Breakfast on the Go

Happy Friday!

Today I want to share a delicious way to have a healthy breakfast or snack...and it's mobile!  I love a hearty breakfast.  I'm not one of those people who can go all morning with nothing to eat, and most mornings I'm racing to get out of the door by 7 am so these little guys are perfect to take with me and heat up mid morning.  I've made a similar recipe in the past, but this one is courtesy of my sister.  My sister and I share a love of cooking yummy, healthy food and we bounce a lot of ideas and recipes between us.  She is passionate about nutrition and fitness and is a great resource if you want some ideas on how to take care of your body and feel good! 

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Here's a pic of her, with her three crazy Bostons, as we were heading out for a hike. Get to know her at Foodieluvsfitness! So on to these yummy little egg cups.

This is one of those recipes where I didn't really measure the seasonings, so now as I'm sitting here trying to write it out, I'm thinking "OH NO!" But these are so easy, that I know you can add seasonings to your taste and these will turn out great! So bear with me.  This is a learning experience for me...from now on I will write down what I'm doing while I'm cooking.. 

The beauty of these is that you can use whatever you have on hand. Want veggies? Spinach, zucchini, kale, peppers, onions, mushrooms are perfect.  Do you have meat lovers in your house? Try diced ham or sausage. And then any kind of cheese you have on hand...jack, cheddar, havarti, feta...the possibilities are endless.  You really can't go wrong, and that's what I love about them. I'm going to share a basic recipe and then you can improvise however you choose.

I started with:
6 eggs
1/2 c. milk
*you can use any kind of milk, including almond, rice, or omit it altogether
  
Next I added a bunch of seasonings, which I didn't measure.  I just poured little piles in my hand and threw them in.  You can't go wrong, really.

Here's what I added:

 
Salt
Smoked Paprika
Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute
Trader Joe's South African Smoke
Black Pepper

Let me just say that if you haven't browsed the Trader Joe's spice section, you are missing out! They have lots of different blends of spices that I love!  The South African Smoke is simply Paprika flakes,sea salt, garlic and basil and I put it in almost everything! Eggs, potatoes, marinades, on steamed and sauteed veggies, soups, gravies, etc.  I love it!  The 21 Seasoning Salute is the newest one I tried and its good in soups, stews, meat dishes, gravy, eggs, etc.  Beat feet to TJ's and try out some spices!

Meanwhile, I chopped some onion, garlic, kale and flat leaf parsley. 

Kale is such a power house food and is getting so much press right now.  If you haven't tried it, do it! It's seemingly tough and thick, much heavier in weight than spinach, but that's what makes it hold up well in dishes like this.  Don't be intimidated by it.

I like to cut out the woodier stems like this and am left with the leafy part, but you can use the whole thing if you like. I sauteed the onion and kale in some olive oil for just a few minutes, and added some garlic toward the end:
I put the flat leaf parsley in with the egg, just to keep it fresh.  It's all going in the same place, so you can add it to the saute, but in my mind, it went with the eggs.  Go figure.  So when this was done, I spooned it into some cupcake papers.  I was skeptical about this at first, but my sister assured me that it worked, so i did it.  Once when I made these without the papers, I felt like the egg had a metal taste, but it may have been from using really old muffin pans. Just go with your gut and what you think will work best.

I had some frozen spinach as well, so I decided to make two different varieties of eggs.  In one kind of paper went the kale and onion, and in the other went the spinach.  I realized once I got into this little project that I didn't have the abundance of veggies and cheese that I would have liked, but you may be a little more prepared than I was, so add as much yummy stuff as you like!  

Here's how they looked:

Don't you love my photography skills?! Oh boy.  Anyway, you get the idea.  I had swiss cheese slices, but obviously shredded cheese would be ideal.  But again, you just use what you have on hand, and don't over think it! So I added the swiss cheese that I had cut into little pieces and put them on top of the veggies in the muffin cups.  The kale and onion is on the left and the spinach on the right.  

