New Blog Address

Hey!

I will be combining my blogs to be all in one place.
Please follow me at

http://pursuingmypassions.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Winging it!

This morning has definitely been a "Winging it" kind of morning. This past weekend I got this book:

Let me tell you, each page seems to change my world. I definitely recommend it! I bought mine at Barnes and Noble. This was a really exciting experience to me because I live within walking distance of a mall which has Barnes and Noble in it. My husband bought his own, not so fun because it's not cooking related, book and when we went to check out, we were told about their Club type card. Not only did the free shipping pique my interest, but the 10% off of their cafe thing did too. ALL WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE! I might be a TAD excited about this. Probably because our espresso machine is still in our storage unit and I've been craving coffee...

Anyways, I made a baguette this morning, see!

I'm not sure if I can hold off until Lunch Time to bite into this delicious goodness. It smells so good and it keeps calling to me! But doesn't it look so good? The coloring and everything reminds me of what I might find at the grocery store. Thanks to the book, it took no time or effort on my part. It was a matter of dumping a few ingredients in a bowl, mixing it together, putting a covering on the lid and refrigerating it. I pulled it out this morning, pulled out what I wanted (refrigerated the rest) and let it rest for 20 minutes and then baked it. It was SUPER easy and worked out in spite of me!

I recommend that book, it will change your life!

Sorry for the Wait!

 It has been such a long time since I last posted. Good news... WE FINALLY BOUGHT A HOUSE!

The first house we were going for fell through and now we are in the third house we went for. I have to admit, I'm so excited about being in our own place and even more excited to be in THIS house! The first house that we were in contract with was one where we walked in and I think we went for it because we felt like we had a shot at it. This is not a good reason to go for a house!!

The house was laid out awkwardly/horribly. The owners were smokers and we are not, so that would have been an extra cost to try to fix the flooring and repaint EVERYTHING in an attempt to get rid of the smell. All in all, looking back... I loathe that house! It was also a lot of headaches because it seemed that the owner and selling agent weren't very motivated. BUT... that's a different story!

I actually had texted my dad as we were both lamenting about how home buying is quite an emotionally frustrating experience. I told him that the house was like a prince, instead of waiting for a princess, settles for a prostitute. Later after we signed papers letting the house go, I told our buying agent the same story and he pretty much sat there thinking, "Why did you go for it if you weren't happy with it?"

The house we now own (yay!) is absolutely perfect. It came with all it's appliances, was owned by the same old couple for the last 60+ years, and it was in excellent shape. The inspector was surprised at how well the house was for it's age. The couple were really nice and even left behind some furniture for us, which was all PERFECT because we were wanting a new dining room set, and theirs was perfect for the size of the kitchen.

We ended up planting some strawberries, pumpkin, and roma tomatoes. I, for one, am excited and hopeful that they will grow food on it and save us some money. I'm specifically hoping for more than one pumpkin. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Check out the different flowers in our back yard!!

Strawberry Plant

Look at the itty bitty baby strawberries!

Pumpkin

Little bit of new growth on the pumpkin plant

Roma Tomato Plant

French Marigold

Look at this tin they left behind! I think it's adorable!

Pictures from This Week

I've really been enjoying the moments I'm capturing on my camera. I realize that I'm in a lot of the pictures this week, but that's an intentional move on my part. As much as I want pictures to document our life and moments as they are now, for years down the road when I'm showing my son what our family was like. I'd like to be in these pictures. I want my son to see what I looked like when he was just a year old. It's just a good reminder to step out from behind the camera every once in a while.

The best part is that all the pictures of me are accidents. They weren't planned, (even though they might look staged a bit), the moments were quite real. In return (thank you timer on my camera), I got some natural shots and expressions. The close up of me "Shadow" was one of those, point it at my face and click the button. It wasn't intended to make my "photo of the day." I wanted something more artsy than that, but it gave me a chance to play with Photoshop and I ended up really liking the result.

Anyways, here are the photos from the past few days!

"An Ordinary Moment"

"Two Things"

"Ready"

"Shadow"

Bonus Picture From the Week!!

This picture has absolutely no editing in it. It was another "mistake." I didn't even know what it was until I went searching through my pictures. This is my cat Ezra. Ezra is a girl and I think this picture is so beautiful of her. She's the sweetest cat I've ever had and hope to keep her around till I die. 

Just Playin' Around

I've really been working hard on my photography recently. I want my photos to be thoughtful and meaningful. I really want them to be pictures that will mean a lot to me in the future. My son is probably the most amazing and funny kid I know. He makes me laugh and melts my heart. As a result, he gets to be my little guinea pig :)

Looking for Daddy

Making those lips silky-smooth! 

