April 17, 2014

Roasted Maple Cinnamon Butternut Squash

Are you ready for a perfect combination of maple syrup and cinnamon on a vegetable packed with nutrients? This recipe is sweet, savory, make your house smell like you could eat it, goodness.

Step 1. Cut the butternut squash into pieces that can be easily peeled.

Step 2. Peel away the outer layer of skin. Fun fact: You can actually leave the ‘skin’ on if you wish. It’s edible, just not that great of a flavor if you ask me.

Step 3. Combine maple syrup, olive oil, cinnamon, salt and sweetener to a gallon size bag. Cube squash, add to ziplock and massage until each piece is coated.

Step 4: Cover a cookie pan with foil, spray with olive oil and spread squash in a single layer. I should have used two pans to give each piece room to truly roast, however, two pans seemed like a lot of work (I am lazy at night, I admit) so one pan was good for me.

Step 5. Roast at 425 degrees for 35 minutes. Take out of oven and let rest for a few minutes.

Step 6. ENJOY!

Ingredients:

1 large butternut squash

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 Tbsp. Real Maple Syrup

1/4 tsp. seasalt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. Stevia natural sweetener (omit and add more maple syrup if you wish)

April 15, 2014

Frogs, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Me, Kayla, Erin and Melissa

This past weekend I was able to co-host a baby shower for our dear friend, Erin.

What a great baby BOY shower it was!

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Can we say presents, anyone? Baby is SET!

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Remember that little project I gave a sneak peak of last Friday? Well, now I can show you the final product! Mini diaper cakes! I put together five diaper cakes for each table to serve as a simple center piece. Baby Boy’s bedroom theme is sports and puppies, so each ‘cake’ had a little stuffed dog on top.

Pretty much adorable.

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Mel put together note cards for guests to write their wishes for Baby Baldwin. I thought this was such a neat idea! We kept those on the table for folks to write on throughout the shower.

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This cake was DELICIOUS! And I loved every single last bite. White cake, buttercream almond frosting.

Oh my.

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Baby Bingo anyone? While Erin opened gifts, guests had an opportunity to mark off their guesses for a chance to win!

What did they win, you ask?

Bragging Rights

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We had a very serious Bingo player on our hands. How adorable is she?

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So many clothes. So much cuteness. Little man is going to be dressed to impress!

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Erin, Kayla and I have been friends for well over 20 years. I want to say possibly 25 years? Maybe more? Grade school friends, folks. What a blessing it is to remain as close as we are, whether near or far.

Sharing life’s ups and downs and always having each-others back is what life, love and friendship is all about.

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