Last round at PSU & Momma Luzz's Favorite

This will be my fourth year at Penn State, and my last semester here. I can't believe how much time flew... feels like only a year ago I graduated from high school, and in 2 weeks I'm going to turn 22, and then in a couple months I will be a Penn State graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Nutrition- like seriously? I don't want to grow up!

Sylly week was unexpecting. This pitcher of just plain strawberry starburst is a good recap of it. I had to cut out early though and go home because of poor Hershey :[. The little dogs are going nuts without the big momma bear right now. 

Anna and I decided to make an awesome dinner! Her mom told her about beet greens and if you sauté them they make a great saladish side...oh my goodness they were heavenly. I'm never throwing those puppies away ever again! We also made some gluten free pasta with an amazing pesto- vegan of course! It was so delicious, the recipe for both the sauteed beet greens and creamy pesto spaghetti are on her blog : Dolce Vita. Check it out- she just posted an awesome recipe for mushroom burgers that look amazing!

 As for me, I don't have much recipes up for tonight- I'm still kinda bummin' over the Hershey shmeal. But hey- I made so many awesome treats this weekend- coming to a local blogger near you will be some banana chocolate chip brownies with a rich chocolate frosting, zucchini pizza crust topped with Anna's creamy pesto recipe, some zucchini fries (obviously there is going to be a blog post attributing zucchini), and an awesome cucumber "cumber" salad.

Right now, I have a simple little recipe that I recreated for my mom. My mom is so cute, she's trying to be a vegan! One of her favorite snacks when she was younger were tomato and mayo sandwiches. I cannot tell you how many times she told me this. So I decided that since she is trying oh so hard to be veganized, I decided that we needed to start on something she'd love. I made these as little appetizers for the Penn State vs. Ohio University game (don't even get me started on this game) and she fell in love. Not only was she astonished that there is such thing as vegan mayonnaise, but also at how tasty and delicious this was! And- it was gluten free. Bonus? Only took me less than ten minutes to chop the tomatoes, assort the crackers, and whip up this delicious herbed mayonnaise. Iggy loved it too- he hounded the leftovers and ended up snacking on the mayonnaise!

Tomato and Herbed Mayo 'tizers

vegan~glutenfree

Herbed Veganaise

1/2 cup veganaise

1 tablespoon minced chives

1 teaspoon stonground mustard

2 tablespoons minced basil

2 tablespoons herbes de provence

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Setup

3 heirloom tomatoes, sliced, then quartered for each piece

1 recipe of Herbed Veganaise

24 gluten free crackers (I used Mary's Gone Crackers- Herbed; but any works obviously!)

Himalayan Sea Salt (or any salt)

For the veganaise

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy

For the preparation

1. Place crackers of choice on a serving plate

2. Dollop each cracker with herby veganaise

3. place 2-4 slices of tomato on each cracker

4. sprinkle salt on top of each!

Easy peasy :]

Homemade Guacamole

It's crazy- in less than a week I will be back at Penn State for my final semester. I cannot believe the fact that I will be a graduate from college in a few months! Not only that, but this summer went by too fast. 

I picked some of the CUTEST onions from my little garden I have. They are so precious! And they are so packed with flavor that I know now why they are called sweet onions! With my onions, I decided to make a simple, yet decadent homemade guacamole. It was so simple, so easy, and my mom is so in love with it that she has already asked me to make it 4 times more! 

Homemade Guacamole
- 4 guacamoles, pitted and cubed
- 2 heirloom tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 whole red onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon himalayan sea salt
- Juice of 2 limes

add all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher. serve!

ALSO! My friend rescued a cat yesterday! My friend found this kitten, named monsieur smelly, and brought it into his home. He brought him in, fed him for the night, and then the next morning I went over and searched around for a place for this cat, asked everywhere, and finally I found someone kind enough to take in monsieur smelly. I'm so grateful for this person to give this itty bitty kitty a home!

Summer Summary

I have been slacking on this blog a lot, and I apologize :[. But in return, I just want to give a little summary of one of the most memorable summers I've had so far. From the stresses of the evil cash registers at work to the craziest of nights (is this real life?), this summer surprised me like no other.

"Aimee, we're a toxic combo"
"I'm on a box, shawwty"
"The hash slinging, trash bringing, train station FLASHER"
"Kish the Fish!"
- All by Amanda

"Amanda do you need me to show you where the cotton swabs are?" - "SHE KNOWS WHERE THEY ARE JOEY"
"Alvin's harvesting moe's in her cheeks"
- Keira

"This soda is flatter than a preteen girl"
*Opens freezer to check on haagen and daz* "mama loves you honey"
"You loyal subjects, this is your queen"
"So if I strap on some spandex I can go to the club?"
"So, a jamaican me happy is NOT a fruit?"
Pinot grigio
- Pita

"WERE GONNA GO TO JAIL"
"The ravioli is sitting across from me"
"Wait why are you eating dinner? DOES THIS MEAN YOU'RE NOT DRINKING?"
- Joey

and then of course..
4 some....
HOLD ME YOU PROMISED
pasta night to go

Words can't even describe half of these memories. Some were so funny, I swear I could laugh for hours just thinking about them.

As there were many ups, there were times when it was at rock bottom. The Sandusky scandal shown through, and it devastated the football of Penn State. I hate Sandusky for all this, obviously. I'm sure the guy has no supporters, especially since our entire reputation of being a football team has shattered. As a Penn State student, my pride still lives on because I still am in love with the school I've spent my college years at. 

Next up- a chapter of my life is finished. I can finally move on and start my new chapter in life. So many memories at my first apartment, but god I am so happy to have something with bittersweet memories cut away. 

The Lake Naomi- so beautiful.

I'm more ready than ever to just enjoy the life that I have <3