The Sweeting Spot

New beginnings

2012-02-10T09:28:00.000-06:00

Last night we had Young Women's New Beginnings. Since this year's theme is "Arise and Shine Forth," we went with a sunshine theme.

(invitation)

The cookie cutter came from Amazon. I used my favorite sugar cookie and royal icing recipes from Bake at 350.

The cupcake wrappers were cut out of yellow scrapbook paper using this template. I used my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe (shown back here) and used chocolate chips instead of snickers. The recipe is kinda oily, I guess, because the wrappers had oil spots on them after just a few hours.

And congrats to Lise for finishing her YW Medallion! We're so glad to have had you the past year.

(stolen from Bro. Whiting's facebook....)

More cake pics! (and WASC recipe)

2012-02-07T14:01:00.003-06:00

Because I forgot to take some of the inside and my co-host graciously supplied these.

Pretty, no?

The recipe is called WASC (white almond sour cream cake) and I've seen it all over these cake boards I frequent, so I had to give it a try. It's good and sturdy for stacking and holding up fondant, but yet still moist. And it bakes lovely - not very crumbly, very even. Taste is pretty basic, maybe a touch on the sweet side. Hans says I used too much almond. Could be. I filled with a basic buttercream but I think it would have tasted even better with raspberry or lemon curd filling.

What you need:
2 boxes white cake mix (I think I used Betty Crocker, but I've heard Duncan Hines is good)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 whole eggs
2 2/3 cups water
4 T. vegetable oil
2 cups sour cream
1 T. vanilla flavor
1 T. almond extract

In a stand mixer (or large bowl if you're hand mixing), combine the eggs, water, oil, sour cream, vanilla and almond. In a separate bowl, mix together the cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two additions, blending well in between. Beat on medium speed for two minutes.

Decide how many layers you want. I wanted five. I ended up scrapping one of the layers cuz it was just too tall. So let's say four. Divide the batter evenly between four bowls. Add the same color food coloring to each of the bowls, but increase the amount for the bowls. I left one undyed, used one drop, two and four (I think - it was late!).

In buttered and floured (or parchment-lined) pans, bake at 300 for about 20 minutes, then rotate once and increase temp. to 325 for another 20 minutes (based on 6" pans). Try not to open the oven too soon or the middle will cave in.

This recipe made a LOT of cake for me - nine 6" layers (that were really thick!) I've heard that it makes four 8" rounds or two 9"x13", but I haven't tested those amounts. I think it was about 14-15 cups of batter.

This recipe also keeps really well when wrapped in the freezer (two layers of plastic, one of foil). I made the cake more than a week before the shower. I used four layers for a test cake and froze the other four for a week before thawing and frosting as normal. I couldn't taste a difference :) But make sure you thaw completely so you don't encounter any cold cake issues...

Baby shower and Super Bowl

2012-02-06T16:53:00.001-06:00

We had an eventful weekend. It involved a fair amount of baking, a lot of eating, and some freezing cold.

First up - My lovely visiting teach-ee Janell is having her first child next month so we had a baby shower for her at my house. Now, I should point out that it was merely at my house. Her friend Elizabeth did almost the entire thing by herself and she did an amazing job. I felt bad because people kept telling me what a wonderful shower it was and really all I did was provide a room.

I did, however, make a cake.

Ah, the cake. It was such a disaster. I'm still not sure how it went so horribly wrong. I'm pretty sure the culprit was a cold cake. After I put the buttercream on, I put it in the fridge to firm up the icing. I think it was too long and the cake was too cold because the fondant went on fine, but shortly after started bubbling up. It was like air was being released from the cake and had no where to go, so it just started forming bubbles. Then the cake looked like it was sweating and dripping down the sides. I think condensation was forming inside and made the fondant wet and runny. I tried for hours (probably three) to salvage it, poking holes to release air, smoothing with more cornstarch, trying to cover up the mess with more fondant bubbles. After several tears and frustrations, I just left it. This is not my best work, but I figured I may as well show the ugly and bad as well as the good.

I felt like I got to redeem myself a little bit on Sunday. Our friend Tim (who is also Hans' boss and our home teacher) and his wife, Kelsey, had some people over to watch the super bowl and have dinner. They asked guests to bring desserts and I made these super bowl cupcakes. They are one of my favorite, tasty Dr. Pepper recipes, topped with green icing, green sprinkles, and goal posts made from chocolate melting chips. They didn't take long to make and weren't nearly as frustrating as the previous days' cake.

Check out how awesome their back patio is. In addition to a fire pit and an outdoor kitchen with a huge grill, they also have four tvs - it's better than any sports bar I've seen.

And this is why I don't wear hats. I look extra Asian and kind of like a cancer patient. But it was freezing so there you have it.

Dark chocolate peanut butter whoopie pies

2012-02-02T15:00:00.000-06:00

Dark Chocolate. Peanut Butter. Whoopie Pies.

Oh, yes.

They are decadent. Today at work we welcomed new intern, Sarah. To celebrate her first day on the team, I made these whoopie pies. Okay, so maybe I've been looking for *any* excuse to make them.

Here's what you need:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 oz. bittersweet baking chocolate

In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the baking chocolate in 30 second intervals, stopping to stir between, until completely melted. Allow to cool a little bit while you do the next steps.

Cream together the brown sugar and butter. I did this in my kitchenaid for about 3-4 minutes on a medium speed. It would probably take a little longer with a handmixer.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl or cup, combine the buttermilk and vanilla.

After the butter/sugar mixture is light and fluffy, add in the melted chocolate and beat well to combine. With your mixer speed on low, alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry mix (I did three dry additions, two milk additions).

Scoop batter (2 inch scoop is good!) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 for about 11 minutes. Allow to cool

For the amazing icing!
What you need:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Beat together the powdered sugar, butter, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt. Once it's combined, add creamy slowly to reach desired consistency. 1/3 is an approximation... you may need more or less depending on how thick you want the frosting.

I used an icing bag to pipe the frosting onto the cookies because it helps distribute it a little more evenly, but you could just as easily use a knife. I match the cookies up before hand so I make sure I don't end up with a teeny top and giant bottom cookie.

This recipe makes 12-14, depending on the size.

Easy {and delicious!} Banana Nut Muffins

2012-02-01T09:49:00.000-06:00

For the past few days, there have been a bunch of nearly black bananas glaring at me from my kitchen counter, cursing their lack of use. I didn't want to waste them, so I figured some banana muffins were in order.

I found this recipe from Baked Bree, but some of the measurements seemed off so I did some tweaking. They came out delicious - moist, but not too sticky, and neither too sweet nor too banana-y. I think the only thing I would change would be to add a dash of cinnamon. Enjoy!

What you need:
3 very ripe bananas (the almost-black kind are perfect for this)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts (other nuts would probably be good too, or maybe chocolate chips?)

Mash the bananas up on a bowl. Add in the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat on low until well incorporated. Then add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just blended - don't overbeat! Stir in the nuts. Separate into muffin tins (or bread pans, if you want to go that route). Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes (45-50 for bread).

What's on my iPhone

2012-01-31T09:40:00.000-06:00

Life Lately:

Babysitting our favorite little chunk. She cried so hard she made herself sick and threw up on Hans three times. You shoulda seen his face....

Monorail puppies

Papier Mache hot air balloons for a mutual activity. Fun... but messy.

Girl's Night!

Erin the Hairstylist

Crazy faces

Ombre cake batter. More to come....

Trail run playlist

2012-01-31T09:30:00.000-06:00

We've been running a lot lately. I use the word "run" kind of loosely, because I'm still incredibly slow and I still have to walk a lot. Nevertheless, we run 3-5 miles 3-4 times during the week plus the 7-mile loop around Town Lake the past couple weekends. We're slowly getting better. But here's the thing - I get bored. I have a decent playlist, and that's helping, but I could definitely use some new stuff to add in there. What's on your playlist? (And try not to judge me too harshly on mine ;) I know some of them are embarrassing!)

Ashlee Simpson - La La
Avril Lavigne - What the Hell
B.O.B. - Magic
Breathe Carolina - Blackout -
Britney Spears - 3
Britney Spears - Hold it Against Me
Britney Spears - I Wanna Go
Britney Spears - Til the World Ends
Daft Punk- Around the World/Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Dandy Warhols - We Used to be Friends
David Guetta & Nicki Minaj - Turn Me On
Family Force 5 - Love Addict
Far East Movement - Like A G6
The Fratellis - Henrietta
Glee - Animal
Glee - Dog Days are Over
Glee mashup - It's My Life/Confessions Part II
Gwyneth Paltrow and Glee - Forget You
Hot Chelle Rae - I Like it Like That
Hot Chelle Rae - Tonight, Tonight
Jay Sean and Lil Wayne - Down
Jessie J - Price Tag
Justin Bieber- Baby
Kanye West - Power
Kanye West and Jay-Z - Ni**as in Paris (clean version)
Kat DeLuna - Whine Up
LMFAO- Sexy and I Know It
LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger
Maroon 5 - Get Back in My Life
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Say Hey (I Love You)
Muse - Supermassive Black Hole
Nelly Furtado - Maneater
Outkast - Rosa Parks
Ozomatli - Saturday Night
Pitbull & Ne-Yo - Give Me Everything
Rihanna - Shut Up and Drive
Selena Gomez - Naturally
T.I. - Bring Em Out
Taio Cruz - Dynamite
The Vines - Ride
3Oh!3 & Kesha - My First Kiss

Breakfast.... cookie?

2012-01-23T11:06:00.000-06:00

Yes. This is a cookie you can eat for breakfast. And it's delicious. And I made them too small, so don't judge me for eating three for breakfast this morning. Did I mention that they are gluten free (provided you use gluten free oats), can be made vegan (without the chocolate chips), and have no sugar, flour, butter, or eggs? And yet... still delicious. And yes, mom and dad, I ate something with bananas in it. And liked it. Have your moment.

Here's what you need:
1 1/2 cups regular rolled oats
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup of almond meal
1/2 cup nuts, finely chopped (I used pecans and walnuts)
1 cup fun stuff - this is where you add what you like. Dried fruit is good - I used dried cherries, golden raisins, and threw in a few dark chocolate chips (about 1/4 cup)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine the salt, cinnamon, allspice and almond meal in a large bowl. Mix well. Then add in the oats and coconut and combine. Add in nuts and goodies (make sure the dried fruit isn't clumping together).

I mashed my bananas up in a food processor, so it made sense to add the oil and vanilla to that and just mix there so I don't waste another bowl. Do what you will.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until it's all coated.

Getting these onto the cookie tray is the challenge. The "dough" isn't very dough-y, and can fall apart easily. For the first batch (not pictured... for a reason), I just used a cookie scoop and plopped them on the tray. They stayed little balls. They taste great, but look weird. For the second batch, I used the cookie scoop to make sure my portions stayed the same and scooped into my hands. I rolled it into a ball and then mashed it down flat. You could probably also use the bottom of a glass once you've scooped the balls onto the tray. Whatever works.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Good both warm and cold.

Original recipe from Blueberry Girl.

January in pictures

2012-01-20T23:43:00.000-06:00

I went a little MIA the past couple weeks.... cedar fever and a bad reaction to a vaccine made me very sleepy. So rather than play catch up on the blogs behind, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Roommate Blair married his sweetheart Camille (with us and roommate Paul and his new wife, Nhexi)

Back in October, I bribed the Beehives. Complete one project or five experiences before the end of the year, and I'll take you to the Melting Pot for some dessert fondue. They all did it (sadly, S. couldn't make it to the celebration). Had a great time with my sweet girls!

I made a cake! The very talented Erin Frazier helped me learn some basics about stacking and smoothly covering my first tiered fondant cake. BTW, this is my new go-to chocolate cake recipe.

Miss Stephanie's birthday! Check out the flames on that thing ;)

Chicken butternut squash stew (with quinoa)

2012-01-09T11:46:00.001-06:00

My first new recipe of the year sounded so delicious and I was so excited about it. The look on Hans' face, both before and after, was less than enthusiastic. Whatever. I liked it... for the most part.

Adapted (only slightly) from Cookin' Canuck

What you need:

1 1/2 lb. butternut squash
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (I suggest tenders, see below)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
2/3 cup uncooked quinoa, soaked and rinsed
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Fill a small bowl with water and add your uncooked quinoa. I haven't done this in the past and was really put off by the bitter taste of the quinoa. I let it soak this time while I did the next two steps and it greatly improved the flavor.

Peel the squash and chop into 1/2 inch cubes (removing seeds). I hear costco has pre-peeled and chopped butternut squash - that would certainly cut the prep time in half.

Steam the squash for about ten minutes. Remove about half the cubes to a bowl. Continue steaming the other half another 4-6 minutes. Remove them to a different bowl and mash up with a fork.

At the same time, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add in the chicken. Now, the original recipe calls for thighs. I discovered, after using thighs, that I don't like them. They felt slimy and gross and too fatty. I didn't like this recipe nearly as much as I thought I would and I think it was because of the chicken. I'd suggest using tenderloins because there'd be less cutting and less fat. Breasts might work, if you cut them into smaller pieces first. I'd also like to try this recipe with those pre-roasted chickens you can get at HEB. That would also cut the prep time down considerably and would probably be pretty tasty.

