Trip to CO!

We had so much fun on President's Day weekend. Hurray for important people's birthdays! We're so grateful that the Mulligan's invited us to stay with them for the weekend, they're the best. Grant, Ry's bff from childhood, is a riot and his family treated us just like family as well. It's pretty sweet to have a second family as cool as them.

The weather treated us pretty nicely. It was so beautiful, especially when it snowed. And it was nice to be able to enjoy it and know that we didn't have to go anywhere for a while.

We didn't take a lot of pictures, on the camera, but believe me, there are plenty more snapshots in my mind. We can't wait to go back and enjoy their home in the springtime!

 the view from our bedroom

 playing pool while we're snowed in

 the ice covered lake on the day before the big snow

 my cutie of a husband

 no explanation needed :)

beautiful and super-shy horses

Did I mention it was wonderful? It was. We also played Settlers of Catan the whole weekend--a total of 8 times? And we're officially addicted. We can't wait to use some Christmas money and buy it for ourselves!!!

*And a big thanks to the Mellor's for semi-quelling our thirst and for playing with us tonight. I can't wait to play again!

Mmm Seafood

Did anyone else get the sweet email that Tucanos will be including seafood in their churrasco for a few months? I know some of y'all may not be huge seafood fans, but seriously this looks oh so good. I may or may not be planning a trip to the Riverwoods in March solely around my love for seafood, and Tucanos of course. Hurray for amazing food and lots of it. Anyone want to join me/us?

the best salad ever

Ok, I admit, I'm a huge salad lover. And I love making huge salads as main dishes. And I know that there are a billion different kinds of salads and a lot of them can be quite amazing, but right now, this is my fave. I've made it at least 4 times in the past week, it's just that good.

Thanks to the just cook already blog, I found this spinach salad and I've been using spinach or romaine and switching the pecans for walnuts and chowin it down. SO GOOD. Also, she uses a poppyseed dressing, but the dressing Ryan made to go with our vday salad is what I've been using. There's something about homemade dressings that make salads even better.

Here's a picture of this salad that jana took with the recipe below. Seriously so good.

spinach/romaine
feta
craisins
chopped pecans/walnuts

Dressing thanks to Paula Deen (also, the salad that goes with the dressing is suuuuper good too):

• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

**I convinced Ryan to buy 2lbs of feta at Costco for this salad, and we already had craisins and some walnuts, I guess I'll just have to have this salad again for lunch today and dinner for the next few weeks, darn :)

Thoughts

Such an original title, right? Well, here's another short post, but I just had to put some of my random thoughts down.

[[Also, no worries, a Colorado post is on it's way soon. It was so beautiful!]]

1. I love that Forget You is on the radio. I love Glee's version, but whenever I hear Ceelo's I think of Glee anyway and it makes me super happy.

2. I just found out that Spice World will only be available for a few more weeks on Netflix. Good thing I took advantage of that when I was sick a few weeks back. :)

3. I'm loving my haircut. Want to hang out and see it in person??

4. I'm wearing the same cardigan I wore to work on Monday. Maybe no one really remembers? Ooops.

5. Happy belated bday to Cherie and pre birthday to Ken! I'm pretty proud of Ry for blogging on his own yesterday--I didn't even have to remind him. I have high expectations for him now... :)

Happy Birthday to Cherie B. Mangum!

Today is my Mom's birthday! She is a fantastic woman and I am so grateful for her. I would not be who I am today if it weren't for her influence. I love her so much and hope she is having a fantastic day!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Chicken Burritos

As I continue to merge the cooking blog and personal blog, I love finding recipes and ideas that I've forgotten about just since I made them this summer!

I know that burritos are pretty simple to make, but just as a reminder of how delicious and nutritious they can be, I bring you: Chicken Burritos ala Trader Joe's (I know, you may not have TJs taco seasoning, or may not even think it's that marvelous, but use whatever you have on hand, afterall, this is more of an idea than a recipe).

