(Not so patiently) awaiting fresh veggies

The last Saturday that Tall Dark and Nerdy and I spent together before he left for his big trip (three weeks of work in India, followed by two weeks trekking in the Annapurnas in Nepal) involved getting our hands a little dirty.  Okay, actually, a lot dirty.

It was mid-April in the San Francisco Bay Area (and he was about to leave for 5 weeks) so it was time to put in the garden!

We planted tomatoes, zucchini, squash, basil, strawberries, artichokes, a blueberry bush, and I forget what else.  There was already kale, chard, and a lemon tree growing.

After we got everything planted, we got the fun job of setting up the new drip system so that everything will be perfectly watered.  

Once we finished, I had a farmer's tan on one side of my body - apparently I didn't turn around enough - and more mud caked under my fingernails than I had seen since moving to California, but the garden looked really good!  I can't wait for the veggies to start coming in - and if it happens while TDN's still on his trip, they're ALL MINE!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

My GIANT zucchini.  This is what's
left AFTER making a double batch
of this recipe!

Tall Dark and Nerdy has a great garden.  It seemed small to me at first (because I was comparing it to my mom's monster garden), but last summer I realized that it may be small, but it sure is mighty!  It produced kale, tomatoes, and zucchini like CRAZY (among other things in reasonable amounts).  I had never eaten kale before last summer, then all of a sudden I had it in nearly every meal it seemed.  Same with zucchini.  A vegetable that I had previously only been able to stomach in Grams's zucchini bread became something I ate regularly and enjoyed.

Yet, I didn't know how to cook it.  All I knew how to do with it was bake - surprise, surprise!  Once I told TDN this, he made sure to give me all the giant zucchini that aren't as yummy to just eat but still do great when baking (just cut out middle part with the seeds)  This chocolate zucchini bread/muffin recipe became my most-used recipe of the summer, and I can't wait to use it again this year!

Ingredients:

Who knew veggies could
look so good?

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 6 Tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 cups grated zucchini
• 3/4 to 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Grate your zucchini if you haven't already.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour muffin tins or 2 loaf pans.  If using loaf pans, after greasing, use a paper towel to wipe the top 1 inch of the pan (to keep the loaf from getting a funny edge).  Set aside.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl and set aside.

Just stirred in the zucchini.

Beat oil, sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until combined and slightly fluffy using and electric mixer.

Add vanilla and sour cream.  Mix until combined.

Gently stir in the grated zucchini.

Mmm chocolate AND
chocolate chips.

Stir a spoonful of the flour mixture in with the chocolate chips so they will combine with everything evenly.

Add the rest of the flour mixture to the batter.  Stir until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between pans.

If you want, you can sprinkle a mixture of equal parts brown sugar and white sugar with a little cinnamon on top.  (Do it, it's delicious!)

Ready to bake.  These have the
topping on them also.

For bread, bake for 45-60 minutes.  For muffins, bake around 12 minutes (I can't remember exactly how long they took).  When it's done, a toothpick should come out fairly clean.

Cool slightly on a rack, then remove from pans.


Adapted from Our Best Bites

The best children in the world

While I've been off work recovering from my surgery, I have started to really miss my coworkers and the children.  Like, a lot.

Last week, I found a special letter when I checked my mail.

One of the teachers on my team had helped several children write me a letter.  They told me wonderful updates on their lives, adventures, travels, and "not real" friends in the way only children can.  One of them even included some drawing on the back of the letter, and another punched out and glued some hearts on for me, too.

On a day when I had been feeling a little down, my children perked me right back up.  And made me start counting down the days until my knee is healed and I can spend every day with them again.

Gratuitous sunshine pics

It's late April and my family is dealing with yet another snow storm.  I, on the other hand, live in paradise, and have been enjoying every moment of it.

The color of these is unreal!

Beginning two weeks ago, I have been able to walk, bike, and/or swim on a daily basis as the next stage of my knee recovery, and it could not have happened at a better time!  

My roommate and I have also been able to enjoy some gorgeous spring afternoons lounging in our complex's beautiful pool area.

I've also been doing a fair amount of babysitting for a wonderful family.  Their 8-month-old has been pretty fussy lately, but I think it's just because he knows how beautiful it is outside and wants us to enjoy it together, so we go for lots of long walks.

These are a few of the photos from the last few weeks that make me smile when I look at them, so I couldn't help but share!

No idea what kind of tree this was,
but I LOVE the look of these!

Paused during my bike ride to snap this today.

Date night - B-Hugs

I love date nights.  Whether they're with my man or with friends, I love them all.  Friend dates are especially wonderful when TDN is away on his business trips.  While he was at SXSW, B-Hugs and I had another date night.  

She had just finished finals, so it was the perfect time to celebrate, relax, and be away from books for a little while before actually starting Spring Break.  We picked up takeout from my favorite little Chinese place, rented a movie (thank you RedBox!), bought a couple bottles of wine, and headed back to my house.

Catching up on each other's lives over dinner was wonderful.  And what made the evening even more wonderful was smelling this delicious cake baking while watching a chick flick together later on.  She has a picture of this cake as her Facebook profile picture right now, and according to all our friends who haven't even tasted it, we need to make this again!

Pi ice

Our date also happened to be on Pi Day (March 14th - 3.14...nerdy, I know :) ), so we celebrated by putting my pi ice cubes in our water, in our wine, in pretty much any liquid we had that night.

Somehow, the evening got away from us and all of a sudden it was 3 am and we were dying on my floor laughing at who knows what.  My friends are fantastic.

