A Hard Decision...

As you have noticed, I'm just about the worst blogger EVER lately. The hustle and bustle of life has just been overwhelming lately...with the transitions at my job, to transitions in my personal life and great growth in my event planning business...life is just a "little" crazy.

So, a hard decision was made...

I have been (poorly) operating two blogs, The Leafy Green and Bliss Events by Rachel. This blog has obviously been more about my personal life and our lifestyle while my Bliss Blog is mainly geared toward weddings and events. Well, after much thought, I've decided to consolidate the blogs and continue with only posting to my Bliss Events by Rachel blog.

I have loved The Leafy Green and have so appreciated all the support! I hope that you will continue to read about our tasty recipes, fun DIY projects and silly life "happenings"...tossed in with some wedding and event fun at www.blisseventsbyrachel.blogspot.com.

Again, thanks so much!

Fat Cow and Happy 4th!

Yes, the vegetarian family went to Fat Cow.

And, we love it!

Any of the burgers can be served with a salmon fillet or a giant portobello mushroom. I'm currently head over heels in love with the Napa Burger, which stars sliced pear, red onion marmalade, goat cheese and fresh arugula. Thank you mam!

I had eaten my entire burger before I realized I hadn't taken a picture. So here is one of the 120 burger that Chris got. It had gruyere cheese, caramelized onion, fresh arugula, sliced tomato and horseradish mayonnaise (sans the bacon, of course!). I'll say this...I didn't love it but Chris did...to each their own!

Fat Cow is very kid friendly. Their patio is cool with lots of shade...perfect for a little family outing. They also have a great selection on their kids menu. Lily loves their grilled cheese sandwich!

We hope you and your families had a fabulous Fourth of July! Here are some other photos from our relaxing, stress-free holiday! Enjoy!

She always wants to feed herself! Very independent!

Lily and GranZee were just pooped after lunch...so naptime on the couch it was!

Of course Oliver had to get in on the action...what a patriotic puppy!

No Independence Day is complete without tasty watermelon!

Finishing the day with a little Liberty Ale!

My Summer To-Do List

I know...summer is half way done and I'm just now talking about my to-do list. To put it nicely...life is a little crazy right now!

Anywho...the Henry's have a lot going on right now so our summer to-do list is a MUST to-do list!

Enjoy...

1. Get our house ready....this is top of our must-do list because we are in the very early stages of wanting to sell our home. This will NOT be easy for me...this is the home where Chris proposed, where we started our family and have had so many fun memories made...BUT, we are quickly outgrowing our fun little three-bedroom house...so it's time to move on. We are starting by removing a lot of our personal items and making the space more generic. Thankfully, there isn't a ton of projects that we need to tackle...but we are going to do as much as we can, while we can!

2. Have some date nights...we are so horrible about this! Now that Lily is at that awesome fun stage, we hardly ever carve out time for just to two of us...but that's one of our goals this summer! I'm not sure what we are going to cook up...but it will most definitely involve good food...so I'll make sure to share!

3. Read a book...again, so sad...I haven't read a book for pure enjoyment in ages.

4. Have some family fun...now that we have a few weekends that are free, I want to fill them with fun family time! Lily is running around loving life...which is just a blast! So I want to start filling her scrapbook with fun memories!

5. Get in gear...both Chris and I have established some hard core fitness goals recently. Unfortunately, they are on two separate ends of the spectrum. I, of course, am still wanting to lose some weight but Chris needs to gain it. So, as challenging as this sounds, we are going to make it work without cooking two separate meals every day! We can do this! He has been grooving for a couple of weeks now but I'm kicking it up a notch this week! I found this 7-day cleansing diet (thank you Pinterest) that I started today...more on that later!



So this is just a glimpse into what I would like the rest of our summer to look like. We have a lot going on...but I'm hoping to enjoy it a bit too!

What are your summer plans?

Gazpacho with Goat Cheese

This might shock you, but until recently, I had never had gazpacho! I know...shocking! I was perusing the Internet the other day and came across this gazpacho recipe from Real Simple and it was just that...real simple! So I tried it...and..eh...

