2013

Everything is going pretty well out here in CO. 68 and sunny two days ago (sorry midwesterners!). My 25th birthday was a week ago, we ate some awesome sushi in Denver and I got to see one of my best friends from back home (who is moving out here!). Also, as always, I've made some awesome food lately, I included two of my favorite quick ones.

My birthday presents from Fernando! Best husband ever award :)

Wedding planning is intense, 115 save the dates addressed, took forever.

I was so excited to see Lauren in Denver on my birthday!

First recipe is for another great baked oatmeal, this one I made up myself and I actually like it better than the apple cinnamon one in my last post! The second is an amazing black bean corn salsa that even my Mexican husband claimed was the best he's ever had!

Blueberry Peach Baked Oatmeal 

Take 1&1/2 cups whole wheat rolled oats (pretty inexpensive in grocery stores) mix with 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Add in 1 cup diced peaches (I used canned), 1/2 cup dried blueberries (or fresh!), and 1/2 cup chopped peacans. Add 1 cup milk (I used almond milk to make it vegan & less calories) and mix well. Bake at 325 for 35mins

Black Bean Corn Salsa

 

9 oz frozen corn, thawed

1 tomato, chopped

1 small hass avocado, diced

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1 scallion, chopped

1 lime, juice of

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp cilantro

salt and fresh pepper

1 15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions: 

Combine beans, corn, tomato, onion, scallion, cilantro, salt and pepper. Mix with lime juice and olive oil. Marinate in the refrigerator 30 minutes. Add avocado before serving.

We served it with fish tacos, just grilled some tilapia filets with lemon juice, pepper, tejon seasoning, and garlic.

Food For Thought

As most of you know I cook a lot. I make most things from scratch because I've found that many preservatives used in processed food cause stomach issues for me (only took 23yrs to figure this out!). I usually share pictures of my creations (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) but I rarely share the recipes unless asked. So since we hiked at Garden of the Gods all day and I'm tired I've decided to do a food post, feel free to drool :) 

Garden of the Gods in Manitou Springs, Colorado

First up is possibly the BEST pizza I've ever had, and I've had some pretty good pizza! This recipe sounds complicated but it really isn't at all, and is definitely worth the work. One of our favorite recipes!

Pear Gorgonzola Grueyere Pizza with Crumbled Bacon and Pine Nuts!

This recipe was taken from a great healthy cooking blog titled The Realistic Nutritionist

My Photo

Photo from The Realistic Nutritionist

You'll Need:

1 8 inch whole wheat pizza crust (I used the premade dough from Whole Foods)

1 sliced (ripe!) Bosc pear

1 large medium onion chopped

2 pieces of maple bacon, crisped and crumbled (I used 4 pieces of Whole Foods think cut bacon from the deli)

3/4 cup of crumbled gorgonzola cheese

1/2 cup of sliced grueyere cheese

1/4 cup  of chopped nuts (I used pine nuts but I would recommend slivered almonds)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and pepper

cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly greese a pizza sheet with cooking spray

2. In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onions and cook until soft, brown and carmelized. In the same saucepan, cook bacon until crispy, set aside.

3. Spread onions over the crust, being sure to cover the entire crust

4. Spread 1/2 gorgonzola cheese mixture over the onions. Carefully slicing the pears, slice into thin pieces. Place the pears over the pie in a circular fashion. Place sliced greyere slices over the pears. Cover with rest of the gorgonzola, crumbled bacon bits, nuts and salt and pepper.

5. Toss a little bit more olive oil over the pie and bake for 8-12 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned.

6. Enjoy!

I go through breakfast phases where I eat the same thing everyday for weeks, sometimes even months. Oatmeal is almost always my winter phase, who doesn't love a nice warm bowl of baked oatmeal on a cold winter morning!? This recipe is super easy and cheap, also it keeps pretty well in the fridge for about two weeks! If you're in a dry, high altitude climate (like me) you may need to add a little extra milk/water. 

Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal

This recipe was taken from another great blog, Eat Yourself Skinny

My Photo

You'll Need: 

2 cups whole wheat rolled oats

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp chopped pecans

1/4 cup raisins

2 cups diced apples (I used Fuji)

3 eggs

2 cups fat-free milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 Tbsp Splenda brown sugar blend (I used 1/3 cup light brown sugar instead)

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Photo from Eat Yourself Skinny

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease an 8-by-8-inch baking dish and set aside.

In a small bowl filled with hot water, allow raisins to soak for about 5 minutes until nice and plump.  In a large bowl, mix together oats, baking powder and salt.  Stir in apples, pecans and raisins, then set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Pour over dry mixture and gently stir to combine.  Pour everything into greased dish and bake for about 1 hour, until golden brown.  Serve and enjoy!

Last is what I made for dinner last night, Mexican Lasagna! Now I take a risk anytime I make anything remotely Mexican, my husband is 100% Mexican, his parents are from Mexico and he is used to authentic food, but even he loved this! I strongly encourage you to make your own sauce, this homemade jalapeno chili sauce really makes this recipe.

Mexican Lasagna

This recipe was created by me, originally derived from a vegetarian recipe

Not the best picture but I promise it tastes amazing!

You'll Need:

For Sauce: 

1 15oz can low sodium tomato sauce

2 (8oz) cans low sodium fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 white onion chopped

3 tablespoons minced garlic

2 jalapenos finely chopped with seeds removed

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons chili powder

sea salt & ground pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

For Lasagna:

12 lasagna noodles cooked

1 package (15oz) ricotta cheese

2 cups pepper jack cheese

2 cups shredded pork (or chicken)

1 can black beans

1 can pinto beans

Directions:

Sauce:

Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat, saute garlic, onion, and jalapenos until onions are tender, about 7 minutes.

Add remaining sauce ingredients, except salt, heat to boiling then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Stir in salt.

Lasagna:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ricotta and pepper jack cheeses. Combine black and pinto beans. Spread 1.5 cups of the chili jalapeno sauce on bottom of a greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan; top with 4 lasagna noodles. Spoon 1/3 of cheese mixture, bean mixture, and pork over noodles, top with 1 cup sauce. Repeat until all ingredients are used, ending with sauce on top.

Loosely cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. 

Serve and Enjoy!

So we've finally moved into our new apartment, it's alright for now, after all it has a roof and four walls (The rental market in Colorado Springs is intense right now, so everything is way overpriced). The good news is that we have an awesome view (see below)! I was also accepted into graduate school at UCCS last week. I had my in person interview and they liked me so much they accepted me on the spot, it felt pretty darn awesome I must admit (I don't think I've ever been told I'm "perfect" for anything in my life). So I will begin my MA in Special Education next month, and I couldn't be more excited! We're still getting settled in (and unpacked!) but we're loving CO and we're so grateful that we get to live in this wonderfully beautiful state!

Things I've learned so far in CO:
- Doing anything remotely involving any kind exercise in altitude is no joke.
- You actually do get used to waking up with nose bleeds.
- Living in a city of 500,000 people is too much for me, I long for a farm or mountain cabin now more than ever.
- Finding a job, any job, around the holidays is basically impossible.
- People out here are way more dog friendly, and outdoorsy, and nice.
- I have a "midwest accent"?
- I miss my family even more now that a plane, instead of car, ride separates us.
- There are legit gangs, and a very high crime level in COS. Who knew?

- ^Therefore your property & car insurance rates double...
- The only thing I enjoy about large cities is the access to awesome food & booze.

Get ready for picture overload. Sorry but I've been without internet for over a month now and I've gathered a lot of pictures. Plus I live in Colorado, everything is beautiful!

View from our apartment balcony during the day & night. I'll have to get another picture when the sun is rising, the light coming off Garden of the Gods in the morning is absolutely breathtaking.

 View from in front of the picnic table

First hike. 6800ft altitude is unforgiving.