No more makeup mess!

First of all, I don't really wear makeup.  Maybe a little eyeliner and mascara if I'm going out, but that's pretty much it.  On rare occasions I get all dolled up and do full makeup.  

Even though I don't use it all every day, I have to have the makeup I like around all the time, and it has been driving me crazy lately by causing clutter in the only drawer I have in the bathroom.

Problem solved, a la Pinterest.

I dug out an old, short, round vase and picked up some decorative filler while running errands, and now I have a pretty place to keep my eyeliner, mascara, lip gloss, brushes, etc. AND my drawer is a much more friendly place!

Chocolate Better than Sex Cake

Since I love cake, and chocolate, and bundt cakes, and chocolate bundt cakes, and recipes that use cake mixes to make my life easy, this baby knocked my socks off!  

My friend Britt (B-Hugs) and I planned a date night together.  Date nights with friends always mean baking something delicious and chocolatey for this girl!  Spending time with a friend is made even better by smelling this delicious cake baking while watching a chick flick or sharing stories together.  She has a picture of this cake as her Facebook profile picture right now, and according to all our friends who haven't even tasted it, we need to make this again!

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray and flour for preparing the pan
• 1 box devil's food cake mix
• 6 ounces (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 small package (3.9 ounce) chocolate instant pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 stick butter
• 4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup milk
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center.  Lightly mist a bundt pan with cooking spray, then dust with flour.  Shake out the excess flour.  Set pan aside.
Mix together 2 Tablespoons of the cake mix, the chocolate chips, and the pecans in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Britt's first time with
pan frosting.

Place the remaining cake mix, the pudding mix, sour cream, oil, water, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer.  Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.  The batter should be thick and well blended.  Fold in the chocolate chip and pecan mixture until well distributed.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with the spatula.  
Bake 50 to 55 minutes, until the cake springs back when lightly pressed and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.  
Remove pan from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then invert and remove from pan onto rack or serving platter to finish cooling (another 20 minutes, if you can stand it!).

She couldn't believe we
were using 4 cups of
powdered sugar!

Prepare chocolate pan frosting as follows:
   Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, 2 to 3 minutes.
   Stir in the cocoa powder and milk.  
   Bring mixture just to a boil, stirring, then remove from heat.
   Stir in powdered sugar until the frosting is thickened and smooth.
Pour frosting over cake and enjoy!

Adapted from the Cake Mix Doctor

New Holiday Tradition

Les with the .22

Baby Sister and I have kind of started a new holiday tradition.  If you remember, she and I went shooting with TDN and my boys right before Christmas and had a blast.

Pistol training with the 9

Nearly every time I go back to South Dakota for a visit, my friend Matt and I try to get together and do some shooting.  Well, this visit was no exception!  We got together on the day before Easter to do our thing.  The only difference was that instead of just the two of us, we brought along some friends!  I brought Baby Sister and my cousin Les, and Matt's brother and dad came with us, too.

Baby Sister showing off with the 22-250

Les had only shot a gun once, and she didn't remember what it was, at all.  Baby Sister has been hunting since she was 12, and so have Matt and his brother.  His brother also just got home from Afghanistan and gets to do weapons training through his job in the military.  Needless to say, we all have very different levels of experience and comfort with different guns, but it was an enjoyable time for all!

Les was scared to shoot the
22-250 at first, she just wanted
to pose with it instead.

I think the best part might have been getting Les to try all the different toys we brought along...and then helping her remember the names of them so she could tell the family at supper!  We shot a Ruger .22 rifle, a 22-250, a Glock 9mm, a S&W M&P .40, and a Glock .40.  My favorite is the M&P :)

She decided to give it a try though!

Baby Sister cleaned up
some clays with the .22

My unconventional
shooting attire.

Broccoli Chicken Foil Packs

Last night, Jas and I made quinoa-stuffed sweet potatoes together (which were delicious, by the way), and TDN was very proud when he heard all the veggies I was eating :) 
That meal - and the fact that most of my meals in the last two weeks have been midwestern cream-of-someone-soup casseroles - inspired me to try something new for lunch today that included vegetables.  I came across a recipe for chicken foil packs.  They didn't sound like they were really going to make a meal I would enjoy that much, but I gave them a try anyway, and I'm glad I did!
These were super simple, delicious, and gave me lots of yummy leftovers for the next couple days!

Ingredients:

• 1 box stuffing mix (chicken flavor)
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• broccoli florets
• shredded cheese
• Ranch dressing

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray 4 large sheets of foil with cooking spray.

Combine stuffing mix and water.  Spoon 1/4 of the mixture onto the center of each foil sheet.

Top stuffing with a chicken breast.

Top chicken with broccoli.  I didn't measure the broccoli, I just tried to pile as much on as I could (probably around 1 cup per foil pack)!

Sprinkle roughly 1/4 cup of cheese on top of each.

Drizzle with around 1 Tablespoon ranch dressing.

Bring up sides of foil and fold to seal, leaving room inside for heat circulation.

Place packets in a 9x13" pan or on a cookie sheet and bake 40-50 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken breasts).

Remove packets and let stand for 5 minutes.  Cut slits in foil to let steam out.  Open and enjoy!

My roommate MB and I actually split one foil pack for lunch today and couldn't finish all of it.  This made a really good sized meal, and a filling one!

If you have bacon in your fridge, crumbling a slice of cooked bacon on each pack before cooking would be tasty!  (I don't usually have any on hand since TDN doesn't eat it...weird, I know)

Adapted from Best Life 4 Moms