Angelina

Blueberry Orange Paletas

09/18/2017 by Angelina Leave a Comment

Blue Orange Paleta Blueberry Orange Paletas are a refreshing and healthy alternative to eating store bought ice-cream. Paletas are a Mexican fruit pop that is either milk or fruit based. This fruit based paleta recipe only has 2 ingredients, blueberry’s and orange juice.

I have been making fruit based paletas all summer long for my hardworking hubby and my sweet little one. My ultimate goal is to limit sugar intake and at the same time not deprive my family of their special desserts. My husband has a sweet tooth beyond measure and my little one now has one too. So as a Mama Bear I want to protect their teeth, there hearts, and their sugar intake. So this conscious choice of eating healthy desserts was my remedy to their exciting nightly desserts.

So as you can imagine I have been really enjoying making these healthy paletas for my family. This Blueberry Orange Paleta recipe is a tasty, healthy, and kid-friendly dessert alternative. I can serve these paletas guilt free! Especially if they want seconds!

If your looking for another wonderful paleta recipes try this!
Mango Orange Paletas

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Blueberry Orange Paletas

Author: Angelina with Epicurean Narrative

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 6 hours

Total time: 6 hours 10 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 cups of orange juice
1 cup of blueberries

Instructions

In a blender add 2 cups of orange juice and blueberries
Blend for 1 minute
Pour into popsicle molds
Freeze for 6 hours

Blue Orange Paleta

Breakfast Fruit Smoothie

09/10/2017 by Angelina Leave a Comment

Smoothies. When you just want a quick, healthy, and tasty breakfast. This Breakfast Fruit Smoothie is a perfect breakfast in a cup. Every time I eat or in this case, drink something I love I want to make it part of my daily or weekly ritual. So today, in true form, I am declaring that I am going to make a weekly smoothie from now on. Why? Because I love smoothies so much and I can drink them everyday! This smoothie has orange juice, raspberries, strawberries, frozen mangos, and blueberries. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! It will truly wake up your senses. Who needs coffee when you have these fine ingredients surging through your cells!

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Breakfast Fruit Smoothie

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 cups of orange juice
½ cup of frozen mangos
½ cup of strawberries
¼ cup of rasberries
¼ cup of blueberries

Instructions

In a blender, add the mangos.
Rinse the strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.
Cut off the stem of the strawberries.
Add all of the fruit to the blender with the orange juice and blend for 30 seconds on high or until smooth.
Pour and enjoy!

Summer Superfood Spinach Salad

09/09/2017 by Angelina Leave a Comment

There are times when I just want to eat a huge healthy salad for lunch. Especially when the weather is on the warmer side, as it has been lately.

I recently foraged in our fridge and ended up empty so I decided to go on an adventure to our local market and pick some up my favorite organic ingredients to make a salad. As one would expect I got carried away because I went on an empty stomach. After buying way more then I had planned, I did manage to successfully gather the perfect ingredients for this incredibly healthy Summer Superfood Spinach Salad. This summer dish has become my go-to salad this week and besides being easy to make it’s also super healthy with all of the amazing superfood ingredients.

There’s so much flavor and crunch packed into this bowl of summery greens. It includes baby spinach, cabbage, berries, granola, and nuts. The granola and nut blend is just granola, pumpkin seeds and almond slivers. Easy peazy. It’s sweet, savory, crunchy, and oh so good for you. The dressing I use for this salad has a nice blend of sweet & spicy. I added cayenne, turmeric, fresh lemon juice, spanish olive oil and a generous dollop of honey, and of course the star, Apple Cider Vinegrette.

So next time you’re thinking of making a salad I suggest this yummy Summer Superfood Spinach Salad.

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Summer Superfood Spinach Salad

Cuisine: Vegan, Salads

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 4-6

Vegan Berry Superfood Spinach Salad

Ingredients

2 cups of Rinsed Baby Spinach
¼ cup of Sliced Strawberries
½ cup of Whole Raspberries
¼ cup of Fresh Blueberries
¼ cup of sliced grapes
½ cup of Shredded Cabbage
2 TBS of Pumpkin Seeds
2 TBS of Almond Slivers
2 TBS of Granola
¼ of Olive Oil
1 Tbs. of Apple Cider Vinegrette
1 Lemon
⅛ tsp of Cayenne
⅛ of tsp of Tumeric
1 Tbs. of honey

Instructions

In a large bowl add cleaned baby spinach.
Toss in all the fruit and cabbage.
Divide into 4-6 bowls.
Blend together all the nuts, seeds, and granola in a bowl.
Sprinkle over the salads evenly.
In a small bowl add the apple cider vinegarette, lemon, olive oil, cayenne, turmeric, and honey and mix with a fork very well.
Drizzle over the salad to your taste.
Then enjoy a yummy crunch healthy salad.

