{stuffed turkey burgers and quinoa}

After being out of town this past week and eating out literally every meal, Dale and I were ready to cook a homemade meal. We headed to Earth Fare today and got some yummies! I decided to make Dale some stuffed turkey burgers and quinoa with veggies as a side. Poor thing, I've kind of only made veggie meals for the past month and a half. My man needs wants some meat every now and then. This is a super easy meal that you can both make together..Dale did the grilling on the George :)

Ingredients for Burgers:

all natural (veggie fed, hormone free) ground turkey

roasted red peppers

jalepenos

1/4 organic white onion

dale's sauce

cookie's seasoning

Quinoa:

1/2 c organic quinoa

1 c water

organic peppers {red, yellow, orange}

1/4 organic white onion

organic tamari sauce

organic sesame oil

1/4 c organic black beans

Start by chopping for veggies for the turkey burgers
keep chopping!

throw in your ground turkey and mix in all of your veggies {yes I did this BY HAND}

*add your cookies in now*

once you've mixed it all together, make some patties

I also poured some "Dale's" on top to marinade just forgot pic!

Quinoa with Veggies:

wash and chop sweet peppers
when I chopped the onion for the turkey burgers, I chopped extra for the quinaa

throw it all on to a skillet, add some tamari and seasame oil, mix and satuee.

while your veggies are sauteeing, bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small pot. once it starts to boil, add in 1/2 c. of quinoa, reduce to a simmer and cover for about 10 min or until all water is soaked up like this:

Once your veggies are done, add in quinoa and mix together!

now your burgers should be done!!

Enjoy!!

-i thought i had veggie burgers in my freezer that I could make real quick but I didn't :( So I whipped up a hummus wrap w quinoa for me :)

{cluck cluck}

For a while now I've been day dreaming about chicken. No, No, not eating them! I want to have them as PETS!! At first it took a lot of begging, pleading, and researching to prove to my husband that this was a good idea. But when I mentioned that I also wanted a teacup pig he agreed to let me have chickens! {i'll still get the piggy some day :)}

I don't even eat eggs that much {i'm pretty much vegan but sometimes eat eggs or something with eggs in it} i don't know the technical term all I know is that I don't eat dairy {no, eggs are NOT dairy contrary to popular belief} and I don't eat meat. But my husband eats tons of eggs, especially on the weekends!

Anyway, chickens are cute, and it's the absolute BEST way to get fresh, organic eggs for your family. Apparently they are very clean animals, the best fertilizer for your plants, AND eat your weeds! We have been buying Tennessee cage free, "organic" eggs but they are like $2.58 a carton {which really isn't that bad}. Chickens are like $6.00 a piece!! In turn, you save money! They love to eat your veggie table scraps!

So, here is my wish list:

-get a home with a fenced in backyard

-Dale to make me a coop for a {cheap low cost}

-Have 2 chickens

-let them roam freely around my yard

If you have chickens please please give me any advice that you think would be helpful because I really don't know where to start. I would love to know the best breeds to buy {I'm thinking a Rhode Island Red and a Barred Plymouth Rock}, how to make a coop, and all that jazz!

{sweet potato chili}

My best friend, Ana, and her family eat very healthy! Ana, who is almost an R.D., and I talk a lot about yummy, healthy recipes. Her mommy shared a pic on facebook that made my mouth water, so I asked her for the recipe.

Here is the recipe for sweet potato chili. The only sad thing is that it only made 2 nights worth of soup but that's ok!

1 large peeled sweet potato, cut into cubes {i used 2 med}

1 large bell pepper, chopped {i used red}

3-4 chopped cloves of garlic

1 chopped onion

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

2 cans of rotel

1 can of black beans, rinsed

1 can of pinto beans, rinsed

2 cups of veggie stock {i used broth}

All ingredients

chop the sweet potatoes

chop onion

Chop bell pepper

Yummy veggies cooking in the pan!

