Leap morning.

7AM status: snuggle bugs. Everyone being this calm and quiet together doesn't happen that often either.

Butterscotch blondies

Get excited!  

That phrase always brings back memories from college, standing in Kappa's chapter room trying to get everyone amped up for some social or philanthropy or campus event.  Even seven (jeeeebus) years later, I still find myself over-using the term, and also wishing there was still a weekly Spirit Jar to read on Monday nights.

Anyway, in an attempt to catch up on the backlog and get more in the habit of posting all of the recipes I try, I'm doing a recipe-a-day in the month of March.  Spring into Cooking, if you will.  March Madness in my kitchen.  Whatever you want to call it.

Consider this one a warm up - a super easy, WW-friendly bar recipe.

 Butterscotch Blondies

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 C butter, softened

2 large egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 C flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C butterscotch morsels

Preheat oven to 350F.  Beat sugars and butter with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 4 minutes).  Add egg whites and vanilla; beat well.  Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife.  Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; stir well with a whisk.  Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until just incorporated.  Stir in butterscotch chips.  Spread batter evenly in an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 350F for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely and cut into 16 bars.  Adapted from Weight Watchers Magazine

Sixteen servings seem small, but these bars are actually really rich in spite of being light.  I will definitely be adding chocolate chips next time!  Enjoy!

Le Meal Plan, February 26

It's going to be a weird week.  Kenny is traveling, so I am on my own.  I've been cooking for two long enough to completely forget how to do so just for myself.  Last time he was out of town, I planned for wayyy too much food and ended up wasting a ton.  I hate that.  I hope this is a little more realistic, also considering I am currently sick and not really feeling much of an appetite.

Monday: creamy tomato tortellini, green salad
Tuesday: cheese souffle, roasted asparagus, green salad
Wednesday: leftover pasta, steamed broccoli
Thursday: pineapple-stuffed chicken, rice, spinach salad
Friday: wild card - leftovers or chicken tenders or something else easy

So that's the plan.  Honestly, the pasta already sounds completely unappealing for tonight.  So far today I've had coffee and a green monster smoothie, but no appetite for lunch or anything else.  We'll see what this cold actually wants later.

How do you plan for being sick and/or a change in your routine?

Week in Photos, February 18-24

Unforgettable.

Some of my girlfriends were recently comparing prom photos, so I had to dig mine out.

I wore a black sparkly dress that I bought on a shopping trip to St Louis. Finding my wedding dress was actually easier (and less painful for my mom and sister).  I wanted to wear a black dress since it was more "grown-up," but wow - 18 still looks young on me.  I wore that dress again at one formal and three rush events in college (the dress attended a Tri-Delta and a Sigma Kappa formal, too).  I went to the dance with a friend, who ended up getting food poisoning at dinner and went home early, and then I ended up kissing someone else's date at the after party and then there was draaaaama at school come Monday.  Oops.  My best friend Jen wore a hot red dress and when we went to get our hair done together, "Drops of Jupiter" was playing on the radio.  Even though the official theme of the dance was "Unforgettable," I always think of singing and dancing to that song in her (little teal) car whenever I think of our prom. 

Prom, 2001.

Five for Friday, vol 36

1.  You say really funny things when you're half asleep on cold medicine.

2.  You have a super cute butt.

3.  One minute you are oohing and aahing over our friends' cute new baby and the next minute you claim you have no idea how babies work.
4. You are calmer than I am when watching close Mizzou basketball games.

5. I don't know when you learned how to install exterior lighting, but the new lights in the backyard are awesome and bright and extremely helpful for a terrier who is terrified of the nighttime.

I love you.

Small gestures.

You never know when one of your friends is having a terrible, stressed, sad sort of day.  You never know when the sweet little hand-written card you sent is going to completely make someone's day.  You never know when a super small gesture is going to come at the very best possible timing.

Thanks for the card, Ambie.  You have no idea!

Love and loyalty indeed.

On the Weigh: Have your cake and eat it too.

I almost forgot to post this week!

