15 thoughts about turing 30

Yes.. I'm turning the dreaded 3-0 in just one short day... and honestly I think I'm still in denial about it... it's like I know it's happening but I don't actually believe it to be happening...

So I thought I'd put together a list of thoughts I've been having before I turn 30  **Originally this was going to be 30 thoughts before turning 30... but I don't have 30 thoughts... when I was struggling to get just 15 I knew there was no way I was getting to 30... but hey 15 is half of 30 so that's good right?

1. While I know I'm only getting a year older it feels like so much more... the jump to 29 to 30 is like a big one.  And it's a stupid reflective age - like where did I see myself by the time I was 30... and let me tell you it's not quite lining up there my friends.
2. I'll just get this one out of the way real fast... a lot of my 'issues' I have is related to kids.  Yes, I want to have them, but now that I'm almost 30 it's like WHEN??  And that only gives me like 10 more baby making years... and what if I can't get pregnant and all those scary kinds of questions that are related to the kid issue.  I really don't want to talk too much about it because I already have with some people... but it's scary... yes there's plenty of time, but yeah, that thought is there...
3. My boss told me that turning 30 was way tougher than any other milestone birthday... so if that's the case it's all downhill from here, right??
4. Looking back my 20s have felt like a LOONG time... I mean I've come a long way in 10 years from a college student to owning a house and being all adult-like.  So hopefully my 30s feel loong too, because I can tell you I'm not ready for 40s yet.
5. I'm a homeowner by the time I'm 30 and I did it pretty much on my own - that's pretty awesome.
6. Is when you hit 30 when you actually really become an adult??  Because I don't think I'm ready to be a full, real adult yet.
7. I know a lot of stores say they card people who look under 30... that means I still hope I get carded for awhile at those type of places... I can't possibly look over 30 at this point... right??
8. I still have my whole life (again) plus some before I'm retirement eligible... how's that for depressing?
9. I'm happy I'm getting closer to 'older and wiser' than 'young and stupid'
10. Wrestlemania turns 30 this year too...
11. When you were younger it was like all the actors and actresses and sports dudes were older than me... and now we're getting to the point where they are younger than me (or around my age) how weird... although the Blues just signed a new guy who's 19... 19! He's just a kid!
12. I didn't used to understand why people would freak out about turning an age... I get it now... I totally get it.
13. I think I should have stopped getting zits by now... that's a teenage problem
14. When I was born a tree started to grow at my parent's house.  Somehow along the way it was deemed the 'Jenny Tree'.  When my parents moved from that house they dug up the tree and replanted it at my Grandparents' house.  My grandparents have since moved from there, but we drove past it last night.  And my goodness that tree is so much bigger.  As a kid it was a good climbing tree, but now those branches we used to climb up to are so high you couldn't climb that tree anymore... it was pretty amazing to see and think about.
15. Can I just turn 29 again?

Here's to the last day of my twenties!

Weekend in Review: Divergent and Anniversary

I had quite a full weekend! 

My mom recently bought some Groupon deals for a trolley tour around St. Louis, so my mom, me, Lindsey and Grandma took the tour.  The tour starts out at Lumiere Casino downtown and takes you to a lot of different sites around St. Louis.  While I knew a lot of things on the tour, he still managed to teach me a few things.  While it's not the greatest tour for those that know and love the Lou, it would be great for out-of-towners.  We enjoyed getting driven around the city and talking to each other.  The trolley driver was a crazy driver though... cutting people off several times, turning through a red light... that sort of thing, but he was nice and informative.

(I would insert pictures of the ride here, but someone hasn't posted them to FB which probably means they really aren't worth posting anyway)

After our trolley ride we got Grandma loaded up in the wheelchair and headed over to Old Spaghetti Factory in Laclede's Landing.  Now you know that Laclede's Landing isn't really meant for wheelchairs, but mom is pretty impressive and navigated with relative ease.  We had a lovely lunch at Spaghetti Factory and headed back home.

