Pumpkin Pie Egg Bake

I always end up with leftover pumpkin puree during the Thanksgiving holiday. Since it’s so healthy and nutrient dense, I love to find ways to use it. I found this recipe and wanted to give it a try because I love eggs and it’s a super simple recipe. As well, it’s something I can make over and over again if it turned out well.

*GOOD NEWS*

It’s delicious! And, healthy. Pumpkin is full of fiber, antioxidants, Vitamin A (good for eye health and our immune system), potassium, magnesium and iron, and low in calories.

I suggest enjoying this as a sweet breakfast topped with maple syrup and whipped cream. I also like to double the recipe so you can eat it all week long. YUM! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp maple syrup
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
6 eggs
Butter, for greasing the dish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease a baking dish with butter.  Combine the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, vanilla, and maple syrup in a bowl and whisk together in a bowl.  Pour mixture into the prepared dish. Bake 30-45 minutes or until eggs are set and the top and edges are slightly golden brown.  Let cool for 5 minutes and enjoy warm. I like to top mine with maple syrup and whipped cream.  Cover and store leftovers in fridge for up to 3 days.

5-Ingredient Banana Bread

I love simple & quick recipe. This one is awesome because it is super easy, you can put it together in minutes and it is like a blank canvas. You can add ‘extras’ to make the recipe your own. My current favorites to add are cherry concentrate we bought in Michigan and mini chocolate chips. You do need a food processor for this recipe as you will have to blend up the oats.. And, I always double this recipe because we love it so much! I think it’s best the next day after chilling in the fridge overnight.

Here is the recipe…

Ingredients
3 ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
1 tsp baking soda
2 Cups oats

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the oats to the food processor. Blend until it turns into a flour. Then, add the remaining ingredients and blend. I have been adding cherry concentrate to this recipe, so I simply do half maple syrup or honey and then half cherry concentrate. Lastly, you can mix in an ingredient of your choice to kick it up a notch. Mini chocolate chips are my suggestion! Pour into a bread pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until poking a knife in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool and turn out onto a cutting board. Enjoy!

Ted's Taco Quiche

1 bag tortilla chips
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1-2 jalapenos, chopped (optional)
2 C shredded colby cheese
2 C shredded monterey Jack cheese
1 C milk
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease large casserole dish. Place a layer of chips on the bottom. Brown ground beef and onion in skillet. Drain. Stir in the taco seasoning mix. Add jalapenos and mix well. Sprinkle 1/2 of each of the cheese over the tortillas in the baking dish. Spread hamburger over the cheese and then sprinkle remaining cheese over each. Mix milk and eggs and pour over quiche. Bake 35-40 minutes or until set and golden.

Chicken Strips with Strawberry BBQ Sauce

“Don’t trust anyone who doesn’t love a chicken cutlet.”

This quote heads up the recipe I found on the Epicurious app that inspired this dish. Haha!!

It was listed as “kid friendly” and so I decided to give it a try for my Fiance’s 6 year old daughter, Kenzie. She’s hesitant to try new foods (as most kiddos are) and doesn’t like chicken prepared unless it is presented as a chicken finger or chicken strip.

This recipe looked right up her ally because I know she loves chicken fingers AND she loves her strawberry jam. Strawberry jam is one of only 3 ingredients in the bbq sauce served alongside the chicken. I know it sounds weird, but it is actually quite good! Kenzie loves Smuckers. I don’t, but I also don’t typically put strawberry jam on my toast. I’m an orange marmalade girl.

Another reason this recipe is great — it’s another way to use the Smuckers strawberry jam in the fridge!

I wasn’t sure Kenzie would like these chicken strips because they didn’t come from the freezer and she’s never had them homemade. I’m not big on fried food, so instead of the recommendation by the recipe to fry the chicken I baked it. I did opt to serve the strips along with the suggested white rice (I knew she would eat the rice so if all else failed she wouldn’t starve) and we added a vegetable to round out the meal.

It was a win and so I’m making it again tonight!! Happy Sunday!! This is a perfect Sunday meal and I suggest making enough so you can have leftovers for a salad the following day for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
4 tsp strawberry jam
1 1/2lb chicken breast (cut into strips)
Kosher salt
1 cup flour
3 eggs, beaten to blend
2 cups panko
Olive oil
Cooked basmati or jasmine rice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and strawberry jam in a small bowl to combine.

Season chicken with salt. Place flour in a bowl, eggs in another bowl and Panko in a third bowl. Season each bowl with salt. Grease baking sheet with olive oil.

Working one at a time, dredge chicken strips in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in egg, turning to coat and allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Then, coat with panko. Place on baking sheet.

Drizzle olive oil over chicken strips and place in the oven until cooked through, 25-30min. Remove from oven and serve over rice with sauce and a veggie alongside.

Chickpea "CauliPOWER" Stew

A friend texted me yesterday asking for this recipe, so I thought it would be fun to share it with you as well! This is a recipe I go to again and again. 

Something you might not know about me is that I went to culinary school and am a trained chef!  I love to cook and tho I am not vegetarian, we usually eat that way a couple times per week in our house.

This soup is delicious… even for the skeptics that like to have meat with every meal.

I remember the first time I made this soup for my “new boyfriend” (now my husband) and my mom.  I told them we would be having Chickpea Cauliflower Soup aka Chickpea "CauliPOWER" Stew for dinner.  Both of them responded in a similar way.

Uh, ok...

I could sense the doubt that this soup was any good.  I kept quiet and remained confident they would not be disappointed.

My mom tends to not love my adventurous cooking style, but every once in a while she is surprised.  Ted was just beginning the culinary adventures, so it was questionable if he would like it or not...

I watched as they dipped their spoons into the cups of soup and slurped up their first bite.  I wasn't surprised when they both loved it...

...and then Ted went for seconds!  A winner!  Plus, my mom said she would eat it again. 

This life truly is limitless, folks.  

If we open ourselves up to all the possibilities that lie before us - even in the kitchen - our lives can light up in ways we never imagined. I’m so excited to share in more culinary adventures on the next Elevate Excursion in Costa Rica in 2025.

There are always culinary adventures on the trips I lead because I’m a foodie and eating good food while we travel is super important to me.  

It’s fun because people usually try foods they have never tried, hike longer and more challenging trails than they have before and tap into a part of themselves they have never explored. It's a beautiful thing to watch.

Elevate Excursions are all about growth & expansion.

If you want to explore the culinary landscape in Costa Rica with me, consider joining “The Breath Of Life” Elevate Excursion March 12-22nd, 2025. As well, we will explore the physical landscape of this beautiful Central American country.  Traveling from San Jose, all the way South to Corcovado in the jungle and then up the Pacific Coast for a learn to surf experience.  We wrap our trip up in La Fortuna where an active volcano & natural spa adventure await!

I hope this recipe will give you the cauliPOWER to try more vegetarian dishes and expand your culinary landscape!!

I hope you fall in love with it as much as I have and make it again and again.  It is super simple and has great dynamic flavors!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 medium head cauliflower, chopped up into bite size pieces
2 15 1/2-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained & washed
2 10-ounce cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk*
juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Add onions and sauté until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add curry powder and stir 20 seconds. Add cauliflower and garbanzo beans; stir 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes with chiles, then coconut milk; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and boil gently until cauliflower is tender and liquid thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 16 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add lime juice.  Stir in cilantro; serve.  This goes nicely over basmati rice or served with crusty bread.