Best Puppy Chow

One of the reasons I love to cook is because it is my creative outlet (ok, and because I like to eat :). This week I put my twist on puppy chow… I couldn’t decide if I wanted to make puppy chow or scotcheroos, so I kind of fused the recipes. If you close your eyes, it kind of tastes like a scotcheroo!

Best Puppy Chow

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
½ stick butter
1 small jar crunchy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 small box Crispex cereal
¾ bag powdered sugar

Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips, butter, and peanut butter over very low heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal and stir until every piece is coated. Dump powdered sugar in a garbage bag and spoon in cereal mixture. Toss bag around to coat all of the pieces.

Last Day of School

Yesterday was my last day at World Relief. For those of you who don’t know, this semester, I have had the honor of teaching English as a Second Language to a group of refugees and immigrants (mainly refugees). We met Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays for two hours. My students are from all over the world, but they are primarily from Burma/Myanmar, Somalia, Liberia, Ukraine, Iran, and Afghanistan. At times, it has been extremely challenging, but I have truly grown to love my students; I love laughing with them and getting to know about them, their families, and their cultures. Our last week together was really fun… we have been studying the body, so to review I drew a life-size person on a long white sheet of paper. In two groups, students had to label as many parts as they could (I told the women that it wasn’t necessary to write “boobs”—yes, I taught that word to them last week because they asked :). Afterwards, we taped them up on the walls and asked what they wanted to name our new friends. They decided on “Matt” and “Kiley.” It was really cute. They crack me up.

Appetizers

These are two of my favorite appetizer recipes. I love them both because they are super easy and taste amazing. The first one, artichoke dip, was given to me by Sarah Ling, and the second one, Cranberry Apple Dip, was given to me by Nealy. Ne, you inspired me to post recipes. :) Next time you are having friends over and need a little munchie, try these!

Artichoke Dip

1 cup artichoke hearts
1 cup light Hellman’s mayo
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Optional: garlic (either fresh, sauteed in olive oil, or dried), and/or a dash of cayenne pepper.

Cut each artichoke heart into small pieces. Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve fresh veggies, warmed pita, or sourdough bread.

Cranberry Apple Dip

1 cup craisins
2 cups shredded swiss cheese (divided)
2 T orange juice
1 8-oz tub pineapple cream cheese

Combine all ingredients, reserving one cup of shredded swiss cheese. Put in pie pan and top with remaining cup of swiss. Bake 30 minues at 375 degrees. Serve with crackers and sliced apples.

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend was the first weekend of the summer in Clear Lake!! My family has been going to CL every summer since I was in sixth grade. Since moving out to Wheaton, it has been harder to get there every weekend because of the five and a half hour drive! However, for my birthday my mom and dad got me a mini DVD player (and a copy of Season 1 Prison Break), so the drive wasn’t as bad.

The girls did a lot of cooking (of course). My favorite was Nealy’s Greek flaming cheese “saganaki.” Yum! And what’s a weekend without desserts? I made a lemon ricotta cake, sugar cookies, and a flourless chocolate espresso cake.

LeAnn's Bachelorette Party and Bridal Shower

This weekend, Matt and I went to Cedar Rapids for LeAnn's (Matt's sister) bachelorette party and bridal shower. For the party Friday night, we went to Kaji's for dinner and then out for some drinks. Her shower was hosted by her future mother in law, Diane, and was really fun! I am so excited for their wedding!! (6-7-08) Matt and I also got to see LeAnn and Mike's new home... darling. I am so happy for you guys!!

Nealy talked me into it...

I never thought I'd be the type to have a blog... but, here goes nothing! :)