Couscous Primavera Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked couscous

1 6oz package of Athenos Feta

1/4 cup EVOO

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

5 sweet peppers

2 large carrots

4 radishes

handful of fresh parsley

handful of fresh thyme

salt and peper to taste

Step 1

Cook the couscous as the package directs.

When it's cooked toss in a large bowl with the feta.

Put in the refrigerator to cool.

Step 2

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the

oil, vinegar, parsley, and thyme.

Pour over the cooled cheese and couscous mixture.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 3

Run all your veggies through a food processor,

or finely chop, and toss into the cold salad.

Let it sit for a few hours in the fridge so that all the flavors 

can get to know each other.

Serve over spinach or all by itself! 

Enjoy!

my friend jess...and the man of her dreams!

I had the absolute pleasure of being apart of my best friend Jess' wedding this past weekend. It was a picture perfect Connecticut soiree and every detail was just amazing!  Seeing all of Jess and Jonny's hard work was like the icing on the cake (that her mommy made) to their storybook romance.  Lots of memories and new friends were made.  Best wishes to the newly weds! Mr. & Mrs. Hack!

homemade nutella ice cream

hi. my name is erin. and i am addicted to nutella. i have been clean for 2 and half years, well that is until i saw this recipe.

(source)

ok folks, here is the deal! if i could have a nutella IV and not turn into jabba the hut....i would.  after having the boy i craved nutty flavors and could eat an entire 5lb bag of trail mix in one sitting and would eat peanut butter by the spoonful. then i found out that the boy, who was breast feeding at the time, was having a really hard time digesting all that nutty goodness.

{peanuts+breast feeding = poo-splosions!} 

so i though i would replace the peanut butter with nutella (which i had never tried before).  i was hooked at first bite!  postpartum depression addiction! i would put it on everyting! i could seriously eat half a loaf of bread covered in nutella and it wouldn't even phase me. then it hit me....holy nutella hips! while i was packing down the nutella i was also packing on the lbs! and quick!

so in an effort to loose the baby weight, i went cold turkey. no more nutella. at first i couldn't even walk down that aisle at the grocery store. that sweet little brown jar would taunt me. call to me. sometimes try to jump in to my cart.  but my will was strong!

well, approximately 982 days latter, whose counting?  i found myself standing in "that aisle" staring at that gooey, chocolatey, nutty, evil jar.....the big jar too for pete's sake.  because after this long the little jar wasn't going to cut it.  quickly i grabbed the jar and through it into the cart like nothing had happened. i had myself fully convinced that i was strong enough to not tear into it and eat the entire tub before getting home. all for what? a simple recipe that contained more fruit than nutella. (therefore it must be good for me.....right?) **note: i am proud do admit that i have only dipped my finger in the jar one time, and have not spread nutella on anything since purchasing it....

ingredients:

1 cup nutella

6 bananas 

1 tbsp dark cocoa poweder (optional)

step 1:

chop up bananas.

combine all your ingredients in your blender.

step 2:

{my blender took the crap of death mid-blending so I had to switch to my mini food processor}

once smooth (i ended up with more banana chunks then i really wanted), transfer to a freezer safe container. i also made some popsicles for the boy.

step 3:

wait for it to freeze. and enjoy

banana bread bites

as i am sure that you well know by know bananas are my favorite baking ingredient. maybe it's because i love them so much, or maybe it's because we buy so many of them. i am very particular about the color of my bananas (i like them still kinda green) so the second they start to turn i toss them into the freezer to be used for a later baking project.

this banana baking experiment came to me when i wanted to some how combine my love of banana bread and my love of  chocolate. normally i just put chocolate chips in my bread, but this time i wanted to vamp it up a bit. i wanted a bit of a candy bar effect. so after baking the bread, i cut it into little mini candy bar sized pieces. then dipped each piece in chocolate almond bark. 

these little guys are just so delicious! the combinations of the dense moist bread and the crunch of the chocolate....yum! i think that next time i am going to try a thin set chocolate so that i can cover the entire bar....maybe i can figure out a way to add carmel too....yum. 

