Cucumber Mint Green Juice

First off, HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY, friends! To be completely honest, I was posting this green juice today — without thought of the holiday! How perfectly fitting! (I love when that happens!) Now on to the recipe!

Green Juice cucumber + mint {simply happenstance}Cucumber Mint Green Juice //

A few months ago, I bought my first juicer (after watching the fabulous documentary… Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead). I did my online research, as I wanted a juicer that got the job done well, without a huge mess to clean up afterwards. I also didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on my first one (in case my new found obsession became short lived). I ended up purchasing the Breville Compact Juice Fountain, after reading some excellent reviews. (For sure do some price comparison shopping because I found a site that offered 10% off your first purchase + free shipping, so I only spent around $85! I think I got a huge bargain!) I am happy to report that I’ve been using my juicer a few times per week ever since it arrived! 

refreshing and energizing cucumber mint green juice simply happenstance

I put a lot of consideration into whether or not I should post a ‘juicing’ recipe on here, as I understand owning a juicer is somewhat of a luxury. For those of you that already own one… this is a delicious green juice recipe to add to your mix. For those of you that are considering a juicer… I say GO FOR IT! (It is such an excellent way to add fruits and vegetables into your diet!) For those of you wondering why you may want to juice, check out this lovely post on the site, Simple Green Smoothies, for information on the difference between juicing and blending. What I personally love most about juicing, is the instant boost of energy I feel after drinking a glass! It really helps in the afternoon when I am in the mid-day slump (which for me, is around 3 p.m. when the kids come home from school).  [Read more…]

Summer Pasta Salad

Summer Pasta Salad-4

:: Summer Pasta Salad ::

Do you find, in the summer, that you cook less or look for easier recipes? I certainly do! Our days have been filled with outings, lots of outside time playing, and for us… packing up our mountain home in preparation for our upcoming move {not so fun!}.

During the school year, I’m fairly good at sticking to a routine of eating dinner at a reasonable time so that I can get the kids in bed around 8 p.m. In the summertime, that’s not the case! Usually, I’m throwing dinner together on a whim… with little time to spare! This recipe for a chilled Summer Pasta Salad is perfect for nights like that! [Read more…]

Perfectly Homemade Pizza Dough

 

pizza dough :: Perfectly Homemade Pizza Dough ::

Believe it or not… I actually went about two years without eating pizza {Gasp! I know!}. During my first pregnancy, I didn’t experience food cravings as much as I experienced food aversions. Unfortunately, pizza… was the enemy. I couldn’t handle the taste, smell, or even the word P-I-Z-Z-A. Thankfully with time, the aversion passed {I think Husby was especially grateful for that}! Now… like most of you, I completely savor a good slice of pizza… especially if it’s homemade. Typically my husby picks up some of Trader Joe’s premade pizza dough, on his stop at the market before making his way up the mountain to our home. However, this week, he was home from the fire station for a few days and we didn’t have any dough on hand. I decided to mix up an easy homemade pizza dough {from one of my faves… The Pioneer Woman}, and top it with fresh, organic veggies from my mom’s garden. Yum!

pizza dough simply happenstance

The best part about making homemade pizza dough, is that there are literally only a few key ingredients needed…. flour, salt, olive oil, water and yeast. It honestly took me less than 5 minutes to make, and only an hour to let rise. 

Homemade Pizza Dough Simply Happenstance

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Vegetarian Lasgana

 

 :: VEGETARIAN LASAGNA ::  

“Meatless Monday” anyone? I’m not sure about you…. but I’m always looking for a new vegetarian option that’s family friendly. I was attracted to this recipe from Trisha Yearwood because the use of cashews, tofu and fresh basil to create a ricotta-like mixture sounded delicious… and unique! The recipe also called for black beans in place of a meat mixture. Yum!

Of course, like with any recipe, I made some changes after reading the reviews. It turned out super tasty, and also made for great leftovers {which I’m not usually a fan of}! After the recipe {shown below} I listed a few pointers, as well as, additional ingredients you might like to incorporate to make this lasagna recipe tailored to fit your family! 

 

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