Archives for January 2012

Banana Muffins 2 Ways

These muffins are seriously amazing!  You could go with the traditional banana nut variety or with the banana chocolate chip variety or you could go half and half.  Any way you go, you can’t go wrong!!

Banana Muffins 2 Ways
(Print this recipe!)

by Sarah Collins Chapman

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 20-25 min

Keywords: bake dessert snack vegan vegetarian whole wheat pastry flour muffin

 

Ingredients (12 muffins)

  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup organic sugar
  • 1 cup unsweetened nondairy milk
  • 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling on top OR 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped, plus more for sprinkling on top

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray muffin pan lightly with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl.

In small bowl combine mashed bananas, sugar, nondairy milk, and vanilla.

Fold in chocolate chips or chopped walnuts.

Divide batter evenly into the muffin pan. You should get 12 muffins.

Sprinkle a few more chocolate chips or chopped walnuts on top of each muffin.

Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

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Mmmmmm

Enjoy!

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Crockpot Enchilada Soup

There’s not much better on a chilly day than a nice spicy soup and this definitely hits the spot!  Top with your favorite toppings like cheese, tortilla strips, sour cream, avocado, and cilantro.  So Good!!!

 

Crockpot Enchilada Soup
(Print this recipe!)

by Sarah Collins Chapman

Prep Time: 5-10 min

Cook Time: 6-8 hrs

Keywords: slow-cooker soup/stew vegan vegetarian fire roasted tomatoes Mexican

 

Ingredients (4 large servings)

  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 t cumin
  • 2 t chili powder
  • 1/2 t cayenne
  • 28 oz fire roasted crushed tomatoes
  • 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 2 big handfuls of tortilla chips, crushed (this will be added at the end to thicken the soup and add a fantastic flavor)
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    Instructions

    Add all ingredients except tortilla chips into crockpot.

    Let cook on low for at least 6 hours.

    Add crushed tortilla chips and stir well- this will not only thicken the soup more but it will add more of an enchilada flavor as the crushed chips melt into the hot soup.

    Let cook for another hour.

    Ladle into bowls and top with your favorite toppings- cheese, more crushed tortilla chips, avocado, sour cream, etc…

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    Enjoy!

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    Foodie Penpals, Part 2

    First of all I have to apologize to my foodie penpal, Kristen for not having posted this sooner.  I’m so sorry Kristen!!  I tend to become the laziest person on the planet during school breaks.  I’ve literally done nothing but watch trashy TV shows the past couple of weeks and hang out on the sofa.  The lack of a proper routine makes me so lazy and I apologize!!

    Anyway on to my foodie penpal!

    Kristen lives in Japan and she sent me some Japanese goodies!  Because of the shipping distance I didn’t get the package until the day that foodie penpal posts were due to go up.  It was totally worth the wait though because Kristen sent me some awesome goodies!!

    Here’s what I got…

    A postcard from Okinawa, Japan- it’s where she lives.  It’s absolutely gorgeous!

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    The spicy…

    I told Kristen how much I loved spicy stuff and she totally hooked me up!

    Hot sauce!!  Kristen was also kind enough to label everything for me since it was all in Japanese.  This stuff is hottttt!!

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    A spicy seasoning.  This stuff is absolutely amazing!  I am almost out of it already so I need to figure out how to get more!  I’ve sprinkled it on kale chips, oven fries, and beans so far.  Love this stuff!!!

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    The sweet…

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    These little guys looked a lot like goldfish crackers, but they were filled with CHOCOLATE!!  Can’t go wrong there- they were so delicious!!!

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    Pocky!  I’ve had pocky before but never the strawberry flavor- delish!

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    That dark chocolate with Chili was amazing too- the perfect amount of spicyness with the dark chocolate.  mmmmm!

    The savory…

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    Veggie chipssss!

    Such a cute package!

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    Sweet potato chips!

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    My absolute favorite thing in the package (actually it’s a tie between this and the spicy seasoning).  Habanero chips!!  These things were so amazing!!  I’m not going to lie I devoured this entire bag in one sitting.  Spicy, crunchy, salty.  All of my favorite things!  I wouldn’t mind too much if you wanted to send me more of these!

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    I absolutely can’t say how much I loved my foodie penpal package this month- thank you so so much Kristen!!!!!  Sorry again that I was such an awful slacker about posting!

    Check out what I sent my penpal here.

    Want to get involved with foodie penpals?!  Check out Lindsay’s blog to find out how!

     

    Have a great day y’all!!

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    Welcome to 2012!

    Adios 2011- make room for 2012!!

    2011 was an awesome year!  I got to go lots of places- Jamaica and Cozumel on a cruise, Austin(here, here and here), Philly(here, here, and here), New York(here and here), and San Francisco(here, here and here) and had a blast in all those destinations!  I got to make lots of new blogger friends (now real life friends!) at HLS and Foodbuzz fest!  I got really good grades in school (hello 4.0!), and I also got to quit my job working in retail to focus on school.  I also ran a 10K AND a half marathon!!  And I only got sick once this year (Bronchitis- I get it every year!)- shout out to all the fresh fruits and veggies(and vegetarian living) for giving me an amazing immune system!  All in all I have to say that 2011 was a pretty great year!!!!

    But 2012…. it’s going to be even better!!!  I’m not going to get to travel as much (hubby is about to start a new job. It’s a promotion in title, but the money will be a lot less. Yikes.).  But traveling is not the end all to be all.  Getting to travel a lot does not determine my happiness even though it is fun.  So I’m okay with it! 

    I’ve decided that I’m pretty much going to kick ass in 2012!  I’m not really into resolutions(they’re kind of lame honestly).  I’m not really much into goals and numbers either(I feel like some people spend their whole lives making all these goals for themselves that have all these specific numbers and deadlines that they don’t spend any time actually living their lives!!) 

    But I do have a few things that I would love to do this year…

    • Learn to juggle (I know it sounds silly, but I’ve always wanted to learn!)
    • Get to my goal weight (I’m not really that far from my goal weight, but I honestly didn’t lose ANY weight this year.  I would lose a couple of pounds and then gain them back.  Up and down all year.  So. Freaking. Frustrating!  This is the year that I’m going to get it done!!)
    • Go skydiving (another thing I’ve always wanted to do- which will probably be my present to myself when I finally get to my goal weight!)
    • Keep being awesome in school (keep getting good grades and focus on doing some volunteering for some RDs)
    • Do better at balancing life (I was so focused on school this semester that I literally did laundry maybe twice all semester and my house constantly looked like a tornado blew through it.  I need to work on balancing my work better so that I don’t have to go through this again!  It’s really stressful!!)
    • Save more money (things are going to be really tight this year. I need to make priorities on my spending and we need to start doing a better job of saving.  If you ask me to go out with you I will probably have to say no unless I’m able to plan far in advance.  Please don’t be insulted.  I need to start doing what’s best for our future and not so much having fun in the moment. It would also do me well to remember when I spend money that I don’t have a job and I’m technically spending my husband’s money)

    Hmmm… I think that’s all!!  Bring it on 2012!!!  Hope everyone has a great New Year- don’t forget to eat your black eyed peas (and maybe listen to them too for a little extra good luck- ya never know! Winking smile )

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