the most exquisite baked oatmeal

hey guys,
yeah I know my blog is still not "remodeled" and I haven't posted in ages buuuut I have a recipe to share so that counts for something right? don't get too excited thinking I made this one up although it is pretty self explanatory. this is yet again another one of my pinterest finds. I am making it a goal to cook 2 pinterest recipes a week A. to try all this yummy stuff I am merely drooling all over my keyboard for and B. to get myself back into a more "domesticated state". I am really lacking in the good housewife department lately so this lovely breakfast is part of that effort!

I got a couple requests on instagram for a recipe so the link is here. It's super easy to throw together and makes your house smell so freaking vanilla-y wondrous. Hope you enjoy!

pinterest win

I love pinterest. Understatement of 2013. Actually doing the stuff I pin is another story. Having the things I try from pinterest actually work out is a another other story. I tried a skinny chicken tikka masala recipe the other night and it was actually really really good. Better yet Joey even liked it. To top it all off it was SO easy to make. To prevent spoiling this successful dinner for Joey, I refrained myself from having a food photo shoot. I didn't even instagram it! I'm a good wife. Understatement of 2013. It looks like this.



Instead of rice we had it with Trader Joe's Harvest Grain Blend (which is just complete deliciousness) that I cooked with better than bouillon vegetable paste. I added some veggies to it for extra healthies. I feel like such a winner with this dinner, and I definitely will be making this again. Click on the link to try it out! I'm sure this could be vegetized and substituted for extra veggies, tofu, seitan, or other non carion items. Thanks pinterest!

Birthday week

Woo! best time of the year baby! Birthday week officially commenced this weekend. Here's what happened...

                                                     I went to school. Took a final.

Found a food cart with green smoothies!

Joey got a new laptop for school. He is SO excited about it.

I got a card in the mail with some mula! Thanks dad! Also thanks Nana for the card and mula from when I was in town a couple weeks ago!

Made chocolate almond croissants for a baptism...that I forgot what time it actually started. Thought it was at 12, sent Joey to drop them off...yeah baptism was at 10 am. FAIL. Sister Missionaries sure got a lovely treat though!

We are training Gertie to be able to go on walks with us with out a leash. She did pretty well, but gets distracted sometimes and likes to wander a little bit. We just lure her back with a tennis ball.

We went to the movies at my favorite theater. Sundance cinemas. They are seriously the best! So glad we will have one in Houston too!

We saw Moonrise Kingdom. Best movie ever at the moment. This is the film of summer 2012. Go see it.

Kitty/Ethel likes to hang out in our cupboards.  She also has an undying love and friendship for computer cases. She has been pretty serious with my case since I got my laptop. Now there is a new guy on the block since Joey got his laptop. She is letting my case down easy not totally quitting it cold turkey, but she doesn't leave big black's sight for much. I thought she would appreciate me merging her two loves into one spot. I think it is safe to agree that she does.

I have an addiction to sweets. I also have an addiction to pancakes. I was seriously craving some almond flour pancakes yesterday, and these little minis did the trick. I should have waited to eat pancakes for later, because I want to try a pinterest "funfetti" pancake recipe on my bday...is that too many pancakes in a week? Prolly. Oh well. Happy Birthday week to me!

Sunday Funday

Happy Blessed Sabbath brothers and sisters. haha jk. Days like today are my favorite...minus the fact that I need to type two papers and study for a test....ya I need to get on that soon. It is a favorite though because it is a stormy day! I love rainstorms, and in Madison we get really good ones. The kind of storms that stop the speaker in church and all the little kids are like "OOHHHH!" after a ginormous thunder clap. I love the dark gray sky and its contrast to the vivid green flora. It makes the house so cozy to me. To add to the coziness theme I put some vanilla in an oven safe bowl in the oven at 300 (thank you pinterest) to make the house smell delicious...then I got real and made some knock you naked brownies (again thank you pinterest). They are in the oven as I type, and cannot wait to nibble on their chocolatey caramelicious faces.

