A Taste of our Tea Party

I am home in beautiful Santa Barbara for the summer, working for my Dad and cooking for mom again. I randomly decided one day, "I am going to throw a tea party." I've always wanted to, and my friends and I have talked about it, but I just decided to make it happen finally! Because there is no time like the present!

It was a blast!

So here is how we (my mom and I mostly) did it. Follow the links for the recipes I used!

L'Invitations

I just created this on Word! The teapot is just an image I found on the internet. I printed it out on shimmery cardstock! 

The cutest part of the invitation is pictured below. I used a paper doilie and folded it around the invitation and tied it with some blue twine. So cute and so classy. It takes a plain invitation up a notch and makes it fancy! 

At the bottom of the invite it says, "Fancy Tea Time dress required, hats encouraged." :)

I used a teapot stamp on the bottom corner of each envelope. 

Le Menu:

Lemon Tea Cookies

I was nervous about these because of their crumbly nature, but they were the favorite at the party! I definitely recommend making the lemon frosting to go with them. The dough is great because you can refrigerate the rolls in plastic wrap for several days before you just cut and bake! These cookies are totally the melt-in-your-mouth type. People love them because they are unique and light! 

Perfect One-Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

These turned out amazingly! Definitely best eaten day of (or like how I did, made them late the night before. Turned out great!) or shortly thereafter. I got cute lacy cupcake jackets at Michaels that were the perfect addition to the table. Anything lace goes with a tea party theme! I added simple pink sprinkles to some of the cupcakes. Nothing too showy is necessary for this kind of occasion! 

Proper Cucumber Sandwiches

I did some research on how people make a good cucumber tea sandwich, and I discovered this version that was good! Just don't forget to salt the cucumber and then squeeze all the water out of them! Also, as a side note, I cut mine in coins instead of strips. It's simpler that way. These are relatively bland, so if you like a little more flavor, look up a recipe that uses garlic or mayo. 

Spinach and Artichoke Quiche from Costco 

(heat up for 20 minutes or so at 375 degrees! right before the party! Keep in warm oven (just turn it off and close the door) until guests arrive!). Link shows you what the quiche I bought looks like. Everyone loves it! 

Fresh Strawberry Lemonade 

This was absolutely delicious! These were served in cute little milk jugs (also purchased at Michael's Craft store) with big striped straws in them. *Important side note about the recipe! I added a full extra cup of sugar and a little bit of extra water to the saucepan. I like my lemonade sweet thank you very much :) *

Le Decorations

Tiny Rose Teapot Centerpieces

My parents were kind enough to go to Farmer's Market and get tiny pink roses in two different shades for us to arrange in tiny floral tea pots. These were adorable on top of paper lace doilies from Michaels. My mom sprinkled tea bags between each centerpiece and lit tiny tea lights as well. We used my Nanny Erma's bridal shower plate set with little tea cups that fit into each plate for water. 

Party Favors

I neglected to get a picture of these cute favors, but I put a tea bag into a little organza bag with a honey stick in each as a cute, simple, and cheap party favor. Each one costed us under a dollar! 

I found a pin on pinterest (that sent you to etsy) of a cute picture of the words "It's always Tea Time" and I just free hand drew it on a framed chalk board we already had at home. Of course I changed it up a bit. I set it up on a stand (similar to the ones you display pictures on) and set it at the entrance of the pathway to where the party was being held. 

Le People

Of course the party would not have been the same without my fabulous friends! I have seen many a vintage movie in my day, as well as many movies set in the south, and I decided HATS would be an adorable way to get a cute photo-op for our tea party. I hired my dad to be the photographer for the first 15 minutes of the party :) 

And it turned out ADORABLY if I do say so myself! It was so fun to have an opportunity to dress up for no reason other than it is a fun way to celebrate the end of summer :) 

Happy Tea Partying! 

Spring and Summer Stuff

So. For starters, this is the holy grail of cookbooks! I love Six Sisters' Stuff! I honestly just open up this cookbook and browse through all the pictures over and over again. Get your hands on one of these! Thanks to my mom for this (very) early Christmas present :) 

I made these delicious CrockPot Porkchops for dinner one Sunday. Loved them. Definitely a repeater. It's a super tangy recipe and just a little spicy.  

