Ham and Cheddar Cauliflower Soup

Hello, Hello!

I am here with a yummy, let's use up our leftover ham, soup recipe! We made a big roast and we have way too much ham. We have made sandwiches, omelettes, salads, you name it. Now it's time for a soup. I enjoyed this one very much and I hope you do too!

This recipe makes 4 servings.

Here's what you need:

• 1 diced onion
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 4 cups of cauliflower
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup of cooked ham, chopped
• 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp sage

Step one:

Fry up the onion, garlic and the celery in the 2 tsps of olive oil. Once the onion starts to go clear add in the cauliflower, chicken broth, parsley, sage , salt and pepper.

Step two:

Bring the broth to a boil. Cover and let it simmer at medium to high heat. You want to do this until the cauliflower becomes soft. 

Step three:

Once the cauliflower is cooked, remove the pot from the heat. Process the mixture until it becomes smooth and there are no more chunks. 

Step four:

Now it's the last step. Add the cooked ham and the cheese. VOILA.. time to eat.

Serve with some extra cheese on top. Yes please!

xo

Grilled Veggie, Hummus & Chicken Panini {Made on the BBQ}

Good morning, GOOD MORNING! How are you all doing today?  I am going to be honest, I only woke up a half an hour ago, so I am doing really good! Last night Dan, our friend Christie & I went to see the avengers in 3D! So gooooood! It took a long time for the movie to come to our theatre in English! We actually only get 1 English movie a week & it is only 1 showing :( So sad.
Today is my day off work & it  is one of those days that I have a loooooong to do list. I don't seem to mind so much today because it is sunny outside & I am sure I will take a little break midday to layout & enjoy it! Also Dan had a surprise date day planned for us tomorrow, so it looks like we have an exciting weekend ahead of us! Oh yes, now to the point of this post, the food!
These paninis are fabulous let me tell you. It was the perfect meal for a hot summers night! My in laws made this when we went for a visit last summer & I have been dying to make them myself! So here we are. The perfect grilled panini.
You are going to need:

• 1 bread dough recipe. this will make about 16 paninis. feel free to cut the recipe in half.
• 3-4 grilled chicken breasts OR we used leftover chicken thighs from a few nights ago. You would even use the store bought whole chicken & break them into pieces. Anyhow, you just need some chicken :)
• grilled veggies of your choice! we used grilled zucchini, green & red peppers
• red onion, sliced
• lettuce of choice. we used spinach
• hummus of choice. we bought chipotle hummus. it gave it a really good spice!
• grated mozzarella cheese 

Whole wheat bread dough:

IN a large bowl pour 2 cups of lukewarm water

ADD:

• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup of oil
• 1 tablespoon of yeast
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of Italian herbs

Gradually add 2 cups of whole wheat flour, then 3 1/2 cups of white flour. At first stir it with a fork, but once you can't do that any more, take the ball of dough and put it on a lightly floured surface. Kneed the dough down for about 8-10 minutes. Shape it into a ball, place it in a lightly greased bowl and roll the dough around so it gets covered in the oil. Let it sit for 30-45 minutes so it can rise.

Step one:

While your bread dough is rising prepare your chicken & grilled veggies. I brushed some olive oil & fresh garlic on my zucchini & I cooked the peppers on the stove top because I didn't want to risk losing them on the bbq! Also prepare your chicken however you would like & grate your cheese. 

Step two:

Once your bread dough has risen, pound it down & then break it into pieces. I recommend rolling it out to about the size of a medium dinner plate. We rolled out our dough into massive paninis & we only made 6 LARGE paninis. We ended up cutting them into "sandwich size" after the cooking was done. So please roll them out to be the size of a medium dinner plate. You also don't want it too thick because that it will make it harder to cook. Then oil them on both sides.

rollin..

Step three:

Make sure that both sides of your dough are greased then plop it onto the bbq! Only let it sit on the bbq for a few minutes each side. You don't want it to burn, but you want it to cook all the way through. Once cooked take it off the bbq.

**please remember that our paninis are extremely large. Basically they were the size of pizzas!**

Step four:

Now that it is off the bbq fill it will everything delicious! We bought chipotle hummus & it was amazing. Totally recommend it. Make sure you leave enough to fill all the paninis! Don't get to excited on the first one & overfill it ;)

Fold it over and grill it just for a minute or two to make the cheese all melty.

Lastly, enjoy every single bite! We will be enjoying these paninis today & probably tomorrow seeing as we have so many left! 

Sorry everyone that was a really long post! I just really wanted you guys to see the process step by step! 

I am off to go do my devos, and go for my workout!

What are your plans for the weekend? anything exciting?

xo

{Decadent} Cheesecake Filled Strawberries

Like I said before, I love Pinterest. This idea comes from there. I made these last night for Dan and I. We enjoyed a romantic evening of these strawberries, tea and the tv show Curious and Unusual Deaths. haha sounds romantic right? haha. We actually love anything on Discovery channel. If we feel like watching something together, it's normally from that channel. These strawberries HIT THE SPOT. for real. I will make these again.
They are super easy to make. Here is what you need:

• 1 brick of low fat cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 tbsps icing sugar
• 1 pkg of strawberries
• chocolate syrup (or melted chocolate, because that would taste so much better)

Step one:

In a bowl beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla.

Step two:

Cut out the centre of your strawberries & stuff them with the cream cheese!

Last step:

Drizzle with chocolate sauce. Then enjoy!

xoxo

Pear, feta & spinach salad with honey mustard dressing {for two}

I can guarantee that you will enjoy every bite of this salad. A bed of spinach, with the sweetness of a pear and the richness of feta cheese, you will make it again and again! This is my own recipe. Look at me, I'm starting to make my own recipes! Yay! Here is what you will need to make this for two :)

-2 cups of baby spinach
-1/4 of a cucumber, chopped into small bite size pieces
-1 pear sliced
-2 hearty slices of feta cheese, chopped into bite size pieces

Now use your creativity and put together a beautiful salad for two using the above ingredients!

Honey mustard dressing:
This dressing makes the salad so good.
Mix together:

• 1 tbsp mustard
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 -2 tbsp honey (It helps if you warm it up. It mixes and pours easier)
• 1 garlic clove minced

Enjoy ;)

xo