That night I met up with Susan and Lindsey to see Divergent!!  We saw it at the same theater we saw Catching Fire late last year.  We weren't in a theater with the reclining seats (boo), but it was still really nice.  The only weird thing that happened - we were sitting in our seats and sadly I bought them too late to all sit together - instead we had 2 seats on one side of the aisle and one on the other.  This dad and daughter came up and started looking at their tickets and our seats a bunch and then went back down the steps.  Soon a theater person came up and asked to see our tickets - and we showed them.  They seemed pretty confused but ended up leaving with the dad and daughter.  I guess they somehow double booked our seats (they have reserved seats there).  I'm not sure if they gave them their money back or something, but they ended up getting seated on the main level - so it all worked out, but kind of strange!

I thought the movie was pretty great.  I'd even say I liked it better than the Hunger Games.  I highly recommend seeing it AND reading the books!

On Saturday after Dan got up with did our now weekly trip to Home Depot.  Then we got some food and headed home.  I laid around for part of the day and then worked on a project I'll share in a minute.

On Saturday night Dan and I went out for our anniversary.  We've been together two years believe it or not!  We went to Sanctuaria in The Grove.  It was so very yummy!!  They are known for their cocktails (although their winter cocktails weren't that appealing to me).  I had White Sangria and a Margarita - both of them where great.  Dan had a scotch drink, a tequila drink (one of their winter ones that was actually good), and a beer.  For food we had

• Jalapeno Cornbread: delicious moist cornbread studded with jalapenos; served with honey butter and topped with pickled jalapenos - SO DELICIOUS!
• Chicken Skewers:  drizzled in cuba libre glaze; served with aji coconut dipping sauce - Very good, although we were surprised they didn't come out with actual skewers...
• Frita Sliders:  Traditional Cuban pork and chorizo sliders topped with monterey jack cheese and crispy yukon potatoes; served on a cuban sweet roll and garnished with chimichurri - These were excellent!  Dan was leery at first when I suggested them b/c of the chorizo, but this was the waitress' first suggestion to us, so happy we got them because it was my favorite
• Chips:  Assorted chips dusted with lime salt; served with bleu cheese dipping sauce - the chips were good, but I'm not a bleu cheese fan (Dan is)
• Beggars Purse:  Crispy phyllo dough filled with seasoned pork and monterey jack cheese; served with local tomato puree scented with chipotle. - I picked this and it was pretty good but by this time I was getting real full!

Finally for dessert we got their Havana Bread on a recommendation from a friend (Made in-house.  Spiced Caribbean cake baked in a vanilla custard topped with Meyer's dark rum raisin sauce).  It was like a bread pudding, however I'm usually not a bread pudding fan - this was excellent!  It is cooked in a mini cast iron dish (the cornbread is too) which gives the edges crisp... I was so full but kept eating.  Overall it was a delicious anniversary dinner and a fun way to celebrate.

Sunday we went and got some food at Steak n Shake (we ate out too much this weekend!) and then did grocery shopping together.  It went fast which isn't always the case when we both go.

The rest of Sunday we did our own things.  My project (which I worked on most of Saturday) included slowly but surely organizing our extra room in the basement.  I decided to buy something to organize my craft supplies.  After debating how I wanted to organized them (shelf, although bookcase) I decided I liked the idea of drawers best.  I ended up getting this set from Target.  It came pretty fast and I was able to put it together myself without any issues. 

I was weirdly excited about getting to organize my stuff.  Slowly put surely I got everything loaded into this little guy and it was just big enough.  Then I was able to go through a big box of stuff my mom brought over for me (free floss!).  Some things just did not fit into the drawers which is currently just sitting on top (an embroidery hoop, batting, my wreath project, that fell apart and a paper cutter.  I also had some books and a scrapbook paper book that I have sitting on on the board game shelf.

