Lentil Soup 2.0

I'm back from a crazy, but fun, weekend! We went down to Tampa on Friday for a wedding. We got to spend some time with our nephew (and godson!), Tyler, and then saw all of our friends on Saturday for our friends Kyle and Mel's wedding. The wedding was Kentucky Derby themed, so all of the girls wore big derby hats, and all the guys wore bowties and pastels. I still have to upload the pics, so expect to see those within the next few days.

Anyway, back to the lentils. We all know that lentils are good for you, however, did you know that lentils are a superfood? According to Self.com, the top 10 superfoods are salmon, apples, quinoa, lentils, olive oil, eggs, yogurt, sweet potatoes, kiwi, and edamame. They all have different health benefits and honestly, I absolutely love everything on that list. I suddenly had a craving and decided to make my lentil soup again, so that I can eat it for the rest of the week. I made a few little changes to it and to tell you the truth, I liked it even better than the first time I made it. In addition to the original ingredients, I added red bell pepper, garbanzo beans, and cumin. I think the pepper and cumin made a big difference in the taste. I also added a little extra paprika and garlic. I revised the original recipe - click on the link below and let me know what you think!

Vegetarian Lentil Soup 

Adventures in Blue Ridge

As I mentioned, April 9th was our 2 year anniversary. Last year, we went on a cruise that we planned together. This year, Mike wouldn't tell me where we were going...I still didn't really even know once we got there. His list of what I needed to pack was a little bizarre so needless to say, I was slightly concerned...

We ended up in Blue Ridge, GA, which is about 2 hours north of us. We turned into a lodge-style hotel, which turned out to be AH-mazing! It's called Serenity in the Mountains and it really was great. I would totally go back and stay there again. It's like the love child of a spa and a lodge. The suites were huge, clean, and beautiful. Check this out...

The bathroom was practically the size of the entire first floor of my house.

We could throw a party for 10 people in that shower. 

This is where I spent Friday and Saturday night. Ahhh....

The bed was SO comfortable! It was king sized, which we decided that we need since we both like to sprawl out, and our 20 pound dog somehow takes up the entire bed. 

They had a thing for bears. Pictures of bears on the walls, lamps with bears in the suite...

So by now, you're probably thinking we spent the entire weekend hanging out with our bear lamps, right? Nope! We had adventures, people. 

On Saturday morning, we drove up to Tennessee and went white water rafting! It was my first time going and it was actually a lot of fun. We did a 5 mile ride down the Ocoee River.

That's not us, but that's exactly where we were. We drove around and watched the other people battle the splashing when we were done.

One of the Olympic competition sites from 1996.

For those of you who watch Cupcake Wars on Food Network, this was the winning team from last year! We got the winning S'mores cupcake and it did not disappoint. 

This is "downtown." You're looking at the tallest buildings there! 

I made a new friend.

After our anniversary dinner (don't we look so tired from all that rafting?)

On Sunday, we got up and went horseback riding! I hadn't been in so long. I grew up going to the stables with my aunt, who was an avid horseback rider, and in high school, I worked as an assistant horseback riding instructor at summer camp.

I know what you're thinking - that helmet is really flattering on me. 

We rode through the Chattahoochee National Forrest for about 3-4 hours. It was really nice and fortunately, our horses behaved themselves. Before we left, we also stopped at Mercier Orchards. They have an awesome store with tons of products - fresh peach and apple cider, pies, sauces, and every type of jam, preserve and butter you can think of. And all of it's made on-site! Of course, we stocked up. I'm dying to go back in the Fall so we can go apple picking!

This little lady hopped out of the woods to say "hi!"

It was a really nice weekend and I'm definitely itching to go back - especially when it's hot out because I can only imagine how good that water will feel in the summer! Mike also treated us to a couples massage at the spa on-site, on Saturday afternoon. I must say, it was one of the BEST massages and very well needed. 

