Blaze your own trail ... with cookies?

My senior year of college, I participated in the campus-wide stand-up comedy contest. That's right. I'm funny. Like it wasn't already obvious. Anyway, there was a long audition process to get to the finals... and ladies and gents let me inform you that I was the first female to ever make it to the live show. Yep. The student newspaper dubbed me a "trailblazer"... they even gave me a t-shirt from the show with that on the back... see?

Well, actually, I couldn't find the shirt anywhere to take a picture. Like, anywhere.

On an unrelated note... mom, can you check your laundry? :)

Anyway, so I have this awesome legacy of being a trailblazer. And I did it again. Today. In my own kitchen.

I have officially led the way for the boycotting of brown sugar in chocolate chip cookies. Yes, I know.

You're thinking, "But the back of the chocolate chips bag says use brown sugar! My cookies will EXPLODE if I don't use brown sugar!"

First of all, no. They won't.
Second of all... just calm down and keep reading.

Ok, so all of a sudden I just really wanted cookies. We don't keep sweets in the house, mostly due to the fact that my gluten allergy prohibits me from eating most of them. And the gluten free ones you can buy are icky. Like, super icky.

And, my supermodel of a husband wants to keep his physique.

So, I decided to make some cookies. Real cookies. I'm pretending like I'm not allergic to gluten because I'm still not 100% confident in my use of gluten free flours and baking. I've mastered the bread but, still experimenting with everything else.

So anyway, legit cookies. But, alas! No brown sugar was to be found in my cupboard! I had used the last of it for my banana-coconut caramel upside-down cake.

I did a little google-ing to see what to substitute, etc. And then I just sucked it up and went for it.

(Sorry for the lack of pictures... I completely forgot! Hopefully my stellar writing style will keep you interested enough...)

Alright, here we go.

What you need

• 2 sticks of butter, softened
• 3/4 C of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla 
• 2 1/4 C of flour
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Chocolate chips

First, make sure your butter is nice and soft. With this heat wave, I probably could have just stepped outside with them for ten seconds; instead, I opted to leave them on the counter for a little over an hour. 

Before you start, preheat your oven to 375*.

Cream the butter and sugar for about 30 seconds. Don't overdo it, though, because the longer it whips, the warmer the butter gets, and it starts to break down and separate. This is what usually leads to cookies spreading out too much and not giving you the color that you want. (Yep, I know a little bit of sciency stuff.)

Add the eggs and vanilla. Since I was feeling kind of rebellious, what with blowing off the brown sugar and everything, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. 

I didn't even measure the vanilla. I just dumped. I always over-vanilla anyway, because I think it's a flavor that should be celebrated. So, I guess it could have been more like 3 tsp. But if you're a measurer, start with 2 tsp. 

Combine all the dry ingredients, minus the chocolate chips, in a bowl and then add to the liquids. Let that get all nice and stirred together. I had to scrape down the sides of my bowl a few times. Be aware that this dough is light in color and texture. It's not going to look like the run-of-the-mill,  back of the bag cookie dough. Just a heads up :)

Next, get rid of those flappy arms by hand-mixing in all those chocolate chips! I always see people using a wooden spoon for this, but that makes me super uncomfortable... porous wood, raw eggs... you see where I'm going with this? So I opt for a plastic spoonula. 

Spoon the dough onto a cookie sheet and don't worry about putting them too close together. This dough doesn't spread out a whole lot so make sure you shape the dough how you want it to look. Pop those babies in your oven for about 9 minutes.

As soon as that timer dings, get those suckers outta there! Let them rest on the cookie sheet for a minute or so and then transfer them to a wire rack. And as soon as you're sure that you won't scald your tastebuds... please, do yourself a favor and try one. 

YUM

And, to make up for the lack of cookie pictures, here's one of  my 'niece' that I am puppy-sitting for the week. This was her giving me good-morning kisses.

Banana Coconut Caramel upside-down cake

So... ever since the world of 'blogging' became a thing, I've been obsessed.

 I love blogs. I love reading about people's lives and the activities, crafts, or 

recipes that they are trying out. I live vicariously. Over any type of blog, though, 

I'm ALL about food blogs. You can blame The Pioneer Woman for that. 

