Thought Thursday turned Recipe Wednesday

Natalie and Allison cleaned our fridge out and re-organized it.
they kept opening it up to look at it because they thought it was pretty. haha

here it is. in all it's cleanliness.

meet Glen. We made pie tonight. 

we're kind of cool like that.

then i made oriental salad. mom makes it all the time, but i never have in college yet. 

here is the recipe-

1 head of cabbage chopped fairly fine.
1 package of romen noodles crushed up
6 green onions
1/3 cup oil
1/3 vinegar
1/3 sugar
1 chicken top romen seasoning packet

combine oil and vinegar and sugar and top romen chicken seasoning together
pour over cabbage and green onions and top romen noodles. stir, and eat. :D

there was extra pie crust so he baked it with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. 

final product. looks good, no?

Recipe Wednesday turned Thought Thursday + pictures

My grandma sent this to me. I liked it.

Take time to think-it is the source of power.

take time to read-it is the foundation of wisdom

take time to play-it is the secret of staying young. 

take time to be quiet-it is the moment to seek God.

take time to be aware-it is the opportunity to help others.

take time to love and be loved-it is God's greatest gift.

take time to laugh-it is the music of the soul.

take time to be friendly-it is the road to happiness.

take time to dream-it is what the future is made of.

take time to pray-it is the greatest power on earth. 

our quote wall is growing 

i want to do this with the license plate!

i made guacamole. well, technically i guess Glen made {smooshed} it.

the start of my light for 3D design

bread bowl and soup at ward Halloween party

picture i printed today in darkroom.

another one

someone i know got this announcement in he mail, and i
 love the time of the reception! 6:05-8:20?? random!

cowboy corner in my room is growing. :D

ignore the stuff on her arm. it was wet and made a weird design.

another one. i really liked them all.

a new sign in the photo room. gotta love it!

have a most excellent night!

xoxo

-Bri

Recipe Wednesday turned Thought Thursday

So yesterday was too busy to make anything. so i made mac & cheese. for those of you who don't know this, this is my favorite breakfast food. yes, breakfast. I love soups and leftovers and anything non-breakfast for breakfast. If i'm going to have breakfast food, it'll most likely be for dinner. I know, i'm weird. no need to tell me this.

So i made jambalaya- for 2 reasons. 1-because i needed me some spicy southern food. and 2-because i told my friend, Garin, that i would make him something sometime. only all of the food i cook would kill him. Cause he's deathly allergic to milk. So. this proposed some serious problems. did you know that margarine even has butter in it?? i did not. anyways, the other day i was thinking about making jambalaya and a light bulb went off in my head. jambalaya has zero milk. :D i had a polska cheese sausage that i usually use and had to go buy one that didn't have the cheese, but other than that this was a little easier to do than i thought it would. Don't get me wrong, i was still highly paranoid and kinda freaked out because i didn't want to kill the kid on accident. I'm pretty sure if i had to cook for him full time i'd get stomach ulcers from the stress. geez. haha. Although he assures me that it won't be scary after the first few times. i think he just wants me to keep making him food.... :P

anyways. jambalaya is not too hard to make. mainly you just need the right spices and you'll be fine.

here's the simplest way-

use a package of zatarans jambalaya seasoning and add rice. {the smaller amount you use, the spicier it is. and then dress it up with more peppers and some chili powder and Polska sausage and chicken and tony sacher's creole seasoning, or shrimp, or if you are lucky and can find them, CRAWFISH! mmmm. Love that water creature. One day, i'm going to go crawfish hunting again and then have a huge crawfish boil and eat those things till my lips burn so bad from all the spicy spices! The worst part is your fingers have the spices in them for days and every time you wipe your eyes they feel like they're on fire. anyways... i need to stop talking about crawfish because i want to cry that you can't get them here.

I should have taken a picture before we ate and cleared
off the table. but alas, i am not doing so hot at taking as
many snap shot pictures of my life this year. :'(

i made cornbread too. which Garin couldn't eat because the mix said "may contain milk"....

