Halloween Sneak Peek

I am working on a Halloween Post, but thought I would give you a little preview. Enjoy!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Hashing it Out

Who’s ready for Presidential Debate #2?

I am!  I love election time.  I don’t necessarily like the constant political ads on TV, but I do love the excitement of an election.  I love watching the debates, too.  I like to see how the candidates react under pressure.  I don’t want to turn this into a political post, so I won’t reveal who I am leaning towards.  However, I do hope that this debate will be better than number one.  I was expecting the first one to be a little more heated, but it wasn’t.  Here’s to watching them hash it out tonight!

Speaking of hash, that’s what I had for dinner tonight, after sweating it out in an intense, but super-fun Zumba class!

A while back, I wrote about a breakfast hash that I like to make in big batches, so I can eat it throughout the week.  Tonight I made it again with spinach and a fried egg on top.  I’ve been using a local breakfast sausage which I love and it makes all the difference!  The flavor is better than other brands I have tried!

Chili-seasoned olives on the side.  :)

Alright folks, enjoy the debate! 

I’ll be Tweeting throughout the debate!  See the link on the right to find me on Twitter.  You may also want to follow Politifact (@politifact).  They do live fact checking throughout the debates so you can see what is true and what is not. 

Beach Weekend

Happy Sunday!  I hope all of you enjoyed a wonderful, restful weekend.  We just had a fabulous weekend at the beach with great friends. 

On Friday after work, the husband and I hopped in the car and headed on down to North Myrtle Beach to meet some of our friends fore a weekend.  We were lucky to score two really nice condos on the beach at a great price, due to this being the “off-season.”  Take a look at the view from one of our balconies!

Very nice.

On Friday night, we had dinner at Greg Norman’s Australian Grill at Barefoot Landing.  We were lucky to sit outside.  There was great atmosphere and the food was great!  Unfortunately, I had my camera with no memory card, so I didn’t get many pictures. 

On Saturday morning, we had breakfast and then did a little shopping. 

I MAY have picked up some new shoes. 

The weather was actually beautiful for the entire weekend!  It was in the 70s during the day.  Very sunny and breezy—perfect for a lunch together on the beach.

We headed over to Broadway at the Beach for dinner on Saturday.  Since the Myrtle Beach Pavillion closed several years back, they moved some of the original rides over to Broadway.  A group of us took a quick ride on the Pirate Ship.  There were a lot of laughs and screams on this ride. 

   

Then we decided to have dinner at Margaritaville.  Margaritaville is famous for the atmosphere, as you can see.

 

We had such a fun weekend.  It just went by way too quickly, as weekends always do!  Here’s to great weekends with great friends!

Real Women Sweat

Hey friends.  I bet you thought I forgot about you.  I didn’t.  One of these days soon I will be blogging regularly again.  I’ve been trying to really throw myself into my new job and try to learn as much as I can.  It’s been crazy busy, but I love it. 

I bet you thought I was going to share a recipe.  Nope, not today.  Today I want to talk about real women.

Last Saturday, I woke up a little earlier than usual.  5:15 a.m., to be exact.  Sounds crazy, but it was all for a good cause.

I was up to walk with a group of friends in the Susan G. Komen 5K in Uptown Charlotte.  It’s kind of weird to be driving down empty streets at 6 a.m. and then happen upon a whole village of people wearing pink.  Pink hair ribbons, shirts, unitards, tutus, feather boas… all pink. 

It reminded me of the weekend that my sister Adrienne and I walked in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.  The Susan G. Komen walk was pretty amazing.  Our company was dance-walking.  If you want to see what dance-walking is, take a look at our video we made.

 

We carried a big speaker and an ipod full of great dance-worthy tunes.  We gathered quite the crowd to walk with us, and we all got to watch the sunrise.

