News and Nanny Diaries May 22, 2012

First, I highly suggest that you go over to the Target Style Facebook page and click on the Target Summer Beauty Bag Giveaway tab.  I’ve gotten their giveaway bags before, and you definitely don’t want to miss it.  They send you a cute little cloth makeup bag filled with numerous samples of great products and a little booklet of coupons.  You definitely need to hurry, because the offers usually run out fast.

Now, once you’ve done that, I’ve got some very exciting news.  One of my best friends has started a blog!!!!!  I know you can’t tell through reading this, but I’m just so excited.  We’ve been best friends for about 9 years and still try to talk at least once a week.  She is an amazing gal who is good at so many things (for example: cooking/baking, sewing, saving money, making me laugh, coming up with creative dates for her and her husband, scrapbooking, DIY-ing, and so much more), and I’m so glad that she’s going to share that with the rest of the world.  I encourage you to visit her blog, Maison Raye, if you are interested in good food, cute crafts, and other household tips and tricks.  And who knows, we might even do some guest posts on each others blogs!

In fact, Raye was one of my two best friends who got me to start shopping at Kohl’s.  (Thanks guys!) I’d never even heard of Kohl’s until I was in college, but it’s hard not to wonder what you’re missing when every other cute things your besties wear comes from there.  The first time I went, all I noticed was that the prices are more than I usually like to pay.  But lately I’ve heard from so many of my friends that they were given coupons for $10 off a purchase of $10 or more, or that they got some Kohl’s cash to spend.  Now that perked my penny-pinching ears up.   While Kohl’s prices are high, you can use their coupons to buy items that are on sale for a great price.  And that’s exactly what I did.  I signed up to receive their e-mails, so they sent me a coupon for $5 off my next purchase (of $5 or more).  I went shopping with my hubby and found these adorable flip-flops on sale.  With my $5 coupon, I got an adorable pair of grey flip-flops for just $13!  Now that’s a great deal to me.  The moral of this rabbit trail is that if you like a store (or restaurant or whatever), you should sign up for their rewards programs or e-mails so that they will give you great deals that you can use to purchase what you like for less.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I really love finding great deals and trying new products.  I did get to try the Starbucks chai frap that I told you about recently, and I loved it.  I think the reason that I love their chai products so much is that the flavor is light and clean.  To me, it’s a nice treat when you don’t feel like getting something overpowering or really sweet.  I also got to try something that I’ve been drooling over for a long time, French macarons.  (Here‘s a picture.) These cookies are similar to a meringue cookie, but have a little more substance.  They are beautiful and so variable.  I got to try a chocolate cookie and a raspberry one, and they were both delicious.  I am now officially obsessed with them.  I will try them anytime I can, and will eventually attempt to recreate them at home (though they are apparently ranked up there with phyllo dough and croissants in difficulty to make).  If you get a chance to try them, take a bite for me.

I also tried making corn fritters for the first time.  The recipe is easy and quick to make; basically, it’s like making corn pancakes.  We had them as a side dish to some pork chops, and they were delicious.  You want to make sure that you season them with salt (Oops, I forgot.), and then you could serve them with butter, maple syrup, a soft cheese, or any other topping that you heart desires.  These will definitely become a regular in our house.

As part of our ongoing movie series, I watched The Nanny Diaries again.  I only discovered the movie last year, but it quickly became one of my romantic comedy favorites. (See why in the trailer.)  I only said a little bit about it before, so I’ll give you some more reasons today.  In the movie, Annie (Scarlett Johansson) becomes a nanny for Mrs. X (Laura Linney) while she tries to figure out what to do with her life.  What Annie didn’t plan on was becoming attached to her charge while being expected to fix all of the X’s many problems.  She learns a few life lessons and even finds time for a little romance along the way.  This is actually one of the few instances where I prefer the movie to the book.   The movie producers toned many parts of the book (though the movie still has some sexual references and cursing) and improved the ending (in my opinion).  Some of my favorite parts are the opening sequence, Annie’s habit of putting people in anthropological profiles, how they turned the movie into Annie’s “field diary”, when Annie’s mom comes to dinner at “her” apartment, Grayer’s birthday party, Annie telling of the nanny cam, and Mrs. X’s letter to Annie at the end of the movie.  Though there are a lot of times when I get so frustrated at how the people are acting, I do love seeing all the sweet moments between Annie and Grayer.  My favorite line comes from the July 4th party: “Grove, come on, what is wrong?  Why won’t you shake your booty?” “Because I have to make a doodie.”

Even though I love y’all, I was not about to attempt Coquille St. Jacques for this week’s recipe.  I decided instead to play with the idea of eating peanut butter and jelly (straight from the jar!).  I decided to make this Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pound Cake and top it with a homemade strawberry sauce.  It’s a delicious recipe that yields a moist, flavorful cake, and the strawberry sauce was a perfect complement to it.  This will definitely satisfy the peanut butter fiend in your life.

I hope you are having a great week!  Come and see me again soon.

Things To Do on Rainy Spring Days May 15, 2012

I don’t know about where you live, but here in San Antonio, it’s been rainy for a couple of weeks.  While we’re glad for the rain, it can make going out difficult.  I’m the sort of person who loves rain and rainy days (when I don’t have to be out in it), but rainy spring days are different to me than rainy fall/winter days.  In the colder months, I like to spend my rainy days watching old favorites, reading cozy books, drinking hot drinks, and eating comfort food.  While I still like to laze around on rainy spring days, it’s not quite the same.  I still like watching favorite movies and reading favorite books, but I’d rather eat lighter food, and I might even feel like accomplishing a (fun) project.  Today, we’ll discuss some of the things that I’ve done during this past week of rain.

