Tag Archives: food

Feb23

Delicious Baked Ziti Recipe

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Delicious Baked Ziti Recipe

Hiii everyone and happy Tuesday! So in yesterday’s Monday Update I mentioned that I made my boyfriend a baked ziti dish for our six month anniversary. It turned out amazing and my beau and family really enjoyed it. The recipe I found on allrecipes was way too good not to share so I thought that I would post it for your super cheesy pleasure today! You’re welcome! 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups ziti pasta, uncooked
  • 1 (26) oz jar marinara sauce (Instead of plain old Ragu, I used a specialty sauce with extra garlic and herb flavoring to kick things up a little)
  • 1 (14.5) oz can diced tomatoes, undrained (I used a can that had additional oregano and Italian herb seasoning)
  • 6 oz cream cheese, cubed (The blocked cream cheese usually comes in 8 oz packaging so I just used the whole thing)
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 8 oz package of shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredients That I Added:

  • 8 cloves garlic
  • salt
  • pepper
  • basil
  • parsley
  • oregano
  • Italian seasoning

Ingredients I Will Use Next Time:

  • More seasoning
  • Onions
  • Green pepper
  • Zuchinni
  • Yellow squash

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Cook pasta, using the directions on the packaging. Once the pasta is done cooking, remove and drain.
  3. After you have removed the pasta, turn the burner down to medium heat. Add the rest of your ingredients in the pan and let it cook for about 5 min. or until the cheese is completely melted.
  4. Add the pasta into the sauce and mix thoroughly.
  5. Layer the pasta into a 13×9 in. baking pan and then top with extra mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
  6. Bake for 20 min. or until heated through.

*** A word to the wise: This recipe made a GIGANTIC amount of food so be prepared for left overs! Here is the link to the recipe that I used, if you would like to reference it for any reason! Special thanks to whomever posted it, it was delicious! 🙂

The baked ziti was a hit for my family and my boyfriend so I hope all of you enjoy it as much as we did! What is your favorite food to make? What is your favorite food to eat? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb22

Monday Update: Six Month Anniversary Edition

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Monday Update: Six Month Anniversary Edition

Hey everyone and welcome to a new week here on lifewithlilred! On Saturday it was me and Kyle’s six month anniversary so we had a lovely day together to celebrate! We had the best time during our date day and I can’t wait to relive it as I type this out. But before I get started on how we spent our six month, here’s a friendly reminder of how cute we are:

kyle10

^^^ What a stud! The red head isn’t too bad either…

Kyle picked me up around two o’clock on Saturday afternoon to get our festivities started. We live about a half hour away from each other so during our drive back to his place we made a game plan for how we would like to spend the day. We decided on afternoon drinks while video gaming or watching Netflix, dinner, and then a night out at the movies to wrap it up!

 To start the afternoon drinks portion of our agenda, Kyle and I stopped at the Giant Eagle on the way home for some booze. I got Kyle a drink shaker as one of his Valentine’s Day gifts so we thought it would be fun to put it to use today. We had a bit of a hard time deciding on a drink that we could make because the only hard liquor that I really “do” is vodka, which Kyle isn’t a huge fan of. However, a bottle of sour berry and lemon vodka spoke to me and Kyle thought it sounded alright so we went for it. We then got some fruit punch and lemonade to mix with it as well as a back up pack of hard apple cider in case our concoction was sub par.

With our alcohol haul bagged up and ready to go, we headed back to Kyle’s house to have some quality time with the TV. But before we started our session of “Netflix and chill” we had a drink to make! Kyle broke out his new shaker (which he loved) and mixed up our berry beverage. It wasn’t bad except for the fact that the vodka was blue, the lemonade was a pale yellow, and the fruit punch was a raspberry red so when it was all mixed together it made the most disgusting dish water grey color. The drink tasted like a liquefied version of SweetTarts but it definitely tasted better if you avoided looking at the color of it. -_-

Once our drinks were made, we began our marathon of Wentworth, our latest TV obsession. When Kyle and I binge watch shows, we are SO serious about it. If we can’t knock out at least two episodes of it at once, we don’t even bother putting it on to begin with. This high focused level of Netflix watching calls for comfortable clothes so it was a must to change into our pajamas until our evening out at the movies. Kyle and I knocked out two episodes of Wentworth, at least ten games of Super Smash Bros., and a rousing tournament of Mario Kart Double Dash before we decided we were hungry.