Anyway, if you're cooking your own chicken, boil (covered) until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and shred with two forks. Remove the broth to a bowl until later.

Return the pot to the stove, add olive oil, and cook onion on med-high until turning brown. Add in garlic and spices and cook until fragrant (doesn't take long!) Add in tomatoes and both the cubed and mashed squash.

Finally, add the broth and the drained quinoa. Simmer the whole thing for about 15 minutes. Then add the chicken and simmer a little bit longer.Then eat!

Makes enough for a small army. You could probably freeze half of it for a later date. I really liked it for dinner that night - loved that after a long run on a cold night, it was a warm, protein and fiber packed meal low in calories in fat. I did NOT, however, like it when I took it for leftovers for lunch the next day. I really blame the meat. I'll make it again and try with pre-cooked chicken. But if you're looking for something healthy and filling, this might be your dish.

DIY mugs

2012-01-05T14:37:00.000-06:00

Now that Christmas is over, I can post this DIY project. It was a fun gift for an ugly old man - also known as, grandpa Gene.

The inspiration came from Design Mom via Pinterest. What you need:

Some plain white mugs (mine in a pack of two from Home Goods)
A black Pebeo Porcelaine Pen in Fine Point (Mine came from Michaels)
A print out of the word you want to transfer (I used Sketch Rockwell )
Pencil and tape

Print and cut out your word strip.

Shade the back of it with your pencil. This could also be accomplished with tracing paper.... which I couldn't find. Pencil costs nothing, too.

Then I taped the stripe to the mug and traced the outline of each letter with the pencil. That transferred the outline to the mug. I went over the outline with the porcelaine pen and then sketched in thin diagonal lines to match the font.

Let it dry for 24 hours and then put it in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes to seal it in. Then it's dishwasher and microwave safe!

And don't ask me why I call him Ugly Old Man. It started a long time ago. And he is. Him and his mustache, too.

2012 Intentions

2012-01-04T15:10:00.000-06:00

We finally got around to having a little family sit-down about goal planning for 2012. Last Sunday once again found me teaching an impromptu YW lesson and, not having time to plan and it being New Year's Day and all, we talked about setting goals. The conference talk I used referenced an earlier quote from John H. Vandenberg: "It has been said that if you don't know where you're going, it doesn't matter which road you take." I encouraged all the Beehives to pick a couple things they wanted to improve on in 2012 and set up a plan to get there. Here's what Hans and I came up with.

And in case you can't read that....

1. Continue good habits formed in 2011 - Continue visiting the temple once a month, continue to be on top of regular tithing payments (instead of lump sums at the end of the year) and work on food storage.

2. Read Doctrine & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price as a family.

3. Go to bed earlier. It's unusual for us to go to bed before midnight, with normal being around 1 a.m. This will change. From now on, we're dropping everything at 11 for scripture reading and prayers and going to sleep at 11:30.

4. Run. Hans is shooting for a half marathon, I'd settle for a good 10k.

5. Pay off remaining credit cards. We're almost there and I think we can do it in the next four months. Woot!

6. Take a vacation. Our cruise last month was the first trip we've taken in two years. Hans had actually only taken one day off in all of 2011. It means we burn out quick (and we're like less sparkly and attractive versions of the Cullens). Taking that cruise showed us that we really need to make time, and room in the budget, for "us time" and a chance to recharge our batteries. I suspect we'll be looking at another cruise in 2012.

7. Hans put "Do hometeaching" on the list. I think they must have talked about it in EQ last week....

8. Home improvements - While this list could be a long one, landscaping the front and back yards and adding crowning molding and baseboards throughout the downstairs top the list. In a dream world, we'd redo the kitchen this year. But that's a lengthy project that includes new countertops, backsplash, upper cabinets, a banquette, a new dishwasher and oven and a farmhouse sink. We can dream, right?

9. And last, but certainly not least, take more pictures of ourselves. We're really good at taking pictures of food. And our house. And ours dogs (oh gosh, we're THOSE people....) but we have very few pictures of the two of us. In fact, when I was making that photo collage, I discovered that despite our nine years, we have shockingly few pictures of us. We're working hard to improve that already.

Deep breath aaaannnnnddddd...... Go.

Need Ideas!

2012-01-03T16:33:00.000-06:00

Any former Young Women who read this blog, help me out here! What was your favorite mutual activity, one that you really remember? We're having our 2012 planning session tomorrow and I feel like I used all my good ideas in 2011. Thanks!

Happy New Year

2012-01-03T12:05:00.000-06:00

Oh man, I think I'm still recovering from New Year's Eve. A) I'm getting too old to stay up til 3 a.m. and B). No one should EVER eat that much food.

We started the evening at Maggiano's Italian restaurant in the domain. And we loved it. So delicious. Definitely a special-occasion-go-in-a-group kind of place. You pick two appetizers, two salads, four entrees, and two desserts and it's served family-style and just keeps on coming 'til you can't eat anymore. And then they pack up the leftovers (also good the next day).

Then we needed a little walk before we all exploded. Hey, the Macy's Tree is still up, yay!

Next stop, Casa de Mockler. We played some fun games, ate some more, and watched the ball drop while listening to the worst version of "Imagine" ever. (And seriously, that fur coat and giant watch made Cee Lo Green look even more like a midget).

Brain food - apparently, we only like the cheese variety. But it left pretty hearts....

And after this party, I don't think we'll ever convince any of these people to play Nertz with us again... which makes me sad.

Happy 2012, everyone!

2011 Check-in

2011-12-31T11:36:00.000-06:00

Today is the last day of 2011. Wow, that went fast. I thought I'd check in and see how I did with my goals from last year.

1. Continue to visit the temple once a month. CHECK! We went every month this year, and even a couple times some months. We continue to feel the blessings of the temple in our lives and will continue to attend as often as possible.

2. Improve at tithing payment. Check? Kind of? We did a lot better this year in most regards. We set up our bank to automatically skim our paychecks and move tithing into our savings account so we never touched it. That worked well. We made regular payments each month and were up-to-date on tithing on our salary all year. The hiccup was that we forgot to count rental income from Paul, Blair, Parker and Edgar so we did have a big chunk of catching up to do at the end of the year. And we need to work on improving our fast offerings.

3. Improve finances. Yes and no. It was very much a one step forward, one step back kind of thing. We were able to pay off some cards, but then we opened cards for other things (i.e., dining room table). We are down to having just the table and one other card and think we can pay them off in the next three months. We're almost there!

4. Home Improvements. We made a lot of progress, but of course not nearly as much as we would have liked. We did succeed in getting more living room seating and a living room rug, not to mention a new dining table and dining room rug. We also added a few small tables and art on the walls. We successfully painted the front door, the entire entry way, most of the downstairs trim, the guest bath, and painted and added wainscotting to the dining room. We did not get to the office, countertops, appliances in the kitchen, and we still have a little bit of painting left to do upstairs. Slowly but surely, right?

5. Develop more hobbies. CHECK! I baked a lot this year, and definitely improved. I'm still not as great at cake decorating as I'd like, but I make a mean cupcake and my cookies ain't bad either. Hans needs to use those manly tools he got last year and build some stuff for our house.

6. This year, we will read the Book of Mormon together as a family. As of this evening, CHECK! We have just 12 pages to go, which we'll finish off in our evening study together. This has been a really wonderful thing to do together, to study the Book of Mormon and discuss it together. I'm glad we were able to do it.

7. Participate in at least one organized run this year. CHECK! We ran the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, a five-mile race I never thought I'd be able to do. And now we're hooked and want to keep doing races.

8. Food storage. Work on it. Period. FAIL. Can I roll this one over to next year?

Looking back, I'm frankly a little surprised how many goals we actually met. I've thought many times this year about setting those goals and I think it's helped keep me accountable. I'm really glad we took the time to commit them to paper (er, blog...) and give ourselves something to work toward. And most of these don't stop here - hopefully, this year has helped us make some practices into habits so that they're easy to continue doing. Stay tuned for 2012 goals... since that seems to work for us :)

I hope you all had a wonderful 2011. Here's to a great new year!

Framed photo gallery

2011-12-30T23:34:00.000-06:00

Remember when I started this project? Way back in July? Well, I finally finished it. Took me long enough.

We ended up going with a square arrangement, trying to have fairly even spacing, but not symmetrical across the middle. The final arrangement shown here is not where we started out. We cut butcher block paper in the shape of all the frames and moved them around the walls (I have a picture somewhere, but can't seem to find it). Once we had it how we wanted, we hung the actual frames. And then decided we didn't like the two vertical 2x4s on the right (they're now on the left middle) and we decided we actually liked the two bigger pictures in the same column, instead of one on the right and one on the left. It was good to have a plan - it was better to diverge from the plan.

And then it took me a while to collect the items to go in it. Here's what we've got:

A wedding photo ("groomals" if you will) taken by the lovely Laura Jenkins of AL Collective:

A family tree designed by yours truly (over many man hours in photoshop):

A simple saying on a deep purple background (also a photoshop creation):

A cute temple print of HaveJoy on Etsy:

And a bunch of photos of us over the years.

Prom - 2003

Seeing a Christmas Carol - Dec. 2002

Band concert - 2002

We also have a spot for our parents' wedding photos. Since Hans' parents are moving to Panama in a couple months, all their photos are packed up. So my parents get two spots for now:

Once I have to take down the Christmas decorations next week, that table is going to be pretty bare. I'll have to come up with something to add beneath the gallery.

Christmas in pictures

2011-12-28T21:04:00.001-06:00

We just got a back from spending a few days in Houston with Hans' family. His brother, Karl, is military and here for a few weeks on leave. It was nice to spend time all together. We went in with Karl and our sister-in-law Heather to get their parents a Wii. You should have seen Karin's when she opened it. We spent our Christmas celebrations dancing (horribly) and Wii bowling.

As you can see, we are incredibly full (so many yummy things) and incredibly spoiled. What a wonderful Christmas.

Wise Men Still Seek Him

2011-12-25T21:50:00.001-06:00

I've always slightly envied my Catholic friends for midnight mass. That's why I loved that Christmas fell on a Sunday this year. I loved that celebrating the birth of the savior came before the Christmas presents and cinnamon rolls and feast. Today's speakers were all asked to talk about what Christmas means to their family. The two adult speakers asked their children and were met with the response "presents!" They joked about the answer and then went on to talk about what they think Christmas really means.

But I think the kids were on to something. Christmas IS about presents. Christmas is about the gift of his son that our Heavenly Father gave to us. A priceless gift. A miraculous gift. A gift given out of love.

And Christmas is about the presents we get each other. It's about a time when people (a lot of people) stop thinking about themselves and think about the needs and wants of those they love.

These gifts are all a manifestation of love. That's what Christmas is about to me - the strong feeling of love that I feel, especially this year. I am thankful for my Savior and his love for me, and for the endless love my father in heaven gives me to me. I am thankful to be surrounded by so many loved ones that fill my life with joy.

May your holidays be filled with joy and love as well. Merry Christmas.

Christmas cookies

2011-12-21T12:33:00.000-06:00

Something about the holiday season just gives me the urge to bake. How 'bout you? Last night, I tried a whole slew of new cookie recipes and I really like them all! They make great gifts for our co-workers and bosses. Check them out!

White-Chocolate Cherry cookies (Better Homes and Gardens)

I halved this recipe because I didn't want 60 cookies. They remind me of something, but I can't put my finger on what. I like the cookies alone - they don't necessarily need the chocolate and sprinkles. They were really easy to make (quick, too, if you skip the dipping) and taste light and not overly-sweet.

Molasses Crinkles (My Kitchen Addiction)

Mmmmm.... I love these. They have just a little bit of crunch on the outside, but the rest is soft and chewy. The combination of spices is rich and just right. They took the longest because they have to chill for two hours. Otherwise they'd be so quick.

Peanut butter Reese's cookies (Bakerella)

These were probably my favorite, and I don't usually like peanut butter cookies. I didn't use mini cupcake liners like the instructions said, and I like it just fine. I froze the unwrapped Reese's cups and then just pushed them into the cookie dough balls. They kind of melt in your mouth and have just the right amount of peanut butter.

In addition to the cookie plates, I also put together these cute hot cocoa mason jars (originally from My Recipes). I used pint jars instead of quart and halved the recipe. I cut a plastic coke bottle in half and used it as a funnel to help get the ingredients into the jar. Making them was surprisingly fast and cheap and made a perfect gift.

What new holiday recipes have you tried this year? Anything good to share?

White elephant party 2011

2011-12-20T14:53:00.000-06:00

Saturday was the second annual Sweeting White Elephant gift exchange. We didn't have as many people as last year (I blame John Williams... how selfish to get married on that day ;)) But we had a good time. And there were good gifts this year!

Jeff fought pretty hard for that Chia pet

Right before she opened it, Mandy said "I really hope it's a Justin Bieber poster!"

Notice that William is only showing his gift IN the bag... he got the surprise, special gift of the night :)

Candace and Josiah will be having tacos for the next two weeks.

After scoring 5.5 lbs of licorice, Amber no longer has to buy gifts for her kids

And of course, I got to do some cooking and decorating, which was fun!

