Be Ye Thanksful

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Okay, seriously.... 

I have a lot to be grateful for this year. 

A few of those things:

• Family (specifically a mother & sister that I could talk to for hours & hours...)
• Boyfriend (he's pretty cuddly)
• Boyfriend's Family (yay i think they like me!)
• Direction In Life (finally feel like I'm headed somewhere..)
• Good Health & Lots of Energy (for my endless lists)
• Job I Enjoy & Reliable Paycheck. (okay- two jobs & two paychecks)
• Nice Home & Great Roommates (with a big kitchen & tons of cabinet space!)
• Bachelors Degree in Communication (finally!)
• Daily Happiness (smile!)

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts...

and be ye thankful. 

-Colossians 3:15

Pass The Salad...

What will I be taking to the 

boyfriend's family Thanksgiving?

My final answer is:

drum roll please...

via iStock

• Brocolli & Cauliflower Salad w/ Bacon Bits (Mom's Recipe)

That is all.

P.S. This year I am the most grateful for the opportunity to share great food & good company with a family that I treats me like one of their own. I'm so glad that they've taken me in since Thanksgiving plane tickets are simply too outrageously expensive for me to justify. And his mom's cooking really does compare to my mom & grandma back home - and I can't credit many people with that sort of culinary success.   

Updates

So the blog got a little makeover... 

so delightful- the print reminds me of my mom's sun room theme. It was way too dark before. 

and sadly, Grandma was busy with a brand new grandbaby (who can blame her?!) and there was no time for peanut butter balls or sweet potato casserole. So the Thanksgiving dishes I will be preparing have been changed. More details soon... :)

I should probably start sharing this if I'm going to keep writing...

psfk.com

...but instead I just stealthily posted the link to my facebook with out really telling anyone. I think I wanted to make sure I was going to keep going for more than two or three posts before I shared.  So far I'm pretty sure only my sister reads this :) Glad to have such an easy-to-please readership that already love me even if my blog is slightly mediocre.

I'm learning! And I'm glad that there are so many other blogs out there that provide inspiration and ideas.

Cooking Lessons from Grandma

My grandparents flew in yesterdayj-

just in time for my grandmother to teach me how to make:

CHOCOLATE COVERED PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

&
SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE!!

And of course I'll have to taste test them :) 
Just to make sure they taste good enough to take 
to the boyfriend's family for thanksgiving... 
Hopefully they'll be as good when I make them  
by myself next week after grandma is GONE. 

(Luckily I can just freeze the peanut butter balls and save them for Thanksgiving and even Christmas - they will keep for up to two months! Which means that she & are are going to make a gazillion and I can blame my fat jeans on the PB Balls)

Isn't she the cutest little grandma you ever saw?? 

Don't let her fool you- she's a cooking MACHINE!!  

LOVE HER :)

QUOTATION: Messy Kitchen

“I may still not know what I want to be when I grow up, but I do know that someday I want to live in a house filled with my books and travel souvenirs. And the walls that aren’t covered in bookshelves will be covered with photos of my family and friends. When I leave the house I will be going to a job I love, and I’ll return to a person I love. So, that’s the dream I’m working on.” - Amber Morely.

 I feel like this sums up exactly what this blog is about - I just need to add one more line:

 "a messy kitchen from cooking & baking good food far too often for far too many amazing people that I love." 

I really need this quote to be on the side bar of my blog, 

but that will have to be figured out another day. 

Oh Brother

Lucas will be done with his mission in exactly one month.
On December 15th we go pick him up in Salt Lake City.
I hope he's ready to come back to real life...

Pre-Mission vs. Mission

I can't wait to see what comes next....

Hosting Overnight Guests

Hosting overnight visitors??   
YIPES!!  
This feels like a very grown-up thing to do.  
It's only for one night of their week-long visit, but still!

They will be here December 9-16 for my graduation from Weber State University and to pick my younger brother Lucas (not pictured below) up from his 2-year mission in the Salt Lake City Mission for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Yep, We're Mormon :) and Yep, I finally finished my Bachelors Degree.

The idea of a huge sleepover with my momma, stepdaddy Greg, sister chelsea and baby brother Elijah sounds like SO SO SO much fun- 

but OH the pressure!

Mom, Greg, ME, Chelsea, and Elijah in front

 PROS  

• Unlimited family time...because I miss that living far away
• Driving places together (i know this is silly, but it reminds me of my childhood)
• Snacking & Watching Movies
• Playing Board Games - CAN'T WAIT!

CONS

• Figuring out where people will sleep
• Cleaning the house from top to bottom and inside and out (because that's how my momma raised me)
• Having a fridge full of snacks and food. (I'm thinking a breakfast casserole & a chicken casserole pre-made)
• Having a bowl of yummy baked goods on the counter. 

