29 Tuesday Nov 2016
Posted in what's ringin' our belle
Tags
breakfast, cocktail, herbs, huffington post, l' agence, lace top, man repelle4, pinch of yum, pomegranete moscow mule, posture, quiz, shopbop, spaghetti squash, ways to enhance posture
What your breakfast says about you…
Via Man Repeller
Why belles alway hold those shoulders up…
Via Huffington Post
For the cocktailing belles
Via Pioneer Woman
Via Shopbop
Who doesn’t love a little Spaghetti Squash?
Via Pinch of Yum
Belles ringin’ all over the place!
a&a
19 Friday Aug 2016
Posted in belle-icious
Although this is not something we would eat every day…and moms typically wouldn’t offer it to kids regularly for breakfast…a treat every now and then never hurt a belle (or a belle baby). And…I’m thinking this would make the little ones happy to roll out of bed on the first day of school. Just sayin’
One lazy summer day, one of our teen belles who loves to bake (and wreck the kitchen…but we digress) got a hankerin’ for blueberry muffins. She quickly looked up a recipe and came up with one of the best we have ever had!! So we all win. She got to bake and make her mess, the family had a belleicious, unexpected treat, and now YOU get to try it too!!
Check out the belleiciousness!!
Meg’s Blueberry Muffins
1/2 c sugar (plus 1 T for sprinkling on top)
1 large egg
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/3 c milk
1 t vanilla
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 c sour cream
1 c blueberries (tossed with 1 T flour)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tin.
In large bowl, mix the sugar, egg, oil, milk and vanilla. In a separate bowl, blend the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add wet ingredients to the blended dry ingredients. Fold in the sour cream. Gently stir in the blueberries.
Spoon mixture into muffin tin, filling cups about 3/4 full. Sprinkle sugar on top. Bake for about 25 minutes.
Happy baking!
a&a
06 Friday May 2016
Posted in belle-icious
Tags
We recently had the chance to spend a weekend away with friends and were treated to this incredible do-ahead French Toast casserole that knocked our socks off. We didn’t rest until we had the recipe. And now you have it too, belles!! We wouldn’t mind at all if someone surprised us with this bit of yumminess on Mother’s Day…just sayin’… 
Baked French Toast Casserole
From Paula Deen, y’all!!
Serves 8-10
Prep: 20 minutes
Inactive: 8 hours (overnight)
Bake: 40 minutes @ 350 degrees
Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread, cut into 20 slices
8 large eggs
2 c half-and-half
1 c milk
2 T sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup
Now…for the assembly: 
Gather ingredients and slice bread, arranging in two layers in a greased 9×13 casserole dish.
Beat eggs, half & half, milk, sugar, vanilla and spices until well-mixed
Pour egg mixture over bread and gather topping ingredients:
1 stick butter (Paula calls for two…of course)
1 c chopped pecans
1 c brown sugar
2 T light corn syrup
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
Melt butter and combine with all topping ingredients. Spread evenly over the entire dish.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover and bake 40 minutes.
Serve with maple syrup…and enjoy!!
Happy Mother’s Day!!!
a&a
08 Friday May 2015
Posted in belle-icious
Tags
add a pinch, babble, bacon portabello and spinach breakfast casserole, baked peach almond oatmeal, breakfast, coffee and doughnut bread pudding, french toast bake, ham and cheese breakfast casserole, lil luna, make ahead, mother's day, the kitchn, two peas and their pod
Belles love to lounge…especially when it’s guilt-free…and mother’s day is the perfect occasion to treat your mama belle to a little luxury and laziness! If you haven’t made a plan to take mom out somewhere special to show her some love, how about a little breakfast in bed? Of course, no one wants to get up at the crack of dawn, so we’ve come up with some tried and true make-ahead recipes to make your life easier…and tastier too.
