It Just Snuck Up on Me!

Source: sittinginatreeblog.com via Junia on Pinterest

How did you sneak up on me so quickly? How was everyone's weekend? Mine was spent in Omaha Nebraska with my entire family! My little sister is a junior at Creighton University

and let's just say she had a full weekend planned for us!   

 The whole family enjoyed some amazing eats, I am always shocked out how many fabulous local restaurants Omaha has.  I mean Omaha puts my hometown to shame!  And just a little side note... If you ever go to Omaha you need to go to Wheatfields and get a cinnamon roll, trust me on this they are amazing.

I mean come on look at that frosting!
Don't worry we did more then just chow down this weekend!  Saturday night we went and cheered on the Creighton Bluejays in our first ever Creighton basketball game  (at least one of our teams won, poor Butler Bulldogs) and enjoyed an impromptu shopping spree and pedicures (my dad opted out of pedicures)!!  The game was neat to be at.  Saturday was Creighton's Annual Pink Out for breast cancer, so the entire stadium was a sea of pink!  Even my dad had on a pink shirt!

I also got the added bonus of seeing one of my lovely sorority sisters and close friends Leslie this weekend!

She lives about 10 minutes from where my sister goest to school, so I was lucky enough to meet her and her boyfriend for a round of drinks!  Always great to catch up with a good friend!
So many fun things crammed into a few short days!  If only the weekend wasn't over!

But it is Monday so you know what that means... 5 new pinterest recipes! My mom and I killed some time on the 5 hour drive back home looking up this weeks recipes! Hopefully they are some good ones! You ready to see this weeks picks? Here they are in no particular order!

1-White Bean Chowder

Source: ksl.com via Hilliary @ Happily Ever Healthy on Pinterest

Perfect for the cold weather we are having right now.  I am very ready for spring to get here!
2-Black Bean and Corn Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Source: myrecipes.com via Hilliary @ Happily Ever Healthy on Pinterest

These look delicious!  Not only are baked potatoes super easy/quick to make they are also delicious and good for you!
3-Balsamic Chicken, Spinach, Grape Tomatoes and Tortollini Salad

Source: multiplydelicious.com via Hilliary @ Happily Ever Healthy on Pinterest

I have had this recipe pinned forever, and I think my favorite Trader Joe's Balsamic Dressing would be perfect for this recipe!
4-Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Source: allrecipes.com via Hilliary @ Happily Ever Healthy on Pinterest

Just looks simply delicious!
5-How about another simple soup!

Source: blogs.babble.com via Hilliary @ Happily Ever Healthy on Pinterest

Spinach Tomato Orzo Soup!  I am in that mood again where big bowls of soup sound comforting, and extra delicious!  And what is not to love about a soup chalk full of veggies?

What did everyone do this weekend?  Any exciting adventures?
Happy Monday!

Spaghetti Pie

Hello Thursday.  

At this time tomorrow I will be heading up to the cities to catch a flight to Indy. I take off at 9:45 AM and Mark will be there to pick me up and take me back to Dayton!

I have a great recipe for you today, one that I thought would be a little tricky at first and came together way better then expected!  I should have made soup last night because oooh my gosh did Minnesota get cold!  I mean we are talking cold here people, I had on multiple layers!  Hooray for fall weather, now I just need to find my boots!  Ok, back to dinner... I made something along the lines of a spaghetti pie.  However dinner didn't start out in the direction of spaghetti pie.  I got started on sesame noodles only to find out mid recipe that I did not have all the ingredients!  Oops!  Note to self check cabinets before you start cooking!  However I think the lack of ingredients was really a blessing in disguise, because the spaghetti pie turned out to be more of a dish I was craving!

A Rainy Day Calls for Soup

Today was a rainy and gloomy day here in Minnesota, and on those types of days the only thing I really want to do is curl up in a blanket and be lazy.  And you know what that is exactly what Mark and I did.  Minus running to the gym, and to have my bridesmaids dress fixed I spent all day in the house!  It was glorious!  Mark rented a few movies for us and we curled up on the couch with bowls of mac and cheese.  Yes I said Mac and Cheese, I decided I wanted to try the Annie's Organic Version of  Shells and Cheese.

