Oui oui

I won't be baking anything personally for at least a couple of days...Partly because of family issues and partly because school is a fun-sucker. BUT I have been looking online the last couple of days and these keep catching my eye.

Macarons!

 According to WikiPedia, a macaron is "a sweet confectionery made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring. The macaron is commonly filled with buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies." Sounds yummy right? And oh so French.

They come in every color imaginable and since I've never actually had one, they're definitely something I'd like to try and make. But until then I'll just have to satisfy y'all with a bunch of scrumtious looking photos of some lovely macarons.

 

 For you Gossip Girls, even Blair and Serena love macarons!

So channel your sophisticated side, find a tiny cute bakery, and buy yourself some Macarons...Or maybe even try making them yourself. ;)

more presents and mexican food

The boyfriend's parents recently took a trip to the beautiful Hawaii while we were having our cold spell in Texas, and last night they visited us at school and brought us presents from the trip.
Knowing how much I LOVE coffee...They brought me both freshly ground and instant. I'm gonna need it for all the studying I'm about to do this week... >.<

 

Then they took us out to eat downtown. We decided on Mexican...Mi Cocina to be exact. 

Although it was a little chilly, we sat outside. Our table was by a giant standing heater so it wasn't so bad...Plus the food was delish.

Matt and I both had enchiladas:

Then before going back to campus we capped off the night with some...Starbucks! 

He got a steamed milk with vanilla (because he doesn't like coffee...yet...) and I got a skinny caramel macchiato. Yes they're overpriced. Yes this and that blah blah blah I'm so sick of everyone hatin' on Starbucks. Usually I just make my own coffee but if someone offers to buy me a macchiato I just can't resist. ;) Add a movie to that and last night was simply wonderful.

Be mine, Valentine

Yeah yeah I know Valentine's Day was 4 days ago but I'm posting about it anyway.
My lovely boyfriend gave me some lovely presents:

Red plastic cooking bowls!

heart shaped cookie pan!

josh groban's new cd!

So I can bake and listen to beautiful music at the same time...*sigh* He knows me so well...

In return I cooked dinner for us...but forgot to take pictures >.<
I was just really excited to eat...darn. Okay so I'm new to this blogging thing, gimme some credit.

But here's a cute picture of me and him together to make up for it.

Yeah this kinda sums up who we are hahaha.

Breakup Bars

              

This week has definitely been a tough one. Between family issues, numerous tests in my classes, weather changes resulting in a case of the sniffles, and people problems I'm just about through. I decided last night that I'm breaking up with this week. Me and this week are over, done, kaput. And to commemorate this messy breakup I decided to make Breakup Bars, which I found almost a full year ago here at Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy.  I followed the recipe (almost) exactly. The only change I made was putting nuts in the shortbread instead of toffee bits...probably not the best idea. They made the shortbread taste funny...I'll have to remember not to do that next time. Oh well, ya live ya learn. They still tasted AMAZING. (btw i had already cut the bars when I took the picture to the left...Does anyone else have a mom that tells them not to lick knives? I'm pretty sure if mine were here she'd be telling me that right now).

Although the origin of these treats involved an actual breakup with an actual person, I believe that they are appropriate relief in any stressful or upsetting situation. So I encourage you to find something to "break up with", whether it be a stressful week, a bad grade, or an annoying situation. Then eat one of these bars. With their buttery shortbread bottom, creamy caramel center, and yummy chocolate top layer, they're sure to make things better immediately.

Here's to a better week!

Putting the shortbread in the oven...bake bake bake!

mmmmm caramel sauce melting on the stove...confession: i burned my tongue trying to eat it off the fork. ow.

finished bars (uncut)

cut bars...yeah i had already eaten one or two...or three...

closeup...look at those layers *drool*

Food Stalking

I've always enjoyed reading other food blogs and browsing through endless lists of recipes online. I can spend hours (literally) looking through cookbooks and am always searching for new ideas/techniques. That's why I'm starting a list of blogs/websites that I find helpful or inspirational when it comes to food. You can find the page on the right side of my blog underneath the name "Need more food? Look here".

