California BLT's

I saw this recipe several weeks ago while watching Barefoot Contessa at my parents' house. It's a simple recipe and now that my tastes are expanding as I'm getting older, it's a sandwich I'll finally enjoy.

I've always liked bacon, but only in the last few years have I liked mayo or Miracle Whip, tomatoes or lettuce on sandwiches. Yes my sammies were pretty boring, especially before I liked cheese or even Italian dressing. Bread. Meat. That was it.

This is so much better.

Look how cute this Boston lettuce is!! I bought them because they were adorable. And perfectly sized. I hate throwing out bad lettuce. Well, I hate throwing out any bad food.

Thick, white, country bread toasted (Texas Toast in our case), smear of Miracle Whip on each side, three slices of bacon each, a few pieces of lettuce, some beautiful tomatoes, salt & pepper and a few slices of avocado on top. Yum. Yum. Yum.

We wrapped these sandwiches in foil and packed them for our trip a few weekends ago. They are a great sandwich to take for picnics! We ate these again several times after our trip. And of course you can always use turkey bacon if you prefer it that way.

Overnight French Toast Casserole

I've always liked french toast, but there is something about a crispy, sugary, browned french toast that beats any skillet egg-dipped bread in my book.

Ah - this casserole. More delicious than I could have imagined. It has the crispy, sugary taste that I love. I also love that it's an "overnight" recipe - meaning prepare, sit for 3-12 hours, bring to room temperature the next day and bake till crispy.

The original recipe I found was from Ezra Pound Cake. But I made a few changes, other than halving the recipe for just Josh & I.

Overnight French Toast Casserole
adapted from Ezra Pound Cake
serves 2-3

~ingredients~

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 + 1/8 cup firmly packed brown sugar
5 slices Texas Toast, cut into about 1" cubes (alternatives: brioche or challah)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of salt

topping

• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 T butter, melted

~instructions~

1. Combine the melted butter and 1/2 the brown sugar in a baking dish.
2. Toss the cubed bread with the remaining brown sugar, arrange at bottom of baking dish (they will overlap)
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Pour the mixture over the bread, and let it soak in
4. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 3 to 12 hours
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F while the casserole sits at room temperature for about 20 minutes
6. While you wait, make the topping - chop the pecans and mix with the brown sugar and melted butter. Top the casserole with the pecan mixture.
7. Bake the casserole until it’s browned and set, 30 to 45 minutes. Let it cool slightly on a wire rack. Plate the casserole and finish with sifted confectioners’ sugar and maple syrup

I loved how the casserole was crispy on the top and almost bread-pudding-like on the bottom. The pecan-crunchy topping was such a great addition - I would have never thought to add the pecans if it weren't for the original recipe!! Monday morning I microwaved the leftovers then popped them in the toaster oven for about 5 minutes, and it was just as good as when it was freshly made!!

fun find

A few months ago I spotted these Cereal-on-the-Go containers from The Container Store featured in Real Simple's problem solving products.

I've always enjoyed browsing through the website, but I had never visited a location or bought from The Container Store before. I convinced Josh to let me try out some of these, as well as a few other problem-solving storage solutions, and received them several weeks ago!

I love the Cereal-on-the-Go containers. The bottom half has an outer jelly-like layer that you put in the freezer and keeps your milk cold. The top holds the cereal as well as a spoon. The spoon isn't the sturdiest of utensils, but it gets the job done, and personally the amounts of cereal + milk are perfect for me. You can also use this for granola + yogurt, or any other kind of combination you can think of that might need to be kept cool. It only leaked on me once, and I'm pretty sure it was my fault for not screwing it on tight enough.

I also found and purchased (2 of) these 26 oz Salad Blaster bowls. I've used them a lot and have had no problems with leaking. I find the size to be perfect for my lunches!

Lastly I bought these little snack containers that I haven't used yet. They seem like they would be good for kids and packing nuts, pretzels, goldfish, etc. - which I don't often pack. 

Anyway! Those are some fun finds I've found and purchased lately! Anyone else have fun finds from The Container Store or food/lunch packing containers from somewhere else?

the cake pop escapade

so i'm not sure if i can really call this an "escapade," but according to the free dictionary online an escapade is - "An adventurous, unconventional act or undertaking."

and i would say cake pops are definitely an adventurous undertaking.

disclaimer: this post is about cake pops, but includes other (food) pics from my niece's party!


anyway, for my niece's first birthday, my sister decided to do some cake pops, kind of as favors and decorations. we had plenty of food and delicious cake, but we really wanted to try these cake pops.

rachel borrowed the cake pop book by bakerella that i got from a friend for Christmas. she did the baking by herself and the crumbling, frosting-adding and ball-rolling with her friend danielle. they also wrapped the Styrofoam in wrapping paper and punched all the holes for the sticks. rach and i dipped and decorated the cake pops the day before the party.