Chicken Burritos

Trader Joe's taco seasoning

Chicken

Onion

Cheese

Lettuce

Tomato

Cucumber

Refried Beans

Lime

I really loved using the taco seasoning on the chicken,  and using chicken instead of beef. I saute'd a little onion and then added the chicken and seasoning and a little water (pretty much just followed the directions) and it was really great and tasted like I did a lot more work than it really took, which is always nice.

A haircut!!!

I decided to take the plunge and really chop it all. So for your viewing pleasure:

an awful before picture (hey fake smile…)

and a few after pictures!

Something new...

I just scheduled my first hair appointment in Provs. I haven't gotten my hair cut in a little over a year and it's definitely time for a change. Come back to soon to see a new me and the awesome adventures in Colorado that we're having this weekend!

((also, don't forget to check the post under this baby. clicking on the link I include may just change your life.))

Have you heard?

Wholey Moley! I'll be waiting on pins and needles for this. H&M plus online shopping equals amazing gloriousness. Also, you can think me for this glorious news through a comment. I also accept swedish fish and carmel apple lollipops.

Craisins Salad and Apricot Chicken

I love this meal. So much. I love that there are good ingredients that you can find anywhere that make this meal so delicious. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. After you make it once, you won't be able to go three whole months without making it again. Both of these recipes are found in "The Essential Mormon Cookbook: Green Jell0, Funeral Potatoes, and other Secret Combinations."

Craisins Salad

2 bags of spring greens

8 oz. shredded mozzerella cheese

8 oz. shredded parmesean cheese

1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

8 oz. Craisins

1 c. sliced almonds, toasted

Don't worry about exactness with these ingredients. I recommend all of them, but use the proportions you like. Even though this is a side dish, this could definitely be the whole meal right here. Make sure you don't combine the dressing and the salad. Let everyone pour it over themselves so it won't wilt as fast. And it makes a lot, so be prepared to share. It also still tastes good the next day, but you want to make sure you eat this as quickly as possible.

Craisins Salad Dressing (aka the best salad dressing ever, and it's homemade!)

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

1 c. sugar

1/2 onion, chopped

1 1/2 t. salt

2 t. mustard

1 c. salad oil (I used vegetable oil)

In a blender mix all the ingredients except oil. Then add the oil and blend again. I put the dressing in a regular-sized mason jar to serve and then keep in the fridge. You'll need to shake it before using again.

Apricot Chicken

8 boneless, skinnless chicken breasts

8oz. Russian salad dressing

1 c. apricot jam

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

Place chicken in greased (I sprayed it with Pam) 9 by 13 in. baking pan. Combine the dressing, jam, and onion soup mix in separate bowl, then pour over the chicken. Bake uncovered at 350 for an hour.

Once again, this makes a lot, so it's fun for a party, and fun to eat as leftovers for lunch and dinner in the ensuing days. Trust me, you'll love it. It's simple and SO GOOD.

a valentine's day recap.

I bought Ry a balloon and surprised him by coming home during my lunch break and hanging out for a few minutes. It was so much fun. I'm a huge proponent of helium-filled balloons as well as mini surprises.

Then, once I got back from work, Ry had already started preparing a wonderful meal and he continued to finish it while I made some homemade chocolate pudding. Then we ate chicken gyros (made entirely by Ry, he'll post more on that later :) and an amazing bleu cheese salad (have I ever mentioned that I love cheese? Ry thinks that I'd be going to cheese and wine tastings all the time). We finished it off with some sparkling cider. Mmm.

Then I made some sweet chocolate bowls and filled them with the chocolate pudding and we read notes that we had written each other during our "14 days of Valentine's"

I know I've said it a bajillion times, but seriously, I love Ryan.

Our day was awesome, we hope yours was too! Check back soon for some rad food and a post from Ry!

Motherhood

Ok, so I'm not a mom yet, but with motherhood surrounding me, thanks to Whitney and Naomi and other friends both in reality and in the blogosphere, I seem to be thinking about motherhood more and more these days. Today I saw a post with some really great quotes on motherhood. The quotes that help you get by even when days are a struggle. I just had to write these down so that in the future, I can come back to these quotes, post them throughout my home, and look to them on days that are tough.

