7 Quick Takes (Vol. 15)

It's summer! I am supper excited :) Excited for longer days, warm weather, plants on the patio, flowers blooming, fresh fruits and veggies. I love it! Alright on to a quick list of my recent crazy life.

 

 ~~ 1 ~~

We had a siblings day a couple weeks ago because my younger brother was up for a wedding so we had some awesome hangout time and went to the great Wollersheim Winery (which I love). We're quite the stair-steps in the above picture.

This is what happens when Kevin chooses the pose. I can say that I think we entertained the lovely lady that took our picture, we were quite the group ;)

~~ 2 ~~

Did you know that they call Rockford, IL the Home of the Sock Monkey? Yeah, me neither. But it's true, I was there.

 

~~ 3 ~~

Over Memorial Day Weekend (I'm telling you, this is a hardcore catch-up post) my parents were up and we spent Saturday hanging out with my Dad's family and visiting the graves of my grandparents, great-grandparents and even great-great grandparents. The rain held off and it was a beautiful day.

We said a rosary at each of the cemeteries. It was a nice day of reminiscing about the past.

~~ 4 ~~

Last weekend I spent in the Wisconsin Dells with my boyfriend. It was a wonderful mini-vacation. The above picture was taken on the Original Wisconsin Ducks. I had never been and loved it. Wisconsin is such a gorgeous state. The tour was of course filled with all kinds of corny jokes that you had to laugh at, it's a very family friendly little tour.

~~ 5 ~~

 These Kangaroos were in the "nursery" the grown ones were outside in a larger area.

While in the Dells we also went to The Timbavati Wildlife Park. It was neat to see the variety of animals they had, but I didn't like the lack of space the animals had. They are doing a lot of remodeling,  so it may be better in a year or two.

 Can you tell he's an animal person?

~~ 6 ~~

 I was given a bunch of rhubarb and have enjoyed finding awesome stuff to do with it. I found this recipe that where you cook down the rhubarb and add some sugar and water to make a concentrate for drinks (bottle on the right). Add it to some sparkling water and you have a rhubarb Italian soda. The jar on the left is the cooked chunks of rhubarb that you can eat over ice cream or whatever.

~~ 7 ~~

I am in love with this sandwich! I made 1 big sandwich (using a hamburger bun) and cut the sauce recipe in half and it was awesome. It's a super quick and easy meal.

I hope you all had a wonderful week month, enjoy the weekend! 

For more Quick Takes, head on over to Conversion Diary.

Thankful Thursday

It's been a long time since I've done one of these so I thought today would be a perfect day, after all everyday is a good day to be thankful!

At this moment I am thankful for...

 

(1) Beautiful weather. This past weekend and the beginning of this week were absolutely gorgeous! I had the chance to get out and bike on the great trails around town.

 

 

 (2) Fun new recipes. I actually had time too bake, so of course a new donut recipe was a must. The above Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts were amazing and soooo easy. They were sweet enough so I didn't even bother with the glaze.

(3) Plans. I feel like this week has been a lot of finally getting dates set for get togethers with both family and friends that will be happening this summer/early fall. I love having things to look forward as well as having a few free weekends to do whatever comes up.

 

(4) This guy. I'm thankful that God sent me someone that remembers the foods I like, loves to surprise me and will say or do just about anything to make me smile/laugh, will take me to get Tylenol and ice cream when I'm having a bad day, randomly brings me flowers, calls every night to say good night, and is a great kitchen assistant when I'm cooking. Yeah, he's pretty great.

(5) Good Friends.

 

(6) A healthy body.  This week at work has been filled with funerals. I am thankful that I can ride my bike, canoe and hike without a problem. That those closest to me aren't healthy for the most part. Life is precious and I am extremely thankful for each day that God gives me.

(7) Enough money to pay for car repairs. My car had to have a minor part replaced, which was annoying and of course cost more than I wanted to pay, but I am thankful that I didn't have to choose between paying the electric bill or buying groceries, as so many in our country do.

Alright, that's it for me. Enjoy the rest of your Thursday!

What I've Been Up To (The Rainy April Day Edition)

So I decided another quick round-up of my life was the easiest way to get caught up in a hurry.  A lot happens in a month. I'm ready for Spring (green grass and blooming flowers Spring, we've got the rainy part down), I'm ready to play outside and dare I say it, I'm ready for Summer. But anyways, that can all wait, here's what has been keeping me busy.