Everyone was singing along and smiling.  What was most amazing about it was the feeling amongst all of the walkers.  Most people were walking in teams in honor of friends or family, or in memory of friends or family.  Even more amazing than that was the amount of survivors.  Some were still going through treatments.  It made me think about how often we complain  about trivial things.  As I was getting to the end of the race, there was a woman in front of me who had lost her hair.  We were playing the song, “I will Survive!”  She was just belting out the lyrics and fist-pumping.  It made me think, “What do we really have to complain about?”

All this week, our company has been fundraising for a local organization, Pretty in Pink, who provide mammograms and support for under-insured and uninsured women.  They also support women who have been diagnosed with financial help.  They are a great organization.  It’s been a pleasure to dance in the name of ending this terrible disease!

So… if you’re healthy, be a real woman.  Real women sweat. Make the most of your health!

 

Disclaimer: I realize I talked mostly about women here, but I want to point out that men can and do get breast cancer!  It’s not just a women’s disease!

Change of Seasons and Spicy Slawsa

I can’t believe how quickly fall came to South Carolina.  A few weeks ago, we were enjoying the pool and sun.  And now, we’re pulling on sweaters in the morning, leaving the windows open at night, and picking apples and pumpkins.  The weather has been absolutely amazing around here.  I hope that wherever you are, it is beautiful, too!

On Saturday morning, I went out for a quick bike ride and ended up riding more than 5 miles.  It just felt so great outside.

And on Sunday, Sadie and I enjoyed a walk at a local park…

followed by frozen yogurt. 

I also was able to go to the Southern Women’s Show this weekend.  The SWS is a great shopping opportunity in Charlotte.  Lots of local and national vendors set up booths.  I can’t believe I didn’t take my camera with me.  But I ran into a friend there… my friend Julie from college!  Julie is the owner of a little product called Slawsa, which I have written about before here.  Julie has been busy making deals with many of the grocery store chains around the country.  She was at the SWS giving samples of Slawsa and telling people where to get it. 

 

I decided to try out the new Spicy Slawsa!  I liked it so much I brought home a jar. 

This inspired us to make burgers.  I ate mine sans bun, since I try to stay with a Mostly-Paleo diet, and topped mine with Slawsa and Tomatoes.  Yum! 

If you still haven’t tried Slawsa, you must!  It’s great on hot dogs and burgers!  Slawsa is sold at Ingles, Publix, and may soon be available4 at some other stores!  You can click here to find out more about Slawsa and to order some.

Alright, friends… apples are baking in my oven and they smell heavenly.  I’m going to have to say goodnight now. 

Easiest Vegetable Soup + Blogger Eats

Happy Monday!  I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend!  We did.  We enjoyed lots of family time and even got some housework done!  Which made me remember that way back in the spring, I vowed to do better about keeping the house clean.  I even pinned a schedule on Pinterest, hoping to try and follow this.  We did it for about a week or so, but then a busy week hit and… Fail.  Now we are vowing it again.

Well, I may not be the best housekeeper in the world, but I did cook a little. 

As soon as fall starts to approach, I start thinking about things like…

boots

leaves

cocoa

soup

chili

apples

Wassail from Windy Hill Orchard

pumpkin

pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks

stews

blankets

long sleeves

candles

The list goes on and on.  I am always sad when summer ends… but once fall begins to come around, I remember how much I love this time of year, when everything cools down and the fall colors start to appear in nature. 

Yesterday was sort-of a gray day, so I felt like making soup.  This is the easiest soup to make.  This is the soup recipe I give to my friends who swear they cannot cook anything.  So if you’re one of those people who always goes for the complex recipes with many steps… I can tell you this soup probably isn’t your thing. 

 

Easiest Vegetable-Beef Soup

I make this soup almost every 2nd or 3rd week in the fall and winter.  It’s so simple, but it is filling and tasty.  I like to make a big batch on Sunday night and then eat it for lunches or an easy dinner during the week.  Back before I was (mostly) Paleo, I woulod have paired it with a grilled cheese.  Now I pair it with apple slices or some extra veggies.  Maybe even a slice of quiche!  One batch makes about 5-6 servings, but it really depends on how big your bowls are! 

