stuffed zucchini

this is, by far, one of my favorite meals. the recipe is from one of my childhood friend's mom - deb tucker. my friend katie had her mom make this for her birthday one summer long ago, and ever since then, i can't make the meal without thinking of her!

Ingredients:

• 4 zucchini
• 1 lb sausage
• ¼ c. diced onions
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/3 c. breadcrumbs
• ¼ c. parmesan
• ½ c. shredded mozzarella

Instructions:

1. Cook zucchini in boiling water (enough water to cover the zucchinis) for 10 minutes. Drain. Let cool to touch.
2. Cut zucchinis lengthwise and pit – leave ¼ inch crusts. Place shells in a 9x13’ pan.
3. Mush pulp and set aside.
4. Brown sausage, onion, and garlic until brown. Drain.
5. Combine sausage mix with breadcrumbs and parmesan.
6. Spoon mixture into shells.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min.
8. Remove and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Put back in oven and bake for 5 minutes.

green smoothie... mmm? eh....

i've heard about these green smoothies - packed with nutrients and veggies, etc. - but i've never actually tried one. so the other day on the Today show they were talking about this specific recipe, and i figured i'd give it a shot. it wasn't the best thing i've ever had, but despite the look of it, it also wasn't the worst thing i've ever tasted. the texture was a little weird since i used a blender (i think a food processor would work better)... i had to chew little pieces of it after taking each sip. also, i'd leave out cilantro next time (after all, it is the rudest spice.)

for those of you feeling adventurous, here is the recipe:

Green Smoothie Recipe:

1 1/2 cup of water
1 head of organic romaine lettuce, chopped
3-4 stalks of organic celery
1 organic apple, cored and chopped
1 organic pear, cored and chopped
1/3 bunch of organic cilantro
1/3 bunch of organic parsley
Juice of ½ fresh organic lemon

Combine the water and chopped head of romaine into your blender. Starting the blender on a low speed, mix until smooth. Gradually moving to higher speeds, add the herbs, celery, apple and pear. Add lemon juice last. Serve chilled or at room temperature. This recipe makes about four servings.

pesto chicken pizza

Throughout last semester, my friends up in Dallas and I attempted to make pizza on several occasions, always lacking one key ingredient (think: yeast, flour, etc.), so our previous batches have been a little less than successful. We've battled dense, cake-like dough and tough, "unspreadable" dough, but tonight I finally used a recipe that ended deliciously! The original recipe can be for the crust can be found here. What follows is my latest kitchen adventure with my sister Madison:

I started with the crust. Here are the ingredients we used:

• 1/3 cup warm water (I just turned the faucet all the way hot...)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 1 & ¼ cups whole-wheat flour or white whole wheat flour (separated)
• ¼ cup soy flour (protein!)
• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds (fiber and omega 3s!)
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tbsp cornmeal
• Non-stick cooking spray

1. In a small bowl, mix together the yeast, honey and hot water. Let this sit for ten minutes while you mix the flours. (The yeast will froth up as it sits.)
2. Mix ground flax seeds, 1 cup of the whole-wheat flour, soy flour and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture to the water mixture and mix by spoon until dough balls start to form. Then use hands to incorporate all the flour and form into a ball. (at this point you may have to add more water)
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface using the remaining ¼ cup of flour. You may need it all, you may not... just keep adding it while kneading if the dough is too sticky.
5. Knead for about 1-2 minutes.
6. Place the ball of dough in a bowl and cover the bowl with a towel. Place the bowl of dough and a cup of hot tap water in the microwave (don't turn on the microwave, it’s just a good, warm place to let the dough rise). Let rise 20-30 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
8. Spay a cookie sheet or pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray and dust with cornmeal. (I used a stone pan).
9. Once dough has risen, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and, using a rolling pin, roll dough out thin.
10. Place the crust on your pizza pan.
11. Top with sauce (we used Classico Tomato & Basil - delish!) and toppings (For cheese, we used a mixture of low-fat mozzarella cheese and parmesan. We also cooked some small pieces of chicken in a pan with some olive oil, S&P and then stirred it in some homemade pesto - using the basil from my herb garden!!) and bake on the lowest rack in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.

