Birthday Brunch: One Post, Many Recipes

My first post back in Michigan is a goodie: 4 recipes in one!

We decided to celebrate my sister's 18th birthday a bit late (she wanted to wait for me to be back here) and so I suggested a yummy Birthday Brunch. I love brunch - guests feel like they are being spoiled when they hear they are going to "brunch." The idea conjures up images of sausage, eggs, bacon, waffles, pastas...it also makes me think of being stuffed passed the point of comfort. This is why I enjoy planning the menu: one carb, one protein, one sweet, one healthy - but each has a twist to make them unique. Planning a brunch party does NOT mean bogging yourself down with a ton of complicated recipes. It's sometimes better to have a few amazing options for your guests, so they don't end up picking a little off of everything and feeling stuffed but unsatisfied.

Here was our menu:

1) Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake : this recipe is great, no kidding. Very light and fluffy. I made the following alterations - I nixed the streusal topping; in my opinion it just adds fat without a good flavor trade off. So instead, I added blueberries. My trick so they don't fall to the bottom is to put a little batter on the bottom of the bundt and then press about 3/4 cup blueberries into it, then add the rest of the batter on top.

I also made a killer sauce to up the berry flavor: I just simmered down a small bag of frozen blueberries with a small bag of frozen raspberries and about 3 Tbs sugar. I let that cook over medium high heat until it thickened, adding about 1 tsp cornstarch towards the end. I serve the sauce over the cake, but let people do it themselves so the cake didn't get soggy.

2) Fruit Salad: My mom made the dressing for this - it's a little different every time but the general gist is that you mix about 3/4 cup sour cream with 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of almond extract. Mix this into a blend of bananas, apples, oranges, strawberries, and peaches. Then mix in 1 cup of mini marshmallows and top with toasted coconut and almonds.

3) Crust-less Quiche: This recipe was altered to make a 9x13 Pyrex. Mix 8-9 eggs with some salt and pepper. Add 1 1/2 cups of Bisquick and set aside. Layer 1 chopped, fried onion, 1 head of cauliflower chopped finely, and about 3 cups of some kind of meat into the Pyrex. I used spicy beef snacking sticks from Whole Foods, turkey bacon, and regular breakfast sausage. Over this pour the egg mixture and cover with 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (a spicy cheese would be good, too). Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes, then let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

4) Pasta Salad: Chop one head of broccoli, 4 carrots, 1/2 a block of feta cheese, and 1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes. Add 1 pound of cooked and drained fusilli pasta. Next, spoon in 1/3 cup olive tapenade, 1/4 cup Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Combine thoroughly to be sure every bit is coated. Serve cold or at room temperature.

And there you have it: a simple menu with outstanding flavor. Happy Birthday to my sissy! You are going to make a great Wolverine!!!!

Liquid Energy for the BusyBody

Looking for a way to squeeze a few more servings of fruits and veggies into your diet? Whip up a smoothie! And I don't want to hear any excuses about how you don't do this because you don't like cleaning the blender. That's just sad, y'all...

To become the king or queen of healthy smoothies, here are a few tricks:

1. Stock up on frozen fruits. Mango, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches. Those are in my freezer right now. I like having them frozen because they make the smoothie cold and frothy. Berries have great nutrients in them, so get an extra bag of those. And feel free to throw these into oatmeal in the morning - they are perfectly wonderful!

2) Fresh bananas. I like to add about 1/3 to a 1/2 of a banana in my smoothies. It's a great emulsifier and adds potassium and sweetness. Use a little over-ripened banana so you get full flavor without that, you know, brown taste. My secret trick here, since bananas all turn ripe at the same time, is to wait until they are perfect and cut them into the size I'd normally put in a smoothie. Then freeze them. 20 seconds in the microwave allows me to buy bananas in bulk and use them whenever I need them. And since they're already cut, I don't have to wrestle with a frozen 'nana.

3) Okay, do NOT be scared of the following picture. It was delicious! The green comes from spinach and here's probably one of the best pieces on news I have for you: you can add a cup of spinach to every smoothie and never taste it - considering you pair it with fruits. Kale or other dark leafy green works, too. But try this, for real, it's an excellent way to get more vitamins into your diet and a heck of a lot easier to sit by the computer with a smoothie than a sloppy salad you've drenched with dressing.

4) Add nut butters or nuts or wheat germ or flax seed. Again, these add more nutrients. And if you have a Vitamix (I do not, but I've used my Aunt's), you have no excuse not too because that thing pulverizes anything!

5) My final tip for you is to use almond milk. Vanilla is my favorite. It adds a bit more sweetness, because if you've noticed, I don't list sugar as an ingredient. Plus, almond milk doesn't go bad so you can stockpile if it's on sale. Experiment with brands you like - I am a fan of Silk Almond Milk myself.

Here's what I typically put in my smoothies. I try and drink one a day: as a breakfast boost, an afternoon revitalizer, or at night for dessert. Something good about drinking it at night is that I've done all my eating by then and I have an idea of what I missed. If I feel I didn't get enough antioxidants, then I make a berry smoothie.

1/2 cup - 1 cup spinach leaves

4 strawberries

3 slices peaches

1/3 large banana

1/2 cup almond milk

(you can even add a few tablespoons of Chobani flavored yogurt in here)

Pulverize and feel good that you're doing something for all your little cells :)

After I'm sure the smoothie is smooth, I use the froth setting to aerate it a bit - you get into a groove after a while and kind of know the consistency you like best.