the sounds of a hungry cow.

I spent last week at my parent’s house in East Texas. They were desperate for a vacation. They’ve been working SOOO hard and the only way they were going to be able to go was if I could come down and watch their house and dog, and help out with the office. So, considering that I’m forever in debt to my parents, I drove down to Tyler on Monday morning and stayed until Saturday morning. I spent the week by myself in the country… Well, not totally by myself. I had Jax. And the cow.

The first  night was a little rough. I didn’t sleep because it’s always scary to be somewhere “new” by yourself. Oh, and Jax licked and scratched all night. ugh. Even if I had slept, however, there would be no need for me to set an alarm. Every morning at 7 a.m., I woke up to the sounds of a VERY hungry mama cow. (The people who live behind my parents have a high school aged son who is part of FFA and is raising a cow. She and Knox used to play along the fence line and she would moo at him. Recently, she had a baby cow and apparently has gotten quite sassy…) At 7 a.m. EVERY DAY, I would wake up to her mooooooing for food. She would even go over to her food trough and turn it over to make a statement! I’m not talking about a wimpy mooo. We’re talking loud, sassy, HUNGRY moo. (I can’t say I don’t know what she’s talking about…We’ve all been there.) There’s probably an acre between my parent’s bedroom and her pasture and she woke me up. So, needless to say, it was quite the unusual experience for me! It was nice to have a little different pace than what I’m used to. 

I enjoyed being in my parents house because it’s just so different than mine. It was nice to be in a big kitchen and be able to move around while I cook. One night I made myself a steak  (close your ears, mama cow!) using this recipe, and it turned out perfect! I was so proud of myself! I didn’t need Lane to cook my steak! (Although, I do like sharing them with someone else. Steaks alone are kinda sad…)

While I was there, I went and shopped around their fabulous new grocery store. (sad that I’m at a point in my life when I blog about how wonderful grocery stores are..) I roamed the aisles for quite a while. I was in heaven! I picked up some amazing looking organic strawberries and knew I had to make strawberry ice cream (open your ears now, mama cow!)

Look at these GORGEOUS strawberries!

I have made this recipe several times before but haven’t ever blogged about it. It’s SOOOOOO good and SOOOOOO easy. The first time I made it, I told my oldest nephew I was making strawberry ice cream and he turned his nose up. Then, we convinced him to try it and now I’m pretty sure he’s obsessed like the rest of us!

Of course I got the recipe from Annie’s Eats. Where else would I go to get recipes?? She just posted about making ice cream and the  two different techniques used. It’s a great post if you’re interested in ice cream making!

 Strawberry Ice Cream from Annie’s Eats

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced

3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (If you use too much, it can take on a lemony taste. I just used the juice of half of one medium sized lemon and it was perfect.)

1 cup sugar, divided

1 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sugar; stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hours.

In another bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, the vanilla and any accumulated juices from the strawberries.

Turn on your ice cream maker and pour the mixture into the frozen bowl. Let mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes. Add the sliced strawberries during the last 5 minutes of freezing. Ice cream will be soft at this point. For a firmer ice cream, transfer to an airtight container and store in freezer until it has reached your desired consistency.

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And, finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share with you one more cow story…

When my parents arrived home on Friday night, my dad and I were on the back patio having a few drinks and talking. I decided to walk do to the fence line and see if the baby cow would let me pet it. Before mama cow had the baby, she was very affectionate. She loved to be rubbed on and would come to the fence when you were there. So, I walked down to the fence slowly and made my presence known. Both cows were chewing on grass and the baby was the closest to the fence. As I got closer, the baby got a little scared and moved away. Mama, however, moved closer to me. I thought the was headed my way to let me pet her…

She stared at me the whole way to the fence and as she got about 10 feet from me, SHE CHARGED!!!!!!!! She didn’t come through the fence, nor do I think it was her intention to, but she was sending me a message! I am pretty sure I spilled most of the drink in my hand and I RAN back up to the house. My dad was doubled over laughing. He said he hadn’t seen me move that fast since junior high track meets! She scared the living daylights out of me and I’m pretty sure I don’t feel bad anymore about eating my delicious steak. Hmmmmph.