Mango Orange Paletas

08/05/2017 by Angelina Leave a Comment

The warm breeze, salty air, my child’s laughter, chirping birds, ocean waves lapping against the shore, and floral scented Mango Orange Paletas, are some of the ingredients for a wonderful summer day. Mango Orange Paletas are one of my favorite go-to summer treats that I like making for my family.

Here in Santa Barbara, you can easily find delicious paletas in any Mexican grocery store and most taqueria’s. And, if you know where and when to look, you can find vendors selling paletas at nearby parks and neighborhoods. My little Sky Bear loves these sweet cooling treats especially on hot summer days.

Traditional Paletas are either fruit based or milk based ice-cream. The original Paleta recipe, includes a simple syrup, however, too much sugar for my 2 1/2 year old is a recipe for pure fussiness. I attempt to make a conscious effort in our family to really limit sugar intake in our diets. Sky Bear LOVES his ice-cream, as any kid would, or most adults for that matter, and I have given in to his oh-so-sweet plea for “just one more” ice-cream and have witnessed him spiral out. And it is no bueno. With paletas, he can have as many as he would like and I don’t have to worry about excess sugar, since the recipe is mango and diluted orange juice. It was fun playing a food alchemist, turning these mangos into healthy and yummy Mango Orange Paletas. Disfruta!

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Mango Paletas

Author: Angelina

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 6 hours

Total time: 6 hours 15 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

3 cups of mango chunks
¼ cup of orange juice
½ cup of water

Instructions

In a blender, add mango chunks
Blend for 30 seconds-1 minute
Add blended fruit to your popcicle mold
Chill for 6 hours
Remove the Paletas from mold and serve!

Lemon Rosemary Chicken in a Cast-Iron Skillet

05/29/2017 by Angelina Leave a Comment

Lemon Rosemary Chicken in a Cast-Iron Skillet

Lemon Rosemary Chicken in a Cast Iron Skillet is definitely included in my long list of delicious skillet recipes that I cook in my Staub Paella Pan. I often make this version of Lemon Rosemary Chicken dish at home for my family. I prefer using fresh rosemary oppose to dry rosemary for this dish, if possible. It makes a big difference in the taste.

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Watermelon and Feta Salad with Citrus Dressing

05/28/2017 by Angelina Leave a Comment

Watermelon and Feta Salad with Citrus Dressing is a delicious recipe to kick-start the summer with Memorial Day weekend. This dish is truly summer in a bowl. It’s refreshing and tasty with citrus dressing dancing on your palette. Arugula is naturally spicy, however, I added a pinch of cayenne to the dressing for some extra kick. There is a nice balance of sweet and spicy flavors in this dish.

The dressing is really simple and very delicious. It only takes 5 ingredients to make this yummy dressing: freshly squeezed orange juice, olive oil, cayenne, salt, and pepper. This is my all time favorite dressing that I make most of the time.

My photo shoot was cut a little short with my little Sky Bear spotting the watermelon in this dish. The watermelon slowly started to disappear and I decided it was wrap!

Serves 4 (including energetic toddlers)

Ingredients:
16 oz. of arugula
3 tbsp. of fresh mint, chopped
1 cup feta
3 cups of watermelon
1/4 cup of cranberries
1 bundle of mint leaves for garnish

Dressing:
2 oranges, juiced (or 1/2 cup of orange juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
Cayenne
Salt
Pepper

In small bowl mix the orange juice and olive oil until well blended. Sprinkle cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste. Rinse the arugula. Place the arugula into a separate bowl. Toss in the mint, watermelon, and cranberries. Sprinkle the feta over the salad.

Mix the dressing into the salad and toss and garnish with a mint leaf. Bon appetite!

Skillet Cornbread Soufflé

05/21/2017 by Angelina Leave a Comment

Skillet Cornbread Soufflé in a Staub Cast Iron Skillet is my go-to side dish whenever we have BBQ’s. This recipe is also a huge hit when I bring it as a side dish to a potluck. The best thing about this cornbread soufflé is it’s very moist and tasty.