I have to say I was not that impressed, it was a little bland!  However I enjoyed it old like I did when I was little with peas, carrots and well I had to add some garlic to liven it up! Not sure if I will buy it again!

Have any of you ever seen the movie Limitless?  With Bradley Cooper?  Thats what Mark and I watched today it was a bit odd!  Non the less it killed some time!  Along with searching for the perfect rainy day soup to make!  Tortilla Soup seemed to be the soup of the day in the blog world, and as soon as I saw all the wonderful recipes my mouth started watering.  I knew tortilla soup was what I wanted for dinner, and it wasn't hard to convince Mark or my mom into the soup for dinner either!  However on looking in the pantry I saw the house lacked a few key ingredients... let the recipe search begin!  I found this recipe for Salsa Chicken Soup on Taste of Homes website, added bonus we had all the ingredients!  Another added bonus the soup is a one pot dinner, and super easy to make.  I added some extra veggies for bulk and some beans because to me a tortilla salsa soup needs beans!!

Here is what you need:

Adapted from this Taste Of Home Recipe

1 Can Low Sodium Chicken Broth 

1-3/4 Cup Water

1 Cup Salsa of your choice 

1/2 Pound Chicken Cubed

1 Cup Corn 

Chili Powder, Garlic and Cilantro 

1 Can Black Beans 

Cheese and Limes for Garnish 

1 Medium Red Pepper

1/2 Medium Onion 

For Crispy Tortilla Strips 

5-6 Tortillas

Olive Oil Cooking Spray 

Salt, Pepper and Garlic

What you do:

In a soup pot combine Water, Chicken Broth spices and Chicken.  I also added my Onions and Peppers in this step (they were not originally in the recipe).  Bring to a boil and cover for 5 minutes.

Next add your Corn

and your Salsa.

Return the lid to the pot and simmer until chicken is cooked through!

While I was waiting for the chicken to cook Mark and I focused on the Tortilla Strips.  He cut the tortillas into thin strips, sprayed them with cooking spray and seasoned them. Place them in a 300 degree oven and broil them until crispy!  I don't have an exact time I simply just watched them till the reached the crispness I wanted!

Time to serve!

The perfect dinner for a rainy day!  Tonights soup was a bit on the hot side, I used hot salsa.  Milk was definitely the perfect compliment to a spicy  dinner!

I am off or a friendly game of Sorry!  

Enjoy and remember to live Happily Ever Healthy!

Plummer House and Festivities Recap

Yesterday before going out to celebrate my parents 31st wedding anniversary Mark and I did a little tour of Rochester.  Rochester has three huge mansions, two were home of the Mayo Brothers (I talked about Will Mayo's house in this post) and one was Dr. Plummer's.  The Plummer house is one of my favorite houses. Not only is the house beautiful, but the gardens are sprawling and studded with beautiful flowers and fountains! I held my Graduation (from high school) open house there and even took some of my senior pictures there.  Dr Plummer was not only a wonderful doctor but helped the clinic in many ways, he came up with a correspondence system that was used throughout the Clinic, and was the first doctor to understand and operate the X-Ray machine.  Here are a few pictures from our adventure!

 The tower in the side garden

 Front door to the house!

 I love these fountains!

 King of the Rock!

We spent the rest of our day relaxing and gearing up for the celebration!  Lets transition into talking about the fabulous dinner we had last night!

Dinner Time with Kate!

As promised yesterday, I have a guest post from a wonderful friend Kate!  I have known Kate for about 5 years now I would say!  She is starting a new chapter in her life, new apartment, new job (registered pharmacist), and no pharmacy exams!   Some fun facts about Kate She tackled the Indy500 mini marathon this year and totally rocked it, she love Butler Basketball (and tries to help me out with my lack of basketball knowledge) she is a wonderful friend who will do anything for anyone!

