Black Bean Cilantro Hummus

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Georgina

BLACK BEAN HUMMUS

I love love love love love hummus. So recently I’ve been trying to experiment with different flavors of hummus as opposed to the usual (but delicious) plain hummus.

This time I tried a Black Bean hummus with cilantro. It is really good! Jake hates hummus in general so this is my own treat for myself. I bring it to work with pita or veggies and it’s a super delicious and easy to assemble lunch! ENJOY

Mix the following in a food processor until smooth:

2 tablespoons of tahini (which is sesame seed paste(really more like a nut butter made from the seeds) but you can find it lots of places)
2 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice
1 table spoon of olive oil
3/4 teaspoon of Cumin
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 can (15 oz) black beans (rinsed)
1/2 a small Jalapeño pepper (or whatever spicy pepper of your choice)
1/2 cup of cilantro (Rinsed and stems picked out)
1 clove of garlic

Serve with pita or crackers or veggies or eat spoonfuls of it by itself! 🙂

xoxo

-G

Creamy Spinach Pasta

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Georgina

Hi all 🙂

Last night I made a super fast meal for me and Jake, Creamy Spinach Pasta mmmmm!

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon of Olive oil

1 clove of garlic

1/2 pound of fresh spinach or about 1 1/4 cups frozen spinach

1 regular sized package of flavored cream cheese of your choosing(I used spinach and artichoke- but chive and onion, or garden veggie, or sun dried basil tomato, all would be good too!)

1/2 pound of pasta

Directions:

Begin boiling water for pasta- when at a rolling boil add the pasta and cook till done.

Meanwhile…..

Heat the olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium-high, add minced garlic clove and sauté until softened.

Thaw and drain spinach(if using frozen) or add the fresh spinach directly to the pan- either way add the spinach to the pan at this point. If fresh-stir until the spinach is wilted (1-2 minutes).

Add cream cheese and salt and pepper to taste and stir until mixed well.

Here is what mine looked like at this stage:

Add pasta and combine. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled over top if desired.

So simple and delicious!

Hope you enjoy! 🙂 Also: enjoy this beautiful week- not sure what the weather is like wherever you are, but it is beautiful like me and I plan to get out and enjoy it. Hope you do the same!

xoxo

First Grown-up Apartment

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Georgina

I told you I would be extremely busy and not be able to post for a while- however I didn’t know that it would be this long! SHEEEEEESH sorry to all! 🙂 SOOO- what a week I just had as well. Moved into my new big girl apartment- started my new job and I’m not sure that I’ve ever appreciated a weekend this much before! 🙂 I really really realllllly like my new job so far. I mean the first week is always a little boring at times because I’m training and not really able to do things on my own yet- or feel comfortable doing them alone but I already feel so much for confident in my understanding of the complex world that is employee benefits! I love it.

So, while in Chicago I went to Ikea, spent $300 bucks-but it felt like I got so much more! haha, got awesome duvet and pillow case covers for the guest room and the master, 3 lamps, large picture for the wall, vase-rocks-and decorative bamboo shoot, wine glasses, 18 piece tupperware set, cutting boards,lantern for the porch, fake potted plant, pantry organization thingy wingy, coffee table and I’m sure I’m missing some stuff but that was the majority. Here is a picture I took while headed into the cheap home goods heaven!

GLORIOUS

Here is a picture of the coffee table I got- I absolutely love it and thought it was a great deal- but Jake said it was way too girly, pshhhh oh well- still like it 🙂

Like?

So yeah, needless to say, I am still unpacking and getting our apartment organized- It is hard for me to do all at once because I – well actually I’m not sure why, but it is a process for me and I go slowly- but we have a bed to sleep on, a table to sit at, and OH! Jake and I also went out and bought a TV!!!!!!!!! We had been talking about it for quite sometime but finally just saw a great deal and went and got it- so we have a gorgeous big tv(with no cable yet, haha but we watch some O.C. a few nights of the week- side note: The O.C. is and forever will be my favorite show of all time). So yeah. That is my life currently. I PROMISE, PINKY PROMISE that when everything is situated I’ll be doing more craft and food posts! My sewing craft list is a mile long and I am obsessed with cooking so my recipes to try list is always long. Stay tuned for fun stuff to come and thank you all for reading and supporting my blog!

Xoxo

-G

ps: HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all you mothers out there! Hope you are appreciated, loved and thanked every day-not just this Sunday.

Life Update & Favorite Photograph

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Georgina

Hi all! So I have an extremely busy week coming up and I’m not sure how much time I will have to blog and it’s already been a week since my last post 😦 This past weekend I went home to my parents house to collect some belongings to bring to my new apartment, then tomorrow I go to Chicago to meet up with my Dad for dinner and then my Mom and I are going to have an IKEA date day(trust me there will be a blog post inspired by that in the further!) and then I have an interview in Chicago and THENNNN I move into my new apartment on friday and saturday! whewwwwwwww and then who knows how long it will take me to get situated and all set in my new place. SOOO don’t think I fell off the face of the earth or anything. But here is post to mull over until my return.

OH! one more bit of exciting new:

I got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just found out yesterday morning. I’m super excited to become a ‘grown-up’ also maybe a little scared. haha. The job is great, Account Manager for an insurance company in my area, and it is only 10 minutes from my new apartment! Life is falling into place and I like it.

anyway, here is my post.

ENJOY!

____________________________________________________________________

Photography is a hobby of mine- I don’t get to do it as often as I would like and I don’t know as much as I would like to know about it either!- but that being said I still love it and do it from time to time. About two years ago my high school friend, David,(who now runs a part time photography business) out of the blue asked me if I would like to have his old Nikon D50 camera; for free. ummmm duh yes please. I use that and my general Sony cybershot thingamajig- not really sure the exact make/model of that. But yes- so I mess around and play around with the Nikon often. I actually won an award for my photography once- though it wan’t artsy beautiful photography but I was in the right place at the right time and snapped a great shot of a tornado passing through my neck of the woods and my local paper used it and later that year it won Best somethingorother Photograph at the Wisconsin Newspaper Associated Awards! Pretty cool huh??! here is a pic of the award winning photo. lololol

BUT the reason for this post is that:

I wanted to share my favorite photo that I’ve ever taken. It was taken two summers ago in Southwestern Wisconsin(on my parents farm). Sometime soon I want to have it blown up and printed and or put on a canvas or something like that.

Please don't steal or take credit for this photo.

There it is. My fav. Hope you enjoy it just as much as me 🙂

xoxo

-G

Spring Asparagus, Tomato, & Lemon Pasta

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Georgina

YUM! This recipe is seriously SO fast and easy and healthy oh and delicious 🙂

I sorta made this up- so I don’t have exact measurements because I eye-ball things, but I’m gonna do my best to give good directions.

Ingredients:

Pasta(I used fettuccine but you can use whatever you would like)
Olive oil
2 cloves of garlic- minced
1 pound of Asparagus cut into pieces
1 cup of grape tomatoes-halved(Approx. more or less depending on preference)
Fresh lemon Juice(I used the juice from one half of the lemon)
Feta Cheese-crumbled

Instructions:

– Bring pot of water to a boil, add a teaspoon or so of salt along with your pasta and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

– In a large skillet heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium/high heat. Once hot, add your minced garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes or until it softens a bit-but be careful not to burn it!

-Add your Asparagus pieces and sauté for 8-10 minutes. Add your tomatoes.

-Once your veggies are heated through and soft enough to your liking, remove the pan from heat and squeeze in your lemon juice.

-Drain pasta and place into skillet with asparagus and tomato mixture. Toss enough to combine and then add your chunks of Feta cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.