Breakfast and a Birthday Dinner!

I know it's been about 2 weeks since my last post, but the past 2 weeks have been crazy so I promise to keep this thing update more often from here on out!  Just to give you a quick update on life, I have recently accepted a new job with Pioneer as a Supply Chain Analyst for Soybeans and Wheat!  I'm so excited and can't wait.  I start in about 2 weeks so I'll be really busy up until then trying to wrap everything up with my current position.  Also, Sean and I went back to Decorah last weekend to visit his family and it was great!  Not only did we get to see his family that we haven't seen in months, but the Iowa State beat Iowa!!!  Yesterday, I went to Ames for the football game and ISU is still undefeated!  We'll see if they can keep the streak going!  Enjoy the update!

Pinterest Idea #26

http://pinterest.com/pin/40954677832496812/

"Cream Cheese Monkey Bread"



My Attempt:

A few weeks ago, I attempted this monkey bread recipe.  Carolyn, another specialist that I work with, saw this recipe on Pinterest and passed it on to me so I have to give her credit for even trying this one!  Jesse stayed over one night over Labor Day weekend, so I made this for breakfast for Jesse and Sean.  It was really good!!!  I would definitely make this again.  The only thing I did differently from what the recipe said was that I used Neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese.  It tastes exactly the same, but is low fat.  You would never know the difference unless someone told you.  Maybe before I take my new position, I'll make this recipe for the group at work! :)

Use Grands biscuits...so easy!

Neufchatel Cheese:

Pull the Grands biscuits in half:

Cut the cream cheese in cubes:

Put a cube in the center of each biscuit and curl up the sides:

Line the first row, open side up, in a bundt pan, and top with the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Then drizzle with melted butter:

Put the next layer, open side down, on top of the cinnamon sugar:

Top with more cinnamon sugar, bake, and take out of the oven when it is golden brown:

Sean approved!

Pinterest Idea #27

http://pinterest.com/pin/40954677832591051/

"Chicken Fajitas"

My Attempt:

Jesse's birthday was last Tuesday, but since I was out of town for work and missed his birthday on Tuesday, I decided to make dinner and cake for him on Wednesday.  I'm not the best at making Mexican food and since that's what he asked for for his birthday dinner, he got fajitas.  I know it's nothing extravagant, but I think they turned out pretty good!

Mix together seasonings, put in a plastic baggie with the chicken, shake, and let sit for a few hours (I only waited about 20 minutes):



Then sautee the onions and peppers:

Combine the chicken with the veggies:

Serve on tortillas with some sour cream and voila!

Sean approved!

Pinterest Idea #28

http://pinterest.com/pin/40954677832557013/

"Peanut Butter Cake"

My Attempt:

This cake turned out really well, but the frosting definitely didn't turn out like the recipe said it would.  It says to "pour the warm frosting over the cooled cake" and I was drooling because creamy, melty frosting sounded so good.  When I made the frosting, it was thick and I could barely spread it.  I would recommend using less than 1 pound of powdered sugar.  I made this as Jesse's birthday cake and he liked it so I guess I can call it a success!

The recipe said to bake the cake in a jelly roll pan, but I made it in a cake pan instead:

Boil together the ingredients for the frosting:

Instead of being able to "pour" the frosting, it looked like this after adding the powdered sugar:

I had to spread the frosting over the cake, which was kind of a pain since the frosting was so thick:



Happy 27th Jesse (I only had enough to give him 7 candles):

Sean (and Jesse) approved!!