Chicago!

So we're here! Well...we've been here for about a week and a half:) Things have been so busy and I am so happy I finally have a chance to sit down and write about what's going on! There's been a lot of trying to settle in, trying to find my way to the grocery store, and a lot of trying the yummiest foods this place has to offer! We sure have been eating well and I can't wait to make a post about my favorite yummy places so far...I'm getting a little worried though I may gain a few lbs while I'm here:)

So far, I love it here! I was really worried how I would do at first because leaving Utah (mostly leaving my family and friends) was really, really hard for me. But as soon as I got here I started loving it. I am really busy which leaves me very little time to get homesick:) The first weekend we got here we went down town and were able to go to my favorite, Sprinkles Cupcakes, and we had dinner at Gibsons. Wow-best steak I have ever had in my life. Ever. I didn't even know steak could taste like that!!

Soon after we got here my best friend from Wisconsin came to visit. We have been friends since we were about 3 and have stayed in touch all these years. It's really fun to only be a couple hours away from each other now:)

We have been really busy since the move, that I think we are all getting a little run down. Me, Micah, and Eleni have bad colds, and last night while I was cutting a grape fruit I sliced through the top of my thumb and even through my finger nail! It was super ouchy, and I am realizing how helpful thumbs are because it is making everything 10x harder today trying to work around it! So I am excited to get over our colds, get my thumb healed, and continue to try and settle in, and hopefully be back to my regular food blogging!

We are going to paint the inside of our house soon, and I have been trying to find the perfect robin egg blue paint. Does anyone have any ideas??

Going to try and rest/get some things done while Eleni is napping. I will be posting again soon! :)

Would you forgive me if I lied to you???

So remember when I said I was going to post about ribolita??? Well, that's not going to happen I decided until I move :) So sorry, but things have been craaazy! Micah's been gone, leaving me to pack pretty much the whole house by myself, with a darling 10 month old baby who wont sit still :) It's been a challenge, but it has been possible because of my amazing mom who wins the mom and yia yia of the year award!!! It seriously overwhelms me with how much she has done, can't put it into words how grateful I am for such an amazing mom who is seriously the hardest worker I know, and who will do absolutely anything for her children.

Packing has brought up a series of emotions. Last night my mom and I took a break to watch some American Idol, soon after we both found ourselves crying, for no specific reason. Just a lot of emotions came up. It's hitting us both that I will soon be gone. But the tears weren't all sad tears, I would say they were mostly not sad tears. I could maybe describe them as tears of something new if that makes sense. A new and exciting part of my life that is waiting. Definitely a new part of my life that will have different challenges, but many wonderful things as well.

My mom and I worked all day yesterday, as we had been doing since Sunday. My mom left around 9:30 and I continued to work until 12:30. After feeling like I had accomplished a lot I got ready for bed and knelt for my evening prayer. After I was so overwhelmed with emotions that I found myself crying again!-this time by myself :) I was feeling something I hadn't felt for a while. I moved a lot growing up, and each move made me draw closer to the things I love most, which are my faith and my family. I had such a gratitude last night for my faith, it is truly the one constant in my life that is there wherever I go. I peeked at Eleni while she was sleeping, she looked so precious that my heart skipped a beat. I know that as long as I am with my little family and draw near to my Heavenly Father everything will be ok.

I had a huge realization last night that if I don't experience change, I wont draw as close to the things that are so dear and special to me. I am excited and grateful for this new chapter in my life. A new chapter that is only 6 days away! I better get back to packing, I think the end is semi in sight :)

Pro Bieber

This is going to be a very odd post for my blog :) This is probably the last thing anyone would expect to find on my blog-a post about Justin Bieber :) And I know there has been a shortage of cooking posts lately on my blog and for that I'm sorry, I promise one is coming soon! But for now, I want to share some thoughts about Justin Bieber :)

Justin Beiber- I don't follow him much but certainly can't get away from news about him because he is the hot thing right now, so certainly I am hearing the huge uproar people are having about his comments he made to Rolling Stone about his feelings on abortion. His words exactly ""I really don't believe in abortion … It's like killing a baby." When asked about situations in which women become pregnant after being raped, Bieber said he believed "everything happens for a reason," but noted, "I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that." That's his opinion, so no big deal, right? Well a lot of people think it's a big deal and I just have some comments I'd like to share.

