Coffee Talk
I’m home alone without a child for the next hour.
For the first time in a month and a half.
I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF.
Actually, yes I do. EVERYTHING. Work, write, eat, shower, breathe, read, relax, work, what?
I’m mostly doing the responsible thing and working but my brain needed a little break, so I’m popping over here. Whoever thought it was a good idea not to send the toddler to summer school without cutting back on work was an idiot. And yeah, that was me.
It’s ok. We’re mostly having lots of fun. This week has been a little rough because I’m extra tired for whatever reason and most of our friends are gone for the holiday, but that just means today’s kid-free break is all the much more welcomed.
Anyways.
Do you know why I secretly love coffee talk days? It gives me an excuse to look at old Instagram pictures. 
It’s pretty much the only way I can remember what’s happened in the past month.
1// The Kynado discovered the existence of imposter Raffi the 2nd, a duplicate backup lovey in case he ever got so attached he couldn’t sleep without him and we lost the original. The world only slightly collapsed for a few minutes and then he put his first major life lesson behind him.
2// I made it to spin for the first time in, umm, a loooong time. A gym-hating toddler means I rarely make it to a class, but somehow, someway the stars aligned and he not only went into the childcare without tears, he managed to stay the whole time. If only I could bottle up the magic formula that made it happen and use it on repeat.
3// The fastest of fast, easy dinners. Zucchini ribbon noodles with shrimp, sundried tomatoes, oil, garlic, and white wine. I should probably write about my love affair with my spiralizer because every time I post a picture of zoodles I get questions about it. I’ll put that on my non-existent summer to-do list that never gets anything checked off of it.
4// Seriously. Babies and bubbles, what better entertainment can you ask for?
5// NACHOoooos. Seriously addicted. I think I went through a two-week phase where I ate them every.single.day for lunch. Black beans, roasted peppers, jalapenos, chipotle hot sauce, cilantro, and “cheese” made of either Daiya havarti and coconut milk, or blended cashews and red peppers. There’s a lot of things I’ve had to cut out of my diet but nachos will never be one of them.
6// The husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary this week. SEVEN years. That’s like almost an eternity. I can think of very few things I’ve liked consistently for seven years straight. Luckily, he’s one of them. This picture was from a friend’s wedding at the beach last year. I love that we share an anniversary. 
{Apparently when you have a child and aka no time, one of the arbitrary things to go is writing about your anniversary… 3 years // 4 years // 5&6 never happened.}
Stuff you might have missed: sweet potato chicken patties // summer cocktails // weaning woes
For more coffee talk: April // May // June
Roundups
I’m having trouble believing next this weekend is Labor Day weekend.
Source
Labor Day weekend. The end of white pants, white shoes, and more importantly, the symbolic end of summer. Kids are back in school and the mornings are damp with a dew. The chill in the air suggests the whisper of the impending fall, but it quickly fades and is replaced by the muggy summer heat we’ve become so familiar with the last few months.
I’m looking forward to fall like you wouldn’t believe: hoodies, scarves, boots, and lattes. Apples, pumpkins, cloves, and nutmeg. But part of me is mourning the end of summer. There were no weekends on the boat this year. No wakeboarding adventures. No wine festivals. No concerts on the lawn and no running races.
But our summer was full of plenty of joy: laughing, reaching, crawling, standing. The milestones we watched this summer were far more important than a few extra moments basking in the sun.
The cooler weather means more walks and runs with baby. Maybe some family bike rides. Hikes and hopefully some apple picking. But first we have to send off summer in style. With good food of course. 
Pull out that grill one more time and use it to add that unmistakable flavor to your burgers, buns, and veggies. Your Labor Day feast doesn’t have to mean mayo-laden potato salad and coleslaw, hot dogs and cheeseburgers. Think outside the box and keep things light and fresh this time around with some of these healthy labor day food ideas:
Black Bean and Roasted Corn Nacho Bites with Avocado Crema
Chickpea Quinoa Pineapple Burgers
Potato Rolls
Oven “Fried” Pickles with Skinny Herb Buttermilk Ranch Dip
Grilled Pesto Potatoes
Grilled Corn-on-the-Cob
Honey Balsamic Roasted Cherries
White Peach Cardamom Crumble
A unique burger, scratch made buns, fun veggie sides, and out-of-the-box desserts with end-of-summer fresh fruit. What better way to celebrate the end of a wonderful season?
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Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Bacardi via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Bacardi.
Join Bacardi in sending summer off in style tomorrow night for a chance to win $100 & $150 gift cards from Sur La Table during their chat on the ‘best of’ summer entertaining tips.
*Images belong to posts they are linked to.
Recipe
It’s Bowl week in the college football world, which means only one thing. There’s a lot of football watching going on here. Even more than usual. Let’s not even talk about how the basketball watching fits in to all of that.
It actually means one more thing. Football food is needed!
For most people, football means wings, dips, and beer. For us, it’s nachos. It’s a tradition that goes back to our early days of marriage when we’d go across the street, pick up some nachos from Moe’s, and go back to the apartment to watch the Panthers’ game.
