Roasted Brussel Sprouts

If you think you hate Brussel Sprouts, you haven’t tried this recipe! Not only it is incredibly easy, but its also delicious. I never want to share mine when I make them!

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So do yourself a favor, and try this out. Buy a bag of brussel sprouts. Cut them in half. Put on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

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Generously add avocado oil, garlic salt and black pepper. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes. Broil on HI for 10 minutes.

IMG_4158Enjoy the crispy deliciousness that is this incredible vegetable. Don’t share with others. Keep them all to yourself. And if you don’t eat them all and have to put them in the fridge overnight, please don’t microwave them! They must be put back in the oven to be reheated. Please tell me if you try this, I would love to hear about all the people I’ve converted to be Brussel Lovers ❤

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Fajita Quesadillas

I have found that Mexican dishes are pretty dang easy to make vegetarian, so I’ll probably be eating a lot of it from now on, which frankly isn’t hurting my feelings one bit. I should have married a Mexican man so that my mother in law could teach me all of the goodness that is tamales, tacos, and enchiladas. That’s my love language right there.

Quesadillas are a crowd pleaser and my house and we often make Chicken and bean quesadillas. For Vegetarian week, I decided to make up my own thing completely, mixing two of my favorite dishes together: Fajita Quesadillas!

Ingredients:

  • mushrooms
  • 3 red peppers
  • 2 green peppers
  • half of a huge walla walla sweet onion (or Vidalia)
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • tortillas
  • cheese
  • black beans, precooked and rinsed
  • a few tablespoons of avocado oil
  • a few tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
  • sea salt/pepper to taste

IMG_4153Directions:

  1. Get a sauté pan going on medium heat. Add a tablespoon of avocado oil, and  get the mushrooms, peppers, onions and oil sautéing. Add Worcestershire sauce. IMG_4154
  2. After the onions are caramelized and everything is smelling amazing, take off the heat and let the veggies rest while you start the quesadillas.
  3. In another pan, get some more avocado oil heating up on medium. Put one tortilla down. Add cheese, beans and fajita veggies and put a tortilla on top. Cook until golden brown on both sides. IMG_4156
  4. Remove from heat, let cool a couple mintues. Cut with a pizza cutter. Serve with Guac and Pico De Gallo!

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Enjoy!

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Lunch with Girlfriends

Its hard to move to a new place, without knowing anyone, when you are used to having constant friendship interactions. In Washington, I was very active in my church and had many friends who I would meet up with for coffee dates, play dates for our kids, church activities, girl nights, game nights, pretty much anything and everything!

Then I moved to Utah…

I was lonely for a long time. Whether self-inflicted, or just out of shyness, I’m not sure. My sister Jamie always told me that I just needed one friend: a gateway friend.

I met my gateway friend Lindsey in spring of 2015 when both of our boys were on the same baseball team. Her husband Jeremy was the coach. Aedan excels in all sports, and even though this was his first year playing baseball, he and Lindsay’s son Braxton became instant friends, and the two best players on the team. This led to a friendship between Lindsey and I. She also happened to live in the same neighborhood I did, even though we were both playing at a different cities rec league. Once we found out we live in the same neighborhood, she started inviting me to join her at our HOA pool. We hit it off, and basically spent every single day in summer at the pool together, where she introduced me to many many of her friends. One of her friends, Nicki, had a similar story to me. We had both moved to Utah from out of state around the same time. Lindsey met her, AT A YARD SELL: that’s how friendly Lindsey is!

Anyway, the three of us really hit it off and spent nearly every summer day together at the pool. When September came and our neighborhood pool had to shut its doors for the season, I was really wondering what the heck we could do to still get together often!

Thus our weekly lunches were born. Every week, usually on Tuesdays, we get together at one of our houses for a lunch and girl time. I enjoy it immensely! I look forward to it every week. I highly suggest you start a weekly lunch with your girlfriends too. It doesn’t cost you any money, like going out would, and you get much needed girl time!

So anyway, to get back to the point of this post within the context of my vegetarian week….

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It was my week to host our lunch. I made a fresh loaf of bread, and homemade butter. A veggie salad with boiled eggs. And we also ate my leftover Egg Drop Ramen Veggie Soup. Lindsey brought guacamole! We had a fantastic time, as always! Nothing better then a good meal, and good friends! Try it out!

Ciao!

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Veg Week: Day Two

Lets dive right into day two of my Vegetarian Week!

My meal plan for the day: Click the links for recipes!

Breakfast: Mocha Shake

Snack: peaches and handful of pistachios

Lunch: Weekly Lunch with my Girlfriends!

Dinner: Fajita Quesadillas with Roasted Brussel Sprouts

How I’m Feeling: Wow! I woke up with a ton of energy! Either I slept really well or this veggie thing is already making a difference. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow if the trend continues. Usually on a normal day, I wake up begrudgingly and walk immediately to my coffee bar. Today, I jumped to start on my day’s  to do list and got a ton of stuff done by 9am! I was really impressed. I wasn’t hungry at all today. I got my house all cleaned and a loaf of bread made early, because I had my weekly lunch with my girlfriends planned. Today was my turn to host. I always have a wonderful time, and I look forward to it every week. I normally hit a wall around 2pm, but today I kept going without a slump at all! I certainly hope this continues. Its amazing what I can get done around my house when I am full of energy. Dinner was fantastic. I might sound totally crazy when I say this, but I’m completely addicted to brussel sprouts. I pretty much cooked that entire pan just for me and didn’t willingly share with my family. I just want to eat them all! So delicious! I wasn’t hungry after dinner! That’s a first for me! Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Ciao!

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