I’ve recently become captivated by a book series that you may have heard of: The Guardians of Ga’Hoole series.  I’d heard of the movie, but the premise of the first book captured more of my attention than the movie previews had.  After zipping through the first book in a day and a half, I was officially hooked.  The books are easy to read with characters that are easy to relate to and situations that make you want to stay up til 3 AM to see how it ends (not that I’m speaking from personal experience or anything).  I’ve already read the first 3 books (there are 15), and am eagerly awaiting when I can start the next.

We’ve been eating a lot of Mexican food lately, so I’ve had some extra tomatoes to use up.  I love lightly toasting a piece of bread and spreading it with whipped cream cheese or ricotta and then topping it with the sliced tomatoes that have been sprinkled with salt and freshly cracked pepper.  I also want to try this with cool cucumbers!

Tonight, we had tacos, which gave me the opportunity to try DIY taco seasoning.  In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m trying to slowly start making many of the items that one would normally buy from the store.  I figured that if I make it as I need it, it won’t be too overwhelming.  I know that taco seasoning is not expensive, but it does seem just a little silly to buy those little packets when I already have all the same spices in my spice cabinet.  There are a lot of recipes out there, but I went with this one from a popular food blogger.  My husband said that it was really tasty, and he liked how it didn’t taste really salty like some of the packets do.  I quintupled the recipe, which should give me around 10 servings (I think).

This week’s movie choice would be perfect for a rainy day: Miss Congeniality. (Trailer aqui.)  In this oldie, but a goodie Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) is a tough, tomboy FBI agent who is married to her job.  Unfortunately for a fellow agent (Benjamin Bratt), she’s also his only choice to go undercover when the Miss United States pageant is threatened by a terrorist organization .  With the help of a retired pageant coach (Michael Caine) she is visibly transformed into a beauty queen, but it’s the new friends she makes that really change her life.  As you can imagine, it’s a hilarious movie that also contains many touching moments.  Some of my favorite moments are her fight with agent Matthews, her makeover, and her second talent show.  The movie is chock full of funny lines, but here are some of my personal favorites: “Is this you not arguing? Because you suck at it.”, ”Yeah, I’m gonna get chip-faced.”, ”What was the question? I was distracted by the half-masticated cow rolling around in your wide open trap.”, ”It’s all in the buttocks. Don’t I look pretty?”, ”Hey! I’m gliding here.”, and everybody’s favorite, ”I’m in a dress, I have gel in my hair, I haven’t slept all night, I’m starved, and I’m armed. Don’t mess with me.”

There wasn’t a lot of food in this movie, but her talk about getting chip-faced (gorging on Ben & Jerry’s chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream) reminded me that I’d been wanting to try some of the chocolate chip cookie dough dips that I’ve seen floating around on Pinterest.  I actually decided to try 2, because one of them is made from a special ingredient.  The first dip comes from a great blogger that I follow, the Brown Eyed Baker.  This is the one my husband preferred, but I actually found it to be a little too sweet.  The second dip is from a healthy dessert blogger and is made from ….. wait for it …..chickpeas!  I was actually a little skeptical, but I figured that I already liked hummus, so it wouldn’t be a big loss if it didn’t taste great.  Surprisingly, it was good, but the texture was kind of funny and you’d occasionally get hints of chickpea.  Around 3 PM today, I was scrounging through the cabinets to find something to munch on.  Suddenly, I remembered that I had made these dips.  I pulled the chickpea one out and was super pleasantly surprised to find that the texture and taste were both much better after having sat in the fridge overnight.  I am definitely a big fan, and find it hard to believe that it’s pretty healthy for you. The only change I made to it was using mini chocolate chips instead of regular.  Since the recipe didn’t specify what sweetener to use, I used a little brown sugar and a little maple syrup.   I am telling you, you HAVE to try this dip!  Make it, let it hang out in the fridge for several hours, and then feed it to a loved one without telling them what’s in it.  You’ll be amazed at their response and its decadent taste.  Then you can come back here and share your experience.

Bursting full! May 7, 2012

Oh my goodness!  We have so much to talk about, and I’m so excited about all of it.

First, we’ve got some deals to discuss.  Don’t forget that tomorrow is Haagen-Dazs’s free cone day!  If you live near a store, you might want to plan an afternoon stop.  If you don’t live near a Haagen-Dazs shop, don’t worry, there’s a treat for you too.  Nearly everyone lives near a Starbucks, and from now until 5/13, they are having Frappuccino Happy Hour from 3-5 PM.  I just learned that they have a chai frap, so I’m hoping to stop by and try it for half price.  Don’t like coffee?  How about shakes?  All summer long, Sonic is offering their shakes for half price after 8 PM.  Hopefully, you’re able to take advantage of at least one of these great deals.

