the life of a wife

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Coffee Cake

2013-06-14T06:44:00.000-04:00

Last week Caleb came home from work with a bunch of fresh blueberries from a co-worker. I've had my eye on this recipe for months now, so I decided I would use the berries to make this coffee cake. I put it together last Friday night after work, so that Saturday morning we had a delicious breakfast waiting for us. I love coffee cakes that have a good crumb topping, and the moist cake and the fresh berries really took this coffee cake over the top. Have a great weekend!

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Coffee Cake
crumb topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
3 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" cubes

cake:
1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp flour, divided
1 Tbsp cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup + 3 Tbsp sugar, divided
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping: Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in nuts. Add butter; with a pastry blender work butter into dry ingredients until large, moist crumbs begin to form. Set topping aside.

Cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 9x9 metal pan with nonstick spray. Line bottom with parchment paper; set aside. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat 3/4 cup sugar and butter in a medium bowl until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, until mixture is pale and fluffy, 3-4 minutes longer.

With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients to bowl in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Pour half of batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Whisk remaining 3 Tbsp sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; sprinkle evenly over batter in pan. Spoon remaining batter over; smooth top.

Toss blueberries with 1 Tbsp four in a small bowl; scatter evenly over batter. Sprinkle crumb topping over blueberries.

Bake cake until top is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55-65 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. Store airtight at room temperature. Serves 8-12.

source: recipe adapted from Bon Appétit, September 2012

Gold Leaf DIYs

2013-06-12T08:11:00.000-04:00

Lately I've found that I've been drawn to all things gold leaf. In particular I'm a fan of all of the fun gold leaf DIYs I've seen floating around on Pinterest and various blogs. Have you attempted any projects with gold leaf? Here are a few of my favorites:

DIY Gold Leaf iPhone Cases

DIY Gold Leaf Succulent Pots

DIY Gold Leaf Paper Mache Bowls

DIY Gold Leaf Monogram Art

DIY Gold Leaf Notebook

Strawberry Basil Lemonade

2013-06-07T07:59:00.000-04:00

After sharing all of those lemonade variations last week, I was seriously craving some good homemade lemonade over the weekend. That in addition to our AC blowing out (another story for another time), it was a perfect time to have a glass (and another and another) of lemonade. I threw in some strawberries we had picked and some of the basil that's growing (yay!) in my mini-herb garden. I loved the combination! Hope your weekend is cool + filled with fruity drinks.

Strawberry Basil Lemonade

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (from about 8 lemons)

2 cups sliced strawberries

fresh basil

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved; let cool. In a pitcher, combine the syrup with the lemon juice and 4 cups of water. Stir well to combine. Add the sliced strawberries and a handful of fresh basil. Serve over ice. *Note: the longer this lemonade sits, the better it tastes as the basil infuses the drink!

source: recipe adapted from real simple + a beautiful mess

Hammocks

2013-06-05T07:32:00.000-04:00

via

I'm dreaming of a hammock for our backyard. We have two perfect trees; now we just need to find the perfect hammock! I've always wanted a hammock in my backyard, for reading in the cool evenings and for sipping on lemonade in the afternoons. I'm so excited that we're actually going to get one! I'm on the hunt for a good one - I just can't decide if I want it to be woven or not, colorful or white. What do you think?

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

2013-06-03T07:47:00.000-04:00

After we picked all of those strawberries the other weekend, I knew I wanted to make some sort of ice cream. Last summer I made strawberry ice cream (so fresh!), but I had strawberry cheesecake ice cream on my mind this year. It took me a while to find a recipe that looked good, particularly because I wanted the graham cracker crust pieces. I even started making one recipe that totally flopped, but I was determined so I turned to this recipe. The custard was pretty basic and is very creamy, then you just add the cream cheese, strawberry, and graham cracker crust pieces. With the right ice cream maker, homemade ice cream is really a cinch to throw together for an easy summer dessert. Happy Monday!

