Sunshine on its way!

This weekend was marvelous! It was so sunny and warm, and since I always seem to be freezing cold, it was so wonderful! Of course, daylight savings helped with that a bit, because the sun was up later. Because of daylight savings though, I missed my show on Sunday night! Once Upon a Time? I’m sure you’ve heard of it, or watch it religiously. In either case, I knew it was going to be a good one, and it was! (I watched it on Hulu last night…) ugh, sooo good! Interesting twists and turns. Anyways…my mom thinks its super cheesy, and it probably is, but I love it so much I don’t even care!

So, I was pondering a bit yesterday, and just thinking about the gender wars that seem to be happening everywhere! Especially on Pinterest and Facebook. Why do men say such negative things about women? Why do women say such negative things about men? Even if these things are true, we should be looking for positive things in everyone. We aren’t going around saying, “oh I think I want to be frustrated/upset/sad/miserable today.” No! We want to be happy! Isn’t that everyone’s goal? We all pursue things that make us happy. How can we upstage the gender war with good things? I’ve thought of a few:

To men: Thank you for working so hard to keep food on the table for your families. Thank you for being an upstanding role model to our children. Thank you for learning things that you can do to make progress.

To women: Thank you for nurturing your children and/or the people around you, and learning what you can to make the home a better place for your family. 

We all need men AND women! Families and girls/guys night out. Right? Anyways, stepping back to the ground, off of my soap box. Just something to think about.

So I had LOADS of fun baking this weekend! Did a couple Pinterest Pinned desserts and a snack/dinner idea! 

The first was a Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Loaf, from Sweet Pea's Kitchen, who adapted it from someone who adapted it from someone else, but hey, its so good!

 

This is the Pinterest Pinned picture

This is my picture. Not as pretty, but oh so good! 

My glaze on the top was a bit too stiff, and I let the loaf and the lemon syrup cool too much before melding the two together. But, between Chad and I, we've eaten the whole thing in three days. It is very rich. I could only have one slice at a time--which was kinda sad because it was so amazingly delicious! The top was a bit tart for my taste, so next time I think I'll not put quite as much lemon juice in the syrup. But also, like I said, I let them both cool too much, so the syrup kinda pooled in the top. Maybe that's why. Also, I put frozen blueberries in, instead of fresh or thawed, and so they all sunk to the bottom as you can see. It was still really good, just some tips for when you make it :)

Next, I made Pizza Bites, from Pennies on a Platter. They turned out really well for not using the exact recipe...

 

Here's the gorgeous picture of pepperoni, cheese and dough.

I didn't open mine like that and take a picture, but:

Here's before the oven...

and after. 

We call them Pizza Rolls, because they're a combo of both.

I used my mom's friend's recipe for pizza dough/scones/bread/rolls, so they turned out more like rolls with some cheese and pepperoni in the middle, but they were still good! I think that should be my catchphrase: "But they were still good!" I say that a lot...

I also used crisco and a pastry brush to brush the tops instead of olive oil. Crisco is amazing. Unhealthy and kinda gross if you really think about it, but amazing nonetheless. 

Peggy's pizza dough/scones/bread/rolls recipe is the best!!! I love it so much. It makes sweet dough that you just can't get enough of! The only thing I don't make with this recipe is bread. Because I buy Grandma Sycamore's White Bread from Costco...because it is to die for. (I think I'm a carb-aholic...)

Scones--Peggy

2 C warm water

1 T yeast

1/2 t salt

2 T sugar

4 C flour (2x water) (I always end up using more flour, because I like my dough less sticky)

5 T oil

In large mixing bowl combine water, yeast, salt, sugar and oil. mix slightly. Wait for yeast to bubble and float to top. Add enough flour. Knead five minutes (I don't ever count how much I knead it. I just knead it until it is the right texture) Roll out. Cut. Fry. 

