Caesar Salad Dressing/Wrap

I never realized how easy it is to make homemade Caesar Salad dressing until I found this recipe on Pinterest. It truly is so easy and delicious when made at home. Also, I have learned that I usually tend to have all the necessary ingredients on hand at all times and so it is really easy to whip up for a meal, especially for these Caesar Salad wraps I have grown fond of making.

Homemade Cookies On A Whim

 

 We love to bake cookies on a whim and so I used to prepare cookie dough and then freeze it until I realized how difficult it was to spoon out cookies from frozen cookie dough. I then came up with a better idea to prep my own portioned sized frozen cookie dough so that I can easily prep and cook just the amount of cookies I want without having to wait for the dough to defrost to scoop. I have started to do this and it really is a game changer. Once I prepare the dough, I use a cookie scoop to scoop out perfect portion sizes and set them on a plate/pan to stick in the freezer to allow them to freeze individually. Once each portion is frozen, usually it takes 4 hours minimum (I usually just leave them overnight) then you can combine all the frozen portioned cookies together in a ziplock bag. It is important to freeze them separated first so that they don't all stick together. Then when you are ready to bake the cookies, place the desired amount of cookies on a cookie sheet while the oven is preheating. Sometimes depending on how long it takes for your oven to preheat, it could take an extra one or two minutes in baking time to reach the correct consistency. Enjoy!!!

Step One: Prep Cookie Dough

Step Two: Scoop Individual Sized Cookies for Freezing

Step Three: Combine The Frozen Cookie Dough in One Freezer Safe Bag

Step Four: Store Cookies in Freezer Until Ready to Bake

Step Five: Place Cookies on Cookie Sheet While Oven Preheats, Bake

Step Six: Enjoy!!! Homemade Cookies On A Whim

Reuben Quesadilla

Reuben Quesadilla

Well yesterday was St. Patty's day and so of course we made some corned beef and cabbage for dinner even though neither of us is Irish, but it's a good excuse for some good eats. I was especially excited because Costco was selling some organic corned beef with no added nitrates, etc., which is great for preggo me. The corned beef and cabbage was delicious yesterday but tonight's Reuben Quesadillas were truly the best. I highly recommend that everyone give this a try with their leftover corned beef, so delicious!

Ingredients:
Flour tortillas
Corned beef, prepared and cooked, shredded
Saurkraut or cooked cabbage, shredded
White Cheddar cheese, shredded or Swiss cheese
Thousand Island dressing (I made my own and added some horseradish for a kick)

Open Face Reuben Quesadilla

Reuben Quesadilla

Beef and Noodle Bake

 I found a recipe on Pinterest for this interesting casserole dish, I had looked up the ingredients but when it came time to prepare the dish, the link I had pinned no longer worked. So, instead I prepared the dish how I would have thought it to be prepped. This was very easy to make and pretty delicious. As Nick put it, the flavors are unique but in a good way. Just a different taste than the dishes we usually prepare. It was a nice change of pace. 

DIY Nursery Alphabet

For my recent baby shower, I found this wonderful idea on Pinterest to have guests decorate a letter from the alphabet to put up in the nursery. It seemed like a good idea and a fun activity to have available. I also figured we might not get enough participants but that’s okay because then I could just decorate the remaining letters myself. Well to my surprise, this activity was a huge hit. Not only did we run out of letters (because some people did more than one each), but the craft table was busy the entire shower. We had a co-ed shower and so even more surprising was how many men participated in this activity. There was a moment where I was worried we would have too many pink letters, but my girlfriend who helped with hosting, stepped in and removed the pink paints after she saw there were 5 letters in pink already (great job Meggie!!!). Another complete shocker was how well it all came together, not a single letter was the same color as the one next to it. This seriously is my most favorite thing in our little girl’s nursery now and we will treasure it forever. I just love the fact that every letter was crafted by one of our loved ones just for her, it is just so wonderful. 

Home Improvements

 

As my avid followers (mom and dad) already know, Nick and I relocated to Michigan over the summer, bought a house, started new jobs, and found out we were expecting. It has been quite the whirlwind getting our lives settled in Michigan. So far so good though. I promised I would share some pictures of our improvements we’ve made on our house and so I bring you this Home Improvements post. Later I will post our Before and After furniture projects, etc.

Oreo Pops

Oreo Pops

 Our families recently held a baby shower for us back at home in California. I wanted to do my part in helping by adding to the party favor aspect of the shower, a candy bar. I found this easy recipe to make these impressive yet easy Oreo pops. I decided to give it a go. The process was quite easy, just time consuming. It took me 3-4 hours one evening to completely make around 40 Oreo pops including wrapping them up ready to fly cross country. The best part about these is their WOW factor, they are so impressive looking and ridiculously tasty. I will do this again the next time duty calls. 