Last week, we talked about learning new facts.  This week I have a new trick for you.  If you’ve got a stand mixer (Yay for my Kitchenaid!), you’ve got a way to shred chicken in a flash.  I love using shredded chicken in soups, casseroles, and other delicious dishes, but I hate trying to shred it.  It takes too long, and I’m not very good at it.  I would usually ask my husband to do it for me (He doesn’t like doing it either, but since he’s faster than I am and a sweetie pie, he’ll do it for me if I ask.), but I needed it to be done before he got home, so it could go in our supper.  I remembered seeing something about this on Pinterest, so I thought I’d give it a try.  All you need to do is put your still warm chicken pieces in the mixer with the beater blade.  I turned mine on low and got perfectly shredded chicken in under 30 sec.  This is definitely one of my new favorite tricks; it’s fast and easy!

A few nights ago, my hubby and I got to relax and watch a movie together.  We decided to watch The Adventures of TinTin and had a really great time.   We had both expected it to be cute, but it was better than we thought it would be.  It’s very well done and had us cracking up laughing.  It’s a great family movie, and we’re hoping there might be some sequels.  It’s even it’s got me wanting to look into the originals.

I’ve also had a lot of luck lately reading good books.  Recently I’ve read 2 of the infamous “shoe” books (mentioned in You’ve Got Mail) and found them both to be delightful.  I don’t know why it took me so long to read them, but I’m glad I finally got around to it.  They’re all about little girls working hard to help their friends and family and to achieve their own dreams.  The girls are always relatable and often funny.  I like to read well-written children’s book, because they’re enjoyable and I usually don’t have to worry about running into crude/foul language or explicit adult scenes.  I also just finished the first book in the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, The Capture.  I finished it in a day and a half (only because I needed sleep), and can’t wait to start the next book.  Kathryn Lasky writes so well that I immediately felt I was in the mysterious world of the owls.  I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I hope it does the books justice.  I also read a book that I think is a great reference for someone who’s looking to make more of their own pantry and refrigerator staples.  It’s called Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It, and I really enjoyed reading it.  Have you read any fabulous books lately?

Of course, the week wouldn’t be complete without another movie/recipe installation.  This week’s movie was one I’ve discussed before, Morning Glory. (Trailer over here.)  Becky (Rachel McAdams) lost her job as a junior producer at a local morning show, so she jumps at the chance to be the senior producer at a dying, national morning show.  Unfortunately, the odds seem stacked against her.  After firing the creepy male anchor, she has to quickly find a suitable replacement.  She manages to convince one of her childhood heroes, former newscaster Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford), to reluctantly anchor alongside the hilarious Colleen (Diane Keaton).  She pulls out all the stops to keep her show on the air with truly hilarious results.  This is another movie that leans more to comedy with some romance alongside.  The chemistry between Harrison Ford, Rachel McAdams, and Diane Keaton is electric and really pulls the movie along with help from Patrick Wilson and the ever-sarcastic Jeff Goldblum.  Another aspect that makes this movie so great is the soundtrack.  I often mention soundtracks as a favorite part of a movie, so I thought I might explain what I mean a little more.  As a musician, the soundtrack can really clinch a movie for me.  Sometimes, it’s because the soundtrack is made up of songs I enjoy listening to, but the most important part is that they really underscore the mood of the movie.  I particularly like it when you get to the climax of the movie and are met by a really fun, upbeat track (which just so happens to be the case in Morning Glory).  Some of my favorite parts are Colleen’s signing on for “anything”, Becky’s boyfriend putting her phone in the freezer, Mike’s big story, Becky conquering her first staff meeting, and Mike’s apology.  Here are some of my favorite lines: “Sorry, that was an overshare.”, ”Don’t mention that.”, ”Welcome to Daybreak. Enjoy the pain, Gidget.”, and ”You’re different and a deeply terrible mime.”

Frittatas have an important role in the movie, so I knew that that’s what I wanted to make.  (It’s also a nice change from all the sweets I’ve been making!)  This Greek frittata was easy to make and a delicious dinner.  The flavor was really great, but next time I’d probably wilt the spinach a little bit first.  I had to cook my frittata a little longer than it called for, and I think that would take care of the problem.

Hope you have a great rest of the night!

Did you know? April 30, 2012

So among other treats in this particular blog post, you might learn a couple of new facts (I know that some of them were new to me.).

The first new thing that I just learned was that last month, y’all set an all time high for viewing this blog, 109 views in the entire month.  And I just want to say “Thank You!”  I hope that you enjoy reading these posts as much as I enjoy writing them.  You are the best readers, and I couldn’t do this without you.

Seems like this is a big season for Bath & Body Works.  There are 2 coupons out right now that you might like to take advantage of.  Over here you can get a free fine fragrance mist with any $10 purchase (good through 5/17).  And here you can print a coupon for a free travel item, no purchase necessary (also good til 5/17).  The last time I visited, I smelled some of their new Wild Garden fragrances, and they all smelled amazing!

Here’s another new fact that I recently learned, maple syrup needs to be refrigerated.  What?!  I don’t know why I never noticed that before, because it’s written on the bottle.  But I only learned it when friends of ours who are moving gave us some items from their fridge, including a bottle of maple syrup that they instructed us to keep in the fridge.  I was intrigued, so I went and checked on my other bottle.  Lo and behold, it says the same thing, “Refrigerate after opening.”  I’ve asked a couple friends, and they didn’t know it either.  Is this new to you too; did I somehow just miss that train?

Among all this learning, my husband and I have gone on with our lives which included eating a tasty dip that I wanted to share.  Tex-Mex Beef and Bean Dip is a tasty, hearty meal that my husband definitely approved of.  I’d made it several years ago and had a couple notes that made it even better this time around.  I swapped black beans for the pinto beans, because I like their flavor better.  I also substituted crushed tomatoes for the diced, to give it a more dip-like texture.