The best part about this pizza is that it is healthy! The soy protein and flax seed make this pizza a little less guilt-ridden. Without the toppings, 1/4 of the pizza (2 slices) has: 195 calories, 4g of fat and 6g of fiber. Not bad for pizza that actually tastes great! :)

this one's for all those girls about 25

seriously? it's already april. the last entry is from january... it's so hard to believe. i thought that last semester went by really quickly, but i don't know where this semester has gone. it seems like snowpocalypse was just here. but here we are, two weeks away from summer break. either way, though, these past few months have been both challenging and enlightening. it's weird when time sneaks up on you and you realize you're actually becoming an adult. most people would argue that 23 is an adult... i don't know about that one, though. haha, i know some 50 year olds who aren't even adults, so i'll refrain from classifying myself as such for now. i feel like it just hit me in the face today.

as random as it was, i was watching Entertainment Tonight, which is quite possibly one of my least favorite shows... but they were interviewing vin diesel and someone else about the most recent fast and the furious movie and then doing a flashback to the first time interview either of them had around the time of fast and the furious 1 - it was 10 years ago. i started thinking, "where was i ten years ago?" well... i was 13. in junior high. wearing pea-green corduroy overalls (no regrets, right?) forgetting it was wedgie wednesday.... and now i'm here: grad school in a big city i've come to love. a year away from the real world. engaging in meaningful community with inspiring friends. my corduroy overalls have been swapped for black chino pants and blouses for professional fridays...

i was also listening to the radio this morning in the car and martina mcbride's "this one for the girls" came on. the cheesy, yet poignant

This is for all you girls about twenty-five
In a little apartment, just trying to get by
Living on, on dreams and spaghetti-o's
Wondering where you life is gonna go

so maybe that's what set me off today? back when i was clad in the pea-green overalls, i always imagined future self to be quite different. i thought i'd be settled down, living in a house with kids. i'm sure i heard the martina mcbride song years back and thought, "25?! still wondering where my life is gonna go? not me." but now, at 23, i have my whole life ahead of me. it's so interesting to realize i am that "about twenty-five" girl, really living on dreams (i have so many, after all). i'm wondering where my life is going to go... but not in a "oh crap, my life isn't going anywhere, whatever will i amount to" kind of way. no. more in a "how am i going to pick just ONE exciting direction to go toward."

so, in the last few months, i've gone through a lot. a lot of crap. a lot of good stuff, too. anyone close to me know a lot of exciting things have been happening and i have a lot to be thankful for. i've done a lot of thinking and praying... and i've reached some sort of peace about the future. and, i guess you could say, the present. i, no doubt, waver in my faith on all of this, but overall, i'm happy. and that's exciting to say. i'm happy, i'm hopeful, and i get so pumped thinking about the possibilities for my life.

i've learned a lot about people. i've learned a lot about myself. i've learned a lot about who God is and what he does. i have a lot more to learn. but i can't wait.

sunshine, herbs, and red velvet cupcakes

this weekend came and went so quickly. time has been flying by since i've been back in dallas. it was a good weekend though, getting to spend time with friends and sleep a lot. i finally replanted all of my herbs, so hopefully this second round will be more fruitful. i also baked some red velvet cupcakes using the following recipe.

Red Velvet Cupcakes – Magnolia Bakery Recipe

3 ⅓ cups cake flour (not self-rising)

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 ¼ cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

6 tablespoons red food coloring

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 ½ cups buttermilk

1 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

Frosting: 1 pound (two 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

5 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

How to make it

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour three muffin tins. Place cupcake papers in the tins.

To make the cake: In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and

beat well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overheat.

In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake each tray for 20 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 1 hour. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting: In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Add the vanilla and beat well.

Gradually add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating continuously until smooth and creamy.

Cover and refrigerate icing for 2 to 3 hours, but no longer, to thicken before using.

When the cake has cooled, spread the frosting liberally on the cupcakes.

Makes 36 cupcakes.

The end result was scrumptious! I made one double-layer cake and a dozen cupcakes. The frosting is delicious! I spent all day baking with the door to the balcony open while Tanner caught some rays and watched squirrels and puppies run around outside.

After all that, I went to Watermark with my friend Lindsay. Tonight was all about ways to get involved and volunteer throughout Dallas, so that was pretty cool. One of the opportunities was actually through Interfaith Housing Coalition which is where we were already planning on starting to volunteer next Wednesday!

As another week is about to start, I'm still thinking about Karl with fond memories and learning to deal with it all. It's been a slow, painful, seemingly-endless process to get to the point I am today, but there are rays of hope which point me toward tomorrow. Little moments of joy when I can hear his laugh, smell his cologne, and see he beautiful face. I still miss him so much. I know I always will.

tell the ones you love that you love them

a friend who is dear to my heart passed away last night unexpectedly and way too early. it leaves me wishing i'd called him more, gone out of my way to see how he was doing more... i can't change back the clock, i can't do any of this. but i appreciate the value of a friend even more now. it's cliche to say to live every day as your last. but do it. don't have regrets. tell the ones you care about that you do so. i miss him so much. he never grasped the magnitude of the love everyone had for him.

someday soon, we all will be together

Christmas is approaching :) - hopped in my car this morning... and lo and behold, frost on my windshield!

what makes studying for finals more bearable?....

Christmas music. Enough said. Thank you Pandora, Christmas Radio.