Life's a Zoo

Kansas City voters just approved a 1/8-cent sales tax for the Zoo! This will generate an estimated $14.2 million a year, which will help to create a better zoo for the community. The best part....they promise to bring PENGUINS to the zoo!

We just recently went to the zoo Halloween weekend. We had a great time, saw lots of animals and even rode the new African Sky Safari ride. We also saw the newest member of the zoo, a polar bear named Nikita. She was so big, and had a little swimming routine she did over and over and over.

here are some pics of our little adventure..

we even saw Timon & Pumba!

A shot from the African Sky Safari

So happy for the zoo, they really need this money. Can't wait to go back and see some penguins!

-Whitney

Squashing the Carbs

Spaghetti squash is one of the weirdest/coolest vegetables I think that I have ever eaten. You bake it, and the inside shreds exactly like spaghetti noodles, minus the carbs, and it tastes great! Just like pasta, you can put whatever kind of sauce on it you want. We made our own spaghetti sauce with ground turkey.

Ingredients

FOR THE SQUASH:

2 spaghetti squash (pictured above)- 1 squash feeds 2 people

Pepper

Italian Seasoning

Garlic Salt

FOR THE SAUCE:

1 lb ground turkey (or beef if you prefer)

1/2 an onion

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1 large can of stewed tomatoes

1 can of tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut squash in half, and scrape out the seeds. Poke with a fork and season as desired. We used garlic salt, pepper, and Italian Seasoning.

Fill the bottom of a baking dish or cake pan with about a 1/2 inch of water and place the squash halves, inside up, in the dish. Bake for about an hour, or until the squash is tender.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan cook the turkey meat and Italian Seasoning, breaking it up while it cooks, until it is still a little pink.

Add the onions, garlic powder, tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook for another 5-10 minutes or until onions are soft, turkey is no longer pink and sauce is hot.  Add chopped basil.

Once the spaghetti squash is done cooking, pull the squash out and let it cool a little. If it's too hot it will be hard to scrape the inside.

Using a fork just simply scrape the inside of the squash, it will pull off very easily and will look like pasta.

You can use the outside of the squash as a bowl, and just add your sauce right on top of the squash, with a little Parmesan and more basil as needed.

Enjoy your carb-less spaghetti!

-Whitney

A Tale of Two Cities

Coming across this fun blogspot Paris versus New York was a highlight of my dreary day.  If only I could look out my window and spot the Statue of Liberty or even better ... Eiffel Tower. 

Described on the page as, "A friendly visual match between two cities told by a lover of Paris wandering, through New York.  Details, cliches, contradictions."  Even better this blogspot is becoming a book (US version coming soon to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Indie Bound) and some images are even sold individually here.  Check out a few of my favorite posters below

How Fun!

-Megan 

Quinoa with Corn & Scallions

I'm not sure if you have tried any type of quinoa, or if you have even heard of it, but we are big fans. It is a sort of nutty grain, you can substitute for rice. It has a lot of protein, and a little bit of a crunch to it. It doesn't really taste like much plain, but is great in dishes, or even with just soy sauce.

This quinoa recipe has a lemony flavor, which tastes awesome with the scallions.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups corn (we used defrosted frozen corn)

1 tbsp grated fresh lemon zest

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups uncooked quinoa

4 scallions, chopped

Rinse uncooked quinoa in a strainer under cold water until it runs clear.

Cook the quinoa in boiling salt water as directed on the package. The Trader Joe's quinoa we used said to boil 2 cups of quinoa in 4 cups of water and then simmer for 10-15 minutes until the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter, honey, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Once the quinoa is cooked, add it to the dressing along with the corn and chopped scallions. Mix until evenly coated. Add additional salt and pepper if needed and serve.

Enjoy!

-Whitney

Makin' History

literally.  Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon make a great pair especially with microphones in their hands and dancing shoes on their feet. 

Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake - History of Rap, part 3

(Watch a better quality version at Hulu.com)

History of Rap, part 1 and 2 posted earlier

Tomato Tortellini Soup

Happy November! It's officially Autumn and soup season. We made this soup last week and it was a huge hit.  It will definitely make another appearance this soup season.  

Ingredients

1 Package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini

2 cans reduced-sodium condensed tomato soup

2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups 2% milk (I used skim)

2 cups half-and-half cream

1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I used grated)

Directions

1. Cook tortellini according to package

2. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes (drain sun-dried tomatoes because the oil doesn't mix well in soup), and seasoning

3. Heat through, stirring frequently, Drain tortellini and carefully add to soup.

4. Stir in cheese and add additional on top if desired

 Enjoy!

-Megan

Celebs do Halloween

 Happy Halloween! Hope you had a great weekend, with successful costumes! Or maybe you are wearing yours tonight. Well the celebs hit up some parties this weekend, here are some of my favorites...

 

 Gwen Stefani as a beautiful Cinderella and Heidi Klum with a human anatomy costume...wow!

What a cute little family of Incredibles!

  

It's not surprising that that Snooki dressed up like a furry leopard, and wow does Nicole Richie make a great JLo!

The cast of "Fashion Police"...Awesome! Joan Rivers as Suri Cruz, Kelly Osbourne and George Kotsiopoulos as JLo and Marc Anthony and Giuliana Rancic as Victoria Beckham. 

And my favorite....The Today Show's Royal Wedding Party....so perfect! They always have the best costumes!

Hope you have a fun, safe Halloween!

-Whitney