It was a refreshing treat and would be perfect for maybe a cocktail party or summer fun day...but not for a random night dinner. You live your learn, I guess. Another thing that threw me off was the real onion taste...I mean, it just hits you. So when it says 1/2 of a small sweet onion...really look for the smallest one in the  bunch!

Anyway, here is the recipe...enjoy!

Gazpacho with Goat Cheese

2 1/2 pounds of beefsteak tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 small sweet onion, roughly chopped (remember really small!!!)

2 red bell peppers, roughly chopped

1 pound of cucumbers, peeled and roughly chopped

Juice from one lemon

Kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn (we ended up boiling ours, but I can imagine grilled would be fantastic)

3 tablespoons of cilantro, roughly chopped

3 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons olive oil

Toss your tomatoes, garlic, onion, bell peppers and cucumbers in a food processor and pulse until just about pureed. Unless you have the largest food processor EVER, you are going to have do work in batches until all is added.

Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the lemon juice and salt/pepper to taste.

Ladle the soup into your serving bowls and top with goat cheese, corn and cilantro. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with crusty bread!

Hey Fatty Meal!

Let me preface by saying a dear and beautiful friend of mine recently got engaged and I am beyond excited to stand up with her on her wedding day as she marries the man of her dreams...but after hearing the names of the bridesmaids...mama has to get serious about slimming it down!

So, say hello to my last "fatty meal"! Burger King is one of the few fast food restaurants that we can drop by when time constraints...ok, laziness... get the best of me. Their veggie burger isn't a key item on the menu, but if you search...you'll find it. I pair that bad boy with a monster size coke and some onion rings with zesty sauce and the fat kid inside me is a happy camper. The responsible, food loving, caring parent however...is ashamed.

Alright, in all honestly, this probably isn't my "last" fatty meal before the spring...but I am going to make a conscious effort to steer clear! Wish me luck!

Finger Food Friday!

One of my favorite things about being a mommy to a toddler (wow...where did the time go!) ...is watching Lily discover new foods. My biggest fear is that we are going to have a picky eater. So, to push her to being a lover of food like her parents, we are having fun introducing new colors, textures and tastes. Her reactions are the BEST! The only heart breaking experience we have had so far...she hates avocados! No matter how we dice it or spruce it up...she isn't fooled!

She loves to eat but hates being fed...she wants to do it all herself. Miss Independent already. So, finger foods it is! Since we are having so much fun stuffing her little sweet cheeks, I'll start sharing our experiences...the good, the bad, and the adorable!

This week...Black Bean & Corn Salad...success!

I got the recipe from one of my go-to sources of baby food fun...Weelicious. They have such creative ways to spice up the everyday lunch box...which I'm all about! This salad was a no-brainer to try because it is completely vegetarian, so no need to tweak too much, and it's so much fun! Not too messy, very colorful and healthy...win, win, win! Here ya go...

2 ears of corn, husked, cleaned and ready to go!
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed1 red bell pepper, dice it up...remember, small fingers need to grab it!
2 tbsp cilantro, same thing, dice it up!
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt

We had every intention of grilling the corn to spice it up...but there was a hungry little girl running around my feet, so off the grill the ears of corn came and into the pot! It was just as tasty...and Lily didn't seem to mind too much!

So, bring about an inch of water to boil and add your corn. Cover and steam for 5 minutes and then remove and let cool. While your corn is getting ready, go ahead and mix all of your other ingredients in a bowl.

Once your corn is cooled, add it to your party...stir and serve! So easy!

Doesn't that look so tasty? Trust me...it is! Lily LOVED it! Black beans are one of her favorite things right now so she ate all the black beans first...and then dove head first into the bell peppers and corn. 

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! There is so much going on around town so have fun!

{Trash to Treasure} Cheerio!

I complained on Facebook several months ago that I couldn't find a chest of drawers that would be a perfect fit for a "catch all" I wanted to create for our entry way. I had scoured thrift stores, garage sales and Craigslist...with no luck. Minutes after my status was updated, a friend of mine came to the rescue! They were just about to trash this chest so we ran over, picked it up...and I started planning!