{Unfortunately the only pic I have of the finished soup is a half eaten bowl with crumbled corn bread in it that I texted to my Dad....sorry!}

In olive or sesame oil, cook the veggies in a large pan. When the onions are sauteed, put all veggies plus the rest of the ingredients into your crock pot. Cook on low or medium for a few hours, until the sweet potatoes are soft.

Enjoy!

{going green}

So when Dale and I decided to change our "lifestyle" {i.e: eating more organic, in season, reducing amount of waste... that sort of thing} we decided we needed to recycle. I grew up recycling and have always felt weird throwing away plastic knowing it won't decompose. We live in an apartment and there is no "recycling pickup" here, so we have to drive all of our stuff to Kroger recycling center. The first time we did this, all of our "crap" was thrown in to a few bags {plastic, metal, paper, and glass all mixed together}. We spent forever walking back and fourth to the bins sorting it all out. Next time, we knew better. We'd just make bags and boxes. Well that never lasts. When stuff isn't labeled your crap gets thrown in to what ever bag/box is emptiest or closer.

Thanks to Pintrest I have found a new way to recycle and I'm so excited to share with you! I went to Target today and bought this 3 drawer storage bin. It's plastic AND the drawers are removable!

I brought it home and made some super cute labels, printed them out, and wah-la! A perfectly organized recycling bin.

{I couldn't decide between making a metal bin or a glass bin. I decided on metal because We use SO MUCH glass anyway that I figured there would be overflow...Plus at the recycling center you have to separate clear, green, and brown glass. We try to use glass over plastic when possible so we always have more.}

I tried to upload the PDF file but I can't figure out how. If you know, let me know!

{tuscan veggie chili}

Dale and I absolutely love soups in the winter! At dinner we load up on veggies. I decided to combine two of our favorite things {soup&veggies} together to make a yummy soup! The recipe can be found {here}. I modified it a little bit {no cheese, veggie broth instead of chicken, no zucchini} and added some quinoa to pack in the protein and make it a little bit more substantial. All together this recipe takes about 35 min. and it's so tasty!

{drain and rinse chick peas, then use half of can and mash}

{dice onion, celery, and carrots}

{mince garlic}

{add broth and diced tomatoes}

{add just 1/2 c. of quinoa}

{if your husband's like mine, he will need a little more than soup for din}

serve and enjoy!

{a day to remember}

{June.17.2011}

The absolute best day of my life. Hands down.

I will give you a quick run through of what our wonderful day consisted of.

First, a few things about planning:

When we first got engaged we discussed what would be the most perfect wedding for the both of us. We knew we wanted to have one part of our wedding outside. We at first thought it would be the reception but then changed our minds to the ceremony since it would most likely be super hot in June. decided on our perfect venue, The Frazier History Museum. Our wedding would be on the rooftop over looking downtown! Perfect! However, there was always one thing looming in the back of our minds. Weather. We literally started praying about the weather since the day we decided on the venue. As time got closer, I checked the weather like a crazy person. First rain, then sun, then storms, then partly cloudy, then rain. Who knew what the weather would be like. If bad weather did come about, we had a back up plan- move everything inside and have the ceremony inside {we did NOT want to do this}.

{screen shot of the supposed "good weather" a few days before}

Fast forward to June 17th...

I was the first to wake up {go figure} and I woke up with the most amazing feeling. This was the day I was going to marry the man of my dreams! It was finally here!

We took showers and a few of us headed to the get our hair done. At this point, it was a beautiful sunny summer day. Not a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining bright.

We got our hair done {loved it} and came back to the house. Hairspray was going every where, false eye lashes were being glued on, and powder was flying. I couldn't help but think to myself on the happiest day of my life, I have the most amazing, supportive friends a girl could ask for. My wonderful bridesmaids came to Louisville from all over. Man I'm blessed with some awesome friends!

My make up lady came over.

