I'm Moving

New blog location: click image to visit.

After thinking long and hard I have decided that I am going to move to an all food blog and focus on my favorite part of blogging, and life ;), FOOD!  This new blog will be very similar to what you are used to here at Married and Hungry just without Married Mondays and my crafty posts. I am also adding in some awesome topics that will cover everything you want to know in the kitchen. 

Including: 

Recipes of course

Reviews, cookbooks, food books, foods, restaurants and kitchen products. Hey I may even share my favorite aprons!

Tips, cooking tips, ways to make it easier on you, meal prep tips there is no limit to the kitchen tips over there.

Techniques, I want readers to learn on this new site so I will be teaching with videos and tutorials everything from knife cuts to cooking methods. 

I am very excited about this new venture and hope that you will join me over at If Spoons Could Talk. 

Love my marriage posts and want to look back over them? Don't worry they will still be here, I don't plan to get rid of this site. Recipes will be redirected to the new site but are still accessible if you land here. 

I'm still in the process of finishing all the moving from this site to the new one, but I was to excited to wait before I shared it with you. 

Burrito Bowl

I have been in the mood for Mexican food lately and decided a nice burrito bowl would be a healthy way to enjoy my favorite flavors. The best part is its easy to put together.

Burrito Bowl 

THM E
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast
• 1 14 oz can black beans
• 1 14 oz can corn
• 2 cups Brown Rice (cooked)
• 3 sprigs cilantro finnley chopped
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• Salt (all seasonings to taste)
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Cumin
• Cayenne Pepper
• Garlic Powder

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch cubes. Season with salt pepper and cumin. 
2. Cook in a skillet until cooked through. Add other seasonings to taste.
3. Heat just a bit of oil in a pan, once hot sautee garlic.
4. Once the garlic is fragrent add in the rice and stir to mix in.
5. Sprinkle about 2 teaspoons of cumin and the cilantro into the rice. Stir to combine, taste and adjust seasoning as needed. 
6. Drain and rinse the beans. Heat and salt if you want.  Heat corn as well. 
7. Assemble your bowl. Top with a little sprinkle of cheese if you want and a little cilantro sprig on top.

If you follow Trim Healthy Mama this would be an E meal. If you use 1/2 cup rice and 1/4 cup beans or 3/4 cup rice and just a few beans to keep it under the 45 carb count. If you wanted to you could also put the filling into a low carb tortilla if you aren't in the mood for a bowl.  

Chocolate Cookie THM S

I am a big fan of cookies and sweet treats, that really should be no surprise. On the Trim Healthy Mama plan it is encouraged to enjoy treats on a regular basis. It isn't always easy to find a treat that taste great and is still on plan. But these are on plan, delicious, and no one will guess there is a special ingredient in them. 

Chocolate cookies are not always my first pick, but these fresh out of the oven taste like the cookie part of an Oreo. I can't wait to put some kind of filling to make it like a whoopie pie or actual oreo. Still working on an on plan fluffy filling, as soon as it is perfected I will share it with all of you. 

The secret ingredient here is okra. Yes I know it sounds gross, but it gives these cookies the perfect texture and you won't even notice it is there. If you do taste an off flavor at first give them a day or so to sit and they will taste just right. 

Health benefits of okra or why you should sneak it into your desserts. It is a great source of fiber which helps with digestion. It also helps to reduce and stabilize blood sugar levels. It also contains many vitamins and folates. I don't like okra enough to eat it on its own but baked inside things I can't tell it is there and I get the extra benefits. 

So lets get to this cookie recipe. 

Chocolate Cookies -THM S

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Almond Flour
• 1/2 cup Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 2/3 cup 100 % Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 cup Pyure
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Frozen dieced Okra (slightly thawed)
• 1 cup melted Coconut oil
• 2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350F.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix flours, cocoa, baking soda, salt and pyure together. 
3. In a blender combine okra and eggs, until the okra is broken down. While blending pour in the coconut oil until it is all combined well. This is important if the oil is still warm so the eggs don't start to cook. 
4. Add the liquids into the mixer bowl. Mix on medium until well mixed. You can use a handheld mixer too, stiring by hand though will be difficult because of the stickiness. 
5. Using a small cookie scoop place them about 1/2 inch apart on a lined cookie sheet. 
6. Bake for 15 minutes. Let sit for a 1 minute on pan then cool on cooling rack.  

