Introducing: The Peacoat

Finally, it's done. I'll no longer have night terrors about it. I can't even begin to explain the burden that has been lifted off of my shoulders. It's hard to imagine just how much time and effort I've put into this project. In my advanced clothing construction class we had to make peacoats with notched or built-in collars. Unfortunately the pattern I wanted to use with my really cool wool didn't meet the requirements, so I had to choose a very basic pattern and very simple wool. I decided to design the ruffle. At first I had three tiers, but it ended up looking like a Betsy Johnson tutu gone wrong. So I ripped it off and created one slightly ruffled layer. Then we had to create a lining. I had no idea just how much work went into lining something. I can't imagine I'll ever do it again, but I've certainly enjoyed learning all of the tricks and techniques. I feel like I have learned so much in this class, I wish there was more, but that's it, I've reached the end of the road. I'm sad that I won't be around to take the swimsuit class, because I'd love to learn how to make them, but who knows, maybe I'll be daring enough to try one out on my own.

Disclaimer: 

I know this is a HORRIBLE picture and view, but it's the best I could do considering
I was in class and now the coat is in Florida. I promise it looks much better on!

I'm the proud new owner

of the Breville Pie Maker! It's been out of stock on Williams-Sonoma for over 6 months now, and when we stopped into the store today they had them! I know, it sounds really lame, but I've wanted one of these for what seems like years, and I'm just really excited to get to use it. Now if only I had the means to make the pies (considering all of our stuff is gone)... maybe when we get to Florida :)

The Chocolate

For my mom's birthday we planned on going to the Cocoa Bean, but when we got there they only had one kind of cupcake left, so we headed to The Chocolate in Orem. It's located in an old house and has lots of character and charm. We tried cupcakes, brownies, ice cream and cake. Everything was really yummy. The line to order was about 15 people long the entire time we were there, and according to Nick, that's the smallest it has ever been on a Friday night.

{lemon cupcake & turtle brownie with vanilla bean ice cream}

Blossoms

It's finally starting to feel like spring!

The sweet life

In the past few months I really haven't been eating a whole lot of sweets, but for some reason we've been finding ourselves at The Cocoa Bean in Provo. They've got a menu of blended and steamed drinks that is entirely devoted to chocolate. So far we've only tried a couple of flavors, but they've all been really good! Also, their cupcake menu varies by day, so we're always stopping in to try new ones. If you live anywhere near Provo, GO- you won't regret it!

Stuffed Peppers

So a couple days ago I mentioned we were going to try out the southwest stuffed bell pepper recipe from Our Best Bites. Well, we did, and it was pretty good, but I decided to alter the recipe a bit to make it even better. So if you're looking for something relatively quick, healthy and filling... here it is:

Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers- adapted from ourbestbites.com

Ingredients:

4 very large or 6 medium sweet peppers (red, yellow, or orange)

1/2 C white rice (I used Uncle Ben’s white rice that you boil in a bag for 10 minutes

and it turned out just as good as any other rice I’ve made)

2 Tbs olive oil (or vegetable oil)

1 small onion, diced (white, yellow or purple)

3 garlic cloves, minced (I used ½ Tbsp minced garlic that comes in a jar)

1/2 – 1 jalapeno, minced

1 whole Anaheim chile, diced

14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup canned or frozen corn (whole)

2 links of Aidell’s Spicy Mango with Jalapeño sausage, cubed

1 green onions, sliced

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (fire roasted)

1 cup pepperjack cheese

1/4 cup cheddar cheese

3-4 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare peppers by washing, slicing tops off, and removing insides. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon salt. Boil whole peppers for about 6-8 minutes, until they begin to soften. Remove from water with tongs and place on paper towels to drain. Add rice to boiling water and cook until tender, about 13 minutes (or boil in bag for approximately 10 minutes if using Uncle Ben’s). Drain thoroughly. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeno and Anaheim chilies and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add corn, beans, sausage, green onions, onion powder, garlic powder and kosher salt, and pepper. Stir until corn and beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. Place peppers in a baking dish. Remove skillet from heat and add rice, tomatoes, 1 cup cheese (a mix of the pepperjack and cheddar), and cilantro. Stir to combine well.  Add additional salt, pepper, and seasonings to your liking. Then evenly divide mixture between peppers. Top peppers with remaining 1/4 cup cheese (or more if you can fit it on there).

Bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes. Serve with chips and salsa.

Leftover stuffing makes great burritos for dinner the next night- just add a diced avocado to mix!

Breakfast inspiration

I was in desperate need of some breakfast inspiration. I'm thinking once school is over I'll be trying some of these out!

{images via tumblr}

Tastes like memories

We went to Yogurtland the other night, and to our surprise they had Açaí! When we were in Brazil this past summer we had all sorts of things with Açaí in it. In other words, it was a nice trop down memory lane for the two of us.

Best Bites Signing

I got a little inside scoop today at work. I've been designing flyers, signs ads etc. for Women's Conference so I've been able to see who will be there. I was delighted to see that Sara Wells and Kate Jones from Our Best Bites will be signing their cookbook at the BYU Bookstore- Thursday, April 28th, 2011. I'm pretty sure it will be at 1:30 but don't mark my words on that. You can check out byubookstore.com for more details. If you haven't tried their recipes, you should! They have a great selection and everything I've made from their site has turned out really good. Tonight Stephen and I are going to be making their southwest stuffed bell peppers... I'm sure they'll be delicious.

Pretty and yummy too

In case you haven't checked out some of the blogs over there ------->

I'll give you a little taste of what's over at sweetapolita.

I absolutely love and admire what Rosie has been doing lately.

As a want-to-be baker and cake connoisseur I'm dazzled by her work.

I'm sure you'll be too.

{for recipes and more pretty pictures, check out her website/blog}