FOOD: Asian Super Slaw Salad

Hi Made By Girl readers, it is Amanda from A Life Well Lived  here to share one of my all time favorite salads with you. I am just going to put it out there - this might be the best salad that you ever make. This Asian Super Slaw Salad is super healthy but also super tasty. It is crunchy and creamy all at the same time. Plus this is one of those recipes where everyone loves it, picking eaters and vegetarians alike. It is just that good.

This salad is really adaptable. You could top it with peanuts for an extra crunch. Adding green onions or mint would be delicious. You can use all purple cabbage or even all carrots. The sky is the limit. If someone in your family can't eat peanut butter, try it with tahini or almond butter. It might taste a little bit different but it will still be creamy and delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup walnut oil 
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 5 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
• 2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage
• 2 large red or yellow bell peppers, cut into matchstick-size strips
• 2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• sesame seeds 

Whisk the first 8 ingredients in small bowl to blend. (Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before topping the vegetables with it.)

Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Serves about 6 people. 

- post by Amanda

Teaching HIM to cook for HER

Hey everyone! I'm so excited to announce the new cooking classes my husband Mat, is teaching here in New York City! 

THE INFO:

As some of you may know, my husband & I will be embarking on an adoption journey.  Adoption is quite expensive & an emotionally draining process from what we've heard, but the end result (bringing a baby home) should be well worth it!  This is something I've never been sure about sharing on my blog before, but I felt this was the right time.

With that said, we also have our own donation page where you can read more about our story, as well as the cooking class that my husband is starting this month in order to raise money for our adoption.  His site is called, Pot Pan Knife, a NYC-based culinary workshop to teach men 'how to cook for HER'.   Ladies, I don't know about you, but I love when my husband makes breakfast for me - it's so special & I appreciate him even more. Showing LOVE through little gestures like cooking can mean a lot to someone.

So, feel free to tell the men in your life......

WHEN:

If you're a man in NYC - and would like to attend the first class on March 13th called - "Make Her Breakfast" - you can get your ticket here.  The class is about 2 hours & should be a lot of fun! Only 8 slots available.  The 'Make Her a Dumpling Dinner' class will be coming up the week after - stay tuned!

You can sign up for his mailing list here to get info on upcoming classes. Again, THANK YOU all from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support on our adoption journey & the classes!

"And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me".  - Matthew 18:5

FOOD: Fresh Cucumber and Tomato Pizzettes

Hi there MadeByGirl! This is  Jen from Pretty Eats bringing you a pretty and fun appetizer that can also fit the bill for dinner (if you eat all 6, like I did). Who else out there is dreaming of Summer during these Winter months? I know I'm not the only one raising my hand. These fresh and tasty Cucumber and Tomato Pizzettes will have those Summer daydreams feel like reality.

Easy, super quick, and adaptable to your favorite ingredients, I know you'll find ways to make these pizzettes your own. Try my summery cucumber and tomato version first and feel that cold weather melt away.

Ingredients:  makes 6
    •    6 mini pitas
    •    4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
    •    1 cucumber, thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler
    •    1/2 c sliced cherry tomatoes
    •    Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
    •    High quality EVOO and fresh micro greens for garnish

Directions: 
    •    Preheat broiler on high
    •    Place mini pitas on baking sheet, top with sliced mozzarella, sprinkle salt and pepper on top
    •    Broil cheese-topped pitas on high for 1-2 minutes, until bubbly and slightly golden
    •    Allow pitas to cool for 2 minutes before adding remaining toppings
    •    Top with slices of fresh cucumber, tomato, and micro greens…drizzle with EVOO and enjoy!

- photos by jen olson

My Husband Makes an Ombre Cake

I LOVE Valentine's day - but I didn't love it so much when I was single.  Back as a single gal, I used to secretly hope that as I walked down the street on Feb. 14th,  some guy would ask me out! Needless to say, it only happened once.

I guess I enjoy Valentine's day because it's the day (besides anniversaries) we celebrate love in a BIG way.  Personally, I think love should be celebrated as often as possible - and with that said, let's talk about this post.  Lately I've been asking my husband to bake a cake.... but not just any cake - an Ombre cake.

