When it comes to packing for
vacation, I am very particular about having things sorted. Makeup in one bag,
hair in another, chargers in a case, etcetera, and now I finally have a place
to keep all of my brushes from getting damaged. Although I use a jar for my
brushes in my bathroom, it is a great solution to keep your makeup brushes in
everyday. This makeup brush roll can be easily customized to fit your brush
sizes. Personally I don’t bring all my brushes when I travel, yet I made it to
fit all my brushes. This way if I do need to bring them all they have a spot or
the empty spots can fit eyeliner mascara and lipstick. What is especially nice
about this case is the laminate interior, which makes makeup transfer an easy
clean.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Strawberry Yogurt Cake
In past few years I have not been
enjoying cake. I should rephrase. I do not like plain vanilla or chocolate cake
with frosting, average birthday cake to put simply. Now when I am asked to make desserts for
family events I will try different desserts, or if its for a birthday
celebration I will try coffee cakes, pound cakes or as I call them
sophisticated cakes. When my grandma asked me to make a cake to celebrate our
families March birthdays. Immediately I went on the hunt for cake that I wouldn’t just like to make but
like to eat. Man, I sure lucked out. This strawberry cake was wonderful, super
moist and packed with sweet fruity flavor. My family liked it so much they ate
the whole cake!
Strawberry Yogurt Cake
Ingredients:
1
cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 Tb. lemon juice, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt
12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 Tb. lemon juice, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt
12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup powdered sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat
oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.)
Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon
zest and set aside.
2. With
an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate
beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.
3. Toss
the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the
batter.
4. Pour
the batter into the Bundt pan. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to
325 degrees F. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the
center of the cake comes out clean.
5.
Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan,
then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together
the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top
of the cake.
Original recipe can be found http://www.aspicyperspective.com/2010/05/farmstand-fresh.html
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Tortilla Chicken Soup
Recently I have
really enjoyed cooking. Baking will always be my favorite, but it is
impractical and unhealthy to make cookies and cakes everyday! I love Mexican food, well Tex-Mex food. Its
starting to become a problem. Honestly,
I could eat tacos all the time, so this soup was a delicious replacement for tacos. The
tortilla chicken soup has wonderful spice and is great served with avocados if
you do not want to make the Pico de Gallo.
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
juice of 1/2 lime
32oz organic chicken broth, divided
2 Tablespoons masa or flour
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
1 Tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
juice of 1/2 lime
32oz organic chicken broth, divided
2 Tablespoons masa or flour
Toppings:
Pico de Gallo or salsa, store-bought or homemade
1 avocado, chopped
Tortilla Chips
fresh cilantro
lime wedges
Pico de Gallo or salsa, store-bought or homemade
1 avocado, chopped
Tortilla Chips
fresh cilantro
lime wedges
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add chicken and onion then sprinkle in taco seasoning, paprika, and salt. Stir well then cook until chicken is cooked through and onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper, then sauté for one more minute. Add cilantro, pepper to taste, pinto beans, limejuice, and 3-1/2 cups chicken broth then simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add chicken and onion then sprinkle in taco seasoning, paprika, and salt. Stir well then cook until chicken is cooked through and onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper, then sauté for one more minute. Add cilantro, pepper to taste, pinto beans, limejuice, and 3-1/2 cups chicken broth then simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, make
pico de gallo, chop avocado, and combine remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth with
masa or cornmeal in a small bowl. When soup is done simmering, drizzle in
chicken broth/masa mixture, and simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve topped with
crushed tortilla chips, chopped avocado, and pico de gallo. Garnish with fresh
cilantro and lime wedges, if desired.
Original recipe
from http://iowagirleats.com/2012/09/17/restaurant-style-chicken-tortilla-soup/
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Spring Time Orange Cookies
On
the first day of our spring break, Paul and I baked these delicious orange
cookies. We first had orange cookies at a family reunion this summer and I am
pretty sure Paul ate all of them. After a little digging he found out that our
great-aunt made them. She included the recipe in her Christmas card to us,
which Paul claimed was his favorite present. Unfortunately here in Minnesota it
still looks and feels like Christmas, not spring break. Nevertheless, these
orange cookies gave me a hopeful glance into a seemingly never coming spring.
