Stephen and Natalie

Cream-filled Hostess Style Cupcakes

2012-02-11T07:08:00.000-05:00

I came across this idea on Martha Stewart's website a couple weeks ago and just couldn't help myself. I was never really a huge fan of Hostess cupcakes, but homemade ones sounded pretty tasty. So I did some research, tested some recipes and discovered the best cream filling I've ever tasted. It will put any of those marshmallow fluff-based recipes to shame. I kid you not. I was eating it like it was peanut butter. The cupcakes I made were light, moist and full of chocolatey goodness (although I will warn you that the batter is super runny, so don't be surprised). And of course, these days I always add a pinch of espresso powder to every chocolate thing I make, but if you don't have any, don't worry, it's not really necessary. Anyway, the cupcakes were a huge hit both with my husband, the women at my church activity and myself. So if you have some extra time- make these! You won't regret it! Plus they'd be perfect and easy to personalize for Valentine's day :)

Cream-filled Hostess Style Cupcakes

Ingredients

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's brand)

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

3/4 c. warm water + 1/8 tsp. espresso powder

3/4 c. buttermilk (or 3/4 c. whole milk + 1 tbsp. lemon juice, let stand for 5 min)

3 tbsp. canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream filling

3 tbsp. flour

1/2 c. whole milk

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

Chocolate ganache

1 c. heavy cream

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chips or chopped)

1 1/2 tbsp. corn syrup

1/8 tsp. vanilla

White icing

1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature

1 tbsp. whole milk

1 c. powdered sugar

1/8 tsp. vanilla

pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake pans with liners, set aside.

2. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk or sift together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add eggs, warm water w/ espresso powder, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Turn down speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix until smooth (no flour/cocoa pockets remain), about 3 minutes.

4. Divide batter evenly among cups, filling 2/3 of the way full. Place in oven and bake for 20-21 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched and a cake tester comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake!

5. Remove from oven, allow them to sit for 3-4 minutes in the pan, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

6. To make the cream filling, whisk together the flour and milk in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat. Whisk continuously until it begins to thicken... really watch it. Let it cook for a couple of minutes, until the mixture has the consistency of pudding. Remove from heat, whisk out all clumps, and place in refrigerator to cool completely. The mixture must be chilled all of the way thorough before adding it to the butter, or it will melt it.

7. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt for 2 minutes on medium-high speed, using the whisk attachment. Add flour and milk mixture. Beat on high for 6-8 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy (and slightly resembles whipped cream). Chill in refrigerator.

8. When cupcakes are completely cooled, remove a dime sized section from the top, and using a sharp knife (cut out a circle, keeping the "top" intact...you will use it as a plug), then make a hole for the filling (or if you have a cupcake corer, use that, but just make sure you have lots of room for filling- the more, the merrier). Pipe the filling into each hole and place the top back on, making sure it is flush with the rest of the cupcake.

9. To make the ganache, heat cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. In a separate bowl, combine chocolate, corn syrup and vanilla. Once the cream is heated through, pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes or so before using it.

10. Once ganache is cooled, turn cupcakes over and dip, making sure to cover the top completely and remove excess by swirling it circles and allowing it to drip. Continue the process with each cupcake, then go back and re-dip each cupcake 2 more times (this will build up a thick coating and will help hide the hole).

11. Place cupcakes in refrigerator for 10 minutes so the ganache can solidify. Meanwhile, to make the icing, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add salt and vanilla. Combine. With speed on low, slowly add powdered sugar, then milk. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Then pipe away!

Note: cupcakes should keep for 3 days.

Tootsie Pop Valentines

2012-02-10T06:56:00.000-05:00

Katie and I put together these valentines for Emme to give to her friends + classmates at school. Katie found the idea over at Eighteen25 (their site has a lot of cute ideas for 3D valentines). They were pretty simple to put together, the hardest part was trying to get a 3 year old to stick her hand out exactly where it needed to be/ look at the camera simultaneously. But once we got the shot we added a message to it in Photoshop and had the image printed as a 4x6 at Costco. Then all that was left to do was mount the photos on the cardstock and cut two slits above and below her hand to put the tootsie pop through. These are quick and easy to make, and certainly one-of-a-kind.

Litte brainiac

2012-02-10T06:05:00.000-05:00

And while we were making the Valentines...

...Will was running around with the Cranium brain on his head.

Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes

2012-02-09T06:30:00.000-05:00

For some reason I had this crazy idea of making a million kinds of cupcakes this week. Okay, maybe not a million, more like 3. The cupcake I decided to start out with was this one. I love chocolate chip cookies and I love cupcakes, so how could I not love a chocolate chip cookie cupcake? I've seen several versions of this kind of cupcake floating around sites like Annie's Eats and TidyMom, but mine is different. The base is a sweet vanilla cupcake with both regular and mini chocolate chips scattered throughout. Instead of smashing a giant clump of cookie dough in the center and frosting over it, I made small little bits and used them like sprinkles on top, along with mini chocolate chips. Also I read several reviews of similar cupcakes and saw that a lot of people were complaining about how overly sweet the frosting was, so I used my own version- a brown sugar cream cheese frosting.

Next I'll be making a Valentine version of hostess cupcakes... so keep an eye out.

Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes
Ingredients
3 c. flour
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks (16 tbsp.) butter, room temperature
1 c. sour cream
2 large eggs, room temperature
4 egg yolks, room temperature
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips + 1/4 c. semi-sweet mini morsels

Eggless cookie dough chunks
1/4 c. (4 tbsp.) butter, room temperature
1/4 c. + 2 tbsp. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. sweetened condensed milk (if you omit this, increase water to 3 tsp.)
2 tsp. water
1 tbsp. semi-sweet mini morsels

Brown sugar frosting
1/2 c. (8 tbsp.) butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, cold
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. powdered sugar
10 tbsp. brown sugar, finely ground
pinch of salt
1 tbsp. - 4 tbsp. heavy cream

1/4 c. semi-sweet mini morsels for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 regular size cupcake pans with 24 liners.
2. For the cupcake batter, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small mixing bowl.
3. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium speed for approximately 3 minutes until creamy. Add sour cream, egg, egg yolks and vanilla. Beat at a medium speed until smooth, approximately 30 seconds.
4. Gradually add dry ingredients by turning mixer to low speed and slowly pouring mixture in. Mix until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips by hand.
5. With a standard size scoop, divide batter evenly among cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until tops of cupcakes are lightly golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool in cupcake pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. For cookie dough chunks, using a small bowl and a spatula, combine all ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until dough becomes firm. Roll into small balls to sprinkle on top of frosting.
7. To make the frosting, in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter, cream cheese and brown sugar (for the brown sugar you can use a blender, food processor or a magic bullet to create a finer texture) on medium-high speed for 1 minute.
8. Add vanilla, salt and powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until incorporated, then turn up speed to medium, beating for on minute until it becomes fluffy. Add cream, taking into consideration the texture of your frosting, until you get the consistency desired. Beat for 1 additional minute.
9. Frost each cupcake, then garnish with cookie dough chunks and mini morsels.
10. Serve or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Yield: 24 cupcakes

An upgrade of sorts

2012-02-08T07:14:00.000-05:00

The past couple of months have been full of long runs and tired feet. Stephen and I have been training for the Gate River Run 15k which will be in March, here in Jacksonville. A couple of weeks ago I began to notice how the cushioning in my shoes was less than cushy- of course, that is to be expected when you've been wearing them for the past year or so. Finally I caved and bought a new pair in hopes of breaking them in before the big race (Gel Kayano-18's... I'm so glad Asics makes a new and improved version of them... and that they were in stock at a local running store). So far, so good. I did a 4.25 mile run yesterday and it felt like I was running on clouds.

Love that feeling. Seriously. I'm one happy runner.

Yesterday, according to my phone

2012-02-07T09:45:00.002-05:00

babysat the Rudder kids (Will's favorite monkey)

colored + played + painted toenails

flowers from Katie

went grocery shopping then running...

reminded myself how much I need new shoes

finally found a spot to display the cake stands I've collected + made a 1/2

batch of PW's restaurant-style salsa to go with our tacos for dinner.

I was a little skeptical when I was making it, but it was soooo good! (go here for the recipe)

Practicing portraits

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

This past week I had a few assignments to do for my photography class.

We're learning the ins and outs of our cameras, which means starting off by using really basic settings.

These shots of Stephen are inside, with natural light, no zoom and yes, on auto.

Soft and Sweet Snickerdoodles

2012-02-03T06:30:00.000-05:00

Back in high school I took several culinary arts classes. One of our requirements

was that we had to put together a recipe binder of all the things we made and all the menus

we created for our campus restaurant. Since then, I've loaded it with family recipes

and ones that I've found/love from the internet. The other day when I was browsing through it,

I ran across a recipe for snickerdoodle cookies. I remember that we, our class, made them often.

We'd sell them with our chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon rolls at break. Since it had been

such a long time since I had made them [my latest snickerdoodle creation being in cupcake form],

I decided to give them a go. They were a huge hit back then, and still are today :)

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. butter, room temperature

1/2 c. shortening (I use regular, but butter flavored or half of each works too)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs

3 tbsp. whole milk

{to roll dough in- mix together in small bowl}

3 tbsp. granulated sugar

3 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and shortening on medium-high speed for 1 minute, until smooth and creamy. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, mixing after each addition, then milk and vanilla.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, soda, cream of tartar, salt and cinnamon.

