The best thing

You already know (if you read this post) that I love hot tea.  My love is really just for tea in general.  When I say "tea", don't misunderstand me.  I am definitely a sweet tea girl.  I love getting iced sweet tea. 
Tonight I had another volleyball game.  (I don't know if I have mentioned yet on the blog that I play volleyball, but I do.)  Tonight's game was the best I have played all season!  Even though we lost, I went home happy and pleased that I had tried my hardest.  To make the ride even better, a song by Mat Kearney came on the radio.  Feeling the need to have my own little jam, my mom and I rolled down the windows and turned up the radio.  Sipping away at my delicious sweet tea and riding around town in my little red truck, I could not have been much happier.  You see, it is the little things in life that are really the most amazing.  All you have to do is stop a minute and look at how blessed you are.  I am continually amazed at how much God has blessed my life.  My delicious sweet tea, my jamming in the truck, and my great volleyball game made my day so amazing.  I hope your day was just as amazing. 

What do you like to jam to in your car/truck?  Do you have a minivan jam or is it the sweet sports car jam?  Does sweet tea make you happy? 

Remember: Tomorrow is Friday, so let's celebrate that the weekend is almost here!

The Cosby Show.

Sorry for the bad quality of this picture.

To end my weekend, I sat in my room and watched an episode of The Cosby Show and ate this piece of Oreo fudge pie.  Let me tell you, it was a great way to end my Sunday night.  Not totally ready for the week (because I enjoyed my time of resting), I am glad that I had a great weekend.  I got to spend time with friends and had a great youth service at church tonight.  I hope your weekend was great too!  Have a great week and eat some great food!

Dear Hot Tea,

What would I do without you?  I mean really?! A winter without you would be like a white Christmas without snow...impossible.  Sitting in a comfy chair, wrapped in a blanket, drinking hot tea, and either wathching a movie or reading a good book is how I prefer to spend my free time in the winter.  I just wanted to let you know that you are essential to my mornings.  When I am cold and bundled up on my way to school, I can always count on some hot tea to warm me up.  I love you hot tea!!!  Your the best!

Love,
a loyal hot tea drinker

Best Friends

Hey guys!  I just wanted to recommend another blog to you real quick.  My best friend and I have a blog of letters back and forth to each other.  It is really fun for us to right.  I hope it is just as fun for you to read.  Click here to go to the blog.  Enjoy!!!

a goal accomplished

At the beginning of my summer, I posted a blog with a challenge.  The challenge was to set out on an adventure to eat 10 new things.  In case you forgot about that blog (or you are a new follower), you can reread it here.  So, I must say that I completed my own challenge.  I don't really know what all I ate, but I did enjoy most of the things I tried.  I won't list everything I tasted, but I will tell you my favorite thing--- a MANGO!  I had never eaten an actual mango before.  A few weeks ago, I was at the store and decided to buy one and try it.  I loved it!  I have only ever had them in drinks like Snapple.  I really love fruit in general, so this was just another fruit to add to my list of fruits I like.  Have you ever had a real mango before??  The majority of the new food I tried was Indian.  I had all of that while I was visiting Canada.  The samosa would be the highlight of the Indian food I had, but I really enjoyed it all.

p.s. I even saved the seed so that I can plant it.  I still must research on planting it, but I will let you know if anything exciting happens to it.  Just to see a small sprout of a tree sometime would make me happy. 

Did you try a lot of new food this summer?

special for my canadian followers

here it is--TORONTO!!

Well, this is actually from the American side.

These few pictures above are just a couple of the sights I saw while I was in Canada.  Are they not amazing?  I had such a great time there!  I hope and pray all the time that I might get to go back soon in a short time.  We will see how God uses me in the next few years.

Since this is a food blog, I want to tell you about the food I had in Toronto.  The area I stayed in was highly influenced by South Asian food.  One thing I tried was a samosa.  It was a very interesting food to me.  I had never tried one before or even heard of one until I ate it.  Later I found that there are many different kinds.  The one I ate had mashed potatoes, peas, and other things.  It was all these different thing mixed together (to make a green goodness of food) and held inside dough.  The whole thing is fried to make it a golden brown color on the outside.  It is kind of hard to put into words.  I don't even really know what kind I did have.  While there, I had some other food originating in India.  I really liked it all.  I had really eaten almost no Indian food before going on the trip.  I enjoyed all the food and all the sites of my trip!  I hope that you can enjoy Canada some day if you already have not!

p.s.

Dear Canadians,

I just want you to know that you now have a very special place in my heart.  God is working through people where you live all the time.  You are amazing people in an amazing place!

Much love,

"Beckie"

Have a blessed Wednesday night everyone!