Pour the egg mixture over the top, and here's what they look like:

Bake about 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees, or until they are just set.

And here's what they looked like when they were done:
 

 
Don't they look yummy?!  Healthy, filling and ready to take with you!  They are all puffed up when you first take them out of the oven, like the one in the center, and they fall just a bit as they cool, like the ones to the left.  Put them in the fridge or freezer and then pop them in the microwave for a quick protein pick me up whenever you need them!  Thanks, Foodieluvsfitness for this recipe!

Shelf Makeover

Have you ever seen the ecard on pinterest that reads, "whenever I start feeling spontaneous, my bank account quietly reminds me to calm down?" (Actually it reads a little differently, as you know, if you've ever seen it, but I didn't want to offend anyone.) Well, I can SO relate!  So recently, when I was dreaming of some little bookshelves, I knew I would need to overhaul one I already had for literally just a few dollars. I have a weird love affair with paint. It's a sickness, really.  Whenever I paint something, my mind begins to race with the endless possibilities of painting everything!  It can be a relatively inexpensive way to change and spruce up what you already have.  So, one day as I was leaving Trader Joe's (which is another love affair altogether) I zipped into JoAnn Fabrics to see if I could find some paint to add some life to a drab, particle board book shelf that I have had for decades.  I have read about the wonders of chalk paint, as it will cover surfaces without you having to sand or prep, and I wanted to give it a try.  But I was not able to splurge on the name brand chalk paint I see all over Pinterest.  But I found this:

It was only about $7.00 but I wondered if they had a coupon, so I got on my phone and quickly found this:

So my total was under $4.00!

I was so excited and raced home to begin my project.  Here's my bookshelf when I started.

I'm sure you'll agree that it needed a make over! It housed my youngest son's books when he was young, but now I'm using it in my living room so time for a different look.  I took the back off, which was flimsy cardboard and decided not to re-attach it when I was done.

After I had it apart, I used a damp rag to clean it well and that was it for the prep.  I put the paint in a plastic lid and used a small foam roller instead of a brush, because I didn't want brush strokes. And I just started painting.

Even though it was beautiful outside, I did most of the painting inside because I've learned the hard way that the wind can whip up and lots of little dust particles and bugs attach themselves to the drying paint.  NO GOOD!  I used this light grey color so it did need two coats but they dry quickly.  Here's another view as it was drying.

I'm really happy with how it turned out!  What a difference!  Here's the finished product in my entry way.

What's not to love about a $4.00 makeover?  
I would love to hear from you about your inexpensive makeover in the comments below!

The Waiting Game

Have you ever had to wait for something? 

We've all had to wait in line for coffee, tapping our toe, impatiently waiting for the Barista to hand us the hot, delicious drink we ordered a whopping three minutes ago, but seems like sooo much longer.  

What about the grocery store? I have a few things in my basket and I size up the shortest line and put my things on the belt.  But I quickly surmise this was the wrong line to choose! You know the one...the lady in front of me who has no where else to be and is in conversation with the slow motion checker... I sigh and inwardly berate these people who have brought my quick trip to a screeching halt. 

We all know what it's like to wait.  And we're terrible at it because we're Americans who buy into the lie that we deserve to have what we want when we want it, and we shouldn't have to wait for it.  There are drive thru windows and express lines, the internet and smart phones, all working around the clock to make sure we don't have to wait for much of anything.  We chuckle to ourselves because we know we're guilty of being so impatient and in the grand scheme of things, a line at the latte stand matters little.

But have you endured real waiting in your life? More than a superficial few minutes in a line or at a stop light. More than a few days for the book to arrive that you ordered online. I'm talking about a real, extended time of pause or delay, in which you are expectant that something will come to pass...but it doesn't...yet. I mean a wait that takes on a life of it's own; a soul shaping, day-in day-out, is this ever going to pass, character shaping wait.  What? You know exactly what I mean? You're in this same place? It's hard isn't it? I mean, really hard. If you're in a season of waiting, I want to encourage you. I want to encourage you to keep the faith and when you want to give up-don't. 