Anyway... today, I'm going to realize a dream. I'm becoming a food blogger.

With pictures (from my phone, but still!). I'm ecstatic.

We had a big reason to celebrate last night -- my husband finally got the 

promotion that he's been working towards for almost 2 years! 

He has worked so hard and finally nailed it! So, I wanted to celebrate him 

and his accomplishment with a few surprises.
I went out and bought some champagne, 

a new movie (to add to our overwhelming blu-ray collection -- a whole 2 movies!), 

and a card. Then, I came home and made this little beauty....

I present to you... banana-coconut-caramel-upside-down-cake!!

 As you can see from the picture above, we were pretty eager to dig in that I 

didn't get a shot of the whole cake! It's ok, it wasn't that 

pretty anyway.... but BOY! Is it good!!

What you need:

• bananas (2 did it for me)
• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup canola/vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
• 1/2 cup water
• shredded coconut
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (that's 1 stick)
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

First, pre-heat your oven to 350*. 

Start by mixing together the cake mix, eggs, oil, water and sour cream. 

I love anything that involves mixing because I get to use my favorite 

wedding present -- the KitchenAid stand mixer!

While that's doing it's thing, slice up the bananas. Start with 2
 and go from there, that way 

you're not stuck with a bunch of peeled bananas on your hands.
Spray your baking dish  really well with non-stick spray.
I used an 8x8 and had batter left over; the original recipe

 called for 2 8" round cake pans. You could honestly use
any size pan, just make sure you have a cake
stand/platter big enough to turn it out on. Also, I wouldn't suggest 

using a spring-form pan, as the caramel could leak through. 

Anyway, after you spray the pan, go ahead and lay the banana pieces down, filling in

 the whole dish. Try not to overlap them -- I made this mistake and when I turned

 it out, some of the bananas fell off 

(conveniently, they fell off the side that we ate before taking the picture haha)

See the overlap on the bottom? No good. Don't go there. I know you

want to cover every last bit, but it's better to have some cake

without banana on it, than to have it fall all over :(

Next, you need to make the caramel. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

In a saucepan, melt the butter. When it's all melted, add the brown

sugar and lemon juice (I just squeezed a little bit from half 

a lemon I had lying around). Stir it all up and let it simmer until the sugar is dissolved.

Make sure the heat is not up too high, or else you could burn

your caramel, making for a lackluster cake. :)

(I know it's sideways, but you get the idea. Gimme a break; I'm new at this!)

Then, simple as pie. Pour the caramel over the bananas.

(Do you hear the people sing? No? Oh... well, it's the hallelujah chorus.)

Then, sprinkle shredded coconut all over (if you're into that sort of thing.) 

I was so busy picking up all the pieces of coconut that missed the cake

and putting them in my mouth, that I forgot to take a picture.

Next, pour the cake batter over the banana-caramel-coconut. Make sure it's all even.

You don't want a lopsided cake when you turn it out of the pan,

do you?

Look at all those layers of goodness!

Pop that beauty in the oven for about 35-40 minutes. 

In the meantime... I had left over batter,

so I poured it into muffin tins and sprinkled just a little shredded coconut on top.

I got rid of the left-over caramel before I decided to do cupcakes :(

Anyway, those bake for about 15 minutes or so and taste really good,

because the coconut on tip gets all toasty and yummy.

(Blurry I know... shaky hands + iPhone....)

Once the cake comes out of the oven, let it sit for a while. 

Like, really a while. I let mine go for probably an hour or so.

When you're ready, take a deep breath and get ready to flip it. 

I had to mentally prepare myself for the flip.

And voila! A beautiful, delicious cake is born!

It's delicious by itself but would be super good with some whipped cream on top.

Infused with rum. Yes. Yes, rum whipped cream next time.

Now, let me be honest with you. 

This cake is AMAZING. The sour cream in 

the cake makes it so light and fluffy. I might add it to all of my boxed

cake mixes from now on. 

You all need to try this. This is a perfect recipe for

summer, a bridal shower, a baby shower,

Easter, or just because you want

to celebrate your husband.

If you try the recipe, let me know! 

