Dinner updates

Posted in 2014 Themed eating, Drinky drinky, Food, Holidays by mszerwo

The Chef and his feast

One of this year’s resolutions was to incorporate “theme eating” into our weekly meal planning.

I’ve been pretty bad at posting updates, but rest assured we’ve been eating as themes, I just haven’t really been trying new dishes or taking photos of my meals. Some of the themes included “Market ingredients,” “Brandon’s favorites” (over his birthday), and “Quick and easy,” since I started a new job that added quite a few hours to my work week.

We really got back on track with “Mexican week” around Cinco de Mayo. I started off the week with the Huevos Gringos from the Burgundian. It was FABULOUS! I love cheese curds and having them like this for brunch was so tasty. Just looking back at that photo and thinking about the dish makes me want to go back to the Burgundian and have those… tomorrow. Yum.

Burgundian breakfast: Best ever

For Cinco de Mayo itself, we went all out. We made tortillas from scratch, chipotle tofu tacos with a mango-strawberry-avocado salsa, cilantro-lime quinoa with kale, guacamole and strawberry margaritas.

Crispy chipotle tofu triangles

The full meal deal: Cinco de Mayor feast

I was too tired from making all of that to make a simple syrup for the margaritas, so the margaritas were a bit tart, but still refreshing and good. You really can’t go wrong with tequila and triple sec.

Margarita time! Cheers!

A thank you to the Lunch Box Bunch for the inspiration behind this feast! Read the original recipe here.

We also enjoyed tacos, taco salads, and nachos throughout the week. It was a great week, but we were ready for some non-Mexican food by Friday.

12May2014

Happy {belated} Mother’s Day!

Posted in Food, Holidays by mszerwo

My babies: Maddie & Jack

Happy {belated} Mother’s Day to all you moms out there! I’m the proud mom of two wonderful cats who even gave me a present for being such a great mom. (A special thanks to Brandon who helped the cats with their purchase…)

In addition to spending quality time with Brandon and the cats,my parents and sister and brother-in-law came over to Megan’s Island for a special brunch! We had quite the spread. It was similar to last year’s, but switched it up a bit.

This year’s menu:

Waffle bar with berries, syrup and whipped cream
Asparagus, ham and brie frittata
Chicken sausage
Homefries
Fruit salad

Mother’s Day brunch on Megan’s Island

And… Mimosas!

Mother’s day mimosas

I hope you all had a really great Mother’s day! And a very special happy Mother’s day to my Mom. Mom: You’re the best and I love you! Thank you for being such a great supporter of mine!!

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

For more photos of me and my Mom, visit last year’s post here!

11Apr2014

{Gone Pinning} Easter

Posted in Food, Holidays by mszerwo

Easter is already here. Where did the time go! We don’t have official plans yet, but they will likely be something like Thanksgiving: I’ll post a blog post about different fun food ideas that I’ve found on Pinterest and my parents, the loyal blog readers that they are, will choose one of those items for our Easter feast.

So, here are my ideas!

Perhaps, an app?

I love me some veggie trays.

I made this one for Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving vegetable tray | Megan’s Island Blog

“Carrots” with salmon mousse

Blackberry brie bites

Spinach artichoke dip in Parmesan cups

Or, maybe, dessert:

Grilled Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Peaches with Salted Bourbon Caramel

Strawberry pudding dessert cups

Rice Krispie eggs dipped in chocolate and sprinkles

Birds nests

Yes, this will be a wonderful Easter indeed. I hope you enjoy it as much as I think we will!

9Mar2014

{Gone Pinning} Luck ‘o the Irish

Posted in Gone Pinning, Holidays, Uncategorized by mszerwo

I can’t believe that St. Patty’s day is already next week, on Monday, March 17. This year is flying by, which is good because I’m over all of this rain we’ve been having. I’ve scoured the internet for some great ideas to make your St. Patrick’s day a golden success.

We’ll be enjoying corned beef (my favorite!), potatoes, and cabbage, and if you’re not a corned beef-aholic like I am, here are some other fun Irish ideas:

Irish beef stew

Shamrock tortilla chips

Maybe we’ll deviate a little bit and combine our two favorite things: corned beef (mine) and pot pie (Brandon’s):

Corned beef pot pie

Corned beef and cabbage soup

We’re always looking for desserts…

Sweet And Salty Guinness Chocolate Pie With Beer Marshmallow Meringue

St. Patty’s day bars

Baileys Irish Cream Cookies

Check out all of my ideas on my “Luck ‘o the Irish” Pinterest board. And have a wonderful St. Patty’s day!

1Mar2014

2014 Oscar party

Posted in Holidays, Parties!, Uncategorized by mszerwo

The Oscars are one of my favorite excuses for a party. Unfortunately, an Oscar party isn’t in our cards this year, so, you get the benefit of my creative mind and ideas. Here we go!

First, cocktails.

Champagne + Chambord + Raspberries = Hollywood Glam

Next, food. Let’s start with dessert.

My go-to is the popcorn cupcake. They’re pretty easy to make (although cutting all those marshmallows is a bit tedious…) and everyone loves them.

Megan’s Popcorn Cupcakes

Oscar popcorn cupcakes

However, these are some pretty amazing cupcakes too. These might be good for next year!

Oscar cupcakes | Party Pinching

Oscar statue cookies!? I own the cookie cutter and have used edible glitter to make flat cookies, but I haven’t made cookies that look nearly this good. These are exceptional.