WI: -.6

It was Valentine's week.  We ate out twice.  There were cupcakes.  It wasn't always the best or most balanced, but you just have to roll with it.  Seek balance where you can - in my case, it was on the treadmill, finally getting my ten thousand step goal every single day (everyday since February 10, actually).  You can't out-exercise a bad diet, but it helps keep things going during weeks when it's a little out of normal.

-20, here I come.  One step at a time.

Macaroon-stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes

I have the day off today.  I surely do love Presidents.  It's been a really nice, lazy weekend.  We usually have so much going on that when we have no plans, we tend to be more like hermits.  Weekends like this, especially long ones, usually mean that Kenny does little project around the house and that I bake something while I catch up on the DVR.  This weekend was no exception.  These cupcakes are nice and light, which is nice for a weekday-turned-weekend treat.

Macaroon-Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup nonfat ricotta cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg white

1/3 cup coconut flakes

1 1/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 egg whites - lightly beaten

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Ganache (below)

Colored sprinkles (optional)

For filling: In a medium bowl, beat together ricotta, sugar, and egg white until smooth.  Stir in coconut, set aside.For cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly coat 18 muffin tins with cooking spray, set aside.  In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, and baking soda.  In a small bowl, combine egg whites, buttermilk, applesauce, and vanilla.  Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir until smooth.  Spoon half the batter into prepared muffin cups, then spoon 1 tablespoon coconut filling in the center of each.  Spoon the remaining batter evenly on top of filling.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, and then remove to cool on a wire rack.

Chocolate Ganache

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour over chocolate in a bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Slowly whisk until smooth. Let cool completely, stirring often with a rubber spatula. (adapted from Martha Stewart).  

When completely cool, dip the tops of each cupcake in the ganache.  Repeat as needed for desired thickness of coating.  Add sprinkles, if desired.

With my husband, sprinkles are always desired.

What do you do on a day off?

Le Meal Plan, February 19

Monday: creamy tomato tortellini, caesar salad

Tuesday:  pork and potato balls, roasted asparagus, green salad

Wednesday:  pineapple stuffed chicken, brown rice, steamed broccoli

Thursday: basalmic black pepper filet mignon, potato/cauliflower mashers, green salad

Friday: hot turkey sammies, big salad

Graduate.

Pennycakes had her last puppy class today. Thanks to Petsmart, our little one is a certified trained dog. She sits. She lays down. She can do three straight puppy push-ups. She comes when called at least 40% of the time. And since she was the only dog in the class with perfect attendance, that means she's the valedictorian.

Smartest dog on the planet. Bitch looks good in a hat.

Week in Photos, February 12 - 18

Another perspective.

Jenna over at That Wife wrote a poignant and thought-provoking blog post yesterday regarding gay marriage and her LDS faith.  I have to share the post here because I was deeply moved by her honesty, eagerness for knowledge and understanding, and her arrival at a conclusion I respect and admire.  I admit that I am not a religious person, but to see someone of incredibly strong faith reason through this tough issue, was inspiring. 

"I want to believe in a Christ, in a God, with arms open wide and hearts full, welcoming everyone."

Although I do not practice organized religion, I cannot agree with this sentiment more.  Please read Jenna's post and the subsequent comments.  It is a fantastic discussion, regardless of your religious perspective.

Five for Friday, vol 35

1. Happiness is a husband who loves clean sheets.

2. You text me weather reports because you know I always forget to check it myself.

3. You make hot chocolate on snowy days ... from scratch!

4. The first album you picked up at the record store on our V-Day date was the exact one I debated buying you for Christmas when I got you the record player.

5. You turn into an adorably disoriented and nonsensical pumpkin after 10:30 PM.

Houseguest.

We are dog-sitting this weekend. Penny thinks its fantastic. A new friend, wheeeeee! Tucker, well... let's just note who has refused to join the rest of the girls on the bed. He's currently pouting under the dresser. Men.

Contingency plan.

So we all know that I plan and track my meals a week at a time. Today was going to be a good one: an egg on toast for breakfast, a turkey sandwich and soup for lunch. But as these things sometimes go, time got away from me this morning and I found myself flying out the door for work with none of the above. So what's a girl to do?  Roll with it.  Plans are great, but flexibility is important too. 


