Mango Hot Pepper Jam Spread

A few weeks ago, we spent a few days in Lewes, Delaware. It's a small shore town about 3.5 hours from us, and it was the perfect way to end the summer on a fun and sunny note.

One of my favorite things about small towns is a good farmer's market. I stumbled upon a table of various homemade jams by Backyard Jams & Jellies. Peach, Strawberry Kiwi, Bing Cherry and more.

I ended up taking home a jar of bing cherry jelly (no idea what I'm going to do with that one, but yum!) and a jar of mango hot pepper jelly.

I have long been a fan of the Harry & David Pepper & Onion Relish, and so a similar-sounding mango hot pepper jelly - homemade, no less! - had me at hello.

Once we returned home, I whipped up a little treat for football Sunday. I placed the hot pepper jam alongside some softened cream cheese to make a nice and simple spread. Place a bit of cream cheese on a cracker (I love Club Multigrain), top with a bit o' jelly, devour immediately.

I love this sweet combo with just a hint of heat from the peppers. The cream cheese offsets the sweetness a tad. I may or may not have had this straight up for lunch...and loved every bite.

I haven't yet tried making this on my own, but the lovely Averie has a beautiful recipe that I'd love to try someday! Until then, I'll be enjoying my Lewes version until it runs out (and possibly then pick up some Harry & David to hold me over).

Have you ever had hot pepper jelly? How do you eat it?

What are your favorite farmer's market finds?

Spinach Ricotta Spread with Parmesean Chips

I feel like Monday arrived super fast this week, didn't it?

Or do I always say that? I know I typically feel that way.

I spent the weekend picking up some maternity clothes (more on that soon) and spending time down the shore. We are trying to soak up these last weekends of summer as they seem to be flying by! How was your weekend?

Meanwhile, it's that time again for the Secret Recipe Club reveal day! Hooray!

I really do love the Secret Recipe Club because it's so fun to branch out and try new recipes, not to mention the opportunity to find a ton of new blogs!

Each month, The Secret Recipe Club, run by the lovely April, pairs a blogger with another blog. The blogger then chooses one recipe to cook or bake and reveals it as a surprise on a designated day. I like. A special thanks also to Debbi @ Debbi Does Dinner Healthy for playing hostess in Group C!

I was thrilled to receive Feast on the Cheap as my blog assigment for this month. A gorgeous blog written by mother-daughter team Mary Anne and Mariel, I had such a tough time picking a recipe because they all look so fantastic! 

I chose their Spinach-Ricotta Spread on Crispy Parmesean Squares as my recipe for the month. Since my cooking has been limited lately (read: virtually nonexistent), I thought this beautiful recipe was perfect due to its simple yet delicious nature. And right I was. I changed up the parmesean chips a bit. Since I'm lazy these days, I chose to make my quick baked tortilla chips sprinkled with parmesean cheese, rather than rolling out pizza dough...though I'm sure that would really put this recipe over the top!

I also served this spread as a dip, rather than spreading on individual chips. It was just a snack for Shaun and me, so I found it to be much easier this way, and then I was able to save the rest for another day!

Spinach-Ricotta Spread with Parmesean Chips
*Adapted from Feast on the Cheap
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
15-oz container of part skim ricotta
1¼ cup + 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
2 8 inch tortillas
1 Tablespoon butter 
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Salt & pepper
Cooking spray

To make the chips, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut up 2 tortillas and lay on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp parmesean cheese. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until crispy.

In a skillet, melt the butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the ricotta and parmesean cheese. Stir together until melted and bubbling. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with parmesean tortilla chips.

Shaun and I really loved this dip. It came together in a snap and I could see us eating this on many a football Sunday to come!

So there you have it. Another great Secret Recipe Club recipe! Thanks to Mary Anne and Mariel for sharing!

Questions of the Day:

What are your favorite dips or spreads?

What did you do this weekend?

MDW + a Healthy Snack

Oh hi there!

I know I promised that I'd be back on a real schedule this week (e.g., posting at my normal 7:30AM), however, it just wasn't in the cards. One of these days I'll get back on track :)

Did you have a nice holiday weekend?

Shaun and I were away from Jersey City from Friday afternoon through Monday evening. It was so nice to get away for a few days and recharge the batteries. Somehow, whenever I get in some relaxation time, I always end up feeling sleepy and wanting more. Case in point: I was exhausted last night, however, I had plenty of sleep, laying on the beach and relaxation time all weekend long. 

Sometimes I guess you just need more recharging!

The first part of the weekend was spent taking care of this little lady:

 

Shaun and I were house-sitting/dog-sitting while my parents were away. We were happy to just hang out with Chloe, sit by the pool and watch movies on the big TV. I wasn't complaining!

I usually have a tendency to think that holiday weekend = lots of eating, and this weekend I tried my best to mitigate all of that eating doing damage to my waistline (and all of the good work I've been doing lately). When my friend Lindsay posted her hummus platter recipe, I knew it would be the perfect healthy snack to get me through the weekend. 

On a plate, spread out a container of hummus.

Top it with any you'd like! I used crumbled feta, diced & seeded cucumbers and drained pimentos. I think some chopped green or kalamata olives, red onion or bell peppers would also be fantastic.

On the side, I baked up some of my healthy tortilla chips!

Ok so these can be a little cardboardy, but honestly, isn't the chip just a vehicle for the dip anyway? I promise you won't miss the fried, fatty kind. I simply used a knife to cut up 2 low carb, whole wheat tortillas into pieces (I didn't go fancy like the rounds you see above, but if you prefer those, simply use a cookie cutter or top of a jar).

I then laid the pieces on an oven-safe wire rack, fitted over a foil-lined baking sheet. Next, I sprayed the 'chips' with cooking spray and doused them with kosher salt. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes and voila! Homemade, healthy chips!

I got my dip on with this hummus platter like it was my job. Don't mind if I do.

Refreshing, salty, protein-packed and guilt-free. What more can you ask for?

A glass of wine?

Yes, I had one of those as well :)

So there you have it. My new favorite dip that came together in about 3 minutes. Shaun loved it so much he kept asking when I'd make it again. All in good time...like this weekend, perhaps? I think it's the perfect dip to bring to a party (along with a little ziptop baggie of healthy chips ;))

Questions of the Day:

How was your weekend?

What did you do?

Did you eat anything deliciously noteworthy this weekend?