Jambalaya. it's one of my favorite things. I want to make a king cake again. because those are my favorite things in all the world. but, they kind of take a good 6-8 hours of work. so, next time i make them, instead of making 2, i'm making at least 4. at least.

So there is southern food Recipe Wednesday on a Thursday.

Recipe Wednesday- American Classics

What's more American than Halloween cupcakes and chicken and rice casserole?? Nothing probably. :P

Alright so this chicken and rice stuff is my own made up recipe. My family comes from a long line of non-recipe following women. And i just so happen to fall into that. 

                   {have you noticed that i never do what the recipe tells me?? 

                          i think of it more as an idea than a strict rule}

So, cook two cups of rice {6 cups cooked} and about a pound of cubed chicken

 and add it to

2 cans of cream o chicken soup

1 can evaporated milk

some sort of frozen veggie {usually i do peas and carrots but all i had was corn, so that's what went into it.

and new this time-i added a yellow bell pepper and orange bell pepper and a red bell pepper.

10 shakes of tobasco

celery salt

cheese {you want to know how much? haha. i don't have a clue. about a cup? ish}

stir all of the above

put it in a casserole dish

grate more cheese for on top.

put it in the oven till completely warmed

then sprinkle top with french fried onions and bake another 5-10 minutes. {the onions will burn on top if you add them to it at the beginning. {from experience}

this will serve apx-

9 college girls

5 college boys

15 kiddos

1 family of six with some leftovers

or 2 great Danes 

I love one dish meals. Does anyone have some good 1 dish meal recipes i could try next wednesday??

and here is my cupcake recipe-

1 package any kind of chocolate cake mix {make like directed} plus

1/2 - 3/4 cup peanut butter {i didn't measure}

lick beaters and then {if you don't do this i'm pretty sure you're cupcakes will fail}

cook like directed.

meanwhile here is how i made the SO good choc. peanut butter frosting {i made it up cause i felt like it}-

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup heavy whipping cream

whip those 2 till nearly done and then add-

1 can choc frosting {i was going to do it all from scratch except i didn't have cocoa. 

mix. 

then add about 3 cups of powdered sugar and 2 tsp vanilla. 

{you may need more powdered sugar. you want the frosting to be pretty stiff. i LOVE stiff frosting!}

the best part about this frosting is it's not too chocolatey and not too peanut buttery. it's kinda like chocolate peanut butter cool whip stuff. i really like it. Probably cause it's like five hundred calories a tablespoon. 

here are some pictures. {allison made the white cupcakes and orange frosting} she's pretty pro too! and natalie helped decorate. :D}

I must say, i really really like these. the cake is SO good. i'm a really big fan. definitely a keeper.

Recipe Wednesday-Enchiladas

Not your average joe enchiladas. These are creamy and not gross with the nasty red sauce.

here's what you need-

10 tortilllllas
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
3-4 chicken breasts cut up
1 jar of salsa
16 oz of sour cream
shredded cheese


combine all of the above except tortillas. put a scoop onto each tortilla. roll it up. lay them next to each other like friends put extra sauce stuff on top of rolled up tortillas and bake at 350 for apx. 20 minutes.

then for dessert you can fry some tortillas cut like a pizza into 8 slices in some oil. they'll puff up a bit and burn way easy so be careful. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve with ice cream. yum!!

here they is. :D

It was nice to eat with people tonight instead of just Betsy and I. Cameron and Jake came over. it's nice to not have left overs i have to eat for the next week as well! Thanks guys. :D

Recipe Wednesday- Potato Leek Soup

As a little girl i would eat this delicious soup that came in a little container kind of like the cup of noodles. It was called potato leek soup. and guess what, sad story, they don't make it any more. so i, being the smart girl i am, decided to make it for recipe wednesday even though i have never had it homemade before. :D

{i will take this moment to make sure you know what the heck a leek is. because none of my roommates did. It's a giant looking green onion. only a lot more mild.}


i thought it would take forever but decided that even though i got home from working in the studio after nearly 8 hours!!!!, that i'd still make it. Count your blessings, readers.

