clever ideas for valentine's day

today is friday the 13th and tomorrow is valentine's day!  i am thrilled that ryan and i don't have work tomorrow and that we have the whole day free to spend with each other.  that is a great valentine's day gift if you ask me.  (this will be the 11th valentine's day that we have celebrated together as a couple!)  if you are looking for what to do/make for valentine's day, here is a little round up of some clever ideas . . .

> this valentine's day magazine has lots of clever ideas in it.  i think the recipe for honey ginger grilled salmon sounds delicious!

> this pink and gold tissue paper tassel garland is so pretty and really easy to make

> if money is tight, here are 20 valentine's day date ideas for $20 or less

> super cute heart-shaped pie pops

> make your own word search valentines

> a homemade valentine card using old birthday candles

> and, a super easy to make d.i.y. candy-filled paper valentine heart that i made this past weekend for ryan

have a great weekend and a sweet valentine's day!

love, laurie

xoxo

silly kitten

leko sure keeps us entertained.  for the last few years, he has been fascinated with licking ryan's hair.  we're not exactly sure how this habit started, but leko seems to really like licking ryan's hair, especially if ryan's hair is wet right after he gets out of the shower.  i caught leko in the act over the weekend, and had to laugh at this picture of his little tongue sticking out.  he gets in such a trance whenever he licks ryan's hair.  maybe he thinks he is a mama kitten and he is cleaning a baby kitten?  who knows, but it sure is funny.  he does it quite often, and every time it keeps us laughing.  luckily ryan is a good sport about it!

silly kitten.

love, laurie 

chocolate-dipped mini pretzels for valentine's day

we tend to keep valentine's day pretty low key around our house.  we usually skip the overpriced dinners at crowded restaurants on february 14th and instead stay at home and make a nice meal together.  we like exchanging handmade cards and keeping things simple.

over the weekend i decided to make ryan a little valentine treat.  i used mini pretzels and chocolate that we already had in our kitchen to make chocolate-dipped pretzels.  (ryan is a big fan of chocolate covered pretzels.)

there is hardly a "recipe" for this.  all i did was melt white chocolate and dark chocolate, dip the pretzels in the melted chocolate, and then decorate them with red and white sprinkles, red sugar, and white nonpareils.  super easy.

once the chocolate set, i put the dipped pretzels in a little bag, tied it up with a ribbon, and decorated it with a label.  if your looking to make a simple, easy, and inexpensive treat for your valentine, chocolate-dipped pretzels are just about as easy as you can get.

happy valentine's day!

love, laurie

d.i.y. candy-filled paper valentine heart

looking for something cute for valentine's day?  here's a simple craft using things you most likely have around your house.  a cut-out paper heart with a plastic window, filled with candy!

i made this little valentine for ryan over the weekend in just a few minutes.  (leko helped!)  it was so easy to put together and would make a cute (and super inexpensive) valentine for your special someone.

step one: gather your supplies.  for this project i used supplies that i had around the house: red paper, a plastic sandwich bag, a pencil, a hot glue gun, scissors, and candy.

step two: cut two identical hearts out of the paper.  arrange the candy on top of the one heart.

step three: cut the sandwich bag in half.  run a strip of the hot glue around the outside of the heart and place the sandwich bag on top of the heart.  press the plastic to the hot glue and trim the excess plastic with the scissors.

step four: cut out the center of the second paper heart.  run a strip of the hot glue around the outside of the heart and place the second heart on top of the plastic.  press to make sure the glue sticks.

there you have it!

happy valentine's day!

love, laurie

sweet potato black bean burgers (vegan + gluten free)

i asked ryan what he wanted for lunch on sunday, and of course he had no idea.  he grabbed the ipad and started scrolling through my pinterest boards and within a few minutes exclaimed: "how about these sweet potato black bean burgers?!"  man after my own heart right there, i'm telling you.

these burgers are loaded with black beans, walnut meal, pecan meal, rice, and some spices.  the mashed sweet potatoes act as the glue to hold all of the ingredients together.  these veggie burgers are vegan and gluten free too (without the roll of course).

we served our veggie burgers on fresh brioche rolls with a few mixed greens, sliced avocado, and tomato.  they were insanely delicious, and they sure were filling!  we made a few homemade french fries to go along with our burgers.  after all, some things are just meant to be together like burgers and fries.

this recipe made a lot of burger patties, so we left some in the fridge to eat this week and froze the rest.  it's so nice knowing that you have things like homemade veggie burgers in the freezer when you need a meal in a pinch!

sweet potato black bean burgers
prep time: 40 minutes
baking time: 35 minutes
yields: 12 burgers
adapted from minimalist baker

ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 1/3 cups water
1 cup black beans
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup diced scallions
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

directions:
preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  cut the sweet potatoes in half length wise.  rub the cut side of the sweet potatoes with olive oil, and place them cut side down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.  bake for 30 minutes until tender.  meanwhile, combine the rice and the water in a sauce pan.  bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.  cover and let simmer for 20 minutes until the rice is cooked.  once cooked, fluff with a fork and set aside.

once baked, remove the skins from the sweet potatoes and mash the sweet potatoes along with the black beans.  pulse the nuts in a food processor until they are the consistency of nut meal.  add the nut meal to the potato and bean mixture, along with the scallions and spices.  mix well.  add the cooked rice and mix to combine.

reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.  scoop 1/3 cup amount of the mixture into your hands and roll into a ball.  flatten into a patty and place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and greased with olive oil.  bake for 35 minutes.

enjoy!

love, laurie

fun links

it's been a heck of a week with lots of snow, crazy work schedules, late nights, little sleep, and a ton of car problems.  needless to say, we are both beyond exhausted.  i'm glad to put this week behind us.  here's hoping that the weekend turns out to be better than this past week!

here are a few fun links that i found around the internet recently:

1. instant photo transfers with blender pens!

