April Meal: Tomato Mozzarella Pesto Salad



Aprils meal is more like a snack. Or side dish. But it is GOOD! And so easy.

 

Ingredients:

• Fresh Mozzarella balls (the image below shows the brand I get.)
• Pesto Sauce
• Grape Tomatoes

 

The Mozarella comes in little balls that I slice in half or in fourths. I slice the grape tomatoes in half and add a few spoonfuls of pesto depending on how much I want. Add a pinch of salt (and pepper if you want) and there you have it! The easiest side dish to a dinner. This salad goes great with grilled chicken--mine and Clay's favorite meat ever.

 

 

 

March Meal: Zucchini Spaghetti

March's Meal was made in...May (and published in August). I'm two months late because life. But really, finals, wedding, etc. etc. means I'm a few months late in making my meals. But I'm not letting being late stop me from my monthly goal!

This meal was sooooo easy. As you can probably tell, Clay and I love veggies. Zucchini is one of our faves.

There are 5 ingredients to this meal:

• Zucchini, 1 feeds one person
• Ground Beef, 90-95% lean (we actually used 85% lean because that's all I could find so we weren't as healthy as we could have been)
• Olive Oil, a tablespoon-ish or two or three
• Pasta Sauce (the amount depends on how much meat you have and your personal preference)
• Salt/Pepper

1.  Cut up the zucchini and put slices on baking sheet. Pour olive oil over slices and a pinch of salt/pepper. Bake for 20ish minutes at 375 degrees. I like mine to be a little burnt because it makes it crunchier so just check it every now and then until you are satisfied. I would probably flip the zucchini over once because sometimes the bottom can get more burnt than the top. [Handy tip: put foil over the baking sheet before you lay the slices on them. It will help the olive oil not seep into the sheet as much and will be a breeze to clean up!]
2. Heat the beef in a skillet over the stove until the meat turns brown. (I know. Duh. But some of the people reading this might not know and I can't be held responsible for their food borne illness.)
3. Once the meat has been cooked for about 30 minutes, drain all the grease into a container you can discard later. Remember you don't ever want to put grease down the disposal.
4. Add the pasta sauce to the ground beef and let simmer for a few minutes until ready to serve.
5. Place the zucchini slices on a plate and top with the meat/sauce! Enjoy!

February Meal: Breakfast on the Run: Omelet Muffins

For February's fabulous dish, I decided to look in my new Skinny Taste cookbook for an awesome recipe. This cookbook was suggested to me by a few friends and let me tell you--it is incredible! I say that and I've only made one meal from it. But it LOOKS incredible and I have several recipes marked to try out in the future.

The first recipe that caught my eye were the "Make-Ahead Western Omelet Muffins". This recipe was so easy, and took me way less time to make than the spaghetti squash. In fact it took me more time to clean the muffin pan than it did to mix all the ingredients together.

I left out the scallions for no particular reason except I have no idea what a scallion is and didn't want to put forth the effort to look for it in the grocery store. So the taste might be a little different if you use them. But it's still good without.

• olive oil cooking spray or oil mister
• 6 large eggs
• 6 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly cracked black pepper
• 3 ounces sliced ham (about 4 slices), finely chopped
• 2 ounces reduced-fat Swiss cheese, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red or orange bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions (I left these out)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly spray a standard 12-cup nonstick or silicone muffin tin with oil.
3. In a medium bowl, beat the whole eggs and egg whites with a fork. (To make these light, swap half the egg yolks with the egg whites. That way, you still get the nutrients of the egg yolk but with half the fat.)
4. Season them with salt and a pinch of black pepper. 
5. Mix in the ham, Swiss cheese, bell pepper, and scallions.
6. Pour about 1/4 cup of egg mixture into each muffin cup and carefully place the pan in the oven.
7. Bake until the eggs set, 20-24 minutes. (I baked mine for 25-28 min and I would say to go with the directions because mine was more dry than I would have liked.)

Per Serving: (2 muffin-size omelets)
119 calories
6 g fat
2 g saturated fat
195 mg cholesterol
2 g carbohydrate
0.5 g fiber
14 g protein
1 g sugars
329 mg sodium

Add turkey bacon (and cheese on top if you're a cheese lover like me!) and you have yourselves a healthy meal for the most important meal of the day.

