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Posted by Brit

Well it's been a busy spring and now summer is pretty much here, and it's hot. Starting sometime in February I managed to spend nine weekends in a row out of town for at least part, if not whole, weekends. Visiting friends. Watching disc golf. Mourning and celebrating a life. It's been a whirlwind. I've taken some pictures along the way that I'd like to share. Of course I hope to keep up with the blogging throughout the summer. I've got no huge summer plans, but Tia, some friends and I may go to West Yellowstone for Farmageddon Fest - a music festival.  I recently got promoted at my job and I'm settling in.  I've got a busy couple weeks coming up with quarter end!

Brandon and I traveled up to Holton, KS in early spring to visit friends Joel and Julie.  We took our time traveling and stopping to play a couple of disc golf courses along the way.

Tia and I went to Lawrence and met up with some Bethel folk.  We saw William Elliot Whitmore at the Granada.

We also saw Drakkar Sauna at the Granada.

In March I visited my dear friend Ashley who is now living in DC.  She showed me around town properly with cupcakes from Crumbs.

Peanut Butter Cup cupcake!

Oh, and no big deal, but Ashley and I set court side at a Washington Wizards/Portland Trailblazers NBA game.

Ashley also got to come home in May for her family's big auction.  Josh, Ashley and I went to see the Avengers in IMAX 3D while she was home.

Visiting grandpa.  Such a loving, caring, wonderful man was lost.  He was always proud of the things we had done.  He was willing to help anyone out.

Despite the sadness surrounding us we were able to love, bond, and hold each other close.  I cannot describe how thankful I am for this family.

And baby Gavin is about the cutest little genius around.

Tia, some friends and I camped out on a farm east of Newton for String Break, a benefit mini festival for Kirk Rundstrom.  Here's Tia ready to go.

Camping, Drinking, Music.

Brandon and I also traveled to several of his tournaments this spring, with more to come.

Brandon, Nathan, and I went to the Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine, KS to watch Tim O'Brien play a show.

The weather was great.  We had a slight breeze and some cold beers to keep us cool

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For $10 you got to see the concert and tour the arboretum.  You could bring in your own cooler with food and drinks, which is what we did.  I did have to splurge on a $5 BBQ plate too though.

We through a party for our friend Gen's birthday!

Measuring cups made a substitute for small beverage glasses.

Nutella Cream Puffs

Nutella Cream Puffs

Posted by Brit

Brandon found a Saturday project for me.  Luckily for him it resulted in some delicious treats...  I've always heard that Cream Puffs and Pop-Overs were difficult because if the dough is over worked they won't rise properly with an air pocket center.  These Nutella Cream Puffs were easy, messy, and delicious.

Brandon found the recipe below...  She recommends putting some peanut butter in with the Nutella; it's not in the recipe but I simply added about 1 Tb all natural peanut butter to the 6.5 oz. (or half a standard Nutella container) to the mix.  Nutella is already sweet enough and all natural peanut butter has no added sugar.  I used Kroger's and it's fairly cheap.  The recipe calls for whole milk, but Brandon only had skim so I did 1/4 C. Skim and 1/4 C. of the Heavy Whipping Cream.  I also do not have a piping bag, but managed with baggies.  Tip: Cut a smaller whole in the corner of the filling baggie than you did in the dough baggie, but not too small.  We used a chop stick to poke holes in our cream puffs to prepare them for filling.

Mounds of Cream Puff Dough

Nutella - Peanut Butter - Heavy Whipping Cream Filling

Complete - These would probably be less
messy with a piping bag and a tip.

Recipe courtesy of The Sweet Art.

Nutella Cream Puffs

Adapted from Laduree

Makes about 36 

5.5 tbs butter

10g (1 tbs) sugar

120g (1 cup minus 1 tbs) cake flour

100ml (1/2 cup) whole milk

100ml (1/2 cup) water

pinch of salt

3 large eggs

1/8 tsp fancy cinnamon (*any will do, but the better the cinnamon the better the flavor)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring the butter, sugar, milk, water, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in the flour, whisking vigorously until it turns into a homogenous paste. Let cool and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and stir in the cinnamon last.

Fill a piping bag with a round tip with the batter and pipe small mounds on a baking sheet. Top with pearl sugar (optional).

Bake for 9 minutes. Then open your oven door slightly (or stick a wooden spoon in it to hold it open) and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Remove and let cool.

Nutella Filling:

6.5 oz Nutella spread

2.5 tbs butter

6-8 tbs heavy whipping cream

Beat all ingredients together on high until fluffy. Add more cream according to taste.

Pour the filling into a piping bag with a small round top. Poke holes in the sides of each cream puff, or on the bottom with the tip of the piping bag and fill with frosting.

