photoblogging....

Check out Racheal and Matt's rainy day wedding over HERE!

browned butter chocolate chip pizookies

I loved browned butter.

Please tell me you've tried it??

I really think it might be one of my favorite flavors....

...ever.

I love it so much, I'm always trying to sneak it into recipes....and I thought,

"why not a cookie?"

But then I remembered that we had vanilla bean ice cream, so I thought,

"why not a pizookie?"

Do you like hearing these conversations I have in my head?

enough chit chat.

let's get on with the recipe, shall we?

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Pizookie

makes 6-8 pizookies

1 1/2c flour

1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
3/4 c brown sugar
1 stick butter, browned
1 egg
1 t vanilla (I used mexican vanilla in these...yum!)
3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
chopped pecans

Mix flour, soda and salt. Set aside

To brown butter:

Heat pan on medium heat.

Cut butter in to pieces and melt in pan.

Stir continuously. Butter will foam up.

After foam subsides, small brown flecks will start to appear in bottom of pan.

Continue stirring, until butter has reached a nice brown color, and nutty aroma.

When you want to lick the spoon, you know it's ready.

Remove from heat--don't burn it!!

Add browned butter and sugar to stand mixer. Mix. (you will want to eat this up!)

Mix in egg and vanilla.

Slowly mix in flour mixture.

Mix in chocolate chips.

Scoop dough into individual ramekins. Sprinkle some pecans on top (they get all toasty in the oven!)

Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes....remember you want the edges set, and the center nice and gooey!

Top with your favorite vanilla icecream.....and enjoy!

The Skirt

Here it is--the one I told you about. The one you promised I could do if I tried....and boy did I try.

(Please check out Susan's original tutorial HERE...she is the professional, I just make stuff up)

Here is the scoop.

Was it easy? Yes.

Obviously....I did it!

I know how to use my machine just enough to throw together silly Halloween costumes and a few things around the house....but I have never in my life followed any kind of pattern, or actually measured something.

Here we go.

What you need:
2-3 yards of fabric
elastic, I used the 2 inch wide variety
coordinating fabric for the pockets*--*please check out the original tutorial!! I was a chicken and skipped out on the pockets, but after following her step by step I now realize how easy the pockets would have been.....next time.
straight pins

two sick children that stay in bed all day so you can get this done

(did I plan it this way, no....did it work out nicely, yes....sorry kids)

phone, to call your mother

Take measurements of:
your natural waist
from your waist to your knee or mid thigh, however long you want your skirt

For my skirt I cut my elastic 27 inches.

Then you want the width of your skirt to be at least 2 times the width of the elastic, so I cut 2 pieces of 30 inches by 23 inches.

Put your two pieces together, right sides facing each other, and stitch together.

turn over and press you seam down (like with an iron....has it been years since you ironed? me too!)

Press your hem 1/4" (mine is way more than a 1/4".....but I did measure extra long to give me a little wiggle room:)

Fold again, and stitch your hem--I hemmed something!

Sew your elastic together.

Pin your skirt in (aprx)1" sections to your elastic(remember your fabric is inside out again!)

Now to sew the elastic. You need to STRETCH the elastic as you go. pull it out with both hands, until your fabric lays flat, then sew.

After you've made it all the way around, do one more lap with a zigzag stitch on the edge of the fabric and elastic (stretch as you go again!)

Turn inside out, and you are DONE!!

Try not to look so much like a giant Easter egg/8 yr old, and please excuse the awesomeness that is my picc line peaking out of my shirt sleeve.

Thanks again to Susan's awesome skirt how-to...it made me a believer of sewing!

the end.

for dinner tonight: fish tacos!

so so so easy.

grilled* salmon fillets, seasoned with olive oil, lime, and s&p (*ahem, we would have grilled ours, had our dog not eaten our BBQ, so we broiled them instead....STILL good though!)

corn tortillas

black beans

guacamole

-avacado

-fresh lime

-cilantro

-coarse salt

cabbage pico de gallo

-chopped cabbage

-tomato

-red onion

-cilantro

-a little splash of vinegar

-S&P

add all ingredients to your tortillas, top with a little sour cream and a squeeze of lime...mmmm

enjoy!

over the weekend

friday love

We love a quick easy dinner.....a big salad! (remember that episode?)

Big Salad

2 parts of your favorite spring greens + 1 part spinach

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (Whole Foods has hormone and antibiotic free chickens for $6.99 on wednesdays!)

2 tomatoes, diced

1 dirty pepper

1/2 cucumber, diced

1 cup fresh mozzarella, cubed

small handful of thinly sliced red onion

handful of your favorite olives

handful of pepperoncinis

a super simple vinaigrette or your favorite Italian dressing

We looooooove Gourmandis Bakery in Salt Lake!

My "porcupine" was filled with chocolate cake, chocolate butter cream, raspberry filling and covered in chocolate and almonds...mmm....

250 S 300 E SLC

I love Endless.com.

L-O-V-E.

I was so proud of myself for making a skirt for $10 (post next week!), that I thought I'd reward myself with some new springy shoes.

You can search by style/color/price(they have the BEST sales!)

annnd.....free two day shipping AND free return shipping if you don't like them!

I KNOW I posted about this already.....but really, how many times can I say I LOVE Jamie Oliver! We (yes, Robby too!) are so excited for the show tonight! Don't forget to watch it! (I even DVR'd Oprah today because he is on...it takes alot to get me to watch Oprah!)

And please go help out and sign his petition HERE

And since we've been celebrating the big 3-0 for Robby around here all week....this song is dedicated to him, for his little Guns and Roses phase in Junior High (don't tell him I told you:)

Happy Weekend!!!

