It was a great day for The Chic Life on the web! Some of my posts were featured on Foodgawker, Baking Bites, and Yahoo! Shine! Woohoo! Welcome new guests! Thanks so much for stopping by, and be sure to check me out on Facebook, twitter, and YouTube for more content! And thank you to my current readers for your continued support!
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With so many pumpkin recipes floating around at the moment, I thought I’d share a quick tip for what to do with your leftover canned pumpkin. Inevitably, it always seems like I have a few tablespoons left after trying a new pumpkin recipe, and I try to avoid throwing it away. My favorite thing to do with leftover canned pumpkin is stir it into oatmeal. But, it’s pretty tasty in yogurt, too. Have you ever tried it? It’s not a novel concept, but a lot of my real-life friends and Zumba participants have started reading my blog recently, so I thought I’d share it anyways.
I’d suggest stirring a spoonful of canned pumpkin into either vanilla yogurt or plain yogurt with your preferred additions.
For this snack (and these photos), I stirred a spoonful of canned pumpkin (leftover from this recipe) into some plain Greek yogurt, along with a quick drizzle of maple syrup (just enough for my preferred sweetness).
Then, I topped the pumpkin yogurt concoction with some of this yummy Autumn Granola (which was also made with canned pumpkin!), but feel free to use any topping (nuts, dried fruit, etc) or skip the toppings altogether.
I have a couple other easy uses for canned pumpkin tips to share, so I’ll try to do a photo collage soon and share some links. In the meantime…
Do you guys have any tips for easy uses of leftover canned pumpkin?
Lately, I’ve been uninspired to get out of bed in the morning. Why? I’m going to be honest with you. Work is kicking my a$$ and stressing me out big time. And if you’re in the same boat, I have a breakfast idea that may help make you ready to take on the day.
I normally don’t like talking about work on my blog, but you know what? If any of my co-workers were actually reading this, I think they’d be nodding their head and saying, “I hear ya, girl! Me too!” Our current work environment is very stressful and picking up stream. But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel when our current project gets released in just a few short weeks. And then, we can all be normal again.
So, what do you do when you aren’t quite ready to face the day? Find something to help get you going. May I present…
Nutella Swirl Oatmeal!
This is really so simple to make.
Here’s my Non-Recipe:
Just make your choice of oatmeal (I like stove top, and the bowl pictured is made with pumpkin). Take however much Nutella you feel like eating (I used 1 tablespoon), and put it in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave the Nutella until it becomes soft and easy to pour (15-30 seconds should do it). Use two spoons to scoop and pour the Nutella into a swirl design (or carefully pour the Nutella straight from the bowl). Top with your favorite toppings. Enjoy.
I’m really loving this idea of finding a reason to get out of bed when you’re otherwise uninspired. I think I’ll have to brainstorm some more ideas like this one!
Reader question: What tricks do you use to start the day when you’re not feeling so ready for it? What’s your get-out-of-bed inspiration?
I made one of the easiest and tastiest things recently – garlic knots. I’ve been enjoying these things for years, but I never really thought to try to make them at home before. I don’t even have a good excuse, I just never tried it for some reason. Good thing I have Eat in Month to inspire me to try new things at home.
And it turns out…if you use store-bought pizza dough, garlic knots are so easy a caveman? no, a husband? anyone can do it.
But first, I’d like to share a couple random Bailey photos. Here’s Bailey modeling the new Duke shirt his grandmother bought him.
And here he is just after carrying the newspaper in. Yup, he fetches our paper and the mail!
But, enough about Bailey, back to the garlic knots. Hubby and I had another pizza night at the Chic house recently, and the ball of dough hubby got from the store was gigantic. I decided it was too large to fit on the pizza stone, so I tore off a couple pieces of dough to experiment with these garlic knots. Plus, I figured we could snack on these while the pizza baked.
These things were so simplistic, there’s really no need for a full-on recipe, especially since I used store-bought pizza dough, so I’ll just share some of the basics. I’m betting a lot of you already know how to make these, so for those who do, feel free to chime in (with a comment) with your tips.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- store-bought pizza dough
- butter, I used about 1 teaspoon for 4 garlic knots – try to sit it out for a bit so it softens
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley (or use 1/2 teaspoon dried)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- a sprinkle of salt, to taste
- feel free to add other toppings of choice – maybe oregano, red pepper flakes, or rosemary
To make the garlic knots, I basically tore off four small pieces of the dough, roughly 1/4-1/3 cup each. I took each piece, rolled it into a long log and tied it into a knot. I baked them in a pre-heated 350 oven (on a cornmeal dusted pizza stone) for about 20-25 minutes, until nice and golden brown on top. Bake time will probably vary from dough to dough, and you may want to check your dough for suggested baking temperature, too.
