Chocolate pudding cookies

I read this cookie recipe a few weeks ago and asked Joseph if he thought I should try it out. I started to explain that it involved M&M's, to which he promptly responded, "No, babe. Don't make them." 

Okay...

So I asked what he would think if I replaced the M&M's with some leftover white chocolate chips I've been wanting to get rid of. He jumped on board for that, but then clarified (after a pretty pregnant pause) that "the only thing that really matters is that the cookies have pudding in them."

What??

Well miracles of miracles, these cookies did indeed have pudding in them. So we made them. And I altered them. And we ended up with magical chocolate + white chocolate cookies that didn't last very long.

Of course, the recipe also only made one little cooling rack's worth of cookies, so they never really had a fighting chance. Also, yes I stood on a chair to take that photo.

I'm not sure if my modifications did this, but I thought these cookies had quite a bit of salty in all their sweet. I like that, but I'm guessing not everyone would. And although they were soft and gooey right out of the oven, they were a little crusty by about two days later. BUT I'm posting this imperfect recipe because a) it's a metaphor for life, especially life in the kitchen, and b) Joseph loved them, so I'll need to keep the recipe on hand. 

So! You can see the original by going here, but here's my modified version: 

Chocolate + White Chocolate Pudding Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 3.9 oz. package of chocolate instant pudding mix (ours was Winco's off brand, so don't break the bank here)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/8 cup flour (it's a little strange, but 1/8 cup = 2 tablespoons, if that helps)
1 cup white chocolate chips

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

2) Cream sugars and butter, then add everything else in the order it's listed above. 

3) Prepare a cookie tray in whatever way floats your boat and keeps your cookies from sticking (I lovelovelove my Silpat wannabes). 

4) Drop cookie dough chunks onto your tray (I just use a round tablespoon for all my drop cookies) and bake for 7-8 minutes. Allow to cool (or not) and enjoy!

Live the Book

How does my reading of the Book of Mormon influence the way I live?

Well, it doesn't much affect the activities I participate in. Whether or not I read the Book of Mormon on any given day does not change whether or not I pray, whether or not I go to work, whether or not I eat, etc.

But it does affect how I participate in those activities. When I choose to read the Book of Mormon, I am more sincere in my prayers, more honest in my work, more deliberate about my life choices, and generally more enthused about life. It's a good way to live!

The Book of Mormon's strength lies in the way it influences every part of a person's life, if that person is willing to allow its influence. It answers some questions directly in its pages, and it answers others by inviting the Spirit into the everyday. I know this because I have been guided by the Spirit in the middle of scripture study and I have been guided by the Spirit in the middle of cooking dinner, and both felt like natural answers to my questions asked while studying this book. 

Never has the influence of the Book of Mormon made me feel misguided or otherwise confused about how I can better live my life. Rather, it clarifies my purpose, which then clarifies my intentions, which then purify my thoughts and my actions, bringing me closer to Christ each day. I lovelovelove when I can feel the Book of Mormon seeping into the nooks and crannies of my life because I know it means that life--both how I live it and how I view it--is about to get even better than it currently is.

And who doesn't want that?


Idea and prompt from this missionary Facebook group.  

Blueberry crumble

I recently started following a food blog since I'm feeling pretty foodsy and have come across some extra free time for blog reading lately. A couple weeks ago, this blogger posted a blueberry dessert recipe that I was suddenly very anxious to try because I knew that a) I had lots of blueberries in my fridge, and b) I could get more to snack on since they were still on super sale, and bonus) July 4th was coming up and blue food is festive.

So I made some of these blueberry pie bars and they were YUM. We took them to the family BBQ on July 4th, so I only got a little bitty bit and Joseph had none. Since I'm probably bonkers, I made another batch this weekend to share with the other side of our family. (They were still delish, if you're wondering.)

I sort of haphazardly scaled the recipe up to fit a 9 x 13 pan instead of a 8 x 8 pan on my first round, but as you can see, I ended up with a TON of crumble topping on top. I love that shortbready stuff, but also I wanted to taste everything else, so I toned down that part for my second try. 

I also nixed the foil because as much as she says it helps with clean-up, it was mostly just a hassle. They're easy to clean up on their own if you use a glass pan.

