Balsamic Roasted Broccoli and Ranch Potato Salad

I've been in a huge cooking mood lately (and my checking account isn't happy with all the trips to Kroger I've been making). Anytime I get a new cookbook or pull out an old one, I always find myself flipping through until I get to the dessert section. I love to bake. I'm pretty sure everyone knows that about me though. I keep telling myself to work in the cooking department rather than the baking department for a while because man can't live off desserts alone, right? Or can they.....I suppose they can but maybe with a severe case of diabetes and major blood sugar problems. ANYWAYS I'm super bad at looking at food recipes in cookbooks and deciding if they'd be good or not so I just like playing with stuff and making my own recipes. Tonight I made a childhood favorite that mom still makes a lot, oven-bbq chicken. It's really easy. All you do is boil chicken until it's done, shred it, and mix in your favorite barbecue sauce. I haven't decided on my favorite recipe for bbq sauce so I just used Sweet Baby Rays. After you mix the sauce and shredded chicken, place it in a baking dish at about 400 degrees until the bbq caramelizes. It's yummy. But for my side dishes, I roasted broccoli and made a potato salad. Yall should try them. They're good ways to switch up your usual broccoli and potatoes.

I know I'm really bad about timing my food, but I promise I'll work on that!!

Balsamic Roasted Broccoli

(enough for 1 person. Easy to make for more than one though!)

4 oz. fresh broccoli

1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat to 400 degrees. Toss all ingredients in bowl. Place on cookie sheet and bake until tender.


Ranch Potato Salad

(enough for 2 people)

4 medium sized red potatoes, quartered

1 1/2 Tbsp. dry ranch dressing mix

3 Tbsp. mayo

1 t. prepared mustard

1 Tbsp. sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until tender when you poke them with a fork. Drain off all water and add the other ingredients. Combine well and serve!

Creamy Corn Dip

This stuff is amazing yall!! You've seriously got to try this. It's really easy too. I would suggest serving it with Fritos but I only had Ritz crackers in my pantry. Not bad but Fritos would definitely be perfect. I like using Neufchâtel cheese instead of cream cheese because it's a little bit healthier.

Creamy Corn Dip

Adapted from Taste of Home

1- 8 oz. package Neufchâtel cheese (or cream cheese)

2 Tbsp. sour cream

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

3/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. dried cilantro

2 (15 oz) cans of corn, drained

1 (10 oz.) can of Rotel, drained (I used original but if you like things spicy go for hot)

1 cup shredded Colby-Jack cheese

Mix all ingredients together with electric mixer. Bake in small baking dish (9x9 or pie dish) at 350 degrees until bubbly. I think I baked it about 20 to 30 minutes but I forgot to time it....If you're feeling fancy serve it in a bread bowl!

Lemon Pineapple Sherbet

Adapted from Paula Deen's recipe

This sherbet is so delicious, you'd never think it is so easy to make!! Paula Deen calls for whole milk but I used 2% to make it a little healthier and it turned out perfect.

½ gallon (2 quarts) 2% milk

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple with juice

2 cups granulated sugar

Juice of 3 medium-sized lemons

In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients well. If the lemon juice causes the milk to curdle, don't worry about it. It won't cause any problems. Pour into your electric (or hand-cracked if you're feeling crazy) ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions. After it is finished, place in freezer for about 1 hour to harden before serving.

Taco Burgers

I've got a question for you. What do you do when you're craving a taco and hamburger at the same time?? Seems like a tough dilemma, huh? Well this happened to me today, so I decided to combine the two and make Taco Hamburgers! Since I was only cooking for myself, I only made two burgers (gotta have one leftover for later, right!?). The seasoning I mixed up makes about an 1/8 of a cup, and I used about a half of a tablespoon for each burger and used the rest for my black beans but you should have enough for 4 burgers. If not, it's super easy to double.