I mentioned last week that I was feeling a little sick; it turned out to be more of a sore throat than a cold.  And what’s the best thing for a sore throat?  Ice cream, of course.  One of my favorite frozen treats is a Sprite float.  When I was a young girl, we lived next door to my grandma and some of my cousins.  Sometimes during the summer, my grandma would invite us kids over for a pizza party.  She would get one of our parents to pick up some pizza and often something for dessert.  One of my favorites was when she would have them get some Sprite and lime sherbet to use for Sprite floats.  Everybody liked theirs prepared a little differently, but I still like mine the same way I did back then, thick.  I prefer a lot more sherbet than Sprite.  In fact, I only put in enough Sprite to barely soften the sherbet to a slushy consistency.  Have you ever had this fun dish?  If so, do you prefer thick or soupy?

Okay, one more random fact before we get to the movie.  I was recently reading a book on popsicles (Paletas by Fany Gerson) and the author mentions the word empalagoso.  She says that it’s a Spanish word for eating something so sweet that you can practically feel the cavities forming.  Is that the coolest thing or what?  I love knowing that there’s a word for that.

This week’s movie pick was the hilarious Made of Honor. (Trailer over here.)  In this movie, Tom (Patrick Dempsey) seems to have everything.  He’s rich and handsome.  He has loads of dates and some great friends.  And he has his very best friend, Hannah (Michelle Monaghan) who he hangs out with all the time.  But when Hannah goes to Scotland on business for 6 weeks, Tom realizes just how much he cares for her.  He’s planning to tell her on her first night back, but instead she introduces him to her new Scottish fiance and asks that Tom be her maid of honor at the wedding.  Tom accepts, but starts planning how to sabotage the wedding and win back Hannah.  The results are sometimes painful, but often funny.  It’s rated PG-13, so there are parts that I’d rather not have.  But there are other parts that I can’t help laughing at.  Overall, the movie has a good soundtrack, Michelle Monaghan looks adorable throughout the movie (so many cute outfits!), and the Scottish scenery is just gorgeous.  There are several sections that I always really enjoy: Hannah and Tom’s easy camaraderie, the bakery guessing game they play, how they always share their food (I love doing that with my friends – you get to taste twice as many dishes!), Tom’s amazingly huge apartment, how Tom’s guy friends band together to help him become a good maid of honor, and the drama over Hilary’s dress.  There are also a lot of funny lines like these: ”Meet me at that new trendy place next to the small Greek place we hated that used to be the Thai-fusion place we loved.” (I completely understand talking in your own language, since I do that with my best friends.), ”We’re a long line of Athols.”, and “That is so thoughtful. I’m so sorry I didn’t kill anything for you.”

They mention a lot of different treats throughout the movie, but my attention was stuck on Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies.  I had some leftover cream cheese from last week’s blondies, so this seemed like a perfect fit.  I used a recipe very similar to this one.  I guess mine was a bit older, because it called for a supreme brownie mix, but I’m sure they’re both delicious.  You can hardly go wrong with cheesecake and brownies.  The ones I made were so good, fudgy in parts with a wonderful cream cheese swirl that tastes just perfect.  They’re so easy to make, and they will definitely be a hit.

So, did you learn anything new?  I had lots of fun learning these new tidbits, but I always love to learn more.  What the latest fun fact that you learned?

Blondie Ambition April 24, 2012

You can tell that summer is rapidly approaching because nearly everyone I know is starting to suffer from a summer cold.  Unfortunately, I also feel like I’m coming down with something, but that won’t stop me from sharing all sorts of wonderful tidbits with you.  Today I got an e-mail from Haagen-Dazs letting me know that Free Cone Day is fast approaching!  It will be on May 8 from 4-8 PM at participating stores.  Hopefully, you’ve got one near you so you can take advantage of this great offer.

I also had another fun DIY that I wanted to share.  My husband loves to use Febreze fabric refresher, but it’s a little expensive.  Since our bottle was running low, I decided to go online to see if I could find any way to make it myself.  I found this great post that shows you how to make it in just a couple minutes with regular household ingredients.

Before we get to our exciting movie section, I want to share a couple of delicious recipes.  The first recipe is one of his favorites.  He loves this casserole so much, he asks for it nearly every year on his birthday (including this year).  I got the recipe from one of my grad school roommates and am glad that I can share it with you.  It’s not the healthiest, but I figure that once a year can’t be that bad.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

3 c. chopped, cooked chicken

1 10 3/4 oz. can of cream of chicken soup

8 oz. sour cream

1 tbsp. poppy seeds

1 1/2 c. crushed Ritz crackers

1/4 c. melted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the chicken, soup, sour cream, and poppy seeds and spoon into a lightly greased 7×11 in. dish (or an 8 in. square pan – which is what I used).

2. In another bowl, combine the crushed Ritz and the butter and sprinkle over the casserole.  Bake, uncovered, for 30 min.

One of his grandmothers’ birthdays falls pretty soon after his, and this year she asked for a cheesecake.  Instead of making a regular cheesecake which would be hard to cut into smaller pieces (she’s diabetic), I made 4 dozen mini cheesecakes.  They were delicious and are perfect little creamy portions.  I might’ve not so accidentally discovered that they’re also delicious frozen.  I didn’t put the glaze on top, and they were still perfect.  This is something that would be great to make and then freeze to satisfy sudden cheesecake cravings (what, you don’t get those?).