**Note these are sugar free and gluten free! But you would never know.**

Adapted from THM Cookbook

Married Monday Review: Marriage 365

I am bringing back Married Monday Reviews, once a month or so I will review or share about a marriage resource I have found and enjoyed. These could be anything from books to websites and everything in between.

Today I want to share with you this great site called Marriage 365. The site is ran and wrote by husband and wife, Casey and Meygan. Both of their parents had multiple divorces, despite that they fell in love during college and got married. Then like many others their happily ever after wasn't so happy and they were surprised with the difficulty of marriage. They realized that they needed to work on themselves before they could work on the other. They sought help and sought to make their marriage better. They have been married now for 12 years and have 2 kids. They have realized that a great marriage has ups, downs, and takes being intentional 365 days.

They have webinars, a premarital course and many ebook all available on their site. The blog is full of great posts with tips, advice, ways to improve your marriage. I have enjoyed reading through their posts and learning some interesting things. I like that they both write posts, it is one of the few sites where you can get a man's perspective as well.

A couple of my favorites so far have been:

• 10 Quick Tips on Dealing with In-Laws 
• 4 Things We Learned from Marriage Counseling 
• 10 Ways to Ruin Your Marriage 

I encourage you to go take a look over at Marriage 365 (http://marriage365.org/) and see what they have to share. I know I will be following them for now on!

Romantic Valentine's Day Desserts

Looking for a good dessert for Valentine's Day I went through my archives and found a few that I thought would be perfect. 

These lava cakes are good and simple to make. 

Apple Pie Egg Rolls are a creative dessert.

Zeppole- Fried Donuts

What are you planning for dessert on Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day Printables

Its the week of Valentine's Day and I'm so excited for a three day weekend with my Hubby just relaxing and enjoying each other.

I wanted to think of some fun decorations that I could put out on Sunday to surprise him. I created these two printables that you can easily print off and put in a frame for instant free decorations.

Click here for printable PDF

Click hrer for printable PDF

What are some fun ways you decorate for Valentine's Day?

Simple Dinner For Two

Valentine's day is coming up and what I am most looking forward to is a romantic dinner for two. Great food, wine, romantic table with Hubby across from me there is nothing better. This will be our sixth Valentine's together, we have had some wonderful meals together. One year we had a homemade fondue night, a steak surprise dinner, a couple fancy night outs, all were delicious. This year we are creating a four-course meal together, each making two of the courses. Hubby is in charge of appetizer and soup, I am making our main course and dessert. I can't wait to share with you in the coming weeks what we make.

Today I want to share with you an easy, classic dinner for two that anyone can make. Steak with caramelized onions and mushrooms, asparagus and a side salad. Pair with your favorite drink, a sweet dessert and you have a delicious meal.

For the steak:

Pick your favorite cut. Get this from a good butcher so it is a good quality.
Season with salt and pepper.
Make sure the meat is at room temperature before cooking.

You can grill your steak if the weather is nice, February can be tricky with the weather. If it is not an option to grill here is a wonderful way to cook it in the oven with a cast iron skillet.

Don't cook it more than medium rare for the best flavor and texture.

For the onions and mushrooms:

Ingredients

• 1-2 medium sweet onions
• 1 8oz pack mushrooms
• 2 tsp of oil or butter
• ¼ cup of red wine (cooking wine is fine)

Directions

1. Slice the onion very thinly and the mushrooms into ¼ inch slices.
2. Heat the 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan without nonstick coating, when it is hot add in the onions. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes without disturbing them.
3. Once the 30 minutes is up, stir to check the texture you are looking for soft but not mushy. When the texture is where you like them remove the lit and let sit for 5 minutes. You should start to see some slight browning around the edges when you do stir them. Repeat this until the onions are a nice golden brown color. If it is taking too long adding a bit of sugar will help speed the process up but you need to stir more often to keep it from scorching.
4. When the onions are getting close to being done heat the other 1 teaspoon of oil in a skillet.
5. Add in the mushrooms when the oil is hot, cover and let them sweat until most of their moisture is out, about 10 minutes.
6. Once they have shrunk and are tender add in the red wine. Let simmer until all the red wine is soaked up.
7. Serve immediatly along side your meat. 

