Tasty Tuesdays : Tortellini and Spinach Soup

I'm going to make this one short and sweet. We loved this soup. I made it with homemade vegetable broth, so I'm interested to see how it compares when I use store-bought. Because I'd made the broth in a large batch ahead of time, this recipe really took no time at all. 

Simple Tortellini & Spinach Soup 

INGREDIENTS:
2 T olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
4 c vegetable broth
2 c water
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/3 c grated parmesan cheese (plus more for garnish)
1 handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 c coarsely chopped fresh baby spinach
2 bags frozen cheese tortellini (apx 25 oz)

YOUR TASK:

In a large pot, heat oil on medium-high and add garlic. Stir 2 minutes until golden brown. Add vegetable broth, water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir in parmesan cheese, basil, spinach and tortellini. Cook 5-8 minutes, until tortellini is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to individual serving bowls. Top with a drizzle of olive oil and grated parmesan cheese.

recipe and image: Fresh 365

Tasty Tuesdays : Morning Routine

You might remember that I mentioned Linda Wagner in my last Tasty Tuesdays post. I would not do two food posts in a row about beverages unless I truly thought they could CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Okay, maybe not completely, but definitely lend a huge helping hand to the outlook on your day and your health. Every day, for the past 12 days (with the exception of one - I may have had one too many beers at Oktoberfest the night before and didn't make it to the grocery in the morning, let alone off the couch. Don't hate me, self. Don't hate me!) So every day I have started the morning with hot lemon ginger water.

I switched from my daily coffee to tea a year or two ago, so this wasn't a hard adjustment for me. I haven't had any caffeine for the past 12 days, as my hot drink in the morning is a hot lemon ginger water. Shall we call it HLGW? Oh, no, it doesn't exactly roll of the tongue? Okay, fine. So I enjoy gulp this while doing my makeup and hair in the morning.

Then, a mere thirty minutes later, I'm walking out the door with a smoothie for breakfast that keeps me full until lunch. I feel so much better about drinking a hearty helping of fruits and veggies versus some bread or a big doughy bagel. This green smoothie makes my day!

The only challenging part of the green smoothie has been preparing the fruits and veggies. I know you can buy prewashed spinach, but it did make the dirty dozen list, so I figure that while I'm at it, I might as well go all the way. I buy organic spinach bunches, dirt and all, to de-stem and wash a couple times a week. Hopefully it will become a habit before I know it! Now, if only I could wake up 15 minutes early to enjoy my nice cup o' HLGW.

Here, you are, both courtesy of my new fav, Linda Wagner:

Morning Digestif (aka HLGW)

Be sure to check out the link to see all of the health benefits of both lemon and ginger. It'll make you much more likely to go through with it!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 inch knob of ginger sliced thinly or grated

fresh lemon

Stevia to taste (I omit this, but the original recipe calls for it - I don't think it has any health benefits - just makes the drink sweeter)

YOUR TASK:

Pour boiling water over the ginger, let steep for about 5 mins then add lemon juice (and stevia, if desired) to taste.

Green Smoothie

INGREDIENTS 

2 frozen bananas

1 cup frozen mango

1 cup fresh cut pineapple

2 handfuls of baby spinach

water

ice (if desired)

YOUR TASK

Add enough water to blend and enjoy, that’s it! Forget the dehydrating morning latte and get the glow with a Green Smoothie instead. This recipe tastes like a dream come true and will make about 32oz.

recipes and images: Linda Wagner

I'm Pinning!

Okay, so I finally gave in to Pinterest. So addicting! For example, I just went to the site to copy the address for the link and found myself scrollling and scrollling and scrolllling. I cannot help it. It took me a while to get in to, as do a lot of trends. I see some trends and just think that I will wait for it to pass, like when everyone started wearing gauchos. Then I probably wore them a year longer than I should have.

Here, gauchos you can buy at Old Navy:

I thought I would wait and see if Pinterest was just a fad. Then I had a lovely wine, cheese and chocolate dinner with a dear, Pinterest-loving friend where I expressed my concerns about Pinterest. What if you want to rename a board and you can't?? What if you want to move an image from one board to another... and you CAN'T?? What if I can't get the "Pin It" icon on my toolbar?? Well, guess what. You can and I did. Everything worked out (it always does, doesn't it?) One flight of wine was enough to make me let go of these seriously troubling issues and just. join. already. So I did. Here. I'm going to try to get a link up here soon. (I'm not terribly tech-savvy, but you may notice that I did figure out how to make my posts wider! Small Large Victory!)

Here are some favorite things that I found only through Pinterest:

DIY Santa:

Paint Chip Coasters:

Wonderful art, but without artist credit (boo)

Super cute dog with a crate that NO ONE WILL STUB THEIR TOE ON! (ie:geniuses)

and lots and lots of promising recipes, for example, Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Happy Pinning to you!

Tasty Tuesdays : The Intensi-Toddy!

Hello all! Sorry for my absence! (I know, you're all like, what absence? You haven't blogged regularly in forevs.) Anyway, I'm still sorry. Last week we went to Tennessee somewhat unexpectedly for Chris's grandfather's funeral. Right before that, I picked up a darn cold! The weather changed very quickly here. The weekend before I spent a decent amount of Sunday lounging around with the french doors and windows open, enjoying the chill and the breeze. Apparently my immune system did not take such delight in the sudden change. Well, it was certainly convenient that around the same time, I discovered Linda Wagner and her healthy ways. I stumbled upon (ie: read her blog for hours and dug this up beauty) this post featuring a cold-kicking hot toddy!

If you've never had a hot toddy, it's a must-try. I suppose that before, I never really thought too much about what was in it. I have ordered them on a night out occasionally, and little did I know, this is one bit of drinking (alcohol) that does a body good! I'll be honest though, they recommend to drink 4 cups a day and I don't know about you, but I would feel some side-effects of the rum, so 4 cups on a weekday was a no-go. We did have a night in on Friday with some chicken enchilada soup, homemade hot toddy's and Love, and Other Drugs, which was quite enjoyable - tissues and all. Anyway, I still haven't completely kicked my cold (maybe due in part to the fact that it's against my make-up to go to bed early,) but this sure did make me feel better!

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups of water

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cloves

pinch of cayenne

2 ginger slices

2 Constant Comment tea bags

1/2 lemon, squeezed

3 oz. spiced rum

2 tbsp. honey

YOUR TASK:

In a medium pot, place water, spices and ginger together and mix well. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and set aside. Add the remaining ingredients and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Enjoy while hot!

images and recipe: Linda Wagner (originally from Joylicious)