Lunch In The Summer

So I'm no food blogger (or food photographer) but I found this recipe when I went to a cute cafe called Toute Suite. Avocado and chicken salad are two of my favs so why not put the chicken salad in the avocado?? Genius! So since then I've resorted to making this super simple and relatively healthy lunch quite often. So I encourage you to try it! Also, on a side note I made my first smoothie today for my hubby. Go new blenders!

What you need:

Mayo

Onion

Chicken *cook your own if you have the time

Celery

Avocados *1 for each person

I don't use specific measurements but here is a good estimate:

1 stalk of celery chopped
1/2 of a small onion chopped
1/2 Cup mayo (add more if too dry)
Pepper to taste
Thyme to taste
Paprika to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl

Cut each avocado in half and spoon in chicken salad! Top with pepper if you'd like and enjoy! 

Oh and here is a cutie drinking a smoothie! 

Potato Soup

Spending the weekend at my grandparents always means cooking of some sort! Which is why I'm posting another recipe so soon! Exciting, right??  Oh and I'm posting from my iPad today. Maybe this is a popular thing to do? But I'm old school and prefer my laptop. Okay, enough rambling... onto the food! 

One of my favorite meals to make (if you consider soup a meal) is potato soup. This is something I've been making since I learned to cook (which was forever ago). Here's whatcha do:

*Disclaimer: I'm not big on measurements other than by eye sight 

Recipe: 

3-6 potatoes (depends on how much soup you wanna make)

1-2 celery stalks 

1/2-1 small onion (up to you)

Milk

Butter

Celery salt

Pepper 

Salt 

Directions: 

1. Peel potatoes

2. Chop onion, potatoes, and celery 

3. Place in pan with water, boil until potatoes are plenty soft

4. Strain most of the water out of the pan, place back on heat

5. Add butter (2 Tablespoons, or however much you feel) 

6. Add milk (as much as you want depending on how much soup you're making)

7. Add celery salt, pepper, salt. 

8. Continue to heat on stove, then serve! 

White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

Hello loves! I have been wanting to make these ever since my mom made them for a tea party we went to before I moved to Texas. They are sooo good! Now I'm not really sure if this is the exact recipe that she used because I looked it up and there are a TON of recipes to choose from. This one is from The Prepared Pantry. These are a MUST try!

Now for this recipe you can decide if you want to turn the dough out and cut nice scones or you can choose to do what I did and make the drop biscuits. Not as pretty, but still just as tasty!!

Recipe: 

2 C. all purpose flour

1/4 C. sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter, chilled

1 egg

*buttermilk to make 1 cup with the egg. (I used skim milk TRUST ME they still turned out awesome!)

1/2 C. white chocolate chips

1/2 C. dried cranberries

Visit The Prepared Pantry to view the baking directions

Check out the vintage bowls I found at my brother's apartment! How cool! (not sure why he has them though, kinda girly for his taste he.he)

Pita Pizza

Any pizza lovers out there?? This girl is!

I'm going to share with you one of my favorite pizza/flat breads. Inspired by my friend who made this for me when I was sick over spring break. All you need is a few ingredients and voila! PIZZA! (or at least I call it pizza, you may think its more of a flat bread)

Ingredients:

+ Pesto

+ Garlic

+ Onion

+ Tomato

+ Pita bread or Naan

+ Cheese - your choice

(I pick mozzarella usually. Fresh mozzarella is a stellar choice too.) 

 1. Set your oven to 350 

2. Put foil on a cookie sheet or pizza pan

3. Place Naan or pita bread in center of pan

4. Chop onion and slice tomato

*Side note: I'm not a big fan of measurements when it comes to my random cooking

5. Spread pesto and garlic on top of bread

6. Throw some onion on it... as much as you like. I like a little A LOT!

7. Next sprinkle on a pinch HANDFUL of cheese

cheese is not a matter taken lightly in my house

less is more MORE IS MORE

8. Place your tomatoes on top! 

9. BAKE for 15 minutes-25 minutes 

(depends on the size of your pita/naan bread)

I baked this one for 15

And there ya have it! Simple as ever!

Oreo Cheesecake

Happy Monday! Here is a little treat for you on this sunny day.

Oreo Cheesecakes! :) These are delicious! 

Head on over to Desperate Chefwife to read my guest post and learn how to make these wonderful treats!

Guest Post // Desperate Chefwife

Hi my lovely followers! Happy Saturday :) Today Shannon, the lovely lady from Desperate Chefwife, will be guest posting about a delicious dessert recipe!



Hey guys I’m Shannon Thomas from Desperate Chefwife! I am super excited about posting on Infinite Illumination today! Abby and I met through some twists of online fate, and I am so glad we did! She is so cute, and talented and I love this site!
Today I have a treat for all of you, and would only ask for one teensy thing in return. Take the link to my blog and become a follower, and if you REALLY wanted to help me out, go “like” me on facebook. I would appreciate it so much I might even hunt you down and give you one of these.