 

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 onion, diced

2-3 cups of frozen, cut-up veggies (I use about 1/2 a bag of those frozen soup veggies with beans, corn, peas, and carrots—but you coulod certainly use fresh—whatever you have on hand)

2 cups frozen cut okra (again—I am sure fresh would also be great)

1 12-oz. can V-8 or Vegetable Juice

1 32-oz. carton chicken or vegetable broth

salt, pepper, bay leaves, or other seasoning

Preparation:

Brown ground beef with chopped onion.  When beef is browned, drain fat if needed.  (Depends on how lean the beef is.)  Add chicken broth and V8 to the pot.  Mix with a spoon.  Add frozen veggies.  Mix again.  Add seasonings.  Bring to a boil.  Then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15-20 more minutes.  Serve hot with your favorite soup sides!

Seriously, I told you it was easy, right?

Yay for pre-prepared lunches this week!

Speaking of preparing meals in advance… last night I tried out this recipe from PaleOMG: Tex-Mex Hash Breakfast Casserole!  I love a breakfast hash, that is for sure.  So as soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it out. 

It turned out amazing!  It is so filling and hearty, and I love anything spicy in the morning.  I’d bring tacos to work for breakfast if I didn’t think I would get some crazy looks.  But I WILL take this to work. 

Stop over at PaleOMG! for the recipe!

Alright, friends… hope you have a great week!  For those of you who are having a rainy week (like us!), stay dry!

Almost Burned (But Not Quite!) Turkey, Broccoli, and Cheddar Frittata

Happy Thursday!  Or shall we say, “Friday Eve?”  I’m feeling ready for the weekend!  Something strange happened this week… I think Fall arrived!  Seriously, the weather took quite a change.  It’s been in the 50s/60s in the morning!   I have to say that I am sad that the pool days of summer are over… they are ending just as Sadie was really getting GREAT with her swimming.  We are going to have to make a special effort to get her to the indoor pool so that she will not forget everything she has learned. 

However, there are so many things that I love about Fall.  I’m getting so excited to break out the boots soon! And making things with pumpkin!  And apples are in season! 

You can expect to see some fall-related posts coming soon.  But for now, let’s have some breakfast. 

You all know I love breakfast.

And eggs.

The frittata has become a good friend to me.

Seriously, if you’ve never made one, it’s so easy!  You can add just about anything you want.  It’s cheap.  It’s a great way to use up leftovers.  And it’s quick!  This frittata came to be because of all those reasons.  I needed to use up some leftover veggies and I also wanted to pre-make some breakfasts for the week.  And I ALMOST ruined it.  But not quite.

Turkey, Broccoli, and Cheddar Frittata

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp EVOO

1 onion, diced

3/4 cup chopped turkey slices (amount isn’t really that important—anything will work)

1 cup of cooked broccoli florets

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

5 eggs, whisked

salt, pepper

 

Preparation:

Heat oil in an small oven-proof skillet over medium heat on the stove.  Add diced onion.  Saute until soft.  Then add turkey and broccoli.  Heat until warmed through.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Spread the veggie and turkey mixture evenly over the bottom of the skillet.  Add some salt and pepper (to taste) to the eggs.  Add cheddar to the eggs and pour evenly over the turkey and veggies.  Allow to cook for a few minutes, until the sides are beginning to thicken.  Then put the skillet into the oven.  Broil for a few minutes until the to is lightly browned.  Serve hot, or save to eat throughout the week. 

A frittata of this size will make enough for about 3 breakfasts.  I think it is great with fruit, or with some avocado or even almonds. 

Sooo… how did I almost ruin this breakfast?  I actually decided MID-BROIL that I wanted to go for a bike ride.  I was upstairs chaging, and then I came back down, I thought, “Oh no!  My frittata!”  I was sure it would be ruined.  But lucky for me, I caught it JUST in time.  It was almost too brown on top.  But it was my lucky day.  :) 

Breakfast saved.