Spiced Pumpkin Martini

If you haven't noticed (um maybe by the total of 13 blog posts I've written this month), I've been busy, busy, BUSY!  Between weddings, new house stuff, football games and engagement parties...I haven't had much time to do anything, especially recipes.  And you know what, I'm okay with that.  Sometimes taking a break to enjoy life and spend time with friends is more important than keeping up with blog posts.

Gasp, I know.

Now that life will finally be slowing down a bit I'll find the time to get back in the kitchen, but it sure has been a fun-filled month with tons of laughs and seriously good beverages.  Speaking of drinks, I happen to have a cocktail for you.

A fall-inspired cocktail at that.

The secret to this martini?  Sake.  It's less than 20 calories per ounce when compared to vodka or rum and when mixed together with other ingredients, you really can't taste the difference one bit!  I've been making most of my martinis this way and they come out simply perfect.  I also used fat-free half and half as opposed to cream and the pumpkin spice syrup just brings it all together.  Hope you love this as much as I did and for a martini under 200 calories, I think it's certainly worth a try!!

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Servings: 2

Serving Size: 1 martini 

Calories: 143

Fat: 0 g

Carbs: 8.5 g

Fiber: 0 g

Protein: 1 g

Points+: 3 pts

______________________________

Here are your ingredients:

2 oz. TY KU sake
2 oz. vanilla vodka
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1 Tbsp Torani pumpkin spice syrup

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway up with ice cubes.  Add sake, vanilla vodka, half and half and pumpkin spice syrup.  Shake well.  Dip the rims of two martini glasses into cinnamon/sugar mixture and strain the cocktail into the glasses.  Cheers!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

Make these tonight before passing out candy to all the kids,
I bet you can't have just one!

Happy Halloween!!

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House Love

So as most of you already know, I'm in the process of having my first home built (yay!) and to say it's a lengthy process would be quite the understatement.  I decided in late spring that I wanted to definitely buy, but when I started looking at everything in my price range, I realized I could have a beautiful NEW home built for the price of some of these older ones.  Living in a little one bedroom apartment for 5 years now, I've been dreaming of the day when I can cook in a big spacious kitchen or work in my very own office and even paint my own walls.  So you can bet once I decided to build, I started planning everything out!

 

Um thank you Pinterest.

 

Unfortunately I don't really have too much of a fun house update yet other than they'll be starting the drywall this weekend, but I wanted to share my "dream" house and ideas with you all so far!  Yes I know this is a cooking blog, but it's also my little space where I can share my life and things that I enjoy so why not??  Plus who doesn't love a good home decor post!

 

Here is the inside of the house so far!

 

 You can find these photos and more if you follow me on Instagram (yes my other obsession), but what you're seeing above is one room looking into my kitchen and the other looking into my living room!  I'm just swooning over all the windows this house has and I'll finally have some light for my photography!

 

#Foodbloggerproblems

 

Anyway, thanks to the magic that is Pinterest, I pretty much have every room in my house planned out along with color schemes, details and a list of future to-do projects...yes I'll be attempting my own wainscoting.  So here's a little sneak peek into some ideas I have for my house...ladies I know you'll appreciate this.

 

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I'm just loving the look of white kitchens, marble counter tops, industrial light fixtures, stainless steel and pops of color with pretty flowers.  I literally think I could quit my job and become a full-time cook if I had these kitchens, they're simply stunning!  I also went with a double oven so I can get even more recipes out to you!

 

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I'm a HUGE fan of neutral colors in rooms with lots of light.  These rooms just feel so cozy and are places where I could curl up every night with a glass of wine and a good book.  As always I love fresh flowers and the little details on the tables...I'm in heaven!  I will be going with this tan sectional in our living room with a built-in media center.  We'll spend most of our time in this room so I definitely want it to be comfortable, while still being pretty.

 

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My office is a room that I've literally been planning since before I even knew I wanted to buy a house.  I work on my computer a lot and have been wanting a pretty space where I can not only get stuff done, but a place to go to be by myself and feel girly.  I purchased this desk months ago and have basically designed the room around it.  I just adore all the pastel colors and white-on-white!  I'm looking forward to typing my first blog post while sitting in my lovely girly space.

