June 2022

A while back I made an Avocado Pesto Pasta and it was so creamy and flavorful. I was going for the same texture in this dish and it turned out so good! I picked up a jar of marinated artichoke hearts from Sprouts Farmers Market so they were the inspiration for this dish. I know spinach works great in Spinach & Artichoke dips so I added spinach, along with basil, garlic, walnuts, parmesan/romano blend cheese, and olive oil. This is by far my favorite pasta dish I’ve ever made. It has so much flavor, all the ingredients come together so well, and the little crunch you get from the walnuts is amazing! But the best part is that it’s super easy to make!

Spinach, Basil, & Artichoke Pesto Pasta * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

1. 8 oz pasta of your choice
2. 1/3 cup olive oil
3. 1 – 6 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts
4. 1 cup spinach leaves
5. 10 large basil leaves
6. 2 garlic cloves (one if you don’t like a strong garlic taste)
7. 1/4 cup walnuts
8. 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
9. 2 tablespoons juice from artichoke hearts
10. 1/2 teaspoon salt
11. Pinch pepper

1. Cook pasta according to instructions on package.
2. In a food processor or Vitamix blender add olive oil, artichoke juice, spinach, artichokes, basil, garlic, walnuts, cheese, salt, and pepper in that order. Blend about 30 seconds or until the desired consistency is reached.
3. Once pasta is cooked, drain and return to pot. Spoon pesto over pasta and mix until everything is coated well.
4. Plate and serve.
5. Store leftovers in refrigerator. This dish is just as good reheated the next day!

A Little Sweet Life https://alittlesweetlife.com/  

So I knew Valentine’s Day was approaching right around December 26th. I kid you not (and I’m sure you noticed) stores started putting up Valentine’s Day decor when we were all still trying to enjoy our holidays! But its ok because it got me thinking about what special treat I wanted to create this year on Cupid’s Day.

These frosted sandwich cookies with heart cutouts are inspired by my favorite all American bakery SusieCakes. I discovered this bakery about 5 years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. They have the best red velvet cake I’ve ever tasted! What they also have are Sweetheart Sandwich Cookies and this recipe is my version of those cookies! I really don’t think you can go wrong with filling two sugar cookies with frosting! What makes these extra special is the heart cutout in the center and the colored sprinkles. Make these cookies for your sweetheart, your best friend, family, or for your kids’ school party. They’ll be so impressed with these cute little creations! I used my fluffy cream cheese buttercream that I color with fresh beet juice for this recipe and the pink compliments the red sprinkles so well. You could also use regular buttercream for a stiffer frosting. Either way, make these adorable little cookies!
 

Valentine’s Day Frosting Filled Sandwich Cookies * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

1. 1 & 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3. 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 3/4 cup white sugar
6. 1 packet vanilla sugar
7. 1/2 cup butter (softened)
8. 1 egg (room temperature)
9. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10. 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
11. Red sugar sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix until incorporated.
4. Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.
5. Pour the red sugar sprinkles into a small plate or bowl.
6. Use a teaspoon or a mini ice cream scoop to scoop your dough and form balls. Roll only half of the balls in the red sugar sprinkles. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet.
7. Bake in preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes or until edges are just slightly colored. Do not over bake, they should still feel soft in the middle.
8. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Move the cookies to a rack to cool completely.
9. While cookies are still hot, use a mini heart shaped cookie cutter and cut out hearts into the cookies that have sprinkles. Doing this while the cookies are cool will cause your cookies to break!
10. Once cookies are completely cool, frost the ones without sprinkles and place a heart cutout sprinkle cookie on top.

A Little Sweet Life https://alittlesweetlife.com/
 

I’m so thankful for all the information I was able to gather online when I first decided to start a food blog. Without it, I’m not sure if I would’ve had the courage to begin. What I want to do today is give you as much information as I can so that you are one step closer to starting your food blog! If along the way you have any questions, just write them down and send me an email! I am more than happy to help!

Step 1

Identify your blogging goals. Do you want to have a space where you share your recipes from time to time or do you have bigger plans to grow and monetize your blog? These are essential questions to ask so that you don’t make the same mistake I did in the beginning. I didn’t think long and hard about what I wanted to do so I shied away from paying a little money to host my blog. You are either someone that wants to start a blog for the first time or someone who is thinking about making the switch to a self hosted site (like I did).

Basically you have two options 

1. Sign up with a free blogging platform like WordPress.com or if you already have and want to switch…
2. Buy a domain name and pay for a self hosted site (domain name is free if you purchase a hosting plan through Bluehost)

Since I was unsure about what I wanted my blog to be, I decided to sign up for through WordPress.com for free. This was great because I didn’t pay anything but when I decided that I wanted to grow my blog I wasn’t able to customize and monetize it how I wanted. So, after a few months I decided to make the switch and pay for a self hosted site. At first I was so scared, thinking it would be such a hassle to make the switch, but I did it in one day!!! 

