Friday Pins!

Happy Friday!! Where are the weeks going, where is summer going?  I have to say it is a weird feeling to not be packing up and going back to school, not buying books, not going to pre-recruitment at Chi O!

 But I anyways...on to this weeks pins!  This weeks pins revolve around food! All recipes I am going to have to make when Jeff and I move into our apartment....in 14 days!!!!  Everything can be found via my pinterest page!

Jeff is actually going to be the chef on this one.  He has been wanting to make this for a while!

This I want to make sssooo bad! I love mac n cheese with my whole heart.  And I think this is a great recipe!

There is a pizza place in town that serves these guys and I am thrilled to have found a recipe for my very own "Perperollies!"  YUM!

These Hasselback Potatoes sound super Delicious! 

Do you guys see how plain and boring I am when it comes to food?  I am a simple eater, chicken, mac-n-cheese, pizza and potatoes!  That's me :) 

I hope everyone has a great Friday!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Mmmhhhmmmm I love to bake!
Today I made a favorite treat for my dad; pineapple upside down cake & cupcakes!
Ingredients....yes I used a box mix, the recipes I were finding used box mix.  But instead of the water that the recipe called for I used the pineapple juice.  That gave the actual cake a pineapple flavor. Recipe and directions at end of post.

The cupcakes.  In the bottom of the cupcake pan I melted butter and added a spoonful of brown sugar then added my pineapple wedge and a cherry.  

Finished product, a delicious cupcake! 

The cake! My dad doesn't like cherries so I only put a few on there.  I would have preferred much more.  But same deal for the cake, in the bottom of the pan before adding the cake mix I mixed together a concoction of melted butter and brown sugar then added pineapple rings and cherries. 

MY dad and Jeff have already had two cupcakes a piece! They are giving rave reviews! 

Recipe for cake or cupcakes

1 box of yellow cake 

1/3 cup of oil

1 cup of pineapple juice or water

3 eggs

Topping

3/4 cup of brown sugar (I would actually recommend using a cup or even 1 1/4 cup)

6 tablespoons of butter 

Pineapple rings 

Cherries

Pre-heat oven to 350 (I put the colt butter in the pan and threw it in the oven while it pre-heated. Melted the butter perfectly.)

Mix cake ingredients together 

Mix topping together, evenly layer on bottom of pan or cupcake pan

Add cherry and pineapple ring or wedge 

For cake bake for 32 minutes.

For cupcakes bake for 17 minutes

Cool for a minute, flip upside down...and ENJOY! 

ohmmgeeee

I have to admit there has been something on my mind this past week.

Dove Chocolate. Rasberry & Dark Chocolate Swirl.

It is heavenly.  I am not a huge chocoalte fan...I would much rather have a gummy worm or a bag of chips before a bar of chocolate. But this my friends, is.to.die.for.

So as a treat, go get one. 

Enjoy! 

Happy Father's Day!

To help celebrate Father's Day I decided to make my golf loving dad some golf themed cupcakes!  I originally got the idea from pinterest.
I did cheat a little bit and used a Betty Crocker mix...banana flavor, yum! I also used Betty Crocker plain vanilla icing, my dad is not a cream cheese icing fan, so plain vanilla it was.

I had to make the flags because I could not find any at the store.  I used small flat wooden sticks from Michael's craft store. I striped them myself with a black Sharpie.  The flag part was made with yellow scrapbook paper and them I used Mod Podge to hold it together. 

I used the same white icing but added some blue food coloring to make the water hazard.  Put it in a plastic bag and piped it onto the cupcake. 

To make the sand trap I used crushed graham crackers. 

And what baking/decorating experience wouldn't be complete without a mess?  I spilled the "golf balls" all over the counter and on the floor.  

And there we have it! Golf themed cupcakes! 

Mmmhhmmm

Only ONE more week until I can have an ice cold delicious Pepsi.
Mmmm....I can not wait!

I have done better than I thought I would this Lenten season. I only slipped up once, when I took a sip of Sprite because I was dying of thirst at Formal and the only other thing in our villa was alcohol. But I am pretty proud of myself.  I thought I would maybe loose a little weight due to my forty pop free days...but, uhh, no such luck.  I found that I have tripled my coffee intake, which certainly doesn't help the waist line. 

Happy Monday.

Pb

The grocery store where my parents live has the BEST peanut butter cookies on the entire planet.
When I was home last week my parents sent me home with some.
The only problem...some was not nearly enough.
I needed lots.
So I decided to make my own delicious and out of this world pb cookies.
Only problem...they don't even compare.

I used this recipe and followed it mostly to a T.
The cookies are thick, chewy and soft.
But there is something about them that just isn't right...and I can't tell what it is.
Something...maybe the aren't sweet enough....or maybe there isn't enought of a pb flavor?
I also maybe could have over mixed them. Because I don't have a fancy mixer, I have to use a classic wooden spoon.
I just can't put my finger on what it is.
But they are good enough to hold me over until I drive through Champaign next weekend.

Happy Monday.

Our first

VALENTINE'S DAY!
Yesterday was a really really great day.
Started out at work, just a normal day.
Then class.
Sad that Jeffrey skipped our one class we have together...ON VALENTINE'S DAY!
Then after my astronomy class (at 6:45...ugh!) the valentine's day love could begin!

My hunny made me dinner...and I made dessert.

And the BEST part about baking...is licking the spoon!
mmmmm.

Unfortunately I can not tell you if my cheesecake was delicious or not...because I haven't eaten it yet.
Jeffrey made me the most delicious dinner of all time and I was STUFFED.
So the cheesecake was neglected.

