Guest Post: greek salad recipe

We're wrapping up the week of guest posts with one of my oldest friends, Aubrey. And she's got a great recipe for one of my favorite foods: greek salad. So I hope you enjoy her post as much as I do. 
HI! I'm Aubrey and you can find me over at The Found Life. I love the Lord, I am married to the best man I've ever known and we have two fur kids - a dog, Hubble, and a cat, Phoebe who make our days more interesting! I am pluviophile, and a lover of weird words like that. I am a wedding and lifestyle photographer in Northern Nevada. I've known Lauren for years and years! We met when we were in middle school when we were both living in Germany! I can remember plenty of sleep overs and days of laughter and fun with this sweet girl! She is kind, so nurturing, and encouraging! She is beautiful inside and out and has such a fun laugh! Thankfully over the years we have kept in touch, and I am so thankful for our friendship, and the fact that we can call each other and just cry and pray together! I recently just got back into blogging (on the personal side), so I want to give a huge thanks to Lauren for letting me take over her blog today!


I love to eat (who doesn't!?) but I am a very picky eater, the flavor and texture has to be just right and sadly for me, a lot of what is healthy has either a weird texture or flavor to me. So because I am so picky, when I find a healthy recipe that I love I get super excited! So I wanted to share a recipe for Greek Salad with y'all that I absolutely love!! I am not a chef by any means, but I enjoy cooking (I'll let you clean up any day though!!) and making things my own so I don't follow the recipe too strictly and you can feel free to modify it to fit your own taste.

Greek Salad with Herbed Pita

serves 4

Ingredients:

• Lemon juice, from 1 lemon
• Garlic, 1 clove, minced
• Freshly ground pepper
• Olive oil, 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons
• Pita bread, 4 rounds
• Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon
• Your favorite salad mixture
• Cucumber, 1 half-whole
• Grape tomatoes, as many as you want
• Olives, black
• Feta cheese
• Green onions, 8, thinly sliced, optional
• Green bell pepper, 1/3, optional
• Red onion, as much as you want, optional

1. Make the vinaigrette:

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, and a generous amount of pepper. Gradually whisk in the 1/4 cup of oil until smooth.

*I'm not sure if there is a reason for not mixing all the ingredients together or not, so I just throw them all in the bowl and whisk them together, none of that gradually mixing stuff... :)

2. Warm the pita:

Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Cut each pita into 4 wedges. Arrange on a baking sheet and brush both sides with the 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle with the italian seasoning and place in the oven to warm for about 10 minutes.

*I enjoy the pita just a little bit crunchier so I tend to leave it in for a few extra minutes, or if you are running short on time, you can up the temp to 325°F (165°C).

3. Assemble the salad:

Meanwhile, add the lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, green bell pepper to the vinaigrette and toss to coat evenly. Arrange on plates and top with the olives, and feta. Place the warm pita wedges alongside the salads and serve.

*I always cut the wrong amount of the vegetables to add in, so I usually cut them all right before I add them in and like I said up above, feel free to add as many as you want of everything. Cut everything how you like to cut them. I like the cucumbers cut smaller and I usually cut them into 4 pieces and for the tomatoes I prefer cutting them into multiple slices because the pop of the grape tomato when you bite into it (even when cut in half)  is too much for this picky eater.

Guest Post: Work as Ministry

Hi everyone, I hope you're enjoying all my lovely friends guest posting. Today we have Kelli from A Deeper Joy. She's written about a subject that I really struggle with-work as ministry. I hope as I find a new position, I will use my job to really live out God's word in the work place. Thanks so much Kelli for being here today!

Hey lovely Bound by Love readers!  I'm thrilled to be guest posting for Lauren today - thanks for letting me take over your space, friend!

This is such a huge topic in my life!  Just to give you a little background...I am a CPA.  I work in the tax department at a commercial real estate company with six other women.  Yep, seven accounting women all in one area!  Sounds like drama, right?  This might surprise you, but it's really not.  We do talk about life and such, but we don't hang out outside of work and we don't take things personally.

Work As Ministry

If you are a Christian and have been one since you were young, you might have experienced what I have.  I grew up in a Christian family, attended church camp, was a leader in the youth group and then attended a Christian university.  Shoot...even if you didn't grow up like me, it's likely that you have heard this as well.  I feel like it was engrained in my head that to achieve the ultimate status as a Christian was to "work in ministry".  Many Christians receive this as a calling and I think that is awesome!

