Weekend Update

Hi there,

Happy Monday! What did you do for your weekend? Hopefully you got to rest, relax, and maybe do something a little fun.

I got to do something AMAZING! A once in a lifetime opportunity!

We went to see Hillsong United live! It was awesome, amazing, and such an inspiration. I know this picture doesn't even do close to justice of what it was like, but here's a little snapshot of what it looked like.

Here's one of my favorite songs of the concert (Unfortunately Brooke Fraser wasn't there singing like in this video)! They are currently on a U.S. tour, so you should check out and see if they are coming near you. It's an awesome opportunity to worship.

I also made some of the best brownies I've ever had in my entire life. They are the perfect combination of the crunchy outer crust and the soft, gooey, perfect middle. You will not be disappointed. And the best part, they are super easy. How can you beat homemade, awesomely tasting brownies?! Oh wait, I guess by adding salted caramel ice cream from Bi-Rite you can! :) It's like an explosion in your mouth!

Here's a few notes on them. In order to melt your chocolate and butter, it works best to have a double boiler, I just happen not to have one. Here's how you can make it happen without one. In a small sauce pot bring an inch or two of water to a simmer. Place a metal bowl on top that is large enough to rest on top without falling inside. You want to avoid the simmering water touching the bottom of the bowl.

You will also definitely need to use an 8 inch METAL pan (you will be putting in an ice bath later so you risk your glass pan breaking from the change in temperature). I currently don't own a metal square baking pan either, so I used a round cake pan and they turned out still amazing! I think I need to do some kitchen shopping. My list is currently at a metal square baking pan and a double boiler - just from this recipe!

Amazing Brownies (Adapted By: Baked Bree)

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter

4 ounces unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup flour

Directions:

1. In your homemade double boiler or real one, place your butter and bittersweet chocolate. Allow to melt completely.

2. Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla and mix by hand until well blended with a spatula or wooden spoon.

3. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating fully before adding the next one, till batter is silky smooth.

4. Mix in the flour and stir until mixture begins to pull away from the side of the bowl.

5. Pour the batter into a metal pan lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until edges of brownies pull away from side of pan.

7. A few minutes before your brownies come out of the oven, prepare an ice bath in a container bigger than your pan (I used a pie plate, but if you use a square pan like a normal person, than a 9x13 would work great). Place hot brownies directly from the oven into the ice bath and allow to cool completely to touch. Unwrap from parchment paper onto cooling rack or cutting board and cut into squares. Then enjoy the moistest most amazing brownie you've ever eaten!!!

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I Can't Wait To....

I'm linking up with Carissa today over at Lowercase Letters.

1. Make these gorgeous treats....

{Macarons by: Bakerella}

These have been on my "must bake list" for quite some time... however, I haven't had a kitchen scale. Remember a few weeks ago, when I talked about CSN stores letting me do a review on an item in their store?

Well, I finally decided, that it was high time I got myself a kitchen scale. So I picked out this beauty, and just got confirmation that it was shipped today!! :) You will all have some pictures of some lovely macarons coming your way!!!!

(Side Note: Macarons are a french dessert, and are usually measured in metric units, so you have to have a kitchen scale for the most accurate measurements, making yummy treats!)

2. Speaking of Bakerella...

Do any of you follow me on twitter? If you do, you noticed on Friday that I found out Bakerella was coming to San Francisco on Saturday for a book signing of her new book, Cake Pops!!

So, I dragged Archie up there with me in the pouring down rain! I totally geeked out on her, and I only hope she can forgive me for totally gushing, being super odd and strange, and telling her, "I have a food blog too!" What an idiot I am! :) In fact, I'm hoping she just forgets me all together, and then we'll all be good. I did get a picture though! :) And she signed my book - so at least I'll remember meeting her. By the way, her book is GORGEOUS!! And it's filled with the most amazing pictures of all of the most creative cake pops you've ever seen. You should go buy one... and find where she's signing books near you... and make a fool of yourself so she forgets meeting me! :)

My sister and her family came....

And we all had the best time ever. We did so much in just a week's time, but it was awesome! I love those kids!!! Here are a few quick pictures I was able to capture.

Just the Girls

Archie and Gavin looking at the Sea Lions in San Francisco - I LOVE this picture!

The whole gang at the Golden Gate

At Muir Woods (the Giant Redwoods)

They quickly became best friends. Gavin walked Capo around my house (inside) on a leash, and Capo willingly let him do it. All... day.... long...

The boys getting ready to surf at Carmel

Isn't this the most amazing view!

Tough guys!!

Hope you all have a great week!

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Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip

{Source}

My sister and her family arrive on Monday!! I'm so excited, I might not sleep until then. I figured out this week that there will be 8 people and a dog in a 900 square foot house for one week.

That means that we will each get about 100 square feet each of living space! :) haha... And that doesn't include closets and the bathroom! (yeah, we only have 2 bedrooms and one bathroom!) They will be ready to go to China at the end of the week. The forty hour plane ride will seem like heaven to them!

I'm very excited to show them around, give them a tour, let them see where I live (they haven't been to California since we moved here), have them meet my friends, come with us to South Bay, and spend some great time with them before this big venture! I can't wait for my nephews to see the train right out front of our house, or the airport on the other side! :) And I'm going to take my sister out for a fun surprise day... I can't tell you what we're doing because she might read this! ;) I'll give you all the fun details after we go.

