C&G November

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Documenting the big moments in life have become increasingly important to me and in an attempt to get better at it this year I will be doing a monthly series C&G (or Chuck and Ginger). I hope to use this series as a way to remember our first year of marriage together. Each month I will include the event’s from the 19th of the previous month to the 18^th of the current month, allowing the series to end on our first anniversary.

Find past C&G posts here.

At the end of October they dressed up as Peg & Al Bundy for Halloween and went to a pretty cool party.

With the house in running order they decided to cut a big hole in the wall and add a sliding door in the dining room with the help of Poppa Chuck.

He went hunting and brought home the big prize!

She visited old friends and reveled in a weekend away.

They both enjoyed Friendsgiving and a weekend home together and relaxed mornings for the first time in a long time.

The end of November is all about them working together to prepare and store the big prize to last the year and getting ready for the upcoming holiday season.

10 of the Best Around the Table Dinner Party Games

By Jessica

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Chuck and I dinner-party a lot (yep I just made that a verb). We have a large group of friends who like to dinner party and we rotate locations and styles year round, getting together at least once a month, and often more. Over the years one would think that we would get sick of each other or run out of things to say, but that never seems to be the case. We are lucky to all have many, and varied interests that keep the conversations flowing, however once in a while we like to change things up. Typically this happens in the form of games….

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta & Balsamic

By Jessica

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This is a recipe for a roasted beet salad that is full of flavor and tons of greens!

I’m not going to lie beets are kind of a new thing around our house. Aside from the token serving of Harvard beets at the holidays at Momma Chuck’s house I had never really been exposed to them. That Harvard beet recipe is delicious by the way; I’m just told it’s a lot of work.

Honestly I think I was afraid of them. That sounds ridiculous but let me explain. Beets are messy, and they stain everything. They have a very strong flavor and what the hell do you cook with them? However since I started this whole Part Time Vegetarian thing that I waxed on about earlier this week I have gotten so much more adventurous with my foods.

I don’t know where but somewhere I read that our ancestors ate something like 150 ingredients in a week and the modern western diet includes 20 items. Based on this idea I can’t believe that we are getting all the vitamins and nutrients that we need from these 20 items alone. There are so many more fruits and vegetables available for me locally than I often eat so I’m kind of on a quest to try them all and add them to my regular diet. If I eat more varied stuff I eat regularly the more good stuff I can get in my body from nature and therefore hopefully gain a higher functioning, healthier body. Right? Isn’t that the goal? I think it is.

So anyway that’s why I decided to try beets and as it turns out they are actually pretty good. Chuck even approves. So far I have roasted them up with a bunch of other vegetables and with this salad. What I really like about this salad is that it’s unique and can be served as a great starter for just about any fall dinner. The ton of antioxidants and health food power in it is just a bonus.

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta & Balsamic

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients

6 small beets, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup baby arugula
2 cups baby spinach
1 cup baby Swiss chard
2 cups kale, chopped
4 ounces feta cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Toss the beets with oil, salt, pepper and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring once or twice. Should be tender when poked with a fork. Sprits with lemon juice and let stand for 3 to 4 minutes.
For the Dressing: In a small bowl combine the balsamic vinegar, Dijon, honey, and olive oil until well combined.
In a large serving bowl toss the lettuces together. Top with beets and crumbled feta.
Serve with dressing on the side.

Meal Plan 11.15.15

By Jessica

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If you were around last week then you know that Chuck and I are trying to get back in to the healthy eating game. This is a two week strictly clean eating plan and this is week two. You’ll find that the recipes from this week are lower on carbs and higher on vegetables and lean proteins.

While snack this week will mostly be the same stuff as last week The breakfasts and lunches will be a bit different. I made breakfast burritos with eggs, homemade pico de gallo, spinach & cheese. I also made Ground Turkey Fried Rice for lunches when their isn’t leftovers.

Monday – Thai Ground Chicken Salad

Tuesday – 20 Minute Chicken Noodle Soup

Wednesday – Squash & Spinach Risotto with Salad

Thursday – Venison Chili & Salad

Friday – Lemon Pepper Baked Fish w/ Spaghetti Squash & steamed Broccoli

Honey Chili Veggie Pizza with Lemon

By Jessica

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This is a recipe for a vegan Honey Chili Veggie Pizza with Lemon that can easily be made vegan and makes for a great appetizer.

Honey Chili Veggie Pizza

Before we dive into today’s recipe I want to take a moment to mention Food Blogger Pro, a website dedicated to helping food bloggers learn, grow, & monetize your blog. Membership enrollment will close on November 19th, and not be available again until spring 2016, with total membership being capped at 2,000 members! Don’t wait join now before you miss out.

Now on to this cheese-less sauce-less pizza.

This is an interesting one. I came up with it on a whim as I was trying to come up with new and interesting appetizer’s that are dairy free. Why dairy free you ask? Because one of our close friends has an allergy. I always make it a point to bring something that she can have, because that’s what good friends do, plus it gives me an excuse to flex my creative cooking muscles. As it turned out this pizza is actually vegan and makes a great appetizer!

This pizza came together quite easily and I was pleased with the results, as was the rest of the crowd. I actually got the idea from another Blue Apron Recipe. My favorite part of that recipe was the honey chili and I thought that the cheese kind of took away from that, because well cheese is delicious and tends to steal the show. So in remaking this recipe I decided to go cheese less and on that same note I went sauce less too, using sliced whole tomatoes instead. I think this made the whole thing a lot fresher.

All in all I think this is a great summer/early fall recipe, since it’s light and fresh and would go wonderfully with a nice chilled glass of sauvignon blanc. Now picture that on your back patio? Good scene right?

For the pizza dough you can use a pre-made store bought version or make your own. I really like this recipe and use it for pretty much all my pizzas. To make it vegan swap out the honey for maple syrup or agave.

Honey Chili Veggie Pizza

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: Serves 6

Ingredients

1 lb plain pizza dough recipe
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus more)
3-4 gloves of garlic, minced
8 ounces baby spinach, chopped
1 tomato sliced thin
¼ red onion, sliced thing
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons honey
¼ teaspoon cracked red pepperflakes
¼ teaspoon chili powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
Lay the pizza out on a rimmed baking pan or pizza stone.
In a large skillet heat oil and garlic over medium high heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until the garlic begins to brown and become fragrant. Remove from heat and use a brush to gently spread the garlic oil over the pizza dough until it is coated in a thin glossy layer.
Add more oil to the pan if needed and return to heat. Stir in the spinach and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until wilted. Remove from heat and set aside. Once cooled slightly use a strainer to press down the spinach and remove as much of the liquid as possible.
Arrange the sliced tomato and onions on the pizza dough. Sprinkle with lemon zest. Spread the spinach over the top of the pizza.
Place the pizza in the oven and cook for 18 minutes, or until the outer crust begins to brown.
While the pizza cooks combine the honey, cracked red pepper and chili powder.
Once browned remove the pizza from the oven and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle with honey chili combination and sprits with as much lemon juice as desired.
Cut into slices and serve Immediately.

What are some of your favorite pizza toppings?

C&G November

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