4. While mixer is set to low speed, slowly add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix until combined.

5. Remove bowl from mixer and chill dough for 30 minutes. Once dough is sufficiently chilled, use a standard cookie scoop to create balls. Roll dough in hands to form balls, then roll into cinnamon sugar mixture. Place onto cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass cup.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the sheet half way through the baking process. Once cookies begin to brown, remove from oven (don't over cook them or they will be dry and crumbly).

7. Let cookies cool on sheet for 3-5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Me in 3

2012-02-02T14:54:00.000-05:00

Today has been a slow day.

Got up, cleaned. Then cleaned some more.

Worked on photo homework.

Ate lunch with Stephen.

Worked on my design portfolio.

Researched recipes.

And now I'm just waiting...

... waiting for the husband to get home

so we can go off on our run.

Graham Cracker S'mores Bars

2012-02-01T14:23:00.000-05:00

I came across this recipe one afternoon and immediately knew I had to make it. Something about baked S'mores just intrigued me. Also S'mores bring back a lot of good memories for me... like bonfires in the canyon with roommates and friends. So I made a few alterations to the original recipe and voilà! They're kind of amazing little things. When I was scooping the dough onto the graham crackers, I just wanted to eat a handful of it, and when they were baking it made our entire house smell hea-ven-ly. The process does require a little bit of time and certainly more work than standard cookie bars do, but I think you'll agree that the results are well worth it!

Graham Cracker S'mores Bars
Ingredients
11 tbsp. butter, room temperature
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/4 c. mini marshmallows
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chunks (Nestlé Toll House)
3/4 c. mini semi-sweet morsels (Nestlé Toll House)
3 Hershey's bars, broken into squares (I used 1 regular, 2 dark)
2 sleeves honey graham crackers, broken into squares

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars (1-2 minutes).
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
4. Add egg one at a time to butter mixture, gently beating after each addition. Add vanilla and mix.
5. Slowly begin to add flour mixture to the butter mixture, keeping the mixing speed low while doing so.
Once combined, remove and fold in 1c. mini marshmallows, mini morsels and chocolate chunks. Chill mixture in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
6. While mixture is chilling, prepare baking sheet (standard size, with sides) by lining it with parchment paper. Take graham crackers and break in half. Lay out onto sheet, until it is completely full (they should cover the entire sheet and cookies should be tight and touching- see picture).
7. Remove chilled dough from refrigerator and using a standard cookie scoop, place one ball of dough onto each cracker. use remaining dough to fill in the gaps. It may look like a lot of dough, but it all needs to run together in order to cover the entire sheet.
8. Place into oven for 6 minutes, then remove and press Hershey's bar pieces into top along with remaining 1/4 c. marshmallows (just fill in the gaps with them a little). Return to oven and bake for 5-7 minutes or until dough and marshmallows being to brown, making sure the dough is cooked through. Remove from oven and place sheet on a wire rack to cool. Once it is sufficiently cooled (20 minutes or so) place into refrigerator to solidify. Remove after an additional 20 minutes and cut into squares.

Recipe adapted from Always with Butter

Just down the street

2012-01-30T13:11:00.001-05:00

I know the blog has been a little overrun by Mitt, but bare with me one last time. This morning was another rally for Mitt. It was just down the street from where we live. Katie and Bill picked me up and we headed over. As soon as we arrived, David Muir from ABC Worldwide News jumped at us and asked for an interview. Hopefully it will be on air tonight. Once we got inside the rally, Congressman Ander Crenshaw started things off as we waited for Mitt to arrive. During the rally I was trying to get a good picture, but as always, there were a ton of cameras and heads in the way. I felt a little tap on my shoulder and an older gentleman waved me his way. He opened up a ladder (reserved for press) and helped me up, and told me not to fall. Thanks guy, whoever you are! I really appreciated it!

Tomorrow, Stand With Mitt

2012-01-29T10:30:00.000-05:00

Another day, another rally

2012-01-26T14:14:00.000-05:00

This morning while Stephen was in class I went with Katie to another rally. This time it was only a couple of minutes away from where we live, and the turnout was much smaller than the one in Ormond Beach. It was nice to see some familiar faces in the crowd, mostly people we go to church with, but still, it felt more cozy and informal (Mitt cracked a few good jokes that really had the crowd going). All in all it was a good start to the day.

<--------------- {Yes, I wore the shirt that Stephen made and people loved it.} --------------

Triple Peanut Butter Cookies

2012-01-25T09:57:00.000-05:00

If you're anything like me and love peanut butter, then this recipe is perfect for you! It's a peanut butter lover's dream. There is peanut butter in the dough as well as in the chips and mini cups mixed in and pressed on top. The cookie itself is a bit crunchy on the outside but moist and full of rich flavor on the inside. Stephen isn't always the biggest fan of cake-like cookies but he requested these... and ate three of them in a matter of minutes. The recipe calls for Dutch-process cocoa powder... don't skimp. It's really what gives the base of these cookies their flavor. If you think buying "expensive" cocoa powder is a waste of money, think again. I use it for brownies, cookies, cupcakes, ice cream, and muddy buddies. In fact, I need to order another pouch of it from here. Anyway, I hope you'll give these a try. You won't be disappointed.

Triple Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. + 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 stick (6 tbsp.) butter, room temperature
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter, heaping
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. whole milk
1 c. chopped peanut butter cups (I quartered mini ones)
1 c. Reese's peanut butter baking chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Gently whisk to combine.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugars, peanut butter and butter. Beat on medium speed for approximately 1-2 minutes until creamed. Add the egg, vanilla extract and milk. Mix until smooth.
4. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients until incorporated.
5. Remove from mixer and gently fold in peanut butter chips and 1/2 c. chopped peanut butter cups with a spatula (reserve the other 1/2 c.).
6. Using a dough scoop, drop dough (about 3 tbsp.) onto the lined baking sheets (the cookies will not spread very much, so they can be about 2 inches apart from each other). Gently press to flatten them a bit, then press a few pieces of the remaining peanut butter cups into each cookie.
7. Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pan half way through the baking process (the cookies will look slightly underbaked, but that's ok, you don't want to overbake them). Remove from oven and let cool on sheets for 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

*Makes approximately 24 cookies.
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

Busy, busy

2012-01-23T09:34:00.000-05:00

It's been a while, I know. But this past week/weekend has been super busy for the two of us. On Wednesday night we had Scouts, on Thursday Stephen played basketball, Friday I made 5 dozen cookies and we had dinner and a movie with the Rudders, and Saturday was our ward's Pinewood Derby. Saturday night we made ice cream and had some friends over for pizza and games... and yesterday was Mitt's rally in Ormond Beach. Am I missing anything? Probably. But you get the point, right? So lets start out with the Pinewood Derby. Stephen and I were the gate keepers and I helped with concessions. I was really proud of my Cubs- they all did so well!

Rally for Romney

2012-01-23T08:33:00.000-05:00

Like I mentioned before, our weekend was a little busy. Yesterday afternoon, I had the opportunity to drive down to Ormond Beach with the Rudders to be at a rally for Mitt Romney. It was pretty exciting, let me tell you.

Emme had all of the old ladies laughing & taking pictures of her dancing.

She was showing off her pin to everyone...Will was showing his support too.

At the end of the rally Mitt made his way through the crowd. Guess who got to shake his hand? All of us! Katie's face is pretty awesome in this picture from the Orlando Sentinel. I'm in the grey shirt in bottom right hand corner trying to snap a shot of him shaking Emme's hand... I got a blurry picture.

Buckeye Ice Cream

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Saturday I decided to make a batch of buckeye ice cream (rich and salty peanut butter ice cream with dark chocolate freckles for crunch). It was sooooooo good. No really, it was. My mother-in-law makes the candies for Christmas and this tasted just like them! Thank you Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream (and my Mom + Dad for getting me that cookbook) the recipes are excellent! My recipe for Buckeye Ice Cream follows:

Buckeye Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 c. whole milk

1 1/4 c. heavy cream

3 tbsp. cream cheese

1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 c. (heaping) creamy peanut butter

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 c. granulated sugar

2 tbsp. light corn syrup

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tbsp. honey

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I used a Ghiradelli 60% cocoa baking bar)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix 2 tbsp. of whole milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth.

2. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, peanut butter, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

3. Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup and honey in a medium size saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat (make sure you are watching it so it doesn't boil up and over). Boil for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat. Add cornstarch mixture and return to heat for 1 minute, until thickened. Remove from heat.

4. Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese/peanut butter mixture. Whisk until completely smooth and silky. Pour mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and place in an ice bath or in the refrigerator until cold, for approximately 30-35 minutes.

5. Prepare machine. Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and begin to churn. Follow manufacture's instructions. (I used the KitchenAid attachment and mine only took about 15 minutes. Be careful not to overchurn! If you begin to notice buttery flakes forming it is overchurned!)

6. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a double broiler and remove from heat to let cool.

7. When the ice cream is thick and creamy and almost finished, drizzle the melted chocolate through the opening and allow to solidify. This will form the chocolate freckles.