What really got me to sit down and write this post were the comments made on the Joy Behar show. She had a panel of people, all slamming the Biebs and one lady made some pretty creepy comments, even going so far to say "why wasn't he aborted?" My stomach got sick. I was in awe while I was listening to this, how is that considered to be an ok thing to say? I am grateful for blogging, it's a wonderful ability to share with others many things including the things you believe, I love these words regarding the sanctify of life, I believe them very strongly, I am entitled to my beliefs, so is Justin Bieber, and so is Ms Behar who disagrees. I will not type in lenghth my opinions about the matter because they are much more eloquently expressed here.

They also commented on the show how young Justin was and how could he have an opinion about such a grown up issue, but if his opinion was the opposite would we even be talking about this? Or would they have said he had such a mature mind? Possibly, who knows. I normally don't interject my personal opinions on my blog much :) however, I have been so unsettled with what I have been hearing that I just felt like getting my opinion out there :)

I am so grateful for the precious little life I have been blessed with and entrusted with. I saw my little Eleni's heart beat at just 6 weeks. It was amazing.

Again, never would I have thought I would be posting about Justin Bieber hehe, but I feel very strongly about this issue. I promise a post will be coming very soon of a lighter topic :) How does ribolita soup sound??

Thanks for stopping by my blog, and I hope you have a great day :)

Still Alive... :)

Hey everyone! Wow it's been a while! So sorry but I have been pretty busy. I have also been living with my mom and don't have my computer so it hasn't been the easiest to blog. But I will try to keep you all updated the best I can until we move. It looks like the big move will take place second week in March. Yikes! I can't believe it's so soon!

So this is how the past 3 weeks have been. Micah had to go through training for the job in Dallas for two weeks. He was able to come home for a weekend and then straight to Chicago to start the job. He was able to come home this past weekend again but is now going to be gone for two more weeks. Not fun! I was talking with a girl in my neighborhood about my husband being gone and she said "I know how you feel my husband has been in Iraq for 6 months." Now the two situations aren't even comparable! I felt pretty dumb acting like being apart for a couple weeks was hard, these military families are amazing to me.

Eleni hasn't been sleeping the best at my moms (she's nine months now, has anyone else had babies who didn't sleep through the night till they were older?) She gets up every couple hours and wont go back to sleep till I nurse her a little. She's also gotten in the habit of sleeping with me at my moms, she wont sleep in her crib at night. So fingers crossed things change! I would even be happy with a 3-4 hour stretch at night:)

So that's what I've been up to, taking care of my child who wont sleep at night while daddy's away. Cooking/baking and taking pics of my creations hasn't been that much of a priority because sometimes I feel like I am just in survival mode :) But I really wanted to update everyone and I promise I will start blogging again! I have made a few yummy things that I really want to try to get up in the next week.

This is a crazy, stressful, wonderful new stage of life :) Moving is beyond stressful, the thought of leaving my family is beyond stressful as well :) but there is a certain excitement that comes with all of this thinking about the new memories I will be making with my own little family in the wonderful city Chicago, have I mentioned how much I LOVE the Midwest? And I know when we go through changes, especially changes that are hard we grow, and we all need some of that:)

Stressed. Tired. Still no Sugar. Peanut Butter Balls.

Started packing a little today. We are still going to be here a few more months but wanted to get a head start on things. We just started in the office and I am quickly realizing I am a bit of a pack rat. There was a lot of throwing away to be done. I felt overwhelmed. So overwhelmed that I just froze and sat on my couch and played angry birds while I watched "The View". I'm feeling tired, my baby girl is over 8 months now, still not sleeping through the night. I sure wish she would :) And I am still off sugar, but I really want a cupcake. Having a weak, stressful, especially tired day. But we all have those:)

These little peanut butter balls, or "Snowball Cookies" have saved me since I've been off sugar. Yes they have honey and brown rice syrup in them, but they are natural sweeteners and they sure make a yummy little snack. Even if you aren't on some "no sugar" diet you will still love these. The Chia seeds are optional, but they sure are good for you :)

Off to snuggle up on the couch, watch Biggest Loser, snowball cookie in hand :)

Snow Ball Cookies
by Desiree from Unconventional Kitchen-I've fallen in love with her site!

