{Fresh Friday}

Hi all...

Thank you so much for all the kind comments about my ride!! I really appreciate it:)

It's FRIDAY!! Yeehaw~

flickr

And you know what that means....another happy, healthy recipe!
This time it's a variation on a theme!

Remember last week's salad?!?!? Well this time I switched it up and put roasted sweet potato slices on top instead of apples!Roasted Sweet Potatoes

slice sweet potatoes

top each with a tiny dollop of honey and sea salt and pepper

roast in 450 degree oven for 15 minutes

flip once at 7 and a half minutes

When finished.....

put atop a lovely bed of organic greens

with honey roasted pumpkin seeds and sliced dried figs!!

Top with Apple Vinaigrette

Sometimes when you know you already like something....it's easy to switch it up rather than reinventing the wheel~

For example...you could put roasted beets on this salad or pears or any other thing you like!!

I am just keeping with the autumn.... sweet and salty theme. And here is the dressing I made....

Yummy and healthy~

So simple and so good!

Then I made this chili that I was soooooo looking forward to since this post..I sauteed the carrots, garlic and onion~added all the other ingredients the recipe called for and ended up with this....
Looks great, huh?!?!?! It even had lots of dark chocolate! {I added way more than the recipe called for}

And let me tell you....this was the worst chili I have ever had:(

Sometimes that really is the problem with following recipes for me. I find I am a much better cook when I experiment on my own:)

I tried to fix it....but it was so SPICY that I had to use a napkin to wipe the sweat off my forehead as I tried to eat it!! Owell...you win some and you lose some! I will for sure be more careful when I chose a recipe to follow OR I will just continue on whipping up my own recipes:)

Now the best thing about eating yummy food is how you eat it..I enjoy making the table look cute and so I thought it would be fun to share how to make something out of nothing!!

I made these cute little napkin rings....out of things I already had on hand!It's my take on a beachy autumn:) A starfish and Midwestern dune grass wrapped onto simple white napkins.

I love grasses and definitely think they lend a beachy feel to a Midwestern landscape...For the table...

I put some faux flowers in wine bottles {you know I have plenty of wine bottles around my house} and used faux pumpkins and real leaves!! Simple and cheap!

Who wouldn't want to enjoy a nice autumn meal here?!?!

Oh....I forgot to tell you that this is all from the other night with my friend. We call it Wishful Wednesday's......where we share a yummy meal, lots of vino and dark chocolate!

Anywho....we later enjoyed a fire in our firepit~I brought out the comfy pillows that I made earlier this summer...I think they turned out super cute!!

And finally if you can imagine it....I ruined my napkins during the evening by spilling my wine on them! It's so funny because if you knew me you would know that I do not own anything without at least one red wine stain on it!! Owell!! What can I say...I love to drink and wear my red wine:)

Hope you all enjoyed my recipes for Fresh Fridays and as always if you want to participate....please feel free!! Just grab my button and blog away:) Oh and let me know you did!! I would love to get more ideas for healthy eating~

"To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art."
La Rochefoucauld