So, I had to show him the many photos of ombre cakes featured on Pinterest & like a good sport, he was game!  Keep in mind, Mat loves to cook & teaches himself new recipes all the time, but this one was a definitely a challenge.  Either way, he made it for me today as one of my Valentine's treats. How cute is this??!??!  Some of you may also recall, two years ago on V-day - he also made me a cake, you can see the photos here.

I loved it so much I had to show you!  Below Mat take over the post & explain how he made this cake.  I'm impressed - aren't you?

 Ingredients:

1 stick (8 Tb) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Tb teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites
1/2 C "milk" (soy or almond is fine)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Hot pink food coloring

Prep:

Preheat to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugar in a mixing bowl for 5 minutes. Stir flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl. Combine egg whites, milk and vanilla extract in another bowl. Add half of the dry mix to the butter mix, then half the milk mixture, and combine well with beater. Repeat, scraping bowl and beater often.

Prepare your pans. For this I used 4.5" non-stick springforms but you can use any type of pan. If it is not non-stick, you will need to grease it and use parchment to prevent sticking. Pour 3/4" deep of the mix into the baking pan and let settle. Carefully add food color to the remaining mix, 2 drops at a time blending completely so that the color never gets more than a few shades pinker. Pour 3/4" deep of the mix into a second pan. At this point, I had to bake them for 18 minutes, remove, and cool. Repeat the coloring each time you fill the pan and bake. Be sure to cut the puffed top off before layering the cake, and put a good dose of frosting between layers.

Frost with any good frosting - I recommend coloring a light shade of pink (about the same as the second or third layer). Buttercream is always a good choice but any frosting will do.

PS - if you don't want to go through the effort of scratch, you can use a box mix just as easily.

-images by jen ramos

FOOD: Brownie Roll-out Cookies

Hello! Jen of Lemon Drop Love here to share a fun, chocolatey Valentine’s Day treat. I like this recipe because the end result is a unique cross between a brownie and a cookie; crunchy on the edges and chewy in the center—perfect with a cold glass of milk! And if there wasn’t already enough chocolate for you, I added a little flare to the recipe—chocolate almond spread topped with sprinkles! These are surprisingly simple to make, plus you'll have so many cookies you can share the love with friends and coworkers.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: (recipe adapted via The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)
Whisk the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder together in a bowl, and set aside. Beat butter and sugar with electronic mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl. Mix in vanilla. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Roll out cookie dough on a floured counter. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top. Bake on a parchment-lined sheet for 8 to 11 minutes, until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.
Transfer to wire rack to cool.
**Addition: once cookies are cooled, use your favorite chocolate spread, Nutella would work—I used Cocoa Almond Spread from Trader Joe's. Then top with your favorite sprinkles.**

- photos by jen

FOOD: Orange Chocolate Truffles

Hi everyone, I am Amanda from the food and lifestyle blog, A Life Well Lived. This is my first post with Made By Girl and I am super excited to share some of my favorite recipes with you all.
 

First up, Orange Chocolate Truffles - perfect treat for the upcoming Valentine’s Day. These truffles look hard to make but are incredibly easy!  My favorite kind of recipe. With just a couple of easy-to-find ingredients, you have the perfect Valentine’s Day treat for that special someone or even better, a Valentine’s Day gift for yourself.
 

Personally, I love this combination of intense semi-sweet chocolate against the sweet
floral and citrus notes of the orange zest. By using just the zest of the orange you get
the the great orange flavor without any bitterness. It elevates the chocolate just a little
without overpowering it.

But, the best part of this recipe is that it is totally adaptable to other types of chocolate
truffles. I have added some other recipe ideas that would be delicious combinations.

