Skinny Vanilla Glazed Raspberry Swirl Scones

October 1, 2014 by Christine Skari

Stare deeply into your computer screen into the swirly depths of these scones. Vibrant red whirls of raspberry goodness. Are you hypnotized yet? 😯

You take one bite of these and you’re sold. Tender golden scone bites that are punctuated with sweet and tart bits of sugar-coated raspberries. I repeat, SUGAR-COATED RASPBERRIES. OH! And that drippy vanilla glaze. Mhm. It delivers the perfect extra touch of sweetness and just makes them look oh so cute, doncha think? So pretty in pink!

Kyle and I are heading back up to Santa Barbara tomorrow night, so I thought it would be good to get in one last baking session at my parent’s house before getting back to a crowded kitchen. I don’t think I’m ready to jump back into class and studying… what a rude awakening from the last few vacation weeks I’ve had of binge watching Netflix, spending all day in pjs, camping, and scone-making. While the house I’m living in up at SB is gorgeous and has a big kitchen, the temperature knobs on the oven have had their measurements rubbed off from years of use, so we aren’t to sure how hot things are really getting in there. I’ve had more than my share fair of burnt cookies and rock-hard brownies and was not about to risk the lives of my little rosy love bites.

NOT THESE SCONES OVEN. You can’t win this one.

These raspberry scones are deceiving, and not in a bad way. Full of sweet flavor and flaky dough, they seem like they should be packed with tons of calories, but they’re actually much lighter than most baked goods and come in at less than 250 calories each! I love when you can lighten up normally indulgent comfort food so that you feel better about treating yourself everyday! Whole wheat flour and light on the sugar, but still full of flavor! Yummers.

Shrimp Wonton Soup

September 24, 2014 by Christine Skari

A comforting and delicious recipe for shrimp wonton soup that’s not only easy, but healthy and filling with only 110 calories for a huge serving!

Are you hungry yet?

Specifically, are you hungry for a healthy and comforting soup that’s filled to the brim with flavor and steamy-hot homemade shrimp wontons? Yeah? Me too.

I know I mentioned this in my last post, but I’ve been in a bit of a food blogging funk for the last two weeks or so. A combination of diving into the portrait photography world and a weekend camping trip in Big Bear have sucked up most of my time and interest, and to be honest, cooking in a hot kitchen just doesn’t seem to be too appealing to me. Yup, California is embracing the Fall with 90 degree weather, which is putting a major damper on my plans for #OMGpumpkinspicelattesEVERYDAY and cold-weather food.

Sometimes, though, you get a craving at 7:30 in the morning for a big steamy bowl of shrimp wonton soup and nothing, not even hothothot weather or the fact that you haven’t had your morning coffee yet so you can barely type out a text messages canceling your morning gym session with your boyfriend because you’re taking a “rest day” from all the strenuous chewing you’ve been doing the last few days (don’t want to exert myself too much, you know how it is) can stop you from making it. What am I even saying?

Sorry, it’s hard to concentrate with photos like this staring you in the face. Like, COME TO MAMA.

This is one of those recipes that’s just plain good. It fills you up and makes you feel full, but not overly weighed down since it’s made with a broth base, filled with perfectly cooked fresh veggies, and a lean shrimp filling. One bite into a tender wonton with a small sip of broth and trust me, you will be in lightened-up comfort food heaven! Talk about a perfect combination of health and deliciousness- this is my kind of meal.

I know wontons can seem a bit intimidating to make at first, but they’re easy as pie. You can find pre-made wonton skins in the refrigerated asian section at most grocery stores and they honestly come together in a flash!

One small note with this recipe, it should be served immediately or within 30 minutes of cooking the wontons in the broth or else they will absorb too much of the liquid if left to soak! Eaters beware!

Chorizo Huevos Rancheros

September 9, 2014 by Christine Skari

A crunchy baked tortilla that’s chock full of fresh veggies, flavorful chorizo, and topped with a perfectly cooked egg! These Chorizo Huevos Rancheros are the perfect way to start your day!

I never want summer to end. The toasty warm weather, relaxing vacations in Hawaii, the lazy mornings spent chopping fresh veggies to make a delicious and hearty breakfast. In other words, I want every day to be chorizo huevos rancheros day!

I’m going to be honest here and throw out that I’ve been more of an oatmeal-for-breakfast kinda girl for the last few years, and this is one of the first times I’ve gone the extra mile to make something savory to start the day. It’s not that I necessarily enjoy sweeter things for breakfast more, it’s just that I have my whole oatmeal routine down.

