Tag: Summer

Stove Top Baked Beans

Leave a comment

Hey guys! The weather is finally getting nicer and nicer, and I’m really starting to miss those summer barbecues! While we’re all stuck at home, you can still have a taste of summer time. These Stove-Top Baked Beans bring together caramelized onions, garlic, vinegar, and spices to make the perfect side dish.

I feel like all of my recipes are super versatile right now, because it can be hard to get super specific ingredients. You can use pretty much whatever canned beans you’d like in this recipe. I used black beans and red kidney beans to keep it interesting. Beans are so good man! They’re definitely underrated but are a great source of protein. In this dish, they’re great as a side with another protein, or just with some pita or bread. The recipe below makes a pretty big batch, which you can always halve if you don’t want to make too much. Or double it and freeze some for later- I haven’t tried that yet but I’m sure it would be great for when you’re in a pinch and are craving some beans. And lets be honest, that was me all the time before quarantine started. Now I’m still carving beans but I have more than enough time to make em.

I also caramelized the onions more than usual in these beans, to give them extra flavour. You want them nice and soft and brown. Maple syrup gives this recipe some sweetness, and red wine vinegar cuts through the sugar. The result are some seriously good beans! And since I made them on the stove they take less time to make as well. How can you go wrong? Here’s the recipe.

Stove Top Baked Beans

Serves: 8 as a side (I have a lot of bean eating to do)

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 a medium sized yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp shawarma spice (or use smoked paprika)
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
  • 2 cans of beans, drained and rinsed (I used black and red kidney)
  • 2 tsp pure maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add in the shawarma spice or paprika and cook for an additional 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and caramelized. Add water or more oil if the pot starts drying out.
  2. Put the beans, tomatoes, vinegar, maple syrup, cumin, and cayenne pepper in the pot and stir until combined. Bring the mixture to a simmer and then turn the heat to low.
  3. Cover the beans and let them cook for about 20-30 minutes. Remove from the heat, season liberally with salt and pepper, and enjoy;)

Hope these beans transport you to an awesome summer BBQ!

Yours Truly,

Olivia;))))

August Bullet Journal Set-Up with July Monthly Recap

4 Comments

Hi guys! I can’t believe that we’re already halfway through the summer and that it’s time to set up my August Bullet Journal layout! This month I went with a travel theme (partly inspired by AmandaRachLee again). I also used a bunch of pictures from a page-a-day calendar which had the title “1000 Places to See Before You Die”, and drew little frames around them so that they look like polaroid pictures. I used three different shades of brown in this spread, so it looks kind of vintage. Hope you like it!

Here’s my July Monthly Recap before we get into August. It hasn’t changed from previous months;)

My title page is a little but minimalistic, as there isn’t a ton going on. I drew a suitcase, a compass rose, an airplane and a polaroid camera, using hues of brown. There’s also a bunch of travel pictures from that calendar, which look cool. My quote for this month is “I haven’t been everywhere but it’s on my list.” which I totally identify with because I love to travel!

This might be one of my favourite calendar spreads of all time. All of the doodles and the drop shadows just look so good! In one corner of the calendar I drew some lines to make it look like a map, and I also included my usual goals and blog ideas section.

I drew my habit tracker to look like a polaroid, which I thought was cute. For my mood tracker, there’s a circle divided into 31 parts so I can colour one each day, with a compass in the middle.

Here’s my gratitude log, and another page that I labelled “Places to Go”. I thought that it might be fun to make a kind of travel bucket list, that I can look back on later and see if I actually went to all of those places.

And finally here’s my first weekly spread. Because there’s only three days in the first calendar week, I only used one page and made the other page a quote page.

That’s all for my August Set-Up! I hope you have a great month, and I’ll see you on Wednesday;))

 

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked

Veggie Tacos

2 Comments

Let me start off by saying that these Veggie Tacos are the thebomb.com. I for one am a huge taco lover, so this delicious combination of peppers, zucchini, and lentils is right up my alley. Theses tacos take about a half hour to whip up, assuming you’re using pre-cooked lentils. For this recipe, I used canned lentils, because they’re ready to use and have a texture that lends itself well to tacos. Add in some zucchini, peppers and Mexican spices, and top it off with some guacamole and Mango Salsa, and you’ve got yourself a killer meal.

