Quinoa Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Dried Cranberries & Red Onion

Quite a while back, I came upon a recipe on Two Peas & Their Pod where every part of the recipe name spoke to me.  This is that recipe.  In years past, I would have snubbed my nose at it because I've never been a big fan of sweet potatoes.  That is until my latest pregnancy.  I couldn't eat enough sweet potatoes. It's happened to me with each of my pregnancies.  My first I fell madly in love with chili and crunchy Cheetos (I passionately hated both before) and my second I became the biggest connoisseur of Powerade on the planet.  Well, this one was sweet potatoes.  I'm so glad it was, too.  Otherwise, not only would I have missed out on the awesomeness that is Rumbi's Sweet Potato fries, but I would have missed out on this incredibly delicious recipe, too!  

Not only is it beautiful to look at, but it's my new favorite go-to meal!  Protein packed quinoa. Healthful-filled roasted veggies. Sweet and tangy balsamic vinaigrette.  It's like a symphony in your mouth with every bite!

Don't just take my word for it.  Go make it yourself.  You'll thank me for it.  Promise!!!  Thank you Maria & Josh for allowing me to use your photo and highlight your amazing recipe on my blog too!  It's just too good to keep it a secret from anyone!

{quinoa salad with roasted sweet potatoes, kale, dried cranberries & red onion recipe}

TWD::All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake

Health Update: Mostly better except for the bronchitis. It just won't leave me alone. I'm very reliant on my inhaler and asthma medication like never before. BUT that's okay. Everything else is gone so I can deal with my incessent coughing and breathing problems. At least I'm not contagious! Hooray!

Well, lets get on with this cake post! I'm not a HUGE pumpkin fan. I know, so un-American of me. I don't even like pumpkin pie, so I don't make it for any holiday. So when this recipe called for so much pumpkin in it, I was worried it would taste of pumpkin with a hint of spices and nuts. But it didn't. It tastes only slightly of pumpkin. Good news for me! While it's not my all-time favorite bundt cake, it's definitely not on my least favorite list. If you're a fan of spice cake, you'll like this one. The cake base itself is quite delicious with just the right balance of spices, crunchiness and moistness to make anyone happy.

The one way I DO love to eat pumpkin is along with chocolate chips. Oh yes! Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies...say HELLO to Mommy! So, as I'm eating each bite of my slice of this spice bundt cake, I'm imagining how absolutely INCREDIBLE it would taste as a pumpkin chocolate chip bundt instead. Yes, I will most asuredly make this cake again with those changes so I can add the necessary chocolate to it. Oh, and lets not forget the frosting! As much as I LOVE bundts plain, I love them even more with a good frosting glaze. Mmmm...



If you'd like to snag this recipe to make it yourself, either buy the book or head over to our host, Britin's blog The Nitty Britty. You'll be glad you did!

TWD::Cran-Apple Crisp

First of all, thank you everyone for all your well-wishes. I'm not 100% yet, but my tastebuds almost are. I've been sick for the past month and just went back to the Dr. today because I'm STILL not feeling in tip top shape. Verdict: Persistent Bronchitis. Well, Duh! I could've told him that! At least he did give me two medications that should hopefully knock this gunk out of my system for good this time...crossing my fingers. I just hope that I've done my time with illnesses this winter and can be healthy for the rest of it. Well, I can be a little bit hopefuly, right!?

So, now that I'm somewhat on the mend, I decided to bake my family a treat. They've been dying for some baked yummy goodness to come from our kitchen again and I thought the best way to start that out would be with this Cran-Apple Crisp.

This crisp is seriously so delicious! I used five small apples instead of four. Three of which were granny smiths. Did I remember that cranberries have a tendency towards tartness also while whipping this together...NO! So, we had a few bites here and there that were doubbly tart. I probably should have added a bit more sugar to counteract that. Oh well. We loved it, regardless! The coconut in the topping was a pleasant surprise, too. It added somewhat of a tropical feel while the apples and cranberries brought it down to home and balanced everything beautifully. One perfect bite of tartness and sweetness in perfect harmony! Well done, Dorie!

The best part...It's incredibly easy, too! My 5 year-old daughter wanted in on the baking action, so I let her play along with me. Being that there were only a handful of ingredients, made our "play time" much less stressful for me, too. Whew! I needed that!

I just couldn't help posting a photo of my two cuties since they were both LOVING this crisp. Though, it definitely makes it taste better when you're five and get to help in the kitchen!

If you'd like to make this crisp too, head on over to Em's blog (our host for this recipe) at The Repressed Pastry Chef . Or better yet, buy the book; Baking: from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan! You'll love it as much as I do!

You can also see what other TWDers thought by going to the TWD Blogroll HERE.