Whole Wheat Pumpkin Oat Muffins with a Maple Glaze

Happy Sunday! Today, we spent our day how we always spend Sunday. Relaxing, grocery shopping, watching football, and in my case, cooking. 🙂 Sunday is my favorite day to have fun in the kitchen. While at first I was fully focused on the Bears game, my attention quickly shifted as the score quickly shifted. How to distract yourself from an awful football game? Bake!

A couple weeks ago when Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Mix first hit the shelves I grabbed a can immediately knowing how quickly they sell out. Since then, I’ve been contemplating what to use it for. Well today I found the perfect recipe! Whole Wheat Pumpkin Oat Muffins from Kitchen Treaty.  I was looking for something with whole wheat flour to keep it a bit healthier and this recipe did the trick! To add a bit to it, I found an incredible Maple Glaze from Pinch of Yum. Overall, easy recipes and they turned out perfect! Already shared this recipe with multiple people!

 

Enjoy!

xo, Megan

Nom Nom NOM!

Bahhh. Sorry, folks. Haven’t posted in over a week. SHAME ON ME! The truth? I haven’t had coffee in over a week, which generally acts as the catalyst to my posting. But today. COFFEE! So now. I shall write. But not too much. I’m at work. 😉

Just wanted to give you guys a quick update on what I’ve been cooking lately. I’ve been busy! First, this…

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna Rolls with “Alfredo” Sauce and I found it HERE. It’s one of the most delicious dishes I’ve made in a while, and guess what? IT’S HEALTHY! That’s right, lovelies. This dish is made with whole grain lasagna, Greek yogurt, cauliflower, aaaaand Logan and I made it vegetarian by swapping out the regular chicken for veggie chicken. Super easy. Just grab two bags of the Gardein Chick’n Strips. Sauté them for about 5 minutes, throw them in a bag with all the necessary spices, then put them back in the pan for another 5ish minutes. Yum, yum, yum. Anyway, check out the original recipe on With Peanut Butter on Top.

NEXT. One of our all-time favorites. Proof that tofu can be absolutely delicious! Vegetarian Chicken-Fried Tofu just like you can find at Whole Foods. 🙂 Check HERE for the recipe I use. A few updates though. To make it a bit healthier, swap out the regular flour for garbanzo flour or a similar flour of your choice. Also, if you’re vegetarian I recommend using Better Than Bouillon Vegetarian No Chicken Base. It makes delicious chicken broth, but completely veggie-friendly. You can find it at Whole Foods or similar stores. Sadly, I haven’t found it at my local grocery store yet. Also, if you’re crunched for time, I don’t feel it’s necessary to let the tofu soak overnight. I generally press the tofu for 30 minutes, then soak the tofu for at least 30 minutes. And for those who haven’t tried nutritional yeast. Oooohhh, you are missing out! Do yourself a favor and head to Whole Foods today! It’s muy delicioso and adds a cheesy/nutty flavor to whatever you put it on. We mainly use it for breading tofu and throw it on sautéed veggies. Bonus: It’s loaded with vitamins. Grab yo’ self some!

 

That’s it so far this week, but last week was also delicious! I made everything I set out to in my first What I’m Cooking This Week post and everything was awesome! Especially the Salted Dark Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats! Those were easy and a major hit at work! I also made a Mexican Baked Polenta dish from Oh My Veggies that was perfection. Check it out!

All for now. 🙂

xo,

Megan

True Life: I’m a Photographer’s Girlfriend

Which means, my life is never dull.

In the latest episode, Logan took me out to breakfast. YAY!

Then he asked me to use an oversize camera and pretend to take pictures of my food. HUH?

Yep. Like I said, never dull.

It did bring a lot of smiles to the faces of fellow diners though, so I was happy to participate. 🙂

Shameless Plug: Check out more of Logan’s work HERE and HERE. I may be biased, but I think he’s pretty damn talented. 

I’m All About That Bass!

Absolutely love when Jimmy Fallon and The Roots take on today’s hits with a handful of classroom instruments and this one takes the cake! Believe it or not, it’s the first time I’ve heard Meghan Trainor’s new song “All About That Bass” and I. AM. LOVING. IT! Click here to see her original video. Girl owns it!

I Was Picasso in Another Life: PaintNite Review

I’m convinced of it. Freakin’ Picasso, y’all. How do I know? Well, my mom came to visit over Labor Day Weekend and we decided to finally try one of those paint while drinking classes everyone keeps talking about. In the past, I had been hesitant. I’m not the most talented painter. Add booze and a stick figure may be all you get. But I thought, “why not?” So we did it.

Thanks to a Groupon deal, we signed up for a class with PaintNite. They encourage folks to “drink creatively.” And drink creatively we did. The class took place at Blue Agave on West Kinzie, so I accessorized my canvas with a delicious margarita (Not seen here).

