I hope you all had such a great start to the week! This weekend totally reinvigorated me. Greg really wanted to hunt, but there was only spot open in the blind so we decided to stay in a hotel for the weekend. It was the perfect plan because Greg got to be close to his hunting spot… Read More »
Sundays are for Hunting!
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZtoI0JJGyE
We went out hunting today, and it was so much fun! We went with some of Greg’s coworkers, and the weather held up perfectly with no wind!
Women’s Hunting Must Haves: Base Layer Top |Base Layer Leggings | Hunting Pants | Hunting Jacket | Gloves | Boots
Heart to Heart | Post 3
So there were two different posts I wanted to post tonight, but neither of them worked out. My first plan didn’t work out, and then I had a great back up plan!
I was hoping that the sun would be up long enough after Greg got off work for us to take some really good pictures, but it is getting dark too early now… Read More »
Our Early Teal Hunt 2017
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnCu-kSE3sk
Here is our newest video! Greg and I went out with some of his coworkers for an early teal hunt. I was just so happy that the morning warmed up, and that I got to spend some amazing time out in nature with Greg. We also ended our trip with some Benadryl. … Read More »
Illinois Hunting Guides Coming Soon!
So the mission of this new section to our blog is to help our fellow hunters find information on public opportunities for hunting.
I have been hunting in Illinois my whole life and can tell you that our state laws and our IDNR (Illinois Department of Natural Resources) website is not always user friendly. I have spent countless hours researching, reading blogs, forums, and other random articles to find more information on hunting areas.
I really think there is a lack of information out there on public land hunting for a few reasons:
1. People just don’t want to give up “their hunting spot”.
2. Information on hunting land and areas is mainly spread by word of mouth and by knowing people in the hunting community.
3. Finding time to go scout these areas is difficult in today’s busy world.
So, as for this section of the blog, I am going to give you my take on how I handle duck season in Illinois. Hunting public land in Illinois is difficult at best. Every area brings new challenges including; boats, long walks, and drawings. I am going to try to provide you with more detailed and specific information. I will be sharing open to the public hunting areas and spots, posting maps, sharing tips and tricks specific to these areas, and giving reviews on public hunting land all throughout Illinois.
Overall, I do have some private ground that I am able to fill in some of my hunting with (I can share tips on how to secure private land, as well, if you all are interested), but I mainly hunt public land and sharing whatever I can with you all.
Not So Perfect Engagement Photos
The stars have never really aligned for us to take engagement photos. We scheduled them several several times, and things just kept coming up!… Read More »
The Secret to Choosing a Fishing Kayak
For the first two years Greg and I were together we mainly fished from our favorite dock or would take a walk, climb some rocks, or walk through the woods to a spot we thought would be promising. It made it really tricky to find the best spot, and sometimes there were lots of obstacles in the way like mud or heavily wooded areas and sometimes even mosquitoes (even though they don’t really bite me, which is so lucky)! … Read More »
Morel Mushroom Hunting and Date night!
The other night, Greg and I went morel mushroom hunting. There are these mushrooms that grow in the wild in the springtime that I guess are really really delicious and rare, and we were hoping to find some. … Read More »
Cauliflower Crust Pizza
One of our favorite things to do together is try out new, healthy recipes. Greg and I cook most nights of the week, and we always try and make our dinners yummy but also good for us. We totally love the veggie substitute craze because we can swap them in for some of the heavier, not so good for you ingredients. Zoodles (zuccinni noodles) were our first experiment. We started making those for spaghetti and meatballs and chicken alfredo a while ago, and they were soooo good! We barely missed the noodles! Then, Greg really stepped up the game with eggplant lasagna, and then he found a recipe for cauliflower crust pizza, and we had to try it!
Our cauliflower crust pizza turned out really, really good. It tasted almost exactly like real pizza, and we are definitely going to make it again. Plus, getting to have pizza, eating a bunch, and still feeling good afterwards is a total win, so I thought I’d share our recipe and how we did it.
Here are the steps:
First, Greg chopped up the cauliflower really small. You can do this in a food processor, but if you don’t have one, chopping a way like we did works really well, too.
Next, we steamed the cauliflower so it was soft enough to moosh up. We mooshed it all up in a bowl with an egg, a little cheese, and some Italian seasoning, aregeno, and basil.
Then, we formed the crust on our pizza tray. We had put coconut oil on the tray so that the crust wouldn’t stick, but it still did a little bit. I think next time we’d put parchment paper down to solve that problem, but the main thing is that the cauliflower layer should be thin. (Ours was a little too thick in the middle).
Once this was done we put it in the oven for 35 minutes at 400 degrees. At this point I was dying to see how the crust was going to turn out, and Greg turned the light on in the oven so that I could keep peeking. 🙂
Finally, we took the crust out, put our marinara, cheese, mushrooms, peppers, and pepperoni on it, and popped it back in the oven until the cheese melted. You can use whatever pizza toppings are your favorite, that’s just what we were feeling that night!
…and then we got to eat it! We ate it with forks because the crust is still cauliflower, and our center was a little too soft, but the edges were perfect and tasted exactly like thin crust pizza! If we could’ve gotten the whole pizza to taste like the edges it would’ve been perfect. I was laughing because when I was eating the middle I kinda felt like I was eating cauliflower with pizza toppings on it, but cheese and pepperoni would be good on anything so no big deal! But honestly with that little adjustment, we both feel like the cauliflower pizza is a total winner and a must try!
If you make one, let me know how it turns out, how you liked it and who you shared it with! 🙂
The Most Magical Time of the Year
Christmas is one of our absolute favorite times of year! Last December, Greg and I got engaged on the 23rd so Christmastime will always hold a special place in our hearts. On Christmas Eve we hunted and then got all cleaned up, and went to Greg’s aunt’s house. His whole family was there, and it was so fun seeing everyone. When we got home on Christmas Eve we still had presents to wrap and lots to get ready because we hosted Christmas Day for our families! Greg and I made a pizza, wrapped presents, and then we dozed off on the couch for like an hour before we went to bed lol.
When Christmas morning came, we got up early together and exchanged gifts just us two and had some coffee and cuddles together. I put on Christmas music (I like the Jessie James Decker Holiday pandora station), and we cleaned and cooked together, with the help of Greg’s sister Katie before our families came. Greg is a master chef in the kitchen. He did most of the cooking because he is such a pro. Seriously, everything he makes in mouthwatering. I always try and copy his cooking, but his always turns out better. I was really just in charge of cleaning up and making the gluten free brownies for Greg’s grandpa; brownies are my speciality lol. Oh and my sister, Olivia, made the green bean casserole.
We were super excited to have everyone over at our place for Christmas, and it was really special and fun. We had my mom, dad, my brother and sister (Kevin and Olivia, Greg’s grandparents, his dad and dad’s wife, Colleen, and his two sisters (Katie and Emily). It was so nice having everyone together to eat, have some drinks, yummy desert, open presents, and have some good sports on in the backgrounds thanks to my dad and brother :)! My mom made pretzel jello, which Greg loves. Greg’s grandma made the most amazing salad, and Olivia made a turtle cheesecake that turned out like it was professional! Christmas always makes me and Greg feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and we definitely felt that way being able to share all the fun and create really special memories with our families together.