Glaring at me through the fence…

And, of course, Jax pictures. Jax and I had LOTS of conversations over the course of 6 days. Most were about how I could further meet the needs of the King. That included how he will only, from now on, eat his food after it’s been drizzled in hot water on a paper plate and microwaved for 15 seconds. If you’ve ever smelled microwaved dog food, vomit is probably the word that comes to mind.

His morning pose. He lays like this until you rub his belly for a LONG time.

In the car on the way to the vet for his allergy shots..

I went to the restroom and came back to find him on the kitchen table. He LOVES to sunbathe and was not happy that I had interrupted him. (This picture isn’t from last week, but I caught him in this same position.)

Cheers!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

My love of root beer started from spending hot Texas summers at the lake. I remember a big container with ice and bottles of IBC root beer just calling my name. I think my parents had to limit me on how much I drank because I could down a 6 pack like it was nothing.

So, now that I’m older (and still obsessed with root beer) the natural thing to do was to make root beer cupcakes! I saw this recipe and couldn’t wait to make them! I honestly didn’t know there was such a thing as root beer concentrate, but there is! (Don’t doubt that I have thought about taking shots of it!)

These cupcakes were super easy and REALLY delicious. My only advice is to at least double the icing recipe…maybe triple it if you plan on using the cone method and piping it on. I ended up just using a little bit of the root beer frosting on top of the cupcake instead of coning the cupcakes because I wouldn’t have had enough.

And, while you all know I worship my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, it was kind of nice not to have to lug it out of the closet to make these. Everything was done by hand. This certainly was a different way of making cupcakes, but I enjoyed something different.

Root Beer Float Cupcakes from How Sweet Eats 

makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons root beer concentrate

1/3 cup root beer

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add cream, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Stir in sour cream. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Add root beer concentrate and root beer. Mix until batter is smooth. Line a muffin tin with liners and using a heaping 1/4 cup measure, add batter to each cup. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

Vanilla and Root Beer Frosting

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon root beer extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter until smooth. On low speed, add powdered sugar one cup at a time, increasing speed to bring the frosting together. Add milk and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Remove almost all of the vanilla frosting, leaving behind about 1/3-1/2 cup in the mixer. Set vanilla frosting aside. Add root beer extract to remaining frosting in the bowl and beat until it comes together.

Prep two pastry bags (or you can simply use spoons) and fill one with vanilla frosting and the other with root beer frosting. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, fill each one with root beer frosting (I simply plunge the pastry tip into the cupcake and squeeze), then top with vanilla frosting. Top with hot fudge or cocoa syrup (I didn’t do, because, let’s be honest…I forgot. I was too excited to dig in to the cupcakes!)

Cocktails and Cupcakes: Beach Party

Holy crap. It’s July. Where did June go? Seriously. I don’t know what happened to June, but I want it back!

In May, my very best friends in the world went on a girls trip to St. Thomas without me. Rude, right? Well, no. They tried everything they could to make it so I could go, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work out. So, I made one rule….Make a video assuming the camera is me and include me in on everything you do!  And that they did!

When they got back, we decided to have a watching party so we could all view the video. I wanted to make it feel like I was at the beach with them the whole time, so I decorated my dining room to be a beach party! 

On their trip, they drank a lot of pina coladas, so of course I had to make pina colada cupcakes!

Some were decorated to be a beach and the others were decorated to be sharks in water. I thought they turned out really cute!

The recipe I used really wasn’t that great of a recipe. It left a lot to the imagination and left me guessing about what to do. The icing was REALLY sweet, so I didn’t put much of it on the cupcakes. Also, it said to use EITHER cake flour or AP flour, which is weird. They really aren’t that interchangeable. I used cake flour and think they turned out a little TOO fluffy. I think AP flour would be the best.

The recipe below reflects my changes.

