Homemade Pan Au Chocolat?

Okay, so I have an obsession, cooking. I love cooking! Whether it be homemade chocolate chip cookies, spicy salami rigatoni pasta, cake bites, you name it, I most likely would love to make it. My brother-in-law sometimes joked with me that I had the wrong major and that I should go to culinary school instead. I don't know if that was a hint that I needed more helpful hints for cooking, or just because I love to cook. Anyway, while I may not be the best cook, I definitely enjoy it.

This week's latest creation was my own version of a homemade pan au chocolat. We get these all the time when we go to Paris, and my Dad used to bring them home from a bakery in Provo while he was a BYU bishop. Anyway, simple, oh so simple, yet delicious.

1. Buy croissant dough from the store.
2. Lay the croissants out
3. Put a dollop of nutella towards the fatter end
4. Roll them up
5. Bake as directed on the croissant package

It's just that easy and they turn out absolutely delicious! You can even mix it up by throwing some marshmallows in there if you want. Try it out yourself!

Pie in a Jar

Now this was one easy easy project, that turns out to be such a cute gift, especially for visiting teachers or college students.

How to make a Pie in a Jar
 Wide-Mouth Jars: You want short, squatty ones with sides that go straight up and down from top to bottom.

1. Roll out a 1/4inch thick piece of dough into a 8x8 inch square. Using the metal ring from the top of your jar as a cookie cutter, cut out 4 circles of dough.

2. Use the rest of the dough to line the jars. Break the dough into small pieces and press them along the inside of the jar, making sure the dough is pressed all the way up to the top of the jar.

3. Combine prepared fruit, sugar, flour, and seasoning. Fill the pies. Each pie will hold approximately 1/2 cup of pie filling.
->We made apple pies!
(Apple Pie Filling:
2 cups diced, peeled tart green apples
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, chopped into small pieces and divided among four pies
Toss all ingredients together and stir to combine. Divide mixture among the pies and dot the pies with butter)

4. The dough circles you set aside will need vents so steam can escape. Use a knife to make a couple of slits or a tiny cookie cutter to make it decorative. When your topper is ready, slip it onto the top of the pie. Gently press down so the edes of the circle are completely inside the jar. Use your fingers, or a fork, to press the dough from the top into the dough on the edges of the jar to seal. If desired brush the top with a little melted butter and a sprinkle of sugar.

And again, wallah! Such easy gifts. It's like a personal serving of apple pie!
Once finished the pies can be kept in the freezer for 2-3 months.

To cook from frozen, remove pie from freezer and place on a baking sheet. Remove both the metal ring and the metal top. Place the pie in oven and then turn heat to 375 degrees F. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

I have to give all the credit however to "Our Best Bites" by Mormon Mom's in the Kitchen: Sara Wells & Kate Jones. It's a great cookbook! Check it out!

The words of Emerson

This last week my best friend Terra and I, in the few days we've been able to spend together over the summer, got a little crafty, under a budget of course! Afterall, we are poor and lowly college student.

Supplies:
Canvas: $7.50 for 2
Spray Paint: $6 for 3
Stencils: $4

Luckily we already had the spray paint from a previous project, so this project, split between the two of us cost us each about $6 each, not too shabby.

We started by looking up some sort of phrase we would care to look at each day. Terra, being the wonderful intellect that she is, has a love for Emerson. She found a quote and we got to work.

We began by painting each of our canvas' the color of our choice. Both fitting of our personalities. Terra picked yellow, and I went for blue. Everything I own is blue.

After waiting 10 minutes for those to try, we pulled out the stencils. Here comes the tricky part: spray painting the letter without getting the rest of the board. Luckily we had my handy dandy Mom around and she suggested cutting a square out of a magazine big enough to see the letter through which we could put on top of the stencil, protecting the rest of the canvas.

So we traded back and forth back and forth between the two board, allowing the previous letter enough time to dry before we'd move onto the next.

After a few mishaps we came up with a final project which we were both pretty happy with.

Note to any who may attempt, gloves are great great accessories that prevent a lot of scrubbing and scrubbing. Terra could testify herself.

Brazilian Lemonade

As some of you may know, I love do it yourself projects! I am obsessed with DIY blogs, and often attempt to try a few my own. This includes fun recipes, signs on canvas, flowers, etc. Here is one of my recent attempts.

Brazilian Lemonade!

Recipe calls for:
1 cup sugar
6 cups cold water
4 juicy limes (Smooth, thin-skinned limes are the juiciest and least bitter)
6 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

1. Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.
2. Wash limes thoroughly with soap; you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off the limes because you're using the whole lime. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into eights.
3. Place half the limes in your blender. Add half of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender and pulse 5 times.

4. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you'll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and residue in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water.
5. Whisk in sweetened condensed milk.

6. Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so while you can mix the sugar and water ahead of time and slice the limes, don't mix them in the blender until you are ready to serve.

And wallah! Two Brazilian Lemonade (more like Limeade) for a hot summer day!

All credit goes to Our Best Bites by Mormon Mom's in the Kitchen: Sara Wells, and Kate Jones!

Chips My Eye!

So here I am writing a paper for my nursing class on Transcultural Nursing Theory, meanwhile talking to my friend Fredrik from Sweden, as long as listening to my stomach growl from prolonged hunger. So! What do you know, I decided that since I was in such a cultural mood I'd try making something a little more cultural for dinner. Chips My Eye was one of my favorite things to eat in Africa, possibly just because the name is so fun, but also because its absolutely delicious!

So here's how you do it:
Ingredients:

• 2 Eggs
• 5-6 French Fries (Chips)

Directions:

1. Bake the Chips (This can be done by either buying store bought frozen fries and cooking them in the oven, or cutting up your own potatoes and deep frying them) After done baking, keep in the oven or reheat in the microwave to keep warm.
2. Whisk the eggs.
3. Preheat the skillet on medium high.
4. Place the chips in the skillet, and pour the eggs on top (spreading the eggs evening across the chips is preferable, although for the most part they even out themselves).
5. When the bottom half of the "omelet" is cooked, flip over and cook on the other side until cooked thoroughly.  
6. Remove from pan when cooked thoroughly and serve with salt, pepper, and ketchup. 

So easy right?! I was so proud of myself and felt like I was right there back in the Glacier bar in Africa, eating them with all my friends. It's so filling, and delicious! I totally recommend you try it. Good luck!!

Confession

I have become a horrible blogger, but I'm determined to make a come back!

Confession: I am obsessed with home decorating and architecture. If I had any talent with follow through I would consider interior design as a career. I love the Parade of Homes, home design magazines, organization, and pictures of homes. Here is a preview of my future home! (The one I'll build AFTER I marry that perfect, wealthy, yet loving, kind, and nurturing husband). ;)

 This is where my future home will be built.

 My general bathroom, available for all.

 My private, master bath.

 My children's chalkboard bedroom. LOVE the sheets on this bed.

 My Laundry Room ceiling.

 My library! Which, yes, will be filled with that many books.

 Genius idea for organization. Sheets inside the pillowcases.

 Now I just need to find a suitcase like this....

 My backyard, let's hope my husband loves gardening!

The attic! Wouldn't you want this? Sooo beautiful!

And the finale! My beautiful future bed! Isn't this surreal?!

I hope you enjoyed the tour. You're all welcome when I finally build this house someday!

Incredible!

For those of you who don't know, I have a habbit of stalking beautiful photo's. I'm obsessed with beautiful photography and I thought I might share it with you. Here are a few that I've run across lately.

I hope you enjoyed them as much as I do!

Home Again

     I realize that I haven't posted for about a month now! When I got home, things got a little crazy, and the last thing on my mind was to blog about it. The trip home went great! We made each of our flights (some of them just barely!) and made it home with the causality of only one bag which was left in Amsterdam. First stop on the way home, Cafe Rio! Oh how we missed our Cafe Rio.  That night I hung out with the family playing games like Settlers of Catan, and talking. About 2:00am that morning I woke up with a furious stomach who didn't agree with being back in the states, and continued throwing up for the next 16 hours, missing my orientation for nursing school which was scheduled the next day. Luckily, after about a day I was able to rest and continued sleeping and resting for the next few days.

     I had the most wonderful experience in Africa. I miss it daily as I look at the pictures posted all over my room, on my laptop, and talk to other friends enjoying their own experiences elsewhere in the world. Luckily I have still been able to keep in touch with friends from Tanzania (thank goodness for skype and facebook!) and miss them all very much! What I miss more than anything though, would have to be my kids. They are in my dreams almost every night and I miss their laugh's, attitudes, and most of all, their hugs and kisses! I hope that whoever is out in Tanzania right now is taking care of them for me.

      If anyone is interested in volunteering abroad, this was the way to do it! It was affordable, and edifying. Overall my trip cost me $3000, not including spending money. My plane ticket was $1600, the hostel (which included and amazing breakfast and dinner) was $1100 for 9 weeks! and then you're required to purchase a visa and a volunteering permit totaling about $250. The hostel was great with setting up volunteering experiences of every kind whether you're interested in working with children, adults, disabled children, schools, orphanages, administration, business, and construction, they had it all. I loved not having a tour guide and being able to explore and learn the language on my own (well with the help of a few friends), but overall, fending for myself, jumping on the back of trucks and bikes, and tasting the true african food in little huts and restaurants, etc. I would highly recommend this adventure to everyone! It definitely broadened my perspective, was a great volunteering and growing experience, as well as eye opening.