Adorable and delicious cookies

And snacks! Last year we had a panini bar, with a variety of meats, cheeses and veggies.

Our 2013 Oscar panini bar

We also did a quinoa salad and truffle popcorn. I’ve seen a lot of ideas for popcorn bar, but I prefer to keep it more on the classic side.

These tux cheese and crackers are some cutest appetizers that I’ve ever seen. These will definitely be on the table next year!

Tux cheese and crackers

To put the finishing touches on the best Academy Awards/Oscar party ever, you’ll need to decorate like an award-winner! Gold is clutch when decorating, and if you want, you could bust out my favorite metallic spray paint and make your own trophies, like these Ken dolls…

Opportunity to spray paint? Yes, please!

Or keep it classy, keeping to the gold palette:

Our Oscar spread from 2013

Academy award party decor

And of course, you need an activity. I like completing ballots and “grading” them as the awards are presented. I give away past Oscar-winning films as prizes.

There are a lot of printable ballot options online right now and I’m really liking this one from Studio DIY:

Studio DIY 2014 Oscar ballot

Have a wonderful weekend and really enjoy those Academy Awards on Sunday!

8Feb2014

{Gone Pinning} Valentine’s Day

Posted in Food, Holidays by mszerwo

Man, what a week! First, our beloved Broncos humiliated themselves at the Super Bowl and then Seattle blew up in excitement over its first Super Bowl win. As a result, more than 700,000 people trekked downtown to help celebrate the Seahawks. To put that in perspective, that’s more people that even live in Seattle along 20 blocks during a workday. Yowza.

As you can tell, it’s been a long week and Valentine’s Day is already less than seven days away. So, it’s time for some quick planning…and a trip to Pinterest.

Brandon and I try to avoid the jacked up prices of the typical Valentine’s Day gifts and restaurant menus and this year is no different. It’s pretty nice to be on the same page and we celebrate just as much our way.

So, for Valentine’s Day, we’re going to enjoy a romantic dinner at home. Here are some of my ideas…

Valentine’s Day pizza? I think yes. Maybe with heart-shaped pepperoni?

Romantic AND healthy: strawberry roses

Chocolate heart rice krispie treats. Don’t these look amazing!?

These s’more cookies look SO good!

Another delicious cookie: Hot cocoa cookie

And, of course: Carrying on with the chocolate and marshmallow theme: BOOZES!

Maybe this pop-up card with the menu or a sweet message?

We’re also planning on giving one another cards, little gifts (think sweets) and an afternoon wine tasting and sight-seeing in Woodinville. I’ve pinned a ton of great card and gift ideas, along with some tasty recipes on my “Valentine’s day inspirations” board on Pinterest.

Have a great weekend and happy {almost} Valentine’s Day!

25Dec2013

Merry Christmas!

Posted in Holidays, Photos by mszerwo

Merry Christmas from Megan’s Island!! We’re going to spend the day celebrating with family and I’ll be back to the blog soon! Enjoy your day!

21Dec2013

Winter welcome

Posted in Adventures, Holidays by mszerwo

As of 9:11 this morning winter was here. Unofficially winter came a few days early in Seattle.

Yesterday most of the area was blanketed with a few inches of the white stuff: snow! It was very pretty but there wasn’t enough for me to justify skipping work. Instead, Brandon and I walked to the bus (about a mile) to enjoy the winter wonderland. Sadly, the snow had all melted by the time I went back outside for lunch.

I hope you’re snuggled inside enjoying the first weekend of winter!

13Dec2013

{Gone Pinning} Handmade holidays

Posted in DIY, Gone Pinning, Holidays by mszerwo

If you’re like me, you’re both buying and making gifts this holiday season. I spent some time scouring the internet and found some great ideas for handmade holiday gifts. Find all of my Christmas-related pins here.

Perhaps, a wreath?

Chalk wreath

Felt wreath

Or, some ornaments

DIY tree and snow filled ornaments

Map ornament

Cornstarch/Baking soda ornaments. Great, easy, cheap craft project!

DIY felt ornaments

Cupcakes!? Yes, please!

Maybe, something edible?

Hot chocolate spoons

Various cocoas

Roasted or spiced nuts? (These are roasted almonds)

Something for the dog, perhaps?

And of course, you’ll need some of these fabulous gift tags!

Printable gift tags #1

Or, these red and aqua ones?

Maybe these?

Happy crafting!

11Dec2013

{Wine Wednesday} Holiday cocktails

Posted in Drinky drinky, Gone Pinning, Holidays, Wine Wednesdays by mszerwo

We’re in holiday party mode, enjoying lots of delicious foods and drinks and Christmas is but a fortnight away. (Thanks, Heather!)

On this Wine Wednesday, I’m here to share some delicious cocktails I’ve found online. It’s a {Wine Wednesday/Gone Pinning} MASH UP! Note: I’ve haven’t enjoyed these cocktails yet, but I plan to soon!

For a smaller group:

Holiday Spiced Manhattan

Apple pie on the rocks

Santa’s Little Helper

For a larger group:

Holiday sangria

Sparkling holiday punch

Pomegranate champagne cocktail

Cheers and happy holiday season to you and yours!

Megan's Island

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Category Archives: Holidays

Dinner updates

Happy {belated} Mother’s Day!

{Gone Pinning} Easter

{Gone Pinning} Luck ‘o the Irish

2014 Oscar party

{Gone Pinning} Valentine’s Day

Merry Christmas!

Winter welcome

{Gone Pinning} Handmade holidays

{Wine Wednesday} Holiday cocktails