It's not a very long list yet, but every site on there is fantastic. Check'em out!
The first one I discovered last week is Can You Stay for Dinner. I'm already looking forward to making some of her recipes in the near future, so look for them on here.

Mmmm sugar

Wow it's been a week since my last post...sorry for slacking off. But between what's going on with my family and 4 (YES 4!) tests this week (plus a project or two..ugh) I haven't had much time or enthusiasm for baking. BUT...when I went home this weekend my mommy had a present for me:

COOKIE CUTTERS!!! And just in time for Valentine's Day. (Plus she got them for $4 at Ross...yay for bargains!) This means I will be baking cookies in the next few days...Yum. They'll be all heart-shaped and pink and red and adorable. And delicious of course. But until then...

I think the boredom from all of these snow days is getting to me...Yes, we had ANOTHER snow day at school today. Honestly, I'm glad for the break but this is getting a little bit old...That is why I will probably be baking lots of yummy creations in the next week or so. Which will keep me busy and make everyone in my dorm VERY happy. :)

The weather outside is frightful

I'm from Texas, I go to school in Texas. So it's safe to say that I am NOT used to the Northern (aka Yankee) weather we have been having for the entire week. And apparently neither is my school. Two inches of snow and icy roads with temps in the teens and twenties have shut down our school for 1, 2, 3 days so far. And I'm willing to bet that Friday's classes will be cancelled as well. In honor of the gross weather we've had I bring you chicken pot pie.

 Unfortunately this is the only picture I have of it, because the boyfriend and the boyfriend's roomie and I gobbled it up before I could get any more...Hey we're hungry college students can you blame us? Anyway, here's the recipe I used, adapted from a few online recipes I found...By the way I halved this recipe. The original makes a 9x13 pan and half of it fits in an 8x8 pan.

Chicken Pot Pie

3 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded

1 onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 cups potatoes, cubed
1 can green peas, drained
1 can corn, drained
6 tbsp. butter
1 cup flour
2 tbsp. chicken/vegetable bouillon, ground up (2 bouillon cubes)
2 cups chicken/vegetable broth
4 cups of milk (I used approx 2 cups of 2% milk, 1 cup heavy cream…probably should’ve used more though)
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
2 cans crescent rolls

½-1 cup shredded cheese (whatever kind, I used some mild cheddar)

1.      Cook potatoes and carrots until barely tender

2.      Cook onions until translucent

3.      Melt butter in big pot; add bouillon cubes, broth, garlic, milk, cheese, pepper, and flour; mix until smooth

4.      Add chicken

5.      Add vegetables one at a time, stirring between each addition

6.      Pour into baking pan and place crescent rolls on top (unrolled)

7.      Cook until rolls are browned

8.      Remove and enjoy!

Going out

I figured even though this is a blog about what I cook, I'd include some of my other food-like adventures as well. Which brings me to tell you about SmashBurger. Heard of it? Yeah me either, until they opened one less than a 5-minute drive from campus. I found out that they take our campus cash, so me and the boyfriend went out to eat last Friday. We wanted to try something new but not too expensive or fancy, and this seemed like the right choice.

 Their website pretty much gives you all of the information you need to know. The name SmashBurger comes from the fact that they actually smash the burgers on the grill to lock in the flavor and juicy-ness. Yummmm. They have stores in 19 states, and different menus with special items for each state. I definitely encourage you to check'em out...It's definitely not your normal burger. They're more expensive than say Burger King or McDonalds (my grilled chicken sandwich was $5.99, the boyfriend's burger was $6.99, and our fries were $1.69 apiece...with drinks it totaled up to a little less than $20) but I think it's worth it. It's a cute place to go on an informal date or with your girlfriends. They give you a number when you order (like the one below) and bring your food out to you.

Here's my chicken sandwich/fries 

The boyfriend burger (sorry for blurry-ness...he was impatient and ready to eat)

Happy couple with full tummies

One more shot of my fries (they're my weakness)