For Rolls: Form into balls. Let rise 10 minutes. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

On Sunday, Chad wanted me to make Salty Turtle Brownies from une Gamine dans la Cuisine

Their beautiful picture:

 

okay, does that not look like something you would spend an hour or two in the kitchen to make???

Here's mine. I just realized I forgot the chocolate on top...But it was still good!!!

yummy! 

okay, I need to learn how to take better pictures. The juxtaposition of these two just makes me hurt inside. Apparently I need lessons. Google! Isn't that the truth? Whenever we need to know something its either Google, Wikipedia, or our friend who is supposed to know, but then refers you to Google...or Wikipedia. :D I love how much information we can get in 2 seconds on the internet. We are so blessed. 

So for these brownies, you NEED vanilla ice cream! They are so rich its ridiculous, but of course delicious! I've never made home-made caramel before, and let me give you a tip: when you make these, make sure your sugar/water mixture does not cool off too fast. I got huge lumps of hardened, caramelized sugar that wouldn't dissolve back into the caramel. It still turned out okay, but I think it would have been loads better. I also forgot to get cream, so I used milk (ouch, I know), which worked okay, but it could have been creamier. Also, just to cut down on costs a little, instead of pecans I used hazelnuts, still unbelievably delectable, but not as pricey--you know, college student budget and all. 

Because of a very generous grandmother (Grandma Nell) who gets meat from her sister (Aunt Ann) who has a ranch, and because my Grandma Nell and Grandpa Jim can't eat an outdoor freezer, an indoor freezer and two garbage bags-full worth of meat, we got steak for dinner Sunday night. 

Delicious Delights: Steak!

So, pretty basic: Johnny's Salt and Red Pepper Flakes rubbed into each side of the two steaks. We have one of those grills that sits on top of your oven burners, so I used that. I sprayed it with cooking oil, turned the heat to medium (we have an electric stove, so it took a while to heat up. If you have a gas stove, it won't take as long). When it was all heated up, I put the steaks on. The fat dripped off, sizzled and smoked. Here's a couple pictures:

It got so smoky in our apartment that when the steaks were done and we were still waiting for the carrots, we went on a walk. We left all our--okay 2--windows open, with a fan going. ugh it was so nasty, I could barely breathe. But, oh. my. gosh. The first bite was worth every cough, it was so delicious. I wish I could share my joy with you...but I don't think I could express myself accurately enough. 

Side note(s): I just got that banana hanger/stand, love it! The salt and pepper shakers are apple themed (my kitchen) and the cute lady bug timer I got from my Grandma Margieann for my bridal shower. I love that thing! Of course, the ticking drives me nuts, but I can get distracted sometimes, so it keeps me on top of my baking. :)

New section! Organized Opposites. This is where I show you before and after pictures. I think I'm going to show in-between pictures from now on too, because these before and afters look kinda similar, but I'll explain. :P

This is a bunch of counted cross-stitch stuff my Grandma Nell gave me. I had no idea what was in the bin, so I had to take everything out. It was all kinda just piled in there--according to me. She probably knew where everything was in there. :) It doesn't look too messy though. 

This is it all done. Looks about the same, doesn't it? Well, I can tell you: I have the frames on the bottom, with the fabric. Then on the left side I have started projects, and on the right side I have kits and patterns. The three boxes to the left with the grocery bag behind it is all thread. (wow!)

Here's a closer view. :) Looks decent, but I'm pretty sure if anyone else were to know where things were in this bin, they would have to take out everything too.

okay, here's my baking cabinet--or so I call it. It just has all the baking essentials, as you can see. 

I had just bought a few things, so I needed to take everything out and start over. That's my method: take everything out and put everything back in a place. 

Looks about the same...but I can tell you that the things I use most are right near the front. 

I have limited space in my apartment, so this looks really good. (and the reason you see two bottles of oil, is because one is 'used' oil, that you can reuse for deep frying things)

So, question: How do you get baked on cooking spray off your pans? Its nasty, and sticky and brown! yuck!

Happy Tuesday!