Love that Dirty Water

For the past (almost) two years, living in Beantown has been an adventure! We've grown to "love that dirty water", and I think we have good reason to. Here is a little trip down memory lane. Enjoy the music!

It all started on a cold January day, after 30 hours of driving.

We were greeted by this:

A river that was unrecognizable as such, since it was covered in so much snow, and shockingly huge mounds of snow in the Target parking lot.

And then, Spring came. The snow melted, and the Charles River was recognizeable from our 17th story view on Wadsworth Street.

We spent the Spring exploring Boston,

and the Fall too (We spent the summer in NYC)!

Then as fall turned into winter, Jamie joined the C5 hockey team!

And when winter arrived, it was just as white as the previous year.

In January 2010, we accomplished our goal of climbing "The Monument" in Charlestown.

Rheem visited us in February!

Joellen visited us in March!

Mom and Dad visited us in April!

Jamie's family visited us in June for his MIT graduation!

Sally visited us in June too!

And on the Fourth of July, we saw the prettiest sunset ever.

We spent the rest of the summer traveling with friends,

sailing,

and just having a good time.

I love that dirty water... Boston you're my home!

The Best Cookies I've Ever Made

Seriously. I ate two of them already, and they just came out of the oven. These cookies are dangerously good.

Here is the recipe:

1 stick 50/50 Butter/Smart Balance
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
Special Treats (Chocolate Chips, Peanut Butter Cups - or whatever you have in your pantry!)

Cream butter blend and sugar until blended and light looking. Mix in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, soda, powder, and salt. Add a little bit of the dry ingredient mixture at a time to the butter/sugar/egg mixture until it is all blended together.

At the end, fold in special treats - whatever you have on hand. I added about 1/2c. of chocolate chips and 6 chopped up mini peanut butter cups.

Scoop 1-inch round pieces onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Enjoy with a glass of milk!

Recipe makes 21 cookies. Double it to make more!

 

Cornbread and Chili!

It's getting cold outside, which means chili tastes really good! Last night, I made a giant pot of chili. It was delicious. I also made cornbread from scratch for the first time! It was quite tasty. I was inspired by Pioneer Woman, as usual, and I actually made the recipe twice. Once last night and again today so we could have more cornbread and chili for lunch! I changed it up a bit the second time and was happier with the results. Here is the recipe for Skillet Cornbread. Make it with your favorite chili recipe. I'll have to share mine with you later!

Skillet Cornbread

1 c. yellow cornmeal
½ c. flour
1 t. salt
1 T baking powder
1 c. buttermilk
½ c. milk
1 egg
½ t. baking soda
¼ c. butter or Smart Balance
2 T butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Stir together.

Measure the buttermilk and milk in a measuring cup and add the egg. Stir together with a fork. Add the baking soda and stir.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork until combined.

In a small bowl, melt 1/4 c. butter (I used Smart Balance). Slowly add the melted butter to the batter, stirring until just combined.

In a 10-inch skillet, melt 2T butter over medium-high heat. Pour the batter into the hot skillet. Spread to even out the surface.

Cook on the stovetop for 1 minute, then bake at 450 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Be careful - your skillet and its handle will be hot! Don't burn yourself like I did, even after promising myself I wouldn't :)

Banana Bread

This is a recipe for some easy and delicious banana bread!

Mix together:
1/3 c. melted butter
3-4 ripe bananas

Then add:
1 c. sugar (I use 1/2 c. sugar and 1/2 c. Splenda)
1 egg
1 t. vanilla

Sprinkle on:
1 t. baking soda
pinch of salt

Last, stir in:
1 1/2 c. flour

Put in a greased loaf pan, and bake at 325 degrees for about an hour.

This recipe makes one regular-sized loaf or two mini-loaves.

Red Velvet Cake

This weekend, I made red velvet cake for my friend Sarah's bachelorette party. Thanks to Cook's Country, it turned out delicious! The cake baked perfectly flat, and the icing was silky smooth and delicious! I think everyone enjoyed it. Here is the recipe from Cook's Country:

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Serves 12

Cake
2 1/4	cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2	teaspoons baking soda
	Pinch salt
1	cup buttermilk
1	tablespoon white vinegar
1	teaspoon vanilla extract
2	large eggs
2	tablespoons natural cocoa powder
2	tablespoons red food coloring
12	tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter , softened
1 1/2	cups granulated sugar
Frosting
16	tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
4	cups confectioners' sugar
16	ounces cream cheese , cut into 8 pieces, softened
1 1/2	teaspoons vanilla extract
	Pinch salt

1. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and eggs in large measuring cup. Mix cocoa with food coloring in small bowl until a smooth paste forms.

2. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as necessary. Add one-third of flour mixture and beat on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add half of buttermilk mixture and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl as necessary and repeat with half of remaining flour mixture, remaining buttermilk mixture, and finally remaining flour mixture. Scrape down bowl, add cocoa mixture, and beat on medium speed until completely incorporated, about 30 seconds. Using rubber spatula, give batter final stir. Scrape into prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes then turn out onto rack to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.

3. For the frosting: With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Beat in vanilla and salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.

4. When cakes are cooled, spread about 2 cups frosting on one cake layer. Top with second cake layer and spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 3 days.

via cookscountry.com