Erin with an E

My friends/old roommates Kris and Heather and I have this sick obsession with Pride and Prejudice. Not really the book or 6-hour BBC movie, mostly just this:

We get together every few months or so to watch the movie, while reciting certain parts and rewinding/rewatching our FAVORITE parts. You probably don't ever want to watch it with me because it's pretty crazy.
So great friends, great movie.. what goes along better than that then great food! Enter this:

Yup! Good ol butternut squash. It's even better when it turns into this:

Seriously. I love butternut squash soup and this was amazing. Recipe is here http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Butternut-Squash-Soup/Detail.aspx
Follow the comments and cook the squash first as well as only use 1 pkg of cream cheese. TO DIE FOR! add some nice fresh bread and oh man!
I was running behind and it was getting late so before the soup was done I made sure we had a nice little appetizer. Nothing says yum like spinach artichoke dip. I keep calling my dad for the recipe (he put it together). I found a copy of it so I didn't have to bug him this time. So cheesy and gooey! and you get a serving of vegetables :)

I was going to go all crazy and make fresh pumpkin pie with a homemade crust, but let's be honest, that would have been crazy. Plus we would have eaten at 10pm and it would have been too late for the movie. So I will admit I made the pie with canned pumpkin and frozen crust, but it was still delightful (failed to take a picture, so you'll just have to take my word for it).
We sat down and enjoyed our movie and girl talk and then before we knew it it was so late and time to go. Until next time ladies!

The Downside of Cooking Like Crazy!


But it's all worth it for this:

I was commiserating to my mom about having to make all these grown-up choices that I don't want to do. I told her how I just want to find the one job, in the place where I'll have the opportunity to find "the one". I told her to ask this man, also known as my Dad, if he had any insight on what I should do, where I should go. Instead of asking these exact words she told my dad that I was looking for my treasure chest and to see if he knew where it might be. My dad said, "If I knew where it was I would send you a ticket for you to go and get it." Tears may have made an appearance.

Thanks Dad! I love you! (and Mom for listening to me go ON and ON)

So last year I watched Julie & Julia, maybe just once. My roommate at the time bought me a strand of pearl for Christmas that year. I think went out and bought the book. This year for my birthday my sister got me my own copy of the movie AND Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook. After watching the movie again and commiserating on my current wonderful life I've decided that I need to do something fun. I haven't figured out what exactly to do, so I've opened up the blogstratosphere for your input. Do I take another cookbook (better homes, betty crocker, fannie farmer, etc) and do the same thing? Do I just take challenges from others and cook requested meals? Or do I just go with the flow and cook whenever, whatever I want? I really can't figure out to do.

Yesterday I was at a meeting and one of the ladies (I can't get over the fact that I'm now a "lady" and not just a "girl") said she didn't like what she was doing and didn't want to stay in her current position. She thought of what she really liked to do and what she could do to turn a profit. She came up with culinary school. She's still working while going to school, but will hopefully do something in the food industry upon completion.
I've gone back and forth with the idea of going to culinary school. I just don't like the idea of uncertainty. I don't know what's going to happen in the next few years. I don't know how my schedule will allow it. I just know that I really love to cook. It's a stress reliever for me. And I love making people happy, and what better way to do that then with amazing food to eat.
So I guess if you have any suggestions on what I should do with my life, the comment box is now open. If there's a recipe that you are dying to try, or have someone else try, let me know. We can cook together! Do you want to cook, but don't know where to start? I'm not a master chef, nor will I be, but I can teach you what little I know. We can start cooking lessons.

Oh well. that's all I have for now. Here's hoping we all survive the upcoming week!

So I haven't really kept up with this whole blog thing. I've moved houses, but in the same area. Same job, same ward, same life.. here's a little something to tide you over until I get back into the swing of things.

So I had some frozen cranberries and leftover cool whip and I had no idea what I was going to do with them. I've been toying with the idea of doing a dessert and I finally decided to try it. I made some rather large meringue cookies (2 egg whites beat until stiff peaks, add 3/4 cup sugar with a little vanilla, bake at 325 for 25 minutes, let cool). Then I cooked down some cranberries with some brown sugar and lemon juice and thickened it up with some corn starch. After everything was cooled I put it all together. Can I just say scrumptious?! And really, how can you make something so amazing and not have a little photo shoot :)

Now this isn't for sympathy/empathy.. this is just in case I end up in the psych ward in fetal position not being able to speak

Sunday - went down to Orem, got home around 10.. not too bad
Monday - Work, meetings, new employees, planning for week's quarterly staff meetings, more projects, family home evening, socializing, RS Pres meeting, got home at 11:00pm, no breakfast, 52 oz diet coke (not good), subway sandwich, can't remember if I had dinner, couldn't sleep, fell asleep around 3am
Tuesday - Really tired, Work, preparing for staff meeting, chocolate covered cashews for Breakfast/Lunch, run to store to get treats for staff meeting, make copies for staff meeting, set everything up for staff meeting, 5:15 Staff meeting, Help someone move, Marsala for dinner, tried to go to bed early, failed. NO DIET COKE
Wednesday - Busy Busy Day at work. On the verge of crying eyes or punching someone in the face (it was a toss up throughout the day), Ward Temple night (PEACE AND QUIET), ran to store to get treats for 2nd staff meeting.
Thursday - at work at 6:30 am to set up for staff meeting, 7am staff meeting, who knows what's going to happen, teach cooking lesson for Relief society weekday meeting ...
Friday - The wonderful ladies at work are letting me have the day off to PACK and CLEAN. Please remind me to do laundry. Find time to prepare lesson for Sunday
Saturday - Pack, Clean, Move
Sunday - Conduct RS, Teach RS. Go home. Sleep
Monday - Admit self to psych ward if haven't been involuntarily admitted.