How We Party

I am finally finding time to blog during a break in my crazy busy schedule.  Canada was amazing! I loved it so much that I dream of going back almost all the time.  I will tell you more about that trip in my next post.
I got to hang out with some really cool friends this past Thursday night.  We were having a party to not only see each other, but we also wanted to reminisce childhood as we watched old Disney movies.  People trickled to the party on their own time, so we did not want to start without them.  We had to make cupcakes anyways, so it was fine that people were late.  Nothing could have fit the moment better than turning the TV on to the Food Network.  Who can seriously say that they hate the Food Network?  If that is the case for you, I am confused by your thoughts.  One of my brothers doesn't like it, but that doesn't count.  I will never be able to understand my brothers fully.  So to start off our Disney party, we made cupcakes and watched cooking shows for about two hours.  Giada was the first show on.  Not only was I excited to be watching the cooking channel, I was ecstatic to see one of my all time favorite cooks on first.

Following that, we watched Top Chef and Chopped. 
The only bad thing about watching these shows is the watching part.  My mouth waters almost uncontrollably for the food I am watching be prepared.  I wish I could taste a little bit of everything, but alas, I must be content to stay on the couch and marvel at the brilliance behind it all.  Eventually we did get on with the party.  We watched several Disney movies.  Dinner consisted of some amazingly delicious pizza and some veggies.  I tried a cucumber.  I know I have had one before a while back, but I forgot what they tasted like.  I am more of a broccoli and cheese girl.  I also love green beans, corn, and generally carrots.  I use the word 'generally' because I am not a huge fan of cooked carrots. 
That being said, I had a great time hanging out with friends, making food, watching food, and eating food.  I hope you have had some good food this week!
I have one thing to leave you with before you go.  Hopefully you are not gone forever.  My hope is that you are drawn back again to read more.  The thing I most enjoy about the cooking channel is the passion the people have for the food.  Giada used the word--divine--to describe her food yesterday.  What words do you have to describe your food?? Try and use that word to describe some kind of food you eat this next week.

Travel the world??

Well, hello again. It seems like I have been gone forever, and I really have been gone for a long time. In just a few hours I am actually leaving to go on a mission trip to Toronto, Ontario. I am very excited and have only a few minutes to blog before I finish getting ready. It seems like I have been traveling all over the place!

I just wanted to let you know that when I get back, I will post some pictures. I just got back a little more than a day ago from family vacation. We stopped at a historic little Route 66 diner. It was adorable and I can't wait to show you pictures i took. Also, my mom made me my favorite meal last night. What is it?? I will let you know when I get back. I will even put the recipe on here. Hopefully you will love it even half as much as I do.

I really do have to finish getting ready for my trip. I will catch you up on everything when I get back home.

Is your summer this busy?? I just seem to have one thing right after the other. At least I am not bored at all!

Dear you out there,

Hi!  This might be your first time to read my blog.  This might be the second time you happen to be here.  You might read this consitantly.  Maybe you wish I would write more.  Maybe you wish I would write something interesting once in a while.  I don't know where you are at right now.  I hope you are having a great day.  Are you really supposed to be working, but you got distracted and ended up here?  Are you at home?  Is it cold?  Is it really hot?  Are you outside or inside?  Do you wish you could be traveling around?  Are you really hunrgy (like I always seem to be)?  I just want to say hi to you--whoever you are.  Comment to let me know what you think about my blog or food.  Recommending food/recipes to me will definitely make my day.
Sometimes when I am blogging, I try to imagine people reading it.  Do mainly older people read it or do young people enjoy it too?  Is it boring?  I really hope you enjoy it because I enjoy writing it!  Bye!

Who's your daddy??

For Father's Day, my family went to Qdoba.  We went mainly because we had coupons--the way my family rolls.  Haha. 
Anyways, it was really yummy.  I had this three cheese nacho thing.  I will give you a decription of what this meal looked like...
First down was a handful or two of nice tortilla chips.  Then the nice employee drizzled some really great white cheese on top.  The cheese was slightly spicy and oh so delicious.  I generally get mine with chicken (as I did this time).  The only other two options you can have are: beef or beans.  Then you can add whatever!  That is right my friend.  I generally don't get a lot of toppings.  During this particular time, I got sour cream and salsa.  I might have gotten something else, but I seriously can't remember.  All I know is that I had a great dinner.  I love my daddy!  I also have the most amazing heavenly Father!  I have been so blessed...

DONE...but not forever

Saturday...

