Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Recipe Tuesday: Bean Pie! (Trust me it's not gross!)

Today's Recipe... Bean Pie!
Okay sounds weird I know, but truly it is yummy and beyond easy.
Originally it calls for using black beans. Well, we didn't have black beans so we improvised and used refried beans.The hardest part about this recipe is the cutting. I got this recipe off of pinterest and it is originally from MarthaStewart.com. Here is the link. Once again, I made modifications based on what we had in our kitchen.
Ready?

Ingredient:
2 Cans of Beans (Black or Refried- Black is healthier, but refried worked great. If you do use black, drain them)
4 flour tortillas (10 inches)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 can of jalapenos
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups water
1 can of corn
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
As much grated cheese as you want!

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Trim tortillas to fit into your springform pan. Use the bottom of the pan as a guide. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add beans and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions, and remove from heat. It wasn't thickening for me so I added probably two tablespoons of flower and it thickened right up!
Don't be afraid to taste it to see if you need to add more seasonings. We ended up putting in a bit more garlic.

Fit a trimmed tortilla in bottom of springform pan
layer with 1/4 of the beans and your desired amount of cheese.
Repeat three times, I suggest using extra cheese on the top layer.
Bake until cheese melts. The site says 20 minutes. It honestly took nine minutes for perfection. Remove side of pan; sprinkle pie with scallions.
To serve, slice into wedges.
WARNING: this is not a two-person meal. It could easily feed five or six. Not kidding.
It is cheap. It is delicious. You will not regret it.

This is what things should look like:

First "layer" of beans.

Gotta love the cheese!

Cooking the ingredients on the stove. Ours is brown because we added a can of beans into the mix to thicken it up, it kinda worked, but we did have to add the flour later.

Layer, after layer, after layer of ABSOLUTE GOODNESS.

More cheese on top.

Add more scallions.

Remove the spring form! Tah Dah!

Don't forget to take your lactaid if your you are lactose intolerant like me!!

Good luck.
Love, Evi

Friday, August 26, 2011

Fashion Friday Round 2: Date Night Style

So we had a couple date nights this week.
A group date on Monday and then an "us" date.
For our group date, we went mini golfing. I wasn't that bad :)
For our "us" date, we went and saw Thor (which was AWESOME).
We both got dressed up for our movie date so we decided to document the following.



[ME-Crop Top: Ross. Pants: American Eagle. Necklace: Urban Outfitters. Hat: Ross.
ADAM- Shorts: O'Neil. Top: Izod. Shoes: Reef]

Mini Golf outfit:

[Skirt: H&M. Shirt: Nordstrom Rack. Purse: Coach. Lipstick: Covergirl "hot passion."]
I'm super into red right now. Red lipstick. Red shoes. Red tops. Red is awesome. End of story.

Happy Friday!!
Love, Evi

Awkward and Awesome Thursday: Photobooth Style!

So I thought it'd fun to post both awkward and awesome pictures that I found on my Mac's photobooth. Some are well, embarrassing. Not gonna lie. lol. But I figured it may give you guys an opportunity to really get to know me. Some facts you're going to want to know before seeing these...
One, I sleep with sleeping masks nightly. They're awesome. Don't even try to argue.
Two, a lot of these are from my freshman year here at BYUI.
Three, the picture with the major boob shot... sorry but I like the make up in it. :)
Four, sorry Em and Rissa but I'm embarrassing you, too.
Here is where it gets embarrassing...

AWKWARD

My first all nighter for my stupid History 101 class. Stupidest class ever.

This was taken during finals when I stole Adam's Master Chief shirt (main character in the video game Halo.). That face alone is awkward.

Looks like the second stray cat I fell in love with obviously didn't love me.

Adam got Nutella on me. It looked good enough to take a picture.

mmmm... sexy right?

Another finals picture. We are way too comfortable with each other.


I don't know what is more awkward, these poses or the fact that I took these while at work...

Here lies the awesome photographs. The awesome are far less entertaining. Sorry!

AWESOME

Mom, Dad, and I on my first no return ticket flight. College bound :)

Picture of me before our first date

I need to recreate this hairdo.

Like I said, sorry for the boobs! Sad thing is I know everyone has seen more way more boobs in public than what you can see with me leaning over here. Anyways, I love my make up in this pic. Oh the power of Mac make up.

Myself and Dante the first stray cat I let live with us. He was cute. Adam called him "Garbage" because I found him eating garbage. Poor kitty...

I love sleeping masks. :) Don't judge.

Typical. Em, Rissa, and I-- Rissa came to visit!

I made that flower. Too bad I can't find it!

I made that felt bow and attached it to a headband yesterday. Is it cocky to be in love with your own creation?