Our task for the evening? Recreate a beautifully painted owl/branch/night scene. With great patience our instructor Josh walked us through each step, making it a very simple and enjoyable process. To be honest, it was quite therapeutic. Every brush stroke was relaxing and almost spiritual. So were the chips and guacamole we enjoyed while painting.

With Josh’s excellent instruction, by the end of the evening we had all created our very own piece of art. One that I, personally, am very proud to hang on my wall.

Overall, I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for something fun and unique to do. Why spend hundreds of dollars on wall art, when you can paint your own? 😉

xo, Megan

 

Welcome to Vegetarianism

 

Photo Credit: Kiersten Frase, Oh My Veggies

In my last post I mentioned that I’ve been a vegetarian since November, 2012. It was a decision I always wanted to make, but didn’t have the willpower to do it on my own. That’s why I’m forever grateful to my boyfriend, Logan. Together we made the decision to go strictly vegetarian (no beef, chicken, or fish) and we haven’t looked back since.

For me, it was a moral decision. For Logan, it was a health decision. But whatever your reason, going vegetarian will be one of the better decisions you’ll make in your life.

That said, it’s not an easy decision or transition. Especially if you’ve eaten meat most of your life. For some, I recommend small steps. First, weed out beef, followed by chicken, then fish. Or, maybe you keep fish and go the pescetarian route. Completely up to you! For others, like me and Logan, going cold turkey (no pun intended ;)) is the best route.

The good thing? There’s a multitude of blog posts and fellow vegetarians out there eager to help you out and keep you on track.

One of my favorite vegetarian bloggers is Kiersten Frase, the founder of Oh My Veggies. She develops gorgeous and beautiful vegetarian and vegan recipes, about 50 of which are bookmarked on my computer. When I first became a vegetarian I was on her blog constantly and found her to be a great resource as I explored the world of vegetarian cooking.

The best part? She’s rounded up some great resources for new vegetarians, including recipes, tofu for beginners, and 50 vegetarian casseroles! Yum!!

Thanks to Kiersten for everything she does for all the vegetarians out there! 😉

xo, Megan

What I’m Cooking This Week [1]

I’ve always been interested in cooking. Growing up, my parents cooked often and on Sunday nights I’d serve as my dad’s sous chef. It always impressed me how we was able to bring the ingredients together to create one delicious dish.

While I started to cook more and more as I grew up, it wasn’t until I became a vegetarian in November, 2012 that I really started to enjoy being in the kitchen. Not cooking with meat encourages the chef to be more creative AND use more vegetables. 🙂

That said, I’ve gotten a bit lax in my cooking. Sticking to the same dishes we love. But I’m determined to be more adventurous in my cooking, which is where “What I’m Cooking This Week” comes in. I’ll be searching through my favorite vegetarian/vegan food blogs to find 2-3 dishes each week that I’ll share on the blog. Really excited about this!

So, without further ado..Here’s what I’m cooking this week. Thanks to My Darling Vegan, Orchard Street Kitchen, and Savory Nothings for these great recipes and wonderful photos!

 

 

That Time I Jumped Out of a Perfectly Good Airplane

We’re all guilty of it. Saying we’ll do something big and extreme, then backing out and not following through. I’d move to a state where I don’t know anyone. I’d definitely backpack through Europe. I’d absolutely jump out of an airplane.

But when it comes down to it, how many of us actually follow through? I’d love to know the statistic on that one.

Well, earlier this month I followed through. I did something big and extreme I always SAID that I would do.

I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane.

With the good people of Chicagoland Skydiving Center at my back (literally), I took to the skies and at 9,000 ft. above the little town of Rochelle, IL, I jumped. Well, I fell. You don’t really jump out of the plane. You take a deep breath, close your eyes, and you spit in fear’s face. And I promise you, the feeling of facing and CONQUERING a fear is unmatched. It is unlike anything you will ever experience.

I have never felt more alive than I did as I fell out of that airplane. It was surreal to be honest. Felt like I was dreaming. And all I kept thinking to myself was, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” And all I kept yelling was, “I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M FUCKING DOING THIS! AAHHHHH!!!!”

Observe.

So the moral of this story? Jump. Absolutely, 100% jump.

PS. Thanks so much to the folks at Chicagoland Skydiving Center. They made the experience completely easy and enjoyable. Major props to my instructor Woody and my photographer, the lovely Jenny.

PPS. Head over to my Facebook page to see more photos!

One down. Now let’s keep this going.

First posts are always awkward. Especially when you’re an awkward person to begin with. So, I’ll keep this short and sweet.

I’m Megan and this is my third attempt at starting a blog. But this time, I’m determined to make it stick!

A little about me? I’m a little ADD. Well, more than a little. My family always enjoys seeing what I’ll be into next. So that’s what this will be all about. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, a little bit of a glimpse into my very ADD, but very enjoyable life.

Here we go. 🙂

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