And remember this 

That piece of amazingness (yes thats a word) was at Kate's graduation open house!!

Kate is going to be sharing a wonderful pasta dish with you, and it features one of my favorite things Edamame!!!  I was so excited to read Kate's guest post, and know you will all love it!

So I will stop blabbing and hand the floor blog over to Kate!

Take it away Kate!

I am the worst cook ever.
Seriously, I lived in my apartment for a few weeks before I even bought salt and pepper!
Today I finally decided to end the parade of take out boxes in my fridge and make something for myself!

One of the only things I'm good at cooking is spaghetti with Ragu. Since I have such mad skills, I decided I could try making this 500 calorie recipe from fitness magazine!

Peanut Noodle Bowl with EdamameCook 1.5 ounces whole grain angel hair pasta according to package directions

In a medium skillet combine 2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter (I used Peter Pan Crunchy Naturals)
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 pinch salt
Heat 1 minute

Add 1.5 cup packaged shredded rainbow slaw and
0.5 cup frozen edamame thawed and shelled (I used the pre shelled kind!)
Cook and stir for 4 minutes (keep stirring or it will burn!)

Mix in pasta and cook 4 minutes more!

Somehow my dish ACTUALLY worked!

Now, I have to admit. I didn't have brown sugar, so I used sugar and garlic. Random? yes. Delicious? yes. I also added another splash of lime juice for more sip. I think it would be even better if I hadn't forgot the brown sugar though! It also would be great with chicken!

Here's thanks to Hilliary for actually inspiring me to cook AND eat vegetables.

Thanks again Kate for the wonderful guest post, and fabulous recipe I cannot wait to try!  

I am getting ready to pack into a car with my family and take a little R&R on the North Shore.  I will be back on Wednesday with a recap of our trip, and hopefully some wonderful pictures!

Have a fabulous rest of your weekend, and beginning of your week!  I cannot wait to catch up with you all when I get back!  

As always remember to live Happily Ever Healthy!

A House Full

Friday again, and another week gone. But a week closer to seeing Mark and days closer to going up North to Lake Superior!  I cannot wait for a few days of relaxing, and spending time with my family.

  My grandparents got in last night from Illinois.  We had a great night laughing, talking, and catching up.  It is good to see my grandparents again, it has been a while!

My dad grilled some amazing salmon last night on the grill, along with baked potatoes, and asian green beans (from the farmers market)!  Have you ever seen Asian green beans?

They are twice the length of "regular" green beans.  However the flavor of the green beans is the same.  

We snapped the asian green beans into bite size pieces, that way they were easier to eat!

Here is my families recipe for how to prepare Asian Green Beans:

One Bunch Asian Green Beans

3-4 Shallots thinly chopped

1/4 Cup Chopped Red Pepper

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil 

2-3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

Garlic, and pepper to taste

What you do:

Steam the green beans until almost cooked.  While the green beans are steaming start heating your olive oil in a walk.  Saute your shallots cook until fragrant/translucent.  Add your red pepper, cook till tender.  Once the green beans are done steaming add those in with the shallots and red pepper.  Toss the vegetables with soy sauce and cook till a bit browned!

End product, super tasty, colorful and healthy!

Alright, I have a busy day full of getting ready for my trips, and then a Bridal Shower for Katie!

What is everyones weekend plans?  Anything Exciting?

As always remember to live Happily Ever Healthy

Recipe as Promised-Healthy Chicken Salad

Hard to believe it is already Thursday!  I was going to post this recipe last night for you all, but my little sister got home and things got a little crazy! 

 Just think lots of almost peeing your pants because your laughing so hard!  My Grandparents get in tonight, we are going to have a full house before heading up north!

But lets get back to talking about chicken salad!  I was never a huge fan of chicken salad growing up, because I don't like the taste/smell of mayo.  Now a days when I make chicken salad I sub in greek yogurt for all the mayo!

She's Home!