I placed the butter, parsley, garlic, and salt in a bowl and topped it with the hot garlic knots. I used the heat of the freshly-baked knots to help melt the butter. I tossed the garlic knots in the bowl until they were evenly coated.
And that’s it.
I think I actually liked the garlic knots better than the pizza we made with the rest of the dough. Anywho, I think these would be fun to make the next time we’re entertaining. I bet kids would like helping the adults form the knots, too.
Ooh…just had another good idea – cinnamon-sugar knots! Maybe I’ll try those next time.
Reader question: What are your favorite garlic knot toppings?
I’m thinking of starting a new series for my fellow workers out there to feature meal ideas you can put together after a long work day. You know the one – when you pulled another 10 hour/no-lunch-break kinda day or when you maybe just have a slew of meetings. I’m talking about having the type of day that leaves you feeling like a zombie but still wanting something (anything!) to eat that tastes good, is (maybe? hopefully?) good for you, and most importantly – doesn’t take a lot of time and/or effort.
While I prefer things to be made as much from scratch as possible in general, sometimes it’s better to use some pre-prepped foods than to eat out or order take-out. The meals I’d like to feature would be sort of semi-homemade but TCL-style, which means I’ll take help from the store, but I’ll do it as close to the source and with as natural as possible ingredients/products. And since I actually did work 10 hours today with only a 30 minute break, the only name my zombie-brain can come up with for this new series is “Work Day.” I know…so genius. But the overall concept is an easy meal after a long work day using as natural as possible ingredients. Any other name ideas for the series?
I had a craving for pizza today, and hubby agreed it sounded like a good idea, so I asked him to pick up ingredients to make pizza at the house (since I was working late):
Gotta love a short shopping list.
Anywho, pizza night is definitely not a revolutionary idea, but I thought I’d share some photos/tips from tonight’s dinner anyways to show you how I make mine…and if nothing else, as a meal idea for my fellow Eat in Month-ers. I’d also like to gather some tips from some of my most knowledgeable friends – you guys! 
I’m not very good at making pizzas at home, but especially since we’re doing Eat in Month, I had no choice but to suck it up and try. I’ve never actually made a pizza entirely from scratch, though I have bookmarked a couple pizza dough recipes. I’d also like to try to make a sauce from scratch, but homemade pizza dough and sauce were not happening after my long work day. So, we took some help from the store.
A couple tips on ingredients:
- Dough: You can get little-processed pizza dough if you know where to go: many grocery stores sell freshly made pizza dough. Trader Joe’s has a nice one for only about $2. And sometimes your local pizza shop will sell you a ball of their dough if you don’t mind making the extra tip and/or paying a little more.
- Sauce: Many stores have special pizza sauce: some of them even have grocery-store-prepped sauce with the dough in a refrigerated section. I know hubby got both the dough and sauce for tonight’s pizza from the same section near the cheese counter.
- Cheese: We used to use shredded, but we’ve recently started using buffalo mozzarella. Both are good options.
I love using corn meal to help keep the dough from sticking to things.
I also like using a baking stone. I think it helps to bake the stone before you put the pizza on it to help get the bottom crispy and help ensure it cooks through (early runs at homemade pizza yielded raw centers). If the pre-baked stone trick doesn’t work, you could also try baking the crust by itself before adding toppings.
I literally just spread some corn meal on this baking stone, baked it for about 10 minutes in the oven, added the dough (which I stretched out with my hands – I didn’t feel like getting the rolling pin dirty), smeared on some marinara sauce, added cheese, added seasonings, and baked.
The pizza seasoning definitely helps add flavor. Oh, and be sure to check out the dough package for baking tips since they can vary from type to type. If you get dough from your local pizza shop, you can try asking them for tips.
By the way, do you like my crooked crust? lol. I kind of like how homemade things can take on a wonky kind of look.
I added a quick spinach salad with green bell pepper, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive for a veg serving.
As for the pizza…the center was cooked through (woohoo!), and though it wasn’t nearly as good as our fave local pizza shop, it hit the spot.
What are your tips for making a quick pizza at home?