Lucky for us, I prepared dinner for the occasion the previous day so all we had to do was let it heat in the oven. I love cooking for Kyle so I wanted to make a special dinner for him so that we didn’t have to bother dining out. I made a super cheesy dish of baked ziti, a pan of ficaccia bread, and cupcakes for dessert. At my house we have never really had ziti so I was a bit wary of how it would turn out. I also have never made ficaccia without my mom’s help so I was relived that they both turned out great! Kyle loved it and so did my family who I test drove the meal for when I prepared it at home. The ziti was rich, the bread was baked to a perfect crisp, and the cupcakes were so decadent so needless to say, we were stuffed silly!

After dinner we had an hour or so to kill before it was time for our movie so we knocked out another episode of Wentworth before we left. I told Kyle a few days ago that I wanted to see the latest horror flick that came out, The Witch. We rarely go to the movies so I thought it would be a good way to wrap up our anniversary day. There’s a theater that Kyle lives by called TinselTown and it’s the biggest movie theater I’ve ever seen so I was really excited when he picked out a movie time for that location!

Our show started at 7:40 and we made it in time to examine all of the movie posters that are hanging up in the hallways to promote upcoming films. I had a minor freak out when I saw that a new movie for The Little Prince (my favorite book) is coming out in March! After I calmed down, we got settled in the theater to wait for the movie to start. I had heard excellent reviews for The Witch and I love horror films so I was eager for the movie to begin.

But unfortunately…The Witch really missed the mark for basically everyone in the theater. I personally didn’t mind it too much because it was more of a period piece and very artistic but Kyle didn’t care for it at all. It was one of those movies that we were probably better off waiting for to come out on DVD but it was still fun to go! I felt bad that Kyle didn’t like it but I still enjoyed the flick well enough because I’m a big wierdo. 🙂

By the time we got home it was around ten o’clock and we were both exhausted so we popped in a movie and went to bed. Kyle and I had such a wonderful time celebrating our day together, despite the fact that he didn’t care too much for the movie! I’m so lucky to have had the best boyfriend on the planet for six whole months and I can’t wait for many more! I love you, Kyle Kyle! ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Six Month Anniversary Edition! I hope all of you had just as great of a weekend as I did! What was your favorite part of your weekend? What did you think of The Witch if you saw it? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb15

Monday Update: Valentine’s Day Edition

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Monday Update: Valentine’s Day Edition

Hellooo everyone and happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and a lovely Valentine’s Day if you celebrated. Yesterday was my first time ever celebrating Valentine’s Day with my boyfriend, Kyle, and it was certainly a day for the memory books! Take a look at us being cute and then let’s discuss:

^^^ I love us!!

Yesterday our day started out kind of late because we both slept in but it was so nice and much needed. By the time we got ourselves ready, it was already noon and we still had no idea what we wanted to do with ourselves for the day. Kyle and I are literally the worst at picking out places to go to for food, drinks, or activities so we usually just end up binge watching Netflix all day…Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

We went back and forth for a solid half hour on where to go for lunch and thanks to a shocking suggestion from Kyle, settled on an Indian buffet. I absolutely LOVE Indian food and Kyle has never tried it, nor do I think he wanted to that much! Spicy foods and Kyle don’t always get along too well. I’ve been talking about wanting some good Indian food for a while so it was definitely a pleasant and sweet surprise when he came up with that idea.

We Google searched for Indian restaurants close by and were presented with two options and a Kentucky Fried Chicken. We decided to go for Bombay Sitar because of the amazing looking food pictures we saw that were snapped on Yelp. After all of the last minute preparations at home, we were finally ready to go and I was SO excited and so insanely HUNGRY.

The thing about me, is that I’m one of the biggest babies on the planet. When I’m A) really tired or B) really hungry I turn in to such a little diva. Thankfully, the restaurant wasn’t too far away and we didn’t have to wait long to take part in the buffet so Kyle didn’t have to deal with too much sass! As soon as we walked in the restaurant, I began to droll because of how good everything smelled so needless to say, I tore that buffet up!

