Anniversary + Dessert

Of course, our {third} anniversary looked quite different this year.  Usually we would go out to dinner + dessert, maybe make a full date day, or do a quick overnight stay-cation!

We now have a tiny person who is completely dependent upon on us for his every need. Having to celebrate our anniversary on our back porch was just as romantic + fun as doing any of our other regular choices of celebration. Why? We were celebrating the very thing, marriage, that gave us the sweetest blessing, who was just sleeping right inside our house. 

After work, Lee picked up a delicious meal from one of our favorite Italian restaurants here in Fayetteville. I was wanting to make the outdoor patio "romantic looking", but was having to use what I had around the house because I couldn't run out due to a newborn baby who was still having acid reflux/tummy troubles. To my surprise, my sweet husband came home with wine, flowers, candles, and the cutest candle holders to decorate the patio table. I mean, the man went to Hobby Lobby....by himself....all to make the table special...for me. What a guy!

I wanted to contribute somehow to the evening. So, I decided a few days before I would make dessert. I decided on Chocolate Silk Pie from Smitten Kitchen's Cookbook. [Note: start this dessert day before because you have to let it chill in refrigerator for at least 6 hours].  I knew not to fool myself thinking I could just whip a dessert in an hour. You know, babies have a way of knowing when it's the worst time to wake up or cry...like when you have egg all over your hands or there is one minute away from the oven timer going off [therefore, things burn], etc. So, I started this dessert at 9:00am that morning. Yes. I want to be realistic here with [new] mommyhood. Guess when I finished it? 3:00pm. So don't you go thinking that I was whisking around the kitchen in an apron with my makeup done while the baby slept like a champ. I intentionally started it at 9:00am and worked on it during naps. In the end, the pie was DELICIOUS. So worth it. Therefore, I need to share the recipe [at the bottom].

Right as Lee got home, I was rocking Hudson to sleep. Perfect, right? Lee dishes up the food, light the candles, poured the wine, arranged flowers (oh yeah, he did...and it looked beautiful). I came out of the room, smiling "ahhh, baby is asleep". I grabbed a wine glass and what do we hear on the monitor? Baby is awake. We laughed and looked at each other and I said, "of course!"  I went back into the room rocked him to sleep...Lee brought the food back in and covered it. I got Hudson to go back to sleep and we brought back everything outside to eat. It was a sweet dinner, sitting there, talking and smiling about how different this anniversary was but in such a sweet, blessed way. I mean, my goodness, here we are celebrating three years of life together as husband + wife with the sweetest blessing as a result in tiny human form.  Just as we took our last bite and sipped the wine....baby woke up! Hey, at least we finished dinner :) 

Why am I sharing the small details of that? Because I want to be realistic [and also remember the memories of our 3rd anniversary with a 5 week old]. I posted a picture of our anniversary dinner on instagram. I was thinking later how instagram/facebook/twitter are the highlight reels of our life. It's not a bad thing [I mean, who is like "everybody! Look how awesome I look with the flu!].  However, I know new moms out there [because I've done this myself] may have looked at that picture [and other people's pictures at different times] and thought "oh what a perfect, candlelit, backyard porch dinner......" when all in all, it wasn't as smooth as it may have appeared! 

I would not have wanted to spend our  third anniversary any other way. We were rocking, feeding, cuddling the very fruit of our marriage, which is what we were celebrating that day. We were celebrating real life together and the three years of it that we have done in unity, in oneness. What joy that brings me!

My husband, I would not want to do this real, day to day life with anyone else. You are our rock and you love and serve our family well. Thank you for being my fearless leader and now a fearless leader to a little baby boy, who will forever look up to you. Thank you for loving me past my faults. Going through this new thing of parenthood with you has made me fall even more in love with who you are! 

I love you! 

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Chocolate Silk Pie

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

Ingredients

Chocolate Crust: 1 1/2 cup chocolate-wafer crumbs, 2 Tbs sugar, Pinch of salt, 5 Tbs unsalted butter, melted

Filling: 12 tbs butter, at room temp, 1 cup sugar, 3 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted & cooled, 3 large eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract

Garnish: 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 Tbs sugar, chocolate curls shaved from bittersweet bar (optional)

Crust. Preheat oven to 350. Mix together cookie crumbs, sugar, and salt. Stir in melted butter. Press crumbs across bottom and sides of 9 inch pie crust pan. Bake for 10 min. Let cool completely. 