Grab and go breakfast and snacks (strawberry kefir, banana, Brie bite, granola thin)

The whole idea of grab-and-go is huge for me.  Even on the most relaxed of mornings, I rely on convenient but healthy foods t get me through the day.  Fruit, of course, is the #1 - my favorites are all individually wrapped in single servings.  I have broken a serious cereal bar habit, but I have found some HFCS-free options for quick breakfasts or pre-gym snacks.  I keep a couple in my desk at work, too.

Lunch from the cafeteria at work (grilled chicken + salad bar and buffalo sauce from home)

I am not really a fan of the cafeteria at work.  Convenient, yes, but also over-priced for what you get.  After moving offices, it's also in another building on campus.  No biggie when the weather is decent and my schedule is open like today, but I don't always want to make the trek.  Rather: I don't always wear boots a-made for walking.

My salad cost $8 (salad bar is charged by weight .. stupid chicken boob) but at least I had the foresight to bring dressing from home.  I could have gone to the company store and picked up a frozen meal for less money, but I was in no mood for a sad, plastic-coated micro-meal.  I spied a couple of food trucks parked out front too, but that would have entered into questionable point-calculation territory.  Salad is safe.

My food plan sounded better than what I ate, but at least the back-up plan included brie.

Mmmmmmmm .... brie.

A cheesy holiday.

I sure do love Valentine's.

Flowers. Candles. The best cupcake ever. Macaroni and cheese bar. Record store. Slow dancing to our favorite song on vinyl.

I sure do love this man of mine.

Happy Love Day.

You guys.

Kenny took the afternoon off to do some sort of Valentine's shenanigans. This is exactly the second time he has kept a secret from me (the first being when he proposed) and I am dying. I didn't even know he was going to be off work. Dyyyyyying.

Also, I'm wearing a lot of pink today.

Le Meal Plan, February 12

Monday: chicken asiago bowtie pasta (hopefully it will taste like it came from this place), roasted garlicky asparagus, caesar salad

Tuesday: super cheesy Valentine's date night + surprise dessert for Kenneth ♥

Wednesday:  baked potato chip-crusted pork chops, steamed broccoli, green salad with peppers and olives

Thursday: pimiento cheese burgers, sweet potato fries, ranchy salad

Friday: baked chicken tender salad

What's on your menu this week?

Instagram Life, February 5 - 11

Buffalo Chicken Bites

The next best thing to wings on a Saturday afternoon.  There is something so smug and rewarding about finding an alternative to a crave-worthy junk food that actually satisfies the craving.  These little bites were super easy to make, since I had everything on hand already.  While I know they are not really the same as a buffalo wing (and sometimes you just gotta get the real thing), they actually tasted better than a lot of the boneless options I've tried. 

Buffalo Chicken Bites

(serves 2)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4-1/2 C buffalo sauce (recommend Syberg's)

1 package Shake n Bake or 1/2 C seasoned breadcrumbs

1 packet Hidden Valley ranch dry mix

Preheat oven to 350. Pour buffalo sauce into a shallow bowl and combine breadcrumbs and ranch mix in another.  Spray a metal cooling rack with Pam and place on top of a cookie sheet.Dip chicken into sauce, coating well, and then roll in breadcrumbs until completely coated. Evenly space chicken bites on the rack.  Spray lightly with Pam.  Bake until crisp and brown, 18-20 minutes.  Brush with additional sauce to taste.  Enjoy!

I baked some crinkle fries along with the chicken, which slowed down the cooking time a little since my oven was full.  The chicken seems to cook quickly, but it's getting the coating to crisp that takes a few extra minutes, but it's well worth it.  Kenny loved these and they were a really easy and much healthier alternative to a take-out order of traditional wings.  I'm pleased to report that our Mizzou Tigers won the basketball game against Baylor, putting them at #3 in the nation with talks of a top seed come tourney time.  These are obviously good luck and I am sure they will taste extra delicious in March.

Let's Fall in Love: And one for the road.