3 tablespoons butter
3 leeks, thinly sliced*
1 medium or large onion, chopped
6 – 8 russet potatoes, thinly sliced {i used half red potatoes and half russet, because i LOVE red potatoes...and i had some left over from last week so i needed to use them}
3 1/2 cups chicken broth (or enough to barely cover potatoes) {i used 4 cups}
1-2 cup heavy cream {i used 1.5}
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

1) Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat then add onions and leeks. Cook, stirring, until onions are limp and just slightly brown. {it looks like A TON of onions and leeks, do not fret little ones, it'll be okay}

2) Add sliced potatoes to saucepan then pour in enough chicken broth to just barely cover the potatoes. Continue cooking over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Using a potato masher, mash and stir potatoes until desired consistency is reached. As you mash the potatoes and the soup thickens, turn down heat and stir frequently with a large spoon to prevent scorching on the bottom. {true story!}

3) Add 1-2 cup of heavy cream and salt and black pepper to taste. Cook 15 minutes more over low heat, stirring frequently, then remove from heat and serve.

 

Notes: *Make sure to clean leeks and slice only the white and light green part of the leeks. **You don’t need to peel the potatoes as the peels add to the rustic texture of the soup. But make sure to scrub them and such.

to add some more flavor you can add a sprinkle of bacon bits. Ya know, to make your man happy. I've heard recently that bacon is more of a mans best friend than dogs are..... is this true??

p.s. here is another fact about ash for her youngen-

   #2 She made you her priority when she could have just been worried about finishing school. But, she cares more about you.  

Recipe Wednesday-Childhood Favorites

Alright so i decided that i wanted to make something i liked as a kid... with a twist. Okay, so i only decided this cause it would be faster to make and i don't have much time today. or any time now for that matter..... but it's fine. 

here's what you need-

so ridiculously delicious. 

Fruity pebbles {apx 6 cups}

marshmallows {16-20 oz package}

real butter {because everyone knows real butter tastes better than margarine and shortening too}

I didn't take this picture FYI. i forgot to take a picture of this food item. haha. 

and if you really want to be a kid again, make yourself some of these like i did. :D

The group after the dance. Minus Allison who took
the picture and had already showered.

Have you ever been at the VERY VERY front at a concert where you are standing next to the large metal baricades? Only it's not just "Stand" it's more like shoved, crammed, banged up to, scared for your life. i went to the paint dance with some lovely people. well, me being the bright person i am decided to follow the group into the middle of the crowd to the front. it was kinda cool for the first 2 minutes. then everyone else wanted to be in the front too. So the poor not so sturdy metal barricade things were wobbling all over the place and i thought i was going to be trampled to my death. Usually
 crowds don't bother me too much. This crowd did because no one knew how to take a chill pill. I mean, i'm sure they are wonderful people. anyways, so i decided that after 15 minutes i was done being almost squished to

Meet Cameron- The pregnant Hulk.

death. so then i tried to leave. Bad idea #2. Why? Because as soon as you try to leave the very front, everyone and their roommates try to snatch your spot as quick as i can say dandruff. {which i can say pretty durn fast} so while i'm getting tossed back and forth while people push and shove to get in front i nearly lost my shoes and my feet too. After that it was not smooth sailing though. every time i'd try to get past someone they would give me dirty glares and not let me get passed. Everyone thought i was trying to get to the front, not the back, and wasn't letting me move because they didn't want anyone to cut them in line. Gee Whiz. So then i discovered that by screaming "I'm leaving the dance!!!!" very loudly so they could hear me, they moved real quickly. I think they all liked the idea of one less person in the crowd.

