The Joy of Baking

Happy Monday!! Because Mondays can be just as wonderful as a Fridays if you want them to be. Each day is whatever you choose to make it. Today, I am choosing to be mindful of all the blessings God has given me. Life is wonderful when we dwell on the beautiful things in it.
My sister, Katie, blessed me with a gift last week--Joy the Baker's cookbook!! Woohoo! I've already made two recipes from it and I am planning what I want to make next. First, I had been thinking about what to do with an extra sweet potato we had. When I saw her recipe for sweet potato chocolate chip cookies, it sounded perfect. Those cookies were delicious.
 I was a bit wary of her recipe for Texas sheet cake due to her odd ingredients (coffee and sour cream). It turned out well, though! We shared it with our small group and still had leftovers so I took the rest to work. Matt was disheartened by how quickly it left us. Maybe I'll make a 1/2 recipe for us later. :)
This is what we had for dinner after church yesterday! Doesn't it look beautiful? I will admit that was part of the reason I wanted to try it. This is a chicken and broccoli braid from a cookbook we got from my great aunt Jeanette for our wedding.
It was so good! And simple! And yet I felt a little fancy too. It's good for a girl to feel fancy every now and then. Especially when baking. I've been on a baking spree lately. Today I'm thinking about making this bread from Cooking for Seven. Apparently, it is the best bread ever. We'll see! Hope you all have a brilliant start to your week!

An Eventful Friday

The beauty of pre-made salads:

All I had to do was mix up a little vinegar, honey, and spices and toss it with the veggies. Simplicity. And those are sweet potato fries!! YUM. Usually we bake them, but this time decided to fry them up instead (Why did we go for the less healthy option?? I have no idea.). That's barbeque chicken in the background if you're wondering. Good weeknight meal.

Would you like to hear about our crazy (fun) weekend? Actually, this is now two weekends ago. I get behind sometimes.
Anyway..
It started with a bird.
Yes.
A bird got in our HOUSE!!!
Frightful.
Apparently, they are getting into our attic somehow. So when Matt went up to get something from the attic on Friday, the bird made it's way into our apartment. And would not leave. We* seriously tried everything to try and shoo it out the window.
*I will not mislead you. When I say we, I mean Matt. Matt tried everything while I cowered in the corner, hoping I would survive the incident without getting pecked or pooped on. All I did was shout out suggestions.
After ~45 unsuccessful minutes of trying to scare the bird out the window by nudging it with a broom, Matt got innovative. This contraption is a garbage bag, held open with a wire hanger, taped to a broom handle. This was meant to catch the bird and then release it. After one swoop at it with this, the little bird flew out the window. I guess it saw that we meant business. The triumphant:

Thank you, Babe! To see the bird and watch me be a goober, please follow this link to a video we posted on YouTube. Update: since this is a week later, the hole where they were getting in has now been closed up. Yay!
To calm my nerves, Matt then took me to a farm I've been wanting to visit. It is an animal farm close to us that is open year round for visitors. I loved it! Here are some pics from the day.
This was right before the goat nibbled Matt's hand. Ha!

Matt's view:

My view:

I thought of Robin Hood as soon as I saw this rooster. Perfect! That is still my favorite Disney movie ever.

Trying to decide...

OK, yes. Matt will pet the horse. With the back of his hand.

Dearest family, what does this remind you of?

I even look like I'm 10 years old in that picture.

After playing a round of frisbee in the park and then heading home to get cleaned up, we took off for the big city. AKA--Binghamton, NY. Haha. We stopped by a local favorite to try some of their famous ice cream. I went out on a limb and got their grapenut ice cream. It was surprisingly really good! Like I-would-get-it-again good! Then we went to the Super Walmart to get a bike for Matt. He's been wanting one for a while, but the problem was we didn't have room for it in our second-floor apartment. Finally, I decided to allow the bike to reside in our kitchen/dining room. Too generous? Oh stop, stop. Y'all flatter me. Well, I guess it will make up for me not helping at all with the bird catastrophe. Ha!

