elizabeth's recipes

I am not a chef. I don't ever claim to be. I'd much rather bake than cook. And I am not one to improvise. I follow recipes to a tee. If I don't like something I make I like being able to blame it on the recipe, and not my cooking skills, because I can cook, but only because I can follow a recipe.

This summer I tried out a bunch of new recipes. Here are my favorites from Elizabeth's blog.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
I actually made pizza again tonight using her pizza dough recipe. I really like it. In this picture I made a BBQ Chicken Pizza, tonight Pepperoni and Black Olive.

Chicken Caesar Wraps (no picture)
This is one of my new FAVORITE meals. I didn't make the homemade Caesar dressing because I had some on hand. But let me tell you the wrap bread is delicious. But it does take some time. So the second time I made them I made a double batch of the wrap bread and froze half of it. Then next time I defrosted the bread and then heated them up on a hot skillet for less than a minute each and they tasted just as good.

Chicken and Dumplings (no picture)

I was nervous to try the chicken and dumplings because I have never even had it before. But I made it and like it a lot. Justin loved it. LOVED!!! Elizabeth says it is David (her husbands favorite) maybe it is a guy thing. Don't get me wrong I liked it but Justin loved it. So it will be a repeat.


Strawberry Shortcake

This is me on my birthday...in June. I am not much of a cake kind of girl. I am a baked goods kind of girl. I will take a cookie over anything else every time. I love cookies. Sigh. Now I really want a cookie. Moving on. I really liked the cake in the strawberry shortcake. This is my favorite Strawberry Shortcake recipe so far.

So there you have it. All of Elizabeth's recipes that I have tried. Go try them out. You can trust Elizabeth she is a foodie and has a very refined palate.

This Weekend..All about ME!!!

This past weekend was ALL ABOUT ME!!!! (and no, it is not my birthday.)

I drove over 7 hours in the car.

I met Meg from Whatever! (she was so sweet).

I ate Cafe Rio for dinner.

I went to LA fashion district with my friends & Claire (unfortunately almost everything was closed because of Yom Kippur).

I went to Michael Levine (all the fabric was so beautiful I felt like a kid in a Candy shop).

I got some of Randy's donuts.

And finished off the weekend on a major sugar high.

A special thanks to Justin for putting up with all my plans.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Hello...
Anyone There?

Well I have debated long and hard about telling the whole story as to my whereabouts, but I would attribute a lot of it to this talk from Elder Bednar.

Seriously, read it when you have time. Make time. It hit me hard and made me really evaluate where my time was being spent.

That is enough about that.

Now Summer is over, not officially but it is Labor Day, I am back to blogging. Before blueberries disappear from the grocery store go run out TODAY and buy 2 cups, or 1 cup if you want to half it.

I saw this picture on Pioneer Woman and about DIED! Blueberry Crumb Cake. Yum! Yum! Yum! I couldn't stop thinking about it until I made them.

Picture from HERE: Pioneer Woman

Now I don't know what I was expecting. They were delicious but I think I built them up in my head WAY too much because I was almost disappointed when I ate them. But don't get me wrong they were wonderful. I think I just expected one of those melting moments where you sink down in your chair because something tastes that A-MAZING. So just go get some blueberries and make them before it is too late and you have to think about them ALL winter.

By the way it took me forever to find the pioneer woman. Where have I been? Her blog is a tad overwhelming to me because she seems to have so much to look at. But I have been enjoying her recipes and photog tips. So go check her out.

Come back soon. This week I have posts set up every day to tell you all about that pirate party I told you about months ago.

A Girl Can Dream

Can you tell that my life goes in cycles. Some weeks I am super woman, my house is clean, we do lot of fun things, I somehow find time to craft and blog about it all.

Other weeks I struggle to keep my house remotely clean, keep my sanity and I can't even manage to get dinner on the table. During those weeks once the kids are in bed all I can think about is taking a HOT shower and going to bed myself.

Life has been busy. As I get closer to my due date (April) the time goes faster and the to do list gets longer. Our family has been living at the doctor's office the last couple of months. I have driven to the doctors at least 2 times a week for the past 2 months and we are not even sick (okay, maybe a little off the norm)! OB's, Pediatricians, Neurologist, extra Ultrasounds, and the Gastroenterologist. Luckily we have good insurance and are all looking healthy.

But on the crafty side I saw this and I want it. BAD!

I love, love, love it!

Here is the link to V and Co and her tutorial at moda bake shop. I don't think I have it in me to make it or even put it on my to do list. So if anyone wants to make it for me, please do. I will be watching the mail. I want that exact fabric, even if I have a boy.

A girl can dream.

Diapers, Anyone?

Did you know that I know Super Woman? Well, I do. She goes by the name of Misty. She started up a website kind of like the grocery game that tracks stores' deals and helps you match coupons so that you don't have to do all the work. Oh and did I mention at the time she had toddler twin boys AND a baby girl. Well, it got kind of busy for her (can you imagine doing all the work for a website and 3 kiddies under 2) and she asked if a couple of us (9, I think) to split up the work so we can still get all the amazing deals. Only people who contribute get access to the deals but now Misty has a blog, Frugalicious, that lets you know when you can get things for great deals. Awesome Deals.

Now you are wondering what does this have to do with Diapers. Well, check this deal out. For details on how to do it make sure you scroll down to "Diapers for less than $0.02 each!" Diapers less than $0.02!?! Now that is Amazing. And that is why Misty is Amazing.

Chistmas Gifts

Do you need an idea for Christmas gifts this year? I did this one last year for some of my close friends. I got the idea from NieNie (It took me exactly five years to find that exact link. Geez, I must have read her whole blog last year after the accident. I had to catch up.) I used Lily's baby formula cans. They were perfect with gold lids (Costco). I wrapped the cans in some of my wrapping paper. I used Microsoft Word to make the labels for the top. I bought the plastic bags at Michael's to put the cookies in. Very inexpensive, but in my opinion cute.I can't wait to show you what I am doing this year. If I ever get them finished, or started. December is flying by too quick.

So You Think You're Crafty

Have you been to So You Think Your're Crafty yet?

I am loving it. It is a blog competition where 10 crafty bloggers are facing off. Each week they have a challenge with a theme, they create something and then we the people get to vote. It is week 3 and I about die every week at what these talented women come up with.

The first week the theme was Harvest and I loved what Mique for 30days created. I ran to the store, grabbed all the supplies and made one for myself. I have no ingenuity, so I pretty much copied it exactly. I bought a piece of scrap wood at Home Depot for $1. Justin cut it and sanded it down for me. Most of the other supplies I had on hand.

I want to make almost everything I see, but here is my to do list, just from SYTYC

(to see all of them click on the Week, to see the tutorial click on the craft)

Week 1: Harvest

• Wheat Throw Pillows from V&Co
• Dinner for Two from MADE

Week 2: Leaves

• Glitter Wreath from Homemade by Jill
• Modern Leaf from MADE
• No Sew Leaf Wreath from V&Co

Week 3: Green

• Cozy Car Caddy from we all know who (I am definitely making this for Tanner's stocking)
• Grocery Totes

There you have it. Go check it out and vote.