8. Remove ice cream and pack into an air-tight freezer safe container. Freeze for 3-4 hours before serving.

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've had a craving for oatmeal cream pies for quite a while now. There's just something I love about oatmeal cookies, especially cream filled ones. So yesterday afternoon when I had some free time I decided to bake a batch of them. They're a little time consuming to make, but they turned out really well. I'd even go as far as to say they taste a little better than their Little Debbie counterpart. They are less sweet and have a lot more flavor to them. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cream Pies
Ingredients
1 c. (2 sticks) butter
2 c. flour
2 c. quick rolled oats
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. molasses
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Filling:
2 tsp. very hot water
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow cream
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter (room temp- not melted) or shortening
1 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars, molasses, vanilla and eggs until creamy.
3. In a small bow, whisk (or sift) together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.
4. Slowly add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture. Once incorporated, add the oats. Mix just until smooth.
5. Drop dough onto ungreased baking sheets (or if you have parchment paper, line sheets with it) by the tablespoon. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies begin to brown around the edges (they will look moist in the center, so don't overcook).
6. Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling (10 minutes or so).
7. Prepare the filling by dissolving the salt in hot water in a small mixing bowl.
8. In a large mixing bowl, combine marshmallow cream, butter or shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat on medium high until fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add cooled salt water mix, beat well.
9. Use knife or piping bag to spread filling on flat side of one cookie, press second cookie on top. Continue until remaining cookies and filling are gone.
10. Place in an air-tight container and store in fridge.*
*Cookies tend to taste more flavorful the next day after they have melded together.

Supporting Mitt

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

Last week while Stephen was playing basketball, I went with Katie to the Republican headquarters to help put together yard signs for Mitt's campaign. In a week or so he will be coming to good ole Jacksonville for a GOP presidential debate. I wish we could be there but since it's a school night and tickets are pricey, we'll be catching all of the action from home.

Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

When we were in California, my parents took us to a Mexican restaurant for dinner called Papacitos. They had chicken enchiladas with a sour cream sauce that we all loved. So I browsed through a couple of sites looking for a similar recipe and found this one. It looked pretty spot on except for a few things, which I changed and made into a lower calorie and more flavorful version. I hope you'll give this recipe a try, because it's a good one!

(they were gone so fast I didn't even get to take my own picture of them)

Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce

Ingredients

8-10 soft taco size flour tortillas (or corn, if you prefer)

2 c. shredded cooked chicken

1 1/2 c. shredded pepper jack cheese

1/4 c. shredded habenero cheese (I use the Cabot brand)
1 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. light sour cream
1 (4oz.) can diced green chilies
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
fresh cilantro, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in four and cook for one minute. Add chicken broth and, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
3. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 of the green chiles and 1/2 of the cheese blend. Set aside.
4. In a small mixing bowl, combine shredded chicken, remaining chiles, cheese and spices.
5. Place an equal amount of chicken mixture into each tortilla along with a spoonful of sour cream sauce. Roll and place seam down into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Continue until remaining ingredients are used.
6. Pour remaning sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until sauce bubbles and begins to brown. Remove from oven and garnish with cilantro.

Good {spiritual} stuff

2012-01-13T07:30:00.000-05:00

I came across this list the other day.

I think everyone should print it. copy it. and share it.

Simplicity

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I just love the simplicity of a mini pot pie and a salad for dinner.

I'm pretty sure I could eat this every night. But that would just be silly, right?

Rice is another thing I'm kind of obsessed with. Stephen thinks I'm a little crazy when I go on about how good it is- he just doesn't get it. You could give it to me any way and I'd love it. And then there's peanut butter. He sighs anytime I tell him I'm fine with just eating a pb&j sandwich for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. Luckily I'm a sweetheart and will usually cave and make something "real," like an actual meal- his words, not mine.

Are there things that you could eat all day, every day?
Do they drive you're loved ones crazy? ;)

Adventures in California

2012-01-11T09:30:00.000-05:00

As many of you know we flew to California for Christmas to spend time with my family. I live in a little town about an hour north of Sacramento. Stephen says it reminds him a lot of North Carolina... I think it looks like the complete opposite of Southern California (people seem to think that's what all of California looks like). It's woodsy with rivers and a huge lake, oh, and lots of mountains to camp/hike in. While we were there, my mom and dad took us around to several local shops and stands to find little things we could take back with us. Our first stop was the Noble Apple Orchard in Paradise. We got to sample several varieties of apples and a few persimmons too. They had a shelf full of kiwi products like jam and mustard that we bought along with mom and dad's favorite apples.

Then it was off to the chocolate shop. Every once and a while my parents will send us seasonal goods from here... like pumpkin truffles and mint thins. We both got to sample truffles as well as watch the candy making process.

After finishing up in Paradise, we headed down to Chico, where we stopped into a nut store and a kitchen store. The Galley was full of all sorts of interesting things like pastas, sauces, seasonings, gadgets, and even a few odds things in the refrigerator. We still can't figure out why they had so many duck products... it just seemed a little out of place.

The last couple of places we went to were with my brother, Anthony. He took us to downtown Chico where we walked around to a candy store, a magic store, clothing stores and local goods stores. At Bird in Hand we came across the Yo-Yo Hall of Fame (I knew it was there but I thought Stephen would enjoy seeing it -he did).

The rest of our trip was spent playing games with family & friends, seeing more local stuff, and eating lots of food.

Life lately

2012-01-10T02:00:00.000-05:00

Things have been both hectic and relaxing lately. I've been spring cleaning/taking down Christmas decorations (always a sad day) and signing up for photography and web design classes. Stephen has been preparing to start back at school, and we've both been running lots of errands, planning lessons for our Scouts, catching up on episodes of our favorite shows and sleeping, yes, lots of that. This past weekend was Emme's 3rd birthday- so my Friday was dedicated to making cupcakes, giant cupcakes and getting party favors ready. Saturday was the party and I took pictures for Katie. These are just a few...

No-Bake Rocky Road Bars

2012-01-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

I made these bars for dessert the other night. They're a big hit with the husband... and with everyone else who eats them. I have to give all the credit to my mom for this one. She discovered the recipe a while back and has been making them for any and all occasions. When people ask her for the recipe, they can't believe how simple it is, yet for some reason people always seem to get it wrong. So follow the instructions, make sure you've got the right ingredients and in less than a couple minutes you'll have a pan full of fudgy rocky road bars.

Rocky Road Bars
Ingredients
1 (14-oz) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp. butter
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. dry roasted peanuts
1 (10-oz) bag mini marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large glass bowl (big enough to fit in your microwave), combine chocolate chips, condensed milk and butter. Microwave on medium heat for 3 minutes. Remove from microwave and allow to cool enough that the marshmallows won't melt (a couple of minutes or so).
2. Fold in peanuts and marshmallows, making sure to coat evenly with chocolate.
3. Pour mixture into a 9x13 pan, lined with wax paper. Press mixture firmly down into the pan.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool for 2-3 hours before serving.

New Year's Eve

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

For New Year's Eve we decided to go see a Tampa Bay Lightning game. Lucky for us, we had center ice seats that were only a couple rows back, which meant we got to see everything. We were both really happy and excited to be there (we're kind of big hockey fans), and of course the win made things even better.

We had ourselves a merry little Christmas

2012-01-03T11:28:00.000-05:00

It wasn't until yesterday afternoon that we returned home to Jacksonville. And what was awaiting us? A lovely little tree with presents under it that we had bought for each other. So after doing laundry/cleaning the house/grocery shopping/and eating dinner, we decided to finally open them. I can't tell you how exited I was to receive some of the things that Stephen gave me. He knows me very well. I know he really liked what I gave him too :)

2012

2012-01-01T11:43:00.000-05:00

2011 brought a lot of change and several adventures:

We graduated from college.

Went to NYC, Rhode Island, DC, Utah and California.

We moved to Jacksonville, Florida.

And Stephen started Law School.

Hopefully 2012 will be just as exciting!

It's [kind of] a tradition

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

It just wouldn't be home without a trip to IN-N-OUT.

We've eaten here twice in one week. I know, right?

I guess we didn't realize how much we've missed it☺

Our Christmas morning

2011-12-27T13:30:00.001-05:00

looked a little like this:

2011-12-25T04:13:00.000-05:00

{California} Christmas goodies

2011-12-24T10:30:00.000-05:00

These past couple of days we've been busy running errands, shopping, playing games with family and friends and baking. Above are some of the goodies we usually make during the holidays with the exception of the lemon crinkles, which were substituted for lemon bars. Also missing are my mom's sugar cookies (because they're a lot of work and require more than a few hours to make, bake and decorate). We hope you are enjoying the holidays as much as we are :)

There are only a few days left till Christmas

2011-12-22T05:30:00.000-05:00

My friend Danielle has put together this website, which helps support young artists in Uganda.

So... if you're looking for something unique to give to someone for Christmas, please check it out!

You can read more about her business and day-to-day adventures here, on her blog.

{Florida} Christmas goodies

2011-12-21T06:03:00.000-05:00

Every year we try to make and eat

as many of these goodies as possible.

Pre-Christmas packages

2011-12-20T06:51:00.000-05:00

This year we're headed to California for Christmas, so we're down in central Florida visiting Stephen's family before we take off. We've been doing a lot of baking, game playing, TV watching, errand running and laughing. You know, just things that you should do on any and every holiday break. We finally caught up on the Mentalist, we saw the finale of Survivor (disappointing) and we kind of sort of caught up on Psych. We found a new board game- FUNGLISH. Not too shabby... actually pretty fun. We also opened a few presents early. Yep. We just couldn't wait.

A few more photos

2011-12-19T17:19:00.000-05:00

from the tacky sweater party

1. Puzzles with Abby

2. Smiley leg

3. Long time no see

4. Wally and Stephen

5. Party guests

6. Norwegian sweaters

Modern blessing dress

2011-12-18T10:16:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago a friend from our ward asked me if I could help her design and sew a blessing dress for her daughter. She wanted something modern, with lots of ruffles and that wasn't going to cost much. I rummaged through our closet and found some scraps of white fabric from making Stephen's white shirt, and a onesie that he had left over from a silkscreening project. Once the design was sketched out, we went to work. A couple hours later (we only had a few hours to make the dress since Stephen and I planned to leave town the following day), this is what we came up with-

It's definitely not your typical blessing dress, but it is unique and designed especially for her.