What did you love about this week?

friday feet

erin: five dollar flats scored at Hot Topic (did I really go in there??) in a random box at the back of the store are my favorite.

sheena: greeeeeeeeen. grass (that needs to be mowed!) and a new skirt:)

dirty peppers

(that's what the girl called them)

How to roast a pepper

1. take pepper. (hello pepper).

move oven rack to highest position.

Turn on broiler.

Place pepper into heated oven.

Turn pepper every few minutes, as skin blackens,

or pepper gets "dirty"

Remove from oven.

Place dirty pepper into paper bag,

and let sit for 15-20min.

Remove from bag.

Skin, seeds, stem and ribs will remove with ease!

chop, slice and/or dice

add them to your favorite salad, soup, dip, or sandwich.

(there will be a quiz tomorrow:)

no really, what am I doing?

I don't sew.

I wish I did....I just don't have the patience to follow those instruction thingies (patterns?)

I have sewn a straight line....and.....that's about it.

But seeing as though I still can't afford an adorable new Easter dress, and I want something new....what are my options?

This pattern has been all over the www these last few weeks--it's haunting me!! Every where I go I see someone else that had skirt success.

I have to try it. I picked out some cheap fabric--so if I my sewing machine bursts into flames and everything is lost.....I'm not out much.

And I'm posting it here, so you can hold me accountable. Now I HAVE to do it!! oh no.

wish me luck.

birthday cake fit for a thirty year old

It was actually his idea.

I asked him what he wanted, to which he replied (without hesitation)

"chocolate cake

almond frosting

toasted coconut".

ok.

Chocolate Cake with Almond Buttercream and Toasted Coconut

1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 c butter

1 1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c (or a couple good globs:) of mayonnaise. yup. get over it.

1 tsp pure almond extract

1 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

*this is my grandmas chocolate cake recipe.....be good to it:)

Mix together: 1 cup boiling water and cocoa. Set aside. (I also threw in a handful of semi sweet chocolate chips because I would have eaten them otherwise.....that part is optional!)

Mix flour, soda, and salt together, set aside.

Cream together in large bowl: butter, sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. mix in mayo.

Add almond extract.

Add the cocoa/hot water mixture and beat for 2 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients, and stir just until mixed.

Pour into greased round pans.

Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Don't forget to cool them on wire racks or they will stick to the pan and fall apart into pieces when you try to take them out, forcing you to glue them back together with a sloppy frosting job. Not that I know that from experience or anything.

Almond Buttercream

10 TBS butter, room temp

5 c powdered sugar

4-6 TBS milk

1 tsp pure almond extract (a little more or less to taste)

Cream together.

Toasted Coconut

Heat oven to 475°. Place 2 cups of sweetened coconut onto parchment lined baking pan. Place in oven and watch closely, turning coconut over as needed. 10-15 minutes.

Invite your friends over, pour yourself a tall glass of milk, and enjoy!

three-oh

How?

you were just a boy when we met.

and now?

30?

a man.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

who are we kidding.

still a boy.

but 30.

Wow.

love you lots.

Happy Day.

oops

over the weekend

the end.

friday love

I love cookies.

you already know that......but as much as I love them,

I also love fitting into my swimsuit come warmer weather (really liking this one).

But sometimes, I just need a cookie.

So I whipped up these....

....I wouldn't quite call them cookies.

Just "cookies".

Are they the best cookie you've ever had? I sure hope not!

But do they stand in place of a cookie, when you really want one, but maybe shoudn't have one (10:00 at night.)

Yes.

This was the most guiltless cookie I have ever sunk my teeth in to.

A great afternoon snack for the kids too (they are surprisingly filling!)

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal "Cookies"

1/2 c chunky peanut butter

1/2 c brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c rolled oats

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/4c ground flax seed

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°

Stir together oats, flour, flax, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix together peanut butter and brown sugar.

Mix in egg and vanilla.

Slowly add in oat and flour mixture.

Mix until just combined.

Form in to balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet.

Press dough flat, adding chocolate chips to top of dough.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.

makes about 18

enjoy (and still fit in to your swimsuit...bonus!)

We have LOVED the sunshine this week!! We cannot get enough!! I have fully enjoyed neglecting my housework, just so we could spend our days outside. Running, jumping, and rolling down hills!

We love to create. Every day.

I looooooove the photography in the spring Toast Catalogue.

Really really liking these guys right now. This artist is new to me, and I'm so happy to have found them (thanks hays:)

Happy Weekend!!!

What did you love about this week?

friday feet

erin: purple

sheena: sliding feet

Tabouleh

mmm.....I am craving some Reef's Kitchen.

My friend Tara told me that she made Tabouleh last week.....and I haven't stopped thinking about it since!

Must. Make. Tabouleh.

So I did. I threw in a few extras....because as long as we're eating a veggie meal, we might as well eat LOTS of veggies, right?

First I had to buy the bulgur wheat.

I had noooo idea what I was looking for--or where to find it.

Ta-Da!! Bulk section at Whole Foods.

It looks like this. (check out that hand modeling!)

To prepare it, add one part bulgur, to 3 parts boiling water.

Let soak for 1-2 hours.

Tabouleh (with spinach and cucumbers)

1/2 c dry bulgur (prepare as shown above)

2 tomatoes, diced

1/4 c red onion, finely chopped

1/2 a cucumber, diced

1/2 c spinach, coarsely chopped

1/2 c parsley, finely chopped

1-2 TBS fresh mint*, finely chopped

(*I am not a mint lover, some recipes call for up to 1/2 c mint--so add to taste)

juice of 1 lemon

2-3 TBS olive oil

a good sized pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients, and let sit for 30 min-to an hour before eating.

We ate it for a quick dinner with flat bread and hummus.

I also think it would be perfect with salmon!

enjoy!

ps. anyone have any other good bulgur recipes?

green day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!