Taco Burgers

Makes 2 burgers, but easily doubled

For the seasoning:

1 + 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. chili powder

For the burgers:

1/2 lb. ground round

~1 Tbsp. of the seasoning

Hamburger buns of your choice (I used whole-wheat)

Toppings:

I used pepper-jack cheese with jalapenos and some salsa, but just go crazy with it! Here are some other ideas: sour cream, avacado (Britt's suggestion), guacamole, and lettuce.

Light up the grill. Mix the seasoning ingredients in small bowl. Shape the ground round into 2 hamburger patties, and use about 1/2 tablespoon of the taco seasoning per hamburger patty. Grill until the inside temperature reaches 160 degrees and juices run out clear. Top with whatever your heart desires, then eat up!

Lemon-Blueberry Bread

I'm going to be honest: I didn't like this bread right after I made it. Ina Garten calls for a lemon simple syrup and a lemon glaze to be poured over this already lemony bread. I was overwhelmed with lemon and very tempted to throw it away. I'm so glad I didn't though!! After this bread set out for a few hours, the syrup settled more evenly throughout the bread and it tastes amazing! I had to wrap it up and stick it in the freezer because I was eating it all!! I only had 2 eggs and the recipe calls for 3 so my loaf came out a little flat.

Just look at how moist this bread is!!!

For the Loaf:
1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, rinsed (I used frozen and I didn't let them thaw because I didn't want my bread to turn blue from all the juice)

For the Lemon Syrup:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze:

1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of one 9 x 5-inch loaf pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely. To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. The glaze will harden after about 15 minutes.

Accidental Chocolately Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip

Yes, I know that's one mouthful of a title, but it's all relevant-I promise. A while back, I saw this recipe for a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip and I've been dying to make it. I've been on antibiotics for an ear infection so I've been resting at my apartment hoping it'll speed up my recovery a little bit. (Will this allergy season ever go away!?) I couldn't think of a better time to be stuck inside because there was a HOUSE marathon on USA today. Definitely one of my favorite shows. I wish he and Cuddy would just get back together already! I don't like all the stupid stuff he's been doing since they broke up! Anyways besides watching HOUSE and doing a little late-spring cleaning, I've been in a huge cooking mood. I noticed all the brown sugar I have in the pantry and thought about making some chocolate chip cookies which made me then think about the chocolate chip cookie dough dip! The recipe says to melt the butter and brown sugar and then add the cream cheese and powdered sugar, followed by the chocolate chips. Well impatient me couldn't wait until it cooled down to add the chocolate chips so they all melted. That's where the "Accidental Chocolately" part comes from. And my newly found love for peanut butter came in handy too! Here's how I modified the original recipe:

Accidental Chocolately Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 8 oz. block cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided

2 Tbsp peanut butter (I used creamy)

Melt the butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat. Remove from heat and add the vanilla, cream cheese, peanut butter, 1/2 cup chocolate chips and powdered sugar and beat with handheld mixer. After it has cooled down, add the other half cup of the chocolate chips. Serve with Nilla Wafers, graham crackers, or just do what I did-eat it straight from the bowl with the biggest spoon in your kitchen! Don't forget to refrigerate leftovers-not that you'll have any :)

*P.S.- If whoever stole my patio furniture is reading this, I want it back ASAP!*

Fresh Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

1 cup butter, cut in cubes

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350˚. Combine the butter, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl until blended, not creamed. Add flour and combine until you have a coarse crumb. Line a 9x13 dish with aluminum foil and lightly spray. Press the shortbread crumbs into the bottom of the dish and bake for 20 minutes.

3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

2 cups fresh raspberries

Spray the exposed aluminum foil with Pam. Spread jam over crust then sprinkle with fresh berries.

8 0z. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

Zest and juice from 1 medium size orange

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the above ingredients together and pour over raspberries. Spread so the mixture will be evenly distributed. Bake for 25-30 minutes until set. Cool on counter for about an hour and then place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Lift aluminum foil out of dish and cut into squares.