[Note: I could not find chocolate wafer cookies, so I used the chocolate part of oreos. Warning: delicious oreo creme will be left over. Staring at you]

Filling.  In mixer, whip butter + sugar together. Keep mixer going & slowly pour in chocolate. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 5 minutes after each egg. {this is SO important to the recipe}. Blend vanilla in. Spread filling in pie crust. Chill for at least 6 hours. 

Topping. Right before serving, beat cream + sugar together until soft peaks form. Spoon onto pie and spread. Can add chocolate shavings if you would like. 

Raw Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge (Surprise Ingredient)

I've been wanting to try this fudge recipe for some time.  You'll notice a few things that are different from the normal fudge recipe: No sweetened condensed milk, no butter, and with most versions; no sugar.

I've been wanting to try the recipe because everyone seems to be raving about Coconut Oil for different uses.  This is a key ingredient in this recipe, so I wanted to see what it could do!  This recipe comes from this blog.  She changed up the recipe just a tad from the original recipe from PaleOMG.  I followed the recipe from the first blog listed.

I am SO surprised by the result of this recipe, and that result would be named: DELICIOUS. Oh my.  First lesson learned - don't be afraid.  Second lesson learned - don't make delicious, healthier fudge when husband is out of town.  Now I will learn a lesson in discipline.  Pray for me, yikes.

Note: I did not have unsweetened peanut butter. I just used my regular peanut butter I use, but it is one without too much excess sugar.

Raw Chocolate Peanut Butter

1 cup organic Coconut Oil
1 cup organic, unsweetened creamy peanut butter (PaleOMG used almond butter)
1/3 cup raw honey
1/3 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
5 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
handful of almonds (I used slivered almonds)
semisweet chocolate chips
a sprinkle more of shredded coconut

Combine the first six ingredients together. Take half of the mixture and spread in a bread pan or 8x8 or smaller pan.  Sprinkle with semi sweet chocolate chips. Stick in freezer until hardened.

Add the cocoa powder into the other 1/2 of the mixture.  Add some almonds and maybe a few more chocolate chips :) Pour this mixture on top of the first layer.  Can top with some shredded coconut.  Freeze for 20 minutes.  Cut and serve.


Don't judge the ingredients and scrunch your nose at "raw", "organic", and "unsweetened".  Get in that kitchen! :)

Crockpot BBQ with Corn Cakes

I wanted to post this recipe, because when I mentioned on Twitter that I had made it a few people wanted the recipe.  

I first pinned this recipe on Pinterest, but it is originally from this blog (Ezra Pound Cake).  Oh my.  This is delicious.  I absolutely love the sauce - it is that perfect BBQ taste.  This blogger made the combination just perfect.  It is very simple and easy, including the corn cakes.  The taste of BBQ meat and corn cakes in the same bite just might be the perfect combination!  

I halved the recipe, since it's just my husband and I and it worked great.  She also calls for slaw and tomatoes, which I am sure would be tasty, we just did not have it.  

[Recipe Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake]

Crockpot BBQ

 1/2 medium onion, sliced

 Pork Shoulder (2-3 lb, preferably boneless)

 [*Note: I had to use a Pork Shoulder Steak with bone because my store did not have pork shoulder. It worked just fine.  I just removed the bone later on in the cooking process]

 1/2 cup Beef Broth, water, or favorite BBQ sauce [I had Beef Stock on hand)

Sauce:

 1/2 cup ketchup

 1/3 cup water

 2 Tbs white vinegar

 2 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce

 1 Tbs Brown Sugar

 1/2 Tbs Dale's Seasoning or Liquid Smoke [I used the latter.  So yummy!]

 2 tsp Garlic Powder

 1 tsp Salt

 1 tsp Tabasco

 1/4 tsp Pepper

Place onion in slow cooker.  Set the meat on top of the onions. In a microwave-safe bowl, mix all sauce ingredients together and heat in microwave for 45 seconds, then pour over pork shoulder. In a seperate bowl, mix beef broth and remaining 2 Tbs white vinegar.  Pour around the pork shoulder, NOT ON the meat.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. At 6 hours you can baste the meat with the sauce.  Shred the meat inside the crockpot and remove bones.  Serve on top of corn cakes. 

Corn Griddle Cakes 

(Makes 15, 2 inch cakes)

1 cup Self-Rising Cornmeal (not cornbread mix)

1/2 cup All-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

3 Tbs butter, melted

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 Tbs sugar (optional)

1/8 tsp Cayenne

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat (I used my pancake counter griddle).  Pour 2 tbs of batter for each cake. Cook a few minutes on each side (just like pancakes).  Serve with meat mixture over it.  

