Vanilla Bean and Blueberry Muffins

i have been slightly obsessed with these blueberry muffins since i found this recipe.so much so that i have probably made them about 3 times in the last month... 

this is a simple recipe and i did not even need to get out my kitchen-aid to make them. i was afraid if i used my kitchen-aid i might totally squash the little blueberries. i only use a whisk when mixing dry ingredients, and then a large spatula, just enough to fold in the berries. 

there is one thing that is special about this recipe that sets it apart from all the rest.. vanilla bean paste! where have you been all my life?! it packs the flavor more so than vanilla extract. you can actually see little specks of vanilla bean when mixing, and eating of course. 
i originally found this recipe on pinterest, but i have tweeked it just a tad. this is the link for the  recipe before my changes >>(original blue berry muffins)<<
these will leave you wanting more than just one with your morning coffee. the little flavor burst of blueberries and vanilla and the cinnamon crumble on top make them quite addicting.

Vanilla Bean and Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

• muffins:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk ( i used 2% milk)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 1 cup blueberries
• muffin topping:
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter, (softened, but not melted)
• 
  
• Instructions
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners or coat with nonstick spray; set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
  • In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together milk, sugar, butter and egg. Stir in vanilla bean paste. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist. Add blueberries and gently combine.
  • Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Sprinkle with cinnamon topping (how to make topping below). Place into oven and bake for 15-17 minutes (depending on oven), or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
  • 
    
  Instructions for Cinnamon Topping:
  • mix all the dry ingredients together. using a fork fold in cold butter. mix until everything is combined and flaking apart.
• 
  
• 
  
  
• enjoy!
• 
  
• 
  

Raspberry Pie

not going to lie but my kitchen is bogged down by multiple magazines with dogged eared pages of recipes i have wanted to save. as well as piles upon piles of printed recipes from pinterest. who is with me, i know that i am not the only one :) 

i remember as a little girl seeing my mom reaching up and grabbing a large wooden box full over worn down and loved recipe cards. remnants of past cooking escapades and smudged hand writing. what happen to the times of the recipe card? there is a history there, past down from generation to generation when looking at these cards. there is meaning in these treasured cards. 

when i married my husband, David, almost 7 years ago, i received some of these beloved recipes that were passed down through the years. one of these recipes just so happens to be david's absolute favorite, raspberry pie. i know that i can never make it like momma, but i surely do try. come to find out this recipe has been passed down from his great grandma. she created this mouth watering masterpiece years ago and now it is a cherished recipe in her grandchildren's and even great great grandchildren's lives. i know that they will keep the passing of grandma's pie recipe to their future children, and the memory of her alive with every single pie made. 

it took me a couple of tries to get it just right. so hopefully you all can accomplish what i did not at first. hope you enjoy it.

this is what the beginning mixture should look like. using a pastry blender helps combine the flour and butter a little faster than using a fork, which is totally fine too.

when blending the flour,water, and cold butter together the end result should resemble this. in the recipe my mother in law gave me said the mixture should resemble small, flaky peas. 

 

once all combined, you can press into a pie plate and bake away.

Raspberry Pie

ingredients:

Crust:

1/2 cup butter

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp. cold water

mix mixing using pastry cutter/blender or fork until the mixture forms small, flaky clumps. and then press into pie plate.

bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes (depending on oven)

but DO NOT brown the pie crust, it will become dry and start falling apart.let completely cool before adding filling. i like to make my pie crust the night before, just to save time when making the filling.

Filling:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 tbsp corn starch

1 3 oz packet of Raspberry jello

1 bag of frozen raspberries

mix sugar,water,corn starch, and jello in a small sauce pan and heat on stove top.boil until slightly thickened. while mixture is warming spread frozen raspberries in cooled pie crust. once the liquid is slightly thickened pour over pie crust. chill the pie until it is set. may take up to 4 hours. 

serve with whipped topping

and enjoy

as a child we picture what our grown up life will be like. we pick our grown up job. our future home. 

maybe even our future car. I always wanted to be a veterinarian and save as many animals as possible. my house was a mansion, with scrolling stair cases and a large library. and of course filled with cats, lots of cats. i would live close to all my friends and we would always go swimming my mansions pool. i would marry prince charming and life would be good.

