A Sample Dinner

Yesterday we went to Sam's Club for dinner.  Meaning, we went into Sam's Club around dinner time and I ate every sample in sight.  No shame.  It's was delicious.

I like Cheese.

The other day my roommate made a comment about how she never buys cheese because she will just eat it. Well that's EXACTLY why I BUY cheese!  And then it led me to some serious self reflection on how much I love and eat cheese.  I currently have six, yes six, different types of cheeses in the refrigerator. I feel like maybe that's a little excessive but I don't care.  I love cheese!  Here's how I like my current cheeses...

1. Colby Jack- In the large brick form.  Perfect for everything.  Cold slices on wheat Ritz crackers, sliced on a sandwich, and shredded for a grilled cheese are the primary uses.

2. Shredded Mozzarella- Used mainly on top of baked tomatoes.  Sometimes used in a tomato and cheese grilled cheese.

3. Shredded Parmesan- Also used on top of baked tomatoes.  A fairly new development is to bake it on top of asparagus.  Yum!

4. Sliced Munster-  Don't ask why I bought this.  But I eat it on sandwiches.  I'm sure I could have survived on my colby jack brick for sandwich cheese but this is just already sliced to the perfect width.

5. Cream Cheese- The strawberry kind.  It was purchased this weekend so Kadi and I would have something to eat on our bagels on our Sunday return trip.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it now....guess I'll have to go buy some more bagels!

6. String Cheese-  Last, but definitely not least.  I'm kind of addicted to the stuff.

There you have it.  My current cheeses.  And now for a taste (pun intended) of my other favorite cheeses (consequently they are all from Peru and that's why they are not in my fridge...)!

1. Gouda- This is no "She's the Man" joke.  We bought some in Peru and it was divine! (and I realize you can get this in the states...I just haven't)

2. Queso Fresco- Another we had in Peru.  Actually we MADE our own cheese from fresh cow's milk that we milked.  It was quite awesome.  And we ate the entire batch of cheese in 24 hours.  We didn't have a fridge so we didn't have much of a choice...

3. Queso Mantecoso- By far the greatest cheese eaten in Peru!!!  It was the first cheese we tried there and at first we weren't thrilled with our choice of a new Peruvian food.  But we grew to absolutely LOVE the stuff.  We toasted it on bread, had it in sandwiches, had it on crackers, had it on cookies and just ate it plain.  It's a wonder we didn't gain more weight than we did there.  But this cheese is specific to Cajamarca so we were in it's native land.  Soooooo good.  Someone needs to bring this stuff to the states...asap.

Obviously it's the one that says Mantecoso.....

And I lived in Green Bay for eight years so here's a shoutout to my cheeseheads!!!!

I Like to Eat Good Food...a LOT

Sometimes, I eat good food that's not actually good for you.  But sometimes I eat good food that is also good for you!  Here are some of my creations so far this semester...

The BEST BREAKFAST EVERRRRR.  Okay listen up.  Here's a delicious and healthy breakfast.  Vanilla greek yogurt, flaxseed, Fiber One cereal, and fruit...strawberries are my favorite and blackberries are also good...basically any fruit is tasty.  This is like CHEESECAKE FOR BREAKFAST.  I'm not joking.  Try it.  You won't regret it.

More breakfast....  Pancakes.  Can't go wrong with 'em.  For these I used a honey, whole wheat pancake mix and added ground flaxseed.  Then I split the batter and made banana pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes and white chocolate raspberry pancakes.  Don't worry, I did not eat them all in one sitting.

Banana muffins with brown sugar topping.

Soup... No idea what this is called but it's got turkey sausage, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes and onions.  Maybe something else but I forget.

Mom's potato soup.  I've already made two batches.  It's that good.

Misc. Lunches....  Triscuit with tomato, mushroom, avocado and lemon pepper tuna.

TACO FROM THE TACO BUS.  These are the best tacos I've ever had, and ever will have, in my entire life.  I get pork tacos with onion, salsa, cilantro and as much lime juice as I can.  Usually I only eat two in a sitting, but last week I went and got three.  And I didn't regret it.

Dessert...  The best part of every meal.  And every pre-meal.  And sometimes the only part of my meal.  I made these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies one weeknight.  They were gone in less than 24 hours and I literally ate at least 20.  

Valentines cookies!!!  Lauren and I had a cookie decorating party and these are the beauties I created.  And I sent some wrapped in bubblewrap to Ohio.  I'm the best girlfriend ever. 

Annnnnnd this was my indulgence tonight.  Fresh, hot scones topped with a scoop of chocolate peanut butter ice cream.  Thor's Ice Cream by Taco Bell.  $1 scoops and two scones for $1.  So this was only $2...including tax.  Hand them the bills and eat.  It's so easy.  So incredibly delicious.  And so worth the calories.

