Catching up.

Well, as much as I'm loving senior year, the fact of the matter is that it's stressful. Between sports, school, and extracurriculars, I have approximately 30 minutes a week to myself. And those 30 minutes are usually spent in the kitchen. Thankfully, I have a few things to balance my sanity when I start to fall off the edge.

First and foremost would be my broken nose. While most would think that this would add to the stress, it actually makes me laugh from time to time and keeps me sane in those moments. Especially considering that it occurred not during a sporting event, but a New Year's Party.

::my lovely nose guard::

::5 minutes after it happened::

Second, cooking has kept me balanced. When I have time, I'm able to turn on my Adele Pandora radio station and escape for a little while enjoying the freedom of experimenting with food.

Third, puppies :) Yes, I said it, puppies. While my dogs drive me up the wall, when I need something warm and comforting to cuddle with, my dogs are always available. 

::my baby::

On top of those things, I have some of the most amazing friends on planet Earth who somehow know how to make me laugh, cry, and everything in between at just the right times to keep me functional.

Anyways, I have about 4 or 5 recipes to upload, so I'll get on that tonight :)

guilt-free

Cookies, cakes, pies, casseroles, pastas...too much food. I cook to eat, and I've been cooking a lot lately. So one would think I should feel guilty when I get up to pull a batch of cookies out of the oven in 5...4...3...2.....
Okay, these things smell good. As I was saying...guilty...yeah, not so much. Not at all, actually, because most of the stuff I make is pretty tasty. And, on top of that, my experiments benefit the four of you who actually read this thing. Now that I have justified my shameless indulgence, here's my next recipe :)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

What you'll need:

3/4 cup Butter, softened

3/4 cup creamy Peanut Butter, softened

1 & 1/2 cups packed Brown Sugar

3/4 cup Sugar

3 Eggs

3 tablespoons Light Corn Syrup

3 tablespoons Water

1 tablespoon Vanilla

3 & 3/4 cups Flour

1 & 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda

3/4 teaspoon Salt

3 cups semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Cream together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and sugar until smooth

3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, add the corn syrup, water, & vanilla, and then the rest of the dry ingredients

4. Fold in the chocolate chips and drop onto lightly greased baking sheets

5. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown

>>Lemme just tell ya, sometimes that moment on your lips is worth the lifetime on your hips...this is one of those occasions<<

'tis {ALMOST} the season

Thanksgiving:
noun
1. the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgement of benefits or favors, especially to God
2. an expression of thanks, especially to God
3. a public celebration in acknowledgement of divine favor or kindness
4. a day set apart for giving thanks to God


As much as I've been complaining lately about the busyness, stress, and chaos in my life, I am so incredibly blessed. I've been thinking of my stress and sleep deprivation as a bad thing, but I'm reminded that it's all self-induced and it's how I thrive. I have the opportunity to strive for excellence in a challenging school, the ability to play sports, and the privilege to overbook myself at will. So this Thanksgiving season, while I'm so incredibly thankful for the generally accepted answers of: "family, friends, a roof over my head, a warm bed, clothing, sufficient nutrition...", there are so many other benefits that I take for granted on a weekly, daily, and even hourly basis. Sports, friends, books, music...the list goes on. All that to say, am I the only one who takes nearly everything I've got for granted from time to time?

CHICKEN.

Today, I volunteered to make dinner for my mom, who told me that she wanted chicken. No questions asked. So I decided to experiment...this chicken is still in the oven but it's smellin' pretty good, so let's hope it tastes equally so.

What you'll need:

10 skinless Chicken Thighs

1/4 cup White Wine Dijon Mustard

1/2 cup White Wine

1/8 cup Olive Oil

juice of 1 Lemon

1/4 cup Spinach leaves, stems removed

1/3 cup sliced Mushrooms

What you do:

1. Mix together the mustard, wine, olive oil, and lemon juice

2. Stab each chicken thigh at the top of the bone and create a small pocket in the middle of the thigh; place thighs on a baking dish

3. Stuff the pockets with 1 spinach leaf and one mushroom slice

4. Fill the pocket with mustard mixture (marinade), top each thigh a mushroom slice, and baste with marinade

5. Broil for 5 minutes, flip, marinade other side, and broil 6-7 more minutes

so yeah, we'll see what happens.