For the Asparagus:

You can grill or roast it and have a great flavor. 
Season with olive oil salt and pepper and you are good to go with either method.

Don't forget the dessert. There are many great desserts here in my Recipe Box on the dessert page. 

Now go make a memorable Dinner for Two! These recipes are simple with big flavor that is sure to impress anyone. Something to remember for a great meal choose something that you both enjoy but don't have all the time.

Married Monday: Fun Valentine's Day Gifts for Husabnds

Valentine's Day is getting close and if you are like me you are trying to think of a great gift for your husband. I love buying and giving gifts, the happiness on their face and their genuine appreciation makes me so happy.

Hubby is my favorite person to buy for but sometimes it is hard to think of a great idea. Especially when he can't even think of anything he wants. That is when it is time to get creative. If he doesn't need any essentials and has everything he's been wanting then it's time to look for fun gifts.

Valentine's Day we don't normally do big gifts. Instead, we spend time together, have a nice meal, and maybe exchange something small. So I started to make a list of fun, simple gifts that are perfect for husbands.

• Love notes- Get romatic and leave him sweet notes to find throughout the day.
• Coupons- Create some fun coupons for massages, favorite food items, a chore free day etc. I did this for Christmas and it was a big hit.
• Food- food is one of our love languages. It really works for most any occasion. A favorite dessert, a meal all about him, or even a surprise of his favorite fast food item.
• Create your own 6-pack, or drink pack- For those who like trying different things many liquor stores have a spot you can mix and match to create your own set. I think this is a fun gift that you can customize to what he likes or choose ones that have a meaning to the two of you.
• Personalized key chain- This one sounds a bit lame but there are some fun keychains out there that fit so many personalities. I love having a couple key chains to switch out.
• Coffee mug- Design your own using Sharpies and bake the mug or pick a cute one out. Pinterest has a lot of cute options.
• 52 reasons I love you- I love the idea of getting a card deck and writing one reason you love him on it.
• Luggage tags- going for vacation this summer wouldn't it be great to have personalized luggage tags so he can find his easily.
• A simple sweet card- sometimes simple is the best way to go. Purchase a sweet card write a little I love you note and you are set.
• A movie night bucket- get a new movie he's been wanting to see, popcorn, candy and a note saying you will watch it with him. Doubles as a date and gift, perfect

There you have it 10 simple inexpensive ideas to gift your husband for Valentine's day. For us at least, Valentine's day is more about the thought and togetherness then gifts. I rather spend an evening enjoying a home cooked dinner together then a big extravagant gift any day. How do you like to spend valentines with your husband? I would love to hear from you.

Guest Foodie Friday Post at Arkansas Women Bloggers

Today I have a post over at Arkansas Women Bloggers! I love this group of ladies and getting to write for them. This is my first Foodie Friday post which was super exciting to write and create for!

Today's post is all about how to throw a Tapas Party. You know those little Spanish dishes that come on cute small plates. I have a lot of small plates and bowls and I couldn't wait to use them for my tapas party, it was their first time in years being put to their real use.

Earlier this week I shared my Spanish Bruschetta that I made for the party, you can see the rest of the recipes over at Arkansas Women Bloggers. 

This was my second big photo shoot using my new camera and I had so much fun styling and working on each dish so that it looked great. Thanks to my Craftsy class my pictures are getting better and better but are still a work in progress. You can read all about the class here. 

Have you ever thrown a tapas party or made a delicious tapas? I would love to hear about here or over at the ARWB site. 

Spanish Bruschetta

When I think of bruschetta I think toasted bread, a tomato slice, basil, and mozzarella. The Spanish has another take on it and it's just as delicious. Most versions that I found simply rub toasted bread with the tomato flesh to soften it and serve with other dishes. I did a slightly different version that is also common. A fresh baguette, fresh tomatoes and garlic are all you need for this delicious appetizer.