Finals

It's the time of the semester every student dreads. I knocked out two finals today and have 3 more to go! I don't have much to say in this post- pictures are worth a thousand words, right?? The past two days of studying outside has gotten me more pictures of random birds and the lavender I just planted than good study time for anatomy. Hm... maybe I should hit up the library the rest of the week so I won't be tempted to play with my camera.

I have no idea what kind of bird this is but its eyes kind of scare me....

Our Sweet Home Alabama

(Sorry about the short ad before the video)
Here's a link to a video with some of the damage.


If you have watched the news in the past two days, I'm sure you've seen the tragedies and devastation that have swept through the South. After the horrendous storm that produced over 100 different tornadoes, over 300 people have been found dead, and that's not counting the ones who haven't been found. Think about it- each person who died was someone's mom, dad, brother, sister, grandparent, son, daughter....and the list could go on forever. Of all the cities who were affected, Tuscaloosa was definitely hit the hardest. And yes, we all know Auburn and Alabama fans have their issues, but I really hope some of those football fanatics can put that away for now and lend a helping hand to those who need it. There are donation centers popping up everywhere all over the South. So many people in Alabama and the surrounding states lost everything-EVERYTHING! Even if you can't donate anything, please remember them in your prayers. We all know our God takes care of His children. I think so many of us wonder why things like this happen but He always has a wonderful reason for everything. Some people may have needed a test of their faith, some people may have needed a reality check and see how bad they need Him. Some people may have needed to see a glimpse of God's power to remind them how strong He is, or even just a reminder about what things in life are really matter. But no matter what the reason was, they all have to do with getting closer to Him and strengthening our faith.

To those left devastated by the storm:
"So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."- Isaiah 41:10

Spring Break

When most people think of a college student's typical Spring Break, they think of a ton of wild 20 year olds going down to Florida and drinking enough beer in a week for a huge army. Picture that in your head, then the complete opposite and that's what my Spring Break was!! Instead of going to the beach and soaking up the sun, my family and I went to Savannah, Georgia. It was a special Spring Break for us; mom and dad's 25th anniversary, Britt's last Spring Break before working, and my 21st birthday! It was an interesting trip to say the least. We decided to take our camper instead of staying in a hotel, because we couldn't find a hotel that was pet-friendly and we felt bad locking Maggie and Gracie up in a kennel at some boarding place while we were gone. So last Saturday we set out on our journey- to a campsite about halfway between Dothan and Savannah. After being crammed in dad's truck for about 4 hours with me, Brittany, mom, dad, and 2 dogs we made it close to the campsite only to realize by the time we were going to get there, they would be closed. Thankfully Britt looked up hotels on her phone that we could stay for the night. This was the biggest blessing because we actually thought about sleeping in the camper at a truck stop. Talk about sketchy..... So the next morning we woke up and started out for the other half of the drive. After we finally made it to Red Gate Farms, we settled in and headed for River Street to celebrate mom and dad's anniversary and my birthday. We ate dinner at a restaurant, called Rocks, on River Street where I had my "first" glass of wine and a delicious Margherita pizza.




When my parents told the waiter it was my 21st birthday, he brought me a Raspberry Cheesecake Martini. It was amazing!!! Better than any piece of cake they could have brought. I guess I can forgive them for not sticking a candle in it for me to blow out, but only because that martini was THAT good. Throughout the few days we were in Savannah, we did the typical "touristy" things. We took a boat tour down the river, a tour around downtown, and a really awesome ghost tour. Brittany is still sleeping with her TV on because she's scared. Overall it was a super successful and very relaxing Spring Break. Check out Britt's blog because she took a ton of pictures.