At Bombay Sitar, they brilliantly arranged the buffet in a vegetarian and meat section and I took a helping of everything that the vegetarian side had to offer. By the time Kyle and I made our rounds around the buffet, my plate was piled with food and I was ready for action. I couldn’t wait to get the first few forkfuls down my gullet but I was also looking forward to Kyle’s reaction to the food. I had a feeling that he would like it but it was a definite possibility that Indian food might not be his cup of tea.

Luckily, after our first few bites, I had nothing to worry about! Kyle completely devoured his plate full of Indian cuisine and went back for seconds and dessert. He even contemplated going back for thirds!! Success! Our lunch was absolutely to die for but let me tell you, mama needed a nap afterwards. Like I said, I adore Indian food and if it were up to me, I would eat it all the time. However, the richness of the dishes are my downfall and I’m always left feeling like I need to sleep for thirty-six hours straight after an Indian meal.

Once we got home, we decided to spend the afternoon in. We lounged in the robes that were deemed “too tattered” from the restaurant and villas Kyle works at, binge watched Wentworth, and played Mario Kart. We both agreed that the downtime would do us good and then in the evening we would go out for a light dinner and drinks. But leave it to the most indecisive/cutest couple ever to turn that idea into a wild goose chase!

We came up with the plan of going to a pet store and then hitting up a nearby restaurant to continue the festivities. I have my heart dead set on getting a bunny so Kyle was going to take me to snuggle up with some little critters and see if there were any that caught my eye. Unfortunately, the pet store was closed by the time we got there so we had to push dinner to the top of the priority list.

We began to drive around the shopping area we were in to scope out a nice place to go. Of course, with it being Valentine’s Day and all, every bar and restaurant was jam packed. We ventured on and brainstormed different places and ideas, which all ended up getting vetoed for some reason or another. At this point, I was getting sleepy from the drive and really just wanted to go back into our little basement bungalow. That’s when we both agreed on the idea to go to Pizza Hut and order the biggest, cheesiest, stuffed crust pizza that we could get our hands on.

Kyle and I had to laugh at the fact that it took us being twenty minutes away to come up with the idea that we should get a pizza – something that easily could have been done from home! After rerouting the trip, we ended up at the Pizza Hut that’s literally two minutes away from his house to order our pizza. We waited in store for our Extreme Cheese Lovers pie to bake, took the cute pictures seen above, and doodled on the little chalkboard they had set up that was obviously meant for children.

Finally, our pizza was ready and we headed back home. We piled our plates high, got back into our PJ’s, and turned Wentworth back on to continue our marathon. It. Was. Perfect. Kyle is watching the season premiere of The Walking Dead as I write this and soon it will be time for more pizza, more Netflix, and bedtime after the best first Valentine’s Day a gal could ask for. I love you, Kyle Kyle! ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Valentine’s Day Edition! How did everyone celebrate V-Day? What was the best or worst Valentine’s Day you’ve ever had? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb10

Dinner Date Night

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Dinner Date Night

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! On Monday night, my boyfriend, Kyle, and I stayed in and made dinner together. We had so much fun cooking our meal and it was nice to have Kyle as my cheerleader/helper. We made zucchini enchiladas and guacamole and it turned out so fantastic! Take a look at our finished product and then I’ll provide you with the recipes so that you can make your own:

IMG_6991.jpg

^^^ YUM!

Zucchini Enchiladas:

This dish is a staple at my home so it was easy to wing the recipe. At my boyfriend’s house there wasn’t a lot of the spices that I needed to bring the heat to the enchiladas so I improvised for that. I also wasn’t cooking for a large amount of people so feel free to double the recipe if needed. My version made eight enchiladas.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large zucchini
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 medium size red onion
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 package of sharp cheddar shredded cheese
  • salt
  • pepper
  • basil
  • oregano
  • cilantro
  • tortillas
  • salsa

Note that the original recipe calls for spices like cayenne pepper and cumin. The basil and oregano was what I was limited to – they are required in the recipe but are not the main herbs flavoring the dish.

