May Showers

I love stormy days. LOVE THEM. Maybe it’s because rain is scarce here in Texas, and when we do have thunderstorms, they tend to be in the middle of the night when you can’t really enjoy them so much… especially when your 55 lb pitbulls attempt to directly adhere themselves to your sleeping body, as if actually being on top of Mommy will protect them from the thunder.

(Ok, what am I saying here? I love that. Thunderstorm cuddles are the best.)

Point is, this week we’ve had some really excellent stormy days and nights, though they always leave me yearning for more. I think I’d be right at home in a place like Seattle. Rain, to me, always feels like release.

Plus I get to wear my red wellies. Winning all around.

Dress and clutch: c/o Kiki La’Rue, rainboots: Hunter (red here, more colors here), Necklace: Sora Designs, Bracelet: Madewell

I know. I am clear. (the stage that comes right after white.)  Also, that adorable dress I’m wearing above came courtesy of a new online shop called Kiki La’Rue, which is definitely worth checking out!  They have a great variety of adorable and affordable dress options (like this one and this one and this one!), as well as super cute tops and handbags.  I love to support smaller shops that are dedicated to quality and customer service, as this one clearly is. This dress is comfy and looks super cute paired with bright pops of color in a necklace or, in this case, red rain boots. :)

Be sure and check out Kiki La’Rue before spending more money on the same products at a department store!

Have a great Thursday…

Double Lemon Chicken Breasts with tomato-basil (and avocado!) salsa (aka the most delicious chicken recipe in the world)

Do you guys remember the most delicious salmon recipe in the world?  Well, now it’s time for the most delicious chicken breast recipe in the world! I’ve been meaning to share it with you guys forever now—within my limited repertoire of culinary successes, this one is a definite favorite and a crowd pleaser every time!  You’ll find that it’s healthy and full of fresh flavors, and it also pairs well with anything from broiled multigrain bread to sweet potatoes to steamed rice.  We usually serve it with a simple mixed green salad as well, to amp up the veggie intake even more.  Hope you make it and enjoy! (see recipe below). 

Double Lemon Chicken Breasts with Tomato, Basil, and Avocado Salsa
Serves 2
*The original recipe can be found here, but I modified it a bit and also added avocado to the salsa.  It can be left out though, of course. It’s GREAT either way! Also, if I’m feeling lazy or want to make the recipe even healthier, I just saute a plain chicken breast and put the salsa on top. Still very yummy! 

Ingredients

For the salsa:
1 medium roma tomato, diced
1 small avocado, diced
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt

For the chicken:
2 boneless chicken breasts, pounded until 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
A few wedges of lemon

Directions

Mix salsa ingredients and set aside.  Using a fork, combine flour, lemon zest, salt and pepper on a flat dinner plate.  Rinse and dry chicken, then dredge in flour mixture (coat both sides).  Set aside.  Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil, using just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken and cook both sides until juices run clear, then add generous amounts of lemon juice. Top with the salsa, and serve!

This meal makes a happy husband, see?

Even Gracie and Cooper want in on it. 

Happy Tuesday! :)

Easy, Delicious, and Freezable Shepherd’s Pie

This weekend I tried out a recipe for Shepherd’s Pie, which is a traditional English dish I’ve always thought sounded yummy.  And don’t be silly, OF COURSE my desire to try it out had nothing to do with the fact that it always sounded decadently delicious when mentioned in Harry Potter/Hogwarts banquet scenes or because experiencing a Hogwarts banquet/attending Hogwarts is kind of my lifelong dream.  Nothing to do with that at all. AHEM.

Anyway, this recipe was really good, and it makes quite a bit, so you can freeze some in separate containers to take out as needed for lunches or quick dinners.  A definite winner, in my book!

I love that you can see the steam rising off the plate.

I followed this recipe, and I’ll type it out for you here too, with a few of my notes!

