Pinto Beans & Goat Cheese

It’s the beginning of November and the weather in Maryland is still very nice! For the last 4 years I’ve been in Central PA during November… where it’s COLD COLD COLD and often snowy or wintry mix-y. I’m not used to this warm weather anymore but I love it. It gets cold enough to wear thick sweaters and warm boots but not so cold its unbearable! Today, its in the high 50s, low 60s. It’s gorgeous outside. There are still green leaves on the trees. Some red and yellow too.

I will be heading up to PA this weekend (brrrrr) for my grandmother’s 90th birthday!!! Go Grandma! We’re throwing her a 90th birthday bash and a bunch of my family will be there. We’re going to party like it’s the 1920s! Technically, Grandma probably partied most in the 30s since she was born in the 20s but whatever. We’ll party like it’s the early 20th century.

She also lives very close to Stephen’s hometown sooo I get to go to Echo Hill. I’m beyond excited! I plan to buy millet, steel cut oats, bread flour, vanilla beans, a variety of nuts, spices, and so much more! I love Echo Hill ❤

I was craving something hearty & warm (even though it’s nice, it’s still fall!) and soup wasn’t going to cut it. This recipe could easily be made with black beans too. Mmmm. The chipotle adds an amazing smoky flavor to the beans and the quinoa rounds out the protein. You could add other veg for a little more variety. If I had bell peppers I probably would have added them! Anyway, enjoy! : )

Pinto Beans & Goat Cheese

Pinto Beans & Goat Cheese

  • Olive Oil
  • 1/2 Medium Onion, diced
  • 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
  • 1 Can Pinto Beans, unsalted
  • 1 Can Water
  • 1/4 Cup Quinoa
  • 1 Tsp Cumin
  • 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
  • 1 Tsp Chipotle Pepper, ground
  • Splash of Hot Sauce (I used Crystal)
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Soft Goat Cheese

Sautee onion in olive oil over medium heat for a couple of minute before adding the garlic. Add the spices to bring out the flavors. Rinse beans before adding to pot. Add water and bring to a boil. Add quinoa and let simmer until quinoa if fully cooked and mixture has thickened considerably. About 15 to 20 minutes. Just can add more water if you’re looking for a soupier consistency. Add hot sauce, salt & pepper to taste. The vinegar in the hot sauce will enhance the other flavors. I think lemon juice would be a nice addition of acidity as well. Once plated, sprinkle goat cheese crumbles over beans or leave off for vegan option.

Bon Apetite!!

I was playing with my camera last night and took a few pictures of my favorite ring. It was my mom’s.

I don’t know where the dried flower came from, I’ve had it on my vanity for quite some time but the handwritten card was from Stephen  : D

Also, took some pictures of the trees & leaves outside a couple of days ago.Last picture! Tuesday mom & I drove to the Eastern Shore to visit my maternal grandmother & grandfather. They live on the water and I snapped a couple of picture of the sunset.

I hope everyone’s enjoying the start of November as much as I am!

Love,

Kelley

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Boca Food!

I haven’t posted in like a week! I was vacationing in Boca Raton, Florida for a long weekend.

The first morning we got pastries from Bakery of France including Brioche, Croissants, Chocolate Croissants, and some raisin pastry. Everything was delicious but I’m not a huge fan of raisins so that one wasn’t for me.

A picture of the Brioche via a Yelp Reviewer.

We also went to dinner at Seasons 52, which was DELICIOUS. All of their dishes are designed to be less than 475 calories and use seasonal ingredients. Their dinner menu for autumn had a great number of vegetarian dishes and the concept is very inspiring. I ordered the Organic Baby Spinach salad and the Goat Cheese Ravioli then had the Chocolate & Peanut Butter Mousse for dessert. There are no pictures on the website of any of the meals we ate so I’ll just post a picture of the dessert!!

Picture of the miniature desserts via Seasons 52 website.

On Saturday night we had an 8 o’clock dinner reservation at Uncle Tai’s, a very nice & quite tasty Chinese food restaurant. We ordered the Honey Crispy Shrimp, Sliced Fish Hunan Style, and Crispy Beef (which I, of course, did not try), and vegetable fried rice. The Fish was definitely the best. I’m not entirely sure which dish is featured in the picture below but it’s the only picture I found from their site!

Picture via Uncle Tai's Website

A couple more places we went:

Flakowitz Bagel Inn – HUGE breakfast plates. I ordered a 4 egg omelet with broccoli and cheddar cheese. It was ENORMOUS. And it came with breakfast potatoes and a bagel & cream cheese. Talk about enough food to feed a family of 4 (or a small army).

Renzo’s – Italian food. SO GOOD. We ordered a large cheese pizza which was hot & melty and just the way pizza should be. Also ordered some Arancini balls which were yummy yummy yummy. And they came with the best marinara EVAR. Then I got a Veggie Muffaletta sandwich which was the size of my head. I only ate most of half. It had grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, tomatoes, greens, roasted red pepper and mozzarella.

Señor Burrito – Got the spinach enchiladas. They were covered in an amazingly good tomatillo sauce. I love mexican food.