We’re back in the sweet, sweet mountain air!!! Feels like we’ve been gone for ages. Probably because we weren’t home for that long in-between our trips. We are here to stay for a month and a half when we head west for Great Harvest Convention! Lots of time for cooking real food!
Tonight we made good use of what we had in the fridge: local grass-fed beef, carrots, frozen corn, cheese and a little bit of kale. Insta-nachos! Smothered in some Franks Red Hot and greek yogurt.
We added the veggies and meat to a medium-high skillet along with some southwest seasoning (Delicious Dietitian brand) and salt/pepper. Once the meat was brown (you don’t need to drain it since grass-fed is so lean) we put that on top of some blue corn chips along with a pile of shredded muenster cheese and baked it all at 350* for 10 minutes.
Kale got olive oil misto, salt and smoked paprika and 10 minutes of the same temp.
Not the leanest meal in history, but certainly full of nutrients! Calcium, iron, protein, omega-3s.
Time to unpack, take a bubble bath (although it’s SO much warmer here!) and watch Gossip Girl!!!!!!!!
{ 71 comments }
mmmm kale
mmm love me some muenster cheese!! love that stuff! i just got finished with a gossip girl episode on netflix – trying to catch up on them. definitely my guilty pleasure!
enjoy your evening at home!
Ahhh nachos! Healthier nachos always look so much better than unhealthy ones. Your trip was fun to see but I’m glad to see you back home!
Ahhh that makes me want nachos! They look delicious!
Aaaaand christening it with beautiful food, as per usual. I love being home!
Those nachos look delicious! Glad you made it back safely!
Looks perfect! Welcome home!
My kind of night!! Isn’t Gossip Girl the best?
Love the idea of kale chips mixed in to nachos!! Might have to make this this weekend!!
Oh bubble bath! That is my favorite thing to do ever. Hope you enjoy being home.
Such creative nachos! I too an quite excited for GG this evening.
oh man, do those nachos look delicious. i loooove grass fed beef… the taste is just incredible. could never go back to any other kind!
Mmmmmm…who says eating healthy is unappealing? This looks really good!
Welcome back to VA!
…I put that $%&# on everything
That looks delicious, Kath!
That looks delicious! It must be so good to be home again.
Oh how I love Franks! Makes perfect nachos! Looks like a perfect home cooked meal. Enjoy your night Kath!
mmmmm Nachos, yum! So jealous of the warmer weather. It was 13 yesterday here! AHHH..And thats without the wind chill..FRIGID!
headed West as in MT?
CA!
Haha! I like how you think VA is “warm” I want tropical weather warmth!
Nachos look so good, extra zing with the Frank’s
we had the same meal for dinner 2 nights ago when we were low on groceries! It was suprisingly good and even my 3 year old declared it!
I love coming home after a long trip – it’s so nice to be able to sleep in my bed, cuddle with my cats, and enjoy my living room!
Those seriously sound delicious! I’ve had a mean craving for Chipotle lately but this should do the trick! And with way less calories I’m sure
Wow, those look better than any restaurant nachos out there. This is the second time I’ve seen nachos today and now I really wish I had some!
I’m ADDICTED to Frank’s!
Those nachos look so good! I like to make mine with the blue corn tortilla chips too. It adds a whole different level of flavor and texture!
I have kale in the fridge waiting to be made into kale chips! My 10 yr old loves them!
Ooh these nachos look delicious- looks like a balanced meal to me!
Enjoy that bubble bath! Nothing like getting clean in your own bathroom after a travel day.
And those nachos…I just got real hungry!
Is there ever not a good time for nachos?
Glad you are home safe!
I love taking trips but I also love that feeling of coming back from them and getting settled back in…
Oh how yummy those nachos look! I haven’t made nachos in so long…first few years of marriage my husband and I enjoyed making them quite a bit.
Meant to add, my son likes to make nachos with Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds. Perfect as he has a dairy allergy. Their Cheddar Style Shreds make a gread Mac and Cheese and Pierogi’s too!
Yeah, the above picture feels like your home to me
Between your post and Caitlin’s, I’m really craving nachos now!
I love nachos! The fact that you made them healthy is even better!
Gossip Girl was good last night!
I was away all weekend and enjoyed catching up on your NYC posts! Glad the train worked out okay- we love Amtrak! It’s definitely the way to go when you’re traveling up to the city.
