Category Archives: Best Of

Cheesy Tortilla Strips

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Back in the day, I was a junior lifeguard in Huntington Beach, which meant my summer mornings consisted of swimming around the Huntington Beach pier, running drills on the beach and learning everything there was to know about ocean safety and how to rescue someone in distress. I basically LIVED at the beach those summers, and after a hard day of junior lifeguarding, nothing tasted better than cheesy tortilla strips.

Anyone who is local to HB knows about the cheese strips at Dwight’s: tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese and tomato sauce. It may sound weird at first, but it is so, so good.

When the wonderful team at Foodiechats gave me the opportunity to partner with Sartori Cheese for some #GameDayCheese, I KNEW I had to recreate the cheesy tortilla strips from my youth, with a few changes.

Cheesy Tortilla Strips

Instead of using tortilla chips, I fried up a couple of whole wheat tortillas and instead of the plastic-y orange cheese, I decided on Sartori’s Chipotle Bellavitano for an extra kick.

I know the fact that you don’t melt the cheese sounds really weird, but trust me on this one – it’s delicious!

Cheesy Tortilla Strips

Directions:

2-3 whole wheat tortillas, cut into strips

4 oz of your favorite Sartori Cheese

2 oz ketchup or tomato sauce

Olive Oil, for frying

Directions:

Cut your tortillas into “strips” or squares and place in a skillet on low heat with some olive oil. You’ll want to try the tortillas until they are nice and crispy like chips.

Grate your cheese and set aside while your tortillas are frying.

Place your tortillas on a plate and sprinkle cheese on top. Add tomato sauce on the side.

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Dig in, and enjoy!

If cheesy strips aren’t your thing, then a good ol’ fashioned rose and cheese pairing works too.

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Thanks again to Foodiechats and Sartori Cheese for this awesome game day eats pack!

End of Year Recap

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2015 was a bit of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I started my own business which was incredibly exciting, but also incredibly overwhelming. I consider this year to be a big “growing” year, where I learned a lot about myself, my relationships and how I want to continue down my career path.

Allie Fisher Marketing Freelance

Back in May I shared my initial thoughts of a being a freelancer, and now as I write this recap at the end of the year, I wanted to share my freelance perspective one full year in.

  • Clients (and those relationships) will come and go: Sometimes client relationships don’t go as planned, and that’s ok. People will come and go out of your life, and the ones that are truly meant to be there will be in it for the long haul. I have learned SO much from all of my working experiences this year, and wouldn’t change any of it for the world. Even those not-so-great moments.
  • Surround yourself with smart people: While this year may have been a bit of a roller coaster professionally, I truly feel like I have landed where I’m supposed to be. I’m currently working with some pretty intelligent and talented people and have learned so much in the past few months of working with them. I’m eagerly looking forward to becoming an even better marketer in 2016.
  • Time is money: I have always been on a salary wage so switching to hourly was a big change for me. I never realized how much I took having a salary job for granted until I I started hourly. If I’m not working, I don’t get paid, so I make sure to be as efficient as possible with my time every day.
  • Self-Employment taxes: The struggle is so real on this one. Gone are the days of having taxes automatically taken from your paycheck and instead budgeting and estimating your income each month. Add an extra self-employed tax on top of your state and federal taxes and you are in for a real party.
  • Make time for yourself: This one is big. One of the great things about working from home is well, you work from home, but it’s a double-edged sword. I found myself struggling to put work away at night and spent many weekends missing out on fun with friends because I was locked away in my office working. Emphasizing work/life balance is going to be a big priority for me for 2016.
  • It’s hard on your significant other too: I am so very lucky to have a wonderful and supportive husband, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that my new career venture was hard on both of us. He was there for me through the ups and downs and some tears, and I’m grateful to have such a strong support system at home. But it’s a good reminder that when you work for yourself, those closest to you are affected as well.

Now that I have a year of working for myself under my belt, I’m feeling much more confident walking into 2016 with a solid foundation and ready to see what the new year has in store. 2016, bring it on.

Healthy Nutty Granola

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The holiday season is here, and between Thanksgiving and Christmas it’s a continuous stream of delicious holiday treats. I’ve teamed up with Nuts.com to spread the word about healthy (nutty) snacks!

healthy nutty granola - nuts.com

I love nuts as a healthy source of protein and fat, and usually find myself having some form of nut butter nearly every day. I find that including a healthy fat (like nuts) with my breakfast in the morning helps to keep me satiated throughout the day and I find myself snacking less. One way I love incorporating nuts is in by making granola or granola bars, which is why I wanted to share my healthy nutty granola.

The great thing about homemade granola is that you can control the ingredients in it and craft it to your personal taste. Since I’m allergic to walnuts,  I like making my own granola at home using some of my favorite nuts including cashews, almonds and pecans.

This healthy nutty granola is great with some Greek yogurt as an afternoon snack or with some almond milk for breakfast. This would also make a great gift for someone this holiday season!

Sweet Potato Bites Healthy Nutty Granola

Healthy Nutty Granola (adapted from Thug Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup quinoa

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 chopped nuts

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt your peanut butter and olive oil in a sauce pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine your oats, quinoa, nuts, chocolate chips, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Gently fold in your peanut butter mixture and spread until the entire mixture is coated.

Pour your mixture onto your lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before breaking into pieces. Eat and enjoy!

For more healthy holiday snack ideas, you can check out Nuts.com. Happy #SeasonsEatings!

Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter Muffins

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Tap…tap…is this thing on? Apologies for the radio silence as of late. Things have been going well with work and between that, gearing up for football season and spending time with my friends and family, I haven’t had as much time to blog lately. But I had to pop in to tell you about some delicious pumpkin spice peanut butter muffins and an AWESOME giveaway.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a member of Peanut Butter and Co.’s Yum Squad. And I have to say, they know how to treat their Yum Squad members good. So when this beauty showed up on my doorstep, to say I was excited would be an understatement.

pumpkin spice peanut butter muffinsYes, that is PUMPKIN SPICE PEANUT BUTTER.  Peanut Butter and Co. combined two of my favorite things into one incredible jar of deliciousness. I’m also known as a serial coffee mug purchaser (it’s a problem), so getting the adorable #PSiloveyou mug was just icing on the cake.

Instead of just eating the pb straight from the jar (which by the way is totally acceptable in my book), I decided to pretend that it wasn’t 90+ degrees in SoCal and baked pumpkin spice peanut butter muffins with it.

Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter MuffinsThe great thing about the pumpkin spice peanut butter is that it has just a hint of sweetness with a delicious pumpkin flavor.  I didn’t end up adding any extra sugar to my muffins because the sweetness was perfect.

These muffins are grain-free, dairy-free, and the perfect fall treat. Now if only the weather would cooperate…

Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter Muffins (adapted from this recipe)

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup Peanut Butter and Co.’s Pumpkin Spice PB

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 egg whites

1/3 cup water

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk all of your ingredients together in a bowl. Gently pour your batter into the lined muffin tins.

Bake for 15 minutes, cool and enjoy!

And now the fun part.  Peanut Butter and Co. is kind enough to offer a #PSiloveyou box to one lucky winner!  All you have to do is tell me your favorite pumpkin recipe and enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ends on 9/21/15 at 12AM PT. Open to US residents only.