So, I guess you are wondering how my week finished out.  Sorry to keep you in suspense for so long.  It did not exactly end how I wanted it to.  As I look back over what I accomplished, I am proud of what I did.  I like to cook more challenging things than I did this week, but it was a little hard.  We had basically no time to run to the grocery store because we were always doing other things.  I guess we will make a big store run today or tomorrow. 
Do you remember in my last blog how I said that I wanted to end with a last big meal?  Well, that did not actually happen.  It ended up that everyone had parties to go to and would not be home for dinner.  I ended up having leftover taco stuff.  Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it!  It was nice to slow down a little bit after a crazy busy week.
My mom and brother got back from their mission trip and my mom was able to take back her kitchen.  I was sad to give up everything except the dishes.
I am glad you decided to come along with me on my adventurous week.  I had a fun time and I hope you enjoyed reading about it.
Now I am back to just helping my mom in the kitchen, hopefully making some more cupcakes, and trying new recipes.

p.s.  I still have to catch you up sometime on my Memorial Day meals.  Yummy!  Hopefully I can do that this week!

BYE!

At a loss for themes...

I am pretty proud of myself for coming up with my themes this week.  (You might not be so impressed.)  Tonight and tomorrow I had planned on just winging it.  Tonight's diner has come and gone and I still have no theme.  I really just wanted to have Mexican food.  I ground up some pork (to change it up from beef).  You could put together your meal however you wanted.  First went down the chips.  Then you would spoon on some meet.  After this would be the time for you to be creative.  You could add cheese, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, onions, etc.  It turned out to be a great meal.  It was actually a good thing that I did not have anything else planned.  Soon after we got done eating, we went to a Christian bookstore.  I got the book Radical by David Platt.  I have just started it and really love it so far.  After that, I have spent most of my night at Home Depot.  We continued to stay and look around forever.  We had to find paint for this room and tile for that room and the list went on and on.  I love doing design stuff probably second to cooking and writing, but it is just a lot of time standing around talking to employees.  All in all, it was a yummy diner and fun night.  We were able to get some good paint colors.  Maybe some rooms will get painted in my house now.  Now I just have to find some ideas for my bathroom...

Tomorrow might not really have a theme either, but I hope to make a really great meal to end off my week of making diners... 

That's SUPER!

I have been proud of myself this week for blogging every day this week...until I broke that yesterday.

Yesterday...
Last night for dinner I did not have a theme because I went to a church event.  I had a really good time.  We ate and read some more of a book we are going through.  For dinner, we had pininis.  I loaded that baby up!  I had so much stuff piled on that bread.  I had ham, lots of different cheeses, mushrooms, and peperoni.  It might sound kind of weird, but it was amazing!  A little while later, we made sundaes.  The biggest new thing that I had on mine was chocolate whipped cream!!!  Seriously, you have got to get yourself some of that stuff.

Tonight...
Well, my brother really likes the movie Sky High.  I decided we could watch that tonight and have a superhero theme.  I was at the store and I was looking for a sub sandwich to get.  There just happened to be a sub called-- Super Sub.  What a fitting name!  It was seriously amazing.  It was huge.  We went home and added more toppings.  The whole night was relaly fun.

Even though I had sandwiches two nights in a row, they were both very different.  Both of them were special and very delicious in their own ways.  What do you like to put on your sub sandwiches?  I am a meat and cheese kind of girl.  I also like mushrooms a lot, but I think I already mentioned that before.

Have a fun rest of the night!

p.s.  Are you watching the Heat vs. Mavs game?  I just watched a few minutes tonight.  I really don't know who I am going for.  I decided that next season I need to get more into and follow basketball better.  Bye!

FOR NARNIA! AND FOR ASLAN!!!!!!

My dad suggested that tonight we have leftovers.  "Leftovers" is not a very attractive name, so I decided to call it something different.  I decided it was going to be called a Narnian feast.  I made chicken fried rice with some leftover chicken and rice.  It turned out to be really yummy!  I had another small thing or two to clean out the refrigerator.  Leftovers are really not that bad and it turned out to be a good meal.  I had a ton of dishes to do after we got done eating.  I put on some music and slaved away at the sink.  It was a lot to clean, but I felt a sense of accomplishment when everything was done.
For dessert, we ate sugar cookies.  I made them yesterday night to make up or not having my diner go as planned.  We iced them and put on sprinkles.  What a great little treat.
We watched Narnia:Prince Caspian after we settled down from cleaning.
I love Narnia!!

p.s. Here is a joke one of my really great friends told me today:

What starts with a "c" and sounds like a parrot?
A carrot!

*I hope you enjoyed my joke.  Share it with someone sometime.  Maybe they will find joy in the small things like I do.

Say what!