Current City: Salt Lake City
Current Age: 28 years 10 months 2 days
Current Hair-style: Mia Michaels-esque, although today I was complimented on my faux-hawk
Current (Permanent) Marital Status: Single
Current State of Mind: Annoyed
Current State of Room: Boxed and disheveled
Current Calling: 1st Counselor in Relief Society
Current Book: Jesus the Christ (I'm almost half way!!)
Current Goal in life: Not to be so passive-aggressive, oh and to plan something totally awesome for my birthday

So last night my friend asked me if our ward was doing a break-the-fast (gotta love single wards). We decided that we should have one and I offered to have it at my place. We went through the first two meetings without announcing anything and then I finally announced it in Relief Society and had them announce it in Elders Quorum.

I ran home and hurriedly went about cooking thinking to myself, what have I done! My apartment is a mess, it's super small, and I don't have enough seating for the ENTIRE WARD to come to my house. I may have ran back to the church and "borrowed" some chairs and raided the closet to get plates/cups/forks/napkins. Don't worry, I'm planning on returning everything tomorrow :)

Luckily only 5 people showed up so we had plenty of room. But then again I was a little disappointed because I cooked A LOT and so did my friend. Oh well. Now I have really good leftovers for the week, which is good because I may have emptied my fridge cooking. And I really wanted to make a flag cake, so that I could be patriotic, and you can't really make a flag cake at any other time. Well I guess on flag day. And it actually turned out:



I'm not gonna lie. I had to google the American Flag so I knew where the placement of the lines and stars were and whether it started with red or white. BUT I did know that there were 13 stripes and 50 stars. Happy 4th of July!

I told my friend that I just needed to find the attitude to go with the cut and she told me that I already had the attitude :) great!

It's taken me a bit to get used to it, but I really do love it!

So the other day I was thinking.. I know, shocker.. If the "average" woman is a size 14, does this make me above-average? Man, I'm just excelling in EVERYTHING! :)

I got a new haircut, new bedspread, I recently found a new place to move into (the end of July) and this last Sunday I got a new calling. That's right! No more Activities Chair. Have you guess what it is? I was called as the 1st counselor in the Relief Society. I know. The world is definitely coming to an end! haha.

Seriously though, I am so humbled to think that Heavenly Father would want me in this calling. I'm so excited to serve the women in my ward. We have an AWESOME Relief Society.

So if you haven't started your food storage yet I would get on that ASAP :)

So as I mentioned earlier, a few weekends ago I went over to IKEA and got myself a new duvet cover. I purchased new sheets to go along with it, but upon arrival home it was practically the same color palette as my roommate's so that's on hold for the present moment. I did switch out the duvet cover though. Don't mind the stuff under the bed :)



Close-up on the design


I was able to pull out some pillows from the closet to add a little color on the outside. It brightens the room :)

well I guess it's not that bad..

This is my morning. Huge swollen eye from a semi-infected stye (pretty picture), now having to wear glasses and no makeup. New haircut, different, not sure how to style it and it was just kind of off. And I'm a girl (hint). I walk in to work and the first thing I hear is, "Erin, What did you do to your hair, it WAS so cute!" I may have died a little. Anyway.. after everyone making a fuss of my hair I ran over to Sara's hair school for her to restyle it. It's only a few blocks away from my office. She did a great job and added a nice little scalp massage. Everyone at the school said it was super cute. Went back to work and still got grief. So I'm feeling ugly all day, not the best thing.

And then I came home, watched a little SYTYCD, ate my "skinny cow" ice cream and am now listening to Michael Buble, which just makes everything better. Don't worry, I have Confetti Frosting in the fridge for tomorrow, just in case.

So I've always love Mia Michaels and her amazing hair (so you think you can dance). I've done a few modifications of her haircuts, but I think this one is the real deal.. My friend Sarah with all her amazingness cut, colored, styled and added the makeup to go along with it all.. now I just have to add the attitude.

So the title of this template that I got from shabbyblogs.com is called "Summer Romance". I guess one can dream :)

This has probably been one of my better weekends (again, so far).
Last night I got to go grocery shopping! haha. I have this sick obsession with it. I tend to follow after my dad and just go up and down each aisle, getting the things that I need, plus a few other things that look good.
After coming home and putting everything away I crawled into my bed and read a few chapters before falling asleep.
I was greeted this morning with blue skies, sunbeams, and the cutest text from my sister that had a video of my 10 month old nephew laughing as she tickled him. I believe that just the text could bring about world peace. seriously. I stayed in bed and finished my book. After that I decided it would probably be a good idea to get ready for the day. I wasn't rushed trying to make it anywhere, just took my time and enjoyed it. I even got to wear jeans.
I decided it was time to get a new bedspread. I've had this one for almost two years, and to be honest I was never a fan of it. What better place to get a new bedspread than Ikea. So I made my way down to the store of the Swedes and carefully picked out a duvet cover to fit my needs. I actually just got a plan white one, but opted for the soft, green sheets to add a little color punch. I was originally planning on doing a hot pink cover, but they didn't have it in stock. Now to just wash everything and trade the old for the new.. pictures pending.
On my way home I made a little detour to the closest in 'n out and enjoyed the animal style double double with fries and a shake. yum.
And then, to top it all off I headed over to the Salt Lake Temple and participated in an endowment session. I love the Temple. I love the immediate peace you feel just by crossing the threshold. I ran in to E & C outside and we caught up between the lights. Great seeing them again.
Now it's off to bake some cookies and then crawl into my new bed with another good book.
here's looking to tomorrow.

How was your weekend? Did you do anything super fun? What else do you think could bring about world peace.

So a few months ago Catherine asked me for the chocolate souffle and raspberry ganache cake. This is how great of a blogger I am..