We had a small hot chocolate bar. I got the little buckets from the $1 section of Target and picked up a bottle of chalkboard spray paint from Walmart. The recipe for crockpot hot chocolate was delicious and decadent. Daniella had three cups, including one for the road. Check it out:

http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/2010/12/creamy-hot-cocoa-in-crockpot.html

These are my favorite chocolate malt cupcakes. I tried to dye the chocolate frosting white, but I didn't have nearly enough dye. I threw on some white sprinkles and sanding sugar and called it good. The template for the North Pole signs is here.

I also made a delicious spicy cranberry cream cheese dip, but forgot to take pictures. It was really easy to make (puree and pour) and was a huge hit.

Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season.

It's [Finally] starting to look like Christmas

2011-12-20T14:36:00.001-06:00

Given that we were out of town the first half of December, we got a little behind on making our house festive. Over the past week or so, I've slowly been able to put up a few things and it's starting to look much better!

We had a bit of trouble finding a tree this year, probably because it was so late. Home Depot had a ton, but most were either too small or seemed dead already. We finally found one that was full and fresh.... but it was huge. We knew it was huge, but got it anyway. It was a struggle to get home (I still have bruises to prove it). But I love it and I love how it smells.

We went with a red and green theme this year. I think it needs something extra... maybe some ribbons? Maybe I'll add those tonight. And since it's such a monster, the star topper we've been using doesn't work and I can't find something bigger. Oops. I think next year I want to try and all silver and white tree.

I saw this thing on Pinterest that said you could hang some mirrors inside the tree to help reflect the light back out. I hung about 20 (see it behind the Santa Claus?) I don't know if it helped, but it couldn't hurt.

Also courtesy of Pinterest, I saw these scrapbook-paper trees and thought they looked easy. Definitely use the template - I didn't, and regretted it. But I thought it helped make the Nativity table a little less bare.

My "craft closet" has about four more holiday crafts that I started and didn't finish. I may do them after Christmas, that way they're actually done before Christmas next year :)

Happy National Cupcake Day!

2011-12-15T09:33:00.001-06:00

Today is national cupcake day. I asked my boss if I could have the day off, seeing as it may as well be a religious holiday for me. She laughed. A lot. I was only halfway joking ;)

In celebration of the day, I made these gingerbread cupcakes that I found on The Rockstar Diaries.

I'm not thrilled with them. They're good, just not my favorite. It's not a taste thing - it's a texture thing. They're very dense, which is just not how I like my cupcakes. If that's your thing, this might be your new favorite recipe. Steph and I had a debate yesterday, partially sparked by this cupcake, about the difference between cupcakes and muffins. It's not just about the icing - an un-iced cupcake is clearly not a muffin. Google tells us the difference is in the ratio of fats, sugars and eggs. Google also said "If you threw a cupcake against the wall, you would hear something of a 'poof!' If you threw a muffin, you would hear a 'thud!'"... but I think it was joking. These little gingerbread guys are clearly in the grey area between cupcake and muffin. But I digress. Here's the recipe.

What you need:
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1 T. ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash cloves
1 1/2 T. molasses

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. Add in the remaining ingredients and beat until just fully mixed (don't overbeat). Pour into cupcake liners and bake at 350 for about 18 minutes.

The original recipe calls for a buttermilk buttercream. But I decided to go a different direction and make up my own Eggnog buttercream. I didn't have a recipe, so I just kinda threw stuff in. Some of these measurements may be approximate - add or subtract as you wish.

What you need:
1 cup butter, softened
3-4 cups powdered sugar
3 T. eggnog
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves

Cream butter until fluffy (2-3 minutes). Continue beating as you gradually add in powdered sugar. Mix in eggnog (you may need more or less, depending on how stiff you want the frosting). Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon and cloves and beat until combined.

Happy Cupcake Day, the happiest day of the year!

Christmas ornament tradition continues

2011-12-14T10:37:00.001-06:00

Since I was a kid, every year we go to Hallmark and pick out a keepsake ornament. I've always loved this tradition, so we keep doing it (see last year's here).

We weren't thrilled with the selection this year, but are still pretty happy with the ones we found. Hans' matches his Halloween costume! (sorry for the dark instagram photos)

Cruise Part III - Cozumel

2011-12-12T15:56:00.001-06:00

Also known as Heaven. It was a perfect day, sunny and gorgeous. We didn't want to do one of the excursions because they're so expensive. We thought we'd just wing it. After getting off the ship, we asked a bunch of gift shop workers and taxi drivers what they recommended. They all said different things, haha. When we got to the taxi stand, they were telling us it would $30 to take us to the private beach we wanted to go to. Seriously? Yuck. We were hanging around waiting to see if anyone else from our boat was going there so we could try and share a cab. Hans overheard some guy negotiating with a rental company and heard him get offered a dune buggy for $55 a day. Then Hans stepped in and said "Ya, we'll do that, too." We took this little dune buggy all over the island, just enjoying the sun and the drive.

At the very southern tip of the island, we found an ecological preserve called Punta Sur. Entry was pretty cheap and there was a lot to see! There was a turtle nesting area, crocodile habitat, light house, and the most perfect private beach. The most beautiful white sands and crystal clear, turquoise waters. And almost abandoned. We saw only a few other people the whole time we were there.

We rented snorkel gear, got all suited up and dove it! It was cold at first, but then felt wonderful. We saw a few, clear fish. And then I saw something huge. Like.... almost my size. And I kinda freaked. I was smacking Hans' arm to get him to turn back, but he didn't see it and kept swimming toward it! You could tell when he saw it. It was just lurking in the weeds at the bottom and staring at us. Creepy. I totally thought it was some sort of baby shark. We booked it back to the shore. As we returned our gear (with the guy teasing us for coming back so soon) we described what we'd seen to us and he's all "Oh, ya. That's a barracuda." Umm... what? No. I'm done with getting in the water. At least it's a good story....

Cruise Part II - Progreso

2011-12-12T15:38:00.001-06:00

This little port didn't impress us too much. We did a double-decker bus tour that was pretty fun. We sat on the top and you had to watch your head because the power cables hang pretty low. Then we parked on a private beach. It was kinda a cloudy day, but we still got some sun. The water was a little murky and the beach had some junk on it. I imagine we just caught it on a bad day. The worst part was that every 30 seconds someone tried to come sell us a conch shell or a temporary tattoo or a bad dvd rip. We went back to the ship early cuz we were a little bored. Our dining buddies told us that they did an excursion inland to see some mayan ruins and really enjoyed it - we'd probably do that if we ever went back. At least we didn't get left behind like one very unlucky (and very drunk) couple.

double decker tour

That guy has an iguana!

We be cruisin'

2011-12-12T15:19:00.001-06:00

We just got back our first cruise and we LOVED it! It was so much fun. We did a five-day trip out of Galveston on the Carnival Triumph. We stopped in Progreso and Cozumel. The ship was really nice, clean and comfortable. There was so much food! We ate ourselves silly. Progreso was just kind of "eh" but we absolutely loved Cozumel. We even got to see some dolphins swimming alongside the ship! I have a lot of photos, so it'll probably have to be split into multiple posts. We had a great time and can't wait to cruise again.

The Carnival Triumph. They just remodeled it this year and it was really nice!

Love the towel animals on the bed.

Formal night

Watching Rango in the outdoor movie theater

Our dining buddies, Krystal and Chris and Brad and Angel.

Thanksgiving leftovers

2011-11-28T11:41:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, I took off work and that really helped off-load some of the cooking stressed. I made pies - pumpkin, pecan, and cherry (just 'cus) - dinner rolls, breakfast cinnamon rolls, and got the turkey brining.

That made Thursday really easy! Mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing and jello salad. It didn't take long - I even got in a nap.

We were joined for dinner by Hans' parents, our friends Rob and Danielle and their beautiful daughter Ryleigh, and our friends Paul and Andrew. (I'm sad I didn't think to take a group photo. Whoops). Somehow, everything turned out just right and finished all that the same time. And Yes, we all ate ENTIRELY way too much.

While I'm grateful for so many things (the list is far too long, and probably a little mushy), one thing I was so grateful for last week was the Pioneer Woman's cooking blog. I used her turkey brine recipe, pecan pie, mashed potatoes, and cinnamon rolls and all were a huge hit. I don't think you can go wrong with any recipes she puts out.

I hope that everyone else had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as we did.

We did it!

2011-11-28T11:03:00.002-06:00

I'm not much of a runner. I try, I just really suck at it. I just keep trying, though.

As a young women's leader, I'm encouraged to complete the Personal Progress program along with my girls. To encourage them to do it, show them how, and learn a few things myself. For the Knowledge value, one of the project options is to create a regular workout/fitness program. I decided to take it a little farther and add a 5k to it.

So I signed up for the Turkey Trot. And in one of our discussions about PP, told the Beehives that that is what I'd be doing.

Only later did I discover the Turkey Trot ain't no 5k. It's a five MILE. Oops. Hans and I both really wanted to back out. But I couldn't face my girls and tell them I hadn't done it!

That meant that Thanksgiving morning found us freezing our butts off on the S. Congress bridge with 21,000 of our closest friends.

But you know what? It went so much better than I thought it would. I had fun! And I went faster than I did in any of my practice runs. Don't get me wrong - it was still a snail's pace. But I finished at 1:08:14, and that included a rather lengthy pit stop at a port-a-potty with a too-long line.

It was a great incentive to keep working at it - get a little faster, a little stronger. We're even contemplating the Cap10k next year!

I'm glad I did it. And rewarded myself with an extra-large slice of pie at Thanksgiving dinner.

DIY floating wall clock

2011-11-21T13:41:00.000-06:00

Here's another great craft-y pinterest find. This blog, Faded Plains, gives some pretty detailed instructions, including links on where to buy supplies. I used her same vendors (all three from etsy) to order two sets of wooden numbers (in different sizes and fonts) and the clock hands/mechanism.

Then you just paint everything with acrylic paint. This brand seemed a little thin and took several coats (which frustrated painter Hans).

After that, we stuck it to the wall. With sticky tack. For reals.

And it's pretty and fun.

Fall felt flower wreaths

2011-11-21T13:39:00.000-06:00

After taking down my Halloween decorations, my house looked a little bare. I saw these cute wreaths on Pinterest and thought they seemed easy (and cheap!)

It takes a couple hours per wreath, depending on how fast you roll. Here's what you need:

Grapevine wreath
Fall floral stems (mine have orange and red berries)
Felt in 3/4 different colors
scissors
hot glue

Start by cutting out squares from the felt. Make them all different sizes. Then cut a spiral pattern out of the square. It should look like this:

Starting at the outside edge, roll it up. I kept a finger on one end to make that bottom flush, and then the "petals" spread out on their own. Secure the inside end (which is kind of rounded, based on how you cut it) to the bottom of the flower with some hot glue or double-sided tape.

After you have a variety of sizes and colors of flowers, just glue them on to the wreath and stick in the floral stems. Easy peasy. They bring some color into my otherwise cool dining room.

Table upgrade

2011-11-18T10:48:00.000-06:00

Next week, Hans' parents will join us for Thanksgiving dinner. Knowing that I'm cooking anyway and that we have several friends sticking around Austin for work and otherwise, I've been tossing out invites to dinner to anyone who needs them.

Then Hans pointed out that our dining room table seats six. Oops. Hadn't thought of that. A dining room table has been on our "house updates" list for a while, but kind of a low priority (behind dishwasher, oven, and bed frame). We decided we'd look around and if we could find one for a decent price, we'd go ahead and do that now. Otherwise, we'd just stick some cheap-o card tables on the end (and make Paul and Andrew sit on them :)).

So the search began. We hit the usual suspects and narrowed it down to a few for consideration:

The Cheap Option: Ikea's Stornas table. Seats 6 but can seat up to 10 with two extendable leaves. At $449, the price is alright, but the light color seems too light and the dark color seems too dark and it's kinda boring and basic looking.

The Dream Table: The Benchwright dining table from Pottery Barn. We love everything about it, except the $1,699 price tag.

The Middle of the Road Option: Crate and Barrel's Basque table. I wasn't impressed when I saw pics on the website, but in the store I really loved it. The color's darker than I expected, and very rich. The table is solid, but classic feeling. And for a 104" table that seats 12 comfortably (it's really wide!), $999 isn't too shabby. Our only concern was that how often would we need to seat 10-12? And would we want this hulking thing in our dining room at all times? An extending table seemed like the better fit.

As we tried to make our decision, something kinda crazy happened. We walked into Pottery Barn to drool over the Benchwright, and found a table styled called Montego that has been discontinued and was heavily discounted - more than 50% off. It was a little darker than we had planned on, and maybe a little more formal, but it felt solid and sturdy and had a gorgeous shine to it. And the price was great. It seats six normally, but with two leaves can easily fit 10.

We took a couple days to think about it, even trekking down to the PB outlet to see if they had it and cheaper. They had it, but it cost more than at the actual store - go figure. And it was all scratched and dented and chipped and stuff. Doesn't make sense, but there ya go.

When we finally went back to Pottery Barn, determined to buy the table, we discovered they only had three left - two espresso finishes (too dark!) and only one of the mahogany that we fell in love with.... but they had just put it out as a floor model. So they offered to sell us the floor model... for an additional 20% off. Um, deal.

We packed it up and carted it home in my little Rav4 (It's amazing how much that thing can hold, really). And here she is!

Old table

New table!