Well, tonight was themed--Cosby Party-- in honor of Bill Cosby. 
This happened to be a pretty interesting night so pay close attention.  I decided I wanted to make a soul food for diner.  The soul food reminded me of Bill Cosby.  I found a website with soul food recipes.  There was one for chicken and dumplings.  It looked easy enough so I decided to try it.  I called my mom early in the day and she asked me what I was making.  I told her and she asked me if I was going to use the crock pot.  I hadn't planned on it, but I would use it since she suggested it.  Later on in the day, it got to be time for me to start preparing diner.  I put some water in the crock pot and waited for it to boil.  My mom called while I was waiting and asked what I was doing.  I told her that I was waiting for the water to boil in the crock pot.  She kindly informed me that she didn't know  if water boiled in the crock pot and I should probably use the stove.  Well, that put me at a short set back.  The water took no time to boil on the stove and the chicken was in.  I looked at the recipe again because I remembered it said to make the dumplings while the chicken boiled.  When I happened to read over it again, I came across something that changed my night.  It said to boil a hen or 5-6 lbs. of chicken.  I boiled only 2 lbs. and had no spare hens on hand.  It hit me then that all the other measurements would be off since I did not have the right amount of chicken.  Since I knew what I wanted to make, I went to look for a chicken and dumpling recipe.  All of them had ingredients I did not have on hand except one.  It looked easy enough.  I was prepared to make it...until I read the comments.  The first comment gave it a one star and said it tasted like chicken and rubber.  None of the other comments were any better so I gave up.  I had little time left and a diner to prepare.  Finally, I decided to make quesadillas.  They turned out to be great!  Though it did not go as planned, my diner was very delicious and everyone enjoyed it.  All it took was a little stress, cheese, tortillas, and boiled chicken.  You never know--quesadillas might be one of Bill Cosby's favorite foods!

To end the night, my dad, my youngest brother, and I gathered around our record player.  You heard me right.  A record player.  I think it was given to us by my grandpa.  I had received a Bill Cosby record from my best friend.  It is my favorite.  We did not finish it tonight, so we will have something to do tomorrow afternoon.

p.s. We had great weather here tonight.  There was a free Christian concert that I went to go see.  They put them on all summer.  Fun stuff!  Hope you had a great night!

I really like Bill Cosby which is why I had this night.  Fat Albert and the Cosby Show are favorites of mine.  What a great and amazingly funny man!

Follow those tracks!

Tonight was MYSTERY DINER!
We have a channel on TV that plays retro shows.  On Sunday there is always a Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew Mystery.  (It changes every week.)  Tonight happened to be a Hardy Boys mystery. 
As I was planning on diner earlier today, I was thinking of something to eat to go with the mystery theme.  I thought about it all day, but I was coming up with nothing.  All of the sudden it hit me right before I was just going to throw something from the freezer into the oven.  Hotdogs!  Most of the times hotdogs are composed of mystery substances.  Disgusting right?!  I found some hotdogs and cooked them in a pan on the stove.  Of coarse we always get the ones with only beef just so we know what we are eating.  Both the diner and show were great!  I just got done playing the game Clue.  My youngest brother won.  It was Mrs. Peacock in the kitchen with the revolver.  Who would have known?  Tough lady that Mrs. Peacock. 

p.s.  For dessert, we had some nutella on bread.  It was supposed to go with last nights diner (because it has hazel nuts which happen to be a part of Rapunzel's favorite soup), but we forgot.  It was so yummy.

By the way, the big hotdogs I thought I was cooking ended up being bratwurst.  Case solved!  (I did actually make some actual hotdogs though too.) 

Wondering when will my life begin?

Well my life as a substitute mom actually has begun today.  I am in charge of planning and preparing diners for the next week.  Lunch and breakfast at my house during the summer is a "fend for yourself" kind of thing or "eat if you are hungry". I decided this afternoon that all my diners were going to be themed.  That is right dear readers.  I especially wanted to start it out with a big bang.  My first night was...ready for this...TANGLED PARTY!
I made spaghetti for dinner tonight.  My mom generally breaks the spaghetti noodles in half before she puts them in the boiling pot (so they are not as long and messy).  In the spirit of the occasion, I did not break mine (so that they wouldn't turn brown of course!)  Do you see where I am going here?  Well the spaghetti was like Rapunzel's hair! Cool right!I had some corn and my dad had some green beans.  It was a really yummy meal.  To drink with my delicious spaghetti I had milk.  The milk was to help me grow big and strong.  Those muscles would help me handle that frying pan.  If you haven't guessed, Tangled is pretty much my favorite movie right now.  To top of the night, I made root beer floats.  Guess where I might have gotten them from?  Did I hear you guess Snugly Duckling?  You would be 100% correct! I hope you get your share of Tangled for the week.  We watched (and I sang along with) Tangled as we ate.  A night well spent!






For your pleasure...



Eugene...




I really like her with brown hair. You?



Do I ever eat anything healthy?

OK.  So those pictures are finally going to be posted tonight.