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

for the ice cream:

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

2 egg yolks, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped strawberries

2 oz cream cheese, cubed

1/4 cup crumbled graham cracker crust

Heat the cream, milk, and sugar in a saucepan until it almost boils, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low. Add 1 Tbsp of the cream mixture to the egg yolks to temper them. Add the egg mixture to the saucepan and stir quickly to combine. Cook at low heat until it thickens and can coat the beack of a spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Cover custard and chill in the fridge overnight. Start freezing according to your ice cream maker's instructions. About halfway through, add the strawberries, cream cheese, and graham cracker crust crumbs. Freeze until ready to serve.

for the graham cracker crust:

1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp butter, melted

Mix everything together in a small bowl. Press the mixture onto the bottom of a small baking pan. Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely.

source: recipe from closet cooking

Twists on Lemonade

2013-05-30T08:04:00.000-04:00

In the summertime I am always craving fruity drinks--especially lemonade. This is my all-time favorite lemonade, but I'm hoping to try some new kinds this summer and find new favorites! I finally planted some herbs over the weekend, which will be perfect for making fresh, summery drinks. Throwing in fresh fruit or herbs adds a fun new twist to lemonade, so I'm excited to try some of these varieties this summer. What's your favorite kind of lemonade?

Rosemary Lemonade

Fresh Peach Lemonade

Lavender Lemonade

Cucumber Mint Lemonade

Watermelon Mint Lemonade

Thyme Lemonade

The Weekend

2013-05-28T08:09:00.000-04:00

Aren't three-day weekends just the BEST? Since we were gone the past two weekends with our vacation at the beach, this was the first weekend that we've had at home that has felt like summertime. We soaked up every minute of it! Our weekend was full of everything I love about summertime: SUNSHINE, eating outside, laying by the pool, strawberry picking, tennis, driving our MG around town, planting things in the yard--it was perfect Having such a great weekend makes it even harder to go back to work, but only four days 'til we can do it again. What'd y'all do this weekend?

2013 Goal: Donate My Hair

2013-05-24T08:11:00.000-04:00

For as long as I can remember I've wanted to donate my hair. I always get tired of it when it starts getting of any significant length, but about 18 months ago I decided it was time. So, I made it one of my goals for 2013. I got it cut right before we went to the beach, and it feels SO good to have short, healthy hair for the summer. I cut off about 11 inches, and donated 8 of it to Children with Hair Loss, a non-profit that provides wigs for children with medically-related hair loss. I hope my long locks will make some little girl very happy!

Beach Vacation

2013-05-20T07:22:00.000-04:00

Last week we were at the beach with Caleb's family. It was a wonderful time to get away, and we really enjoyed our time with the whole family together. Our house was right on the beach so we were seriously living.the.life. Wake up, lay by the pool, head down to the beach, read, eat lunch, back to the beach, a little hot tub action, dinner, relax, ice cream, bed. It was perfect. We had great weather except for one day that was really windy, so we are starting the summer with a tan and feeling relaxed. It's always hard to get back in the swing of real life after such a relaxing vacation, so we spent the weekend taking care of things around the house and trying to get ready for another week. Here are a few snippets of our week, mostly from my instagram since I was too relaxed to worry about getting good pictures. Happy Monday!

Reading, Lately

2013-05-15T08:37:00.000-04:00

We're at the beach this week, and I have absolutely loved all of the time in the sun and sand with a book in my hand. So far the books I've finished here haven't been all that great, which is really disappointing, but the one I started yesterday is looking better:) The books below are ones that I finished at home recently and really enjoyed. If you're looking for new summer reading, here's a few I recommend!

The House Girl: This book was incredibly well-written, and I couldn't wait to find out what happened. The story bounces back and forth between a slave girl in the 1850s and a lawyer in present day who tries to discover whether several famous paintings were actually painted by the slave girl rather than her mistress who has gotten the credit all these years later.

One Thousand Gifts: This book has been in the spotlight a million times over, but I really did like it. The writing style is different, and I know that makes it difficult for some people to read, but I really enjoyed it. If you're unfamiliar with the premise, Ann decides to make a list of all of the gifts in her life. The book is her story of discovering joy and thankfulness in uncovering so many gifts around her that she often overlooked. I found it really challenging since I tend to look at the negative and complain instead of giving thanks.

Mary Coin: This book is a fictitious story woven around a famous photograph, written through the eyes of the photographer who took the picture, the woman in the picture, and a man who discovers a secret in the photograph many years later. Apparently I like when stories jump back and forth between perspectives and time, because I also enjoyed this book and looked forward to finding out what happened. It is again written very well and was often quite sad, which makes for a more heartfelt read.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette: This book was summer reading at its finest. It was a hilarious book, and I loved it! It's super easy to read, really light, filled with ridiculous characters, and just a really fun book. And with a cover like that you pretty much know it's going to be great:)

What good books have you read lately? I need suggestions!

