The Dreaming Foodie Update + Weekend Recap

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I am so sorry for my absence.

The Dreaming Foodie has definitely been neglected this week.

One good thing. Look at the top of your browser. I am now thedreamingfoodie.com. Yep, I’ve taken that step. No more .wordpress.com. The Dreaming Foodie is officially a thing.

So, that happened Monday. I wasn’t able to touch my site that day. I figured that was a good enough reason to take a day off.

On Tuesday, I woke up and found out our internet had been disconnected. Unexpectedly. By the time I got moving yesterday and could have been to a coffee shop to have internet and post, I decided against it. I figured I would wait until today to let you know I’m still around, but life is happening.

We are officially moving starting tomorrow. I plan to bring you a recipe tomorrow and a Week in Photos on Friday, but I can’t make promises about early next week. I also have a couple of job-related things going on today and tomorrow (wish me luck!), but I am still hoping to get some blog work done, too.

If you’re interested, I’m posting some weekend recap photos today. I told you on Friday that I headed home this past weekend for some best friend wedding festivities and for a nice visit with my family. It was so great. Every last bit of it. I did take some photos of Amanda trying on dresses, but I don’t want to take a chance of posting them and her fiance, Abe, seeing them! But, here are some photos from a perfect summer evening.

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bande

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football

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trees

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Talk to you tomorrow!

Week in Photos

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Yay it’s Friday! I’ve been waiting for this Friday all summer.

My best friend (who now lives in Lexington) told me earlier this summer that we would be going shopping for her wedding dress this weekend, and I’ve been anxiously awaiting the day since. That means that we will both be home. We lived next door to each other since the beginning of my existence and we now each live hours from home, in opposite directions. It will be such a nice reunion!

We also have a nice little get-together planned at my house Saturday night with all of the people who I miss. Can’t wait!

Here are six things that made my week happy!

{This pizza. Toto’s is always a good idea.}

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{These tomatoes. From Blooming Glen Farm. So good, just like this.}

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{Ivy. Cute as ever, I think.}

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{These cupcakes. I sent them in for Greg’s lab meeting.}

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{The keys to our new apartment. It’s officially ours!}

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{Going home today. Shopping tomorrow. :)}

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I hope that you have a wonderful weekend! I will be back to talk to you Monday! 🙂

Simple Homemade Almond Joys

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I’m so excited about these!

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Not that I’m keeping track or anything, but I think these are my second favorite recipe on The Dreaming Foodie. Falling right behind these potatoes.

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And the idea for these came out of absolutely nowhere. They were inspired by nothing. I was just sitting there and then I was making homemade Almond Joys. I don’t know how it happened!

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You see, like all food bloggers, I’m constantly having recipe ideas go through my head. If I’m home, I write them down and if I’m out, I be sure to put them into my phone. A lot of the recipes I think about and think about and develop them thoroughly in my head before I make them. It’s the worst when one of those recipes, that I had such high hopes for, doesn’t turn out.

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And then these almond joys. I didn’t think about them. I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t even have expectations. I just went with it. And, after my first taste, I was so excited. They are heavenly.

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I wish that would happen more often. Amazing recipes happening without thought, without planning. Maybe if I send out the right thoughts/vibes, it will :).

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These will bring joy. I don’t know how they couldn’t. The coconut filling is sweet and dreamy. The chocolate coating is, well, chocolate. Need  I say more about chocolate? And, the almonds give a great crunch and balance to the sweetness.

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So, coconut. I know it’s not a love for some. If you don’t love the flavor of coconut, well, then these probably aren’t for you. But, if you like the flavor and aren’t so sure of the texture, I think you could give these a try.

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When Greg got home on the day that I made these, I was so excited. I was bursting at the seams (and hyped up on chocolate :)). It took all I could not to greet him at the door, Almond Joys in hand, saying “look what I made, try one of these, I made Almond Joys, do you want one, here try one!”