Veggie Tacos

Serves: l4-6

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 a red onion, diced
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 bell pepper (any colour) diced
  • 1 medium sized zucchini, chopped into half inch cubes
  • 1 can of lentils, drained and rinsed, or about 2 cups cooked green lentils
  • 1/2 tbs cumin
  • 1/2 tbs paprika
  • 1/2 tbs Chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1/2 tbs oregano
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add in the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
  2. Add in the zucchini, bell peppers, and lentils and stir. Next, measure out the spices and put them in the pan as well. Mix together all of the ingredients and let cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the veggies are soft, and any liquid has evaporated.
  3. Place the veggie mixture in a tortilla with guacamole and mango salsa. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoy this delicious taco recipe! It’s great for hot summer days;)

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;))

Greek Pasta Salad

2 Comments

Hi there! When I think of summer I think of barbecues and potlucks, and at these gatherings there’s often a pasta salad. But it’s usually covered in a heavier mayo based dressing, and contains little to no veggies. This Greek Pasta Salad is full of different textures and flavours, while being super healthy at the same time. Crispy chickpeas, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, red peppers, and pasta all get tossed together with a delicious greek dressing. You can even toss in some feta and red onion if you’d like. This is the perfect recipe to bring to a barbecue, or to enjoy as a light lunch;)

Greek Pasta Salad

Serves: 4 as a meal, 6-8 as a side

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Roasted Chickpeas:

  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 tbs cumin
  • 1/2 tbs Chilli powder
  • 1/2 tbs paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 two allspice
  • 1/2 the garlic powder

For the Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 2 tbs red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 clove minced garlic
  • 1 tbs dried oregano
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad:

  • 2 1/2 cups cooked rotini ( I used pasta made from chickpea flour)
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1/2 a cucumber, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 a can of black olives, sliced

Directions:

  1. In a medium sized bowl, toss the chickpeas with the olive oil and spices. Place them on a lined baking sheet and bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.
  2. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients with the roasted chickpeas. Add in the dressing and toss until everything is coated.
  4. Enjoy!

I hope you like this summer recipe! I’ve posted a video of myself making it on Instagram if you need extra directions. See you Wednesday!

Your Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;)))

Summer 2019 Reading List

2 Comments

Hi! Hope everyone’s summer is going well;) I still haven’t finished The Lord of the Rings, but I have some books lined up that I want to read after I’m done, so I’ll share them with you guys today. There’s a bit of a mix of genres on this list, as well as some heavier reads. I know that I only have three titles picked out so far, but if I finish them and start reading other books then I’ll definitely let you guys know which ones those are.

I know that a lot of people don’t like reading unless they have to, but reading is awesome in every way. It’s pretty much like a portal into thousands of different worlds, worlds that you create using your imagination. Plus, it makes you smarter! Do you know how many weird words I’ve found out about while reading The Lord of the Rings? So I really hope that you guys give reading a try this summer. You just need to find the right book. To help you out with that, here’s my reading list for Summer 2019!

1. Sherwood

This novel centres around Marian, Robin Hood’s fiancé. When Robin dies, Marian decides to take his place as the protector of the village of Locksley by disguising herself in his green cloak. It focuses around the idea of being your own hero. After reading The Lord of the Rings, in which I think there are a total of about four women mentioned in the whole series, I thought it would be nice to read a novel with a strong female lead. The storyline also seems less complex than the books I’ve been reading recently, so I think it will be a fun, relaxing summer read;)

2. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

After giving my brain a short break by reading Sherwood, I will then put it to work again by picking up Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It follows a father and son on a motorcycle trip across the American Northwest. Along the way, they discover more about life and it’s “fundamental questions”, whatever that’s supposed to mean. This looks like it should be an interesting read, because I’m into philosophy and learning about living your best life. However, I’m hoping that it doesn’t get too dry. If it does, I might just stop reading it and move on to the next book on my list.

3. The Winner Stands Alone

This book is written by Paulo Coelho, who also wrote the alchemist, a novel that you should definitely read if you haven’t already. The Winner Stands Alone takes place at Cannes Film Festival, and follows five people who are looking to acquire fame and fortune, things that the world values as important. The main idea is that you should follow your own dreams, not those that are given to you by society. I think that this is a really important concept, and so I’m excited to see where this book goes.

That’s my reading list for this Summer! Again, if I read any other books, I’ll post them on Instagram for you. Also, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be posting three times a week in the summer, starting next week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I’m super excited!

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;))