I enjoy learning about the history of food so here is a little research about cornbread soufflé. Skillet cornbread soufflé is also called spoonbread and it’s a hybrid of cornbread recipes that has evolved over the last two centuries. Spoonbread, a traditional Southern dish has a soufle-pudding like texture. The ancestor of spoonbread is a native dish called, “Awendaw.” Awendaw is an area in Charleston, South Carolina, named after the Awendaw Indians who settled in the area. The main difference is that cornbread soufflé and spoonbread has cornmeal where as Awendaw uses grits in the recipe. Some very fascinating history of cornbread!

When I first tried this recipe at a BBQ many years ago, it seriously rocked my world. The cornbread soufle was cooked in a huge beautiful cast iron pot! I never imagined that cornbread soufle could taste so good. I generally am not a big cornbread fan because it’s usually too dry. Seriously, it was the best moment of my life. I do have to admit that I have a lot of those “best moment of my life” moments, all of the time. And that moment, when I first ate cornbread souffle, was one of them.

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Chicken Pot Pie

05/14/2017 by Angelina Leave a Comment

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken-Pot-Pie

What would be an easy cast-iron skillet dish for dinner? Did you say chicken pot pie? Not only is this chicken pot pie easy to make but it is the ultimate comfort food that would make your loved ones ask for seconds! This dish will also warm the cockles of their heart.

The Staub Paella Pan is a perfect cast-iron skillet for a one dish recipe. And chicken pot pie is a great one dish recipe that can feed a small family or big crowd. It’s also a perfect lunch or dinner dish served with a nice spring mix salad on the side with your favorite dressing. This rustic and elegant dish can also be a great dish that you bring to a friend or loved one for a special occasion.

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Clafoutis

05/07/2017 by Angelina Leave a Comment

Clafoutis is one of my favorite french desserts and it can be eaten for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. It has a sweet bread pudding like consistency and it’s super delicious. Clafoutis is a sweet french dessert from Limousin region in France. It is made with dark cherries and it is very much like a crepe and flan. Original Clafoutis is made with cherries but any stone fruit can be used for this recipe.

Clafoutis

I was introduced to this recipe about a decade ago, by a dear friend, who is French. She hosted a beautiful dinner soiree and invited all of her good friends to enjoy a beautiful meal, some good wine, and great conversations. I was helping in the kitchen with some of the preparation and helped make clafoutis with plums. I learned how to make this dish eventually, but have since adapted the original recipe to make it more heart healthy for my little toddler, Sky Bear.

As with most recipes, I attempted to make a healthy version of cherry clafoutis. I substituted unbleached flour with whole wheat flour, making it a little bit denser than the original but it still had that moist pudding like texture and it is still very delicious. Bon apetit!

Ingredients:
2 1⁄2 cups of milk
6 eggs
1 tsp. of vanilla
1⁄4 tsp. Of salt
1 cup of whole wheat
3 cups of cherries, pitted and halved
Powdered sugar for garnish

Oven at 350 degrees.
Mix ingredients and blend in a mixer for 1 minute.
It will have a consistency of watery pancakes.
Pour into a buttered skillet
Bake for 45 minutes or until done.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar
Serves 6-8 for dessert or brunch

Chicken and Broccoli Quinoa Risotto

04/30/2017 by Angelina Leave a Comment

Chicken and Broccoli Quinoa Risotto is a super tasty dish and it’s gluten free! I used my Staub Paella pan which is not just for paella. This beautiful heavyweight enameled cast iron skillet is great for making a lot of amazing savory meals. The next savory meal that I wanted to create in my Staub Paella pan for my blog was risotto. This gluten free risotto is one of our favorite family quinoa dishes. I wanted to serve up a healthy protein rich dinner for my family this weekend. I have been making this chicken and broccoli quinoa risotto a lot lately. It’s just so tasty! So naturally I am excited to share this special recipe with you.

Quinoa Chicken and Broccoli Risotto

I shopped for most of my ingredients at Traders Joes. I purchased organic chicken thighs, Trader Joe’s Organic Tri-Color Quinoa, and Organic Chicken Broth.

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Angelina

Lemon Rosemary Chicken in a Cast-Iron Skillet

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