Chocolate Souffle
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter, for ramekins
white sugar for dusting
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup white sugar, divided
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Thoroughly grease the the bottom and sides of four ramekins with the tablespoon of butter. Coat with sugar, tipping out any excess. If desired, place a raspberry and a drizzle of chocolate as a "surprise" at the bottom of each cup. (I put a dollop of peanut butter on the bottom as a trial and I think it was a hit)
2. Combine the cocoa powder, cornstarch, and a tablespoon of the sugar; set aside. Mix the butter and flour to form a paste. Lightly whisk one egg yolk in a heatproof bowl.
3. Heat the milk to the boiling point in a heavy saucepan; whisk in the flour-butter mixture until it melts. Gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolk in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring the custard to a simmer over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula.
4. Cook and stir the custard until it thickens, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, stirring occasionally to keep it smooth. Combine the three remaining egg yolks with the vanilla, liqueur, and the sugar-cocoa-cornstarch mixture. Whisk in the warm custard, cover, and set aside. (The custard can be made ahead of time up to this point and refrigerated for a day before proceeding with the recipe.)
5. About 35 minutes before serving, whip the egg whites until they are thick and foamy and have quadrupled in volume. Gradually mix in the remaining 3 tablespoons of the sugar, whipping until the egg whites are stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the custard to lighten it, using a whisk or rubber spatula. Fold in the remaining meringue.
6. Immediately transfer the souffle batter into the prepared ramekins, making a smooth mound slightly above the rim of each ramekin. (If you have a piping bag, you may pipe the mixture into the ramekins.) Bake at once in the preheated oven for 20 to 25

Raspberry Ganache Cake

Ganache

Ingredients

* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place chocolate chips in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour the cream into a saucepan, and bring to a boil. As soon as the cream boils up to the top of the pan, quickly remove it from the heat, and pour it over the chips. Let stand for a minute or two, then stir with a whisk, or use the paddle attachment for the mixer, to mix until smooth. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl occasionally. Stir in the vanilla until well blended. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface, and allow to cool at room temperature, or in the refrigerator.

You'll want to make the ganche first so that it has time to set up as a spreadable topping as opposed to a liquid drizzle of sorts. I usually stick it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so - but that's just my impatient side.

The chocolate cake is just your regular chocolate cake mixture. If you want to go all out, make two, so you'd end up with 4 round cakes.

Raspberry middle (store bought raspberry filling) or you can be adventurous and make your own.. I haven't been adventurous to date.

Chocolate frosting
1 lb powdered sugar
1 cup butter (softened
1/4 cup milk
4 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. vanilla
You'll want to whip the butter until light and smooth, adding the powdered sugar a little at a time. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla. Once this is mixed you'll want to slowly add the milk until it reaches the desired consistency.

Assembly of cake:
Once the cakes have been cooled you'll want to level off the tops so that they stack nicely. Take your first layer and spread the cooled ganache leaving 1/2 inch border. Stack on another cake layer, spread the raspberry filling again leaving 1/2 inch border (this is to reduce the chance of it oozing out causing a big mess when trying to frost the cake (trust me). Then you'll add another cake, ganache, and another cake layer. Frost then entire cake. If you want to garnish the cake (aka hide mistakes) I've used slivered almonds or the chocolate sprinkles. You could also use chocolate shavings.

I think that's it. Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy!

I saw this recipe and I was a little skeptical. I decided to give it a try.

1/2 Cup Cottage cheese
1/2 cup oatmeal (not cooks, just the regular oats)
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla

Blend all ingredients in blender.
Spray skillet with cooking spray and cook just like “silver dollar” pancakes—a few small ones at a time.. (except I did 5 big ones) I substituted 2 whole eggs instead of the whites and added a dash of cinnamon. I sprinkled the tops with powdered sugar and ate 'em right up.
This recipe is one serving..
this is with the 4 egg whites and doesn't include any toppings..
Calories 344; Total Fat 7.5 grams; Cholesterol 15 milligrams; Sodium 646
milligrams; Carbohydrate 31.4 grams; Fiber 4 grams; Protein 34 grams

Sorry.. it won't let me comment on my own post.. don't know why. Anyway, I haven't tried it with frozen spinach so I don't know if there would be any difference. I would use fresh just to be safe. But if you try frozen let me know how it turns out.

Now you'll probably look at the ingredients and just say there's no way you would ever drink this.. plus the color changes things a bit too, but it is so refreshing. Trust.

1/2 cup white grape juice concentrate
1/2 orange, peeled
1/4 lime, including rind
1/2 cup pineapple
2 cups ice
4 cups spinach

Put it all in a blender and liquefy. I'm craving this right now, but don't have any spinach on had and it's bedtime. Seriously. Just try it. This makes a full blender so if you're a little on the cautious side you might want to half it. (you'll be making more later, trust). Enjoy! Let me know what you think ;)

I know. Crazy. Me? Cook. ha! But, from what I've been told, I'm pretty dang good at it. I love just adding ingredients and seeing how it turns out. Ask Mallorie. The other day I was fixing dinner and wasn't 100% sure what we were going to do. I looked in my fridge and started thinking of what could work. We ended up going with the initial plan, but there were some good ideas that are on the calendar for a future date.

So what have I made recently?

The night Mal came over I made chicken cordon bleu (with turkey and muenster, no swiss or ham in the fridge), dredged in egg and then seasoned flour, browned in skillet and then transferred to oven to bake for 30-40 minutes. Added to that were some roasted red potatoes, green beans and an Amazing chocolate souffle. seriously. We stopped the show we were watching so that I could make it again :) I've also tried a lemon and an orange souffle, but this was my favorite (different recipe, not as egg-y or airy)

Stuffed Portobello mushrooms. I called my dad to see what he would put in them and he read a recipe. I went in a completely different direction. Washed the mushrooms, took off the stalk and chopped it up (the stalk that is), sauteed it along with an onion, tomato, spinach, chicken, garlic and basil, piled it into the mushroom and topped it with Parmesan cheese. Popped it in the oven for 40 minutes and consumed. I had some leftover stuffing and thought it would be a great omelet stuffer as well (we'll see).

Homemade mac & cheese. I got this recipe from online. It had cheddar, cottage, and Parmesan along with sour cream and I added bacon for a little crunch, topped with bread crumbs.

I actually received a proposal after making this chocolate cake. Four layers: cake, ganache, cake, raspberry filling, cake, ganache, cake, covered in a fudge frosting and topped with almond slivers. Enjoy with a nice tall glass of milk.

Now don't let this list fool you. I don't cook like this on a regular basis. Case in point, I had pizza 3 times during the week (two weeks ago). But I still eat my pizza in style, as I drink martinelli's in my goblet and follow it up with some fancy haagen daaz.

What have you made recently? any recipes that you're dying to try?

