Farewell 2012...

2012 was a crazy year - maybe that's what everyone says at the end of a year, but I certainly do feel that way about the past one. The end of the year is always such a bittersweet time - looking back on past events (both good and bad), and looking ahead and setting goals.

Here are some highlights from the past year:

Starting in the upper left hand corner and going clockwise:
1. I bought my first baritone saxophone! I played one all through high school, but never owned one. I started playing in the community band again this summer - it felt great!
2. I learned how to shoot a gun this year. E and his dad helped me out a lot.
3. I "came out" as an atheist last January. This was a big step for me, and has really felt good.
4. E and I went to the Reason Rally in Washington, DC. This was my first trip to DC. It was amazing to be surrounded by so many people that believe the same way that I do.
5. This is just a picture of E & I that I really like. We were at Stone Park in Sioux City, IA.
6. Soggy Doggy - the pool had a fundraiser for the Humane Society where dogs could come swim at the pool. I had some moments geeking out over my fur-baby's first swim.
7. Autism Speaks Walk - my team raised over $13,000 for Autism Speaks! Amazing!
8. E & I volunteered for Spooky Science Night - a night that incorporated two of our favorite things - science and Halloween. Kids came through and learned about science and did science experiments, all the while in costume. It was an amazing time and I look forward to doing it again!
9. Adopt-A-Highway: Our secular group adopted a highway and it was very exciting when our sign was erected!
10. E & I attended a Nascar race in Kansas City in October. We usually go once a year, and it is such a great time. I can't explain the excitement and energy there is at one of these races.
11. A picture of E in DC. I think this photo is hilarious - it totally looks photoshopped, but it isn't!
12. Midwest Freethought Conference in Omaha - this is always a great time. E & I attended this in August.
13. I held a falcon! This might not seem like a huge deal, but I'm afraid of birds, so this was HUGE!
14. My niece, Zoey, was born. I love this little monkey!
15. Front and center - this is one of my favorite pictures of E & I. I think it shows how goofy and odd we are. :)

So that was 2012. With the end of the year comes planning ahead for the next year. Here are some things I plan to accomplish:

• I want to cook more. I absolutely love cooking, and I want to branch out and try new things. I also want to cut down on eating out quite a bit.
• I want to make our house more of a home, rather than just a place where we keep our stuff. This place needs to be E & M-ified - see my post about my home decor ideas here. 
• I want to participate in the Sioux Glow 5K event. It's a 5K at night, where everyone decks out in glow in the dark gear!
• As always, E & I hope to expand our family. However, with our difficulties, this does seem somewhat out of our hands, but we will do everything in our power to make this happen. I'm really hoping that 2013 is the year.

Here's to 2013! Cheers! <3 M

Cheezy Hashbrowns... Nom, Nom, Nom!

Cheezy hashbrowns are such a staple here in the midwest - they work for breakfast, lunch, or supper! I've had good, I've had bad, and I've had ZOMG amazing cheeziness. These about do the trick for the latter.

Here's what you need:

1 lb Frozen Hashbrowns (thawed)
1 c. Sour Cream
1/2 can Cream of Chicken Soup
8 tbsp. butter
1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
1 cup cornflakes (crushed)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 6 tbsp. melted butter with hashbrowns. Add in sour cream, cream of chicken soup, salt, pepper, and cheese.  Mix together thoroughly and pour into a casserole dish. Mix together the crushed cornflakes with the remained 2 tbsp. butter (melted). Top casserole and put in oven. Bake for 45 minutes.

And there you have it - ooey, gooey, cheezy, crunchy, yummy goodness. Enjoy!

<3 M

Kitchen Aid Cinnamon Rolls

The hubs knocked it out of the park with my Christmas present this year...

This is one hot piece of metal

Beautiful, right? The night that I got it I whipped up some orange cupcakes. It worked like magic. I've been anxious to try something else with it.

Homemade cinnamon rolls it is.

I've never made bread before (other than banana bread, which hardly counts). This should be interesting. I found a recipe at The E-Wife Blogs Again that was specially designed for using the Kitchen Aid and gave it a whirl.

This recipe has 3 parts - the dough, the cinnamon filling, and the icing. Here's what you'll need for the dough:

• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. butter
• 2 packets of active dry yeast
• 1/3 c. warm water
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 5 1/2 - 6 c. flour

Put milk, sugar, salt, and butter into a small saucepan and heat over low until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in the mixer bowl. Add butter mixture, eggs, and 5 c. flour. 

