DIY Detox Drinks

One of my "New Year's Resolutions" is to cut down on soft drinks.

We all try to drink our 8 glasses of water a day, but honestly, sometimes water is just plain boring.

And yes, I'll be the first to admit... I'm a Diet Peach Snapple junkie! I could drink an entire gallon at once. Although it has no calories or sugar, all the aspartame in there can't be particularly good for you.

With that being said, I decided to try some of the below easy DIY Detox Drinks.

Some of the benefits are boosted weight loss, less bloat, clearer skin and helps flush impurities out of your system. Plus, they are actually pretty refreshing!

Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

Sassy Water

2L water, 1 medium cucumber, 1 lemon, 10 mint leaves

Steep overnight in fridge.

Dr. Oz Swimsuit Slim Down Drink

1 Cup grapefruit juice, 2 tsp apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp honey.

Drink this 3x a day before each meal.

Strawberry Rosemary Detox Water

Add 1 Package thinly sliced strawberries and several springs rosemary to a jar.

Fill with water and let steep overnight. 

Jillian Michael's De-bloat Water

60 oz distilled water, 1 tablespoon sugar free cranberry juice, 1 dandelion root tea bag, 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

Sassy Water

Snow Day Photo Shoot

Yesterday was a wet, cold and snowy day here in NY. Harper is getting over a cold so we have been taking it easy inside the past few days. 

 That being said, I think i've seen just as much of Barney's "Mr Golden Sun" and "The Wheels on the Bus" that I can take.

So, to kill some time we played dress up and did a little photo shoot. 

I have to say, I think she rather enjoyed herself!

(Elmo even joined in on the fun)

Brunch Date

We had some friends over today for brunch, to see the new house, and of course play with Harper.

I decided to make a strata for two reasons. Most important, it's delicious.
Almost as important, I was able to make it the night before and then just bake it in the oven this morning, before they arrived. This was key because I knew I wouldn't have time to start cooking in the morning, between everything else that had to get done.

I highly recommend trying this recipe. You can assemble it up to 24 hours in advance, stick it in the fridge and then bake for an hour before you're ready to serve. It fills the entire house with delicious aromas, is hearty enough to serve as a main course and tastes like it took you hours to make (even though it is super simple).

I served mine aside a Caesar salad (recipe here), smoked salmon & croissants and of course, mimosa's.

Strata with Spinach, Sausage and Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

• 5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large yellow onions, finely chopped
  4 oz. French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 12 oz. Italian sausage, casings removed
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups spinach
• 8 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1 1/4 cups shredded Fontina, Swiss or Gruyere cheese (whichever you prefer or you can do a combo)
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma 
• 
  

Directions:

In a large pan over medium heat, warm 3 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onions, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are completely limp, 10 to 15 minutes. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are golden brown and sweet, 35 to 45 minutes; do not let them burn. Remove from the heat and let cool. You will need 2/3 cup caramelized onions for the strata; cover and refrigerate the remaining onions.

Butter a 10-inch nonstick braiser.

Put the bread in a large bowl.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm the remaining 2 Tbs. oil. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the bowl with the bread. 

 I used about half a baguettes worth of bread

I used  2 mild and one hot sausage 

Return the pan to medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the bread mixture.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs and half-and-half. Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture. Add the onions, cheese, salt and pepper and stir until well blended. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.

Preheat an oven to 350°F. 

Remove the plastic wrap from the pan. Bake the strata until golden brown and cooked through, about an hour. 

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

ready to go in the oven

Finished product!

Although the Strata was a hit, Harper was the real star of the day.

 A great day with great friends!

Easy and Delicious Caesar Salad

Making Caesar salad is a no go for a lot of people for two reasons. 

One, most people think that it is complicated to make and Two, that it is bad for you. 

This recipe is neither.

This is a quick, simple and scale friendly recipe. I make this ALL the time for an easy dinner as well as when I have company over. 

I always, always get requests for the recipe the next day.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup extra light olive oil

Salt and Pepper

3 peeled garlic cloves, minced

3 anchovy fillets, minced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

2 hearts romaine lettuce

1 egg (optional)

Parmesan Cheese shavings

Croutons (preferably homemade) 

Mince the 3 garlic cloves. On a flat surface use the back of a fork and mash garlic with 1/2 teaspoon of salt until it becomes paste like. 

Crush the anchovy fillets into the paste.

your paste should look something like this

Transfer the paste into the bowl that you will be serving the salad and whisk in the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. 

