I have moved...

I have moved...come visit me at my new blog
A Crazy Beautiful
Cheers!

Farewell

Well, it is the last day of being in my 2o's...tomorrow I enter my 30's...wow, I can't believe the day is here. I am excited and scared although everyone tells me the 30's are your best years...so I will embrace it! Turning 30 will bring new and exciting things into my life and with that, a new blog at a new address and a lot more fun! Currently it is in the works and once it is up and running I will be sure to let all of you know. Until then, I will be refocusing myself and my family and looking forward to this new venture! Thank you for supporting my Little Nest....xoxo

Yummy!

So, I have a fabulous recipe to share with you...

Fresh Tomato Soup
15-20 tomatoes (I used campari, but I'm sure you could use any kind)
1 head of garlic roasted
3 cups vegetable broth
1 onion diced
3 tablespoons organic tomato paste
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 packet stevia
salt & pepper to taste
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut tomatoes in half and bake in oven on jelly roll pan for 25 minutes. At the same time you can begin roasting garlic in oven wrapped in foil. Roast garlic for 45 minutes. While tomatoes and garlic are in oven begin sauteing onion until golden brown in dutch oven. Once color is golden brown, add tomato paste, vegetable broth and all spices and stevia. Once tomatoes and garlic are done put half of onion mixture and half of tomatoes in blender. Blend until smooth. Repeat with the rest of the onion mixture and the rest of the tomatoes and roasted garlic. Then combine both batches back in dutch oven and heat until warm. Enjoy!
To make it creamier, I added raw goat cheese to each bowl before serving.

This recipe is great! I am doing a detox from this book right now, so I am not eating any breads or crackers, but I'm sure this soup would be fabulous with some crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich.

A favorite of mine

I am loving my Tom's right now! I bought my daughter a pair for Christmas and they look so cute on her. It took me a while to decide which ones I wanted and finally went for the black glitter after seeing them on my cousin. They are so comfy and even better, every time you buy a pair, they donate a pair to a child...so COOL!!! I am trying to figure out what color I want next....as for now, I am walking around in comfort and style!!

2011

We had a fabulous Christmas, a wonderful trip to Colorado to visit my brother and sister in law and my sweet little niece and now we just arrived home to ring in the new year with some good friends! Welcome 2011, I have big plans for you and big dreams too!!! I welcome you with open arms....xoxo

Have a Happy New Year and please be safe!

Do you have any cans of pumpkin lying around that you need to get rid of? If you were like me and bought enough cans of pumpkin puree to feed an army, then you are going to need a recipe to finish them off...
I made this last week and it was so scrumptious...It is from the Gourgeously Green website. Her book is great too!(*Note, it says to use fresh pumpkin and I used canned pumpkin and it turned out great. Also, I would not use as much red chile flakes as it was pretty spicy. Maybe 1/4 teaspoon instead)....enjoy!!

Creamy Pumpkin Soup with Brown Rice and Swiss Chard

2 tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp red chile flakes

7-ounce pumpkin, seeds and flesh removed, chopped into 1-inch cubes

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

3 cups whole milk (vegan: soy silk)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup chopped green Swiss chard, stalks removed

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Melt the butter in a heavy stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and red chile flakes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin, stock, milk, and salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender. Purée the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Add the chard leaves and simmer for 5 minutes. Spoon into warmed soup bowls, add a mound of rice to each bowl, and dust with the cinnamon.

Ahh-mazing!

Sarah Bareilles rocked it! Such an amazing show. The venue was gorgeous, her voice was beautiful and she is a pretty funny gal. Can't wait to see her again someday. Raining Jane opened for her and they were pretty amazing too! Sarah (yes, we are on a first name basis now) did a cover of Radiohead's "Nice Dream"...it gave me chills...WOW! Well, now it's back to the mad week before Christmas rush!!