Our next installment of the movie/recipe duo is starting to get us in the mood for summer: Legally Blonde. (Trailer here.)  Elle Woods is happily expecting a proposal from her college sweetheart.  On the big date, she gets the shock of her life when he dumps her in preparation for law school.  Despite her “dumb blonde” status, she makes it into Harvard, but runs into several bumps.  However, she makes new friends, learns to believe in herself, and finds love along the way.  This movie has a little more emphasis on comedy.  Some of my favorite parts are when Elle’s shopping for the big date, the Harvard admissions board, when Elle helps out David, Vivian and Elle’s bonding moment, Elle’s day in court, and the graduation ceremony.  There are also some great lines: ”I’m sorry. I just hallucinated. What?”, ”I can’t believe you just called me a butthead. I mean, no one’s called me a butthead since about the ninth grade.” “Maybe not to your face.”, and “If you’re going to let one stupid [jerk] ruin your life, you’re not the girl I thought you were.”

Since there’s not a lot of eating in the movie, I was trying to figure out what would be a good recipe to share.  At first I was thinking about something Californian or Bostonian.  Then it hit me.  Blondies!  I decided to go with a homemade version of a restaurant favorite: Applebee’s White Chocolate and Walnut Blondies.  I think I originally got the recipe from one of those Top Secret Recipe cookbooks, but I was able to find that he shared the same recipe on Good Morning, America over at their site.  Though it requires a few more steps than your average blondie recipe, the results are more than worth it.

Have a great day and try to not catch the summer cold that’s going around.    

Dear Julia April 16, 2012

I think you can tell what’s coming, but we’ve got a little bit to talk about first.

First, if you go here and watch a short (about a minute and a half) and then fill out a form to get a free sample of Tresemme’s new Split Remedy shampoo and conditioner.

The second (and last) non Julia item of business is to tell you about the most fabulous dinner that my hubby and I had last night.  He got a gift card to Macaroni Grill for his birthday, so we decided to go and sample their 2 for $25 dinner that I mentioned not too long ago.  Though it doesn’t offer our adored penne rustica in the deal, it was still completely worth it.  For our 2 tapas, we got the mac and cheese bites  - they were crisp outside, gooey on the inside, and dunked in a delectable truffle sauce – and the zucchini fritti which turned out to be thinly sliced ribbons of zucchini coated in a delicious crisp batter and accompanied by a cucumber/avocado sauce (which I didn’t care for, but the hubby loved).  For his entree, he got the chicken under a brick: a sage-roasted (and VERY crispy!) half chicken served with asparagus, roasted potatoes, and diavola sauce.  I got the pasta carbonara which is spaghetti alla chitarra with parmesan and pancetta and topped with a poached egg.  Both our entrees were delicious!  I’d also gotten a coupon (because I get their e-mails) that allowed us to get a free dessert.  I got their lemon passion cake, but unfortunately they’ve changed their recipe since the last time I had it, and I didn’t enjoy this version as much (though it was still good, it wasn’t as amazing as before).  All in all, we had an amazing dinner; it was a great way to celebrate his birthday.

On to the amazing legacy of Julia Child!!!  I’m sure you’ve guessed that this week’s movie selection was Julia & Julia, which is one of my favorite movies. (Trailer here) While some might not consider it a romantic comedy, I find it to be hilarious, inspiring, and a wonderful picture of 2 happily married couples.  The movie is the story of Julia Child and modern-day writer Julie Powell finding themselves through food, and is based on their respective books, My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prudhomme and Julie & Julia by Julie Powell. (Side note: I’ve also read both books.  I thoroughly recommend reading Julia’s, but I found Julie’s had more cussing and discussions about sex than I care to read about.)  The movie is brought to life perfectly by Amy Adams (as Julie Powell), Stanley Tucci (as Julia’s husband, Paul), and Meryl Streep doing an incredible job of playing Julia Child.  If that’s not enough to reel you in, hold on, because I have lots of favorite parts to share with you.  WARNING: You will get hungry watching this movie.  Generally, I love the husband/wife relationships, the soundtrack, the delicious looking food, and the white dress Julie wears for her big duck party.  And though I do enjoy the whole movie, I also really enjoy Julie’s inner monologue when starting her blog, her first post about butter, the egg poaching scene, Paul & Julia’s Valentine’s party, the lobster scene, and the whole section with Julia’s sister Dorothy.  There are also some hilarious lines that I like throwing out at random with my best friend: “Ritual cobb salad lunch tomorrow. Dreading, dreading, dreading.”, “And ‘breast’ your cards.”, ”You hungry?” “No.” “Good.”, ”You are the butter to my bread and the breath to my life.”, and my personal favorite - ”You and I are vaches enragees.” (mad cows!).  I doubt that you’d be surprised to hear that this movie was what got me first thinking about blogging, though the decision to blog came much later.   As you can tell, I really love this movie and highly suggest that you watch it as soon as you possibly can.  (Surprisingly, my soon-to-be SIL hasn’t seen it, so I’ll be working to remedy that very soon.)