We haven't figured out what we want to do about chairs yet. I wasn't thrilled with the Montego style chairs. I suspect we'll find some at the PB outlet we like eventually. Maybe sooner than later, because the old chairs definitely clash with the new table. But we ended up getting this almost-perfect (except for one tiny scratch) Pottery Barn table for about $200 more than the cheap-y Ikea one. Done, and done.

Now time to cook.

Nine and doing fine

2011-11-17T14:10:00.000-06:00

Nine years ago today, a cute, shy, long-haired trumpet player asked me to be his girlfriend.

Happy Anniversary.

Happy Veteran's Day

2011-11-11T14:17:00.000-06:00

Thank you to all those men and women who serve our country. We are especially proud of our "family" veterans - We love you and thank you.

Hans' brother, Karl. Served multiple tours in Iraq and is currently stationed in Hawaii.

Erika's Grandpa Bob

Roommate Parker, who after three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, still has to be talked out of trying to go back over.

Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

2011-11-11T09:59:00.000-06:00

Monday was roommate Blair's birthday, but he hasn't been home since Sunday (let's not talk about how the kid literally sleeps at his office most nights....). So he finally came home last night and that means birthday treats! He has a major sweet tooth, but wouldn't even point me in the direction of a flavor that he likes, so this is what he got.

I found these Dr. Pepper cupcakes from BS in the Kitchen via Pinterest. I was reluctant to make them because the "recipe" is hardly a recipe. Ingredients, but no amounts. And weird ingredients at that. You can check hers for her original comments, but below is what I ended up doing. I'm estimating on amounts since I was just throwing stuff in there.

The results is super sweet (almost too much - could use less sugar), but delicious. The cake is extremely light and fluffy, which I love. The icing has a little bit of the bite on the end. And it really does taste and smell like Dr. Pepper. If you're a DP fan, you'll love these.

What you need for the cake:
1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker milk chocolate)
3 eggs
1 cup Dr. Pepper
1/2 cup melted, unsalted butter

Now here are the fancy directions: Beat 'em all together. Yup, that's it. Beat until well combined. Scoop into cupcake liners and bake at 350 for 12 minutes. It makes 24 cupcakes.

What you need for the icing:
1-1.5 lbs powdered sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
4 T. Dr. Pepper
2 tsp vanilla
4 tsp maraschino cherry juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp finely ground pepper (I used white pepper)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup Dr. Pepper reduction (boil 1 cup Dr. Pepper with 1/2 cup sugar and then reduce heat and simmer 30 min)

Beat together the sugar and butter until smooth. Then add in the DP, vanilla, and cherry juice because those amounts are pretty accurate. Then you throw in the lemon juice, pepper, ginger and nutmeg and adjust until it tastes right to you. The original recipe calls for licorice and apple flavoring, too, neither of which I had on hand. Happy guessing to you.

Ice and stick the cherries on top. Cuz they're cute.

Happily Ever After

2011-11-10T10:05:00.000-06:00

I've been a busy bee the past week preparing for tonight's Young Women in Excellence program. Malinda - I had no clue how much work went into these things. Thank you.

We're using Jenny Smith's "Happily Ever After" script and going with a whole princess/pink theme. Here's the program I designed for it:

Sisters Briggs and Barclay did most of the decorations, but I did make tissue-paper poms! Ok, Hans helped. I've always messed them up before. Dang Martha Stewart makes it look easy. But after finding a good youtube tutorial, I learned that the trick is more tissue paper (10 sheets, not 8) and pipe cleaners to tie it off. Amazing. (No pictures... my camera died :()

I also did food.

The pink lemonade cupcake recipe is from Sweet Cheeks. It's not my favorite, but they turned out pretty well and fit with the theme. My oven was causing me fits last night - I tripled the recipe for the first batch and about half of them burned in 18 minutes, though the recipe says to bake 20-25. Last night was NOT the night I wanted to re-make cupcakes, but I did another double batch and set 'em for 14 minutes. I kept having to add time and I think they finished in 20-22 minutes. Gosh darn inconsistent oven....

I've never used gumpaste before and was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have any difficulties with it. I bought the pre-made Wilton stuff from Hobby Lobby and added some light pink food coloring. Then I just used a small crown-shaped cookie cutter and let them dry wrapped around the round handles of every cooking spoon and rolling pin in my kitchen.

The sugar cookies are the same ones I made back here (apparently I only make pink royal icing. Oh well). I wanted to do some scroll designs on them but by that point it was midnight and I had icing in my hair and 2 dozen burned cupcakes and didn't care. So I just threw some edible pearl sprinkles on them.

The girls sounded beautiful and it was a great program. I'm so proud of all of them.

Freezer Meal Update

2011-11-01T11:56:00.000-05:00

You may remember that about a week ago, I cooked three weeks worth of meals and stuck 'em in the freezer. It's been going really well - everything tastes great, there are less dishes to worry about, and it's made our weeknights a lot less stressful.

Last night, we had our first mishap. It was supposed to be chicken pot pie night. Hans and I both love chicken pot pie and have been looking forward to it. I pulled the tin foil wrapped pie out of the freezer in the morning to let it defrost during the day. When we got home, I popped it straight in the oven for 45 minutes. When I took off the foil later..... I realized that underneath the foil, I'd also wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap to discourage freezer burn.....

We had pizza for dinner last night.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T19:10:00.003-05:00

Hope you're all having a safe and treat-filled Halloween.

Love,
The Sweetings

Pumpkin cream cheese bites

2011-10-31T12:06:00.000-05:00

What is that. Seriously. Doesn't that look gross? I guess I'm just lucky that today is Halloween and I can pretend that they were supposed to look that way.

I don't know what's wrong with me, but I cannot get the cake ball thing down. My melted chocolate is always a disaster.I do the double broiling thing. I use the Wilton melting chips. I heat it slowly and keep stirring. And it's always thick and lumpy. Steph Hall was over last night and she can testify that it was just doing weird things.

Actually, these pumpkin bites were supposed to be for my Beehives for Halloween. But making them Saturday night, the chocolate got all messed up and burned and stuff and I bagged it. They ended up getting store-bought ginger snaps - oh well. So I found some green melting chips I still had left and figured I could pass them off at work as a Halloween treat.

While they look terrible, they are incredibly delicious. I found the recipe from LillyElla and it's very easy. I doubled it and used a cookie scoop and only got about 20 balls. She must have used a pretty small scoop to get 30 out of half the recipe.

What you need:
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon orange zest
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup white chocolate chips
2/3 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

I ground up the graham crackers and gingersnaps in a food processor - this made the crumbs really fine. It took almost an entire sleeve of graham crackers.

In the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment, I combined the pumpkin, cream cheese and orange zest.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, heating in 30 second increments and stirring well in between. Add to the pumpkin mixture and beat until combined.

In a separate bowl, stir together cookie crumbs, powdered sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add all at once to the pumpkin mixture and beat until smooth.

I refrigerated the batter for a little bit because it was pretty runny. Maybe 30 minutes. Then I scooped out balls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and put the whole thing in the freezer. Since my chocolate disaster happened, i ended up freezing over night which was nice when I finally did get around to coating them in chocolate.

Dip them in melted chocolate (I give no instructions on how to do this, since I obviously can't do it) and then freeze/refrigerate until solid.

Eat slowly. Like, one at a time so your stomach doesn't hurt.

Glitter = not smart

2011-10-30T14:30:00.000-05:00

Why did I think that glitter and 13-year-olds would mix?

For mutual last week, the girls decided they wanted to decorate craft cones like Christmas trees. Fine - I've been wanting to do that, too. I asked them to bring the cones and I'd supply yarn, berries, modge podge, glitter, etc.

Most of the girls went for glitter. And they were really creative! I love what they came up with. I don't love how much glitter was on the floor in the relief society room.... and all up and down the hall ways... (how? don't answer. I know).

I think it's supposed to be a smiley face?

Sofia and I went yarn.

It's the easiest project ever... You just start at the bottom and wrap up til it's done. And stick some berries in it for color. Mine's not done yet, but I'll post a picture when it is.

Some weekend thoughts

2011-10-30T11:02:00.000-05:00

This week has been very interesting, to say the least. Two things that have been weighing heavily on my mind all weekend:

Gratitude. Thursday I learned that the company who owns the newspaper at which I used to work, the Austin American-Statesman, has made a decision to consolidate all their copy desks in Atlanta. It looked like the online content producers (my old position) were also on the chopping block, but they've been given a temporary reprieve. While I'm incredibly saddened for all my former co-workers and friends who are now looking for work, I also can't help but be filled with deep relief and gratitude that I got out when I did and I have a job that I love and is very stable. As an aside, can I just say how stupid I think it is to have a central hub in Atlanta? Copy desks are already horrible over worked and how will copy editors in Atlanta know that it's supposed to be "Bee Cave" and not "Bee CaveS" or recognize a picture of Lesley when they see one? Ridiculous. I'm sorry guys and I'm sending you all my good thoughts.
Speaking of good thoughts: If you're the praying type, please send out some prayers (or good thoughts, if that's your thing) for my little brother serving his mission in Thailand. As you've probably heard on the news, Thailand is experiencing some extreme flooding conditions. It seems like the whole country is underwater. AJ's companion got sent home a few weeks early when it looked like the airport was going to flood. Last week, the mission president had all the missionaries send a special note home to let their families know that they are safe and have enough food and water. He also told us that they would be stopping proselyting and working instead on rescue and recovery efforts. His most recent letter (from a couple hours ago) says that that decision has been reversed again and they're back to proselyting... for now. In any event, please pray for the Thai people who are suffering and for the safety of the people (especially my brother ;)) who are there.

Up! up and away

2011-10-25T11:27:00.000-05:00

Friday was the Edwards' annual Halloween party and, as usual, we had a blast. I swear, that thing gets more extravagant each year. Last year, we won the costume contest as a pregnant 50s housewife and her milkman.

We debated what to go as this year and had planned to go as the young Carl and Ellie from Pixar's Up! But at the last minute, we decided that no one would recognize us. So we went as old Carl and the house.

I found some directions on how to make the house from Living with Annie. I thought she had a template for the house on her blog, but it turned out she didn't (just a very, very small jpg) so I ended up free-handing the whole thing. Just a pencil, a tri-fold presentation board and a ruler. Then I went back over all my lines with black Sharpie. And then Hans and I had some fun coloring time with some crayons and colored pencils!

We used duct tape to secure a toilet paper roll to the back of the chimney and fed the balloons through it. We also taped on a ribbon so that I could wear the cardboard around my neck.

Hans' coat was scored at Goodwill for a measly couple of bucks. Add some cheap-o glasses, bowtie and silver hair spray and we've got a costume.

I didn't wear my costume most of the night - I couldn't really move and the balloons made it hard to talk to people. Unfortunately, we lost this year to Jim and Mandy McFarland whose amazing paper mache Jack in the Box (and Mrs. Jack) took home the prize. Personally, I voted for the Frazier's x-men version. Erin should keep that white streak all the time. And Mandy and Adam looked... well, like themselves ;)

Also from the party - "bloody poop" is a disgusting looking dessert, but sure tastes yummy. And Tim's family feud lists were SO rigged.

Dark chocolate cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

2011-10-25T11:22:00.001-05:00

Look at that. That's my new favorite frosting. The cake itself was just meh, but with the frosting - wow! This recipe comes from Brown Eyed Baker, and it's genius. Check it out.

Some notes:
I doubled this recipe and it made about 30 cupcakes.
I doubled the frosting recipe and had way too much (if that's possible!). Though I didn't pipe the frosting, so it might have been the right amount for piping. I saved the rest in a mason jars and I'm thinking it would be heaven on some whoopie pies next weekend.

My cupcakes are covered with chocolate ganache frosting (for the spider webs) and crushed oreos and milano cookies for the graveyard. You definitely don't need the cookies on top (that almost made them too much) but it made for cute cupcakes for a party.

Attempting freezer meals

2011-10-24T13:03:00.000-05:00

Lately in the blogosphere and on Pinterest, I've been seeing a lot about freezer meals. Hans and I cook dinner together almost every night. We eat out on weekends, but never do fast food or prepared meals during the week. It's just not how we were brought up.

But sometimes we come home and after a long day really dread having to spend an hour cooking dinner. Some nights we default to spaghetti just because it's quick and easy. So I decided I'd see what this freezer meal thing is all about.

So this past Saturday was all about cooking. I picked seven meals and cooked most of the day. Almost all of the recipes could be split into two smaller casserole dishes, meaning that we got 13 meals out of it. Our freezer is now stocked and hopefully I don't have to cook on a weeknight for the next three weeks.

Most of the recipes are ones we normally use, but a few are new and I hope we like them. We'll see how it goes. Here's the line up, if you're interested in checking any of them out:

Chicken Pot Pie - My mom's recipe
Chicken Chili - Annie's Eats
Chicken Almond Rice Casserole
White Chicken Enchiladas - Let's Dish
Baked Ziti - Annie's Eats
Classic Lasagna - The Pioneer Woman
Beef Stew

Pepperoni monkey bread

2011-10-24T12:39:00.000-05:00

I've never tried any kind of monkey bread before, but I found this recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride and thought I'd give it a try. And now, I don't think we'll ever go back to normal pizza. We've already made it a couple times, I'm just now getting around to posting about it.

This recipe could be made even quicker if you skipped the homemade dough. I had the time, and I like it, so I went for it.

