Courtney's Top 5: Greek Yogurts

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Greek yogurt. No, you don't understand . . . I can't live without it. I HAVE to have it. It's a staple in my fridge, my cooking, and my number one go-to snack food. Here are my top five favorites:

1. Fage Cherry Pomegranite: Cherry is always a top yogurt flavor choice for me, but combining it with pomegranite takes it to a whole new level! Great flavor, and no artificial cold medicine taste — Fage nailed this one. Plus, Fage is so rich and creamy — never watery. 

2. Stonyfield Chocolate: Chocolate and Greek yogurt? How can you go wrong!? It's like a healthy form of pudding. Rich, satisfying, and the perfect base for a multitude of mix-ins! 

3. Chobani Simply 100 Blueberry: A new product by Chobani, "the only 100 calorie yogurt made with only natural sweetners." My only concern was that, being made with stevia, it would taste like stevia! Don't get me wrong, I like stevia. But sometimes you get that signature aftertaste. However, Chobani came through with their Simply 100 — all flavor, no aftertaste. WIN. 

4. Chobani Blackberry: Creamy and sweet, this blackberry yogurt is great topped with cereal, or even a broken-up graham cracker for a faux-blackberry cheesecake. 

5. Chobani Bites Coffee with Dark Chocolate: Yes, more Chobani. I guess you can tell which brand is my favorite! This coffee flavored yogurt is WAY MORE dessert than anything! Rich and decadent, reach for this next time instead of that pint of ice cream. You won't regret it!

Homemade Vanilla Milk

Okay. Ready for a delicious hug in a mug?

It's super simple. So simple, it's actually kind of ridiculous.

All you need is milk, vanilla extract, and sugar (honey instead of sugar will work too!). Whipped cream and marshmallows are highly recommended, but not necessary.

Heat your milk in a saucepan. Add a splash of vanilla and a couple of spoonfuls of sugar (I'm just going to say add as much vanilla and sugar you want, to taste. I prefer sweeter, but that's just me.). Wisk until the sugar is dissolved. Boom. Done.

Pour into a big mug and top with whipped cream and/or marshmallows! I didn't have any marshmallows. Sad face.

Enjoy! Seriously though. A mug of this before bed, or on a cold day and whoa. It's like being wrapped up in a soft blanket with a fluffy puppy while wearing your favorite fuzzy robe.

❤️Sara

Photos taken by Sara and edited with Afterlight. 

Courtney's Top 5: Healthy Snacks

1. Skinny Cow Heavenly Crisp: Think giant Kit-Kat that's all delicious and waistline friendly. Available in chocolate, peanut butter, and raspberry. I'm all about the peanut butter!

2. Boom Chicka Pop: Popcorn, sunflower oil, sea salt — that's it!!! No preservatives, no fake stuff, no greasy gross-ness. Just fluffy, perfectly salted popcorn ready whenever the craving strikes. 

3. Tribe Zest Lemon Hummus: The lemon really brightens up the natural flavor of the hummus. Add a generous dollop to make your raw veggies wayyyy more exciting!

4. Skinny Cow Divine Filled Chocolate: Anytime you can put cow and skinny together and make it yummy, it's a good thing. You get three chocolate in each pouch! And not skimpy, tiny chocolates — three large scrumptious chocolates with filling in every bite! Available in carmel and peanut butter, both are a satisfying treat. 

5. VitaTops Deep Chocolate Muffin Tops: Healthy chocolate cake. Nothing more needs to be said. 

— Courtney —

I'm not affiliated with any of the companies or products. I just like food. :)

Chocolate Hazelnut Chex Mix

Every year, there's some type of work shindig that requires me to bring food of some sort, and of course I lean toward the dessert side of things. I usually make this Chex Mix "Puppy Chow" or "Muddy Buddies", but this time I put a different spin on it.

I saw this YouTube video and instantly knew I had to make this. I mean, it has Nutella in it. Need I say more?

Here's what you'll need:
- 9 cups rice Chex cereal (You could also use corn and/or chocolate Chex)
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup Nutella
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Here's what you do:

1. Measure your cereal and put it aside in a big bowl.

2. Melt your chocolate chips, Nutella, and butter until smooth. You can microwave it in 30 second increments, or use a double boiler, like I did. Once everything is melted, stir in the vanilla.

3. Pour the mixture over your cereal and gently stir it together until everything is evenly coated. Be careful not to break up the cereal! My chocolate mixture wasn't smooth like it's been when I've made this before, but it still coated the cereal just fine.

4. After it's all coated with chocolate, pour it into a large zip lock bag, add the powdered sugar, seal the bag (this part is very important!), and shake to your heart's content!

After everything is coated with the powdered sugar, I usually pour the mixture out on some wax paper to let it cool down and to get some of the moisture out.

 

And voila! You're done!

