Living in Austin...

lolcats - Kitteh Talk

2009-07-03T14:32:00.002-05:00

New Coffee/Study Place

2009-07-03T14:10:00.003-05:00

The Coffee Bean (and Tea Leaf) is now open.

221 South Lamar Blvd.

Austin

Quotes

2009-06-29T00:36:00.002-05:00

"..for if we are fragile, we are remarkably resilient."

- Difficult Conversations, p.xxi

Lolcats

2009-06-27T05:32:00.000-05:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Video - UT Develops Sports Drink

2009-06-26T19:06:00.002-05:00

Article from The Daily Texan:

Olympic athletes use, promote UT prof's sports drink

Video with interviews from the Olympic UT Swimmers!

Video - Did You Know?

2009-06-26T17:28:00.000-05:00

My Hero!

2009-06-18T03:23:00.002-05:00

Claire Bennet

(Heroes)

Lolcatz for the day...

2009-06-18T03:04:00.001-05:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

More Lolcats

2009-06-17T04:17:00.001-05:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

It must seem like somebody did something wrong with the last two posts, but things are good here... just loving the cute factor of the photos!

lolcatz

2009-06-13T04:09:00.001-05:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Video - Alice

2009-06-12T11:55:00.000-05:00

Video - Cats are genius :)

2009-06-12T11:30:00.001-05:00

2009-06-10T02:05:00.000-05:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

The Peacemaker, Type 9

2009-06-03T04:46:00.001-05:00

free enneagram test

Quote

2009-05-30T23:51:00.000-05:00

"Before burning all your bridges be sure you're a strong swimmer."

-a sign from a photo (friend on Facebook; sign located in Texas I think)

Books and Pumpkins

2009-05-27T22:45:00.002-05:00

Went to HBP (Half Price Books) today after my hair appointment (blonde and ready for summer!) I got "The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The complete guide to psychological and spiritual growth for the nine personality types" by Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson. Looks great so far.. Eager to continue reading...

Also, I'll be making these pumpkin cake bars by Paula in the next couple of days.

Chocolate Cupcakes

2009-05-27T12:08:00.002-05:00

I made these Chocolate Cupcakes from Martha Stewart's website on Memorial Day. They turned out delicious! I've had 2 people request that I make them again.

Recipe: Chocolate Cupcakes

Link: Martha Stewart

Notes:

I used low-fat sour cream, baked them for about the amount of time listed, and used store bought frosting (but then put the frosting in a Ziplock bag to ice the cupcakes).

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- Line 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.

- Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour.

- Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

- Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then spread with Easy White Icing using a table knife or small offset spatula. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.

The Enneagram

2009-05-26T23:21:00.003-05:00

I've been MIA with the internet world. Emails, Twitter, Facebook, and Blog.... My online world is neglected. Well, to be honest since starting graduate school my online-ness dwindled.

This summer one of my courses is called "College Student Development - College Student Services." It's basically Student Affairs 101. We've had 2 classes so far and I'm loving it. Last night we learned about a useful tool for understanding yourself and others called "The Enneagram." Here's a link for taking the test to learn about yourself. See the sample test (it's free, about 35 questions, pretty easy). If you find it interesting I suggest learning more about it...

I'm loving the Enneagram and planning to do more research on it myself. I did not take the sample test before class, so during/after class I was confident that I am a 9 (The Peacemaker) (with a 1 "wing"; and 6 and 3 "arrows"), but might be some of a 2 (The Helper). After taking the sample test last night and just now, I'm coming up with a combo of 9, 2, and 6 (The Loyalist). So I will be looking to get these books that my Professor (Director of Residence Life) and our Guest Speaker (Assistant Director of RL) recommended last night: The Enneagram by Rohr and Ebert, The Enneagram by Helen Palmer, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Power of the Enneagram (actually recommended by the Enneagram Institute and our Guest Speaker!)

Baking - Bisquick Blueberry Muffins

2009-04-18T01:22:00.001-05:00

Bisquick Blueberry Muffins

Notes/Details:

Lockstep and I both enjoy these Blueberry Muffins.

Lockstep prefers soft/gooey/slightly undercooked qualities in baked goods (cookies, muffins). So don't overbake!

prep - 5 min

bake - 13 - 18 min

*made this recipe - 3 or 4 times now

*shout out to jillian! thanks for the baking cups! i've been using them to make these delicious muffins. they are awesome. :)

Pros:

- a nice soft texture

- super easy to mix up

- super quick to mix up

Cons:

- only makes 9 muffins? my muffin tins have 12 slots. it just looks a little off and leaves me wondering if the muffins are baking evenly in only 9 of the 12 slots. i could try to spread out the batter to make 12 smaller muffins maybe, but i really like the top of the muffin which is usually better in larger-sized muffins (imo). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_slang

Link: (recipezaar) http://www.recipezaar.com/Bisquick-Blueberry-Muffins-117370

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick

1/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup milk

2 tablesppons vegetable oil

1 egg

3/4 cup frozen blueberries

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease muffin pan well.
Stir all ingredients except blueberries in medium bowl, just until moistened. (I usually whisk together the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in the glass liquid measuring cup I put the milk into. Then make a well in the dry mixture bowl and pour wet mixture in. Stir together 14 times, turning bowl on it's sides and moving it around to make sure I get it all combined. (14 times = magic number from Alton Brown).
Fold in berries. (First, toss berries in some flour or bit of reserved dry mixture if I remembered to spoon out a bit. Then just mix around in the batter. Don't Overmix! Just make sure to get the berries evenly distributed.)
Divide batter evenly in 9 muffin cups. (using an ice cream scooper; a "disher" according to Alton Brown. i've been practicing this technique for a couple years now and i still never do it right so that it comes out evenly. but hey, i kinda like it that way when i get a slight variety of done-ness/brown-ness/texture in the batch. i usually prefer the imperfect ones.)
Bake 13 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool slightly and remove from pan to wire rack. (debate here, not sure on the best strategy. (unlike cookies - what i like to do is to cool 2 minutes on pan then move to wire rack.) for muffins and quick breads - just don't want them to get soggy.

Yield: 9 muffins

Happy Birthday, Avery!

2009-04-16T01:24:00.000-05:00

Avery is 3 years old today!

born: april 16, 2006

Baking - Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-04-09T00:46:00.008-05:00

Excellent. Just made these today.

Side note:

I've been doing a new thing with baking cookies this semester (pretty much since we moved to Austin). After mixing up the dough, I'll store it in the fridge for several hours (usually overnight) and then bake the cookies later. I've started dividing the dough into a few sections (usually 2 or 3) and wrapping it in plastic wrap. Then when I'm ready to bake cookies I'll use a knife to cut the block of dough in equal sections - so that it looks like a tic-tac-toe board or a grid. I think this method is supposed to make it easier to make your cookies the same size so they bake evenly.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Cookies

From: Jif

Side Notes -- My Methods:

I mixed up the dough last night.

Divided it into 2 sections.

Rolled each section in plastic wrap.

Stored in fridge overnight.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup peanut butter

• 1/2 cup shortening

• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar (light or brown works fine here)

• 3 Tablespoons milk (I used skim milk)

• 1 Tablespoon vanilla

• 1 egg

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF.

• In a large bowl: Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, skim milk and vanilla.

• Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.

• Add egg. Beat just until blended.

• Combine flour, salt and baking soda.

• Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended.

• Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.

• Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

• Bake at 375ºF for 7 to 8 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Diversity Day

2009-04-09T00:30:00.004-05:00

One of my classes this semester is Counseling Diverse Populations. I have learned so much and always learning more in this class.... awareness and understanding of my own background and cultural identity as well as what that means in working with people from backgrounds different from mine. I have to put forth effort into learning and understanding about other cultures, and that you never really completely know what it is like to be in someone else's situation. This course has a huge workload, so it's not my favorite at the moment. I just have to remind myself that I know I'll look back on this class and be like, Wow that class enriched and shaped my future graduate career. Perseverance. Serious workload left to complete at the end of the semester ---- like 2 projects: Diversity experiential project (topic: Physical Disability) and Collaborative Wiki project (African American populations), Role Play critique paper, Final Exam, and Revision for my Cultural Autobiography paper.

All that being said, we're giving group presentations over the last couple of weeks. One group showed a clip from "Diversity Day" from The Office at the end of their presentation to lighten the mood (learning about oppressed populations is a pretty heavy topic). My professor was laughing and referred to the clip as "Diversity - Fast Food Style." I'm not sure what to say about this at the moment... so I'll leave to you to watch and consider...