Using the dough hook, mix for 2 minutes on speed 2. The dough should cling to the dough hook and come away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is sticking to the sides, slowly add more flour until it no longer is. Mix for an additional 2 minutes.

This is what the dough should look like - clinging to the hook, not the bowl.

Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. 

Before

After 1 hour. Boom!

Now, you're going to want to mix up the cinnamon filling. You're going to need the following ingredients:

• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. butter (softened)
• 1/4 c. flour
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon

Mix on low until mixed thoroughly.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a long rectangle. Spread the cinnamon filling across the dough.

Roll the dough into a long roll. Pinch the end shut to seal the roll.

Using a piece of string, cut the roll into individual rolls. This should make 12-16 rolls, depending on how thick you cut them. Place rolls in a 9x13 pan, cover with a dish towel, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Once they've risen and are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put rolls in to bake for 15 minutes. You don't want to overbake these, because they'll dry out. While they're baking, whip up the icing. You'll need:

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 4 tbsp. butter, softened
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 3/4 c. powdered sugar

Mix together until smooth. Ice rolls when they come out of the oven for maximum ooey gooeyness.

Sweet success!

Dig in and enjoy!

Lesson learned: Good cinnamon rolls can not be rushed - but ZOMG is it worth it!

<3 M

Home Decor Goal for 2013

I just hosted Christmas with my family yesterday, and it made me realize that my house is very... blah. Let's just say there are a lot of neutrals going on here. Which doesn't reflect my style at all - I love bursts of color, retro style, and artsy things. I've decided that one of my goals for 2013 is to really put some personality into our space and make it a relaxing haven for E and I, rather than just a place to put our stuff.

My biggest inspiration is the decor section of A Beautiful Mess. I am so in love with this blog - everything is so bright and feminine and adorable... seriously, check it out.

Here are 5 ideas I have to E&M-ify our place:

1. Paint furniture for a bright color pop. I have a rocking chair I'm planning on painting either a bright aqua or a mustard yellow.

2. Find a vintage chrome and formica dinette set.

3. Use bright printed fabric for fun curtains.

4. Paint a statement wall.

5. Find a bright vintage couch.

A lot of these will be found thrifting and rummaging - I guess I have something to look for now! 

I'm really excited about this project. I can't wait to make our house into a home.

<3 M

Glittery Blue Apocalyptic Jell-O Shots

It's been a few days - I have been busy celebrating the holidays with the in-laws over the weekend. Friday night, my friend hosted a Mayan Apocalypse Party. It was a blast, and although the world didn't really end, we partied like it was going to.

I made two things for the party: some fantabulous spinach dip (I'll share that recipe later) and glittery blue apocalyptic Jell-O shots. How did I arrive at glittery blue Jell-O shots for this party you may ask? Well, I sat there racking my brain for quite awhile to figure out a kind of Jell-O shot that made sense. For some reason, when I thought of an Apocalypse party, I pictured glittery blue or purple shots. I decided to ask a friend what kind of Jell-O shots she would bring to an Apocalypse Party. She said glittery blue ones. Hence, it was decided.

I didn't have any edible glitter on hand. I also live in a small-ish town where the chances of finding something like that aren't great. I checked Wal-Mart, Hy-Vee, and finally our party store. The party store had 2 similar options: cake shimmers and edible pixie dust. I picked up both in blue.

Now... into the kitchen to play with glitter, Jell-O, and vodka. :)

I boiled 1 cup of water (per the package directions) and dissolved the Jell-O in, according to the directions. Instead of the cold water, I added 3/4 cup of Vodka and 1/4 cup of cold water. If you're wondering about different Jell-O shot recipes, or how much alcohol can be added, I recommend checking out myscienceproject.org.

Now... the glitter. Hmmm...

I decided to try the cake sparkles first. I tried mixing them in right away, but as the solution was still hot, they dissolved right away. I decided to try letting the Jell-O solution thicken to a jelly consistency, then mix them in so they wouldn't dissolve and would be suspended in the Jell-O, rather than sinking to the bottom.

This kind of worked...