Now the recipe that I wanted to share is an authentic Julia Child masterpiece: hollandaise sauce.  The first time I made this, it was so amazing!!  Unfortunately, the last two times I made it (including tonight) it broke (turned from creamy to grainy and watery).  The first time it broke, I was able to re-stabilize it, and we still enjoyed it.  Tonight, I was just too tired and didn’t have enough time (a.k.a. We were too hungry to wait.), so we went without it.  I do think I’ve figured out the problem.  Never, ever try to halve a hollandaise sauce recipe.  It just doesn’t work.  Go ahead and make the whole recipe, freeze part (if like me, you’re only serving 2), and use it again some other time.  The recipe has lots of tips to fix problems, so just go ahead and try it.  Just because it didn’t work for this time, I still love the recipe and will use it many more times in the future.

Hope you’re having a great day, and remember, you can never have too much butter.

Tidbits Galore and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake April 10, 2012

Welcome back!  Last week was incredibly busy, and I’ve got so much to share!

I recently got an e-mail from Starbucks letting me know that from now until the 22nd, you can get 2 petite treats for just $2.  If you’re planning a trip anyway, it seems like a nice treat.

I also recently heard that next week on tax day (a.k.a 4/17), Sonic will be offering happy hour prices all day.  I’m always up for a Route 44 Diet Coke, so I might find an excuse to stop by.

It seems that lots of people are offering deals lately.  If you get e-mails from Redbox, you might want to check your inbox (or maybe deleted e-mails) to see if you got an invitation to take a survey.  If you take it (it’s about 5 minutes or so), they’ll give you 3 codes for free DVD rentals.  I took the survey yesterday and my codes are good until the end of the month.

If you go over here, you can fill out and print a form to bring to a participating Origins store on 4/22 with any empty skin care bottle and they’ll give you a full-sized bottle of one of their cleansers.

Currently Groupon is offering a deal where you pay $15 for $30 worth of merchandise at Claires.com.   Claire’s and it’s sister company Icing offer affordable jewelry and accessories.  This Groupon offer appears to available for use on clearance items, although it can’t be used toward shipping.  I’ve often found fun jewelry, makeup, and hair accessories there.  If you’ve got a young girl’s birthday coming up, this might be a way to find a nice present or two for an affordable price.

Armani is offering another free sample of their Code Sport fragrance (which smells SO wonderful on my hubby).  You just go here, click on the “Free Sample” tab on the right of the page, and fill out a form to get it.

Part of what made last week so busy was that my hubby and I were spending lots of time with our friends.  Last Thursday, a friend came over and spend most of the day with me.  We had talked about just whipping something up from what I had, but instead she ended up bringing over a delicious spaghetti casserole.  Of course, I asked for the recipe, and so that’s what we’re having for dinner this week.  Since it’s so easy and tasty, I definitely want to share it with you.  Since I have no idea where she got it from, I’m posting the recipe.  If you happen to know more about its origins, I’d love to learn more about it.

Spaghetti Casserole

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 diced green bell pepper

1/2 chopped green onion

1 lb. spaghetti

1 10 oz. can cream of chicken soup

1 small (I can’t remember if these are 6 or 8 oz.) can of tomato sauce

1 c. milk

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 c. shredded cheddar

1. Brown the meat in a pan with the onion and green pepper.  At the same time, cook the pasta according to the package directions.

2. In a 9×13 in. pan, whisk together the soup, tomato sauce, milk, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste.  When they’re done cooking and drained, add the meat mixture and the pasta.  Mix everything together, top with the cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min.

This week’s movie selection was the hilarious Because I Said So. (Trailer here.)  In this movie, Daphne (Diane Keaton) is a mother who’s trying to fix up her youngest daughter, Milly (Mandy Moore) with a suitable mate.  After taking out a personal ad for her daughter, she finds the guy that she believes could be the one.  Unfortunately, a musician who witnessed her matchmaking efforts is also interested.  As Milly dates both men she runs into numerous complications including a continuing strain on the relationship with her mother.  Though there are a couple more adult scenes that I wish weren’t in the movie, I keep coming back because I love the mother/daughter/sister relationship that’s portrayed throughout.  Talking purely about the settings of the movie, I really enjoy the soundtrack, Mandy Moore’s great style, all the yummy looking food (Daphne and Milly both cater), and the beautifully decorated set (Daphne’s garden, Milly’s apartment, and the bakery).  There are some great scenes throughout especially the Korean massage scene, the family sing-along, rearranging the furniture, how Daphne and Milly mirror each other’s actions, and the scene with Milly and her sister’s patient, Stuart.  Here are some of my favorite lines: “I’m not sad sobbing. I promise, Mom. I’m fine.”, ”If we push this 5 in. to the left, I swear it’ll change your life.”, and ”And once I saw you were a woman with profound static cling, I knew I wanted to be that force around you.”

Since Daphne and Milly both bake a lot throughout the movie, I knew that I wanted to do a larger dessert.  Happily, I also had the excuse that we were celebrating my husband’s birthday.  When I asked him what he wanted for dessert, he came up with the idea of a chocolate chip cookie dough cake.  I remembered a pin that I’d seen that seemed like it would be perfect.  It was for a Chocolate Chip Cookie Icebox Cake from Martha Stewart.  Now, when I was planning to make this, the icebox cake link I had didn’t include a link for the chocolate chip cookies they used.  I looked around and found this recipe for crispy chocolate chip cookies.  I made 3 batches, but they ended up making almost 12 dozen cookies instead of the 9 dozen it says it’ll make.  Then I could only fit 8 cookies per layer, not 11.  Needless to say we’ve got a large cake and several dozen leftover cookies; not that my hubby minds.  The cookies are good by themselves, but they’re exceptional in the cake, which really does taste like cookie dough.   It was definitely a hit, and I got the idea from another friend that he may be requesting a variation next month for his birthday.