The Office S1E2 [Diversity Day] - The Office

Diversity Day

2009-04-09T00:28:00.001-05:00

PS. I love these.

2009-04-06T01:55:00.002-05:00

Cool! All blue candy!

German-ness. I love my last name :)

Chocolates.

Chocolates 2.

I'm so behind on blogging!

2009-04-06T01:34:00.003-05:00

Photo from Downtown Disney - The Candy Cauldron

Chef Robert Irvine

2009-03-26T17:52:00.004-05:00

Since starting graduate school I haven't been watching television that much. Lately I've watched a few episodes of House (I'm really loving that show) and The Weather Channel (my husband and I are weather geeks) along with some documentaries - What the Bleep Do We Know and For the Bible Tells Me So.

More importantly, I just discovered this great news about a show that I used to love -- Dinner Impossible. Remember back when it was really good and Robert Irvine was the host? Then they changed the show and put that Michael - Iron Chef winner guy in there to host instead and the show wasn't as good. WELL. They are bringing Chef Robert Irvine BACK! Hooray! I will be tuning in :) Here's the official 411 from Food Network:

Dinner: Impossible

Robert Irvine is making the impossible, possible! Catch back-to-back episodes Saturday, starting at 9pm/8c. Coming soon: Robert kicks off an all-new season April 8!

See Robert's top 100 recipes »

Twitter

2009-03-22T22:04:00.002-05:00

PS. I joined Twitter.

Post - Spring Break

2009-03-22T21:49:00.003-05:00

Spring Break = great :)

Got some good time in organizing, cleaning, and cooking. Started some school work and went on some coffee dates. Lockstep and I ventured on a mini trip to San Antonio with my parents, brother, and Texas State Representatives and staff last night. We went to dinner at Acenar (planned for dinner at Pico de Gallo, but the wait time was 1.5 hours at 5:30 in the afternoon and we didn't have time). Then we went to the Face2Face Elton John and Billy Joel concert. Those guys are some truly talented musicians. It was pretty awesome.

I had a coupled of failed baking adventures this week and a couple of successes. Neither the shortbread or healthy/oatmeal banana bread turned out. But I did make this yellow sheet cake from baking bites that turned out well. I only made a half-recipe (so a mini-cake), and I used regular all-purpose flour (amount recipe calls for -minus- 2 tablespoons) in place of the cake flour. I also used skim milk. I think it tastes kinda like pound cake (a light/air-y version). It's pretty fun to just read through Baking Bites Recipe Index. Like I've probably said before, I really like most of the recipes from here that I've tried.

Cooking - Bananas 6 Months in Freezer

2009-03-16T15:56:00.003-05:00

Quick breads are one of my favorite things to make. So a couple of weeks ago I made some Banana Bread and Pumpkin Bread. I tried out two different Pumpkin Bread recipes -- one from Betty Crocker and one from Taste of Home. I really liked the Taste of Home recipe, but the Betty Crocker was a bit more moist. I'll have to share the recipes with you after I test a couple of others and find a favorite.

So when I bought bananas a couple weeks ago there were a few left over that were ripe, so I put them in the freezer (the whole bananas, not peeled or anything). I've often wondered how long bananas are good in the freezer -- How soon do I need to use them (for my next loaf of Banana Bread)?

Since I just stumbled upon this information at JoyofBaking.com and find it extremely useful, I wanted to share it with you:

Bananas = Good for 6 months in the freezer

Link.

Copy/Pasted Info:

If you are like me almost every time I buy bananas a few (not enough though to make this bread) will turn brown before I get around to eating them. Instead of throwing them away simply slip them into a plastic bag and place them into the freezer until you have enough for baking. You can also peel and mash them, stir in 1 teaspoon lemon juice for each banana, and freeze in an airtight container or bag. They will keep about six months in the freezer.

I'd definitely be making banana bread again way before the 6 month mark, but still knowledge is power.

I have a favorite Banana Bread recipe from my Mom, and since it has a special place in my heart (delicious and reminds me of Home) I almost never make Banana Bread using other recipes. I've been looking at a couple of other BB recipes and might try a new one soon. I'll let you know how it goes!

I missed Spring Break while I worked full-time...

2009-03-14T03:20:00.004-05:00

Spring Break!

Spring Break is such a great time in the semester. Got the routine going, managing the courses and the stress, a much needed breather in order to gear up for the second half. They really should have Spring Break in the real world (aka working world outside of academia.) Even though I've worked in the university setting, staff do not get to take Spring Break (as "free" days....of course you can use your vacation/benefit time if ya want.)

Spring break began for me after turning in a paper and taking an exam on Wednesday night. I've got a long list of things to do for the next week -- fun things and work/school things :) I'm off to a good start -- did some cooking, baking, and cleaning as well as coffee dates with two of my favorite peoples. Hopefully I'll get to post some of the recipes that I've been using during the last couple weeks. Also, I finally uploaded a ton of photos... might try to post some photos of past recipes and during the moving/transition time from Houston to Austin.

Cooking - Neiman Marcus Cookies

2009-03-06T17:01:00.005-06:00

Remember back a long time ago (Christmas) when I was talking about the Neiman Marcus cookies that Lockstep loves so much? The recipe I've been using has been one that was in my Inbox as FlipperMb2 from like 1998. A couple of weeks ago I was searching for cookie recipes and stumbled upon the NM cookie recipe online! Here's the link in case you want to try them sometime. I'd definitely recommend splitting the recipe in half. I made the entire thing for taking to the Hensarling Christmas last year and it was entirely too many cookies. When I was mixing up the cookies I didn't have the whole recipe - I just had the ingredients. I should have recognized that it made a billion cookies, but I didn't. This recipe link says that the whole recipe makes like 100 cookies. Believe it.

Recipe: Neiman Marcus Cookies

From: FlipperMb2 Inbox and this link

Ingredients:
2 cups butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
2 cups sugar
5 cups oatmeal
24 oz. chocolate chips
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
(1) 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. Vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

Directions:
-Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder.

-Cream the butter and both sugars.

-Add eggs and Vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda.

-Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar and nuts.

-Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.

-Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Yield: Makes 112 cookies
(Recipe may be halved)

DL Hughley Breaks the News

2009-03-01T22:29:00.003-06:00

I love D.L. Hughley Breaks the News!

I don't watch much tv, and when I do it's usually CNN, The Weather Channel, ESPN or the Food Network. For the last couple of months (pretty much since we first moved back to Austin), my favorite show is D.L. Hughley Breaks the News on CNN. It's a pretty new show - debut in October 2008. The new episodes premier on the weekend (Saturday evening), and I usually watch it either Saturday or Sunday or both!

links and wordles

2009-02-28T22:26:00.005-06:00

great fun -

101 exercises (Found this one through: 100 Best Blogs for the Mind, Body, and Soul)

Wordle

wordle #1:

wordle #2:

Quote - Learning

2009-02-26T01:29:00.003-06:00

This is a poem from my class notes in an Introduction to Counseling class that I took during my senior year of college at UT in 2006.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters; by: Portia Nelson

Chapter 1

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost . . . I am helpless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in the same place

But it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in. . . it's a habit.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

Chapter 4

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

Chapter 5

I walk down another street.

From: Stark, M. (1994). Working with resistance. Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, Inc., p. xxi.

lolcats

2009-02-21T00:53:00.003-06:00

kittens as counselors like me!

lolcats - icanhascheezburger homepage.

Graduate School - February Update

2009-02-20T16:51:00.002-06:00

Graduate School

Other than the massive amounts of reading... Here's an example of what I've been up to lately.

Books are also posted on my GoodReads. RSS.

Recently completed assignments: (remember school just started January 19th-ish... was that really only a month ago?!)

College Student Development - Leadership/Mentoring/Training

-Scholarly Article Summaries/Presentations:

WICS Approach to Leadership by Robert Sternberg

Teaching Leadership by Susan Leshnower

-Reading/Researching other articles on leadership

-Textbook for first half of class

-Workshop development - will be leading 60-90 minute leadership training workshop to Resident Assistants at the end of April

Counseling - Skills and Techniques

-Textbook

-First video, transcription of every word said in the video, table for transcription observations/comments/intentions; and critique paper

(worked in groups; Turned in the 20 minute session that I served as the therapist)

Counseling - Multicultural Counseling and Diversity

-Reading times ten million - textbooks, articles, outside readings on Blackboard

-Cultural Autobiography - Scholarly critique paper, at least 10 sources, 25 pages

-Diversity Project - ongoing throughout semester (will blog about this later)

-Collaborative Wiki - researching populations, creating a chapter on specific population

I've found some cool articles (Seven Habits of Highly Effective Health Educators) and some cool quotes in my readings. I hope to share more of this type of thing soon.