What happens when you have an apartment but the army has all your household goods:

 cards on the balcony, our nightly entertainment for the first week.

cheap wine in styrofoam cups, I like to keep it classy.

We've been trying to do weekend adventures to cool places, the first was to Frisco, CO, which for those of you who ski/snowboard is right by Copper Mountain.

Drive up to Frisco from Denver

The BEST pizza I've ever had! Boatyard Grille 

Second adventure was in our own backyard, well 5miles from our apartment to be exact, Seven Falls!

If you're ever in Colorado Springs this park is WAY worth the entrance fee, it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, the pictures don't even do it justice!

185 steps up to the "Eagles Nest" sounds easy, but 7,000ft up everything becomes harder, specifically breathing.

At the top of the Eagles Nest, ignore my messed up hat :)

So the coolest thing about this park is they give you a 24hr pass so you can come back at night and see the falls all lit up. Below is all seven falls connected, as seen from the Eagles Nest.

Still acclimating...

After you climb up the stairs of all seven falls (may feel like torture) you get to two hiking trails at the top, which take you to more waterfalls, this was at the end of the "Midnight Falls" trail.

Top of the Eagles Nest

All seven falls lit up

"Hill Falls" the bottom waterfall named after the current owner

All seven falls during the day, as seen from the Eagles Nest

A few random fun photos:

London really enjoys the dryer.

Manitou Springs winterized after the first snow. This is my favorite town around Colorado Springs, we tried to live here but couldn't find a rental.

Awesome sunset from random parking lot.

I let Fernando decorate the guest bathroom, this is what happened, he now thinks it's his "man bathroom" and will only use it.

I won the fake vs real Christmas tree war, although I did promise to vacuum the needles up. You just can't beat a real tree!

One of the coolest pieces of downtown art I've ever seen! This is in downtown Colorado Springs and it fully powered by solar panels on top. It lights up and dims all night.

Lastly we were back in Medina for Thanksgiving, which included an "engagement" picture session and my bridal shower (I know we're doing it backwards).

We're pretty unphotogenic but a few turned out well :)

My matron and maid of honor, Kelsey Lawton and Nicole Blum, at my bridal shower!

(Shower was held at Connie's amazing recently renovated Victorian house off the square in Medina and it was amazing. So many people came out to celebrate with us and I am forever grateful to all of them.

My awesome wedding dress cupcake cake made by my friends at La Hoot Bakery in West Akron!

Hello Colorado!

We've finally made it out to Colorado Springs! We're currently living in a hotel but after a week of constant apartment/home tours and a whole lot of stress, we've finally found an apartment! Hopefully we'll be moving in early this week if everything goes well.

Moving has been quite the adventure, we had to delay driving to Colorado from Kansas because Remi was extremely sick. We ended up taking him to the emergency animal hospital on Kansas State's campus. $400 and a ton of pain meds later we still didn't have a definite answer but everyone's guess was that he had torn a muscle in his back. Luckily the pain meds have seemed to help and he seems to be feeling a lot better.

Fernando's truck all packed up to leave Kansas!

The last night I was in Ohio a bunch of my friends went out to dinner at House of Hunan. Lily insisted on bringing the creepiest doll ever. She also thinks Taylor Swift and I are the same person... haha

Creepy doll!

First hotel in Kansas, I missed my kitties! 

Remington wearing Fernando's Army Achievement Medal!

Army dog! Everyone in Fernando's unit in Kansas loved Remington!

The best dog park ever! Bear Creek Dog Park in Colorado Springs. It's 25 acres and a spring runs through it and pools in different areas. Remi absolutely loved it.

We're really looking forward to exploring Colorado more, we already love it here, there's so much to do! I'm having more trouble acclimating to the altitude (lots of nose bleeds) than Fernando. I think his body got used to Alaska since he was there for 3 years. My lame butt has only lived in Ohio and Kansas (thrilling huh!?) so I'm thinking it's going to take me awhile to acclimate. 

We love and miss you all! We'll see all you Ohio people (and anyone coming to my bridal shower) at Thanksgiving!