Ingredients
Cookies
2/3 cups
margarine
¾ cups sugar
1 egg
2 ¼ cups flour
½ tsp baking
soda
½ tsp baking
powder
2 TBSP grated
orange rind
Cream margarine
and sugar. Add remaining ingredients. Drop by spoon
Bake at 350° for 8 to
10 minutes
Frosting
Powder sugar
Orange Juice
Optional orange
rind
Start by adding
about 2 cups of powder sugar to a mixing bowl. Than slowly add orange juice a
table spoon at a time until you reach your desired frosting consistency. More powdered
sugar gives a frosting consistency. More orange juice gives a glaze consistency.
Add some rind for an extra orange
flavor.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Bemidji Camping: Menu Over View
1. First and probably most important
he pays for it and takes me grocery shopping
2. He has way more camping experience,
obviously
3. He does the packing of the cooler and
food bins (well he packs everything)
4. He is the other person in charge of
cooking while camping.
Our
first step is always to figure out how many meals we need. We had 7 people to
feed for 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 3 dinners, for a grand total of enough
food for 63 meals. Due to a longer ride and we decided we would eat fast food
on the road for Thursdays dinner and Sundays lunch. We also knew that we would
be in town on Saturday and would eat at a local restaurant. This cut it down to
41 meals and of course a lot of snacks.
Before
you leave pre-wash all fruit and veggies and keep in a plastic container.
Freeze the water bottles you want cold along with your orange juice to put in
cooler. Check to see if there is a fire ban at your campground. You don’t want
to show up with food that needs to be cooked just to find out you cant have a
fire. Remember you can also buy food, so bring directions to the nearest
grocery store.
When
we bring friends camping with us, we usually take single serving things such as
chips and cereal. That way there are more options to choose from. To make it easier on the cooker and more fun for the others have everyone help make there own meal. For a fast clean up pack paper plate and cups (not
plastic) because at the end of the day you can use them as kindling in your
fire. The most important thing to remember is keep your meals easy to make and
easy to clean.
A video of all the food we brought. It is probably a good thing we had two cars.
Camping
Menu
Thursday: Day 1-Travel
Breakfast and Lunch
- Ate before we left and headed out right at noon
Dinner
- Stopped in Bemidji for some fast food because we wanted to get our campsites set up before the sun set. It is no fun setting up in the dark!
Night Snack
- S’mores
Friday: Day 2-
Exploring Lake Bemidji State Park
Breakfast
- Blueberry muffins and lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (made before the trip)
- Eggs
- Sausage
- Bananas
- Grapes
- Orange juice
Lunch- Picnic Hike
We had everyone make there own and pack
there own lunches
- Peanut Butter and jelly Sandwiches
- Juice boxes / water
- Carrots
- Chips (we usually bring chips in single serving bags, that way more selection to choose from and it helps regulate chip consumption)
- Peanut butter cookies (made before hand)
Supper
o
Carrots
o
Celery
o
Cucumbers
·
Night Snack
- Some more S’mores! And Jiffy pop
Saturday: Day 3-Out on the Town
Breakfast
- Bagels
- Left over muffins
- Bananas
- Grapes
Lunch- in Bemidji
- Minnesota Nice Café
Afternoon Snack
- Ice Cream at the Headwaters Café in the Mary Gibbs Mississippi headwater center.
Dinner
- Hotdogs and brats
- Chips
- Watermelon
- Carrots
- pickles
Nighttime snack
- Dutch Oven Peach cobbler (found HERE)
Sunday: Day Four-
Going Home
Breakfast
- Individual cereal boxes
- Left over bagels/muffins
- Left over fruit
Lunch
- On the road
Snacks
- Peanut butter cookies
- Fruit
- strawberries
- grapes
- watermelon
- apples
- bananas
- Veggies
- Mini Bagels
- Pretzels
- Crackers
- Mini donuts
- Munchies
- Watermelon
- Jiffy pop and pre-popcorn
- peanuts
- apple sauce
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