Pina Colada Cupcakes adapted from Mermaid Sweets

3/4 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup rum

2 ½ c. AP flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1½ sticks (3/4 c.)  unsalted butter at room temperature

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut extract

1/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained well

· Combine coconut milk and rum in a liquid measuring cup and set aside.
· In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
· Cream butter and sugar in mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 6 minutes.
· Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Scrape as needed.
· Add vanilla, coconut extract and mix until incorporated. Add one-third of the flour mixture and mix until incorporated.
· Add half of the coconut/rum mixture and mix until incorporated. Continue to alternate dry and liquid ingredients, ending with dry ingredients. Scrape sides of bowl.
·Ggently fold in the crushed pineapple.
· Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Fill each one about 2/3 full. Bake until cake springs back when lightly pressed or skewer comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

Rummy Buttercream Frosting

(double the recipe to pipe frosting)

½ cup butter, softened to room temp
2-2 ½ cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
coconut milk as needed (i definitely needed to add the coconut milk.)

Beat butter, sugar, and rum together with a handheld mixer at low speed until moistened, then beat at high speed to cream. Stop after a minute to scrape bowl and add vanilla. Beat till thick, fluffy and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Add small increments of confectioners’ sugar if too wet, dribble in a little coconut milk if too dry.

remember when I said God was good??

Yeah, I wasn’t joking about that. It’s truly amazing how God works in our lives… case and point:

I struggled to write my post about Emma. I cried a few times writing it, then reading it, but fully believed every word I wrote. God IS good. He has an amazing plan for me and I have full faith in Him.

Fast forward to today, two weeks and one day later. Asleep to my left (and snoring) is a precious little Boston terrier named Lucy Lou. It all happened really fast, but a friend from college (who oddly enough fell in love with Bostons because of Emma) had a little more on her plate that she could handle…living in a new city, two dogs, a new baby… and Lucy required more attention than she was able to give her. So, she made I’m sure one of the hardest decisions she ever will, and decided to re-home Lucy. Thanks to Facebook, we were able to chat with my friend, and Lane and I decided that Lucy would work well for us and us for her. We picked her up on Friday and she’s been here ever since! We are smitten!

   

Things we know about Lucy:

1. She’sVERY playful. She nips and paws at Knox because she wants to play!

2. She’s kinda clumsy. Like me. She’s fallen out of our bed twice and off of the couch once. (She’s ok.)

3. She’s really, really smart. She’s already learned a few commands, and knew a few before coming to us. Even the vet said she could tell Lucy was super smart.

4. She always wants to be touching someone. She’s a little snuggle bunny and I LOVE IT.

5. She is OBSESSED with nylabones and Kongs. She has three of each and is always working on one. (THANK YOU MAKERS OF THESE TOYS.)

We’re excited about the future getting to know LL. I don’t think she can fill the shoes that Emma left behind, but I do think that Lucy will be able to fill her own….Christian Louboutin’s, I’m sure. She’s such a princess.  And yes, of course she has a cupcake collar. It’s taking all that is in me not to buy every one I see on Etsy.com.

So, praise be to God who fills our hearts in ways we could never imagine. I never knew that 3 yearsalmost to the day after Emma died, would I have a new little love muffin in my home. I am still in awe of Him and pray that he continues to bless my family and my life.

Easter Lunch

Normally for Easter, we head to Tyler, go to church and then to the club for brunch and enjoy the family time. This year, because we have a ton going on, we decided to stay here and have our own little celebration. While I really look forward to the day that we have kids and can do all of the Easter stuff, (Dye eggs, Easter egg hunts, baskets) we were thankful this year to have a quiet, relaxing holiday.

I wanted our lunch to be a traditional-ish Easter meal, so we decided on: Brisket, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and a chocolate icebox pie. Everything was REALLY good and we’re really happy with how it all turned out. I’ll post the other recipes soon, but here’s the brisket.

Oven Baked Brisket and BBQ sauce

This is my mother-in-law’s recipe for oven baked brisket. We actually smoked the brisket in our smoker for a few hours  then baked it instead of using the liquid smoke, but I think I prefer it the original way. I was able to get a 7 lb brisket for about $10 at my (beloved) Kroger and we have had several meals from it.