Shepherd’s Pie
about 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef – I used a tad bit more than 1 1/2
1 chopped onion
2 cups vegetables – I used a frozen bag of carrots, corn, peas, and green beans, but separated the carrots and      cooked them a little longer as noted.
1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3ish big ones)
8 tablespoons butter divided (1 stick)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasonings to taste

Directions

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan (or if you want to cut out some of the butter in this recipe, I bet you could sub this for extra virgin olive oil. I used butter this time though).

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender, over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn, peas, and green beans (or whatever you’re using) either at the end of the cooking of the onions (I added them now since the veggies were frozen), or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Drain the grease (it’s easiest to just put a big lid over the meat and veggies and drain it into the sink that way). Add salt and pepper. Add Worcestershire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth if necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork or spoon so that there are peaks that will brown nicely.

7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown. (my potatoes were still white after 30 minutes, so I did end up broiling them a bit to give them that nice color).

Hope you enjoy!

An ode to the cupcake

Do you believe in self-fulfilling prophecies? I do.  I believe that what you tell yourself about yourself has a way of coming true, even if it isn’t.  And I’ve been telling myself for a while now that I suck at baking.  Hence, the suckage at baking.

Having said that, my issues with baking are, indeed, the result of legitimate disasters in the kitchen.  There was the time I tried to make delicious pull-apart monkey bread and yet the dough simply would. not. rise.  Yes, I used fresh yeast, and the correct amount. I put said dough in the warmest place in the house—the laundry room, while the dryer was going.  When a considerable amount of time had passed and the dough had not yet risen a single millimeter, I did the normal thing and started to blow dry it.  With my blow dryer.  Nothing.  So I just said screw it and cooked the dough like it was, since I was in a time crunch.  Nastiest monkey bread in the history of the world.  It tasted exactly like raw dough, except raw dough with all the moisture sucked out of it. Drizzled with icing.

Fail.

Then there was the time I tried to make this amazing brownie/cookie/oreo recipe, but got ahead of myself and misread the directions and ended up mixing all the brownie mix with the cookie mix before I realized that OOPS.  That’s, like, completely wrong and there is absolutely no way to save this.

I called Matthew, bawling, because I had ruined yet another would-be delicious baked good. He thought someone had died and was very relieved when he finally made out the words “ruined!” “brownies!” “ALWAYS!” “wife!” “failure!”

Fail.

HOWEVER. Cupcakes. The one thing I have never sucked at. Cupcakes are my crowning glory. They give me great happiness—everything from the creamy and delicious batter, to the way that batter smells when it’s baking, to the icing, to the eating of the icing, to the pure delightfulness of the sprinkles. 

Speaking of icing and sprinkles, this weekend I tried out a cheap Wilson decorating kit I got at the grocery store for $6.99, and it basically rocked my world.  It made the icing part of baking cupcakes MUCH easier and quicker, not to mention the cupcakes looked completely legit as a result. Just thought you should know.

Oh, and also.  I tried out this recipe because it seemed pretty amazing, and how could 50+ bakers be wrong? And they weren’t. I must say, the consistency and flavor of the cake was perfection.  You use a real vanilla bean, which was pretty much mind blowing.

But anyway.  That’s all just FYI.  The main things I wanted to accomplish here today were A) to convince myself that if I can be good at cupcakes then there’s no reason I can’t be good at other baking-related activities and B) let’s all stop telling ourselves we suck at things we don’t necessarily suck at because we’re making ourselves suck at them. Probably.

Happy Monday! 

S’mores Cookies Recipe + Giveaway extension!

 

Have you guys tried this s’mores cookies recipe yet?  I’ve seen it floating around Pinterest, and my friend made it the other day.  And then I ate one, and my life was forever changed.  They. are. amazing.  The cinnamon adds a little somethin’ extra and is kind of mind-blowing, if you ask me. So, yeah. You should try them!  (I found the recipe here.)  This would be a great treat to bring to a New Year’s Eve party, and I’m pretty sure everyone will probably love you for it…

S’mores Cookies
(or you can make them into bars, see directions)

Ingredients:
11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ cups flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
3 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces (I like Hershey’s Symphony bars—the chocolate is incredibly creamy!)
1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment paper.