My mom was recently out in the garage and found a box of the letters my dad had sent her during their courtship (if you could call it that). She's taken the time to learn how to scan these letters in and send them to my sisters and me for our enjoyment. Let the story begin.

My dad was stationed (military term) in Germany with my mom's brother and sister-in-law. My dad had recently joined the Church and was serving with my uncle in their local branch. My mom was serving her mission in Oklahoma. My aunt had the greatest idea that this young officer should write the sister missionary. It's been great reading the letters my dad sent, reading the difference between the letters he sent while she was on her mission and after. I also learned that my dad's go to word for describing things was tremendous.

They had their moments in the letters. My dad had sent back one of her letters corrected with red ink, she stopped writing. My dad basically proposed to her in a letter, she stopped writing. My dad sent her an old maid's handbook for her birthday, my mom stopped writing.

Now remember, this was back before email. And it was international mail. The first letter was sent in June 1977. The last letter my dad sent out prior to their meeting was August 1978. Yes, they wrote 14 months before seeing each other. Well.. my mom did. My dad saw pictures that my aunt and uncle had around the house, but he didn't have any pictures to send to my mom.

Finally my dad suggested that my mom come with my grandparents on their next trip to Germany as they were going to visit my aunt and uncle. She wasn't so sure about it, but her favorite aunt told her to go ahead, plus, when would she ever have another chance to go on an all-expense trip to Europe. (little did she know she would be spending a large portion of her life in Germany later on down the road). So she accepted his offer and joined her parents on their journey across the big pond.

Things really didn't go according to plan. As my mom was walking with my grandparents up to meet my dad my mom whispered to my grandma, "he's an old man!l" (really he's only 3 years older). My uncle had to go into the field so it ended up just being my grandparents and parents traveling around together. A day or so in she told my grandpa she wanted to go home. They had purchased a ticket for her to leave earlier than planned. During this time my mom broke her shoe, their luggage chased them down the escalator, the car window broke and then was impounded in France. Ten days later they were engaged :) My mom stayed a few days longer and then headed back to California. My dad stayed in Germany and flew in a few days before their wedding that November. Seriously? Seriously!

They got married, went on their honeymoon (that's a whole 'notha story), and then headed back to Germany for my dad to finish his "tour". Almost 32 years it's pretty safe to say they're more in love now than they've ever been. It's just amazing to me.

I love my parents. I love that they love me. I'm so grateful to them for their wonderful examples and all that they have done. My mom is the most giving person. She will drop everything to help someone else. She has this rock-solid faith that if I had an ounce of it I'd be set. My dad is all I could ask for. We've had our moments, but I wouldn't trade any of them for what we have now. I know that he would do anything within his power for me. I've been "on my own" for almost 8 years. Our visits have been shortened to summer vacation and Christmas with the occasional trips here and there. I'm hoping to be able to live closer in the near future so I can spend more time with them, but I'm so thankful that they're only a call away. I can always count on my mom telling me things I know, but don't want to hear. I can always count on my dad talking me through decisions that I need to make. I just love them. That's all!

I get these great ideas on what to blog about and then I forget what they are or run out of time. So here are a few things that are going on in the wonderful world of Erin.

- I'm still the activities chair in my ward, going on 15 months, but really, who's counting (I am). I figure I haven't learned what I'm supposed to learn yet. Actually when I told someone that the other day they suggested that maybe I was there for someone else. Who knows (we all know who really does). So we'll just wait and see. I have May, June, August, and October planned. Any suggestions for July or September?

- I've joined the Chuck-wagon. My friends and family have been raving about how great it is. I watched the first season this week (made during writer's strike, only 13 episodes) and can't wait to get started on the second. My roommate thinks I may be a little crazy, but let's face it, who isn't.

- I'm starting to collect more books and movies, which is causing a problem because I haven't read/watched a lot of the ones that I already own. Oh well, time for a new bookshelf.

- Speaking of movies. I watched the Young Victoria this weekend, twice. It was SO good. I highly recommend it. I also watched The Duchess, not impressed.

- I supposedly started weight watchers this week. I was supposed to start with my roommate, but I haven't been keeping track. I kind of feel like I'm cheating (oh I am). Maybe I'll start again on Monday. Going along with that.. why do people wait until Monday to start diets? Aren't Mondays bad enough?

and finally

WHY IS IT SNOWING THIS LATE IN THE YEAR!! COME ON SPRING!!

So I've been dealing with a small health issue the last few weeks. Nothing to be too worried about, just a little inconvenient. Me being the person that I am just thought it would go away on its own. After the first month I got a little worried. At the beginning of the 2nd month I discussed what was going on with a friend. She told me that I really needed to see the doctor, or at least talk to my doctor (I work in a clinic, it wouldn't be that hard to do). But I didn't want to have to do that, thinking it would clear up by itself, it has to. Month 2 nears the end and I'm getting a little more concerned, feeling the other physical effects. I finally get enough nerve to email my doctor and get some suggestions. I didn't actually follow the suggestion, but kind of took them into consideration. That was Monday. Funny enough the majority of the symptoms have now stopped and I'm feeling better.

Coincidence or not, I think I learned a little lesson on humility and that I can't handle everything on my own. People are here to help us, whether they be family, friends or doctors (of all people to help). I have a hard time delegating because there's a certain way that I want things done and I've done enough group projects where people don't do their part. I think it's time I learn to trust other people that way. I hate burdening people with my problems because I know they have their own struggles without having to had mine on. People ask if I need something and I say no, because yes I may be sick, but it's more out of your way to bring me oj than for me to run to the store down the street. (i'm not sick). My mom calls and asks how I'm doing and I say fine because in the whole spectrum of things I kind of sort of am. Oh well. It's late and I'm ranting and probably am sharing more than you want to know. Happy Friday! Next up.. Erin learns patience.. maybe..

You have to promise before you start reading this that you will still be my friend. That's it. Raise your right hand and repeat after me, "I (insert name) do solemnly swear to remain Erin's friend no matter how crazy her dreams may get". Accepted, now continue reading.

So this week I had some very memorable dreams. Seeing how it's Saturday night and I still remember them very vividly says something. I wanted to post on Wednesday, but as you can tell in the earlier post, I was busy being seduced by Michael Buble.