Cooking Related Lately

2009-02-20T15:37:00.004-06:00

Other things we've been cooking around here this week are the usuals -

Meatloaf and Tortilla Soup (variations of previously posted recipes)

And on the baking side -

Chunky Apple Cake (Note - Lockstep likes this one, but it is not one of my favorites)

Beer Cheese Bread (made with Coors Light and Mexican blend cheese)

Beer Bread (made with Ziegan Boch Amber)

Now that I'm in school full-time we have more frozen foods for meals. This week we had some Marie Callender's and Gorton's Beer Batter Fish. I'm looking forward to having the pizza that is in the freezer box, too!

Link to list of Marie Callendar's frozen meals. We like these because of the size and it includes vegetables (as compared to other frozen dinners like Boston Market or Hungry Man that usually have mostly meat and potato).

Lockstep is a fan of the Honey Roasted Chicken, Honey Roasted Turkey, Turkey with Stuffing, and Chicken Pot Pie among others. (Lasagna and Meatloaf are pretty good, too).

Lockstep enjoyed the Beer Battered Fish last night. It made the apartment smell like Long John Silvers though!

This blog - frozen food journal -is website looks cool.. May have some good info/opinions. I hate having so much frozen food, so I'll have to work on the meal planning/organizing. Seems like some weeks are busier than others, and some weeks I feel like cooking more than others.

In the cooking/baking queue:

King Ranch Casserole

Lasanga - Meat or Spinach (I've made this Spinach Lasagna recipe before, and it was really good/easy).

Pancakes

Snickerdoodles/Cookies (either Betty Crocker's recipe or a Mrs. Field's Recipe-

Top Secret Copy Cat Recipe;

Cookie Recipe Club

Brownies (Looks like an easy/quick recipe and doesn't use a lot of prep measuring tools, and I've usually got all of these ingredients).

And this looks pretty good, too - Mexican Potato Omelette from Martha Stewart

Cooking - Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars

2009-02-20T15:30:00.003-06:00

Recipe: Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars

From: Nicole at Baking Bites

Notes: I've made these a couple times and really like them. They are a chewy and soft cookie bar. Definitely don't overbake these! They are super easy, quick to make, and doesn't use a lot of bowls/spoons/etc in the prep process.

Recipe Link: Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour 

1/2 cup sugar 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 large egg 

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled 

2 cups quick cooking (not instant) oats 

1 1/2 cups raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Take 8x8 inch pan and spray with cooking spray.

Whisk together flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and spices in a large bowl. 

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in vanilla, egg and melted butter until smooth.

Stir in oats and raisins until they are evenly distributed. 

Pour dough into prepared pan and spread into a even layer with a spatula.

Bake for 22 minutes, or until bars are set and the center no longer looks wet. Edges will be golden brown. Cool pan on a wire rack before slicing. Cut into 18 rectangular bars to serve.

Yield:

18 cookie bars

MIA - Update

2009-02-12T21:47:00.003-06:00

Hi! I've been MIA on the blog scene since the move to Austin. Things have been so busy. I'm a full time graduate student and working. I love my classes this semester, but I should have only taken 6 hours instead of 9. I don't have enough time get get everything done!

School Related -

The classes I'm taking this semester:

College Student Development - Leadership, Mentoring, and Training

Counseling - Skills and Techniques

Counseling - Multicultural Counseling and Diversity

Cooking Related -

Recently I made this pumpkin bread from Betty Crocker and it turned out pretty good. And, I made peanut butter cookies using this peanut butter cookie recipe from Cookie Madness, It was really easy and delicious (I loved looking through her "one bowl" cookie/brownie recipes).

I'll probably be making Snickerdoodles (haven't decided on a recipe, yet) and Apple Bread (that chunky apple cake recipe from Eat Better America.com) sometime this weekend.

Austin Related -

Lockstep and I are loving Austin. We go running almost daily at Clint Small Middle School. We go to Austin Stone for church on Sunday evenings. Of course Maudie's breakfast tacos are a regular staple in our weekly routine as well.

Ok, considering I have 3 big assignments due next week I should stop procrastinating and get busy. Have a great weekend!

Back in Austin!

2009-01-18T14:42:00.003-06:00

Hi!

I've been MIA on the blog scene lately because we've been in the process of moving. The first week back to work at Rice was busy because they started back to school on January 5 (incredibly early compared to other universities) and there was a grant deadline for the DOD.

Lockstep is a professional when it comes to moving. We had everything wrapped in newspaper, boxed up, and labeled by Saturday. Lockstep's dad and Matt came over to help us load into the Uhaul truck on Sunday. Then Lockstep's dad and Jordan helped unload everything when we moved in on Monday morning. Moving went so smoothly! Kudos to Lockstep who made sure we had cable/internet/and our office set up by the end of the day on Monday. :)

In Austin last week we spent our time unpacking boxes, going to orientation at St. Ed's, hanging out with Bailey Jane, going to Trivia Night at Pluckers with Bailey Jane, and watching Lost.

Today we went to church at EV Free and there's NFL on TV. I'll try to get some photos, recipes, and more Austin/Houston info on the blog this week!

School starts on Tuesday!

Cooking - German Style

2009-01-11T01:46:00.003-06:00

The last meal I cooked for Erik in our apartment in Houston was German cuisine. Lockstep is quite proficient in the German language. I'm learning - audio discs in the car and have a couple of books (German in 10 minutes a day :) It's something I'd like to work on more often. For our next vacation we'd like to visit Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. So I'd like to be more familiar with the language by the time we plan to travel. Our last name is German... Hensarling... came from Heinzerling (phonetically, I need to learn the spelling of the great-grandfather's name). They changed the name at Ellis Island.

Dinner:

Grilled Bratwursts

Roasted German Potato Salad

Sauteed Sauerkraut with Caraway Seeds

The Roasted German Potato Salad I've been making for about a year now. The index card that I wrote the recipe on says that it came from cooks.com in April 2008. This isn't my favorite potato salad ever, but Lockstep really likes it and it goes well with the bratwurst and sauerkraut.

Recipe: Roasted (German) Potato Salad

Notes:

-Amounts are approximate. Depends on how many potatoes I have in the pantry.

-I usually make extra of the dressing part.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes

1 clove garlic or 1/8 tsp garlic powder

5 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 1/2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon grainy mustard

2 teaspoons minced chives

1 teaspoon rosemary

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

-Spray baking dish with Pam.

-Scrub potatoes, cut into quarters, and place in a single layer in a baking dish.

-Mix together 3 Tablespoons of the olive oil with the garlic, salt, pepper. Scatter over the potatoes.

(Note: Sometimes I put the potatoes in a bowl and toss with the olive oil mixture. Then I put the potatoes on the baking dish.)

-Toss and roast for 30-40 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes.

-Beat the vinegar and mustard, and whisk in the remaining olive oil until smooth.

-Add roasted potatoes and herbs. Cool to room temperature and serve.

Yield: Serves 6

Quotes

2009-01-09T02:20:00.005-06:00

-----------------

from helping skills by clara hill

the one who listens is the one who understands.

-afrikan (jabo) proverb

-he who has a why to live can bear with almost any how.

-nietzche

ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.

-leo buscaglia

---------------

if you life to be a hundred, i want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so i never have to live without you. --winnie the pooh

your boots may be made for walking... but mine are in case I need to kick your ass.

--erin smith

five simple rules for happiness:

1. free your heart from hatred.

2. free your mind from worries.

3. live simply.

4. give more.

5. expect less.

--unknown

very little is needed to make a happy life.

--unknown

into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work, hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest, prayer, meditation, and one well-elected solution. put about one teaspooonful of good spirits. a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, sprinkle of play, and cupful of good humor.

--pottery barn, page 96, january 2009 issue, writings on a chalkboard

Cooking - Basic Beer-Cheese Bread

2009-01-05T15:13:00.000-06:00

Recipe: Basic Beer-Cheese Bread or just Basic Beer Bread

From: Cooking Light

Link to recipe.