Tacky sweater party

2011-12-17T10:34:00.001-05:00

Last night Stephen and I went to Wally and Kim's house for a

tacky sweater party. We didn't have anything "tacky" to wear,

so Stephen's parents let us borrow the sweaters they bought in Norway.

Stephen is in love with them. I think they're impossible to wear in

Florida. But here we are, wearing wool sweaters, in 80 degree weather.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

2011-12-14T07:38:00.000-05:00

The other day Katie came over to bake cookies for her cookie exchange. We didn't have a recipe in mind, so she looked through a magazine and found a chocolatey chunk one, which we altered a bit by adding salt and espresso powder to it. I took that recipe and tossed in Andes peppermint chips to make cookies for a Christmas party that we went to the other night. Needless to say, they were a big hit. Three dozen cookies were gone in a matter of minutes. If you can't find the peppermint chips, you can crush up Andes peppermint thins, Andes creme de menthe thins, peppermint bark, or even add Guittard green mint chips.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Ingredients

1 cupbutter (2 sticks), softened

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoonbaking soda

2 eggs

1 teaspoonvanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon espresso powder

2 cupsall-purpose flour

¼ cup unsweetened chocolate, melted andcooled

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup white chocolate chips

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup Ande's peppermint chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium tohigh speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, and baking soda.Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.

3. Beat in eggs, vanilla, salt, cocoa powder andespresso powder.

4. Add melted chocolate, then flour. Mix untilcombined. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Drop dough on to ungreased cookie sheet in 1 ½ “balls.

6. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges arecrisp. Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wirerack and let cool completely.

7. To store: layer cookies between waxed paper inan airtight container; cover. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. (makes 36 cookies)

By the look of things...

2011-12-13T07:10:00.000-05:00

... I'd say it's almost Christmas ~
The decorations are up.
The tree is lit.
Presents are wrapped.
And baked goods are abundant.

Our year in ornaments

2011-12-12T06:30:00.000-05:00

Call me crazy, but I love finding ornaments that represent things we've

done each year. So these are the ones we've collected this year.

The taxi cab: After graduation we went to NYC

The grapes: In July I went to Rhode Island/visited Martha's Vineyard

The soccer gear: Stephen can finally play again (post ankle surgery)

The mixer: I finally got a KitchenAid. Thanks Grandma!

The wise owl: long story short. Our Christmas tree

fell over [ thanks neighbors :( ] when we lived in the basement

apartment. Two of our favorite ornaments broke including

this one, which we just recently found a replacement for.

The other was a pickle from Seattle. I guess we'll just have

to go back and get a new one ;)

Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree

2011-12-11T23:32:00.001-05:00

Now that our ward's Christmas party is over, we've finally been able to bring our little tree home and decorate it- with real ornaments, our ornaments. It's a little scraggly (mind you it's been around for a couple of years and has survived one giant fall and a couple of moves) but I think it's the perfect size for us.

mmm, bokeh.

As of lately

2011-12-07T09:57:00.000-05:00

This is what our life is like:

Studying for him & sniffles/sore throat for me.

Pretty exciting, huh?

I can't wait till Stephen is done with finals. Only 2 more days!

I'm going a little crazy right now because I think I've somehow managed to either get that virus again or my allergies are flaring up. I guess my doctor was right when he said I have the immune system of an infant. Yay me ☹

I just hope it doesn't take a week and a half to get better this time, because this is definitely not the time to be sick.

A fashion show

2011-12-06T10:34:00.001-05:00

This weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer at the 35th Art & Antiques Show that hosted the Wolfson Children's Hospital fashion show. There were about 20 children (who are current patients at the hospital) that participated and about 75 volunteers that helped things run smoothly. I was in charge of passing out programs, setting up the frames (picture below) and making sure that the "special guest" was where he needed to be, when he needing to be there. It was a fun opportunity for me to get to know people in the community as well as serve others. The kids were incredibly happy to be there and so were their parents. Hopefully I'll be able to start volunteering at the hospital in January.

I helped move the frames from the lobby to the reception area, where people could look at them after the show. They each had a portrait of the child, their artwork and a small biography and paragraph about their hopes and dreams.

Teddy bears for each of the participants. They were all so excited to get one.

There was a cupcake reception following the fashion show and autographs by the "special guest"- Jaguars mascot, Jaxson de Ville. He's definitely not as cool as Cosmo... or as clean, but the kids loved him.

Today in a nutshell

2011-11-29T18:49:00.001-05:00

This morning we got up, Stephen started studying and I went off to the Mac store to find someone to help me with my iPhoto disaster. Luckily everything is back to normal and all of my pictures have been restored- hooray! Then it was off to JoAnn's and Target. Can I just say I love Target during Christmas time?! I was pleasantly surprised to find that "muddy buddy" mix I mention in a previous post and a few other fun things including this ornament...

... which just happens to look a lot like the KitchenAid I have :). Stephen and I are continuing one of my family's traditions of picking out a vintage glass ornament each year that represents us in some way or another. So far we've got a pretty fun collection. I think it will be cool to see what it looks like in a couple more years. Anyway, after going to the stores I headed over to Katie's house to help make some mason jar "winter wonderlands" like we made here.

I made some snowman ornaments I saw at Target and decided it would also be fun to try to make other "festive" ornaments with those handy dandy clear ones. So Rudolf it was.

Once Emme woke up from her nap she joined in on the craftiness by playing in a bowl of fake snow, ringing jingle bells and making little foam Christmas trees.

When we were done I headed back home to see how Stephen was doing. We were both really hungry so for dinner I made a lightened up lasagna. I was a little worried about putting raw zucchini and squash in it, but I baked it a little longer than I normally would and it turned out great- husband approved.

Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients

1 (10oz) package frozen spinach, thawed according to directions on package

1 zucchini, sliced into thin rounds

1 yellow crooked neck squash, sliced into thin rounds

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (14.5oz) can tomato sauce

1 (6oz) can tomato paste

1 c. part skim ricotta cheese

1/2 c. low fat cottage cheese

1 c. low-moisture part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp. oregano

1 tbsp. fresh basil (I use the Gourmet Garden squeeze tubes)

1 tbsp. fresh parsley (I use the Gourmet Garden squeeze tubes)

2 tsp. salt

1 (10oz) package lasagna noodles

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring pot of water to a boil. Place lasagna noodles in and cook until al dente (they will finish as they bake).

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan over low heat, saute 1/2 of the minced garlic and 1/2 of the diced onion. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and 1 tsp. salt. Bring to a low simmer.

3. In a small mixing bowl, combine spinach, ricotta, cottage cheese, 1/3 c. mozzarella, beaten egg, oregano, basil, parsley and remaining salt, garlic and onion. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.

4. Begin assembling by spooning a small amount of sauce over the bottom of a baking pan. Arrange noodles, overlapping if necessary to cover bottom.

5. Place half of the sliced zucchini and squash over the noodles. Then spoon cheese mixture over. Place remaining vegetables on top, covering them with a layer of sauce. Cover with remaining noodles and spoon remaining sauce over. Sprinkle with 2/3c. mozzarella and place into oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Chicken & Noodles

2011-11-27T21:41:00.001-05:00

Last night I was helping Stephen study and trying to clean out the fridge. I didn't want to spend a whole lot of time cooking dinner, so I decided to make chicken and noodles just like my mother-in-law makes, but with a few added ingredients. Not only is this meal light and healthy, but it comes together quickly and makes great leftovers.

Chicken and Noodles
Ingredients
2 lb. skinless chicken thighs
1 (16oz.) bag egg noodles
4 c. water
1 (26oz) container of chicken or vegetable stock
1 c. carrot, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. Nature's Seasonings
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 bay leaf

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large pot, bring water and stock to a boil.
2. Place chicken in. Add garlic powder, onion powder, Nature's Seasonings, thyme, salt, ground pepper and bay leaf. Simmer on medium-high for 1 hour.
3. Remove chicken, debone and shred.
4. Add carrots, celery, onion, shredded chicken and noodles to pot. Return heat to high and boil for 10-12 minutes or until noodles are fully cooked (adding additional water if necessary). Remove bay leaf. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

The cut

2011-11-27T06:52:00.000-05:00

A couple of months back I decided it was finally time to make the cut.

I had been growing my hair out since December, patiently waiting until it was

long enough to donate. It got to the point that straightening it took too long and

putting it up in a bun was nearly impossible and extremely heavy. Yes, I

had that much hair- and it's naturally curly, so you know it was a hot mess here

in Florida with all of the humidity and rain. So once I had the ends trimmed it was just a

matter of finding a place to get it cut and a organization to donate it to.

I looked into Locks of Love, but ultimately decided to give to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths.

They're partnered with the American Cancer Society and unlike Locks of Love,

all of the wigs made are go to cancer patients. So far they've donated over 18,000 free wigs

and have received more than 272,113 ponytails- and 2 of those are mine- yes 2!

I went to a salon and told the girl what I was doing... she measured my hair into two

9" sections, wrapped a rubber band around them and cut them off. I couldn't believe how

much lighter my hair felt and how much length I still had left- it was totally worth it.

Fun fact

2011-11-26T06:42:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you don't notice just how crazy you look when you're taking pictures. Oh my.

Our Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

went a little like this-

Drove to Winter Haven to visit Stephen's family.

Caught up on missed episodes of the Mentalist.

Helped prepare Thanksgiving 'dinner.'

Played with our niece + nephew :)

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving too!