Looking much better!  Although if I get anymore craft stuff I'll need a second one

And since I was standing in the room I did a panoramic picture.  I know this is very useful to you, but at least now there's nothing sitting in the middle of the room...  Still a long ways to go as you can see...

I also took the time to organize my decorative items that haven't made it onto the walls yet.  All in time...

Stitch makes an appearance

It really felt good to get some things knocked out in this room.  While I was cleaning up this room Daniel was cleaning up the laundry room - so that's like two for the price of one or something.  Still need more shelves, but I'm not really sure what I want to do yet, so stay tuned... I think the next thing I'm going to tackle is the 'cat closet' where the cats stuff is but is also a storage closet... then maybe moving some of the stuff from this room to that room... we shall see.

That was my weekend - probably could have broken that into a couple of different posts - I forgot how many big things happened!

Blondies

It seems like every weekend involves a baking adventure for me.  Even last weekend did, although I didn't post about it.  I'm not even going to count the brownies I made last weekend because I didn't get a picture of them (that and messed up baking them...) If I want to cross it off my baking bucket list then I have to take a picture of it.  Simple enough but I failed with the brownies.

This weekend I was pondering if I wanted to make if anything (after all it's my birthday week this week which I know will involve some sweets plus I'm just not going to be home for dinner any night except tonight)  I debating going for brownies again so I could get the picture... but I just wasn't feeling great about that... I also debated making salted caramel (which I'm going to be adding to my list) so I could do some other recipes with it - but that stuff only stays good like 2 weeks and this wasn't the best two weeks for that... finally I decided that blondies seemed like a decent idea and I had all the ingredients in the house already so it was easy peasy.

I googled easy blondie recipes and decided to try this one, after all it says it's no fail :)

Now I have a problem... Sometimes I under cook things... actually this is one of those things Dan asks me jokingly about - is cooked all the way?  I made this same mistake with my brownies that blog world knows nothing about.  I didn't get these cooked all the way the first try.  I even did the toothpick test (on the brownies too) and toothpick clean... come to find out I've been using waxed toothpicks so DUH nothing would stick to them anyway.  I thought it was done and then Dan comes over and pretty much sticks his finger into the center to reveal that no, in fact it isn't done.  So yes, I may have mutilated the blondies in the pan a bit (notice no pictures of the pan) - but I did get them nice and cooked.

They are pretty tasty - I used some leftover peanut butter and chocolate chips from the brownies-that-do-not-exist.  The edges got pretty done too - but I like done edges so I'll take that as a win.

B/c one piece is never enough!

Yumm-O

Here's the recipe - from InspiredTaste.net - any comments in red.

 

No-Fail Blondies Recipe

 

Blondies are one of the most simplest, tastiest baked goods you can make. These blondies are perfectly dense with a paper-thin crinkly top and taste like deep, rich buttery caramel.

What You Need to Know: It’s best to use dark brown sugar for these. Light brown sugar will work fine, but the flavor will not be as rich. Feel free to customize this recipe to your liking — add chocolate, nuts, dried fruit or whatever else you adore. We’ve shared suggested amounts in the recipe below. - I only had light brown sugar - so I used that

 

Yield: 16 bars

 

You Will Need

• 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
• 1 cup (230 g) lightly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, optional - did not use
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (140 g) all-purpose flour (we use unbleached Gold Medal all-purpose flour)

Optional Extras (Add one or a combination to customize)

• 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips (white, milk, semi-sweet, dark, etc.) - As I said above this is what I added, but I did not measure how much I put in - I just dumped the rest of the bag - it was probably half a bag left
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped and toasted nuts
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped dried fruit or shredded/flaked coconut
• 1/4 cup liquor (bourbon, whisky, rum, etc.) Note: Increase flour by 1 tablespoon to accommodate
• 1/2 teaspoon favorings or extracts (coconut, mint, rum, raspberry, etc.)
• 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (177C). Butter or line an 8-inch by 8-inch (20 x 20 cm) baking pan with parchment paper.  Note to self - buy parchment paper...
2. In a medium bowl, stir melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in egg, vanilla, almond extract (optional) and the salt.  It's a one bowl recipe - love it!
3. Add flour and stir until incorporated then mix in any extras such as chocolate chips, nuts or dried fruit (amounts above).
4. Pour batter into baking dish and bake 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out relatively clean. Cool then cut into 16 squares.  Mine cooked for closer to 30-32 minutes

Read more: http://www.inspiredtaste.net/23801/no-fail-blondies-recipe/#ixzz2wulHJDQt

Weekend in Review: Saturday BBQ

Another weekend has come and gone.