Directions:

  1. Heat oil in a large pan and dice the vegetables. You will want them to cook until they’re golden.
  2. While the veggies are cooking, add in your herbs and spices. You’ll notice that I didn’t give an exact measurement for the seasonings and that’s because I rarely cook with the amount given on a recipe. I go a little crazy with my seasonings so feel free to add as much or as little as you wish.
  3. Now is a good time to preheat your oven to 350 while the veggies are almost done sauteing. Once the veggies are done, turn the stove top off and remove them from the heat. You will then pour the shredded cheese packet over your mixture and stir until the cheese is melted.
  4. While the oven is preheating, you will prepare the enchiladas for baking. Spray the bottom of a glass pan down with Pam and then put a layer of the salsa of your choosing on the bottom. Then you will fill your tortillas with three or so spoonfuls of the cheese and veggies, wrap them up, and place them in the pan.
  5. Once all of the enchiladas are rolled and ready, add a layer of salsa to the top of them and then sprinkle some cheese to top it off. Bake the enchiladas for 12-14 minutes and then remove from the oven.

Kyle and I also prepared a dish of guacamole together, as well. I was so happy that I had Kyle there to help me because he was such a pro at smashing all of the ingredients together! Here’s the recipe that I free styled for the guac:

Ingredients:

  • 1 avocado
  • 1 handful of extremely finely chopped red onion
  • cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon of water
  • juice of half a lemon

Directions:

  1. Cut the avocado in half and then peel away the skin from both halves. Then you will dice up the avocado and add it in to a medium mixing bowl. Be sure to remove the pit!
  2. Tear up your fresh cilantro and add that in to the bowl, as well.
  3. Chop up a small amount of red onion very finely and add it to the mix.
  4. Pour in your water and squeeze your half a lemon.
  5. Once all of your ingredients are in the bowl is when things get tricky. There wasn’t an adequate utensil at Kyle’s house for mashing our concoction so we settled for a spoon with holes in it. I was so bad at smashing our mixture so thank goodness for my muscle man to get the job done! The consistency of your guacamole is up to you. We settled for a medium consistency and it was the perfect mixture of smooth and chunky.

I love cooking for Kyle and it was so nice to have him hanging out with me in the kitchen while I prepared our meal. It was also great having him as my helper, too! Kyle kept the pit of “our first avocado together” to commemorate his helpfulness and our delicious meal – which I thought was the cutest thing ever! It’s our avocado baby. 🙂

So there you have it, Dinner Date Night with my beau! What is your favorite dish to cook for yourself or others? What dish is a staple in your household? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan4

Monday Update: New Year’s Eve Edition

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Monday Update: New Year’s Eve Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to the first Monday Update of 2016! On New Year’s Eve my darling boyfriend, Kyle, took me out on the most wonderful date night ever. We enjoyed dinner at Gervasi Vineyard, where he works as the assistant manager. In our over four months of dating, I had never eaten there before – asides from food heated up in the microwave, which so doesn’t count! When Kyle told me he had made New Year’s Eve reservations for us I was beyond excited! Take a look at us being a cute couple and then let’s discuss:

kyle!

^^^ I love us!!!

Gervasi Vineyard is one of the most gorgeous eateries in the Akron/Canton, Ohio area. There are three restaurants on the property, Tuscan style villas to stay in, an apple orchard, a beautiful lake, and of course – their vineyard! Kyle has been working there for close to five years and is amazing at his job. I kept telling myself it was only a matter of time until we had a special dinner there, so as I mentioned before, I was so thrilled when he told me about our reservations!

The entire night was so fun and even just getting ready to go to our 6:15 reservation was a treat. I got to help pick out Kyle’s outfit for the evening and it was so cool! Haha, I always love exploring a new wardrobe! We got dressed to the nines and made our way to the restaurant, which he lives very close to. We were the perfect amount of fashionably early for our table and got seated right away so we could begin our meal.

