Lemon Bars

Tonight is one of my favorite nights on TV- Oscar's night! I'm so excited to watch. I wanted to make something different for a sweet treat and found a variety of easy recipes for lemon bars on pinterest. Some used lemon curd, some lemon creme pie filling, some added water, but I just stuck with two basic ingredients: angel food cake mix and a can of lemon pie filling. That's right, easiest dessert ever!

Ta-da! Once it's cool you can sprinkle with powdered sugar and then cut into squares.

I've never used angel food cake mix before, but it is very powdery! As I was mixing the dry ingredients were flying everywhere. When I was done my kitchen looked like I was installing drywall. Again though, let me reiterate how easy this sweet treat is. Once the TWO ingredients are combined, pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for about 25 minutes at 350, until it browns around the edges and pulls away from the side of the pan.

Don't be expecting traditional lemon bars, since there is no crust or cream cheese or anything else you may find in a bakery lemon bar. But they are very light and delicious! Almost like a lemon sponge cake, lighter than pound cake but heavier than angel food cake. I am going to have to share them otherwise I will eat every single one... Look out NQACC, the break room will have some yummy treats tomorrow.

And for dinner, currently in the oven....Cheesy Chicken Tator Tot Casserole. Thanks to The Country Cook. Can't wait to try this tator tot creation and watch the Academy Awards!

Even The Winter

Whenever I am feeling down or find all kinds of other music annoying, I can always listen to Audrey Assad and connect with the words that she is singing. I love her songs "Known" and "Sparrow" but recently I have been listening to "Even the Winter" a lot. Part of that has to do with the fact that I've gotten to that time of year where I'm ready for spring, but it's still going to be winter for a while longer.

Another part of it is that I feel like I am currently in a winter phase of life. There are a lot of good things about winter, but you don't want the winter to last forever. For example, things like snow and darkness are great because then you can put a fire in the fireplace and watch a movie snuggled up on the couch. But what about flip flops and going to the beach? I am in that strange in between phase of life- I've graduated from college, but am not sure exactly where the Lord will lead me in my life. Many of my friends have gotten married and/or moved away. My days are now filled with 3 year olds and my schedule is very much the same each day. No more classes, meetings, clubs, being surrounded by friends 24-7. 

There is an endless stream of questions running through my head at all times: Will I stay in Seattle forever? Will I move lots of times? How long will I keep my current job for? Should I be looking for a different job? Which church community is the best for me to be a part of? When will I get married? How old will I be when I become a mom? When is the next time I will be in California? On and on and on... Just a different phase of life, full of unknowns. This phase will not last forever, but, just like the winter, it seems at times like the spring will never come.

Even The Winter
What if we find ourselves beneath the snow?
Our warmest words all frozen in our throats?
And all we feel is left out in the cold?
You and I?

What if the days grow short and lose their light?
What if the coals burn black and the embers die?
And we can't find each other in the night?
You and I?

Well, even the winter won't last forever
We'll see the morning and we'll feel the sun
We'll wake up in April, ready and able
Holding the seeds and soil of our love, of our love

What if the ice we tread is just too thin?
What if we can't escape the squall we're in?
What if our hearts of stone are permanent?
You and I
Even the winter won't last forever
We'll see the morning, we'll feel the sun
We'll wake up in April, ready and able
Sowing the seeds in the soil of our love, of our love

What if the spring comes soon and we're surprised?
What if the seasons help us realize, some things are only proven over time?
You know

Even the winter won't last forever
We'll see the morning, we'll feel the sun
We'll wake up in April, ready and able
Sowing the seeds in the soil
Of our love

Even the darkness cannot disarm us
We'll break up the earth, because we know
that it's worth it
Sowing the seeds in the soil of our love.

Tonight's Dinner

What can you do with a half-full bag of small sweet potatoes? Well I'm sure there is a long answer to that question, but I decided to roast mine for dinner tonight following a recipe I found on pinterest and they were SO good. I believe the exact phrase used was "Make these again!!" The recipe can be found at Teenie Cakes. Since I started with a side dish I had to work backwards to figure out what kind of meat I was going to make...chicken goes well with sweet potatoes...nah, don't want chicken again. Turkey goes well with sweet potatoes (Thanksgiving!)...nahh, that would take too long. Pork chops! Super easy! And I found a yummy recipe at The Pioneer Woman, making things even easier. I just needed one more thing...what goes with pork chops? Apples! Baked apples with butter and brown sugar to be exact.

What would I do without the internet with me at all times to look up recipes and determine what I will make for dinner? If I don't already have a plan, it gets to be about 1 or 2 and I start browsing my phone while the kiddos nap at work. And I always come up with something that sounds good! Without pinterest and Google search I'd have to wait 'til I got home and actually look things up in a cookbook...crazy.

What do you do on a 3 day weekend?

