A weekend of baking

On Friday, Marilyn came down to see our Casa, and we ended up baking and cooking all day Saturday. We first made some delicious coffee cake (which I had always wanted to make)

 Followed by a peach pie, made with homemade crust, not the frozen crust I had to resort to in the past. Hopefully I can use the pie crust demonstration to make my own from scratch!

It was delicious!

We also made some twice baked potatoes, which I didn't take a picture of. I was too busy eating pie:)

"Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love."

La Recipes:

Coffee Cake
2 1/2 Cups of Flour
3/4 C sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 c salad oil
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix together and put aside 1/2 cup to crumble on top.

Mix the rest with:
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 tsp soda
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

Bake in cake pan at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.


Peach Pie
Prepare pastry for peach pie (8 inch pie)
Sliced peaches (about 4 cups)
1 tsp lemon juice
2/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp margarine

Heat oven to 375. Prepare pastry. Prepare peaches and lemon juice. Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon, stir into peaches. Turn into pastry-lined plate. Dot with margarine. Cover with top crust and cut slits in it, seal and flute. Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble-1hour to 1 1/2 hours. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil to prevent burning.

Two Newbies:)

Today I made two new dishes at the same time.

I sound like I really accomplished something but really I just put together a simple casserole and a pie that did not require baking. But the fact that I multi-tasked in the kitchen itself is a feat! There is only one true blip in the whole story...

Today, since my extra days of experimenting in the kitchen are numbered, I decided to make a different version of my new favorite chicken dish, Chicken Divane, and a new dessert-Pink Lemonade Pie (recipe provided by Marilyn-thank you very much:))

So, I first started with the chicken. I know I have blogged this recipe before but I am blogging it again to tell you how good and easy it is. Also, this time I added potatoes to it.

So I cooked the chicken first.

Then I chopped up the chicken. I also drained two cans of potatoes.

You could probably peel and add regular potatoes, but recently Shawn and I have discovered a cheap and sometimes tasty potato alternative-canned potatoes. My first impression was eerie grossness, but we have used them to make camping potatoes and now I am using them in this dish.

For the sauce, you combine 1/2 cup mayo, 1 cup or more of cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 can of cream of chicken soup.

Then, in a casserole dish you layer potatoes, chicken, sauce and then sprinkle cheese on top. You bake at 350 for 30 minutes!

And it was a hit with the husband:)

For the pie, I first was faced with the feat of making a pie crust. This is where the blip occurred. After three attempts, I decided I was not cut out for homemade pie crust. So I went to Wal-Mart and bought a frozen one:) Oh well, my feelings aren't too hurt:)

Anyways, you beat together a package of cream cheese, 1 container of thawed frozen Pink Lemonade concentrate, and one container of whipped topping. Then you spoon it into the crust, freeze for 20 minutes and then chill until serving.

In the end, it came out kind of runny, but was another hit with the husband:)

Funny cats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IytNBm8WA1c

Watching this made me feel assured that my cat isn't the only completely psycho cat in the world:)

And it made me want another kitty:)

Ideas on Decorating

Something that is so nice about summertime, and about working part-time, is that it gives me time to think. During the school year, I am lucky if I have the energy some days to think about what to make for dinner, much less bigger things such as how to decorate my house. So, I am using these last few weeks of summer to really think about how I want to eventually decorate the rooms in my house. Of course, as all homeowners know, my ideas will probably change before I have time to act on them, or will change after I put them into place. But, in order to get the ball rolling and to make use of my extra time, I am going through each room in my house and just thinking...

And for the record, I am not going to include outside in this brainstorming session. Its too hard to walk outside, much less stand outside and think, so I am just going to save that for another post...

Living Room
Our living room is our favorite room in the house and the house where we spend most of our time. I love our neutral colors, and I like keeping things simple, yet decorative. I already love how we have set up our bookshelves and the layout of our furniture, but there are a few things I want to update:

A new TV stand??? (after a several hour long debate with my husband, I really think I would like a new, wood TV stand) I don't know though...

A mirror that goes above the couch

A new lamp (this one I have is on its last dying breath)

A new decoration for our foyer table. Heavy flower arrangement + cat who jumps on everything = knocking over of vase onto wood floor, cracking nice hardwood floor. Soooo, this new decoration has to have some thought and catproofing.