2013 Goal: Drink More Water

2013-05-06T08:12:00.000-04:00

My seemingly constant goal is to drink more water. I don't enjoy the taste/lack of taste of water, but I know that I need to drink more of it. The best way for me to drink more water at home is to add lemon to it. Washing a lemon and dirtying a knife to cut a lemon wedge each time I wanted a glass of water got old fast. But, I found that if I make up a couple of bottles of lemon water, I drink SO much more water. In case any of you also struggle to drink enough water, here's what I do. (I also like having this lemon water on hand for when we have company. The bottles are pretty, too.)

1. You'll need two bottles (1 liter each), a mini funnel, a lemon, and a citrus juicer.

2. Cut the lemon in half and juice just one half.

3. Pour the lemon juice into one bottle, using the funnel.

4. Add water to the bottle to fill it up.

5. Repeat with the other lemon half and other bottle. Store bottles in fridge.

in {my hair}

2013-05-01T08:15:00.000-04:00

Do you use Moroccanoil treatment? I started using it over a year ago, and I LOVE it. I've really seen such a difference with my hair: it's shiny, it seems healthier, and it's less frizzy. I usually put it in my still-damp hair and then let it dry naturally, but you can also use it on dry hair to tame flyaways and frizzies. Recently I came across the Garnier Fructis Moroccan oil treatment, and I also like it. It's much cheaper, too, if you're on a budget. And even more recently, I started using Suave shampoo & conditioner with Moroccan oil in it. I love the way it smells, and it makes my hair smooth and shiny just like the Moroccanoil treatment. I like switching things up in my beauty routine, so I use these products on rotation for sleek, shiny hair:) What hair products do you swear by?

Moroccan Oil

Garnier Fructis Moroccan Oil Treatment

Suave Moroccan Infusion Shampoo & Conditioner

Julia's Best Banana Bread

2013-04-29T08:19:00.000-04:00

I've said this before, but I love baking on Sunday afternoons. I love just being at home, getting things done around the house and relaxing before starting another week. Baking is productive but also relaxing, and I love how warm bread or granola gives our house this delicious, inviting smell. Hands down the most frequent baked good that comes out of my oven is banana bread. I've shared quite a few banana bread recipes in this space, but I've found yet another favorite. The top of this one bakes until it's a little crispy, giving it this delicious almost caramelized sugary taste on the top and sealing in the moistness of the bread. Please eat this fresh out of the oven and let yourself forget for a few moments that Monday is here.

Julia's Best Banana Bread

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x5-inch loaf pain with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs, sugar, bananas, and oil in a large bowl until smooth. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.

Bake until a tester inserted into the center of bread comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan to release bread. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely.

source: recipe from Bon Appétit, March 2013

Granola Bars

2013-04-24T08:19:00.000-04:00

I make granola all the time, but I had never tried granola bars. I was afraid they would be too hard or get burnt, but this recipe turned out perfectly. Granola bars are actually less time-consuming than granola because you don't have to take the granola out of the oven and stir it every 10 minutes, like most granola recipes. These bars ended up chewy and delicious--something I was quite surprised by. We finished them in several days and Caleb has already asked me to make them again.

Chewy Coconut Granola Bars
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup oat flour (make oat flour by putting oats in a spice grinder, food processor, or blender)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp fresh orange juice

Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil so that foil hangs over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine oats, oat flour, sugar, flaxseed meal, salt, cinnamon, coconut, and cranberries.

In a small bowl, whisk together honey, melted butter, and orange juice. Pour over the flour mixture and toss together with a fork. The mixture will be dry but sticky. Blend together until all of the dry ingredients are moistened by the honey mixture.

Dump out oat mixture into prepared baking dish. With clean, slightly oiled fingers, press the oat mixture into the dish until tight and solid in the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until browned around the edges. The baked granola will still be soft even after it's fully baked, but will harden as it cools.

Removed baked granola from the oven and cool for 30 minutes. Place the baking dish in the refrigerator for about an hour before slicing. This will help to further cool the bars and keep them from crumbling when sliced.

Use the overhanging foil flaps to remove the baked granola. Use a large, sharp knife to cut block into 12 bars. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in airtight jar. Granola bars will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

source: adapted from Joy the Baker Cookbook

The Weekend

2013-04-22T07:59:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we were in Baltimore for my aunt's wedding. We headed up to Virginia on Thursday night to break up the trip a little, and then went on to Maryland on Friday. We were able to spend Friday with my grandparents, which was wonderful. We don't get to see them that much, and we really treasure any time we get to spend with either of our grandparents. It was also fun to have all six of our nieces and nephews on my side all together! Saturday was the wedding and almost all of my mom's entire family was there. It was a great day being with family and celebrating with my aunt, and my grandparents were so thrilled to have so many family members all in one room, including all 13 great-grandchildren!