What do we define as "ministry"?

Usually ministry is a position in the church such as a pastor, children's pastor, youth pastor/worker, domestic or international missionary, Christian counselor, or working for any type of faith-based organization.  While I believe that ALL of these positions are WONDERFUL and so glorifying to the Lord, I think our view of what is "ministry" is far too restricting.

Aren't we ALL called to ministry?  Whether you're a teacher, a construction worker, a social worker, a lawyer, an accountant, work in retail, work in hospitality, a mother, a father, a student, an administrative assistant, a blogger, a writer, a recruiter or a food server, YOU are in ministry.  Aren't all places a work (with the exception of jobs outright involving sin like prostitution) a place of ministry?

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." ~Colossians 3:23

We are called to work as if working for the Lord.  Working your hardest at whatever you do brings glory to the Lord.  THIS is a ministry!  If you prepare tax returns (haha...me!), prepare them with the best accuracy and diligence that you can.  If you teach children, teach them important information and discipline them with love.  This applies to all areas of work.  

How can you work as if working for the Lord in your career?

Relationships

Be a light for the Lord in your workplace.  Your coworkers are observing you and if they know that you are a Christian, they are developing an opinion of God by your actions.

"Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven."

~Matthew 5:16

We are a reflection of Christ.  I know this is tough because you are human and you are sinful.  You won't be perfect but you can strive to live a Christ-like life through your words and actions at work.  Be open about God's forgiveness but strive to be a good example.  Someone may come to know Christ through you but could also be hindered by your behavior.  I daily have to remind myself of this.  I am often tempted to gossip and complain at work.  Then I remember that it isn't Christ-like and I want my coworkers to see God's love through me.

I know this can be awkward - I know!  I try to develop relationships with my coworkers.  I want them to know that I care about them not just as coworkers, but as friends.  We often talk about personal stuff without getting too nosey.  This can be a tough road to walk but such a rewarding one!  I pray often for my coworkers and am there for them to talk to if they need it.

This has honestly been what has kept me in my profession.  Sometimes I hate the actual work (and have to remind myself of Colossians 3:23) but knowing that so many professionals would never come in contact with a believer otherwise, motivates me to stay there and love them.  It is definitely a mission field!

How can you better show the love of Christ to your coworkers?

Guest Post: Book Recommendations

Continuing with my guest posts, we have Carly here today from her blog Carly Blogs Here with some book recommendations. As I've brought my kindle with me while I'm on vacation in New Hampshire I'm anxious to get started on some of her recommendations. Thanks so much Carly for guest posting. Take it away...

I'm so happy to be guest posting on Lauren's blog today! While I share a pretty wide variety of posts on my blog, some of my favorite posts revolve around books. I thought I would share a small selection of some favorites and recommendations.

 

 Me Before You is a recent read that I fell in love with from the very beginning. It's a story about friendship, love, and family. It will make you smile and make you cry and you'll be sad when it comes to an end. The Gifts of Imperfection is the perfect book if you need a little bit of encouragement or inspiration. It's one of those books that you want to highlight the entire thing because it's so relatable. Sloppy Firsts will forever be a favorite book of mine- I believe it's classified as new adult and is book one of a five part series. You can't help but love Jessica Darling and the rest of the very realistic set of characters. An Invisible Thread is the true story of an 11-year-old panhandler, a busy sales executive, and an unlikely meeting with destiny. I've been a huge fan of Sarah Dessen for years and recently read Along For the Ride and adored it! If you're a fan of young adult books it's one you don't want to miss! The Great Gatsby is the perfect classic to read or reread this summer. Fitzgerald makes us all wish we could attend a West Egg party! What are some of your all-time favorite books? Any recent reads that you've loved? A huge thank you to Lauren for letting me post today! Feel free to stop by Carly Blogs Here for more book recommendations!

Guest Post: no knead bread

Hi guys. Today I have one of my best friends, Tera, guest posting again for us. She's got an amazing recipe up her sleeve that I'm 100% going to try sometime soon. I'm a sucker for bread and if it's as easy as she says my house is soon to become a bakery.

Hello Bound By Love readers! My name is Tera... You may remember me from my guest post last month on meal planning. I'm stoked to be guest posting again for Lauren while she and Dave are enjoying a well deserved vacation.