First off, we have a snickers cake.  This one did not have nuts in it because one of my brothers doesn't like nuts.  I love nuts (especially peanuts and pecans).  It was an amazing cake.  We had it two or three weeks ago.  I think it was gone in two to three days.  Our family has a very dominant sweet tooth.

(Someone started cutting it before I had time to run and get the camera.)

YUMMY! This was my first piece. Haha.

The second cake is a cake I made.  I got a recipe from a facebook friend.  It was for this melted ice cream cake.  My mom thought it was going to be an ice cream cake when I told her, but the melted ice cream is actually added into the mixture with the cake.  I meant to make it for her for Mother's Day.  The baking was slightly delayed due to me not having the ingredients.  I was able to make it for her just days later.  She was gone and came home to see it sitting on the table.  She was very surprised.  It tasted amazing.  I would totally make it again.  I will try to put the recipe up tomorrow.  Here it is......TaDa!

(I even set the table.  Can I get a high five for that one?) 

The other food I happen to eat quite frequently on Saturday mornings is chocolate chip pancakes.  The picture below happens to be a few I prepared for my self only a couple weekends ago.  They were quite delicious as they always are.  What kind of pancakes do you like?



Now that's what I am talkin' about!



I have one last food to share with you tonight.  I went to Orange Leaf with my family.  It is one of the many self-serve frozen yogurt places in town.  I get a little bit of a huge assortment to flavors.  Tonight I tried a new one.  No, this will not be used as one of my new summer things because it was not daring at all.  I tried the kiwi frozen yogurt.  I love fresh kiwis and absolutely fell in love with this ice cream.  I am definitely going to go get it again.  If you have an Orange Leaf near you, please try the kiwi.  If you like fresh kiwis, I am sure you will never live to regret it.



My bowl of frozen yogurt.  Once full.  Now empty.



And yes, I do eat eat healthy food.  

Amen

A prayer before the meal is a simple and generally quick gesture done before each meal. Prayer does not only occur at the dinner table.  God is obviously omnipresent and hears you whenever and wherever you speak to Him.  He is really an amazing God!

Last week we started a new series in Sunday school at my church.  We are going through the book--Don't Waste Your Life.  It is written by John Piper.  I definitely recommend it to you.  Anyways, this morning I began to cultivate a new view on prayers before meals. 

Normally when the food is set out at my home, I am pretty hungry.  I can barely wait to get to the good food.  Usually my mom has prepared an amazing dish.  When homework is not too constricting, I help out as much as possible.  Everyone rushes to the table to sit down.  Someone says a prayer and we all begin to consume as much as our stomachs can hold.  I feel like for me (and maybe you too) that this prayer is just a kind of ritual. Do you understand what I am getting at?  Like I don't think people generally take as seriously or really think too much on this prayer.

Today in Sunday school we talked about having a cross-centered life.  Our teacher mentioned Matthew 6:33.  This verse says: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."  Many people seek the pleasures of the world and set God on the back burner (to use a kitchen term).  When I say most people, I am definitely including myself.  I am just as much a sinner as anyone.  The fact of the matter is this: if the thing of first and utmost importance to us is the cross, everything else we could ever want is given to us by God. 

You see, the prayer before each meal should not be taken lightly by any matter.  No prayer should be taken lightly.  Go deeper than just the food itself sitting in front of you on a plate.  Go to the root of the situation.  This was part of what our teacher said in Sunday school this morning.  Think of the ability that God gave the person who made the food.  Think of how creative God is.  He made all those amazing tastes and taste buds to communicate it all to us.  Think of how dull the world would be without all the amazing tastes of food! When you have this mind set, how could you not thank God with sincerity for the food you are just about to eat?  Instead of practically inhaling your food, eat bite by bite enjoying what you have been given.  

The last thing I encourage you to do other than rethink your prayer before meals is to have a cross-centered view on life.  Think about the verse I mentioned.  There is no reason to strive over the things of the world.  God will give you all you need if you just have Him as your focus.  Hope you had a great Sunday! 

God bless you as you begin a new week. 

Recipe Book

A recipe book. It sits alone only with others of its kind on the shelf. Some people are intrigued by it and pick it up. They take a little look at each recipe. Other people who pick it up only look at the pictures. Some people will never pick up the recipe book. Then again, others leave it open like they understand it. To those people, it is only a decoration. Friends in my life can be described in these ways. I am the recipe book.  I have had those friends and acquaintances that just know a few certain things about me. Some “friends” of mine just care about interesting things about me or things pertaining to them. And the “friends” that leave me and others open for decoration, those are the worst. Those are the ones that end up leaving someone with heartbreak. They seem to know and care about you, but they don’t. I have known my share of these people. Then, there are those special ones. The special ones that genuinely care about you. They know your highs and lows. Those are the kind of people that treasure their cookbooks. They spend time in them often to learn new things. As the cookbook, that special friend is brought joy by learning things about me. That person brings me joy because they are pouring time into me. Quality time is being spent. Genuine friends will be that other cookbook sitting next to you on the shelf in the kitchen.  They will never leave you no matter how others treat you. They are friends to treasure.


