My PB + J

baked falafel & greek salad {recipe}

a few weeks back on my monday phone dump i confessed my love for falafel. i have always been in search of the perfect falafel and i found it at the kebab shop. i crave their falafel doner but it is a little pricey and it doesn’t necessarily fit within my diet guidelines but every so often it is amazing. last week, kim, posted a pic on her facebook page of her baked falafel dinner and i was intrigued to make them myself. i found this recipe for the falafel and then made a simple greek yogurt cucumber dressing and paired it all with a greek salad. it was relatively quick to put together, meaning we ate before 6:30 and everyone was happy. well, besides payton who had a 102.4 temp but she sat with us chugging her blue gatorade. i love me a crispy fried falafel so the baked version wasn’t crispy enough for my taste but it was amazing nonetheless. 
baked falafel & greek salad 

falafel: 
1 15 oz. can chickpeas/garbanzo beans 
3 cloves garlic 
2 TB parsley
2 TB flour 
1 tsp cumin 
1 tsp coriander 
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp pepper 
dressing:
1 container fage nonfant plain greek yogurt 
1/2 seeded cucumber, diced
3 cloves garlic 
pinch of salt
mint, optional
salad:
romaine
grape tomatoes
kalamata and green olives, sliced
feta cheese 
red onion, thinly sliced
cucumber, thinly sliced
pita 
here’s how: 
preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. combine all ingredients and pulse until creamy. 

scoop bean mixture into eight patties. placed on a greased cookie sheet and then spray the top of each falafel with cooking spray (i used pam olive oil spray).

bake for twenty minutes. i flipped mine after ten and then baked an additional five so they were crispy.

for the dressing:

combine all the dressing ingredients in a food processor and pulse until creamy. refrigerate until ready to use.

for the salad:

plate all salad ingredients, drizzle dressing and top with falafel patties. enjoy!

her new froggie princess jammies, freshly painted electric purple nails, a requested venti blue gatorade and her red cheeks. working her first big fever. 

lemon loaf cake {tuesdays with dorie}

this weeks tuesdays with dorie recipe is lemon loaf cake. to check out the recipe head on over to the host blogs: treats  & the beauty of life . 
i was slightly apprehensive after my epic pizza rustica fail on easter. it looked amazing but i over baked it, who does that? i remembered late yesterday that today was the day to bake the cake. i looked at my lemon tree and didn’t feel like picking any of my tumor like lemons so we headed off to the store for a few normal ones. after i fed the wee ones this morning i whipped it up, replacing the heavy cream with buttermilk and adding in a tad of lemon extract.  after the cake had cooled i cut a slice and loved seeing the slice flecked with lemon rind. it was gorgeous. i decided to lightly grill two slices and topped them with fresh whipped cream and locally grown strawberries. payton was ecsastic because she has been begging me for a strawberry shortcake, the show is her newest obsession and she simply loves cake. this ones for her! 

the cake has a slight crunch to the crust, which i love on any pound cake. the cake is moist, a little extra because of the buttermilk vs. heavy cream replacement. the slightly grilled cake adds a different flavor, pairing it with the cool whipped cream and fresh berries slips me straight into the summer months. you could easily use this cake for a parfait, with some homemade jam or simply by itself.

dc chicken salad {corner bakery copycat recipe}

one of my favorite places to go for lunch used to be corner bakery. but now the idea of taking two kids in tow for lunch seems more like a chore. plus, i am trying to improve on eating out for lunch so often. my go-to corner combo was always the dc chicken salad and a  cup of broccoli cheddar soup. my fav chicken salad will always be my mom’s recipe but on occasion i love to make my version of corner bakery’s dc chicken salad or ina garten’s contessa chicken salad.  do you have a go-to recipe? if so, i would love to know how you make yours!

dc chicken salad 

here’s what you need: 
1 rotisserie chicken – chopped
1/3 small red onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1/2 granny smith apple, chopped
1/4 cup currants
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/4 miracle whip
1 TB sour cream 

here’s how:

in a bowl combine onion, celery, apple, currants and almonds

next add in miracle whip, sour cream and chicken. mix until well combined. place in the refrigerator or use immediately.

i made open-faced sandwiches on slightly toasted squaw bread with lettuce and tomato.

and enjoy!

it’s a rainy saturday afternoon here in san diego, i have irish soda bread in the oven, look for that recipe on tuesday when i link-up with tuesdays with dorie. i have two dozen cupcakes to make for an order and then it’s time to relax and enjoy the fam on this st. patty’s day. i hope you all have a great st. pat’s and i’ll see ya on monday!