I baked these in the morning before class and ate them for dinner that night and for lunch the next day. Just keep them refrigerated and in a zip-top plastic bag and they are great to grab on the go before work or school!

Enjoy :)

January Meal: Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

 

Hey friends! For the new year, I have stolen an idea from my friend Cassie, to make one new meal a month. I liked this idea because if you're like me, you don't have much time to try new elaborate recipes, but I can totally accomplish one fancy recipe a month! When I eat, I like to order my food and get it within 5-10 minutes. The only problem with that is it limits you to eating out, which can be costly and more than likely not good for you.

Tuesday night I made "Skinny Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce." I had been wanting to try spaghetti squash so I went to Pinterest in search for a fun recipe. I found this one on the Skinny Mom blog and thought it looked great. I also liked that the prep and cook time were under an hour. Let it be known, it takes that long if you have awesome knives, a vegetable chopper, and cook your squash in the microwave. I opted for the oven because ovens cook food more evenly, which meant it was in there for 50 minutes not 15. And I also have the worlds worst knives. I actually found them in my basement one day so I'm not sure if the lady who lived here before me left them, or if they were an old roommates. But nevertheless they are all I have so I made it work. My whole cook/prep time turned into TWO. HOURS. Woof. Like I stated earlier, I can totally meet my goal of one meal a month, any more than that and I'm doomed. I'm pretty certain I could get it in under an hour on my next try. If you have a man to help cut the squash in half that will probably eliminate 20 minutes right there-those suckers are hard to cut. But I like to think it was the knives fault and not my lack of strength!

Despite the time it took me, I loved the way it turned out!! It was delicious! It made soooo much too. I fed myself, Clay and my roommate, Lexis. Tonight Lexis and I ate off of it again. And I could probably get 2 more meals out of what's still left. If you're only cooking for two people, I would suggest cutting the recipe in half.

You can find the recipe on the link up above (click on Skinny Mom) but here are the slight changes I would make from what it has on there. My changes are in red.

• 8 cups spaghetti squash, cooked (2 medium size squash will yield about 8 cups)
• 1 lb lean ground beef (90%-95% lean) <<< but really, get the more expensive meat
• 24 oz low-sugar spaghetti or marinara sauce (20-22 oz.)
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ onion, diced
• 1 small zucchini, chopped finely
• 1 celery stalk, chopped finely
• 1 carrot, peeled + chopped
• ½ cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
• ½ cup low moisture, part-skim, shredded mozzarella cheese
Optional*: (I did not use the sweetener.)
• 2 tsp Stevia®

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. To cook squash in oven, cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and membrane. Place squash cut-side up on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 45-60 minutes.(I cooked for 50 minutes and it turned out great but next time I might leave it in the whole 60 minutes)
3. To microwave squash, cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and membrane. Place squash cut-side up in a microwave safe dish with 1-2 inches of water (just enough water to cover bottom of microwave safe dish). Microwave 9-10 minutes until soft. (I didn't microwave. I'm not sure it would have had the same soft texture if I chose this option.)
4. In a large, deep sauté pan, add extra virgin olive oil.
5. Add onions, celery, carrot, and mushrooms. Saute vegetables on medium heat for 3-4 minutes until they begin to soften.
6. Add lean ground beef to vegetables. (Next time, I'm going to cook my meat in a separate pan, drain the grease, then add all the meat to the pan with vegatables.)
7. Continue to cook vegetables and brown ground beef, breaking up the meat into smaller pieces. Continue to cook until meat is no longer pink in color.
8. When meat is cooked, add chopped zucchini and jar of spaghetti sauce. (I bought a 25 oz. jar and put the whole thing in. It called for 24 oz. I would put about 20-22oz of sauce instead.)
9. Stir to mix all ingredients together and simmer on low for 5-10 minutes.
10. Adjust sauce with salt and pepper and (optional) sweetener. (I didn't do the sweetner and it tasted just fine.)
11. When spaghetti squash is cooked, remove from the oven or microwave and let cool for 5 minutes. After it has cooled, begin to remove the flesh with a fork, which will come out looking like spaghetti strands. Serve with sauce OR transfer spaghetti squash to a casserole dish.
12. Cover the squash with meat sauce evenly.
13. Top with mozzarella and bake in oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes until cheese has melted. Serve hot.
14.  I will also add a small salad as a side dish.