What you need for the dough:
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 packet rapid rise yeast
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 cup warm water
4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

In your mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over it and allow it to sit for about five minutes. Add the rest of the olive oil and warm water.

With the dough hook on your stand mixer, turn on to a low speed and add the bread flour and salt. After it's pretty thoroughly combined, turn the speed up to medium and knead until the dough is stretchy and smooth (about five minutes). Cover and allow to rise in a warm spot for about an hour.

What you need for the monkey bread
8 oz mozzarella pearls
1 package of mini pepperonis
3 cloves garlic, sliced
6 tablespoons butter

In a small skillet on medium heat, melt the butter with the sliced garlic. Allow to simmer until fragrant. Brush the melted garlic butter on the inside of a bundt pan.

Pull off small chunks of dough (a little smaller than golf ball size) and use your fingers to spread it out on a floured surface. In the center, add some mozzarella and pepperoni (be generous!). Now pull all the sides up and pinch closed to make a little dumpling. Brush the outside with butter and throw it in the bundt. Repeat until all the dough is used up.

Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes, until it's well-browned. Let it cool in the bundt pan for a little while before you try to dump it out, otherwise the whole thing falls apart! Serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

Sunday morning conference

2011-10-02T12:11:00.002-05:00

Homemade orange rolls and the word of god. Doesn't get much better than this.

Cute monsters

2011-09-30T12:15:00.000-05:00

Behold, my little monsters. (Sorry, I seem to have had a Gaga moment there...)

These were actually fun and easy to make. I should probably have done it as a young women's activity, but seeing as I was just winging it, I'm not sure that would have been wise.

What you need:
4 pieces of 2x4, cut 8-10 inches long
Green acrylic paint
White acrylic paint
Googly eyes (opt, but fun!)
Permanent markers (black and red)
gauze
black foam board
scissors
glue
2 bolts
Black stamp pad

Hans cut the boards for me at 9 inches. The edges need some sanding to smooth out rough edges and make all the corners less sharp. I just think it looks better with slightly rounded edges.

Paint two pieces white and one piece green. Leave the last unpainted. One the painted boards, take your stamp pad and just kinda.... brush it all over. I focused on the edges and corners and did a few light streaks down the middle. I didn't use a brush or paper towel or anything, I just rubbed the stamp pad straight onto the wood.

For Frankenstein, I cut his hair out of the foam board and glued that on along with some googly eyes. I screwed the bolts in toward the bottom and used the permanent marker to draw on the mouth and stitches.

For Dracula: His collar and widow's peak are just triangles cut from foam board and glued on. The eyes and mouth are permanent marker. I supposed you could paint on the blood drops, but it was late and I happen to have a red sharpie, so there ya go.

The skull was made from cutting three wonky shapes from the foam board, and then using a sharpie for the mouth and the outlines of the top of the skull and cheeks.

And the mummy, who was probably the easiest. I glued his googly eyes on first. I found a roll of gauze in our medicine cabinet. I glued one end at the bottom, wrapped up and back down and then glued the other end in place. Then I brushed the ink pad all over him, just like I did for the other three.

And that's it! The cuts weren't exactly straight so they're a little wobbly. I might put some sort of little footie piece underneath to help them stand better. Then they'll go in the entry way. Can't wait to put all my decorations up this weekend!

(Inspired by these guys over here!)

Happy Hudson

2011-09-29T15:51:00.002-05:00

Hudson is happy daddy's home.

Too bad he got caught red-handed upstairs.

All before 9:30 am

2011-09-28T10:57:00.000-05:00

Today's one of those days where the universe is trying to tell me I should have stayed in bed.

We came home from the gym and walked into this....

The little stinker got in the trash and found a cake mix I had thrown away. He was covered in it. Hans was confused when we walked in because he actually thought a random dog was in our house.

And then Hans left for work with my keys. So I had to call him and make him come back because I was stuck. And late for work.

And then I got bit by a spider. On the top of my foot. No joke.

And then my 10-mile commute took 50 minutes.

And I should have just stayed in bed today.

Pumpkin pound cupcakes

2011-09-28T09:14:00.000-05:00

It's time! I love when pumpkin season starts. So even though it's still 100 degrees, I'm trying to kick start fall by baking with pumpkin.

Enter these pumpkin cupcakes. I found the recipe from Sweet and Savory and I love that it took absolutely no time or effort. My favorite kind.

What you need:
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk
3/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1 Stick of unsalted Butter, at room temperature

Add all ingredients into a stand mixer. Turn it on (I used speed 2) and leave it for 20 minutes. I watched part of an episode of Damages. It's a good show. Spoon it into cupcake liners. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

For the icing:
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/4 Shortening
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
3 Tbs. milk

Cream together the butter and shortening. Add in the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix 'til combined. Add in powdered sugar gradually and milk and beat to desired consistency. When the cupcakes are cool, ice and scarf.

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

2011-09-27T17:13:00.000-05:00

I'm all about the crock pot lately. Especially the "throw it in and turn it on" variety. This one fits that bill. And Hans loves it. That makes it a winner in my book.

What you need:
Chicken breasts (3-4)
2 T. butter
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1 small onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
Pillsbury grands (yes, I used the kind in a can!)

Put chicken in pot. Add butter.

Toss in soups and onion and season with salt and pepper.

Cook on high for 5-6 hours.

Pull the chicken out. Shred with two forks. Add back into the pot. Cut up the grands biscuits and toss them on top of the mixture. Cook another 30 minutes.

Yum.

Recipe originally from Bubble Crum.

Sugar hangover

2011-09-21T14:30:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling like an old lady today. An old lady with a major sugar hangover. I think all you do on your birthday is eat (exhibit a, b and c below). But it was a truly marvelous birthday. Thanks to everyone for the calls, texts, facebook messages and generally making me feel spoiled and loved.

Yummy birthday sampler with work peeps at Second Bar and Kitchen

My co-workers picked up these amazing cupcakes from Delish. These are just the leftovers!

Wonderful hubby took me to PF Changs where we got my favorite, the Great Wall of Chocolate

Boo! theme continues

2011-09-16T10:52:00.001-05:00

Can you tell I'm on a holiday decorations kick lately?

I saw this cute boo sign on "Then she made" and thought, "hey, that looks easy!" And it was. Messy, but easy.

What you need:
Chipboard letters (Hobby Lobby)
Halloween scrapbook paper
Ribbon
Stickers
Modge podge
Brush

Hobby Lobby has these on sale all the time. I think it was 89 cents or something.

Don't cut the paper. Do not make any cuts yet. You didn't cut, did you?

Brush a pretty good layer of modge podge on the front of the first letter. Lay it face down on the back of the paper. Turn it over and smooth out any bumps and set it aside to dry. Repeat with the other two letters, giving the first time to dry.

The back of mine is messy. No clean edges here. No one sees... who cares?

Trim off excess paper, leaving about a half inch of paper on all sides. Brush the sides of the letter with modge podge and fold the paper around the edge to the back. It may require some ripping.

After all three letters are covered in paper, add on more thick coat of modge podge for good measure (to seal it in and give it the same texture throughout).

Add stickers. Tie together with ribbons. Annnnd done.

Boo! Yarn wreath

2011-09-16T10:36:00.002-05:00

I've seen yarn wreaths all over the place lately and have been really wanting to try one. So.... voila!

What you need:

styrofoam form

black yarn

mustard yarn (not the bright yellow, it's too 'bumblebee')

decorative stickers (I went with 3D skeletons and spiders from Michaels)

free printable bunting banner from Pretty Ditty

scissors

hot glue

I don't know if there's an easier way to wrap yarn around a circle without tying yourself in knots. If there is, I need to know about it. I found the easiest way was to unwind a bunch of yarn off the skein. I wrapped it around my hand, which resulted in later knots. It was just easier to pass a small wad of yarn through the circle than the entire skein.

I held the end of the yarn in place and then wrapped several pieces tightly on top of it to hold it in place. Keeping the pieces close together, I worked my way about 4 inches around the circle. I went back and did a second layer in selective parts where I felt like the white was showing through. Then I held that end in place as I wound the next color on top of it to lock it down. At the end, I glued the last tail in place with hot glue.

I used kraft paper (cardstock weight) for the printable and then sewed it together with white yarn. Even though the skeletons and spiders were stickers, they're a little weighty for stickers (and thick!) so I hot glued them in place.

It's a good weeknight craft and it was pretty fun to make.

Cake with dots

2011-09-14T09:59:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to practice decorating cakes. Only way to get better, right?

I got a bigger frosting spatula. That certainly helped. And I think I'm finally getting the hang of big beads.

But this cake was so lop-sided! I think the actual cake recipe I used was too soft for stacking. I had a hard time even leveling it.

But it sure was tasty. I found the recipe via pinterest - it's for cupcakes, but I made three 8" rounds. And put lemon curd in between. Tasty.

Where there's smoke

2011-09-07T13:47:00.000-05:00

While we were in South Padre, I kept getting news alerts on my phone about wildfires in Central Texas. Sadly to say, this is so common right now I didn't think much of it. If you're not in Texas, you probably don't realize what a miserable summer we're having. We've had 80 days of triple digit heat, which broke a previous record of 69. The weekend before last, temperatures reached 110 and 112, tying the record for the hottest it's ever been in Austin. While we usually have 30 inches of rain, this year we've had a scant 8. Everyone has been on strict water restrictions and there's been a few energy scares as we try not to overload the system with demands for energy.

So basically it's very hot. And dry.

Then Sunday, a cold front moved into the area. Bringing cooler temperatures, thankfully, lower humidity, and some fierce 40 mph winds. Perfect for fires.

And they started springing up everywhere. And they've gotten bad. Check out this video from Texas Parks & Wildlife to see how fast it's moving.

The largest one is just down the road from us in Bastrop. We pass through there every time we go to Houston. Last time I checked, the fire was 20 miles wide and 24 miles long. It has burned nearly 35,000 acres and, at last count, over 700 homes. Thousands of people have been displaced and are still waiting to go home, or to see if they have a home to go to. Fires have also spring up, north, northwest, and west of where we live. Thankfully, there have only been two reported fatalities so far. Firefighters have been working around the clock to try and bring the fires under control.

LARRY W. SMITH / EPA

Photo from Elgin Fire Department

As we were driving back from South Padre on Monday, we stopped in San Antonio for dinner. As we got out of the car, the smell of burning wood was over powering and we could already see smoke and ash in the air. Today, Austin is blanketed in smoke and ash. It's gross. And dreary.

Please say some prayers for those who have lost their homes, for those who are still displaced, and for all those very brave men and women who are still trying to stop these dangerous fires. If you're inclined to help, check out this facebook page setup by the Austin American-Statesman (way to go, guys!) to see what you can do.

Last minute get away

2011-09-06T15:23:00.000-05:00

About a week and a half ago, as I was slogging through work, a thought struck me: "Wouldn't it be great to be on a beach right now?" The thought was so overwhelming that I started to wonder.... "How can I get my pale, pale self to a beach?"

I looked up vacation rentals on VRBO. I found people who wanted to go (way, way easier than I thought!) and bam! Saturday morning in the wee hours before dawn we loaded up the car and headed to Padre. The Krutsingers and Edwards joined us and to our great surprise and delight, the Ploegers and the Schadalees found sitters for their little ones so we could all enjoy the beach.

The beach house was super close to a very empty beach. The weather was perfect. And we had a blast.

Well.... except for one thing. One day while all the girls were lying on the beach when all of a sudden Kelsey looks up and says, confusedly, "Did Rob take off his pants?" We look out across the water and sure enough, Rob's waist deep and flapping his shorts in the air. Danielle sounds perplexed as she utters "Yup. That's my husband. Naked." He dresses and comes back up to us with a face that's clearly trying to be calm but still looks panicked. "I have to go. I'll be at the house" and takes off.

Did you know there is such a thing as sea lice? They aren't really lice - they're jellyfish larvae. They look like large grains of sand and they get caught in your suit and start stinging. Not pleasant. Rob found 15-20 in his. After he ran off we all did some thorough inspections (yes, right there on the beach, to the amusement of the man camped next to us). Mandy found a good 8-10 while the rest of us just found one or two. The Ploegers couldn't be convinced to venture back in the water, but no way that was keeping Tim, Hans, Adam and the lobster known as Josiah on dry land. We really only noticed them one day and the other two were fine.

Between the yummy breakfasts and burgers, the cool breeze, the late night card games and of course three gorgeous days in the sun, it was a wonderful getaway. I think a new tradition has been born.

Mutual Activity - Cake Decorating

2011-09-01T16:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's mutual activity was supposed to be class activities. But then some of my Beehives who just turned 14 realized they wouldn't get to participate in cake decorating. So they asked to join. And then the Laurels heard about it and wanted in, too.

And that's how my good friend Erin ended up teaching 15 young women some cake decorating basics. Erin - for the win.

First off, check out Erin's blog to see how awesome she is. She claims it's just a hobby right now, but she hopes to go full-time soon. She's currently taking orders for birthdays, weddings and showers, if you happen to be in the market for a kick-butt cake. These are some of her recent cakes:

She showed the girls how to level, stack and frost a cake. She also showed them how to pipe some basic buttercream designs.

Pretty proud... my Beehives did a great job!

The Mia Maids' creation

The Laurels... they were more interested in eating....