 

This was the first time I've used Nutella instead of peanut butter, and I couldn't really taste a difference, but it was still delicious! Seriously, you'll be lucky if you don't eat it all before you take it to your party.

 

Enjoy!

 

 If you make this, show me! Post your pictures on Instagram and hashtag it #BTPuppyChow so I can see!

Until next time,
♥Sara



All photos by Sara and edited with Afterlight and A Beautiful Mess.

The Serving Spoon

I just got back from another trip to Wisconsin — this time on a happier note! One of the greatest things about visiting Marinette, WI, is that you are a five minute drive from Michigan — two states for the price of one! Menominee, MI, sits right on the water with the most wonderful, historic downtown.

On chilly mornings, one of the best things to do is head to The Serving Spoon — a wonderful coffee shop/cafe in a quaint, old house located in the middle of First Street.

You'll be greeted by a vibrant, warm atmosphere — buy your coffee at the counter and head to the back room with a good book, or let them seat you for the most fabulous, homey breakfast!

Start with some of the best coffee I have ever had. I drank a minimum of three cups. Every. Time.

The prices are extremely reasonable. My usual was coffee, one egg and toast, and an order of hash browns or bacon.


The Serving Spoon is full of decor that makes it truly welcoming and unique: the giant silver spoon above the coffee counter, the rough and well visited wooden floor, tables made from antique, iron sewing machine bases, a collection of vintage percolators on a shelf, the sugar and cream bar from a repurposed desk, and local artist's painting and jewelry available for purchase.

Be sure to grab a fancy coffee drink to go — because they are AMAZING! The baristas truly take their time to handcraft your drink. You will have to wait longer than 2 minutes — which makes me wonder what I've been consuming at a well known coffee chain . . .

"Like" The Serving Spoon of Facebook for menu updates and news. A truly wonderful cafe — I guarantee you'll be in love after one visit!

♥ Courtney

All photos taken by Courtney.

Avocado Summer Rolls

I love avocados, and I'm totally accepting the current avocado craze that's going on. I had avocado summer rolls recently, and they were life changing. I don't know how I'd never had them before, but all that matters now is that I have them in my life.

So naturally, because they were just so delish, I had to recreate them. Sure, they're easier (and a little prettier) when they're store bought, but what fun is that??

Recipe adapted from here



For the sauce
- 5 tbs. vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar, but rice vinegar would be perfect)
- 1 tbs. and 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
- 3 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. Sriracha (More or less, depending on how hot you want the sauce)
- A dash of crushed red pepper flakes (Optional)

Mix all of the ingredients together, and then let sit while you work on the wraps.

For the wraps:

- 20 rice paper rounds (You should be able to find these in the Asian foods aisle at any grocery store)
- 2 avocados, cut into thin slices
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 1/4 head of red cabbage
- 1/2 English cucumber, cut into thin strips or slices
- 1 lime
- Lettuce leaves

Clean and cut/shred the veggies first. Then, slice the avocados and cover in lime juice - this will help prevent the avocados from browning. NOW, on to rolling.




Take two rice paper rounds and dip both sides in a shallow plate of water. Put them together and lay them flat. Add some avocado, carrots, red cabbage, and cucumber to the middle, and roll! I folded half of the paper, then tucked in both sides, and continued rolling, but feel free to tuck and roll however you please.

And that's about it. As you can see, my rolling skills need a little (more like a lot of) practice, but for my first try, I'm not ashamed. I finished with 9 rolls (I might've overstuffed a little), but I'd say you should get about 10 with the measurements above.

If you try these out, let me know how they turn out! I think next time, I'm going with a little less lettuce and more avocado! YUM!

Enjoy!
♥Sara

 

Easy Chocolate Milkshake

It's here! Summer! Heat! Humidity!

Sooo... That doesn't sound all that fun, BUT, if there's one good thing about summer (besides baseball), it's getting to eat cold, sugary foods, right?? And what better way to cool off than to have some ice cream or a milkshake.

I know, I know. First, Nutella fudge pops, and now chocolate milkshakes... I can't help it. I love my chocolate...

This was another last minute craving, so it's going to be SUPER simple and SUPER quick.

What you'll need (for one big serving):
- 3-4 scoops of ice cream (I used vanilla, but chocolate would be amazing!)
- About 1/2 of a cup of milk
- 3-4 tablespoons of chocolate syrup
- 1-2 Ice cubes
- A splash of vanilla extract (optional)
- Whipped cream (optional)

Add the ice cream, milk, chocolate syrup, ice, and vanilla to the blender. Blend. Pour into pretty cup. Top with delicious whipped cream. Inhale Enjoy.

I know this really isn't anything special, but it's a yummy, simple way to keep cool during the heat waves that is a Baltimore summer. And can you really turn down chocolate and whipped cream? Because I can't...

♥Sara

Nutella Fudge Pops

Yes. You read right. NUTELLA. FUDGE. POPS.

