Little Things & New Beginnings

This is actually more like two different posts, but I waited so long to publish the first part that now I have more things to tell you!

Life as a first-year teacher, in a long-distance relationship, can be stressful and down right HARD sometimes.  But then I remember…

 It’s the little things that make me happy.

Like cute dog friends

 

Dear Lola,

You are so cute when you behave. Can we put our differences aside and just be friends. Okay, thanks!

-J

and nature

When I’m feeling stressed I go up the mountain for a little time in the pines.

and climbing rocks (best girlfriend shreds way harder than me!)

and REAL food

and my little garden-that-could (maybe)

and the sunshine!

I’ve had the week off from school and it has been nothing short of glorious. So much free time!!!! I’ve been walking to coffee shops, taking Bodypump classes, hiking in the pines, having sleep-overs with my best girl friend, and eating really yummy (and new to me) foods. I couldn’t have asked for a better fall break.

New Beginnings

I finally roasted the butternut squash I bought at the farmer’s market three weeks ago!

This was awesome and I still have some leftovers. I’ve had butternut squash in different forms before (i.e., ravioli) but I’ve never cooked it myself. I’m in love! Move over sweet potato ‘fries’, you have some competition!

Pumpkin Chili

I saw this recipe on Rachel’s blog a few days ago & immediately went to the grocery store to stock up on all the ingredients! I tweaked the recipe a little. I left out the onions because I’m allergic and added some veggies, and cut the whole recipe in half since I only needed to feed one belly (for the original go here):

Ingredients:

1/2 c. canned pumpkin (I used Libby’s)

8 oz. 96/4 extra lean ground beef

1/2 can low-sodium kidney beans

1 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped

3 oz. mushrooms, chopped

1/2 tbsp chili powder

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

Procedure:

1. In a medium soup pot, brown meat on medium heat.

2. Add remaining ingredients. Stir.

3. Simmer on low 1-2 hours. (I cooked mine for about 1 hour & 15 minutes because I’m impatient and I was starving)

4. Garnish with cheddar cheese (I used reduced fat), cilantro, and green onions (I’m not allergic to the green variety as long as I only eat the green part. Weird, I know).

This was SO good. And insanely simple. I can’t wait to eat this everyday for the next three days (I have at least 3 servings left!). Also, you can’t really taste the pumpkin, but one serving provides you with 97% of your RDA of vitamin A! 

I guess you could say I’m on a pumpkin kick lately. Somehow I avoided this seasonal blog  ‘trend’ last fall, but this year, I’m a pumpkin-eating fool. So I  decided to make pumpkin blondies too.

Unfortunately I skimped on the butter and apparently the recipe calls for 3/4 c. for a reason. They just aren’t amazing. And for the amount of butter and sugar I did use, I was expecting amazing. They taste all light and airy, very fall, and you can definitely taste the pumpkin and the cinnamon, but they don’t completely deliver. I don’t know, maybe I just don’t like blondies.

But let’s not end on a bad note. I wore this for the majority of the day:

That’s a fall-themed apron I picked up from a rummage sale. It’s definitely hand-made and I love it. You can’t see it, but there is a HUGE turkey on it. I think I will rock this look more often.

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