Rhubarb dessert

It's officially spring and in about 3 days it will be my summer. :) This calls for one thing, one simple thing; Rhubarb, of course!!

This is a family recipe that is gooey, sweet but tart, and so so delicious. I made it last weekend and it's gone now.... just in time for rhubarb jam from Minnesota. Thanks Grandma!

4 cups of beautiful rhubarb

Baked to a golden brown...

It is somewhat custardy on top with a shortbread crust. Yummmm

Perked Up Tacos

Who doesn't love a perfectly grilled steak? or a thick and juicy Iowa chop? I know I do! Heck, even a corn dog and brats do me in. I'm crazy about them!

However, I'm not so crazy about loose prepared beef like taco meat. It is so high in sodium and drips continually with orange grease. yuck. I do love tacos though, so what's a girl to do!? With no chicken or black beans to be found, I came up with this. Give it a try, it was great!!

Wilt spinach and sautee fresh mushrooms

with about 1/3 cup prepared taco beef.

It was so good!

Top with cheese and tomatoes.

and enjoy... a couple of them :)

for dessert?

multigrain cheerios.

naturally.

Milo & Diem

One thing I may miss most about 'college' is meeting with Lacey at Cafe Milo or Cafe Diem to study. We always joke that we just know how to study with each other. We can talk and talk and talk and then tell each other to stop talking and not be offended, we treat each other to cookies, remind each other of deals or, like last week, turn each other onto the BEST entrees!

Tomato Bisque with Toasted Bread.

The best entree at Cafe Milo. It is so delicious! Spicy and yet creamy, tomato-ey, and yet peppery. Absolutely my favorite.

Tying with Cafe Milo's entree is Cafe Diem's incredible Black Bean Burger!! You know how I feel about black bean burgers.....
I think we are headed to Milo today and I truly can't wait! 2 oclock needs to hurry! After that, one presentation (last big assignment of my college career!) and class. :) Have a great Tuesday!

MultiGrain Cheerios

I cheated. This picture is from yesterday morning [The sun isn't out yet today] These little things are my absolute favorite. Im so glad I broke my cereal rule because these were completely worth 350 cents. yu uh uh uh uuuum!!

Granola

Who doesn't love granola? ..... especially homemade granola??

This recipe has become a staple recipe for us. My mom and I just love it! I made a batch this morning because our supply is getting low, and thought I'd share. Enjoy!

Ingredients
have you ever noticed that nuts and grains are commonly packaged in red?
reds make ya hungry! think McDonalds and KFC

3 1/2 cups Rolled Oats
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower kernals

Mix in a bowl like zis!

Love this. grains grains nuts and grains

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, combine honey, brown sugar, and oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar melts and mixture is completely heated. Remove from heat; add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until well blended.

Drizzle over oat mixture and toss to coat evenly. Spread mixture in greased 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 275 oven for 60 minutes, be sure to stir every 20 minutes!!

Keep fluffing this every couple minutes once it is out of the oven.
It will 'steam' and not become crunchy if you don't.

Yuuuum. Can't wait to try this batch!

Peaches & Pears & Peppers

Peaches are my favorite fresh fruit, but I'll take these gorgeous pears until the peaches are ready!

I love Target. I love looking around Target. and recently I love trying new healthy snacks..... that's where this guy comes in. I was perusing the grocery side of Super Target last wk and found this to-go container of red pepper hummus with pretzels. I decided to give it a whirl, and man it was good!!

I just picked up 2 more of these today! One for me and one for my professor Troy. He commented on how good it looked in class and he will be graduating and moving to VT in a couple weeks. Hope he likes it!

Sabra - only $1.89

Hummus on the bottom and pretzels on the top

Ooooooh yeah

Oooooooooh yeah -- imagine it like this song! :)

I think my little experiment worked because these were my frozen cookies from a couple months ago. They turned out fabulous! Good to know..... I will be making an extra batch and freezing them from now on.

My dad has been working on my car for so many nights now, so I thought I'd have these waiting for him when he came in from the garage. I think he liked them :) Thanks Dad!! I owe you!!

so so good!

Ya know what else I'm excited for!? Grilling. summer. steak. brats. hot dogs. chicken. grilled veggies. shish kabobs. anything. done. on. the. the grill.

I grilled this steak late last night, made a bit more quinoa, and gobbled. This was perfect.

Peppery and perfectly grilled.
bad picture, my apologies.

My brother and I used to eat mushrooms right out of the can. Those were the only type of mushrooms I liked. well. I'm a bit classier now. I can't get enough mushrooms! I love portabella burgers, shitakes in pasta dishes in Italy, and fresh mushrooms on pizzas like this one.

so. flavorful!

We use 'Mama Mary's Gourmet Pizza Crusts,' top with olive oil, pizza sauce, a few pepperoni slices, green peppers, fresh mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, and red pepper flakes. Bake at 425 for 12 minutes. pizza perfection.