A Passion....

Well, I FINALLY saw the movie and I really liked it! I found myself relating to Julie, not in the job part, but definitely the passion for cooking part. I love the fact that Julia Child went to culinary school in her late 30's. It's never too late! I have decided to tackle one of the major recipes that Julie made in the movie....beef bourguignon. It looks like a very complicated recipe, but I am up for the challenge! Let the cooking begin! Bon Appetit!

Oui! Oui!

If you have never had crepes before, you are truly missing out! They are very thin, pancake like pastries that can be filled or topped with whatever your heart desires. I had my first crepe while Josh and I were visiting San Francisco a couple of years ago. I know you are probably thinking, "why would you eat crepes in San Francisco?" Well, they were so stinkin' good. I had strawberry crepes with powdered sugar. I have never attempted to make crepes before, due to the fact that I was a little intimidated by them :). Well, my good friend Ken Bridges brought some crepe mix home straight from Paris and I just had to try it out! I got it on my first try! I even flipped it in the air! I felt very French. Anyway, I slathered some Nutella on those bad boys and dusted them with powdered sugar. It will make you want to cry it's so good. Seriously. If you don't know what Nutella is, let me educate you.

Nutella is a chocolate hazelnut spread that can be found by the peanut butter at the grocery store. After you read this, you should go to the nearest store and buy some. You will thank me. Run along now....

Rollercoaster Ride

It's been a while since I have blogged! Needless to say, it's been a little crazy since the last blog entry. Shortly after my last entry Josh and I found out that we were going to have a baby. We were so excited! I wasn't really feeling up to blogging, so I took a hiatus for a while. Sadly, in May, we found out that we had lost our precious baby. The Lord really brought us through that tough time and we are stronger. I'm not going to lie and say that I am just great and that I don't have bad days, because I do. It's hard to see pregnant women and babies and not wish that I was still pregnant. We don't know why this happened, but we do know that God is sovereign, and that He is good, and that He knows what's best. We have the most amazing family and friends and are so incredibly thankful for their love and support through all of this. Like I said, God is good!

Since May, we have been a little busy. We traveled to Florida for family vacation, to Chicago (my favorite city!) with Josh's parents, and to Mississippi to visit my family. During this time, I also read all 5 Twilight books in a week, which is VERY fast for me. These books are highly addictive, so if you are planning on reading them, just go ahead and put water and a loaf of bread by your side, because you won't want to stop reading!

I have changed up my blog a little bit, because I plan on really focusing on my love and passion for baking (and food in general). I can't wait to share recipes, tips and a whole lot of yummi-ness with you!

Anniversary, Food Finds and the Bachelor

Well, let me start off this post by saying HAPPY ONE YEAR to my hubby! We celebrated this past weekend in San Antonio (pics to come) and had a blast! I am so blessed to have Josh not only as a husband, but as my friend. I love him more each day! He is so good to put up with me! hehehe

On a food note, I found these nifty little steam bags the other day:

They are AWESOME!!! I steamed some broccoli in them the other day and it was perfect! Last night I put two medium sized potatoes in one bag and microwaved for 7 minutes and voila! I topped my baked potato with some bbq beef that I had made out of leftover roast. YUM-O! What a quick little dinner! It says that you can even steam fish in the bags....I don't know if I would go that far, but at least there are options! Ha!

Last but not least, I would like to say how thouroughly dissapointed I am in last night's Bachelor. Yes, I know that it's reality t.v. and it's trash, but these are people with REAL feelings here! Poor Melissa. Jason really took her for a ride on his emotional rollercoaster. I think that Marion Jordan says it best in her blog. Check it out here: http://redeemedgirl.blogspot.com/.

Anniversary pics to come!

Does it get any better than this?

There are few things that excite me more than a warm, straight out of the oven, chocolate chip cookie. It's Friday and all I really want is to sit my happy behind on the couch with a plate of these bad boys and some ice cold milk and watch Food Network. It's the simple things in life. Can I get an amen?!? I did, however, make this batch with whole wheat flour (just to be a little health conscious). That hour long workout I put in today wasn't a total waste...ha! I am happiest in the kitchen; spatula in hand and mixer mixin' away. I think I get that from my Mimi and my mom. They always seem to have something sweet in their kitchen (besides them, of course). That's all for today.....MUST. GO. EAT. COOKIES!