2. brilliant things you can do with mason jars (my dad found this and sent this link to me!)

3. 32 places people have mispronounced their entire life - i'm guilty of mispronouncing most of these!  (and, number 21 . . . ha!)

4. i have a weakness for the combination of dark chocolate and raspberries.  these cookies look delicious!

5. 5 tips to make grocery shopping easier.

6. such a pretty cake topper

7. a cute valentine

8. a nice reminder

9. and, i want this vanilla almond baked french toast for breakfast.  yum!

have a great weekend!

love, laurie

spinach artichoke dip

one of the snacks that i threw together for our impromptu little super bowl party on sunday was spinach artichoke dip.  it couldn't get any easier.  just mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, spread the mixture out in a pie plate, and bake it in the oven.  voila!  a dip that is easy to assemble and super yummy.  it's a crowd pleaser for sure!

this dip is dangerous.  it's easy to make and it's easy to eat.  especially if you are distracted by watching something like the super bowl.  you'll look down and realize you ate half of the dip without even noticing.  oops!  (calories don't count on super bowl sunday, right?)

spinach and artichokes are such a great combination.  the artichokes give the dip a bit of a tang, and of course all of the cheese makes it so creamy and wonderful.  there are three different types of cheese in this dip, and there's more cheese on top too.  after the dip is done baking in the oven, a few moments under the broiler will make the cheese golden brown and delicious.  yum!

spinach artichoke dip
prep time: 5-10 minutes
baking time: 30 minutes
adapted from yammie's noshery

ingredients:
1 (10oz.) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons mayonnaise 
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

directions:
preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  in a large bowl, mix all ingredients together until well combined then pour into a greased pie plate.  smooth the mixture evenly in the pie plate.  top the mixture with additional mozzarella.  bake for 30 minutes until golden and bubbling.  (optional: after baking put the dip under a broiler for a few moments to brown the cheese.)  serve warm with chips, crackers, pretzels, or veggies.

enjoy!

love, laurie

artichoke and black-eye pea salad with tuna

i threw together this salad in less than five minutes this weekend and was amazed at how good it was!  it just goes to show you that you don't need to slave in the kitchen for hours to make good wholesome food.  this salad is full of artichoke hearts, black-eye peas, tuna, celery, and onion.  it has a wonderfully light dressing of just olive oil and fresh lemon juice too.  it tastes so fresh.

this salad is perfect for lunch or a light dinner.  you could eat it on a bed of greens, between two slices of bread, or with a spoon right out of the bowl (which is what i seem to do every time i walk by the refrigerator)!

artichoke and black-eye pea salad with tuna
total time: 5 minutes
yields: approximately 4 servings
adapted from kelsey nixon

ingredients:
1 (5 oz.) can low-sodium tuna fish, drained
1 (15 oz.) can black-eye peas, drained and rinsed
1 (10 oz.) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 celery stalk, diced
2 tablespoons diced red onion
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to combine.  season with salt and pepper to taste.

enjoy!

love, laurie

snow day

february welcomed itself with one heck of a snow storm yesterday!  we got a ton of snow . . . it just kept coming and coming!  our schedules have been beyond crazy lately, so we were thrilled when we found out that we did not have work yesterday.  we enjoyed our snow day at home with leko.  it was so nice to be able to spend time together and to not be able to go anywhere.  in between shoveling, we caught up on shows on our dvr and spend a lot of time relaxing.  it was so therapeutic.

today we're back to our normal schedules.  the roads near us are absolutely horrible.  driving to work this morning, my car slid five times in a stretch of less than three miles.  ugg!  the forecast is predicting that we are going to get even more snow this week.  i'm honestly not sure where we are going to put any more snow!  i am ready for winter to be over.  spring, where are you?

stay warm!

love, laurie

super bowl sunday 2015

i've mentioned before that we are really not into sports, but we do like to watch the super bowl each year (mainly for the commercials and the half-time show).  we were pretty bummed when we found out that ryan was scheduled to have rehearsal for the show that he is working on during the super bowl.  as it turned out, his rehearsal ended early because of the snow, and he got to come home just in time to sit down and see the beginning of the game!  we threw together a little super bowl party for ourselves.  i made spinach-artichoke dip, cut up some celery and carrot sticks to dip in blue cheese, and made some boneless chicken wings with garlic hot sauce for ryan.  we followed it up with some ice cream for dessert too.

as soon as ryan sat down on the couch, leko wasted no time at all.  he jumped right up on ryan's lap and that's where he stayed for the remainder of the night.  it was great!  it was so nice to finally have some free time to be able to sit down on the couch, relax, and vegetate.  i snapped two pictures on my phone while we were sitting on the couch watching the game.  i couldn't resist how cute leko was when he was sleeping.  he sure knows how to make himself comfortable!  all three of us really enjoyed our impromptu little super bowl party.

overall, most of the commercials were pretty lame, but i did love budweiser's "lost puppy" commercial.  the budweiser commercials get me every year!

today we woke up to find several inches of snow on the ground, and it is still snowing!  by some act of god, the university where we work actually closed so we have the day off today.  i'm telling you, that is nothing short of a miracle!

happy groundhog day!
love, laurie

. . .

previous super bowl sundays: 2013 and 2014