Popcorn adds the perfect punch (or should I say crunch?!)

I know I throw the word love out there like it's nothin' but I do LOVE soup...just like I love a lot of things. But, then again this blog is all about things I love so it just makes sense that this little recipe should be shared (not sure you can call it a recipe but still)

For my second day of Poppin' fun, I like to use popcorn in place of croutons because they're easier to chew and they have a certain crunch that croutons just don't have.

I like to put it in my salads and my soups. Currently I am really loving (yes, yes, loving) the simply balanced soups that are straight from the container. The tomato one is delicious as well as this one which is the butternut squash (I just add a few spices to it like salt, pepper and a little garlic salt...sometimes I'll throw in a little sour cream if I'm feeling really crazy).

San Fran as we know it

Hi there! We have currently been making ourselves at home in the Golden City (aka San Francisco) for the next few weeks. I know I had mentioned it on my instagram...but I never got around to posting about our vagabond-ish lives for the next few months.

Because of a few changes with my husbands work...we decided to sell our home in San Diego and go where we were (or should I say will be) needed. I was so sad to leave San Diego for so many reasons, it's one of the greatest places to live in the whole world! We have family, and so many dear friends that we left behind.

It's funny, right when me and my little family started feeling very comfortable and settled, almost complacent with the way life was going...it was turned a little upside down. However, I am slowly realizing that change is hard, but a lot of times it is good. It has forced me to be comfortable with living much simpler...I mean living in a hotel with two little ones and a suitcase for each of us has most definitely forced me to simplify. It's actually kind of relieving to live with so little of things. I am sure when the time comes to start unpacking boxes I'm going to think, "why in the world do I have all this?!"

So now that you're caught up a little with a fraction of my happenings...my sister Whitney, and I, went on a little weekend getaway to the city and then to Napa. Both such amazingly beautiful places that could not be more opposite.

Even though it was a very short time, I thought I'd share some of my new favorite finds:

breakfast:
-- Mama's  (like mamas cookin'...need I say more?!)
-- Mr.Holmes Bakehouse (the cruffins and stuffed doughnuts are pretty amazing...get there around   
   8:15 am so you get the first morning batch that comes out at 9 am)

lunch:
-- Souvla (if you like Greek food...oh my)
-- Split Bread (great soups and sandwiches)

dinner:
-- the French Laundry (fancy but worth making a reservation way ahead of time for this place!)
-- Farmstead (I don't even know how to say this but this has hands down become one of my favorite spots to eat...its in Napa and everything is organic and grown in their garden behind the restaraunt. Everything is so fresh and the flavors are ridiculously good. This is a must!)

***My new favorite place to shop in downtown San Fran is the Hayes Street Shopping District. So many eclectic little shops with so much character! (ie: Marine Layer, Fiddlesticks, Acrimony)
***Culinary Art Institute in Napa is worth seeing...there are only two in the United States. One is NY and one in Napa. The Chocolatier was my favorite, making chocolate is no joke people! :-)

 ^^^there was this crazy structure in the middle of Hayes Street, that people would write/color on^^^

 ^^^this was just one pic I took at Farmstead...I died over all of it. This burger was one of the best I've ever had...oh and so are their cheese biscuits and meatballs!

Strawberry Cheesecake Pops

We love strawberries and we love cheesecake...so this was a no brainer. I love doing things like this, where my girls can help me. They feel included and I feel like I'm not ignoring them while I do things like this. They went and checked the freezer about fifty million times before they were ready...I'd say they were pretty excited?!

These were so good, refreshing, and healthy! My kids didn't like the graham crackers, so they opted out of that part. I think I might make these, and take them to our fourth of July celebration; the colors are perfecto mundo! :-)

Ingredients:
1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup plain fat free greek yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 TBS light colored corn syrup
1 teaspoon lemon juice
10 oz. strawberries, blended
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Directions:
-combine milk and sugar in a saucepan, cook for 3 minutes over medium heat. Place cream cheese in a medium bowl; gradually add milk mixture, whisking until smooth. Stir in yogurt and vinailla. Cool completely.
- Put corn syrup, juice and berries in a blender; process until smooth. Then layer the cream cheese mixture among 6 (4 oz) ice pop molds; going from cream cheese to strawberry back to cream cheese.
- Freeze at least 4 hours. Unmold and dip tips in crumbs (if you want).

***some of my favorite molds are here, here and here

 ^^^brain freeze^^^

Halloween Swig Cookies

What better way to celebrate the upcoming festivities of Halloween than with a copycat recipe of the infamous swig sugar cookies?! Except, for this recipe, I made a few adjustments. Instead of vanilla frosting I made chocolate frosting; and instead of white dough I made orange dough because well ya' know that's how I ro' (I try people, I try).

