A Memorable Trip Home

Now that I've been back in Provo for about a week I guess it's time to write about my trip home Memorial Day Weekend...
Friday:
I got to see Steen! We watched Seven Pounds and her bf was there (who is very nice and I approve of), so we didn't get to do a ton of catching up but it was great seeing her.
I had In'n'out and Rico's in the same day! No trip home is complete without both.
The Fam (Mom, Dad, Kait & Em), Grandmom (who came into town for Lucas' b-day) and I went to see Night at the Museum 2. The Smiths couldn't come :( but Kaits beau did!
Saturday:
After much craziness (including losing a chef and the failure of a firetruck cake), we got to Lucas' firetruck themed birthday party. It was so fun! I finally got to see Lucas (after being home for almost 2 days!) and ate delicious bar be que. There were a lot of family members to chat with and young children to run after.
I taught my family nerts. They are obsessed! That's all they wanted to do for the rest of the weekend. No joke.
Sunday:
Family time galore! And good food. and nerts
Monday:
DISNEYLAND!!! I love that place soo much! All I have to say about this trip is: 11 rides in 5 hours, I'm awesome.
Then it was time to come back to Provo...but no worries. I'll be back for two weeks in 16 days :)

PS Recipe? Remember Chocolate Thunder? Well...get ready for Firetruck Thunder. Basically the same, except store bought everything and cheery juice instead of rasberry jam. and red icing...hence the Firetruck. Three-year-olds everywhere approve :)

Create your own visitor map!

If I waited a couple more days I could make it exactly a month since my last post, but I've decided not to.
SOooooo much has happened since my last post...here's a quick recap:
I was homeless for a weekend. Thanks to my lovely friend MP and her Aunt, I had a place to crash AND store my stuff.
I moved into my new apartment.
I got a new roommate named Tiare (pronounced the way its spelled Tee r ee)
I started new classes (Econ 382, Hist 201 and DANCE 180!!!)
I worked a ton, had an impromptu pizza party with a co-worker.
Tiare moved out after 2 weeks, a new girl Michelle took her place.
I withdrew from my History class.
K has gone to Texas, not once, but twice in the past three weeks. (her dad is a pilot, she can do that sort of thing.)
I've decided to stay for not only the Spring but Summer as well...
I have made BYU Brownies TWICE in two Sundays.

BYU MINT BROWNIES



Sugar-n-Spice, Cougareat Food Court

MAKES ONE 9-BY-13 PAN OF BROWNIES.
PREP AND COOK: 90 min. COOL: 1 hr.

1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for chocolate icing recipes.)

MINT ICING (I've been having trouble getting the icing right...good luck)
5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Easter!!!

So I'm aware that I'm a little late getting my Easter post up, but I've been really busy recently...
Easter was really great! Church was awe-some. Afterward, our apartment had a fun get together. I bought a ham and successfully glazed it! Once we had stuffed ourselves on green bean casserole (thanks to G), orange creamsicle jello (thanks to S) and mashed potatoes (thanks to N), we went out and had our own little twist of an easter egg hunt. Ok, ok, it wasn't our own. Technically it originated in Texas and N was the one to introduce us to it. Basically, for like a month we cracked eggs in a special way so we could save the shell mostly intact (after we washed it out). Easter Sunday, N dyed them and S and G helped put confetti in all of them (I was busy with the ham). So after dinner we went outside and cracked them on each others heads! It was way fun and there's still confetti and egg debris outside on the grass behind our building.
Once we had cracked all our eggs we went back inside to watch The Testiments (which I still love! and cry during).

In the spirit of the ressurection of our Lord and Savoir, here are a couple of YouTube videos...
An Apostle's Easter Thoughts on Christ


All Creatures of Our God and King (one of my fav's)


To keep with the Baking theme of this Blog, I made a yummy, chocolate mush on Easter which we have dubbed "Chocolate Thunder". I unfortunately didn't get a picture of it, so basically imagine a mixture of Chocolate Cake with Sour Milk, Sour Cream Frosting, Chocolate Pudding, and watered down raspberry jam. Sooo good! Trust me on this.

Girl Scout cookies?

So Conference Weekend was awesome! (ya ok, two weeks late I know) N and G went and visited family so S and I stayed home and watched. I love being able to hear the words of the Lord! I decided that Sunday I would have a baking extravaganza. Mainly to keep busy and give some people in the ward cookies, but also because I have recently decided to become a PASTRY CHEF!!! I think by my most recent calculation I decided that it's going to take me about three years before I can get my degree from the pastry school of my choice. I still have to graduate from BYU (hopefully August 2010), and then I'm planning on finding a job for a year to finance said educational adventure. Plus it might be nice to take a trip somewhere foreign. We'll see...

But back to Conference weekend. I was looking for recipes to bake when I stumbled upon one for Caremel de Lites (aka Samoas!). After about a month of wishing I knew some Girl Scouts, I realized I'm talented enough to make my own GS cookies. So I found a recipe for Thin Mints and got super excited to bake all of Sunday. I then realized that I should have my own baking blog! So...this is officially becoming my baking blog. Fear not! In case you were wondering how you are going to keep track of my busy, busy life I'm still going to add tidbits about my random happenings. I might even update more.

Homemade Samoas Bars
Cookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping:
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)
Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.
When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping). Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container. Makes 30 bar cookies.