That whole meal added up to be around $27.00. That's not bad when you get 8-10 servings out of it. That's less than $3.00 a meal! I didn't have any coupons to use so had I looked for those it would have been even less. I will say, you need to get the meat it calls for. It will be more expensive but that's what makes it so healthy. 80% ground beef is what you will find the most of in the grocery store and probably what you've bought in the past. Fun fact: it's equivalent to McDonald's ground beef. So go ahead and do yourself a favor and get the 90-95% lean meat. Adding a salad or any bread will obviously increase the price as well. You can find all the nutritional facts on the site above.

You will have leftover vegetables which I actually used the night before because I looked at the recipe and knew I'd have plenty. I chopped up a bell pepper (not on this list), the extra mushrooms, a new zucchini, extra carrots and the other half of the onion and cooked them in a skillet on the stove with olive oil and salt and pepper. I think it's important to reuse as much of your food as possible so you save money and don't let things go to waste. 

Here is a picture of what my spaghetti squash lasagna looked like...not exactly a Pinterest worthy photo but it tastes the same!

Here's the link to the 9 other healthy recipes you can make with spaghetti squash.

 Happy cooking!

The Proposal

*Pictures are at the very end*

The background:

As most of you know from talking to me, Clay and I never discussed when we would get engaged. Like when I say I had no idea I really had no idea. We obviously talked about the future and knew we wanted to get married based on our love for each other and seeing each other’s love for the Lord, and reading off my non-negotiables after knowing him for maybe a month…ya know, super casual. But he never let me get caught up in the details of an engagement and proposal because 1-he is completely grounded in his faith and knows that rings and poems and flowers mean nothing compared to eternity in heaven with Jesus, and 2-he wanted it to be a complete surprise. No ring shopping, no hints at what I liked, no sending my friends pictures of rings to send to him. Nothing. (P.S. The ring is GORGEOUS and so me! He did good!) He had always planned on asking my dad for his blessing before proposing. But he did not tell my parents, or his parents, his best friend, or anyone when the event would actually occur.

One of Clay’s good friends, Stephen Young, used this same approach when proposing to his now wife, Julie Inman. Julie told me how awesome it was to be totally shocked and that she wishes every girl would allow it to play out that way. After being in her shoes, I could not agree more.

Ladies, let your man surprise you. I repeat, do not discuss A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G. leading up to the proposal. Obvi, you need to talk about if you're right for each other. I mean don't talk about the fru fru details. It is so so so exciting and special and wonderful when you just let it happen when it happens!

The proposal:

We had been in Fayetteville over the weekend for the Razorback game and for my brother's 21^st birthday. Sunday we met Michael for lunch to celebrate his big day. We finished eating around 1:30pm and headed out of town on our way to Hawksbill Crag, near Ponca. I have had my eyes set on hiking Hawksbill for quite some time. Despite the awful weather both Saturday and Monday, Sunday was PERFECT. It was sunny but very cool, and the leaves were changing colors. It honestly couldn’t have been better! We started hiking and made it to the main ledge; we took several pictures and just soaked in the beauty around us. We I really wanted to get a good picture of us so we decided to keep walking and find a place by ourselves since the big ledge had about 10 other people at the time. While I was being ADD and looking everywhere around me, Clay put his backpack down and got out his go pro. I walked up to him asking for some Kleenexes and as he reached into his backpack he turned the go pro on, pulled out the ring, whipped around on one knee and asked me if I would marry him, in like 3 seconds flat. My next words were, “This is not real. OMG. Seriously? YES. Yes. Omg. Wait, have you talked to my dad first? Okay good. Oh my gosh. This is not real. Is this real? Wow. I love you so much.” And yes these are my exact words because he filmed me and we've replayed it over and over. I am SOOO thankful he has it on film for us to relive the rest of our lives. Bringing the go pro was the best idea ever because it allowed us to get videos, pictures, and be completely alone during this moment. He proceeded to tell me that he never knew how much he could love someone until he realized his love for me, and some other sweet things but I was still awkward from being so shocked that I just listened and couldn’t speak. 