It goes something like this:

Take out the Quaker oats container. Throw a few handfuls into a big bowl, add water and a sliced banana. Microwave for two minutes (laziness reigns supreme when I haven’t had my morning latte yet). Stir in a splash of vanilla extract and a mountain of cinnamon and sprinkle brown sugar on top. Done and done. Easy as that.

While these do take a bit more time than my morning oats, they are so worth it. The crunch from the baked corn tortilla that’s supplemented by a giant burst of flavor from all the chopped veggies. That drippy egg yolk that gloriously breaks in slow-mo and drizzles over every part of the dish. Oh! And good amount of queso to top the whole thing off and add a soft and creamy texture. Can you hear my heart pounding?? I think I’m in love.

I pass these off as a breakfast food, but c’mon, look at how versatile they are! They’re a cross between a deconstructed omelet and crunchy taco, which automatically allows them to traverse the breakfast-lunch-dinner boundary.

As usual, I had Kyle by my side throughout the cooking process to help be my official taste tester and overeater. It’s a hard job, but he’s always up for a challenge. I actually put him to more work than usual this time and had him cook up the eggs and left him busy trying to form a “good-looking egg”, which he obviously took to mean perfectly circular. Kyle is the type of guy that gets borderline obsessed with trying to figure out how to fix or make things a certain way. Like I mentioned before, the engineer in him gets him fixated on any and all projects. Sunny side up eggs are no exception.

25 minutes later and with scraps of egg and cookie cutters lying around (don’t ask, he tried to use them as a mold), I forced him to give up. While the perfectly circular egg eluded us, this recipe was still a big success ;).

Healthy Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins

September 3, 2014 by Christine Skari

These past few weeks I’ve been on a big pancake kick.

I tend to cycle through my breakfasts and lately it’s been oatmeal—>eggs—>PANCAKES. There’s just something about a fluffy stack with golden maple syrup dripping down. I mean, just look at that picture above. Isn’t maple syrup a thing of beauty? So shiny 😯 .

The one drawback of pancakes is that they usually require a sit-down meal at a table and 15-20 minutes to make in the morning. While I love a lazy Sunday morning brunch, on the weekdays I’m usually in a rush and don’t have much time to spend hovering over a frying pan. And then it hit me… the answer to all of my (pancake) problems: pancake muffins! I loved the idea of putting pancakes in an easy-to-grab form so I could eat them on the run. While I’ve been enjoying these with maple syrup, they would be awesome with a smidge of peanut butter!

To ensure that I could eat pancakes on a daily basis without feeling weighed-down from all the sugar and hungry 30 minutes later, I pimped these bad boys out with whole wheat flour and only one tablespoon of butter in the entire batch. Hooray! Each pancake muffin comes out to only 70 calories and a bit of fiber and protein to help fuel you through your day. It’s a great alternative to sugar-filled cereal and will make even the most fussy eaters happy!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread with Vanilla Glaze

September 1, 2014 by Christine Skari

I think the world would be a better place if we just sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on everything. I swear, that stuff is what dreams are made of. I want to roll in it. Bathe in it. I want my first child to be a sugar cube. That, my friends, is commitment.

Also, what did I just say?

I know I’m not making much sense right now. I blame it on the food coma I’m in from the long Labor Day weekend. One thing you should know about my family is that we looooveeeee to eat. Love love love to eat. We’re the kinda people who will be sitting at an all-you-can-eat buffet, stuffing our mouths with crab legs and pasta salad, and be talking about what our next meal will be. Some call us glutinous. We prefer insatiable flavor and texture investigators.

So anyways, this last long weekend was full of food. We had some German friends stay over for the week, and to celebrate before they left, we decided to hold an early party on Sunday and invited all of our extended family. We deemed it our “Axis Powers Party” since we had apple streusel and three types of German sausage, Japanese sashimi and octopus salad, and Italian appetizers. Pretty original party theme, huh?

Annnnnd today, I went over to Kyle’s family’s house and feasted on enormous tacos, apple pie, and chocolate cake.

I am so full I could pass out. I am never eating again… until tomorrow.

But back to this bread. Let me tell ya a bit about THIS bread.

First off, the amount of deliciousness in this bread is out of control. Perfectly moist, a thick double layer of swirled cinnamon and sugar, and drippy vanilla glaze. This is BY FAR the best cinnamon swirl bread I’ve ever had in my life.

Second off, I can’t even remember what else I was going to say. I keep looking at my screen at these photos and wanting to stuff 7 pieces in my mouth pronto.

TELL ME YOU’RE AS EXCITED AS I AM.

This is the kind of bread that makes you excited to get up in the morning. I’m typing this up at 10 o’clock at night and honestly can’t wait for it to be morning so I can dive into a slice with a cup of coffee in hand. *Swoon*. That’s a perfect morning, if you ask me!

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home