So how did I make this switch? I used Bluehost! I can’t say it enough, this was so easy! To transfer all my blogging contents in one day and to have my site running smoothly was amazing. They have a wonderful customer service team that helped me out via chat. I’m still amazed to this day how smooth the transition was.

So no matter if you are starting a blog that you want to grow or you’re needing to make the switch to a self hosted site, I recommend Bluehost. You’ll be able to have so much more control of your blog and its future by using this route. Don’t feel overwhelmed by all the different plans because the cheapest plan is all you need!

Step 2 

After you’ve signed up with Bluehost, install Wordpress. You’ll be able to do this through your Bluehost dashboard. WordPress has been rated as the #1 blogging platform out there! Best part, it’s free!

Step 3

Choose a WordPress theme for your blog. What’s great is that there are tons of free ones that will make your blog look professionally done! Free once again, you gotta love that!

Step 4

Download some useful plugins through Worpress. My favorite for my food blog is Recipe Card. It allows you to create beautiful recipe cards that you can customize to include pictures, nutritional information and so much more.

Step 5

Start blogging! My number one suggestion for food bloggers is to invest in a DSLR and take good quality photos which you should then submit to websites like Foodgawker, Tastespotting, and Tasteologie. If you want to learn more about what I use and my photography recommendations visit my Food Photography and Blogging Resources page.

I hope this information gets you one step closer to starting your dream food blog. Please contact me if you have any questions!

Emma turned one last Saturday, September 16th and my husband and I made her a very special birthday cake. As soon as I started thinking about celebrating her first birthday I knew I wanted to bake her a cake from scratch. I want her to always cherish this recipe and hopefully pass it down to her kids one day. 

Birthday cakes and cakes in general are meant to be sweet, but I really wanted to add some wholesome ingredients to make it more nutritious. I incorporated whole wheat flour, oats, and bananas and by doing this I added more nutrients and fiber as well. For this recipe I used butter, but I will definitely be trying it with coconut oil in the future and for both the cake and frosting I cut the sugar, which cut calories but not flavor.

This is easily one of my favorite cakes to make, not just for birthdays but as a cake to have around the house when you get that sweet craving. The first time I made it I enjoyed a slice with a cup of coffee as the perfect midday pick me up. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Wholesome First Birthday Cake * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

1. 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2. 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3. 1/2 cup oats (I used quick oats)
4. 1/2 cup brown sugar
5. 1/2 cup white sugar
6. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
8. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
9. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
10. 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
11. 1/2 cup butter softened
12. 2 eggs at room temperature
13. 2 ripe bananas
14. 3/4 cup milk at room temperature
15. 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. 2 oz butter softened
2. 2 oz cream cheese softened
3. 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4. 1/2 cups powdered sugar, or more, depending on desired sweetness

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Spray three 6 in. round cake pans with non stick baking cooking spray with flour or regular baking spray and dust with flour. Line with round cut out parchment paper. Spray again with baking spray and flour. Set aside.
3. Place 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into the 3/4 cup milk. Set aside.
4. Use a food processor to make oat flour out of oats. Set aside.
5. Sift whole wheat flour, white flour, oat flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add cinnamon. Set aside.
6. Cream butter and both sugars until fluffy and sugars are mostly dissolved.
7. Add both eggs and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated.
8. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk into the sugar mixture, starting and ending with flour.
9. Once incorporated, add banana and mix.
10. Pour evenly into prepared cake pans.
11. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
12. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Remove from pans onto wire rack after 10 minutes and let cool completely.

1. Mix softened butter and cream cheese.
2. Add vanilla extract and mix.
3. Add powdered sugar and mix.
4. Keep adding powdered sugar until desired sweetness is achieved.
5. Note, this frosting will not be as stiff as normal frostings because not as much sugar is used.

1. Place one layer onto cake stand. Scoop half of the frosting onto first layer and spread. Add second layer and do the same. Place third layer on top. Dust with powdered sugar and decorate how ever you desire.

A Little Sweet Life https://alittlesweetlife.com/

I add a ton of vegetables to my meals now that I’ve stopped eating meat. It’s actually great because if I want my plate full (literally), I have to add something! This vegetable fried rice is so flavorful and filling and so easy to make! I use real sweet Hungarian Paprika (which I highly recommend) and it makes such a difference in flavor. If you do eat meat, throw in some grilled chicken cut into little cubes or if you like shellfish, add in shrimp (my favorite)! This rice is great for leftovers! Make a big batch early in the week and you have a delicious meal or side dish for a few days.