Dan started to work second shift, so he's not home in the evenings - it's been quite the change.

Friday we did get to see each other a bit.  I decided to make a nice breakfast... mostly because I wanted it, but I thought Dan would appreciate it too.  I made bacon (in the oven, that's seriously the way to cook bacon!), eggs with cheese to make croissant sandwiches.  I made some hash browns and cut up a few strawberries - it was delicious!

The rest of the day was pretty much a ME day, it was nice because I had a sorta rough week and a lingering cold.  I rented Catching Fire from Redbox and made a spring wreath for the front door.  I was in the mood to make something.

Not the greatest picture, but whatevs

I did one of those yarn wrapped wreaths.  I had googled around for ideas and kind of combined a couple I had seen.  I went to the craft store and looked at flowers first.  I settled on these mini daffodils in orange and white.  Then I went back to the yarn and picked out a color.  I originally thought a light blue would look nice, but that just felt like a lot of colors going on with yellow/orange flowers, blue wreath and red door so I went with gray yarn.

It was pretty easy to do and took me about 1.5 hours to complete including gluing on the flowers.  I did burn myself pretty good once (sticking your finger in freshly hot glue will do that) it startled me and I screamed, but I was the only one home so at least I didn't scare anyone.  I'm not sure if I love it or not.  I think it's nice enough, but I'm not sure I love the flower area.  The flowers looked way more fake when I separated them from the plastic stem and I'm not sure if I should add more? Of if it's the right amount - thoughts??

On Saturday Dan and I did some running around.  First we ate at Waffle House.  I hadn't been there in quite awhile, but it's pretty delicious.  Then we went over to Shoe Carnival because Dan really needed some new shoes.  I took a look at their clearance rack and ended up getting a pair myself.  They are cute - white and silver in the Jesus sandal type.  They were only $14 seemed like a good enough deal to me.

After shoe shopping we went over to Home Depot where I followed Dan wander aimlessly around the store.  Do guys not know how to do things in order?  It's like walking from one end back to the other and back again....

We finally escaped that store and headed home.  Dan did some things while I cross-stitched.  At some point we decided to have a BBQ that night.  We invited a bunch of people over.  It was a lot of fun.  We made hamburgers and hot dogs.  We also made corn on the cob.  I made some brownies and Caleb helped me with the mac and cheese (It involved a roux and those things scare me... when it didn't look right after my try I threw it out and waited for Chef Caleb to come over and we did it together and by together I mean he did it while I stood next to him and got ingredients ready.  The mac and cheese was delicious!!  It's Pioneer Woman's recipe - I actually had my roux right, but just didn't trust myself enough.  Oh well - I will make this again!

We had a lot of people over - it ended up being Andy, Matt, Dave, Megan, Caleb, Liz, Ken, Amanda, Lou, Erin, Ashley, and me and Dan.  It was a lot of fun and such a nice night to spend out on our amazing deck.

On Sunday we mostly hung around the house.  We were suppose to go out for our anniversary, but decided to wait until next Saturday - which is way more appealing to me since I won't have to go to work the next day.

I can't wait for the weather to be nice all the time instead of that random little bit of snow we got on Sunday.

