Iron Chef LDS youth mutual night

For our combined activity mutual a few weeks ago, the young women presidency planned an Iron Chef night. We split the kids into four teams, and created four cooking stations in the primary room. We brought in our pancake griddles, stir fries and spices — but all other supplies were from the church. We also pre-cooked noodles and rice, to save cooking time.

The goods!

And, of course, Iron Chef wouldn't be Iron Chef without a secret ingredient. And ours...was turkey bacon. Or, fake bacon, as the kids called it.

Apple Crisp

I made this delicious apple crisp for Christmas morning breakfast. When Allison came to visit, we made it again on Sunday morning...and guess what, it was still a hit. The best part is — it's easy and pretty healthy for ya!

Recipe:

Farmer's Market

I have been eyeballing the Norman farmer's market website for months waiting for them to open. I was there the first day with some cash in my wallet ready to blow it on some delicious home-grown goods. And I was not disappointed.

Tomatoes, squash, broccoli, beans, eggs and honey...YUM!

I also scored a few picture frames at the flea market going on at the same time. I plan on painting them white.

Always,

Simple Christmas

This Christmas was simple and perfect. We had no plans besides the two of us and our apartment. We slept in, we cooked breakfast, we danced to Frank Sinatra Christmas in the kitchen, went to church, cooked dinner and then played games at a friend's house.

Simple. Peaceful. And clear-full of the Christmas Spirit of generosity, gratitude and joy.

 Our dinner. Mashed potatoes, giant dinner roles, breaded pork chops and steamed asparagus. Delicious.

 Merry Christmas!

Always,

Creativity: Sandra of Section 89

Post 22 of HEIA: Creativity

Today's creativity is all about food and comes from Sandra of Section 89. Try not to drool over her creations.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 lentil-walnut burgers

Creativity to me is a sack full of fresh seasonal vegetables and fruit I’ve just set on the kitchen table to unload after a Saturday morning trip to the farmer’s market. The crisp apples smell like the earth, and taste like autumn; I wonder what I’ll make of them this week. Slice them wafer thin and pair them with some buttery soft lettuce, toasted pecans, and a maple vinaigrette, caramelize them in a bit of sweet butter and browned sugar and crown them with a pastry crust and bake until it all melds in to the perfect tarte tatin, or maybe chopped and cooked down with a bit of fresh cider and cinnamon to make applesauce?

 sunflower butter chocolate chip cookies

Bricktown, OKC

I'm back from my week long sabbatical and ready to blog again. But before we get started on my dad's visit...check this out. Moving on...

My dad got in to town Friday afternoon, and after enjoying lunch at our favorite Mexican place in town we headed to Bricktown to enjoy our evening.

Bricktown is the epitome of tourist attraction: there's something for everyone. We saw everything from bachelorette parties, men in their military dress blues, women in cocktail dresses, throngs of pre-teens, and even Jesus-freaks in prayer circles.

There's more than enough to keep anybody entertained for hours including: a tour on the water taxi, enjoying some minor league baseball, cheering on the OKC Thunder, going bowling in style, letting your kids play while you watch a movie, eating way-too-expensive steak at Mickey Mantle's Steakhouse, getting drinks at Coyote Ugly, tasting wine and painting at the same time, or eatting at the only walk-in Sonic.

We obviously didn't do all of that. We did take a few photos of the minor league baseball stadium (it's totally beautiful), and naturally, we took a ride on Nathaniel's boat. 

My dad, the tourist. And the beautiful canal at sunset.

Oklahoma State Fair: Food & Attractions

Nathaniel and I hit up the Oklahoma State Fair on Friday. And boy howdy, did we have a great time. Or shall I say, our stomachs had a great time? If you thought you were hungry after reading this post...well, shoot, you have somethin' else comin' to you now. I'll warn you now...this post is crazy picture-heavy.

No, thank YOU.

Friday was raining on and off all day, and we decided to take our chances at the fair. It poured on our drive there, but by the time we got there the weather was perfect. We were happy to see everyone else was scared off by the weather, though -- it made for a pleasant and stress-free visit.

Does anyone else love corn dogs as much as me? I must admit though, I only like them at the fair. It took me all of...five minutes, before I bought this little beauty. And I'm obviously stoked out of my mind about it.

I munched on my 'dog as we wandered a giant barn full of bleating sheep and giant horses. We walked over to the next barn, and discovered the giant-eyed cows, fluffy baby chicks, and brand spankin' new piglets. Although I've never considered myself an animal-lover, my heart skips a beat when I sit and watch animals interact -- especially when it's a mother and her offspring. It's strange to me that as humans we treat the parenting process as if it's completely foreign. From the very beginning, a pregnant woman is treated like she is sick, and then once she's a mother, we rely on books and experts to tell us what's best instead of instincts. Somehow, every other mammal still knows what's up except for us. Ah...what can ya do?

Let's talk about OKC

Alright, people, for some reason when I say "Oklahoma" to my California friends they all wrinkle their noses. But let's be real -- Oklahoma is awesome (I'll even admit I like it better than Texas, but sshhhh, I don't admit that to my Texan friends). Alright, maybe I haven't seen the entire state, but what I have seen, experienced, and even tasted, has been fabulous.

First and foremost, for 5 bucks you can enjoy an evening at the ballpark watching the Oklahoma City Redhawks. Of course, it would have been much nicer if we weren't sitting in the middle of a ridiculous heat wave...but what can ya do? It was a good time anyways.

We were literally the only people in the grass section until an usher came and told us we didn't need to bake in the sun with so many seats open.