Now, that’s usually the last section of the post, but I’ve read something that I wanted to share a few quotes from.  It’s the book Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot which tells the story of the 5 brave missionaries who were martyred while trying to reach the Auca Indians in Ecuador.

In a letter to a friend, one of the missionaries, Ed McCully, wrote: “I have one desire now–to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it.  Maybe He’ll send me someplace where the name of Jesus Christ is unknown.  Jim, I’m taking the Lord at His word, and I’m trusting Him to prove His Word.  It’s kind of like putting all your eggs in one basket, but we’ve already put our trust in Him for salvation, so why not do it as far as our life is concerned?  If there’s nothing to this business of eternal life we might as well lose everything in one crack and throw our present life away with the life hereafter.  But if there is something to it, then everything else the Lord says must hold true likewise.”

One day while preaching, Ed used the law to illustrate a Biblical truth. “But you say, God is a God of love.  He will not punish anyone eternally.  It is true that He is a God of love.  And His condemnation does not in any way alter the fact.  God is not willing that you or I experience the punishment we justly deserve.  Therefore He offers us an escape, if we choose to accept it.  At the price of His only begotten Son, God provided pardon.”

One of the other missionaries, Nate Saint, spoke about the cost of living for Christ. “During the last war we were taught to recognize that, in order to obtain our objective, we had to be willing to be expendable.…  This very afternoon thousands of soldiers are known by their serial numbers as men who are expendable….We know there is only one answer to our country’s demand that we share in the price of freedom.  Yet, when the Lord Jesus asks us to pay the price for world evangelization, we often answer without a word.  We cannot go.  We say it costs too much.  God Himself laid down the law when He built the universe.  He knew when He made it what the price was going to be.  God didn’t hold back His only Son, but gave Him up to pay the price for our failure and sin.”

Throughout the book, we see through these men’s letters and journals that they were completely willing to pay any price to take the Gospel to those who had never heard the name of Jesus.  One of the most well-known quotes comes from the author’s husband, Jim Elliot, and it neatly sums up what should be the motto of every Christian: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

How to Get a Guy (or Gal) in 10 Ingredients April 2, 2012

Well, it’s been a busy week and I’m excited to share some great finds with you.  The first thing is actually an oldie but goodie.  Again, I LOVE my library.  If you haven’t been to your local library in a while, you should take another look at it.  I live in a very small town with a shoebox-sized library, but we have access to the greater metropolitan city’s library because we live in the same county.  The bigger library is just amazing!  Since there are multiple branches, you can go online, reserve books, and have them sent to whichever branch you want. As with many libraries, you can also renew online and avail yourself of lots of extra amenities.  I’m often surprised at the things the library does or doesn’t have.  A recent surprise find was all 7 seasons of the older TV show Boy Meets World.  I just finished watching the first season and could barely stop laughing.  It was a great TV show that had laughs for all ages, great character chemistry, and a moral to each episode.  If you’re looking for something easy and drama-free to watch, I highly suggest it.

A couple of days ago, I got an e-mail from Ben & Jerry’s letting me know that Free Cone Day was fast approaching.  Actually it’s tomorrow (4/3) and is held at participating Ben & Jerry’s locations nationwide from 12-8 PM.  There are often very long lines, but you will get a free cone with an amazing flavor in it; so it’s up to you if it’s worth it or not.

If you decide not to go, you can still get a yummy ice cream fix with another amazing new Haagen-Dazs flavor: Spiced Caramel Biscuit.  This is another spot-on delicious flavor.  It’s got just a little bit of spice and a whole lot of yummy caramel flavor that meld together deliciously in your mouth.

I don’t know about you, but Sundays are a very busy day for me.  With teaching Sunday school, church, choir practice, and catching up with friends, we don’t have a lot of down time.  With the time I do have, I don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen.  That being said, I very often put something in the slow cooker before we leave in the morning, so that all I have to do when we get home is maybe make a pot of rice.  This week I tried out a recipe that caught my eye the first time I saw Daphne Oz on The Chew making it.  It’s simply called chicken with sweet potatoes, but it packs a lot of flavor for a dish with a plain Jane name.  I have a medium slow-cooker, so I only did about half of the recipe.  I also tweaked it (very successfully) by swapping orange marmalade for the peach preserves.  Since the dish already has an asian flair to it, the hubby and I thought this was a much better choice.  Considering that  he isn’t such a huge fan of sweet potatoes, I was pleasantly surprised that he loved this dish.  It has a lot of spice and flavor and is very filling for a dish with comparatively little meat.  The only fault I found in the recipe was that it didn’t tell you to peel the sweet potatoes.  Going off the recipe, I didn’t peel mine.  But the sweet potatoes get so tender that the skin sort of falls off, and seeing root veggie skin floating in my food isn’t what I consider appetizing.  We spent about a minute peeling the skin off before we continued eating; other than that, this is a great recipe that I will be using often.

