Changes

I have made a decision to go Vegan. That being said I have created a new blog for that and I am not sure how often this one will be updated. I am in no way abandoning it, but all recipes posted from here on out will be Vegan. I will still be getting plenty of use from my mixer, and whatever recipes that I come up with I will share either here or on the Vegan blog if you would like to follow it you can find it at http://wholesoulvegan.blogspot.com.

A lot of people that I have talked to about it think that I am crazy to be making this change. I just know that it is the right thing for me to do at this time in my life. I am really looking forward to looking and feeling my best and believe that this new way of life will help me to do that. I have no intentions of becoming a junk food vegan. I will still be cooking and preparing my meals like before the only difference is the butter, cheeses and protiens will be different. I hope you will come along on this new adventure with me.

Pistachio Pesto with Italian Chicken and Tomatoes

Ok so I know that this blog is devoted to my mixer, but this was too good not to share. And while this recipe doesn't require a mixer, it does require a food processor. I have had this massive basil plant for weeks and the last time my friend Danielle was over she said, you should make pesto.

She was supposed to come for dinner tonight, so I decided to go for it. Of course I had never made pesto before so I did some online research. Most of the sites I read said that pesto was about using what you have on hand. I didn't have pine nuts or walnuts, but i did have pistachios. So I thought why not give it a try. I also didn't have fresh cheese to grate, but I did have some parmesan ramano shaker cheese.

I thought it was fantastic, too bad Danielle didn't make it for dinner I think she would have enjoyed it too. Here is the recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups basil

3 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup pistachio nuts

1/2 cup parmesan ramano shaker cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Shell pistachios and pulse in the processor a few times to chop the nuts, add the basil and continue to pulse it. Next in goes the garlic, salt and pepper pulse it some more and then turn it to on, slowly add the olive oil. Once you have a smooth mixture add in the cheese. I mixed into the pesto some mini bowtie pasta and chicken that I cooked with some salt, pepper and italian seasoning. I stirred it all together and thought it needed some color so I added some fresh cherry tomatoes from my garden sliced in half. This was so good. I am excited for lunch tomorrow.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies with Blueberries

ingredients:

1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6oz White Chocolate chunks
1/2 c. macadamia nuts, chopped
1 1/2 c. blueberries

I love white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, but I have never before tried to make them. This is definetly a recipe that I will make again with or without the blueberries. First things first I bought a box of Baker's White Chocolate squares and chunked them up.

Directions: Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Place butter, sugar, salt , and vanilla in mixer bowl with the paddle blade and mix until smooth, add egg and continue mixing. In a seperate bowl mix together flour and baking soda, add flour mixture into the mixer bowl a little at a time until incorporated. Mix in the white chocolate and the nut. Fold in blueberries. Spoon on to cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes for a large cookie 8-10 minutes for smaller cookies.Enjoy. This was a half batch for the original recipe just double the amounts on the ingredients.