Lunch Time

Happy Tuesday, Everyone. I aced a final this morning and now am enjoying my lunch at Starbucks.

Venti Sugar Free Soy Cinnamon Dolce Latte

With a side of International Marketing.

Not the most nutritious but necessary.

Pretty soon my college roommate, Ali, will be here to catch up. I can't wait :)

Well for now, back to the International Marketing.

Have a great day!

~Kasey

A Simple Supper

Well my first final took me all of 10 minutes to complete. Easy, peasy! 

When I got back home, I worked on some stuff for my final tomorrow morning, and then hunger struck.

Luckily, I had planned ahead and had been pressing some tofu for about an hour, so it only took about 15 minutes to whip this up.

Tofu, pan fried in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, along with leftover brussel sprouts and brown rice. I'm not sure that I love brussel sprouts yet, but they're good for me and getting old so I ate them.

This was a healthy and quick meal... just what I needed :)

Off to work I go!

~Kasey

Queen of Procrastination

So I have a final in 1 1/2 hours and what am I doing?

Well playing piano, of course. I haven't played (or sang!) for most of the semester. I dearly miss it, and I can't wait to have more time to practice once this week is over!

It all came back to me right away; even though I'm a rather pathetic pianist. I can't wait to get better.

Ugg, I'm such a procrastinator. Usually it's cooking or cleaning, but I just miss music so much! It'll be nice to get back into it :)

I think I'll be spending some time at Starbucks this week, since I obviously get too distracted at home!

Well I'm off to eat some left over soup and actually study for my exam today.

Wish me luck!
~Kasey

Minestrone Soup

Since the high was below zero on this relaxing Sunday in the north, I decided I should make some soup.

I'm usually not a big fan of soup, as I've never found it very satisfying. Dillon and I went to the Olive Garden for the famous soup, salad, and breadsticks lunch the other day, and the minestrone really wowed me! 

So today I decided to try to make this heart soup at home! It was a huge success :)

Minestrone Soup inspired by The Olive Garden

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small minced white onion

1 zucchini, sliced

1 cup frozen cut Italian green beans

3 celery stalks, chopped

4 cloves minced garlic

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cans (15 oz) red kidney beans, drained

2 cans (15 oz) great northern or small white beans, drained

1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes

1 carrot, chopped

2 tablespoons minced parsley

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

3-4 cups hot water

1 cup wine, any kind would work

4 cups fresh baby spinach

1 cup small shell pasta

Prepare veggies, except the spinach, and add to stock pot, and sautée veggies in the olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Thanks for the awesome stock pot, Mom :)

Then add the liquids and spices.

Let bring to a boil, and then let simmer until the veggies begin to soften. I let it cook for a little over 2 hours before I added the pasta.

When you're about ready to eat, add the spinach and pasta.. and a little more wine if you'd like :)

I also added a bit of tomato paste because I had to add some additional liquids once I added the other ingredients. I think it helped enhance the flavor a bit.

Once the pasta is done, pour into a bowl and serve! I had mind with a piece of toasted Ezekiel bread to dip in the soup :)

Mmm, it was so hearty and delicious! Perfect for a chilly day.

And one of the best parts...

Leftovers! 

I love having meals for the week already made. It'll be nice to be able to just focus on getting through my last few exams instead of cooking this week.

This soup left me completely satisfied. The beans add a bunch of protein and fiber and the veggies give it a ton of nutrients and flavor. Simply delicious!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend; I know mine went by too fast! I can't wait to get through this week and get home to celebrate with my family.

Wishing you a productive and happy Monday,

~Kasey

Alternative Wrapping

Hello There! 

The other day I was able to get a bit of a head start on my Christmas wrapping. Ok- it was only 2 presents, and they're both for Dillon. But it's a start, right?!

This year we decided to not buy any Christmas wrapping materials - paper, ribbons, boxes, etc.. We're going to use the scraps from the newspaper that we bought on Thanksgiving, and reconstruct boxes that are in our recycling.

Here's a look at how they turned out!

I love them! I'm really one of the least crafty people I know, but I think they turned out great! I'm terrible at wrapping in the first place, so this kind of hides it. It makes for a very eclectic look. 

So I was laying on the floor taking pictures, and someone was very interested... 

 

Or just really wanted attention...

I love when she stretches out like that. She's so cute, it just melts my heart!

Well I hope you're having a great Saturday. Dillon and I got a bunch of Christmas shopping done. I have to head to work in a bit, and then we're going to meet up with some friends for a birthday outing downtown tonight. It should be a good time. 

I'll leave you with a thought of one of the real reasons for the season...

~Kasey

New Site!

Hello Everyone-

Due to the problems I've been having with Tumblr - i.e. the server being down, it not saving my posts, long upload times, etc.. - I'm switching to Blogger.

This site will be the same as my Tumblr - food posts and other healthy living commentary, but I hope to develop it a bit more since Blogger has more options for customization and such.

So please add me to your reader of choice if you were once following me from my Tumblr. There are more great things to come - especially since I'm about to graduate and have free time to put into my blog :)

Thanks for stopping by and hope to "see" you around!
 ~Kasey