If you hadn’t already guessed, the movie for this week was How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.  (Trailer here.)  In this hilarious movie, Andie (Kate Hudson) is a how-to writer for a popular women’s magazine.  Her current assignment is to write a how-NOT-to: how not to act in a relationship if you want to keep the guy.  She plans to pick a guy and use typical girl errors (clinginess, baby talk, etc.) to drive him away.  Ben (Matthew McConaughey) is an advertising executive who’s just made a bet that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days.  If he wins, he’ll land a huge contract that will elevate his career to new levels.  Fortunately for us, they’re paired together with hilarious results. (My hubby even agrees that this is a funny movie.)  Though there are plenty of cringe-inducing moments, this also has so many funny scenes.  I especially enjoy the beginning scene where Andie’s trying to cheer up her friend and the scene in the vegetarian restaurant.  Throughout the whole movie though, she does these horrible things to him and he puts up with it because of his bet.  It’s horrible yet funny.  I also love the idea for Ben’s party at the end of the movie.  Can you imagine going to a swanky party and getting to deck yourself in gorgeous jewelry?  I would love to be able to do that!  Here’s some of my favorite lines: “Who will use Michelle’s personal life for a story?”, “You let our love fern die!”, “Ok.  That’s good.  That’s it.  Yes, you’re scaring me.”

Inspired by the movie, I decided (with some help from my dearest hubby) to find a 10 ingredient recipe that would help someone catch the attention of that special someone.  I am a firm believer that cooking for someone is a great way to show that you care, and this recipe will definitely let them know how much.  PB&J cookies like these are likely to make anyone’s day; they were certainly a huge hit here.  Me, my hubby, and my father-in-law all agree that these are delicious.  The recipe is super easy and fast.  It took me longer to fill them than anything else, and that was because I used 3 different fillings: strawberry jelly, grape jelly (my hubby’s fave), and nutella.  Each of them are delicious, but you should use whatever you and yours like best.  By happy coincidence, today is national PB&J day, so that’s one more reason you should make them tonight.  See you soon!

Going Bananas! March 27, 2012

I hope you enjoyed a good weekend!!  We certainly had a busy one with a birthday in the family and a party for a friend.  Even with all that I managed to squeeze in some cooking that I think you’ll appreciate too.  For the party, I made something that I was sure the guys would enjoy.  They were these Pepperoni Pizza Puffs, and they were a big hit.  I only had pepperoni slices, so I diced it up and threw it in with no problems.  I also thought it needed some seasoning, so I just added in what looked good from my spice rack: salt, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder.  They turned out great and were SO easy to whip up.  I think these could easily be adapted to so many flavors.

I also created another easy finger food that was popular at the party: pesto spirals.  Again, they were easy to whip up and delicious; they’re also another recipe that is completely customizable to your own tastes.  Here’s the recipe:

Pesto Spirals

1 tube of crescent rolls (seamless is preferred, but not necessary)

1/2 – 1 c. pesto (depending on how much pesto you like and how thick yours is)

1 1/2 – 2 c. shredded mozzarella (again, depending on how cheesy you want it to be)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Separate (or cut) your crescent rolls into 4 rectangles.  If you had to buy regular crescent rolls, you’ll need to press the seams together so they won’t ooze out your filling.  I also roll mine out so they’re just a little bigger.

2. Spread each rectangle with pesto, leaving a 1/2 in. border all the way around.   Sprinkle with mozzarella, leaving the same border.

3. Fold the short sides over (like making a burrito), then roll up from the long side.  When you get to the end, seal up the final seam.  You’ll also want to make sure none of the seams came apart while you rolled; re-seal them if they did.

4. Using a serrated knife, slice the logs into 8-10 pieces (in case you hadn’t noticed, this recipe is done very much to one’s own preferences).  Place on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 min., til golden brown.

That’s all there is to it, but it’s the beginning of so many wonderful ideas.  There are different pestos that you can use, different cheeses, and other things that can be added.  Go forth and customize!

In case you were wondering where the title came from, this week’s movie selection was George of the Jungle.  (Short trailer here.)  This is an older movie, but still enjoyable and funny.  George grew up in the jungle and is completely ignorant of the modern world.  One day, he saves Ursula Stanhope, a San Francisco heiress, from a lion and falls in love with her.  Though she is fond of him, she is also engaged to the nefarious Lyle.  He accidentally shoots George and is put in an African jail while she flies George home to San Francisco to be healed.  Many mishaps and misunderstandings later there is a glorious happy ending.  There are so many funny parts to this movie that it was hard to choose just a few.  I love the cheeky narrator, the always hilarious Ape, the goofy, old-time cartoon sound effects, and George’s big, grey, peanut-loving poochie, Shep.  The movie is very tongue-in-cheek and a very light-hearted way to spend a couple of hours.

As you might imagine, banana feature prominently in the movie.  So what better to make than banana bread.  This Roast Banana-Pumpkin Breakfast Bread is amazing.  I used water instead of rum and creamer instead of the coconut milk.  I would love to try it with the coconut milk, but couldn’t justify buying a can to use 1/2 c.  The biggest flavor enhancer is roasting the bananas; it’s a revelation!  It makes such a difference that my husband and I could barely wait until the loaf came out of the oven before we sliced off pieces and devoured them.  I’ll warn you, the smell is intoxicating and the taste isn’t half bad either.

That’s all for today!  Have a great rest of the week, and enjoy some gorgeous spring weather.

Hot Amazon Deal!!! March 20, 2012

Hey guy, I just wanted to get on quickly and let you know about an amazing deal going on right now!  Amazon Local (similar to Groupon) is offering a $10 Amazon code for just $5.  Free money!!  It’s only good for another 12 hours or until they run out of their supply.  I already bought mine and am really wishing that I could get a couple more (limit 1 per household).  Hope you’re able to snag one.