Cauliflower and Broccoli Nuggets

One of my favorite things to eat when I was younger was chicken nuggets, especially those dinosaur shaped ones. Unfortunately I learned how those are made and I became a vegetarian so it wasn't something I could eat anymore.

Thankfully Michael and I came up with this recipe for cauliflower and broccoli nuggets, and of course we make them with dinosaur shapes :)

Cauliflower & Broccoli Nuggets

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

3 stalks of broccoli, cut into florets

1 1/2 cups of whole wheat bread crumbs

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1. Steam the cauliflower and broccoli until tender. Blend in a food processor until it has a small texture and is sticking together. You may need to blend this in batches.

2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. If the mixture is too wet, add some more bread crumbs. If it's too dry add a little bit of water. You want it to stick together, but not be too sticky.

3. Lay out some plastic wrap and press out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out into shapes with cookie cutters.

4. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes. They should be browned on each side and cooked through.

What I've Been Up To

Hello hello everyone!

I started this year with a planner so I could start planning out my blog posts and be more consistent with posting.

Well....clearly that didn't happen.

It's been a tough 2 1/2 months already so I'll just catch you all up and then go from there.

If you don't follow me on Instagram (which you should) I posted about the problems I've been having in my shoulder since December. I was in a car accident with my in-laws and I got severe whiplash on my right shoulder and it's been causing some serious problems since. I've been going to the chiropractor and recently started going to an acupuncturist and I'm really feeling some positive results.

The bruising and scrapes on the back are a technique of acupuncture, not from the car accident.

I haven't been able to workout consistently from the pain so I've been a lot of time at home cuddling with my furball

Michael and I fancied up for a wedding

We helped my sis-in-law move down so she can work at Disney

We had an awesome Valentine's Day

And finally, my wonderful grandma passed away recently. It was expected because she was in such poor health, but it still hurts my heart to not have her here. I will write a post dedicated to her soon when I've had a little longer to sort it all out.

Promise to be back soon!

Honeymoon Part Four: Holyroodhouse Palace & Royal Botanical Garden

Here we are, at the end of our honeymoon story!

On the opposite end of the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle is Holyroodhouse Palace where the Queen stays while in the city. It was absolutely stunning, however, there were no cameras allowed inside the gates! I did get some pictures though

The palace

We took the audio tour that walked us through the ceremonial procession that the Queen takes when she arrives at the palace. We got to see so much historical stuff. They even had Queen Mary's bed still displayed in a glass case. We got to see a bunch of little knicknacks and some pretty monumental historical items, like Bonny Prince Charlie's sword and Robert the Bruce's skull.

The abbey

One thing I learned was that the abbey was actually there before the palace was. It was so cool to stand in the ruins of this super old building.

View of the abbey from the gardens

We were lucky enough to be there when they still allow you to walk through the gardens (they're closed from November through March or April). The views were absolutely breathtaking

And there are actually ruins of other buildings that were part of the abbey throughout, which you're not supposed to walk on, but some idiot decided to go tromping through the ruins to take pictures. Michael and I watched a security camera pan and stay right on him and eventually saw a security officer coming down the path to talk to the man.

Arthur's Seat

One thing I didn't know about Edinburgh is that it has 2 dormant volcanoes in the city. Arthur's Seat is one and on the opposite end is what Edinburgh Castle sits on. People were hiking up the mountain and one day I'd love to do that and see everything.

On our last day we decided to take a stroll through the Royal Botanical Gardens for fun

And there we are folks, the end of our amazing Scottish honeymoon! We both can't wait to go back and explore such an amazing country!

Slàinte Mhath!

Honeymoon Part Three: Edinburgh Castle & Whiskey Tasting Experience

Back again!

Michael and I couldn't go to Edinburgh without going to see Edinburgh Castle. 

But I have to say, despite it being so famous, I didn't like it nearly as much as Stirling Castle. 

I didn't realize that it's still used by the military so a good portion of it was inaccessible to the public.

There were bagpipers all over the city, I loved it!