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Once again I basically chose to decorate this room around one item...this GORGEOUS chandelier from West Elm.  I saw this months ago and bought it specifically for my new house and can't wait until I can hang it, it's just stunning!  I've seen a lot of other people use it too and it just adds such a feminine touch and elegance to such a big space, no?  I also have my tables and chairs picked out as well, maybe we'll actually have sit-down-dinners now!  One can hope.

Well thanks for letting me share with you all my ideas, details and visions for my new home!  I'm dreaming of the day when I have it completed and can give you a complete walkthrough of the finished product!  Until then, you can check out my Pinterest page for ALL my favorites and pretty spaces!

Gingered Pumpkin Soup

Yes I made another pumpkin recipe.

You should judge me.

I just love this soup because not only is it the perfect comfort food for those chilly Fall days, but it's relatively guilt-free at around only 85 calories for a cup and less than 1 gram of fat!  I used fat-free milk instead of heavy cream because I didn't think it made too much of a difference and lemme just tell you, the sweetness from the maple syrup was to DIE for when mixed with the pumpkin!  And if you didn't think this could get any sweeter, I also sprinkled a little brown sugar over top because apparently I needed some serious sugar fix.

Annnd I don't know if anyone has allergies as bad as mine have been this past year, but they seriously make me feel like I'm coming down with the flu as soon as I get into my sneezing spree.  This soup was the perfect pick-me-up alongside a gooey grilled cheese sandwich and NO I wouldn't have it any other way.

Hey if I'm cutting cals on the soup, may as well splurge somewhere else...
no?? 

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Servings: 8

Serving Size: 1 cup 

Calories: 85

Fat: 0.9 g

Carbs: 16.6 g

Fiber: 3.5 g

Protein: 1.9 g

Old Points: 1.1 pts

Points+: 2 pts

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Here are your ingredients:

Recipe adapted from Midwest Living 

 

1 Tbsp light butter

2 (15 oz) cans pumpkin

2 (14 oz) cans low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup fat-free milk

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Salt and pepper, to taste

Pepitas and brown sugar, as garnish

 

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and stir in pumpkin, chicken broth, milk, maple syrup and ginger.  Bring pumpkin mixture just to a boil and season with salt and pepper.  Garnish with pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and a sprinkling of brown sugar, enjoy!

 

Click here for a printable version of this recipe 

On another note, my new house is coming along GREAT and I'm counting down the days until I can move in!  They've just started laying down the brick and the drywall should be put up by the end of this week (fingers crossed)...after that the fun starts aka I can finally see my kitchen!  Feel free to follow me on Instagram to see updates, fun pictures and the randomness that somehow seems to define me.

You're totally missing out if you don't.

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Here's another favorite recipe that I find myself making every Fall.  My original goal was to find a yummy cookie recipe that called for pumpkin that was relatively healthy, yet still a bit indulgent and super delicious.  These certainly are a winner in my book and I promise won't even ruin your post-summer diet! 

These iced pumpkin cookies are really soft {almost cake-like} and have a delicious spiced pumpkin flavor.  The icing is definitely the perfect finishing touch, but they still taste incredible without it.  One suggestion that I would make is after baking these, do not store them in an airtight container like you would normally do with cookies, as the moisture will soften them and make them a bit soggy.  I found this out after taking them to work to share with everyone...oops!  They still tasted good of course, but these cookies can sit on a plate uncovered for a few days and still be soft and delicious!

You may have noticed this is a recipe I've posted before.  Well you are correct, however I did make these again with a few modifications.  Instead of butter I used Greek yogurt and they still turned out great!  The consistency remained the same and they were still super moist.  I had originally tried this with applesauce, but I just didn't enjoy the flavor as much and the dough was runny.  I also used a cup of whole wheat flour in place of all-purpose and you can't tell the difference at all!

Now you can have TWO cookies for less calories than one from the original recipe!  Can't beat that, huh?

