Friday Fun Find

Can I first point out how excited I am to have finally found a Friday blog feature ripe with alliteration (much like this very sentence)? I mean, in the world of blogging, a regular Friday feature is pretty much a must that I've been avoiding for no better reason than I couldn't think of something else that started with "f." This is my brand, you guys...I gotta represent.

Now that I've passed that hallmark, I can think of no better find in recent history than Sephora by O.P.I nail color drying drops at a steal for $4:

I'm sure you've tried some kind of quick drying serum in the past--perhaps that spray can of mink oil that undoubtedly has no actual mink anything in it that your local nail salon pushes to try to get you out of the drying station as fast as possible, which actually doesn't bother you anyway since they got rid of the comfy seats and brought in backless stools to try and fit thrice as many people than the square footage actually allows in just ONE MORE attempt to make what should be your relaxing manicure a hellacious visit to a petri dish?!? Or maybe that's just me? Nevertheless, whatever quick drying techniques you've used before are now completely obsolete, thanks to this little potion.

After you've painted your nails, you use the eyedropper to drop one or two drops of the serum onto your wet nails. They're dry to the touch in one minute and completely dry in five.

{Essie polish in Mint Candy Apple, $8}

When I say "completely dry" I mean "make your bed, scratch your face, run your finger through your hair and nary a scratch or dent be made in your polish" dry.

I took this pictures about 45 seconds after I painted my nails, and still, not a single smudge on them.

What's your latest fun find??

Asian Beef with Broccoli

It's unofficially recipe week here at CupcakesOMG!, have you noticed? Look, I'd apologize, but I don't generally consider showering your eyeballs with gorgeous pictures of food and delicious-but-still-entirely-good-for-you-recipes worthy of an "I'm sorry." I'm sorry I'm NOT sorry.

I guarantee nobody will be sorry if you make this paleo version of beef and broccoli.

It's kinda crazy to think that something as pure as a dish named after two healthy ingredients could be full of flour, sugar, and a slew of unpronounceable ingredients. Because, just in case you weren't aware, that's how most Chinese food gets made. Don't get me wrong--I love me some good Chinese takeout, but even when you order something like "chicken with cashews", you're consuming the equivalent amount of sugar as one might find in a cupcake. And cupcakes are delicious, so just eat one of those, by God!

So the next time you find yourself craving Chinese, but not diabetic shock, this beef with broccoli is a fantastic option.

It's a one-pot/wok dish and it reheats incredibly, making it ideal for leftovers.

You could also serve it over cauliflower rice to get the full effect, but I felt like I was already going above and beyond with the sesame seeds.

If you're not a fan of beef, try it with pork or chicken. Matter of fact, I'm gonna be making this all over again with chicken this weekend. That's just one more tip for those of you who are trying to stalk me.

Beef with Broccoli
Makes 6-8 servings
Adapted from "Make it Paleo"

• 2 Tbsp. Toasted sesame oil
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. ginger, minced
• 1-2 lbs. beef, cut into 1" cubes (I bought what was on sale)
• 4-6 cups broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. white sesame seeds, for garnish

1. Heat sesame oil in a wok or skill over high heat.
2. Add garlic and ginger to wok, and saute for 2 minutes until oil is infused.
3. Add steak, stirring until browned on all sides.
4. Once steak is seared, add broccoli. Continue to saute over high heat.
5. Add green onion, and an extra tablespoon of oil if needed.
6. Add coconut aminos and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
7. Continue to saute another 2-3 minutes, until all the flavors are combined.
8. Garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds to serve.

Loaded Baked Faux-tato Soup

So, everyone knows baked potatoes are delicious. They're even more delicious when they're fully loaded with sour cream, cheese, bacon bits, and chives. Then some ridiculously smarty person came along and was all "baked potatoes are pretty good, but what if you could eat your baked potato with a spoon?" and that's how loaded baked potato soups were born. I'm leaving out a really important part of this story. It's the part where I showed up and was all "yeah, baked potato soup IS pretty good, but it's def not paleo, so I'm gonna make it paleo and then share it with all y'all and then rake in all the praise I get."

The potato substitute is cauliflower, what else? And the coconut milk adds all the richness of cream and butter without any of the dairy. The sauteed onion gives the cauliflower just enough sweetness to balance the saltiness of the bacon. Oh, and did I mention? It tastes exactly like loaded baked potato soup and IT'S DELICIOUS!!!!

Like basically everything I make, I'm gonna tell you this recipe is super easy, although this time, I won't be lying, because it is super easy! Steam some cauliflower, saute some onions, put 'em in the blender with some chicken stock, coconut milk, salt and pepper and blend until you get a soup-like consistency. This is soup, after all.

  Pour it in a bowl.

 Top it with some cheese.

 Add some crumbled, crispy bacon and some sliced green onion.

 And then...

 well...

 you know...

 ...I mean, you do know, right?

