7 Quick Takes (vol. 17) Awesome Recipe Edition

I have been loving all the fabulous end of summer/beginning of fall produce and (finally!) the awesome fall weather! Here are a few of the recipes I've made lately and loved (7 Quick Takes Style ;)

 

 ~~ 1 ~~ 

Peach Cobbler Bars

 So I canned peaches with a friend and this recipe was the perfect use for some of them.

These are great for a little handheld snack for football parties or other fall get togethers. Simple to make too.

~~ 2 ~~

Zucchini Nutella Swirl Muffins

Oh my goodness I absolutely loved this recipe!! The flavor was amazing and because the only chocolate is the little bit of Nutella on top it wasn't over powering. A must try if you're looking for a good use of your zucchini.

 

~~ 3 ~~

One-Pan Pasta

 

image from marthastewart.com

I made a smaller version of this for supper the other night, added some zucchini and black olives to the finished pasta and it was pretty amazing. (I used this awesome Italian pasta that I got at Pike's Market when I was in Washington, which just made the recipe even better.)

 

~~ 4 ~~

Fruit Crumble

So I am absolutely loving Daphne Oz's cookbook "Relish", that's where you can find this recipe. I am really into coconut oil at the moment (I found a bottle at Marshalls, who knew?!). This is a simple crisp recipe that you bake in single serving ramekins. Top with vanilla ice cream and they are awesome! I made it the first time with strawberries and rhubarb and the second with peaches and strawberries. Both were great.

~~ 5 ~~

No Bake Energy Balls

 

These were a great pick-me-up snack that I didn't feel quite as guilty eating. They kept great in the fridge for a week or two. I left out the pumpkin seeds and flax seed and they were still yummy.

~~ 6 ~~

My Mom's Potato Salad

There are a ridiculous amount of varieties of potato salad. I grew up on this one and so I'm a bit biased, but I like it because it's simple, you can actually taste the potatoes and it's an easy base recipe if you want to add anything (plus it uses celery salt instead of celery, which is fabulous for those of us that aren't too fond of celery).

 

 

~~ 7 ~~

I don't have another new recipe that I've made lately (that I liked enough to share), so I suppose you get 6 instead of 7.

I'm off to Nebraska this weekend for some awesome family time. I get to see my awesome sister sister at her convent :)

I hope you all enjoy the weekend!

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

7 Quick Takes (vol. 16) or What I Learned Traveling Cross Country with my Boyfriend...

So August 5-13 my boyfriend and I road tripped from Wisconsin to Seattle, Washington. It was awesome, I loved it. Here are a few things I learned along the way.

 

 ~~ 1 ~~

Long trips are more fun if your travel-mate is willing to pose for random pictures

pictures taken at the Frontier Village in Jamestown, ND

 At Salem Sue, New Salem, ND

 

and take them!

~~ 2 ~~

At the Crab Pot in Bellevue, WA

"When in Rome do as the Romans do" or in our case, when on the coast eat lots of seafood. Oh and don't be afraid to try something new.

 

~~ 3 ~~

If something sounds cool, stop.

 

Jeremiah saw a sign for the Theodore Roosevelt National Park so we stopped.

The view was gorgeous!

~~ 4 ~~

Take time to have fun.

 Jeremiah skipping rocks at Glacier National Park, evidently he's an excellent rock skippper.

~~ 5 ~~

It's ok to be touristy

 At Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA

At the Space Needle (their cheesy pictures they take of everyone then you choose the background)

~~ 6 ~~

Just do it, don't ask questions don't think about it just do it

Do the fun random things that the locals do, or the fun and random things that the tourists do, either way, just do it.

~~ 7 ~~

Eat good food (preferably local food)

 Evening snack of brie+local fudge+local wine = awesome!

 Eating Huckleberry Ice Cream.

That's the very condensed version of my trip. I hope you are all enjoying your August!

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

Month Catch-Up

Here's what I have been up to for the past month, lots of fun stuff. Hope your summer is super awesome and you are making time to do the fun stuff that makes you smile.

My lovely sister (who is a sister with the School Sisters of Christ the King) had her home visit the end of June, so it was lovely seeing her and having some good old fashioned family time.

Including a picnic by the Mississippi and a triathlon (badminton, horse shoes and croquet)

 I got to spend an awesome afternoon with my adorable Godson and his family.

Threw a summer party that was a blast. Lots of great food, drinks, awesome people, fun games and all around good times. (Minus, of course, the mosquitoes!)

Celebrated Jeremiah's niece's 1st Birthday.

 

recipe & picture from here

Made these for our my dad's side's family get together.

My little brother moved to Wisconsin earlier this month. That makes three of us :) I'll take it!

I've been loving concerts on the square (there was this insanely good harmonica player the last time I went), if there is any free music concerts offered in the summer in your part of the country I highly recommend you attend. 

Alright, that's it for me for now. I'm off to enjoy some more summer fun :)

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!