Today I'm going to share one of the best bread recipes around. It's a take on the famous no knead method championed by Jim Lahey that my friend taught me to bake earlier this year. It's ridiculously easy to make and all it takes is a little forethought and a Dutch oven. Both key components! So let's get to it.

The first thing you is to possess a magical 6th sense that can predict your homemade artisan bread cravings about 24 hours before they hit. Ok, kidding but this bread does use a slow rise method so you need to let it rise for about 20 hour before baking. I usually prep the dough sometime in the evening the day before I want some bread say Saturday night for a loaf on Sunday afternoon. In a pinch you could probably get away with preparing the dough in the morning and baking that night!

In a bowl place the following ingredients and mix just until they come together:

3 cups of flour (I prefer 2 cups of bread flour and 1 cup of whole wheat but you can use any mix you want)
1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups cold water

 After the ingredients are combined cover the bowl tightly. I use plastic wrap secured with a rubber band but use whichever method works for you. Over the next 18-20 hours you'll see your dough transform into a bubbly uniform mixture that is ready to turn into delicious bread. Punch down the dough and turn it out into a floured surface. Fold the dough on itself a few times and shape it into a  ball with a distinct seam on the under side. (this will produce an opening in the bread when it bakes!) Cover the dough with the bowl you mixed it in or a floured tea towel and let it rise for another 2 hours. About an hour and a half in put your Dutch oven (you can use regular cast iron or enameled) into your oven and preheat to 450 degrees. You want the Dutch oven to heat up with the oven. When you hit the 2 hour mark and your oven and Dutch oven are piping hot pull out the Dutch oven and toss your dough seam side up into the pot. Place covered in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes. Enjoy some seriously delicious smells in your house while all this is happening.

 After 45 minutes total cooking time take your Dutch oven and delicious bread out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. If you listen carefully you'll hear your bread crackling and singing to you! After 10 minutes you are free to dig in. I'd recommend eating the whole loaf immediately with a little butter because it's so tasty steaming hot out of the oven but it also will last a few days stored in a bag on the counter. It is best fresh because the crust is wonderfully crisp and a great contrast to the soft interior. After a few hours of storage the bread loses it's crisp exterior and becomes more chewy. Still delicious just not quite as perfect as when it is fresh. Now... Feel free to enjoy your yummy homemade bread as an accompaniment to a pot of homemade soup, as toast or a sandwich, anything really. You can also separate the dough into four balls before cooking to make rolls or form it into a baguette loaf if you have an oblong Dutch oven.

Lately I've been really digging it as a side to my take on the Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana or topped with mashed avocado and a little salt. How are you going to eat yours??

Copy Cat Zuppa Toscana:

Brown two or three mild Italian sausages in a pot with the casings removed. Add one diced onion and sauté until soft. Next add two diced potatoes and 2 quarts of stock of your choice along with some crushed red pepper and Italian seasoning. Let the soup simmer away until the potatoes are tender and add one bunch of kale chopped or torn into bite size pieces and a cup of milk just before serving.

Guest Post: The Ingredients for a Perfect Saturday

Hi guys! While Dave and I are off on vacation I have some amazing girls guest posting. We're going to start off with one of my favorite blog friends turned real friends, Cassie. 

Hello Bound by Love readers, it's me again- Cassie from Sage! I am so happy to be with you guys today while Lauren is off enjoying her vacation. I am a newlywed, west coast transplant living in the Midwest and attending graduate school. I like to think I am pretty interesting, but that could just be my self-serving bias... oops. Anyways, I hope you will stick around!

I'm not going to lie. I have had this post in my own drafts for some time. I can be indecisive, and I have about a million things to talk about so it was difficult to narrow down my thoughts. HOWEVER, I am here to save the day because I have FINALLY put together a list of the ingredients for a perfect Saturday. At least my perfect Saturday!

1. SLEEPING IN. Now, this doesn't always happen, especially because my cats think that the best time to wake up is 5:30am. Also, our idea of sleeping in is like 8am, so if I make it to then I am pretty stoked.

{omg is that even for real? Cassie I want it!!! Makes my heart melt}

2. Breakfast in bed. My husband is amazing, he is always up before me on the weekends cooking breakfast for us. I don't hate it.

3. COFFEE. Literally- it is not a Saturday without coffee and cat cuddles. It's just not. 

6. More coffee and quiet time. 



5. A nice long bike ride. We are big cyclists and love to get out for a long ride on Saturdays together. Sometimes we even venture out of our introvertedness and ride with friends.