Book Review: Freefall to Fly

2013-04-15T08:13:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I was asked to read and review Freefall to Fly, a new memoir by Rebekah Lyons. (By the way, how gorgeous is that cover?! I LOVE Dana Tanamachi's work!) Rebekah's memoir hits on themes that are common among many women: loneliness, anxiety, depression, fear, contentment, etc. Rebekah's family moves from suburban Georgia to the heart of Manhattan, and she struggles deeply with the transition. I found her vulnerability and honesty throughout the book refreshing: she doesn't sugar-coat her shortcomings--her lack of joy, the pressure to perform, her failures in mothering and marriage. She begins her journey filled with panic, anxiety, and depression, but as she struggles through questions of meaning and purpose, she finds her calling in a place of recognizing her giftedness and meeting others' needs with those gifts. This book was an easy read: I sat down in an afternoon and read the whole thing. Her honesty grabbed my attention, and I wanted to hear her story. But, I didn't feel that the book offered much more than one woman's story. I wouldn't use this as a guide or resource for helping others get through their own struggles with loneliness, depression, or anxiety. It would be worth reading if you're wanting to hear another woman's journey through her struggles, but it's not a 5-star read in my opinion.

Our Entertainment Center

2013-04-12T07:12:00.003-04:00

Just this week something very exciting happened around here: Caleb finished building our entertainment center! Yes, Caleb designed, built, and dyed that beautiful piece of furniture on his own! This is only Caleb's third piece of furniture (he built the nighstands for our guest room); didn't it turn out so well? There's more pictures of the process after the jump, if you'd like to see...

...so this is what we were working with before: a junky TV stand we picked up from Walmart after we first got married. Caleb and I hated this thing: our sound system was exploding out of it and all of the wires and cords drove me insane! After we bought our house last year, we spent months looking for an entertainment center. We didn't want it to be too big, we didn't want it to have doors, we didn't want it to take up the entire wall. We were picky, to say the least. We also wanted it to fit our sound system neatly so that it didn't look like such a disaster. We looked and looked but never found anything that we liked.

SO, we decided that Caleb would build us one! We played around with the design for a long time, and I actually helped with this part! I came up with the conceptual design, but Caleb got down and dirty with the numbers and measurements and really figured out how to build this thing. He spent about 2-3 months working on it after work and on the weekends: buying all the wood, cutting it to size, buying new tools, sanding, buying more tools, gluing, assembling, and finally dyeing. We decided to dye the wood instead of stain it because I liked the way the dye looked better. I don't like when you can see a lot of grains in wood furniture, so the dye helped hide that. I am SO proud of all of Caleb's hard work! We couldn't be happier with how it turned out, and it has transformed the way our family room looks. It's SO nice to have a piece of furniture exactly how we want it! Caleb is so talented and now I have a list of other furniture I want him to build for our house:)

Read: Bread & Wine

2013-04-10T08:02:00.000-04:00

I love reading books that are authentic: that are true to real life, that make me feel something, that I resonante with. Because of this I've really gotten into reading memoirs over the last couple of years. My love for cooking has made me especially fond of food memoirs, and I recently finished Bread & Wine. It reminds me of A Homemade Life: good recipes and heartfelt essays about life around those recipes. Shauna takes some of her go-to recipes and shares the stories of life and friendship and family that revolve around each of those recipes. The recipes all look good, but I really loved how transparent she was in writing about life. She shared the struggle of balancing work and family, the heartache over her miscarriage, the shame of feeling overweight and eating all the time. The entire tone of the book is straight-forward and honest, and I love that. It's also her philosophy in cooking and entertaining, that it "isn't a sport or competition. It's an act of love, if you let it be. You can twist and turn it into anything you want--a way to show off your house, a way to compete with your friends, a way to earn love and approval. Or you can decide that every time you open your door, it's an act of love, not performance or competition or striving. You can decide that every time people gather around your table, your goal is nourishment, not neurotic proving." The entire book is a celebration of both food and life, and it was a beautiful read. It just came out yesterday and you can buy it here!

Note: I received this book from the publisher for reviewing purposes, but this opinion is 100% my own. I really liked this book!