Mock Thin Mints
An Occasional Chocolate recipe
1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix
2 Eggs
2 T. Water
2 T. Cooking Oil
1/2 Cup Cocoa
1 pkg. Guittard Chocolate Chips
2−3 drops Mint Flavoring Oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cake mix, eggs, water, cooking oil, and cocoa. Blend together well. Let stand for 20 minutes, and then shape into 1/2 inch balls. Place balls on cookie sheet 2 inches a part and smash down flat using a spoon covered in non-stick spray. Bake for about 8 minutes. Let cool.
Heat chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. When completely melted add a couple drops of the mint flavoring. Dip the cookies into the chocolate using a dipping tool

After having to combine melted chocolate chips with cookies I realized two things; 1) I need better chocolate chips to melt down so things aren't so thickly covered, 2) I need to get better at working with chocolate. I just chatted with a girl in my ward who dipped her own strawberries for our wards desert night and she said she uses Almond Bark chocolate from Wal Mart for her melted chocolate purposes. I shall investigate.

Oh PS...this is what I made on the Saturday of Conference. It turned out pretty good I think.

Elvis Gooey Butter Cake
recipe from Paula Deen
Ingredients:
1 18 1/4-ounce package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoon (1 stick) butter, melted
Mint leave (for garnish)
Whipped cream (for garnish)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cake mix, eggs and butter together and mix well. Pat into a lightly greased 13 X 9-inch baking pan. Prepare filling.

Filling:
One 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 whole banana
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
One 16-ounce box powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Add peanut butter; beat. Add the banana and butter and mix well. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 325 degrees if using a metal pan; 350 degrees if using a glass pan. You want the center to be a little gooey, so do not over bake. Top cake slice with mint leaf and dollop of whipped cream.

I put half a can of chocolate frosting on top. Chocolate + Banana's+Peanut Butter=Yummm!

I hate Monday's

This morning was pretty awful in more than just the usual Monday awfulness...so as a way to make myself feel better, I've decided to compile a list of all the things I have in my life that make days like these bearable.

• I was not killed by a suicide bomber.
• I live in the United States which is the best country to live in ever!
• I have a really awesome roommate who will look through the pile that is my desk to find things for me that I've forgotten
• I have two wonderful roommates with cars who will pick me up after work
• I have another wonderful roommate who will figuratively pick me up if she knows I'm feeling down
• My sisters are basically the coolest people ever. The four of us are basically fantastic. (same goes for Robert)
  
• My parents love me so much! They do SOOOO much for me
• I have a kick butt extended family! I love that we live so close to each other. I know they love and support me and I can't wait till the next large holiday (or hopefully sooner) so we can all get together again!
• Although my far-away friends are dwindling in numbers, and even though we don't talk as much as we should, I know they would totally have my back if I ever needed them
• "I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know who I am. I know God’s plan. I’ll follow him in faith. I believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ. I’ll honor his name. I’ll do what is right; I’ll follow his light. His truth I will proclaim."
• I am soo excited to live with Kabria in Roman Gardens in the spring! It's not Encinitas, or any where close to California, but we're going to have sooo much fun!
• I am even more excited to roadtrip home with her in June so I can show her all the cool places I love! And also for me to go to those places again...In n Out, Disneyland, Balboa park, the beach, mexican food....
• My best friend Christine is a blessing to me. She's helped me through so much and I hope I've done the same for her.
  
• I am from California! Most people only get to visit there...I live there!!!!
• I go to a school where running into people you knew 8 years ago is a common occurrence. Even if you weren't best friends once upon a time, seeing them will always lift your spirits
• I go to a school where most of the people have the same beliefs and standards as me.
• As much as I hate to admit it, I think Utah is growing on me...sometimes I even think its almost pretty. And all the outdoorsy things I want to do are super close, its a bit more of a drive if I wanted to go hiking in the woods or camping back home.
• The classes I take for my major are 75% male...one day I will use that to my advantage.
• I am able to go to college! That is huge!
• I can (for the most part) afford to support myself for food and housing. No debt!
• I have a nephew and he IS the cutest thing in the world.
• I could go on forever....

After such a good day, I can't not write about it!

Really, my good day started Tuesday night. I was sick all weekend and by Tuesday I basically couldn't do anything but want to sleep. So I called my home teacher to come give me a blessing. Not only has it helped me get MUCH better, but it answered a bunch of things that have been stressing me out since the beginning of the semester (like its fine that I switched majors). But then Wednesday happened and my really good day was put on hold while I went to school and work for 16 hours (not that it was a bad day, just that it wasn't a good day, it was just a day).

So back to Thursday! I meant to wake up by 8 so I could get to the temple by 9:30 to do baptisms, but that didn't happen. However, I was determined to go and not allow my laziness to overcome my desire to do something good spiritually for myself. I ended up getting to the temple by 11:30, was out by 1:30 and, of course, just barely missed the bus to campus. I got to enjoy the brisk walk to campus and once I got there I picked up my W-2 form, some Subway and then caught the 2:15 back to Wyview with Emily M. Once I got home and ate, I thought I should probably get some homework done, but the third problem in I decided that it was too hard to do alone, called this boy Randy to see if he wanted to work on it with me, and decided my time would be best spent by baking until I could properly focus. A little after 5 Randy came over and we tackled that Econ homework in two and a half hours (considering the last homework took at least 3.5, that's quite a feat!). After he left, I decided I had too many cookies and had to get rid of some. Then I remembered I had yet to do my Visiting Teaching, and since I have no time in the next couple of days to try to coordinate schedules with three other people, I decided to settle on writing both of my Visiting Teachees cute notes and a bag of cookies each. Once I had chatted with one and clipped the other's goodies to their clipboard I still wanted to give some to Warren and Brandon who had given me the blessing on Tuesday. This led to me talking to boys for two hours! That never happens, especially on a Tuesday/Thursday when I stay at home and am lucky if I talk to people other than my roommaters. So that means I talked to a total of 8 guys, because Josh came over for a little today too. Bahaha, it's sad that I think that is a large number, but even though I'm surrounded by guys in my econ classes, I'm lucky if I have a full on conversation with more than one. I'm working on it! And not sad...something not that negative.