Thank you, babe - you did well! :)

Fancy Sauteed Green Beans

Last Tuesday, Mike and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. I can't believe it's been 2 years already. Time definitely flies! We had SUCH a fun wedding! I seriously would not have done anything differently. It was perfect, unique, and definitely represented who we are. People still talk about it, so I know it was a success :)

For our anniversary, I decided to surprise Mike and recreate what we ate for dinner the night of our wedding. The food at the Hyatt was no joke - it was pretty amazing. We did a sit down dinner and had the choice of chicken, grouper, or filet. I had the grouper and Mike had the filet however, grouper is not so easy to find right now, so I ended up making a filet for me too. We also had roasted potatoes, a veggie medley, and pretzel rolls. I looked back on pics to refresh my memory - I even wanted the potatoes to look the same. The veggies were some sort of medley that had green beans, yellow squash, carrots, and tomatoes. I had no idea how they were cooked, so I winged it...and they were SO good! Unfortunately, I was too focused on coming up with the recipe, that I forgot to measure everything. I used my best judgement in this recipe, but the good thing is that you can add or take away the ingredients to your liking and it will still taste good. I also made it for 2 people, so just adjust the ingredients to make more.

Sauteed Green Beans:

- Fresh green beans (enough for 2 people), washed and trimmed
- One small yellow squash, very thinly sliced
- 1 to 2 carrots, very thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes, cut in half
- Half of a small onion, thinly sliced.
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
- One tablespoon unsalted butter
- One tablespoon olive oil
- One clove of minced garlic

*For the carrots and squash, I used a vegetable peeler to slice them, so they were very thin and "ribbon-like."

Steam green beans in the microwave or stove top for a few minutes, until crisp-tender.
In a large pan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute more.

Add the carrots, squash, and tomatoes and saute, stirring for 1 minute.

Add the green beans and chicken broth. Cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The finished product was great! Dinner was delicious and Mike was surprised. Not shown are the crab cakes we had as appetizers (they were one of the apps served during cocktail hour and happened to be our favorite).

And yes, we did eat a piece of our ORIGINAL cake! Goes to show that a boat load of saran wrap and a good freezer will work wonders :)

Almond cake with dulce de leche filling...we couldn't decide on flavors since we liked them all, so each tier was a different flavor!

Oh, Hi There!

Bet you thought I disappeared, huh? Sorry...when I say it's been a crazy few weeks, I'm not kidding! I promise to have some new posts up this week. I recently started a new job, so by the time I get home, work out, cook dinner, and do all the fun household stuff, I'm ready to crash! Mike and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary last week, and he took me on a surprise trip this past weekend. I'll tell you all about it, plus, I have a new recipe to share and some pics of me on TV! Stay tuned, friends. I'm not gone...just adjusting :)

Chocolate, Champagne, and the 1970s

What do Cadbury Creme Eggs, family, pink champagne, and 1979 all have in common? My week, that's what. It's been a busy week, so I apologize for the lack of posts. I was doing some super important things like baking these:

Oh yes, friends. Those are Cadbury Creme Egg BROWNIES! Holy goodness. I found the recipe here. They were ah-mazing.

My parents and sister came up from Jupiter to visit us this week. And just like the rest of the country, Mother Nature decided to play a nasty little trick on us and made Spring feel more like Winter. They came up on Saturday and naturally, the weather finally started getting nice the day they left. We had a nice time, though. We went to the aquarium, Coca Cola World, Piedmont Park, and my mom got to check out the Gone With the Wind museum (her favorite movie).

Now, here's some pretty awesome news...on Sunday, I got a phone call from a local casting company. Atlanta has become THE place for movies and TV shows to film lately (which is pretty exciting!). "Anchorman 2" has been filming here since last month, and we've seen them around town several times. I follow several of the casting companies on facebook and Twitter, and I've submitted myself to be an extra a few times when I've seen postings requesting extras with my age and look. I submitted myself for AM 2 a few weeks ago, and finally got a call back to play a waitress! It was such a cool experience. I had to go for a fitting and wear some pretty tacky 70s clothes. Granted, we spent more time in hair and makeup and in the holding room than we did on the set, but it was still fun and I would absolutely do it again. I couldn't take pictures and I can't disclose any info about the scene I was part of, except that it's a bar scene and I'm in the background taking drink orders. I believe the movie comes out in November, so keep an eye out for me!

I also had a very well-needed girls night on Thursday night. One of my friends decided to start a ladies wine league, which is pretty much just an excuse for all of us to get together once a month and have some food and try different wines. Since most of the other girls were bringing wine, I opted to bring dessert. To keep with the night's theme, I made cupcakes with pink champagne. Champagne cupcakes with champagne buttercream. They were quite tasty, I must say.