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a.... Mrs?!?

Well well well. Let's all just forget about the fact that this was my new year's resolution (to blog), but I haven't even touched the site since January. =P Since we're half-way through 2013, we'll just conveniently forget about the last 1/3 of my 2012 in review. So, let's just jump right to it...

(I just got distracted by a weatherman on TV trying to be funny and say that it was "muy cala-hente"... I've never felt more needed as a Spanish teacher!)

Anyway...

(Also, Shaun White is on the Today show and actually looks good! No more bushy orange afro!)


Ok. Turning the TV off...


We got married!! Nathan and I said "I do!" on June 7th in the candlelit chapel at Nathan's home church. We were surrounded by our dear friends and family, including my uncle and Nathan's best friend's dad, who co-officiated the ceremony. The girls and I walked down the aisle to "Come Thou Fount" played on the piano and acoustic guitar. I'm told that it was beautiful, but I didn't even hear a thing. I didn't see or hear anything except Nathan. I don't think I even looked at my mommy!!

After the ceremony and a lightning fast round of formal pictures, we headed over to a golf club for the reception. Our amazing photographer, Nathan and I took off in golf carts to take advantage of the GORGEOUS sunlight that we had at 7:00. When I say amazing photographer, I mean... amazing. We're still waiting on all the pictures, but the ones that I've seen could easily be in any wedding magazine (because of him, not because of us!). After a few group shots, we headed in for the big announcement into the banquet room. And of course, Nathan wouldn't be Nathan without doing a split in the middle of the dance floor.

We ate (and OH! Was it good!), we drank, and we were merry (and married!). My beautiful little sister teamed up with our good friend (and her vocal teacher) to serenade us at the reception. There were few dry eyes after their rendition of "I see the light" from Tangled. After the touching, albeit comical toasts, we burned up that dance floor! One of the highlights of the night was seeing my new mother-in-law on the dance floor during "Sexy and I know it". Our super photographer also set up this fun photo-booth, providing some really fun pictures :) Here we are with my sister and her fiance...

As the night wound down, our lovely guests sent us off with a tunnel of sparklers, creating some awesome pictures.

Over the last several weeks, Nathan and I can't stop talking about the wedding! We have decided that if we were to go back in time and do it all over again, we wouldn't change a single thing! The attire, venue, decor, flowers, hair, photographer, DJ, and cake were all perfect. I would highly recommend any of the vendors we used to anyone getting married in the Dayton area (and it was all on a tight budget, too!!).

Here are some more pics:

(See? Awesome light!)

Our super awesome wedding party

Well, there's the official report! So tell me, if you were at our wedding, what was your favorite part!? Or, what was your favorite part of your own wedding? Have you been to any weddings where something was extremely awesome? Or maybe a little disturbing?? Share your thoughts (but let's not name names for horrifying weddings haha)

Peace out <3

2012 in review, pt. 2

Well, I'm glad I'm doing so well in keeping with my new year's resolution of blogging! :) 

I hope you're ready for the continuing saga of my 2012 in review! Here's an overview, then you can decide which months you want to read in more detail down the page!

May -- School's out for summer!

June -- Voyage to Venice (and beyond!) 

July -- Mingling in Michigan

August -- So long sweet summer...

So, here we go... this will (not) be shorter than the last, since I won't be gushing about my man as much and giving you every minute detail of our engagement day (but will be giving you every detail of my summer vacations)  :)

May -- At school, I have the honor of serving as a sponsor for the senior class. As such, May is a ridiculously crazy month... finals, senior trip, graduation. For the senior trip, I was so blessed to travel with my co-sponsor and our administrator, and 47 seniors, to a lovely camp down south. We stopped off in Pigeon Forge for a night and spent the next morning racing go-karts and eating amazing BBQ. I mean... amazing. Pulled pork. Mac and cheese. Corn. Extra bbq sauce. I'm hoping we go back there this year because I can't stop dreaming about that bbq. Did I mention that it was amazing? Anyway... at the camp, we were blessed each morning and night by chapel services, and had fun activities during that day. I'm proud to say that I went white-water rafting, and no one in our raft ended up in the river! We ended the trip by stopping at King's Island in Ohio and riding some kick-butt roller coasters. 