After a couple coats of paint, some sanding, a little glaze and some vinyl letters from the Cricut... BAM step one complete!

Next step, making it an organization tool! Stay tuned!

Anniversary Date Night

What a fabulous night we had! Chris and I celebrated our two-year anniversary with a fun lunch at MJ's Cafe (review here), happy hour at Kona Grill and then topped it off with a movie night. Yep, we are kinda lame...but whatever, we had a blast!

We had not been to the movies since the last Harry Potter (cue the gasps!) so this was a huge feat for us. I'm a bit of a comic book nerd, so my movie choice was The Avengers ...and a good one it was! We loved it! My favorite scene was the schwarma scene after the credits...hilarious!

I haven't been to a happy hour in quite some time so we really enjoyed it. Hats off to Kona Grill on establishing a pretty fantastic happy hour scene. The limited menu was actually impressive with more than one vegetarian option...kudos! I sipped on a margarita and we chowed down on the margherita flatbread...outstanding. It was garlic, parmesan, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and a balsamic reduction...tasty, tasty, tasty.

The weather was pretty perfect so we enjoyed the patio and then walked over to the theatre. That's one of the reasons I love Perkins Rowe so much...you can park once and leisurely walk around to enjoy food, shopping and a movie. Ok, commerical over!

Anyway, it was a fabulous night celebrating two really memorable years...can't wait to see what year three has in store!

Oh and sorry the pictures are so horrible! I was just so excited to be out in public...

MJ's Cafe

Today is our anniversary...cue the "aws"! So, Chris and I have "big" plans for today...starting with a little lunch. He wouldn't tell me where we were headed as we drove through Mid City, but when we pulled up to MJ's Cafe...I was pleasantly surprised!

MJ's Cafe is a mainly vegetarian lunch spot featuring local and seasonal ingredients. Yep, right up our alley! We walked in and took two seats at the bar...a fabulous choice. We had a front row view of our meal being made and we were able to chat with the owner a bit. Maureen Joyce is energetic and obviously passionate about what she is doing. I enjoyed watching her delicately create each meal with a smile on her face....it was quite refreshing!

The daily lunch special includes a small soup or salad with one of their sandwiches. I decided to start with the Summer Squash and Salsa Verde soup, while Chris went with the Pinto Bean and Guacamole...both were fantastic! For our sandwiches, Chris decided on The Southwestern, which featured pepper jack cheese, guacamole, tomatoes and romaine lettuce. I went with The French, which was grilled and featured goat cheese, arugula, apples and a pepper jelly. Both were delicious...but I won this round! The French sandwich was seriously tasty and very filling.

The decor is quite simple with a little nod to vintage. The cafe actually shares space with a vintage furniture store, so that was uniquely quirky...I loved it! There is local art on the walls and the tables and chairs aren't too matchy-matchy. Honestly, I felt like I had pulled up a bar stool in a dear friend's kitchen...especially when Maureen started chatting with us as she chopped apples. The casual and comfortable vibe of the cafe made me feel right at home.

To put it plainly...the food was delicious, the service was outstanding and the general atmosphere was just trendy enough to be noticed but not too hipster to scare off the close-minded. Normally, when we go out to eat, ordering can be such a challenge. The meticulous studying of the menu followed by the endless questions for the server...it's exhausting. But today we knew that everything on the menu was fair game...and that was such a welcomed shift. With that being said, I'm confident that even our most carnivorous friend would enjoy lunch here.

In terms of price, $10 for lunch is not bad. Will we eat here weekly? Probably not.. However, we are definetely going back for more!

Fabulously served local and seasonal food...two big thumbs up from me!

Quick Sauteed Kale with Toasted Pine Nuts

I am seriously having a love affair with kale...

Beyond being just scrumptious and delicious...it is so very good for you! After a bit of research, I discovered that this beautiful, dark, leafy green has some power to it! From cholesterol-lowering abilities to detoxing to even cancer-fighting, this is a must-try veggie! Seriously, this "queen of greens" is one of the healthiest vegetables around and a nutritional powerhouse...I'm obsessed!