now as an adult, I find myself picturing my childhood. now all these things are not make believe like how i would picture my life as a nine year old. I have been day dreaming of my how blissful and how quickly my childhood passed me by.
the wind is whipping through my long blonde hair as i run through the fields behind my house with my cousin close behind. we were playing cat woman (me,of course) and poison ivy, our version of cops and robbers. we were the good guys, and my family dog, Rolly, was the "evil" villain that locked up Batman. we could play for hours never tiring in the sun with the weeds crashing around us. or of how my younger sisters and I would play mermaids in our pool. and the big blow up shamu was the crazy monster trying to attack us.

another memory, of us girls (my sisters and mom) crowding around the dining room table smearing frosting and sprinkles on freshly made sugar cookies. trying to see how much we could actually put on the cookie without it breaking apart. and when no one was looking licking the frosting spoons... no one did that of course (Kelsey)... leaving the most beautiful creations out for Santa clause. then Christmas day waking each other up before the sun has taken its first breath across the horizon. tip toeing into our parents room and begging them to come and let us open our presents.

many family trips. many sleep overs with friends. many softball games and cheer-leading competitions.
so many memories. being a child was so easy as I look back.
i had a loving family. parents that taught me right from wrong.
coming into adulthood and seeing that i was fortunate to have what i did back then.
i work hard now for what i have and am proud for how much i have become a woman of christ.
i did marry my prince charming, and do not quite have a house full of cats.
but i am proud and happy with where i am at in my life.
life in general is hard, but my loving husband and family and all the memories we have made together has definitely made it bearable.
love you all. 

I am going to share some of my favorite things today.. and then some.. I love to light candles after a long day from work or pretty much any day ( the ones that smell like a vanilla cupcake or pumpkin spice are my favorite) .. Then I plug in my Iphone to its charging dock and put on Pandora and listen to Mumford and Sons.. I have been loving the bluegrass and folkie tunes, it calms my soul.. once I get that playing, I cook dinner. I love to be able to prepare delicious meals for my husband. I will confess that not all of my dishes have been edible but he still eats them with a smile.

on that note

Listen up cats and kittens, I have come across some amazing recipes (thanks to Pinterest) that I have been dieing to share. since this new fandangled web site, that has a modge podge of everything that I could ever think of, my life has been forever changed.. Well my "cookbook" of recipes I have printed off has changed at least. so i hope you all enjoy these recipes as much as I did ( and my husband)...

I think the one thing I love most about this recipe is that you don't use any cream of anything in it so it seems "healthy"..

Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

3 stalks of celery, finely diced

3 carrots, peeled and finely diced

2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic

2 cups shredded chicken (cooked)-I cook mine in a pot of boiling water til cooked through

2 cups white rice (cooked)

16 oz prepared wild rice

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

 

cheese sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup of all purpose flour 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

 

top with 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

 

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F. heat oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Saute celery, onion, and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes. stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. stir in chicken, both rices,salt, pepper, and garlic salt. reduce heat to low.

2. To prepare cheese sauce melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium high heat. whisk in flour, salt and pepper then slowly pour in chicken broth whisking continuously. whisk until thick and nearly boiling then stir in cheese until melted. pour cheese into rice mixture then transfer to a 9x13 baking dish. top with additional cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted through. serve.

this might seem like alot of steps along with many ingredients, but believe me it is well worth it..

here is my next recipe that I found  (thank you Pinterest), this one is much easier to prepare, and its in a crockpot ( another one of my favorite things)...

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken:

1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 cup salsa

1 package of taco seasoning mix

1 cup sour cream

for serving (optional)-I added black beans and shredded cheddar cheese

directions:

put chicken (mine was frozen), soup, and salsa in cooker. sprinkle taco seasoning over everything. cook on low for 6 hours. if shredding chicken, pull out breasts and shred; return to slow cooker. stir in sour cream and heat just until everything is combined. 

I ate mine of tortilla chips and my husband rolled his up in a tortilla. both ways delicious.