Giving thanks, part II

2011-11-24T11:28:00.000-05:00

and the list continues:

fall leaves

ovens

handmade quilts

pumpkin pie

chilly nights

our Prius

nieces & nephews

a good night's sleep

snow

airplanes

Christmas music

road trips

the internet

fresh orange juice

our apartment

lazy days

Publix

hot water

cereal

home cooked meals

long runs

good neighbors

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving thanks, part I

2011-11-22T10:24:00.001-05:00

With Thanksgiving just around the corner,

I thought I'd put together a little list of things

I am especially thankful for.

Stephen

rainy days

air conditioning

church

SLR cameras

parents

in-laws

iPods

hulu

family

kisses

KitchenAid mixers

holidays

clean clothes

friends

early mornings

Target

chocolate

art

sweaters

Saturdays

laughter

bobby pins

ice cream

sewing machines

{image source}

Happy Monday!

2011-11-21T06:34:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we went to dinner at Mossfire Grill.

When we walked in I pointed out the cupcakes on the counter.

Stephen had to get one...

... they were for a good cause :)

Design work

2011-11-17T11:19:00.001-05:00

The past couple of days I have been avoiding this project. I guess I never realized how hard it would be to design business cards for my brother. Not that he's a tough client or anything, but business cards are always tricky. Especially for guys that do "handyman work." Have you seen some of the cards that are out there? They look like they're from the early 90's. Take the image to your left for example. So I went for the complete opposite of that. Simple, clean and timeless. These are by no means the finished cards, but just samples that he can choose from (mixing and matching fonts, colors and graphics).

Currently snacking on...

2011-11-15T10:19:00.001-05:00

Last winter just after Christmas, I went over to my brother's house. He had a jar of Archer Farms "muddy buddies" on the counter. It was your typical Chex® cereal coated in peanut butter, but with dark chocolate and powdered sugar mixed with cocoa powder. I thought it was really good. A couple of days later I went to Target to look for it and it was sold out. Well, the other night Stephen and I were looking for something sweet to eat and I realized I had the ingredients- so I decided to make it myself. I used the recipe on the back of the cereal box to guide me along but altered it and halved it.

Dark Chocolate Puppy Chow

Ingredients:

4 1/2 c. Corn Chex®, Rice Chex®, or Chocolate Chex® cereal (or combination)

1/2 c. bittersweet chocolate chips, heaping (I like Ghiradelli 60% cacao chips)

1/4 c. creamy peanut butter, heaping

2 tbsp. butter or margarine

1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. powdered sugar

2 tbsp. cocoa powder

1 tbsp. double-dutch dark cocoa powder

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large mixing bowl, measure cereal and set aside.

2. In a small microwaveable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on high for 30 seconds, remove and stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth.

3. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, gently stirring with a rubber spatula until evenly coated.

4. Pour into a large (2 gallon) ziplock bag. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powders. Seal bag and shake well until completely coated.

5. Spread onto waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

{recipe adapted from chexpartymix.com}

Cub Scout gift #2

2011-11-14T20:10:00.001-05:00

For our second and final gift, we made these really simple ornaments-

Stained Glass Ornaments
Materials:
Acrylic paint (2-3 colors)
Glass ornaments
Ribbon

Directions:
1. Remove top. Pour small dabs of paint into each ornament. Swirl.
2. Allow to dry for 7-10 days (or however long your paint requires).
3. Re-insert top. Thread ribbon through loop and tie a bow.

During my search for ideas, I found some cool ornaments on...

... West Elm's website...

... and on apartment therapy...

... and on Better Homes and Gardens...

... and of course, on Pinterest.

But really, clear glass ornaments can be filled with just about anything.

Cub Scout gift #1

2011-11-13T17:50:00.001-05:00

   Ours: $6 Anthropologie's: $38

The first gift that we made for Cub Scouts was this Christmas "Winter Wonderland" snow globe. I got this idea the other day when Stephen and I were walking through Anthropologie. They had just put out all of their Christmas decor and I thought these were cute, clever and perfect for their achievement. If you're interested in making one, here's what you'll need:

Winter Wonderland Snow Globes
Materials:
1 large mason jar with a ring and seal
1 bag of craft snow or fine white glitter
1-3 trees
Super glue (I used Gorilla Glue)
*small pinecones, optional
Directions:
1. Glue tree(s) to the back of the seal. Allow to dry completely.
2. Pour craft snow or glitter into jar (you'll need about 1 cup)
3. Place seal on top and securely fasten seal.
   (if you think kids are going to take it apart, you can put a line
   of glue around the seal so it cannot be opened)
4. Turn over jar and shake snow down to bottom.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-11-10T18:55:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I was looking for a treat to make for my Cub Scouts. I didn't have a lot of time and I wanted to make something that even the pickiest eaters would like, so I turned to Pinterest. I've been seeing this recipe pop up on pinboards almost every day with the title "secret ingredient, you'll never guess!" Well, I checked out the recipe, read the reviews and decided to give it a try. And guess what? They're REALLY good!!! Stephen said they tasted like bakery cookies, hence the title :) I had no idea that cornstarch was even used in baked goods, but it worked wonders. I altered the recipe slightly, here is my version:

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 c. semi-sweet mini morsel chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars. Add vanilla and egg, mix until incorporated.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, sift flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Mix in dry ingredients, one cup at a time, until smooth.

4. Add chocolate chips, fold in.

5. Place cookies on sheet using a standard scoop. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. (Since I made giant cookies I used 2 scoops of dough, patted them together, put 6 on a sheet, and baked them for 14 minutes).

6. Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

{recipe adapted from Anna Olson, Food Network Canada}

Here's a sneak peek

2011-11-09T09:52:00.001-05:00

at my latest project (among many others)

It has has a little to do with felt and a lot to do with giraffes.

Grey

2011-11-06T17:24:00.002-05:00

{source}

Today I am especially grateful for grey skies.

Where 2:00pm feels like 8:00am.

It's finally chilly out.

I wore my winter coat to church.

Can you believe that?!

It hasn't rained yet,

but thunderstorms are
forecasted for later this week.

I can't wait.

We finally have our quilt on the bed

and our cold weather pj's on.

Fall is officially here. Finally.

Olive Garden inspired Tuscan Garlic Chicken

2011-11-04T13:46:00.000-04:00

I made this pasta a while back, but I've been wanting to make it again ever since. I came across the recipe on my friend Mandy's blog and immediately knew we had to try it. I added a few extra things and substituted some ingredients to lighten things up a bit, but it turned out fantastic. I apologize as the chicken in this picture looks less than appetizing, but I chopped it up in a hurry, and sometimes that's just the way things are. I promise it's really tasty! The next thing we will be making is from her blog is the Garlic Chicken Alfredo Pizza... it sounds so good!

Tuscan Garlic Chicken
with a Parmesan Cream Sauce
Ingredients
3/4c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. Italian bread crumbs
1 tsp. Nature's Seasonings
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 boneless chicken breasts, or 4-5 chicken tenders
4 tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. onion powder
1 c. fresh spinach, sliced into 1"x1/4" strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 c. half and half
1 c. 1% lowfat milk
2 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese (can be found in little plastic containers at most stores)
1lb. fettuccine

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a shallow dish, combine flour, bread crumbs, Nature's Seasonings, garlic powder, dried basil and dried oregano. Lay each piece of chicken into the mixture and toss until both sides are fully coated.
3. Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place the chicken into the pan, making sure not to rub off the coating. Cook chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side (making sure not to move it around) until it is golden brown and the crust is seared (it will not be cooked all the way through- it will finish in the oven).
4. Remove the chicken from the skillet and place onto a foil-lined, lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes (less if you are using chicken tenders). Once chicken is fully cooked, remove and set aside.
5. While the chicken is baking, heat a large pot of water and cook the fettuccine.
6. While the noodles are cooking, in a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, add 2 tbsp. olive oil. When the oil is hot, add garlic and bell pepper. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 tbsp. flour and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and onion powder, bring to a low simmer whisking constantly until slightly thickened. Add milk, half and half, cornstarch and spinach, to the saucepan, whisk until smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly until the spinach has cooked or 'wilted' and the sauce has thickened. Stir in parmesan cheese.
7. Toss pasta and half of cheese sauce. Divide and place on plates. Top with chicken, spoon remaining sauce on top.
{Recipe adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe}

Fall finds at Anthropologie

2011-11-03T06:00:00.000-04:00

Buttermilk Banana Bread

2011-11-02T06:27:00.000-04:00

The other day I couldn't help but notice that the bananas I had just bought had browned. I thought about freezing them and using them for banana cookies, but I decided that instead I would use them for banana bread. This recipe is one that my mom has used and I have loved since I was little. It's up to you how much you mash the bananas or if you want to add nuts. But either way it always turns out great!

Buttermilk Banana Bread
Ingredients
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 c. very ripe bananas, mashed (3-4)
1/2 c. buttermilk*
1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped walnuts, optional
*Substitution: 2 tsp. lemon juice in 1/2 c. milk, let stand for 5 minutes.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Move oven rack to position where pans will be in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottoms of 2 loaf pans, using non-stick baking spray or butter and flour.
2. In a large bowl, mix sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated.
3. Mash bananas on a plate, using a fork. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
4. Gently fold in flour, baking soda, and salt and walnuts (or save for on top).
5. Pour batter into pans (sprinkle nuts on top if desired).
6. Place in oven and bake for approximately one hour, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, and the loaves are golden brown on the top. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes, then loosen the sides of the loves and remove from pans onto wire rack. Let cool completely (about 2 hours) before cutting.

Note: I used my mini loaf pan to make the loaves pictured above. If you're going to do so, make sure you don't use liners (oops) and that you pour the batter directly into the greased wells (this will help ensure that the crust gets brown and that they bake all the way through). Baking time will change to about 25 minutes.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T11:07:00.002-04:00

Stephen and I went to Katie and Bill's.