Then she taught them some basic tips for working with fondant! They got to color it, roll it out and put some basic shapes on top of cupcakes. I have to say, they did a pretty great job! Thank you so much, Erin, for sharing your time and talents with our girls!

Sleeping Hans is a liar

2011-08-29T09:43:00.000-05:00

Last night I was having some crazy vivid dreams. They involved some sort of cross between zombies and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It was terrifying and felt so real and I couldn't get out of it! I even remember one point thinking - "It's just a dream. If I just walk this direction calmly and ignore the zombies, I can just walk into another dream." Needless to say, they were kind of wacky.

I heard the alarm go off at 6 for the gym and I was really struggling to get up. But then I remembered we're going to the beach this week, so it would really be better (for everyone) if I did. I rolled over and poked Hans.

"Hey, it's time to get up."
"... mmm...huh.. what?"
"It's time to get up and go to the gym."
"...[inaudible mumbling]...no, it's not."
"Yes, it is. The alarm went off."
"No, it didn't."
"... what? are you sure?"
[rolls over and picks up his phone]
"Ya. It didn't go off. It's still nighttime."
".... did I DREAM that the alarm went off??"
[chuckling a little] "I guess so."
"Oh! I'm sorry... I can't believe I did that. I'll go back to sleep."

Later my body wakes itself up as it realizes how bright it is in the room. There's no way it's still before 6. I reach over Hans' nearly comatose body and pick up the phone. 7:30. That liar. That was no dream, the alarm really did go off. I guess someone just reeeaalllly didn't want to go to the gym. He claims to have no memory of this incident. Sure.....

Friday night

2011-08-27T10:25:00.000-05:00

Watching tv with Ryleigh.

Love her.

Oliver actually playing

2011-08-26T09:45:00.000-05:00

This never happens. So of course we had to document it. On occasion, our fat lump of a dog will actually play. We were visiting Hans' parents in Houston last weekend and our niece's dog, Gracie, wouldn't leave Oliver alone. We're glad because he needs someone to pester him into playtime.

Stuck

2011-08-25T13:49:00.000-05:00

Every time someone comes into my house, they ask "What's going on over there?" and point at my hideous wall.

Well, you see, I'm stuck. I started a project almost a month ago, got frustrated, and just stopped.

It's supposed to eventually be a photo/frame gallery. Like one of these prettier versions:

Pottery Barn

The Nester

Robeson Design

House of Smiths

But I can't figure out how I want it! Do I want perfectly even outer edges (like the third one down)? Or almost aligned, but not quite, like the fourth? Or do I try for something that's random, but doesn't look like total chaos?

And this is why there is just random paper stuck to my wall. Perhaps this weekend I'll finally gather the courage to dive back in.

Slow-cooker cheesecake

2011-08-24T10:21:00.000-05:00

Did you know you can make cheesecake in a Crock Pot? I sure didn't. But now it's my secret weapon! I've never been able to make a decent cheesecake before. It always came out too dry, crumbly, cracked, etc - even with a water bath.

I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest, originally from Food and Wine. It requires a six-inch springform, so it's kind of a small cheesecake. But it's plenty, believe me! And you can find the Springform at Michaels.

What you need:
3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar

In a small bowl, mix together the graham crackers, butter, cinnamon and sugar. Press into the bottom and a little up the sides of the springform.

Notice I was lazy and didn't melt the butter first? Oh, well!

And then you need:
12 ounces cream cheese (I used the low-fat kind)
1 tablespoon flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup sour cream

At medium - medium/high speed, beat together the cream cheese, flour, sugar and eggs. It should take about two minutes until it's smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the almond extract and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Finally, beat in that sour cream until the whole mixture looks deliciously silky and creamy. Yum!

Pour into the prepared springform.

In the bottom of your slow cooker, add 1/2-1 inch of water. You're going to want the cheesecake to not touch the water. How you accomplish this is your call. I just use the little rack that came with it. I've seen some blogs where people make a ring out of aluminum foil and use that - that seems complicated, but to each their own.

Once you've added the water and the cheesecake is sitting above the water, add three layers of paper towels across the top BEFORE you put the lid on. Cook on high for two hours - it's absolutely important that you don't peak! It needs to stay sealed the whole time.

After two hours, turn off the slow cooker (still not peaking!) and allow it to sit for another hour. Then, pull out the cheesecake (which looks glorious at this point) and allow it to cool to room temperature, 30 min to an hour. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge for several hours. I think it's best to do this overnight so it has plenty of time.

And that's it! Serve and enjoy! Ours was supposed to have a blackberry sauce, but that didn't turn out so pretty. Tasty, but not pretty, so it's not pictured. Seriously, I think this is the most idiot-proof cheesecake ever.

The BEST chocolate chip cookies

2011-08-19T14:35:00.000-05:00

Just look at those. Does it look like I'm lying?

I've never quite gotten the hang of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. My old roommate, Amy, used to make chocolate chip cookies I was jealous of. They were always moist, gooey and soft. I tried so many recipes and mine always seemed hard, dry and flat.

Until I found this recipe, originally from Pennies on a Platter. I made a couple tweaks, but I think the secret ingredient really knocks this one out of the park.

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 (3.4 oz) package vanilla pudding mix
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking soda
3 cups flour
12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Cream together shortening and butter. Add in sugars and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Then add the secret ingredient...

... pudding! Mix in until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

In a separate bowl, mix together salt, soda and flour. Add to butter mixture all at once, beat until combined.

Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 9-10 minutes. They should still look a little gooey!

Enjoy!

Sweet beehives

2011-08-18T09:27:00.000-05:00

Because we have a small temple and it services such a large area, our youth unfortunately only get to visit the temple twice a year. Last Saturday was our second trip of the year - about the only reason I'll get up at 6 am on
a Saturday.

Thanks to Beehive advisor Alissa Turner for not only being an awesome teacher, but for snapping this pic of us with the beautiful, wonderful, smart Beehives. I love all these girls!

Rob owes Hans big time

2011-08-14T19:31:00.000-05:00

Our friends Rob and Danielle Ploeger recently had the cutest little girl ever (since me, of course. And until we have our own children).

Last week, Rob's parents flew in from Arizona for Ryleigh's baby blessing. Rob asked if Hans would substitute teach his primary class - the 11 year olds.

During music time, the class that sang the loudest got to dress up their teacher. And now Rob owes Hans.

Mexican Chocolate Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream

2011-08-01T14:23:00.000-05:00

This is not the cake I intended to make this weekend.

I wanted to just make any old cake, so I could practice decorating. I wanted to try an icing comb (never done that before) and work on making beaded borders.

a). I am not a huge fan of this icing comb. I think it's too angular and maybe I'd like a rounded one better. Still, I liked that it was an easy way to quickly dress up plain buttercream.

b). I bought a Wilton #12 tip on Saturday, but it mysteriously disappeared by the time I went to use it on Sunday. No beads for me. So I had fun making the top all spikey with my star tip.

I also intended to make the icing a fun color, but since my decorating plans were already kinda hosed, I left it as-is. And I kind of like it.

So while none of my decorating plans panned out, I did discover that this is my new favorite cake. Seriously. I love it. So. Much. It has some weird, weird ingredients in it (Olive oil? Balsamic Vinegar?) but it's incredibly moist, has a great crumb, and has just enough spice to make it interesting.

Oh, and adding cinnamon to a so-so buttercream made it out of this world. Further proof that cinnamon makes almost everything better.

Mexican chocolate cake (Recipe from BakedBree)

1 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla

Add all dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk together to fully mixed.

In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients. Add all together to dry ingredients. Beat on medium-high, 1-2 minutes or until well combined.

Pour into buttered and floured pans. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes (or that's what worked for my three 6-inch pans). Remove and allow to cool thoroughly.

Cinnamon butter cream
2 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
~4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cream the butter and shortening. Add vanilla and cinnamon and combine well. Add the powdered sugar slowly, beating thoroughly between each addition.

Front door wreath

2011-07-29T11:34:00.000-05:00

After our front door face lift a few weeks ago, I thought it looked kind of sad and lonely. I kept seeing beautiful wreaths popping up all over Pinterest, so I thought I'd give it a try! And I love it. It was a great weeknight project, and so easy even this dummy could do it.

What you need:
1 grapevine wreath ($2.50 at Hobby Lobby)
Acrylic paint (Delta, $.49 at Michaels)
Four flowers (Mine are mums, I think, $2 each at Hobby Lobby)
Roll of wired ribbon ($3.99 at Michaels)
2" wooden numbers ($.99 each at Michaels)
Hot glue
Floral wire

It's kinda a no-brainer to put together and I feel silly even writing directions. Slap some paint on those numbers. Hot glue them onto the wreath. Pull the flower buds off the stems. Hot glue onto the wreath. Make a big bow with the floral ribbon (mine had five loops) and securing to the wreath with floral wire (or in my case, a bread bag tie).

Not to tough, huh? I think the flower/color combinations are endless and I think my friends who buy houses will be getting these from now on.

No-flour, fudgey cookies

2011-07-29T09:30:00.002-05:00

Hans isn't generally a fan of cookies. He always complains they're too dry. He much prefers brownies, which I'm not the biggest fan of. For some reason they don't feel substantive enough for me. So I've been on the hunt for a brownie-cookie crossover.

These gooey dark chocolate cookies from Divine Baking fit the bill pretty nicely. They're incredibly rich (I can't eat more than one) and satisfying. And with the warm, oozing chocolate, hopefully not "too dry" for my picky hubby.

Another great part? I had the ingredients on hand. That's always nice.

What you need:
1 1/2 cups (1 bag) bittersweet chocolate chips
3 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, plus some for coating
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Put 1 cup of the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until melted. This usually takes me 1 1/2-2 minutes, stopping to stir in 30 second intervals. When melted, set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup powdered sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt.

Using the whisk attachment on medium-high speed, beat the egg whites until they're thick and fluffy and starting to form peaks. Reduce speed and slowly add in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

Reduce the speed again to low and gradually added in the cocoa mixture. Add in the cooled, melted chocolate and mix until incorporated. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips by hand. The mixture will be very thick and gooey.

Add some powdered sugar (I did a cup) to a shallow dish. Using my 1-inch cookie scoop, I added globs of cookie dough to the powdered sugar and rolled them around to coat. Drop the coated cookie dough on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes. Allow them to cool about 10 minutes on the tray before removing to wire racks for cooling. Made 18 cookies.

YW self-reliance derby

2011-07-28T13:57:00.000-05:00

I knew last night's mutual activity would be particularly entertaining, so I made sure to take my camera. The Beehives and Mia Maids combined for a self-reliance derby. The course had five stations, with five different tasks: fold a fitted sheet, write a check, look through magazine pictures and pick out three items that would make a balanced meal, wash a dish and put a diaper on a baby (doll). The girls divided into teams. You had to tie an apron on, complete the course, and run back to give the apron to the next girl.

After the first time through the course, we actually did a little instructional on HOW to fold a sheet, write a check, plan a balanced meal and put on a diaper. Then we did round two: The girls had to do the course again, except holding the baby doll the whole time. If you dropped the baby, you had to start over.

It was really funny to watch and I think the girls sure enjoyed it. And I learned how to fold a fitted sheet. Boo-yah.

Honey garlic balsamic chicken

2011-07-28T13:28:00.001-05:00

Sometimes we get in food ruts. We fall back on the same old meals that we know we like and they're quick and easy to make. And that works. But sometimes I get bored and want to try something new. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.

This honey garlic balsamic chicken from Baked Bree is awesome. And will probably get added to our "same old meals." It took 30 minutes from start to finish (and my chicken was still majorly frozen).

What you need:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons honey (I LOVE Austin's Good Flow honey. Eat it with a spoon).
1 tablespoon lemon juice (I didn't have this and left it out, and it was fine).

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in butter and olive oil. Once the butter has melted, add chicken breasts to the pan. Sprinkle them with a lil' salt n' peppa. Cook until there's no pink left inside - took me about 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate.

In the same skillet, add in the garlic, vinegar, broth, honey and lemon juice. Raise the heat a little and cook for 5-7 minutes until the mixture thickens.

Slice up the chicken and pour the pan sauce over it. We served ours with garlic rice pilaf and it was delish. Enjoy.

Harry Potter Scarf

2011-07-27T09:58:00.000-05:00

Can you believe I didn't blog about Harry Potter 7.2? I figured there were enough reviews of it out there. But if you were wondering, I loved it. And cried. A lot. And when did Neville get hot? Weird.

For the finale premiere (which, of course, we saw at the Alamo at midnight) I made a Harry Potter scarf! I've never crocheted before, but it was pretty easy. Just took a while. Maybe next time I won't make it as thick. This was 35 across and that was probably too much. Ooops. I was super excited that Michaels had colors that were spot on, though. Michaels, FTW. And despite the fact that it's triple digits here (and has been for 35 days so far this year - ew), I wore that scarf all day in celebration.

And oh, check this out! This is Hans on the front page of Statesman.com talking about the people that waited hours in line for the premiere. I totally thought one of my former co-workers did it on purpose, but they're all claiming innocence!

Baked goat milk brie

2011-07-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

I've always been a big brie fan. But I've never tried preparing it. Just stuck my whole face in it.

Then I came across this beautiful little recipe from Eat, Live, Run. So simple. So mouth-watering. And so easy.