California Summer: 20SB Blog Swap with JacquelineParis

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Today is the 20SB Blog Swap! JacquelineParis and I are talking about summer on each other's blogs...so read her post then swing on over and check out my musings about my favorite season!

I Know What I Did Last Summer: Tales from Summer 2010

California. Always wanted to be a “California girl”. When I was a senior in high school and looking at schools to apply to, I automatically flipped open Princeton Review’s tab to “California”. That’s all I wanted. Pepperdine was by the beach, and students at UC Santa Barbara surfed in between classes. Is there any school in California not within walking distance of delicious soft sand bliss and crushing waves?

Turns out there is. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. Turns out it’s much more “Pebble Beach chic” than “Cali surfer dude”. When I moved to Monterey last June to help my boyfriend (now the fiancé yay) move into his first non-Naval Academy abode, and effectively play house for six weeks, I discovered the best parts about California had nothing to do with the beach.

Gold, Rafting, Burgers & Pie

After all the wedding festivities were over, my mom, my brother, Dallas, Nathaniel and I, spent a morning white water rafting on the American River.

We looked a little something like this:

Aaaawesome.

The only thing holdin' you in the tube is your feet shoved under portions of the tube. Which, surprisingly, feels really secure. My butt only flew off the tube a few times; although, by the end of the day my booty was definitely a little tender.

Before we hit the river, we drove up the street to Coloma to see the site where gold was first discovered (eureka!) in California. In the second photo we are standing in front of the sawmill that led to the gold discovery. If you weren't a 4th grader in California, you can read all about gold rush history here.

Potatoes, Peas and All Things Green

At the end of our groceries and the end of our paycheck, I made us some dinner the other day that was both cheap and simple: mashed potatoes, frozen peas and chicken nuggets. This is a typical meal for us. Half because it's what we can afford and half because it's what's easiest. As I swirled my lemon-pepper potatoes in with my sweet peas, I thought about how someday I would be able to afford to cook us more elaborate meals.

Dinner.

Fresh Strawberry Frosting

Mmmmm-mmmmm!

For those who were less-ice-cream-inclined at Kourt's shower, I made a batch of chocolate cupcakes with homemade strawberry frosting. I used Connie's recipe from about him + her as my inspiration (she made blackberry frosting...sounds delicious, no?).

For the cupcakes:

I used Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake Mix and followed the instructions on the box. These cupcakes turn out extra moist and sticky. So yummy. Make sure the cupcakes are cooled completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

Strawberry Goodness (ice cream & sorbet)

In our family, parties and get-together's aren't the same without the sweets. And our entire family's favorite sweet is ice cream (even Grandad's). Naturally, when I started talking bridal shower details with my cousin Kourtney for the shower I was hosting her...homemade ice cream was on the menu.

I started out with the idea of making popsicles, but couldn't find any molds. I still loved the idea of simple, self-serve style ice cream though. So when I stumbled upon these 8-ounce plastic freezer jars, I knew I had found exactly what I needed. These jars are cheap, 5 for $3.99, and you can get them at Wal Mart. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

The dark one is sorbet, the light one ice cream.

Banana Milk

If you google "banana milk" you'll mostly find Korean advertisements from YouTube pop up like this one:

And as ridiculous as that commercial is -- I mean, as funny as that commercial is...banana milk is freakin' delicious. The best part is you'll feel like you're treating yourself to something sinful, but really...it's just banana and milk. Brilliant, I say.

Here's what I do:

Chocolate Covered Deliciousness

My parents are in town this week, and Mom told me about a brilliant idea we could do while she was here...

Chocolate Covered Peeps!

Nathaniel was so excited when I told him what these cute lil bunnies are! He loves Peeps...can you tell?

I don't even like Peeps, but when they are covered in chocolate -- mmMMMmmmm! It's something else! Here's what you'll need if you want to make some chocolate covered Peeps of your own...it's way simple -- promise.

Serious Bidness (Road Trip Part 2)

On Friday we took a mini road trip up to my grandparent's to visit with them. My grandad loves, loves candies. In fact, he takes the candy-making process very seriously. See?

Grandad Hurst discussing chocolate with Dianne Sonntag. This is serious business, people.

Last Christmas Grandad taught us the ins and outs of good chocolate and how to cook it into even better tasting truffles and candies. When Grandma suggested we help Grandad roll some chocolates, we were quick to say yes.

Cheez-It Chicken (& potatoes)

Mmmmmm...

Cheez-It chicken is an easy, quick, delicious crowd-pleaser for dinner. If you Google "Cheez-It chicken recipes" you'll find a million different options...this is my own, but seriously, feel free to experiment and play all you want -- it's really a no-brainer!
Experiment options: different seasonings mixed in butter or with Cheez-Its, melted cheese on top, different flavor Cheez-Its, etc.

PB&J Cookies

I love peanut butter. I eat it straight out of the jar. When I was in high school my mom would pack my lunch with squeezable peanut butter. It was the greatest thing ever. I put it straight on apples, bananas and carrots. Delicious. I love peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and of course...peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Banana Bread

Here's my mamma's recipe for yummy, yummy banana bread!

My first time giving it a try and I think it was a success! 

ingredients

All the ingredients you'll be needing (minus the bananas -- they'd been in the freezer and were a little yucky):

-1/2 cup shortening

-1 cup sugar

-3 real ripe bananas

-2 eggs

-1 T sour milk (sour cream)

-1 t baking soda

-1 t salt

-2 cups flour

-walnuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter (or whatever else you'd like to experiment with!)