a few words of advice:

• when bakerella says don't use "moist" cake mix - DON'T USE MOIST CAKE MIX. we aren't actually sure if rachel did, but the cake was kind of moist which made for difficulty in dipping. don't get me wrong - these cake pops still tasted AWESOME, plus she followed all the directions and even used less frosting to try to make it less moist. we kept alternating which tray was in the fridge/freezer to keep them hard so they didn't slip off the lollipop sticks, and that worked!

actually, i think that is my only word of advice. rach did the majority of the hard work, but these were still fun and tasted yummy! i want to attempt making them again, maybe for Josh's birthday next month.

cake balls - rolled w/ frosting, pre-dipped

dipping with sissy

(pic by Rach)

amazing cake by Betty's Cookie Korrell

rach did these super cute and quick cards for all the food

gotta love Mum's Magic Cookie Bars!

cute PB&J's made by Rach for the kiddos

Captain Bill (aka my dad) entertains the kids and the adults. Dad used to play at all our birthday parties (when we were younger). this brought back so many fun memories!

happy valentine's day!

happy valentine's day, lovely blog readers! i hope you have a fun time planned with family, friends or a loved one.

when josh and i first started dating, we selected valentine's day to be our "anniversary" so we wouldn't have to remember or celebrate twice. it was also our first "real" date, so it worked on many levels.

now that we're married, we both have agreed that gifts and going out for a fancy dinner aren't really necessary for valentine's day, so i'm planning a relaxing night at home with homemade sauce and meatballs, fresh italian bread (not baked by me, i just don't feel like it) and something scrumptious for dessert (chocolate melting cakes). we did get each other little gifts (slippers for me, chocolates i bought for him and ate most of) and cards (haven't exchanged them yet), but i'm just looking forward to spending the evening with my handsome husband!

if you're still searching for something fun to make for valentine's day, here are a few decadent sweets from some of my favorite foodie blogs:

cakepop kisses from bakerella
oreo truffle kisses from bakerella
red velvet whoopie pies from annie's eats
conversation heart cookies from annie's eats
white and dark heart brownies from smitten kitchen
beautiful strawberry tart from cafe fernando
the best chocolate mousse of your life under 5 minutes from cafe fernando

Lisa Jones Studio

have a great valentine's day!

baking bread: first attempt

i've been trying to think of better ways to spend the several hours i have at home before josh gets done with work and we eat dinner. usually i sit on my lazy butt watching TV and browsing the web. one idea i had was to make my own bread! josh loves fresh Italian and white bread, but it's so hard to keep it fresh and yummy. i usually prefer wheat bread, but i end up freezing it b/c we don't eat it that often, and i've been really disappointed with brands i've been buying at the store lately. i know making bread is time consuming, but i thought it was a productive way to spend an evening!

last night i attempted a simple white bread recipe that was in the booklet that came with our KitchenAid mixer. holy. seriousness. that is the best machine ever. i love that it works for bread dough! it has this awesome "bread hook" (metal) that kneads the dough for you, so no kneading by hand! the recipe called for two loaves, but i only have one loaf pan so i split the recipe in half.

pretty much the recipe goes like this:

1. mix milk, butter, sugar and salt in saucepan. heat to dissolve, then cool to lukewarm.
2. dissolve yeast in warm water in "warmed" mixing bowl
3. add the milk mixture to the yeast, combine
4. add flour, in increments. when all flour is added, knead on speed 2
5. form into ball and put in greased bowl, turning once to coat
6. cover, let rise in warm area about 1 hour (i put my oven on for a little then turned it off and put in the bread dough)
7. roll out dough to rectangle, roll up and plop in your greased loaf pan
8. let rise till doubled in size, bake and enjoy!

this bread was great toasted w/ peanut butter for breakfast. josh enjoyed it last night as the base for a turkey sandwich!


all in all, i enjoyed the process and was very proud of my results. i will definitely continue to make our own bread!! i actually made stromboli dough while i was making the bread dough. pictures/post on that later!

if you are interested in more details on the recipe, let me know!

chicken pot pie deliciousness

a few weekends ago i made a delicious (if i do say so myself) homemade pot pie!


i based my recipe from here: simply recipes

i used the pastry recipe from the website (though i had no shortening, so i just used butter). i also used a sweet potato (or yam...it was one of those white ones) and just frozen veggies, chicken stock, cream, chicken and some spices. the crust was great, even though i didn't make it quite as instructed. i think i need to get some shortening...

awesome cookie bars

i have been a baking and cooking fiend since we've been back from the honeymoon. i'm loving our new Rachael Ray pans and KitchenAid mixer and want to use them at all times possible.