5-7 lb brisket (I bought untrimmed because it was cheaper)

Seasoned salt and garlic powder

1 small bottle of liquid smoke

Worcestershire Sauce

1 bottle KC Masterpiece Original

Tear off enough foil to line a baking pan and completely surround brisket with enough to spare to seal up tightly. Sprinkle brisket with seasoned salt, garlic powder and liquid smoke. Spread the liquid smoke over all surfaces, seal up the foil and let it marinate in the frig. overnight.

The following day, drain off the liquid smoke and sprinkle with pepper and Worcestershire Sauce.  Reseal tightly (you’re going to use quite a bit of foil) and bake at 250 for 5 hours.  Open, drain off most of liquid and save for sauce.  Spread top of brisket with barbeque sauce  and reseal foil and continue to bake 1 more hour at 250.  Remove from oven.  Wait 30 minutes before opening foil.  Slice into 1/4 inch slices.  May be served or wrapped in fresh foil and refrigerated.  Reheat for about 30 minutes at 325 when ready to serve. (We cooked it on Saturday night and served it on Sunday. This allowed us to let the sauce separate overnight.) Also, we waited to trim the fat off until we ate it. It just gives such a good flavor. If we were serving it to guests, we would have trimmed the fat off before it hit the plate.

To make sauce, reduce the saved drippings to about half what you started with by simmering.   Add more KC Masterpiece to the liquid to give it a good taste. Let cool overnight in fridge. The next day, remove layer of fat (it’s kind of gross, but the it is worth it!) and re-heat sauce. 

After it’s cooked, it can be frozen for future uses, or just plan to eat on it all week, like we did! Our favorite leftover brisket meal… GUT PACKS!!!

Gut packs originated at a little place called Vitek’s in Waco. They are AMAZING. Chopped brisket, fritos, diced onions, cheese, BBQ sauce, and PICKLES. The pickles are the best part! mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

God is good.

I can’t believe another year has gone by. Seriously. What is happening?  This year has been full of ups and downs, but there is one thing I am fully confident saying…God is good. The more intimately I seek our Father, the more I learn that not only is He good, but His plan for my life is truly marvelous.

It’s been three years without Emma. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday that she was here.  Sometimes it feels like ten years have gone by without her. I still don’t understand why she died, but I don’t have to. What I do understand is that God knows that sometimes my heart is filled with sadness and sorrow with her loss. It’s in those times that He amazes me and fills my heart with joy. That joy has come in many different forms, but I’ll share the one that stands out.

Before I chose my wedding gown, it was important to me that my daddy have input. I narrowed it down to two gowns and let him have the final say. He, of course, couldn’t decide. So, we spent lots of time at Patsy’s that day. During the time that we were going back and forth between gowns, there was a trunk show going on for a jewelry and veil designer. We spoke with her, and she offered to custom make my veil and a brooch for me to wear with my gown. After giving us the total estimated bill to do all of these things, I told my parents, let’s just think about it, never expecting them to OK the order. We left the salon and went to lunch. During lunch, I was talking about other options for veils and jewelry and my dad interrupted me and said, “I want to do this for you. I want you have these things for your wedding day and pass down in our family.” I once again, like so many times in my life, was blown away by the generosity of my parents. Fast forward a few months… I got the call from Patsy’s that my veil and brooch had arrived. I think I broke every law to get there as fast as I could. These pieces were so special to me, and I wanted to see them. I looked at the veil first. It was perfect. Gorgeous, elegant and simple, just how I wanted it. As I opened the box to the brooch, the sales assistant was telling me that the jewelry designer names all of her pieces with women’s names. Low and behold, the name of the piece that was made for me was named Emma. (This was about 6 months after Emma died.) We HAD NO IDEA that she would name my piece Emma.  I immediately broke down into tears. I think the sales lady thought I was disappointed. I had to try to explain to her that Emma was my dog’s name, which I think made me look even crazier. God knew then and now that this simple thing would bring me so much joy. I wore my brooch on my wedding day and wear on special occasions feeling like she is with me.

 

My cup runneth over with the grace and love and humor and amazement that flows from our God. Even in the small things of our crazy lives, He is ever-present and I am forever grateful.

We miss you Emma Lou!