Sweetie

I think we might have a problem.
We like sweets too much for breakfast.
Seriously.
My favorite breakfast in the world is coffee and a baked good.
I made a breakfast cake last week solely for the purpose of having it with coffee in the mornings. Actually, it was The Pioneer Woman's prune cake found here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/12/make-this-cake-today-trust-me/. It was very good and very sweet. Don't worry. I didn't make my little body run on flour and sugar all day. We also had oatmeal with the cake.
If it was only that, it wouldn't be so bad, but I hate to admit that the past few weekends have been spent making things like these for breakfast:
Doughnuts--

Those are apple fritters (Mom, I thought of you)!! They were so good! Matt should start his own donut shop.
And French toast-
But doesn't he look so happy with his French toast?? Cutest thing I ever did see.

And there you have it. Three reasons why we should not be left alone on Saturday mornings. For our families who are now worried about our sugar levels, let me assure you that we eat healthier throughout the day and I work out at least once a month.
Just kidding!
Matt makes sure I go out for a run a few times a week. He takes care of me, thank goodness. Except when I want to make a coffee cake. Then he lets me run wild.
Add us to your prayer list.

Shout out to our Grandmas

I would like to inform you all of my successful first attempt at making chicken-fried steak.

Woohoo! Matt took control of the frying process. As you can see, he is very talented. These turned out beautifully.

Matt's grandmother, GG, gave me The Pioneer Woman's cookbook for Christmas and I have been making recipes from it like crazy. (Thanks, GG!!) When I saw her recipe (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/02/chicken-fried-steak/) for chicken-fried steak, I thought it looked pretty similar to my grandmother's recipe. Mamaw, these turned out almost as good as yours!! And the gravy was good too!! However, there is one thing on which I need y'all's advice. Mashed potatoes.
Matt and I are still not quite pleased with our mashed potatoes. Are we missing something? This last time, we just added milk, butter, salt, and pepper. Should we be adding something else??
Anyway, I was so excited that my favorite meal on the planet turned out well on the first go-round. It's not the healthiest meal, but like you say, Mamaw, "We don't have it everyday, so..."
Thanks to our grandmothers for the help and inspiration. Mamaw, I will always love your chicken-fried steak the best! Can't wait till the next time I see you!
Love,
Britt

In a Quiet Place...with Chocolate.

Two days ago, I came home from work to the only gift I wanted--chocolate!!!!!!

Isn't he the greatest?? I'm telling you, these chocolates are gourmet. They're from a local chocolate shop in town. Oh my. So good.

I finally finished Matt's pajama pants!!! They were meant for a Christmas gift...whoops. Happy Valentine's Day, Matt!! :)

Sorry for the grainy pic. It was taken with my phone. Unfortunately, you can't tell by the picture how baggy these are. It's quite hilarious. Just think parachute pants. Haha. I might have to take them in a little. Also, the non-matching lines are funny. But they're comfy-cozy right, Babe?
I made banana muffins yesterday and they were soo good! I just love muffins. It was a really simple recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/banana-muffins-ii/detail.aspx. I love simple recipes. I got a couple new books from the library yesterday. Have you seen Martha Stewart's new pies and pastries cookbook? I rented it and I love it!! I think I'm going to have to make a few recipes from it and probably copy a few down. Well done, Martha!
It's a rainy day today, so I think I'll make myself some spiced tea, drive to the park, and sit in my car in the rain with a good book. I might take one of those chocolates with me. :) Doesn't that sound marvelous?? I hope you all find peace in a quiet place today.

Nutty

Goodness me.
It has been a while, hasn't it?
Update on my new job: I'm loving it. The residents at the home are wonderful! I love caring for them. And the nurses have all been kind and very helpful through my orientation.
I've been working evenings, so any chance I get to spend with Matt, I soak it all in. I had the night off yesterday, so we cooked dinner together. Let me tell you--it was good. I saw a recipe for nutty chicken stir fry in my Taste of Home magazine (thanks for the subscription, Mamaw!!) and I've been wanting to make it for a while. I'm glad we did because it is going in the recipe box and coming out whenever we feel like Thai food. Here's the link on their website: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Nutty-Chicken-Stir-Fry. My favorite thing about it is that it's made with ingredients that we normally have on hand--either in the pantry or in the freezer. I still have never bought curry of my own accord because I'm not sure I would cook with it often enough. We also attempted to make egg drop soup. I say attempted because the end product was unlike any egg drop soup we'd ever had before. Here's why: Little Brittany measured the chicken broth wrong and only added half of what was needed. Then Matt decided that the eggs are the best part of the soup (true) and added an extra one. Can you see where this is going? As it's cooking, we're thinking something's not right. We finally realized we needed to add more broth, but it was too late. Basically it looked like half creamy/half thin soup, but it still tasted fine. What it really needed was some chopped chives. Mmm. Our creation looks nothing like the picture in the magazine, but I liked it quite a lot.

