Lovin' From the Oven

BLT Sandwich with Avocado

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Some days, you just can’t get yourself together to make a real meal, despite the fact that you’ve been starving for the past two hours. Enter the BLT– the solution to that problem. It takes a whole 5 minutes to make and you have a hearty, mouth watering sandwich.

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You can add more of, take out, and include any ingredient that you want without being judged for it. Don’t really like lettuce? Change it to spinach. How about that meat? Bacon’s just not satisfying your manly cravings? Throw in some turkey, ham, and roast beef.

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This is my version of the perfect BLT. I like having a lot of veggies and just a tad bit of saltiness from the extra crispy bacon. Everyone’s is different.

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The ingredient list for this sandwich isn’t very specific, so feel free to adjust any way you want. Seriously, the possibilities are endless.

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BLT Sandwich with Avocado

Ingredients

  • 2 slices of bread
  • butter or margarine
  • mozzarella
  • 2 slices of bacon, cooked
  • half of an avocado
  • handful of spinach
  • cherry tomatoes, cut into halves

Directions

  1. Heat a pan (one big enough that will hold your sandwich!) over medium heat.
  2. Butter both sides of your bread and put them on the pan to warm.
  3. Flip the pieces of bread over and add all of your ingredients to one side. I like to put the cheese as the first layer so it's thoroughly melted. Put the other piece of bread on top of your ingredients to close the sandwich.
  4. Using a spatula, gently press down so that the bread becomes a nice, golden brown. Once the level of crispiness has been reached, flip the entire sandwich over and repeat for the other side of bread.
https://lovintheoven.com/blt-sandwich-with-avocado/

Fiesta Quinoa Bake

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Oops, I haven’t blogged in a week. I’ve been busy reading 50 Shades of Grey and seeing what the hype was all about. After I read that, my book club that I review for decided to send me Diary of a Submissive and the first two books of the Crossfire series. Hmm… is my book club trying to tell me something?

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I do the majority of my reading on the airplane and usually finish a book or two on a trip. Yes, I brought all these books with me on the plane while working. Yes, there were quite a few nosy passengers that just had to know what I was reading. No shame here! As I showed them the cover and gave them a brief rundown, the passengers immediately regretted asking me that question and paced away awkwardly. Hah! That’ll teach ’em.

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Usually when I finish my books, I give them to my mom to read. I had Diary of a Submissive in my hand and quickly shoved it into my bag when my mom asked what books I had for her when we met up. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: “Oh… it’s nothing. This book isn’t for your eyes. It’s not your type of book. I just finished reading it for my book club. It’s kind of like the whole 50 Shades of Grey, but in real life.”
Mom: “50 Shades of Grey? I loved that book!”
Me: “Wait….. what? You read 50 Shades of Grey?!”
Mom: “Yes, I read all three of them in a week. The story is so good!”

Needless to say, I handed over Diary of a Submissive to my mother.

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Parents can be so surprising at times. You think you know them, and then they go and throw you a curveball. But in all seriousness, I love that I can share things like that with my mom. I love that I’ve reached a certain age where I have so much more appreciation and understanding in my life for everything that my parents do, have done, and will do.

They may have been the “bad guys” when I was little, but looking back on it now, I realize I have the greatest parents in the world. Everything they did was to benefit their children and our family, and I couldn’t have asked for a better upraising.

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Whoa, things got a bit sentimental there. I promise I don’t do that often. I just wanted to kick off November with something that I’m thankful for. Speaking of November, I’ll be doing a week of strictly pumpkin recipes next week! Come back for some Thanksgiving recipes.

Now to the quinoa. It kind of became a fad out of nowhere and it took me a while to jump on the bandwagon. I bought a bag from Target on a whim and found a recipe to make with it. I brought this dish along for a picnic and although it’s fairly simple, people loved it. Not only that, the dish itself looks beautiful with all the bright colors from the vegetables. Recipe from Everyday Vegan Girl.

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Fiesta Quinoa Bake

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 sweet pepper (any color), diced
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 cup black beans
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 cup cilantro (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
  2. In a pan over medium heat, cook the onions, garlic and pepper for 5-7 minutes.
  3. Mix the rest of the ingredients with the sautéed vegetables and pour into an oven safe dish. (I used a 9x9 dish and it overflowed a bit, so use one bigger!)
  4. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Garnish with cilantro.
https://lovintheoven.com/fiesta-quinoa-bake/

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

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May’s going to be a busy month for my DB and me. It’s his 25th birthday, he’ll be finishing up his first year of law school, it’ll be our 4 year anniversary, we’re traveling to Disneyworld, and amidst all of that, we’ll be trying to find new tenants and a new apartment at the same time. A lot of pleasure and a lot of work equals one. hectic. month. Eeeeep!

Here’s another crockpot recipe for you. It has the basics– potatoes, onions, and carrots. I loved using the broth to dip fresh french bread in. I’m not sure where the original recipe came from so if anyone knows, please fill me in so I can give credit. Thanks!

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Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Ingredients

  • 2 - 2 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • pinch of salt
  • couple grinds of fresh black pepper
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups beef broth
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 3 potatoes, diced
  • 1 cup of baby carrots
  • half a bag of Lipton's onion mix

Directions

  1. Place meat in slow cooker. Toss with the flour, salt, black pepper, and garlic.
  2. Pour the worcestershire sauce, beef broth, water, potatoes, baby carrots, and onion mix on top of the beef.
  3. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.
https://lovintheoven.com/slow-cooker-beef-stew/

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