Emme and Will looked really cute all dressed up.

Will wasn't too sure about his hat, but he wore it for most of the night.

Emme would run up to us after each house to show us how much candy she had. It was pretty adorable.

Lots of people liked Stephen's pumpkin (it's sitting outside their house), a few even

took pictures of it :) All in all, it was a good Halloween.

Handmade Halloween Part 2

2011-10-31T22:12:00.001-04:00

As promised, here is Will's Peter Pan costume.

His little green tunic.

No pattern required for this one. I just followed the outline of one of his normal shirts,

making it a bit wider and about 6 inches longer. Then I cut the neckline which created the

collar and cut triangles around hem and sleeves.

Stick a feather in it, it's done.

For the hat, I measured his head, cut out 4 pieces of felt (2 for the hat and 2 for the brim).

I sewed the two main pieces together and then carefully stitched the brim to it. I flipped up

the brim and then tucked a feather in it once it was done. The elastic was an afterthought but it

was definitely necessary. I didn't measure anything, mainly because I didn't have him

there when I was making it, so I took a wild guess and it ended up working out perfectly.

Belt + Knife + Shoes

The belt and knife were really easy to make. I just kind of came up with it as I went along.

I did however, attach it to the shirt, that way nothing could fall/get ripped off. For the

shoes I used a tutorial to help guide me along. They only took about 30 minutes to make!

Katie purchased the tights which really made everything come together.

It was a super easy costume to make, relatively cheap, and probably pretty comfortable too.

Jo's knitted hats

2011-10-30T17:53:00.004-04:00

Stephen's mom came to visit us, and with her she brought

these adorable hats that she made for Emme and Will. Aren't they cute?

Our weekend was just as we hoped- relaxing.

We went to lunch at Bento and saw In Time, which we

weren't too wild about. If you see it, you'll probably know why.

Our plans for Halloween are simple:

Hang out.

Eat candy.

Watch shows

on hulu.

This week is going to be busy as always.

I've got to get several things done, and I know Stephen has

a lot of things for school to do too.

Friday

2011-10-28T14:28:00.001-04:00

And it's been a slow morning/afternoon so far. While Stephen slept in for most of the morning, trying to catch up on lost sleep, I wandered around the house picking things up and writing down things I need to get done this weekend. I don't think I have the energy to do half of them.

Before Stephen left for class, I made him brownies. They're full of mini peanut butter cups. Mmm.

While the brownies were in the oven, I started Will's costume.

It's coming along, but I probably won't finish it until tomorrow.

When I was browsing the web, I read that Williams-Sonoma will be hosting free pie technique classes at their stores. If you're interested go here to locate your store. Or here for more information.

As I was picking up things in the living room, I realized that our Wild Things pumpkin looks like an egg in a cup. It needs to go outside on our balcony, but I need to buy a light for it... one more thing for my list.

Hopefully the rest of today will be as slow as it has been this morning. We haven't really had a quiet weekend in a while now and we're pretty excited to just be able to relax. Tonight we'll watch the BYU game and maybe go visit friends. Tomorrow Stephen's mom comes. We're both really pretty excited about that.

Hope you have a relaxing weekend as well!

Handmade Halloween Part 1

2011-10-27T17:08:00.003-04:00

I know the blog has been overrun by baked goods, but I just wanted to let you all know that I am still sewing. These past couple of days have been full of sparkles, boas and a whole lot of lime green fabric. Yep, I've been making a Tinkerbell dress for Katie and Bill's little girl, Emme (she's almost 3). When I first started making the dress I decided it would be a good idea to buy a pattern. I found a Simplicity one that had a few different fairy options but when I opened the pattern and started working on it, I realized that whoever designed the pattern was just downright crazy. It was way too complicated, way too much work and had you doing a lot of unnecessary things. So I drew up my own pattern, crossed my fingers that it would fit, and went to back to work. About half way through the project I was talking to Emme and she wanted nothing to do with being a fairy for Halloween. "I don't want to be a tooth fairy," she said. Luckily when she came over to try the dress on Wednesday she was really excited. All she could talk about was how she was going to be Tinkerbell and wear her pretty dress to school. Crisis averted :)

A little pixie dust goes a long way...

All of the fabric was purchased at JoAnn Fabrics. As I mentioned above,

the pattern was Simplicty 2259, but I think it was kind of a waste of money.

Of course you would never know until you opened it. I drafted the bodice using

an old pattern that I had sewn for her before, making sure it was still the right size.

(Dr. Burnham, you'd be so proud!) Then I used the idea of the petals and the tulle

skirt and combined them together with the new bodice. The waistband just ties in the

back, and the wings velcro on. No straps necessary.

It wouldn't be any fun without the wand.

I thought about making a wand several times, and then after realizing that it was

probably going to be the coolest part of the outfit for her, I did. I found a dowel

and wrapped some curling ribbon around it. I glued long strands of ribbon to the

top and then covered it with the same feather boa puff that's on her shoes.

The one thing I didn't dare try to make, her wings.

They were a really good deal at JoAnn's and they matched perfectly. Somehow Stephen

spotted them out of the corner of his eye. Thank goodness. I know I'm crafty/the

pattern actually came with instructions, but really, who has the time or the patience?

Check out those pretty little shoes!

It's amazing what some lime green spray paint, glitter and feathers can do!

And the parade begins!!!

She couldn't stop checking herself out in the windows. So cute :)

Next up: Will's Peter Pan costume...

... it should be up in a day or two!

Chili & cornbread

2011-10-26T06:53:00.000-04:00

Monday was just one of those days for us. We were both tired and didn't feel like doing much. I wanted to make dinner but I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen so I figured chili would be the perfect solution. It took me a while to come up with this recipe, but it was well worth the time it took to do so. This chili is packed full of peppers (which makes it a little spicy), tender meat and lots of beans. The cornbread is a combination of several recipes I've used in the past. It's sweet but not to the point that it tastes like cake. You can definitely taste the cornmeal- which is the best part, right? One of my favorite things to eat cornbread with is honey butter. If you're looking for a good recipe you can find one here. Enjoy!

Three Bean Chili
Ingredients
1 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 tbsp. canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 poblano chili, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 Anaheim chiles, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. boneless chuck, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2. lb. ground Italian sausage (or hot, or mild)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. Nature's Seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2/3 c. tomato sauce
1/4. c. tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken stock
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans
1 (15 oz.) can light red kidney beans
1/2 (15 oz.) can dark red kidney beans

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, add butter and canola oil. Add peppers, chilies, onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add chuck and brown, about 3 minutes. Add ground beef and sausage, stirring gently, trying not to break it up too much. Cook meat until it is nicely browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Add onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, cayenne, cumin, coriander, Nature's Seasonings, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sauce from burning.
5. Stir in chicken stock, then add beans. Lower heat and allow to simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Makes 5-7 servings

Honey Cornbread
Ingredients
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 c. whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted
1/4. c honey

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In large mixing bowl, beat together whole milk, eggs, butter and honey, until light and creamy.
3. Add cornmeal, flour, salt and sugar, mix until smooth.
4. Add baking powder and stir gently until incorporated.
5. Place liners into tins. Evenly divide the mixture between the papers (they should be about 3/4 of the way full).
6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Makes 12 muffins or 6 mini loaves

Birthday weekend

2011-10-25T10:57:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, it was Stephen's birthday this past weekend. Stephen's friends-James, Wally and Kim, came into town and we got together will Katie and Bill to celebrate.

Saturday began with a tennis match between the guys... ... and playing at the park with the kids.

We hung out, then for dinner we headed to Mojo's for some BBQ.

Me + Stephen

Wally + Kim

Katie + Bill

After dinner it was back home for presents...

... cake, games and dancing too :)

Parabéns Stephen!

This past week

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

This past week was a rough one for me. Since last Sunday I've been feeling pretty horrible... ok, really horrible. It started with a bad sore throat and then eventually turned into a viral infection that will take another 6+ days to get over. Sigh. Despite the symptoms and lack of sleep, I was actually able to get a few things done. Since Stephen's birthday was Saturday, I spent most of the week preparing for that (which included tackling a pile of laundry we had been playing Jenga with for more than a few days... seriously it was huge/growing up our closet wall) as well as getting a lesson done for my Cub Scouts, cleaning, getting the house ready for friends to stay with us, errand running and present wrapping. While I was grocery shopping, I found those pretty flowers below and some cool pumpkins. How much did they cost me? $12! Thank you Publix! During one of my energy spurts (about 30 minutes after taking medication) I made Wisconsin cauliflower soup and paninis. You can find the recipe for the soup via the link below. Now that I think about it, that probably wasn't the best move ever, especially after thinking about those 15 minutes of Stephen telling me to relax and that he'd go pick us up something to eat. But thankfully it's Monday and that week is over. I realize that I probably should have gone to the doctor sooner and I probably should have taken it easier (but thank you Stephen for putting up with me, I'm stubborn I know, but I really appreciate you always being there for me). Hopefully this week will be different. I'll keep you posted.

{soup} Note: I pureed the mixture in a blender for 2 minutes on a medium speed to make it smooth and creamy.

Mitt Romney Pumpkin

2011-10-20T09:51:00.000-04:00

Stephen has been working on a pumpkin for our friends Katie and Bill.

Almost finished

Finished.

I miss...

2011-10-19T06:18:00.000-04:00

... the fall leaves.

I love being able to actually

see and feel

the seasons change.

But for now I get to make it feel like fall.

Which means decorating with lots of pumpkins and leaves,

cooking soups, chili and chowders, and baking a ton of pumpkin and apple goods.