My weekend started out Friday night by going to see my brother and his improv  group at Seattle U. They really are quite hilarious. I was thinking of staying home because I was so tired from a busy week at work, but I'm glad I went to see him! Then Saturday was my super productive day. I cleaned EVERYTHING- bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom, did laundry, changed sheets, put clothes away, dusted, vacuumed, and more. It felt so good to get everything cleaned up (and now I don't want to touch or use anything that would mess it all up!) The rest of the weekend included church, clearing up the DVR by finally watching the Grammy's and a few other shows, reading (Sticky Faith by Kara Powell and Chap Clark and Love Times Three by the Dargers), shopping, and sleeping! Saturday afternoon I turned to pinterest as I thought of what I should make for dinner and this is the result...

Recipe #1 Crock Pot Shredded Chicken

While this post is about the most recent weekend, I actually made this chicken last weekend. It turned out SO well. The recipe can be found here. It was super easy to just throw it all in the crockpot and let it cook for a few hours. When it was done I shredded it up and bagged it for lunches and put a few in the freezer.

Recipe #2 Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Now anyone who knows me knows that I rarely follow a recipe exactly step by step. (I've inherited that trait from my mom. Love you, mom!) We'll start with the fact that I didn't do this in the crock pot, I did it in a soup pot on the back of the stove. I also omitted the bell pepper (because I don't like them) and used the shredded chicken I had put in the freezer last weekend. The real recipe can be found here. I also made the honey jalapeño cornbread, found at the same site. This dinner got a big thumbs up from Luke and I've got leftovers in the fridge and freezer to take for lunches this week!

Recipe #3 M&M Samoa Blondies

Naturally, when I start to make dinner my mind jumps to what I'm going to make for dessert. So I head to pinterest and look in my cupboard for what I can create out of the ingredients I have. I found coconut in the freezer and thought I remembered a recipe for samoa blondies on pinterest. SO good! Samoas are some of my favorite girl scout cookies and these cookie bars have a very similar taste. The recipe can be found at Six Sisters' Stuff (one of my favorite places to find new recipes!)

I really love to cook and bake and I love sharing the things I make with others. Pinterest is a great place to find new recipes to try and I find myself trying at least one new recipe a week, sometimes more. I'm thankful for friends and family who are always willing to help me eat the things I create. 

I'm especially thankful for this guy who always eats everything I make! This was taken on Thursday night before we went out for Valentine's Day at BluWater Bistro. I am a blessed girl :)

The Best Sugar Cookies EVER

I love to bake and am constantly trying new recipes, but when it comes to making holiday cookies I always turn to my favorite sugar cookie recipe. I try others, but they are never as good as this one! This past week I made a huge batch of heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day and I'm already thinking about the Easter cookies to come in a few weeks! Maybe I need to order some new cookie cutters.... :)

Sugar Cookies
1 lb. softened butter (no wonder they're so good, right?)
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 T. milk
2 T. almond extract (or vanilla, but the almond is what makes them special)
6 c. flour
1 T. baking powder

      Start by blending butter and sugar with a mixer (stand or hand will work just fine). Next add liquids- eggs, milk, and almond extract and blend until combined. Lastly blend in the flour and baking powder. It gets a little tough on a hand mixer when you get all 6 cups of flour in there, but you can always finish mixing with a spatula or even by using your hands.

      Once the dough is mixed (it will be a bit crumbly), flour your surface, drop a big scoop of dough down, and roll to desired thickness. I usually keep them on the thicker side so they will stay soft cookies as opposed to thin crunchy cookies. Cut out shapes and place them on a baking sheet (I use parchment so they don't stick or get as brown on the bottom). Bake at 350 for about 11 minutes or until they look set- one step before they turn brown! Take them out of the oven and let them sit for a minute before transferring to a cooling rack. They will stay good for about a week in a air tight container (although mine NEVER last that long) or you can store them in the freezer for eating at a later date (or eating frozen, yum!).

If I don't plan on frosting the cookies (or dipping them in chocolate- a real crowd pleaser, by  the way!) I will cover them with sprinkles before baking to make them a bit more festive. Because everything is always better with sprinkles right? I'm a three year old at heart :)

Friday night taco seasoning

Happy Friday! It has been a very long week of work (after a long week of being deathly ill) and I am so thankful to have a night to lay on the couch and watch TV like a bum. Friday night means lots of wedding shows on TLC, and [since I drove by Little Caesar's on my way home from Target] it also means pizza :)

Recently I have been pinning a lot of recipes on pinterest and have been trying to cook more real meals and have lunches to take to work. Yesterday I made a beef stew in the crock pot and (just like my mom) I couldn't find a recipe I really liked, so I just dumped a bunch of stuff together. Stew meat, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, AND sweet potatoes! I will never make stew without sweet potatoes ever again! It was so yummy. The sweet potatoes fall apart a lot more than regular potatoes and give the stew a great consistency and sweet taste.

Tomorrow I am planning on making chicken in the crock pot that I can shred and use for tacos, wraps, sandwiches, salads, and more during the week. This is the recipe I am planning on using. Hopefully it comes out as yummy as it sounds!

One of the things I need for tomorrow's chicken is taco seasoning AND I just happen to come across a recipe for homemade taco seasoning this week on pinterest. So tonight I made my own mix of taco seasoning to use on my chicken tomorrow. I feel so domestic making taco seasoning, but it was really easy! And the sodium intake will be much lower than seasoning from a packet. Looking forward to using this seasoning on a variety of different meals!