The Most Wonderful Time

Winter time makes me happy:) Not because I love the snow and ice (which I don't), or the crisp air, but because of the feeling that the season brings. With Thanksgiving preceding Christmas and New Years right behind, the season in general just brings a feeling of happiness, and while I hate to sound like a glutton, the food contributes to much of what brings everyone so much closer at this time of year. For some reason, the spread of a Thanksgiving dinner inevitably puts a smile on everyone's face, and the treats brought out every Christmastime brings loved ones from near and far closer then they planned on being. Regardless of the occasion, everyone loves sharing holiday recipes, so here's my first contribution of the season :)

Winter Crisp

What you'll need:

4 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced

2 cups fresh Cranberries (keyword: FRESH)

8 oz. canned crushed Pineapple in Juice (undrained)

1/2 cup Sugar

1 cup firmly packed Light Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Flour

1/2 cup Butter

1 cup uncooked Regular/Old-Fashioned Oats

1 cup chopped Pecans

What you'll do:

1. After peeling and slicing the apples, layer them in a lightly greased, glass 13x9" pan, spread the cranberries evenly on top, and then top it all off evenly with the crushed pineapple

2. Combine the brown sugar, flour, and butter until the mixture becomes crumbly, then add the oats and pecans

3. Sprinkle the oat mixture over the apples, cranberries, and pineapple, and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes

Enjoy! :)

"A Woman's Work...

...is never done."

Whoever said the above quote (that I hear ALL the time) speaks the truth. I can't remember the last time I rested. But that's okay, because my work pays off. This weekend, I lost my mind and thought I would go to a school dance, sign for my volleyball future at Montreat, go to a sleep over, volunteer in childrens' ministry, go to church, go to the store, AND cook all day. All of this on about ten hours of sleep. Crazy. So here I stand--sleep deprived and hungry--cooking, writing, and texting while listening to music. So much to do, so I decided to cram it all together :) Anyways, it's time for me to get back over the stove, so here are my recipes...first, I made chocolate chip muffins and then I decided we should have dinner as well...

Shrimp Penne Pasta

What you will need:

1 (16 oz.) package Penne Pasta

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1/4 cup Red Onion, chopped

1 clove Garlic, chopped

1/4 cup White Wine

2 (14 oz.) cans Diced Tomatoes (I just diced up some fresh Roma tomatoes)

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

1 lb. cooked Shrimp

Grated Parmesan Cheese

What you'll do:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions

2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, stir in onion and garlic, and cook until onion is tender

3. Mix in the wine, pepper, and tomatoes, and cook about 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally

4. Add shrimp to the skillet, and cook 5 minutes or until shrimp is opaque

5. Toss in drained pasta and serve with grated Parmesan

Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

What you'll need:

6 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate

1/3 cup Butter

3/4 cup Buttermilk

1/2 cup Sugar

1 Egg
1 & 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 & 2/3 cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

What you'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 12 muffin cups

2. In a small saucepan, melt the semi-sweet chocolate and butter together. Set aside and cool 8-10 minutes

3. Stir together the egg, buttermilk, sugar, vanilla, and chocolate-butter mixture

4. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate mixture, stirring until well-combined.

5. Stir in the chocolate chips, spoon the batter into the cups, bake for 25 minutes, and enjoy:)

Seniority

I've been dying to write about my senior year for so long. Literally dying, because I'm ready for it to be over so that I can compile a list of my favorite memories and look back over them fondly as I tuck them gently into the little corner of my mind that I like to call THE PAST. But alas, it's still here. Senior year is the present. Between school, volleyball, college applications, and a sliver of a social life, it's becoming more and more difficult for my immune system to resist my body's urge to explode with stress-induced shingles. Graduation could not possibly come any slower. Well, that's a lie, and just because I said that, it'll probably come even slower. But so far, the times that have been craaawwwllliiinnnggg by have been fantastic.

Where do I begin? Well, seeing as I have virtually no time because I'm currently filling out a college application, I'll only tell one story: the story of the sleepover. It all began with a simple plan: my parents were going out, and I was to spend the night with some of my girls, leaving Joel with the house to himself. Trey Songz's voice emitted my phone, signaling a call from Georgie. "What now?!" I thought to myself. The request was simple: Tori wanted cookie dough and Hannah wanted french fries. Shocker. Simple; I got an extra order of fries from Burger King and picked up a tub of cookie dough from Walmart. 


A chaotic night was under way. I bent a spoon in the tub of cookie dough and performed a life-saving operation on Georgie's ball of fluff that she calls a dog. Noah and James played hide and seek with me in Georgie's neighborhood and I stomped around looking for them while eating my feelings in cookie dough. Hannah and Georgie jumped me in Georgie's room because I took the cookie dough. I jumped Hannah because she jumped me and took the cookie dough. Tori and I had a Red Bull chugging competition. We did a lot of other stuff that will never be brought to the light >:) No big deal.


Finally, the boys left and we all "settled down" in Georgie's bed to watch Apocalypto. Allow me to take this time to inform everyone that attempting to have four girls in one queen sized bed, one 5'10" and one 6'2", is the epitome of insanity. After drinking Monsters and eating frozen pizza that we payed a dollar for (mistake), we all fell into a half-sleeping stupor. What happened next, I don't remember, but when I woke up the next morning, I had a broken neck and a Victoria attached to my leg. We woke up one by one, removed ourselves from the pretzel we'd made throughout the night and, without speaking, began consuming the food that was dispersed about the room while watching White Chicks. None of us knew what was going to happen. None of us knew what had happened. None of us wanted to know what had happened.


And I like these people why?