Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween everyone! Above is the goofy-faced pumpkin we carved today. I also made a delicious pumpkin pie (unfortunately, I didn't have time to make my own pumpkin puree. I'm definitely guilty for using the canned). We're currently watching the Auburn v. Ole Miss game. War Eagle!

More Football Fun

Last weekend, Jonathan and I headed down to Auburn to see them face the LSU Tigers. It was an important game, because Auburn was ranked #4 and LSU was ranked #6. We met up with some of our wonderful college friends, and we had a fantastic weekend. It didn't hurt that Auburn won, and we are now ranked #1 in the nation!! Here are some pictures from the wonderful weekend:

Us with our beautiful friends, Brandon and Ashley (thanks for the tickets)!!

The gang hanging out before the game

Jordan-Hare Stadium (the greatest place on Earth)

Katie and me celebrating Auburn's victory by rolling Toomer's Corner

Bid Farewell to Fall Break

I'm sad to say that today is my last day of fall break. But we are excited about our small group tonight! It's our turn to provide the snacks for the night, and as always, I had a stack of recipes I've been wanting to try. I use opportunities like this to try out new recipes that I wouldn't normally cook for just Jonathan and me. I had already bought all the ingredients for a Tiramisu Layer Cake that I intended to make for our dental school's Cake-Off for Breast Cancer. Unfortunately, I was SO overloaded with school the week of the cake-off that I didn't have time to make it. So today, I pulled all of those ingredients out of the fridge and made this:

I feel like the cake turned out really well, and I can't wait to dig into it tonight. I also made a recipe called Hot Corn Dip from this website. I followed the recipe exactly.

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 1/2 cups corn kernels (I used frozen fresh corn)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onions
• 1/2 cup finely chopped roasted red bell peppers (from a jar)
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions (green and white parts)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
  
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup monterey jack and cheddar blend, shredded
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• Tortilla chips, for dipping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn, salt, and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the skillet. Add the onions and bell peppers and cook, stirring often, until the onions are wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the green onions, jalapeno, and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. Transfer to the bowl with the corn.

Add 1/2 C mayo, cayenne pepper, half of the monterey jack/cheddar and mix well. Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish or pie dish, and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve hot with tortilla chips or Fritos.

Here are the vegetables right after they were sauteed:

And here's the final product, ready to be popped into the oven:

I also made my ham and cheese slider rolls, but I've already made a post about those. Here's a special shout-out to my mom who has inspired my love for cooking by teaching me her tricks from an early age. Love you Mom!

Chattanooga Trip

This week is my fall break, so this past weekend, Jonathan and I took a trip to Chattanooga. We were amazed at how nice the city was! The downtown area was very clean and well-maintained, and just a couple of miles away are lots of outdoor adventure opportunities. Here's a summary of our trip:

We swam with the fishies at the Aquarium

We explored the city together

We braved a cave to see Ruby Falls (the world's tallest underground waterfall)

We rode the Incline Railway (which has a 72% steepness grade)

We "Saw Rock City"

And viewed "Seven States" from the top of Lookout Mountain

All in all, it was a fantastic trip. We're back home now, and we definitely look forward to more married trips together :)

Chocolate Chip Pie Gooey Bites

Hello friends! Well, it's the weekend, and of course, I've been cooking again. The weekend started out with our good friends, Ryan and Katie, coming to visit us. They're some of our best friends from Auburn, and they're going to Nepal for a year this coming March. We will miss them terribly, but we are so excited about the adventure God is taking them on! Saturday morning, I volunteered with Church of the Highlands. We served hotdogs to underprivileged and homeless people in the Woodlawn community. It was a great way to start my weekend. Then I headed over to the home of one of the couples in our small group. Jonathan was already there watching the AU game, and I got to see about half of the game. This is the treat I baked up to celebrate the occasion. They were a big hit! (Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture, but there are great pictures on the website where I got the recipe. Click here).

1/2 C butter, melted and cooled
1 C sugar
1/2 C flour
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 C chopped pecans, toasted
1 C mini chocolate chips
9" unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl combine the butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and vanilla. When combined stir in chocolate chips and toasted nuts. Set aside.

Right out of the box the pie crust is way too thick. Lightly flour your rolling surface and roll out crust so it's about 13-14" in diameter. (See pictures on blog for example). You want it pretty thin because it will expand while cooking. You will need to cut out some circles and then re-roll the pie crust.

A 2.75" circle is the perfect size. So use a cookie cutter, or grab a cup from your cupboard, and cut out circles. Press into the bottom of your mini muffin pan.

Mix all ingredients and pour into pie shells. Bake 20-25 minutes. The tops will get crinkly and golden brown. Let cool for a minute and they should pop right out of the pan.

All I have to say is, "Wow." Gooey chocolate goodness. These are best right out of the oven, but microwave them for a few seconds if they get cool, and they taste just the same as straight out of the oven :)

That's all for now, folks!