See what I mean? It was a good first attempt, though. Did it inspire you to make Thai food??

Hope you all are doing well!

Nutricious

I'm all about the snow these days. I'm still hoping for so much snow that it's a clean white sheet on the ground, but I was perfectly happy with a half a foot of snow. We went back to the same forest.

 You may be asking why I'm wearing rain boots in the snow. You see, I had a dilemma that morning. Should I keep my feet warm or dry? I'm still not sure which would've been the best decision. My little toesies were pretty cold in those rain boots, but they were dry!

Even the river has ice floating on it! It stayed below 10 degrees for a while that day through Sunday.

Can you see that tree in the water stuck behind the bridge? That's been there since the flood. I keep thinking I'll look and it will have floated off, but apparently, it likes the brick. If I were that tree, I think I'd venture off to see what the river sees farther downstream.

Well, I have good news for all you who follow this blog. I now have a job!! I'm excited to start working. Hopefully I will bring joy to the people I care for and the people I work with.
So what is the job? I was telling people that I'm going to be working in a nursing home. Apparently that gives off bad vibes. So I started saying long-term care facility. It's all about the connotations.
But really, I'm so happy that I'll be working in a nursing home. Working with geriatrics is in my top three choices of a career in nursing. Did you know that the word nurse comes from the Latin word nutricious meaning nourishing? That is what I hope to be: nourishing. A comfort. A joy. With help from Christ, I know I can accomplish this.

P.S. My sister, Emily, sent this recipe to me and we loved it! She's currently doing the Daniel fast which means eating only fruits, veggies, and whole grains. I'm a fan of spaghetti squash, but I usually just make spaghetti with it. This recipe gave it the flavors of the Southwest that we love most! Doesn't it just look so good and healthy?? http://bevcooks.com/2011/10/southwestern-stuffed-spaghetti-squash/

Much love, Em. I hope Phil survives the fast!

Brussels...unfortunately not Belgium

I guess this is what comes of getting a puzzle from a thrift store. Can you see the missing piece in the mountain?

Haha. Oh well. It was still fun. But what do you do with a puzzle with a missing piece? I can only think to recycle it.

So what did we have for our first Meatless Monday? Oh please don't ask. You see, Monday, January 2nd was a holiday. Ergo, it felt like a Saturday. AKA--we totally forgot it was Meatless Monday and had pizza for dinner. Haha...oops. But we don't count that one.
So what did we have for our second Meatless Monday? Oh, thanks for asking!! We had minestrone soup and our favorite quick dinner rolls. I will admit that I did not make the soup from scratch. Have you heard of the Bear Creek soup mixes? They are wonderful. I would endorse them. But the rolls were homemade. MMMM!!

In other food stories...
I've been wanting to try Brussels sprouts for a while now since I can't remember having them. So when The Pioneer Woman made them on her Christmas special show, I knew I'd found my recipe. They were so simple. I didn't get a good pic, so I'll just let you travel to her website for them. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/12/brussels-sprouts-with-balsamic-and-cranberries/ So what did I think of the sprouts? Well, I'm certainly not going to eat them till I bloat, but they were good. If you like cabbage, you'd love these. I do like cabbage, but mostly as cold cole slaw. Would I make them again? Yes...in a few months. What's the best part about this?? Matt said he would make them again. Score!
Word from the wisened: While boiling the balsamic vinegar, please do not lean over the pot and take a big whiff. I think I singed quite a few nose hairs doing that very thing. Who knew hot balsamic was so strong?? It took a while for my olfactory sensors to recover from that one. 
Don't say I didn't warn you.

So now I'm trying to come up with more new things to cook this week. I might as well go all out while I have so much time on my hands. Any ideas??