Salty Bourbon Squares

I haven't tried very many new recipes lately but when I wondered across this recipe online, I knew I had to venture outside of the box. My husband is definitely a connoisseur of all things Whiskey and so I figured he would love these and that he did. The bourbon flavor was quite prevalent in these goodies, which made for one really rich treat. While Nick's favorite whiskey of all is Maker's Mark, we had a bottle of Elijah Craig bourbon, from our whiskey tour in Kentucky, that I decided to use instead, which turned out just as tasty.

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

 

Photo courtesy of Judith Cameron

Hello Again!

Hey there blog world, sorry for the long absence. Maybe you missed me, maybe you didn’t, but here I am again. This past summer, my husband and I relocated to Michigan for his job. With the move and the new job came a new house. With the new house came a lot of new house work. Therefore, during the time I was unemployed, I managed to spend most of my creative time working on the house, unpacking, restocking, organizing, designing, etc. While I was still cooking, I stuck to things I knew and didn’t try many new recipes, hence the absence of food posts. Thankfully, I did get a job in Michigan within a month of looking and we have had many visitors, which have kept us pleasantly occupied.  While we are finally feeling settled into our home and Michigan 4 months later, I feel that I have finally hit my stride and I hope to bring back some more food posts but even more likely, some DIY posts for things we’ve done around the house. I appreciate your patience as I took a break from the blogosphere, but hope to jump back into it real soon. For now, enjoy this lovely pick of our new home that we love so much (more on that later).

Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs

Have you ever had the Swedish meatballs at Ikea? Well, this recipe puts those to shame. I have never made this type of recipe before and I have really been missing out. These are so tasty and delicious, they would be great served with rice the next time so as to soak up all the sauce, mashies work well too. Seriously give this a try!

Birthday Cookie Brownie Surprise

Birthday Cookie Brownie Surprise

Assemble in prepared 9 by 13 pan
Layer of chocolate chip cookie dough (recipe found here)
Layer of Birthday Cake Oreos
Layer of brownie dough (recipe found here)
Topped with rainbow sprinkles
Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes

Carne Asada

Carne Asada tacos with onions, cilantro, guacamole, and Cotija cheese

 Carne Asada is a delicious Mexican staple that Nick and I really enjoy. Carne Asada literally means "grilled meat" and in Southern California it is always referring to beef, even though it can be used for other types of meat. We love Carne Asada beef in our household because of the citrus and flame grilled flavor, especially when served as Carne Asada fries. In fact, I think Carne Asada fries are one of the best food creations ever made, but sadly they only exist in Southern California and so when we want them we have to create them at home from scratch, it is a lot of work but it is so worth it.

Carne Asada fries with homemade Idaho french fries, Mexican cheese mix, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, salsa verde, cabbage, sour cream, and guacamole

Craft Corner - New Babies

In the past year we have moved from that phase in our life where all our couple friends are getting married to all our married friends are having babies. It's funny just how many babies have been born recently. Being far away from all our friends who are having babies makes it harder to give gifts because if I was in the same city and didn't have to pay for shipping, I would make big elaborate gifts like a diaper tower or a onesie bouquet. Since we are far away and on a tight budget, I have decided to invest some of my time and effort into creating unique gifts for our new baby friends. I have made enough onesies now that I want to share them, plus I think we are at a standstill for awhile before anymore babies are born. 

I hope some of you out there in the interwebs are inspired by these simple gift ideas for the growing families in your lives. These are simple, yet time consuming, ways to gift a unique personalized gift that can really impress on a budget. Sometime it's not how much you spend on a gift, but the thought that's behind it instead ;)

 

 

Eliana

For Eliana. Eliana's parents are both in the medical field, hence the stethoscope onesie. Plus, they had an owl theme for Eliana's nursery and so I had to incorporate owls somehow. These were my first attempt at homemade unique onesies. I used felt with washable fabric glue reinforced with stitching. I also used beading fabric paint for the dot design.

Nash

For Nash. These onesies ended up being perfect for baby Nash because his parents chose a Chevron themed nursery. I think that little boy's dressed as men are super adorable, therefore I had to make him a cardigan and bowtie onesie. Lastly, I found the cutest polka dot felt that looked great as a tie. I used felt with fabric glue reinforced with stitching. I also quadruple double threaded the buttons so as to guarantee they would not become a choking hazard, you could also opt for felt buttons instead of real buttons.