I'm not going to give you a one liner that you can post on your refrigerator, like, "when you reach the end of your rope, make a knot and hang on."  I don't want to share a tidy little acronym that will spur you on, like this one: FEAR-False Evidence Appearing Real. I don't have a spunky little cheer or a four point sermon, or a team building exercise. Why not? Because my experience and my conversation with others confirms that THEY AREN'T HELPFUL! Not really.  When I'm going through a hard time and I need encouragement, don't give me a cliche or a one liner. Give me an ear that will listen, a shoulder to cry on if I need it, a helping hand if you choose, but most importantly, just walk beside me and let me know it will be alright in the end.

So here's my take on the waiting game...

1. Waiting reminds me that it's not all about me.  WHA??? I honestly don't think I'm a self absorbed lady, who thinks life is all about me, but we all have our days when we feel like we're a big deal. When I am waiting on something I really need, I have a tendency to think and say things like, "You know this is affecting me on a daily basis, right?" "I can't finish ______ until I get what I'm waiting on."  As true as those statements may be, it's not all about me.  Sometimes we just need to be reminded of our place in this big universe.

2. Waiting strips me of pride.  This is a bit of a continuation of the first point. I had to buy a new-to-me car a few months ago after mine was stolen, and only a couple days after I bought it, there was an electrical issue so it went to the shop. Bear in mind this purchase would be a meager financial investment for many, but for me was every bit of savings and then some that I had. Twelve weeks later, my car is not only still at the shop, there seems to be no clear date when it will be repaired and ready for me to drive again.  By anyone's standards  I have been waiting A LONG TIME! While many people close to me have been willing to help me with transportation, there have been moments when I was stranded. Now, I know many who have ridden the bus plenty and love it for convenience, etc., but I have always had a car to jump into at my whim and zip off to wherever I wanted or needed to go. But one day recently, I was out of options and, you guessed it, the bus it was.  I waited for just a couple minutes, right by my office, but you know what? It felt a little uncomfortable as cars drove by, to be standing there, waiting. Why? I guess because I felt small and unimportant.  Like the big, important people were getting into their own cars and zooming on their own terms to wherever they were headed. In the end, my bus riding experience was fairly pleasant, though it took quite a bit longer to get home (more because of the walk to my house when I got off the bus, than the bus ride itself).  But, I realized it stripped me of a pride I didn't want to admit to.

3. Waiting highlights what's really important. You could be waiting for more than a car.  It may sound trivial to you, in fact. Are you waiting for employment? For a diagnosis? For a soldier to come home? I don't know what you may be waiting for, but I do know this.  In the bigger picture, me being without a car for months is trivial compared to my health, or my kids being safe, or my relationships being whole. Not having a car for me has been more than inconvenient.  It's tapped my financial resources, put me in a bind on more than one occasion, been the cause of canceled trips and missed social gatherings. But my wait continues to remind me of all the things I do have to be grateful for and gives me perspective.  If your wait is much bigger-much harder-you may be rolling your eyes.  But I get it!  I've been in the high stakes waiting game as well. And no matter what you may be waiting for, you will be reminded of something wonderful in your life that will give you pause for gratitude.

4. Waiting reveals your real character.  This is the kicker. I'd like to think I have integrity, gratitude, patience, maturity, and a whole host of other qualities.  But waiting, at times, has brought out the ugly things that I don't want to see.  Whining, complaining, sighing, comparing my misfortune with the fortune of others...these have reared their ugly heads on more than one occasion. And then I have to take a step back and remind myself of all the reasons I have to be grateful and content.  Are we promised an easy life? Do we deserve what we think we deserve? Do I have what I need today? Yes! Is it always what I want? No. This I know: the men and women I admire, those that have a deep gratitude for life's blessings, and have real depth of character, have not walked an easy road and have not been dealt an easy hand, so to speak.  It's struggle and desert places that often produce the sweetest character in us, if we will be stretched and yield to the One who is faithful to provide our every need. If you are waiting, and are a person of faith--hold on.  You have not been left in the desert alone and without purpose.  Learn what it is that God is teaching you about yourself, and about Him.

