Saturday, October 22, 2011

Yummy Breakfast

So zucchini was on sale the other day, and I bought a lot of it. So this morning, while I was running, I was planning out meals/recipes as I tend to do and I came up with a really good food. Zucchini matzo brei. I will put up a picture next time I make it.

Here's how:
-Shred about 1/2 zucchini
-Mix zucchini, 1 egg (or two egg whites), a bit of the cheese of your liking (I used a shredded Gouda), seasonings (I used the Garlic & Herb Mrs. Dash - no salt), and about a half a crushed matzo.
-pour and spread out on a non-stick or greased pan (there is cheese in this, so keep that in mind).
-cook for about three minutes on each side, depending on how thick you made it.
-Enjoy!

Note: If you don't have matzo, any cracker or bread product will work, but I would suggest toasting bread before using it and something that absorbs will is best.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Why I'm Going on a Mission

Some of my readers are unfamiliar with the concept of a mission. I just read a blog post of a girl I don't know who served her mission in England.

http://drippingwithpassion.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html

This is why I want to go. To share love.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Veggie LaCobbler

So I was inspired during my last class today. It's a cross between a lasagna and a cobbler with loads of veggies and goodness. Here's how it goes:

Ingredients (amount depends on size):
-fresh mashed pumpkin
-sliced tomato
-sliced onion
-steamed broccoli
-zucchini
-chickpeas
-cooked bulger wheat
-Textures Veg. Protein
-Parmesan Cheese

Sauce (Mine needed more sauce, but I think this ratio will work):
-Greek yogurt (3/4 c)
-chicken broth (1 1/2 c)

1. Spread pumpkin on the bottom of your dish


2. Layer the tomato slices and broccoli.
3. Saute the Onion and Zucchini (just a little pam in a pan will do then cook for about 10 minutes).
4. sprinkle chickpeas.



5. Spread the wheat over the top.
6. Mix the yogurt and broth and pour on top. Cover with foil and cook for about 20 minutes (until it's bubbly). Sprinkle the TVP and Cheese then bake for another 10 minutes uncovered.




The beautiful thing is you can play with it! Try couscous instead of the wheat or bread crumbs instead of the TVP. Play with cheeses and veggies and protein - maybe do chicken instead of chickpeas. I didn't put amounts because it just depends on what you like.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Making Crackers

Alright guys, I think I've got it down.

3 cups flour (I do half whole wheat)
salt (around a half teaspoon? I don't measure it)
baking soda (just a sprinkling)
1 cup water (plus more if needed)

Preheat oven to 400. Mix everything. Take chunks (about a fifth or sixth of the dough ball) and roll out really really thin (If you have a pasta sheeter, this is the time to use it). I roll it out on corn meal for some extra crunch, straight up flour works too, but make sure to dust the crackers off before baking. Cut into strips/triangles/hearts/whatever. Lay out on parchment paper on a baking tray. Spray with some Pam and then sprinkle some salt (and/or garlic powder or cinnamon sugar). Bake for 7ish minutes, then flip and bake for another 7ish minutes. These are actually better the browner they get.

So delicious, makes a good amount of crackers, and you actually know what is in them! Go read the label of a cracker box if you don't understand what I mean - I get like the first few ingredients out of it then I'm lost.

Next time I'll do pictures step by step.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Thoughts on Car Alarms

The other morning, at 3:30, a car alarm went off right outside my open window. It was quite annoying and I got to thinking, as nobody turned it off and I considered going to check that it wasn't my car. Car alarms are not useless, but don't function properly in our society. If they did, then your little clicker on your keychain would also start beeping and tell you to get out to you car because someone is trying to rob you. I understand that part of the point of the noise is to get anyone to look at it and therefore scare thieves away, but the thing is, a smart thief would just say "it's my car, I'm locked out" and everyone would believe him/her because that's what we do.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Priesthood Power

I try not to post too much religious stuff on my blog because I know that a lot of my readers are not religious and might feel uncomfortable. But I feel the need to share this experience - don't read this post if you don't want to.