What I've been reading.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Picture from Gretchen's Site www.happiness-project.com

Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs

Picture from Liz's Site www.lizcurtishiggs.com

Epic the Early Church

Picture From Here

Okay, so this is one is a combination of prep reading, watching a DVD segment and discussion with a small group, but I wanted to share because so far it is really great. If you have ever been curious about the origins of the Catholic Church, then you should look into this and see if any of the churches in your area are doing the study. Good stuff!

What I've been baking

Mini Butterfinger Pies in a Jar

Picture and Recipe From www.crumbsandchaos.net

What I've been making.

A baby blanket :) So many friends are expecting, it's always fun to think of their new little one and pick fabrics and make something they will hopefully love.

 

I've been trying to do some catch-up on scrapbook pages, so whenever I have a free afternoon/evening (which is oh-so-often ;)

What I'm listening to (Music).

I am loving Darius Rucker's song "Wagon Wheel" (wasn't a big fan in the beginning, but love it now)

I watched a bit of the ACMs (Academy of Country Music Awards) and loved Hunter Hayes' new song "I Want Crazy"

 

What I've been doing to enjoy these past few rainy months

I went down to Illinois for Easter with my parents and brothers. It was a great and very relaxing few days.

My mom is super cute and made these bunnies to go with our lunch.

 

My brother and I threw a Mad Hatter Unbirthday Party. It was tons of fun, unfrotunately I only took one picture, at the very end of the party.

Apparently Nintendo brings everyone together

I have had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with friends lately, which has been wonderful. I live close (within an hour and a half) of all of them but haven't seen many of them for months, so is life I suppose, but it was lovely catching up. I am so blessed with so many amazing friends, far and near!

So that's me. Hope all of you are fabulous and enjoying April and the promise of Spring. Oh and since it's been forever since I have posted, yay for our "new" Pope Francis! I am loving all I have been hearing about him and his love of the poor.

A Bit of Cooking

Hello Everyone! I've been cooking and baking and so I thought I'd share some of the recipes I've tried recently with all of you. Here are some of my recent favs:

Overnight Ham & Egg Breakfast Cups

These are awesome! I made them for breakfast this morning and they turned out great (just make sure to bake them on a cookie sheet, mine spilled over a bit). They probably would not be as great for the big families out there but if you're feeding just yourself or a couple others they are perfect. I had 2 for my breakfast.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

Oh my goodness this was so good! If you're making it for a big group you may want to double everything, as this recipe only made enough for 2. I've always had an issue with sauces thickening (I blame it on my lack of patience) but this sauce thickened up great and the flavor was excellent. I made up an Asian Fried Rice packet to go along with it.

Ranch Roasted Potatoes (use homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix)

These have become a go-to side for me. I'm a meat and potatoes kind of girl, and of course a sweets and chocolate, bread and fresh fruits/veggies, well I guess I'm a food girl :) Anyways, I love this recipe because it's quick (you can even prep it before hand, make the seasoning mix and cut up the potatoes) and it can cook while you make the rest of the meal. For the ranch mix I leave out the buttermilk and it tastes great.

Bacon, Brie and Basil Pasta

So I was given a huge wheel of brie cheese, not such a bad problem to have. I came across this recipe and love it, although your house will of course smell like bacon and onions for a week, just a warning ;)

Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes (with peanut butter frosting!)

These are super sweet but really good. I love love love the frosting (I added about 1 tsp vanilla). I had a bunch of the mini peanut butter cups so instead of chopping them up and adding them to the batter I just put them in the filled cupcake holders before baking (push them down a bit). Either way would work well.

Happy baking/cooking everyone!

A Lot of Love

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

I hope you feel loved. I hope you tell someone that you love them, your significant other, your sister/brother, your mom/dad, your friend. Oh, and don't forget the man upstairs (and I'm not referring to your creepy upstairs neighbor), He loves you a lot, He kind of died for you. I think it's pretty perfect to start off Lent and have Valentine's Day immediately after. It reminds us of what true love really is. Never forget you are loved.

7 Quick Takes (vol. 14)

So it's February, not exactly sure how that happened, but I'm ok with it. There is snow all over the ground and the sun is out, so I am hoping for a beautiful weekend. Here's a quick update on me.

 

 ~~ 1 ~~

I forgot how much I missed crafting/sewing. I know that may seem odd since Christmas wasn't that long ago, but that's different, there's a deadline there (that I often miss, but it's still there). I've been on a tote bag kick lately, random I know, but they're fun and fairly quick (depending on how you do them). 

  I made this for a friend, no I am not quite that vain.