Chocolate Orange Truffles

 
Truffles

3/4 cup heavy cream

8 ounces semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange zest

Pinch kosher salt

Toppings
1⁄2 cup chocolate sprinkles
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Heat the cream in medium sized heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Bring cream
to a simmer then remove the pan from the heat. Do not boil the cream. Add the
chocolate to cream and let sit for a minute or two, until chocolate begins to melt. Add
orange zest and salt and whisk until completely smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Cover and
refrigerate preferably overnight. If you are short on time, you can spread the mixture into
a thin layer on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for one hour.

Remove the chocolate mixture from refrigerator and let soften just slightly. With a melon
baller or spoon, roll 1 tablespoons of the mixture at a time into balls until round and
smooth. Roll each truffle in a topping of your choice. If the mixture gets too soft return it
to the refrigerator. 

Truffles can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for two days or in the refrigerator up to two weeks. (Note if using powdered sugar as a topping it tends to get absorbed by the chocolate over time. So it you plan on storing these truffles or making them ahead, I suggest using only the sprinkles or cocoa powder as toppings) Makes about 25 bite-sized truffles

Other possible combinations based on the above recipe. Remove the orange zest and
try some of the below ideas:

Toasted Coconut Chocolate Truffles - Instead of the heavy cream, use coconut cream
and then roll the truffles in toasted coconut flakes

Nutella Truffles - Add 1/2 cup Nutella to chocolate and reduce heavy cream to 1/2 cup.
Then roll truffles in finely chopped hazelnuts.

Pistachio Truffles - Add 1/8 teaspoon of almond extract (a little goes a long way) to the
chocolate and cream, then roll the truffles in crushed pistachios

- photos by amanda

DIY: Chocolate-Dipped Glitter Apples

Hello everyone! How was your weekend?  As for me, I decided to get creative (as usual) over the weekens & make some dark chocolate glitter apples. I love Dark chocolate & for this DIY I used Green & Black's 85% bar & Honey Crisp apples. These particular apples are ideal for this because they're always crunchy, juicy & sweet!  So.....keep reading below to learn to make these beauties.

Directions:

• Rinse off your apple with water & dry it well. Chop the honey crisp apples into slices - you can slice them into relatively thin pieces like I did mine. 
• Once the apple is chopped, dry it again to remove the excess moisture so that the chocolate will have an easier time adhering to the apple.   
• Break your Green & Black's bar into small square pieces - I used about half of the bar for one apple.  Put the chocolate into a small, but somewhat deep bowl.  Insert the chocolate into the microwave & add 30 seconds.  Keep an eye on it the whole time as chocolate tends to get hot fast and burn!  If this happens, it will NOT go on smooth & you will have to re-do. After the 30 seconds, remove the chocolate from microwave & stir a bit.  If the chocolate hasn't melted, add it into the microwave again for another 10-15 second interval. Remove again & stir until it is fully melted.  Stirring will help melt the chocolate faster.  Once it is melted with a smooth consistency, then it is time to dip your apple pieces! 
• Dip one apple slice at a time halfway into the bowl, you can use a spoon to fill in any spots on the apple not covered with chocolate. I decided to dip them halfway - it's just easier to hold. Hold the apple in the air over the bowl & let any chocolate-drippings fall into the bowl. Once it feels like it's no longer dripping, carefully place it onto a clean plate. Once placed down, do not move them around or it will be a mess!  Repeat this with every slice - once you've dipped all the pieces, it's time for the decor with glitter!!
• I decided to decorate the apples with edible glitter from Sunflower Sugar Art. They have some amazing glitter - this stuff shines in any light & looks like actual glitter! But totally edible! For my DIY - I chose the American Gold disco dust.  Just place some glitter in your hand & sprinkle it over the plated apples. There you have it!

image above & below via Sunflower Sugar Art

-top photo by jen ramos

Food: Carrot Apple Juice

Hello, MBG readers! Fallon, of Sage + Sparkle here, sharing a healthy treat...Carrot Apple Juice. At the start of a new year, who doesn't love a good detox, and juice or smoothies are the perfect way to start. I typically have a fresh green juice every morning, but there are days that I love to throw in a little variety and this juice is the perfect way to do so. Carrots are really the star in this recipe, helping to cleanse the digestive system, on top of being an antioxidant, and boosting your immune system. Add in the apple and ginger, plus lemon and chia seeds and you have a winning, healthy combination.  