Welp, there ya have it!  A taste of what it's like to be Abigail's mouth this semester.  It's a pretty rockin' job.

What's a Pummelo? (And Other Strange Fruits)

I asked myself this very question last week as I perused the aisles of Broulims grocery store.  A large, green-yellow fruit caught my eye.  No one knew the answer.  Since they were only $0.99 per pound, I decided to buy one and give it a shot!  It kind of reminded me of Peru.  We would buy all sorts of fruits we'd never seen before and then try them.  We had hits and misses.  Sadly, some fruits I still never learned the name of.

Me and my pummelo...my pummelo and I???

Pummelos have very thick skin!

And it's pink inside!  The perfect fruit for any real girl.  It kind of tastes like a sweeter grapefruit and a hint of pomegranate...yeahhhhhh whatever it tastes like, it's good!

Peru fruit memories...on film. (Please don't judge our appearance...I apologize to Noelle and Breet for posting these without their consent.  I figured after a year we can just laugh about what we looked like....)

 What we learned to be passion fruit...but we called it the booger fruit.

Tuna...yes, it's a fruit.

The forever nameless fruit...  And even though Noelle says at the end that she really likes it, she didn't.  I don't think she ever ate it again but Breet and I would always buy them. 

This is mostly a tour of our kitchen...I find it appropriate for now.  Also, it is our first Peruvian mango.  The mangoes were DELICIOUS.  I hated mangoes before Peru and still don't love the ones that are in the states, but Peruvians know how to eat a good mango.  PLUS, we could get like 5 good size mangoes for an American dollar.  It's a steal!

I love watching these all together because twice we describe them as mushy apples and pomegranates.  Also, I just cracked up laughing at how funny we are.  Funny looking, funny sounding, funny everything.  It was all so new to us and I'm so glad it's all captured on film!

Lots o' Food and Friends

Two weeks ago we had a soup in a pumpkin party.  Have you ever heard of cooking soup IN a pumpkin?  I hadn't, but it was delicious!

Homemade wassel (spelling???), rolls, cupcakes and soup :)

Last Sunday we had a Thanksgiving dinner with our FHE family.

 

And then, of course, we have real Thanksgiving.  I didn't take any pictures but here's one Alexis got of Eli and I right before dinner.

 

Pork and Potatoes

Who doesn't love a good home cooked meal?  And when that meal is pork chops, homemade mashed potatoes and corn on the cob, you'd be crazy to turn it down.  So goes my life Tuesday for dinner.  My fabulous friends Hank and Cameron needed a nice air conditioned apartment to hang out at and they offered to come cook dinner if I'd loan mine.  I was quite pleased to do so.

A Feast for Fatties

Sunday dinners are the best.  Seriously.  After an entire week of eating sandwiches and cheese and crackers for meals, it's nice to have real food.  The meal tonight was provided by the roommates who left for the summer and subsequently left food in the refrigerator or freezer.  We basically just fried everything we could get our hands on.  I've never tried deep-frying different foods, so it was quite the experience.  We did chicken, carrots, cheese sticks, and Reese's and cookie dough wrapped in biscuits.  It was a fatty feast.  The boys did crockpot some chicken as well that was perfect with rice.  The combination of everything made for an excellent Sunday dinner!

Mmmmmmmmm!

The Reeses-biscuit combo.

Mini Lemon Blueberry Tarts

You just have to make cute treats for the 4th of July.  Mini Lemon Blueberry Tarts were my little experiment this year :)  I found the original recipe here from Pillsbury.

Original:

My version:

1. Cut out pie crust circles from store bought pie crust

2. Bake 4 minutes in a mini-cupcake pan

3.  Fill with cream cheese and yogurt mixture (recipe from Pillsbury link).
4.  Top with blueberry pie filling and fresh blueberries.

5. (as always...) ENJOY!!

Homemade Fast Breaks

The Reese's Fast Break.  A relatively new candy bar.  One that I honestly never really buy.  Although I bought two in the last few weeks (maybe the only two I've ever bought...).  The first one was for Alexis because her boyfriend left the country.  I thought she'd enjoy a package in the mail including her favorite candy bar.  Well, I may have had a chocolate craving that night (not unlike any other night for me) and I ate it myself...So I had to buy her another one.  And yes, this one actually made it to her so she could basque in its glory.

Enter my confectionary class.  I make nougat.  I have no idea what to do with a huge slab of nougat.  Dallin suggests making Fast Breaks.  Candy making history is made.


 Homemade Reese's Fast Breaks

Ingredients:
Homemade nougat (I made almond so that's what we used...I think I would prefer plain nougat if I did this again)
Peanut Butter
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla
Chocolate

Step 1:  Mix together some peanut butter with some powdered sugar.  I have no idea how much.  Maybe a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio??  Just get the peanut butter so it's not sticky.  It becomes playdoughy.  Also throw in a few drops of vanilla because vanilla just makes everything taste better.