When we got back from the trip, it was all about graduation. And I had the privilege of seeing my first class of seniors march down the aisle, across the stage, and out into real life. There was something so emotional about it. I only spent a year with them and, sadly, wasn't very close to most of them. But knowing that we had gone through that year together -- their last and my first -- was pretty cool.

June -- Ok so June (and July) was pretty much the bee's knees. I'm pretty sure I am way too young to be using that expression... The day after graduation (actually, I think it was the afternoon OF graduation) I evacuated my icky little apartment and trekked home to mommy's house for the summer. Two weeks later, I headed down to see my wonderful future husband and his family. I stayed for a week and helped with VBS at their church. Two year olds. Six of them. By myself. For five days. Definitely not ready for kids. 

And then, at the end of VBS, a glorious thing happened. It was time for our long-awaited European vacation with my future in-laws (all of them!). We loaded into the family van, jumped out at the airport, and were off for two blissful weeks. A brief stop in Charlotte, a super brief stop (as in, they let us off the plane first and shuttled us to our connecting flight...) in Frankfurt, and then we were there, flying over the Piazza San Marco.  We headed to baggage claim, only to find that not all of our bags made it. So, my future-FIL (Phil? Phil of the Future? Maybe I'll call him that from now on) and I filled out lost luggage reports and the airport assured us that they would either be at the hotel for us, or they would be sent to our cruise ship before it left the next day. So, we explored Venice for the evening and ate amazing pizza, which made me sick because we hadn't yet discovered that I have issues with gluten. I'm glad I didn't know or else I would not have experienced the sickness-inducing deliciousness of true pizza, ravioli, carbonara, and Italian bread in olive oil.

To make a long story short ("too late"... anyone?), both of our bags were waiting for us when we boarded the cruise ship the next day! Now, allow me to quickly zip through our cruise, so I can tease you about the amazing time we had! This was my first cruise, and we sailed on the Norwegian Jade. I highly recommend NCL to anyone looking for a cruise where are free to eat whenever you want and not forced to sit at the same table with the same people every night :) So anyway... we stopped in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and explored the old fortified city. Here's a picture of it from a scenic stop above the city:

After Dubrovnik, we had a day at sea where we played Deal or No Deal (I won a free scratch-off Bingo ticket... $5 in the pocket), laid by the pool with our Kindles (fiancee got a really funny sunburn where you could see the outline of the Kindle on his chest), and ran up his parent's tab with sodas from the bar. It was fun :) Oh, and of course, the food. One thing you'll pick up on quickly if you continue to read this blog is that I love food. Period. My man and I went to the Brazilian steakhouse on board and ate more meat than either of us ever had in our lives. SO GOOD.

The next day, I had a dream come true. We docked in Athens and left for our tour of the Acropolis. Driving through the city, I freaked out about everything. Anything that said Olympic. Anything that looked ancient. Any sign that said "Akropolis". Every flag that I saw.

And then... boom. There we were. They teased us by taking us up the long way (actually, I think it was just the way...)  so that we could see the Parthenon barely atop the hill but passed all this other stuff. Amphitheater. Random columns. And then... I had a slight heart attack at seeing Mars Hill, where the apostle Paul preached in Acts 17. Then we climbed stairs. Slippery, marble stairs. And then... there it was. The Parthenon. The Erechtheion. The Porch of the Maidens. It was all there, just like my humanities professor told me my freshman year of college. I was so excited that I was jumping up and down too close to the wire rope. I now have a little scar on my forearm that I refer to as my Parthenon scar.

 From the Acropolis, we went to a nice hotel for lunch. And oh, what a lunch it was. Moussaka. Bread. Other yummy stuff that I can't remember. And that magical thing called tzatziki. Tzatziki everywhere.

We then took a scenic drive along the coast and ended up at Cape Sounion, the place of Poseidon's temple. It was pretty cool, but hardly exhilarating after a morning filled with the Parthenon and tzatziki.

