Hello Iowa!

Just enjoying a nice hot tea in picturesque and charming downtown Iowa City.

Chuy's Jalapeno Dip

It's a big week for us this coming week. I'm flying to Iowa for my first orthodontic interview on Thursday (hooray!), flying back home on Saturday morning, then heading straight to Auburn for the Auburn v. Florida game. I know...I must be crazy, but my hubby really wants me there, so I'm going to drag my exhausted self down to Auburn and cheer on my Tigers. I think it'll be fun; I just hope I'm not the wet blanket that has no energy :)

This weekend was really nice and relaxing. We just hung around the house and had some friends over to watch the Auburn game on Saturday. There's a new Tex-Mex restaurant here in town called Chuy's, and they have a jalapeno dip that is to-die-for. It's not as spicy as you'd think. It's more of a ranch flavor. I found a website where a lady tried to recreate it, so I made it for our football party. It's not exactly like the restaurant's, but it is still so tasty. I'm actually snacking on some now as I type this post! What's even cooler is that I discovered the lady whose blog I found it on is a huge Auburn fan...small world!

(Sorry for the bad lighting--the dip is a light green color in real life)

16 ounces Light Sour Cream
1 package (1 Oz.) Ranch Dip Mix
1 1/2 whole large jalapenos, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1 whole lime, juiced
2-4 Tbsp milk

Combine roughly chopped jalapenos, cilantro and garlic in the food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Add lime juice, sour cream and ranch mix. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Add milk, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired thickness. Pour into serving bowl and serve with tortilla chips.

Source: Plain Chicken

Our New Toy

It's time to celebrate!! I'm finally done with my boards, and it feels SO good not to be studying every spare minute. I took the exam on Friday and Saturday, so today has been really relaxing. In other news, we got a new tv before football season this year. The thing is, Jonathan has been wanting one of those fancy LED televisions for some time now, and my deal was, if he got the new tv, I wanted a nice new entertainment center to put it on. Our old one was a rickety Target special from college that had seen better days. So, as a reward for all of Jonathan's hard work, here's the new toy:

Pictures don't do it justice. We have really enjoyed it so far. Football games look fantastic on it...it's like you're actually there at the stadium! Don't you want to come watch a game with us :)

Life Goal

I have the sweetest mother-in-law. She is the most on-top-of-it person I know when it comes to encouraging people and being thoughtful. Case in point:

A sweet card to encourage me during my board exam and ortho inteviews

So, life goal: become better at doing the same thing for other people one day :) Thanks Mrs. Jerre!

Homemade Pita Chips

All study and no play makes Erin a dull girl :( That's right...I take my National Board Exam II this coming Friday and Saturday, so I've been pinned up all weekend studying. I can't wait to get it over with!! Meanwhile, here's a super easy recipe I'll share.

I make a lot of dips during football season, and pita chips are excellent dippers. However, those dang bags of pita chips are so expensive at the grocery! Jonathan got me a cookbook that I had been really wanting for my birthday, so this was the first recipe I made:

4 whole wheat pitas
1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
Seasonings, if desired

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and set aside. Use a pizza cutter to cut pitas into 8 triangles. Put into a bowl and pour olive oil over them, and use your fingers to coat each pita. Arrange on baking sheet, and sprinkle with salt. For extra fun, add Italian seasoning, or cumin. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy.

Ready to go in the oven

The finished product
Source: Our Best Bites Cookbook

Creamy Lemon Bars

Not much new going on around here...I've been studying for part II of my national boards (I take it Sept. 30 and Oct. 1) and watching college football (War Eagle!). Here's a recipe I'll share with you guys.

This is a recipe I made for my friend whose mom passed. I love lemon squares, and when I saw this recipe that was essentially lemon cheesecake bars, I knew it was going to be a winner. Seriously, try these.

20 Nilla Wafers, finely crushed
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold real butter
1 pkg. (8 oz.) light cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temp (just place eggs in a bowl of warm water for about 10 min.)
2 Tbsp. flour
3 Tbsp. grated lemon peel, divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. baking powder
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Spray lightly with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a bowl, combine Nilla Wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup flour and the brown sugar. Chop butter into small pieces and then cut into crumb mixture with a pastry blender.If you don’t have a pastry blender, just use 2 knives, or even your fingers to break up the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min.

While crust is cooking, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 2 Tbsp. flour, and baking powder; mix well. Blend in 1 Tbsp. lemon zest, and lemon juice and then pour mixture over crust.

Bake 25 to 30 min. or until center is set. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining 2 Tbsp. grated lemon peel just before cutting into squares to serve. Store leftover squares in refrigerator.

Source: Our Best Bites

Ahh...fall

Now that the weather has cooled off a little (no more high 90's, yay!), I can indulge in a few favorite treats. Pumpkin spice latte equals happy Erin :)