And in both cases, I did not let them cool and cut them into bars. We just scooped servings with a big spoon and called it good. Bars shmars, I say.

So! Here's the recipe as I used it for my 9 x 13 creation:

Blueberry Crumble

Crust
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour

Filling
2 eggs
1 heaping cup sour cream (I used low fat)
2/3 cup sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoon flour

Blueberries
12-18 ounces fresh blueberries (frozen should work too, but it's blueberry season!)
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Topping

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3/4 cup flour

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 pan. 

2) Make the crust: melt butter in a bowl and add both sugars. Stir together, then add flour all at once and combine. Press with your fingers or with a spatula into the bottom of the pan in one flat and even layer. 

[NOTE: The crust and topping ingredients and methods are literally the exact same, except the topping has half of every ingredient. I made them separate because it was easier for me than reserving some from the beginning (I have very few mixing bowls), but you could add together the ingredients for steps 1 and 5 and then reserve a third of the mixture for the topping later.]

3) Make the filling: combine eggs, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and stir to combine. Then add flour. Pour and spread on top of crust layer to create another flat and even layer.

4) Mix those blueberries together with the sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Pour them on top of the filling layer and spread them out as best as you can. Things will likely start mixing together and that's totally fine.

5) Make the topping: it's made just like the crust, but with smaller ingredient sizes. Sprinkle on top of your blueberry layer, nicely and evenly as usual.

6) Bake for about 40 minutes, or maybe longer. Just watch for the edges of your bars to bubble and the topping to turn just a little bit brown. Scoop with a big spoon to serve while still warm because bars shmars. 

NOTE: These make a great breakfast food, if you're all about starting your day with dessert.

PRO TIP: Blueberries are the cheapest I've ever seen them this week at Sprout's. Like $0.83 per 6-oz package sort of cheap. Go get some!

Be ye slayed

by this song:

I have a blog post in my ancient draft archives (April 2013) which says in its entirety:


Uh oh. I think I might be falling in love with Mumford and Sons.
#HIPSTERMUSIC


And I thought about that post the other day in the car because I had a hipster music moment. By which I mean: I cared so much about that song at that moment and the emotion of it all that nothing else mattered much because I felt cool for just understanding Mumford. And--silly me--I tried to convert Joseph to the wonder of this song by singing it to (at?) him.

After a moment of loud and emotive singing:

A: You just need to hear that song, babe.
J: No thanks, babe.
*pause*
A: I'm a hipster, huh.
J: Yes, babe.

*hipster sobs*



So clearly Joseph wasn't convinced, but you should all listen to this song anyway because at 3:37 you will hear so much emotion that you may want to rip your own heart out of your chest. BE YE WARNED AND BE YE SLAYED.

Southern temple trip

Joseph's little sister Tara received a mission call to Taiwan in April. After attending the temple for her first time, she set a goal to visit as many of the nearby LDS temples as she could before leaving on August 20. This has always been something I've wanted to do as well, so when my in-laws asked if Joseph and I would like to join them on their temple trips, we accepted without delay.

Before this weekend, we had joined them for visits to the Mount Timpanogos, Oquirrh Mountain, and Jordan River temples. We have also visited the Provo and Draper temples on our own since getting married. 

This weekend, the goal was to visit three more temples: Las Vegas, Saint George, and Manti. And we succeeded!

Here's the condensed version of our southern temple trip itinerary.

Friday :: Started with free slurpees at 7-Eleven because it was 7/11, of course. Drove to St. George to check into the hotel, then continued to Vegas for our first temple. Participated in sealing ordinances for the dead in the Las Vegas temple. Enjoyed the sunset on our way out. Ate a very Mexican dinner at a very highly-acclaimed Mexican restaurant (as verified by Joseph, who lived there). Drove back to St. George and went straight to sleep.

Saturday :: Woke up bright and early for an endowment session at the Saint George temple. Felt blinded by the light as we stood outside for pictures because SHEESH that temple is bright in the sun. Stopped by the outlet malls for some quick shopping (new shoes, new basting brush, woo!). Drove through small town after small town to reach the Manti temple for another endowment session. Enjoyed the flower gardens outside Manti. Drove home and [again] went straight to sleep. 

See how dark that sky looks? Bright temples are hard for phone cameras to handle.