My sister finally made it home tonight!  And we had a wonderful dinner in the works to celebrate her birthday and gather with friends.  My sister and I are five years apart, but if you saw us you would totally think she is older!  

Sisters!

On the menu:

My Undone Caprese Salad (this turned out way better then last time!)  I omitted the Balsamic Vinegar this time!

Bruchetta:

1 Tomato, Fresh Basil, 1 Small Onion, 2 Teaspoons Olive Oil, 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Recipe to Come)

Mashed Cauliflower

Asparagus

Steak, and Fish

And for Dessert the Famous Strawberry Dumplings complete with homemade ice cream. I am going to leave you with a photo montage of the evening.  As it is very late and I am meeting Katie for an early AM run!  Think 6:15!

 The Pie Crust for Strawberry Dumplings

 Yum Strawberries

 You can tell we make Strawberry Dumplings A LOT!

Fresh From the Oven

The beginning of Bruchetta

Way better then the last undone Caprese Salad

Crispy Olive Oil Bread for Bruchetta! Easy to do cut a baguette brush each side with garlic and olive oil.  Bake in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes or until crispy and golden!

My little sister growing up!  She got a cook book and is actually cooking!

Goodnight Everyone, and remember to live Happily Ever Healthy!

Be Resourceful

Be Resourceful

"Almost everything comes from almost nothing."

- Henri-Frederic Amiel

Remember that! You can't just start at the top, you have to work your way from the bottom up!  Something I frequently forget.  I sometimes get impatient (or all the time) and want everything to happen at once, but alas that is not how life is!

I am sorry that i was not back last night to post!  We ended up staying out with Melinda till well after 9!  We had a wonderful day though out in the country.  We baked yummy scones (I have pictures and a Link to the recipe) and I learned to do this.

Yes that is me sitting still for more then 5 minutes!  I know me not moving is a miracle!  The thing i loved about being out in the country yesterday was the peacefulness of it all.  I told both my mom and Melinda that I felt so relaxed!  Being out in the country reminded me of being at my grandparents in Southern Illinois.  Where you wake up at the crack of dawn to sun streaming in, and the days are long and relaxing.  Yesterday was definitely a much needed stress relief.

I do not know why but I just love the way windmills look!  I had to snap two more pictures of them yesterday!  One against the bright blue sky of the day, while the other was on the drive home with the sun setting!

Yesterdays Scone Menu consisted of these flavors:

Cranberry Orange (Oh So Good)

Double Strawberry Basil (interesting combination)

And

Oatmeal Raison!

We used this recipe for the amazing Cranberry Orange scones!  These scones were by far my favorite.  The cranberries combined with the flavors of fresh orange were bright and vibrant, and complimented each other nicely.  The cranberries added a bit of a tart flavor while the orange offered up a subtle sweetness.  We glazed the cranberry orange scones with a orange glaze, and then served them up with a orange marmalade butter!  I was in heaven, just sitting relaxing with a cup of tea and a fresh hot scone!  Not a care in the world!  Here are a few pictures from our creative afternoon of scone making lessons!

 Cranberry Orange Scones Ready To Bake!

 Getting Glazed!

 Delicious!

 Double Strawberry Basil Scones

 One Large Pile of Scones

 Toasted Oats for our Oatmeal and Raison Scones

Cut and Ready to Bake!

As soon as I get my hands on the other two recipes I will be sure to share them with you!

Well I am off to get a long to do list done!  However I have been up since 5 and already got my workout for the day done!  Thats one thing to check off the list!  I went to a boot camp type class with Katie and my mom this morning at 5:45 followed by my 5 mile 10k training run!  I am going to be sore tomorrow. But we have lots of prep work and cleaning to be done because my little sister comes home today!  

We are celebrating her 20th Birthday that was on Tuesday!  I cannot wait to see her!  We are preparing a special dinner for her, lots of grilling and fresh veggies.  I am sure I will be in charge of the Veggies!  Till tonight!  And remember as always to live Happily Ever Healthy!

PS 24 Days till I see Mark!  Wish him luck on his interview today!