*Please note: you will need a juicer to try this recipe, I recommend the this one. 
 

Ingredients:

• 1 green apple (cut into pieces, removing the core)
• 4-5 large carrots *
• 1 sm piece of fresh ginger (about the size of thumb)
• 1 lemon (peeled)

Fun Fact: When it comes to carrots, the deeper the orange, the higher the concentration of beta-carotene

 

Directions:

Now it's time to add everything together and enjoy this delicious, fresh juice! Add all ingredients to juice in the following order (the order does matter):

• Apple
• Lemon
• Ginger
• Carrot

The last step is to add the chia seeds. Make sure you stir the juice first, to mix in the foam. Pour in chia seeds and stir. Enjoy! To learn more about the health benefits of chia seeds, click here. For more of my juice recipes, visit Sage + Sparkle. 

-post and recipe by Fallon Carmichael, Sage + Sparkle



 

Food: Pistachio Cranberry Cheese Log

Hello again! It's Fallon of Sage + Sparkle here, to share with you one of my favorite (super easy) appetizers that you can prepare for any holiday soiree.

In total it takes a bout 4 hours to make but the actual time you will spend on it, is very minimal. The longest part is just letting it sit in fridge. Easy enough, right?! I don't know about you, but for me the holidays are a whirlwind, I feel like they are over before they even start... so easy is a must! The original recipe was adapted from good ol' Martha, however see below for the slight changes/additions I made.

 
 Ingredients:

• 1 bar (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup coarsely grated sharp white cheddar (4 ounces)
• 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Sea salt and ground pepper
• 1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, chopped
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• Assorted crackers, for serving

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese, cheddar,dijon, and worcestershire until well combined; season with salt and pepper. (TIP: I used my bullet to make sure everything was mixed perfectly)
• Cover then refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
• Toast pistachios over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden, about 7 minutes; set aside and let cool
• Once cooled mix in bowl with dried cranberries
• Transfer cheese mixture to a piece of waxed or parchment paper; using paper, shape into a 6" long log. Roll in pistachio/cranberrie mixture, pressing them firmly to adhere.
• Wrap log in a fresh piece of waxed or parchment paper and place back into refrigerator for additional 1 to 2 hours (or up to 1 day) to firm.
• Serve with crackers.

I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday. See you in the new year!!!


 -post by Fallon Carmichael, Sage + Sparkle    

FOOD: MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE

Hi everyone! Lauren from Perpetually Chic, dropping in this month with a twist on a winter classic. With an early snowfall in many areas and frigid temps, there's nothing better than cozying up inside near the fire with a warm cup of hot chocolate. This Mexican Hot Chocolate is a take on a family favorite from growing up. Rich and creamy hot chocolate gets an unexpected, but oh-so-delicious spike from a dash of chili powder, cayenne, and cinnamon. Keep reading for the details!



Seriously--you'll be putting your can of hot cocoa mix away after trying this recipe, because making it from scratch on the stove is surprisingly easy. And you can adjust the spices to your preference, whether you want a subtle hint or a more flavorful kick. For the whipping cream, I like to add that little extra indulgence but not overdo it--I just add a small dollop to top off each cup, letting it immediately melt right into the cocoa.



Mexican Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
4 cups 2% milk
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup sugar
2 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 cinnamon sticks, plus more for serving
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of chili powder

Instructions:
Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer, then add the cocoa powder, sugar, chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, cayenne and chili powder. Whisk until well combined. Cook until mixture is fully warmed, about 2 minutes. Whisk again just before serving. In a chilled metal bowl, combine whipping cream, sugar and cinnamon. Whisk with a hand blender on high speed until peaks form, about 1-2 minutes. Ladle the hot chocolate into cups, top with a dollop of whipping cream, sprinkle with a dash of chili powder, and garnish with cinnamon sticks.


-post by lauren craig