Spanish Bruschetta

Ingredients:

French Baguette

2 roma tomatoes

2 gloves of garlic

salt to taste

Directions:

Slice baguette into 1-inch pieces. Toast at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes until golden. 

Halve tomatoes and place into food processor or blender. Dice garlic and add into blender.

Add in salt. Pulse until the tomato is in small pieces but not pulverized. 

Scope tomato mixture onto toast and serve. 

If you wanted you could add some manchego cheese or a bit of goat cheese to the bread for added flavor. 

I made these for a tapas party that you can read about Friday over at Arkansas Women Bloggers. 

Have you ever made any Spanish dishes before, or made a delicious tapas plate? 

Trusting God is an Act of Worship A teaser for the Look to Jesus from Dawn Klinge

Look to Jesus by Dawn Klinge is a all about how to trust God and why we should trust him. I have enjoyed reading it and think it is great for all Christans, no matter where you are in your walk with Christ.

Her life stories sprinkled throughout brings the book to life.

My only complaint is that it reads like a long blog post that is hard to follow at times. But the content does make up for this.

The following is a teaser from Dawn Klinge herself, this will give you a little taste of the book.

Trusting God is an Act of Worship


Did you know that when you trust God it ‘s an act of worship? Did you know that he delights in you? He loves you so much that Jesus died for you? There is nothing we can do to earn this amazing love. It’s a gift of grace.


No, there is nothing we can do to earn God’s love. We already have it- not because of anything we’ve done or are deserving of, but because of what Jesus has done for us. When that truth starts to work its way into our hearts we want to give something back to God, in gratitude. We want to worship him.


Trust is our gift back to God, an act of worship. When we trust God, we’re acknowledging that he is sovereign. This means that he is, above all, in control of our lives.


There’s a beautiful song, called Oceans, by Hillsong. It’s all about keeping our eyes on Jesus instead of the circumstances around us. It’s about trusting God. There is one particular line in that song that says, “Your sovereign hand will be my guide”. I wrote a blog post based on this line. You can read it here.

Actually, I wrote many blog posts, all inspired by that song, and all centered on the idea of trusting Jesus. Eventually, those blog posts became the basis of a book. It’s illustrated with stories from my own life- as I’ve been learning what it means to trust Jesus. This book is called Look to Jesus: How to Let Go of Worry and Trust God. It’s available now on Amazon in paperback and digital versions. I pray that it blesses and encourages everyone who reads it. I hope you read it!



--------------------------

Dawn Klinge is the author of Look To Jesus: How to Let Go of Worry and Trust God (coming January, 2016). She writes about Christian faith regularly at Above the Waves, drawing on her experience as wife and mom to two. She holds a degree in education from University of Idaho. A pastor’s kid and a church girl her entire life, she’s still trying to figure out what it looks like to put her trust in Jesus. Dawn and her husband, Derek, live near Seattle, Washington. You can also find her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

McDonald's New McPick 2

I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s of Central Arkansas and am being compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions though are my own.

   Have you heard the commercial for McPick 2, it's been stuck in my head for a couple of days now? It is quite catchy and got me wondering what the McPick 2 options were.

   McDonald's has begone to move away from their iconic Dollar Menu that, in recent years had been changed to the Dollar and More Menu with most items at the $1.19 price range. Now they are giving customers the choice of select menu items to pick two for $2, bringing the price of the items back down to $1 each.

   I love McDonald's for many reasons including their, what I like to call, premium items like their Chef Crafted Sandwiches and Premium Salads that cost a little more than the regular burger. But when I was a broke college kid and hungry, I loved that I could go and get a McDouble and a small fry for under $3 and make it through the rest of the day.

   I think the McPick 2 menu is great and has very popular items that everyone enjoys. The options are a McDouble, McChicken, Small Fry and Mozzarella Sticks. The menu lets you mix and match to make a customized value meal. Want mozzarella sticks and fries, go for it, want a McDouble and fries then that’s great too. You pick two in any combination and it's only $2, I don't know of a better deal around.

   This promotion will run until Feb. 8, but has the potential to be around for a long time. I personally hope it stays.

   What would your McPick 2 be? Mine would be a McDouble and Mozzarella Sticks, when they are fresh the cheese sticks are amazing!