Kai

For Kai. My childhood friend is Kai's mother and so there was no way she wasn't going to get some cardigan and bowtie onesies from me. I also found the cutest "Auntie's Little Monster" set that worked out perfect for my new little nephew, I just had to buy it. 

Zane

For Zane. Zane's father was the guitar player in Nick's band and was one of Nick's groomsmen. These parents decided to wait to find out the sex of their baby for the day it was born and as soon as I found out it was a boy, I knew exactly what to do. I think this guitar turned out pretty great, the sad part is I used an 18 month onesie (because I know parents tend to get a lot of newborn sizes, I try to make older months), therefore it will be quite awhile before I see that one in use, I can't wait.

Aside from the onesies, I wanted to make something special for my nephew and for our best neighbors ever. I came up with this idea to use my scrapbook supplies to make a really unique and personalized picture frame with the babies' full name and birth date, where the photo could be swapped out easily for updated photos (if desired). I enjoyed putting my scrapbooking skills to use since they have been in hibernation for quite awhile.

Slow Cooker Stroganoff (crockpot recipe)

Stroganoff is already a fairly easy dish to make but with this slow cooker recipe it is absolutely the easiest. Plus it is tastier than the Stroganoff recipes I have used in the past. This is definitely being added to the rotation.

Easy Pull Apart Pizza Bread

 We love pizza in all shapes and forms! Enough said.

Trader Joe's Favorites

 I love Trader Joe's. Over the years my love has grown and now that I no longer live near one, my obsession has come full throttle. We currently live 90 minutes away from the closest Trader Joe's and so we make a trip to Indianapolis once every other month so that we can get my Trader Joe's fix along with a visit to Costco (since they are near each other). Since I am not able to visit Trader Joe's whenever I feel like it, I have come up with a list of necessities that I have come to need every time I visit. I have truly become dependent of Trader Joe's especially as I become more and more of a foodie, they just have so many gourmet and unique things for such reasonable prices. For this reason, I am extremely thankful that when Nick starts his new job, we will move to a place where we will be close to Trader Joe's and Costco again.

My Trader Joe's Must-Have's:

Matcha Green Tea Latte Powder
Mango Black Tea
Hansen Sodas (Root Beer, Ginger Ale, Tangerine Lime)
Peach Cider
Two Buck Chuck Wine

Steamed Lentils
Romano Parmesan Cheese Blend
Garlic Herb Pizza Dough
California Sundried Tomatoes
Bruschetta
Mini Heirloom Tomatoes
Basil Plant

Frozen Langostino Tails
Frozen Shelled Edamame
Frozen Basil and Garlic Cubes
Frozen Mandarin Orange Chicken
Frozen Garlic Naan

Organic TriColor Vegetable Radiatore
12 Grain Mini Snack Crackers
Organic Creamy Tomato Soup
Organic Brown Rice and Quinoa Fusilli Pasta
White Cheddar Corn Puffs
Ezekiel 4:9 Bread
Raw Almonds

Yellow Thai Curry Sauce
Roasted Garlic Marinara Sauce
Rustico Pomodoro Sauce
Taco Seasoning Packets
All Natural BBQ Sauce
Salsa Authentica
Salsa Verde
Corn Chili Salsa

Instant Coffee Packets - All Dressed Up
Organic Moo Chocolate Sauce
Cookie Butter
1lb. Dark Chocolate Bar
Candy Cane Joe-Joe's
Chocolate Orange Sticks

Korean BBQ Beef

I have been craving Korean BBQ ribs but haven't really searched for any local restaurants that serve them, instead I decided to make my own with some flattened rib eye steaks we had. This recipe was so easy and it turned out absolutely delicious, just like any Korean BBQ I have ever had in a restaurant. This was quite the treat and now that I know it is simple to make, I will definitely use this marinade again and I hope that I can find some short ribs so as to enjoy Korean BBQ ribs as they are are supposed to be.

 

Seven Reasons Why Living in Orange County is Not Worth It:

 

When Nick and I first ventured to the Midwest so that he could go back to school, we always assumed we would make our way back to Orange County, CA or at least to the West Coast once he was done. Gradually over the past two years, we have come to realize that there is so much that the Unites States has to offer compared to California and the West Coast. Although we are both happy with being raised in Southern California and getting our diverse upbringings there, we have come up with 7 reasons why California is no longer for us. We came up with this list after being asked repeatedly why we choose not to return to California. Keep in mind this is just my opinion, I am not backed by data, but just by mere personal experience. Not only that, but my experience has been in Southern California not Northern (they are different no matter what people say).