Caution: These cookies are extremely addicting and as a matter of fact we gave them ALL away (well, okay not ALL but MOST) because the husband is on a "clean eating kick". Totally kills all the fun. 

***recipe is at the bottom of the post!

HALLOWEEN SWIG COOKIES:

• 
  

• Cookie Dough:

• 1 Cup Butter, softened
• ¾ C Vegetable Oil
• 1¼ C Sugar (plus ¼ cup reserved)
• ¾ C Powdered Sugar
• 2 T Water
• 2 Eggs
• ½ t Baking Soda
• ½ t Cream of Tarter
• 1 t Salt
• 5½ C Flour
• 8-10 drops orange food dye
• 
  
• Frosting:
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ¾ C Sour Cream
• 5 Cups powdered Sugar
• 1 t salt
• ¼ C Milk
• 1/2 C cocoa powder

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tarter, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, vegetable oil, sugar (1¼ C), powdered sugar, and water. Add in eggs and food dye.
3. Slowly add in flour mixture until combined. Roll the dough into golf sized balls and place onto a non stick cookie sheet.
4. To give the cookies their signature rough edge, dip the bottom of a glass into the reserved ¼ cup sugar and press onto the cookie ball to flatten the cookie. You still want the cookie to be thicker so don’t press them to thin.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottom is lightly brown. The cookies stay soft so do not over bake.
6. To make the frosting: Cream together butter, sour cream, and salt. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa. Add in the milk to the desired consistency. Spread over cooled cookies and store in an airtight container.

Conference and Colorful Swirled Pancakes

The first weekend in April, and the first weekend in October is always a special one for me. It is Conference weekend...and I'm always a bit sad when it's over. It is a time when we can watch on television and listen to the Prophet speak to us, as well as the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I am always so overwhelmed, after watching Conference, with the feelings of gratitude for this life I have here on Earth. As hard as it can be, there are always things to be thankful for. I know that the reason for my gratitude stems from the things I know to be true...and because of that knowledge I can have a clear understanding of why we are here on Earth and what we were sent here for.

With that said, weekends like these always include a special breakfast...So my partner in crime helped me make swirls of color in our cornmeal yogurt pancakes. I'm pretty sure we go through food dye around here like nobodies business... :-)

the color brown...chocolate crunch brownies

Whatever image you have in your mind about the color brown...erase it and insert this photo into your noggin'  because it's probably one of my (and my families) favorite brownies to date. Well, besides my moms brownies, but anything that comes close to my moms is and should be at the top of the list.

So with that said...feast your eyes on this milk chocolatey, delectable, moooooist and richly brown brownie. Than, right before your taste buds are about to burst with envy go bake it! Have today be your "cheat day"...and tomorrow and the next. What the hells-bells you only live once, right (YOLO) !?!

***I owe this post to Candace, who was the first person to bring me a plate of these back in college. I never looked back. Thanks Candace for adding a little more junk in my trunk for many years now, and for many more to come! muah.

CHOCOLATE CRUNCH BROWNIES

-1 cup margarine (I used butter but I'm a butter snob so if you like margarine than more power to ya)

- 2 cups sugar

- 4 eggs

- 6 TBS cocoa

- 1 cup flour 

- 2 tsp. vanilla

- 1/2 tsp. salt

middle layer:  7 oz. marshmallow cream

top layer:        1 cup peanut butter

                        2 cups chocolate chips

First mix butter and sugar. Stir in cocoa, flour, vanilla and salt.  Cook at 350 for 25 ish minutes. Depending on how your oven cooks you might want to cook it a bit longer, but don't overcook! An almost clean toothpick is what we're lookin' for here. 

Take out of oven and LET COOL. Than lather on a nice layer of one 7 oz. jar of marshmallow cream. Lastly, in a bowl microwave 1 cup peanut butter with 2 cups milk chocolate chips. (about 45 seconds should do the trick) stir until it's all melted...than add about 3 cups rice crispies. Spread over marshmallow cream.

Chill for about an hour or so and enjoy.

Virgin PInk Strawberry Pina Colada Popsicles

Since it's so blasted hot around these parts...we decided to make homemade popsicles because well, why not? I have a pile of popsicle recipes to try out and so this is the one Sage chose for our first trial run. It tastes like a virgin pina colada with strawberries so, I mean, you can't really go wrong with that!

Virgin Strawberry Pina Colada Popsicles
-4 cups chopped pineapple
-1 cup strawberries
-3 TBS lime juice
-1 15 oz. can coconut cream or milk (I couldn't find cream)
-1/2 cup sugar (try the mixture first, if it's sweet enough don't add the sugar)
***blend in blender and then divide into popsicle molds. Freeze. enjoy.