Angels Landing

On Sunday I went and did Angels Landing in Zion National Park. It was such a beautiful day! I am not going to go into details on how to get to this hike since you can just Google Zion and find it. Okay, picture time!

Baked Ziti

I like Olive Garden, but I don't always like spending tons of money there. I found a recipe for Baked Ziti that's only 350 calories per serving. 

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients: 

10 oz Ziti pasta noodles (whole grain if you so choose)

1 tbsp Olive oil

3 Italian sausage links

1 Yellow onion, diced

3 Garlic cloves, minced

16 oz Tomato puree/sauce

3/4 cup Mozzarella (fresh if possible)

Parmesan (for grating)

Basil

Oregano 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook the pasta per the directions on the packaging. 

2. Cook the sausage in a pan or on a grill (cut up once cooled down). Mince and dice vegetables. 

3. In a large sauce pan, on medium heat, add the onion, garlic, and oil. Once caramelized, add the tomato puree, basil, oregano and cut up sausage. 

4. Drain the pasta and add to the saucy mixture. Coat, than pour in a 13" X 9" glass dish. Add the cheese on top. 

5. Cover with foil and put in the oven for 15 minutes, then remove foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes. 6. Sprinkle on Parmesan. Enjoy! 

Motivation 4

From my Instagram account.

Red Pepper Fettuccine Alfredo

First, I should apologize for the lack of posts in December. Holiday retail is crazy and with finals...let's just say I am glad to be alive. Secondly, pasta is tasty.

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

10 oz. Fettuccine

16 oz. Alfredo sauce

2-3 Zucchini (small)

1 container of grape tomatoes 

Red pepper flakes

Directions: 

1. Cook the pasta according to the packaging. 

2. With a potato peeler, slice the zucchinis into thin strips. 

3. Once pasta is done, dish up your serving into a bowl or plate. Mix in the zucchini with the pasta.

4. Pour on Alfredo sauce. Add the red pepper flakes and grape tomatoes. 

5. Enjoy!

Very easy and fast meal. Next time I am going to try making the Alfredo sauce from scratch and doing only zucchini, but a great way to add more raw veggies to your diet. I hope you enjoy it!

Motivation 3

Since there have been so few post, and I've made a few motivation pictures for Instagram, I figured I would share a few. It doesn't have to be Monday to get motivated! 

Lemon Bars

Sorry, for not posting for a bit. Life and work have been a bit hectic. So awhile back I said I would post the recipe for lemon bars, that are oh, so delicious, and here it is! This is one of my favorite treats. My mom made them this way when I was growing up and I recently saw on Pinterest someone added the zest of the lemon to the crust. It makes it even better.

Makes 24

Around 160 calories

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp lemon zest

1/2 cup butter (room temperature)

Filling:

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Use a 8X11 inches glass baking pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl put the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest. Mix together, before adding the butter. Use an electric mixer to blend together until it turns into crumbles. 

3. Pour in the pan and press with a fork to even it out. Cook for 20 minutes. 

4. While crust cooks, start the filling. In a mixing bowl add eggs, sugar, and lemon juice. Beat with an electric mixer.

5. When the crust is done, take it out and add the filling right away. Put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

6. Let them cool before cutting them to serve. Powdered sugar is optional. 

7. Enjoy!

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

Last day of Soup Week! It's been really fun and my little sisters have enjoyed coming over and eating all my leftover soup! Broccoli-Cheddar is a classic, so I thought it would be a great one to end with. I made the croutons. Cut up a piece of bread, dip it in olive oil, and cook at 400 degrees, until golden.

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 onion

1 potato

2 tbsp olive oil

2 celery stalks

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups cream

1 cup water

2 cups cooked broccoli

1 cup cheddar cheese

croutons (optional)

Directions:

1. Chop the onion and celery stalks. Saute in the oil in a pot. 

2. Chop the potato. Add the potato, chicken broth, cream, and water. Bring to a boil, than simmer 10 minutes. 

3. Puree the soup in a blender. Return it back to the pot and bring it to a simmer again.

4. Stir in the broccoli and cheddar cheese. Once melted it is ready to serve.

5. Enjoy.