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And this gal, I love her so...

Homemade Pizza

Homemade Pizza

Posted by Brit

Brandon found a crust recipe on reddit, I believe so I'm not sure who to credit but it is directly quoted. The dough is easy and has a good flavor.

Pizza Crust:
"It makes 3 thin crust pizzas and if you don't want to make them all at once freeze (keeps for a while) or refrigerate (use within at the most a week) the dough. I like to make 2 pizzas, one for myself and the other for my boyfriend.. the remaining dough I use to make calzones! Here's the recipe: Combine: 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast and 1 cup warm water (not hot and not cold) Add: 1 tsp honey, 2 Tablespoons olive oil (or vegetable oil) and 1 tsp salt. Stir. Gradually add (as you mix with a spatula or your hands): 2 1/2 cups flour. Place a cloth over the dough and let it rise for 10 min or longer if it hasn't doubled in size. Roll out your pizzas and enjoy! I've noticed that if you bake the crusts before adding the toppings (at about 400F for the time it takes you to get your toppings ready) the crust is nice and crispy."

We pre baked our crust for four minutes and they turned out perfect.  Pre bake on the middle rack of the oven.

Pizza 1 Toppings:
Garlic
White Onion
Red Bell Pepper
Spinach
Heirloom Tomato
Bacon
Asiago
Mozzarella

We (Brandon) lightly sautéed the red bell pepper, garlic and onion.  We finely chopped the spinach and put some large (circumference) but thin slices of heirloom tomatoes. We thought the veggie chunks could be a bit bigger but the flavor was awesome.

Pizza 2 Toppings:
Yellow Onion
Green Bell Pepper
Garlic
Red Bell Pepper
Shredded Purple Cabbage
Spinach
Heirloom Tomato
Bacon
Mozzarella
Asiago

Again, we lightly sautéed the bell pepper, garlic and onion.  This one wasn't bad, but we definitely decided keeping it simple is the way to go.  The flavors just kind of trampled over one another.

After pre baking crust and then topping it, spread olive oil or your bacon grease around the edge of the crust to keep it moist during the second bake.  Move oven rack closer to the top of the oven and bake until cheese is melted, which for us was about 5 minutes.  We didn't use a lot of cheese though, about 1 cup per pizza of mozzarella and just a little shredded asiago.

Topping Time

First Pizza

We had Smoky Hill Pasta Vino with our pizza. 

Cheesy Herb Mashed Potato Gratin

Cheesy Herb Mashed Potato Gratin

Posted by Brit

For Christmas I was lucky enough to get an iPhone  There are two apps I am using quite a bit, epicurious, for recipes, and instagram for photos.  This post is a combination of recipes found on epicurious - mostly because I got to the store without a shopping list and couldn't keep straight which recipe needed what.  You can find the inspiration recipes here and here.  I am sure they are equally as good.  The good thing about this recipe is that you can make the mashed potatoes the night before and then bake this gratin the next day if need be. 

Cheesy Herb Mashed Potato Gratin

3.5 lbs. Russet Potatoes, cubed (peeled or unpeeled, your choice)

4 oz. Cream Cheese (1/2 a package)

1/2 C. Sour Cream

1/2 C. Milk

3/4 to 1 C. Chives, chopped

2 t. Rosemary, fresh and taken off it's "stalk"

2 t. Thyme, fresh and taken off it's "stalk"

2 to 3 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped or minced

1/4 C. Mozzarella, fresh and cubed (you could also use the bagged, shredded variety)

3/4 C. Cheese, shredded (can be any type you like, I used a blend of yellow and white)

1 T. Olive Oil

OVEN TEMP: 375

PAN: 9x9 Baking Dish, metal or glass

Cube the Potatoes

Take Thyme and Rosemary off stalks.

Chop or mince Garlic.  I used 2 cloves and wish I would have used three.

Chop Green Onion

Saute Green Onion, Garlic, Herbs in a little bit of Olive Oil.  Start with the Green Onion and Garlic, then add the Rosemary and Thyme.  Be careful no to blacken anything.  The Herbs should be warmed just enough to soften.

Add to boiled Potatoes: Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, Milk, Mozzarella and sauteed mixture.

Mix until potatoes are smooth and ingredients are mixed in.  If you are waiting until the next day to finish making these this is the point to stop.

Stir in half a cup Cheese to mashed Potatoes.

Spread Potatoes out in a greased 9x9 baking pan.  Sprinkle a quarter cup Cheese on top.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until Cheese starts to brown.

The most important thing you need is a roommate to make stuffed baby Portabello Mushrooms for you for dinner while you make these Potatoes. The recipe she used is here.