killer brownies

I have to preface this post with the comment that I know it seems like I'm baking a lot lately. It's because i am. However, most of it doesn't stay in the house. The gluten free peanut butter cookies were for my young women. And this next recipe I gave away 3/4 of the pan. Aaron, the baby, and I are not eating all of this. Just had to let you know. I stumbled upon a new brownie recipe. Brownies are my kryptonite. I love them. This recipe is dark and delicious and quite dense. A little goes a long way, but I rarely eat a little.

saturday service

On Saturday we participated in Mormon helping hands and had a blast. Here is a sample of what we did. We found some pretty interesting stuff in the creek beds, like mattresses, kids play towers, couches, etc... You know, stuff that totally belongs in the ocean anyway. I looked super cute in my yellow vest with a bowling ball underneath, but it was in the name of service!

super good

i was in search of a gluten free recipe and came across some peanut butter cookies that had stellar reviews.

even better, they require only a few ingredients.

the recipe doesn't call for butter and i was immediately skeptical.  what cookie recipe could be tasty without butter? 

i was proven wrong.  these are intense peanut butter cookies.  the smell and taste is all peanut butter.  everyone i shared with loved them.  they come together quickly and easily.  no mixer required!

the best part?  they last for days.  i'm assuming the lack of flour helps keep them fresh.  i made them last saturday and we've been enjoying them all week. 

give them a try!

never ending debate

we can't agree on any names.  

like, none.  

he has some favorites, as do i, but they aren't the same favorites.

before we discuss names, we have to set some ground rules so things stay friendly.  

we don't discuss it often, but today we took the plunge.

since we don't know the sex of the baby, we have to make two sets of names.  while discussing boy names, i mentioned oscar, but immediately took it back.

children chanting 'oscar the gough' on a playground flashed through my mind.  

we laughed pretty hard and slashed through one more name that won't make the cut.

but, our bags are packed and we know how to install the car seat.  that counts for something, right?

practice

yesterday aaron put together the stroller and car seat combo.  he did a great job making sense of how to do all of it. 

 i watched while cleaning the kitchen.  

earlier in the day i practiced how to use our moby carrier and used a large stuffed rabbit to practice taking baby in and out of the carrier.  i think he wanted to do the same with the car seat, so only sock monkey would do.

a little creepy?  sure.

feeding smart water to sock monkey while acting as our baby?  a little more creepy.

but, also cute.

shopping

we finished buying our baby registry items today. 

as you can see, aaron was very into it. 

nothing but the best for our baby means quality control.

even while sleeping.

 

waffle justice

i was reading bon appetit yesterday and saw this glorious photo.

which was accompanied by a tasty article.

it touched me. not so much because i'm dying to try this. i'm not big on ham. but, use quality ham and i'd give it a go.

however, the subject of this article, a new waffle trend, felt like waffle justice to me.

growing up, we always made homemade waffles. i'm pretty sure i never tasted an eggo until college. and our waffles had cheese in them. rather, on them. we'd pour the batter, sprinkle a bit (or a lot) of grated cheddar cheese on top, close the waffle iron and anticipate the crunchy delight that would soon be on our plates. the cheese crisps and is in no way gooey. the salty with the sweet of the syrup is amazing.

i thought everyone ate their waffles this way. i still prefer cheese waffles and have to make plain boring ones for aaron. yuck. for years people would give me the crazy eye when i explain our tradition to them.

not anymore. this ham and cheese waffle article in a foodie magazine is solid proof that waffle creations are branching out and soon my family's culinary genius will be commonplace.

can't wait.

i'd like to apologize

for lots of things in this picture, but i won't.

i've been told that when you apologize in situations such as this, you're actually drawing attention to the thing you're hoping people don't notice.

like saying how bad your handwriting is before writing on a chalkboard. (guilty as charged)

back to the picture. i will apologize for one thing because i'm not sure how someone with eyesight wouldn't notice it.

my random grin. if one could call it that. sadly, we took multiple pictures, but the one where i am talking turned out to be the most suitable for public consumption. sorry.

anywhoo, here is a shot of my growing status, per various requests.

i might have more in a few weeks. i might not. in a few weeks the actual baby will be here, so maybe there will be a new star of the show.

Fuzzibunz

We got our first pair of cloth diapers in the mail today (thank you, Katie!).

I almost died. I almost die each time I look at them.

They are so cute. Words are not enough.

And soft. I wish my underwear was that soft.

And cute!

And these are just the white ones. I can't wait to get the grape and kumquat ones!

I am going to freak out when I see a baby's butt in these things.

Who knew cloth diapers could be so cute?!

update: in fact, i took one of them to church the next day for show and tell. kids bring their latest electronics to show their friends and i bring cloth diapers. go figure.

cinnamon rolls

let's start with a story.

a baking story.

a few years ago I decided to conquer yeast. I love baking and have spent a lot of time with cookies, pies, brownies, quick breads, souffles, and lots of other fun stuff. However, yeast has always scared me. I knew I needed to start some place. Instead of picking something healthy and useful, like bread, I chose cinnamon rolls. I wanted to be one of those mothers that whips up delicious cinnamon rolls that their children's friends love. I needed to find a recipe and make it so often that it became second nature.

since that decision I've made a lot of rolls. I've tried a lot of recipes. Pudding in the mix, instant potatoes, buttermilk, cake flour, the whole bit. Yet, I've never been satisfied.