Meet Tara- the skeleton pregnant

moral of the story- if you're stuck at the front of a concert or dance and feel like your going to be killed, just yell "i'm leaving!" and you'll survive. True story.

Meet Eric- the skinny pregnant

After we got home, Betsy broke out her maternity pants that we call the traveling maternity pants because they fit everyone. EVERYONE! no joke. they are super comfy. come over and try them on if you want to.

Allison anD i before the dance. Aren't we awesome?

well, I should probably go read a book entitled "automatic millionaire" for my family finance class. Wait, actually i'm going to go to Mr. USU. 'Cause that's more fun.....

BUT!!!! In the most exciting news that I have ever blogged about!! Ashleigh is Pregnant!!! Congrats to Nathan and Ash! I can't wait for the end of March so I can meet your baby!!

 I am going to do a really good post about this tomorrow probably. I am going to start a thing for my future niece or nephew called "100 things you need to know about your mommy." Because as this baby's aunt, i have a lot of things I can tell her {i'm guessing it's a girl. okay more like praying} it's mom. And I have to start working on the spoiling part too. :D If you can't tell, i'm kind of REALLY excited about this. :D It has taken everything in me to not have shouted it out to the world when i found out more than a month ago!

Recipe Wednesday-a Brianna Original

alright so because of how extraordinarily busy i've been lately {no.... it has nothing to do with how much fun i'm having}
i decided to make something today that i made up last week and is SO SO SO amazing! i realize some of you people cook only from recipes. well this one is going to be apx.



1 jar of marinara sauce
1 jar of alfredo sauce
2 pkgs of different shaped noodles {cook separately. trust me. i've tried cooking them together and they get done at different times so one is soggy and one kind is perfect or one is hard and the other is perfect.}
1 lb or so of chicken cut in small pieces
italian seasoned bread crumbs.
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese {the real stuff not the kraft bottled junk}


put a little bit of marinara sauce on the bottom of a cake pan.
then half of one kind of noodles
then half can alfredo sauce
then bread crumbs {however much you feel like}
then chicken {1/4 of it}
then half of one of the cheese
then half of the other kind of noodles
then half of marinara
then bread crums
then chicken
then half of other cheese
rest of noodle number 1
rest of sauce choice 1
half of remaining bread crums
half of remaining chicken
rest of cheese number 1
rest of noodle number 2
rest of sauce number 2
rest of bread crums
rest of chicken
rest of cheese

like a new take on lasagna. only it has both kinds of sauces and a lot more flavors and textures. i'm a texture person when it comes to food.

bake at 350 degrees till completely warmed. {20-30 mins}

serve with delicious things like a salad and veggies and a tall glass of choc milk. or water. that works too.
:D


let me know if any of you try this. i want to know what you think

looks good, no??

Recipe Wendesday-easy popcorn chicken.

first- pop a bag of pop corn.

second-crush popcorn into tiny bits

third-throw cubed raw chicken into popcorn

fourth- cook

fifth- eat!

joke!

So this recipe from the book "the healthy college cookbook" of awesomeness is called "crispy cracker chicken" but i added things and made it a little different for reasons i will explain as i go so i call it easy popcorn chicken. :D

what you'll need-

1 egg

1/2 crushed crackers {i used wheat thins cause they're the best.....and the only crackers i own..}

1/2 grated parmesan cheese

2 chicken breasts, halved {i cubed it. cause cubing things is cool}

and nothing else. Easy recipe right??

and i added-

1/2 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs

cajun seasoning.

so here's what you do according to the recipe-

preheat oven to 350

use just the egg white. put into a small bowl.

mix the crushed crackers and cheese into bowl

dip chicken in the egg white and then the dry ingredients.

put into a baking dish.

bake for 35 mins

what i did-

got out a frying pan.

put some butter in it.

did everything else the same except i fried my chicken instead of baked it because i didn't want to wait 35 mins for it to be done. instead, it took 10 minutes. max.