A way to hide outlets and cords-I hate it when outlets and cords so..so I am working on cute ways to hang them all up

A scent system for my living room. I LOVE scent and I like it strong (several times I go overboard and force Shawn into a coughing spell) So, I would like to get some kind of decorative scent system that will make my living room smell yummy:)

Dining Room
Like the living room, I already love my dining room as if,but have a few ideas...

A corner table? I am sure sure what it will hold, but a nice wood one could be cute.

A buffet up against the wall (I love buffets and china cabinets) I would like to get one with storage to hold placements, chargers etc)

A continuous update of a cute floral centerpiece- I love the idea of having fresh flowers on the table!

And all of these items will need to be catproofed, meaning no breakable items places on top that could damage my wood floor

You darn cat:)


Kitchen
I love my kitchen:) I spend a lot of time, there, and wouldn't change a thing.

Garage
My lovely husband took care of that. That is his domain.

Our Bedroom
So, this is the largest bedroom I have ever had. I love it already, but here are some thoughts:

Seating in the vast empty corner. Maybe adding a lounge chair in the corner?

Decorating in the window area. At first I was thinking about a window seat, but I don't think I would really use it. Now I am thinking maybe an old trunk, a way to stack old books...just some decoration stuff...it's my most puzzling area thus far.

A photo collage to the left of the TV-some photos of me and the hub:)

Upstairs Hallway

I want to add some friends and family pics. and perhaps a nice painting (to make us look worldly)

Guest bedroom


I am not sure yet...I want it to be cozy and inviting...we will just have to see.

So, over the months we will just have to see how far I get and how it all changes. I am not sure if I should go room by room or do a little in each..we will just have to see. I will be showing makeover pics soon!! Consider these some before pics:)

Another picture collage by Smilebox

A game unlike any other

 

Last night Shawn and I invited Deven and Jennica over to our home. We wanted to show off our new home, and eat some good food, which we most certainly did.

We also ended up doing something that often happens whenever we get together with Deven and Jennica- we played a game. In fact, when talking recently, Jennica and I realized that every time they come over, we open a game that we haven't opened yet. That's because they are our go-to game people.

We always end up sharing some laughs when we play games- mostly coming from me and Jennica in regards to the artistic skills of our husbands, buy this time the laughs came from both sides. We decided to play the game Quelf, which was a Christmas gift from my grandma. We had no idea how to play the game or what it was about, but we were with our game friends, so all was well.

Well, let me tell you, this game is quite a game. If you have never played it, and you enjoy making a fool of yourself, or are with company who enjoy the same and aren't modest, this game is for you. Here are just some shots:

Here is Jennica: she is only allowed to pick up things with her pinkies:

Paper airplane contest:

Deven had to wear a sign over his head:

Shawn taking it all in:

In this awesome pic, I have my finger up my nose and am yodeling. Yup.

So, it was a fun night had by all, and if you want a fun time I would highly recommend playing the game Quelf. But more so, I would recommend continuing to get together with people such as our dear friends the Hammerschmidts, who, every once in a while, will just sit down and be ridiculous for a night:)

In closing, here is my husband and his adorable beard: :))



Easy Spaghetti

Yes, I know spaghetti is already easy. But this spaghetti dish is easy, and DELICIOUS. This is not the spaghetti you make everyday in college because it's all you can make and it's all you can afford-this is much more.

In fact, as I was taking this picture, I could not help but to take my spoon and eat several huge bites-after I had two big helpings for dinner:)

And I am for sure not a food photographer-who takes a picture of a half eaten dish in a pan? Haha-I never claimed to be professional.

Shawn introduced me to this dish- and everytime we make it, I have a hard time staying out of it!

Ingredients:

1 16oz package of spaghetti

1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese

1 can of tomato soup

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1 pound of ground beef

Preheat the oven to 375. Brown the beef and cook the noodles. Then in a large mixing bowl, combine the noodles, beef, both soups and half the bag of cheese. Add a can of water (just use one of the cans from the soups). Mix together and pour into a pan (I use a 13X9 glass baking pan). Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Put into the over for 30 minutes. ENJOY!

FYI- Shawn thinks this tastes even better a day after it's made. 

Ol' Summer Days

Well, the Fourth of July has come and gone, which means summer is already halfway over!

Here are some pics from our Fourth of July. The day mostly revolved around food, which any good day does really:

The day began with some waffle-makin:

Its too early for fireworks Lydia

 Grilling hot dogs later on- a hot dog goes from a cheap, subpar meal to a juicy, delicious delicacy when you grill it versus nuke-it-YUM

 The man behind the grill isnt too bad either:)

 Hot dogs and homemade mac n cheese

 I just took this picture because I wanted to show off this baking dish that I have that I have been waiting to use forever-its just so fancy!