Remember that nasty weather I told you about? Well, the cold finally went away and we had a beautiful Saturday. I was actually able to go outside in capris and short sleeves! Mike and I packed up some cheese, crackers and wine, and took Penny to Piedmont Park for the afternoon. We had a little picnic and then took her to the dog park.

That's about it. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

I love eating healthy, and one of my favorite finds (that I really don't eat as often as I should) is quinoa. For those of you who don't know what quinoa is, it's a healthy seed, often prepared like a grain. It's loaded with protein and when cooked, produces a grain-like fluffy texture. A lot of health conscious people and vegetarians like to use it as a substitute for rice, etc. It has a nutty flavor and can be used in both hot and cold dishes for dinner, lunch or breakfast. What I usually like to do is cook it up and mix it into a cold salad that I can keep in the fridge and eat for several days. One cup of dry quinoa makes four cooked cups, so a little makes a lot. It's sold in every grocery store, so it's easy to find. My favorite is the Whole Foods 365 Organic Quinoa.

Even though I work out all the time and try to eat healthy the majority of the time (we all have our splurges), lately, I've been really trying to up my vegetable and protein intake even more (could be that I'm dreaming of warmer weather, which means bathing suit season...). I was doing my weekly grocery shopping yesterday and ended up loading my cart up with things such as spaghetti squash, spinach, miscellaneous veggies, cottage cheese, and quinoa. Maybe spending the weekend with my vegetarian friend, Danielle, had something to do with my veggie craving... Anyway, as you know from my lentil soup post, my husband is not a fan of veggies or anything healthy for that reason, so I'm usually challenged with when to make these kinds of things. From time to time, I'll make myself something different such as last night, when I made grilled pork chops and green beans, and made macaroni and cheese for him and spaghetti squash for me. Fortunately for him, at 36 years old and 6'3, he has the metabolism of a 15 year old boy, so his hatred of health food hasn't affected him (yet). Making my healthy dishes for lunch is usually an easier option, so I decided to make a Mediterranean quiona salad that will give me enough servings for lunch throughout the week. It was easy to whip up and super healthy, so I thought I'd share. 

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 10 oz fresh spinach
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 3/4 cup quartered artichoke hearts, drained
- 2/3 cup black olives, halved
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons of white or red balsamic vinegar
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 oz crumbled feta cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- lemon juice (optional)

Rinse 1 cup of dry quinoa until the water runs clear. Add to 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed and the seeds begin to enlarge and "pop." Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl or container. Stir in 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and set aside.

Heat half a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir for about a minute.

Add spinach and stir, while allowing to cook down. Add tomatoes and artichokes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add to quinoa and mix well. Cover and store in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Once completely cooled, add the olives and feta. Sprinkle with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (I use white, but red will be fine too). If you'd prefer a more mild taste, you can add less.

Before eating, drizzle with some lemon juice for an extra kick and enjoy!

Doggie Window Seat

Remember a few months ago when I mentioned in this post that I needed a raised dog bed for Penny since she likes to sit by the window? I finally made one! I didn't really have anything specific in my mind - I just wanted to find something practical that she could sit in and stare out the window in. I was walking around Goodwill, when I came across this bathroom medicine cabinet. The creative juices started flowing and after measuring it, realized it would work out just fine.

What I liked about it, is that it can double as storage too. I took out the shelves and gave the whole thing a good cleaning.

I put a piece of cardboard over the mirror, along with some painter's tape. Then I took it outside and gave the whole thing a good spray with black spray paint, inside and out, using Krylon Dual Paint + Primer in black. 

After it was completely dry (I let it sit for a day to be on the safe side), I removed the tape and cardboard and put 2 thick strips of velcro tape down, so that the bed can be removable, but also hold down while Penny's sitting in it.

I found the bed at TJ Maxx. What's cool about the Mooii brand beds, is that a portion of the proceeds go to the Humane Society. 

As for the storage element of it, it was the perfect spot to keep all her doggie shirts, bandanas, harnesses and collars.

The whole thing cost me less than $20 to do! I'm pretty psyched about the way it came out. Let's hope Penny is too...