 Oh yeah, you know.

 And if you're anything like me, you can just mix it all together before you eat it.

Now, please to leave me your praise in the comments.

Loaded Baked Faux-tato Soup

• 1 large head of cauliflower, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 4-5 strips bacon
• shredded cheese
• green onion, sliced thin
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• salt and pepper

1. Fry bacon in a pan until crisp. Set aside.
2. Steam cauliflower until tender. While cauliflower steams, saute onions in bacon grease.
3. When onions are transparent and cauliflower is tender, add them to a blender with the chicken stock, coconut milk, and salt and pepper to taste. You might need to add more coconut milk or salt and pepper.
4. Blend until soup reaches your desired consistency. It should be thick, but, ya know, soupy.
5. Top with cheese, crumbled bacon bits, and chives.

TwoFaced Tuesday: Dill

Remember that time I made sweet potato chips? It was like, yesterday. Whatever. So anyway, I posed a question to you: what is a chip without dip? Nothing. The answer is nothing. 

I don't know if it's the new year's resolutions or the constant shoving of my paleo ideals down everyone's throats, but lately, it seems like everyone is giving the paleo lifestyle a whirl. Because I know there are many of you who are getting antsy at the thought of another meal of chicken and broccoli (which is absurd btw, when Jenna and I have a plethora of amazing paleo dishes to try), I thought this chip and dip recipe would be the breath of fresh air your diet probably so desperately needs.

There's a small caveat to this dip, though, I'll be honest. Anyone who knows anything about paleo knows that strict practitioners abstain from all dairy (which is why we paleo-ers swear by coconut and almond milk). Okay, so now that we're straight on that, this recipe does call for Greek yogurt. Full fat Greek yogurt, of course, but dairy nevertheless. That said, this dip is still a pretty good excuse for more of a "primal" paleo lifestyle, but if it's too wild for your taste, consider swapping the cup of yogurt for about 1/4 cup of coconut milk instead. Everything CAN work out, you guys.

For this week's TwoFaced challenge, Jenna and I decided it was time to feature an herb. Somehow we ended up with dill, so clearly the dip has dill in it. Don't believe me? Please refer to the photo below:

Ha HA, sucker!! A quick mash of your ingredients later and voila! Dip!

There's clearly tons of things you could eat this with--carrots, cucumber, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes--but the crispy sweet potato chips I made seemed like the perfect pairing.

Hand to God, you could serve this at your Superbowl party and nobody would ever know you were feeding them "health food." I dare you to pull it off this year. 

 

I double-dog dare you.

For more dill goodness, make sure to check out Jenna's TwoFaced recipe!

Avocado Dill Dip

• 1-2 avocados
• 1 cup Greek yogurt (or about 1/4 cup coconut milk)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Pit avocados. 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the avocados. Mash with a fork until everything is well incorporated, and, um, mashed.
3. Serve with homemade sweet potato chips or fresh veggies.

Sweet Potato Chips

You know what pride is? 

No, it's not running and completing and then bragging to a bunch of people who don't care that you completed your first or tenth marathon. Nor is it seeing your child heading off to an Ivy League school on a full scholarship. It's not even that thing, when like, you skip the bread basket at your favorite Italian restaurant AND dessert (although that is pretty impressive).

No, pride is making over a snack that has the nutritional reputation equivalent to that of, say, a drug dealer, into something equally addicting yet entirely healthy. Pride is figuring out how to make sweet potato chips:

The key to making these crispy rounds of, I dunno, heaven!, is a mandolin. It's a real fancy-like kitchen tool with an EFFING sharp blade that could cut a bitch that you pretty much have to have in order to make this (or any) chip recipe. It can also make the chore of julienning and dicing veggies a breeze.

See what I mean? It's kinda like a guillotine for tubers and other root vegetables.

Anyway, the mandolin is key for getting your sweet potato chips thin enough to properly crisp in the oven. Oh, did I forget to mention this chips are baked and not fried? Yeah, like I said...heaven!!!

After a light brushing of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, the chips are ready for the oven. Flip 'em once or twice as they bake, then let them cool and voila! Instant [insert-diet-of-choice-here]-friendly snack:

And because I want to end things on a cliffhanger, you can come back tomorrow for TwoFaced Tuesday to see what I made to dip these chips in.

 Because after all, what's a chip without a dip?

Sweet Potato Chips

• 1-2 large sweet potatoes
• 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt, pepper, and any seasoning of your choice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse sweet potatoes.
2. Using a mandolin, slice the potato on the thinnest setting. 
3. Lay the potato slices on a cookie sheet in an even layer (i.e., don't overlap the chips). You may have to do several batches. Lightly brush the chips with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and seasoning.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the chips are crispy all the way through. You'll need to flip the chips at about 10 minutes in. 
5. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool for a few minutes.
6. Try not to devour in one sitting.*

*Good luck with that.