in the kitchen: fall inspired breakfast oats

Apparently fall is here. Not so much in Milwaukee (today it was 85 degrees), but I hear it's starting to show signs elsewhere and that is enough for me to hop right on the bandwagon with everyone else and start consuming all things fall related. 

Exhibit A: Pumpkin Overnight Oats brought to you by Skinny Taste.

This showed up in my inbox the other morning and I knew that I would have to add it to my ever-growing list of tasty treats to make AND the fact that this is pretty healthy for you is an added plus :) So if you are looking for a pumpkin fix and already have had a dozen pumpkin lattes from Starbucks,  join me in trying this one out! 

Skinny Pumpkin Overnight Oats via Skinny Taste

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tbsp pumpkin butter
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 sliced banana

topping:

• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch pumpkin pie spice 
• 1 tbsp raw hulled pepitas (or any nut...I would vote pecans!)

Directions:
Combine the oats and 1/2 cup of the milk in a jar. Stir in the pumpkin butter, chia seeds and spices. Add banana, cover jar, shake and refrigerate overnight. 

The next morning remove from the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter 30 minutes to take out the chill (or you can microwave a few seconds if you wish). Stir in the remaining milk, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and pumpkin spice and top with pepitas

you got moves!

Have any of you been watching or ever have watched So You Think You Can Dance?? 

My mom and my sister totally got me hooked on this show a few years ago and each season I am blown away by the amazingly talented and unique dancers that are on it. Last night I was catching up on last week's episode and there was one routine that I couldn't resist sharing with you...I dare you to not smile the whole time and just get plain excited! So check out this season's Cyrus and all-star Comfort perform a kick-butt dub step routine....

Pretty awesome, right?! I still have the finale to check out, so lips sealed if you know who the winners are! 

weekend recap: good times in mpls

 

have a great weekend!

These past few weekends have been jam-packed & this weekend is proving to be the same!
I am en route to the Twin Cities for a mini-reunion with some of our Duluth "family" (Hannah you will be missed!) and for some other fun too:
-Twins game
-Brewfest with a show from Doomtree!
-biking
-checking out our friend's new house (when did we all become adults?!)
-quality time with some of my favorites!
-exploring good ol' Minneapolis

Looks like its going to be another great weekend...hope you & yours have some fun activities planned too!

in the kitchen: roasted beet & carrot salad

Beets. I can't honestly say that I have always loved these veggies, but in my "adult life" their earthiness and interesting flavor, especially when roasted! So when my cousin shared how much she enjoyed this salad, I knew I needed to add it to my cooking "to do" list ASAP! Lucky for me, my parents get a farmer's market basket each week and their is usually a beet in there, so I might even be able to use something right off the farm. How do you feel about veggies of the beet variety? Tasty? Not so tasty? Worth giving another try? 

If you're willing to try them out, I think this roasted beet and carrot salad (with goat cheese dressing!!!) just might win you over!

Roasted Beet & Carrot salad with Goat Cheese dressing via Food & Wine

• 1 1/2 pounds golden beets with tops
• 1 1/2 pounds red beets with tops
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves, halved
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 8 ounces fresh baby carrots
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 ounce soft goat cheese, crumbled

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Peel the beets and cut them into 1-inch wedges. Discard the tough stems from the beet tops and coarsely chop the leaves

2. In a bowl, toss the golden beets with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and 2 garlic clove halves and season with salt and pepper. Arrange in one-third of a large ovenproof skillet. Repeat with the red beets and then the carrots, using 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 2 garlic halves for each vegetable. Set the skillet over high heat and cook without stirring until sizzling. Cover the skillet and roast in the oven for about 35 minutes, until tender. Transfer the vegetables to a platter

3. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and half of the shallot. Season with salt and pepper and whisk in the goat cheese

4. In the skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the remaining shallot and cook over moderately high heat until softened, about 1 minute. Add the chopped beet greens and cook until just wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper 

5.Add half of the goat cheese dressing to the beet greens and toss. Add the roasted vegetables and toss once or twice. Transfer the salad to a platter and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Serve right away.

*Note: recipe author, Grace Parisi says you can prepare the roasted veggies up to three days in advance-just reheat veggies when preparing the salad! Check out more recipes from her here!

the conversation: zoe saldana

So much truth is in this brief snippit of Zoe Saldana on The Conversation with Amanda de Cadanet about the gender divide that exists in her career....and let's face it, a majority of women's careers.

I recommend also taking a peek at The Conversation's website for more interviews and to learn more about this project. Amanda de Cadanet clearly believes in the power of the conversation as a foundation for how we learn about others "...how we learn, grow and inform ourselves with information to take the next step forward..." This project specifically brings the focus to conversations about what it means to be a woman in 2012 and provides an array of different view points to consider. I'm looking forward to catching up on some of the other videos I have yet to see! 

labor day weekend

sunshine, the lake, family, birthday celebrations, and even fireworks...all in all, a pretty solid weekend!