1 C peanut butter
1/2 C honey
1/4 C brown rice syrup, or more honey
2 1/2-3 C cereal, I used a brown rice cereal from Good Earth that is like rice krispies
1 C puffed millet cereal, also found at the health food store, again any puffed grain cereal would do, or you could do 1/2 C of oats (I just used the brown rice cereal, couldn't find puffed millet
2 T chia seeds, or flax, or both

Mix all of the ingredients together and scoop out with a mini ice cream scoop, or you can press the mix into a baking pan to make bars, they will soften as they sit. After lettting them soften for 1-2 hours cut into bars.

Feel free to add coconut, wheat germ, dried fruit, mini chocolate chips, really whatever your heart desires. You can also make them with almond butter instead of peanut butter.

Best Meal. Ever.

Seriously. This is a good one. And I know this wont surprise any of you that it is an Ina Garten recipe. I'm sure if you follow my blog you are getting the jist that I LOVE Ina's recipes. I recently saw her make this steak with bernaise sauce on her show for her and Jeffrey's 35th anniversary. Don't you just love Ina and Jeffrey? I think they are so cute:)

So first of all, I have never made a Bernaise sauce before. But it looked so divine I was so excited to try it. After reading the reviews of this sauce online many people said it tasted way too vinegary and they would next time completely leave the vinegary out and just use all white wine. That's exactly what I did and I have to tell you, this sauce was one of the best things I have ever had. I made this meal for my family for Sunday dinner and everyone's eyes were practically rolling in the back of their heads-it was so good! We couldn't get enough of it-we were dunking our potatoes in the sauce and I ate way too much steak because I wanted to keep eating the bernaise sauce! It's so so good. I'm excited to make this meal some sort of family tradition of mine, maybe I will make it for every Christmas Eve or something.

I served the steak with green beans and shallots and garlic roasted potatoes. It was all so very yummy. The recipes for everything is bellow. Bernaise, where have you been my whole life?! You are my new favorite thing:)

Steak with Bernaise Sauce
by Ina Garten
Ingredients
For the sauce:
• 1/4 cup Champagne or white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup good white wine
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, divided
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 extra-large egg yolks*
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 6 (1-inch thick) rib eye steaks
• Olive Oil
• Coarsely ground black pepper
Directions
For the sauce, put the Champagne vinegar, white wine, shallots, 1 tablespoon tarragon leaves, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is reduced to a few tablespoons. Cool slightly.
Place the cooled mixture with the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon salt in the jar of a blender and blend for 30 seconds. With blender on, slowly pour the hot butter through the opening in the lid. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of tarragon leaves and blend only for a second. If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon of white wine to thin. Keep at room temperature until serving.
Season the steaks liberally with salt and coarsely ground black pepper on both sides. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat until it's almost smoking, then sear the steaks on each side for 1 minute. Lower the heat to low and cook the steaks for about 7 to 10 minutes, turning once, until very rare in the middle. Remove to a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Serve with the bernaise sauce on the side.
Note: To make the sauce in advance, prepare an hour before serving and allow it to sit in the blender. Before serving, add 1 tablespoon of the hottest tap water and blend for a few seconds.


String Beans with Shallots
by Ina Garten

Ingredients

* 1 pound French string beans (haricots verts), ends removed
* Kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 tablespoon good olive oil
* 3 large shallots, large-diced
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Blanch the string beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for 1 1/2 minutes only. Drain immediately and immerse in a bowl of ice water.

Heat the butter and oil in a very large saute pan (12-inch diameter) or large pot and saute the shallots on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned. Drain the string beans and add to the shallots with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper, tossing well. Heat only until the beans are hot.

If you're using regular string beans, blanch them for about 3 minutes, until they're crisp-tender.


Garlic Roasted Potatoes
by Ina Garten
Ingredients

* 3 pounds small red or white potatoes
* 1/4 cup good olive oil
* 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
* 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes in half or quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic; toss until the potatoes are well coated. Transfer the potatoes to a sheet pan and spread out into 1 layer. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking in order to ensure even browning.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, toss with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.

