Red Velvet Cupcakes (in a jar!)

Anyone else obsessed with peppermint flavored foods in the winter?  I guess it’s mostly around the holidays for me, but Chick-fil-A serves their peppermint chocolate chip shake (deliciousness you can slurp through a straw!) during winter so I’m saying it’s a seasonal thang.

I found this recipe posted by Paper & Stitch, and it was like a lightbulb went off.  Red velvet cake and peppermint sounds like a heavenly combo!  Why on earth I hadn’t thought of this combination before, is beyond me.

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It’s so easy peasy, you’re going to want to make all your cupcakes like this!  I just used a boxed cake mix (hello, not Martha over here) and canned frosting.  I prepared the cake according to the box instructions, filled the little mason jars about 1/3 full and baked them right in the jars (didn’t know you could do that until I found these cupcakes).  I adjusted the temperature for baking them in glass, but I had to watch them because they weren’t done when I thought they’d be.  I’d start with the normal temperature and just check them.  I also greased the inside of the jars with coconut oil.  Not sure if that was the right thing to do or not, but they turned out fine.

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I used a can of cream cheese frosting and added 1-2 tsp of peppermint extract, along with some pulverized candy canes (mostly just tiny bits and the candy cane dust).  Then, I used some of the bigger candy pieces to sprinkle on top.

I was so happy with how they cute they turned out!  And they were delicious too!

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This makes about 22-24 cupcakes.  I used approx 2 cans of frosting for the whole batch.

 

Avocado Tuna Wrap

I love the internet.  She’s so useful!  Yes, she. The internet is obviously a girl, duh. The other day I was searching the kitchen for something to eat.  I’m trying to eat at home more, but I’m terrible at planning my meals and I haven’t had a big grocery trip lately.  I found a pack of tuna and thought, ok, I can do something with this, but I don’t want to use mayo.  Hmm, I still had 1/2 an avocado from the day before, maybe i can use that?  This is where the Internet was oh so helpful. I figured someone had to have made tuna salad with avocado before, so I did a quick search to find some ideas.

The result of my searching is below and trust me blogland, it was DELICIOUS!
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1 pack of tuna (2.6 oz)
1/2 avocado
1 tbsp Greek yogurt
Chopped onion
Splash of lemon juice
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mash avocado & mix with Greek yogurt until well mixed. Mix in onions & lemon juice. Once you have it all mixed well, add the tuna.

Thats it!  Now, eat up!  You can eat it by itself, eat it with crackers, eat it on a wrap, eat it on bread…any way you like it!  I ate the whole wrap, but it’s so filling I would have been happy to eat half with a cup of soup or with veggies or fruit. Lettuce & tomato would have completed this sandwich nicely, but alas, my fridge had neither.

bad native…

I’ve lived in Jacksonville most of my life.  The only time I haven’t lived here was a short stint in Savannah and then Raleigh, NC for about a year right after I got married. Being a Jax native, you would think that I know all the good places to eat in town, but sadly…I do not.  I don’t work outside the house, I’m a bit of an introvert and I’m reluctant to try new places alone so I end up sticking with what I know.

I am a seriously bad, bad native.

However, I’ve been browsing more hometown blogs lately and have found several restaurants/cafe’s that I’m adding to a must visit list.

For a cup of joe :: Y’all know I love me some coffee so Bold Bean seems right up my alley!

Screen Shot 2013-07-11 at 8.02.10 PMLocated at 869 Stockton Street, Suite 1-2, Jacksonville, FL 32204

For breakfast :: I saw Metro Diner on Diners, Drive-In’s & Dives one night.  I don’t even watch that show really, but it happened to be on the channel when I turned the tv on and I heard “Jacksonville” so I stuck around to see who they were going to highlight.  I must go here for breakfast soon!  The “Yo Hala on the Square” sounds amazing!  Bad for my waistline, but uh-mazing.

Screen Shot 2013-07-11 at 8.12.07 PMLocated at 3302 Hendricks Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida 32207

Brunch :: Since last year, I’ve been following the Jax Truckies and have been introduced to the goodness that is food trucks.  I first heard of The Salty Fig as a food truck, but I just recently realized that they also have a full restaurant and that they serve brunch.  I glanced at the menu…um, they make their grits with goat cheese and they have an amazing sounding french toast dish…that’s all I need to know!

