Typically when I have friends over I get a little crazy. Is the house clean? What am I going to serve? Do I have ENOUGH? These are the general frantic thoughts that fly through my brain. But I think I've CRACKED the CODE to brunch entertainment y'all. The key is to keep it simple. My friend Viv came over a few weeks ago to see the new place and to have a little brunch action. I wanted the menu to be HEATHY and TASTEY to boot, so I decided to make a spinach, onion and cheddar cheese crustless quiche, fruit salad and a green salad! Although it was just the two of us, this could have EASILY fed 4 or 5 people. 

OK, it's recipe time. The crustless quiche couldn't be easier--in fact I've made three times since Viv came over! It makes for the perfect breakfast on the go (just take it to work and microwave it!) Here we go:

What you need:

- 9" pie dish, buttered

- 6 eggs

- 1 onion, diced

- 3 handfuls of spinach

- 1/2 c of milk

- 3/4c- 1c shredded cheddar

- 1/2TB of butter

- salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

- Preheat your oven to 350 F

- Butter your pie dish and set aside

- In sauté pan, melt butter and then add onions. Cook 3-4 minutes (or until onions are translucent). 

- Add spinach to onions and wilt

- Beat eggs and milk together in bowl. Then add cheese, onion/spinach mixture, salt and pepper.

- Pour mixture into buttered pie dish and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

- The quiche is cooked when inserted knife comes out clean! Let cool 10 minutes then serve!

Now onto the salads. So, I'm not going to sit here and tell you how to make a fruit salad, cause that would be crazy! Just pick your favorite fruits, clean them on up and toss them together!  

Same goes for the green salad! Just pick whatever you love most! It will be delicious, I promise. The only thing that I'm going to advocate is making your own vinaigrette. They are NOT as intimidating as they sound. 

What you need:

- 1/4 c olive oil

- 4 TB champagne vinegar

- 1 clove garlic, grated

- salt and pepper

- 1 TB dijon mustard

- 2 ts dried oregano

- a mason jar 

What you do:

This is where it gets real easy. Add all ingredients into the mason jar. MIX. Yes, use some elbow grease and shake the CRAP out of that vinaigrette. Taste and adjust as needed. If it takes too vinegar-y, add more oil. If it's too mustard-y, add more vinegar. You know just use those taste buds to make the PER-FECT dressing!

Put all of your delicious bounty out there for your guest to eat! 

Other things that are un-pictured but totally necessary: flowers for the table, fresh squeezed orange juice and champagne!

These are my basics for a easy, delicious, brunch! Enjoy!

New Apartment: The Kitchen

So I don't mean to start this post off on a negative note or anything, but I'm not too crazy about this kitchen. Its super-duper out dated, the appliances could legally drink, for sure. I mean, we have a TRASH COMPACTOR, when was the last time those things were in vogue? 1982? But I guess there are a lot of good things, you know the huge cabinets no wait, the amble countertops, errr the windows? Yes, yes the windows are good. It's also, kind of a weird U shape, which is good for cooking, I guess. You know, since everything is in arms distance from everything else. And we only have one cutlery drawer, so we found these handy buckets at Ikea for our utensils. And don't get me started on the floor--those tiles need to be ripped up and burned. At the stake. Since they're EVIL, but I digress. The kitchen is good, for now. And despite its vast shortcomings, we're making it work. So there. ;)

None of these bottles fit in our cabinets, so now they live on our counter ;)

my mixer Large Marge is the best thing in this kitchen

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Timer watch over our spice collection...

...and speaking of spices, the first thing my Mom said when she came to visit was "You sure have a lot of spices, damn"
(errr, she didn't actually say 'damn' but I thought it added to the statement. So there.)