I made this recipe last night. It is by far the easiest roll dough I've worked with. My blood pressure rises to dangerous levels when the dough sticks to the counter, but I had no problem here. I don't like cream cheese so I took that out of the frosting and it still tasted great. The finished product is pretty delicious and I'm taking them as dessert to a friend's house for dinner tomorrow.

Give the recipe a try!

mixed emotions

i really like this picture.

it is sad because you can see the destruction in alabama from all the tornadoes. i feel for them.

and that poor man. the AP caption said he was reunited with his dog, coco, after finding her inside his destroyed home. she's brown. coco. get it? cute. the look on his face says it all. he is so relieved she's ok and that there is something precious the tornado didn't take from him.

however, the dog's face says something, too. note the person holding on to her collar. she wants to get the heck out of dodge as fast as possible. she's had enough. she's thinking, 'um, guys, this isn't what i signed up for. i love you, but i don't love living here. i don't understand this whole tornado business, but i don't like it. and ps, why wasn't i in the cellar with you?'

i bet if you let her go, she'd be in san diego with me by morning.

tasty snack

Update: I doctored this recipe, yet again, this morning. I stuck with pancakes, but didn't have enough whole wheat flour and was anti-white flour. Who knows why. I eyeballed my rolled oats and decided to grind those babies in the food processor and use that as flour. What a rebel. They turned out great! Not as much rise as normal, I'm assuming it's from the lack of gluten in the oats, but they had such an awesome texture. I fell in love. As far as how much cinnamon and vanilla I use....well, I don't really measure cinnamon. I love it and add however much I want. Vigorous shakes. I add about a tsp of vanilla.

i've mentioned these super easy and delicious pancakes before.

a friend clued me in to making them with whole wheat flour and using the batter for waffles.

the transition is a good one.

i also add a bit of vanilla and some cinnamon.

as i was packing my lunch this morning, i wanted a different mid-morning snack. i saw these babies in the freezer and had an idea.

toasted whole wheat waffles + warmed mixed berries

turned out great and both are always in my freezer. zapping the frozen berries in the microwave makes a nice simple syrup.

a new favorite for work! high in fiber, too!

lv weekend

for the long weekend, aaron and i went to las vegas. a little jaunt. a getaway. a chance to just hang.

what did we do?

we walked. and walked. and walked.

really, that's all we did.

modern day pioneers, really.

we have now been in almost every hotel on the strip (i wasn't carrying hand sanitizer, so there were a few i would not enter). it was interesting to look at each theme, style and classi/trashiness. if you're wanting to know where to stay on the strip, just let me know. i'll give you the scoop.

i'm sure we walked a few miles each day. and, dumbly enough, we both didn't wear correct footwear. the night usually ended with us limping around the hotel room and giving foot rubs.

a quick snap in the bellagio, next to the canals.

we also majorly scored a room. i scoured the internet for deals and ended up 'naming my own price' on priceline. we got a great room at the planet hollywood towers. it's separate from the hotel and made up of mostly timeshares. all the rooms are suites and have full kitchens, washer/dryer, etc...

at check in, i pulled the pregnancy card and lamented that i can no longer go in hot tubs and hoped that our room had a large tub for me. the clerk kindly gave us a free upgrade and i got the tub of my dreams!

it was so nice to have a fridge (no paying for bottled water!) and a microwave for reheating leftovers. this would be the perfect room for a family.

aaron's favorite part of the room? the huge screen tv. literally, a screen. at the push of a button, the floor to ceiling window is covered by a screen and the tv turns on. he didn't know that was in the room and i loved seeing his face when i showed him.

we had a great time and might have worked off all the food we ate. it was so nice to not have any plans and just do, go, eat whenever and wherever we wanted. we probably won't be back for a long time since we both nix the idea of children on the strip, but this was a nice farewell trip!

bubbas everywhere

i was watching the westminster dog show this morning while at the gym.

a dream come true.

running while watching cute dogs on tv.

of course, my mind immediately went to one of my favorite movies.

it all started with the clothes.

a handler showing her dog reminded me of cookie fleck. at least her outfit did.

the shoes, the hose, the tight skirt to the knee.

then i thought of her walk with her injured knee, the lyrics to 'god loves a terrier', gerry's two left feet, the busy bee and the weimaraner, talking or not talking for hours, and the comment, 'he went after her like a piece of ham' went through my mind.

soon i had to calm myself so i didn't fall off the treadmill while laughing.

i love that movie.

and i love dogs.

i

ordered this....

so i could make these...

from this website.

it shipped today and will arrive shortly.

happy valentine's day to me.

and you.