Lay out graham crackers on the pan, an inch or two apart if you want cookies or side by side if you want bars. You may have to add or remove graham crackers according to how much dough you have.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixer and combine on low speed.
Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows.

Place tablespoons of dough on graham crackers and press down slightly with spoon or fingertips.
Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces onto the top (break the Hershey’s pieces in half if you want two pieces of chocolate per cookie). Bake for 5 – 7 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool. If you chose to make the bars, make sure cookies are completely cool and cut with a sharp knife.

Enjoy!

* * * * *

Also, I’m extending the Poshlocket giveaway until next week!  So if you didn’t get to enter last week, go here and check it out!  Poshlocket has some fabulous jewelry at incredibly reasonable prices… here’s what I chose from the collection!

Best part is that this piece is only $30, and shipping is free!  Enter the shop credit giveaway here. :)  And have a great Wednesday!

How To: Cinnamon Ornaments

Hey lovelies, I’d like to share one of my favorite Christmas family traditions today.  Every year my mom used to make cinnamon ornaments both for our tree and to give as gifts, and this year I made my own! 

They are SO easy, inexpensive, and fragrant like you wouldn’t believe.  These little guys are pure happiness to me, and the smell of the ornaments combined with the fragrance of real, fresh balsam? H.E.A.V.E.N.

Make them.  There are two ingredients.  (Recipe below)

     

Cinnamon Ornaments

You’ll need:
     + cookie cutters (I used a tree and a gingerbread man)
     + a rolling pin
     + a cookie sheet
     + a straw (a toothpick would work too, but not as well)
     + a mixing bowl
     + wax paper (or just use your clean counter)
     + thin ribbon or yarn
     + 1 cup of applesauce
     + 1 cup of cinnamon

Instructions:
     Combine applesauce and cinnamon, stirring with a spoon at first and then mixing with your hands until a dough is formed.  Roll the dough out on wax paper or your clean countertop until it’s the thickness you’d like your ornaments to be.  You don’t want them paper thin or they will break easily!  Now use cookie cutters to create your ornaments—use up all the dough you can!  Lay the ornaments on a cookie sheet, and don’t forget to use your straw to make a hole for ribbon at the top of each ornament!  Allow them to dry a couple days, turning occasionally.  And remember, they are NOT edible!  Yuck! :P

Yields approximately 16 ornaments. Hope you try them!

PS – Another cinnamon tip: add a bit to your ground coffee before you brew it, and then just add milk and sugar (or don’t).  It’s a delicious, festive treat! 

A post so that yesterday’s post isn’t at the top anymore…

Alright, now I need you all to forget everything about what you saw here on this blog yesterday.  You are getting very sleepy… Your memory of yesterday is fuzzy…

No but seriously, thanks for all the hilarious comments on my then & now pic (my favorite comment was from my mom, though, who said I looked like a young Harry Potter. I’ll take that as a compliment). 

I’m relieved to know that I’m not the only one with terrifying photos from the past—seems like we all have ‘em.   And in an attempt to further wipe your memory clean, I will now show you pictures of delicious food:

  

As you know, I like to share when I find a really great recipe, and Matthew and I both LOVED the pork dish pictured above.  I also made the blackberry cobbler, but it wasn’t my favorite.  It was a Cooking Light recipe, and it definitely tasted… light.  It was very tart and desperately needed that ice cream!.

As for the salad, it’s just spinach, red onion, candied nuts, and sliced grape tomatoes with a pear vinaigrette.  Delish. :)

Here’s the main course recipe (which is from Cooking Light and can also be found here):

Crispy Pork Medallions with Roasted Root Vegetables

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 8 medallions
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 450°.
• 2. Rub mustard evenly over pork medallions. Combine panko, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Dredge pork in panko mixture. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork; sauté 2 minutes or until golden brown. Turn pork. Place skillet in oven; bake at 450° for 8 minutes or until pork reaches 145°. Let stand 3 minutes.