This is a chapter from a short autobiography I had to write for school.  It could be edited a little to make it flow more smoothly, but I hope you enjoy it!


(p.s. Dear best friend,
When you read this, I hope you will notice that you are one of the ones I was talking about at the very end. You are special and I know you will sit up on that kitchen shelf with me forever.  Even if nobody comes by and looks into our lives or tastes our great food, we will always have each other and God as our best friends.  I love you.)

A Look into the Future

OK. I have been a little busy the past two weeks. Mainly this week. Finals started today at school and will be going through Friday. Studying is at a high as is the stress level. I hope you are having a good an stress free week.
Don't worry. I have eaten since I last wrote. I am just storing up all kinds of information to tell you when I have the time. I made a new cake recipe a few days ago  and will be making another one in a day or two. I also found a small stack of recipes from magazines I meddled through. Slowly, I hope to get you some of those that I found. The pictures look great and the recipes themselves sound just as amazing. I am hoping to do a lot of cooking this summer.
One of the things I have planned for this summer is traveling. Besides cooking, traveling is another one of my favorite activities. I will take pictures of the food I eat and let you know how it tasted. Food can be a hard thing to look at without craving it for yourself. I guess I am speaking that from experience. I will try to put recipes up when I know them. I encourage you to try new foods this summer. Get crazy in the kitchen and make something great. You never know if you like something until you try it.
My challenge to you is to set a goal to try at least 10 new things this summer. It can be any kind of food. I don't think it would be right for me to set a goal for you and not complete it myself. I will also take on this goal. You get bonus points for extra things tried. If you are really outstanding in trying exotic things, I will thrown in a high five. That should get you motivated.

GO FOR IT!

Now I am off to write myself a note reminding me of my new goal. Bye!

(I will have pictures up in the near future.)

My day has been made.

My little brother brought me home a box of sour patch kids tonight.  You don't know me if you don't know that I LOVE Sour Patch Kids.  I hope you like them too because they are amazing.  A girl brought like a 5-pound bag of them on our mission trip last year.  She let me have a couple handfuls and it made me REALLY happy.  Now that I have a box tonight, my day is complete.  It is kind of the simple things in life that make my day great.  It can be anything from talking with my best friend to a box of Sour Patch Kids... 

Hope you had a good Wednesday!

Seis de Mayo (I meant to do this yesterday)

Instead of having our Mexican meal on Cinco de Mayo, we had it yesterday on the 6th.  One day off is not all that bad.  My mom made up that ground beef and then we could do whatever we wanted.  I just piled everything on my chips.  I had beef, cheese, salsa, and sour cream.  I really like refried beans with melted cheese on the top but we didn't make that the other night. 

I love Mexican food (and I am sure I have already told you that).  One of my favorite Mexican restaurants is Agave.  I will tell you about that amazing place during another blog...

Did you have Mexican food on Cinco de Mayo? What did you eat?

I am sorry if I repeat myself on different blogs.  I can't remember sometimes what I have said and what I haven't.  :)

Adios!

SOMEONE is getting MARRIED!

I was one of those people who got up at 4 a.m. today.  I was so excited to see all the dresses and hats.  There were some CRAZY hats! So much fun! I love Princess Catherine's wedding dress.  It was so gorgeous.  Pippa's dress was super beautiful also.  It was really exciting and fun to watch on TV.  I did make some hot green tea for my mom and I to drink while we watched!  We used two tea cups I had been given by my grandmother.  Though I was not invited, I enjoyed drinking my hot tea while wrapped in a blanket sitting on my couch.  It was such  special time to spend with my mom.  DID YOU SEE THAT CAKE?!  Wow!  I will try to put a picture up soon in case you didn't!

WAHOO!

Guess who found their camera?! This girl!  Woot! Woot!  Anyways, here are some pictures of the cupcakes I blogged about a couple days ago. Hope you like them! They were so fun to make! I really love cupcakes!  YUM!



This is one of my favorite ones :)

And so were my Easter egg cupcakes.  I loved making them.  It took a long time.  Part of the reason was because I got distracted.  I watched an old version of Emma.  (That is seriously an amazing movie and book.  I definitely recommend it to you!)  
The delivery part was probably the most intense.  We went with a friend to take them an assistant living/nursing home.  On the way over, my mom and I sat in the back of the car.  We each held a tray of cupcakes.  All of the sudden it started hailing.  CRAZY! It was a little wild considering the fact that we could barely see the road.  It was a blessing to get all the eggs to the final destination without destroying them.  They looked all the more amazing after knowing what all had happened to get them to the right place.   

p.s. Remember! The Royal Wedding comes on really early tomorrow morning! Get excited! Pull out those tea cups, make some hot tea, sit, relax, and watch the wedding.  Those are my plans.  :)

LOST! and other things about me...