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. the hubs was out of town for work early in the week, which is always such a bummer. usually i sulk and whine while he's away just wishing that he was home. i am usually bored out of my mind. but the past few times that he's had to go i have taken it upon myself to enjoy my night. i do all kinds of super girly things. you know like before we were married and i would have ben and jerry/americas next top model marathons. well, my habits of "me time" havn't changed that much, i still love stuffing my face full of ice cream and watching mindless t.v. (except now it's marathons of storage wars) what's wrong with me?
2. the boy has started the "why's". everything i say if followed by his sweet little "why?". while i have already gotten a little tired of the question it is really cool to see his little brain trying to work. i made a pact with myself that i wasn't going to blow these questions off as annoying, or give the "because i said so" answer. he's been asking some tough ones and i honestly think that some times he just gives up because he doesn't understand the encyclopedia explanation that i am giving him, but sometimes you can tell that he's totally piecing things together and really truly understanding.
3. i have been feeling super inspired this week. i feel like everything that i see i am taking in like a sponge and these miny story boards are forming together in my head. i feel like my brain is full of really beautiful ideas and images and words. at the park i am seeing sticks that look like dinosaurs, and standing in front of a wall full of hardware i am seeing really beautiful jewelry. it's funny how the brain works.
4. i came to two really awesome realizations this week. well one really awesome and one pretty sad. the awesome one was finally figuring out what i was going to do with my blue and white polka dot dress. i couldn't be happier with the results. and the other was that what i thought i had figured out to alter my favorite dress (that i have never been able to wear) was absolutely not going to work. it was really sad to have to face the facts: i am never to going to be able to wear this dress. wah.
5. the hubs is opening a new restaurant on monday and the past week was full of training and soft opening events. the boy and i made the journey south to eat some delicious tacos and check out the new spot! it was so much fun and so yummy! we even got to see my best friend and some old friends. it was a perfect date night with the boy.
6. i took the boy to the fair on friday night with some of our friends. i didn't go to the fair much as a kid, not that i really remember any way, and none like this. the south florida fair is by far the biggest i have ever seen. it was so awesome seeing the look on his face as we walked across the fair grounds checking out all the sights and smells. it was an evening i will never forget.
7. my mom and brother and sister came into town for the weekend. it was great spending time with them and so awesome to see my brother and sister finally acting like normal people and getting along!
8. my brother and i did some volunteering for habitat for humanity on saturday. it was so much fun. i love volunteering with that organization. you get to meet some really amazing people and learn some amazing new skills at the same time. i now know how to hang dry wall like a pro!
9. i got the most amazing surprise in the mail this week from my friend kelly. first off i have to say that i love nothing more than unexpected packages! and this one was a double whammy because it included on of my other favorite things in the world....homemade pickles. i can't wait to dig into them....i am waiting for the perfect occasion (ohh....maybe tonight with slow cooked ribs! mmmmm!). the box also contained some goodies for the boy and a jar of homemade sweet corn relish that i want to eat with a spoon!
10. this has been the week of bike rides. the weather has been perfect for toting the boy to the park in the bicycle. this is quickly becoming one of our favorite pass times! he finally has the patience to sit for the entire time and has really gotten into making up stories about what we are seeing along the way. i sure do love that boys crazy imagination.

november is for giving thanks: day 15

i am thankful for homemade sweet potato fries and sweet chili sauce.

10 things i couldn't live with out this week

1. coffee...which was made even more apparent this morning at 6am when i realized we were out. wah!
2. catching up on season one of the walking dead with the hubs. i think that i made his year when i told him that i wanted to watch it before season two started.  he loves horror movies and i DON'T...but an artfully done zombie series with an actually story line....we can compromise on that!
3. homemade ribs....all i can say is yum yum!
4. this week at work my coworkers really started to let their true colors show....no more behaving for the new girl.  and i have to say i love them even more than before....there was tap dancing in the break room, fake british accent take out orders, and amazing conversations about hair.
5. i finally found the perfect/fastest route to work, and it just so happens to be right along the intercoastal water way.  driving down flagler for twenty minutes is the best way to start and end my work day!
6. the hubs has been like super dad this week. we are all settling down into our new routines and adjusting.  the hubs has been busting his bum around the house helping with the boy and the chores. how did i get so lucky?
7. i decided that for the month of november in honor of "thanksgiving" i will be doing another gratitude project. a photograph of something that i am thankful for for every day of the month. i really hope that you guys all enjoy this project and that you all join in with me and reflect on the things that we are thankful for!
8. we have a change in the weather down here this weekend and i have to say i really like it. with the exception of the gloominess (which isn't even that bad after all the sun). it's been very windy and not humid at all.  fall is coming...almost time for windows open!
9. took the boy and the hubs costume shopping today....what a bust.
10. funkin craft pumpkins (carvable foam pumpkins)....can't wait to see how this project turns out.