I was walking around Target one day and saw these popsicle molds, and put them in my basket without even thinking about what I was doing, so these were a really last minute thing, but they were TOTES worth it!

(Not so precise) Ingredients:

2-3 spoonfuls of Nutella (the more, the chocolatier! ;) )

1 cup of milk

A splash of vanilla extract

Warm the milk in a saucepan, then add the vanilla and Nutella. Whisk it all together until the Nutella is completely melted and everything is blended together. Take it off the heat, let it cool, and pour into your popsicle mold! Let those puppies freeze and enjoy!

I love Love LOVE Nutella, so I was pretty darn excited about these. They turned out really nice and they were so yummy! Perfect for a hot summer day! I can't wait to experiment with some other flavors for more frozen treats!

❤Sara

Strawberry Lemonade

When I hear "summer," I think baseball, the beach, hot dogs, and lemonade. Yesss.

I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly had a craving for strawberry lemonade. And when I get a craving, I pretty much have to take care of it right away, so I made my way to the grocery store to get some ingredients.

- 1 cup lemon juice (about 5-6 lemons)
- 1 1/2 cup simple syrup
- 3-5 cups water
- 1 cup strawberry puree (about a pint and a half of fresh strawberries and 2-3 tablespoons of sugar)

I started by mashing up my strawberries with a few tablespoons of sugar. You can use a food processor or blender, but I actually just used a potato masher and fork. I let the mixture sit in the fridge for about an hour before mashing it up a little more and running it through a strainer.

Next I made the simple syrup. One and a half cups of water. One and a half cups of sugar. Simmer until sugar is dissolved. Let cool completely. Done. Simple!

Now for the main attraction - LEMONS! Juice your lemons and strain (no one wants seeds in their lemonade), then add the syrup, water, lemon juice, and strawberry puree to a pitcher, stir, and voila! Strawberry lemonade! Totes delish! My only suggestion is to add the syrup, water, and strawberries slowly, according to your taste. Obviously, if you like your lemonade stronger, or more tart, you won't need all the water or syrup. I happen to like mine sweeter. :)

This can also be made with raspberries. That would be just as good!

 

If you guys have any good summer recipes, let me know!

 

♥Sara

Fun in Annapolis

 

A few months ago, Courtney and I went to Annapolis, Maryland and got to explore for a few hours before heading to the Texas State vs. Navy football game (Go Navy!). I had been to Annapolis a few times before, but never really got to wander around and explore, so this was a really fun experience.

We started our day going to - you guessed it - Starbucks. It's like a magnetic force that always seems to pull us in.

Starbucks at the Maryland Inn of Annapolis - Photo from http://www.historicinnsofannapolis.com/annapolis-starbucks.aspx

 

This was the coziest Starbucks we had ever seen!  Even cooler? This particular Starbucks, in the basement of the Maryland Inn, used to be a jazz club, which you can certainly see by the black and white photos hanging around and the jazz music playing.
 

After our quick coffee break, we went to check out the rest of Main Street. There are a lot of fun gift shops and places to eat, not to mention a beautiful view of the Chesapeake Bay - we were very fortunate for the beautiful day.

I can't wait to go back and explore some more shops! There was so much to see - clothing stores, places to eat, gift shops - so fun!
 

For lunch we got sandwiches at My Favorite Muffin. I guess was super hungry because I didn't even think to take a picture! There were plenty of desserts to choose from, though! Just look at those sweets from Kilwins!

We are definitely planning on going back, and now that Spring weather is finally here, it'll probably be sooner than later!

♥Sara

Coffee Shop Saturdays

One of my favorite Saturday things is grabbing a leisurely cup of coffee and a treat at my favorite coffee place. Add good company and that makes the day a thousand times better!

There was a new star in the bakery case today: Ladies and Gents, allow me to introduce the Strawberries & Cream cupcake! WHOAH. The flavor was perfect — not overly sweet and artificial. New favorite? Yes. Definitely, yes.

❤ Courtney

Half Price Burgers??!

 

Every now and then, Courtney and I visit Red Brick Station, on the Avenue at White Marsh, for what we call "Awesome Burger Night." Okay, so I just made that up, but it really is kind of awesome. Every Monday, from 4pm-close, you can get a really good (not a wimpy fast food) burger for 1/2 price. And they really are good!

It's nice to be able to meet after work to catch up and get a little blog planning done, not to mention people-watch (have I mentioned I love people-watching?), if you can get a window seat.

 

 

Last time we went I got the Mushroom & Swiss burger, which was delicious, but this time I decided to try the Veggie burger. A veggies and grains burger, topped with mushrooms, roasted garlic (WHOLE cloves!), and provolone cheese. Uh... YUM! I think next time, I have to try the turkey burger! Variety is good, right?

 

 

We even had a friend join us, but all he wanted was a fry (which was also really delicious).

It's the simple things in life I enjoy. Cheap burgers with the bestie is definitely one of those things! I'm already craving another...

♥Sara