My Big News

Remember a few posts ago when I said I had some big news I was going to share soon? Well it's time to unveil the secret :)

Here it goes....we're moving!!!

And to where you ask?? Here's a hint, their deep dish pizza tops all and they don't call it the "Windy City" for nothin....

...yep...Chicago! Actually, I hear the true reason they call it the "Windy City" is because if the "windy" politicians, none the less, it is wiiiiiindy!


I can hardly believe we are moving. It's all happened really fast. The reason why we are moving is because Micah got a job out there. He couldn't be more excited. Me-I have more reservations but am really trying to be more positive. I will be honest, I wasn't too positive at the begining. I love where I live, I love that my mom is just 20 minutes away and we can see eachother whenever we want. I am very close with my mom and it is because of that why this move has been very challenging for me. But-I know we don't grow when we don't change and don't go through hard things. When there's change, there's growth. I moved around a lot growing up, each move was very difficult but I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Each move became a part of me and has made me a stronger person. I know the same will happen with this move, I try to think about that every time I get sad we are leaving :)

But we both are so grateful he has gotten a job when things are so hard right now. I also LOVE the Midwest. Especially the Chicago/Milwaukee areas. If we were to move anywhere I would want it to be there. Why? I spent most of my childhood in Milwaukee and my best friend for over 20+ years still lives there. I can't wait to be close to you again Lindsey! :) My brother and his wife and darling little girl also live in Chicago, we will be very close to them so that will be really fun.

It's looking like the big move will take place in April. I will keep you posted. :)

So sorry there's no recipe with this post, but check back tomorrow for a humdinger of a recipe. Seriously, this one is good. It is one probably one of my top 3 favorite things I have ever made. So check back tomorrow for that one! :)

Ultimate Chicken and Dumplings

Operation no sugar has been going ok. After today I will have finished up my 5th day. Yay! I actually made a really yummy sugar free treat today. I will share that with you soon. But first...let's talk Chicken n'Dumplings.

A while ago I remember watching Tyler Florence's show "Tyler's Ultimate" and I saw him make Chicken and Dumplings. They looked amazing. I finally got around to making them about a week ago. They were de-e-li-ciouos!!! I was a little intimidated to make the dumplings but they were easy peasy. To cut a lot of the work and time out of this recipe I just used a store bought rotisserie chicken and used store bought stock. I did discover something interesting about the recipe though. After I was done making the sauce it looked so yummy I couldn't wait to try it. Luckily I did before I served it because it had no flavor! It was so bland. I knew I had done everything right, but just to make sure I re-read the recipe over and over. I finally realized-he calls for no salt in the sauce! It has to be a mistake. So I added salt and it was fine. But next time I am going to saute the carrots and celery with the salt, I think it gives dishes a much better flavor when you layer the salt in, as opposed to just throwing it all in at the end, which sometimes gives the dish just a salty flavor.

Hope you are all having a wonderful beginning to a new year and are sticking to your resolutions :) So far I'm sticking to mine-which is crazy cause we all know how I like me some cupcakes:)


Chicken and Dumplings
by Tyler Florence

Ingredients
Chicken and Stock:

* 1 (3 to 31/2 pound) whole organic chicken
* 2 bay leaves
* 6 sprigs thyme
* 4 to 5 black peppercorns
* 1 head garlic, split through the equator
* 2 tablespoons salt

Directions

Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 cup chopped chives
* 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk

Sauce:

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons oil
* 2 carrots, diced
* 2 stalks celery, diced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 bay leaves
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 6 cups chicken stock
* 1 cup frozen peas
* 1 cup frozen pearl onions
* 1/4 cup heavy cream
* Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
* Chopped chives, for garnish

For the stock:

Place the chicken and all stock ingredients in a large Dutch oven and cover with water. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour until the chicken is tender. Skim the surface of fat and scum as it cooks.

When done remove the chicken to a cutting board. Strain the stock and shred the meat into big pieces - the stock will be used for the sauce and the chicken will be folded into it.

For the dumplings:

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, using a whisk, lightly beat the eggs, chives and buttermilk together; pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together; the batter should be thick and cake-like.