Anyway, I'm a little fuzzy on the day, but I had a dream where I was asked to be in the Days of '47 Parade here in Salt Lake City. What a great honor! I was assigned to drive one of the big horse and carriage do-dads which consisted of 4 amazingly beautiful black horses bridled in black leather and silver/chrome and an elegant closed carriage of sorts.

So kind of like this but with 4 black horses and a bigger wagon part, closed of course.



I ended up inside the Capitol and for some reason was taking the horses and carriage up a grand staircase, which had turned into more of a ramp. I was honestly thinking to myself that this wasn't right and should probably turn around and take the carriage back to where it was supposed to go. When we reached the 2nd floor I turned around to take the carriage back down, but the ramp had turned back into stairs. I knew that this wasn't going to go as smoothly as planned. After a few steps the carriage lost its balance and fell over, only to expel what I was actually carrying in the closed carriage.. the coffins of all the Presidents of the church. The casket of John Taylor had opened up in the fall and his corpse was strewn on the floor (it was gross, just weird). My Grandma had shown up and I expressed my concern of getting the corpse back into the coffin. She said all we needed to do was pray. This we did and as if we had just pressed rewind the body was back in the coffin. My grandma simply stated, "Now we know that prayers are answered". I then woke up. Yes, I know.. strange, but you promised!

Why would you not want to touch this man?
Warning: The term "amazing" will be extremely overused during the following post:

Okay.. where to start.. I didn't bring my camera because I was afraid they would confiscate it. It's happened before (not to me, but someone I was with). So I'm waiting for my friends to post their pictures so I can steal them (Hint Hint Karlie, Mal, and Tiffanie)

Forget the back story. I've had tickets to MB's show for a few months now. I'm kind of surprised I didn't make a count down chain to go along with all the excitement. Wednesday night was the night of nights. I took on the role of planner for the night. We had planned to go to dinner beforehand. Silly me told everyone Fashion Place Mall instead of Valley Fair Mall.. oh well, we can't all be perfect. After dinner, horrible traffic (it took us at least 45 minutes to go maybe a mile), illegal parking (not my doing), and the wrong tickets (stupid ticketmaster) it was time to enjoy.

Michael Buble is amazing. He came out singing Cry Me a River, which was my first favorite song off his new album. It's basically amazing. Check it out now (or after you're done reading). He said that when he started out he didn't want to do concerts because they were boring. He wanted to do a show. A show he did indeed. I loved singing and dancing to all of his songs. It was amazing how strong he sang, the emotion that he felt while he sang (he noticeably got choked up on a few occasions and wiped tears away), and the connection he had with all 10,000+ concertgoers.

About halfway through he started singing Stardust (off his new cd). The girls next to me started screaming and informed me that he was heading our way.. I must of lost consciousness for a split second. Lucky for us we had aisle seats. As he walked by I grazed his arm and then immediately turned to my friend and screamed like a 12-yr old girl at a Justin Bieber concert. He then went to a small platform stage 3 feet away from me where he sang a few more songs. I may have died. He sang a mix of his new songs as well as previous hits.

All in all it was 2 hours of sheer bliss and amazingness. It was all worth it. I would have gone the next night if he was still in town. Seriously, if you ever get a chance to go to his concert do it! And invite me! It was 2 hours of heaven on earth.

Dear Blogging World,

I have a problem and I don't know how to handle it so I thought I would present it to you and see what you recommend. If you have a squirmy stomach I would advise that you ignore the following post.

My neighbor and his girlfriend tend to be a bit "loud" at night. Either that or the adjoining walls are really thin.. or both. Anyway.. This seems to happen right when I'm trying to go to bed, which doesn't really help me fall asleep. So what do I do? Confront them? "Hey I don't been to be a pain, but could you schedule your "intimate time" so that it wouldn't conflict with my REM cycle?" Inconspicuously offer to buy them new springs for their bed? "They were having this amazing sale on beds and I just couldn't pass it up so I thought I'd share in the amazingness of these new bed springs!" or invest in good ear plugs?

Any other suggestions?

So today I was sitting at my desk (trying to eat lunch) when I was told there was someone there to see me. When I went out to introduce myself the guy kind of was taken aback. Of course, you say, it's because you're so gorgeous! I know, I know. The guy said that when the person at the front desk (male Aaron) told him he would let me (girl Erin) know that he was expecting, and I quote "Someone like him". And then he kind of got flustered trying to explain himself and what not. It was kind of entertaining and still a little bit annoying. Seriously? You just needed me to open the door to the boiler.. and you've been here before. I've helped you twice in the last 3 months. Oh well. life goes on. Thanks Mom and dad.

I watch sports center.. and like it

I love Pride and Prejudice (the movie, with Keira Knightley). I love it for it's own individualness (a word according to Erin). I may have it memorized. It trumps all other movies in my collection

I can be a big flirt if I want to be. And you'll know when that time is.

Speaking of my movie collection, I own all of the Rockys, and Gilmore Girls :)

I am a closet (to an extent) Twilight nerd. But I'm in recovery. I can't tell you how many times I have read the books and watched the first movie, but I want you to know that I've only seen New moon once since it's release in November. I think that's a big deal.

I like music. And I like a lot of different genres. I have music ranging from garth brooks to Tupak Shakur, from Luciano Pavoratti to Lady Gaga. It's serious

I hate making decisions because I'm afraid to fail and I don't want to blame myself for that failure

I have a hard time keeping friends after they move or I move. I blame in on my dad being in the army growing up and moving all the time. I've realized that it's probably not a good thing and I'm working on it.

I don't have a professional 5-year plan and I don't want one. I want to be a stay at home mom.

I make up numbers when I'm telling stories to make the story sound better.. 800??. I mean 3..


I think that's enough for now..

Things I am not fond of..
- Driving behind people who fluctuate their speeds.. cruising along at 75 and then all of the sudden they feel they need to do 60, then back up to 71 and back down to oh, maybe 62. That's why they invented cruise control.

- Leaving work sick, but feeling somehow like I'm lying or faking. Thanks.

