Tuesdays Creations

So here is to you Kristyna!

Anxious to be a good little wifey I hurried home from school to get dinner on the table before Zach got home on Tuesday, With no idea of what to make I turned to the contents of the fridge for inspiration. I happened upon some delicious mashed potatoes Zach made for Sunday dinner. I decided right then and there I would make Shepherd's Pie.

• 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

(or pre-made mashed potatoes)

• 5 carrots, chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 3/4 cup beef broth
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, mash and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F 

(I did not mash. That sounded like baby food)

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and cook until clear. Add ground beef and cook until well browned. Pour off excess fat, then stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add ketchup and beef broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spread the ground beef in an even layer on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Next, spread a layer of mashed carrots. Top with the mashed potato mixture and sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.

(I added a layer of spinach because its a sneaky tasty way to get some dark green goodness in there. Plus you can't really taste it. )

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. 

By the way, it was delicious.

For dessert. I decided I needed some chocolate. So, Brownies were a must.

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

 Melt the butter or margarine and mix all ingredients in the order given.

 

Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes in a 9 x 13 inch greased pan.

Last night it snowed a couple of inches. It was sunny this morning so I was hoping some 80 degree weather would melt it in seconds. Sadly my computer said it was 25 when I left. I really don't mind winter but it is almost May. 

This is what spring should look like.

Easter

This was the first holiday I got to host! Okay it was only a dinner but I was still pretty excited about it. And I didn't have just any one over, I got to have my wonderful in-laws over. Well every one but Paige who was dearly missed.

Zach and I had a pretty busy Sunday morning car swapping, ward hopping and giving talks in two different wards.  For those wondering why two wards; Zach was called as second counselor of a campus singles ward. It is only a year and what a party it will be. Oh and I am still in the married ward. Here is to busy Sundays!

(Flowers and chocolate bunnies from Erica. Thank you!)

After a wonderful dinner and dessert we went on a walk. We were going to show of the new B.Y.U.I.C. (Brigham Young University Idaho Center) but it was sadly closed. The weather was actually nice which made for a very enjoyable walk. 

 After our walk Zach cut Brock's hair and gave me a little trim. He is pretty much the clipper master. 

And this here is my lovely garlic plant. It seriously grows about a 1/2 inch a day! I am so excited about my easy to grow future goodness plant.

Ladies Night

Tonight was the Daybook blogger meet up. Sydney from the Daybook set up this way fun get together event. I was privileged to meet so many awesome young women and get some new blogs to go check out. Sydney was the perfect hostess. She was so kind to every one including this huge baby. 

They had mini Cocoa Bean cup cakes. They were delicious and so cute. 

This is my very excited outfit and self. I felt a little bit of pressure since I was about to meet my fashion icon. I thought I did a good job of keeping my style and creativity. Not a bit of idea stealing.

oh hey, the purse is my thrifted California find.

I finally got enough lady balls to go ask her to take a picture with me. I know, I'm such a 10 year old girl. 

 Thanks for the great girls night out Sydney and Kristen and all the other lovely ladies I met!

Fork Bracelets

When I was in high school I saw some girl wearing a spoon bracelet and thought it was pretty cool. I went out to the dollar store and found sterling silver forks. I brought them home and asked my dad if he would help me make a fork bracelet. It took a little more work than I had anticipated but we eneded up with two very unique works of art.

 I did some research to see if they caught on and yeah,  its kind of a big deal with out me.  For neat designs you can check out this web site, Forkometry.

And here I am with my very own bracelet that my dad and I made about 5 years ago. I love it! There is something about wearing items made with love.

Easter Cookies

Well yesterday I was in the mood to not do home work. And what better way then to do something that feels productive and offers delicious results? 

So I was checking out Martha Stewart's recipes to find some Easter inspiration and I found it. Holiday Icebox Cookies. 

 Martha's Recipe Here

 I decided I wanted to use my cookie cutters so I marbled some of the dough and rolled it out. It was a good time in the kitchen. I think they taste pretty good too. 

These our our drawings from our art class in the Animation studio. My mom just sent me these and I had to show them off.

Vacation Part Three

 Wednesday was another low key day. We slept in and ran some errands.  For dinner Zach got my mom and Ricky to give the Bologna and onion sandwiches a try. After dinner we went to Megan and Holly's solo ensemble concert. 

Thursday was Disneyland day number two. This time we went with my mom and dad, Holly and Ricky. It was a party!

 We really enjoyed the new Toy Story ride. It is like a huge video game where every one is competing against each other. I think Zach and my dad got the highest scores.

Ricky and I watched every ones stuff while they went one the Wild Rapids ride. I was just not in the mood to be soaked like Zach. Haha.

Over in Disneyland we went to a Hillbilly show. I haven't laughed so hard in a while. I definitely recommend taking the time to see it.

Before we went home after our long day of fun we watched Disneyland's water and firework shows.

Friday was another relaxing day. We did a long puzzle and went to the beach. There must have been a school of fish going past the pier because every one was catching tons of these tiny fish.  

 And of course we had to enjoy some In-N-Out while we were there.

We ended the week with marshmallows roasted over a fire in the back yard. We really enjoyed just kicking back and chatting.

 Saturday was the long drive home. We stopped in Provo to visit Kimberly and Paige and chat it up a bit. But now its time to get ready for spring semester. Yay!

Vacation Part Two

Monday was pretty relaxing. We did some shopping and i scored a thrifted black pencil skirt and a purse for about $7. Later that day Zach and I tried to make a poached egg. Obviously it did not work out. I was a little to energetic when tossing the egg in. The things we do for fun.

 Tuesday was when the craziness really started. We headed to Disneyland bright and early. We had park hopper passes so we were able to go back and forth between the parks to do anything and everything we could think of to do. 

This is us hanging in Tarzan's fort which used to be the Swiss Family Robinson home.

Getting ready to go on Thunder Mountain, the wildest ride in the wilderness.

We got to enjoy the parks, just the three of us.

 'Scream'n' over in California Adventure was definitely one of the best rides along with Tower of Terror. After a fairly short line we made friends and scored some fast passes so we were able to experience the terror twice in  a row! So fun!

We ended the day with California Adventures water show. It was so cool. We had front row seats so we got a little wet from all the mist but it was so worth it. 

 Its Little Mermaid. Can you tell?

To be continued....