Screen Shot 2013-07-11 at 8.22.55 PM Located at 901 King Street, Jacksonville, FL 32204

Lunch :: Amy’s Cafe looks like exactly the place I’ve been craving lately. Cozy neighborhood restaurant with soups, salads, sandwiches, smoothies and more!  I will definitely be headed here for lunch one day soon.  They don’t have a website, but they have a FB where you can see a sample of their daily specials along with their regular menu.

Screen Shot 2013-07-11 at 9.44.42 PMLocated at 1020 Park St, Jacksonville, Florida 32205

And, last, but not least….dessert!! :: Florida Creamery is an ice cream parlor.  Need I say more?  I don’t think I’ll have a hard time getting the kids to try this one with me.  😉

Screen Shot 2013-07-11 at 9.40.03 PMLocated at 3566 St. Johns Ave, Jacksonville, FL 32205

There are more that need to be added to my list, but this is a good start.  Any Jacksonville foodies out there with suggestions of restaurants I need to try?

Starbucks Secret Menu? :: Five on Friday

Did you know there’s a Starbucks secret menu?!  Well, technically it wasn’t actually put out by Starbucks, but basically it’s different drink combinations that you may or may not have thought of using Starbucks flavors.

I’m not sure if it’s commonplace to order an item exactly like it comes or to customize the heck out of it, but I have a few go-to drinks that I like to order that aren’t necessarily on the menu.  My personal sbux concoctions (if you can call them that)…

  1. Grande, Iced, 3-pump caramel, 3-pump cinnamon dolce, no whip, with cinnamon dolce sprinkles & caramel sauce on top (what I get most of the time)
  2. Tall, nonfat, Peppermint/Java Chip frappuccino
  3. Tall, nonfat, Hazelnut frappuccino with java chips (got this one recently from another blogger I follow on Instagram!)

Most of the secret menu items put my little recipes to shame though!  So, for today’s five on Friday I’m sharing the top 5 recipes from the secret menu that look the yummiest (to me!) and aren’t overly complicated.

Psst….Don’t miss the P.S. & the P.P.S at the end of the post for important info about ordering your secret menu drinks!

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Banana Split Frappuccino

  1. Start with a strawberries and creme Frappuccino
  2. Add Vanilla Bean powder
  3. Add Java Chips
  4. Add a whole Banana (note the extra cost)
  5. Top with whipped cream and mocha drizzle
  6. Top with caramel drizzle if desired

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Cotton Candy Frappuccino

  1. vanilla bean frappuccino
  2. raspberry syrup (1 pump for a tall, 1.5 pumps for a grande or 2 pumps for a venti)

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Banana Cream Pie Frappuccino

  1. Vanilla Bean Creme Frappuccino
  2. a pump of vanilla syrup
  3. a pump of hazelnut syrup
  4. a whole banana
  5. whipped cream

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Fuzzy Peach Tea (for you non-coffee peeps)

  1. Passion Iced Tea made with half water and half orange mango purée w/light ice
  2. Peach syrup instead of the classic syrup

and last, but not least…the one I’m most excited about trying…

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Butterbeer Frappuccino!

  1. *choose your size*
  2. caramel & toffee nut (yes, both syrups) cream frappuccino (whole milk)
  3. 1 pump of vanilla syrup (1 pump for tall, 1.5 pumps for grande, 2 pumps for venti)
  4. extra caramel sauce

Bonus recipe :: Banana Foster Frappuchino

photoI took a pic of this at a local Starbucks a few months ago.  Forgot about it until I was doing this post!

P.S. Don’t go trying to order these “secret” drinks by name or your barista will most likely look at you like you have two heads.  It’s not an official menu so most of the time they will have no idea what you’re talking about.  Order it by the recipe!
P.P.S. If you add banana to a frapp, just know that it will be extra $$$.

Any of you in blogland order a special Starbucks drink?  Even if you don’t have a cool name for it, please share!

Foodie Friday :: Frozen Spinach Cups

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Green smoothies are all the rage lately.  I first tried one a couple of years ago and was pleasantly surprised that everyone was telling the truth…you can’t taste the spinach at all!

The problem for me was that I wasn’t drinking them often enough and my spinach would go bad before I could eat it all.