The lovely Tara.

The work we do in temples as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is of a most sacred and special nature. Temple service is one of my favorite ways to build the kingdom of God, and this temple-heavy weekend reminded me of just how important this work is. 

On Friday, we did sealings to bind families together for eternity. This involves the making and keeping of covenants with God, and it includes irreplaceable blessings for doing so. We are fortunate to have these covenants and blessings in our lives right now, but for our dead ancestors who had no such opportunity, we act as proxies and perform the work on their behalf.

On Saturday, we did two endowment sessions, again as proxies for ancestors who did not have the opportunity to receive their own endowments when they were still alive. The temple endowment is a gift from God and, similar to the sealing ordinance, offers great blessings and strength to those who keep the covenants made during their endowment. 

Temple service is sort of like a double-blessing. While our ancestors receive the blessing of necessary ordinances, we receive the blessings of having served, which often include personal revelation and peace. Living so close to so many temples is something I hope never to take for granted. I know that temple work is some of the very best work, and I'm grateful to have participated in a little extra of it over the weekend. 

If you would like to learn more about LDS temples, this link is a great resource (you may have to click "View More"). Or you can comment below to ask any questions!

Stuff I learn 5

:: "You can't have your cake and eat it, too." Has anyone else out there ever wondered what the heck this saying is really trying to say? My coworker Googled its etymology for the greater good the other day. Apparently, the original would be better stated, "You can't eat your cake and have it, too," which makes waaay more sense. In this form it means that eating your cake means you no longer have it. You cannot both have your cake in its beautiful cake-y form and eat it. Get it? Now I feel qualified to use this phrase in my daily life. I'm going to make a cake.

:: You get shorter throughout the day, just like a stack of snow does. Next time I measure my height, I'm doing it in the morning, dang it.

:: These are words which I did not know were words until battling out a whole bunch of Words with Friends this week: cloggy, vatu, seme, gonzo, neif, yod, herm, oyez, od, ret, and foining. Only one of those does not currently have a squiggly red line under it, so don't tell me you knew all of them already! Also, most of them sound like things I would never want coming out of my mouth, but as far as Google can tell me, they are all innocent. LEST YOU BE CONCERNED. Aaaaand while we're learning: rombit and dealijumping are not words. Okay I'm done with the words now.

:: I learned some more stuff about cars, which is like whoop-de-doo by now, but I really do find most of what I learn very fascinating. Did you know that: You can fix your power steering tubing with a little part that only costs $2.19 if you don't feel like putting a hundred dollars into your trashy car! So that's good news if anyone else out there has been leaking power steering fluid for a while. Oh, that was just my car? Aight. That's cool.

Look at my saint of a father. He is a car wizard, but you already know this. We are luckyluckylucky to have such a willing and happy mechanic in our fam.

The role marriage played

When I got married last October, I knew that my life would face some major adjustments. I figured that since I had never lived away from home, much less with a boy (remember, all sisters here), the universe was clearly bound to flip right on its head. And many aspects of life did change real quick, but most of them were anticipated and therefore not a big deal.

There were only two adjustments that I didn't see coming, and one of them only half counts because Joseph saw it coming. That one was homesickness and it's recorded well enough in my personal journal.

The other one was my sudden participation in the social media comparison game.

If I had to guess how and why this snuck up on me, I would say that it was actually nothing new, but that there was a just crucial plot twist that took place as a result of marriage. To put it briefly: during my single life, I was winning. I had it all! Great place to live, fun job, awesome ward and calling, abundant opportunities to date, friends near and far, and money to spend on things like ice cream and craft projects. I literally could not have asked for more, and that is not a misuse of the word "literally."

But when I got married? I lost lots of that real quick. Our apartment was (is) tiny and quirky and far from home. My new job was in a cubicle instead of a flower shop. I needed that job desperately if we wanted to buy groceries, which meant ice cream runs and crafting were things of the past. Our ward was the product of a recent ward split, so nobody knew anybody and friends were hard to come by. I mean, it all could have been worse, but it all could have been better, too. You know? 

