Roasted Maple Cinnamon Butternut Squash

image

 

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.

image

 

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.

 

image

 

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.

image

 

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.

image

 

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

 

image

 

Step 6.  ENJOY!

 

image

 

 

 

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)

 

Frogs, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

image

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!

 

009

 

Can we say presents, anyone?   Baby is SET!

 

011

 

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.

 

010

 

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.

015

 

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

Oh my.

007

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

025

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

016

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

021

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.

037

Now, hurry up little man.  We can’t wait to meet you.

Music Monday II

Another installment of Music Monday brings to you a few more must-haves on the ol’ running Playlist.

 

1) Here’s to Never Growing Up– Avril Lavigne

Let’s be honest…. Who really wants to grow up?

Avril-Lavigne-Heres-to-Never-Growing-Up

 

2) Kick It In The Sticks– Brantley Gilbert

Oh, BG.  You had me at your leather jacket, tattoos and your devilish grin.

 

Brantley-Gilbert-Photo-Credit-James-Minchin-CountryMusicRocks.net_

 

 

3) Burn – Papa Roach

Don’t tick these fellas off.

Papa_Roach_Black

 

4) Roar– Katy Perry

Never was a big fan of the song until I watched this kick-ass artistic performance.  You go girl!

Katy-Perry-Roar-Music-Video-HD--22

 

 

5)  You Call Me A Bitch – Halestorm

Like it’s a bad thing?

 

halestorm

 

Music Monday I

Weekend in Review

Time for the weekend in review!

Friday evening:

Dinner and a motorcycle ride with the hubs.

image

I am SO happy it is finally warm enough for two wheels.   Comfortably, that is.  🙂

My favorite summer activity is cruising back roads and exploring small towns.  You can easily find some of the best bars nestled away there.   Friday night took is through Springfield, NE where we swung into Garvey’s Pub.   Fun place and the bartender was very welcoming.  They had a killer back patio which would be perfect for some summer rides with friends!

image

 

image

 

image

 

Saturday morning started off with an early morning jog around the neighborhood.   Was able to see a gorgeous sunrise.

image

 

The afternoon was spent in my hometown of Clarinda where I was co-hosting a baby shower for my friend Erin.

 

image

Me, Kayla, Erin (the girl of the hour) and Mel

 007

Baby shower recap coming tomorrow!

After the baby shower, Kayla and I found ourselves at the Ice House for dinner, a few cocktails and some great girl talk before heading back to her house to meet up with the boys.  A few hours of garage time and I was back on the road for Omaha!

Sadly, today has been nothing but storms and temps barely over 30 degrees.

Clint was still in Clarinda on the motorcycle so his 90 minute ride home turned into 3 hours.   He sent me this photo while taking a little pit stop in a random barn to get away from hail and massive winds.

10255797_10202756611568761_3709633127158460113_n

After he finally got home, he ended up on the couch with layers of clothing and a gigantic lap dog.

image

I spent the day picking up the house and meal prepping.  I have my daily meals packed and ready for the next four days!

I am on a new nutrition plan after seeing a Sports Nutritionist a few weeks ago.  I’ll have to update on that some other time. 🙂

image

Hope your weekend was fantastic and CHEERS to a happy Monday.