You get to see the beautiful treats and tasty meals that are a success. .
but here is a little insight into what some of my days consist of. . .
Yesterday afternoon, I ran home from Crossfit and started on the okra for dinner. . . I have made this dish a million times before. . . but I guess I decided that I needed some extra spice because I dumped two jalapenos in the okra WITH the seeds. Needless to say, I ate it (and my lips are still numb). . . but Nate could not.
Fail #1
Then I made a cantalope and cucumber salad.. . I thought the recipe sounded great. . . but with the cilantro, it tasted like it should have been salsa instead of a salad. . .
Fail #2
and last but not least, I started on a "football appetizer" I am working on for a guest post in the fall. . . halfway through breading the chicken, I looked at Nate and said, "I think I put too much on my plate tonight." In which, of course, he rolled his eyes and said that was about par for the course. . . Finally the chicken appetizers were ready, annnnndddddd they were just ok. . .
Fail #3
Nate had cereal for dinner. . .
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." - Thomas Edison
Remember, I did not grow up cooking. . . I have never been to a cooking class and short of a couple years ago did not do anything more with my oven than make slice and bake cookies.
But if I can do this. . .
So can you!
So, "to jump back on the horse that bucked me" . . this afternoon will be typical. . . I am about to bite off more than I can chew. . . and am making pork chops, roasted tomatoes, nutella cupcakes and three different type of cookies. . .
Since I bought a watermelon at a farmer's market this weekend, I had a couple of recipes in mind of how to use it. . . until this morning when the Pioneer Woman posted her Watermelon Granita recipe. Then all the other uses for the watermelon went out the window and the Granita recipe won! :-) This is a healthy substitute to ice cream, is easy to make, and is a wonderfully cool treat on these hot summer days!
Chop the watermelon into chunks
Mix in the blender
Pour into a 9x13 inch pan
Freeze
And serve in a pretty glass!
Watermelon Granita
1/2 whole Seedless Watermelon, Cut Into Chunks (rind Discarded) (about 8 Cups Of Chunks)
2 whole Limes, Juiced (about 4 tablespoons)
1/3 cup Sugar
Place half the watermelon, half the lime juice, and half the sugar in a blender. Process until smooth, then pour into a separate bowl.
Repeat with other half of ingredients. Pour into same bowl as other batch.
Transfer mixture to a 9 x 13 baking dish. Freeze for two or three hours, then begin the process of lightly scraping the top, frozen layer. Return pan to freezer with the shaved ice on top; remove a couple of hours later and continue scraping. Repeat the occasional scraping process until the entire mixture is shaved. Store, covered in plastic wrap, until serving.
Serve in pretty glasses with a twist of lime.
*Note: if you use a regular watermelon with black seeds, lightly blend the watermelon first, then push through a strainer to get rid of the seeds/seed particles. Then continue the recipe above. Pioneer Woman
Luckily, our fridge was fixed a couple hours after we called the repair man and that meant that I could get on the road to see some sweet college friends! It was great to lounge and just catch up!
Saturday morning, Jenni had a Zumba instructor come to her house to have a class for us!
It was SO fun and was a great workout! Definitely something that I will want to do at our next girl's weekend! I had to leave our girl's weekend early to get back for one of my oldest friend's wedding Saturday night. It was a beautiful wedding and reception but one quote the pastor said really stood out to me, "When their lives are done let us find them as they are now, hand in hand."
This song was also sang at their wedding and I. LOVED. IT!
Another thing that happened this weekend was a miracle for Macy.
My kiddos often fall asleep in the car and I have gotten really good at bringing them in asleep. I parked, left the car running...brought them in, came back shut the front door of the car/ turned off the keys. Then I went around to our tahoe and shut Aiden's door. While I was moving the kids inside our dog Macy must have jumped in (she loves to "go" and climbed in the very back where I couldn't see her when closing up the doors. I came inside and assumed the puppies were both in sleeping with Aiden, this is usually what they do while A is napping and
why I didnt walk in to double check, I will never know.