The next day we found ourselves in Ephesus, Turkey. We went straight for the ruins of the biblical city. I had been to biblical ruins before (in Phillipi, summer of '10), so i had high expectations. Don't get me wrong, the ruins were incredible. But it was SO CROWDED. Our tour guide kept us moving at such a pace that we hardly got to see anything, really. I snuck away from the group to grab this picture of the Library of Celsus. I know, I'm a rebel. Please note the rather tall man in the corner. This is one of my future brothers-in-law. Did I mention how short I am?

After the ruins, we went to a rug shop where they showed us how they weave Turkish rugs. It was pretty neat, but I'm too lazy to upload a picture from that. And you're getting tired. And we're only on June. And we're only halfway through vacation. :) 

We had another day at sea, complete with more sodas and outdoor reading. We found a perfect little spot where we could be side by side but the boy was shaded and I was not :) Oh, and, that night as I was getting ready for bed my lovely roommate (who happens to be my future mother in law) and I watched Chicago. It was a bonding moment, for sure.

Our last stop with Split, Croatia. It was nice, but ridiculously hot. We took a little river cruise and they gave us bread, cheese, and smoked ham. Mmmmm. Then we went to the actual city of Split and toured Diocletian's palace. It was aiight. Here's a picture of our feet on the mosaic floor of the palace. Because I like shoes.

Split was really hot. Like, capris sticking to your legs hot. When our tour was over, we still had several hours before we had to be back on the ship. The family stayed in town, but the two of us headed back to the ship. All I remember is that they gave us cold, wet towels for our faces while we waited for the tendering boats. Did I mention I recommend NCL? :)

And so, we departed the cruise ship in Venice and took a Gondola ride. It was great, except our gondolier didn't sing :(

The brothers and their wives all left -- one pair back to the States, one pair down to Rome. Being the unmarried couple, we stayed with the parents :) The four of us rented a car and drove around Italy like we owned the place. We traveled up north to Cortina, a winter Olympic host city, and then continued up through the Dolomites (baby Alps) into Austria for dinner. 'Cuz... why not? Right on the Italy/Austria border we spotted a HUGE cable car. So we hopped out, paid for a ride (trying to maneuver around the odd English/German/Italian mix going on...), and TEN minutes later were at the top of Mt. Elmo. It was amazing. See for yourself.

And then it was back to Frankfurt, back to Charlotte, and back home. An incredible trip to be sure.

July -- (Our trip to Europe continued into July) After I got back from Italy, I joined my mom, my sister, and my sister's bestie for a relaxing week on the shores of Lake Michigan. A gorgeous rental home, four ladies livin' it up, and a yummy diner right up the street! We went there at least twice... maybe 3 times. Long walks on the pier. One night, we went out on the pier for the sunset and it was so amazingly gorgeous, that the whole pier erupted into applause at the end. God's handiwork is just so indescribable. Unwinding with my own family was such a blessing, especially since I was getting ready to head back to school soon.

August -- This month, I was blessed to have a job to return to. At a time when jobs are hard to come by, especially for teachers, I can't even begin to tell you what grace it is to have a job to go back to after an amazing summer. And I knew that I had all my students waiting for me. Students that I had fallen in love with last year that I would have the honor of teaching again. 

And let me tell you... so much growth happened over the summer. For me, as a teacher and a person. For my students... in many ways. Some of them grew six inches. Some of them matured ten years (in a good way). And all of them were leaps ahead of where they were the previous August when I met them. And I know that I played a part in that, by God's grace. Now that is a blessing.

Now, as there is freezing rain pounding against my window and I am wrapped up in no less than three fleece blankets, let me ask you... what amazing things did you get to experience this summer?  Go anywhere fun? Do anything romantic? Get married?! 

Let's replay the summer, as we could all use a little more warmth right now!

Stay tuned for the third and final installment of 2012 in review, complete with pictures, corny jokes, and way too much detail.

We out.

Megan

2012 in review, pt.1

For several years now, I've felt inspired to write a blog. I could never decide what to blog about, though. As the ball dropped and 2012 rolled into 2013, I decided that this was the year. There are so many exciting things happening in 2013, so what better time to start? Just a fair warning, this initial blog past may be kind of long... 