When God speaks....

This morning I had one of those moments. You know, those moments when people say that a verse just came to them, and they felt like the Lord was laying it on their heart? It was weird. Not in a bad way, but honestly it had never happened to me before. It was probably around 5 a.m. or so and Psalm 51:10 just started playing over and over again in my mind.

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

It was like it was on autopilot or something. It just overtook my thought process and I finally began to ask God what it meant. A pure heart. I am guilty of having an uclean heart sometimes. A bitter heart, an envious heart, an impatient heart. Repentance brings pureness of heart. I am so thankful to serve a forgiving and gracious God!

Yum....

Yesterday we grilled steaks for lunch and I made this yummy baked orzo (rice shaped pasta) that I saw Giada De Laurentis make on her cooking show. It was the perfect combination of cheesy goodness. The recipe called for fontina cheese, but I used havarti. I also omitted the mushrooms. You also cube up mozzerella and scatter it throughout the dish so there are little "pockets" of goodness in every bite! :) It was a real hit, so I will be making it again! Just go to www.foodtv.com and type in Orzo with Fontina and Peas in the subject line. I would post the link, but foodtv.com was not cooperating! :) Enjoy!

Cold Feet

That is what I now have after my dog, Oliver, has eaten my second pair of house shoes since Christmas. The first pair was a gift from Josh's parents for Christmas. They used to look like this:






Needless to say, they don't look like that anymore :(. I decided to go to Target to purchase a new pair, and found a really cute pair of monkey slippers. They USED to look like this:

Now my poor monkey slipper has one eye and the ear is hanging off. So sad. Oliver is so sneaky that he literally took my slipper (just one) as it was sitting right next to me at the computer. He is a little punk sometimes! I still love him.....

Maybe I'll just wear socks from now on :).

Caleb in the hood....

Here is my little nephew, Caleb Honeycutt, getting ready to leave the hospital and head home! He is pictured with Chris' mom (his g-ma), D'Ann. My mom bought him this little outfit and Jill chose it to be his going home outfit. It is a newborn size, but as you can see, it's still a little big. He just looks like such a little man in his hoodie. Welcome home, Caleb!

Salty

The other day during our staff devotion time, we talked about how we are the salt of the earth. It sparked a long discussion about salt. Why salt? What does it mean? Salt adds flavor. You salt meat before you cook it, water for pasta, and you even use salt when you bake. A looooong long time ago, they used salt as payment. When the salt lost its saltiness it was no longer good. Even animals are drawn to this condiment. When you think about it, we are to flavor this world! This is what Christ Jesus wants of His children! I pray that I never lose my saltiness. Are you salty?

Matthew 5:13-

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men."

A little bragging....

I would not be a good aunt if I did not post pics of these three cuties :).

First up is Lauren Jeffries (Josh's brother's daughter), she is 4 and such a cutie! This pic was taken last week at their home in Indiana.....lots of snow!




Second is Blakeli Parish (my brother's daughter), who is between 7 and 8 months. I love her so much! She melts my heart.....





And last but not least, the newest member of the family, Caleb Honeycutt (Josh's sister's son), who was born 2/3/09. He is just precious!


There you have it! I am so excited about being an aunt! I want to be the coolest aunt ever! Ice Cream for dinner, pizza for breakfast (j/k Jill!)....and I'll always have gum! :) Anyway....I just love them all and am very thankful for the little blessings in my life!

Can we say.....

YES PLEASE! My mouth is watering at the sight of this yummy yummy goodness. You are feasting your eyes upon 3 of my most favorite things....Brownies - Chocolate Chip Cookies - Chocolate frosting.....ALL in one! It seems too good to be true. Here's the recipe:

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipeID=34269&Source=SearchResultPage&terms=chocolate%20chip%20brownies

You can use a chocolate frosting in a can or you can make your own. A chocolate ganache would also be SO good on this. Here's a recipe for that:

Chocolate Ganache

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

6 Tbsp butter

In a small saucepan, heat cream and butter until just before the boiling stage.
Pour over the chocolate morsels.
Let stand about 20 seconds and stir until smooth.
Pour over brownies and let set before cutting.

I know this is not the most "figure friendly" dessert, but it looked too yummy to pass up.

Happy eating!