One thing (of many) that I love about Kyle, is that no matter what restaurant we go to, he always plans the dishes that I can eat ahead of time by researching their menu because I’m a strict vegetarian. Since we were on his home territory, however, he spent the whole car ride there describing all of the different things that I could order. Believe me, by the time that we were seated I was drooling like a dog in front of a tub of peanut butter. Classy! 😉

Thanks to Kyle’s expert descriptions of all of my options, I didn’t even have to look at the menu to know what I wanted. For our first course, I chose their butternut squash soup and Kyle got the apple salad. We also ordered a bottle of their sparkling white wine to enjoy with our meal. Butternut squash is my all time favorite kind of soup and it was seriously the best bowl I’ve ever had. It was so creamy and perfectly seasoned and it was so worth the four month wait to try it out!

For our entrees, Kyle ordered the lobster gnocchi and I opted for their linguini with an aglio e olio sauce topped with fresh spinach and arugula. While we waited for the main course we were serenaded by the saxophone player who was performing in the restaurant and it was all so very romantic! Our entrees came very quickly and they were to die for – just like the entire meal!

We finished the main course in record timing and then ordered a small dish of their bread pudding for dessert. We could barely finish half of the serving before tapping out but it was delicious! It had a caramel sauce and rum ice cream to top if off and it’s safe to say that I was in carbohydrate heaven! Once we completed the three course meal, I felt like I was going to explode from my belly full of food. I also was wearing a skirt that wasn’t very forgiving so I’m sure the whole restaurant got a nice view of my big ol’ gut! 😉

To finish our night, Kyle and I went to Giant Eagle after we decided that we could move again and purchased a bottle of champagne to toast with. It was around eight thirty when we got home and after a glass or two of champagne and a few episodes of Malcolm in the Middle, I was beyond ready for bed. I ended up falling asleep at nine thirty, well before the commemoration of the new year at midnight!

By the time I woke up the next morning, I felt like such a goon for falling asleep so early and missing what would have been our first new year’s kiss together. Lucky for me, I have a boyfriend who’s always coming up with sweet surprises for his girl! Kyle showed me a poorly lit but super cute picture that he took of him giving my sleeping self a kiss on the forehead at midnight for proof that I still got my new year’s kiss. How lucky am I? Very. ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: New Year’s Eve Edition! My evening was straight out of a fairy tale and I’ll never forget it. I hope all of you had just as great of a time celebrating! How did everyone ring in the new year? Is there a place similar to Gervasi Vineyard in your neck of the woods? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love and happy 2016. -Sarah

Dec30

Hi, Best Friend!

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Hi, Best Friend!

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! Yesterday I had the joy of hanging out with one of my dearest friends all day and I’m simply thrilled about it. One of my best friends, Tyler, is in the Army and is stationed far away from my neck of the woods. Tyler and I met during a play that we did, Suicide in B Flat, and have been inseparable ever since and I haven’t seen him for over a year. This past day we got to reenact our classic “Middle Aged Monday” hang outs, where we day drink, craft, and watch silly movies. We had an absolute ball candle making, drinking blueberry flavored beer, and watching Vacation! Take a look:

Tyler picked me up around noon yesterday and we had our usual MAM (Middle Aged Monday, falling on a Tuesday) lunch at Chipotle. After we dined, we hit up Hobby Lobby to find a craft for us to do while we drink. We decided on candle making, which we usually have frowned upon before because all of the products were so expensive. But lucky for us, all of the supplies we needed were half off!

Tyler and I perused Hobby Lobby and found the perfect jars, fragrances, and colored waxes for us to use during our craft. We settled on a peach mango fragrance and then headed to Giant Eagle to get our day drinking alcohol of choice. Usually we always drink wine during our MAM hang outs, but we went for beer this time around because wine always makes us sleepy during early afternoon get togethers. At first I didn’t care for the blueberry flavored beer but after one bottle it was surprisingly delicious!

Once we purchased all of our gear for a middle aged themed hang out, we made the trek back to my place to get our craft and drank on. The candles ended up being hella easy to make because literally all we had to do was pour the wax, wick, and a fragrance into the jar! Talk about easy peasy lemon squeezy! Tyler and I have played around with the idea of making candles before but we had never dreamed that it would be so simple!

After our craft, which ended up being a whopping five minutes to make, we delved into our six pack of Wild Blue beer and put on Vacation. We had a complete blast watching the movie and laughed until we cried. Once our movie was done, we spent time taking some cute picks while quoting basically the entire movie. It was perfect.

