Tuesday’s Taste – Springtime Stew

Even as the weather continues to get warmer there is nothing better than a homemade stew. While most know stew as a pot full of potatoes, meat, carrots and the like, my mom has created an absolutely fantastic twist to this hearty meal.

If you are focusing on maintaining a healthy and balanced diet or interested in an organic and satisfying meal, this is a quick fix that will leave your belly happy. This stew is made up of a variety of nutritious ingredients with literally no unhealthy components.

It is a one stop recipe that embodies almost every food group: veggies, natural fats, protein and grains. Not to mention the combination of the fresh veggies, soft beans, crunchy nuts and grainy quinoa is a terrific overload for your taste-buds. This is one recipe you do not want to pass up!

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 green pepper
• olive oil
• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 medium yellow squash
• 1 can navy beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 bag of Trader Joe’s tricolor organic quinoa
• 16 oz. chicken broth
• garlic salt
• pepper
  

  ---

1. Dice the onion and pepper.

2. Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a large cooking pot over medium heat. Place diced onions and peppers into pot to begin cooking.

3.  Chop both zucchini and yellow squash. Place in to pot with the onions and peppers to cook.

4. Open and drain both cans of beans. Place beans in to pot with the veggies to cook

5. Chop 1/2 cup of pecans and 1/2 cup of walnuts. Then place the nuts in the pot with veggies and beans to cook.

6. Next, add 1/2 to 3/4  of a 16 oz. bag of Trader Joe’s organic tricolor quinoa to the pot. The amount of quinoa depends on how much grain you would like to include in this dish. (My mom and I add about 3/4 of a bag!)

7. After the quinoa is placed in the pot, immediately pour 16 oz. of chicken broth in to the pot. While the stew is cooking, add garlic salt and pepper to your acquired taste.

8. Let the stew simmer until the quinoa is totally cooked and the chicken broth is almost all absorbed by the ingredients.

 

Petal Pusher – The Perfect Pink

One of my favorite signs of spring besides the warm weather, is the color. As the temperatures begins to increase and the sun shines through the clouds we begin to see colorful flowers come in bloom and more importantly, colors begin to pop in almost everyone’s ensembles.  While a pop of color is welcome at anytime in my wardrobe, one of my favorites spots to show this color is on my nails. My signature would absolutely be a bright red but this year for Easter I decided to tone it down a little.

My absolute favorite brand of nail polish brand is Sally Hansen’s “INSTA-DRI”. Coming in a variety of colors and being very inexpensive are two reasons why I love the brand, but the best attribute is its ability to dry in a blink of an eye. Well, not actually a blink of an eye,  but faster than any other polish I have ever used. This attribute complements my impatience profoundly.

I have become so fond of this brand and product that I have established go-to colors for every season/holiday. The latest to this collection of mine is #150 Petal Pusher. It is a very soft pink and the minute you see it you immediately think of spring and Easter. I chose my outfits for the Easter weekend and then stumbled upon this color and I was pleased to see that it also matched well with each.

When finishing off this precious shade pink, applying a coat of Sally Hansen’s “INSTA-DRI’ #130 Clearly Quick is a must. Again it is a product in her INSTA-DRI line so you are ready to go in a matter of minutes, but it also adds a clear, shiny shimmer, to any color you choose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like I mentioned before, the blooming of flowers, the shining sun, and pulling out vibrant prints from our closets are all signs that spring is here. The inclusion of color is a must in my book when is come to dressing for spring. Yet, this year I found that applying a subtle nail color is a great way to complement the bright colors I decided to wear for the holiday. Making a bold statement can still be done by pairing soft colors with the right bright ones. This is the perfect statement in lieu of the Easter holiday and will still turn heads in the crowd.

Warm Weather “Go-To”

With the warm weather beginning to slowly creep in and multiple social events in the near future I knew it was time to do a little shopping! Spring is such a beautiful time of year, for many it is a sign that summer is near, however, this year for me it is a sign of a new beginning. Graduation is about a month away and only two weeks later I will be beginning my first full-time position. In between now and then I have award banquets, graduation, graduation celebrations, a social media event and more which I have been rushing around to find the appropriate outfits, accessories and shoes for.

I visited Anthropologie, LOFT, TJ Maxx, Lia Sohpia and more to find all of the appropriate ensemble pieces, except for the the perfect shoes. After a Sunday trip to Pittsburgh I was able to find THE shoes. The perfect shoes that I will be able to wear with any outfit and to any occasion. MALIBU by Donald J Pliner. Can you say ABSOLUTE PERFECTION!?

 

The shoes caught my attention and were inspired by a pair of lamé shorts that I bought about an hour before at Anthropologie. However, while I knew they would be a perfect  match for those shorts, it was to my great surprise that I realized they would be ideal for any outfit!

These wedge heels are a product of Donald J Pliner. They are a 4 1/2 wedged heel with a Vachette leather strap around the the ankle. The kid crackle (looks like lamé) strap around the toes adds a little glam to the shoe. What is so absolutely wonderful about this shoe is the neutral leather strap which ultimately allows you to wear it with any color. This heel also has the ability to dress up any ensemble, a dress, jeans, skirt, or even shorts! No matter what you decide to pair them with they are a great spring/summer find. The wedge heel automatically makes anyone think of summer and with the neutral colors and little bit of sparkle, you got the perfect heel for the warm months ahead!