Outside of Edinburgh Castle this man dressed up as William Wallace, of course Michael had to get a picture with him, being Clan Wallace

View of Edinburgh from the castle

Prisons of the castle

Great Hall

 Every year when the Queen visits Edinburgh she is given the key to the city and she gives it back to someone (can't remember who) for safekeeping. They have all the keys the Queen has been presented displayed in the great hall as well as old weapons.

Mons Meg

This giant monster of a cannon was put in in 1449 and it fired cannonballs that were about 3 feet in diameter. I could literally crawl into the barrel

Saint Margaret's Chapel

It's the oldest building at the castle and was built in the 1200's

Dog cemetery

They even have a little doggie cemetery for any dogs that were regimental mascots or officer's dogs


When you're in Scotland you absolutely have to do whiskey tasting. We went through this whole "ride" that showed you how whiskey is made and taught us about all the different regional whiskies. At the end we got to taste all the different types.

They have the largest whisky collection
This was the front hallway

Back wall

Second hallway 

It was so much fun, but I'm definitely not a straight whisky kind of girl, at least not single malt.

And that's it for part 3! Stay tuned for the last part!

Honeymoon Part Two: Wallace National Monument & Doune Castle

Hello hello everyone!

Time for part two of my honeymoon in Scotland

Michael is from Clan Wallace so we absolutely HAD to go see the Wallace National Monument. However, none of the guide books informed us that it was 246 steps up a spiraling staircase, but it was stunning.

View from the bottom

 The monument was huge and all those pillars on the left side? That's the staircase

Michael with William Wallace's sword....or so they say

This picture still doesn't do the sword justice, it was gigantic

One of the rooms you visited on your way to the top was full of weaponry and it was awesome to look at

View of Stirling Bridge

 If you know any Scottish history, the battle of Stirling Bridge was William Wallace's famous battle and they explained exactly where it was when you're at the top of the tower.

Panoramic view from the top, doesn't do the beauty of it any justice

When we were planning our trip to Scotland I looked up a bunch of cool places to see. I'm a huge fan of the Starz show Outlander that was filmed in Scotland, but there was one castle that it's especially famous for, Castle Leoch, or in reality, Doune Castle.

Castle Leoch

Doune Castle

I kid you not, I just about cried when I saw it. I was so excited to see where they had filmed everything.

Panoramic of the courtyard

Doune Castle was never finished so it's actually quite small, but it was so beautiful to see.

And if you've ever seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail you might recognize this wall

I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!

Yes, the entire movie was filmed at this castle too. Our whole audio guide was done by John Cleese and Michael and I could barely stop laughing the entire time.

View from the top

By the castle there is this beautiful river so Michael and I went exploring down by it

Well, that's it for part two! Stay tuned for part 3!

Honeymoon Part One: Edinburgh & Stirling Castle

Hello everyone!

I'm finally (FINALLY) getting around to posting about the honeymoon.

Michael and I went to Scotland for the first time and it was amazing. I can't even describe how beautiful the country is.

We stayed in Edinburgh and our second day we went to Stirling to see Stirling Castle.

Flying to Scotland

The flight to Scotland was not nearly as bad as I was anticipating. I brought my ipad to watch movies on, but United now has screens on the back of the seats so you can watch movies for free. We flew over Ireland, but it was so covered in clouds we couldn't see it (can't wait to go there). We arrived in Scotland at 8am and I was literally bouncing in my seat I was so excited. We drove to our B&B hours earlier than our check-in, but thank god the innkeepers were so nice they let us check in and put our bags in our room.

The B&B we stayed in

First tea in Scotland

We took the bus into Edinburgh center and stopped somewhere I had looked up to get some tea and wifi. I loved that anywhere you got jam they came in these tiny individual jars. Part way through the day I was ready for a nap (never slept on the plane) so we went back to the B&B and passed out. Both of us have never slept so hard in our lives!

The next day we drove out to Stirling which is about 30 minutes northwest of Edinburgh to see Stirling Castle.

The drive to Stirling Castle

View of the entrance to Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle

Real clothing from way back when

Stirling Castle has been restored and made to be a historical monument so it had a ton of historical stuff in it. It was really exciting to see all these old artifacts and how the castle looked way back when.

View of the Wallace National Monument
(the building on the hill)

Stay tuned for part 2!