7 Reasons Why Orange County Is Not Worth It:

• First and foremost, it is too pricey. The average Southern Californian spends a much larger percentage of their combined income on their mortgage and/or rent than any other location I have heard of (excluding big cities like NYC and Chicago, etc.). On top of that, gas prices are out of this world. Overall, housing prices are extremely high, which makes it difficult for new families to afford the cost of living easily. Plus, the homes in Orange County barely come with back yards.  They are built basically on top of their neighbors and therefore there is no privacy at all. Most of our young friends who are attempting to make it work in Orange County have both spouses working to afford the cost of living in California, something we do not desire for our family.
• Southern California comes off much too superficial.  Although most people we know in Orange County are not superficial, there is a lot of superficiality that goes on. I went to a high school where many of my fellow classmate had a BMW or a Range Rover as their first car. We were lucky to be raised by non-superficial families which helped ground us, but living in Orange County where you are surrounded  by wealthy people, it becomes easier to get sucked into the hype of wanting or needing to look perfect and having ritzy things.
• There is a large divide between the rich and the poor. It seems like the rich just continue to get richer and spend money on million dollar homes and name brand things while the poor struggle to make ends meet on a daily basis because they are taken advantage of. I feel that it is harder for one to really break free of the lower class to enter the middle class in Orange County because living in Orange County is so extravagant. It is much easier to just leave California and quickly become middle class just by moving to someplace else.   
• Over crowded. There is always car traffic, including weekends, mid-afternoon, just all the time. There are just too many people in such a tight space. The last city we lived in, Irvine, has a population of 230,000 people while all of Orange County is composed of 3.09 million people. Our current place of residence of Tippecanoe county has a total of 177,513 (which is a little too small for us). Our possible future residence in Wayne county is 1.79 million (so at least half the size of where we were raised). Overall, we do not enjoy the over crowded feeling of living in Southern California, just too tight and compact.

• Having no winter is boring. Personally, I love the weather outside of Orange County. Not only do we get four seasons but we get snow. I know most people think I am crazy, but it is so nice to have a reason to wear scarves rather than just as a fashion statement. I love experiencing all the seasons Mother Nature has to offer. Every time the seasons change, I am reminded of this beautiful world that God created. Plus, the worst thing growing up in California was having Christmas Day be over 80 degrees F every year, such a huge disappointment.  
• California doesn't really have it all or pay the most. Although most people, including myself for awhile, believed that California has every career imaginable, it doesn't. Many of my friends have left California because they were unable to find the right job for them or a high enough salary to make it work. Perhaps that is because there is more competition for jobs in California, but it really just does not offer it all. Similarly, most people think that the salaries in California are more than elsewhere because of the cost of living, but the truth is that they are not that different. This is because the competition for jobs in California is so much higher and so businesses get away with paying people less because people want to live and work in California, it’s all about supply and demand.
• High taxes are the worst. California has some of the highest taxes in the country.

Now don’t get me wrong, Nick has applied to jobs all over the country and we are trusting in God to lead us where He wants us, no matter where it may be (even if it meant back to California). But, since we are 99% positive that it will be outside of California, here are the things we will miss the most about California:

• Family and friends. The biggest thing we will miss in California are our family and friends. Although most of our friends have left Southern California for the reasons I've listed above, our families have figured out a way to make it work in California and still remain there. It is difficult to leave them behind but we know that moving someplace where we can live comfortably will give us the funds we need to purchase a home where we have space for guests to come visit us and/or the funds we need to make frequent visits back to California to see family. Additionally, we will have enough funds to concentrate on our future family rather than struggling to make it work in Southern California.

• Melting pot. I will miss the diversity of people and the diversity of food that Southern California has to offer. Seriously living in California has really blinded me to how not diverse other places are. I grew up in a white household but I was in an immersive Spanish language program for all of my education, which really helped me grow and learn all that every culture has to offer. I hope that wherever we end up that there will be a similar opportunity made available for our children.

• Disneyland. I will always have a place in my heart for all things Disney and so it hurts that we won't be near Disneyland anymore, but I have come to terms with that loss. Mainly because the prices for going to Disneyland have increased exponentially. I remember when my mother got us all year passes for $99 each, nowadays it costs the same for just a one day pass. So ridiculous, but I still love Disney and I will make sure to take our future kids when the time is right.

Japanese Pork Tonkatsu

When Nick and I lived in Japan last summer one of our most favorite meals was pork katsu with tonkatsu sauce. Recently I was thinking back about this meal and decided to look up a recipe online and quickly realized it was quite simple to recreate. I'm so glad I decided to make this because it was very delicious and a great reminder of Japan.