i also made my family's famous gravy. so so so so good. i'd share the recipe except there isn't one. it's instinct and 19.75 years of watching and practicing. want a lesson? come over, i'll teach you. all you need to know for this post is that it is amazing.

and i made rice.

so i had gravy and chicken over rice. It was muy bien. mmmmm.

and for dessert i made myself some chocolate milk. my daddy would be so proud. :D

funny story of the day- i saw a guy eat a leaf off a tree in front of the art building. no joke.

the brach was really low and at the exact height as his mouth. when he walked by he totally stuck out his tongue and ripped a leaf off and ate it.... i guess that's one way to not starve as a college student.... i prefer salad.

anyways, have a wonderful day.

i'm going to watch independence day tonight. never seen it. hope it's good. but how could it not be?? it has Will Smith in it!!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Bri

Recipe Wednesday- Lasagna rolls and Melissa's Breadsticks

so I saw this wonderful looking thing on pinterest and decided that i needed to make it.

here is the recipe that i used-

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg

Lasagna:

• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped [{this is ham in italian just FYI} i used chicken instead]
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

Directions

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, prosciutto, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Butter a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechamel sauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.

if i were to make this again {which i most definitely will be doing at some point!} i would try it with an Alfredo sauce instead of marinara. also, cook more than the 12 noodles it says to. i had plenty of sauce and stuffing stuff for 18. so, make a whole box of lasagna noodles. be ware-this is kinda time consuming to make both. i think i spent 3 hours on them at least. It tasted so so sososoosososos good though! My roommates said they thought they were eating at a restaurant. lol.

you can see the finished breadsticks at the top of the top picture in this collage. i forgot to take pictures of the finished sheet by itself. :'(

my roommate from last year, Melissa, had these dang good breadsticks and she gave me the recipe. After tasting these breadsticks, you won't ever go back to store bought, tube dough, or even the pizza factory breadsticks. trust me on this one. so so so so so so so so so good.

Breadsticks
3 cups warm water
2 TBS Yeast
4 TBS Sugar
Stir well
Add:
6 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp salt
Stir all ingredients together until very thick. Sprinkle a little flour on counter. Knead just till it sticks together (couple minutes). Cover with a towel, let raise 30 minutes.
Sprinkle flour on counter knead for 2 minutes. Melt 3/4 c butter, pour on cookie sheet (lift one side of cookie sheet with binder). Use pizza cutter to cut dough into strips. Dip in butter on cookie sheet-both sides-stretch, fold in half & twist. Repeat until done. Sprinkle with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese & parsley flakes. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

my advice is to add about a tablespoon of garlic powder to the dough itself as well. this is how i made it this time because i like it more flavorful. :D and DO DO DO use real butter.

today was the day on the quad here at USU. here are all the free things that i got. A card for a free large dominos pizza, an aggie ice cream cone, a roll of TP, a snow cone, a pint of aggie ice cream, some DOTS, a whole chicken sandwhich from chick fil a, 7 pens, a notebook, a free buffet at pizza pie coupon, a free rumbi island grill entre coupon, a free usu t shirt, costco coupon book, free mango pineapple smoothie at mcdonalds coupon, a pack of top romen, cup of noodles, other assorted candy and nic nacs like a magnet shaped like pizza. I'd say i hit the jack pot! I love free things!

also, i made this bridge in 3D design today. it was actually kind of fun!

and here are a few pictures from my first week and a half of being in Logan.

i went ice skating for the institute opening social. and i have a success story to share with you- i didn't fall at all! NOT ONCE! **adds ice skating to talents in resume**

Betsy and i threw a crepe party on sunday afternoon and invited lots of people over. it was super super fun!

my new "ward" friends from oakridge.

and then we played swedish twister and the awkward look game. good times.

we went to THOR on old main hill. it was fun. mostly because Melissa gave me a back message. and played with my hair. :D i didn't really pay attention to the movie.

tomorrow-thought thursday. :D :D

tonight-COUNTRY SWING DANCING!!!!