Today in Texas was a record heat day, the temperature hit 110 and
our sweet dog Macy was trapped in our car for 3 1/2 hours.
I really will never get over the next 30 minutes of events...finding her, dragging her to the middle of the yard, unable to move/ respond/walk, eyes rolling back in her head... hosing her down...laying on her, screaming Im sorry over and over and begging her to stay alive. We cooled her temperature down enough, wrapped her in cold/wet towels both crying and took her to the nearest pet hospital. . .
They immediately put her on iv and started running tests. Later in the evening she said that she has been researching for an hour about this because it is literally impossible for Macy to have lived this long...shes never seen a dog last longer than 45 minutes in situations much cooler."
Due to an ABSOLUTE miracle, Macy came home that same night with a bag full of medicine and wanted to play outside as soon as she got home.God is good. All the time.
And the last little thing I want to share with you from this weekend is a delicious salad.
There is a farmers market that I love to go to . . .
And this weekend I had MELONS on my mind. . .
A beautiful melon salad is the perfect first course to a summer meal! Just use a melon baller and fill a small cup with honeydew, cantaloupe and watermelon!
In her series, "Sarah Palin's Alaska," Palin spent quite a bit of her summer stocking her freezer for the winter. Well, our freezer gets stocked during the fall and the winter for the rest of the year. . . so, imagine deer sausage, quail, ducks, geese, dove, pheasant and fish FILLING our freezer with a tiny shelf for my frozen fruit.
And now imagine what that looks like when your freezer breaks??
Our kitchen is filled with coolers and dry ice with our entire fridge and freezer in them!
Oh heavens!
But you know what. . .I'm thankful that we have food, I'm thankful that the repair men just arrived, and I'm thankful that {hopefully} we don't have to get a new refrigerator and I can head to my girls weekend on time! ;-)
I am so excited about seeing some sweet friends tomorrow. . . so, of course, I had to bake for them!
Imagine a graham cracker crust, cheese cake middle, and a chocolate chip cookie on top . . . oh my heavens. . . and it taste as good as it sounds!
I hope you have a lovely Friday!!!!
Graham Cracker Crust
Cream Cheese Middle
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Cook
Get ready to slice
and enjoy!
Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
Crust:
1 1/2 cups of graham crackers crumbs
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:
5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup of brown sugar, packed
3 tbsp white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup of flour
1 cup of chocolate chips
Cheesecake Filling:
10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup of white sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing a little overhang, then spray the paper and dish with cooking spray.
Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter until mixed thoroughly. Firmly press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Place into the oven and bake for 6 minutes. Remove pan and set aside to cool. DO NOT TURN YOUR OVEN OFF.
While the crust is cooling, prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough. Beat the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, and vanilla together using a mixer until creamy and smooth. Add the flour to the butter mixture until just combined then add the chocolate chips and mix. Set aside.
For the cheesecake filling, place the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla together into a bowl then beat, using a mixer, until creamy and smooth. Pour the cheesecake batter onto the prepared crust. Using your hand to form clumps, distribute the cookie dough evenly in clumps on the top of the cheesecake batter until you use all of the dough.
Place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top (cookie dough) feels dry and firm and the entire pan looks set if given a gentle shake. Move bars to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Lift bars out by the overhang; slice and store in the refrigerator. Serve cold or at room temperature. Enjoy.
I have had a couple of people look at my "Recipe Box" page and be completely overwhelmed! So I'm going to share a couple of recipes to start you off in the kitchen with success! Watch out. . . with some of these recipes, neighbors, husbands, and kids will come running once they smell the delicious aromas coming from your kitchen!
If you ever have a question about a cut of meat or an ingredient, just ask someone who works at your local grocery store! Seriously, they are there to help and no question is a stupid question. They have helped many a young woman learn the difference between a pork loin and pork chops! :-)