Side note: I have to say, I was quite nervous to have my make up done. She came over for a trial run a few weeks before and I really didn't love it. I second guessed having my make up done for the next few weeks up until our wedding. We went to see her again a few days before {this time I had done my own make up and she saw what I liked.) She picked out some great colors and gave me another "mini-make over". I felt a sense of peace about it and decided to let her do my make up for the wedding.

I ended up loving my make up and she did a fabulous job.

After the make up and hair were done, I got to open my gift from Dale. He got me these beautiful wooden paintings that said, "Love is all you need" and "All you need is love" in colors to match our bedroom. He wrote me the sweetest note and I got teary-eyed but didn't let myself cry since I JUST had my makeup done!

We all jumped in the limo to ride downtown to the Frazier History Museum. We rocked out on our way down town. When we got there, we went straight up to the bridal suite. {At this point, it was still beautiful and sunny outside}.

We went upstairs, poured some mimosas, listened to music, and chilled. I think we actually got there too early but who cares, we had fun!

We didn't want to do a first look but we knew we wanted to hold hands around the corner and say "Hey" before our ceremony. I stood there waiting on Dale to come grab my hand. As soon as I heard his voice I literally LOST IT. All of my friends can attest to this. I couldn't even talk. I didn't want to cry and ruin my make up but I just couldn't help it! It was such a beautiful moment to be able just to hold hands for the last time as an engaged couple. The next time we'd hold hands we would be MARRIED!

Time kept ticking and the clouds started rolling in. CRAP! Was it seriously about to storm 1 hour before our ceremony? We talked back and fourth with people about the weather. Our wedding coordinator came in and said, "we can still move it inside if you want to." Nope. We were going with it. Clouds kept coming, the wind picked up and I just knew it was going to pour, but I had to stay positive. About 20min before the ceremony and all of the people were there, our pastor, Bob Russell, said, we're going with it I'll make it quick. And that's truly what he did. Our wedding ceremony was 12 minutes flat. Really. Someone timed it!

{freaking out on the phone about weather}

I will never ever forget those amazing 12 minutes. I didn't have butterflies all day until I was about to walk down the aisle. I am about to become a wife to the most amazing man in the world! Would Dale like my dress? Would he like my make up? Would he like my hair up? Of course he would! Seeing him for the first time that day was so magical!

{Funniest Moment of the Wedding}: It was so incredibly windy during the ceremony that my vail was blowing every which way. I had to reach up and grab on to it and tuck it under my arm. Well, it came out from under my arm and blew directly over Bob Russell's head. Covered him. We all just stood there and died of laughter.

After our ceremony we took a few pictures while guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d' oeuvres. After pictures, we headed down to our reception. After we were introduced, we enjoyed our first dance and amazing food. We were quickly whisked away by Lang when the weather cleared up to go back outside for some more photos. When we came back in, we enjoyed a night of drinks and dancing!

Dale and I still talk about how much fun our wedding was! If we could go back to that day and do it all again, we'd do it in a heart beat!

I am so blessed to have found my partner in life at such a young age! Just makes for many more years of married bliss and time for making memories together!

{Extra Fun Photos}

I HIGHLY recommend literally every single vendor. The location was fabulous with easy people to work with. Lang's pictures not only rock but he is so much fun to work with. Our flowers were so beautiful and fresh. They were exactly what I dreamed of. Our cake tasted and looked ammaazzzinnggg (although she is located in Memphis, Tn)--she's the best! The food...omg...even though we didn't really get a chance to chow down, every one raved about the food. Our DJ was an amazing person. Made our wedding so much fun! Every one stayed until the very last minute!

{Location}: Frazier History Museum

{Photographer}: Lang Thomas Photography

{Flowers}: Lloyd's Florist

{Cake}: Kipp Holmes- Kipp Cakes

{Food}: Cravings

{Booze}: Masterson's

{Invitations} DIY

{Fan Programs}: Impressions Louisville

{Honeymoon}: Sandals Resort in Antigua