veggie pizza

July 16, 2015

veggie pizzaTonight I had a peanut butter sandwich – the kind where you slap pb on a slice of wheat bread, fold it over and shove in your mouth – and red wine, solo. Last night I ate this pizza with Sticky and the kids. Last night’s dinner totally kicks tonight’s booty…well, maybe not totally. The wine is really good.

veggie pizzaYou guys know I love pizza. And for the most part I like to keep it incredibly unassuming and simple. This version though, it is a little more time consuming than I traditionally go for. But all those roasted veggies on top of dough and a bed of cheese make it worth the extra effort. Trust me.

veggie pizza veggie pizzaThe original recipe called for pizza sauce. I decided to leave it out because quite honestly I was not in the mood to make marinara. (Good decision for future Brandy because if I would have made that marinara then no wine for me tonight. That’s just sad.) We almost never put sauce on our pizza anyways so I figured it wasn’t going to make or break the recipe. And it didn’t because every bite was amazing.

veggie pizza veggie pizzaYou can mix and match veggies as you wish but I’m telling you…this combo is a winner. Give it a try on your next pizza night!

Enjoy!

brandyjsig

 

 

 

veggie pizza
 
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Serves: 8 slices
Ingredients
  • 1 small eggplant (or ½ large), sliced thinly
  • 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and cut in half
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 1cup mushrooms, sliced
  • olive oil for roasting veggies
  • salt and pepper
  • Pizza dough (enough for a 12" pie - I used ½ of our Easy Pizza Dough recipe)
  • 1cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 3tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven 375degreesF and line a backing sheet with parchment paper. Place eggplant, red pepper and artichoke hearts on sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast to desired brownness - about 20 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile drizzle tbsp of olive in a large skillet and heat over medium low. Add onions and mushrooms and allow to caramelize, stirring often, for 15 minutes or until desired caramelization is reached.
  3. Place pizza dough on pizza pan or stone. Bump oven up to 475degreesF. Top crust with mozzarella and then all roasted veggies. Bake in oven for 15 minutes - until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven and top with Parmesan cheese.

Veggie Pizza
Posted in party food, recipes, vegetarian, what's cooking | Tagged | 2 Comments

blueberry lemon yogurt bread

July 15, 2015

blueberry lemon yogurt breadI can hardly believe we are more than halfway through summer and I have yet to make a loaf of berry bread. More so bread filled with my favorite combo – lemons and blueberries. Yum. Lemons compliment just about every fruit, but there is something extra special about when they hook up with blueberries…it’s magical.

This bread is about as moist as they come. When you add full fat yogurt and 3 large eggs to a batter that sort of wet retaining capability forms. If the fat scares you just close your eyes when you add it. Besides…hasn’t it been decided that carbs are the enemy, not fat? Yeah, I can totally get beside that decision. (Wait, are there crabs in this bread? Oh well…)

blueberry lemon yogurt breadThe original recipe calls for a simple syrup that is soaked into the bread after baking. I am sure this makes the bread above and beyond divine but it was not in the cards for me. …I may have ran out of lemons… I did not skip out on the glaze though and I highly suggest you do not either. The bread needs that little bit of extra tart sweetness to take if from good bread to oh my goodness bread.

blueberry lemon yogurt bread blueberry lemon yogurt breadYou, iced coffee and a slice of this…yeah, it’s a fantastic idea. Go heat up your oven.

blueberry lemon yogurt breadSoft, not too dense, moist bread bursting with blueberries and filled with fresh, zingy lemon. I can’t think of a better way to bake up summer.

Enjoy!

brandyjsig

 

 

 

4.0 from 1 reviews
blueberry lemon yogurt bread
 
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Serves: 1 loaf
Ingredients
  • For the Bread
  • 1½cups plus 1tbsp all-purpose flour, divided
  • 2tsp baking powder
  • ½tsp kosher salt
  • 1cup plain whole milk yogurt
  • 1cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2tsp grated lemon zest
  • ½tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ½cup vegetable oil
  • 1½cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed
  • For the Glaze
  • 1cup powdered sugar
  • 2 to 3tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven 350degreesF. Grease and flour a 9" loaf pan.
  2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  3. Take remaining tbsp of flour and toss with berries. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl whisk yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil together until well combined. Slowly whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Add blueberries and fold until just incorporated. DO NOT over mix.
  5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until tester comes out mostly clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing.
  6. While bread is cooling, make glaze by mixing powdered sugar and lemon juice. Adjust lemon juice based on desired thickness of glaze.
  7. Pour glaze over completely cooled bread and let set 5 minutes before enjoying.

Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake
Posted in breakfast, brunch, recipes, something sweet | Tagged | 4 Comments

french drugstore products

July 14, 2015

In honor of Bastille Day I did a little digging to find out what French women purchase from their drugstores….Why? Because they are walking around with their long legs and effortless style sporting natural hair and a bare yet completely chic face. I need to know how this is achieved. I mean, they throw on red lipstick and a little mascara with zero foundation and that is their most made up look. Me on the other hand…let’s just say the coconut oil receives a heavy hit when I wash my face after a night on the town.

Here is what I understand about French vs American beauty – they focus much more on a steady skincare routine and far less on makeup. They believe in sticking to a regimen and not bouncing from one product to another. (And apparently they have been using essential oils for like ever.)