- Neighbors that wake me up in the middle of the night.

- Having to leave my bed in the morning.

- Going to a store in order to purchase an item of craving and the store not carrying said item.

I had more to add, but my head is a little foggy at present time.

Things that I'm very fond of..
- Spending lazy weekends with my sisters, brother-in-law, and cousin

- Hearing my grandma say words in conversation that didn't use to mean what they mean now.

- Laughing uncontrollably at said conversations

- Knowing that no matter happens in life my family will be there to support through it all.

Someone asked for the granola recipe. I guess that would be helpful if you wanted to make them yourselves.

Granola Bars
2 1/2 cups oats
1/2 cup wheat germ (or other grain/flour)
2 cups filler, this can be a mix of nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, be creative!

On a cookie sheet spread out the oats, wheat germ or other grain, and nuts. Place in oven under boiler and lightly toast. Keep a close eye because it can burn quickly. Combine with other filler in a large bowl. Note: if you use chocolate chips or the sort, they'll probably start to melt a bit, that's okay.

In a small saucepan combine 2/3 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp butter and 1/2 cup honey. Keep on medium heat until it comes to a full boil. Let it boil 45-60 seconds until it just starts to thicken. Pour over grain/fruit/oat mix and stir until all is coated.

Line a 9x13 pan with wax paper and then spray the paper with nonstick spray. Pour the mixture onto wax paper. Spread the mixture to the edges and then use a cup of sorts to press the mixture down, making it more dense. Let it cool. Cut the bars into desired sizes and individually wrap in plastic wrap. Enjoy!

I can't really remember why people are called granola.. plain, dull, hippy? It's kind of irrelevant now.

My friend Sarah (holler) taught me how to make my own granola bars. You can add WHATEVER you want.. well to a certain extent. When we first made them I added cashews, oats, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. Today I decided to step outside the granola bar box.

Enter Granola Bars:



These tasty treats have strawberried cranberries (nothing like the strawberried peanut butter m&ms, which is a whole 'notha story), white chocolate chips, toasted peanuts, coconut and the oats, wheat germ and flaxseed powder to even it out. Ah-mazing. And they're so cheap to make, but you HAVE to visit the bulk foods at Winco for the full experience. Just spread them out on a pan, let them cool and then you get to wrap them individually in plastic wrap and they're an instant quick grab and go treat!

stay tuned as we visit the 1st time try vegetable lasagna and the best banana bread ever!

That was a direct quote from my roommate.
So my amazing roommate had a not so amazing blind date today. When we were discussing the events prior to the date I told her that I would try my hand at molten lava cakes to comfort her upon her return from said date. The timing really didn't line up (date in the late morning, cake at 10pm) but I don't think there were any complaints.



It takes a lot to make me sweetened out and this just about did it. But it was oh so good. Too bad the recipe makes 5 and there are only two of us.. whatever will we do with the leftovers. Next time it's raspberry topping and maybe a little whipped cream.


3/4 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
2 tbsp whipping cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1. For the filling, in a small heavy saucepan combine the 3/4 cup chocolate pieces and whipping cream. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove pan from heat. Cool, stirring occasionally. Cover and chill about 45 minutes or until firm.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium heavy saucepan cook and stir the 1 cup chocolate pieces and the butter over low heat until melted. Remove from heat; cool.
3. Preheat oven to 400 F. Form chilled chocolate filling into six balls of equal size. Set aside. Lightly grease and flour six 6-ounce souffle or custard dishes. Place dishes in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan; set aside.
In a mixing bowl beat eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed about 5 minutes or until lemon colored. Beat in cooled chocolate-butter mixture on medium speed. Sift flour and cocoa powder over mixture; beat on low speed just until combined. Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each dish; add one ball of filling to each dish. Spoon remaining batter into dishes.
4. Bake about 13 minutes or until cake edges feel firm. Cool in dishes 2 to 3 minutes. using a knife, loosen cakes from sides of dishes. Invert onto dessert plates. To make it pretty you can sift powdered sugar on top or whipped cream or a berry sauce. or all of the above :)

I thought that I didn't like pesto, boy was I wrong. I may or may not be eating it right now. And it's so easy and yummy!

All you need are 5 ingredients, a blender or food processor, and maybe some bread.
2 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts (toasted) (or walnuts, not toasted)
1/2-2/3 cup Parmesan cheese (grated or shredded)
2-4 cloves garlic
You want to wash the basil and then pinch them off at the leaf (you don't want a lot of stem, otherwise it can be bitter). Add the nuts, cheese and garlic and about 1/2 of the olive oil. "Pulse" the mixture and then add more olive oil until everything starts mixing together. You can add more of any of the ingredients to your own preference. I've been known to be a bit of a garlic whore. I love my garlic! You can serve with toasted baguette or just eat it by the spoonful!


I decided to add it to a pasta salad. I mixed the pesto with penne noodles, grape tomatoes, olives, bacon, and a little lemon zest. Again, it was basically amazing. Oh and I garnished it with some leftover pine nuts.






I was going to do the same thing with the granola bars, but I got tired. Maybe next time you'll have a step by step dissection of the cooking goodness. Enjoy!

Friday night I met up with my friend Jennifer to see a movie. We were going to see Valentines Day, but both got there after the movie started. We decided to switch them out for When in Rome. It was a really funny movie. I needed a good laugh and Josh Duhamel is really nice to look at. The guy sitting next to me thoroughly enjoyed it. I think he laughed more than anyone else and I'm also thinking that he was the one who suggested the movie for him and his wife to see. Anyway, really good movie.
We then ventured over to Z'Tejas for some dinner. Honestly I've gone there 4 or 5 times and have liked everything I have ordered. I got the chile rellanoes this time. I was really concerned because there was apricots and raisins in it. I hardly noticed them, but when I did it was actually a pleasant surprise. I think I went home and finished reading Enders Game (really good) before falling in to a blissful sleep.