thursday 13 and bbq chicken pizza {link-up & recipe}

i’m linking up with aunie sauce‘s thursday 13. 
Aunie Sauce
13 things i wish or pray for lately on a daily basis:
1. for my house to clean itself. sadly, all my praying hasn’t made this happen yet. 
2. for the time change to stop making everyone act all wacky. two days of the kids waking up at 8:04 on the dot then this morning 7:14. 
3. that nap time doesn’t have to be a battle. i love days where she agrees to lay down but most days it takes me coercing her to lay down. yesterday i gave up and said it’s quiet time, she watched a movie in her room and then a tornado whipped through there. 
4. to have my bed to myself (and the hubby of course). this has been an on-going battle. lord help me. 
5. that 30 days speed on by and that we get great news regarding our new potential house. 
6. for my cupcake biz to stay steady on the weekends, it’s keeping me occupied while i am not working. 
7. for san diego weather to make up it’s mind. 90 degrees one day, 61 the next. 
8. that my old jeans would just miraculously fit. bought a pair two weeks ago, the next day they decided to fall off, now resulting in zero pairs of jeans that fit. 
9. that tory burch “miller” sandals would show up on my doorstep, hubby if you’re reading this, tan with gold, okay, thanks. 
10. that wearing a bra wouldn’t be so much damn work. bought a new bra last weekend and i am annoyed. thought it was just VS bras but apparently my body just approves of sports bras now. fml. 
11. looking onto my bar that i just de-cluttered yesterday is now cluttered again, how does this happen? i need a clutter fairy to help me in this small house with toddler/baby toys and my hobbies. 
12. i hope that the rain isn’t too bad this weekend so we can start our garage project and organize stuff for our garage sale that we’ve (i) been discussing for two years. 
13. dinner would just make itself, and my body could go run without me having to get up. gosh. i sound lazy today. 
and because i am feeling overzealous here’s an easy weeknight bbq chicken pizza recipe. 
barbeque chicken pizza 
tastes like cpk, it’s quicker and your wallet will be happier! it cost us less than $5
here’s what you need:
pizza crust – (i originally had a refrigerator crust from traders but it sat too long in there so i resorted to a quick boboli whole wheat crust) 
bbq sauce – use as much as you like, i used about 1/3 cup
mexican shredded cheese 
thinly sliced red onion
one rotisserie chicken breast, cubed
2 TB cilantro, minced. 
here’s how:
preheat your oven to 450 degrees. spread the bbq sauce evenly onto the crust. next place the chicken, onion and cheese onto the sauce. place directly onto the oven rack and bake for 10-12 minutes. top with cilantro and enjoy! i served this alongside our fav mixed salad. a quick and easy weeknight meal. 

monday phone dump & greek pitas {recipe}

i’m starting something new, a monday phone dump. by the time monday rolls around i have taken so many cell phone pictures that very rarely get shared, sometimes they make it to facebook but most of the time they stay in my phone. it usually just paints a picture of how our weekend was. so here we go…

  • i got my hair done, hmm. well my blonde locks were supposed to have some caramel low lights, i think my stylist ran out of that color and prayed the top color would match but it turned out chocolate. i kinda like it, kinda don’t. i never really care, it’s hair & it grows… 
  •  i had two cupcake orders. a baby shower and a thank you gift to an ivf doctor. 
  • we made it to happy hour friday night after picking daddy up from the airport, a special treat because we rarely go out as a family. had a 90% blowout. fun. 
  • brayden is finally getting chubby legs. i cannot.stand.it. i lurve me some chubbs. 
  • i got my nails done, went back to shellac vs. acrylic. 
  • ran my first 5k. more on that one later 


greek pita’s

what you’ll need:
(i am not giving measurements, i am giving suggestions as to what i used. everyone likes theirs a different way)

whole wheat pitas (i use ezekiel – less calories and they come frozen so you don’t waste them)
baby spinach
thinly sliced onion
thinly sliced tomato
olive tapenade (trader joes – found by the hummus not the jarred variety)
hummus (i used original from tj’s, roasted pepper or garlic would be amazing)
dry salami 
feta cheese 
*reduced sodium turkey (not pictured, but the next day i added this)
here’s how:
  1. if you buy frozen pita’s remove from the freezer and defrost on a paper towel (don’t get lazy and pop them in the microwave, they’ll get soggy. not sayin’ i’m lazy or anything)
  2. cut your pita in half. carefully open the pocket up. 
  3. on one side of the pita spread the tapenade, on the other the hummus. 
  4. next lay the meat, veggies and then cheese. 
  5. serve with a light salad, some chips, a cup of tomato bisque or by itself. 
  6. enjoy!

i am not even kidding you when i say this is tasty. the tapenade is the perfect addition and takes this sandwich over the top. you won’t regret adding this to your lunch rotation. 
i am linking up with. . .