Add to this great loss the fact that I was also now watching for "how to be a wife" everywhere I looked, and you can just imagine the great and spacious comparisons which occupied my occasional chunks of free time. I'm supposed to be cooking meals that are delicious and healthy? I'm supposed to be designing wall galleries of our best wedding photos? I'm supposed to be done sending out thank you cards? I'm supposed to be wanting to have a baby? Where should I even begin??

Usually I resorted to homework. It was a safe bet.

But as the craziest semester of my life came to a close, life settled down and handed me some time to reflect. I thought about "life since marriage." I hadn't been miserable, but I hadn't been thriving, and I couldn't quite figure out why. After some praying and thinking and talking and cooking, I determined that comparison had been the root of all my evil for the last few months. 

Thus, my 2014 New Year's resolution was this: KILL THE COMPARISON BEAST, once and for all. I wanted to actively refuse participation in the social media comparison game, but I also wanted to develop an instinctive "good for you" response when others succeeded while eliminating my instinctive "good for me" response when others failed. This was something I needed for myself, but it also had great potential for benefiting those around me since I anticipated words of encouragement and love following as a natural result.

And so I started on my little path to find and kill the beast. I'll come back and talk more about said beast later.


[This is the third post in a not-really series in which I work publicly through some thoughts on social media and comparisons and such. First post here and second post here.]

Independence

We done did celebrate that Independence Day holiday this weekend.

Friday began bright and early with my trooper of a husband and some happy little (big) balloons. I didn't appreciate these in my younger years, and for the last couple years where I have finally looked forward to them, nasty weather has grounded them. So this year was perfect and all my dreams came true and we stayed to watch some of the games they play after all the balloons lift off and I LOVED IT. 

This is a picture of Smokey the Bear because his nose made me laugh out loud as I looked through my pics:

We then headed to the parade route, planning to sit and watch for a good while. However, we were at the very end of the route this year, and I felt like I could just see the exhaustion on those parade marchers' faces. They are troopers! But I of course got distracted playing with baby Ensley because how can you say no to this face?

Anyway, we ended up leaving after about half of the parade because it was getting hot and our power had gone out in the wee hours of the morning, which meant our AC unit was not cooling things down back at our house. But the best news of the day was that our landlords arrived home at the same time we did, and the issue was resolved before the real afternoon heat set in. Victory! We enjoyed our cooled house by taking a nice two-hour nap after lunch. Double victory.

When I woke up from napping, I concocted a patriotic blueberry dessert which may be featured in greater detail someday on this blog, but for now I'll just share a pic:

Om nom nom nom. Now I want more of that stuff. 

Anyway, for our evening celebrations, we headed to a family BBQ in Mapleton. It mostly involved getting corn stuck in our teeth and eating far too many desserts, which means it was a success. Pictures to prove it:

This is Joseph picking cherries for me. He does not love cherries but he does love me and apparently that is enough to get him up in a tree. (Accidental rhyme.)

A niece and a neph. As Grandpa so eloquently stated, "A toy just isn't fun unless at least two kids want it."

Haircut time. Joe's dad cuts pretty much everyone's hair and I love it because a) we never have to pay for Joseph to get a hair cut ever again, and b) it is legit bonding time.

A very serious conversation, apparently. But look at how lovely and tranquil this backyard is! It is one of the best BBQ spots in the state, I do believe.

As our day drew to a close, we opted out of fireworks because we wanted to opt out of traffic. But as we lay in bed nearing sleep, some neighbors were setting off fireworks outside our window, and Joseph said to me, "Look at that! You can see all the colors on our ceiling!" And it warmed my little heart. I dunno why that was much more romantic than my usual dream of a blanket on the grass outside of Stadium of Fire, but it just was. I love that husband.

This Independence Day served as a good reminder that we are blessed in many ways. I'm so thankful for the freedoms I enjoy as a result of living where I do, and I'm thankful we are surrounded by family for these holiday celebrations. Freedom and family--this must be what Independence Day is all about, right?

Summer manifesto

This is less of a manifesto and more of a to-do list, but I am okay with that. 

With Joseph, I plan to:
  - eat somewhere new, perhaps 180 Tacos or Black Sheep Cafe
  - memorize a Toto album in preparation for their concert in August (!!)
  - hike hike hike, which implies hopefully at least three hikes
  - celebrate Independence Day like true Provoans
  - go swimming? If it comes up.