Add the lettuce leaves and croutons to the bowl with the dressing and mix well. If using an egg, break into the bowl and mix again. (If using a raw egg scares you, another yummy option is to hard boil the egg and chop it very finely and add that in).

Scatter Parmesan shavings over the salad and serve at once. 

You can also garnish with anchovy fillets, if you wish.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma

The power of smell

I can still remember the smell of the hotel we stayed at when vacationing in Mexico, a few years back. It smelled like a mix of the beach, a spa and citrus all combined together. I wanted to bottle it up and bring it home with me. Unfortunately, they didn't sell it.

Smells can set a mood and can bring you back to a place in time. 

Below are some of my favorite home scents.

Jo Malone; Orange Blossom scent

Mrs Meyer's Clean Day; Basil scent

Capri Blue; Citrine Scent

diptyque Paris; Baies scent

Antica Farmacista; Orange Blossom, Lilac and Jasmine Scent

Votivo; Red Currant scent

Meat and Potatoes

I have always thought of meat loaf as something my grandma would make. Boy was I wrong!

With this freezing spell outside I needed something to warm my bones and fill the house with yummy smells. I decided to abandon my stigma that only "old ladies" make meat loaf and give it a whirl. I looked up some recipes and the below recipe from Ina Garten not only sounded delish but got great reviews. 

 It was simple, quick and truly tasted delicious. Hers called for 5 pounds of ground turkey (I don't mind left overs but 5 pounds sounded like we would be eating meat loaf till Memorial Day). So I tweaked it a bit and changed it to 3 pounds. Trust me, this will still leave you with plenty of leftovers to make yummy meat loaf sandwiches the next day. 

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tbsp tomato paste

3 pounds ground turkey

1 cup Italian style bread crumbs

2 eggs, beaten

ketchup

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a baking sheet generously with cooking spray.

In a medium pan over medium heat cook the onions, oil, S&P and thyme until they're translucent. Be careful not to burn them. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire, chicken broth and tomato paste and stir all together until well mixed. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate bowl fold together the turkey, eggs, bread crumbs and onion mixture. Fold gently till it is all mixed and then stop. (You don't want to play with it too much or it will make the meat loaf tough)

Form the meat into a rectangular loaf on the pan. Spread ketchup on top and bake for about 75 minutes  or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. 

ready to go in the oven

With meat obviously comes potatoes. (I was going for hearty if you didn't get that already).

I always wanted to try making these crispy smashed potatoes. It was SO simple to do and they came out better then any potato dish I had made in the past.

Ingredients

Small round potatoes (I bought a bag of about 12 of them at the market)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Herbs of your choice (I used fresh chives, thyme and parsley)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add potatoes. Boil until they are fork tender. (This took about 20 minutes but just stick your fork in after about 15 to check). In the meantime line a baking sheet with aluminum and spray very generously with either cooking spray or use olive oil. Make sure you use enough or they will stick!

Take out the potatoes and set on the baking sheet. (Leave enough room in between them because they will grow once smashed). With a potato masher (If you don't have this you can just use a glass) gently press down on each potato until it is slightly mashed. Brush the tops of each mashed potato with either olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle on S&P, garlic powder and herbs of your choice.

Bake in 450 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until tops get crispy and golden brown.

Enjoy!

DIY, Pretty Packaging

What's worse then leaving a gift to wrap for the last minute and then having to pick up some ugly, overpriced gift bag at the drug store.

Below are some great DIY packaging idea's. They not only will make your present stand out and look super cute, but will save you money as well!

 Basic Kraft Paper with Pom Pom's and String

 "Packed With Love" Tape.

You can purchase here

 Slip the box in fabric of your choice and tie a knot.

Simple as that!

"4 U"

 Newspaper and Red String Stitching

 Kraft Paper and Lace

Kraft Paper and Neon Dot Stickers

Chalkboard Gift Wrap

Colorful Yarn

 Flag Garland out of Duck Tape and String

Obsession, St. Germain

If you are a fan of cocktails, as am I, then you have probably come across St. Germain Liqueur before. 

It is made from elderflower;  a small, white starry flower that has hints of lychee and pear.

When we recently had friends over I wanted to serve something different then the usual vino.

I came across the below recipe and knew I had to try it. It was so simple to make and tasted light and fresh. The perfect cocktail to start the evening. 

Elderflower Champagne Cocktail

Fill a tumbler with ice. Fill 3/4 of the glass with Prosecco or Champagne. 

Add thinly sliced cucumber and mint and top off with a splash of St. Germain.

recipe via zested