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Servings: 18

Serving Size: 2 cookies 

Calories: 75

Fat: 0.3 g

Carbs: 14.1 g

Fiber: 1.5 g

Protein: 3 g

Old Points: 1.2 pts

Points+: 2 pts

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Here are your ingredients:

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

1 1/2 cups Stevia in the Raw (or 1 1/2 cups sugar)

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze

2 cups confectioners' sugar

3 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp melted light butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and salt; set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup yogurt and Stevia (or sugar).  Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 tsp. vanilla to yogurt mixture, and mix until creamy.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven.  Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.  To make the glaze, combine confectioners' sugar, milk, melted butter and 1 tsp. vanilla.  Add milk as needed to achieve drizzling consistency.  Enjoy!   

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

Hope you guys enjoy these cookies!  For more yummy pumpkin recipes, check out last year's pumpkin palooza and prepare to salivate uncontrollably at all the delicious goodies everyone shared.

Also I have a few winners to announce!

Congratulations to Helene for winning the Shine Project Giveaway and to Nicole-Lynn for winning the Pickle Doodle Designs Giveaway!
I'll email you ladies soon!

Thanks for reading and have a great week friends!

Sponsor Spotlight!

Happy Friday everyone!  I'm headed down to Charlottesville for the weekend to enjoy some shopping, wineries and the UVA game with friends and family.  In the meantime, I have some amazing ladies to introduce you to!

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Meet Brittany, the writer behind the lovely blog The Magnolia Pair.  Aside from being one of the most sweetest southern girls I've ever talked to, she also has one of the most romantic love stories!  She's a newlywed to her high school sweetheart and she shares her travels, DIY crafts and, my personal favorite, all her delicious recipes!  So head on over to Miss Britt's blog and see for yourself how wonderful she is!

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Simple. Modern. Accessible.  These are the words that best describe the fabulous vintage clothing shop Binks and Franny.  Susan and Amanda take classic vintage pieces and incorporate them into your modern wardrobe for a whole new look that is stylish yet timeless.  They've recently launched their very own online shop and each week you can expect brand new pieces as well as updates to the ever popular 'shoe of the week' and the 'A' list' features!  These ladies are snarky, sometimes random, yet always honest and are such a joy to read about!  And guess what else??  From now until the end of October, Binks and Franny are giving all you lovely readers 15% off just by using the coupon code FRIENDS!  Have fun shopping and make sure to stop by and tell them hello!

 

 

 

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Krista, of the The Not So Desperate Chef Wife, is your typical southern girl-next-door with a passion for cooking and design.  Born and raised in North Carolina, Miss Krista shares everything from her love of gardening (she has a degree in horticulture design y'all!), fun projects around the house and, of course, super delicious recipes!  And you know how I know they're so good??  Well she just so happened to have married a Sous Chef!  Lucky girl, I tell ya.  So head on over and check out Krista's lovely blog, you'll just love the passion she and her hubby have for cooking and the fact they share that passion together!

 

Blog | Twitter | Facebook

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I just love Julie from The Semi-Reformed Nerd!  She's a girl after my own heart sharing her favorite recipes, her adorable dog so appropriately named The Captain {I mean whose dog doesn't run the household??} and her super fun life living in awesome Dallas, Texas.  She also just launched her new Etsy shop filled with colorful prints perfect for your office or home.  Best part is, she's giving all my readers 15% off simply by using the code EATSKINNY15!  Take advantage of this while you can, offer is only good through October 26th!  Isn't she the best??

 

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

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Miss Christine, the writer behind the food blog Esskunst, might be one of the sweetest girls I know!  And you may be asking yourself, what does that mean??  Well being German herself (yet LOVING California), she combined the word "essen" which means to eat and "kunst" which means art to create this title of her blog representing how she feels about the food around her.  Absolutely brilliant!  Christine is a nutritionist who focuses on maintaining a balanced diet, but no worries, she enjoys sharing indulgent recipes too!  Every Friday she teams up with her friend from NYC to share a new baking recipe called Cake Fridays!  So be sure to check this lovely girl and her blog out!