Homemade Ice Cream

I've had an ice cream maker for quite awhile.  My brother gave it as a Christmas gift few years ago and I had never used it.  I kept thinking that will be a someday item to made (and the fact it sat in my storage unit for almost two years certainly didn't help anything)

Then I decided to make my baking bucket list and decided to add it so I would actually try to make it.  After completing this recipe I realize just how silly it was having this on the list at all.  I mean - making homemade ice cream with an ice cream maker is so stupidly easy there's no real reason to buy ice cream from the store (although drumsticks, you should still buy those)

I decided just to make vanilla my first try as it's easy and I could see how the whole process works.  They kept saying add in extra ingredients with 5 minutes left in the churning process (my words) and I'm like well how the heck am I supposed to know when there is 5 minutes left.  I really just wanted something easy to see how it all goes.

I used the recipe in the instruction guide that came with my ice cream maker - might as well right? Since I knew that size recipe would work for my maker.

In the end it was delicious!  So light and on the softer side (I guess I could have left it in there longer, but honestly I like softer ice cream).  I can't wait to try out new combinations!  (Spoiler alert - I already made another batch with some brownie pieces from the brownies I made this weekend (I still need to hopefully get pics of the brownies otherwise I didn't really make them haha)

Strawberry and Chocolate Syrup!

So yummy and delicious

Here's the recipe I used, which came from my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker (I don't have the extra bowl) in the instruction guide

Vanilla Ice Cream

Preparation 5 minutes plus 20-25 minutes chilling time; optional 2 hours to ripen.
Makes then 1/2 cup servings

1 cup whole milk, well chilled I used 2% b/c that's what I had on hand
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream, well chilled This is the same as whipping cream, maybe I'm the only loser who stood in the milk aisle for awhile before I realized it's probably the same thing
1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, to taste I went with the maximum b/c I like flavor!

In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1-2 minutes on low speed.  Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla to taste.  Turn machine on, pour mixture into freezer bowl through ingredient spout and let mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

I still had two left over containers of blueberries after the muffins so I was looking for something else to make with blueberries.

I was laying in bed day dreaming about what I could make.  And then I had a brilliant idea - I'd make mini blueberry pies.  A couple of weeks ago (did I totally forget to write about this I can't remember) I went thrift store shopping with my mom and aunt.  I ended up picking up these adorable little dishes from Crate and Barrel.  There are like mini pie or souffle dishes? (Like the small on here but in red) So in my head I'm like yeah! They will be so adorable and I'll do a cool latice top on them and they are going to be so pretty and I can't wait.

At that point I thought I'd just use store bought pie crust... but then I started to get ambitious!  I googled around and looked at pie crust recipes and then had the brilliant idea that I could make the pie crust with the assistance of my KitchenAid mixer.  So I went to the store and picked up all the ingredients I needed to make the pie crust.

As soon as I got home and did the dishes I decided to try it out - I was excited!  But, things just didn't go as planned... the pie crust didn't come together like they said it out online or in the videos I watched.  I waited for my butter pieces to become pea-sized and that never happened!  My mom suspects that I didn't use cold enough butter - which very well might be the case.  I'm pretty sure I mixed it too long too... then I added too much water (when the dough came together it was really slimey and sticky) so I added more flour... ugh... just a mess.

I ended up getting it to what I felt like was ok, and I cut up the pieces and put them in the fridge to firm up... but after that I pretty much decided that was a waste of time.  I ended up pitching the dough and not even trying to make a pie because I was over it and just not feeling the greatest about it. 

I plan on trying to make pie crust again (dang it I'm going to get it right!) but might want to do it by hand with my pastry cutter or get a food processor or something... idk - stay tuned on that one...

But I still had all those blueberries and not really sure what the heck I should make...  So I googled around here and there... then I decided to google blueberry cake to see what would come up.  That's when blueberry crumb cake showed up in my search.  I had be wanting to make a crumb cake... hmm... so I jumped on board.

I looked at a few recipes but decided to go with this one from the Pioneer Woman.  The fact that I had looked at a few different recipes I got them mixed up in my mind and after I had already started this recipe I realized it made a full 9x13 pan.  Had I known that I probably would have cut the recipe in half... but atlast it was already mixed up so a 9x13 pan it is. 

