Delicious

Last night we decided to go to Jason's Deli for dinner. It was delicious as always. Stephen got the Santa Fe chicken sandwich with a side of pot roast stew and I got the pot roast sandwich with a side of southwestern chicken chili. In case you didn't know or haven't tried it for yourself, their pot roast is really good! It's the perfect choice for one of those days where you feel like eating a slow cooked meal, but don't have the time to cook it.

Felt

I've recently taken a liking to anything made from felt. You name it, I like it. Ok, maybe not everything... but for the most part, I'm becoming obsessed. I've started making felt books and little felt softies. I have several ideas sketched out for books and I'm beginning to piece them together. Hopefully they'll be done by the end of the summer.

Also, the Fabric Mill in Orem is having a... 

...Week-End Sale

Thursday Jan 27 through Saturday Jan 29

$1yd off

all "Riley Blake" 

cottons & flannels

:) 

Additions

Like I mentioned earlier, Stephen and I went to Color Me Mine this past Monday. Here are our latest creations/additions to our ever growing collection:

Stephen's dish:

 My Anthro inspired dishes:

 I realize the colors/designs are a little off, but I still really enjoyed painting them!

One of my favorites

Usually trying to make dinner during the week is impossible. But when I do, I love making these green chile and chicken enchiladas and fresh salsa. Its quick and easy and leftovers are great for lunch or dinner the next day.

Green Chile and Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients:
7-10 chicken tenders
10 medium size flour tortillas
1 8oz container light sour cream
1 28oz can Old El Paso green chile enchilada sauce
1 4oz can Ortega diced green chiles
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/8 cup chopped yellow onion
1/8 cup chopped chives


Directions:
Cook chicken (boil or grill) and chop into small pieces. Place a handful of chicken into each tortilla. Then place 2 spoonfuls of sour cream. Pour two table spoons of enchilada sauce onto the chicken and sour cream. Sprinkle 2 tsp. of yellow onions and 2 tsp. of green chile. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese (I do about 3 tbsp.). Before placing enchiladas into pan, pour enough enchilada sauce to cover the bottom of the pan to prevent them from sticking. Then roll the enchiladas up and place in pan. Cover with remaining enchilada sauce and green chiles. Place remaining cheese and the chives on top. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.


Fresh Salsa
Ingredients:
5 tomatoes
1 jalapeno
1/2 yellow onion
1 bunch cilantro
1 small lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder


Directions:
Dice tomatoes and onion, toss into a bowl. Mince jalapeno and cilantro and combine in bowl. Squeeze 1/2 of the lime and sprinkle in salt and garlic powder. Mix together and serve. 

Catch of the day

A giant lobster!

[I'm not sure how happy he was about us playing with him]

Zest & Zing

I've found it... the perfect lemon cookie recipe. I've been looking for quite some time now for such a thing, and have had little success (especially since the ones at Over The Top Cookies are so dang good and impossible to reproduce). A big thank you goes out to King Arthur Flour, you've done it again (but really, when have you not?!). This recipe is fantastic! I promise you won't be disappointed! (Please note I did alter the original recipe a bit: omitting lemon powder, coconut and yellow food coloring).

 My secret ingredient: lemon oil from KAF

Very Lemon Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon lemon oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3 tablespoons coarse or granulated sugar, for topping

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
TO PREPARE THE DOUGH: In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fully. Add the egg, vanilla, baking powder, salt, lemon oil, and lemon juice, beating on medium speed until well blended. Add the flour, beating until thoroughly combined.
TO SHAPE THE COOKIES: Place the coarse sugar in a small bowl. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls into the bowl, one at a time, shaking the bowl to coat with sugar. Gently roll cookies into smooth balls with your hands, then transfer to the prepared baking sheets.
TO BAKE THE COOKIES: Bake the cookies for 9 to 10 minutes, for soft cookies. For crunchier cookies, bake for 12 minutes, until they're barely beginning to brown around the edges. Remove from the oven, and after a few minutes transfer them to a rack to cool. Yield: 21 cookies.

Classes and projects

This semester I'm taking:

Advanced Patternmaking,

Advanced Sewing,

Dynamics of Clothing,

& doing a 6 credit internship.

Ahhh, my senior/ last semester. 

I don't have too much free time on my hands, which is kind of unfortunate because there are so many things I'd like to do (especially artsy projects). However, I would like to sew some version of this dress... perhaps to wear for Wally & Kim's wedding in March. It's good to have a goal/deadline, right? Hopefully I'll be able to complete it before then. I just need to decide what kind of fabric to use... decisions, decisions.

Mmmmint

 Can't think of a better way to end an cold and snowy evening than to sip Stephen's candycane hot cocoa and relax with the husband.

Simply the best

Along with fresh green beans, these are three of our favorite vegetable sides. They're perfect for any season and are a quick fix when you're short on time. Oh, and if you're not a fan of asparagus (because I know several people aren't) this recipe might change your mind.

1. Sauteed corn hash:

Ingredients

- 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped scallions or red onion
- 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- 2 cups corn (from about 4 ears) or 2 cans of whole corn
- 2 medium zucchini (1 pound total), cut in half lenthwise, then cut in 1/4-inch-thick pieces
- 1 red bell pepper & 1 green bell pepper (halved)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook scallions, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add diced bell pepper. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add corn, zucchini, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper.


2. Roasted red potatoes:
Ingredients
- 5-6 new red potatoes, scrubbed and dried
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove finely minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut potatoes into desired size (half inch cubes, one inch cubes etc). Toss potatoes, olive oil, garlic, rosemary and salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Toss well. Transfer the potatoes into a baking pan and roast until potatoes are tender. Check tenderness by poking with a knife or fork.


3. Roasted asparagus:
Ingredients

- 1 bundle of fresh asparagus

- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

- 1 clove finely minced garlic

- 1 teaspoon garlic powder

- 2 tablespoons parmesan (Kraft)

- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare asparagus by washing and cutting about 1 1/2 inches off of the bottoms. Toss asparagus in a baking dish along with olive oil, garlic, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Arrange asparagus so that they are parallel to each other, not overlapping. Sprinkle parmesan and grated parmesan over the asparagus. Make sure that it is lightly covered in olive oil to prevent drying. Bake for 10 minutes with aluminum foil over the pan. Take off and bake for an additional 15 minutes. You'll know it's done when it becomes tender and the tips begin to brown.