That’s just one.

 

This is 3…

I’ll just let that sink in for a few more seconds while I describe what this is.

Triple

Layer

Cookies

&

Cream

Nutella

Crunch

Bars.

After making these and taking and editing the pictures I panicked, and immediately had to email Abby and ask if she was a “healthy recipes only” person, because this wasn’t going to fit that bill.

She said she liked the “bad stuff”

A girl after my own heart I tell ya.

So what are these things?

A layer of gooooeeyy brownies filled with oreos (look how cute!)

Covered with crushed oreos and chocolate chips

  

All married together with a blissful mixture of nutella and melted chocolate. I love the term marriage in cooking and in life, because really, what is better than marriage? Or nutella mixed with melted chocolate? Absolutely nothing.

  

So here’s the recipe. Really. Try it. I dare you. You will wow everyone. Then make sure you tell me how it goes, and come to me again and again for other fantastic recipes.

Enjoy!

Triple Layer Cookies & Cream Nutella Crunch Bars

½ cup butter, at room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 ¼ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

3 TBL cocoa powder

1 ½ cups chocolate chips

½ cup Nutella

20 oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 350

Butter and flour an 8x8 pan

Mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (really, we are going for whipped here, so it might take like 5-7 minutes)

Mix in 1 egg at a time, then add the vanilla

Add Cocoa powder and stir until well combined

Throw in the flour and salt, and mix until just combined.

Pour batter into the pan, and sink 9 oreos into the batter and press them down (like the picture above)

Bake for 25-30 min

While the brownie layer is cooking add the remaining 11 oreos (seriously, when I did it, it took me like 5 minutes to figure out how many oreos to crush “20-9 is….hmmm….”)

Don’t crush them to a powder, just to little chunks, then add ½ cup of the chocolate chips.

When the brownie layer is finished cooking, sprinkle the oreo/chocolate chip mixture over the whole thing and cook for another 2-3 minutes

Melt the remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave (if you do that, PLEASE be careful, 30 second increments, and stir between every time, so you don’t burn them!) or in a double boiler. Add the nutella and stir until smooth.

When the oreo/chocolate chip layer is done, dump the chocolate/nutella mixture on top, and spread very carefully so it’s all even. Then shake the pan like you are panning for gold. You want to get the chocolate in the crevices of all the oreos so it sticks to the brownie layer.

Put in the fridge for at least 2 hours, then pull out and serve at room temperature with a fat glass of milk. Really you will need it.

Then go “follow” Desperate Chefwife because she brought these pieces of heaven into your life.

Thanks guys!

  

 Adapted from How Sweet it is

cake pops

Friday morning always seem to end up being my baking time. This morning I made cake pops for the first time! I bought the babycakes cake pop maker which I give an A+. It works really really well! This weekend I am going to Okoboji for the winter games. I am so excited to spend time with my lovely boyfriend and my amazing best friend and all the other people I will see. So of course I needed to make something delish to bring with me. These turned out so beautiful! Luckily I had the other Abby offer up some colorful marshmallows to crush up and sprinkle on top of them. Props to her for the adorable idea!

Recipe:


1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 C. butter (softened)
1 C. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. milk
2 tbsp. cocoa


1. combine flour, baking powder and salt. set aside
2. In a separate bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla
3. Alternately blend in flour mixture and milk into butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
4. Add 2 tbsp. cocoa
5. (if making in babycake maker) fill each reservoir with about 1 tablespoon of batter
6. Bake 4 to 5 minutes
7. allow to cool and decorate as desired.


(recipe is modified from the babycake book that comes with the maker)

have your cake and eat it too

Cupcakes, cupcakes, cupcakes! I love love love them! Obviously you can tell that I am a little obsessed with cupcakes. However, I have a legit reason why I made these (not that you need to have any reason at all). You see, the thing about being an elementary education major is that we get to bring snacks to class! Today was my day to bring snacks for the entire class and of course I chose cupcakes! This class is in the morning and so I thought why not mix some type of breakfast food and cupcake together. Cinnamon roll cupcakes! Ta-Da! I cannot take all the credit for creating these though... the other Abby helped me make these since I had to make so many of them.

the process to make these is quite time consuming because you have to put a layer of batter in and then put the cinnamon mixture in and swirl it then repeat another layer of batter and cinnamon.

This is what it looks like when you swirl the cinnamon mixture in!

Found via Bakingdom

Cake time :)

 

Hello lovelies! Today I had the pleasure of doing some baking. This weekend is my Grandma's birthday party and with my love of decorating I volunteered to make a cake. 

 

I even had enough batter to make a few of these little pretties <3 

Cake Recipe

Frosting Recipe

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