)
Greg and I went to NYC during MLK weekend 3 years ago, and it was in the 20s and teens and freezing the whole time- sounds similar to how it was this weekend. It was tough- because it’s SO great to walk around New York- but hard to do when you are getting stung by the cold!
We’re supposed to get another warm up this week…
Where’s the convention? If you say Colorado, I’ll be so jealous. (I’ve been to the GH in Boulder
San Diego!
How do you find the money in your budget to travel? Save every month?
Well that’s a pretty personal question, but Matt and I are both running successful businesses, so it’s an income verses expenses equation. The NERD KERF budget video on this page might help explain our system: http://www.katheats.com/videos
Also, your travel to conferences is often paid for. Don’t forget that! And you get free samples from your readers, food from the bakery, etc. No wonder you have $$ to travel!
Gloria was this necessary?
Gosh Kath this statement is not mean! It’s actually fully answering Megan’s q!
Kath, I think Gloria was trying to say that you guys don’t just have bags of money to throw around, and that when people see you traveling a lot, they should remember that a lot of it is for work, and therefore often paid. It seemed to be a supportive comment, honestly. I read infrequently and have only commented a handful of times, but even I know that Gloria is a supporter of yours, because I see her friendly comments often. It is always good to take into account the past behaviors of a reader and his/her comments before jumping to conclusions about their motivations, or chastising them.
Kath, I think Gloria was trying to say that you guys don’t just have bags of money to throw around, and that when people see you traveling a lot, they should remember that a lot of it is for work, and therefore often paid. It seemed to be a supportive comment, honestly. I read infrequently and have only commented a handful of times, but even I know that Gloria is a supporter of yours, because I see her friendly comments often. It is always good to take into account the past behaviors of a reader and his/her comments before jumping to conclusions about their motivations, or chastising them.
Gloria’s tone came across as condescending and snarky, but her points were valid.
The fact is that you share a lot with your readers about your life, and it seems normal that they’d have questions regarding your ability to afford X,Y,Z. I haven’t watched the NERD Kerf video in at least a year (the budgeting one was helpful), but I don’t recall whether it mentioned that you all budget AND also receive subsidized trips, free products to review, etc.
The free gifts, discounted/subsidized travel, and ability to write-off business expenses do affect your bottom line and I think it’s fair for readers to be aware of that. Whether you coin your blog as a healthy-living or lifestyle, you’re presenting an image that you think others should also adopt (whether that be eating nutrient rich and loganic foods or living within a structured budget or trying certain products).
I think your answer of it being an “income vs. expense equation” was somewhat over simplified. You and Matt bring in X dollars each month, but you both are able to eat at the bakery and you both also benefit from the free samples you get, the gifts readers give you, and the discounted travel you get for conferences.
The message you’re projecting by sharing your budgeting methods with readers is something like “if you lived within a structured budget, you could also afford to travel, maintain a certain diet, etc.” If I weren’t already aware that you get free/discounted food and travel, I’d feel like I was failing somehoe because the fact of the matter is that I just can’t afford to do those things. Maybe some of your newer traffic isn’t aware of that and knowing you get free/discounted stuff is helpful for them to view your life through a realistic lens.
I don’t think you and Matt are undeserving of your house, trips, business success, or anything else, but it’s fair for readers to know that your income is boosted by perks that are not otherwise available to them. That’s all.
THIS. Very well put. It isn’t entirely accurate to just chalk it all up to “we budget!”
Hey Guys. I agree with what you wrote. I’ve always been very open and honest about free food when anyone asks me about our grocery bills and mention not to compare for that reason. We get free bread, Matt eats at the bakery most of the time, and I get food samples through the blog (although I no longer accept product reviews from companies other than opensky possibilities). And yes, the occasional reader will send me a jam or peanut butter or 6-pack of beer. But I also pay nearly $200 a month in blog hosting, so don’t you think those two things cancel each other out?
I went on 2.5 blog conference trips last year that had travel assistance (not enough to cover the entire trip in most cases), but the rest of my travel – including NYC and Jamaica – we paid for 100%. I didn’t write of anything from either trip because I’m a blogger.
Matt and I have worked really, really hard on our budget since we overhauled it in 2008. We have a mortgage, bills, and no corporate company to pay for our health insurance – expenses just like the rest of you that don’t come cheap. We have to save for retirement, pay off debts and things just like the rest of you. So it kind of hurts my feelings when I mention budgeting and people respond with “But your whole life is freeeeeeee!” Because it’s not. Only a tiny percentage is. Everything we buy is mindfully tracked in many layers of budgeting tools.