The last couple of days have been hard on me. I've been feeling down on myself, which I don't like. I'm an amazing girl and should never feel like less than I am. I went for a walk today, which is the best kind of therapy if you ask me. I walked and thought and just felt impressed to do three things which I did immediately I got home.

1. Read my Patriarchal Blessing. In the LDS faith, members have the opportunity to receive a special blessing. They record it so you have the words with you always and are encouraged to read it often. To me, it is words directly from my Heavenly Father, telling me of my strengths and blessings and giving me guidance on what I need to do. While I was doing this, I started crying a lot. I couldn't see any of the girl who was talked about in the blessing in me and it hurt. What was I doing wrong? How did I change? This lead me to

2. Search the Scriptures. I rarely have big questions that need answering in the religious department. I know what I feel is important and never feel the need to question anything. But this time I did, and while I didn't find the answer exactly, in searching through those sacred words and reading words of Prophets and leaders of the Church, I was calmed a bit. I began to realize that my question couldn't exactly be answered in this life, but that I need to just trust that God has it taken care of and wouldn't make me miserable for any reason.

3. Get a blessing. When in doubt, turn to the Priesthood. Holding the Priesthood is to hold the power to speak and act for God and all worthy males members of the LDS church hold that power. As such power wielding individuals, they can give blessings for things like healing or comfort and council. I needed both comfort and council desperately so I texted my friend and two boys were in my apartment in white shirts and ties five minutes later. It is such a sacred experience that I don't feel the need to post everything that was said in that blessing, but I will say that immediately they put their hands on my head and said my name I felt the love and care of God so strongly. I was counciled on the things that I need to do to feel better and reminded of the helps that I have around me. Life gets hard, but I can do anything with the power of God behind me, lifting me up and reminding me of my divine worth and potential.

I am blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that it is the true, restored gospel of Jesus Christ and that we do have living prophets now, guiding us to return to Heaven. I know that Heavenly Father is real and knows me by name (and you too). He knows my strengths and weaknesses and is rooting for me to succeed in this test called mortal life. I know the true power of the Priesthood.

Friday, September 9, 2011

New Semester, New Apartment

I am living in the best apartment less than a block away from the Provo Library. I have two amazing roommates (they are sisters) and we are getting along just wonderfully. They are the two sweetest girls and I love them dearly.
The Kitchen

Living Room

My half of my room


In other news, I'm being so good at being social! We had FHE at our apartment on Monday. Usually we have groups assigned, but they haven't gotten around to it, so we invited another girls and a guys apartment to join us and we made pretzels.

Sunday was Fast Sunder (one Sunday out of the month, LDS people fast together for certain things, it's really an amazing experience) and our ward had a break the fast dinner. I started talking with some people who I decided were kindred spirits. We went to see the Three Musketeers last night and it was really fun. Not the best production ever (though the set was fricking amazing!), but it was a fun evening out.

I work three days a week stocking bottles in the vending machines on campus. It's pretty dull work, but I work with a fun guy and it's over quickly so even though I don't particularly enjoy the work, it's not too bad.

Last little bit: classes. I'm taking three literature classes, so a lot of reading, but I'm enjoying it all. I think one of my favorite classes is my Family Life class. We are studying the The Family: A Proclamation to the World which is a document that the LDS Church put out back in 1985 about the place the family holds in the world and the family unit in general. It's way good. But we study more than that, we are going to be looking at how to build a successful family. We get to hear some fun stories and talk about what I consider to be the most important thing in the world. It makes that whole "marriage" thing less scary.

The last class I'm taking is a Mission Preparation class. For those of you who don't know, I'm planning on serving an 18 month mission leaving in January (possibly more like April). I don't know where I'm going to be sent, but I know that I will be doing important work for my Heavenly Father. I'll keep you updated on the proceedings. I just realized how soon the end of October is going to come. That's when I think I'll be turning in my papers!

P.S. I was taking an advertising class, but after we spent 40 minutes in the first class watching YouTube videos, I decided it wasn't for me. Also, it made my Thursdays incredibly long (8am-6:30pm)