For the Roasted Root Vegetables: Preheat oven to 450°. Combine 8 ounces quartered small red potatoes, 2 thinly sliced carrots, and 2 thinly sliced parsnips in a medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 1 minced garlic clove; toss well to coat. Arrange vegetable mixture on a rack placed in a broiler pan. Bake at 450° for 28 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes. Serves 4.

* * * * *

Yummy!! Hope you try it! :)

Thoughts + Outfit + Best Chili Recipe in the WORLD!

{ Oops. This entire outfit is from J.Crew! }  *this picture was taken pre-hair-dye, btw

Being right on the edge of something is a funny feeling.  Right now, I’m feeling right on the edge of Fall and the holidays, but also on the edge of bigger life things, too. 

When Matthew and I first got married, I was thrilled to no longer be playing the waiting game… waiting to finish school, waiting to quit my job of nearly eight years, waiting to finally be married and living with my husband… it was one of the things I hated most about my life B.M. (Before Matthew.)  And now, as weeks and months have slipped through our fingers, we’ve found ourselves back in the waiting and wondering game.  Waiting for weekends, waiting for holiday breaks, waiting for law school to be over, waiting to find out what our life will be like when it is.  And other things, too.  Wondering.  What will happen with Edd’s cancer?  When will be an appropriate time for us to have children? Will that time ever come?  Should I continue doing what I’m doing, or bite the bullet and get a “real” job? 

To be honest with you, I’m not thrilled to find myself back in the waiting game—back in that place of in between—but I’m trying to adjust my attitude about it.  This life is such an endless lesson in contentment despite one’s present circumstances, isn’t it?  Because when will anything ever really be perfect?

Ahh, LIFE.  You crazy thing. 

To redeem myself  and my ramblings this morning, here’s my very favorite chili recipe of all time. Ever.  It’s like chili STEW, made with tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef stew meat.  Serve it up with a little cilantro, fresh grated cheese, and warm cornbread for a seriously perfect fall dinner.  I make a huge batch and freeze most of it.  Hope you try this one! ;)

Hearty Beef Chili (for the crockpot)

You’ll need:

2 1/2 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
4 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 dried bay leaves
1 1/2 cups beef-flavored broth
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup green bell pepper (I leave these out since I don’t like them)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons cornmeal
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles

Garnish with:
Freshly grated cheese
Sour cream
Chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
1. In a large resealable food-storage plastic bag, place half of the beef and 1 tablespoon of the flour; seal bag and shake to coat. Repeat with remaining beef and flour. In 4-quart Dutch oven or other large pan , heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook beef in oil until brown on all sides; drain, if desired.

2. Transfer meat to crockpot and stir in remaining chili ingredients except cornmeal, beans, and chiles. Cook on low about 6-8 hours or on high about 4-5 hours (it’s done when the meat is melt-in-your-mouth tender!).

3. Stir in cornmeal; cook and stir about 1 minute to thicken. Add beans and chiles; cook until thoroughly heated. Remove bay leaves. Serve chili with garnishes and biscuits or cornbread. Enjoy!

Food & Family <3

A couple nights ago I went over to my mom and Edd’s and, along with my step brother Eric, we all put together a really delicious, fall-like meal.  I found this Roasted Garlic Potato Soup recipe on Pinterest and had been wanting to try it, and boy oh boy was it SCRUMPTIOUS.  And it’s pretty low fat, unlike many potato soup recipes!  I highly recommend you try this one, especially if you’re a garlic fanatic like I am! 

But speaking of garlic, I found that the five heads the recipe called for was waaaay too much if you use the large bulbs like I did.  I guess there are much smaller bulbs available, but I got five big ones and I only ended up using two of them.  All you need is 1/4 cup of the garlic pulp, so buy your garlic bulbs accordingly.

Here are a few pictures from the evening.  Hope you’re all having a great week!

Can you smell it? 