Seeing as I can’t be the only one with this problem, I present to you the solution to that!  This isn’t anything new and it certainly wasn’t my grand idea.  I first saw it on Pinterest, but their spinach cups had a bunch of other veggie juices in them and for now I just wanted spinach.  I looked up a few other recipes, but none were what I was looking for and for whatever reason, I just decided to drop it.  Fast forward to a month ago when I ran across this BodyBuilding.com recipe by Natalie Hodson.  Score!!!  Just spinach and water!  Duh.  So simple I should have thought of it on my own, but…..I didn’t.  The only thing I did different was add flaxseed meal b/c that stuff goes rancid quick once it’s ground and it’s usually a step I would skip since it was a pain.

I used…

  • one bag of spinach (about 6 cups)
  • 6tbsp of flaxseed meal
  • approximately 1 cup of water

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I filled the blender to the top with spinach and added some of the water

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I kept adding spinach and water as needed until I finished the bag.  Once I was on my last bit of spinach, I added the flaxseed meal.

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All mixed!

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A lot of recipes I saw, put them into a regular muffin tin to freeze, but I liked the idea of putting them into a mini muffin pan.  It takes less time to freeze and it’s easier on your blender!  It made 25 cups exactly (I used a small container to hold the 25th cup :)).

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Annnnd, here they are frozen.  Aren’t they cute?

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(Please ignore the frostbite.  I didn’t take the after pics for a few days.)

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Nutrition info:  each frozen spinach cup has approximately 10 calories

It’s so easy to pop them into a smoothie!  I haven’t had a protein shake without spinach since I made these.  I usually add about 3-4 ice cubes to my shakes, but since these are pretty much like spinach ice cubes, I just throw in 3 of them instead of the ice cubes.

My go-to protein shake recipe…

  • 1/2-2/3 frozen banana (I weigh it and add about 65g)
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (Jay Robb is my fave!)
  • 1 tbsp of peanut butter
  • 3 frozen spinach cups
  • dash of vanilla extract

Foodie Friday :: Creamy Balsamic Dressing

The other day I was trying to figure out what I wanted for dinner.  Going through the fridge I saw that I had some romaine hearts, tomatoes & avocado…the perfect salad makings.  The problem?  I had zero dressing!

Dun, dunna-nuhhhhh…internet to the rescue!!

Since I loooove balsamic vinegar, I knew I wanted a dressing with that.  I’ve also seen recipes for dressings made with greek yogurt so since I had both of those ingredients, I searched for ‘balsamic greek yogurt homemade dressing’.

I quickly found this amazing recipe.  It was simple and I had all the ingredients…SOLD!

It’s always nerve wracking when you make something new.  You worry if it’s going to be good or even edible.  And what if it’s not?  What will I do for dinner if the dressing sucks?

Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about that because the dressing was Uh-mazing!

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It’s hard to tell in the photo, but here’s what was in my salad:

1/2 cup black beans (drained & rinsed)

1/2 avocado

several grape tomatoes

romaine lettuce

It.was.SO.good!  

And the best part, is that it’s free of processed junk and artificial colors/flavors.  I will definitely be making this again!

Foodie Friday :: Chick-fil-a Tortilla Soup

Okay, so I know I’m supposed to be being more health conscious and eating at home more, but I have to tell you about one of my most favorite soups this time of year.  You get it at Chick-fil-a and it’s called Chicken Tortilla Soup.

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I was OB-SESSED with it last January and ate it probably every other day.  It’s spicy, creamy and filled with yummy ingredients!  Downside?  It’s a limited time only item so it’s only out for a couple of months!  🙁

On Wednesday I went for a run and it was around lunch time when I finished up.  I was starving of course, so I was scoping out the fridge and pantry for something to eat, when it hit me…

“I wonder if the Chicken Tortilla Soup is back at CFA yet?”

I hopped on the computer and low and behold….it was back!  I was like a giddy school girl. Needless to say, I jumped in the car and headed to CFA pronto!

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I got a large bowl that day b/c I was super hungry and so excited about the soup being back, but normally I’d get a medium bowl.  I don’t eat it with the tortilla strips it comes with and honestly, the calories for the soup aren’t that bad.  The sodium?  Not even close to good.  I take the good with the bad though.  😉

Nutrition via CFA website…

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If you have a Chick-fil-a near you (and you haven’t boycotted them), definitely try this soup!!