My library face. No need to explain why this is awesome.


Coco! I love her. (She's my parents' dog. Isn't she cute!!! She does the funniest lil walk when she gets excited.)

Are you guys stoked for the weekend or what?!
Have a good Friday!
Love, Evi

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Summer Vacation: Carlsbad

Here lies the remnants of the second half of our lil vacation home to California. This post covers what we did with Adam's family in Carlsbad. In all honesty I love going home and I love my in laws. I'm already way excited to see them for Christmas!!
Bataquitos Lagoon.
Jedi Braid at Lucha Libre (Mexican Food that has been featured on Food Network. It was Amazing).
The "Champion Booth" at Lucha Libre, it's a booth you have to reserve in advance and has been rumored to seat various famous people.
We went to Sea World and it was SO fun. I love hanging out with the in-laws. I'm one lucky girl. :)
In the shark tube!
*begin jaws music* okay now you can end it :)
The famous VG's cake. It was so pretty and pretty good. :) They are a donut/bakery shop that are known for their cakes by the locals. Both of Adam's siblings used them for their weddings.
My sweet mother in law took me to get a pedicure. I'm ashamed to say I haven't gotten one since we got married five months ago. They were pretty gross. It was fun spending time with her :)
Los Tacos= LOS FRICKING AMAZING. This lil taco was so good. End of story. Definitely in the Top Five for best tacos ever eaten by me and I grew up in Southern California and have been to Mexico multiple times. SO GOOD.
AHHH SO GOOD. Geez I'm making myself hungry past midnight... This is Tip Top aka yummy European Delicatessen with an awesome restaurant in the back.

So as you can see. I love Carlsbad and the people that live there. I had so much being with family, sleeping in, and eating a ton of yummy food. I definitely married into an awesome family! Can we go back already? :)

Love, Evi







Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Recipe Tuesday on a Wednesday: Homemade Soft Pretzels


So it is of no mystery that I LOVE baking.
When I went home Jenelle (the littlest sis) taught me how to make pretzels... FROM SCRATCH.
To give credit where credit is needed, this recipe was taught to her by her friend Abbey, who is also like a third sister.
Let's just say I'm hooked.
This recipe is on the "do not bake unless you plan on giving to neighbors" list.
It makes a ton and it can be so tempting to sit in front of the TV with my buttery pretzel bites and eat the whole batch.
Alas, that is unwise.
We gave away 2/3 of the pretzels to our good friends, which were received well.

Anyways, I know by now you want me to stop blabbering and give you the recipe.
Thus here it is:

I adapted the recipe from this blog here. I'm pretty sure mine is easier.

So here is what you need:
Dough:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast or one packet
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups all purpose flour

Baking Soda Bath:
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda

Toppings:
Whatever your heart desires.
My favorite is melting a stick of butter in bowl bathing each pretzel bite in butter then rolling in cinnamon sugar (I like my cinnamon sugar 1 part cinnamon 3 parts sugar).
They're super good dipped in mustard as well.
Kosher salt if you have it is a plus.

Let's get started:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees farenheit.
Use one packet of yeast or 1 1/8 teaspoon of yeast and dump into the 1 1/2 cups of warm water.
Stir until dissolved.
Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
Mix in the four cups of flour. Knead in or if you're a lucky duck and have a kitchenaid, then use the paddle attachment and switch to the dough hook after five minutes.
Grease a large pot with olive oil.
After kneading place dough in aforementioned greased pot or bowl.
Set the pot on top of stove atop the warm oven.
Allow dough to rise for an hour.
After rising take the chunk of dough and cut off bit size pieces.
Prepare the baking soda bath.
Take the bite size and dip them into the baking soda bath and dab off extra liquid using a paper towel or a few paper towels. :)
Place them on your silicone baking mat if you have one upon the baking sheet.
If you do not have one it's okay place the bites onto a well greased baking sheet.
At this point you have two options:
1. Allow them rise for 15-20 minutes
2. Don't let them rise and just put them in the oven as is.
For the bites they only need to be baked 7-10 minutes.
They bake quicker here in Idaho comparatively to California. So watch them. I'm convinced that they bake at different speeds based on the oven and climate.
You want them to be baked to golden not brown. If they're brown, they're over done.
Think s'mores golden status.
Upon readiness take them out of the oven. Remove them from the baking sheet when they are cooled enough to touch. Then add your desired topping and ENJOY.
Seriously they're addicting.
Cannot say I did not warn you.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

GRE say what?! Doing the best I can.