We were you’re typical newlyweds, broke & jobless, so we considered Moe’s a fancy treat. Ahh, the little things. Of course, that also meant that Moe’s during every football game wasn’t going to happen, so we learned to make some pretty rockin’ nachos that year.
There are 2 keys to good nachos: the queso and the salsa. I’ve already divulged the secrets to my favorite queso dip recipe, so now it’s time to get to the homemade salsa part.
There are a million different fresh salsa recipes; this one is spicy and smoky, perfect for jazzing up nachos or eating plain with tortilla chips.
by Heather Neal
Keywords: appetizer snack vegan vegetarian Mexican
- 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies {such as Rotel}; drained
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- 1 adobo pepper with sauce, chopped {from can}
- Squirt of lime juice
- Dash of red pepper flakes
Cook onion and garlic over medium heat until start to soften.
Add tomatoes and adobo. Simmer over medium-low heat ~10 minutes.
Stir in lime juice and red pepper flakes.
Let cool before serving.
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Do you have any football-watching food traditions?
Psssst… Check out our nursery design idea! And learn how to not let your New Year’s Resolutions fail.
Recipe
Contrary to what a majority of recipes on this blog may imply, I’m not vegan.
Case in point:
Queso dip.
I think it’s a great way to eat, and 95% of the time, I do end up eating that way. Vegan, that is. However, the label “vegan” leaves out one very important component of a healthy diet: lack of freedom. I don’t like restriction. I like to be able to choose what I eat with each bite.
To me, healthy eating is two things:
1) Eating for health
2) Eating for enjoyment
And there’s easily room for both.
Take for example my love of Moe’s nachos. The husband and I both love Moe’s carryout, and often turn to it on football days, after long trips, or just when we feel like a treat. There’s nothing like the delicious cheesiness that is Mexican queso, especially when it’s smothered all over nachos.
So while I don’t eat cheese on a regular basis {neither my tummy nor my feet agree with it much}, there’s always room for a little queso.
The problem isn’t the cheese, really. The problem is Moe’s has started skimping on their portions. {!!} When you only put lettuce, black beans, and jalapenos on your nachos, you end up going home with a half-full take out box. No bueno.
The nacho-making isn’t the hard part. It’s mastering that gooey, oozy, slightly spicy queso blanco. Well, I’ve finally mastered it.
You can thank me later.
by with a Side of Sneakers
- 1/4 pound white American cheddar {available at the deli counter}
- 1/8 pound {a couple standard slices} pepper jack cheese {use Monterey jack if you don’t want a lot of kick to your dip}
- 1/4 cup white onion, finely diced
- 1/2 jalapeno, diced
- 1/16 tsp smoked cumin {or regular}
- 1/8-1/4 cup almond milk {or any milk}
- 1/8 cup amber or dark beer {optional..and go ahead, drink the rest;)}
- 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
In a small sauce pan, sauté finely diced onion over medium heat until the onion starts to brown. Stir in jalapeno and cook a few more minutes.
Rip the cheeses into smaller pieces and add to pot.
Slowly pour in a small amount of milk and whisk into melting cheese. Add beer if using. Slowly add milk/cheese until desired consistency is reached. Remember cheese will thicken quickly as it cools.
Stir in cumin and olive oil. Don’t skip the oil- it helps it not solidify so fast when you’re using it as a dip.
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Equally delicious as dip…
[Tweet “Imitate Moe’s queso dip at home! #copycat “]
…or imitation Moe’s nachos.
[Tweet “Check out this great homemade queso dip recipe!”]
Take that Moe’s and your rapidly diminishing portions. 
Don’t do cheese? Try this vegan queso blanco recipe instead.
If you liked this, try:
Cilantro Lime Rice
Sweet Potato Chicken Patties
Healthy Cinnamon Rolls
Right now on tiny sneakers: the potentially dangerous debate on who has it easier- working moms or stay at home moms. Go weigh in with your take.
Review
The husband and I spent last night in Concord on a double super secret mission. One that makes me an awesome wife. One that makes him an awesome husband. They’re entirely unrelated.
But it meant an excuse to stop at a restaurant for just one thing. {A very southern thing that I would have gagged at a few years ago.} Fried pickles.
Concord is a super commercialized area outside of Charlotte- known for a giant outlet mall and lots of chain restaurants.
In a struggle to find a non-chain restaurant last time we were in town, we stumbled upon Tavern at the Mills.
To be honest, the food choices aren’t all that fantastic; almost no vegetarian options, let alone vegan options.
But the beer is good…
and the fried pickles are insane.
This coming from the girl that hated dill pickles until a few years ago, and doesn’t particularly like deep fried foods that aren’t of the French fry variety.
But pop those suckers in a deep fryer and serve them with a side of spicy honey mustard, and you’ve got something worth writing home the interwebs about.
And because Blue Moon and pickles don’t a meal make, we got some barbecued nachos on the side.
A giant, face-sized plate of nachos.
Perfect for sharing since the husband can eat all the cheesy-chicken pieces, and I get all the jalapeno-guacamole pieces. Despite our most valiant efforts we only made it half way through the monstrous stack. At least we have lunch for tomorrow!
Do you like pickles? Have you ever had fried pickles or is that just weird?