The Weekend

2013-04-08T07:58:00.000-04:00

The weekends are never quite long enough, wouldn't you agree? We couldn't have asked for better weather this weekend, and we just soaked it up. Saturday we headed to a little town I had read about in Southern Living for their annual spring jubilee. We moseyed around looking at the different vendors' wares, people watching, and lunched on the lawn (hot dog for me, BBQ for Caleb). We spent a fair share of our weekend out on the deck, soaking up the rays and enjoying the blooming flowers and blossoming trees. I am just so thankful spring is here! Sunday we worked on getting some things around the house done and I did a little baking. I'm not quite ready for another Monday morning, but the forecast of temperatures in the 80s this week makes it just a bit better.

5 Things

2013-04-05T08:17:00.004-04:00

Colleen tagged me to share 5 things, so here goes! If you're a blogger and haven't done this as it's made the rounds, then I tag you:) Have a great weekend!

1. I'm always late. I have the clock in my car set 4 minutes fast so that when I'm rushing to wherever I'm supposed to be, I feel a teeny bit better having those 4 extra minutes built in. My dad has always set his car clock fast, and I just found out one of my sisters does too. This drives all of our spouses crazy. Caleb seriously cannot figure out what time it is when we take my car, and earlier this week he changed my clock to be the "normal" time, and I was late for work. Of course.

2. I like the smell of skunks. Not like I want one to spray me, but if we're driving down the road and there's a faint-to-medium skunk smell, I like it. Weird, I know.

3. The summer after I finished college I went to China with the U.S. State Department for a three-month intensive Chinese language and culture immersion program. I didn't know anyone in my group of 30, and we had to sign a contract stating we wouldn't speak English all summer. The days leading up to it I was SO nervous, more nervous than I had ever been about a single experience. But it turned out to be one of the best experiences I've ever had--I learned so much and LOVED every minute of it.

4. When I was little I was kind of a disaster. I was always breaking something or spilling something, my room was a complete mess, and I saved everything in little piles/boxes in my closet. My dad called me "Carrie-less" because I was so careless all the time. Now I'm 180 degrees the opposite. I periodically purge our house and throw everything away. I'm a neat freak and have quite a few OCD tendencies. I don't know what happened, but something just snapped!

5. Sushi, bleu cheese, and Greek yogurt: I don't like these foods. I feel like I'm supposed to because everyone else does, but I've tried to make myself and I just don't. Please don't make me eat them if you have me over.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart

2013-04-01T07:44:00.000-04:00

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend! Caleb was sick last week, so we were thankful for a 3-day weekend for him to catch up on some rest and get back to feeling normal. We had a pretty low-key weekend at home: relaxing, getting a few things done, watching a movie, getting outside to enjoy the pretty weather, etc. We finished the weekend with a nice Easter lunch with some friends after church. My contribution was dessert, so I made this tart that has been on my "to-make" list for over a year now. I was pleased with how it turned out--it's a nice, light dessert that's perfect for spring or summer.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart

for the crust:

1 egg yolk

1 Tbsp heavy cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp salt

8 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

for the ganache:

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

for the filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp milk or cream

for the topping:

fresh strawberries, sliced (approximately 12 oz)

melted bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, for drizzling (optional)

To make the tart shell, whisk together the egg yolk, cream and vanilla in a small bowl; set aside. Place flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Process briefly to combine. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture; process to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. With the machine running, add the egg mixture and process until the dough just comes together, about 12 seconds. Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6-inch disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 48 hours.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. (If refrigerated for more than an hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable.) Unwrap and roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 13-inch round. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch tart pan. Mold the dough to the sides of the tart pan and remove the excess off the top. Set the dough-lined pan on a large plat and freeze for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to middle position. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Set the dough-lined pan on a baking sheet, press a 12-inch square of foil into the frozen shell and over the edge, and fill with pie weights. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil and weights. Continue to bake until deep golden brown, 5-8 minutes longer. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let sit 1-2 minutes to melt the chocolate. Whisk together until a smooth ganache forms. If there are still bits of unmelted chocolate, microwave in 10-second intervals, whisking in between, until the ganache is completely smooth. Whisk in the butter. Spread the ganache in a thin even layer over the bottom of the cooled tart shell. Allow the ganache to set before proceeding.

To make the filling, beat together the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in a bowl on medium-high speed until smooth. Blend in the vanilla and milk or cream. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled ganache in the tart shell. Starting from the outside and working toward the center, place the sliced strawberries in concentric circles. Gently press the berries into the cream cheese mixture to help keep them in place. Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired. Chill until ready to serve. Serves 8.

source: recipe from annie's eats

Shoe Storage

2013-03-27T08:19:00.000-04:00

My shoes are taking over my closet. I'm not saying that's a bad problem--I love shoes; it's just they're everywhere and I need to corral them somehow. I was perusing the ol' internet and pinterest to get some new shoe storage ideas, and here are a few I came across.