I added the crystaly multicolored sugar to the top (although not as much as the recipe suggested)

Here's a piece all warm and delicious.  She recommends eating it with some butter... which I did try... I don't recommend you trying them, b/c as soon as you do you'll want to eat another piece... with butter... so good!

It was delicious.  I made this on Saturday night and by Tuesday it was gone (Dan and I both ate a fair amount but we also had a friend over that took a piece)

Here's the recipe  from Pioneer Woman with my notes in red.

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick Butter
• 1 Tablespoon (additional) Butter
• 3/4 cups Sugar
• 1 whole Egg
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2-1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 cups Whole Milk I didn't have whole milk, I didn't even have any kind of milk, so I just used water and still turned out delicious
• 2 cups Fresh Blueberries
• _____
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• 3/4 sticks Butter
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder, and a salt. Stir and set aside.  I know I should mix these things separate together and then combine to the wet ingredients, but I just don't do that messes up another bowl I have to wash by hand.
Cream 1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon butter with cinnamon and sugar. Add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until totally incorporated. Do not overbeat. Stir in blueberries until evenly distributed.
Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Pour in batter.
In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients and cut together using two knives or a pastry cutter. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.
Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut into squares and serve with softened butter.

Gooey Butter Cake

I meant to go in order of what I made when... but I got the first two out of whack.  I actually made this BEFORE the blueberry muffins - I know quite the mistake on my part... haha.  So forgive me and pretend like it's in perfect order.

A couple of weekends ago we decided to have an impromptu BBQ and it seems like a good time to whip up a new recipe... that and we were visiting some friends for the Daytona 500 the next day and the left overs could easily go to their place so Dan and I wouldn't be eating a whole gooey butter cake to ourselves...

I decided to make the gooey butter cake since it seemed fairly easy and I had to make a decision real fast (we were already at the store)  I only needed to pick up a couple of ingredients (butter, powdered sugar and yellow cake mix)  It seemed like a good choice.

While I only really had one piece - I'd say it was pretty darn delicious.  I mean how could it not be with all that sugar and other delicious things.

I've eaten a lot of gooey butter cakes in my day, but this was the first time I've made my own - I had no idea that you make a crust and filling separate or that it had quite that much powdered sugar in it...

I remembered to get a picture before it was all eaten up

Close up

Since I waited so long to write this dang post I almost forgot what recipe I used, but I believe it was this one from allrecipes.com.  No comments on this one - followed the recipe exactly, although after talking to my mom afterwards could probably cut down on the powdered sugar a bit - 4 cups! That's a lot!

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix 1/2 cup butter, melted 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	Mix cake mix, melted butter or margarine, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 eggs with a spoon. Pat into a 9 X 13 inch pan.
3.	Mix cream cheese, 2 eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer. Slowly beat in confectioner's sugar. Pour over cake layer.
4.	Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool.

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

A couple of weeks ago I was at the store doing my normal grocery shopping and I noticed that blueberries were on sale 3 containers for $5.  It seemed like a good deal to me so I picked up three packages thinking I could make some good recipes with them.

I especially wanted to make blueberry muffins with fresh blueberries - it was even on my baking bucket list.  So that's exactly what I did!

So pretty!

I googled for a recipe that used fresh blueberries and decided on this one from allrecipes.com. 

It was super easy to whip them up and now that I have my pastry cutter thing it made making the crunchy topping.  I also used bigger sugar (there's probably a real term for that) instead of regular white sugar for the topping.  I thought this would give it a bit of a crunch and plus they are a bit multi-colored.

This recipe made me 11 fairly large muffins.  I also couldn't fit all the topping onto the muffins so some of that got thrown away.  I tried to use my nifty muffin/cupcake scoops I got for Christmas but the batter was pretty thick, so it didn't work the greatest, although probably easier than other methods.