Jeffrey made me a w.o.n.d.e.r.f.u.l. dinner.
Spaghetti with Italian Sausage. Salad. French Bread.
mmmm. It was so good.


Jeffrey making dinner :)




























My finished cheesecake



Jeffrey and I sat at the kitchen table and enjoyed a pretty romantic dinner.

Ps...those are not my flowers. They are Kerry's. :) 

(Jeffrey got me beautiful pink/salmon roses. They are so beautiful. Like so beautiful.)

And I can not say enough how delicious dinner was, I brought the leftovers to work with me today for lunch.

But after a big plate of carbs, I was ready for bed! We started watching a movie and that last thing I remember was saying "just give me five minutes and I'll go get the cheesecake." next thing I remember Jeffrey is turning off the TV, because the movie was over and it was 12:30.

OOPS. Sometimes I am just so sleepy! I am not good at staying up late, or watching a movie while laying in bed; and honestly...I don't think I ever will be. I'm just a little old lady.

THANK YOU JEFFREY.

For a great first Valentine's day.

I look forward to our next one and the 60 after that.

I love you so much.

Happy Tuesday Loves.

om nom nom

I am so hungry!!!

Like I think my vision is blurring because I am so hungry.

But I am craving three things and can not decide what to eat...

1. Pizza...I really wanted pizza so bad yesterday, but yesterday I was so busy I didn't have time to eat

2. Mac n Cheese...I just had a craving for this ten minutes ago. Always a solid choice.

3. Tacos. mmmmm....but I had Taco Bell on Thursday, so maybe I shouldn't do it again? 

Mmm...so hungry.

...................................................................................................................................................................

Anyways.

My weekend kind of s.u.c.k.e.d.

Had some good moments.

-Got to see my family...and both my grandmas.

-Bought a new lap top. yippie.

-Had Woodsy...only fun for a few hours.

Had some craptastic moments too.

But I don't feel like talking about that.

I can't yet.

...............................................................................................................................................................

Have a Happy Monday.

Food and things...

So usually every morning I get an Iced Coffee from DD. But this morning I was up early enough and decided to try and make my own iced coffee. It needed longer to cool, but it was pretty good! I think I will try it again...and save some $$ too! I think if I make the coffee the night before it will be nice a chilly in the morning!

I also did another work out last night, but it was still hard and I again did not do the whole thing. :/ I think I am going to ask Brandon to accompany me on a light jog this evening followed by some walking... if it's not storming! I realized I have to be in a bathing suit again on July 3rd, so it is time to really slim down and shape up...and get my tan on!!!

 I also had some more watermelon, forgot how annoying the seeds were though! But mmmMMMmmm it sure was delicious!

So my dinner tonight will not be healthy at all...I really want Mac-N-Cheese Hamburgers. I saw this magnificent creation on the travel channel, it was on a preview for one of their shows. And oh my GOD how did I not come up with this sooner?!? I already put Mac-N-Cheese on everything....Tacos, Hot Dogs, mix it in with Corn...I mean this will just be fantastic! :)

EEwwww

Remember my hate of milk...well just read an article that shows the benefits of drinking chocolate milk three times a day...and it helps loose weight (belly fat) and leads to a healthier life style. Guess chocolate milk will be added to my diet.

Check out the yahoo! article below.

Drink Chocolate Milk!

Milk.

I just had this random thought about milk...and I'll tell you why.

Lately I have been having some conversations with my roommates and friends about the fact that I don't really like milk. I never really have. When I was a kid it was a dinner requirement to always have a glass of milk. Well I would always drink my milk last, so it would go from cold to room temperature. And room temperature milk is not good! So that kind of ruined any chance of relationship for Milk and I. Then when I lived in my sorority house last year the house mom would put ice cubes in her milk...SICK! That really grossed me out. Plus the milk came out of bag...double sick.  I just have never been a fan of milk.

Sometimes my sour relationship (lol..im kind of funny) with milk can cause problems. Like when I go to make my favorite food...Mac n Cheese, I don't always have milk handy, or this morning when I needed some breakfast I have a box of Lucky Charms but no milk. I had to opt for a bologna sandwich (which was delicious) but prob not the best breakfast option.

Then here is where my random thought came into play...when I have children will I make them drink milk? What will I drink at dinner...how will I set a good example for my children? I know my parents were only trying to do what was best for me by making me drink milk at dinner, but it backfired. Usually for dinner I have a Pepsi...it seems to be the only beverage that is refreshing at dinner time. Maybe I will drink juice, like V8 Splash (if it's still around) or Crystal Light....hmmm....

I also think I need to start taking a calcium supplement...us girls need all we can get!

haha..I'm still giggling about my sour relationship joke. Ah I am really something else.

A Feast.

I love to cook! I am not very good at it, but it makes me feel good.

Yesterday after work I went grocery shopping (love that too). There is something about pushing a cart and pondering over a shopping list that makes me feel like a real grown up. I love that feeling.

After getting what I needed, I prepared a feast for Brandon and our friend Kyle! I made pork chops, potatoes (cooked them in the skillet!), corn on the cob- my favorite, and brownies!

It was so fun preparing everything, and running around like a chicken with my head cut off when everything was finishing up at once.

The meal turned out to be pretty good. The brownies were a little dry, but I didn't have the correct pan to cook them in...so whatever!

But I did have a good time cooking dinner.

Girl Scout Cookies...

ARE IN!!!

YAY!!! 

Caramel deLites are my F.A.V.O.R.I.T.E!!! PB sandwhich is my number 2 favorite and this year I tried a new flavor, Lemonades. I just ate one and I was not disapointed! It was quite good! : )

And I love how the little girl on the peanut butter sandwhich box kind of looks like Erkle from Family Matters....right?!?