i've already made 3 (half) batches of chocolate chip cookies, so yesterday i decided to try something else. i found a recipe in my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook for Chocolate Revel Bars (recipe here) and decided to make some adaptations. instead of melting the chocolate chips with the sweetened condensed milk, i melted caramels in the sweetened condensed milk, poured that on the bottom layer of cookies and sprinkled the chocolate chips over the top of the caramel. also, i didn't have sweetened condensed milk as the recipe called for - but did you know you can make a substitute for that using dry milk, boiling water, sugar and a little butter. totally worked! because weird - i have dry milk in my cupboard.

i'm happy to say i've now created my husband's third favorite cookie/bar. his 1st favorite are Carmelitas by his Gram, i know i can never surpass that. 2nd is s'mores bars. ah-ma-zing.

anyway, i'm horrible and writing, so here are some pictures. please note our gorgeous plates and fun table runner.

awesome lunch totes

a few years ago i was linked to the Lean Cuisine Komen breast cancer awareness lunch totes. those things were so cute, pluse they were under $15 and all the proceeds went to breast cancer research, education, prevention and detection programs. unfortunately it seems as though i have LOST my two bags and i'm not sure if they will be doing this program again this fall. ever since i moved all of my stuff into our new townhouse, i've been coming home during lunch (it's a 4 minute drive. seriously). however, i would love to get a new lunch tote and start packing again a few days a week.

i came across a fun company called Built NY that is all-things totes (i found it through Real Simple - September). i am adoring these lunch totes. so cute, plus insulated for up to four hours and machine washable. awesome!

one of these is for sure going on my kaboodle wish list for Christmas.

part of the Alexander Girard collection. he is known for creating patterns and textiles, mostly for Herman Miller. LOVE!

 

there are a lot of other fun things on this website. check them out: builtny.com

it's time to be completely honest.

it's time to come clean.

remember that little "meal plan" i've been on? well, it's definitely been non-existent for almost a week now. granted, my birthday was last weekend and that is cause for some off-meal-plan-action more than anything else. i'm also *trying* to NOT go to the grocery more than every other week, which leaves me with not much food at the moment plus the last few weeks have been so busy i've not been able to do much cooking.

i'm 100% sure i'm going to be screwed up by Easter, so i'm hoping to get back to healthy eating next monday. (i also get paid tomorrow which means grocery shopping can happen!)

but i would like to be a little proud of myself for a moment, because i have still been going to the gym. i went twice this week, by myself, and enjoyed it. i wasn't able to spend a lot of time, but i still went. also, i love my iPod shuffle. it's awesome. awesome. awesome. thank you for the great birthday present, josh! :)

ok. tomorrow is Good Friday which means DAY OFF. very excited. also, holiday weekend means Josh has off from teaching on Saturday! yay!!

hope you all have great weekends and Easter celebrations!

day 2, week 2 meal plan

here's an update on what's been going on with me, that meal plan and that workout schedule:

• been doing really good with staying under my calories (not as good with staying on the plan, but calories, yes. except for sunday...that baby shower...arglghghlgh).
  i track my calories here: http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/. i really like it. my sister got me using it a few years ago and they've done some amazing updates within the last 6-9 months making it so much easier and quicker to use. i also have the iPhone app, which is great for on the go!
  
• kind of ran out of money so i wasn't able to go shopping for new food this week. that means i've been eating the same meals last week and this week, and i'm ok with that.
  luckily i get paid this week. i'm excited for next week's lunches of California Chicken Salad with Avocado and Mango and Grilled Sirloin Salad. i'm also going to get some turkey cutlets and do something fun with those. i've been eating chicken for two weeks. i crave variety!!!
  
• been going to the gym three times a week. this is monumental. i usually go with my cousin, but she was out of town over the weekend so i did go once by myself. i'm getting more used to the routine and the machines and i actually miss going when i can't go.
  and i stay for at least 1 1/2 hours each time!
  
• i'm incorporating a huge amount of fresh fruit and veggies. i've really been enjoying it.
• it's possible that i've lost two pounds already.
  it's possible, but not confirmed. i know you can fluctuate that much within a given day, but i'm fluctuating lower than before.

well, that's about all there is to update. thanks for all you readers out there being supportive and giving me advice from your own "meal plans!"


oh, also, i have the most beautiful baby niece EVER, but i posted that last week. but here's another picture just to leave this post out on a beautiful note:

it's that time again...

to watch what i eat! be healthy! say i'm going to work out! hopefully shed a few pounds!

no, but really, it is. i started Jillian Michaels "Making the Cut" 30-day diet this morning. since i did this last year, i already have a bunch of the work done for me - random spices in my cabinet, know which meals i'm going to loath and which i'll love, i have the book and i have most of the meals all worked out (there are some meals [that involve fish] that i don't like, so i have to rearrange them a little...).