Okay this girl signed up for a GRE prep course.
First step toward attending grad school is done.
It will be every week for ten weeks for four hours each time.
Kill. Me. Now.
Standardized tests consistently... well uh, they hate me.
When I took the ACT I didn't do so hot. I didn't do horribly or even bad, but I definitely wanted to do better.
For the longest time I thought my intelligence depended on that number.
I studied. I took practice tests. I bought a prep book. I prayed harder than I ever have in my life.
Then I said probably the number 2 most important prayer in my life.
As I sat in the Capo Valley High School parking lot, waiting to go take my test, I prayed that whatever score I received would send me to the school where I needed to go.
Well my friends I took the ACT twice. I scored the same score TWICE.
No matter what your faith lies in, if you believe in fate, I believe that I was meant to score that score and get into four schools, then accept at BYUI.
Had I not come here, would I have met Adam? I don't know.
This time I'm taking a prep course for the GRE.
I want to do my best.
I will do the same thing though,
I will pray that whatever score I get will lead me to where I am meant to go.
I won't cry like last time or hyperventilate as they say, "Begin."
Luckily I have no dream "grad school" so there will be no mental breakdown if I don't get into a certain school.
I am doing my best this go around.
That's all I can ask.
Watch out world. I am going to grad school. :)

Monday, August 22, 2011

Draft 2: Harry Potter: End of an era. End of childhood.

With the scent of my hairspray lingering amongst the popcorn, candy, and diet coke the lights dimmed. The cheering began and that the long awaited moment of watching the last Harry Potter had arrived. Call me nerd but since I was a third grader, I have loved Harry Potter. Harry Potter began my love for reading. It was next to my mother that I listened to her read the first book to my little sister and I. It was our time. A time to escape and feel special. After that first book I realized that I could devour the Harry Potter books more quickly if I were to read them myself and I did. By fifth grade I was functioning at an eighth grade reading level. Why? It's because of reading Harry Potter over and over. Sure, knowing silly spells such as expecto patronum or lumus are not going to increase my vocabulary, but I could escape and find myself in a world of literature anytime I cracked the spine of those books. The first Harry Potter movie came out when I was a fifth grader. I was so excited. I was there for every movie. I was there at the Barnes and Noble at midnight when the last book came out. I was there when people began chattering about the last book, because, I too had read it as soon as I got home (I read beginning at 1 am until I finished the book). Harry Potter was an escape. It was an escape from the bullies who taunted me through middle school. It was an escape when high school wore at me. It was an escape when hearts were broken. Harry Potter provided me hours of easy reading and relaxation. So clearly when this last movie came out, I dressed up as Bellatrix, got a dark mark, and enjoyed the movie at 12:04 AM.
So thanks J.K. Rowling.
Thanks for teaching me that characters grow up, too.
Thanks for teach me that friends and family are the most important things in the world.
Thanks for letting me share the excitement of characters' first kisses, dates, and tender moments.
Thanks for giving me a distraction from homework and the stresses of the real world.
Thanks for showing what bravery is.
Thanks for providing this world with some of the greatest children's and young adult literature ever.
Thanks.
I grew up with the characters.
I guess we are all grown up now.

Love, Evi

Draft 1: Believe.

I decided to brave up and post some of the drafts that I've written that seem a little bit more personal to me. Honestly, this are more about my insights and me in general. This particular post was written a couple months ago. Hope you enjoy:

So I am going to start to Journal Days. They will be sporadic. I don't like feeling tied down to "features." So every now and then I'll post a journal day. I will link my journals up to Sometimes Sweet, which is a blog I highly recommend. She is the one that is creating the prompts. Happy Reading!

The older we get, the more certain we get about who we are and what our purpose is. For me, a lot of it is still unknown, but as I make my way down my own path, I have begun to realize that there are indeed some inevitable truths that I know for sure. On your own blog, write a post that talks about "the one thing you know for sure."
The one thing I know for sure is that there is a God. Normally I don't go all super religious on the blog, but I KNOW there is a God. I know there is a God based on the fact that everywhere I go I see beauty. My life is wonderful, why? My life is wonderful because God has blessed me with all that I have. I am Christian. I believe in Christ. That is the definition of being Christian. I believe in The Bible. After reading the Old Testament this semester, I know that there is a God without a doubt. Granted, God sounds much scarier in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament or Book of Mormon. I have a lot of things to learn and a lot of things to accomplish, but God, my Heavenly Father, will be a constant.

As A Grown Up

Today was a day of contemplation.
I have thought a lot about well a lot and I've come to the conclusion that as an adult I have learned the following:
As a grown up, you learn that you cannot fully depend on anyone besides God and your family.
As a grown up, there is no such thing as a happily ever after in this life. Life gets messy.
As a grown up, being responsible means willingness to give all that you have for someone else.
As a grown up, you gain a whole new appreciation for your parents and all that they did for you over the years. You appreciate your mothers complaints of how annoying it is that you get a new glass every time you want water, thus making more dishes.
As a grown up, you learn that disappointments, losses, and arguments can only last so long before you have to let go.
As a grown up, you know that there is a bigger plan for you than you realize. You finally get the big picture.