In the mean time, here's another recipe you can use for Sunday for the Super Bowl... if you're interested in that sort of thing. We, on the other hand, will only know the score the next day when someone tells us. ;)

This recipe is one of those things that sounds super fattening, and gooey, and maybe kind of gross, but I'm telling you, it's super addicting. Every time I've made this, everyone comments how they just can't stop eating it!! The Frank's hot sauce really makes this dip, so DON'T skip on this and try some other kind of hot sauce. You can find this in the same aisle as all the hot sauces. The sauce makes the dip very spicy, but in a good way - and I'm a wimp when it comes to spice. If you think it will be too much for you, just add less, and you can always add more at the end to spice things up. Or if you like things on the spicy side, just add more to taste.

You can definitely make this dip for you - including adding blue cheese dip instead of ranch, or even some crumbled blue cheese! YUM. I might have to try that... Inspiration on the spot. :)

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Dip (Adapted from Frank's)

Ingredients:

2 cans 12.5 oz each canned chicken breast (like Swanson's), drained

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup ranch dressing

3/4 cup Frank's Buffalo RedHot Sauce

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Heat drained chicken and Frank's Buffalo Sauce in skillet until heated through.

2. Add ranch dressing and cream cheese and heat until through until cream cheese is melted.

3. Mix in 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese and stir until melted.

4. This is the part where it doesn't look so good, but it will sure taste good soon! Transfer mixture to a crock pot and place remaining cheddar cheese on top until dip is heated through. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers or fresh veggies.

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Random Things on A Monday:

1. Wow - is January really almost over! I can't believe there is only one week left in this month. It flew by, and I don't even know where it went. Being sick the first two weeks of the month really made my life feel so unorganized! My husband and I are trying to get all organized for the year, do a "winter cleaning" instead of spring, and feel more on top of the house this year. Besides, we'll have visitors in 2 weeks!! My sister and family (all 6!) are coming on their way to China for a week. Yes, I said CHINA! They're moving there for 2 years. So, we needed to do a organizational overhaul in order to prep! :)

2. Our church has been part of a 21 day fast called "Awakening" which we do every year. It's really a great time to get refreshed, refocused, and to grow closer in your relationship with God. This year we chose to do without cheese, bread, and sugar. YIKES! I have a COOKING blog for goodness sakes! :) This is very hard, but so worth it, and it feels oh, so good after all the indulgences of the holidays!

3. I have been offered a chance to do a review for CSN, which will work out perfectly for all the Valentine's baking I want to try and haven't been able to with the fast. I have several new recipes I cannot wait to try out bookmarked and ready. I think most everyone who's been reading my blog for a while has heard of CSN by now since I have hosted several giveaways by them, but they have an excellent selection of everything from baking tools, home decor, amazing shoes, or you can choose the perfect laptop messenger bag for your new mac or ipad you got for Christmas. It seems like everyone got an ipad for Christmas... I did not! :) So, stay tuned for the review!

4. Archie and I stayed up in San Francisco last weekend, and we discovered a whole new side of town that we'd never seen before. The neighborhood is called "Marina/Cow Hollow", but we found a whole new shopping center, tons of restaurants, and even this cute little cupcake shop.

{Source}

Of course, I didn't get to try it because I'm not allowed any sugar for the month of January, but I took a picture of the front of the shop so I wouldn't forget it! :)

We also found a great gourmet burger shop - Barney's Gourmet Burgers. So yummy. We had the burger's "protein style" - the In & Out slang for "with no bread", so it came with lettuce instead of a bun. Really yummy. I had mine with barbecue sauce, sauteed onions, and avocado!

5. The Super Bowl is coming up! (Not that we care about it at all other than yummy snacks!) That means you'll need game day recipes! I have a great one for you. This is my friend Mary's cheese ball. She made it for me for the first time when I was in high school and we hosted a sleep over for a bunch of junior high gals. I ended up sitting in front of the cheese ball, and when it was gone at the end of the night, everyone blamed ME for eating it all. I know I wasn't the only one eating it.... or maybe I was. It's just so good, you may want to make it and hide it!

It's so super easy, that it's a cinch to throw together. And there's a secret ingredient. If this wasn't a cooking blog, I wouldn't tell you because you might gross out, but I'm telling you, this ingredient totally makes the cheese ball amazing!

I promise it's different than Spam! You'll love it and everyone will rave.

Mary's Cheese Ball:

Ingredients:

1 8 oz. bar cream cheese, softened
1 8 oz. bar extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 larger can of devil ham
1 splash hot sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 splash of worcheshire (sp) sauce

Topping:

Extra shredded cheese or chopped toasted pecans

Serve With:

Fresh veggies

Ritz crackers

Wheat thins

Directions:

1. Grate cheese

2. Place softened cream cheese and cheddar cheese in a bowl.

3. Add deviled ham, garlic powder, and onion powder. Then add a splash of hot sauce and worcestershire sauce.

4. Mix all ingredients together and mold into a ball.

5. Dip molded ball into shredded cheese or chopped pecans. Serve with fresh veggies, ritz crackers, or wheat thins.

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