We started to talk about what we wanted for our relationship during our engagement. We don’t want to let the wedding take over our time together. During school we see each other about 2-3 times a week if I don’t have an exam, but the weeks I do have an exam we might go over a week without seeing one another. And our houses are only 6 miles apart! We joked earlier in the weekend how we have to travel to Fayetteville to hang out. So our time is limited and we don’t want to let the wedding planning take over the few moments we do have. The divorce rate in America is 50%. We have chosen to plan for our marriage more than our wedding. And let me tell you, after only a few days of being engaged, Clay is going to be extremely good at this. The verdict is still out if I will be successful with this. All prayers appreciated. :)  I’ve never met someone more grounded in truth when it comes to knowing what’s important and what is not. I am extremely lucky to have him as my leader.

After we talked, we prayed together for the first time as an engaged couple which was THE BEST THING EVER. Y’all prayer is my love language. I’m obsessed with it and cannot wait for the intimacy I will experience with Clay as we grow in this area. Gosh it’s fantastic to connect on that level.

We finished taking pictures, wiped away the tears, and headed back to the car. As we were driving back on the highway, we made the call to stop thru Russellville and tell my parents in person. Soon after that, a 100 pound doe decided to sprint in front of my car. Clay tried to swerve and ended up only hitting the back of the deer which messed up the front of my car. Now we actually had a legitimate reason to stop. I called my parents and told them what happened and they met us at my grandparent’s house. We moved all our bags from my car to my grandma’s, which I’m borrowing for the time being. Then after we were all talking we announced we were engaged! They could not believe it! Everyone was so shocked and excited because Clay never led anyone to believe it would happen anytime soon. Minus my dad who he had talked to beforehand. But even he was shocked by the actual timing of it! Then we hopped in the car and headed to LR.

Once in LR we had to run by Clay’s parent’s house to pick up his dog, Decoy (isn’t that the most precious name for a retired hunting dog?), whom his parents kept for the weekend, and also to pick up Clay’s truck. We walked in and they started asking me about the deer and our time in Fayetteville. After a while I told Mrs. Linda she was going to have to get me a new cup with my monogrammed initials on it because the one she got me for my birthday wouldn’t work anymore. She thought it was because it was broken, in which she replied, “Oh that’s fine mine broke too and I’m drinking out of Bailey’s so I can get us both a new one.” I said, “Actually, it’s because I’m going to need a new monogram.” She immediately asked if I had something to show her, grabbed my left hand out of my arms, squealed, and told Clay she was so mad at him for not telling her. Haha we all laughed and both she and Mr. Frank were beyond excited for us! I’ve felt like a part of Clay’s family since the very first time I met them. I honestly think I could search for the rest of my life and I would never find in-laws like them. I am marrying into the most loving, giving, and biggest family I ever could have dreamed about being a part of!

We went upstairs and got Bailey (Clay’s 16 year old sister), and then went into Bryce’s room, (Clay’s 17 year old brother) and told them the news. James and Yusuf, the Rwandan residents were already sound asleep. We talked with everyone and around 10:30pm left their house and went back to Clay’s. On the way to Clay's I called my brother and told him I hated to overshadow his 21^st birthday but he was now getting a brother-in-law so I hoped he would forgive us. I’ve never heard my brother so excited before. I really felt his support and love even on his own special day. Clay called Taylor, his older brother (I told you his family was big) and Taylor’s wife Emily, and told them the news.

We got to Clay’s house and uploaded the go pro videos onto the computer. We called a few more friends who were still awake and I finally made it to my house and in bed by 1:30am. Those 12 hours were the most exciting, crazy, AMAZING hours that I got to spend with Clay. Like I said earlier, our time together is so so precious and I am beyond thankful I had a small break from studying to make new memories with him.

It was a blast telling everyone versus me being the last to find out. It was almost like I was proposing to everyone because of the initial shock they all felt!