Saturday I woke up earlier than I wanted to to go to the temple with my friend Sarah. We were going to go to the Monticello temple. Seeing how it is a 10 hour round trip we decided to put that off for a two-day trip. We substituted the Bountiful temple in it's place, but on our way there we were informed that it was closed.. so we then turned around and ended up at the Salt Lake Temple. and it was basically amazing. They have redone some of the interior and it is just that much more gorgeous. It was a packed session, hauling chairs throughout. We ran home, changed and then headed to the Blue Plate in sugarhouse for some breakfast/lunch. Sarah said that Guy Fiari (or whatever) from Food network's diner drives and dine ins went there for an episode so she wanted to try it out. We were both highly disappointed. I guess we'll need to find out what he had that made it so great, cause it wasn't anything we got. We then headed on to our next adventure, WINCO.

Last week during our Relief Society weekday meeting Sarah did a lesson on the word of wisdom and brought some great treats that I then wanted to try (fresh pesto and granola bars, not together). She also introduced me to their bulk foods section. It was Ah-mazing. and cheap too. Like seriously cheap. All the different kinds of flours, sugars, pasta, wheat, rice, dried fruit etc.

The best part is that we then came home and COOKED. and I mean cooked. I learned how to make the fresh pesto, made a pasta salad with it, then Sarah took a turn making eclairs (just the dough part, got too late to finish it), and I made my own granola bars. Amera came over and joined us and we just sat around and cooked for a good 5 hours. It was a great 30 hours.

I know it's a little late.. but this has still kind of been on my mind. I'm in charge of planning the activities for the congregation at my church. This valentines day I decided to take the celebration back to elementary school. A- there were some great room decorations. Instead of shoeboxes we just went for the brown paper bags.
(more people showed up later..)
After decorating the bags we had BOXES of valentines for people to choose from. And then they could be brave and put them in the bags of everyone there or put it in the amazing box that I decorated (because I wanted to decorate a box) and then they would be anonymously delivered.

Yes, that would be the amazing box!

We also had sugar cookies to decorate and played a few games. It turned out to be a good night. Not too stressful, and still had an enjoyable night.



Which all brings me back to my original thought.. remember back in the day when you sit with all of your valentines and the class list and designate certain valentines to certain people. Like the really I love you cheesy ones you made darn sure nose picker Ned didn't get it. And you really wanted to give it to Babealicious Brad, but you didn't know if he felt the same way and you didn't want things to get awkward. now I know this wasn't me because a group of us girls had the same discussion that night as we were picking out the "right" valentines to give to the guys in the ward. Trust, you need to be very cautious with ANY outside form of affection because you just don't know how any of them will take it. But it's totally vice versa. I remember totally reading into the ones that I got in elementary school and trying to find any clues that may be hidden in a pre-typed mass produced card. I guess we don't grow out of everything.

I did some SERIOUS grocery shopping last night and came home without purchasing a single item of junk food. Too bad I'm eating white chocolate chips while I type this. I even planned out a few new recipes to try. Tonight I tried the coconut curry beef stew with winter vegetables. I think I'll make a fancy bowl of it and take a picture. Next will either be spinach gnocchi, butternut squash or vegetable lasagna. Suggestions?

I tend to write novels with every little detail, but I'm thinking don't want the details to this one. We we down in our new conference room at work when the sink backed up and water starting pouring onto the counter and carpet. This water ended up being sewage. Yup. that kind. Let's just say after I got home from work I took a really REALLY long shower and bleached my clothes. In fact I just threw out my shoes.. and bought a new pair to replace them (oh darn). Hoping never to have to do that again.

I've come to the conclusion that I shouldn't watch intense TV shows on DVD format (I tend to watch many episodes consecutively). I recently rewatched the first 3 seasons of Alias. For a few days I was walking around my work area wonder which of my colleagues were double agents. Actually, if you know the inside story there could actually be double agents.. but not for the KGB :)
Another example of my craziness, I'm currently watching band of brothers (Love band of brothers). I was sitting here at my desk (at home) minding my own business and I heard a helicopter overhead. Me, being the crazy person that I am, instantly thought "I've gotta find cover!" What should I watch next? haha

I'm in search of a treadmill. any leads?

I've been having these thoughts in my head the last few days so I thought I'd share with ya'll.
A- I know I have probably done this before, but if you're on the phone and there's another call coming through, shouldn't you just let that call go to voicemail? I called a lady today and started talking to her and then stopped me in the middle of my sentence to inform me that she had someone else on the other line and immediately hung up. I get that if you were expecting their phone call that would be fine.. but in most any other occasion I think we should just let it go to voicemail. What say ye?

B- Why is it that most individuals that work for car lock-out services look like ex-cons. maybe I'm over generalizing, but it's been my experience that I get very uncomfortable watching these men break into my car. This last time the guy had hair half way down his back with a black knit hat, bad teeth and long dirty nails. can we say uncomfortable one more time.

And with that I'll end on a good note.
C- I love USAA. Not only are their rates awesome, I can do a lot through them. Each time I have called roadside assistance (not often, maybe once every couple of years) the first question after verifying my identity is, "Are you in a safe location?". I love it. It makes me feel like someone cares! And yesterday when I called to cancel my lock out request through an automated service I received a phone call from a live person in less than 1 minute asking if I was still safe and if I really meant to cancel the service. How great is that?! Go USAA. I wish everyone could have USAA. Thanks dad!

It is now 11:00pm and I am going to bed. It's sad to say, but this is the earliest I can remember me going to bed in a long time. Good night!