Love,
Evi

Friday, August 19, 2011

Fashion Friday?

So I'm trying this...
This is NOT a fashion blog, but if you know me you know that I LOVE clothes. So once a week I'm going to post an outfit that I love and wore. Thus I give you: THE COWGIRL.


Top: Forever 21. Skirt: Downeast Outfitters. Belt: H&M. Boots: Thrifted via Buffalo Exchange.

I love this skirt. It is comfy and cute. Plus I've been on a kick where I wear A TON of florals. Don't ask me why, but I think it's because I feel so girly!!

Anyways, we had a great week. Paychecks came in and we almost frolicked to the bank. I did get sick today, which is a downer. Upside though tomorrow we are going to the temple with friends and then LAVA HOT SPRINGS. I'll definitely be posting pictures.
Have a great weekend!

Love, Evi

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Silly Us.



It's crazy to think that both of these pictures were taken within the first month of us dating. We had so much fun dating it is crazy. The best part about our relationship has always been we can really laugh together and be really really silly.

Last night was one of the hilarious nights.
I napped for five hours yesterday so we were up late.
Roughly around 12:30 I decided it was time to drug myself into a stupor using melatonin (natural sleep aid, not to be confused with the stuff that makes you tan).
Well I drink herbal tea nightly to help myself calm down.
As we watched Arrested Development I quickly made myself a mug of deliciousness and then forgot about it in the microwave.
Fast forward an episode and a half hour later and I suddenly remember my tea.
I arise from the floor. As I stretch I begin telling Adam how dumb I am sometimes and wonder where my mind is. I open the microwave, reach for the pill bottle, reach for the tea in the microwave then Adams says the the pivotal phrase:

"CATCH!"

Knowing I could not obey the aforementioned command the only words I could muster were:

"NOT MY TEA!"

That is when the inevitable happened. I got hit with my light green couch pillow, thus knocking the tea and myself into the counter. It went everywhere. Had it not been so late I probably would have been slightly peeved with Adam considering that I had cleaned a lot that day. Yet, it was late and I did what most hormonal women would do... I cried. Not "my dog just died" cried but more like a hysterical cry. I laughed/cried simultaneously and exclaimed loudly for the complex to hear at that early hour, "MY PILLOW!"It was funny.
Adam hadn't seen the tea in my hand and thus we laughed together and I continually cried.
Was it funny? Nope. Was it funny at 1 in the morning? Absolutely. Oh the irony of the idiom, "Don't cry over spilled milk?"
Well my friends I cried last night over spilled tea.
I love us.

Thank gosh for a man who can make me laugh.

Love, Evi

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Summer Vacation: Orange County

The first part of the vacation we spent with my family!! It was so fun to be in a full house again. It was amazing to me how things just feel like they fall back into normal every time I'm home. I love it. Here are some picture highlights [Warning this is a picture heavy post]:
Mom and Dad treated Adam and I to an Angels game and the Diamond Club. Once again, the food was AMAZING. I love that I can eat California Rolls and watch an Angels game at the same time.
Mom, Dad, and I at the game :) My parents are super cute.
They won!! Big Bang Friday= Awesome fireworks :)
I love the beach!!
San Clemente Pier for Kimya's birthday!
I've never seen him give this grouchy of a face while at the beach. haha. He REALLY didn't want me to take his picture.
I'm feeling brave so I'm including this picture. This is what happens when you finally work up the guts to go out into the water. I got owned and slammed into the rocks. Yes, that is my booty. Yes, it's bleeding. Yeah, it's not hot, but must be documented. haha.
Mom and I at our favorite beach. :) I miss her already!!
Check out that hair!! This is post-beach. We went to the koi ponds place and checked out massive and expensive fish. It was actually really fun.
This is an awesome boob shot. I promise you aren't looking at a black bra, it's my bathing suit. So calm down. Look how big the koi fish are!!
We went to the OC Fair. My sisters and I love to get hennas every year :)
My cat, Luna. I forgot to get a picture of it, but currently she is shaved so she has a lion's mane and a puffy tail. My mom has her shaved every Summer to keep her from getting horrible knots in her fur. Dang she is cute!
My mom and I getting boba after being numbed up a ton to get a cavity filled!! So... it's not our best picture, but once again it must be documented.



Sorry if I just killed you slowly through my pictures, but hey no one makes you read this blog!!
Hope every had a happy hump day :)

Love, Evi