While there are many, and I mean many, products I would love to try these are the top 5 that stood out to me:

071415_french_beauty_products1NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Purpose Dry Oil – a moisturizer for your entire body including your hair. Said to leave skin and hair soft and smooth while leaving a beautiful scent. The French believe in a little perfume in their locks and this is one of their favorite ways to apply it./2Bioderma Crealine H2O Micelle Solution – a gentle and effective cleanser for removing dirt and makeup, including eye makeup. No unnatural foamy solutions here – this is the all natural way to safely remove the day from your face./3Avene Thermal Spring water spray – water in a can that you spray on your face…literally. The one and only ingredient is water, and as far as I can tell everyone uses it. I have to admit of everything I read about this makes me most curious. Boasting that is soothes and evens the complexion while leaving the skin feeling super hydrated. I just may have to order myself a can of “miracle” water spray./4NUXE Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm – if you are going to go bare faced then you have to make sure your smackers are in check. This balm protects and repairs will leaving the lips soft and smooth./5La Roche-Posay Anthelios 60 Melt-In Sunscreen Milk – since many French women wear minimal foundation they are going to need a great sunscreen to throw on. This is reported to melt into the skin without leaving a greasy residue. Also moisturizes and makes a great base for a little blush.

Which product would you love to try?

xo,

brandyjsig

 

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her cutout style | alicia

July 13, 2015

Ever since shooting Alicia’s maternity style 2 years ago… holy crap I can’t believe it’s been that long… I have been chomping at the bit to feature her again. This time she wasn’t pregnant, and that itty bitty baby is now one of the most adorable toddlers on the planet (and just so happens to be a mini me of his handsome dad).

Alicia and I have one of those friendships where we can go a very long time without talking and then randomly send a text as if we were just chatting on the phone. Girls simply do not come more laid back or cooler than this one. She is my crazy baby name bouncer offer and “Could I pull this off?” fashion cohort. I have said it before and I’ll say it again – this girl has style. She takes risks yet it comes off effortless. Which leads me to this jumpsuit…

A little over a month ago I spied a jumpsuit on ASOS and instantly thought Alicia. I wasn’t sure what her reaction would be as a mere 2 months prior we were turning our noses up at all the wide leg culottes out there. Like fashion often goes though, the trend grew on us and Alicia agreed she needed this jumpsuit.  (Yes, we know it’s not an “official” culotte but it’s close.)  Wouldn’t you know she does look fabulous in this white denim one piece…but was there ever really a question?

white wide leg jumpsuit

Alicia recently returned to the dark side with her hair color…the color is absolutely gorgeous. She looked great blonde but I’ll always know her as a brunette, and love seeing it back in action.

springer_family_3||WEARING|| ASOS white denim jumpsuit/wedges similar

No this is not a celebrity family, I swear. They just happen to look fabulous all the freakin’ time! How about that Shooter? GAH – right?! He is too stylin’ for words. I am definitely taking how to dress a boy pointers from his pretty momma.

springer_family_1Thank you Springers for the quick photo shoot! Alicia – I hope you are having the most fabulous of adventures in Italy right now. My ear and a cocktail are eagerly waiting for your return.

xo,

brandyjsig

 

 

 

 

*Alicia is owner and designer of Spruce & Willow. Check out her amazing work!*

Posted in family style, kids style, style, trends | Tagged | Leave a comment

these six

July 10, 2015

071015_thesethings

 

1About a billion years ago my mom gave me a Mickey Mouse toaster for Christmas. It is the best worst toaster a girl could ever own. I’ve had this thing longer than Sticky. At first, I wasn’t sure. It played “Zippity Doo Dah” every time the toast would pop up for crying out loud. To my delight that feature broke soon after use, unfortunately it’s toasting ability was never good and has quite possibly worsened over time. I absolutely do not care. Because every now and then we receive a perfect Mickey head & hand on almost perfectly toasted bread. Today was on of those mornings./2There is a Starbucks on State St in Fort Wayne, IN that blows me away with it’s customer service every visit. Today was no exception. I had to wait a mere 30 seconds longer than usual for my iced latte – in that 30 seconds the barista decided Jettie needed ice water and a cookie straw on the house. Completely unnecessary and utterly kind. You go Starbucks./3Bing has yet to regularly say “Ma-ma-ma-ma” but he is saying more and it is ADORABLE. “Bub-ba, Bub-ba, Bub-ba” is a new favorite. If you can get him to say it prepare to smile huge./4This morning I took two kiddos for two wellness checks and two rounds of vaccinations. I really thought it would be a disaster but it didn’t even come close. (That toast – I’m telling you it was a sign.)/5Tomorrow is our itty bitty town’s 1st Annual Duck Derpy (with Eats on the Streets and Art from the Fort). That’s right Wassenberg, I said annual. We have watched this town blossom in a positive direction and it warms my soul.  This event is a direct reflection of some amazing individuals who care about Van Wert and most importantly it’s community. I’m proud, I’m excited and I want my ducky to win! If you live near us you will not want to miss out! (You may even see me and my man slinging some drinks at one of the gardens!)/6Doctor’s appointments always end in a trip to Target. You know, the place where you can buy diapers and also look at fun wine while waiting for a prescription. While I was better than normal with my spending (willpower must have been in full force) I couldn’t pass up a new blend. Especially one called “Handsome Devil”.

That was a long these things…the wine must be making me chatty.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

brandyjsig

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