I have not been able to find my camera to upload those cupcake pictures.  It makes me quite sad because they were so cute.  Don't worry.  I will find it soon. 

How was your Tuesday?  Mine was very interesting.  Thethe power went out at my school.  Just as everyone was about to leave, the lights came back on.  Some worker at the power plant near us messed something up.  Anyways, all that to say that our lunch got pushed back about 10 MINUTES! I was quite sad because my tummy was already getting quite impatient.  To tie me over, I had two Reese's peanut butter cups.  I have to say that I feel terrible sorry for those who are allergic to peanut butter.  I hope you do not suffer that.  I love peanut butter.  Especially peanut butter and chocolate. 

Now my mom and I are just deciding on a meal for dinner.  I am definitely going to have some hot tea afterwards.  I love hot tea.  We are supposed to get a storm tonight.  It has been raining the last couple of days.  I love rain.  It is so soothing.  My favorite nights are a rainy Friday nights.  I just sit on the couch bundle up watching a good movie and drinking my hot tea. 

I guess you learned a lot of interesting things that I like today.  What are some things that interest you? 

It's almost Easter...

Easter is great for two main things really.

The first thing that makes Easter the greatest is Jesus! I can't even tell you how much He means to my life.  That is a story I will probably share with you another day.

Easter is also fun because you get to make great food.  Today I am going to be making Easter cupcakes for a friend.  I will post pictures either when I get them done or tomorrow hopefully.  I realize now that I am an official blogger and all how busy my life really is :).

Do you have plans for Easter?  Is family coming or are you going to them?  I am not doing anything except staying home.  I am also going to cook and go to church.  If you have no plans this Sunday, I totally encourage you to go to church.  The story of Jesus/ death and Resurrection is so amazing and his love for you and me is indescribable.

Have a good rest of the day!

p.s. High five for you if you are out of school tomorrow!

So you think you have what it takes?

This is probably my new favorite TV show! Have you seen it?  If you haven't, I will quickly recap what has happened so you can be prepared for the next episode tomorrow.

Here are the contestants from the start of the show.  They all think they have what it takes.  Do they?  Only one will win?  Which one? That is the big question that America must be asking right now.  I sure know that I am.  Starting with...

And by the end of the first episode:

Over the coarse of this season of America's Next Great Restaurant, the contestants have had to do an assortment of different things.  All their efforts are in striving for the prize.  The prize?  Good question.  The winner will get three restaurants in three of America's largest cities.

First they had to come up with their idea.  What was their restaurant going to be called?  What is there slogan and logo going to be? Menu? Who was going to be their chef.  This ended up being a hot topic with some contestants as the weeks went on.  Did the contestant have what it takes to fire a chef if they just can't make anything work.  Some were thinking too much about not hurting their chef's feelings.  They thought it would work out.  What a mistake.  That caused some problems with the investors.  The investors? Who? Well...

Investors (left to right): Steve Ells: co-CEO, founder, and chairman of Chipotle.
Bobby Flay: restaurateur with a couple cooking shows
Lorena Garcia: restaurateur and executive chef
Curtis Stone: famous chef also on TV shows
These four investors will invest in the business that they choose as the winner.  I guess that is why they are called "The Investors".

Last weeks was probably one of my favorites yet.  Each contestant had to design their uniform and participate in a photo shoot.  The food challenge was "Investor's Choice".  The investors could pick anything of a contestants menu and ask them to make it a certain way.  It was to help each contestant define their idea a little more.
The photo shoot was great.  Some of the uniforms were better than others.  All the restaurants are supposed to be somewhat healthy and somewhat fast-foodish. 



Sandy (from Sinners and Saints) was in the bottom three.

Jamawn (from Soul Daddy) picked a more formal uniform, but he was safe.

Sudhir (from Spice Coast) is doing Indian food.

Stephenie (from Harvest Sol) is doing nutritious foods.

Joey (from Saucy Balls) makes all kinds of meat balls.  He was in the final three last week.

Greg and Krystal (the Grill'billies) was probably my favorite outfit.  They also had the best food--Cherry Coke Burgers (or something). 

 Eric--Meltworks--was actually the contestant to get kicked off.  He had this idea of a grilled cheese shop for so long that he was not exactly very open to suggestions. 

The one thing I wish is that I could taste some of this food.  Hope you tune in tomorrow night!  You can catch up on all the past episodes and see pictures like these on NBC.com.