i started out the day with a scrambled egg (which seems to always taste gross to me in the morning, especially without salt) and Kashi GO LEAN! Crisp. let me tell you though - this cereal is really good. it's "berry crumble" flavored. yum.

again, since i've done this so many times before (okay, once), i know that it works if you are dedicated to staying on the meal plan. now, if you work out too??? who knows, cause i didn't do that last time. last week i went to the new LECOM Wellness Center with my cousin twice, and both times stayed for OVER TWO HOURS. never in my LIFE have i stayed at the gym for this amount of time. she's good at getting me motivated, so couple 2-3 times a week at the gym with this meal plan and who knows where i'll be in 30 days?! hopefully, somewhere skinnier. i know i fit into my wedding dress already, but i want to fit into it even BETTER!

i really believe that calling this a "meal-plan" (not a diet) and giving yourself a time limit (30 days in my case), really can make this work. i've told myself time and time again i'm going to "eat better," and honestly, that never works. also, not limiting yourself to eating nothing on special occasions - birthday parties, bridal or baby showers, etc., as long as you don't go overboard and allow yourself to eat this way every weekend...or every day...

so, my goals for the next 30 days:

1. stay on the meal plan 95% of the time (exception i already know about: my birthday!)
   
2. go to the gym 2-3 times a week and maybe weekends
3. have a good attitude
4. schedule my first dress fitting (also meaning: buy wedding shoes)
   
5. get lots of wedding stuff done!!
   

we only do EXTREME

i don't think my family believes in doing things "the easy way," or "simple." (at least, i don't!) So when my sister Rachel's baby shower rolled around, we knew we had to go EXTREME. we also knew this because her hubs works at the church, there are a lot of church people they are close to and need to invite. we had her shower on sunday and the guest list kept climbing up from 80 people, and we knew we were still somehow leaving people out that are important in their lives and we wanted to attend.

that's a lot of people. that's a lot of food.

we had an amazing array of food and even more so, desserts, made and provided by our awesome family and friends.

we had wegman's subs and carrot cake thanks to my auntie mary, my mum made tortellini salad, veggie pizza, two amaretto trifles, and cut up all the fruit (and bought most of the gift baskets and decorations), my auntie paula made her amazing lime vinaigrette salad dressing as well as a chocolate peanut butter cake and her own version of a "baby cake." friends of the family also made butter cream wafers, chocolate cherry brownies, oreo truffles and nut roll. and i provided the salad and fixings and made lemon cupcakes with raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting. mum also made nut and semi-sweet/white chocolate bark and i made peppermint bark for the favors.

yeah. it was a lot of food. it was also amazing. we had a lot of fun and everyone we knew helped out a lot. mum and i kept the freaking out to an *extreme* minimum, and rachel did a great job opening all her presents and talking to everyone and refusing to let herself be overwhelmed.

we can't wait to meet this little baby girl! every day she comes closer to joining us! she is going to be amazing and so loved and supported. can't wait!!

here's some pictures!

snow!

sunday i went with my parents to my grandparent's house for some of gramma's homemade sauce and meatballs! it, of course, was amazing and like none other. when i was younger, i wouldnt eat ANY other spaghetti sauce but her's. nothing out of a can or at a restaurant. i would eat mum's only because it was the same recipe. i'm glad to say i've branched out a little, but there's still something about gramma's sauce that i adore!

anyway, while i was there, brooke decided to sleep in cute places. first, in my coat.

then, in the laundry basket.

and yes, there was snow in erie yesterday! i had no idea it was supposed to snow, so i was pretty shocked when i looked out my bedroom window.

here's the snow on my drive to work...



here's the slushie mess known as my "walk" to work...



looking out the back door of the office. only a month ago i remember looking at this tree [on the left] in it's autumn beauty. the leaves on the tree become completely all yellow...a beautiful, rusty yellow. i meant to take a picture of it so many times...it would be a good shot to show the sesasons i think...

annnnyway, it's tuesday, whatever. i'm ready for the weekend again...

oh...AND OUR CRUISE IS ALMOST A MONTH AWAY! ONE MONTH FROM TODAY WE WILL BE PACKING AND SLEEPING IN OUR BEDS THE LAST TIME BEFORE WE'RE OFF!!!!!!!!

wedding - birthday - cupcake weekend

i don't have time for a long post, so i leave you with a few pictures...

doggie pic by kt
kt & cupcake pic by kc
fire courtesy of louise [mayor of saltsman road]
picnic courtesy of smerick's for kt's birthday
knife holder gift from mike to his lovely fiance-B