As my (long-winded and overly-drawn out) wedding recaps finally come to a close, I would like to thank all of you for sticking it out til the end.  I loved every moment of being a bride.  It was an experience I had idealized in my head since I was a very little girl, and while neither perfect nor always ideal, the process of planning a wedding and marrying my husband exceeded all of my expectations.  Being a bride was amazing, but being a wife is so much more than I ever could have known. 

With this final wedding post, I will leave you with a lesson in physics.

If you put a girl in an organza-covered dress and place her at the top of a metal slide, and you put a full-grown man directly behind her ...

And then you apply gravity ...

It works to prove Newton's First Law of Physics.

A body in motion will stay in motion ... and I totally knew what was coming to me at this point.  

I hit the ground. Hard.  There was a collective gasp from onlookers in the park and everything went quiet.  Even the birds stopped chirping.  BRIDE DOWN! BRIDE DOWN!  Kenny had landed on his feet (this happens when you're wearing pants, I guess) and just stared at me for split second with a look of complete panic on his face.  We'd been married less than 24 hours and he'd already broken me. 

And then we both just started laughing.

What more can you do?

Thank you so much for following along with me as I relived and reloved our wedding day.  It has truly been an honor to know that there are complete strangers out there who care enough to keep coming back.  If you are planning a wedding, enjoy every moment.  It's over before you know it.

Much love, 

from September 4 to Infinity,

The Mrs.

I bought a dress and completely changed it.  We had a marathon final week of engagement.  I giggled my way through our rehearsal.  Kenny got grilled at our rehearsal dinner.  The groomsmen ran amok in downtown Springfield. The girls got gorgeous.  We exchanged mushy wedding-day gifts.  The guys got fancy and then got dancy.  I became a Bride.  There was a first First Look. I shared my Somethings.  The boys made the most of trolley-time. And did their thing on the Capital grounds. The girls took photos at the hotel. Everyone arrived at the church. We walked down the aisle. We declared our intentions and my cousin preached. We exchanged our vows. Our hands were blessed. Kenny put a ring on it and kissed his bride. We were pronounced Mr and Mrs! We left the church in a blizzard of confetti, and took a "just-married" trolley ride. We made it legal. We took pictures with our families, followed by wedding party portraits. I hit a low point and poured over reception details. We received our guests. The wedding party was introduced. My Dad checked his toast off of his to-do list. Our Best Man and Maid of Honor shared toasts as well. The we cut our cake and had our First Dance. We shared a dance with our parents. And had an Anniversary Dance to celebrate all the marrieds. The photobooth opened for business. I serenaded my husband. The dance floor opened. Kenny's grandmother rocked the dance floor. The party continued and finally rocked to a close. 

On the Weigh: NSV

WI: +0.6

Meh.

It wasn't a great week. I over-ate and under-exercised. C'est la vie.  Still, I'd rather not let a half pound turn into something more, so it's officially Fresh Start Saturday.  When the scale doesn't do what you want, you have to focus on other sources of encouragement and measures of success.

• We had a taste for wings during the Mizzou game this afternoon, but I made baked buffalo chicken bites instead.
• I got up to work out this morning, which never happens on Saturdays, for 6 APs to start the week ... I'm ready to start week 4 of C25k! Huzzah!
• Menu is planned. Grocery list set.
• 80 ounces of water consumed already today.

It's a start.  Hopefully the scale will tell a different tale this time next week.

My mom and I share motivational and inspirational quotes back and forth.  Here are two that really resonated with me this week:

The key to success is in your backbone, not your wishbone.

Motivation gets you started, habit keeps you going.

Have a great, healthy week!

Skillet Cookie

'Tis the season for yummy sweets for you and your sweetheart.  I love Valentine's Day for this reason.  Chocolate is basically an entire food group.  I dig it.  I also dig pan-sized cookies.  Win-win.

Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups (about 9 ounces) semisweet-chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; mix until they are fully incorporated. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.Transfer dough to a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, and press to flatten, covering bottom of pan. Bake until edges are brown and top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Don't overbake; it will continue to cook a few minutes out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into 8 wedges. Serve warm.  Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Yummmmmy. Enjoy!