Sweet Potato, Chickpea, and Quinoa Veggie Burger

Sometimes finding a dinner that pleases both myself as a vegetarian and my meat-loving very hungry fiancé is not that easy. I always search Pinterest for new inspirations for tasty meal options. I recently happened upon a recipe for a spicy quinoa veggie burger and decided I had to give it a shot. The recipe was originally taken from the PopSugar Fitness blog that has tons of inspiration for healthy meals and great easy to do at home workouts. 

Here's how to make this tasty veggie burger:

INGREDIENTS

1 small sweet potato, baked
1/4 cup dry quinoa
1/4 cup dry barley
15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 fresh red peppers

                             

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake the sweet potato for 45-60 minutes or until soft.
2. While the sweet potato is baking, cook the quinoa and barley in separate pots until soft, about 30-60 minutes (barley takes a little longer).
3. Remove the stem and seeds from the red peppers. Cut the whole pepper in quarters and the half a pepper in half, and roast all six pieces in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Once the sweet potato is baked and cooled, combine garbanzo beans, sweet potato, parsley, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt and pepper, flour, and one tablespoon oil in a food processor.
5. Allow the grains to cool, and then in a separate bowl, mix the bean mixture with the quinoa and barley.
6. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large pan on medium heat. Place heaping spoonfuls of the mixture onto the hot pan, and use the back of the spoon to pat them flat and form four-inch diameter patties. Brown both sides of each burger. Serve on a bun with one piece of the roasted pepper, sliced into thirds.

Yield: 6 servings

NUTRITION

Calories per serving
 
202

It was definitely not the easiest veggie burger I have ever made, but it was definitely the best. My fiancé asked twice during dinner when I would be making this again. I believe that is a good sign.

<3 Kelly Jean

Kitchen Remodel

One of our first projects as new homeowners was to give our kitchen a re-facing. When we first toured the house we loved everything, but we just weren't too keen on the faux antique finish on the cabinets. In my opinion it made them look dirty, like someone had splashed brown liquid all over the cabinets while cooking. 

I couldn't find any pictures of our actual cabinets beforehand, but I believe this picture I found on google is pretty close. The point is I just didn't like it. Others may love this look and try to replicate it on their cabinets, but it was just not for us. We figured there was no time like the present to get this taken care of before we took the time to unpack anything in the kitchen. After coming to that decision it was time for us to start the work. We enlisted the help of one of my sisters and a friend of ours to help us remove cabinet doors and sand EVERYTHING.

I let my fiancé do the majority of the power sanding since he had prior experience using this type of equipment. I however did take a few spins on the Black & Decker Mouse Sander myself. It was surprisingly easy to use and made quick work of the job of sanding the cabinet walls and faces. After many days of coming home from work and sanding until bed we finally finished that part of the project. 

Next, we moved on to moving all large appliances out of the room, taping off the area, and putting rosin paper down to protect our granite counter tops and floors. 

After all the prep work the only thing left to do now was to prime, choose our paint colors, and get started painting. Painting is a LOT of work! It is definitely no easy task and not one to be rushed. 

In the end it turned out BEAUTIFUL! Sadly, I have to admit that my fiancé and I didn't do any of the actual painting of the kitchen ourselves. After choosing our colors and priming everything we were realizing all the mini-issues you come in contact with while repainting cabinets. Luckily for us our situation allowed us to have the opportunity to hire someone my fiancé's family had previously worked with to paint everything for us so that we could have the professional look we were going for. And since we were having someone come in to do the cabinets we figured we'd have them do the walls as well.

The final look was more beautiful than I could have imagined. I felt like the kitchen now looked pristine and cheerful, rather than dreary and dirty. It was definitely worth the time, effort, and money it took to get everything done.

<3 Kelly Jean

First Time Home Owners

Recently my fiancé and I decided it was time for us to give up our role as property virgins and purchase our first home. We had been living in a one bedroom apartment up until the point it flooded due to a burst pipe in the sprinkler system. The apartment complex handled the situation badly and didn't take the proper steps to repair the damage. 

After that we were forced to move out and were gratefully given the opportunity to stay with his parents until we could find a home. After a month of searching we thankfully found our DREAM home with the help of an amazing realtor.

Now we are learning what it's like to be home owners. There is constant work to make things the way WE love it and indefinite work to keep it clean enough for my standards.

Here's my handy fiancé mowing our enormous backyard. 

<3 Kelly Jean

Weddings, Wreaths, and Bow Bouquets

My best friend is getting married tomorrow. I am so unbelievably happy and excited for her. I have been lucky enough to be blessed with the role of being her maid-of-honor. In preparation for her impending nuptials I've been given the chance to create a few DIY wedding inspired crafts.

My first DIY was the creation of this beautiful monogrammed burlap wreath for my best friends new home. I tried to match it to her wedding colors, while still designing it to stand out hanging on her front door. I was very happy with the way it turned out, especially since this was my first attempt at a burlap wreath. 

