Update

Since my last post, we've been pretty busy around here. I did a poster presentation at a Geriatric Conference. Here's a pic of me and my partner, Ashley:


That same afternoon, I had the pleasure of delivering 6 crowns to my favorite patient. They went from canine to canine in the upper arch. I was super excited to do such an esthetic case, and it turned out beautifully. The patient was so happy, and I was floating on air.

Earlier this week, Jonathan's mom came into town and took us out to one of our favorite spots, PF Chang's. It was delicious, and it's always good to see family :)

This weekend, I've been a busy bee in the kitchen. First, I made a light version of a no-bake cheesecake, then chocolate chip cookies my patient coordinator has been begging me for, and I finished off with bleu cheese burgers for my man. Jonathan has a new OBSESSION with all things bleu cheese. He's been asking me to make bleu cheese burgers, so tonight I gave it a shot. I made some caramelized onions to go with them, and they were delish. Thanks to Our Best Bites cooking blog, I figured out the secret to caramelized onions. I'll summarize for you:

First, you need to slice your onions so that they're uniform in size. You're going to want about 3 large sweet onions, because these babies disintegrate into basically nothing as they cook. Heat about 1 Tbsp. of butter and 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet, then add the onions and cook on medium-low for 10 minutes. Add about 1/4 tsp. of salt and cook about 30 minutes longer or until amber in color. I added about1/2 tsp. of sugar after about 15 minutes of cooking for extra caramelization.

Now, they key here is PATIENCE. I'm bad about wanting immediate results, and I had to stir those onions for about 1 hour before I got them the way I wanted them. THEN, I was so distraught at how little it actually made. Here it is in pictures:

BEFORE (look how many onions that is!)

After (there's nothing left!)

The onions pictured above aren't quite as amber in color as I wanted them, but it was getting close to the time for us to go to small group, and I needed to get dinner on the table.

That's all for now! Have a great week :)

It Ain't Pretty...

Let me share a little secret with y'all. My momma KNOWS how to cook. I credit my love of all things food to her. I have so many memories of sitting in the kitchen watching my mom cook and her sharing with me all of her secrets to good southern meals. As I got older, she would involve me in the cooking process. This recipe I'm about to share is what she calls the "It ain't pretty but it sure is good" coconut cake. The name says it all. This cake is so good, but the secret is preparing it and letting it sit about 2 days in the refrigerator before you serve it. Trust me on this one...the moisture from the frosting seeps into the cake, but not in a "mushy" sort of way. It just gives it this amazing deliciousness that makes you want to "slap" said momma, lol :)

Now, I know what you're thinking..."Erin, why didn't you ice the sides of the cake? It might look prettier that way!" This coconut cake has a frosting that isn't what you think of when you think of cake frosting. It's made from sour cream, coconut, and sugar, and it doesn't have enough body to hold onto the sides of the cake. If you frost the sides of this cake, it's all going to end up as soup on the bottom of your cake plate. So, you have to live with the fact that your cake is ugly. But, trust me, once a morsel of this hops into your mouth, you'll have no complaints about how it looks.

So, in summary, this is not a cake you make when trying to impress somebody. It's a cake you make when you're crazing something homemade and oh-so-sweet.

Here's the recipe:

1 box Duncan Hines Butter Cake mix
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 (16 oz.) carton of sour cream (I used light)
2 packages frozen coconut

Cook cake mix according to box directions. This will make 2 round cake layers. When cooled, slice cake layers in half (end up with 4 layers).

Mix sour cream and frozen coconut together to thaw. When thawed, mix in sugar and put the frosting between the layers of cake. Do NOT frost the sides of the cake. Refrigerate. Cake is best if covered and refrigerated 2-3 days before serving.

Do What We Do

Yesterday, we had a snow day because the roads were iced over. Here's a picture (for you, mom!).

