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Hiya, pals and fellow dwelling cooks!
That is my weekly e-newsletter, which incorporates 7 weeknight meals + 3 wholesome salads (for the week of September 23-29, 2024) + 3 new posts revealed within the final 7 days!
On the backside of this text, I am sharing some wonderful images from our hike to Columbine Lake close to Silverton, Colorado. It’s a lesser-known however difficult and strenuous hike that rewards you with a wide ranging turquoise glacial alpine lake sitting at 12,690 ft!
7 weeknight meals + 3 wholesome salads
DAY 1: Creamy Mozzarella Shrimp Pasta
DAY 2: Lemon Pepper Hen with Creamy Garlic-Lemon Sauce
DAY 3: Mediterranean Salmon with Rice, Chickpeas, Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, and Feta (One-Pan, 30-Minute Meal)
DAY 4: Hen Risotto (creamy rice) with Spinach, Solar-Dried Tomatoes, and Parmesan Cheese
DAY 5: Southwestern Black Bean and Butternut Squash Enchilada Casserole (Meatless. You should use candy potatoes or yams as a substitute of butternut squash).
DAY 6: Hen Florentine Bake with Spinach-Artichoke Dip, Solar-Dried Tomatoes, and Mozzarella Cheese (30 Minutes, One-Pan)
DAY 7: Vegetable Beef Soup with Carrots, Potatoes, Bell Pepper, and Inexperienced Peas (ONE-POT)
SALAD 1: Apple Spinach Salad with Pecans, Dried Cranberries, Goat Cheese, and Maple-Lime Mustard Dressing
SALAD 2: Strawberry Mango Salad with Arugula/Spinach Combine
SALAD 3: Roasted Candy Potato Salad with Spinach, Apples, Pecans, Pumpkin Seeds, and Feta
New posts revealed within the final 7 days!
NEW: Sausage White Bean Soup with Spinach and Carrots (30 Minutes, One-Pot)
NEW: Steak Enchiladas
NEW: My Greatest 26 Apple Recipes to Make within the Fall (each Savory and Candy)
Prime feedback of final week!
I’m so fortunate to obtain so many sort, candy, and heartfelt feedback about my recipes—it significantly makes my day! I even screenshot them and add them to my “Affirmations” folder on my iPhone (sure, it’s a factor, no less than for me!). Now, I’ve determined to start out sharing my prime 3-5 most encouraging and uplifting feedback from the earlier week in my e-newsletter. Unfold the love!
From Deirdre on my Fb web page:
“Julia’s Album, I’ve to shout out a Thank You to you!! I’ve been battling quite a few well being and surgical points and these recipes not solely give me pleasure to make however my surgeon and oncologist are so blissful that I’m making an attempt to remain as wholesome as doable in between surgical procedures. It’s all because of your scrumptious and wholesome meals!!!
😀😷😷🙏🙏🙏”
From Claudia on my weblog:
“Hello Julia! you might be great! thanks for sharing your ardour about meals! that is nice….. blessings. right this moment, my husband and I are following your creamy shrimp and mushrooms pasta recipe.
Cheers!!”
From Fran on Fb:
“Your recipes are ridiculously scrumptious. You’re like a meals savant! My sister and I are nuts about all the things we’ve cooked of yours. Pics are fabulous!”
From Kristine on Fb:
“Love the mountain climbing pics! Now we have been having fun with plenty of “Julia dinners” this week. Sustain the nice work! You might be so liked and appreciated at our home!”
An enormous shout-out and THANK YOU to everybody who leaves feedback on my web site! Your suggestions and recipe opinions are all the things—they hold me motivated and stop me from feeling like I am simply tossing recipes right into a culinary black gap!