The supplies I needed to make this wreath:

• 18 inch metal wreath form
• 5 inch burlap (12-15 yards)
• Scissors
• Twist ties
• Embellishments (optional) 
• Hot glue gun

I followed Frou Frou & Frills tutorial on How to Make a Burlap Wreath. Her video was amazing and super easy to follow. After completing the wreath I just had to decide what embellishments to add. I picked up the flowers, wooden letter D, and the chevron ribbon all at Hobby Lobby. I had to paint the letter D. I'm sure if you want more of a rustic look you could leave it aú naturale. I then glued down everything with the hot glue gun and added some extra ribbon at the top to hang the wreath.

My next DIY was to create the bow bouquet needed for her rehearsal dinner being held today. I had to make sure to save all the bows from her showers to complete this beautiful creation. I then followed this tutorial and ended up with the beautiful creation shown below.

Now, it's time for me to get dressed up and pretty for the rehearsal dinner. I can't wait! 

<3 Kelly Jean

New Year, New Planner

photo credits

Happy New Years everybody! I hope everyone has had a safe and enjoyable holiday. My holidays this year have been pretty hectic, but still enjoyable. I feel like finally though my life is going to be back on track. Now it's time for new beginnings and a chance to do things better. I believe that 2014 will be my year. 

In 2014 I will be:

1. House hunting and buying my dream home
2. Exploring possible career options
3. Continuing to workout to become the fit and healthy person I aspire to be
4. Completing extreme amounts of DIY projects based off of my Pinterest inspirations
5. Helping my best friend to get married
6. Planning my wedding (buying my DRESS)
7. and therefore also marrying the love of my life on September 13, 2014.

It's definitely going to be a busy year, but also probably my favorite year. I can't wait for all the wonderfully exciting things that 2014 holds for me. To help me keep track of everything this year I am currently on the hunt for a new planner. Here are my two favorite planners I've seen for 2014.....

Swoozies Agenda

Amazon Planner

I'm not sure which to choose. I love them both! Where are other shops to find cute planners?

<3 Kelly Jean

An Easier Black Friday

I personally choose to have my shopping experience be something that is relaxing and laid back. I like to really take my time to find what I want. Based on that I'm not one that will stand in line for hours at a store and fight the crowd to get the Black Friday deals. Sure, I think the 70%-90% off deals are amazing, but I just can't get myself to deal with the crowds and insanity. For that reason I choose to do my Black Friday shopping online. 

This year I have found two new amazing sights offering up some truly great Black Friday deals you can get all from the comfort of your home. They are Pick Your Plum and GroopDealz. 

Photo Credits 

Photo Credits

Both sites offer up items that you typically find in the local boutiques around the squares in your hometown, yet at half the price. I was overjoyed when I stumbled upon both these sites.

Here are a few of the items I'm thinking about picking:

Note Sets for under $1

Holiday Washi Tape for up to 80% off

Iconic Style - Wool Hats for 73% off

Knit Arm Warmers for under $2

Here are a few of the dealz I want to grab up:

Diamonds in the Rough Necklace

Holiday Lace Dress

Lace Trim Knitted Leg Warmers

Tiny Gold Initial Heart Necklace

Now I'm on the hunt for some more super deals on this Black Friday. I just adore a great deal!

<3 Kelly Jean

Margherita Spaghetti Squash

Sometimes it's hard to find substantial meals for dinner that are healthy and vegetarian. This Margherita Spaghetti Squash was the perfect solution. It's even Gluten Free! It was mouthwateringly delicious! My fiancé even approved and asked for me to make it again this next week. The whole thing took about 50 minutes and was the perfect amount to feed both my fiancé and me. 

The recipe was extremely easy to make. The only slightly hard part was cutting the spaghetti squash in half. I always struggle greatly getting it cut. I usually end up banging and pressing a little too hard on my squash with a dull knife. I recently got an amazing new knife set from Joseph Joseph. This made the job so much easier. The squash was cut in a jiffy. 

Here's how I made this amazing and healthy dinner....

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Spaghetti Squash
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 5 medium Campari Tomatoes (you can also use 1 Large Roma Tomato)
• 2 Tablespoons of Basil (fresh of dried)
• 1/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Slice the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise down the middle. 
3. Remove the seeds and center strings.
4. Drizzle the two halves with olive oil and then sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. 
5. Place the squash, open side down on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes.  
6. Remove from the oven, check to see if the squash is soft and easily comes up with a fork into a spaghetti like texture.  If it's too hard to remove, cook for another 10 minutes.   
7. Remove from the oven, scrape and fluff the stringy squash with a fork.  Leave the squash in the skin.
8. Turn the oven up to broil. 
9. Add the tomatoes and fresh basil into the squash, stir and top with the mozzarella cheese.  
10. Place in the broiler for 3-4 minutes, until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. 
11. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving the squash.
12. ENJOY!

This recipe was adapted from Hoopfinity's Happenings and Easy Recipes To Do. 

<3 Kelly Jean