I had the most amazing time with one of my dearest friends and it felt so good to see him after such a long time of being apart. When Tyler is away, we keep in touch via Skype, FaceTime, and text – but nothing is better than being face to face with each other! Middle Aged Monday (falling on a Tuesday) was a great success and I can’t wait for my best friend to come home again soon!

Yesterday I got to say Hi to my Best Friend and I couldn’t be happier. We had the best time and I can’t wait to see him again soon! Who has a best friend that lives far away from you? What do you do to keep in touch? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec15

Treat Yoself! Schofferhofer Edition

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Treat Yoself! Schofferhofer Edition

Helloooo everyone and happy Tuesday! I hope you’re all having a fantastic week so far. So usually I’m not a big beer drinker, I’m definitely more of a wine kind of gal. But over the weekend I just had to pick up a special alcoholic treat from the grocery store, Schofferhofer’s grapefruit beer. It was one of the first drinks that I had at the bar when I turned 21 this past summer and it’s remained one of my favorites ever since. Let’s discuss:

Right now the weather in Akron, Ohio has been insane. It’s the middle of December and we’ve had temperatures in the high 60s, which is completely unheard of in our neck of the woods. Last year around this time, I can vividly remember brutal snowfalls and way below freezing temperatures. With the warm winter time weather, I developed a taste for summer over the weekend that I just couldn’t shake.

While grocery shopping with my mom at the local Giant Eagle, I swung by the alcohol department to pick up some Christmas gifts. As I browsed through the different seasonal beers, a four can pack of the Schofferhofer grapefruit beer caught my eye. I had no intention of picking anything up for myself but I just couldn’t help it! I had summer on my mind and my favorite summer time drink was calling my name.

When I saw the beer I was taken back to this past summer – my first summer of being 21. I was a big fan of ordering the tasty grapefruit flavored wheat beer at the bars, compliments of the suggestion from my sister. I love all things fruity and sweet so it was the perfect beer for me to sip on during summer nights out. What I love about Schofferhofer is that it tastes carbonated, to the point that it feels like drinking a soda. It’s SO good. After the montage of sweet summer time played through my head, I couldn’t not grab a pack of Schofferhofer from the shelf!

Over the weekend I enjoyed two cans of my favorite beer per night and it was just the little Treat Yoself pick me up that I needed. The best thing about being 21 isn’t going out to the bars to get completely white girl wasted – it’s being able to have a nice casual drink at home without having your parents jump down your throat about it! If you’re of legal drinking age and are looking for a new (super girly) beer to try, I can’t recommend Schofferhofer’s grapefruit beer enough! It’s delicious!

beer1.jpg

So there you have it, this week’s Treat Yoself! Schofferhofer Edition. Every once in a while you need to get a little something special for yourself and that’s exactly what I did this past weekend. Who has tried my favorite beer before? Are there any super fruity beers that you recommend? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov28

Thanksgiving Fun

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Thanksgiving Fun

Helloooo everyone and happy Saturday! I hope all of you had a fantastic Thanksgiving and Black Friday if you participated in the madness! I had a great holiday in my neck of the woods. I got to spend it with my crazy family and handsome boyfriend and it was a blast!

I woke up bright and early to help my mom cook our Thanksgiving meal. I hate to brag but I made a pretty mean stuffing and green bean casserole! The morning went by quick and then by the time I knew it my sister, Kristen, was ready to get picked up to join in on the festivities. As you can see by this picture, I was having a ton of fun:

sis1

Kristen and I spent the afternoon finishing some cooking, snuggling, having girl talk, and watching season four of American Horror Story. I had the best time being able to spend the afternoon with her back at the home front because she moved into her own apartment recently and I miss her like crazy! Thankfully, we took enough sister pictures with each other to last a life time so I’ll have a lot of pics to look through and smile/laugh at.

My boyfriend, Kyle, spent the afternoon with his family and joined us for dinner at five. By four thirty the countdown began and we were all checking out the window and staring at the food we were about to devour for a solid half hour or so. Finally, my sweet Kyle came rolling in but rolling was more like hobbling because he sprained his ankle really badly last week and is on crutches. So once Kyle was safely inside my house and seated it. was. ON!

