What's For Dinner? How About Southwest Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad!

I made this southwest sweet potato quinoa salad last week and it was so good I had to share! I’ve been trying to eat mostly vegan since January and have been experimenting with different recipes and flavors & this has been one of my favorites so far. It’s perfect for these gorgeous summer evenings and dining al fresco in the back yard. See below for the recipe, and also for the bonus recipe of the watermelon-mint cooler.

Enjoy, friends! Hope you’re staying safe. xoxo

INGREDIENTS

• 2-1/2 cups cooked quinoa

• 1 large or 2 medium (about 1 pound) sweet potatoes, peeled & diced into small cubes

• Salt

• 1 red bell pepper, diced

• 1/4 cup minced red onion or shallot

• Salt & Black Pepper

• 1 can black beans, rinsed & drained

• Avocado

• 1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• 1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

• Spinach (optional)

  Cook the sweet potatoes in boiling salted water until tender, about 15 minutes; drain well. Toss the sweet potato, cooked quinoa, bell pepper and onion together in a bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add avocado, beans and cayenne pepper.

  Whisk the oil and lime juice together in a separate small bowl. If you’re like me and have only you in your household and split this into many meals, don’t toss the dressing with the rest of the salad. Keep the dressing separate and add only to what you’re eating, otherwise it’ll get soggy. No one likes soggy salad! If you’re a family, or hosting a party where it will all be eaten right away, toss the dressing in and mix it up to blend the flavors.

  Place your sweet potato/quinoa mixture atop a generous bed of spinach and top with toasted pumpkin seeds. You can also skip the spinach and enjoy as a potato salad; it’s just an added bonus!

  Devour.

Watermelon Mint Cooler

• Fresh Watermelon

• Fresh Mint

• 1/2 Lime Juice

• Ice

  Place your fresh watermelon, mint, lime juice & ice in a blender and juice for about 30-45 seconds until well-blended. You don’t need a lot of ice - it’s just to chill in case your watermelon hasn’t been refrigerated. I don’t know about you, but I like my drinks to be chilly in the summer! You could also add sugar or some type of sweetener to this if you like your drinks on the sweeter side. I think the watermelon is sweet enough, though, and I’m trying to kick all sugar from my life so I didn’t add any. You can also add a shot of tequila if you’ve had a day. No judgement here. 2020’s been rough!

The recipe was adapted from Epicurious but I made it my own.

Pet Contest in Honor of Emmie's 14th Birthday!

In honor of Emmie's 14th birthday yesterday, I thought it would be fun to have a contest!

Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite quirk is about your pet! If you don't have a pet, share this post with a friend who could have some fun with this and they can tell me what it is they love about their pet! I'll select a winner and will send a bag of homemade PB dog cookies (Emmie-approved!) and a CMP gift certificate toward a mini pet photo session.

Rules: Leave a comment with your pet's favorite quirk. Extra entry if you forward to a friend and they reply. Extra-extra entry if you share this post on social media and tag me. Extra-extra-extra entry if you sign up for my newsletter! Contest ends on August 16, 2020 at 11:59pm.

I'll start!

Photo 1: I LOVE and have always been in awe of Emmie's "Alfalfa" sprout that always sticks up on the front of her head.

Photo 2: I love/hate the way she eats! She's SO messy, leaving little pieces of food everywhere. It's so annoying but it's also kind of cute. She eventually eats all of the them.

Photo 3: She's EXTREMELY picky about her green beans. Girl demands they be cooked in order for her to eat them. This photo is of her rejecting a perfectly fresh albeit raw green bean.

Photo 4: Her toys. Allllll of her toys. This is Hedgie, Otter and her beloved “kitty cat ball” that she loves to roll under the couch.

Now, it’s your turn! Tell me your favorite pet quirks in the comments below!

It's My Dog's 14th Birthday Today!

My Emmie Lou is 14 today and I’m kind of astounded! 14?! I feel like she was JUST a puppy, running around the house in circles, getting her zoomies out and chasing my roommates’ cats! Here are a few of my favorite photos from the past year. I first got Emmie when she was a puppy and it was just before I started my photography journey, and before I knew what I was doing with storing/organizing digital files! I have printed copies of the photos from when she was a pup, but digging through years of digital files that aren’t accurately organized is too daunting to me so I won’t be showing any puppy photos today. Even though she was the cutest-yet-saddest-looking pup and she used to hide under tables when I first brought her home. She’s always been a timid creature, but also the most snuggly little BFF I could’ve asked for. I love this girl, my fur baby, with my whole heart.