 

 

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Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Rosemary and Sweet Potato Tart

Have I ever mentioned how much I love making tarts?
 They're easy, create a full course meal in one and look oh so pretty when they come out of the oven.

Ok so this one didn't turn out as pretty as I had hoped, but tasted absolutely delicious all the same.  I caramelized slices of sweet potato with a little white wine, garlic and brown sugar.  Sounds strange...translation = most amazing combination EVER!  I was inspired for this by Miss Martha Stewart herself and decided to make a tart using her caramelized sweet potato recipe.  I sprinkled grated gouda cheese on top along with some toasted walnuts, fresh rosemary and a bit of thyme.  To keep it simple I used a sheet of puff pastry, but you could use any dough you'd like!

Just a quick disclaimer, 95% of the time I share really healthy recipes on my blog while the other rare times I simply just like to share a recipe that I really enjoyed.  I'm well aware that puff pastry isn't exactly the healthiest and no this certainly won't help you lose weight, but it IS a delicious Fall tart that was just too good not to share.

Plus the servings are small so win-win.
Now hopefully that will steer the negative comments away.

Eh, probably not.   

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Servings: 10

Serving Size: 1 slice

Calories: 180

Fat: 11 g

Carbs: 12.8 g

Fiber: 1.2 g

Protein: 3.8 g

Old Points: 4.3 pts

Points+: 4 pts

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Here are your ingredients:

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart 

 

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Flour, for surface

1/2 cup grated Gouda cheese

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Fresh rosemary and thyme, as desired

 

For caramelized sweet potatoes:

 

2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

1/2 cup of dry white wine

3/4 cup of low-sodium chicken stock

1 Tbsp packed dark-brown sugar

1/2 tsp. sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Open pastry sheet, remove paper and folk back up.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pastry street (still folded) into an 8-by-14-inch rectangle.  Trim edges with a pizza cutter and transfer to a baking sheet.  Place in freezer until ready to use.

For the sweet potatoes, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add sweet potato slices, turning occasionally, and cook for about 3 minutes.  Add garlic, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute.  Add wine and chicken stock and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until almost all of the liquid has evaporated.

Add brown sugar and salt and cook for about 10 minutes, carefully turning sweet potatoes to brown both sides.  Transfer to a plate and allow to cool.

Using a sharp paring knife, score a 3/4-inch border around pastry (do not cut all the way through).  Sprinkle cheese inside border, then add walnuts, rosemary and thyme and top with sweet potatoes, overlapping and pushing them into the dough in places.  Bake until pastry is golden, about 30 minutes.  Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

 

Enjoy dahhhlings!!

Gingerbread Apple Pancakes

There is nothing better than steaming hot pancakes and the smell of apples, cinnamon and nutmeg on a chilly Sunday morning.  After an emotionally charged weekend saying goodbye to my brother and watching his bus pull away en route to Afghanistan, these were just the pick-me-up I needed to finish off my long weekend.

Made with whole wheat flour, spiced with ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg, and tossed together with some unsweetened applesauce, these pancakes are lightened-up, yet taste sinfully delicious!  So on your next lazy weekend, feel free to indulge! 

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Servings: 16

Serving Size: 1 pancake

Calories: 92

Fat: 0.7 g

Carbs: 17.5 g

Fiber: 1.4 g

Protein: 3.6 g

Old Points: 1.6 pts

Points+: 2 pts

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Here are your ingredients:

 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups non-fat buttermilk

3 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce

 

In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, spices, baking soda and salt and make a well in the center of the flour mixture.  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk and applesauce and add to the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.  Batter will be slightly lumpy.

 

Heat a greased skillet over medium heat and spoon about 1/4 cup batter onto skillet.  Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side or until pancakes are golden brown.  Flip over when surface is bubbly and edges are slightly dry.  

 

Serve warm and garnish with fresh apple slices and a bit of pure maple syrup, enjoy!

 

Click here for a printable version of this recipe 

Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!
Happy Fall!