Jonathan and I lounged around on the couch all day, walked to the grocery store to get some snacks for the big game, and settled in to watch the National Championship game. I made my Hot Pizza Dip (adapted from allrecipes.com). Here's a picture of that:

Jonathan loves this dip. Here's the recipe:

8 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/8 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. (or more) pizza sauce
1/4 of a green bell pepper, diced
2 oz. turkey pepperoni sausage, chopped
2 Tbsp. sliced black olives
French bread

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, basil, and Italian seasoning. Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9" pie plate of shallow dish. Seal and refrigerate overnight (or a couple of hours if you don't have time). Spread 1/2 cup of the mozzarella and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan on top of the cream cheese mixture; spread the pizza sauce over all. Cook the pepperoni in the microwave for about 20 seconds and wring out the fat with a paper towel. Sprinkle pizza sauce with remaining cheese, top with green pepper, olives, and pepperoni. Cover and cook in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve with french bread slices that are toasted with butter and garlic powder.
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Then, it was time for the big game. I couldn't stand all of the build-up...I just wanted it to be here! It was so special to us that Auburn WON!! Jonathan and I met at Auburn, and it is a very dear place to us. We were so excited that they won the National Championship the same year that we got married! It is something that we will never forget. In honor of Toomer's corner, we felt the need to roll something. Since we had already taken our Christmas tree down, we had to settle for the ceiling fan :)

I took a few pictures of the TV:

Gene saying "War Eagle!"Cam soaking it all in

I LOVE my Auburn family :) WAR EAGLE!!!!!

Long Time, No Post

Wow...it's been a while since I updated our blog. It's been a crazy past month. Between now and the last time I posted, I survived 11 final exams, did all of our Christmas shopping, lived out the movie "Four Christmases," and started a new semester of school. Whew...that makes me tired just thinking about it! Here's a couple pics from Christmas (taken with my new camera Jonathan gave me for Christmas!):

Our first Christmas ornament (bought on our honeymoon in Helen)

My mom and her fiance in their opposing team aprons...how cute! Congrats guys!

And now, for a new recipe. I've been wanting to try fish tacos for a long time, but never had the courage to order them at restaurants. They just sounded so strange, but I was enticed by the idea. I found this recipe for them on Annie's Eats, and I decided to give it a shot. They were a nice, light, healthy dinner. They had a delicious cilantro cream sauce made with non-fat Greek yogurt that really brought out all of the flavors. I think they'd be a great summer time meal.

You can find the exact recipe on the link above, but here's some pictures from my cooking:

Cooking the marinated fish

Preparing some delicious (and colorful toppings)

The finished product...yummy!

Celebration!

This is why I love Auburn...It's all about family and tradition, baby. I am very proud of my Auburn Tigers for winning the SEC Championship. Glendale, here we come!

I love this picture, too:

Always take time to make a snow angel, even if it's not technically snow :)

Unfortunately, there probably won't be too many posts in the coming days. I have 10 final exams in the next two weeks. Talk about school overload! Please be praying for me!

Second photo courtesy of The August Chronicle

It's Beginning to Look A Lot like Christmas!

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving! We got to visit both of our families, plus, we watched the greatest Iron Bowl EVER! War Eagle!!! One more game to win in the hopes of making it to the national championship :) After we got back home on Saturday, we put on some Christmas music and put up our Christmas decorations. I have been SO excited about this Christmas season since it's our first Christmas as a married couple. Here is the product of our work:

Our Christmas Tree

Fireplace Mantle (can't wait to get a fire going!)

The two together :)

Brazilian Shrimp Soup

This weekend, Jonathan and I did a whole lot of relaxing and a whole lot of nothing. We did hang out with our friends Sara and Robby, and we also went to see Harry Potter 7, which was great. Tonight, I made this delicious soup from the fantastic blog, Annie's Eats. As usual, her recipe didn't disappoint. Now, I'm not sure if it's actually an authentic Brazilian recipe (my good friend and classmate Lila would know), but it tasted just like something you would get in a restaurant. It had a subtle tropical flavor due to the coconut milk and cilantro, but it was still very savory. It was simple to make, too! You must give this a try:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup long-grain rice
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 ¾ tsp. salt
1 ¾ cups canned crushed tomatoes
5 cups water (I used 4 cups chicken broth, 1 cup water)
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk (I used the light version)
1 ½ lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and cut in half horizontally
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (don't skip this...it makes all the difference!)

Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Add the rice, red pepper flakes, salt, crushed tomatoes, and chicken broth/water to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until the rice is almost tender. Stir in the coconut milk. Return the mixture to a simmer, then stir in the shrimp. Simmer just until the shrimp are cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the pepper, lemon juice and cilantro. Serve immediately.

Deliciousness in a bowl :)