Oh, and occasionally throwing on a sweater and boots when it gets stormy outside :)

print by Dan Hess

A tasty twist on classic cinnamon rolls

2011-10-18T05:22:00.000-04:00

After making the cheesecake and cupcakes the other day, I had a container full of leftover pumpkin. I kept trying to think what I could do with it, I was thinking about making Pumpkin Smash smoothies but that called for soy milk and vanilla frozen yogurt, which I didn't have on hand. Then I remembered that a few weeks back I had wanted to make pumpkin cinnamon rolls and that they just happened to call for the amount of pumpkin I had left over. So I adapted a recipe and gave them a shot. Both Stephen and his friend Eric agreed that although they didn't scream pumpkin, the subtlety was nice.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
1/4 c. warm water
1 package (or 2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast (at room temp)
1/3 c. whole or 2% milk
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 c. solid-pack pumpkin puree
1 tbsp. butter, melted
3 1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4. c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Filling
1/3 c. (1 stick) butter
2/3 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2-3 tbsp. solid-pack pumpkin puree or pumpkin butter (optional)

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, softened
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. whole or 2% milk
2-3 c. powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Stir yeast into water in a large bowl. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before stirring to combine (it should get thicker and begin to bubble). Stir in the milk, egg, pumpkin, butter, 1 1/4 c. flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Beat vigorously with paddle attachment for 2 minutes.
2. Attach dough hook to mixer. Slowly add the rest of the flour, a little at a time, until the dough is stiff enough to knead.
3. Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead, adding flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough into a greased bowl (olive oil is fine), turn the dough to coat the entire ball. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, approximately 1 hour. If the dough is has not doubled by then, allow it to rise for an additional half hour.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by combining the sugars, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl. Set aside.
5. Transfer the risen dough to a floured surface and roll into a 16"x 12" rectangle. Spread butter and pumpkin over dough. Sprinkle with sugar mixture. Roll into log and cut into 15 slices using a sharp knife or dental floss. Place slices into a 9x13 or two 8 or 9 inch round cake or pie pans. Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the for 20-25 minutes or until rolls are golden brown (don't worry if the filling rises and bubbles, it will go down once the rolls have been removed from the oven).
7. While rolls are baking, prepare frosting by beating the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, salt and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl until smooth. Add the powdered sugar one half cup at a time. If the mixture becomes too thick, slowly add milk one half tablespoon at a time.
8. Remove rolls from oven and let cool on wire rack. Frost 5-10 minutes after removal.

{recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour and bakedbree}

Round 2

2011-10-17T06:23:00.000-04:00

Saturday night =

the second time we've seen

Jack's Mannequin in concert.

It just never gets old.

Especially when they play old Something Corporate songs :)

Company of Thieves + Motion City Soundtrack + Jack's Mannequin

pardon the terrible lighting/sweaty faces. it's florida. and a concert. it's going to get hot.

Hello, fall! Hello, pumpkin!

2011-10-14T05:03:00.000-04:00

So as you can probably tell, I'm just a little excited for fall. My Pinterest account can attest to that. But for some reason I've been holding back on making pumpkin goods. There have been two cans of pumpkin sitting in my pantry for weeks now and I've done nothing but stare at them. I think it has something to do with the fact that I want to make everything I see that has pumpkin in it, and because I can't, I haven't made anything at all. But....... that all changed last night. With a Relief Society dinner fast approaching I finally caved. I decided that I would go ahead and make not one, but two desserts. First on the list was cheesecake. Do you remember how I attempted to make that raspberry white chocolate one a couple of months ago? Maybe not. Hopefully not. I know I'd rather not remember, but thankfully I figured out where I went wrong. Anyway, instead of relying on a recipe I had bookmarked in my KitchenAid cookbook, I decided to be really brave and make my own. And guess what? It turned out REALLY good! I'm just a little proud ;) Unfortunately since I had to take it to the dinner, I never got a picture of the inside. So all you get is the before and after. What can I say? A picture is worth a thousand words. (P.S. the recipes below are 4x6, so all you have to do is print them!)

For the second dessert I made pumpkin cupcakes. I have been seeing a lot of recipes on blogs and websites for cupcakes, but again, I decided to create my own. And yet again, another success! My only suggestion is to store these in the refrigerator (because of the cream cheese) and to add extra powdered sugar to the frosting if you're planning on piping it like I did... it helps keep things in place.

Homemade Tomato Soup

2011-10-13T11:31:00.000-04:00

I've been making a lot of soups lately... wishful thinking perhaps? The weather is still warm out but it has been raining a lot, so maybe that's what has put me in such a big soup mood. Last night I made a Zupas inspired tomato basil with orzo soup and broiled some sourdough bread with cheddar to go along with it- yum!

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
1 tbsp. reserved oil from sun-dried tomatoes or olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 c. carrot, grated finely
3 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 c. sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
2 1/2 c. canned diced tomatoes
3/4 c. chicken broth
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can tomato soup
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil, 1/2 tsp. fresh basil (I use Gourmet Garden tubes found in the produce section)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
3 oz. cream cheese (full or reduced fat), cubed
2 tbsp. whole milk or half and half

1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan for garnish
2 c. cooked orzo pasta

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrot and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring often.
2. Add sun-dried tomatoes, canned tomatoes, tomato soup, chicken broth, sugar, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes. Bring soup to a boil for 2-3 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Remove soup from heat. Transfer soup to a blender. Add cream cheese and whole milk or half and half. Remove center piece from blender to allow steam to escape. Cover with a paper towel to prevent splatters. Process for a few minutes until smooth, making sure the soup is creamy (I would pulse it for at least 2-3 minutes in order to avoid it being chunky- trust me!).
4. Return mixture to stove and heat for 5 minutes. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Place two large spoonfuls or orzo pasta in bottom of individual bowls. Ladle soup over and garnish with parmesan.

Hot & spicy, warm & cozy.

2011-10-08T11:56:00.000-04:00

Photo courtesy of thepioneerwoman.com

Last night I was looking for something to make that was quick and filling. I've been wanting to try the Pioneer Woman's Corn Chowder with Chilies for a long time, so with all the ingredients on hand, I did, and it was really good! I will say that it's got some heat to it, so if you're not a fan of spicy soups, go easy on the chipotle chilies. Other than that, it was the perfect meal for a rainy night and it cooked up in less than 30 minutes. A great addition to the soup would be chunks of potato- also some extra bacon :) If you're wanting to make it lighter, substitute the heavy cream for whole milk and add extra corn meal to thicken the base.

I'm currently

2011-10-07T17:31:00.000-04:00

baking from these:

1. Taste of Home Fall Baking

Get it! I has a lot of really good recipes and tips in it.

2. Food Network Fall Magazine-

It's got a lot of really good quick meals in it as well as several little pamphlets

featuring ways to cook/prepare certain vegetables.

3. KitchenAid Best Loved Recipes-

I found this at a bargain book sale at the BYU Bookstore a year or so ago and I finally

cracked it open. Now that I have a KitchenAid, I've been trying out all sorts of things from it.

and loving these:

1. Walking day trip backpack from Modcloth via Beso

2. Modal plain tights in ochre via ASOS

3. Caslon stripe button shoulder sweater via Nordstrom

4. Heritage raincoat via Anthropologie

5. Kendzior leather oxfords via Aldo

PS...

If you've never checked out ASOS, you really should (above is their website)...

...especially if you need style advice or want to keep up with the latest trends.

+ they've got a huge variety of clothes, jewelry and accessories.

SF

2011-10-05T11:10:00.000-04:00

... I just love this print.

It reminds me of home ☺

The artist is kind of a friend of a friend of a friend.

But she's got a couple of pretty cool prints in her etsy shop.

Also she does some cool stuff with colored wire, found here on her blog.

Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

2011-10-04T06:17:00.000-04:00

Stephen and I were talking about which ice cream to make the other day and one of the only kinds we could agree on was cookies and cream. I told him I'd make it as long as he would at least try some of the ones I would make in the future. So here we have it! I will say that I bought 2 little 6 packs of Oreos at the check-out because I figured they'd be enough, but after making the ice cream and adding the cookies, I tossed it in the freezer and headed to the store to buy some more. Embarrassing, I know, but I figured we'd both be disappointed unless there were more- it's kind of like going to get a milkshake and they give you a spoonful of Oreos instead of a handful... you know what I mean? So if you're totally freaked out by the fact that this has 18 Oreos in it, don't worry, you can add as many or as few as you'd like.

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
Ingredients
1 c. whole milk
1/4 c. granulated sugar
2 c. heavy cream
1/4 tsp. salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise or 1/2 tsp. ground vanilla bean
6 large egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
16-18 Oreo cookies, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. Warm the milk, salt, sugar and 1 c. of cream in a medium sauce pan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean or add the ground vanilla bean to the warm milk. Cover and keep on low heat (just enough to keep warm) for 30 minutes.
2. Pour the remaining 1 c. of cream into a large mixing bowl and place a mesh sieve on top.
3. In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly. After combined, scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and return to medium heat. Using a heatproof spatula, scrape the bottom as you stir, until the mixture coats the bottom of the spatula and/or reaches 170 degrees.
4. Pour the heated mixture through the strainer and into the cream. Add the vanilla extract.
5. Place over an ice bath to cool, then place in refrigerator for 30 minutes until chilled throughout.
6. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. When finished churning, stir in cookies with spatula.
7. Place in a air-tight freezer safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

Silkscreening Romney

2011-10-03T07:45:00.000-04:00

In between school/studying, Stephen has been working on some Romney shirts for our friends.