The aftermath:

Since the moment we announced our engagement Monday, we have felt an immense amount of  love from every single one of you. I have been brought to tears by the people who have asked my mom if they can host a shower, my friends who have easily been just as excited as I am, and everyone else who has cared for me as if I were their own daughter, and Clay their own son. I am thankful for my community in Russellville and the friends I have in Fayetteville, LR and everywhere in between. We have laughed and cried and have been filled with unending joy these past few days.

The hashtag we chose is #TeamRamey. Obviously, we LOVE sports so anything with that theme seems fitting. There were a few times while dating when his mom said something small I agreed with over how Clay felt, and he would proceed to tell me that his mom was LSU and he was Arkansas and I was playing for the wrong team. We always laughed about it. We know that we are a team now, walking hand in hand to the middle of the field. A team of husband and wife. And a team of believers focused on bringing God glory in every aspect of our lives.

We ask that you pray for our marriage. Please pray that we will not idolize each other, but instead always worship the Lord and push each other towards the cross. We ask that you pray for eyes that see the good in each other when we are anything but that, for hearts to be stripped of the desires of our flesh, and for us to wear forgiveness and love on our heart each day. I also personally ask that you pray for me to prioritize my time planning while in school and continue to stay focused on becoming the best pharmacist and wife I can be. We love you guys and look forward to celebrating this season that is completely new and surreal to us!

  Hawksbill Crag. 10.12.14.

 

Love,

The Future RAMEYS!

A Fresh Look that is Cozy and Cheap

One of the things I was most excited about upon moving to Little Rock was fixing up an old cute house and making it a cozy home. Two months after my parents bought my 1950's house, Terri Knight came down from Russellville and did a fantastic job finding all new accessories to turn my bare walls and floors into a colorful home. She started me off great with the perfect decorations. After two roommates moved out, a temporary roommate moving in/out this past summer, and two new roommates moving in, my house became the same mess it was when my parents first bought it. It was a hodge podge of furniture and home decor. I knew once things had settled and my last roommate moved in this past November (2013), I wanted to finally make it home again.

I had been babysitting twin girls and their mom, Katie Keenan Rawlings, had the cutest style. I talked to her about helping me find new furniture and decorations once everyone was settled. With babysitting being my only job right now while in pharmacy school, I don't have a whole lot of extra money to pay someone to decorate. We came up with a plan that Katie would fix up my house for one day while I was in class, and I would in return, babysit her girls for free. She did a phenomenal job taking my things and rearranging them to look brand new. The only money I spent was on two pillows for $10 each and some wicker baskets at Target. I couldn't believe she made my house look like a million bucks without having to fork over that kind of money. It also helps when you can raid your parents and grandparents attic for old trinkets. Thanks guys!

Check out these pictures of my house from before and after. If you live in Little Rock and are wanting a new look for the new year, contact me and I will put you in touch with Katie (or if you live in Russellville, Terri Knight is the woman for the job!). I've really enjoyed coming home over the past few months to a warm and inviting place.

Living Room Before

Living room Before. I'm fortunate to have roommates with furniture so I don't have to buy mine all at once!

Living Room After

Living Room After

Living Room After. Notice we replaced my coffee table with the bottom of my roommates kitchen hutch. It makes for a much better TV stand.

 I love the details of this bench! It fits nicely behind my red sofa.

Mission trip collage on the wall pictured above. I found a bunch of old gold frames at my grandma's house and my grandpa spray painted them black for me.

Office Before

Office Before

Office After. This old double sided desk from Funky Junky in Russellville is one of my favorite pieces in my house! I love having it in the center of the room now.

Office After. The shelves have since been organized with cute wicker baskets to get rid of the excess clutter!!

 These shelves are on the other side of the desk in the office. On the other side of the shelves are the stairs down to the basement and garage. Katie helped me change out some frames and decor for a new look.

Kitchen counter Before

Kitchen counter After

Kitchen Cabinet After. Nothing was on top after Brooklyn moved out.

Front Door After. You can see the before in the first few living room pictures.

More Living Room Details. That round table is from the Kappa house before it was torn down.

This is what you see when you first walk in. This chest belonged to my mom's great grandmother. No painting or anything, just bought some new knobs from Hobby Lobby. I'm a sucker for family heirlooms. :)

Morgan