6. Netflix & a nap. Because who doesn't love both of these things? And after a long ride this is just about the only thing that sounds appealing.

7.  A homemade dinner. Since we are trying to save money by not eating out, a lot of the time we eat at home, even on the weekends. I don't mind because I really love cooking, especially since it is summer and I can convince my husband to grill!

8. Out early for drinks and sometimes even dessert. 

8. A bonfire in our awesome backyard. Our backyard recently got a facelift so we really love to spend time back there lately.
 

9. Getting to bed early with a good book. Because relaxation, duh.

What are your ingredients for a perfect Saturday?

Thanks so much Cassie! Aren't her cats adorable?

6.27.14

 

Dear Dave, I love when you're home and we're back in our routine together. Although absence does make the heart grow fonder. And I'm more appreciative of all you do when you come back home, so that's the silver lining I guess. Dear work, thanks for being understanding about me taking my name out of consideration for the full-time job. I'm really excited to travel with Dave for his work and figure out this whole "what I want to do with my life" thing when we're done. Dear hair, I like my new cut. Perfect for summer and for a girl that hates spending any time on doing my hair.

Dear Nicole, we will be back together in just a few days! I'm really looking forward to your visit!!!! Dear Sister Friend, I can't wait for you to be back in the states, I miss you so much. Dear Dave, you work so hard and I'm so proud of you. Congrats on your promotion at work. You're an amazing provider and I feel so safe with you. Yesterday morning as I was pulling out of our driveway and you were getting settled in your car, I just looked at you and went, "God, I love that man, I'm so lucky." Dear Tera, thanks for your guest post. Can't wait for a follow up. I need to start meal prepping, so this is helpful advice. Dear Youtube, I'm ashamed to say I've been sucked down the rabbit hole a time or two. It stars with one funny video and before you know it it's midnight and I've watched hours of videos. But thanks for keeping me entertained when Dave was gone. Dear Finley, thanks for getting so much better about going into the crate. It's making life so much easier. Dear Friday, I woke up thinking you were Saturday. Fail. Thank Goodness Dave knows his days and made me get up for work. He's a keeper. Dear Friends, enjoy your weekend! See ya back here on Monday!

Guest Post: Meal Prep

Morning friends, Today one of my best friends is taking over my space. I will definitely be trying out some of her tips and tricks. Thanks for being here today T.

{picking my own green beans... apparently they do grow vegetables in Arizona!}

Hello! I'm Tera and today I will be talking to you all about meal prep and planning. A big thanks to Lauren for letting me take over her blog for today. When she asked me a while ago if I wanted to guest post I was super excited but felt I didn't have anything to write about. I got to thinking and realized I love reading blog posts about meal planning and prep and I've learned a lot about it in the past year, so why not write about that?

{grocery list for the week}

A little over a year ago I moved from just outside of DC where I was a half mile from a grocery store, a mile from my office and a 5 minute drive from almost everything else I needed on a daily basis to a small town in Arizona with just a Walgreens and a Dairy Queen. In addition to that I also commute 60 miles one way to and from work. Somehow in that hour commute I don't even pass a grocery store. If I forget something for dinner one night (unless it is a lime - the gas station I pass carries those) I'm pretty much out of luck without adding an hour or so on to my drive home. I love eating healthy and being active but having so much less time was making that difficult. Between that and having less time in the mornings and evening to make meals I pretty quickly came to the realization that planning out my meals for the week and grocery shopping really efficiently on Sundays is what needed to happen.

Now I have a good routine that helps me pack my breakfasts and lunches to eat at work and get dinner on the table every night at a reasonable time. The routine is pretty basic but it seems to work for us. I read blogs and browse Pinterest regularly for meal ideas and always try to use fresh ingredients and keep processed foods to a minimum. Having staple meals and a few new ones each week handy is helpful when planning out our week. It all starts with my CSA farm box (a weekly box of fruits and veggies I get from a local farm). By Wednesday at midnight I need to have my order placed. The produce isn't necessarily the same every week so I order what looks good to me and use that as the basis for our weekly meal plan. Based on what I know I have coming in the farm box I start to put together a meal plan for the week and a grocery list on my iPhone usually on Thursday but definitely by Sunday when I go to the grocery store.