On my own, I plan to:
  - move out of my parents' house once and for all! So long, stuffed animals and sentimentality.
  - drink lots of water
  - eat my 5-a-day, preferably with a 3-veggie/2-fruit combo on most days
  - read books, including some from the library (!!)
  - write to missionaries

I'm being pretty conservative with my goals this summer since it feels like it will be a teensy little thing. I'll still be working for a good chunk of every day, and Joseph will be working and going to school. I aimed for goals that we can accomplish without stepping too far outside our norm, and other than hiking (which we will have to plan deliberately), any of these can be accomplished during our normal day-to-day stuff.

As I write this, I am getting suuuuuper excited for Thursday at 2:00, at which time we will be done with all work and school obligations until Monday morning. AND IT'S GONNA ROCK. If you're reading this after 2:00, go ahead and feel a little celebration in your heart. I certainly will be feeling one in mine!

Okay, summertime. Here we come. Over and out.

Pizza night

My sister Jenna is super cool and was recently accepted to a graduate program at Columbia University in my dream city of New York, New York. Since I'm going to cry and miss her (and be jealous) when she leaves in a short month, we had a pizza/movie night to bond and stuff. 

We watched ye olde Wolverine movie, not that new fancy one that came out last year, and we commented on his hair throughout the movie. Have you ever noticed those luscious wings he's got goin on? Now you will.

Since I'm scared of making pizza without a pizza stone, we made this braided pizza thing instead of real pizza:

Which was a good life choice. It was nearly the perfect dinner, with its only flaw being the fact that our apartment was roasting hot for the rest of the evening, which prevented us from making brownies afterward. I had to eat ice cream instead, which was just such a bummer.

What was really magical about this recipe, though, was that it marked the first time in my life that I have downright enjoyed pepperoni. I think there's something to be said for the higher bread-to-meat ratio in this twisted pizza form. However, it doesn't eliminate the pepperoni flavor, because Joseph (who loves pepperoni enough to want it on burritos) liked this meal as well. Best of both worlds!

Side dish recommendation for this: roasted veggies. I roasted some cauliflower and green pepper earlier in the day and then we just microwaved them at dinner time. A green salad would also be nice, I suppose.

So how'd we make it? I mostly followed this idea as my recipe, but I made my own pizza dough and sauce. I hate grocery shopping enough that making things from scratch is easier than running to the store for convenience items, and bonus: it's also usually tastier/cheaper. Here's how it all went down!

METHOD

1) Make pizza dough. Make pizza sauce while dough rests for 10 minutes.
2) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (and start blasting your air conditioner).
3) Roll out pizza dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Smear pizza sauce down the center of the dough vertically. Pile that sauce with shredded mozzarella, but save some of your total cheese supply for later. Arrange your pizza toppings atop that cheese. Add the rest of your cheese atop them toppings.
4) Cut diagonal strips as shown here (picture from original inspiration recipe). Fold strips around your pizza innards, alternating to get it to look braided. We didn't really make a science out of this, and it still looked good, so do what floats your boat.
5) Brush some olive oil all over the top. You don't need a ton, though. Then sprinkle garlic salt, Parmesan cheese, and those magical Italian herbs and spices all over the top of your masterpiece.
6) Bake for about 20 minutes.

Yields 4 servings.

RECIPES AND DETAILS

Pizza dough:
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 cups flour (I only used 3)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Mix it up. If it needs more flour, add some. Knead in the mixer for about 3 minutes (double if doing it by hand). Let it rest for 10 minutes. Done.


Pizza sauce:
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
dried basil
dried oregano
garlic powder
paprika
any other Italian spice you want

Mix everything together in a bowl. If you want amounts for those spices, I'd estimate that we added about 1/2 tablespoon each of basil and oregano, and then maybe half of that for the garlic powder, and not very much paprika? The paprika was just there because we were looking to this recipe for ideas, but I don't really know what the paprika added in the end, so take it or leave it. Done.


Other stuff you'll need:
shredded mozzarella (about 2 cups)
pizza toppings! 
olive oil
garlic salt
Parmesan cheese
this shaker (optional, I guess, but don't skip it.) (so...not optional)




Cost: $7.32 unless your pepperoni is on sale (about $1.80 per serving)
Prep time: 45 minutes
Yum factor: 10