Picture: Will add later when I upload from the camera.

Notes:

I've made this bread twice in the last couple of days. So easy! So good! I've made a couple of changes to the recipe to fit with what we have in the pantry.

One time I substituted jalapenos for the onions.

One time I left out the onions and cheese parts entirely and just made the basic bread part.

Recipe below is copy/paste directly from the website. In parenthesis are details that I added.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion (I used jalapenos)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

(I've also made this bread with just the ingredient items below)

13.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
3 tablespoons sugar (I used splenda-sugar blend)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used the 2% milk Mexican blend cheese) (I've also made this bread without including the cheese at all)
1 (12-ounce) bottle lager-style beer (such as Budweiser) (I used Coors Light)
Cooking spray (or just butter the pan)
2 tablespoons melted butter, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in pepper and garlic; cook 1 minute.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk; make a well in center of mixture. Add onion mixture, cheese, and beer to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

4. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 1 tablespoon butter over batter. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon butter over batter. Bake an additional 25 minutes or until deep golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

(Lockstep and I like the bread really soft and just barely done on the inside, so I baked the bread for the 35 minutes and then only 15 minutes.)

Yield: 1 loaf

Recipes and Moving

2009-01-05T15:05:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!

I'll be posting some recipes from the last couple of weeks soon. We made Neiman Marcus Cookies/Rice Krispy Treats for Christmas Eve and Queso/Quesadillas for New Years Eve, so I'll post those recipes and photos.

Lockstep and I are moving to Austin in a week! So, we are trying to eat/cook everything in the kitchen so that we don't have to move it. I've planned to make some more bread and cookies to use up the flour and butter. We just used up the last of the eggs, bread, and cooking spray. Recipes will have to start getting more creative as the week goes by!

They grow up so fast (part 2)!

2008-12-23T13:41:00.002-06:00

Flashback photos of Monkey as a kitten (2007)

They grow up so fast!

2008-12-23T13:35:00.001-06:00

Flashback photos of Avery as a kitten (2006)

Butter vs. Margarine

2008-12-22T16:31:00.003-06:00

I recently switched from "margarine" to "butter" for cooking and baking. I've made the apple-cinnamon coffee cake and the cinnamon rolls using butter. I just laid out 4 sticks of butter on the counter (letting it soften to room temperature) for baking Neiman Marcus Cookies (one of the cookies Lockstep likes; taking a bunch of these cookies to the in-law family Christmas Eve).

I'm still not sure which is better - butter or margarine. I know there is much debate. We don't eat enough butter/margarine on a daily basis to be too worried about it. But I'd like to know if one is better than the other for baking.

I'll stick with butter for a while - test some recipes and see if there's a difference.

So the jury is still out: Butter or Margarine?

Cooking - Cinnamon Rolls

2008-12-22T15:52:00.006-06:00

Recipe: Cinnamon Rolls with Icing

From: The Pioneer Woman (cinnamon rolls); Betty Crocker (icing)

Click here for the recipe link.

Photo credit: Lockstep

Notes:

This recipe -

The recipe makes A LOT of cinnamon rolls.
I didn't prepare the maple frosting from The Pioneer Woman's recipe because Lockstep requested "regular icing." Plus, neither of us is real big on maple-flavored stuff anyways.
The dough is really sticky.
You need a lot of extra flour and extra space to roll out the dough.

This time -

I prepared half of the recipe and still had 2 pans of cinnamon rolls.
This was my first time working with live yeast. (I've been hesitant to try anything that requires yeast or a lot of kneading.) Now I know that it's really not hard to make things with yeast!
The cinnamon rolls turned out delicious - Lockstep and I have been eating cinnamon rolls for days!
For the icing: powdered sugar, skim milk, vanilla. Whisk together (and add more powdered sugar or milk) until get the consistency desired.

Next time -

I'll only make 1/4 of the recipe (so only 1 pan of cinnamon rolls).
Keep practicing with the cinnamon rolls - rolling/slicing the dough and neatness with come with practice. Practice makes perfect, right?!

Twilight Love

2008-12-19T12:29:00.004-06:00

Cafe Press has some really cool stuff. If you're having a slow day at work, then it's a fun site to shop around..

I love this: "For the love of God Edward, Bite Me!"

Tortilla Soup

2008-12-18T21:16:00.000-06:00

Recipe: Tortilla Soup

Notes: This is a basic tortilla soup that we enjoy. What we have in stock determines what goes in the soup. It varies every time we make this soup.

Ingredients:

chicken broth

roasted garlic (or minced)

chopped tomatoes (or canned diced tomatoes)

onion, chopped/diced

jalapeno peppers, sliced into rings

dried oregano, cumin, chili powder

shredded, cooked chicken meat (or leftover rotisserie chicken, shredded)

limes, juiced

extras:

mexican blend cheese

sliced avocado

corn tortillas or chips

Directions:

--In a heavy pot, bring the broth to a boil. Add garlic, tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, and spices to the stock. Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes.

--Then add lime juice and chicken to the soup. Simmer until chicken is heated.

--Pour soup into bowl and add optional/extra ingredients.

Stephanie Plum

2008-12-15T12:31:00.003-06:00

I love the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich (fun, easy reads). This month's "Character Profile" includes reader recipes. There are more reader recipes at the bottom of the page from previous years (around the holiday season). Here's the link to the author's website with the reader recipes.

cheetah

2008-12-11T12:35:00.002-06:00

the cheetah is awesome.

cheetah conservation fund

2008-12-10T21:15:00.001-06:00

PS. The Houston weather will be back up to 75 degrees in like 3 days.

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-10T21:08:00.004-06:00

It is SNOWING in Houston.

The snow/ice is sticking to the tops of the trees (that are outside our window). I'll try to get some photos.

Info below is from Wunderground.

See the green/yellow spots -- That precipitation is snow/sleet flurries

Quote - The Velveteen Rabbit

2008-12-09T20:38:00.001-06:00

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

-The Velveteen Rabbit

Cooking - Hershey Kiss Cookies

2008-12-09T20:36:00.001-06:00

Recipe: Hershey Kiss Cookies

From: Hershey’s; Start Cooking

Ingredients:

1 bag of Hershey's Kisses (will only use some of these, depending on size of cookies)

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose white flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of shortening

3/4 cup of creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup of granulated sugar (plus 1/2 cup for rolling the cookies)

1/3 cup of light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 egg

2 tablespoons of milk (I used skim milk)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 F degrees.
Remove the foil from the chocolate kisses.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and the salt. Set the bowl aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the shortening and the peanut butter until well blended.

Add 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and the brown sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
Add the egg, milk and the vanilla – beat well.
Gradually beat the flour into the peanut butter mixture.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.

Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. The cookie will crack slightly around the edges.
Remove the cookie from the cookie sheet and place on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
The chocolate will firm up again once the cookies have totally cooled.

Yield: 3-4 dozen cookies, depending on size

Diet Drinks

2008-12-09T13:41:00.003-06:00

This is a current favorite in our house:

Sierra Mist Free (or Diet Sierra Mist)

Quote - Ancient Indian Proverb

2008-12-07T01:39:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Lee Jaster for this quote.

"Treat the Earth well.
It was not given to you by your parents,
It was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
We borrow it from our Children."

-Ancient Indian Proverb (Tribe Unknown)

Happy Birthday!

2008-12-05T12:38:00.003-06:00

Lockstep is 28 years old today!!

Cooking

2008-12-03T00:00:00.003-06:00

I've mainly been working/cooking out of cookbooks lately. As a beginning cook, I value the additional information provided in the cookbook. Plus I just felt like the recipes on the blogs and websites that I'd been reading and trying were not as tried-and-true. I'll continue working out of cookbooks for now. I'm liking Betty Crocker, Bridal Edition and Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything.

After saying all of that.... I wanted to post a link to a website that looks to have potential. I've only tried the Orange-Spiced Tea a while back (like last winter), but then forgot to check back on the site for more recipes. The Orange-Spiced Tea is wonderful. I love it! I make it pretty often in the colder months. The ingredients listed in several of the recipes on SkinnyChef.com. look really good to me - our style of cooking (using skim milk, skim or 2% cheese, whole wheat, lean meats, etc). Check out the modified versions of Scalloped Potatoes and Mac n Cheese. Happy reading and recipe hunting!

