roasted beet hummus

 

hi friends! i hope you all had the best new years yet. are we all ready for 2017? SEVENTEEN! i will forever think 2000 was just a few years ago. i took a much needed break from blogging + social media over the holidays to spend it with my friends & family, but now i am BACK with the prettiest hummus i ever did see. i think beet hummus is the best way to get back into the swing of things because it's healthy & well, it's PINK.

now that justin & i are officially living in modest house (most of the work is done.. for now) we have a lot of entertaining to do. i have been working on all different finger foods to serve when people come over to see the house! i served this hummus with a variety of different flavoured harvest snaps. harvest snaps are a snap pea crisp that i topped last year's (errr last month's) black pepper mac & cheese with! they are so good as is, but throw hummus into the mix & you have one hell of a snack! here i served it with lightly salted original, tomato basil & black bean habanero (SPICY).

ingredients

directions

  • preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • line a baking pan or dish with parchment paper & toss beets, onion, parsley & garlic in olive oil, salt & pepper.
  • roast for an hour, turning over beets halfway through.
  • let cool while you prepare the hummus.
  • in a food processor add the chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, water, lemon, salt & pepper. puree until smooth.
  • peel the roasted beets & add the roasted beets, onion, garlic & fresh parsely. puree again until smooth.
  • transfer to serving dish & serve with black bean habanero, lightly salted harvest snaps & lentil bean tomato basil harvest snaps!
  • stores for a week in a glass weck jar.

this post was created in partnership with harvest snaps! thank you for supporting the brands that keep me doing what i love. xo

orange creamsicle cocktail

 

i hope everyone had the BEST (most spoiled) christmas ever! i am beyond stuffed from all the turkey & ham that was consumed, not to mention the italian tradition of a big plate of pasta before every meal. the sugared cranberry cheesecake was a hit too! it was the first time any of my family had eaten sugared cranberries and they loved them.

the holiday celebrations are not over yet though! we have one more boxing day dinner tonight with justin's family before we get ready to ring in the new year! i am not that big of a new years eve person anymore.. we will probably stay in, make some fancy snacks & ring in 2017 in our new home. however, i love new years day brunch gatherings. one last meal before we all start to lose the holiday weight caused by endless amounts of food & drinks.

this year i wanted to create a lighter cocktail to sip on during brunch. a vodka twist on the classic mimosa, but still including fresh orange juice. orange juice always has to be served with breakfast or brunch, so i created this orange creamsicle cocktail using zevia's natural cream soda. it is so good, it literally taste like an orange creamsicle popsicle. bonus points that it is made with zevia's zero calorie cream soda sweetended with stevia. this cocktail will be sure to impress your guest & bring them back to those childhood creamsicle days.

happy new year friends! cheers to the last post of 2016. i can't wait to see what 2017 has in store:)

xo

ingredients

  • 1.5 oz vodka
  • 2 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 oz milk * 2 oz zevia cream soda
  • ice, for serving
  • fresh mint, for garnishing

directions

  • in a cocktail shaker add vodka, orange juice, milk, cream soda & ice. shake well!
  • pour into desired cocktail glass, add fresh ice & garnish with a sprig of mint.

sugared cranberry cheesecake

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

only TWO more sleeps.

i am going to keep this one short because the house is full of family & there is no time to be spent on the computer! we have so many christmas movies to catch up on as we rock the matching santa pajama bottoms. now as you know, every single year i make a cheesecake for christmas day. it is an annual thing because it is not often that a celebration calls for a fancy ass cheesecake! three years ago i made a red velvet cheesecake, two years ago i made an apple pie cheesecake, last year i made this salted caramel cheesecake & this year THIS sugared cranberry cheesecake! something about sugared cranberries just look so pretty & festive. now i am already thinking about next year's... gingerbread, egg nog, chai?!?! can it be christmas every month?

hope everyone has an amazing weekend & gets spoiled by santa! xo

ingredients

for the sugared cranberries

  • 1/2 cup + 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3 cups fresh cranberries (not frozen)

for the graham crust

  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 pinch of salt

for the filling

  • 4 packages of full fat plain cream cheese (8 oz each)
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons flour
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

directions

for the sugared cranberries

  • in a sauce pot add the 1/2 cup sugar & water. heat until the sugar dissolves.
  • stir in the cranberries, toss to coat & remove from heat.
  • strain & toss in the remaining white sugar.
  • set aside until you are ready to decorate the cheesecake.

for the graham cracker crust

  • in a large mixing bowl toss graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter & salt.
  • firmly press into a 9-inch spring form pan with a 1-inch crust.
  • set aside while you prepare the filling.

for the filling

  • preheat oven to 475 degrees. in a mixer with the paddle attachment beat sugar, cream cheese & flour.
  • add the eggs/egg yolks one at a time. scrape the bowl after every addition to ensure no clumps!
  • once mixture is silky smooth add the vanilla, cinnamon & nutmeg. pour into the crust lined spring form pan.
  • bake at 475 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the top puffs. if the top begins to brown too quickly, lower the temperature.
  • once the top has puffed, lower the temperature to 250 degrees & bake for an additional 45 minutes or until the cake appears firm. turn off the oven & let the cake sit for 15 minutes. remove from oven & let cool to room temperature before refrigerating over night.
  • top with sugared cranberries.