The Coolest Thing I've Seen In A While

a manmade cloud. indoors. art & science collide on this one. by berndnaut smilde.

via

Block Island: A Place Where Vacations Come True

I've only ever been to Block Island one time before, but when I thought about my 30th birthday, and what I wanted to do, it instantly came to my mind. I mean, the place is like a Edward Hopper painting or something.  It's beautiful and tranquil and has a movie theater that was once a roller-rink (with disco ball and all). What I love most is that the island itself doesn't allow tons of buildings to be built. Their goal is to keep the small fishing island feel. As a result there are gorgeous meadows, and undistributed beach sides. You almost feel like you time-travel a bit when you go. Bottom line, it's the bees knees and I can't wait for sun, surf and sangria.

some mornings i find myself really jealous of my cats. 

i go to work, everyday, while they live the life of luxury at home. 

like a bunch of cute sacks-of-fur. 

when i went to work this particular morning, i couldn't help snapping a picture or two. 

aren't they freaking cute??

these are bedroom eyes

once upon a time, i thought it was cool to put oranges up my shirt. 

and, once upon a time, my mother took a picture of it. 

makes for a sweet memory, if i a do say so myself.

Chili Quesadillas: The Best of Both Worlds

I'm a fan of two-fors. You know what I'm talking about, buy one get one free, people who can sing and dance, or better yet, chili recipes that also make for bangin' quesadillas. I don't know what came over me, but I was sitting there making my beloved sweet potato/quinoa chili and had the brilliant idea: these would make for delicious quesadillas!

So first things first, you need to make yourself a batch of chili. This chili is one of my favorites, it's simple, light and packed with super nutritious foods. That's right, it's good and good for you!

What you need: 

- one 29 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- one 6 oz can tomato paste
- 4 c vegetable stock
- 1 onion, chopped
- 6-7 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 TB chili powder
- 1 TB cumin- 1 ts oregano
- 1 TB olive oil
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
- 1 c dry quinoa
- salt and pepper to taste
- avocado, cheddar cheese, and cilantro for garnish  (optional)

What you do:

Heat the oil in a large heavy soup pot over medium low heat. 

Add onions, and cook until soft and they start to turn brown (about 10 minutes). 

Add the garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes. 

Then add the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. 

Add the beans, stock, and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper .

Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the quinoa. 

Continue cooking for about 15 minutes – 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until quinoa and potatoes are cooked and the chili has thickened. Add a bit of water if the chili becomes too thick. Top with avocado, cheese and cilantro. 

YUMMMMMM.

Now lets talk quesadillas. 

What you need:

- corn tortillas

- sweet potato/black bean chili (obviously)

- shredded cheddar cheese

- vegetable oil (makes the tortillas really brown up!)

What you do: 

Heat up some vegetable oil in a non-stick pan and throw a corn tortilla on there. Spread some cheese and let it melt a little bit. Add chili and top with another tortilla. Wait 2-3 minutes and flip and let it cook on the other side. Cut and enjoy!!!

The flavor from the chili really adds a ton to these bad boys--they are not your average tex-mex quesadilla. No way.

File Under: Things That Make Me Laugh

Your dad got shit rowdy before you did and he had a trunk full of kegs to prove it. He was the St. Nick of delivering drunk and when his frost brewed sleigh of destruction rolled up, livers were leveled. 

So hipsters, when you’re breaking somebody else’s stuff at a party and throwing half-drank PBR’s at the walls, remember this…

The government changed the legal drinking age to 18 and your dad was the reason they had to change it back to 21. 

Thanks Dads are the Original Hipsters, for making me crack-up at work. I'm going to be laughing about this one for a while. 

▲▲ A Birthday Wish List ▲▲

There's less than a month to my dirty-30 ! Oh me, oh my! What I love most about birthdays would have to be the sweet little nothings you get as gifts. Birthdays don’t have the same pressure as other gift-giving occasions do (namely, ahem, CHRISTMAS), and sometimes, only sometimes, I feel that birthday gifts are more unique and thoughtful as a result.  If you were to tie me up and make me create a small but AWESOME birthday wish list, this would have to be it.

HIT IT:

 (right to left)

 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6/ 7 

 It's pretty hard for me to take a normal picture. 

I'm not sure why.

five things that are making me happy right now

1. It's peony season y'all. I bought myself some of these gorg flowers last night.
2. Finding old picture of my friends. Oh, the memories! What would I give to live in my cinder-block palace dorm room again?!
3. Finalizing my 30th birthday plans!!! T- minus 30 days!!! (eww, 30 days till 30)
4. Finding out that my office is giving us July 4th AND July 5th off. So. Excited.
5. Having dinner with my grandparents this week. For the past year, we haven't been able to do our weekly dinners but I have a feeling they're BACK! & I'm super excited about it.

I'm the ladybug, FYI