Memorial Day Fun!

I think I have discovered a new tradition for Memorial Day. The past two years I have gone hiking for Memorial Day. I think it is going to be something I try and do every year. I know that is not the true meaning behind the day but it is a good reason to be out in nature :) This year my friends and I went hiking at the Hebron Rock Colony and then had a cookout at our house. We also took pictures in front of the American Flag kind of as a way to honor the day some. Here are some pictures from the day!

More Crafts!

So I have really gotten into crafting since I don't have to think about classes for a little while. I have seen all of these ideas on Pinterest about how to turn old t-shirts into tank tops. So last Sunday I decided to try a few of them out. Since I don't have a sewing machine I couldn't try any of the harder fancy ones but I guess its good to start easy sometimes. 

The first one I tried is like a workout tank and didn't require any sewing. Because I wasn't thinking I forgot to take a before of what the shirt looked like before I cut it up. But the shirt I used was a graduation present from a friend when I graduated from ECU and I was just never crazy about the way it fit. And now I think it fits really well and is really cute! The blog that its came from is the Dollars, Sense & More which I found through Pinterest :)

The second one I made involved a little bit of sewing which I was able to do by hand. I'm sure it would have been way faster if I had done it with a sewing machine. The blog that this one came from is Crafters Hours. I also made this one out of an old t-shirt but some of the design got cut off so I decided to try it with a plain t-shirt.

Yummy Shrimp!

So with my new free time I have also tried to keep up with cooking. My Mom had given me a bag of frozen shrimp so I had been looking for a recipe to try using shrimp. And yes I got the recipe from Pinterest! Where else would it come from haha! The name of the recipe is actually called Penne a la Betsy from the Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients:
- 3/4 Pound penne pasta
- 1 Pound shrimp
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 whole small onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 can Tomato Sauce (8 oz)
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- Fresh Parsley to taste
- Fresh Basil to taste
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste

Instructions: 
1. Cook the penne pastas until al dente.
2. Peel, devein and rinse 1 pound of extra large shrimp. Heat about 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil in skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. (If your shrimp still have the tails on them put the cooked shrimp on a cutting board and take off the tails. Cut the shrimp into bite size pieces.)
3. Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves of garlic.
4. In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Now add an 8 oz can of tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue storing. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.
6. Now chop your herbs, about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about the same about of basil.
7. Now add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined.
8. Finally add your cooked pane pasta and give it a good stir.

* I used the whole box (whole pound) of pasta. The shrimp I had were also smaller so I didn't chop them up.

Strawberry Pizza

Happy Mother's Day a week late!!! haha I have really been slacking on blog posts now that school is done. I would have thought I would have posted more but nope! For Mother's Day my family all gathered at my oldest sister's house. She had to work until 6 so the rest of the family made dinner and played with her kids. We tried to keep my Mom out of the kitchen but it never works haha. My job for dinner was desert. I know my Mom loves fruit and my sister love chocolate. So I found a recipe for Strawberry Pizza! It was super yummy and really not that hard to make. The recipe is from the Cooking Bride who I of course found on Pinterest!

Pizza crust

Ingredients For The Crust:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon  ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Directions for Crust: 
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray 10" x 2" tart pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray.
3. Whisk together flour, pecans, chocolate chips, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until mixture is fluffy, about five minutes. If using a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to cream butter and brown sugar, then switch to the paddle attachment.
5. Add half of the flour and beat on low until flour is combined. Mix in remaining flour and continue to stir until incorporated.
6. Spread dough evenly on the bottom and up the sides if using a tart pan or pat into an 11-inch wide circle on a cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the edges begin to turn brown and the center starts to feel firm. Allow to cool completely before applying the toppings.

Finished Product

Ingredients For Topping:
- 1/2 cup strawberry preserves
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 pound sliced fresh strawberries
- 8 oz marscapone cheese
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions For Topping:
1. Whisk together preserves and orange juice. Bring to a boil in a small pot over medium high heat. Boil one minute until glaze begins to thicken. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. Mix together marscapone, powdered sugar, and vanilla until fluffy, about 1 minute. Do not over mix or the spread will separate.
3. Spread marscapone mixture over the cooled cookie crust.
4. Add sliced strawberries to the glaze and stir to combine. Spread glazed strawberries over marscapone.
5. Allow to refrigerate for 1 hour.

*The website I found this from said you could use a store bought cookie dough. If the marscapone is too expensive or hard to find you can find a replacement. Just google it there are tons of suggestions :)

Congrats Gretta and Stephen!

Today my roommate Gretta got married and it was absolutely beautiful! The wedding and reception were both outside at the Daniel Boone Gardens. The weather turned out to be perfect! Everyone was a little nervous because the forecast called for rain today all last week! But God was able to keep the rain away until the afternoon. It was a very simple but very beautiful wedding :) 

Roomies! Me, Gretta, and Brittney

People sat on blankets on the ground or in chairs in a circle around the couple and wedding party. Really neat idea to make sure everyone could see!

The couple listening to a song that was sang by Gretta's Dad and Uncle. Very sweet :)

I loved the bustle so I did a sneaky picture!

Brittney and I at the reception!

Chicken Pot Pie and Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

So these next two recipes are not new recipes... I think I could make both of these without even looking at the recipe I have made them so many times! But they are total comfort food and super yummy! The first is my Mom's (or her Mom's I'm not sure who really made it first) Chicken Pot Pie. Then is Susie's Chocolate chip cookies....but I don't know who Susie is. Haha!

In other exciting news the semester is almost over!! Only a few more assignments and I can put this semester behind me! It is hard to believe it is almost over!!! It has really flown by. Before I know it the next year will be over and I will be graduating! So close I can smell it!

Chicken Pot Pie:
- 6 T. Margarin melted in pan
- 1 can veg-all, drained
- 6 cooked chicken breasts chopped up
- 1 can cream of chicken
- 1 can chicken broth
- 1 cup bisquick
- 1 cup milk

Directions:
1. Melt Margarin in 13x9 dish. Layer chicken on top.
2. Mix soup and broth and pour over chicken in dish.
3. Add Veg-all on top.
4. Mix together bisquick and milk and pour on top of veg-all.
5. Bake at 450 for 25 min or until top is turning golden brown.

Susie's Chocolate Chip Cookies: 
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda. Shift together and set aside.
2. Mix butter with brown sugar and eggs. Mix well. Add vanilla.
3. Mix dry and wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips last.
4. Drop teaspoon size scoops on to greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350.
*I used dark brown sugar because it is what I had so they may not look as dark as they do in my picture.