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Though he probably wouldn’t have been surprised to be greeted like that, I practiced some self-restraint and greeted him with an as-calm-as-can-be “Hey, how are you, how was your day?” And then, “look what I made, try one of these, I made Almond Joys!”

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So, to get to the point of this story, Greg happily tried one, and waited until after to tell me that he didn’t think he’d like them. He doesn’t love the texture of coconut. But, he loved them! He said that sort of chewy, stringy texture of coconut wasn’t there. The center is more smooth. It definitely tastes like coconut, but doesn’t have that classic coconut texture.

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For the coconut part of these bars, I processed together coconut + almonds + white chocolate chips. I feel like the combination of the three takes away from any undesirable coconut texture. Also, using the food processor breaks the coconut up a good bit.

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They are super easy to make. The coconut part just takes some processing, some patting into a dish, some freezing and cutting. The dipping part is not hard, but it is a bit messy and takes a just a little bit of time. Maybe you have a good way of dipping things in chocolate that works well. I don’t, and sort of had to just find my chocolate-dipping rhythm as I went.

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If you want these to be dairy-free, you could use those dairy-free chocolate and white chocolate chips that I’ve seen around. The rest is all gluten and dairy-free. So, all in all, these aren’t too bad for being chocolate almond bars. Definitely better for you than the ones that come packaged next to grocery store check out lines.

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Treat yourself this weekend. You deserve it. Enjoy some homemade Almond Joys!

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Ingredients
7 ounces shredded sweetened coconut
1/4 cup almonds, plus more for topping
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
5 tablespoons coconut oil
1/8 teaspoon salt, optional
4 ounces + 1/2 cup chocolate

Place the coconut, almonds, white chocolate chips, coconut oil and if desired, salt, in a food processor. Process for several minutes, until all almonds and chocolate is completely broken up and desired texture is reached.

Place a piece of parchment paper over an 8×8 baking dish. Pour the coconut mixture into the dish, and pat down, until packed tight and covering the entire bottom of the dish. Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

While the coconut mixture is in the freezer, melt the chocolate.

Take the coconut mixture out of the freezer and cut into little rectangles. Dip into the chocolate any way you like. I inserted a toothpick into each coconut rectangle, dipped it in the melted chocolate, then place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place two almonds on top of each bar.

Freeze them for a few minutes to harden the chocolate. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Enjoy!

Simple Bruschetta

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I remember the first time my mom and I made bruschetta.

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It was many summers ago.

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It was a time when we scoured the internet for recipes when we wanted to make something more often than we tried to come up with recipes on our own.

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I remember finding the recipe, getting the ingredients and starting. It was a process. The recipe we used had us slicing an ‘x’ at the bottom of each tomato, plunging each tomato in a pot of boiling water, transferring them to a bowl of cold water, peeling the skin off, slicing each tomato in half, squeezing out the tomato seeds and then finally, chopping the tomatoes. Whew. It was quite the job.

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I will say, I remember that bruschetta being so good. We made it that way several times, and it was always an impressive dish when served to others.

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But, we started looking at it as a lot of work. If we wanted to whip up a quick meal, that bruschetta could never be a part of it. It was so delicious, but just too time consuming.

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Over time, we looked for ways to streamline the process, and basically, this is what we came up with. It’s simple and easy, and something that many people, I’m sure, probably already do. It’s so easy that it’s silly to even call this a recipe. But, if anyone reading this is in our shoes and looking for a simpler bruschetta, this is it.

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I do have to say, I don’t have anything wrong witht the process I talked about above. The way we made it before was great. It was delicious. There was nothing wrong with the taste. I wouldn’t even say I won’t make bruschetta like that again someday. This is just a way to make it any night of the week. If you’re in a hurry, or just really hungry, this is the best.