Science and Religion - I think it's all just one big puzzle

2008-12-02T23:29:00.002-06:00

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

- Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955),"Science, Philosophy and Religion: a Symposium" (1941)

(Thanks to E.Chang for sending this quote.)

2008-12-02T23:07:00.001-06:00

Good times. I want to go back.

Moon/Jupiter/Venus

2008-12-02T22:59:00.003-06:00

The Moon and planets, Jupiter and Venus, are so visible in the night sky. Notice how they have moved significantly since a couple of weeks ago. Now, the two planets are much closer together.

In this photo the top largest dot is the Moon, the two dots right below it are the planets, Jupiter and Venus. The dot below that (the one right above the tree) is the Goodyear Blimp flying over Reliant Stadium during the Texans game on Sunday night.

Photo: by Lockstep

Cooking - French Toast

2008-11-30T19:47:00.003-06:00

Lockstep and Lena Monday night dinner:

Recipe: French Toast

From: How to Make Everything (Mark Bittman), page 754

Notes:

Can use fresh or stale bread

If you like very mushy French toast, then soak the bread in the batter for a longer period of time (like 30-60 seconds) rather than just dipping it in the batter. You will need more batter than the recipe above provides if you'll be doing your toast this way.

Mix up the ingredients in a small, flat, square pyrex-y dish. This made it easy to put the bread directly in the mixture to soak up the eggy goodness.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 cup milk

dash of salt

1 tablespoon sugar (optional) (I used half - tablespoon)

1 teaspoon vanilla or ground cinnamon (optional) (I used teaspoon of vanilla)

8 slices of bread

Directions:

1. Preheat a large skillet over medium-low heat while you prepare the liquid mixture.

2. Beat the eggs lightly in a broad bowl and stir in the milk, salt, and optional ingredients (if you are using them).

3. Add about 1 teaspoon of butter or oil to the skillet. When it is hot, dip or soak each slice of bread in the batter and place on the skillet. Cook until nicely browned on each side, turning as necessary (you might need to up the heat a bit).

4. Serve or hold in a 200 degree oven for up to 30 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings

Quote - Hummingbirds

2008-11-28T22:56:00.004-06:00

Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration. The hummingbird's delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life's sweetest creation. -Papyrus

-Papyrus -- printed on a note insert in a greeting card; the hummingbird is the company logo)

(photo from peakradar.com)

Cooking - Pumpkin Pie (Thanksgiving)

2008-11-28T01:05:00.006-06:00

For Thanksgiving this year I made Pumpkin Pie. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Austin at Jordan's apartment! Patrick's family was there, too. We had a lot of people in a little space! Texas played A&M at home this year. It was a night (time) game, 7:00 pm on Thanksgiving day, which is different for us because usually we play on the day after Thanksgiving at 11:00 am or 2:00 pm. After watching the Dallas Cowboys and eating our Turkey Day feast, we went to tailgate (the usuals - Texas History Museum area and the Alumni Center) and then over to Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. We had a lot of fun at this game! It was a great game! And it was a great way to end the season. (Despite the BCS results/decisions).

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie

From: Betty Crocker Bridal Edition, page 135

Link to Betty Crocker recipe online

Tips from Marie Callender

Notes:

Final product was a success!
Recipe is so easy - I've got it memorized already.
Lockstep is a fan of pumpkin (ale, bread, muffins, etc). Lockstep loves Pumpkin Pie.
Helpful Tip that Works: To prevent the edges of the crust from getting too browned -- Put foil on/around the edge (2 inches or so) when you first put the pie in the oven. Then remove the foil (carefully so you don't get the foil in the top of the pumpkiny pie batter and mess up the prettiness-factor) during last 15 minutes of baking.
Another Helpful Tip that Works: Putting your pie plate onto a baking sheet before pouring the batter mixture into it. Makes it much easier to transport in/out of oven without making a mess.
Shortcut: Marie Callender's 9-inch Deep Dish Pastry Shell (frozen pie crusts)

Notes for next time:

Recipe: Substitute evaporated milk with fat-free/skim evaporated milk
Recipe: Reduce sugar amount (use splenda-sugar blend)
Don't pour all of pumpkin batter into pie crust (unless using a larger than normal size pie crust/more than 9-inch)

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

Directions:

I skipped the pie pastry pretp in step 1 because I used a frozen pie crust. Just kept the pie crust in the freezer until had the pumpkin batter mixed up.

1. Heat oven to 425°F.

In medium bowl, mix flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the oil with fork until all flour is moistened. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all water is absorbed. Shape pastry into a ball. Press in bottom and up side of 9-inch glass pie plate.

2. In large bowl: beat eggs slightly with whisk or fork.

Beat in the remaining ingredients.

3. Cover edge of pie crust with 2-3 inch strip of foil to prevent excess browning (see page 122); remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.

4. To prevent spilling, place pastry-lined pie plate on oven rack before adding filling. (I just put the pie plate on a baking sheet). Carefully pour pumpkin filling into pie plate. Bake 15 minutes.

5. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake about 45 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 2 hours.

6. After cooling, pie can remain at room temperature up to an additional 4 more hours, then should be covered and refrigerated.

Optional: Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Yield: 1 pumpkin pie (9-inch)

More Notes:

Because I poured all the pumpkin batter into the pie crust, it took longer to cook. Also, it wasn't as pretty as I'd have liked -- People eat with their eyes before eating with their tummy, so presentation and appearance are important components. Make sure to fill the pie crust to a good amount.

Cat Killer!

2008-11-21T15:09:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Lockstep for this link:

How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you.

Venus and Jupiter

2008-11-21T14:42:00.006-06:00

If you've looked up at the sky at night lately, you've probably noticed two brightly shining planets: Venus and Jupiter. Lockstep took a photo last weekend from our balcony (see below). See this link from earthsky.org for more info on why Venus and Jupiter look so bright lately.

The night sky is beautiful during the winter months. I love the winter month star constellations. The cold and crisp night weather makes for clear stargazing. You can see Orion (The Hunter) for sure during the evenings in November-December.

It's kinda hard to see in the photo... I had to change the size/settings on the photo to make it easier to upload to the blog, but you get the idea.

Twilight

2008-11-21T12:19:00.003-06:00

Twilight (by Stephanie Meyer) is one of my favorite books (previous post link). I love the series (4 books total) and became rather attached and obsessed a few months ago. IT IS SO GOOD!

The movie comes out tonight!!! Lockstep and I going to see it at our fave Houston theater.

Watch the trailers here.

On the Road Again Spain

2008-11-20T20:16:00.003-06:00

There is a pretty awesome show on PBS right now called "On the Road Again Spain" featuring Mario Batalli, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Mark Bittman. I'm a little partial and biased because I love Spain. I studied abroad in Sevilla during the summer of 2005 :)

Cookstr

2008-11-18T20:59:00.004-06:00

I'm excited about this newly launched cooking site: Cookstr.

It looks like there will be an "author of the day" and "recipe of the day". See the "About us" section at the bottom of the website for more info.

(On the homepage) I love the first "Author of the Day" is Mark Bittman! Mark Bittman has a great cookbook called "How to Cook Everything" and a blog called "Bitten".

Oh, Monkey!

2008-11-18T19:59:00.003-06:00

Cats in Sinks.

I found Monkey in Lockstep's sink one evening:

World of Warcraft

2008-11-18T19:47:00.002-06:00

An early birthday present... (Lockstep's 28th birthday is coming up soon!)

World of Warcraft expansion - The Wrath of the Lich King

-Pre-ordered last Sunday at GameStop

-Stood in line at the midnight release event on Wednesday (November 13) to pick up our copy

-Now Lockstep is almost to level 80!

Cooking - Tomato Basil Soup

2008-11-18T19:18:00.006-06:00

I made this soup on Sunday night. We finally have some cooler weather on a regular basis here in Houston (I'm talking like 40-55 in the morning and 70-75 in the afternoon). This was a super easy soup - I made it the "not fresh ingredient way" listed below. Sorry no photos for this post. I've been kinda busy and crazy lately!

Recipe: Tomato Basil Soup

From: Betty Crocker (The Betty Crocker Cookbook - Bridal Edition; page 437)

Ingredients - "the fresh ingredient way"

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

2 medium carrots, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

1 small onion onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

6 large tomatoes, peeled/seeded/chopped (6 cups)

1 can (8 oz) tomato paste

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

pepper

Ingredients - the "not-fresh ingredients way"

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

1/2 cup frozen chopped carrots (rinsed and drained)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped (could use frozen or pre-diced package)

3 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (8 oz) tomato paste

2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

1 teaspoon sugar

(no salt if using canned tomatoes)

Dash of pepper

Directions:

1. In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook carrots, onion, and garlic in oil about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender but not browned. (Mine did not take 10 minutes, more like a few minutes - watch your heat.)

