Cuisson

I've baked a few more things over the past week. I'm still really bummed I didn't get a picture of the blueberry cream pie a couple of weeks ago. It was really good. I took a picture on my camera, but I don't know how to get it on here. All well, if you're interested in making it you can check it out here: Blueberry Cream Pie.

Over the weekend I made, you guessed it, another Pioneer Woman recipe! I've decided now that I may be bordering on a 'slight obsession' with her recipes. Last night I told Hubby that I think I need to just go ahead and a pull a 'Julie and Julia' and bake through all of Pioneer Woman's cookbook. I mean, every single thing in there, I want to try! Well... except that prune cake, I'm a little skeptical. But she says not to tell anyone it's prunes and they'll never know the difference...but I'll know. Anyway, I thought maybe I should be more methodical about trying her recipes and get it done. I mean, how could any bad come from that? I guess... maybe all that butter

And cream

And sugar

And butter might foil my I-want-to-lose-5-pounds plan. Did I mention the butter? I guess a pros and cons list is in store. Who will help convince me that it's worth completing this task? I would be willing to share!

Moving along, I made "Patsy's Blackberry Cobbler". I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've ever made cobbler. It was a hit! We took it over to our friends' house and they enjoyed it. Hubby declared it a '5-Star' recipe and finished it the next day. Guess it's one we'll be incorporating into a regular rotation. I'm not sure what regular rotation that is... cause we don't actually have one... we just say that a lot... it means we liked something...whew... another tangent... let's just look at the picture... :o)



But that's perfectly fine with me! It was delicious and, even better, very simple. I think I have the recipe memorized already. Love those easy-to-remember recipes!

Also, we had another baby shower here at work. And I got to make the cake! I was more than willing. I've done many baby shower cakes here at work and decided that I need to have a baby-related shaped cake pan. I went to Michael's and got a baby carriage pan. This one was for a girl. The colors were much better in person--pink, green, and brown.



But I was pretty excited with how it turned out. Now I want more shaped pans! Maybe I need to start adding them to my Christmas list!

To life... full of cobbler and cake :o).............. and BUTTER!

Millionaire's Shortbread

Do you notice any changes on my blog? Oh you do, do you? Yes, I spent a little time checking out the new design options on blogger and they have some pretty awesome stuff now! I hope you enjoy the new look. I really liked the cupcakes I had briefly, but this background seems to encompass even more of the things I enjoy! We'll see how long it lasts... baking is pretty important to me. As you'll be able to tell in the following pictures!

I had a party to go to this past Tuesday, so I asked hubby what he'd like me to make for it. I let him peruse my "Baked" cookbook-- love it-- and he chose, Millionaire's Shortbread. I was perfectly ok with that choice because it looked awesome to me as well. The first step in the process was to get the caramel started... I poured TWO cans of sweetened condensed milk (yes, that would equal 2600 calories--no judging!) into this bowl and ended up letting it cook for about 2 1/2 hours


While that was in the works, I began making the shortbread. This was my first time to ever make shortbread... I don't even think I've eaten shortbread except maybe a time or two as a pre-packaged cookie. It required large amounts of butter and some kneading by hand. Here it is just before heading into the oven:


After the caramel was finished, I poured it onto the baked, cooled shortbread and put it in the fridge for almost two hours. During that time I melted dark chocolate, a bit of light corn syrup, and butter over the stove. I pulled the shortbread out of the fridge and poured the chocolate over everthing. Then returned it to the fridge to chill some more. The result?


Jeremiah and I both enjoyed it. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but as I ate more, it grew on me. I took it to the party on Tuesday night and also took it to work the next day. Several people really enjoyed it and gave me positive comments. The recipe called it the "Rich Man's Twix" and I think I might like to change the dark chocolate to milk chocolate to suit my taste and also 'twould be more like an actual twix then. Now I'm excited for the next recipe I try out of this cookbook!

To life... full of trying new things!

Romania

We are working on getting a letter out to everyone about our trip. Actually, it's sitting here next to me on my desk and we're trying to figure out what to cut out because it's 4 pages long! In the meantime, if you've been curious about my trip, here are a few pictures to tide you over until you get our letter.

Our group in Sighisoara on Saturday, July 17


At "The Weekend" with the kids


Playing with the kids from the gypsy village


Saying good-bye to the LOC kids



That's all for now. Hopefully we'll be getting these letters out soon!

To life... full of opportunities to reach out and love.

Verse for July

Here's the Bible verse currently sitting on my desk at work--

"Remember this: the person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously." 2 Corinthians 9:6

Below it I wrote: "Love Big! Give Much! Forgive Always!"

To life...full of giving more and taking less.

July

is going to pass me by in a flash. But I wanted to write at least one post for the month. I have a new job--it's great! The next 9 days I am going to frantically try to adjust to my new role and prepare for orientation for new students which begins July 26th. In the meantime, I am also preparing for my trip to Romania. I leave July 15th and will be gone until the 25th. Yes, getting back just in time for orientation the next day! Then we'll be celebrating our 3-year anniversary! Then August will begin just a few short days later. Needless to say, I may be away from my blog for a time, but I promise to come back and write again. If nothing else, I will attempt to put up some pictures from time to time to fill you in on what's going on in my neck of the woods. Otherwise, this may be it for awhile.

To life... full of new experiences!

Whirlwind!

Sometime life changes fast...I'm talking 24 hours fast...and one of those times is now. In the past day I've been called about a possible new position at work, interviewed, talked to the person I'd be replacing, talked to my current dean, -- instead of getting into all the "talking tos", let's just say I've done a LOT of talking-- been through some negotiations, done lots of praying!, felt excited, guilty, encouraged, disappointed, sad, confident, stressed, to name a few. I was then offered the position and accepted it. So no more of that, "Transitions are happening to everyone but me" bit, because I'm right in the middle of it, right now. I've officially been promoted to a career position here at Southwestern. It is a huge, wonderful blessing from God... I'm just praying that the people I've leaving feel the same way. That's my day in a nutshell...

To life...full of unexpected changes!

This guy...

will be starting home tomorrow. Please be in prayer for his (and his team's) safety as they travel by foot, car, plane, and bus. Only THREE more days until I get to see his smiling face.

To life...full of waiting patiently on our loved ones to come home!