Also this College Girl Cheesy Bread is a popular recipe in the Houston Household. You just turn your oven to broil, slice bread (the Ciabatta Sandwich rolls from Costco are our personal favorite), butter each slice, add spices of your choosing (dried basil, oregano, garlic salt) and whatever cheese you have in your fridge on top. Put slices on a cookie sheet in the oven for no more than 5 minutes or so (don't forget about them! They burn easily!) and there you have the easiest and cheesiest side to any meal. 

I also made a yummy Peach Blueberry Streusel Pie with the leftover peaches and blueberries we had in the fridge before our Girls' Hawaii trip! This recipe is awesome. The lemon juice really adds something to it, but it also helps that these lemons came from our backyard! Nothing like home-grown lemons :) 

Here are my parents loving the streusel pie! It was a real winner.  

Aussie Chicken and Flourless Chocolate Cake

My parents are in town and my family gathered at the condo for Sunday dinner!

I took this opportunity to try out some new pinterest recipes and victoriously add them to my "Tried it" board!

This Sunday I tried Aussie Chicken over mashed potatoes served with asparagus and salad. Special thanks to Katie and Curtis for making the mashed and my Dad for making the asparagus :) We all have our jobs.

For dessert, I tried a naturally gluten free dessert. This Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe is a great one. It's not overly rich and delicious with strawberries as a garnish!

There are only 3 ingredients in this divine creation: Eggs, semi-sweet chocolate, and butter. No sugar, no flour!

Tasty Treats!

And the Baking Adventures continue!

Baking just brings me so much happiness. Don't ask me why. I just like it. Like a lot. And just cooking in general.


Back to School Zucchini Carrot Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting 

These were very near disaster (I forgot to put in the eggs until after I put them in the oven, the oven got turned off somehow and we thought it was on the whole time, I mixed all the frosting ingredients together at once, we didn't have walnuts), but they turned out yummy in the end! You can't taste the zucchini at all! I am a fan of raisins and so I like this addition but I discovered that a lot of people don't like raisins so leave em out if you must! Also I just didn't put in ginger because I didn't have any. College lyfe. 

I want to make Back to School Carrot Cake a tradition in my life! 

Oatmeal Caramelitas

My mom used to make these at Christmastime to put on our plates to give away to people! Just a yummy mixture of caramel and chocolate mmmmmmm! I made these during the BYU football game yesterday and my friends loved them! 

Also, as a bonus, they freeze really well in tupperware! Then you can have these scrumptious dessert throughout the semester. Booyah. I'm all about satisfying the sugar craving. 

Happy Sunday! 

Here is my thought for today:

I had the opportunity to go sing at a rest home with Utah Healing Arts a week or two ago, and I met this sweet old lady who had a really hard time hearing. I could feel the slight desperation she was feeling; she wanted to hear so badly, and she wanted to have a conversation because she was probably lonely. 

I introduced myself to her initially while standing on my feet, but then as her hearing problem became apparent I dropped down a little lower, and as we continued to interact I finally ended up sitting on my knees before her. 

I had this moment of realization as I did so. 

Christ does this for us. He drops down before us in the depths of humility with sincere desire to know us and feel with us. 

I was so, so, so grateful for that opportunity to meet her and to feel Christ's love.

We talked about charity in Relief Society today and a girl brought up the example of Christ when Mary comes to Him saying Lazarus is dead, and when He hears this, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). 

Christ knew everything was going to be okay, He knew that He could and would raise Lazarus from the dead, and Mary and Martha will be happy again. 

But He still wept with them. 

Jesus has a perfect ability to empathize with us. 

Charity is about learning to feel with others, seeing where they come from and understanding, not judging.  

There is always one thing we can count on, 

"Charity never faileth." (1 Corinthians 13:8)

HAPPY SUNDAY! 

Stuffed Chicken and Cookie bars

Yesterday I finally tried a recipe I've been DYING to try and I finally had all the right ingredients (mostly)!

My wonderful and super talented sister Christina gave me a bunch of veggies from her garden yesterday, and so I used fresh basil in this dish, as well as fresh tomatoes.

PANKO CRUSTED CHICKEN STUFFED WITH RICOTTA, SPINACH, TOMATOES, AND BASIL

I didn't have any Italian bread crumbs, so I put 3/4 of a roll of Ritz crackers in the food processor with some Italian blend seasoning and garlic salt and blended it up! It was fantastic! 