Our Thanksgiving feast at casa de la Mushenheim was delicious! There was stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, and green beans for days. There was also turkey for the non-vegetarians in the household, AKA Kyle, my dad, and my brother. I annihilated two extremely large plate fulls of side dishes and was about ready to burst at my seams afterwards…So worth it.

After dinner, we lazed around the house and enjoyed some coffee and pie for those who could handle eating another bite. We then decided on going to see Mockingjay Pt. 2 in theaters which was a lot of fun. Or as much fun as it can possibly be, considering I’ve never read the books or seen any of the movies. But Kyle, my mom, and Kristen are big fans of The Hunger Games series so it was nice to see all of them have a cute little holiday outing even if that meant just sitting along for the ride. The movie theater was pretty empty too so we got awesome seats and were able to put our feet up and comment on the film without annoying the other moviegoers too much!

Once we returned home from our movie excursion, Kyle and I headed back to his place and went right to bed. I ended up sleeping in until noon yesterday which seriously never happens anymore – it was great! I had such a nice time on Thanksgiving and I was so happy that my boyfriend was able to be there to join us. ❤

So there you have it, all of my Thanksgiving Fun from this past Thursday! How was everyone’s holiday? Who scored some amazing Black Friday deals? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov26

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

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Helloooo everyone and a very Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I hope you have a marvelous day celebrating or doing whatever it is that you do with your family and loved ones. I’ll keep this post short and sweet since I plan on eating every second of every minute of every hour today so let me just list a few things that I’m grateful for and then I’ll be on my merry way:

  • My family: Despite how annoying they are, I still love em!
  • My friends: I only have like three, but I still love em!
  • My boyfriend: He’s the best! What a guy! ❤
  • My dog: SHE’S SO CUTE!
  • My education: I love college. #asherroth #kegstand
  • My blog and all of my fantastic readers: lifewithlilred wouldn’t be the same without all of you SO THANKS! 🙂

^^^ There’s a lot more that I could list but I’ll leave it at that because a big old plate of stuffing is waiting for mama…along with a whole lot of self loathing afterwards. 😉

Have a beautiful day to all of my friends here on lifewithlilred and I’ll talk to all of you very soon! What is everyone thankful for today? What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov21

Everyday Granola Recipe

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Everyday Granola Recipe

Helloooo everyone and happy weekend! My recent food obsession as of late has been all things granola. I love it plain, with yogurt, or with milk and thanks to my mom finding this delightful little recipe on http://www.thekitchn.com, I’m able to enjoy it every day.

The recipe for Everyday Granola is the perfect combination of sweet and salty and I feel so energized after I eat it thanks to all of the protein packed in through seeds and nuts. Here’s the recipe if you would like to make your own Everyday Granola:

   Ingredients:

  • 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
  • 1 cup chopped nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, or pecans (I use pecans)
  • 1 cup dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut (optional)
  • 1/2 cup seeds, such as sesame or pumpkin (I use pumpkin)
  • 1/2 cup (lightly packed) light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup oil, such as olive or walnut (I use olive)
  • 1/2 cup sweetener, such as honey or maple syrup (I use honey)
  • 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup chopped dried fruits, such as cherries or apricots, or whole currants or blueberries (I use raisins)

   Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
  • In a large bowl, mix the oats, nuts, coconut, seeds, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, liquid sweetener, and vanilla. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir to combine. Add the egg whites and combine thoroughly.
  • Scrape the mixture out onto a half sheet pan (18 x 13 inches) and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until the mixture is light brown and toasty. Stir after 20 minutes, moving the crispy bits from the perimeter into the center and distributing the granola in the center out toward the edge of the pan.
  • Remove the pan from the oven and add the dried fruit. Using a spatula, stir to combine the mixture and let the granola cool. The mixture may be sticky, but it will harden as it cools. Transfer to an airtight container.

If you have never checked out http://www.thekitchn.com, then both my mom and I encourage you to do so! It’s filled with simple and delicious recipes, like their Everyday Granola, for you to enjoy. This granola is seriously to die for and I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I do! What is your favorite healthy snack? What is your favorite junk food snack? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah