Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Good morning! I just wanted to start off by saying I am terribly sorry that I have been neglecting my blog…I have been busy getting ready for my up-coming Cruise! I am going to Bermuda and I can not wait, so next week you will not hear from me. Then as soon as I get home next weekend I have to get ready for my NEW Job! Finally!! I am sooo tired of being at home all the time. Yes, its nice being able to have my house spotless and have a nice dinner made every night because I have all day to plan for something but, it is getting old being everyday.

Now, that I have my new job I will be able to start saving and putting money away for our wedding and start saving for a HOUSE! I never thought I would say that! So exciting!! 🙂

Anyhow, I hope everyone is having a good week so far and I wanted to share a recipe with you that I made the other day…..Shrimp Fra Diavolo. I do apologize because I do not have any pictures…I was kind of in the “zone” while cooking.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Ingredients:

• 1lb. Linguine
• 10 cloves of fresh garlic (minced)
• 1lb. shrimp (I used frozen/pre-peeled) (thaw, remove tails)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 medium red onion (diced)
• 2 Fresh green peppers (seeded and diced)
• Fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons white cooking wine
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Oregano
• 2 tabelspoons tomato paste
• 1 large (28oz.) canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 small can of diced tomatoes

Directions

1. Marinade– Combine 2 tablespoons E.V.O.O., 2 teaspoons white cooking wine, juice from half of a fresh lemon, 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon oregano. Whisk together until completely blended, then pour over peeled shrimp. Toss shrimp until completely coated then, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Cook Linguine according to package. Drain keep warm.
3. While pasta is cooking, heat 1-2 tabelspoons of E.V.O.O. in a large skillet or sauce pan. Add minced garlic, onions, green peppers and saute for 3-4 minutes or until onions are cooked and soft.
4. Stir in tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, shrimp, oregano and crushed red pepper depending on how spicy you prefer. Cook for about 5-6 minutes or until thickened.
5. Stir in cooked Linguine and serve hot
6. Enjoy!! 🙂

(*note: This is supposed to be a spicy dish but you can control the taste by adding more or less red pepper.)

Hope you guys enjoy this recipe and if you do try it, let me know how it turns out!

-Natasha xoxo

 

Hair color!

Evening! So I don’t know about you but I am really tired of this crazy Pittsburgh weather. One day it is bright and sunny and the next day it is snowing! I have had enough of the cold and I have had enough of the snow. I want summer and sun asap!

Today I went out to lunch with Lyle’s mom (my future mother-in-law). We went to Jioio’s which is an Italian restaurant that is close to where we live. I had a great Penne Alfredo.

Then, I went to Rite-Aid and bought a home hair color kit. I have only colored my hair at home twice before and I always had some sort of issues with it. The other day a commercial came on the television for a home hair coloring kit called Fat Foam from the brand Sammy’s. I thought it was interesting and decided to look it up online and see if there were any reviews on the product. To my surprise, all of the reviews seemed to be great, and conveniently I had a coupon of course. So, I decided to try it.This was great! I have never ever had an at home color kit that was so easy and non-messy. Since it is a foam it was easy to apply and does not drip. After the processing time my hair turned out great and had a healthy shine. I will definitely purchase this again! 🙂

Do you color your hair yourself? And if so what brand do you like?

-Natasha xoxo

Crowd Pleasing Guacamole

Good afternoon! So today I am starting my “Spring Cleaning” and as I am folding laundry I am day dreaming of summer…and thought today is a great day for guacamole. I love avocados and love eating them in spring and summer dishes. Avocados are high in “good” fats, are a good source of potassium that helps regulate blood pressure.

Crowd Pleasing Guacamole

Ingredients

• 4 fresh avocados
• juice of 3 fresh limes
• 4 Serrano chilies (seeded, and chopped)
• 1 whole red onion (chopped)
• 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon cilantro

Directions

Remove seed and scoop out the insides

Mince garlic

Seed and chop Serrano chilies

Chop red onion

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together

Ta dah! great tasting and healthy guacamole

For best results served chilled and Enjoy!

Guacamole is great served with tortilla chips or as a topping. 🙂

Hope you guys like it!

-Natasha xoxo

Is your food genetically modified?

I was browsing the internet and found this on Food Inc.‘s Facebook page. Lets tell congress that we want labels on the foods that are genetically engineered, because we have the RIGHT to know where our food comes from!

to learn more check this out! Center for food safety

I sent my letter because I want to know what I am eating and what I am feeding my family. This is such an important issue an we have the Right as Americans to know where our food comes from. Will you support the cause?

-Natasha xoxo

 

Five alarm-Vegetarian Chili

Good Morning! It is nice and sunny today but still really cold so I figured today would be a great day for some chili. We love our chili here and I am always getting asked “how can you make chili with out meat in it?” Well, just don’t put meat in it….you are still getting plenty of protein with all of the beans.

Recipe adapted from Robin Miller via foodnetwork.com (now we like a lot of “heat” in our chili, so I altered the original recipe to meet our five alarm taste buds.)

Its spicy healthy, packed full of protein and super easy!

Ingredients

• 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz.) can white beans (I used pinto), drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz.) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 bag of frozen Lima beans
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 Green pepper, chopped and seeded
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 fresh Jalapenos, chopped and seeded
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• 1 (10 oz.) box of couscous
• Shredded Monterey Jack cheese for topping

Directions

 

Drain and rinse all beans

Chop Green pepper

Chop Red onion

Seed and chop 4 Fresh Jalapenos

• Combine all ingredients  in a crock-pot/slow cooker except the couscous and shredded cheese.

  

  Combine all ingredients

  • Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
  • 10 to 15 mins before serving add couscous and cook till tender then top each serving with shredded cheese…Then Enjoy!

What is your favorite chili recipe?

Have a great Monday everyone!

-Natasha xoxo

 

Coffee and coupon clipping crazyness

So last night I had 2 nice glasses of wine and I was toasted…out cold! You can tell that my college days are officially over haha but, I am okay with that.

Today is going to be some what of a low key day. Making our Sunday trip to the grocery store with my big stack of coupons! I don’t know about you, but I am a coupon clipping MASTER! I mean yes, it is a giant pain to take the time and cut them all out but, you can save so much money!

Also, yesterday I finally received my degree in the mail! It seemed to take forever to get here considering I graduated in December…

🙂

After 3 years of my life and close to $100,000 later…I finally have my bachelors degree in Advertising/Marketing. Thank the lord!

Well, I am off to writing my grocery list and getting ready to fight the grocery shopping crowd at Giant Eagle.

Are you a coupon clipping master like myself? and if so what are the methods to your madness?

-Natasha xoxo

Wine and Relaxation

Good Evening my fine followers. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend so far. Today Lyle and I decided to stay home make dinner, drink some wine and watch movies. 🙂

We made a trip to Target just to browse and of course I came home with a book. He bought me Three Cups of Tea.I am so excited to read this book! I remember my Cross-Cultural Psychology teacher recommending this, so I am sure it will be good.

Tonight we are going to watch The Fighter and drink some wine and I am going to enjoy my salad while he chows down on a pizza.

Kale, mixed greens, carrots, mushroom and red onions…mmm

We love our Yellow tail! haha and maybe some day we will invest in some wine glasses…or maybe I’ll just wait until we do our wedding registry! 🙂

until next time…

-Natasha xoxo

Sunny Saturday

It is finally the weekend, thank goodness! Last night Lyle and ordered in and had fish sandwiches, they were huge and so good. As you may or may not know I do practice being vegetarian, but I do eat fish and seafood every now and then. Not all the time just occasionally. I know, I know I guess I really can’t label myself as a vegetarian, but I am slowly eliminating fish as well. Since I have stopped eating meat my energy level shot up and I started to feel “healthy” again.

Now I am not trying to preach the no-meat movement but I think everyone should research and learn about the food you are eating. My friend Alyssa introduced me to this movie called Food Inc. It is a documentary about the food we eat every day and where it comes from. If you are interested in the food you eat, I highly recommend you renting it! It’s very interesting and informative. After I saw this movie I stopped eating meat almost immediately.Here is the website if you wanted to check out the trailer for the movie. http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Yesterday I was also watching my girl ELLEN!!I love her and her show….But anyhow…She had this dietitian on the show who is a vegan and just came out with this new book called Veganist by: Kathy Freston it sounded interesting and decided to look into it. After researching the book I decided to order it…I’m a sucker for new books! I can’t wait to read it because I want to learn more about Veganism and becoming vegan. I don’t know if I have the will-power to go completely vegan but I want to start cutting down on dairy and animal products….so we will see. After I read the book I will review it on here.

That is all for now.

-Natasha xoxo

Five things Friday

Afternoon! So, I have been reading blogs for a while now and I love getting new ideas for new blog posts. One blog that I love Cupcakes and Cashmere is a fashion blog and she gave me the idea to write about 5 random things…whether it be something I like, dislike, or something I am thankful for.

So my 5 things for today are:

1) Reading this months and last months issue of BRIDES Magazine.

I absolutely love getting the new issues every month! I actually look forward to it…love looking at all the different dresses.

2) LOVE this wedding dress!

Front

Back

I am in love with this dress and I MUST try it on even if that means road tripping to find it at the closest store. I love that it is simple yet elegant and has the “vintage” feel with the lace. Love, Love, Love!

3) Grapefruit for breakfast.Grapefruit is a great breakfast choice because it has a lot of health benefits. They are high in fiber and low in calories. So, if you are trying to cut back on calorie consumption, try eating a grapefruit. They are delicious!

4) Ruffled Blog

This blog is awesome if you like everything vintage and weddings. They have a lot of great ideas and DIY projects. Love it!

5) Love this picture of Lyle (my fiance)

Hahaha! I’m pretty sure he isn’t going to like the fact that this is out there for everyone to see but I thought it was funny. I was going through old photos and found this and couldn’t stop laughing…he’s a goof and I love it!

Have a great day everyone!

-Natasha xoxo

Afternoon read

Good Afternoon to all of my million followers! ha-ha Just kidding its more like 2. Anyhow I wanted to talk about this book I am currently reading. It’s called The China Study by T.Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II.

It’s a great book for “starting implications for diet, weight loss and long-term health”. This book goes into detail not only about healthy weight loss, but shows how the things that we eat are directly related to the sickness/diseases or aliments we may come in contact with. I am completely consumed with this book…I definitely  recommend this book to anyone who is interested in their long term health. So if your looking for a new read, get this! You will be glad you did – it’s very interesting!