2. Stir in tomatoes. Cook uncovered about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through.

3. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook uncovered about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot.

Yield: 4 servings

Notes: Lockstep thought some Italian sausage seasoned with basil would be good in this soup.

Store leftovers in small (2-cup) containers for easy re-heating. Soups tend to thicken in the fridge, so dilute with water if you want the leftover soup to be soup-y instead of stew-y.

Cooking - Bailey's Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

2008-11-18T19:15:00.005-06:00

I made these last week. Delicious!

Recipe: Bailey's Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

From: Bailey Jane Martin

Ingredients:

1 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar (I used 1/2 cup Splenda/sugar blend)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups oats (regular oats make cookies more chewy)

1/2 cups chopped nuts / raisins (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

2. Beat shortening and sugars until creamy. (Medium-high on the mixer for a couple of minutes.)

3. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. (Add eggs 1 at a time.)

4. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg; mix well.

5. Stir in oats and nuts/raisins; mix well.

6. Drop (by tablespoon-full) onto ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Regular Cookies: Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown. (or 9 minutes)

Bar cookies: Bake 30-35 munutes in ungreased 13 X 9 inch metal baking pan.

8. Allow to cool on wire cooling rack. Store in airtight container.

Yield: I'm not sure how many cookies? Need to count next time :)

Notes: The cookies that baked for only 9 minutes were the best. The bottom of the cookie was not as done - it was more chewy and tasty. I didn't bake any of this batch longer than 10 minutes.

Notes to self: I made these plain (no nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, etc.). Bailey likes chopped nuts in her cookies, and Lockstep likes raisins in his oatmeal cookies.

When making them for Bailey - add chopped nuts

When making them for Lockstep - add raisins

Cooking - Meatloaf

2008-11-18T18:59:00.005-06:00

My husband loves meatloaf! (Is meatloaf 1 word or 2 words? Personally, I like it as 1 word so that's what I'll use here). I've made meatloaf about 3 times before using this recipe. The first time was from startcooking.com and it turned out good/ok. The second time it was way too dry - I tried to cut a recipe in half and used way too many breadcrumbs. The third time I used a Boston Market recipe (from one of those "secret recipes" pdf cookbooks that get emailed around) and it turned out way too moist/wet - I don't think I drained the meatloaf the right way in the middle of the cooking.

So, I asked Lockstep's mom how she made meatloaf. The tips really helped. I'm learning what the consistency of meatloaf should look like before you put it in the oven. This recipe turned out really good. Lockstep ate leftovers for a couple of days (and it was still good). The key thing with meatloaf is practice and learning what the moist/dry ratio should look like before baking in order to get moist meatloaf that tastes good.

Recipe: Meatloaf

From: Kristy Hensarling

Ingredients:

1 lb 90% lean ground beef (Erik picked it out) (Note: use almost the leanest ground beef - not the 97%, but the next one, as it is too dry if you use the very leanest, but it's your call)

1/2 - 3/4 cup ketchup (at least!) *I think I used more like 3/4 cup - 1 cup because I really didn't want it turning out too dry*

1/2 -3/4 cup bread crumbs (enough to equal about 3 slices of bread)

1 egg

medium amount - parsley

little amount - basil

generous amount of garlic salt (and/or seasoning salt)

lil bit of regular salt and pepper

optional items: green bell pepper or onion, finely chopped and sauteed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Line metal loaf pan with foil (for easier clean up, just don't eat the foil!)

3. Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl:

Adding 1/2 cup ketchup first, then more if too dry.

When you mix it all up, it should be formable into a loaf/ball oval shape. If it is too moist and falls apart add more bread crumbs, if too dry add more ketchup.

4. Place the meat loaf mixture in baking dish (metal loaf pan), and finish forming to size and shape. Squeeze more ketchup on top covering the top of the loaf in a pattern of your choice. Sprinkle parsley on top for a nice garnish.

5. Bake about 45 minutes (check it after 30 minutes for doneness in the middle, bake longer if needed). Bake until center reaches 160 degrees on meat thermometer.

6. Allow meatloaf to cool and meat to rest before slicing (about 10-20 minutes)

Yield: 1 meatloaf

Notes:

other options - add a few spoons of bbq sauce or Heinz 57 sauce with the ketchup; use tomato sauce if out of ketchup; use 2 eggs instead of 1 egg if have 1 1/2 lbs of meat; add oregano

Blog Break

2008-11-18T18:22:00.003-06:00

Sorry I've been missing in action lately. I'm back with some recipes. Then some quotes. Then some football updates. (Among general and random other stuff).

Weekly Cooking Menu

2008-11-10T19:15:00.004-06:00

Cooking a couple weeks ago:

Monday -

Kristy's Meatloaf

Baked Sweet Potato Slices

Tuesday -

Gnocchi

Tomato and Basil Sauce w/ Mushrooms

Wednesday -

Black Bean Tacos

Chipotle Lime Basmati Rice

Glenda's El Chico Hot Sauce

Chips/Salsa; Guacamole

On the Baking "To do" List -

Glenda's Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Bailey Martin's Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

Aunt Floy's Banana Bread - *I love this recipe; making it again*

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake (Cooking Light) - *Erik loves this recipe; making it again*

Blueberry Muffins

Pumpkin Bread

On the Future Cooking "To Do" List -

Chili w/Cornbread

Lasagna (Spinach or meat - Startcooking.com has a good recipe I've made before)

Chicken Cordon Bleu Chowder (Betty Crocker)

Spicy Collard Greens with Bacon (Betty Crocker)

Katie's Over-the-Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese (Patti LaBelle)

Cooking - Chicken Pot Pie

2008-11-04T21:34:00.000-06:00

Photo Before:

Photo After:

Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie

From: Betty Crocker Cookbook (Bridal Edition)

Notes: This turned out excellent. Lockstep ate leftovers for a couple of days and said that he'd eat this if I made it the same way again. I used a frozen, thawed pie crust (Marie Callender's) and then rolled/cut it to fit in the baking dishes (I used 1/4 on the bottom, 1/4 on the top on 1 small dish; then 1/4 on the bottom, 1/4 on the top on the other small dish. That equals out to 1 pie crust). Also, I halved this recipe... only made 3 servings worth instead of the full 6 servings (as typed below for the original 6 servings).

Recipe below is typed as written in the cookbook (Pages 330-331)

"Pot pie for dinner is possible, even if you're busy. Just pick up two ready-to-use pie crusts instead of making them yourself. You'll cut your preparation time in half."

Ingredients:

1 box (10 oz) frozen peas and carrots

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

2 1/2 - 3 cups cut-up cooked chicken or turkey

Pastry for Two-Crust Pie (Page 123)

Directions:

1. Rinse frozen peas and carrots in cold water to separate; drain.

2. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in chicken and peas; remove from heat.

3. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.

4. Make pastry. Roll two-thirds of the pastry into 13-inch square. Ease into ungreased 9 -inch square pan. Pour chicken mixture into pastry-lined pan.

5. Roll remaining pastry into 11-inch square. Cut out designs with 1-inch cookie cutter. Place square over chicken mixture. Arrange cutouts on pastry. Turn edges of pastry under and flute. (See page 126 for Pastry Edges).

6. Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 6 servings

Cooking - Apple-Cinnamon Coffeecake (Excellent!)

2008-11-04T21:33:00.000-06:00

Photos:

Recipe: Apple-Cinnamon Coffeecake

From: Cooking Light (The Best of Cooking Light - Kitchen Secrets )

Notes: This recipe is a winner! It is delicious hot and fresh from the oven, and it is still delicious several days later! I made this on Saturday morning and we are still enjoying it on Wednesday!

Recipe below is typed as it appears in the book (page 13)

"Serve warm or freeze this coffeecake for up to three months."

Ingredients:

For the cake -

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar (I use splenda blend)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup 1% low-fat milk (I use skim milk)

2 tablespoons butter, melted (I use margarine)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup diced, peeled Granny Smith apple (about 1 apple) (I used 1 Honeycrisp apple and didn't peel it, just diced it)

Cooking Spray

For the streusel topping -

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces (I use margarine)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. To prepare cake, lightly spoon 1 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, melted butter, vanilla, and egg, stirring with a whisk; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in apple. Pour into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray.