"Women rock a sobbing child without wondering if today's world is passing them by, because they know they hold tomorrow tightly in their arms.  When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire - or the shaping sounds of lullabies?  Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in Congresses?"  - Neal A. Maxwell

 

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautiful tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my nails from helping weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheek and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived." -Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Text4baby in the news!

I know, I'm on a bit of a blogging rampage, but bear with me, I'm just bursting with things to tell you/things to remind myself of!















Text4baby is getting even more famous!

Sometimes I feel like all the states in the middle of the east and west coast are a little behind the times. No one around here has really heard of Text4baby, but I'm so glad I got to be a part of HMHB this summer and work on this amazing program. They're in the New York Times, how rad!! Check the article out here.

Banana Bars!

These babies were so good and flavorful and easy to make! They had a perfect banana taste and the frosting makes them that much better. I think there may be a little too much frosting on these babies, so feel free not to use or eat it all, but it makes them look and taste amazing. I really wanted to make something sweet on my day off from work this summer and I had everything on hand for this (well, I did have to run across the street to get some heavy whipping cream, but that was it!). It makes a ton and is the perfect dessert to serve to a crowd, or just give away to your neighbors.

Banana Bars with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (originally from allrecipes.com)

½ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (I used three ripe bananas)
Frosting (use store-bought cream cheese frosting or make your own from the version below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10 x 15 inch jellyroll pan or one 9X13 pan and an additional 8X8 pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; stir into the batter. Finally, mix in the mashed banana. Spread evenly into the prepared pan(s). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 cup white sugar (you can use either granulated sugar or confectioners’ sugar – the confectioners’ sugar tends to dissolve better and not be as grainy but either one works fine)
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Set aside. In another medium bowl, beat whipped cream until stiff peaks form (it helps to use a chilled bowl and chilled beaters). Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. Frost to your heart’s delight!

Chicken Noodle Soup.

Mmmm. Last night Whitney gave us some chicken noodle soup and garlic french bread as a thank you for taking Lincoln's pictures. Unfortunately, the soup and bread was consumed way before the thought of taking a picture crossed my mind. Fortunately, she'll be giving me the recipe for both soon (hint, hint) so I can post it on here and eat it once a week for the rest of my life**. I've made chicken noodle soup before, and it was pretty good, but I need a replica pronto. And garlic french bread? Yes please. Good thing I'm off to the store in a few days. Whit, you're a genius and a life-saver.

**Ok, maybe just on the days when it's cold and rainy/snowy like today, but it happens a lot around here, so I have a feeling I'll be making this more and more.

It made me feel like **this** :)

Hole Punches

I was looking at hole punches from the Martha Stewart collection the other day… I looked at them for maybe a little too long, but they're the coolest things ever! Here are a few of my favorites:

Then, with all these cool hole punches, I can decorate our house with cute and cheap projects like this:

{Via}

{Via}

Hooray for being creative during the downer cold months of wintertime. :)

We're famous (but not really)

Since I'm not sure if I've already posted this or not, plus, I just love this video of Ryan and I so much, here it goes. At the Newseum (a museum in DC I highly recommend, even though you have to pay to get in) Ryan and I (but really, I wanted to do this SO bad) got to pretend to be newscasters. We got to pick the background and even did a dry run and just tonight I was looking through our documents and found this clip. It makes me smile and laugh every time!!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bread Bowls.

One word: delicious. WE (yes, Ryan was involved and even though I may have put him in a tight spot by leaving him for a few minutes and forcing him to help, he fabulously followed directions) made this last Sunday and had both the LeMeistres and Vanderwerkens over and they loved it just as much as we did!

Sadly, I didn't take a picture, but I followed the directions closely (I didn't have apple juice so I did as she said and replaced it with more chicken broth, and instead of smoked ham used the deli sliced honey ham that we get from Costco) and they looked just like Mel's. So go and make these babies, you won't be disappointed.