And then there was flag cake!!

Aside from Fourth of July food, we have been busy decorating our house- including putting pictures up, enjoying our new washer and dryer (our laundry is soft and smells soooo good) and organizing, organizing, organizing.

Is there seriously anything more precious than a kitty enjoying herself?:)

I think she did this after she got in trouble for being in the way while I was cleaning or bolting from the house once someone opened the door. This is how she gets her way...every time:)

My wonderful husband, organizing our garage...

Oh Lydia. She tries to be helpful...

As summer reaches the halfway point, I began to think about those goals that I set out when I started this blog, and when summer was just getting underway. Summer has a way of doing that to you- in early June, you begin to think that you have all this time to do all these things, then by July you begin to think, where did the time really go?

So lets see- last June, I said I was going to:

•  Become the next Martha Stewart (or at least start homemaking)
• Get healthier
• Plan for next school year
• Read like a champ

And....thus far...

•  I have GREATLY enjoyed cooking and decorating my new home-and we are just gettin   started- yard projects are soon to come

• I have improved upon some health habits, and succumb to others:) But this is kind of how it is huh? I have gotten back into exercising, which is AWESOME (sometime I want to blog about exercise and how I am convinced it truly makes or breaks my day). I have started to eat more fruits and veggies (having a grill really helps) and I would say that I am eating better overall. However, I am still drinking soda (I can't help it!!!) so not all is perfect. I haven't really totally revamped the way I have been eating, but I have done a few little things that have made such a difference:

  1) I chop up fruits and veggies the second I get them home from the store- half the  reason I didn't eat fruits and veggies in the past is because the require prep (yes I am that lazy). And FYI, there are YouTube videos on how to cut every kind of fruit out there (and yes I have looked all of them up-watched one on how to cut cantaloupe today)
2) Almonds. They are my savior food! And for those who like them bold, the Wasabi and Soy Sauce flavor is amazing!
3) Have a good breakfast and lunch- when I eat a healthy breakfast and lunch, then having McDonalds for dinner is not such a travesty- this helps me out especially during the week
4) Tuna-another amazing food-love having it for lunch
5) Plan ahead. When I think about what we are going to have for dinner each night of the week, I am so much less likely or go pick-up fast food.

I want to continue to look for ways to be healthier-so that I can keep up with Lydia and her antics, and the little squirts I work with:)

• I have been very busy this summer with summer school-next week is my last week! Phew! Its been a good experience overall, but fairly tiring. Each day has been different and crazy, but I am glad I did it and the kids I have worked with have been pretty sweet. However, it makes me thankful that I don't have them all in one room at one time during the school year. My secret though? Food. Kids will do anything if they are promised treats-hehe

• I think I have officially read three whole books this summer- not really that whoopie:) I haven't really read anything earth shattering-but I do love having my Nook:))

So I haven't done too bad with my summer goals, although I already feel like the summer is almost gone- I will be spending the next few weeks working on the house, going into my real classroom to prepare for next year, and hopefully getting to see some friends before work starts:)

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Talk to ya soon!

Home Sweet Home!

The Showmans have landed:)
We are now officially in our new home! Here are some pictures of our new home!

We are still working hard on decorating-I will post more complete pictures soon!

It has been wonderful so far and truly already feels like home. We spent our first night in our new house doing what we do best: eating Chipoltle and watching Dateline-our usual Friday night date:)
Lydia is wound up like a clock, like we knew she would be. She spent the first few hours doing what we knew she would do- hopping on the counter, climbing every bookshelf, examining every window. Then, she settled for a few minutes on the guest bed to take a nap.

Then, after several more hours of destruction, she settled in for the night on our bed, and slept there the whole night. Did she notice that I brought over her previous bed? Or is she just declaring her new nightspot, which is snuggled right between mommy and daddy?

Anyways, we are home and are looking forward to spending a long, relaxing Fourth of July in it!
Five things to love about a new home:
1. The feeling of being settled-truly knowing we can make it a home because there isn't a lease that ends soon:)
2. Decorating with your husband-having it be an "our home":)
3. Getting ready to make your first few meals- after a week of McDonalds and Pizza
4. Watching your cat explore and seeing how happy she is to have new spaces and places:)
5. Feeling sentimental about leaving behind your first place together, but feeling even more excited to start anew:)