Step 2: Cut the nougat into whatever shape or size you want.  We did a variety of rectangles and squares.

Step 3:  Melt some chocolate and put a thin layer on a sheet of waxed paper.  Set a piece of nougat on top and then make a rectangle of peanut butter and place it on the nougat.

Step 4: Take MORE chocolate and dollop on top.  Use a spoon to smooth it around and down the sides.

Step 5: Take MORE MORE MORE chocolate (can you tell I love chocolate??) of a different color and drizzle over the top for a nice finishing touch.

Step 6: Just look at those insides.  You're jealous, aren't you?  We were pretty excited with the way they turned out.  You will need a glass of milk handy, they're quite rich and even I, who can eat a seemingly endless amount of sweets, had to stop after one.

Step 7:  Don't think about the calories you're consuming.  It ruins the taste.

Business in the Front...Party in the Back

I know, I know, I KNOW, you're sick and tired of me blogging about my job.  But I just love it and the people so much!  Granted, there are days when I would really rather stay home and take a nap or watch a movie instead of go to work, but once I get there I usually have a good time.

Yesterday we had a work party at the Director of Admissions' house in Rigby.  It was a blast!  We had almost all of the student employees there as well as quite a few full-time employees with their wives and children.  Can I just say, those men did well.  They all had absolutely GORGEOUS wives and cute-as-a-button kids.  It was neat to see them interact with their families and not be dressed in suits.  Most of them aren't more than 10 years older than me so it's fun to talk with them and their wives and hear their stories.  Oh my goodness, I just love them all so much!

Can I also mention how incredibly awesome it was for our director and his family to open his home to us for this shin-dig.  His wife organized a big cooking lesson and taught us how to make everything we were going to eat.  She teaches culinary classes in Idaho Falls and her food is spectacular.  We made mini pulled pork taco things for the main course and then creme brulee for dessert...we even go to torch our own!

Molly, one of the new front desk workers.

Kevin and Annalise.

Okay, time to talk about a few people.  This is my first semester working with Kevin.  He started last semester and is also in my Program Planning class.  Annalise and I have been working together since Spring 2011.  She's amazing.  So amazing, even, that I'm living with her in the fall!!  

 Hilary here is also new for me.  She started last semester while I was away.  Hilary works part-time at the office, is taking 17 credits AND has an internship that she does 20 hours a week.  I have no idea how she does it all.  Oh, and she's preparing for a mission and can't wait for her call :)  In the back we have (from the left) Johnathan, Jason, Jason's wife and Brady and his wife...plus lots of children.

 We played a nice friendly game of kickball in the backyard.  Somehow we managed to split up all the couples but I think that helped the competitiveness of the game.  I didn't play the entire game (as I wanted to help with the cooking a little more) but when I left, my team was winning.

 (From left) Vi, Janeen and Emily.  I honestly don't know Vi too well as she works mostly in the back room.  Janeen and Emily I've known for a while but I've really gotten to know them better this semester.  They both used to be readers (of applications) in the back and have now moved to the front lines.  Oh, and lets not forget Boston being a man.

Kevin wanted a picture looking like a hick...

 A not-quite-in-focus picture of my food.  Soooooooo good.

Here's a few pictures of most of the group just chilling after food.

 Jordan and his cute little family.  He's worked as a counselor starting the winter after I started and has been a HUGE help in me learning the counseling job.  We love when his wife and chunky little boy, Boston, come to visit us in the office.  Sadly (for us), Jordan got an internship in Belgium for the fall so he won't be working.

Torching our creme brulee

Brady and Adam playing with fire.

Christina and Janeen.

 Jeana and her husband Trevor.  Jeana is the only one of the students who's worked longer than I have.  She has a plethora of knowledge and has also helped me immensely in learning my new job.  She and Trevor just got married in December and they're expecting their first baby at the end of the year!

 Adam and Brennan.  Adam started in the office just after I did and has been my boss for part of the time.  He's listened to my rants about life and boys way more times than he probably would have liked, but I always appreciate his advice and insights.  He and his wife are the managers of my apartment complex and we're next door neighbors which is fun.  I like being able to look out my window and watch his son play out in the grass :)  (and I say that in a totally non-creeperish way)

 Kaylani here is half Samoan and she's gorgeous.  This is also my first semester working with her.  She's a sweetheart with some spunk and always has funny stories from work.  It took me a few weeks to realize she lives in my apartment complex too haha

Adding sugar to my creme brulee before torching it.

  And here's our wonderful director and his wife who so graciously allowed 30-40 people in their home for an afternoon.  They're amazing examples to me and I hope one day I'll be able to have people over to cook in my home :)

Overall, I'd say it was a pretty successful party!