Here's what you need.
1 wheel goat milk brie (about 4.4 oz)
Phyllo dough
Olive oil
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
Almonds

Lay about six sheets of the phyllo dough in a stack on a cookie sheet. Lightly brush the whole surface with olive oil. Place the brie in the middle.

Top with the brown sugar. After I ate it, I realized it would have been good to put some in a circle around the brie, right on the phyllo dough. There were bites where I didn't get much brown sugar and I think it would have helped to have it on the sides, too.

In any event, no matter. Starting with one corner, fold the phyllo dough on top of the cheese, working your way around. Brush with some more olive oil to hold it in place. Top with the almonds.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until the almonds are golden and the cheese gooey. We ate ours as a sort of picnic dinner with crackers, a good loaf of french bread, and some strawberries and apples. It would make a yummy appetizer as well.

My crazy job

2011-07-26T21:55:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I get to do really fun things for work.

Like a couple weeks ago. When we had a little pizza party in the name of research. We ordered five personal pizzas from Schlotzskys, one for each of us. We enjoyed a lovely lunch together. Then everyone gave me their empty boxes and I returned to my office where I wrapped them in pretty pink zebra wrapping paper (what? it's what I had on hand!). Then I took them to the post office and had the best conversation ever with the bored post lady.

"Do these boxes contain anything hazardous?"
"No. They are empty."
That got her attention.
".... You're mailing empty boxes?...."
"To myself. Yes."

I was thoroughly entertained by this conversation.

See, in September, my company is having an event in Chicago and the event chair thought it would be fun to have a deep dish theme. The paper invitation actually looks like a pepperoni pizza, with all the necessary information on different slices. I'm mailing them in actual pizza boxes so our Schlotzsky's day was actually a test run to see how much the boxes would cost to send, how long it would take, would all five arrive, in what condition, etc.

Everything went well with the test run. Then came the fun part. After I designed the sticker for the box top and the inside pizza layers (and a "to-go" menu with additional info), printed all the materials, and the boxes I ordered arrived, my co-workers and I spent the better part of last week assembling the boxes, affixing the stickers, stuffing the boxes with the invites, sealing them shut, addressing, stamping and mailing these invites. 200 of them.

This is what our conference room looked like when we finished.

Funny, I don't remember seeing this in the job description when I took the job. But I sure enjoyed it.

Oh, and it was decidedly NOT funny when my co-worker, Mike, rushed into my office right after we dropped the last box off and blurted out "You proofread these first, right? Because you used the wrong 'you're'!" I almost had a heart attack. And then almost killed him when I realized his mean joke. He better watch his back now.

Behold, the Man Chair

2011-07-21T10:09:00.001-05:00

When we moved into our house just over a year ago, we realized just how little furniture we had. The cavernous living room completely echoed.

Slowly, as we work on developing patience, we've purchased pieces to fill the rooms. Last you saw the living room, we'd just scored this awesome West Elm Rug.

But one thing you may notice is in this picture is that if we've got more than three people in the living room, they better like the floor. Or we pull in chairs from the dining room. Hans has been lamenting this lack of seating for quite some time and we've been vigorously hunting for The Perfect Man Chair.

Ummm.... did you know chairs are expensive? Holy jeez. Even on Craigslist we haven't had much luck. We've been tempted of late to bite the bullet and buy the cheapest chair we can find - a faux leather chair from Target.

Saturday we headed to the outlet mall because I am STILL in search of a console table for the entry way. As we walked into the Pottery Barn Outlet, Hans made a joke about how one day, ONE DAY, we'll luck into a cheap chair.

It's like his words made it happen. Behold, the Man Chair.

Isn't it a beaut? Real, espresso leather. Wide, comfy seat that you just sink into.

We put it in the weird gap space between the empty side of the dining room and the seating area. It helps fill it out a bit.

And thanks to this little scratch on the seat, we managed to snag it for more than 75 percent off!!

Hans loves it so much, it won't be long before it's got a permanent imprint from hit butt.

Front door facelift

2011-07-20T17:08:00.000-05:00

Our front door is ugly. It's got so many stains and nicks and gooey crap all over it.

But that's an easy fix, right?

So we pulled it off the hinges, sanded it down, and gave it two coats of semi-gloss, black paint.

Ah, that's much better. Now I think some new hardware and a wreath are in order. Cuz that's just ugly.

Chicken almond casserole

2011-07-19T14:00:00.000-05:00

Mmmmm.... this is one of my favorites. And I swear I started to take pictures of every step in the process, but then my camera battery died. So you only get an end result one. Sorry.

It comes from Savory Sweet Life. Cook time is pretty quick so it makes a great weeknight meal. You can also prepare it in advance and pop it in the oven. We love it for the leftovers - it makes great lunches for the next few days.

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons butter
1 white onion, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
1/2 cup almonds (I used sliced)
1 1/2 pound chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
1 1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 box of Stove Top stuffing mix (I like the low sodium)
4 tablespoons melted butter

In a medium-size skillet, toast almonds. Remove to a large mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons butter to skillet and warm over medium-hot. Add in chicken pieces and cooked until browned. It doesn't have to be cooked all the way through, just no more visible pink. Remove to the bowl with the almonds. Add onions and celery to the skillet and cook until tender, 5-7 minutes. Remove to the chicken/almond bowl.

To the mixing bowl, toss in the mayo, soup, and salt and pepper to test. Mix it up reeeeeaaaallll good. Transfer to a greased 9x13 baking dish.

Open the top of the stuffing mix bag and pour in the melted butter. Squish it around to absorb into the stuffing. When it's pretty well distributed, add to the top of the baking dish.

Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes.

A very Potter Party

2011-07-11T10:49:00.001-05:00

We are huge nerds. This is not new information. And we are extremely, very, ridiculously excited about Harry Potter 7.2 coming out this week. So excited, in fact, that we decided to throw a Harry Potter extravaganza. Friday night, we had a bunch of people over to try and do a back-to-back HP marathon - starting at Sorcerer's Stone and going on through Deathly Hallows Part I. We didn't actually make it past Order of the Phoenix (#5) before passing out. In fact, most people wimped out between 11 and 2, but I'd invited a few of my young women and those girls can stay up til all hours. Kelsie, Losa and I enjoyed the last two by ourselves. And then passed out around 9 am Saturday morning (11 hours later). But we had a ton of fun and thanks to everyone that came!

Enter at Platform 9 3/4. The brick wall is just paint on butcher's paper. The broom is made of a tree branch and some dried naturals we got on sale at Hobby Lobby.

My lovely Platform 9 3/4 sign. It's a piece of scrap wood from Home Depot that I hand painted. I traced a bowl to get the circle and free-handed the numbers. I printed out and traced letters for the "Hogwarts Express" bit.

Another broom, and Harry Potter glasses ordered in bulk off Amazon

Font is actually called "Lumos" and I had a lot of fun burning the edges.

Twizzlers dipped in white chocolate.

Pretty much just mini pumpkin pies. These went quickly.

These were harder to make than I thought! They're brown paper lunch bags filled with Chex Mix and then secured with string and the most giant pretzel sticks I could find to look like broomsticks.

Holy crap, this stuff is strong. It's made with lots of brown sugar, butter, cream and cream soda. I could do a shot of it and that's about it. How Andrew Taylor chugged a whole cup is beyond me.

The spread

Scar

Nimbus 2000

Sorting hat

These cupcakes are devil's food with chopped up Reese's in them. They are sooooo good and I'm not going to tell you how many I ate... Thanks to Erin Frazier's recommendation, I bought fondant at the All In One Bakeshop instead of making my own this time. I've never worked with store-bought fondant before and it was difficult, but fun! I made the snitches, broomsticks, sorting hats, and half the lightning bolts. Hans helped out with the other half and made the glasses on his own.

Cheap fabric from Hobby Lobby with iron on Decals (ironed on by Steph and Hans, with cutting credit to Parker).

We also hung fake candles (15 small ones) from the ceiling in the living room, like the Great Hall. They flickered all night and it was pretty sweet (just hard to photograph).

Looking to throw your own Harry Potter Party? Here's a couple good references and recipes.

Butter beer recipe

12 Ways to throw a happenin' Harry Potter Party

Hogwarts: The recipes

Dining room finally finished!!

2011-07-10T20:21:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, we bite off more than we can chew. We start a project thinking it's going to be simple and it ends up taking months. Oops.

But the dining room is finally finished and we absolutely love it. It feels so much lighter and brighter than it did before.

When we bought the house, it looked like this:

At the end of May, the dining room looked like this:

We had painted the top half of the walls a light blue-gray and added putty (in two layers, with lots of messy sanding) to the bottom half.

Today, it looks like this:

Hans had a lot of fun measuring out the baseboards, top rail, and vertical slats. They were secured in place with painter's tape and attached first with LiquidNails and then secured with small nails. The whole thing is painted with Glidden's White On White.

After the main portion was done, an additional horizontal board was place on top of the main rail as a small shelf. A bit of decorative molding went underneath that, just to dress it up a little.

We also picked up this awesome rug on clearance at Target - $99 for a 5x8!! Love it. Not only does it have the same Moroccan theme as the living room rug, it's super cushy and soft. We love it.

We love the board and batten look, but it definitely took a while! Good thing we love it.

Dr. Pepper pulled pork tacos

2011-06-30T16:22:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I've never blogged this! This recipe has become one of our favorite and most frequently used. It's quick, easy, and delicious.

The original recipe comes from Ree, or the Pioneer Woman as many know her. It's pretty much the same, with just a few changes - I made this a slow-cooker meal! It takes 10 minutes max to prepare. So here we go.

Ingredients
Pork Butt Roast, 3-7 lbs
1 large white onion
1 (12 oz) can chipotle peppers in adobe sauce
2 cans Dr. Pepper
2 Tablespoons Brown sugar

Cut onion into large wedges.

Layer on the bottom of the slow cooker. Toss in the pork butt. Ree suggests 5-7 pounds - I always do three because a) it's cheaper and b) it's just the two of us (and occasionally Paul attacks the leftovers).

Cover the pork with the peppers and sauce. We like it spicy, like makes your lips tingly spicy, so I use the whole can. You might use half if you're only using a 3 lb. pork.

Pour in the Dr. Pepper and add brown sugar.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. 8 is probably plenty, 10 is just what it takes me from the time I leave the door til the time I walk back through it after work.

Serve with tortillas - I like corn, Hans likes flour. And we're boring - we just eat it straight, but you could add some pico or salad or something. Go nuts.

Sad year for blueberries

2011-06-29T13:27:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday we went to Houston for our annual blueberry picking trip. Since I was little, my family has always gone to Moorhead's Blueberry Farm in Conroe.

Last year, we got 22 lbs. There's actually still one bag left in my freezer.

Last year's haul

This year was disappointing. The price has gone up - from $1.50/lb to $2. I'm ok with that - I know it's been a rough year and it's still a steal. But thanks to the freezes we had this winter and the current drought we're in, the plants had very few blueberries. Many shriveled ones, many small ones, many white ones. Not a lot of good ones for picking. We stayed for much longer than last year and only walked away with six pounds. Six!! Sad, sad, sad.

If it rains, we'll try and go again one more time this year. Here's hoping....

Coca Cola Cake

2011-06-28T14:54:00.000-05:00

June was a big month for birthdays in our house. Which means lots of cake.

Parker's now the old man of the house, having turned 27 on Saturday. He refused to tell me what flavor cake he wanted, so I picked this one. I vaguely remember having something similar at the sorority house in college. And I was really excited that it didn't seem too involved.

Wow. This was so much better than I expected. It's incredibly dense and moist but the hints of cinnamon shine through and make my tummy happy. And it's quick and easy to make! Even icing is easy - you just pour it on.

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup coke
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, cocoa, coke and buttermilk. Stir pretty regularly and you bring to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately add to flour mixture - stir until combined. Add in eggs and vanilla, stir until incorporated. As much as I love my stand mixer, it's nice that I don't have to haul it out for this one!

Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup coke
4 cups powdered sugar

Again in a saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, cocoa power and coke and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and sift in the powdered sugar gradually, stirring almost continuously (or as much as possible... not counting the times you stick your fingers in it). You could skip the sifting (I did) but you could end up with some powdered sugar chunks. Just sayin'. When it reaches your desires consistency (could be more or less than 4 cups p.s.), pour the warm glaze straight onto the cake. Seriously, just pick the saucepan up and hold it upside down over the cake pan. Awesome.

Allow the frosting a few minutes to cool and set and then serve it up. Enjoy!

Adapted oh-so-barely from the original by Confessions of a Chocoholic.

Parmesan crusted chicken with beurre blanc

2011-06-23T16:50:00.000-05:00

Here's the recipe you've been looking for for a fancy date night, birthday celebration or other special occasion. There's nothing particularly difficult about this meal, it just takes a very long time to put together. But it's very, very tasty. It helps to have a cooking companion on this one - I was having a hard time keeping an eye on the beurre blanc while cooking the chicken. It helped when Hans came to take over. I think this meal would have been a little better, also, if I had pounded the chicken breasts a little thinner.