Yum!

Overall they were delicious!  I would make them again for sure.  I loved that it was fresh blueberries... the whole point in making them :)  They were gone in too short of a time, especially considering it was only two of us eating them.  The topping really made these for me!

Here's the recipe with my comments in red.  Again, the recipe is from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup white sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 egg

1/3 cup milk 1 cup fresh blueberries 1/2 cup white sugar - used crystal-y sugar 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup butter, cubed 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2.	Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. I think I added slightly more milk b/c my mixture was very thick
3.	To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4.	Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

 

Weekend in Review: End of February and Beginning of March

I am so totally behind in posting... and it's not like I don't have things to post about - but I totally do!!  I have been baking and I've already checked three things off my baking bucket list that I need to share with you!

Before we get to those recipes I want to talk about what's been going on outside of the baking world and to do this we have to go back three weekends!  Let's see what I can remember.

February 21-23:
On Friday, Lindsey and I had a sister lunch at the King and I - one of our favorite restaurants.  It was a delicious lunch and before we parted ways we stopped by Bed Bath and Beyond to scope out a potential birthday gift for our mom.  I also bought a kitchen gadget I've been needing - a pastry cutter thing.  I can't remember what we did that night, so it must have not been that interesting.

On Saturday we had an impromptu barbecue.  Dan's sister and her fiance came, along with our friend Caleb and Dan's friend from high school and his fiancee. (look both correct uses of fiance!)  I ended up making an item off the baking bucket list.  It was a real fun night and makes me look forward to spring and bbqs!

On Sunday Dan and I went to Stephen and Zoa's (Kyle was there too) to watch the Daytona 500.  It ended up being kind of a bust since the race was mostly rained out - but it was fun hanging out together.

That next week (February 24-28) I had to travel for work to Salt Lake City.  I haven't traveled for work since May of 2011.  I was dreading the trip, especially since I had a friends night planned for Survivor which started that week... but when you set your expectations very low it's easy to exceed them.  The trip went pretty well and I got to eat a lot of fantastic food... one night I even got homemade gelato (salted caramel yumm)  I got to meet some interesting folks too.   Overall the trip was pretty nice and went by a lot faster than I expected.

February 28-March 2:
Friday was my travel home day... not very exciting.  I don't think we did anything that night... oh wait I totally caught up on all the TV I missed and hung out with the cats that were in desperate need for attention while Dan went to a minor league hockey game. 

On Saturday we mostly hung around the house (and grocery shopped) and then it was TRIVIA NIGHT TIME!!  We do it every year - my mom's trivia night at the VA.  I had such a good time and we did pretty well without Keith.  I was the writer which I hate being because I can't spell very well, but it ended up being nice b/c I felt smarter because I could write down the answer real fast if I knew it. 

After the trivia night we went to the Kentucky Knife Fight concert at Off Broadway.  It was a lot of fun and the best part about showing up late is we didn't have to wait as long to see the band we wanted to see - score!  When we left the bad weather hit and it was pretty slick out.  Luckily Kyle drove us in his big truck so we were able to get home despite the ice on everything.

Since the winter storm came in that day we spent a quiet Sunday at home - which I loved since I had been gone so much the past week.

Finally March 7-9:
On Friday we celebrated my mom's birthday!  Since I had taken back my KitchenAid mixer Lindsey, Keith and I went in together to get my mom one of her own!

She loved it!  We then took her to The Fountain on Locust for lunch (and ice cream duh!!)  We were then going to go paint pottery at this place, but got there and it was out of business... So we ended up going to some second hand shops among other places - like getting Lindsey's car washed and Target.  I ended up making a big home purchase too that I can't wait to share with you!

I'd love to talk about how great the rest of my weekend way, but honestly it just wasn't.  I was sick (Friday included) and so I mostly took it easy all weekend.  I feel better today and I'm sure that was because I just relaxed... although I did bake another item.

That catches you up on my weekends - next catching you up on my baking.