Climbing Columbine Lake close to Silverton and Ouray in Southwest Colorado
Let me let you know about one other considered one of my favourite hikes—Columbine Lake, nestled within the San Juan Nationwide Forest close to Silverton and Ouray in Southwest Colorado. It’s a 7-mile round-trip hike to a surprising alpine glacial lake that sits at 12,690 ft elevation! The elevation on the trailhead (the place the hike begins) is 10,350 ft, and your ending elevation on the lake (on the finish of the hike) is 12,690 ft. So, you are a strong 2,340 ft of elevation acquire over 3.5 miles one method to the lake. Then, after all, you retrace your steps on the best way again. It is an out-and-back hike, and wow, it’s price each step.
Columbine Lake is positioned in a glacial bowl surrounded by peaks over 13,000 ft. Alpine lakes at all times have a stunningly clear, jewel-like look.
What makes it further particular is that it is considered one of Colorado’s hidden gems—not as well-known, however completely attractive. You begin by tackling a steep path by means of the dense forest, then break by means of the tree line into breathtaking alpine meadows, and eventually, you attain the jewel of the hike: a crystal-clear glacial lake, framed by rugged 13,000-foot peaks. It’s nothing wanting magical.
Now, I’ll be trustworthy—this hike isn’t any joke. It’s strenuous, off the overwhelmed path, and it is advisable to be in good condition and acclimated to the altitude to actually take pleasure in it. We barely noticed a soul on the path—perhaps three folks whole—which was a part of the allure. In the event you’re an skilled hiker, that is an unforgettable journey. However for an off-the-cuff hiker? In all probability not your best option.
Listed here are some images from our journey! I can’t wait to do that hike once more!
Proper from the beginning, the path kicks off with some steep switchbacks by means of a spruce-fir forest, and let me let you know, it wastes no time getting your legs burning! You’ll be gaining elevation quick. However when you energy by means of that, the path chills out a bit, and you end up in wide-open meadows above the tree line. Usually, these meadows can be bursting with wildflowers, however since we hiked in September, this was our view:
Right here we’re coming into the zone above the tree line:
The path turns into steep once more in the course of the basin, and we discovered ourselves climbing by means of rocky meadows. We needed to hike throughout scree slopes and piles, which may really feel like navigating a large slide fabricated from rocks. It’s important to watch out, listen, and put on the proper sneakers.
And there’s Kevin, standing on the fringe of the abyss—most likely pondering whether or not he’s courageous or simply barely loopy!
In spite of everything that mountain climbing and climbing, we have been lastly rewarded with a surprising view of Columbine Lake at 12,690 ft! It’s positively above the tree line—no bushes anyplace in sight! Simply pure mountain glory!
Columbine Lake is about in a glacial bowl surrounded by rugged ridges over 13,000 ft. The elevation at this lake is 12,690 ft.
On the best way again, the climate modified quick, and it began raining. Right here we’re, descending from above the tree line into the wooded space.
These items have been falling throughout me at one level. Undecided what it was – rain and wind or an indignant squirrel.
We had plenty of rain (once more!) on our method again which made the descent truly simpler as a result of the path had extra traction. On dry days, some trails can have free gravel or compacted filth that acts like a layer of sand, inflicting hikers to lose stability. So the rain can generally be a hidden benefit on some trails, so long as you are not climbing up or down big slippery rocks and so long as there aren’t any bolts of lightning.
At this level, we have been virtually executed with our hike. Take a better look and also you may simply spot a moose hanging out by the water’s edge!
There’s one other moose we noticed! There have been three in whole—one was an cute child calf. The opposite two have been “taking part in hide-and-seek” behind the bushes and bushes, coming out once in a while.
Life will be so unhappy and I believe it is necessary to give attention to constructive issues we’ve got and issues we will nonetheless take pleasure in.
Please do not be shy and say Hiya within the feedback and let me know the place you’re from (I’m from Colorado) or share one good or enjoyable factor that occurred to you this week! (For me, it’s all about mountain climbing lately, lol!) Or, for those who’re planning to strive any of my recipes, it is a meal plan, in spite of everything! 😍🥰