It kind of worked in that the sparkles were suspended throughout the mixture and didn't dissolve. However, they didn't look shiny once they were in the Jell-O, rather they just looked like blue pieces of... something. Also, the Jell-O shots that I made this way were lumpy on top instead of smooth once they had completely set.

For the second batch, I decided to prepare the Jell-O the same way, but pour it directly into the shot cups. Once they were set up, I took a paint brush and swirled the edible pixie dust on tops, creating a sparkling effect.

These turned out pretty well! They weren't my original vision (of glitter suspended throughout), but they were eye catching! I'll have to attempt suspending glitter in Jell-O shots again, perhaps when I have the time to really find some edible glitter. If anyone has had any luck in creating this effect, let me know.

Until next time...

<3 M

Coconut Toffee

Now that Nascar season is over, the hubs and I are at a loss for what to watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Usually we end up on Food Network - I like to cook, the hubs likes to eat; it's a win, win. One of the shows we really like is "The Best Thing I Ever Ate," which is basically a bunch of Food Network stars describing the best things they've ever eaten. For the holidays, they had them do a twist on it and share "The Best Thing I Ever Made" - but it was all holiday related. The hubs and I were watching and he saw Aarti Sequeira make "Coconut Toffee" and he was in love. I knew I had to attempt it.

Now this toffee isn't toffee in the way that we think of it. It is more of a sweet coconut candy, but hey - I didn't name it.

I found the recipe on foodnetwork.com and got to work.

Here's what you need:

• Baking spray
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups unsweetened desiccated coconut (also called finely grated)
• Pinch ground cardamom
• Drop pink food coloring, optional

Note: Ground Cardamom is expensive. Like $10 for a small bottle. But you could actually taste it, and I think it would be noticeable without it. I don't think that I've ever used another recipe that called for cardamom.

Spray an 8x8 square baking pan with the cooking spray and set it aside. 

Next combine the sugar and water in a sauce pan and heat over medium heat. This mixture is going to go through some textural stages and you're going to want to keep stirring it so the sugar doesn't crystallize along the sides of the pan. 

Cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball consistency or 235 degrees F on a candy thermometer. 

Unless you're magic, you're going to actually need the candy thermometer. On my first attempt, I thought I could just eye ball it - what resulted was a jelly mess that wouldn't set up. I went and got a $4 candy thermometer and the result was pink crystal perfection. Once it has reached 235 degrees, mix in the coconut, cardamom, and a drop of pink food coloring. Stir and pour into the baking pan, pressing firmly into the corners. If you've done it correctly, this mixture will immediately start to thicken.

If it sits there like a soupy pile (like my first attempt) then you didn't heat it to a high enough temp. Let your toffee harden (this takes a few hours), then cut into delicate little pieces and enjoy!

Overall, this recipe was simple, but attention to detail was necessary (the candy thermometer)! It was also really fun because watching the sugar and water solution go through different stages was like performing a science experiment. Also, the finished product looked just like the finished product on Food Network. Plus, the hubs approves. :)

<3 M

Simple Color Pop Picture Frames

Lately, I've been very into bright pops of color and contrasting colors. Color definitely perks up the place, and adding color is also a great way to give something old some new life. I've seen some adorable brightly painted picture frames at Hobby Lobby, however the price was definitely not adorable. I decided to create some of my own.

I started out with some ugly  picture frames that I had found on rummage sales. I'm pretty sure I paid 50 cents for the gold one and 75 cents for the other one. You'll want to find frames that have some carving or design imprinted on them.

Ugly right? :) 

I then took them apart - removed the back and the glass and spray painted the frames. I chose a bright aqua color. I didn't use a primer, and the paint on the frames has held up. I did choose the $5 spray paint over the cheapy 97 cent spray paint - in the past I've found that the cheap kind doesn't really cover  much of anything well.

 

Here's how they looked after the spray paint - the color is kind of washed out in these photos - it's much brighter in real life. I used 2 coats of spray paint on these.

After they've dried completely, add photos and enjoy!

I chose to use black and white wedding photos in mine. After doing these, I really want to do a variety of black and white photos in colored frames - I'm thinking a mustard yellow, hot pink, and orange! I'll definitely be on the lookout for more ugly frames at yard sales and thrift stores! You could also do chalk board or cork board in the frames. 

Simple, cost-effective, and adorable. Win, win, win.

<3 M