This is the first one he's made using a different method (just stencils & a screen, no Yudu) and with Speedball ink (a lot higher quality than the previous ones he's worked with).

Cookie dough 101

2011-10-02T05:36:00.000-04:00

Usually I have two plain dough recipes that I turn to when I make cookies. One is my mom's "Mrs. Fields" recipe (which includes oats) and the other is Stephen's mom's "Toll House" recipe. But the other day I made cookies for Stephen before he got home from school and used a new recipe. It produced cookies that were was thick, chewy and delicious. It does however, require a little more attention during the baking process, but I think overall it's a really great addition to my collection- not to mention it's the perfect base for any type of cookie, whether it be your standard chocolate chip or mini M&M and toffee butterscotch.

Thick and Chewy Cookie Dough
Ingredients
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk flour, salt and baking soda together in a medium bowl, set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together until thoroughly combined. Beat in yolk, then egg. Add vanilla and continue to beat until combined.
4. On low speed, add dry ingredients a little at a time until combined.
5. Stir in mix-ins (chips, candies, nuts etc.)
6. Scoop onto lined baking sheet and place in oven. Halfway through baking (7 or 8 minutes) rotate sheet. Set time for 7 more minutes. Remove cookies once edges are golden brown and centers are soft and puffy. Do not over bake. [total baking time will range anywhere from 12-16 minutes because of slightly cooler oven temperature]
7. Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

(recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated)

Fall {GIVEAWAY} Update 10/1

2011-10-01T14:24:00.000-04:00

Congrats to our winner below!

please email me {nataliedicks@gmail.com}

your address in order to claim your items!

Thanks to all who entered!

Courtney said...

2011-09-29T10:14:00.006-04:00

Fall {GIVEAWAY} Closed

2011-09-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

MSC Paper Bags, MSC Pumpkin Transfers, Wilton Mini Harvest 6-Piece Cookie Cutter Set, Wilton Pumpkin and Leaves Silicone Mold, Wilton Orange Sugar, Wilton Micro Leaves Sprinkles and Wilton Fall Pleated Baking Cups.

I've been stocking up on fall goodies recently. Since I love to bake and decorate during this time of year, I thought I'd give one lucky winner a few things to help them get started.

**Leave a comment letting me know what your favorite

Martha Stewart Craft or Wilton item is and why.
Also those who share the giveaway via Facebook or Blogger will get one extra entry.

All contestants must be followers. Open to US residents only.

Comments close Friday evening at 11:59pm.

Winner will be announced Saturday afternoon.**

Good Luck!

DC in 24- Part II

2011-09-26T05:15:00.000-04:00

The second half of our day in DC we spent checking out the Smithsonian museums and walking around to all of the monuments. It was an ugly day for pictures but there was a cool breeze and that we were thankful for. First up on the list is the Library of Congress. Next, the Capitol, then some statues, and of course a lovely view from the back of the Capitol of the Washington Monument. Don't worry, we walked all the way down to it (and spotted the White House too). Then behind it we found the Lincoln Memorial and the WWII, Vietnam and Korean War Memorials. They were incredible. Later that evening we went to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant where we stuffed ourselves with pita bread and then hopped on the Metro to soccer game. But let's not talk about that- we'd rather forget about it.

P.S. Thanks Cory and Quinta for hanging out with us/showing us the city!

DC in 24- Part I

2011-09-26T05:02:00.000-04:00

Our weekend getaway to DC all started with dinner at Ray's Hell Burger, which was absolutely delicious. The next morning we woke up early and took the Metro to the Eastern Market. We had breakfast (which consisted of GIANT blueberry pancakes) and shopped around. We found a lot of really fun things including silkscreened shirts, sculpted giraffes, candied pecans, unusual vegetables and we even stopped to watch cooking demonstrations. Later that afternoon we walked down to the National Mall and to our surprise they were having the National Book Festival. Stephen got to meet with/have some books signed by Dave Eggers. He was pretty happy about that.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream with a Peanut Butter Swirl

2011-09-25T06:53:00.000-04:00

If you're anything like me and you could eat peanut butter all day, any day, then this ice cream is for you. At first I was a little hesitant about the peanut butter swirl, but I think it really adds something to it. I halved the recipe because Stephen and I both noticed that it cuts down the chocolate flavor. So maybe less is more? I used mini Reeses peanut butter cups and quartered them, because as much as I love them, I don't really want giant chunks of them... plus I'm pretty sure they would have done some serious damage to my ice cream maker.

Chocolate PB Cup Ice Cream
Ingredients
2 c. heavy cream
1 c. whole milk
2 1/2 tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 c. semisweet chocolate (chips are fine)
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
5 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. mini Reeses peanut butter cups, quartered or halved

Peanut butter swirl:
1/4 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/8 c. light brown sugar
1 tbsp. light corn syrup

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium saucepan, warm 1 c. of heavy cream with the cocoa powder, whisking to blend cocoa.
2. Bring mixture to a boil, remove from heat and add in 3/4 c. semisweet chocolate. Stir until smooth. Then add remaining cup of heavy cream, stirring until smooth. Pour mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan to remove all chocolate. Set a mesh sieve over the bowl.
3. Warm the milk, sugar and salt in the same saucepan.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks lightly. Slowly pour the warm milk, sugar and salt mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then pour the mixture back into the saucepan to cook. Constantly stir the mixture over medium heat with a heat resistant spatula, scraping the sides and bottom. The mixture will begin to thicken and coat the spatula (it should also reach 170 degrees on a thermometer). Remove immediately and pour through the mesh sieve into the chocolate mixture. Stir in vanilla.
5. Place the bowl over an ice bath to cool and then place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly (approximately 25-30 minutes).
6. To make peanut butter swirl, combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and cook until sugar is dissolved. Chill over an ice bath and place in refrigerator until ice cream is done.
7. Pour ice cream mixture into maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Churn for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, quarter mini peanut butter cups. Add during the last minute of churning.
8. When ice cream is finished, layer by layer, add ice cream and swirl peanut butter.
9. Store mixture in an air-tight freezer safe container and freeze for 4 hours before serving.

Doughnut Muffins

2011-09-24T07:38:00.000-04:00

They're the best of both worlds. Need I say more?

Spiced Doughnut Muffins

Ingredients:

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/3 c. brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 2/3 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. milk (1% works great)

OPTIONAL 3/4 c. cooked granny smith apples (1/4" cubes)

Topping options:

*GLAZE*

3 tbsp. butter, melted

1 c. confectioners sugar

3/4 tsp. vanilla

2 tbsp. milk

*CINNAMON AND SUGAR*

1 tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 c. sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. Or line with 12 paper or silicone muffin cups, and grease the cups with non-stick vegetable oil spray; this will ensure that they peel off the muffins nicely.

2) In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.

3) Add the eggs, beating to combine.

4) Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla.

5) Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

6) Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.

7) Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they're a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.

8) Remove them from the oven, and let them cool for a couple of minutes, or until you can handle them. While they're cooling, melt the butter for the topping (this is easily done in the microwave).

9) Use a pastry brush to paint the top of each muffin with the butter, then sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar. Or simply dip the tops of muffins into the melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar.

10) Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Store for a day or so at room temperature.

(recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour)

Check this out

2011-09-23T06:34:00.000-04:00

Punchfork- it's a really cool website that combines the most popular/best rated recipes from all of your favorite cooking sources. It's pretty awesome, especially if you are looking for new dinner and dessert ideas. It's a little like Pinterest, but for food.

Dear Hancock

2011-09-22T07:49:00.000-04:00

Don't you just love these? I certainly do.

They are done by a husband and wife team out of Los Angeles and

can be purchased as greeting cards or stationary here.

Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream, Philadelphia Style

2011-09-21T10:45:00.000-04:00

I'll admit, this recipe needed some major tweaking, but I'm really pleased with the results. The ice cream is rich, creamy and full of cheesecake flavor. The raspberry swirl is sweet and tangy and really pairs nicely with the tart flavor of the cream cheese. Since it's such a thick base to begin with, it hardens up nicely in the machine and requires only a minimal amount of freezer time before it can be served.

Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Ingredients
1 c. whole milk
1 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1/4 c. sour cream
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. ground vanilla bean
1/4 tsp. salt

Raspberry swirl:
1/2 c. raspberries, fresh or frozen
1/4 c. raspberry preserves
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a blender or food processor, add milk, 1 c. heavy cream, cream cheese and sour cream. Blend until smooth.
2. Add sugar, vanilla extract, ground vanilla bean and salt. Blend for 30 seconds or until incorporated.
3. Chill mixture in refrigerator for 25 minutes, then freeze in ice cream maker for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, puree the raspberries and preserves.
5. In a small bowl with a mesh sieve placed on top, pour raspberry puree over and with a rubber scraper, push liquid through leaving seeds to remain. Remove sieve and slowly stir in sugar and heavy cream.
6. Once ice cream is finished, pour into a freezer-safe air tight container. Using a skewer or butter knife, pour raspberry sauce over ice cream and swirl.
7. Place in freezer for 1-2 hours. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs and serve.

Game night

2011-09-20T09:27:00.000-04:00

Since Saturday night was the Holy War (BYU vs U of U) and the game was completely sold out I decided to go to a RSL game instead. I have to admit, I'm so glad I did. Although I really wanted to see the football game, the soccer game was a lot better... plus there was a free concert at the end (OneRepublic, not too shabby). My brother Anthony, my friend Emma, my brother-in-law Adam and a couple of my cousins were there too. I'm sad Stephen wasn't there, I know how much he would have liked to be, but hopefully next time we're out in Utah we'll get to go!