Enjoy, because it is awesome!  

Proverbs 8 and Mom's Banana Bread

I try my best to read one chapter of Proverbs a day corresponding with the day of the month.  Most months it works perfectly because there are 31 chapters in Proverbs and 31 days in most months.  I have come to realize I will never grow out of learning and heeding wisdom [insert: sarcasm. I did not just come to realize that].

[Rabbit Trail: bad part about writing and/or blogs is that sarcasm is hard to notice and I tend to be sarcastic time to time. Sorry, I am not sorry]

Sometimes, I read the one chapter of Proverbs in addition to what I am studying and/or reading for my quiet time.  Other times, that chapter is solely my quiet time.  Let's get real, Proverbs is all about wisdom and instruction and I tend to mess up.....[like everyday]......so it's good for me just sit, pray, and meditate on it, because it tends to slap me in the face, encourage me, and/or challenge me.

I read Proverbs 8 today.  There was section that I wanted to share:

The first person in this passage is 'wisdom'.  After I read this, I noticed that these [words I underlined] are identifiable characteristics of wisdom.  When we are looking for wisdom or asking for wisdom, these are characteristics that we can look for in a decision, an action, a conversation, our words, and the list could go on.

Wisdom......speaks noble things, it will reveal right things, only truth will be uttered, wickedness is an abomination to it, righteousness comes from it's mouth, and there is nothing crooked or perverted that comes from it.  Therefore, Proverbs 8 shows us what wisdom IS and what it IS NOT.  Identify those characteristics.  How sweet is the Lord to give us His Word to guide us?

Side Note: I am sure that I have read this passage many times, and yet the Lord teaches me something new about it.  I love that He continues to teach us new things with the same passage.

Prayful Days & Chocolate Cake

When I started this blog, I said the primary reason was the document events, happenings, and things we are learning in our life so that I may look back and read about it later.  I think that is an especially sweet thing to look back and see what the Lord has done in your life!

The past two months, there have been many specific things to pray for in our lives and on behalf of others.  I am so thankful that I can, at any time, start having a conversation with my Savior.  He is never too busy or needs you to make an 'appointment'.  Sometimes when I pray about little things, I think how small and insignificant this must seem to my Lord in comparison to His kingdom and eternal plan. I have learned that is not the case.  He is interested in every part of our lives.  He wants us to go to Him for anything....because it is about a relationship with Him.  Since I have been more intentional about being prayerful these past few months, I have learned and/or observed a few things about prayer:

- It causes me to remove my focus from myself and fix it on the Lord
- Just like any relationship, you get to know them by talking to them and spending time with them. This     is the same with my prayer time with the Lord.  I know Him more, now.
- Handing my burdens over to my Mighty, All-powerful God brings "peace that surpasses all understanding"
- It causes me to be thankful that I am not in "charge" of my life.  No, the GOD of all the universe, who has created the smallest detail and has orchestrated the happenings of our life is in charge and it is GOOD.
- Humbles me knowing that my Great God and Savior cares about my life.  I fail Him so often.
- Causes me to realize how much I can talk and chit chat to the Lord when I just  need to stop and listen

The things I have been praying about these past few months, I have learned are out of my control or Lee's control.  These include, my future career and the waiting part of it,  a critical outcome of a big business project for Lee, the loss of a church family's dear son, the healing of relationships, the redemption of souls,  and the healing of bodies.
I realize in some of these situations above, I can make the steps that I know are smart to take and "do my part", which we have or I have done.  However, in the end, all I want is for God's will to be done...and nothing more.  As I look back on my life and others' life stories, God's plan is always good and always better, no matter how I am feeling in that very moment!  Sometimes, emotions can have such a firm grip on your reasoning and thought process.  How frustrating can that be?  I realize I have to make the decision to know that the Lord knows what will happen in 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years and His will be done and it will be good.  In the meantime, I need to follow hard after Him and seek Him wholeheartedly so I can be sensitive to His calling and plans.

" Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God " Philippians 4:6

 " May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ" 2 Thessalonians 3:5   -- How sweet is that!

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I think I could blog any of the recipes from The Pioneer Woman that I have cooked or baked to date.  They are so delicious and just...perfect! I always have loved old recipes that have been handed down to each generation - I think they are always the best tasting.  I have noticed that all of them have very simple ingredients, usually things you have in kitchen already.  I gather this is because they didn't have all of the complex, specialty ingredients either because they lived out in the country and because those ingredients did not exist many years ago.  I have been watching The Pioneer Woman's new cooking show and she always mentions that her recipes are simple because she lives out in the country and is not able to just "run to the store".  That is a reason why I like her recipes - they are simple, absolutely delicious, and pretty easy! The more simple, the better, I think!

