderland outside, it seemed fitting and Bryan suggested he make his French onion soup.

Bryan was not the most knowledgeable in the kitchen prior to meeting me. I will toot my own horn on this one… I definitely got Bryan to learn to cook and really enjoy it. Throughout our relationship, I have taught him a few things, but he also threw himself into my passion. He makes some pretty impressive meals and I am lucky to have a boyfriend who knows how to cook 🙂

Typically, Bryan’s go-to genre is sauces/marinades and grilling. However, his LOVE for French Onion Soup led to him creating his own recipe for his favorite soup. I love a good bowl of soup and this one is no exception. The caramelization of the onions and the flavorful beef broth pair perfectly. The best part? Of course it is the melting, bubbling cheese overtop his homemade seasoned croutons. The bowl of soup made a perfect meal for the blustery cold winter evening. I stand by his soup & highly recommend adding it to your menu this week. Happy Souping!

{Click here for the recipe}

Lauren’s Almond Butter Granola

11.01.13 235 Comments

{a guest post}

I am so happy to know that my friends & family are enjoying my blog 🙂 My good friend, Lauren, texted me the other day to tell me about her delicious homemade granola. I was so proud of her and asked if I could guest post her recipe. These granola bars are packed with delicious & very healthy ingredients. Coconut oil is a perfect substitution for oil in certain recipes. Granola is a great recipe to use the coconut oil because it adds a teeny bit of sweetness. She also uses almond butter. I recently got a jar of almond butter from Whole Foods and I really liked it. The earthy, rawness of the almonds tastes so pure and makes you realized how processed other peanut butters can be. I have added it into some healthy shakes and recipes. Almonds have wonderful health benefits so it definitely adds to the nutrition of her granola.

The coolest part of her granola recipe is that she uses homemade honey! Her mother actually harvests and distributes her own honey from her beekeeping company. I am eager to get my hands on a bottle of this deliciousness. Check out her Facebook page and “like” it! I have seen a lot of really informative articles on the site about honey and the health (and beauty) benefits. She also shares yummy recipes featuring your truly, honey.

CHECK IT OUT HERE: Long Limbs Studio LLC on Facebook

Preparation time: 10 minutes I Cook time: 20 minutes I Servings: yields 3 cups

Ingredients

1/4 cups almond butter
1 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups oats (old-fashioned or quick cooking, just not instant)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

*I added ½ cup sliced almonds (crushed for smaller pieces) and about ¼ cup flax seeds

Optional ingredients:
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 c raisins, fruit, nuts – or as much as you want!

Directions

Preheat your oven to 325 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium-large microwave safe mixing bowl, combine the almond butter, coconut oil, and honey.
Microwave for about 30-60 seconds, until the almond butter is slightly melted. Stir until smooth. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, shredded coconut and oats and stir until everything is combined.

4. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and turn/flip the granola. This is when you can stir in your raisins or other dried fruit. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

5. Allow the granola to cool before transferring to a storage container

I opted not to include shredded coconut or dried fruits because I wanted to cut back on the sugar. I didn’t want to super sweet granola but the coconut and fruit will definitely add the sweetness 🙂

enjoy.

Would you like to guest post on Not So Doughie? Head to the CONTACT tab and let me know!