Avocado Egg Salad

 

I would've never thought hard boiled egg and avocado could be so good together. I don't really know why I was surprised by this combination, but it is a great combination, definitely good enough to have two days in a row.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

 

 I was in charge of birthday cake at work this month and since one of my birthday co-workers favorite things is peanut butter and chocolate, I decided to go ahead and make this peanut butter chocolate cake. I ended up making it in a 9 by 13 pan to guarantee some extra slices, but it would be best as a round cake with layers. This turned out pretty tasty, most of my co-workers favorite part was the peanut butter cream cheese frosting, which would be great on top of any boxed vanilla, yellow, or chocolate cake.

Avocado Pasta Sauce

I had some ripe avocados and I just couldn't bring myself to make guacamole again. I found this recipe on the California Avocado Commission's website, it was very intriguing and so I decided to give it a try. It was really interesting and quite delicious, the avocados work as a creamy alternative to milk products. I don't think it would be as good without the Parmesan or the shrimp, so I highly recommend you include both when you decide to give this recipe a try. 

Chocolate Chip Yogurt Based Scones

  

I used to love getting chocolate chip scones from Starbucks when I was in high school, but for some reason I haven't been able to find a chocolate chip scone there for years, it's like as soon as I graduated high school they were gone. This made me very sad and although I have missed them for years, I just now got to making some for myself rather than purchasing them from other local pastry shops.  My friend Megan is like a professional scone maker, so she helped me with these since it was my first time making scones. These turned out delicious, although they aren't quite what I remember from Starbucks, I must try again until I get that Starbucks quality, my guess is they used a cream base rather than yogurt.

Parmesan Crusted Mahi Mahi

I had some leftover ingredients that I needed to use and so I came up with this recipe. This turned out really good. The Parmesan and Panko worked excellent together and made a delicious coating on the fish. I will most definitely do this one again. 

Whiskey Infused Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Burgers

I think burgers have become one of my top most favorite foods. There are so many different things you can do with burgers, prom plain to super creative like my Spanakopita Burgers, they are always fun to create and delicious to eat. The day I made these I was craving a huge burger at work, my co-worker mentioned to me how her old neighbors used to caramelize onions and mushrooms in whiskey as a burger topping. I knew when I heard her say whiskey infused onions and mushrooms that I would have to give them a try that very night. I did and it was absolutely delicious, it gave grilled onions and mushrooms a whole new tang. So good. 

Seafood Paella

Pa' ella, Pa' ti, Pa' mi (for her, for you, for me)... That was an old saying my Señora would say when she served us Paella for dinner. Paella is a traditional Spanish dish and although my Señora only made it a few times, it was always a treat. So I gave this a try with the seafood ingredients I prefer and I even used some legit saffron that I bought in Spain 5 years ago.

Portland

Over Labor Day weekend, I took a trip to Portland, Oregon to visit with two of my greatest friends, Danna and Cindy. Cindy currently lives in Portland while Danna flew in from Phoenix, Arizona. We all met in Portland and stayed with Cindy in her pleasant suburban home. We had a great weekend of eating, catching up, eating, touring, eating, and hanging out. It was so nice to have a ladies weekend filled with three of my favorite things: food, friends, and lots of laughter. Below are a few pictures to represent my three day trip. I hope you enjoy looking over them and see how gorgeous Portland is. 

In front of Cindy's home with myself, Danna, and Cindy

Nick's Belated Birthday Dinner

Sorry for posting about Nick's birthday so late, but time passed and I just couldn't let this one go. I had to share with you all our amazing dinner we had that night. We got to go to dinner at this amazing restaurant: The Winery Restaurant & Bar, which won last year's title as"OC Restaurant of the Year." We had purchased a travelzoo voucher to get a 5-course dinner for two for the price of one. I didn't manage to take pictures of our food, but just know that every single course was amazing. 

Below is our menu for the night:

Blackened Mahi Mahi

On a recent trip to Costco, I decided to buy some Mahi Mahi fillets instead of our usual Salmon purchase. I decided I wanted to make some fish tacos but instead of doing a Mexican spiced Mahi Mahi, I decided to use blackened Mahi Mahi. This turned out wonderful, next time I may rub a little more seasoning on the fish because there was plenty of room for adding more flavor. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

 It was my co-worker Christina's birthday the other day and she is obsessed with peanut butter and chocolate desserts. So I decided to make these. They turned out delicious, like a perfectly homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Soooooo good. 

Peanut Butter Brownie Banana Pizza

I went to Portland for a girls trip over Labor Day weekend, this was a great chance for me to make a wonderful dessert that I can't make for just nick and I. I stumbled upon this recipe on allrecipes.com and it turned out really delicious. It easy to make and sure does impress the taste buds. I say, give it a try. Yummers.