 For Christmas last year (as in 2011 because I can't refer to 10 days ago as 'last year' yet...), one of my wonderful aunts gave me Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts. I began reading it immediately and am ashamed to say, still haven't finished it. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, the author chronicles a list of 1,000 of God's blessings in her ordinary life on a farm. It's made me wonder -- how often do I take the time to recognize the abundance of blessings? Even in the ordinary? Even in the seemingly endless string of daily tasks? So, if you will allow me, I will take the time right now to chronicle some of the many blessings that I experienced throughout 2012. After all, is there any better way of starting a new year than by thanking God for all the blessings from the previous year? :) 

  January -- In January, I had the privilege of returning for my second semester of teaching. My school resumes with a week and half long J-Term. during which I taught an international cooking class. We made dishes from around the world, including enchiladas, ratatouille, tandoori chicken, borek, and Navajo tacos. It was a wonderful 8 days of cooking with several wonderful students. I was so blessed to have the opportunity to teach something else that I am passionate about to a small group of students, allowing me to form relationships with them that cannot come about in the large-scale traditional classroom. 

  February-- In February I was blessed to have a much needed week-long break from school. I was able to spend time with all of my loved ones in different areas -- my mom and sisters, my dad, and my (now) fiance. During this month, I also experienced one of the most joyful, emotional moments of a young woman's life. I bought my wedding dress. And no, we were not engaged yet. Don't judge, please... I promise it wasn't a psycho, stalker girl-friend move to trick him into marrying me. Promise! 

  March -- March, for some reason, stands out in my mind as a hectic month in 2012. Early in the school year, my dear friend/co-worker and I agreed to help out as stage managers for the school musical. By this time, we were so stressed out and so sick of hearing the songs that we couldn't wait for the performances. The two nights of performance turned out to be the most fun part of the whole thing. We were blessed with an amazing group of students on the stage crew who worked so hard and made the whole show possible. We had TOO much fun during the performances; it made the months of hard work worth it. 

  April-- So yeah, let me just come out and say it... April was probably my favorite month of the year. Before I elaborate, you can probably guess why :) On April 21st, my man took me up to Chicago for an amazing day of romance in the city. We had an adventurous day that started with trying to find a place to park where his brand new car wouldn't get jacked. One lady even told us that if we "leave the car here, y'all won't have a battery when you get back." So, we finally found a semi-safe place, prayed protection over the car and us, and ventured onto the L. We started at the SkyDeck in the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) and were daring enough to step out on the glass ledge of the 103rd story. Then, we stuffed our faces with Giordano's pizza, found a Tea shop, explored a toy store, and made our way to Millennium Park. We walked through some gardens around the art museum and finally caught a glimpse of Lake Michigan. 

We ventured down Michigan Avenue and entertained ourselves by window shopping at stores like Burberry, pretending that we could actually afford the luscious products taunting us from behind too-thick glass. A glass window has never felt like such an economic barrier before. :) We finally made our way to Navy Pier, and I was exhausted. I had blisters from my not-so-broken-in Sperrys and my fingers were numb from the wind. I couldn't figure out how he was still so energetic and excited as he led me to the ferris wheel. I was outraged by the price of tickets, but he insisted that we go on. I continued to grumble, but could see that he really wanted to go on. As the Ferris wheel climbed higher and higher over Lake Michigan, I could feel his pulse begin to race. He began whispering sweet things about wanting to take care of me forever and serve God with me and raise a family with me. And with that, he got down on one knee (the ferris wheel is an enclosed capsule with a floor) and pulled out an amazing ring with the diamond from his grandmother's engagement ring. 

 We celebrated by going to Ed Debevic's, a restaurant in Chicago known for its rude and sarcastic wait staff. We LOVED the atmosphere, as we both speak fluent sarcasm. :) I feel so blessed to know that I get to spend the rest of my life with this amazing man. 

 There you have the first 1/3 of my year. Even if you didn't enjoy reading what I had to say, I'm finding that this is an incredible exercise to do. To look back and see God's faithfulness each month for a whole year puts a lot into perspective as we embark on another year. If you'd like to come back soon, I will continue chronicling the blessings of 2012 and, I'm sure, the many blessings to come in 2013.