Ok...honestly these aren't CONS.  (except the cleaning- always a CON) I love cooking and baking and entertaining.  I just want to make sure it's perfect because my family never comes out to visit!!! The last time they visited was March of 2007 I believe.

P.S. I'm so excited to have this little bugger 

snuggling with me every night while they visit!!

The Ugly Truth

The Ugly Truth (Sweat Pants & All) -VS- What I Want You To Believe (Happy Homemaker)

This vintage apron was an 2008 Easter present from my thoughtful mother :) 

Apparently you can find these cute aprons on eBay super cheap
(she only paid a few dollars for this one)

Sunday Afternoon Delight

This was probably the last weekend of reasonable weather - so I made the most of it! Sunday was beautiful. I went to church, ran a few errands, watched Gossip Girl (don't judge me) & Private Practice, and addressed graduation announcements that need to be sent out. 


I had marinated some chicken in a delicious marinade (think Teryaki Sauce, Rosemary, Sugar, Worcestershire & Olive Oil) for 48 hours and 
I grilled it to PERFECTION- 
it seriously melted in my mouth.  I don't mean to toot my own horn...but my new grill (or me using the new grill) has ruined some perfectly good chicken.  This success followed a lot of completely gross and dried out grill failures. (Thanks to Rand for the grilling tips I followed) I cooked up a squash casserole and warmed up some peas and dinner was complete.  

What a delightful solitary Sunday evening... 

Sometimes I forget to make time for me and I have to do better.  I got a lot done (announcements, laundry, dinner, fresh sheets on the bed!) & still had a relaxing evening. 

(maybe me & the grill can be friends after all)

Love my grill. 
Love my big back deck. 

Love the cool crisp fall weather. 

So now....BRING ON THE SNOW. (I guess...)

Side Note: 

My Grandpa got me my grill when he came out to visit in August. We went and picked it out at Lowe's together and he got me a really nice one (and a cute brown color instead of silver or black!).  I love my "Master Forge  4-Burner Brown Gas Grill" and it was so fun watching him bargain with the sales guy - if you think you can't bargain for a better deal at Lowe's my grandpa will definitely show you otherwise! Never pay sticker price!

 Love my cute grandpa!

Butter Lovers Unite

I would post more but I can't seem to remember to take pictures of the things I make!

I do a lot more cooking (of dinner and stuff) than baking (of desserts and stuff) - 

but the baking is a little more exciting because I'm just learning how to do it :)

And just so you can have a laugh...this blog was almost titled:

"Oops...I Dropped it in the Butter!" 

Photo from biteclubeats.com

 

Never Trust A Skinny Cook

Last night I was bored. That's dangerous. Usually i box dye my hair when I'm left alone at home with nothing to do. But no - I'm developing new bad habits! Like baking :) 

Seriously people, how am I supposed to learn to cook and not get fat?  I don't really have much of a sweet tooth but I still want to be able to make and bake everything! Last week it was apple dump cake, the week before it was pumpkin cookies and mini apple pie bites(so amazingly flaky) and last night it was chocolate chip cookies (and a few delicious spoonfuls of dough while I was making them) with the tallest most perfect glass of 1% milk I've ever had in my life. 

So my solution is to give away as many of my baked goods as I can. I love the way people smile when I gift them cookies (I need to get cuter bags instead of just ziplocks - any suggestions?).  I especially like to get there feedback- I can handle criticism!  But the main thing I like is getting those sweets OUT of my house. I feel a little selfish giving them away because I know I'm just doing it so than I can keep fitting into my jeans!

Image from modamee.com

But last night I forgot my desires to remain a size 5 forever and made my first ever batch of chocolate chip cookies from SCRATCH.  I whipped them up in about 10 minutes and they were DELISH. They would have been even faster to make if it wasn't such a pain in the butt creaming shortening and sugar - if I stay serious about this baking/cooking thing I may have to get a stand up mixer. 

Anyway, I'm pretty picky about cookies and these were just the right texture and not too painfully sweet. I wish I had a picture of the little pretties - but Rand and I ate them all. (I have to take most of the credit, he only had two out of the ten. Unfortunately I didn't give away a single cookie. I ate the rest for breakfast- embarassingggg)

When telling my Mom about my latest baking adventure, she asked,

"Where are you getting all of these recipes?"  

I replied, 

"The Internet Mom, the Internet!!!"   

So I guess when I write up the recipe card for my new favorite chocolate chip cookies, 

instead of saying "Recipe From Mom" or "Recipe From Grandma", it will say 

"Recipe From Google"?