Also, after much Internet research about how to prepare Swiss chard (also from Tina's garden!), I finally decided to cut out the veins/stems and put it in the salad! I highly recommend this. Most of the websites I found said Swiss chard is similar to spinach and kale. I love it! 

The chicken is SO good! and it really wasn't very hard. So much gooey deliciousness all wrapped up in a chicken. 

Courtney and I drove to PG to hang out with Mollie and her cute/hilarious kids! We made these yummy/classic cookie bars and watched Once Upon a Time on Netflix :) 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars 

We didn't make them thin in a jelly roll pan like in the picture on the website, we put it in a 9x13 pan and they come out nice and thick like you see above. I prefer deep dish cookie bars myself! These would be AMAZING with vanilla ice cream on top!

We love Mollie! She's the best! :) We taught her about snapchat last night too and she made a debut in my snapchat story! 

Back to school college meal! Plus peaches.

School starts next week!

I picked up my roomie Courtney from the airport and my friend Miranda from her hotel and we were all STARVING. So we pulled together this beauty pretty quick. I had exactly three pieces of pork in my freezer and voila! The carrots were a little....uhhhh charred. Oh well. We just made some instant mashed potatoes we already had in the cupboard (the juices from the pork are great on the potatoes) and a salad.

Cheesy Garlic and Brown Sugar Pork Chops

The cuties. 

It is my family's fave season- Peach season!! We got a huge box of peaches from the Harward Farms stand, and I was gifted with like a million peaches when my parents left for SB that were all rotting before my very eyes, so we whipped together: 

Southern Peach Cobbler

and served it with ice cream (and I added whipped cream because I do that.) 

Also, on a GF note, I tried this new flourless/butterless cookie recipe and it was a HIT. Definitely a repeater. 

Soft and Chewy Toffee Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies 

Happy Back to School Cooking! 

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Dessert.

Well today I decided was a cooking day. So here's what I got:

Better For You Banana Muffins with Crumble Topping

Yummy, simple, classic. The best part is you can freeze them by wrapping each individual muffin in saran wrap! Perfect for a college student with busy mornings, late mornings, and mornings where you forget what day it is because your alarm didn't go off at the right time and you realize you've already missed a class. Whoops. 

Chicken Zucchini Fritters 

I love this recipe! Thanks to Christina, I had two zucchinis to use. I used ground turkey instead of ground chicken, and it was delish!! I chose to eat them at this particular meal as an open-faced burger/sandwich thing. You could just as well eat them plain or dipped in ketchup/chili sauce! I just made a few for myself and froze the rest of the mixture to fry later. Also perfect for a college student who needs a quick and light lunch before classes.

Pork Chops Dijon

I recently read something on pinterest that suggested you not eat carbs after lunch, so I decided to try it. Instead of making a wrap with a tortilla or a sandwich or pasta, I just pulled one porkchop for myself out of the freezer, browned it on both sides butterfly-style, put some chopped onions in the pan, mixed a little dijon mustard, italian dressing and black pepper and put it over the top to cook until the meat was done. I used some of the extra sauce to dip my meat in afterwards, because as my sister says, "I'm a sauce girl".  It's a single serving miracle! Of course, you can make it for multiple people but you easily adjust it to feed one. It's quick and much more filling than cereal for dinner. But of course, we've all done it. Don't be ashamed. :) 

Banana Chocolate Delights 

I have wayyyy more bananas than I could ever use by myself, so I sliced two bananas in coins, put them on a cookie sheet, spread peanut butter on every other slice and made a sandwich with the other half. I melted some semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave with just a smidge of butter and attempted to dip each one fully in the chocolate, but then I got lazy and impatient and just dipped one side in. But hey, it's less calories that way, right?! 

I put my banana snacks in a tupperware in the freezer to eat whenever I'm craving something sweet! Small portions for the win! 

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread!

My sister Christina and I combined forces (and ingredients) to make a delicious meal.
One of my contributions to the dinner was this scrumdidiliumptious dessert using Tina's plentiful zucchini from her garden.