   Salad with apples, cheddar, and walnuts (with apple vinaigrette)

  Amaaazing apple-cranberry crisp

Worst. picture. ever… but somehow I still love it. :)

Something I made

Good morning my friends!  I’ve been stuck on day 9 of the photo challenge (“faceless self portrait”), and I’ve decided to skip it for now.  Maybe I’ll come back to it, maybe I won’t.  But for day 10 (“something I made”), I wanted to share an idea with you that’s been working really well for me and Matthew!

He has classes every week day and goes to the gym super early, so breakfast is usually hurried.  For the past few weeks I’ve been making him a huge batch of oatmeal on Sunday and freezing it so he’ll have a serving for every day of the week!  You can add different kinds of fruit to each one for a little variety, and I also throw in toasted walnuts and a spoonful of flaxseed powder.

This is a great solution for people who are in a hurry weekday mornings but still want to eat healthy!

white flesh peaches, blueberries, toasted walnuts, and flaxseed meal

   

Just follow the directions on the back on the oatmeal container and add your favorite fruits!  I also add brown sugar and cinnamon, and I always cook the oatmeal with skim or low fat milk. 

If you love apples, apple cinnamon oatmeal is great too!  Just cut up the apples and cook them in with the oatmeal so they’ll be softer (unless you like them crunchy!).

The time it takes to reheat from frozen will vary depending on your microwave, but I nuke mine on high about three minutes, stir, then, heat it a few minutes more.

Maybe this idea could make some of your mornings a little easier!  Give it a try! :)

 

PS - A huge, huge thank you to those who donated to help buy beds for the Noel Orphanage.   We haven’t raised $2600 as I’d dreamed we could (not even a tiny bit close), but every single little bit helps! (see this post if you want to make as little as a $2 donation to make a difference for some sweet children. If not you… who?)

Two places at once.

Hey.  Go check out my guest post over at Kristin’s Veranda.  It’s a really amazing chili recipe! Like, probably the best chili you’ll ever have, if you’re smart and decide to make it.  And you should really check out Kristin’s blog, too!  She’s awesome.

Oh, and I was interviewed over at Smashion!  They ask fun questions like “what’s your nerdiest hobby?” and “what’s your guiltiest pleasure?”  Yeah, you know you wanna go read it.  :P

Have a nice evening everyone!

Let’s just call it Euphoric Stage French Toast…

If you were to stop in my home this morning you’d find the lingering aroma of cinnamon, coffee, and frying bacon—three of my absolute favorite ways for my house to smell, by the way—and all that’s left of a breakfast fit for a king.  Matthew is already buried in books for the day, and I’m getting to work on some things now myself, but I’m feeling such an unusually great happiness today.

“Are we entering the euphoric stage?”  Matthew asked me suspiciously as he eyed the grandiose breakfast and my uncommonly good mood.

(That euphoric stage he mentioned is a real thing—it’s the one right after I’m a completely neurotic and hormonally whacked out bat-out-of-hell just before starting the female “happy time.”  Then things settle down and Matthew refers to it as the “euphoric stage,” and frequently reminds me that this is the personality he prefers over my others.)

And I guess it IS the euphoric stage, come to think of it, but I like to think that this is who I really am. A perfectly balanced and reasonable human being, who loves cooking, loves cleaning, and is generally happy and contented with life.  Yes, this is the REAL Me.  The other half of the month is someone different, entirely. ;)

Anyway.

This morning we enjoyed a smorgasbord of French toast, thick-sliced applewood smoked bacon, fresh berries and bananas with coffee and just-squeezed orange juice (HEB squeezed it, not me).

It was amazing.  A simple and delicious French toast recipe is below, if you care to make it for your own family!  Happy Saturday!

  Best bacon in the world, y’all.  I am such a bacon snob, and this brand is by far the best.

    

French Toast

serves 2-3

2 eggs

1/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

a few shakes of cinnamon

1/2 a loaf of French bread (or Texas toast)

Combine first four ingredients, beating eggs well. Slice bread (thick, but not too thick), and dip each slice quickly into egg mixture, coating each side of the bread.  Cook on griddle or nonstick pan until both sides are crisp.  Butter while still hot and dust with powdered sugar.  Serve!