A cute idea and some yummy salad!

Hello all :) I just finished making some of the invitations for my sister's bridal shower!!! :) So exciting! Here is one of them:


I loved making these with Kristi, my sister's best friend :) We cut out pieces of fabric, glued them to cardstock, and decorated with some ribbon and a white pen :) I'm so excited as the wedding gets closer!

Today I decided to make a sweet salad...but I don't have the exact measurements...I will try my best to list them proportionally! It is just something to throw together (actually, I made this with some girlfriends on Tuesday!

Fun Salad :)
2-3 cups spinach (or baby mixed greens)
1 cup of snap peas, cut in half
1-2 Tbsp. chopped walnuts (toasted or candied if you want!)
1 bell pepper, cut up into bite-size pieces (or those yummy mini sweet peppers, so good!)
1 apple, sliced into bite-size pieces
2 Tbsp. Feta cheese
1 avocado, sliced into bite-size pieces
Some sweet or savory dressing, whatever is your favorite! The Brianna's dressings are great...or whatever you like :)

Basically just toss everything BUT the avocado together...add that last :) It is yummy and perfect for summer :] Eat up!

Another day of summer...

So yesterday I went to a class at the gym with my good friend Amy....and today I can barely walk!!! It was a rough day. But i decided to go to the beach and take a walk instead of going to the gym (I love the gym, by the way). Well, the last few days have been busy with wedding stuff for my sister! Her best friend Kristi and I got together and we made invitations for her bachelorette party - so cute! We cut fabric, glued it to cardstock, and wrote the invitations out. Super fun. I'll post a picture when I can get one...

Speaking of pictures, I need to get a camera. Soon. I'm going to save up to buy one! I need some suggestions.... I just want a simple digital one, but a nice one that takes good pictures!

I decided to make some yummy chili tonight....it's great!! :

Vegetarian Chili - warning!! This takes a good couple hours to prepare... :)
1 1/2 cups of beans (kidney, black, pinto, etc.)
1 cup of wheat bulghur or wheat berries (like rice, kinda, you can get it at Henry's or Trader Joe's)
1 cup of tomato juice (V8 Juice works just fine!)
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 ½ cups chopped onion
1 cup each, chopped: celery, carrots, green peppers (optional)
2 cups chopped, fresh tomatoes
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. chili powder (more, to taste)
Salt and pepper
3 Tbs. tomato paste
3 Tbs. dry red wine

1. If you are using dry beans, soak them in enough COLD water to cover them 3 inches for about 8 hours (or overnight)...drain and rinse. Recover with water and bring to a boil and cook until tender, you may need to add water during this time -- SKIM OFF ANY FOAM THAT FORMS on the surface of the water!!! It depends on the beans, but this process can take up to an hour or two. The beans are ready to use at this point :)
2. In a small saucepan, bring the tomato juice to a boil. Pour it over the raw bulghur or wheat berries. Let this sit for about 15 minutes - they will be crunchy still, but will absorb more liquid later.
2. In another large (LARGE) pot, saute the onions and garlic in the pot with a couple tablespoons of olive oil (smells amazing!). Add the vegetables when the onions have reduced down and are starting to brown. Cook until the veggies are tender (note: if you are using the green peppers, add them later because they take less time to cook).
3. Squeeze in the lemon juice (watch for seeds!!) and the spices (now it smells REALLY good!). Pour the beans into the large pot (with the liquid) and add the tomato juice/bulghur mixture, the tomatoes, tomato paste, and the wine. Mix all together over a medium/low flame and bring to a gentle (verrrry gentle) boil - slowly do this so that you don't burn the bottom of the chili. Keep mixing it every now and then. Let this mixture cook together for about a half hour or so - it will smell great!!

Serve with a little shredded cheese sprinkled on top and some yummy cornbread - of which a recipe WILL follow at some point :) Enjoy!

Never thought I'd do this!

Well...here I am, writing a BLOG entry! I never thought I would do this, but I actually think it is kind of a fun way to record some memories and share with friends and family...hence the title of the blog :)

It's summer!!! I am so excited to be working at a local restaurant as a hostess this summer...it has been a blessing in disguise so far - at first I wanted to quit! If you know me, you know I am...well a little on the quieter side haha. Let's just say my first few days were a little intimidating. It's wonderful now and I'm loving it, it's almost a break in my day to go and serve people and just smile and greet people. Hospitality, I'm finding, is one of my strong suits :)

Among other things, my wonderful, darling sister is getting married this summer! Sooo exciting!!! She is my best friend and I love her so much.....this is her and I at a friend's wedding:



Anyways...I also love to cook. I love both baking and cooking, and I have an extremely well-thought-out plan of going to culinary school one day....hehe :) So anyways, I thought it would be fun to post a recipe that I have made lately with each blog....so here is one:

Banana Nut Muffins...YUM!
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cupcake pan or line with cute liners.
2. If you want to use nuts, put about a 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans on a baking sheet and toast them for about 8 minutes in the oven (totally optional, just makes them more tasty!). Set these aside for later.
3. Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a medium/large bowl and set it aside for later:
1/4 cup flaxseed meal (just grind some flax seeds in a coffee grinder)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
***(instead of using the three different flours above, you can just use all whole wheat or all-purpose flour!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 HEAPING teaspoon cinnamon (looove cinnamon!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4. Next, in a separate medium bowl with a hand mixer, mix together the following ingredients:
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (you caaaan do more if you'd like!)
1/2 cup dark or light brown sugar (or granulated sugar, I like brown sugar better though)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup canola oil (or melted butter)
5. This part is important...you do not want to overmix the muffin batter! Pour all of the banana mixture into the flour mixture. Fold until JUST combined...then fold in the nuts (if using). Spoon even amounts of batter into the 12 muffin cups.
6. Now make the crumb topping! This is also optional...but it tastes great! Mix together with a pastry cutter, fingers, or fork until it resembles cornmeal:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon COLD butter
7. Sprinkle the topping evenly over muffins. Put in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean...about 16-18 minutes! They are sooo yummy!!

Enjoy :)