3. To prepare streusel, combine brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle streusel over batter.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size - 1 piece)

Aunt Floy's Banana Bread

2008-11-04T21:20:00.006-06:00

I will take this opportunity to plug my Aunt Floy's Banana Bread again. I've made this recipe many times for many years, and my mom has been making this Banana Bread recipe for many more years than me! So, here again is Aunt Floy's Banana Bread.

Interested in a good banana bread recipe?

Photo loaf:

Photo close up:

Recipe: Banana Nut Bread

From: Floy (Floy Miner)-->Glenda Ballard-->Marlena Hensarling

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup sugar

1 stick oleo, melted and cooled (I use margarine)

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

optional: 1/2 cup nuts, chopped (Tip: Put in ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin or something like it.) (I don't always add nuts, only sometimes)

Directions:

-Add sugar to mashed bananas. Mix.

-Add melted/cooled oleo to banana-sugar mixture. Mix.

-Add the flour/baking soda/vanilla to the banana mixture. Mix well.

-If using: Add nuts and mix.

-Pour into pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60 minutes. (Sometimes I only cook it for about 45 - 50 minutes for more moist bread)

Yield: 1 loaf

Disclaimer

2008-11-04T21:07:00.003-06:00

This post is a disclaimer on the previous post of Banana Muffins. I'd almost like to remove the Banana Muffins recipe from the blog because the muffins got all dry on the second day. I posted the muffins too soon. They turned out good when they were warm and fresh from the oven, but after a day they got all dry and not good. So, this is a disclaimer and suggestion to not make that particular muffin recipe.

In the future, I'll wait a bit before posting recipes to determine the immediate and leftover quality of the food. I'd like to only post "Best Recipes." But at least from now on I'll make cooking posts with more info on the meals and baked goods.

The next blog post will be another promo for my Aunt Floy's Banana Bread because I made it again and it's the best!!

This brings me to the fact that I've had some mixed results with allrecipes. My friend, Elizabeth Anderson, mentioned today that she's had mixed results as well. Eliz has had better luck with recipes from epicurious that tend to come from magazines (like Bon Appetit and Gourmet) instead of home cooks. I'm going to spend more time on epicurious. Thanks for sharing the info and link Eliz!

Harvest Moon

2008-11-03T21:26:00.007-06:00

Harvest Moon - Pumpkin Ale

This is one of Lockstep's favorites. Harvest Moon is produced by the Blue Moon Brewing Company (which is actually owned by the Coors Brewing Company). We like both Blue Moon and Harvest Moon (not as big of a fan of the Winter blend - Full Moon). I first discovered Blue Moon during a tour of the Coors Brewery (our Spring Break trip to Colorado back in 2004). Blue Moon was part of the tour and samples.

We noticed that we're having a hard time finding Harvest Moon on the store shelves. Lockstep talked to the "beer guy" at Spec's yesterday and learned some useful info....

Harvest Moon is made with fresh pumpkin. So since the pumpkin harvest is only for a few weeks that means that Harvest Moon is only available for a few weeks!

The Blue Moon Brewery website (click on Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale tab) says that it is brewed from early September through late November. But, we only found it on the store shelves (in Houston) for about 3 weeks in October. The Spec's and grocery stores around here have already sold out and are not receiving any more shipments.

We will definitely stock up next year when we first see it on the shelves!

Cheers!

Hook 'Em Obama!

2008-11-03T20:49:00.003-06:00

Photo: Barack Obama and Mack Brown (during Obama's visit to Texas during the Primary for the televised debate with Hillary Clinton)

"Since 1932, when Texas played Oklahoma in an election year and Texas won, so did the Democrat candidate. All I gotta say is 'Hook Em Obama'!" -- Ben Idom

New on Gmail

2008-11-03T20:37:00.003-06:00

Ying just showed me this cool Google update..... Thanks!

Gmail now has cool emoticons.... lobsters, snowmen, coffee, phones, pie, umbrellas... Cool!

Click "Compose Mail"

Click on the little square yellow smiley face "Insert Emoticon"

Choose an emoticon

The lobster even walks and clicks its claws!

Free Starbucks Coffee

2008-11-03T20:28:00.002-06:00

Starbucks is giving out free cups of coffee (size - tall; type - freshly brewed) on Election Day!

AFTER you vote tomorrow Tuesday (Nov 4), go by Starbucks and grab a coffee! I'll be going by the Starbucks in the Med Center on my way to work!

Here's the info: Link.

Note - This info was on the Starbucks.com homepage earlier today, but now I can't find it there. The link takes you to the Facebook promo. Maybe check Starbucks.com tomorrow?

Park Street Market

2008-11-02T19:28:00.004-06:00

My good friend, Whitney Kelly, opened her own business in Carlisle, Arkansas!

The shop is called Park Street Market, and they have tons of awesome finds! They have gifts, home decor, Woodwick candles, and so much more. Seriously cute stuff. I've already picked out some items to buy! (They can ship, too.)

If you're ever in the area, then you should definitely stop by and check out this place!

Here's the shop location:

Park Street Market

202 Park Street (Hwy 70)

Carlisle, Arkansas 72024

phone: 870-552-7275

Congratulations on the opening of your new shop, Whitney!

Fitness

2008-11-02T18:00:00.000-06:00

Ever since I started gymnastics at 5 years old, exercise, fitness, and health played a big role in my life. I'm so lucky to have a husband who values exercise and will go running with me! Right now our usual workout routine is a daily 20-25 minute jog in the park. Then I do Pilates for about 15 minutes. I've learned the exercises through some videos (a couple of random purchases at Target in the exercise video section). I'll just go through the basics (mostly the exercises I like). Sometimes I go through phases of lifting weights and swimming laps, but they aren't part of the usual routine lately.

Note - I'm also lucky that I live in Texas. It's warm here year-round (we had 2 weeks of winter last year in Houston). The weather here does make it easier to get outside and active.

Katie Womack and I walk Rice University about once/week. The trail around Rice is about 3 miles long, so it's a great workout! Walking with friends is a good way to get exercise and catch up. I highly recommend "workout dates"!

Katie and I also did Bikram Yoga not too long ago. If you want to burn some serious calories in 1 sitting, then Bikram Yoga is the way to go. Wow. I think we sweated off several pounds. Here's the link to the place we go in Houston: Bikram Yoga College of India (the South Blvd location is most convenient for us). I could definitely go for a gift certificate to this place! I'm also interested in any good Bikram Yoga places in Austin. Since we are moving in January, then maybe that can be a resolution for the new year?

Ok, so here are some general workout thoughts:

Tips:

-For accountability, it helps to have a partner.

-Schedule workout time into your weekly routine.

-Once you're in the habit/routine then keep it going.

-Don't think about it. Just put your workout clothes on and go. Don't think about it. If you stop to think about it there's risk of talking yourself out of it. Just get dressed and go workout!

Notes:

-Some say to vary your workouts (don't just do the same thing over and over). I think it's more important to just be physically active. Just do whatever activity you enjoy!!!

-The Surgeon General recommends getting a moderate amount of activity (about 30 minutes) most days per week (to improve health and quality of life).

-The Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health (click to read and download)

-PDF of Chapter 1 of the Surgeon General's Report

-Other general info on physical activity (for everyone) from the CDC

Some favorite places to run:

Houston:

Hermann Park

Rice University (campus and the jogging trail)

Austin:

Town Lake

Clark Field The University of Texas at Austin

Clint Small Jr. Middle School (off Monterey Oaks Blvd if you live in South Austin)

Project Gutenberg

2008-11-01T19:04:00.003-05:00

Project Gutenberg: Tons of books and audio books (free online to view and download!)

I like the human-read audio books. I just listened to Aesop's Fables yesterday. Happy reading/listening!

Home Page Link

Audio books Page Link

Human-Read Audio Books Link

Free Ice Cream

2008-11-01T18:54:00.004-05:00

Ben and Jerry's is giving out free scoops of ice cream on Election Day!

AFTER you vote on this Tuesday (Nov 4), go by your local Ben and Jerry's and grab a scoop! If you're in Houston, there's one on Kirby/Bissonnett (close to both Highway 59 and Rice University).

Here's the info: link.