What would your restaurant be like if you had one?

Don't play with your food!

"It's so beautifully arranged on the plate - you know someone's fingers have been all over it."
— Julia Child

This s such a great point. When I am making a meal, I try hard to make it look beautiful. Nobody wants to eat food that looks disgusting. People will generally be more inclined to try something if it looks appealing. It might just be me, but I am goin to guess maybe you are the same way. Anyways, it is good point that Julia makes. If you think about it, that food had to be handled a fair amount of times to look perfect. Remember what you parents used to tell you all the time? "Don't play with your food!"
Though your food my not e fit to put on a magazine, keep cooking! Don't give up! Cooking and baking are the two most of my most favorite things! Making perfect food is not very normal. The taste is what really counts! Hope you had some great meals today!

A thought for the day...

"Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."
— Julia Child

"Bon A Petiet"

For the next couple days, I will be sharing Julia Child quotes with you. She really has a great insight on the cooking world. I hope you enjoy the quotes!

"This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!"
— Julia Child (My Life in France)

¡Muy Bueno!

Dinner tonight was cooked by my wonderful mother.  She is such a great cook.  Then again—who does not argue that their mother is the best cook.  If you can not argue this, I am deeply sorry for you.  I hope that you will take on the task for her and be the best cook that you can be.  Cooking is fun!!

Anyways, my mother got this recipe for a chicken taco soup off of allrecipes.com.  I love that site.  Here was the recipe that she used to make my family dinner:

·         1 onion, chopped

·         1 (16 ounce) can chili beans

·         1 (15 ounce) can black beans

·         1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

·         1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

·         1 (14.5 ounce) can Chicken broth

·         2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, not drained

·         1 (1.25) package taco seasoning

·         3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts

·         shredded Cheddar cheese (optional—I highly suggest)

·         sour cream (optional—also a great addition)

·         crushed tortilla chips (optional—If you have them, use them=yummy)

Directions:

1.       Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker.  Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend.  Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients.  Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.

2.       Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled.  Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours.  Serve with optional toppings.

Like I said, this recipe was from allrescipes.com.  My mom altered it slightly.  You can add more or less.  It is your meal and you can do what you want.  Have fun creating some great food!

I hope that this recipe inspires you to go out and either cook something like it or this meal itself.  It was truly delicious. 

You can eat this and watch the March Madness games like us! Let’s give a WOOT! WOOT! for basketball!  Have a great weekend!

p.s. Thanks to my mom for this great meal!

It's Friday, Friday...gotta cook dinner on Friday!

Though I might not be as excited about it being Friday as Rebecca Black, the new YouTube sensation, I am pretty excited.  This has been a crazy week, and I am ready to settle things down a little. 

                Tonight I made a very yummy dinner.  It is a great quick dinner to make—chicken and spaghetti. 

    I boiled the water first and then put in the noodles.  I love noodles.  After the noodles were done in the boiling water, I took them out and put them in a strainer.  Strainers are cool things.  If you don’t have one, get one.  I have just the normal strainer, but the really cool ones are the lids that I have strainers built in them.  It’s the small things in life that can bring me joy.  While the spaghetti was cooking, I heated up some chicken.  It was the nice little “just heat up in the microwave” kind of chicken--great stuff for a quick Friday night dinner.  They both finished at about the same time.  I find it hard to get everything I make finished at the same time and hot.  Tonight was a success! Score! To finish it off, I put a piece of provolone on the chicken.  I love cheese.  I could eat cheese almost all the time.  My favorite is Colby jack, but I like plain cheddar a lot too.  That together with my noodles and spaghetti sauce I already had made a great meal. 

    Now I am off to spend the rest of my Friday night.  I am thinking a movie?! Maybe even some popcorn!

    I hope you have a great weekend and a great dinner!

Welcome!

Hi guys! My name is Beckie.  Not only do I love to eat food, but I also love to make food. I really just LOVE food.

Here is a list of some of my favorite foods:
almost any fruit (mainly strawberries, kiwi, oranges, apples, and pomegranates), most chicken (especially poppy seed chicken), Mexican (but I am not big on black beans), cornbread, Italian (mostly lasagna but I like the other stuff too), pizza (thick crust pepperoni is my favorite), dessert (especially brownies, cake, cupcakes, apple dump cake, chocolate moose, and pudding), yogurt, and lots of other food.  That is just the main stuff that came to mind right now.

Speaking of cupcakes, I made some from a new book I got last week.  
Here they are:      

These were my first ones.  They look pretty good, but I definitely have room for improvement. 

I hope that you love food as much as me.  Not just eating it, but I hope that you also enjoy making it.  I find so much satisfaction in a recipe well done. 

I hope you enjoy my blog as I learn different recipes, make new foods, and try new things.