Monday Night = Salad Night

Every week in our house. I guess you could consider it our Weekend detox:) We usually only alternate between a few types, but here's my favorite. Ground Turkey breast mixed with taco seasoning, corn, black beans, onions, avocado & a handful of tortilla strips. And no dressing needed, which is great! Yum!

Grits & a few thousand K-Cups

So Sunday morning's breakfast consisted of some very un-photogenic Cheese Grits:) We cooked them overnight in the slow cooker. I'm sure they have 1 minute Grits in a can, but I loved waking up to my breakfast already cooked:) hahahahahhaha....We used 5 cups of water, 1 cup of grits and salt....cooked for 7 hours and added some shredded cheese and chives at the end. Yum!

And since the grits were sooo not pretty...here's another picture:) This is Scott's solution to our 1,000 variety of K-cups situation:) Not too bad for an unused bread drawer and a couple pieces of cardboard:)

The True Mocha Squares....

Remember my Trader Joe's Mocha Squares?? Well, here they are captured in all of their photographic glory, courtesy of my friend over at http://fiftytwothousandwords.blogspot.com/. Check out his new blog, his photographs will blow your mind!!

Spinach Linguine & Chocolate Cake

If you eat spinach, you get chocolate cake. That's a rule, right? Well if it's not, it should be! I knew I couldn't get too far into this blog without mention my favorite health expert and Skinnygirl, Bethenny Frankel! And since these are both her recipes, I figured I'd group em together to make one fabulous meal and dessert:)

Here was the Spinach, Chive & Ricotta linguine. (A special shout out to my vegetarian friends on this one! I know I have at least 2! hahahhahahhaha :) We skipped the pine nuts and added an extra bag of spinach...cause that's how we roll...

http://www.bethenny.com/spinach_pasta.htm

And life really can't get any better than Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze, can it?? Well, it can! This cake is vegan, all natural and totally guilt free! So grab a fork and GO! :)

Chocolate Cake from "The Skinnygirl Dish"

1 1/4 cup oat flour

1 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (the darker and higher quality, the better)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1.-Preheat the oven to 350. Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined.

2.-Pour the batter into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through the baking time. When a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, it's done.

3.-Let the cake cool completely, then top with Peanut Butter Glaze. Slice & serve.

Peanut Butter Glaze

1/2 cup raw sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons soy milk

2 tablespoons creamy 100% peanut butter (the natural kind, no sugar added)

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons real vanilla extract

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a hand blender until the sugar crystal are dissolved. If they aren't dissolving, you can gently heat the mixture until they do. Heat on low on the stove or on 50 percent power in the microwave, sitting every 20 seconds. (Although my friends seemed to enjoy the little sugar crunch:)

Love, love, LOVE these books! They are both FILLED with great tips and recipes! They get my highest recommendation:) (I lost 7 pounds the week I read "Naturally Thin"...so that's a testimate to Bethenny!)