Chocolate- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

This is a moist, sweet and chocolately bread that has no oil or butter in it! Woohooo!! Go not-so-guilty pleasures! Enjoy this summer bread. 

Oh. my. gosh.

THESE ARE THE BEST BROWNIES I'VE EVER MADE.

Welcome to heaven.

I mean how can you go wrong?

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES WITH PEANUT BUTTER CUP FROSTING! A miracle. 

Change your life by following the recipe, here. 

This piece was a little messy coming out of the pan, but it's CHOCOLATE. Where can you go wrong?! Plus it proves it was ultra warm and gooey when we ate it. 

Brown eating a brownie. (and loving it). 

Summer Foods

Summer Foods

A delicious summer salad! Isn't it pretty? It looks like a fiesta of veggies. Red onion (my new fave!) and feta cheese really make this salad good. Plus yellow AND red tomatoes as well as celery, cucumber, bell peppers...the usual. 

Gluten free pancakes! Made with Pamela's gluten free flour. You may have a previous impression that all gluten free items taste like cardboard, which I respect and understand. However, these really aren't too bad! Especially when beautifully arranged with strawberries, bananas, maple syrup and whipped cream. Although this may be white flour free, it isn't quite white sugar free...You have to pick your battles I think. 

These are lovely lemon cookies that are perfect for summer and taste like teatime at an English cottage in the sunshine. Yep. Find the recipe here! 

I SWEAR by this chocolate chip cookie recipe I found on Pinterest. It produces PERFECTION cookies! Whatever you do, DON'T add more flour even though you will probably think it needs more after everything is added. Find the recipe here! 

There is honestly nothing better than homemade strawberry lemonade. And since I have the highly esteemed privilege of being in a home that has a Vitamix (at least for the summer....not having one for 6+ months has made me thank my lucky stars for this blessed blender designed by the gods), I literally just threw in about a cup of hulled strawberries, 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of lemon juice and a bunch of water and blended it all up! And boom. Ice cubes in the glass, happiness in my mouth. And isn't that jar just ADORABLE?! Me and my mom are in love with it. 

ALSO, I tried a yummy recipe my sister Katie gave me for crockpot meatloaf that is delicious served with garlic mashed potatoes! But I didn't take a PICTURE of it! I was so mad. But it was so good! Here is the recipe, with some additions I made: 

Grandma’s Saucy Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
3/4 cup quick oats
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup dried minced onion

Topping:
1 1/3 cup ketchup
2 T brown sugar
2 T mustard

In a large bowl, combine beef, oats, egg, milk, pepper, and onion.

Shape into a loaf and place in a greased 2 1/2 to 3 1/2-quart slow cooker.

Mix together ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. Spread 1/2 of the sauce over top.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

Heat up remaining 1/2 of the sauce in the microwave and add extra to each serving as needed. 

Recipe Number 4: SUPER EASY PB cookie cupcakes for V-day

So basically this is a little sum'n sum'n I made up that is SO EASY and SO CUTE and tastes really great!! 


Ingredients:
- One peanut butter cookie mix and all the ingredients it calls for (Betty Crocker is my personal fave, and it's usually a good price)
-One small bowl of sugar to roll dough in
-Unwrapped Hershey's kisses, Valentine's M&M's, or medium sized Reeses peanut butter cups, or a combination of all three!
-mini cupcake liners and pan or heart-shaped silicone baking cups (easily found at Michaels, cute and much easier to clean than cupcake pans!) 


Directions:
1) Mix peanut butter cookie dough as directed on package.
2) Roll dough into balls, then roll in sugar so a light coat of sugar covers the whole ball.
3) Put dough balls in mini cupcake holders or silicone baking cups and press down slightly with thumb to flatten top. 
4) Bake in oven at time indicated on package or when cracks begin to form on the cookies.
5)Immediately after taking cookies out of the oven, press unwrapped candy into cookie and allow for chocolate to melt and cookies to set before transferring to a cooling rack(If using silicone baking cups, wait until cookies are completely set and chocolate isn't too melty before popping them out of their conatiners).

 Silicone cups are THE BEST.

 The minis are great with Hershey's, a few M&M's, and Reeses :)

THIS A PERFECT WAY TO SAY "I LOVE YOU" TO ALL OF THE VALENTINES IN YOUR LIFE. Enjoy!