Speaking of simple, here is the best Chocolate Cake recipe.  I made this for our community group and everyone seemed to love it!

Chocolate Sheet Cake
Makes one 18x12-inch cake
*Note - I used one that was a few inches smaller and it was fine. You could also use a smaller, thicker cake pan for a thicker cake or separate these into round pans for a layered cake.

Ingredients [for the cake]:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
   *Substitute: 1/2 cup milk + 1 1/2 tsp of distilled white vinegar. Stir. Let sit for 5 min.
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
4 heaping Tbs cocoa powder

Ingredients [for the icing]:
1 3/4 sticks butter
4 heaping Tbs cocoa powder
6 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pound powdered sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Stir & set aside.
In another bowl, mix the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, baking soda. Mix with fork & set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add cocoa. Whisk together to combine.  Meanwhile, bring 1 cup of water to a boil.  When butter is melted, pour boiling water in the pan.  Allow to bubble for a minute, then turn off heat.
Pour chocolate mixture into the flour mixture.  Stir together for a minute to cool the chocolate.
Add the egg mixture.
Stir together until smooth, then pour into an ungreased pan.  Bake for 20 min.

While the cake is baking, make the icing.  Melt the butter in the saucepan (use the same one to save yourself some dishes). Add the cocoa powder and stir 'till smooth.  Add milk and vanilla.  Add powdered sugar. Stir together.  If you wanted the pecans, you would dump those in at this time.

Immediately when you remove the cake from the oven, pour the warm icing on top.  Try and distribute evenly and let it spread on its own.  You'll want to avoid too much spreading.

Now, your life is complete.  Amen.

P.S.  I have her first cookbook right now and use it all the time!  In just a few weeks, her new (second) cookbook is coming out and I. can't. wait!!

Banana Boat

I've heard of this dessert before somewhere and then saw it on the food network this week. It is simple, easy, and quick! I think it may be the perfect portion of dessert and level of 'sweetness'.

With the peel on and intact, cut it down the middle lengthwise, but not all the way so as to make a 'boat' to place the fillers. I stuffed in marshmallows and chocolate chips, but I am sure you could get creative. Wrap it loosely in foil. Put in the oven at 300 degrees for 5-7 min or until the chocolate chips are nice and melted.

Yummy and yummy!!

Blackberry Cobbler

Thanksgiving was a few weeks ago, but I wanted to share this recipe for Blackberry Cobbler.  A good ol' southern recipe (from Southern Living).  They really don't let you down.  Be prepared for sugar, flour, butter, and cream.  Those are the usual ingredients to good southern food, am I right? ;-)

Blackberry Cobbler

5 cups fresh blackberries or 2 (14 oz) frozen blackberries, thawed & drained
1 cup sugar

3-4 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 Tbs lemon juice
Crust (recipe below)
2 Tbs butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon sugar

Crust

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 Tbs sugar

1/4 cup shortening

1/3 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup buttermilk

Combine first 4 ingredients. Mix well. Put into a lightly greased 8-9 inch square pan. Prepare crust. Spoon mounds over the blackberry mixture. Brush with butter and sprinkle with 1 tsp sugar. Bake uncovered, 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until brown & bubbly.

I was watching Pioneer Woman's show the other day.  She also made a blackberry cobbler but had a different approach to it.  It looks delicious as well and I would love to try it some time.  She is awesome and hilarious.

A Pumpkin Dessert

We had dinner with our friends the other night and I was asked to make a "festive" dessert.  Lately, when I go to the grocery store, I usually get a few cans of pumpkin puree because I know I'll be making something with pumpkin in it.  I ended up making this dessert.  Everyone said it was delicious, so I had to share it on here, just in case anyone would want to make it!

Via All Recipes

The Great Pumpkin Dessert

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 fl oz) can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 box/package yellow cake mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.  Mix well and pour into the baking pan.
Sprinkle the box of yellow cake mix evenly over the top, then drizzle it with melted butter.  Top with walnuts.
Bake for 1 hour or until the knife is clean.
*Note - some people do not like walnuts.  It is definitely not needed, but I liked the crunch.

Enjoy! We sure did...it was a delicious, warm, fall dessert!