Featured Friday – Alida’s Kitchen

Happy Friday!!!! Let’s do the Friday dance!!!!! I love this Friday because I have ANOTHER date night scheduled with my hubby tonight! Yay us!! I also love this Friday because I’m going to introduce you to a Co-Host that you are going to adore! Her name is Alida (pronounced with a LONG I) and she blogs over at Alida’s Kitchen.

Let’s give her a warm welcome!! I met Alida through the #SundaySupper group, she has some amazing recipes, cooks on the healthier side and her photographs………well they will make your mouth water so you’ll just have to go and check them out! Alida loves everything peanut butter, pumpkin and muffins! Girl after my own heart, I can’t believe I didn’t choose a muffin to make with how much my daughter loves muffins, but she’s been so picky lately that I’ve been baking them and then eating them all because she’s not liking them, so I’ve put my muffin baking on hold these days. However I did “bake” something from Alida’s Kitchen!!! First let’s talk about some of her recipes that I loved and hope to make at some point, these are the ones I make note of so when I’m looking to try something new, I have plenty to choose from! Alida cooks mostly Vegetarian and some chicken though you will see the occasional beef dish. Like me, she doesn’t cook seafood either! When I say she bakes PLENTY……..she bakes PLENTY O’ GOODIES!

Alida’s Vegetable Quichetata with Roasted Garlic Hummus and Goat Cheese would satisfy my muffin tin obsession don’t you think!! Speaking of muffins, I almost made her Banana Graham Muffins, assuming Madison will love these I have to give these a shot! However I’d have a hard time choosing any of her Muffin recipes because she’s got some good ones that I think are fabulous creations! I have to get Madison back on a Muffin kick because one it’s cheaper than buying Nutrigrain bars and two with recipes like Alida’s you’ll never run out of trying new ones! A main dish of hers that has me and my husband written all over it is her Lighter Cajun Chicken!! I can’t wait to try this, I’m pinning this for my after baby recipes since I’ll be keeping it on the lighter side after I have my son. Speaking of lighter sides……how about her Balsamic Blueberry Salad!!I love Balsamic in general but love it in my Salads and I also love Blueberries so it’s a win win for me!!

Oh you want to talk about what I did end up making??!! Well I crave sweets these days as you know, and since you’ve probably already gone over to Alida’s Kitchen to check out what she has in her “Sweet Department” I got to use my good ol’ Kitchen Aid Mixer for this baby too!! Not only that but I was more than happy when Madison saw me pulling out the ingredients and immediately wanted to help me. She wanted to get up on the counter and help Momma “Mix”. I’m just starting to realize that she loves being with me in the kitchen when I’m baking. Not cooking. Just baking. That’s OK though, I still love it. I love when she wants to “help”.

I chose Alida’s Peanut Butter Cup Blondies. I can’t tell you how good these were! Just click on any picture to get the recipe. They were just the perfect amount of sweet for me, if your not into desserts that are super duper sweet this one is for you!! The bonus is if your on Weight Watchers it’s only 5 points per Brownie!!! I had a friend calculate this for me and even she said that’s a great point value for a good sized piece of dessert. (Just don’t have 3 pieces like I did!!!! Well Drew “needed” it!!) The only difference between the one I made and the one Alida made was she made her brownies in a 9×9 pan it served 16. I only had an 8×8 pan and I cut mine into 12 different pieces.

Another thing I have to say about this recipe………it’s super duper easy!! The Kitchen Aid Mixer  made it that much more easy, but I surly would have made them even if I didn’t have one! I also have to confess that I used my fingers to actually even it out into the pan because I found it pretty thick. Dessert for a few nights all in minutes, or in my case one day and one night, I almost made them again the next day they were that good! AH!!

Now we have to show Miss Madison taste testing them. Lately I haven’t been giving this girl much sugar because she bounces off the wall as it is! However how could I not let her try something she helped make!!! Here we are enjoying a few after dinner on a beautiful 70 degree night 🙂

Thank you again Alida for Co-Hosting with me. It was fun and I love love love your blog!! I will continue to follow you and try some more recipes! Now go visit her and tell her this Momma sent you!! 🙂 Happy Friday folks!