1. Wide shelves. This is perfect if you have an empty wall in your closet,

or if you have room for a short but wider bookcase.

via

2. Shoe Ottoman. This is the most brilliant thing ever: it's stylish

and functional! It doesn't hold very many pairs of shoes though.

via

3. Floor-to-ceiling bookcases. This would be a dream! It would be nice to step back and

see all of your shoes at once, too, so you could really see what you have to work with.

via

4. Lazy Susan Shoe Rack. This cracks me up, but it totally makes sense! This would

be perfect if you had a corner in your closet or bedroom to put this in.

via

5. Shoe Wheel. I would never use this, but it is a compact way to hold

a good number of shoes. The things people come up with!

via

6. Shoe Museum. This is my absolute favorite. I don't own enough glamorous shoes

to show them off, but if you do, please create a shoe museum. My friend

Colleen totally did this, and I'm super jealous.

via

Freezer Crockpot Meal: Chipotle Lime Chicken

2013-03-25T08:18:00.000-04:00

I had seen this concept of "Freezer Crockpot" meals floating around Pinterest. A wonderful idea, really: dump a bunch of ingredients in some Ziploc bags, throw them in the freezer, dump contents into crockpot, and there's dinner! My first attempt did not go so smoothly, however. One morning before work I allotted all of 2 minutes to empty my freezer bag into the crockpot and push "on". As you can see, my frozen block of chipotle lime chicken was slightly larger than my crockpot. Major fail. I could not get the lid of my crockpot on for the life of me! I was trying to run warm water over it, I was hacking at it with a knife, I was in a panic trying to get my "super easy and fast" dinner under control. FINALLY I was able to smush on my lid enough to leave the house and get to work (late, mind you). Lesson learned: thaw your bag in the fridge overnight!! That unfortunate morning aside, this dinner was SO good! It's so nice having a couple of back-up dinners in the freezer. Have you tried any freezer crockpot meals? Now that I know the system, I'm ready to try some more!

Chipotle Lime Chicken

1 large onion, diced

1 bunch of celery, diced (I actually used about 2/3)

8 boneless skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

2 cans (15 oz) tomato sauce

1/2 cup lime juice

2 Tbsp minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup cilantro (I omitted this)

2 cans (15 oz) black beans, drained

toppings of choice

Combine all ingredients except black beans and divide evenly between two freezer bags. Freeze.

When ready to cook, place one bag in the fridge overnight to slightly thaw. Empty contents of bag into crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours. 30 minutes before serving, shred the chicken and add one can of drained black beans. Let simmer a little longer before serving. Serve with guacamole, shredded cheese, sour cream, and any other toppings of choice.

*Recipe makes two bags. Each bag serves 4-6*

source: recipe adapted from rhymes with smile

Last Weekend

2013-03-22T08:01:00.001-04:00

Here it is Friday and I'm just getting around to posting about last weekend! This week Caleb and I have both been sick with colds + we've had a really busy week with work and life. Last weekend my parents came down to visit for the weekend, and my sister and her three kids also came up for a day. We had fun playing at the playground with the kids and also having adult conversation with my sister and parents. After my sister left on Saturday, we headed downtown with parents along with everyone else in town to enjoy the beautiful WARM weather! The park by the river was filled with picnics and people and it made me so excited for the arrival of spring. Sunday afternoon I even got a little touch of sunburn reading out on our back deck. Fast forward to the end of the week: we have frost on our cars, and we both have colds. BUT I'm holding onto last weekend as my hope for spring. Happy Friday!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

2013-03-15T08:04:00.000-04:00

What I love about pound cake is that the ingredients are always on hand; it's just a matter of taking 10 minutes to mix them together and throw it in the oven. A good pound cake is moist, and this one stayed moist even past the four days the recipe said it would. Top it with fresh fruit or fresh whipped cream, or have it plain with a hot cup of coffee, and you have a perfect dessert. Happy Friday!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 eggs

Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until soft and pliable. Add butter and sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and stir until blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating on medium for 1 minute after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Stop the mixer and finish folding together the batter with a spatula.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, check on the cake, rotate it, and move to an upper rack if it's browning too quickly.

Bake for another 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 20 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cake will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 4 days.

source: recipe from Joy the Baker Cookbook