~Lemme get a McPick 2~ 

Fakeroni and Cheese THM S

   I was craving a good macaroni and cheese but had already had Dream Fields pasta that week and wanted to stay on track so I thought I would try something new. Cauliflower + wonderful cheese sauce = fakeroni and cheese.

For full recipe at new site please click here. There you can also find many new THM recipes.

Married Monday: A Praying Wife

    Prayer is so crucial to our relationship with God and for our marriages. It is the way we can speak directly to God, the way we can ask him for help, seek his will, and know that he cares about us and loves us. He wants your marriage to serve him, to be good, and something that shows his love to the world. For your marriage to be its strongest I believe that we should be praying for our husbands and our marriage.

Craftsy Photography Class

Any links in this post may be affiliate links, if you decide to make a purchase through my link I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you.  

   I got my new camera for Christmas and I was so excited and started messing with light settings and got some funky looking pictures. Then I didn't know where to reset them to get back to a normal image. I knew I needed to find someone to teach me what the heck those numbers mean.  

  I knew that Craftsy had online classes that covered a lot of topics, so I searched their photography classes. I found they have quite a few classes on different types of photography. I decided that I needed the basic photography class to get a good foundation. Craftsy was generous and let me try the class out for free in turn for a review.  

Book Review Food A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan

   I received this book from blogging for books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

   I originally ordered this book as a Christmas gift when I had no idea what to get someone on my list. I figured it would be a fun read. I ended up finding a much better gift and giving them it instead. So here I was with Food-A Love Story by comedian Jim Gaffigan. This is not my typical book to read but I know that Gaffigan is pretty funny and is known for his food humor so I sat down to read.

Dunkable Chocolate Chip Cookies

   So there are so many cookie chip cookie recipes out there that it can be hard to pick. I typically stick with the one on the back of Nestle chocolate chips, but Hubby found this one and wanted me to try it. He likes a cookie that can be dunked in milk, so it needs to have a bit of a crunch but still be chewy. The reviews on Reddit said it was perfect for dunking, so I gave it a try.   

  They turned out pretty well, he loved them. They are best when warm, about twenty seconds in the microwave is perfect. The main difference to Toll House recipe is that there is more sugar, giving them a chewy consistency. 

Married Monday: A Year of Date Ideas and a Challenge

   I want to challenge you this year to be intentional with dating your husband. Yup that’s right I want you to go on dates. We try to go out or take one evening at least every couple weeks to hang out together. These don't have to be elaborate things they can simply be watching a movie and cooking dinner together. Here is a list of 12 dates to do during the year, one for each month.

Setting and Planning Your Goals

   It seems as though each new year people make their resolutions to be better, to lose weight, to achieve this or that during the year. Typically those resolutions are forgotten or pushed to the side within a few weeks. I have decided to not make resolutions anymore but instead make goals for the year to come. Goals can end up the same way resolutions do if you don't make a plan to stick with them.

The Best Chicken and Dumplings

   Chicken and Dumplings is a classic comfort food in my world. I remember a time when I was little that I did not like them at all, I think I had a problem with soups in general, but now I don't want to go without them in winter. My mom still makes the best pot out there but I have finally gotten my process down to where it is almost the same. The first winter we were married I tried to make my first pot all on my own. I followed Mom's directions but they turned out runny and not enough dumplings. Hubby was a trooper though and ate them with a smile, he's so sweet. I have made many batches since and they each got better, the last two though have been my best yet.

Married Monday: Play Games Together

   What do you do after dinner? After cleaning up and you are ready to relax do you hang out with your husband? Or do you go to your different screens and do your own thing? I know many of us go and watch our tv shows, check Facebook, or play games instead of spending some good one on one time. Why wouldn't we though it's easy, it's entertaining, something to do when you want to unwind and relax, instead of the harder task of finding things that you both like to do, something to talk about, something new to do.

Happy New Year: My 2016 Word

   Have you heard of My One Word? Instead of making a long list of resolutions for the new year, you pick one word and focus the changes you want to make around that word. It can be a difficult task to pick one word or to know what kind of word you should pick. I haven't accomplished this before, I could never come up with a good word or I forgot about it about a month into it. This year is different, though.