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This version does have tomato seeds and tomato skin, while the other doesn’t. That was what the process was for — to remove the skin and seeds. For me, the skin and seeds aren’t a problem. It’s all about the flavor. Chopped tomatoes, basil and onion, good olive oil, a touch a salt and pepper, crusty bread and a sprinkle of parmesan. It’s simple deliciousness at its finest.

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This dish is best with fresh, summer tomatoes. I got mine from Three Springs and they couldn’t be better! Enjoy this summertime dish!

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Ingredients
1 baguette (I used a mini one!)
4 cups of grape or cherry tomatoes
4 tablespoons fresh basil
1 small red onion
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

Dice the tomatoes. Chop the basil. Dice the red onion. Place all three into a bowl and stir. Add a drizzle of olive oil, about 2 tablespoons, and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir well.

Slice the baguette. Brush each slice with some olive oil and place under the broiler for about a minute, or until the bread begins to get crispy. Spoon the tomato mixture onto each slice of bread. Sprinkle cheese on top of the tomato mixture. Place the bruschetta back under the broiler for several minutes, until the cheese is melted and bread is at desired crispiness.

Notes:
-The amounts I provided are a guide. If you like more or less basil/onion, adjust accordingly.
-Use any cheese that you like.
-The tomato/basil/onion mixture will keep in the refrigerator for several days.
-These are a bit messy to eat, but so worth it!

Enjoy!

Loaded Veggie Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

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This is the grilled cheese sandwich that you never knew you needed. Is it a bit over the top? Yes. But sometimes life calls for over the top delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. And when that happens – make this. 

Freshly made guacamole, sauteed onions, mushrooms and spinach, freshly sliced tomato and melted cheese come together to create this deliciousness.

And, like most things on this site, this is very customizable. Don’t like mushrooms? Leave them off. Want to add some meat? Go ahead! Want to go lighter on the cheese? That’s okay, just add one piece instead of two. I don’t suggest that, but I do agree, not every day is a two-piece of cheese sandwich kind of day. Some days are, but not every day.

Every layer of this sandwich is special and it all comes together so perfectly. The flavorful guacamole, the fresh, juicy tomatoes, the melty cheese, the onions, cooked with a splash of wine, the spinach and the caramelized balsamic mushrooms all come together to make one unforgettable sandwich. Dig in!

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Loaded Veggie Grilled Cheese Sandwich

This is what I used for one sandwich. Double, triple, etc. as needed.

Ingredients

  • 2 slices your favorite bread
  • 1/2 of an avocado
  • Salt and pepper
  • Juice from 1/2 of a lime
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 large handful fresh spinach
  • 1 large portabello mushroom
  • Olive oil
  • Small splash white wine
  • Small splash balsamic vinegar
  • Butter

Instructions

  1. For the guacamole, scoop out the flesh of the avocado and add it to a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add the lime juice. Mash together with a fork or potato masher until just slightly chunky. Set aside.

  2. Add about 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook for several minutes, or until the onion begins to brown. Once slightly browned, add a splash of white wine to the pan and let it cook off. Once the wine has cooked away, place the onions in a small bowl and set aside.

  3. To the same pan over medium heat, add a large handful of spinach. Cook until wilted. Remove from pan and set aside.

  4. Wipe the mushroom clean with a paper towel. Remove the stem and brown scaly insides. Slice the mushroom into long strips. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan over medium high heat. Add the mushroom strips and stir around to coat the mushrooms in oil. Let cook for several minutes, until the mushroom begins to get soft. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar to the pan, stir, and let cook several more minutes, until the vinegar has cooked away. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.

  5. To make the sandwich, butter one side of each piece of bread. Place one piece of bread in the same pan over medium heat. Top with the guacamole, tomato slices, one slice of cheese, onions, spinach, mushrooms and then another slice of cheese. Let cook until the bread is crispy and browned. Add the other piece of bread on top, buttered side up. Using a large spatula, quickly but carefully flip the sandwich. Let cook until the other slice of bread is crispy. Smash down a bit to combine everything together, slice and eat.