Here is a tasty and easy way to incorporate kale into your diet...ENJOY!

Quick Sauteed Kale with Toasted Pine Nuts

4 bunches kale (about 2 pounds-seems like a lot, but remember, it  will wilt!)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

First things first, fold each kale leaf lengthwise and cut stem away along the crease. Then, tear the leaves coarsely. If you want to do this ahead of time, it can be prepared one day in advance, just pack the kale into resealable plastic bags and chill.

Now, heat your oil in heavy large pot or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic then saute until the onion is soft and your house smells amazing!

While your "onion party" is going, pour your pine nuts into a smaller skillet over  medium-low heat. Just don't forget to give them stir every now and then!

Now, add half of the kale to your "onion party", packing slightly.

Cook until kale wilts, tossing often, which is about 2 to 3 minutes. Then, add remaining kale and half of the toasted pine nuts.

Toss until kale is just tender and still bright green, which is about 3 minutes longer. Then, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lastly, transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with remaining toasted pine nuts.

Get ready for some yumminess!

Sweet Strawberry Spinach Salad!

Sweet Strawberry Spinach Salad...whew, say that five times fast!

We have been trying to eat more salads and I fell upon this recipe. This salad isn't necessarily healthy but yum, tasty! If you are in the mood for a sweet treat that you won't entirely regret, I highly recommend this dish! Enjoy!

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 bunches fresh spinach - chopped, washed and dried

1 pint strawberries, halved

Whisk together the sugar, sesame seeds, sesame oil, poppy seeds, paprika, oil and vinegar. Then, refrigerate until chilled.    

In a salad bowl, combine the spinach and strawberries. Drizzle with dressing, toss lightly and serve.               

I topped with a little feta cheese when serving...and that really made me a happy camper!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This post is well overdue because this is a super tasty dinner that I should have posted immediately after cooking the first time! I've always wanted to try stuffed bell peppers but thought I didn't have the time or skills to make them...WRONG, these were both delicious and simple! I found a great recipe and tweaked it only slightly. Hope you enjoy!

1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked Arborio rice

2 bell peppers, halved and seeded

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 onion, chopped

1/4 cup of chopped mushrooms

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1 pinch ground black pepper

1 tomato, diced

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Start the party by preheating your oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet.

Now, work on the rice. Bring your water to a boil, stir in the rice then reduce heat and cover. Just simmer for about 20 minutes. I must admit, I had to do this part twice. Rice is my Achilles' heel!

Take your bell pepper halves and place them cut-side down on the baking sheet. Roast for 25-30 minutes, or until tender and skin starts to brown a bit.

While your peppers are rockin', heat your olive oil in a skillet over medium/high heat. Cook your garlic, onions, mushrooms, basil, Italian seasoning and salt/pepper for 2-3 minutes.

Then, stir in your tomato and cook for 5 additional minutes.

Spoon in your cooked rice and stir until heated through.

Remove from heat and mix in the feta cheese before scooping heaping spoonfuls into your pepper halves.

Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.               

Veggie Quesadillas

Anytime I have family over for dinner, I always have that brief panic attack...

"What am I going to feed them???"

This last family visit we decided on Veggie Quesadillas...they are super easy to make and easy to custom so everyone ends up happy! Enjoy!

Veggie Quesadillas

A couple tablespoons of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

6 (8 inch) flour tortillas

2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese

Salsa, Sour Cream, etc. for topping

First, pre-heat your oven 400 degrees. While that is going, heat up your olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Toss in your garlic, onion, bell peppers and mushrooms. Let that party cook until tender...

Then, add your corn with a little salt and pepper (to taste) for 2-3 minutes.

Have your tortillas ready to be stuffed on a baking sheet. With a slotted spoon, scoop your veggie mixture onto one side of the tortillas. Sprinkle with your Mexican cheese and then fold over.

Since I'm a short-order cook, I had to do one just onion and cheese...

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly golden. Serve with some tasty salsa or a dollop of sour cream or whatever you think would be tasty...Yum!!!

Yay...happy camper!