 Yesterday was Cinco De Mayo! To celebrate I made cilantro lime chicken tacos which were so EASY and TASTY. What could be better right? It was just 3lbs BS (boneless-skinless) chicken breasts, 16oz salsa, two limes, 1 packet taco seasoning, mix all up in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8hrs. We loved them. Hated the tortillas I bought, but at least the meat was good.

Freddy food plate got a bean fro, rice beard, and taco ears.

I used cilantro and tomatoes from the farmer's market to make some mean pico. mmm.

So I mentioned in my last post that yesterday was also Mifflin. What is Mifflin you ask? One of the biggest parties of the year in Madison like around 20k people big. It isn't a party that necessarily supports our morals, so we didn't go,  but I find it entertainng to see how excited everyone gets for it...and the drunk facebook messaging/status updates that follow from my friends ;)

Mifflin is a block party held every year on the first weekend in May. Originally it was a war protest in the 70s but now is an excuse to let loose and get really drunk. This year there was drama with the Mifflin party because it fell on the same day  as Cinco de Mayo. The party's theme combined the two celebrations, and of course people got offended (someone always does). It ended up being that the Dean of UW sent out a really awkward video telling students not to go to the party. That opened pandora's box. If you go on Youtube you will find a bunch of videos making fun of the deans video with dubstep remixes, memes from movies, etc. I just find it hilarious. This was my favorite meme

The whole situation just makes me laugh, because this stuff is from another planet compared to what student life is like back in Provo at BYU. It is so funny how opposite these two schools are. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to go to the party just a tinsy bit, but whatcha gonna do. Back to studying!

a not so average easter

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter! This year went a bit differently than it usually goes, but it was still nice. I got up early to study for a big test that I had today (blahhhhhh). Joey got sick this weekend, so I was nice and let him sleep. I went to church, and left early so I could get back to studying. Isn't this an amazing Easter so far? Well after I came home I got some breakfast going for the two of us. I made some resurrection rolls (yummy delish!)

they taste like cinnamon rolls but not as sweet :)

and our favorite Whole Foods black forest bacon. We swear by it. I don't know if it is only in the midwest you can get it or all Whole Foods has them, but it is seriously the best thing you will put in your mouth.

I know you can just hear it sizzle. When you cook it until it is super crunchy it just melts in your mouth!

After Breakfast Joey suprised us with easter baskets! So proud of him I didn't even have to ask for one haha. I got a cake pop kit, some cadberry creme eggs, and pink easter socks (which I gave myself lol). Joey even got a basket for Gertie and Ethel to share! Gertie got some bones and a toy, and Ethel got some Fancy Feast haha...Ethel likes to eat.

I got joey a very maritime outfit, but I failed on his pant size so I have to return it. I will make him model it though when I get the right size. Don't judge that I still don't know my husbands pant size! I also filled his 5gallon plastic storage box  Easter basket with peeps, lil debbie oatmeal cream pies and starburst sour jelly beans. Very successful in our loot from the Easter bunny.

I spent the rest of the afternoon attempting to be studying before I met up with my friend Colleen. She was my first friend that I made in Madison, and was definitely the one I am closest to. Even though she is ten years older than me we totally clicked. She is so fun and we always have a good time together. We met working at Gigi's, and I remember the day she started that I wanted to be friends with her.  She unfortunately is moving to Georgia, and this was our last day to be able to hang out before she flew down south. Her husband is already down there so she was spending Easter all alone. We made plans to have dinner since she had to show her house until the late afternoon. Instead of your typical Easter brunch we had an Easter dinner at the Avenue Bar

....just the two of us since Joey still wasn't feeling well. We both had pot roast with mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a whole lot of gravy! Talk about a wonderful Easter dinner!