So there it is.  These are just a few of the many lessons that I have reflected on the last three months. Waiting is hard! It's inconvenient, frustrating, and sometimes unfair.  But it hasn't killed me. And it's stretched me and given me some perspective I wouldn't have had otherwise.

If you're waiting, hang on. You made it one more day. One foot in front of the other. Grow and learn in what ever ways you are meant to. Let the people in your life help you.  See the good. Breathe.

Blessings to you!

  

Fresh is Always Better

Happy Fall Everyone! 

 Fall is my FAVORITE time of year! Crisp mornings, beautiful colors, jeans again!, sweaters, pumpkin everything, and lots of yummy things cooking in the kitchen...these are a few of my favorite fall things.  Some of the most loved fall flavors are pumpkin and apples in breads, muffins, crisps, pies and of course, coffee.   In tribute to fall flavors, today, I'm sharing a little secret with you!

 I have my grandma, aunts and mama to thank for my love of whole, fresh ingredients and most everything we cooked, baked and ate when I was growing up was from the garden or made from scratch.  We never bought pancake or muffin mix, because it was easy and more tasty to make them!  I know...measuring flour and soda and whipping butter, etc. takes time but I challenge you to try it! It really is worth the extra time it takes to use fresh ingredients, found in nature, that you can pronounce. Which leads me to my little secret today...



Know what this little gem is??

 

Fresh Nutmeg Seeds!

Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg....these are some of the classic flavors in fall dishes. Of course you can buy the pumpkin spice blend and it makes life really simple.  But fresh nutmeg is one of those things that is SOOOO easy and makes all the difference!    Nutmeg comes from the seed of the Myristica fragrans tree and you can buy them in the bulk section.  I get mine from Fred Meyer and they are super inexpensive!  Like pennies compared to the $3.99 you pay for a small jar of ground nutmeg, and they have a wonderful aroma and flavor.  

Simply store them in a little spice jar and grab one out when you need it.  Use a microplane to grate up just the amount you need for what you're making.  Now I'm really terrible at measuring things, so I usually just eyeball it and throw in what I think is the right amount, but you can measure it if you're the kind of person that needs to be exact!

Here's what it looks like grated..

I promise once you try this, you will never go back to the jars of bland, ground nutmeg!  I would love to hear your comments on easy, little secrets that you use in the kitchen that make your dishes delicious and easy.

Bon  appetit!

Pillows!

Not too long ago I pinned some pictures on one of my Pinterest boards and soon after I got a text from my sister that read, "A Pillow board? Really?!" It made me laugh!  I love pillows because they can add a pop of color, texture and style to a room without having to change the big things like furniture.  But I'm amazed at how expensive they are to buy!

I also love the wall hangings that are all the rage right now, that have inspirational quotes or a word like "family" and then a collection of words that describe what family means.  I love words!  Anyone who knows me well would tell you I have A LOT of words I must use every day.  I'm inspired and moved by thought in print and I love words all around me...in books, on wall hangings, on pillows...

So all this leads me to my latest project: pillows!  I wanted to make a pillow with my blog name, an entrusted life, as an inspirational sort of reminder that I want to make each day all that it can be.  So I borrowed a Cricut machine from a friend and set about making some templates for my pillow.  Here's a look at what I came up with.

I bought a huge cotton drop cloth at a local hardware store that I thought would be perfect.  It's 9 ftx12 ft so it will make lots of pillows! And it's the perfect textured, off white, vintage look that I was going for. And for $16!  So I blocked my templates out on a piece of the canvas, like so...

