Tag: Iowa state fair

August 21, 2013

Random Goodness

It’s been a bit since I have posted so I have lots or randomness to share!

1. Iowa State Fair and Alan Jackson Concert

I went to the final day at the Iowa State Fair Sunday (kid-less and husband-less) and had so much fun! We spent most of our time at the Iowa Craft Beer tent, but we did leave to check out all of the award winning animals too. I tried the famous Shrimp Corn Dog which was amazing! I also got a cup of chocolate chip cookies, had some chili/cheese fries and an apple cookie. Needless to say I was NOT feeling well on Monday!

The Alan Jackson concert was also great! My cousin, Kristin and I saw Alan Jackson last year in Cedar Rapids. We decided to go see him again (maybe this will become a yearly tradition?!) Gary Allan opened up for him, which I had never seen in concert and he was also great. Kristin and I had a lot of fun dancing and singing along. The night ended with an awesome fireworks display at the grandstand. Perfect way to end the 2013 Iowa State Fair.

2. I like Kombucha

I have tried Kombucha several times and have not been too impressed, but I was at Whole Foods the other day and decided to pick up another bottle.

Guava Goodness is the one that won me over! If you are not a fan of Kombucha yet, give Guava Goodness a chance because it yummy! It also gave me a boost of energy and is probably a bit healthier then another cup of coffee. I know there are health benefits of Kombucha, but not sure of them all. I also know it’s pretty easy to make. I definitely need to look into this further!

3. Pumpkin Apple Muffins

Because of the cooler weather last week, I was getting super excited for fall stuff, BUT of course this week it has been between 90-100 degrees out again! URGH! Anyways, I made these Monday morning for my very special guests! They turned out great! You can find the original recipe here.

I made some alterations which you can follow below!

Ingredients

2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup Sunflower Oil
2/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2/3 cup almond milk
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup hot water
2 cups apples, chopped

I omitted the streusel topping all together

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line muffin tin with paper liners
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
Add the oil, maple syrup, milk, pumpkin, and vanilla to the dry ingredients.
Fold in the hot water and the apples until evenly distributed.
Spoon batter into muffins tins.
Bake 20-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.
Remove to wire rack to cool.

4. My baby got his first haircut last week 🙁

Yepp, his baby mullet is no longer!

He did an okay job at first sitting in the chair with his cape, but shortly got antsy. No screaming and crying though! Overall, we were pretty happy with the experience!

Doesn’t he look like such a big boy?!?

5. Go to Pier 1 Imports

One of my favorite places to shop is Pier 1 Imports. I love shopping for different decor items for the home. During the fall they always come out with some really cute things! It can be dangerous for me to go in there. Christmas is especially dangerous when they have all of their ornaments and all other sorts of Christmas goodness!

I signed up for their e-mail alerts and this week they sent me a coupon for $5 off $25 or more OR $10 off $40 or more! If you go to their website here, on the front page they have these coupons available for you too! They also have some great sales going on, so go get a head start on your fall and Halloween shopping NOW!

What do you know about Kombucha? What’s you favorite flavor?

August 14, 2013

Happy Hump Day!

Happy Hump Day! Yes, it’s Wednesday! We have made it through half of the week and I am looking forward to the weekend.

Have you made it out to the Iowa State Fair yet? If you have not, you have only 5 days left to check it out! You do not want to miss the “one and only”.

This week has been gorgeous out. The weather is hinting towards Fall and it is getting me more and more excited. Yesterday, I opened up our whole house and it felt so nice to get some fresh air. Monte is also enjoying the nice weather. He has been playing outside a lot!

If you look verrrry closely … Monte is down underneath the willow tree playing. He loves it under there!

Yesterday I worked on some Pinterest projects around the house. One project I have been working on since Memorial Day! I HAVE to get it done soon! I will definitely share them, when they are finished.

I also did some baking and cooking. I made Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins and Greek Marinated Chicken. They both turned out great!

I started with the muffins. I have been craving some baked goods in the morning, so I found this recipe to see if it would curb that craving. It is also healthier! So far, it has worked! They are delish!

The original recipe for the Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins can be found here. But, below are the small changes I made!

Ingredients:
2.5 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup plain low fat greek yogurt

2 eggs

1/2 cup honey

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 TBSP ground flax seed

1 tsp vanilla

2 ripe bananas

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray tin with non-stick cooking spray or line 12 muffin tins with silicone or foil liners.
2. Place the oats in the food processor and pulse for about 10 seconds. Add remaining ingredients to the food processor.

3. Process until everything is mixed together and oats are smooth.

4. Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

I started by taking the oats and flax seed and placed the ingredients in my Vitamix (which I LOVE).

I pulsed it until it was a flour mixture.

Then I added all the ingredients INCLUDING dried cranberries! This made 18 large muffins!

I also made the Greek Marinated Chicken. I made a few changes to the recipe, which you can find below but the original recipe can be found here.

I used Greek plain yogurt and I used only about 1 1/2 pounds of chicken. The recipe called for 3 1/2 – 4 lbs of chicken, but while I was making the marinade, I felt that if I added more chicken you would not be able to taste much flavor. I also did not marinade for 30 minutes in the fridge. I took everything, mixed it really well in a large bowl and made sure the chicken was coated. I then placed the chicken directly into a 9×13 baking dish and placed it into the oven.

Boy was I right! I am glad I only used 1 1/2 lbs of chicken because the flavor was wonderful! Our house smelled amazing too! We even had a little leftover, so I can put in a Flat Out with baby spinach and a laughing cow wedge! I definitely recommend this recipe!

What new recipes have you tried this week?

August 11, 2013

Iowa State Fair: Kids

Hello everyone! I hope you had an awesome weekend! We definitely did 🙂 We made it out to the Iowa State Fair yesterday with Monte and had a blast.

There are so many different things to do and see there with kiddos. Of course, we were not able to do and see everything. Monte could only handle being there for a few hours, but we surely jammed in a lot!

First stop, was the DNR building. I actually have never visited before and did not realize how many cool and kid friendly things they had. Inside the building they had multiple booths with different activities such as puzzles and coloring. In the center was a HUGE aquarium full of lots and lots of different fish!

Outside was an area with lots of ducks, geese and a few turtles to look at.