BOOZY MANGO ORANGE RUM POPS!

Made these boozy rum popsicles the other day while up at the cottage and I’m so glad I did because lately, we have been experiencing a big heatwave! The combination of mango, orange, and coconut go great together, and there no need to add more sugar because they are definitely sweet enough. If you are looking for a tasty vegan treat to have on those sweltering hot summer days, I highly recommend making this recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

- Makes 8 Popsicles -

- Popsical Filling -
1 Large Ripe Mangos - remove skin and pit
3/4 CUP Coconut Water
1/4 CUP of Orange Juice
2 Oz of Rum

- Molds -

NorPro Frozen Ice Pop Maker - I ordered this one off Amazon and highly recommend it!

DIRECTIONS:

In a blender add in your fresh mango and coconut water. Belnd until liquified.

Next, add in your orange juice and rum, pulse for 2 sec to mix.

Pour mixture into popsical moulds and palce in freezer for a minimum of 12 hours before you serve!

Enjoy!

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HEALTHY GRAB AND GO BREAKFAST EGG MUFFINS 2 WAYS - LOW CARB & VEGETARIAN OPTION

As someone who thrives on being a busy body, I often forget to eat or worse, go after items high in carbs and sugar as a way to sustain my energy and curb my cravings. Knowing this, I decided to make some delicious, healthy, grab and go egg bites that I can batch make and store in the fridge for easy access throughout the week. This has totally helped me choose better snacking foods and its super easy to just warm up quickly in the microwave before I head out the door. I love them in the morning or after a workout and they are packed full of protein and veggies so you can have two or three completely guilt free!

Hope you like them!

INGREDIENTS:

- Makes 12 Servings -

Butter to Greece Baking Sheet
!2 Large Eggs
1 Small Sweet Onion - chopped roughly
Salt and Pepper To Taste

- For 6 Muffins Italian Style -
1/4 Cup of Freshly Grated Mozerella
5-6 Cherry Tomatoes, Sliced
3-4 Strips of Prosciutto

- For 6 Muffins Greek Vegetarian Style -
1/4 Cup of Grated Halloumi
1/4 Cup of Crumbled Feta Cheese
A handful of Freshly Washed Spinach

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350.

Greece baking tray wel.

Mix eggs, onion, salt and pepper in a large bowl and whip together.

Pour mixture into baking tray till each muffin cup is 1/2 way full.

Add in ingredients for both the Italian and Greek style.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the tops brown slightly.

Remove and let sit for 10 minutes before trying to remove them from the tray.

Enjoy!

P.s You can store these eggs muffins in the fridge for 3-4 days in a ziplock bag or sealed container and warm up in the microwave for an easy grab and go snack!!

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TRADITIONAL ITALIAN HOMEMADE FOCACCIA (SO EASY)

Is there anything better than the smell of fresh bread?

Especially when it’s covered in all your favorite focaccia toppings?

My Achilles heel, sun dried tomato focaccia is one of those traditional Italian appetizers that I can never turn down. As soon as I spot it (usually across the room), you know I’m right there, having a slice - okay 2, maybe 3….

While in self-isolation I had time to perfect this amazing homemade focaccia dough recipe I learned while in Italy and I must say, it stands the test of time! The dough always turns out perfect - fluffy and doughy with a crisp bottom and golden crust. Oh, and did I mention it’s also a vegan focaccia!

I can’t wait for you to enjoy it too!

FOCACCIA BREAD INGREDIENTS:

Serving: 8-10 Servings

-Focaccia Dough-
1 3/4 Warm water
1 Package of Yeast
1 TBSP of Sugar
5 CUPS of All-Purpose Flour
1 TBSP of Kosher Salt
1 CUP of Olive Oil - Spilt in two halves

-Optional Focaccia Toppings-
Coarse Sea Salt
Cherry Tomatoes
Kalamata Olives
Basil
Capers
Rosemary
Garlic

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HERE ARE SOME OTHER BREAD RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE!

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FOCACCIA RECIPE DIRECTIONS:

The first thing you need to do is activate the yeast so you will need to combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a bowl. Stir and let it sit for 10-15 minutes until it starts bubbling and becomes very aromatic.

When ready, in a mixer using the hook attachment, combine the flour, salt, half a cup of the olive oil, and the yeast mixture on the lowest speed. After it is well mixed, increase the speed to three (low/medium) until it becomes smooth.

Once smooth, remove the dough from the mixer and place on a floured surface. Kneed the dough by hand until the dough stops being sticky. If you need to sprinkle more flour to help it along, do so.

When ready, form a ball with the dough. Using the mixing bowl you used before, coat the sides of the bowl with some oil and place the dough once again inside. Coat the dough with a little bit of oil as well before covering it with a cloth or plastic wrap, and place somewhere warm for about an hour until it doubled in size.

Take your cooking sheet or jelly roll pan (pan with lip) and cover with parchment paper (including the sides). Put a heavy coat of olive oil on the parchment paper before putting the dough on top. Focaccia is a heavily oiled bread so be generous with the olive oil.

Place the dough on the pan and stretch out with your fingers, flipping the dough over to allow the olive oil on the tray to coat both sides. Use your fingers to stretch the dough the full length of the pan and create finger holes so as to give it an uneven texture. Place the stretched dough in a warm place until it once again doubles in size (approximately one hour).