Also, I have a thing for homemade bread bowls. I highly suggest you try your hand at these babies. It's so rewarding!

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/01/chicken-cordon-bleu-bread-bowls.html

{Via Mel's blog}

Chocolate Chip Cookies

So maybe I haven't found the perfect chocolate chip recipe, but these babies come super close. It's another Mel's Kitchen Cafe recipe, which comes as no surprise. It's also in her "Best of" category, which it is definitely worthy of. I totally would have made these tonight, had it not been for the lack of sugar in this house.

From Mel's Kitchen again. They're in her "Best of" category and they were super good! She got the recipe from Cook's Illustrated. I would really love to subscribe to some cooking magazines like that, or Cooking Light, or something. Ah, maybe we'll live in one place for more than 1 year, so I can get a subscription without having to change my address halfway through!

(my version of a black and white cookie)

Darn Good Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Mels Kitchen Cafe

*Makes 2-3 dozen cookies

2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 1/2 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 cup packed light brown sugar (7 ounces)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet or milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure an oven rack is in the center of the oven.

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

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until well mixed. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Mix well until the batter has lightened slightly in color, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips at the same time. Mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Form dough into tablespoonful-sized balls and place on parchment or silpat-lined cookie sheets. Frozen cookie dough can be stored for up to 2 months in the freezer.

Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes until the edges are set and just lightly browned (keeping in mind that ovens can vary in temperature so use your best judgment). Don’t overbake or else the cookies will be tough and hard. If baking frozen cookie dough, add 1 to 2 minutes onto the baking time. Store the baked cookies in an airtight container (or baked cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months).

a photography update

I admit, I've been a little terrible lately at taking pictures of the two of us, however, I've been on a roll with my photography business, so I thought I'd post a few of my favorites from the past few weeks.

(Also, I'm totally posting this while Ry is at stake conference and I'm sick in bed. No worries, it's just a sore throat and lack of peppiness, but I thought I'd keep it to myself this Sunday. It hit me last night and the quirky thing about it is that LAST stake conference Ry was the sick one and I was the one who had to go by myself.)

First up, Jess. It was my first time taking maternity pictures of her and we had tried to get some photos at the end of December, but the weather wasn't cooperating and neither were any of the buildings on campus. So a few weeks ago we roamed around town and I think we definitely got some keepers.

Next, our friends AC/DC. We met Amanda and Dave in DC and I'm so glad we get to live nearby back in Utah so we can still hang out. I took Anniversary pictures of them last weekend and although I'm waiting to edit them with Whitney Lewis, I really like the one that I've worked on so far. We went to Utah lake and maybe it's just me, but walking on the frozen lake was the coolest thing ever.

And last but definitely not least, is the cutest boy ever, Lincoln. Even though I'm currently interning with a wedding photographer, I would love to take more portraits of newborns and little ones (hint hint). They're so precious! And the interactions of newborns and their moms is totally priceless.

You can see these pictures and more on Facebook as well as on my photog blog. Also, if anyone knows of couples getting married, I would love to take engagements and/or formals/bridals. And portraits of babies/kids/families too. If y'all could help get the word out, I would appreciate it so much. Thanks for your support!

A Rare Post from Ryan

Sometimes simple dates are the best.

Last night Em and I started our evening by going to the Temple. I don't think we have ever left the Temple without feeling closer to one another and more grateful for one another. Not a bad way to start the evening, right? We even bumped into some friends, the Doxeys!

After the temple we went to Red Robin for dinner. Although it is a chain restaurant, they serve a mean cheeseburger and offer unlimited fries. It also helped that Emily had a 5 dollar gift certificate she got from work. We can't remember the last time we went out to eat in Provo when it was just the two of us.

We returned home and watched an episode or two of 30 Rock, read for a bit, and went to bed!

P.S. I apologize for the lack of pictures. I'm still working on my blog-post technique. It's hard to follow someone as gifted as Emily!

I'm sooooo excited!!

In May, we're going to ROME!!!!!!!!!

just thought y'all should know. i'm super super pumped.