Some typical meals we have are chicken and bean bake, tacos, spaghetti squash or a crockpot meal. We also throw in a night or two of going out and usually I try one new dish a week. Once I have the list in place I look through the recipes to see what I can prep on Sunday once I get home from the grocery store. I always make hard boiled eggs for snacks at work, homemade almond milk for my oatmeal and try and prep other items for lunches and dinners ahead of time. For example, with the chicken and bean bake I can get everything chopped and seasoned and put it in the refrigerator in a baking dish covered with plastic wrap so I just need to throw it in the oven when I get home from work. I can usually also prepare a crockpot meal in the crockpot dish and put that in the refrigerator. Spaghetti squash and other veggies (like sweet potatoes or beets!) can also be baked in advance since those take 45 minutes to an hour to bake. Some other things I have made ahead are: brown rice or quinoa, baking muffins for the hubby's breakfast, putting together fruits and veggies in individual baggies for smoothies, chopping up veggies or making salads and homemade dressing for the week, making homemade nut butter or whole wheat pizza dough, baking chicken or making soup.

{making salads for lunch for the week}

{super easy homemade salad dressing}

Making your own dressing is so quick, is usually healthier than bottled dressings AND tastes fresh and delicious. The basic recipe is just an acid and a fat of some sort. In this case equal parts lemon juice & olive oil. I just put the ingredients in a tupperware or mason jar and shake before using. I added dijon mustard and dill to kick it up a notch this time. You can also use balsamic vinegar instead of lemon juice and easily make healthy creamy dressings like ranch using greek yogurt. Try this recipe for a simple honey mustard!

Beach Week: beach essentials

Sometimes I feel like it takes so much effort to get ready to go to the beach that by the time we get there I'm so tired that I just sit for a good long while. But the packing and hauling is always worth it because I'm never uncomfortable or wishing I had brought something. I made a beach essential checklist so you're always prepared too.

Guest Post: public furr-ination

Happy Hump Day friends. I've asked my sweet blog friend Christa from over at Forever Young to guest post today. I'm always so jealous of all her pictures of her sweet golden going everywhere with her and her husband. I constantly text her about what stores we're allowed to go into with Finley so I figured I'd ask her to write about it for me. I think Finley may be a little too rambunctious now to take places but it's good to know for the future; once he gets all the puppiness out of him. I'm so thankful for Christa, she really got me through the phase of not liking Finley when we first got him. She encouraged me and promised that it would be worth it, and it is. I love that little fur ball more than anything. In case I didn't say it back then, thank you Christa, so very much.

 

On that note, take it away Christa (and Thatcher)....

{Thatcher....Christa's beautiful Golden}

Hello new friends! I am Christa and I blog at Forever Young. I am so happy to be taking over Lauren's space for the day. Isn't her little Finley adorable? A few weeks back, she asked me to post about traveling with our dog. He's a huge part of our lives, so of course I was excited to share our experiences.

A little over 3 years ago, my husband (then boyfriend) and I got our little fur-ball, Thatcher. He also answers to Mr. T, Thatch, and Tigger. We travel with Thatcher a lot. We take him on vacations, trips from D.C. to Alabama, weekend beach trips, and shopping excursions. When we got married last August, it was never up for discussion that Thatcher would be a part of our wedding (photo above). It was assumed that he would be there for our big day. Perhaps we are those crazy dog people... Leaving that up for discussion.

We routinely take Thatcher along to (in addition to all pet stores):

Pottery Barn

Apple

Vineyard Vines

Anthropologie

Banana Republic

Gap

Small boutique stores often allow us to bring Thatcher in as well. Just ask if you aren't sure. You'll be surprised how many places will let you bring your dog in. They'll let you know if they don't want the pup in their store. It never hurts to ask!

Side note: Thatcher is a very well-behaved dog. We got extremely lucky. He's very laid-back and lazy—read more about that in this post. I completely understand why some stores are not pet-friendly as it can be dangerous for others in the store as well as their merchandise.

We also do a lot of over-night traveling with Thatcher. I've found that BringFido.com is the best resource when searching for a pet-friendly hotel. The list sometimes needs to be updated, though. Be sure to call to confirm that they're pet-friendly before booking a room. A lot of boutique hotels are often pet-friendly, too.

A lot of our best memories involve Thatcher. He's a well-traveled pup and fashionista (from tagging along on my shopping trips). I wouldn't have it any other way–he's the best companion.

Does your pup tag along with you?

Thanks for having me, Lauren! 

Pop by and say hi sometime. I'd love to hear from you!