To prepare sauce: In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, add the butter and oil. Add the carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves and saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add frozen peas and pearl onions.

Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.

Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped chives before serving.

Toffee Gooey Butter Cake

Wow-I have so much to post about! So many yummy and fun recipes I want to share, however, I think this recipe takes first priority. So I'm deciding to do something drastic-very drastic for me. I am going off sugar for the whole month of January! Yes, I know, crazy for me, right? Is that snickering I hear from those of you who think I wont make it one day?! Well, I will prove you wrong! Yes it will be hard, I may have the shakes for a few days but I have been eating way too much the past month I think it's going to feel good to cleanse a bit. So since in just a few short days sugar wont be an option, I decided to go out in a really big way, one last hurrah. Everyone, meet the Toffee Gooey Butter Cake.

I mean, the name says it all. It's got toffee, it's ooey and gooey and it's definitely got butter! This is such a yummy, finger licking good dessert, and so so easy! It's one of those desserts where you don't have to think about. It's a sinch to throw together and you know everyone will love it. No it's not as gourmet as some desserts, but I appreciate all desserts, the gourmet that takes hours maybe days to throw together, and the simple which consist of lots of sugar and butter and you just can't go wrong. It's one of those desserts where when you eat it with a group of people you may find yourself saying "My, isn't this rich!" but you are THINKING "I could quite possibly eat this whole pan by myself! Today was snowy, the roads were bad and I was stuck inside with this dessert all day. I should be in trouble for how much of this dessert I ate! But who cares, in a few days it will be a big no no so I am off to eat some more gooey butter cake, here's the recipe, and if you are planning to go on a new years diet, try this baby out for one last hurrah!


TOFFE GOOEY BUTTER CAKE
by Paula Deen
Ingredients

Cake:
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 (18.2- ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 large egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (1 pound) box confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup toffee bits
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In the bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract, confectioners’ sugar and butter. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Fold in the toffee bits with a spatula.

Pour the filling over the cake mixture and spread it evenly. Bake until the center is just a little bit gooey, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into pieces and serve.

One of My New Favorite Things...

So I've been on a little baking hiatus, I think it's having a 7 month old who still isn't sleeping through the night, so it makes things like baking sound exhausting and impossible. But finally the other day I baked! I made two things, one was a failure and one was a giant success! The failure, well, I will make it again and post when it's a success so let's not even go there. But my success, well let's talk about it:)

My past few posts have been of sugar cookies. I've been tying out a few different recipes trying to get just the right one. However, all of them have been good in their own delicious and different way. I found a recipe for cream cheese sugar cookies which had 8 oz of cream cheese in the batter-in the words of Ina, "How bad can that be?!" Well it wasn't bad at all, in fact, it was absolutely delicious, so delicious that I think it will be my new go to recipe. The recipe calls for baking powder but the cookies still held their shape pretty well. Now here's a few twists I added to the recipe...

The recipe calls for a teaspoon of almond extract. I've had for a while a bakery emulsion called "Princess Cake and Cookie". It adds a light citrus, buttery, nutty taste. It's delicious. So I added a teaspoon of that instead of the almond and I made a cream cheese frosting. I will add the frosting recipe below-it turned out really good! I made these for a get together with the girls on my mom's side, I had a cousin tell me they were the best sugar cookies she's had. They are pretty dang good. They would be great cookies to leave out for Santa or to take to a cookie swap!

Cream Cheese Cookie Cut-outs
from Karen's Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 1 8-oz package cream cheese
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. almond extract
• 3 ½ cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder

Beat butter and cream cheese until well combined. Add sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract; beat well. In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to cream cheese mixture; beat until well mixed. Divide dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours.

Preheat oven to 375°. Roll dough to ¼ inch thickness. Into desired shapes and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. (very large cookies may take longer to bake)

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick of butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese
4-5 cups of powdered sugar
pinch of salt
vanilla bean paste
couple tablespoons heavy cream

Blend cream cheese, salt, and butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar to desired consitency. Add vanilla bean paste (or just vanilla). After everything is all creamy and yummy add a little bit of heavy cream. Don't whip it, just mix it in on low speed until mixed in well.