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!

Hill Vs. The Pancakes, and Updates from Margaritaville

Have you ever watched the show Man Vs. Food?  Well I felt like Man Vs. Food yesterday when my plate of pancakes came out at breakfast!  I dubbed my fake show Hill Vs. The Pancakes!  These mammoth size pancakes were curtsey of The Butter Cafe!  I was so excited to go to The Butter Cafe for brunch, I have been wanting to go there for some time now!  Butter Cafe supports sustainable cooking, which means they use only the best ingredients (ingredients that don't hurt animals, the environment and are healthy for consumers) aka lots of Organic!!

 I was struggling on what to get, everything sounded so good post run, and I was starving!  I went between Banana Pancakes, French Toast Kebabs, Oatmeal, and Cinnamon Sugar Pancakes!  I wish I could have ordered one of each (then you would have been rolling me out of the cafe)!  So what did I finally settle on?  Drum roll please...  Cinnamon Sugar Pancakes!  Best decision ever, these pancakes were sweet but not that overpowering sweet.  Topped with bananas and of course peanut butter, the pancakes hit the spot!  I took the rest of my pancakes with me to snack on latter because let me tell you those suckers were huge!  Take a look.

Mammouth Cinnamon Sugar Pancakes!!

And after Mark, his mom and I Went to town!

Clearly food won that round in Hill Vs. The Pancakes!  

We left the Butter Cafe ready to tackle the hour and a half drive to Indy for the Concert!!

Upon arriving in Indy we decided we would check into our hotel before hitting up the venue... lets just say its a good thing we did!  There were a few issues with the hotel lets just leave it at that (makes for a great story)!

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!

Small Town Treasure

Good Morning!  I am just going to jump right into yesterdays festivities!

Yesterday my mom, sister, Melinda and I went down to Decorah Iowa for the day!

Yea you think small town there is going to be nothing to do.  But since my Mom, Melinda and my sister had been raving about the cute little shops in Decorah I decided I wanted to go to!  Let me tell you for Decorah being a small town in Iowa they have the neatest downtown!  We just spent the afternoon going from shop to shop.  We went through little stores like a yarn shop, a cooking store, a store that sold Vera Bradley, and a hatchery!  I even found the wine my parents Mark and I had at the Meridian in Indianapolis!

And this wine is not easy to find!  We couldn't find this wine anywhere in Indianapolis (the only places we found it was a bar and they had one bottle), and of all places I find this particular wine in a little 

Co-Op store in downtown Decorah Iowa!  I was extremely excited about this find.

We had lunch at a wonderful little Bistro called La Rana. 

 The food was excellent, and the decor was charming yet simple.  La Rana means the frog so the bistro featured many a different frog statues!  

To top it off I got the cutest mug that they sold there!

For lunch my sister and I split a green salad topped with Pecans, Cranberries, Grilled Chicken and Goat Cheese!

They had a orange vinaigrette as the dressing.  And the crusty bread they served on the side was fabulous!  We also split the Turkey Avocado and Swiss sandwich.

I have to say that Turkey and Avocado has to be one of my favorite combinations for a sandwich!

Melinda had a Cobb Salad which looked fantastic, and my mom had a grilled chicken sandwich.  I also had to sample the amazing Tomato Basil soup my sister and mom both ordered!  The dessert menu at La Rana looked phenomenal but I was way to full after lunch for dessert!

The hatchery was the last stop of our day!  We shopped a lot!  My sister and I bought some adorable hats and got to hold baby chicks that the hatchery raises!

They were adorable, so soft and fuzzy!

I was super excited about the hat purchases!

Decorah is just one of those charming little towns in the country!  

And don't think our day/fun ended in Decorah!  Because we came home to have a big BBQ with my dad and my sisters friend!  We had way to much food, but everything was delicious!  The only thing I made was baked beans I used a new homemade BBQ sauce recipe.  The sauce called for apple juice, but we were out I subbed in Orange Juice instead.  I want to try this BBQ sauce with apple juice before I share it with you, because I thought the OJ added an interesting flavor.  I am not sure the interesting flavor was a good thing!  Although we did have by far my favorite salad, Grilled Romaine Hearts with Grilled Pineapple.  This salad just screams summer! My sister also made this amazing Guacamole Salad from Ina Graten.  My sister kept saying something seems spicy but I don't know what the spice is from!  Turns out she had added way to much cayenne pepper to the salad!  I thought the salad was excellent!  We had a good evening full of lots of laughs and stories!

 Brats and Hamburgers on the grill!  We even had hot dogs and Veggie Burgers for me!

Yum!  Nothing but veggies fruit and beans!  

I hope you enjoy the many pictures from our day!  I don't think the pictures do the day justice!  And ow before I leave you to get ready for the day I will share our Be quote!

Be Amazed

"As I started looking, I found more and more."

Valerie Steele

Enjoy your day and the long holiday weekend, and remember to live Happily Ever Healthy!