Side note: This recipe calls for 1/4 cup of white wine. I've really never bought wine before, which was a surreal experience. And it kind of sucked to buy a whole bottle just for that small amount. My co-worker benefited from that. But anyway, I went through the checkout line at HEB and they didn't card me. Umm... don't they have to card you til you're like, 40? Incidentally, about a week before that as I was chaperoning our stake's youth conference, the YW stake president was wondering why I didn't have a wristband before someone cleared up the confusion and let her know I was a leader, not a youth. So.... in a week's time I went from being 16 to 40. Either that or no one can determine the age of an Asian.

But I digress. You just want the recipe.

For the Beurre Blanc:

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp. finely minced shallots
salt and white pepper
2 sticks of butter, cold, cut into 16 pieces

In a medium saucepan combine vinegar, wine, shallots, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer until it reduces until about 1.5 Tbsp. Remove from heat and immediately stir in two pieces of butter.

After the butter disappears, add another pieces. Stir continuously.

Return the pan to low heat and add the butter one piece at a time, waiting to add one piece until after the last one has completely melted. Keep stirring! When all of the butter has been added, remove from heat and serve. I wasn't quite ready when it was done, so I put it on the lowest hit and stirred frequently.

For the chicken:
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
4 large boneless, skinless breasts
4 eggs, beaten
½ cup all purpose flour
1 cup Panko
1 cup shredded Parmesan
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Start early - this needs to brine for two-three hours!

Take your chicken breasts (hopefully defrosted, mine were still a little cold!) and put them in a gallon-size plastic baggie. With a kitchen mallet (or ya know, a heavy wooden rolling pin, whatever works), pound the chicken breast thin. Aim for 1/2 inch thick.

In a medium bowl or dish, combine the chicken broth and salt. Add in the flattened chicken breasts, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Did you read a book? Take a nap? Good. Time to continue.

Remove the chicken from the brine and blot dry with paper towels.

Beat eggs in a medium bowl. Place flour onto a plate. Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt and pepper in another medium bowl. Dredge the chicken first in the flour (use your fingers to rub it in!), dip it into the beaten egg, and then dredge in the parmesan mixture. Make sure it coats really well. It helps to let it sit there for a few minutes, so that everything doesn't just fall off.

In a large skillet, heat some oil (twice around the pan is good) over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook 'til browned and done all the way through.

Top with beurre blanc and add some yummy sun-dried tomatoes! We served ours with white cheddar mashed potatoes - mmmmmm, mmmmmm! I had the leftovers for lunch the next day and it was just as good!

Flank steak with Chimichurri sauce

2011-06-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

Oh, yum. This is so simple. And so good. And guess what? I didn't make it! I had to run errands last night and asked Hans if he could handle dinner. Didn't he do an awesome job? I'm one lucky girl.

He took a 1 lb. flank steak and grilled it on the stove with a little salt and pepper.

Then he made the Chimichurri sauce. Now, neither of us have tried this before. We just keep hearing how awesome it is. And it really is. No joke.

1 cup parsley
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

Throw the parlsey, garlic, pepper, cumin and salt into a food processor. Blend a little to break it up. Add in the oil and vinegar together. Process until smooth (there will still be some parsley chunks). [Note: You can add 1/4 cup cilantro. We didn't, because I hate it (did you know that?)].

Spoon over the flank steak and devour. I must add, Hans cooked that flank steak perfectly. Moist and tender and well done. [Pat on back]. And the best thing about this meal? It uses very few dishes and as long as your meat is well-defrosted (ours wasn't), this meal can be on the table in 20 min. I think this is going to become a week-night standby.

MMMmmm... Banana birthday cake

2011-06-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

Monday night I'm heading upstairs and I notice a passport sitting on the bottom steps. I pick it up to see who it belongs to - Oh, it's Paul's. And... his birthday is June 15?? What?? Why didn't he tell anyone?!

Birthdays need cake. It's a rule, I think. When Paul said he wanted a banana cake, I remember this delicious little lovely I had tried back in December.

It's very easy to make. I used three small rounds this time for a higher, but smaller cake. And I forget ears - Oops! But he's still cute (the monkey, not Paul ;)), so it's ok.

It tastes a lot like banana bread, but cakey! It might be nice with some walnuts in it or something (Paul just didn't want any). I love how evenly this cake bakes. It's moist without feeling too mushy, and definitely the perfect density for stacking. I love how pretty it looks every inside.

Not a *huge* fan of the icing. It's too sweet. And it was too runny (but adding more powdered sugar would have overpowered the taste, so that was out). I think I'll use a different buttercream next time.

Happy Birthday, Paul! We are so glad to have you living with us.

Win a trip to Paris

2011-06-10T09:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, you read that right. One of the blogs I follow, Oh Happy Days, is giving away a seven day trip to Paris. Airfare from the Continental US and lodging at Mama Shelter, a cute boutique hotel in Paris, are included.

I studied abroad in Paris in 2006 and miss it on a near-daily basis. I would love to go back and wander the halls of the Musee D'Orsay again, frequent my favorite crepe stand, and enjoy the sunshine in the Tuillieries on a lazy day.

Head over to Oh Happy Days to enter. Or, ya know, don't. Better for my chances :)

Lemonade Cake

2011-06-10T09:22:00.000-05:00

What's summer, without lemonade?

That's why this is a great little summer cake. The flavor of it is amazing, especially the lemonade-cream cheese frosting.

The crumb, however, was a little weird. Unlike the picture on the recipe's site, this cake is not light and fluffy. It's very, very dense. And spongey. It's not a texture that I care for. So I'll try this one again, but make some alterations to aim for a lighter cake. It's still very, very yummy.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon zested lemon rind
3 tablespoons thawed lemonade concentrate
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour cake pans (I used 3 small pans).

Beat first five ingredients at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

Beginning with the flour mixture, alternate adding flour and buttermilk to the sugar, beating well after each addition.

Bake for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before icing.

Icing:
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons zested lemon rind
2 teaspoons thawed lemonade concentrate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces cream cheese
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

With mixer on high speed, beat together butter, lemon rind, lemonade concentrate, vanilla and softened cream cheese. Beat until fluffy. Reduce speed to low and slowly add in powdered sugar. Beat just until blended, but do not overbeat.

Chocolate Malt Cupcake

2011-06-09T15:09:00.000-05:00

This is my new favorite cupcake recipe. Hands down.

And notice the lack of pictures?

I apologize for that. But seriously, I'm lucky I got this one. That's how fast they went. I made them when I substitute taught a Sunday school class a couple weeks ago. I made enough for the class to each have one and then I'd have enough left over to take to my Beehives.

Nope. I'm pretty sure I saw one of those sunday school kids eating four. There were only five left (of almost two dozen) by the time I made it to Young Women's.

Fortunately for the roomies (and me), I'd saved one for each of us at home. They were promptly gone as well.

So good. So, so good. Moist. Chocolate-y. And the frosting some how manages to evoke ice cream. Without the cold. Heaven!

The recipe comes from That Winsome Girl. Bless her.

Ingredients:
2¼ cups flour (AP is good)
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1½ cups malted milk powder (found in the baking aisle)
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk and malted milk powder until powder is dissolved.

With my stand mixer at medium speed, I beat together the flour mixture, milk mixture and oil until combined. Add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream and vanilla, and beat just until combined.

Bake for 18-20 minutes.

For the icing:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
½ cup malted milk powder
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
5 cups confectioner sugar

In a large mixer bowl, whip the butter and shorting until light and fluffy. Slowly add in malted milk powder and cocoa powder. Mix for about a minute. Slowly add the powdered sugar until the frosting becomes thick and stiff.

Dining Room Phase 1

2011-05-27T11:19:00.000-05:00

One thing we're good at is biting off more than we can chew. Enter, the dining room.

Here's what it looked like the day we did our walk through. The previous owner was pretty packed with heavy furniture, the dark greens walls kind of a sickly color.

We didn't have nearly as much furniture as she did. So it looks pretty bare. Makes the nasty green walls even more obvious. At least we lost the froofy shades on the chandelier.

First things first, that green had to go. We went with a very light shade of gray blue - it continues the monochromatic shades we have going downstairs - the dark gray blue in the living room and the sky blue in the kitchen. We were aiming for complimentary and monochromatic without being too matchy matchy. This is Behr's Cumberland Fog color matched into Glidden Flat (since I don't like Behr).

Next, we had planned to add Board and Batten to the lower half (that's why we only painted halfway down). But we couldn't find affordable, thin MDF boards to put on the wall. We considered just painting the wall white and adding the boards, but decided it would look funny with textured walls.

Sooooooo.... we're adding joint compound to make the wall smooth (Parker's helping). Add a layer, let it dry, sand it smooth, rinse and repeat. Our house is currently covered in a fine mist of white powder. Awesome. Press on. Next up is primer, paint and the boards. We'll keep you posted.

Duh. Pinning.

2011-05-18T11:43:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of Pinterest yet? I'm obsessed with it.

I don't know the best way to describe it. It's kinda like delicious and a google reader. And Amazon's universal wishlist. Kinda? It's great for inspiration boards, visual browsing and bookmarking.

Basically, you drag their "Pin it!" button to your bookmarks tool bar. Whenever you're on a web page and see something you like, you click the button and choose a "board" to add it to and done.

Here are some of my boards:

Can you tell I'm obsessed? Soon I'll have a board for everything. I've found it's exceptionally good for inspiration (great DIY ideas and decorating inspiration) but I also especially love it for recipes. I read several cooking blogs through a Google Reader and star recipes I want to try. Sometimes it's difficult to find those recipes again... I either have to page through tons of recipes or hit on the right keyword to search for it. But check this out - There they all are.

I'm looking for enchiladas? I find the picture and click on it and it takes me right to the recipe. Genius.

And the browsing possibilities are endless. You can search for any word and see what other people have pinned in various categories. My fav. people at Young House Love churn out great art ideas. Janell from church shares great outfits and recipes. Sometimes I just click "travel" and get lost in all the pretty pictures.

But be warned: It's addictive. My reader may run empty sometimes, but there's no bottom to the Pinterest Pool. Check it out, follow me, and leave your name so I can follow you back.

Guest bath - done!

2011-05-16T13:32:00.001-05:00

After almost two months of work, the half bath downstairs is done!! It was very time- and labor- intensive, but we now love the room. We re-painted it, painted the trim and door, added crown molding and swapped out the light fixture and mirror. Behold!

Color -
Before: Nasty Pea Green with yellowish trim
Now: Beautiful Aqua with bright white trim

And a few close ups...

Source list:

Wall color - Glidden eggshell color matched to Behr's Tide Pool

Trim color - Glidden semi-gloss White on White

Hardware - Brushed Nickel from Home Goods (don't remember brand)

Light fixture - Asbury Triple Sconce from the Restoration Hardware Outlet

Medicine Cabinet - Restoration Hardware Outlet

Crown Molding - Home Depot pine crown molding

Sun dried tomato, basil and goat cheese casserole

2011-05-14T11:18:00.001-05:00

Sounds good, right?

I really wanted to love this. I mean.... sun dried tomatoes? Yes, please. Basil? Can't go wrong. Goat cheese? Get in my belly.

But this casserole from Belle of the Kitchen was just kinda ho-hum. It wasn't bad... it just didn't blow me away. I think it could have used more goat cheese, less tomatoes and something else... something spicy, maybe. I dunno. Like I said, it was good. Good for a brunch, good to make ahead, and good if you're feeding vegetarians.

Ingredients
1 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
8 cups day-old French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup basil, julienned
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
9 eggs
3 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350.
Butter a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Layer the bread evenly onto the bottom. Sprinkle with tomatoes, cheese, basil, salt and pepper.

In a bowl, stir together milk and eggs. Pour evenly over bread.

Bake for 40 minutes. (Can be prepared the night before, just cover and refrigerate).

More fake takeout

2011-05-13T11:04:00.000-05:00

Since the Mongolian Beef was a smashing success, we decided to see what else we could make at home. Enter this sweet and sour chicken from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

While not at all difficult to prepare, it did take a fairly long time to make. It's not a quick dish. But it is far tastier than I expected and we'll definitely be making it again.

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Preheat oven to 325.
Cut chicken into bite-sized chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in cornstarch, shaking off any excess. Then coat in egg.

Heat the oil over high heat until the pan sizzles when you drop water in it. Toss in the chicken and cook until browned, but not cooked through.

Transfer to a baking dish. Mix together sauce ingredients and pour on top of chicken. [I actually doubled the sauce recipe and reserved half of the mixture for extra sauce. I put it on a sauce pan at a rolling boil for 5-7 minutes and we served it on the side of our meal.]

Bake for one hour, turning chicken ever 15 minutes to evenly coat. Serve with rice.

S'mores bars

2011-05-12T10:50:00.002-05:00

By now, you should know of our love affair with all things s'mores. That's why I was so excited to try these S'mores bars. And yes, they're delicious. And very quick and easy to make. Let them cool before you scoop them out of the pan because they tend to be messy. Or just stick your face in it. Whatever works.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (this was six full crackers for me)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized Hershey bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows!)

Preheat Oven to 350 and grease an 8 x 8 baking pan.

In mixer bowl (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, if you prefer - I just love the excuse to use my mixer!), cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, then add in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture until combined.

Divide the dough in half and press half into the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate over the dough - mine fit perfectly, but you may have to break your pieces. Spread marshmallow over the top. Add remaining dough on top.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Try not to burn your mouth.

Recipe from Sugar Cooking.