blondies

We took our last picture together, and weirdly enough I didn't cry! It still doesn't feel like she is moving away. Maybe I have become numb to separations living away from friends and family, or I am just in denial. Who knows. Well I need to get back to the grind of homework. Slacking over spring break has not done me any favors. Time to read about mucous plugs!

perfect for a rainy day

Are you tired of always dressing to impress to not getting much in return? Wishing you had something that would snuggle on the couch with you while watching a marathon re-run of america's next top model? Then look no further. Just dig out your giant ramekins, get some puff pastry dough, and GUINNESS*This my friends is that steak and Guinness pot pie I mentioned earlier. It was absolutely delicious. No complaints whatsoever except that I can't eat this everyday without becoming a whale. Try it out! It takes a while so start make it early enough and you will be set.don't skimp on the cheese. go with Irish Dubliner white cheddar.The buttery crust with the bite from the cheddar and Guinness just go down so easliy....and then somehow you eat the whole thing. not something you should make too often, but definitely something to make on a cooler rainy spring day. with the grass going green and rainbows abound you will feel like ye are in de ole land o the irish laddie. Here is the link for Jamie Oliver's recipe that I used.
*disclaimer-I don't drink, but I find no harm in cooking with alcohol. There ya go.

a green first day of spring

Happy official first day of spring my friends!
I don't know about you guys, but at least in Madison it has felt a lot more like summer and not too springy. Which is unseasonable, insane, unsettling, even scary. I say scary because if it is like this now we will either A: have a scorching hot summer. B: have snow in July. C. just have gorgeous weather forever?!I don't like to think about early spring here. It is mostly cold, wet, and above all else GREY (gray?)meh I like the looks of grey. more fancy). The snow is still melting, it is all gross from dirt and junk, and just not fun. I would show some pictures of Madison in March, but the only photos I have of us in March are from when we were in Spain.Unlike the negative descriptions of March Maddness in Madison, our view for a few weeks was enjoyably like this :) Naranjas.Alhambra was probably my favorite place. So amazing! We walked around the gigantic palace and gardens for hours. Afterwards we had a lovely lunch of pancetta sandwiches at a cafe on a cliff. Then we walked down, down, down the mountain to downtown and walked some more. Lots of walking.

It wasn't always sunny in Spain we had lots of rainy days. You shouldn't feel bad for us though. We pushed through it and somehow had a good time.Whoever said the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain, has apparently never been to Barcelona in March.

Moving on from Spain before my withdrawals become too hard to bear, Spring in Madison is wonderful this year! I celebrated all things green according to Madison's standards while walking around campus today. I grabbed a green tea frap from starbs for a quick snack before lecture. Watched some protesters sporting their giant metal peace symbols protesting the war while a local band rocked out. Madison doesn't mess around when it comes to practicing your civil rights. Our protesters always put on a good show! Need further example? Look up the protests last year with gov. walker.

Yup I sported all things green for a lovely first day of spring. Green frap, green protests, and green rainboots! Just need some more sun on those albino legs and things here will be just dandy!

Speaking of green we had a great St. Patrick's day. I made Joey rainbow pancakes with green eggs and milk. While I had a green smoothie (remember that sugar fast thing?)
I made Irish soda bread (no raisins or currents) which I ate too fast to get a photo of, but made an extremely delicious grilled cheese sandwich with Dubliner Irish white cheddar cheese for dinner.

Sunday was to be the closing ceremony of Irish celebratory feasting, I made a Guiness and steak Irish stew pot pie. Didn't read the recipe all the way through (which has never happened before?...) and started the stew too late to be able to eat that night. So tonight we are having it since I was on campus til 9 last night. It is Jaimie Oliver's recipe I will let you know how it is after tonight!After a big day of St. Paddies partying we were hungover...from luck of the Irish fun! Joey got this while we were all in our spots on the bed. Which is green...hmm I am sensing a theme here ;)

Hope your Irish festivities were great and that your first day of spring is fresh!