Thrills and Grills

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but if you know Lane, then you know that he’s probably the biggest Ranger’s fan there is. Seriously. I can ask him any question about anything Rangers or baseball related and he immediately has an answer. I honestly don’t know where he gets all of this information because it’s not like he researches the Rangers all day. I’m pretty sure he works. And, for the record, he’s not just a fair weather fan… He’s loved the Rangers since he was a little boy and continued to love them through the long dry spell.

Friday, April 1st was Ranger’s opening day this year. We were able to go several years ago and had no problem getting tickets. Well, apparently after you go to the World Series, your opening day tickets seem to be a little more in demand.  Go figure. Even after putting both of our names in the lottery for tickets, we still weren’t awarded any. We also weren’t going to be able to purchase tickets from ebay or stubhub because we’re trying to really cut back on our spending, so while he never said anything, I know Lane was kind of sad. I wanted SO badly to get tickets for him. I knew it would mean the world to him and I tried several outlets, but they were just all too expensive.

Then on the Tuesday before the game, angels, in the form our dear friends Jill and Jonathan appeared. Jill bought tickets for Jonathan for his birthday, but unfortunately, at the last minute J was asked to attend the game with clients and they weren’t able to use the seats that they bought, so they just GAVE them to us. Jill is quite possibly one of the most giving and thoughtful people I know. I am blown away by her selflessness and generosity. I know that if I ever asked her to do anything, she would be there in a heartbeat to do it. She is always surprising her friends with little gifts. This gift of tickets was certainly a surprise , but definitely not small at all.

I was in tears. Lane was in tears beyond excited. We are forever grateful to Jill and Jonathan for this opportunity. It meant the world to us and hopefully someday we’ll be able to pay them back!

So, of course we were going to take advantage of the day. We made a packing list and grocery run the night before and at 10 a.m. on Friday we were loaded and ready to go. We had such a great time. We were able to tailgate before the game and then go in for all of the opening ceremonies. It was a blast!

In the parking lot, tailgating before the game.

mmmm….sausage, wrapped in a tortilla with some grilled onions, BBQ sauce and mustard. Breakfast of champions!

The view from our seats. Amazing.

So, at this point, I definitely got a little mist in my eyes. Marching onto the field holding a giant American Flag were all kinds service men and women. I sat there and thought to myself, “Here I am, taking the day off of work, sitting the stands ready to watch a baseball game with a beer in my hands and these people are fighting for my freedom to do that.”  It just blew me away. I am able to sit in these stands because of them.

Oh, and I have a secret crush on the Texas Rangers. The other ones. You know, the cowboy hats, jeans, boots and guns? The Texas Rangers Law Enforcement Officers.

And, no Rangers Home Opener would be complete without George W. and Laura. I have read both of their books and am in love with them. I really wanted to give them both hugs, but I’m sure I would have gotten arrested for that.

During the National Anthem a MASSIVE bomber flew over. It was so stinking close. And loud. And awesome.

And, to top off a great day, the Rangers WON! Yay! We are so excited about this season. Thanks again to Jill and Jonathan, without whom this wonderful day wouldn’t have happened. We are forever grateful for your friendship!

          

Oh, and for the grills part of this post. (Sometimes I forget that this is a food blog.)

While we didn’t cook these at the ballpark, we totally could have. They were DELICIOUS! You can do any combo of meat/cheese that you want, but this is just what we had on hand.

Grilled Pesto Sandwiches

4 slices thick, crusty bread brushed in olive oil

4 slices muenster cheese

6 slices salami

4 slices turkey (we used Boar’s Head Honey Maple Coat turkey)

2 T. of Pesto, divided

4 sundried tomatoes, sliced

2 t. Mayo, divided

Heat grill to medium high heat. Place one slice of cheese on each piece of bread. This will act as the glue to hold it all together as it melts.  Then, layer the salami and turkey on each sandwich. Add 1 T. of pesto, the sundried tomatoes and 1 t. of mayo to each. Close the sandwiches and grill over indirect flame for about 4 minutes a side, or until cheese is melty and gooey and good. Slice in half and enjoy the best darn sandwich ever!