One good thing about being stuck in the backseat of a truck for so long is that I had plenty of time to read. Thankfully I didn't get car sick and I was able to finish my book! I started Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers, about a week ago and finished it when we got home Thursday afternoon. It was a pretty long book, but well worth the time. I HIGHLY recommend It! Although it is really easy to get frustrated with the main character in the beginning, the book ends great. It illustrates how we should follow God's plan for us with patience, love, forgiveness, and kindness. It is really a wonderful and touching book so please read it if you haven't already!!!!

Spring Fever

To all who read my blog: I'm sorry I've been slacking and haven't posted anything new in a very long time!! I promise I'll working on getting better!
If you live in the South, I hope you've been taking advantage of this beautiful weather we've been having!! My friends and I certainly have been! Even though it's only the middle of February, we got a lot of sun sitting outside by the pool last Saturday! I hope it's safe to say spring is here to stay!! I could definitely get use to this beautiful weather.
Now on to the more personal stuff instead of talking about the weather. I have added something new to my daily routine. Every morning after I have fixed my coffee the way I like it, with a splash of milk and 2 Splenda packets, I find myself sitting outside on our back patio with a box of Nilla Wafers, my giant cup of coffee, and my devotion book. This morning I added one more thing: my camera. It is so peaceful sitting outside facing the woods and just spending my morning reading God's Word. As I have experienced, it is very easy to get distracted from God when you first come to college. With all the exciting new things, it's quite easy to forget the only real need in life. Thankfully now in my junior year, I have never felt closer to Him. God has blessed me with so much, including the most amazing friends I thought I'd never be lucky enough to have. I never would have dreamed that spirituality and God would ever be just a normal, everyday topic I would talk about with my friends, but surprisingly it actually is now. Last night, on a run to Kroger to get chocolate milk and ice cream with two of my closest friends, Jessica and Anne, Jessica gave me the coolest idea! She had a friend who took a really awesome picture of a flower by a pond and wrote a Bible verse on it. She asked Anne and I if we would help her find a good picture and verse so she could send it to people in a church event she's been working with. So this morning during my devotion time, I took my camera outside with me and snapped some pictures and added some verses.

"All We Do is Win"

All we do is win, win, win!!!!!! Yesterday a group of friends and I got together (despite all the Ice Storm Warnings we had in Auburn) to watch history be made by our Auburn Tigers. Yep! That's right!! HISTORY WAS MADE! Our team has worked so hard all year and it has definitely paid off. WE'RE OFFICIALLY THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!! I feel so honored to be able to say I'm part of the Auburn family!!!!!!!!

WAR EAGLE!!!!

Date Night with Sir Mix A lot

Yes. I had a date night with Sir Mix A Lot, Britt's new mixer she got for Christmas and nicknamed it Sir Mix A Lot. Last night we made sinfully delicious cupcakes together. Brittany bought me a book for Christmas called Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey, by Jill O'Connor, and I think these cupcakes fall under the messy and gooey categories pretty easily. They didn't exactly turn out beautiful, but the chocolate cupcake filled with a chocolate chip cheesecake-like filling and a chocolate glaze on top is definitely perfect for those nights when you just need that comfort found in eating chocolate and cheesecake.

Black Bottom Cupcakes
Adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey, by Jill O'Connor

For the filling:
8 ounces Cream Cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 large egg
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream together the first 5 ingredients, then stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon into pastry bag or Ziploc bag with a snipped corner.

For the cake batter:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. In a 2-cup glass measuring cup, boil 1 cup water in the microwave then add the vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients. Fill 24 lined cupcake tins about 1/4 the way full then pipe about 1 tablespoon of the filling in the middle of the cupcake tins, then fill with remaining cake batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, until the cupcakes are firm. As mine cooled after baking, the filling deflated some and made the cupcakes have a little crater in the center but if this happens to you, don't freak out. They still taste delicious. Let them cool completely on a wire rack before you dip them in the chocolate glaze.

For the glaze:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave about 1 minute. Stir until everything is melted and nicely blended. Dip the cupcakes into the glaze once they are cool.