(Forewarning: use the restroom, grab a snack and settle in, it's gonna be a long one) That's how I felt about the day that was yesterday, Tuesday January 26, 2010. After having a less than pleasant morning (and about a week's worth of not-goodness) I ran quickly over to the grocery store to pick up lunch for close to 70 people. I got everything in the cart (including 4 3foot subs, 7 bags of chips, 5 bags of cookies, 4 12-pks soda and a case of water), successfully paid for it all and fit everything into the trunk of my car, neatly, I might add. I closed my truck and felt around in my purse for my keys. Yup you guessed it! They were in my trunk. Safely locked away with the food for the hungry employees and doctors back at the clinic. So I called my lovely USAA (more on that in a bit) to have someone come out and unlock my car. Their standard response time is 45 minutes. I called back to the clinic to inform my boss and we decided to get someone local to come over real quick to unlock my car.
So I'm standing around for about 10 minutes in the light snow waiting for this guy to show up and QUICKLY unlock my car so that I can get this lunch over to everyone. Why is it that all these locksmith guys look like ex cons. I've had my fair share of encounters, but I may still be overgeneralizing it, but still. Long stringy hair with a black beanie and long dirty nails. Oh well (I guess I'll expound on that later as well, this is already getting longer than I want it to be). Finally (15 minutes later) he unlocked my passenger side door, thus setting off my car alarm. I opened the driver side, popped the truck and hurriedly searched for said keys in said large quantity of grocery bags. Found them and headed back over to the clinic (which is like a BLOCK away). Needless to say, lunchtime was over and everyone was back at work so we ended up setting things up in the breakroom for people to grab when the could and took plates around to the doctors. oh and the best thing is that the ENTIRE clinic found out why their lunch was late and I was getting great reminders of it throughout the day.
Anyway through all of this I had received a few texts to see if I was going to institute that night. I put them off citing that I would probably just stay home and veg from the day's events. Finally after getting yet another text asking if I was going I decided this was Heavenly Father's way of telling me that I really needed to go. So I gave in. haha. I ended up having to work straight until it was time to leave for class (at 7) and headed over to institute. I was set on going to a different class buy my friends (shout out to Tameka and Sarah) suggested we go to another one. Can I just say that if you're too stubborn to listen Heavenly Father will send other people to persuade you! This class was exactly what I needed! It was a testimony builder to me that Heavenly Father truly knows each and every one of us, what we're going through, what our hearts desires are, and how He can buoy us up. The best is that one of the scriptures we studied was one that I was impressed to study the night before (but really didn't). It's in the Book of Mormon, Alma 7:11-12 And He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities,that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. (If you have questions about the Book of Mormon see www.mormon.org). Isn't that amazing! Christ knows us. He has felt every pain that we feel! He has suffered every sickness, and this isn't just physical, it's mental, emotional, you name it, he's felt it.. so that he can succor (RUN to! guide, support). AMAZING! This wonderful lesson was followed by a fun dinner with the girls and then a jam session in the car. I may not have received much sleep last night, but I wouldn't have traded it. I love it! I'm so thankful to all of my friends and family who inspire me to do good and who listen to their own promptings and reach out to help me! Thanks for asking me how I'm doing, even though I'm usually pretty vague, and generally caring. Thank you!

The Cake
I made a 4 layer chocolate cake with ganache and raspberry filling, with a chocolate fudge frosting garnished with almonds and chocolate sprinkles. The assembly of the cake was a very rushed job so it doesn't look really nice, but I'd be lying if I told you didn't taste good. It was amazing. Really. I even got a marriage proposal out of it. Except it was from Sara so it didn't count. Oh well, maybe next time



I had leftover ganache and raspberry so I made another cake for FHE, but not as elaborate, just your basic 2 layer white cake and instead of frosting I just poured the ganache over it. Again, it was yummy.

The Talent
Me and a group of girls (Mallorie, Karlie, Tameka and Lisa) along with Jay did the introduction to Hercules for the talent performance. It was fun, but I was super stressed hosting the entire night. I had a bigger picture of how it should have turned out, but everyone had fun. And I got a lot of compliments on my lip syncing skills.




We also had the single adults from our Swahili branch join us and they did a drum performance. We should have had them go last because they kind of rocked the house. It was great fun.



I've now been the Activities Chair for a year now. I'm thinking I'll be released soon, but I'll stay in as long as the Lord intends me to. I've learned a lot, but there's still a lot more for me to learn. It started out with only 12 people showing up and 5 were on the committee. Now this last activity we had over 40 for sure. SUCCESS!!

Okay I don't know what my deal is but it won't let me comment on your comments at all! I type in what I want to say and hit the post comment button, choose profile and enter or whatever and then my comment disappears. Please help. I really love your comments and want to respond to them but the darn thing isn't letting me!

It was so nice to go out for a few minutes so see the sun and blue skies! It was so great. Then I had to go back into the dungeon that is called my office.

Surely we know someone, whether it be a friend or maybe even our self you relates a little too closely to this video. Thanks Tiff for sending it my way!

Twilight Years from Tom on Vimeo.

Alias - I know. It has been off for a while now. Two Christmasas ago I "borrowed" the first 3 seasons from my parents and just started watching them. I love how positively evil Sloan is. I love the quick wips that Weiss dishes to Vaughn. I love the quirkiness of Marshall and the protection that Jack gives Sydney. Most of all I love that basically every episode has a scene of Sydney running down the hallway.

Paradise Bakery butternut squash bisque - It is to die for! If you haven't tried it get to your nearest cafe as soon as possible. It may even be gone now because it's a seasonal thing. They add this maple sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds too! Yummy!

www.pandora.com - I forgot my iPod at work and the day was DRAGGING. For some reason I work better with music going. This website allows to you either put in the desired artist or song and then forms a station with that artist and similar artists and songs. I find new songs by artists that I love and I discover new artists to love. Try it today!

Trying new recipes - Every get sick of eating the same thing over and over again? During Christmas I was looking through a few magazines and found some amazing recipes. I've tried a few and have really loved them (lemon souffle anyone). I also like sporadically adding ingredients to the basic recipes that I usually do. Basically I just love to cook

My bed - granted it's not the best bed in the world, but I love hopping into it every night and burying myself in the blankets. I hate getting out of it in the morning. I'm still trying to figure out if that's due to the bed itself, it being really cold in my house or not wanting to go to work. Probably a little bit of each.

What are you loving? Is there a music artist that you would recommend? A restaurant? Recipe? TV Show? Let me know!

I promise this won't turn in to a food blog, but you see, I have this tuna steak and I can't figure out what to do with it. Do I marinate it and then grill it? If so, what kind of marinade? I was thinking of just doing a toasted nut crust and pan sear it. Is that good enough? What kind of nuts? walnuts? macadamia? pecan? Please help! This thing has been in my freezer for weeks just staring me down and I can't take it anymore!