Roast and Lazy Gravy

One day, a while back, I ran out of some ingredients I normally used for making my roast. I decided to just "Wing it" and make my roast with somewhat of the same ingredients as I normally make my turkey. It was such a hit! I actually have never gone back to making my roast the old way. There's just nothing better than a roast that's tender, juicy, and completely falling apart. It's the kind of roast that doesn't require a knife!! On top of this delicious hunk of meat, is the gravy that makes you think you've died and gone to heaven. The first question you'll ask yourself when you taste this meal?... Am I in paradise? And the answer is YES! Food Paradise, that is!

Here's how to make a little bit of heaven on your dinner plate:

Roast
1 1/2 T Seasoning Salt
1/2 T Onion Powder
1t Minced Onion (or more if you wish, I just happened to run out)
1/2 T Parsley
2t Black Pepper
Roast (The one I used was 3lbs)
Water

In a crock pot big enough to fit your roast, put the roast, seasoning salt, onion powder, minced onion, parsley, and black pepper. Add water until it completely covers the top of your roast. That's it!

Cook on high for 8-10 hours on high.

Note: I normally do just 8 hours, but every now and then we'll get caught somewhere unable to come home on time. I added the "to Ten" hours because the roast is still amazing and not dried out at that time. So don't fret if something prevents you from getting to it at 8 hours.

Lazy Gravy
** Do not start making this until AFTER the roast is done!
Juice/Water from the Roast
Flour

After your roast is done , ladle out as much of the "juice" as you'll want gravy, into a small pot. Cooking this over medium high heat, whisk in flour by the TABLESPOON. Add a few tablespoons of flour at first. Once the gravy starts to boil, it will start to thicken. Add flour until you reach the desired consistency for your gravy.

Breakfast Burritos

Every now and then I get a craving for McDonald's Breakfast Burritos. It's a crazy craving for me because I used to work for McDonalds and pretty much think the idea of getting a breakfast burrito from them to be pretty nauseating. So... one night, I decided to make my own breakfast burrito. I think the real key to these ones are to BAKE them. They're amazing when they're a bit crispy rather than soggy. There's a real taste difference!

The recipe I came up with turned out to be the MOST AMAZING breakfast burritos I've ever had. It's true people, homemade trumps store bought every time! Give it a try! Enjoy!

Breakfast Burritos
16 oz Breakfast Sausage
1/2 cup Onion
1/2 cup Green Pepper
1/2 cup Picante Sauce
8 Eggs
1 Cup of Milk
1 1/2-2 cups of Shredded Cheese
12 Tortilla Shells
American Cheese slices (or more shredded cheese)

Preheat the oven to 350*

Brown the Breakfast Sausage. Add the onion and green pepper, cook until they are soft. When it's done cooking, add the sausage mixture, Picante sauce, and half the shredded cheese to a large bowl.

In the same pan that you browned the sausage in, combined the eggs and the milk and stir until you have made scrambled eggs. Make sure that they're done. They'll be a nice, light and fluffy consistency. When done, add the scrambled eggs and remaining shredded cheese to the bowl with the sausage mixture. Mix everything together.

Take a slice of cheese, split it in half and place it in a line on a tortilla. Spoon on the sausage and egg mixture. Fold up the tortilla and place in a pan.

Bake for 5-10 minutes or until the shells are slightly crispy.

** Note: I baked only five burritos for the husband and myself. The rest I didn't bake and I wrapped them up in plastic wrap to put in the freezer.
** If frozen, bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes or until the tortilla is crispy. It's recommended to flip the burrito over halfway through baking.

Photo A Day

There was one time I was meeting with a few of my friends and we were talking about each other's strengths. They told me that I'm a "Surger." This means that I have moments when I'm really excited and passionate about something, and then it slows down, and then I find a new thing to be excited and passionate about and I continue this cycle. I'd say it's pretty accurate. Everything in my life seems to happen in seasons. In one season I'm super crazy excited about photography, then it's cooking, then it's something else. 

Recently, I've been working on my photography. I'd like to one day go into business doing it, but I really don't think I'm good enough to do a business yet. Which means, it's time to practice. I've so enjoyed doing this Photo A Day type challenge. Well, for me it's a pretty big challenge. This is the specific challenge I've been doing. Since I discovered this a few days into the new year, I just started on the day and didn't feel the need to catch up. There's no need to stress myself on this :)

Here are my results:

View from Here

Movement

Mine

Street

Something beginning with "T"

Paper

One O'Clock

Water

Surprise
** It was a surprise that he climbed up on the chair all by himself.

Circle

Yellow

My goal is to make it through January with this photo a day thing, but I'd love to do it for a whole year straight. I've so enjoyed taking these pictures so far. Some of them really surprise me with how great they look. It helps that my subjects are so handsome! :)