Thai Peanut Crack Noodles...

Hey there bloggers! And followers...and everyone. This is a judgment free zone. I know it's been awhile, but I was studying for my Praxis exam aka hell on earth. AKA not sure I passed so I will keep you updated. I enjoyed celebrating after it was done however...

Also, Steve's brother Kevin and his girlfriend Bri matched together for Ohio State for their residence next year! Very exciting. However, it did remind me that time is FLYING, as they will be moving to Ohio in like 2 months..yikes! I have also been watching an unhealthy amount of old Saturday Night Live episodes, and am thinking about dropping out of school to join the show. This would be much easier if I was funny. In other news, my friend Tiffani is traveling all around the Dominican Republic for Peace Corps, and I am stuck here trying to change the lives of urban youths (shout out to new girl). So a little bit jealous...love you Tiff.

I would be more jealous however, if it wasn't so darn gorgeous out. This has led to much exercising outside, aka running. Here is a quick at-home exercise that I have been trying recently after about 45 minutes of running outside.

Circuit:
80 jumping jacks
50 leg crunches
20 sit-ups
15 tricep dips
20 squats
15 side lunges (per leg)
50 bicycle crunches
15 push-ups
40 russian twists

Repeat it as many times as you like, feel free to add or subtract reps, and change the weight up if you like. I like these shorter circuits because you go through them quickly, and it targets multiple muscle groups.

Onto the food!! I've made some pretty delish recipes. On Monday night, Steve and I made a sweet potato cream pasta with crispy kale. It's a recipe I found from my favorite blogger, How Sweet Eats and the recipe can be found here: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/03/sweet-potato-cream-pasta-with-crispy-kale/

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed the flavor combination. Though it's a bit starchy, it was very easy, and made me realize that it would be cheap/fun/yummy to make crispy kale chips as a snack. You'd be surprised at how crunchy these suckers get.

A few weeks ago, I made another dish that I will refer to as crack cocaine. It was seriously SO good and SO easy and I want to make it everyday and you should make it tonight or else. I've included some pictures, and the recipe can be found here: http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/2012/02/secret-recipe-club-thai-peanut-noodles.html

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week and soaking up this weather...you never know in Wisconsin. I'll update again soon about my St. Patrick's day feast that included home made corned beef!!!! I thought it was horrible, but at least our guests lied to us and said it was good :) Love you Delara and Garth!

Happy eating!

Treats!

Hello everyone! I'm pretty impressed with myself that I've posted an entry once a month since....last month. I'm impressive...people should consider giving me awards and showering me with affection and goods.

Speaking of goods and treats and the title of this post, I have some delicious recipes to share! However, I've created a new policy for this blog...I am going to start just giving everyone the link of my tasty treats, so that I am not murdered in the middle of the night for copying other people's recipes. When I have time to create my own original recipes more frequently, like when I'm 67, than I will provide all the good stuff right here. Until then, I'll be respectful of others because I play nice. Sort of.

So, one of my friend's had a birthday this past month...this was a wonderful excuse for my roommate's and I to stay in on a Friday night, drink wine, and bake. Although in this case, it was more of a freezing/refrigerating with some mixing and microwaving involved. We made two recipes that I have been DYING to try from Pinterest, which I would not advise anyone to get addicted to I mean join. As I lay in the fetal position from withdrawals (not really because I always give in), I curse the day anyone sent me an invite to that wretched site. Just kidding. Not really.

The featured items were: Cake Batter Truffles and Frozen Banana Bites. Here are some pictures and the link.




Cake Batter Truffles: http://www.chef-in-training.com/2011/09/no-bake-cake-batter-truffles-take-2.html















Frozen Banana Bites: http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2010/06/frozen-banana-bites.html


They went over VERY well with the birthday crowd. One little thing: I don't like white chocolate as much, so I put some of the frozen banana chocolate peanut butter sauce on a few of the truffles....MUCH better. However, those that do indulge in white chocolate said they were good, so whatever your preference I guess. But if you like white chocolate your preference sucks. So do you. Maybe not. Maybe.

Also, definitely add the coconut flakes to the bananas when the chocolate is still wet, mistake #1 Cate Reynolds. My roommate gently encouraged me to put them on after we noticed the chocolate was drying...many expletives could be heard from the kitchen and there are coconut flakes littered all over our freezer.

I don't mean to overload you with recipes, but I don't know when the next time I'll be able to post will be...so why not? I'm taking the Praxis test next weekend (barf) so will be devoting a lot of time to studying, slash watching Hulu and dreaming about desserts (which I gave up for Lent, mistake #2 Cate Reynolds).

This recipe NEEDS to be shared. Again, a recipe from Pinterest. It looked so appealing in the picture that I couldn't resist, plus I have a love for avocados that could challenge my love for any human being. These are sweet potato burgers, and I only used 1 can of cannellini beans to modify the recipe a bit. I also ate the burgers over some spinach, with avocado and a little oil and balsamic vinegar. So flavorful. Enjoy!



Sweet Potato Burgers: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2012/02/easy-sweet-potato-veggie-burgers-with.html


Lastly, it was my boyfriend's 25th birthday this past week, and he picked out these OUTRAGEOUS cupcakes for me to make. He likes to surprise me with extravagant and demanding tasks...last year on his birthday, I asked if he would like me to make him a special birthday breakfast. I was expecting eggs and toast, or chocolate chip pancakes. His response: "Umm..like maybe some blueberry stuffed french toast?".....
..................
................................Get real. It turned out HORRIBLY but him and his brother politely lied to my face and said it was good at the time. I guess we'll find out next year what he really thought of these cupcakes. They are cinnamon streusel french toast cupcakes with maple buttercream frosting. He's fancy. It was quite torturous to make them since I gave up dessert for Lent, so I accidentally ate half a cup of batter and proceeded to feel sick the rest of the night. Ahh...emotional eating.



French Toast Cupcakes: http://bakingdom.com/2011/12/streusel-topped-french-toast-cupcakes-with-maple-buttercream.html

I did struggle with the frosting, but only because I don't have an electric mixer at my apartment. So I used this ANCIENT hand mixer that was sent from my Grandpa's house...however it doesn't work...at all. Again, many expletives heard from the kitchen (like, "shit on a shingle", Steve's Mom's favorite phrase) and a frantic call to Steve to see if I could transport the frosting to his place. Good thing it wasn't a surprise.

Happy eating!