When dough is close to ready, preheat oven to 450.

If you want to add toppings to your focaccia you can do so at this point. If you want it plain you should still liberally sprinkle it with coarse sea salt.

When ready, bake until the top is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving to your guest.

Buon Appetito!

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RECIPE REVIEW: STRAWBERRY GOAT CHEESE BRUSCHETTA RECIPE

I found this recipe online while trying to find inspiration and had to try it out. I am a huge fan of goat cheese and the mix of sweet and salty flavors, so right off the bat it caught my attention. I did make an adjustment to the original recipe which called for thyme instead of mint, and I am so happy I did. The freshness of the mint perfectly complimented the strawberries and it tasted just heavenly. If you have a sweet tooth or like sweet fruits with cheese, you got to try this strawberry bruschetta recipe! Feel free to also get creative and change up the cheese! I am sure it would also taste amazing with feta cheese and a little balsamic glaze or cream cheese if that’s all you have!

INGREDIENTS:

Serving: 3-4 People

1/2 CUP of balsamic vinegar
Bread cut into slices - I used baguette but the original recipe calls for Italian
1 TBSP of olive oil
1 LB of Fresh Strawberries (cut into small morsels)
2 TSP of Fresh Mint (chopped) - original recipe calls for thyme
1 CUP of Goat Cheese - Keep at room temperature for easy spreading
Salt and Pepper to Taste

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LOOKING FOR AN INTERESTING APPETIZER? CHECK OUT THESE OTHER RECIPES!

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HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY BRUSCHETTA:

The first thing you want to do is reduce the balsamic vinegar into a glaze so in order to do this you need to heat it in a small pot or pan over medium to low heat. Let it simmer there for 8 to 10 minutes, it should reduce by about half and thicken nicely to a glaze. Once it is done, remove from heat and allow it to cool back to room temperature.

Next, you have to toast the bread. You can either do this in bulk using a foil-lined baking sheet, drizzling them with olive oil, and placing them in the oven at 400 for 5-10 minutes. The timing here can vary depending on how thick you cut the slices and how golden/crunchy you want them so keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.

While the bread is in the oven, combine cut-up strawberries with fresh mint in a bowl and add in the room temperature vinegar glaze. Salt and pepper the mixture to your taste.

Once the bread is ready you can go ahead and spread goat cheese across each piece before spooning the strawberry bruschetta mixture over each piece. Garnish with more mint and serve!

Enjoy!

To check out the original recipe, click HERE!

If you are looking for an authentic traditional Italian bruschetta recipe with tomatoes, click HERE!

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SAVOURY FLAKY SPANAKOPITA BITES

I was craving some flaky spanakopita the other day and decided to test my hand at baking it myself at home. Adam’s Baba (grandmother) makes an amazing Macedonian version called Zelnik so naturally, she was the first person I called. These little spinach pies ended up turning out amazing even though I sort of freestyled some of the measurements and combined Baba’s recipe with a couple of others I found. I mean, you can never have too much cheese, right!?

INGREDIENTS:

Serving: 24 Spanakopita Bites

-Spanakopita Filling-
Olive oil
1 Medium Sweet Onion chopped finely
6 CUPS of Fresh Spinach chopped roughly
3 Springs of Green Onions, sliced into thin pieces
2 CUPS of Italian flat parsley chopped finely
2 Cups of Goat and Sheep Feta
1 CUP of freshly Grated Halloumi Cheese
2 Eggs beaten lightly
Salt and Pepper

-Phyllo Cups-
1 (454 Grams) Packet of Phyllo Sheets*
3/4 CUPS of Melted Unsalted Butter
1 Egg beaten lightly

*Phyllo Sheets - Make sure that the phyllo dough is completely thawed.  It is super fragile so if it is not well thawed out it will break easily.  In general, be extra gentle when handling each layer of phyllo because it is so thin it will tear easily. You have to work a little fast because the dough drys out quickly. I first cut the phyllo layers into rough 4” squares using a scissor and stacked them to keep the air off them as I worked. You can also keep them under a slightly damp dishtowel. Work with one muffin pan at a time.

DIRECTIONS:

Butter your muffin trays making sure to coat the bottom of each cup and the sides

In a pan add in olive oil and finely chopped onion and saute until translucent.

In a large bowl add the sauteed onion with finely chopped parsley, spinach, green onion, eggs, crumbled feta, and Halloumi. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and combine thoroughly till well mixed. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and pull out your muffin trays. It’s time to create your pastry cups.

Add one 4” phyllo square to each buttered muffin cup mould on your tray pressing each sheet into the moulds and allowing the corners to point up. Little tears may occur -don’t worry to much about this! Just make sure on the next layer to cover the tear with some phyllo. Using a pastry brush, brush each phyllo sheet with butter before adding another 4” phyllo square on top. Do this until you have cups that are 5-6 layers thick.

Once complete, fill each cup with spinach mixture and fold over phyllo corners back towards the middle to create a cover. If they have died out, try brushing them with butter to help moisten them. There will be some flaking, don’t worry so much about it.

Mix the last beaten egg with remaining butter and brush the top of each muffin mould with the mixture to help keep the phyllo sheet corners together before placing muffin tins in the oven and baking for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden

Once ready, allow muffin trays to cool for 10 minutes before trying to transfer cups onto a serving plate or cooling rack.

Enjoy!

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