How about a ham and cheese breakfast casserole from the The Kitchn Recipe here.
via The Kitchn
Or maybe try a sweet treat in the form of a French toast bake. Lil Luna does a stellar job…find the recipe here .
via Lil’ Luna
via Two Peas and Their Pod
And we must say that we mama belles are craving the coffee and doughnut bread pudding at babble.com . You can get the recipe here .
via Babble
via Add a Pinch
a&a
13 Thursday Nov 2014
Posted in belle-icious, healthy belle, what's ringin' our belle
Tags
Now, we are all about being healthy, eating right, exercising and blah, blah, blah. We also believe in bacon, champagne and lazing around on a rainy afternoon. It’s called balance. Everything in moderation…except for shoes…and jewelry…and pocketbooks…but back to the business at hand.
We are going a bit healthy today (don’t fret now, somethin’ sinful will be along soon enough). This recipe is good for you nutritionally, financially and tastefully…and comes just in time to help the belles out there who might be entertaining house guests over the next few weeks! Aren’t we thoughtful??
A clever, culinary belle-friend of ours made this for our girls’ varsity tennis team a few weeks ago, and the parents were as intent on digging in greedily as the players. It has become one the most requested recipes in her repertoire and we are so thankful she is a proper belle who is happy to share.
This makes a generous amount…but don’t bother reducing it as you will go through it before you can whistle Dixie.
Debi’s Irresistible Granola
4 tablespoons walnut oil, divided
3/4 c brown sugar (we’ve tried Splenda blend brown sugar with good results)
1/4 cup egg whites (from about two large eggs)
1/2 teaspoon (scant) coarse kosher salt
3 cups organic old fashioned oats (we use Quaker Oats)
1/2 cup steel cut oats (we added this for extra crunch)
I/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup almond slices
1/4 cup honey
Optional additions and suggestions:
– any combination of nuts you like (almonds, pecans , walnuts etc)
– 1/2 cup flax seed or Qia seeds
– 1/2 cup coconut, shredded
We prefer the plain version, but feel free to experiment!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush heavy, large, rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Whisk 2 tablespoons oil, sugar, egg whites, and salt in large bowl. Add oats, nuts, and flax seed if using; toss well.
Spread mixture evenly onto prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes. Using metal spatula, stir granola. Bake 10 minutes longer. Stir again. Drizzle with honey. Bake until golden brown about 8-10 minutes longer. Stir to loosen. Transfer to clean baking sheet to cool completely. Store in airtight container.
Debi adapted and tweaked the recipe from Bon Appétit…with great success we must say!
Great to have on-hand for Holiday guests as a quick breakfast…but you will want to keep it around even after the holidays for busy mornings, lunch on-the-go, or an after-school snack you don’t mind them eating!
Time to get your granola on!!!
a & a
24 Friday Jan 2014
Posted in belle-icious, friday friend 1-1, healthy belle
Tags
almond butter, Apple, breakfast, Fresh Market, fruit, snack, Whole Foods
Can it possibly be true, that old saying about keeping the doctor away? Well, these belles never claimed to have anything resembling a medical degree…we leave that to the professionals…but we have actually come to the conclusion that a good old apple can be just about the perfect snack/breakfast/lunch…yes, we have even been known to nosh on one for dinner! Add a tablespoon or two of freshly ground almond butter (our favorite is Fresh Market…but Whole Foods comes a close second) with a pinch of sea salt, and you have quite the power meal! Yum!!
One of us has had an apple habit for quite awhile and introduced the non-breakfast-eating one of us to it. Lo and behold, she liked it! Lets see if you are willing to give it a try after reading these benefits:
Apples have been shown to: reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, reduce the risk of stroke, regulate blood sugar helping to reduce the risk and symptoms of diabetes, help prevent some types of cancer, and aid in the prevention of heart disease. They are an excellent source of antioxidants…a very good thing…with the highest concentration being in the peel (which is why I buy organic..pesticides…not a good thing). Bonus…apples and other whole fruits and vegetables are REAL FOODS…nothing pre-packaged or artificial in sight!
Read more on the benefits of this little goodie:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=15
By the by…if you have already tossed out a resolution or two, this might be an easy update to get you back on track!!
Belles ringing here…how about there?
a&a
the RARE belle 