I am not always going to post recipes but thought I would share some things that have my mouth watering just thinking about them.. also if you haven't noticed another of my favorite things is cheese.. pretty much all my dishes have cheese included in them.

Enjoy.

 

 

google definition of friends:

3rd person singular present, plural of friend

Noun:

A person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.

urban dictionary definition of friends:

people who are aware of how retarded you are and still manage to be seen in public with you. people who make you laugh till you pee your pants. people who cry for you when one of your special items disappear. when you don't have enough money to get a ice cream, they chip in.

starting new friendships is very hard for me. being around large crowds makes my palms start to sweat because i am afraid someone is going to talk to me and i will not know what to say. i guess you could say i have some trust issues, and it is hard to let people into my circle of "safe friends". safe friends are the ones that i have no fear of revealing my inner most feelings and feel "safe" that they will not criticize or make fun. these are very few and far between these days,rarely will i find someone that really gets me, even if we have been friends for years. someone that i can throw back my head and laugh with and not feel self conscious. or reveal my inner most thoughts about life in general. i feel like there is a kind of hierarchical list of your friends:

"safe" friends

best friends

good friends

friends

acquaintance

at this point in my life i am okay with the amount of friends that i have. we all have busy lives and grown up careers, but still find a way to interact with each other. some days i wish i had more but some days i am completely content and would rather hang out with my cat. it is hard for me to express some of my emotions or frustrations with people that i have been friends with for years and even those i have just met. i think that is why i like to distance myself from them until these thoughts subside so i do not hurt anyone's feelings. but with my "safe" friends it is much easier to be able to rely on their friendship no matter what any of our opinions may be. 

Yes, I do have a husband and he is even farther than a safe friend to me. he is my lover, my better half,and my confidant. my life has been forever changed with his presences but... 

i do believe that we cannot survive without friends. who will be there to scream while watching a scary movie with you and then proceed to laugh at each other for doing so. who will be there to bring you a McDonald's diet coke after having a bad day. who will share life with you no matter what it may bring.  

Summer Bucket List

Okay, so I know that the summer has already been in here in Michigan in full force so far this year. But I 

really wanted to make some goals, or rather a bucket

list for the remainder of the months we have left.

Some of these may be easier said than done

but if I write them down I just feel they may be more easily accomplished (hopefully)

1. go tubing down a river.. I would rather not be tossed and thrown behind a boat, but lazily drift through the water

2. watch the sunset (preferably at a beach)

3. go camping. rustic camping. I have never done this before and I am not saying it will be the most fun thing to do... but I think everyone has to do it at least once, right?

4. make corn on the cob on the grill. or eat corn on the cob from the grill.. which ever one is easier since I am not a grill master in any way like some people (my husband)

5.  road trip with my husband.. who knows to where yet. I have never been to Traverse City or maybe to visit friends in Minnesota. I just need to get out of Michigan for a while...

6. Buy a huge,floppy beach hat. this one might be a little obnoxious, but for some reason I would love to wear one of these while laying on the beach.. 

Well that is about it. If I think of any others I will be sure to add them on here. Hopefully the rest of the summer is a bit more enjoyable because so have it has been too sweltering hot to do anything. And I am not one to complain about fun in the sun. But I rather like a cloudy, rain filled day every now and again.. 

23 years ago my little sister was born.

God has been writing her story ever since. Today she leaves on a plane to depart for Germany for the second time in a year. She has a passion for God and has seen wonderous things by His doing.

I am having these uncertain emotions taking over my heart today. In way I am simply proud and overjoyed by the fact that she has found her true calling in the God's work. But how am I to protect her heart and see her grow. I guess it is the protective older sister lion coming over me... She has shown me how to live without fear or anxiety something we are both very familiar with. It has also brought out my selfish side as well. seeing her be able to travel the world and being able to let God lead her in ways I could only imagine.

I am not saying that I do not love my life. I did all the things that I thought to be right for my life.  I graduated high school, then graduated college... got a "big girl" job as an x-ray technologist and was married to the love of my life... I would not change who I was or who I am ... I am just finding it difficult to find the way God wants to lead me...

Some day I will live and love freely.