Thanksgiving-ish Recipes

I have been on a recipe hunt for fun things I can make on and around Thanksgiving this year that are fun and a little different. I love the holiday season and all the baking and cooking that goes along with it. Although I'm a major sucker for all the traditional items, I think its fun to spice it up a little bit and try one or two new things as well. This is a roundup of some fun items I have found in case you are in the holiday spirit as well ; )

1. Cranberry and Vanilla Bean Pie Bars via A Beautiful Mess

2. Cherry Kale Panzanella via Jelly Toast (originally found on BleuBird)

3. Elsie's Orange Cranberry Margarita via A Beautiful Mess

4. Charred Corn Salad with Creamy Tomatillo Dressing via Cooking Channel TV

5. Spinach and Feta Quiche via Cupcakes and Cashmere

6. Everything Tea via OhDearDrea (to keep you healthy all season!)

7. Herb Roasted Turkey via What's Gaby Cooking

8. Spiced Apple Muffins with Streusel Topping via Call Me Cupcake

TGIF Happy Hour : Champagne Cocktails

I've decided to start a little series on Fridays featuring some of my favorite cocktail recipes I've found around this here interweb. Because, well, Happy Hour is the best! I had a friend over the other night for dinner, and we drank orange mango mimosas and ate guacamole while we were cooking. So. Good. Basically any kind of mimosa variation works for me, they are so refreshing and popping the bottle makes you feel like a celebration is in order. Below I've included a few fun champagne cocktail ideas I want to try this summer, perfect for brunch, happy hour or just any time you are in the mood for something fancy!

P.S. I have found my favorite champagne to be the Barefoot Bubbly Pinot Grigio variety. It's not too expensive, and is much smoother than a lot of others I've tried. If you have found one you like most let me know, I'd love to try it out!

Strawberry Grapefruit Mimosa 

Blushing Mimosa

Watermelon Mimosa

Pomegranate Champagne

Coconut Vanilla Bellini

Sweet Tart

Recipes : My Pasta Salad

One of the regular staples Owen and I will have in the fridge each week will be a big batch of our pasta salad. It's such a simple thing to make, and uses mostly ingredients you already have around the house anyways. Whenever I know we are going to have visitors in town I will whip up a batch, because it is usually enjoyed by everyone and can be used for lunch or a BBQ dinner. We'll usually add tuna fish or avocado to give it a little more substance if its the main course, or will just have it as is for a side dish or afternoon snack. There's so many different variations you can make, but I figured I would share my basic recipe here for those interested. It is adapted from Owen's family recipe. 

Recipes : My Daily Smoothie

So yes, I do realize that there are about 45,483,394 different smoothie recipes out there already. Many are much more interesting than the one I'm giving you here. But I realized lately that whenever the topic of smoothies comes up, I always immediately drill the other person about what they put in theirs, just in case they have some genius idea that I haven't tried yet (this is probably an annoying habit to have - sorry friends).

So I figured I'd share what I have in my daily (4-5 times/wk) smoothie, in case you're weird like me and like to see what other people do. I love my smoothies. They give you such a boost of energy and all around good-for-you stuff. I'll have them sometimes for lunch, or sometimes as a mid afternoon snack after the gym.

My basic, usual recipe always includes:

Banana
Strawberries
Greek Yogurt
Orange Juice
Almond Milk
Baby Spinach
Ice Cubes

Other variations I like to throw in are:

Chia Seeds

Kale

Apple

Mango

Blueberries

Granola

Peaches

Ginger

Coconut Water

Avocado

I have been meaning to try a peanut butter / cocoa variation but haven't yet. If you have any other suggestions for me, you know I want to hear them!