I would never feel comfortable going into detail about how we choose to spend our money or how much we make, but the truth is that we can afford to travel because our businesses are successful. Not because our bread is free.
Sorry if my comments came across as snarky. But I’m not a BSer, and I tell it like it is. Thanks other readers for defending me and thanks Kath for explaining further. I still wonder though if you underestimate how much having travel expenses covered for you and eating at the bakery saves moolah.
G
some* travel expenses– I realize that it is not totally covered for, as you explained
Kath, while your response is appreciated, you still completely fail to own up to the fact that you have received TONS of assistance financially from your parents–which is totally fine, but own it and stop trying to push to the back burner. There is no way you would have gotten financially approved to start a business if your in-laws didn’t serve as financial backers. And your parents paid for your first house down payment. And I’m sure they helped you with your going back to school RD expenses.
All of that is fine, in my book, as long as you OWN it and admit it and give thanks where thanks is due. Stop trying to be all “but we scrimped and saved and we work soooo hard and are just soooo successful at the business so that’s why we can take vacations!” No, you can take vacations (and afford to close the shop for 2 weeks in its first year) because it wasn’t your money up front for it. And you haven’t scrimped and saved to afford a mortgage–M&D helped with the first house, and selling that house allowed you to buy this one. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being privileged, so long as you recognize it.
Well written HS, and I agree.
Also agree– very well written and likely 100% true.
How in the holy hell do you think you know all of this?! You all astound me. Rude, rude, rude.
And NONE of your business.
It’s NOT rudeness Caitlin– it’s sheer curiosity about a great lifestyle, especially in these tough economic times for most people. You need to chill put on your defense mechanisms. Kath has responded to us openly and it’s her job to come back to us, not you.
Well, Kath has discussed the fact that Matt’s family helped with the bakery finances on the blog before and the fact that her parents paid for their down payment on the first house…so that’s how I know all of it. Admittedly the RD assistance was a guess.
Are how I fund my personal vacations any of your business? No, but I don’t write about them on my extremely public and personal blog like Kath does. I also don’t try to expound on “budgeting” tips on said blog, all while deluding my readers by not admitting the type of assistance I’ve received from my parents/in-laws.
It is irresponsible of Kath, as self-proclaimed public figure, to continue to act like she affords her life entirely through sound budgeting and tireless saving. She clearly has some help via her parents and via blog-related freebies/travel assistance, and not being forthright about that with her readers when discussing budgets is dishonest.
My parents did not give us the downpayment for our first house. I have never written that.
(And by the way, I have thanked everyone who has helped me in life. I do not think that is necessary to do publicly here.)
Mmm…nachos! I love turning them into a meal, but sadly I rarely do. I just don’t think of it! I’m pinning it on pinterest so that I’ll remember next time.
mmmmmm nachos!!! ANd home feels OH so nice
I love making my own nachos!
Bubble baths are sooo relaxing! … Calgon.Take.Me.Away
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
A bubble bath! I need to do that soon! It’s been far too long…
YUM! Always inspiring me with the quick easy meals you put together. Thank you!
Franks Red Hot sauce is the bomb diggity! <- is that phrase from the 90's? Yikes!
Anyways, I had to comment just because of the sauce, then I read the little drama in the comments section. I had to re-read Gloria's comment because originally it seemed snarky, then I realized you can't necessarily tell her tone and maybe she could have cushioned it a bit while stating the same facts.
Blogs are hard, we like to compare ourselves with others and your life looks fun and fulfilling! You & Matt seem happy which creates a vulnerability to jealousy. We are all in the same boat; each boat is just made of different materials, in different sizes and varying colors. It's easy to fantasize and/or be jealous of others lives. I for one think you're quite up front on your blog about how things are paid/not paid for, it's just hard for readers to take into account OTHER expenses not shown in your blog. I wish you & everyone nothing but the best.
Sorry if my comments came across as snarky. But I’m not a BSer, and I tell it like it is. Thanks other readers for defending me and thanks Kath for explaining further. I still wonder though if you underestimate how much having travel expenses covered for you and eating at the bakery saves moolah.
Thanks.
I am hearing about Gossip Girl so much lately? Maybe there is a new season and I am just behind the times
I haven’t seen many but plan on watching them during treadmill runs via netflix. Enjoy!!
“the truth is that we can afford to travel because our businesses are successful. Not because our bread is free.”
I love this! So interesting to see people’s issues around money come out in some of these posts. Though probably less interesting if their issues are directed at you!