I also have piles of stuff I need to scrapbook. Maybe I'll do that this weekend.

 

~~ 2 ~~

So I had this lovely cold for about 2 weeks, bad enough to stay home from work, but thankfully I didn't have to deal with the Norovirus (which sounded awful!) and I figure it's winter, everyone is bound to get sick sometime, right? Anyways, I found an awesome comfort food that was perfect when I was home (I'd made it a few days before and had frozen the leftovers so the timing was great).

 

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

 picture from here

When I had it at first I thought it was a bit bland (not really any seasonings in the original recipe), so I add a bunch that first night. When I was sick I was glad I hadn't add the seasonings to all of it. It's good and simple. You should try it.

 

~~ 3 ~~

I've been on a red velvet kick, which is handy with Valentine's day coming up and all :) I made red velvet brownies using a cake mix and they turned out great. This recipe is good (I left out the nuts and chocolate chips and didn't frost them) if you want quick brownies and happen to have a cake mix on hand (or made your own mix). Maybe this weekend I'll make these cuties 

 

 picture from here

 

with this awesome Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting (although the original frosting sounds pretty temping as well). Sounds like a plan to me :)

~~ 4 ~~

I am currently reading The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann (thanks Katie for the recommendation :) and it's great, although I think I may need to read parts of it during the day, I get freaked out by mental and supernatural stuff. It's a Christian romance, which means it's got a great lovely story and lots of strong Christian characters and usually a happy ending (that's what I'm banking on. I hate books and movies that don't have happy endings). I was in between books for a while, which kind of drove me crazy, but in that time I picked up Zen and the Art of Needlecraft: Exploring the Links Between Needlecraft, Spirituality, and Creativity by Sandra Detrixhe (my aunt) again and read a few more chapters. I love it because it has so may stories about my parents and other relatives, some I've heard and some that are new to me. It makes me miss family, but I love that there is a print copy of our stories.

~~ 5 ~~

Speaking of family, my younger brother was in "Dancing with the Local Stars" a fundraiser for Cornerstone in Quincy. Rumor has it they put all the dances on YouTu.be but right now here's a link to a sneak peak. Danny's at the 2:38-3:00 section.

 Picture from Table Sixteen Productions

 

~~ 6 ~~

I am so ready for the weekend, not sure what all I'm going to be doing, hopefully some baking, reading and scrapbooking, some time with friends and the boyfriend. I don't really have much planned, which means it will be wonderful :)

~~ 7 ~~

  I haven't really done any winter sporty stuff this winter season. No skiing or snowshoeing, skating or even good snowball fights or snowman/angel building. I need to rectify that in the coming week. After all, what's the point of living in Wisconsin if you're not going to enjoy the snow?

 

I hope you all had a wonderful week, enjoy the weekend! 

For more Quick Takes, head on over to Conversion Diary.

Chocolate Donuts with Coconut Glaze

I have to share something amazing with you....chocolate donuts with coconut glaze. AMAZING. I'm all about donuts lately (the baked kind, not fried) but these are definitely my favorite so far. The recipe I adapted from Heather Christo Cooks which has awesome photos and step-by-step instructions with photos, if you're into that, definitely check her out, she's got amazing recipes. Hers was with a Blood Orange Glaze (and I was fresh out of oranges, so that recipe will have to wait for another time).

Chocolate Donuts with Coconut Glaze

Adapted from Here

Donut Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have milk add lemon juice to a little less than a cup of milk (enough to make a cup) and let set for 5 minutes)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbs butter melted

Coconut Glaze:
2 Tbs butter, melted
2 Tbs corn syrup
3 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk (more or less depending on how thick you like your glaze
 2 Tbs heavy cream
2 tsp coconut extract
Shredded coconut to sprinkle on donuts

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray donut pan with cooking spray. In a medium sized bowl combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt). Set aside.

In a separate bowl, add the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter. Beat together and add to dry ingredients, mix until a batter has formed. Spoon or pipe (I put in a gallon size ziplock bag and snip off the corner) the batter into the donut pan and bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes (or until inserted toothpick comes out clean).

Let donuts cool for a few minutes and then remove from pan onto a cooling rack.

For Glaze:
While the donuts are baking, make the glaze by whisking everything together except the shredded coconut (melted butter, corn syrup, powdered sugar, milk, heavy cream and coconut extract).

When the donuts have cooled, dip them into the glaze. You may want to dip a few times, depending on how thick you made your glaze. Right after you dip the donut sprinkle with coconut.

All done :) Enjoy!