OSU Game Weekend

2008-11-01T18:03:00.005-05:00

Austin -

Lockstep and I went to Austin on Friday (Oct 24) last week. I had an advising appointment at St. Ed's to plan out classes and get info on starting graduate school in the January (Master of Arts in College Student Development). I'm excited about the classes and looking forward to the program.

It was a fun weekend hanging out with friends, too. On Friday night, I went to Trudy's for drinks with Bailey, Justin, and a few others. Trudy's is a great place for dinner and drinks and I love my Bailey Jane! On Saturday morning, Jenn and I met up for coffee at our usual place (Barnes and Noble in the Arboretum). So fun talking and sipping Lattes and Americanos. I love my J. Giles! :)

Game time was early today... 2:30... and the weather was perfect! The Texas Longhorns played the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The game was a little bit too close for comfort. The Longhorns came out on top. Final Score: 28 - 24. Texas!

OSU Game (photos):

Lena and Lockstep:

Lena (solo photo... boots!):

The huge screen "Horns Win":

The stadium during the "Eyes of Texas":

Back (Entourage and Cooking Summary)

2008-11-01T17:33:00.003-05:00

Hi! So I need to catch up on the blogging thing. It's been a crazy week at work and then I spent the evenings watching Entourage (among the usual errands/running/pilates/cooking/cleaning routine). I've had to catch up on the last 4 seasons of Entourage (which is now on season 5). Where have I been the last 4 years - How did it take me this long to learn about this show?! I love that Jordan has all the seasons on DVD, so borrowing those and watching episodes back-to-back is great!

On cooking -

Did anyone make my Aunt Floy's Banana Bread last week? I made some on Monday (of this past week). IT WAS SO DELICIOUS! I didn't add any nuts and I only baked it for about 45 minutes. It was SO MOIST!!! Yum. Seriously, if you like Banana Bread you have to make this recipe. It is so good!

Last week Lockstep and I were low on cash, so we mostly had spaghetti, eggs/potatoes, and cereal to eat. We got paid yesterday though and I made Apple-Cinnamon Coffeecake and Chicken Pot Pie today. I'll (hopefully) be posting recipe/photos of the Banana Bread, Breakfast Tacos, Apple-Cinnamon Coffee Cake (Cooking Light recipe), and Chicken Pot Pie.

Upcoming Posts

2008-10-28T16:21:00.004-05:00

Things have been busy at work trying to get a few grant applications turned in for the NIH (National Institutes of Health) and DoD (Department of Defense).

I do plan on a few posts coming up later this week on:

--Weekend in Austin (10/24-10/25 OSU game)

--Fitness (daily running and pilates)

--What we eat when we are broke (yep, one of us will always be in graduate school; cheap & delicious breakfast tacos - eggs, potatoes, salsa)

--Quotes ( A Wife of Noble Character - Proverbs 31: 10 -31)

Cooking - Banana Muffins

2008-10-23T18:19:00.006-05:00

In the mood to bake something, I decided to make these muffins that I recently stumbled across on Allrecipes. They turned out ok. These muffins aren't too sweet or too dense. Although, nothing compares to my Great Aunt Floy's Banana Bread recipe (posted below the muffins...I haven't made this bread in a while, but next time I do I'll post about it).

Recipe: Banana Muffins II

From: Allrecipes

Notes: These muffins were really good on the first day. They got too dry on the second day.

the muffins:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (sometimes I do half regular/half whole wheat)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large bananas, mashed

3/4 cup white sugar (I use splenda-sugar blend)

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, melted (I use margarine because my mom always used margarine)

Notes: Substitute applesauce for the butter for healthier, low-fat muffins

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

-Coat muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray, or use paper liners.

-Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. (Sift if you have a sifter, I don't have a sifter.)

-Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Mix well.

-Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth.

the dough:

-Scoop into muffin pans. (I use an ice cream scooper for evenly sized muffins.)

-Bake for 25 - 30 minutes. (I only baked these for 20 minutes.) Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

Yield: 12 muffins

the muffins in their pan:

-------------------

Interested in a good banana bread recipe?

Recipe: Banana Nut Bread

From: Floy (Floy Miner)-->Glenda Ballard-->Marlena Hensarling

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup sugar

1 stick oleo, melted and cooled

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup nuts, chopped (Tip: Put in ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin or something like it.)

Directions:

-Add sugar to mashed bananas. Mix.

-Add melted/cooled oleo to banana-sugar mixture. Mix.

-Add the flour/baking soda/vanilla to the banana mixture. Mix well.

-Add nuts and mix.

-Pour into pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60 minutes.

Yield: 1 loaf

Audiobooks - The Great Gatsby

2008-10-23T12:32:00.008-05:00

On the BBC this week they are playing The Great Gatsby in 5-part series. I love this classic story and enjoy this version of the audiobook (the reader is Trevor White - great voice). How cool would it be to live in the 1920's?! The 20's and the 40's were awesome.

You can listen to the "abridged reading in ten twelve minute episodes of Scott Fitzgerald's classic story of The Jazz Age." Go to www.bbc.co.uk and search for "The Great Gatsby," or just click here.

PS. The links on the BBC have some short breaks where they talk to an author between the readings, but stick with it. They return to the story pretty quickly. I think they just have to do that because it's free :)

I have a good link to free audio books on my computer at home. I'll post that link later tonight.

--It is now later and I'm on my computer at home. Here's the link to Project Gutenberg.

Colt!

2008-10-22T22:06:00.003-05:00

In football news: "Texas QB McCoy reportedly will return for senior season" (ESPN) Read the story here. This is great (potential) news for Longhorn football!

Thanks for the link and info, Ben!

Cooking - Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels

2008-10-22T21:12:00.004-05:00

Easy and delicious!

Recipe: Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels

From: Glenda, Lena, Kraft, and Allrecipes

*I've been eating variations of this snack (kolaches; cinnamon/sugar pinwheels; etc.) as long as I can remember. Who actually had the first recipe??

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounch) can refrigerated crescent roll dough

2 cups shredded mozerella (or other cheese)

24 slices pepperoni (or canadian bacon)

5 button mushrooms, sliced thinly (optional)

1 (14 ounce) can pizza sauce (optional: use for serving)

Note: Can use regular or reduced-fat versions of ingredients

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

-Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray. This is very important! This will make clean up so easy.

-Unroll the crescent roll dough into 4 large rectangles.

-For the layering process, leave a little bit of room at the ends. This will make it easier when you roll/slice. Repeat the layering process with each rectangle.

-Layer each rectangle with a few slices of pepperoni.

-Layer each rectangle with sliced mushrooms. It takes about 1 mushroom per rectangle.

*I like to buy the button mushrooms and slice them myself because the mushrooms stay fresh a lot longer than the pre-sliced ones. Lockstep loves mushrooms and we had some in the fridge, so I decided to throw them in tonight.

-Layer each rectangle with even amounts of cheese.

-Leave a little room at the end of the dough!

-Roll tightly.

Note: If you have time (before you slice and bake), then put the 4 rolls into the freezer for about 15 minutes. This will keep the rolls from falling apart (when you slice/transfer to baking sheet).

-Slice into 3-4 pieces.

-Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown

Optional: Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

Yum!

Looking for Best Recipe

2008-10-22T15:20:00.004-05:00

Lockstep (my husband/Erik) doesn't have a sweet tooth, but he does like Blueberry Muffins, Nutella Crepes, Pumpkin Pie, and Tiramisu. So of course I've made it my lifelong mission to perfect these dishes. I'm still working on it...

PLEASE send me any favorite recipes or tips for Muffins, Pies, and Crepes!

Thank you! :)

My Brother is Awesome

2008-10-20T21:44:00.011-05:00

This post is dedicated to the best brother ever.

He brought me a box of Sutter's Salt Water Taffy from the State Fair of Texas! (I get a box of this taffy every year, except for this year because we didn't go to Dallas. See earlier post. This taffy is a favorite of mine!)

This is so special and sweet because:

1. He knew I wanted some and love taffy

2. It's kind of expensive.

3. It's something you have to get after the football game.....

4. ....which usually requires standing in 2 very long lines (one for tickets and another to get the taffy)

5. Then you have to keep up with the box and carry it for the rest of the day.

Thank you so much! It really means a lot to me!!

(Here's a photo from flickr of the trailer. The Black Walnut Taffy is my favorite, too.)

My brother is also awesome because he loaned me the first two seasons of "Entourage". I've already watched the first season and love this show! Jeremy Pivin is awesome.