Of course, it took me an hour to arrange everything just so-even though there are only three words. I hate to commit to anything prematurely!  Now I bought some fabric paint and some spray paint since this is my first time doing this and I wanted to be able to compare results.  On this one, I used a silver, metallic, matte finish spray paint. Here's how it turned out.

I didn't edit these photos at all before I downloaded them, so this is a little dark, but you get the idea.  It's hard to see here, but the spray paint bled more than I liked so I decided to move on to the fabric paint.

Here's a pic of half of my living room, just for fun.  This project was spread ALL OVER!!

On to my next brainstorm!  I have seen t shirts in tourist shops with the name of your location and the latitude/longitude of that location.  And I thought how fun it would be to make a pillow with the word "home" and the latitude/longitude of my home's location.  I'm brilliant! (Maybe someone else has thought of this, but I haven't seen it. So don't burst my bubble!) So I made up a template and blocked it out over the course of two more hours and a very sweet movie about a boy and his dog lost in the wilderness.  On this one I used a brown fabric paint and I was ecstatic with the results! 

 Ha! I just realized you can see my toes as I'm standing on a chair to photograph this.  Well, it's staying!  And here is the finished product!!!

I absolutely LOVE it!! In fact, I'm thinking maybe I will sell these on Etsy?!  More details on that to come as I think through the details.  Tell me what you think! 

Peaches!!

Every year I look forward to peach season!  When my kids were young, August always meant a trip to the peach orchard for picking lots of juicy, delicious peaches at Green Bluff. This year, with my kids all gone, I cheated and got my peach fix at the Farmer's Market. And of course fresh peaches means lots of eating and lots of baking!  

  I got some Red Havens for baking and...

...these little donut peaches for quick grabbing and eating.  Aren't they cute?!

Getting Started

Have you ever wanted to do something but you can't seem to figure out where to begin?  ME TOO!  Maybe you don't know exactly what you want to do, or how it should look. Or you need to think it through and nail down the details, and then you'll do it. Or maybe you are too AFRAID to put yourself "out there" and just do it!  This has been the story of my life...but not any more!  

I made a canvas around New Year's 2013 to remind myself every day to take some risks, start doing some of the things I want to do, but never do! Here's what the canvas looks like:

So here it is, halfway through 2014 and I am finally taking a risk doing something I've wanted to do for a long time: This blog!!!  Here's what I'm thinking. Life has been entrusted to us and I believe someday I will have to defend how I lived this one and only life I have been given.  The point is to learn, grow, FLOURISH!!!  And I have found that I do these things best when I have other people walking the road alongside me.  And that's the purpose of my blog- to be someone who shares their walk along the road of life. With that being said, here are my "disclaimers" right up front.

1. I'm Ordinary!  I can already hear my sister telling me to change my thinking, but it's true. I'm not an amazing diy'er who has projects galore just waiting to be shared.  I love food and I can cook and bake with passion, but I'm not going to be the next new face on The Food Network.  I want to be healthy and fit but I don't have a following on YouTube or any other social media site.  I love to read and exchange ideas but I won't be publishing any original, earth shattering ideas any time soon.  BUT...I do love sharing the simple things in life that make me happy, whether it's making my home a cozy, relaxing place to be, whipping up some yummy dish in the kitchen, or sharing a thought that came to me while I was watering (which is usually when I'm most inspired-really!).

2. I'm a hot mess a lot of the time!  (Again I hear my sister's voice) I wish I had it all together but that's just not the case.  I'm still a work in progress and the reality is that my life is messy, unpredictable, bumpy and glorious all at the same time, and I live on one side of the spectrum, it seems, more often than not.  But I do delight in the simple things like good coffee every single day, playing badminton with my kids when they're home, hitting the Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning, getting lost in a good book, and a good night's sleep. You get the idea.  This blog will be the real me, with real life and my thoughts on it.

Happy getting started! I hope you'll join me!