yesterday

Today was the first day of school which means yesterday was the last day of Christmas break. Yesterday was a great day. When yesterday was all said and done, I felt very content with how it was filled. To begin, it was the first sunday in a year that I didn't feel guilty for sleeping in (yay for 11:00 church), then i went to church and made a couple new friends, then back home where I began the task of making homemade bread. Before yesterday, I had tried making homemade bread probably 7 or 8 times. And I kid you not... all 7 or 8 of those times ended in disaster. Sometimes I would curse the heavens above asking why I couldn't make homemade bread. BUT THEN, yesterday, I found this recipe. And I did it... I, Leah Ruth Lott, made a successful batch of delicious homemade bread! I even ground up my own wheat to do it. {Ammon's mom gave me a wheat grinder} So there you have it folks, if you struggle making homemade bread like I did, you should try out this recipe!

Here's me grinding some wheat

Tuh-Duh!!

While making bread, I also made terryaki chicken for dinner. Then Ammon and I had FHE for the first time since being married (It is our goal to have it every week this year), then Nephi came over and we played lots of game (I finally won Monopoly), and then Ammon made us a cookies and cream milkshake for dessert. I can't think of a better way of spending my last day of Christmas break. And today wasn't too bad either. So far, I am really liking 2013. :)

ward chili cook-off

Yesterday, our church held a ward chili cook-off.
I've always wanted to enter a baking contest. So this was the perfect opportunity!
 Do you remember the Pumpkin Chili I made back in June?
Well that's the one we entered!

Then people started asking about where we found the recipe. I found it online. Where'd you find yours? Oh yeah, I remember. From your great-great-grandmother's recipe book that's been handed down from generation to generation.
{What were you thinking Leah!? An online recipe compared to family recipes?}
We thought for sure we were gunna lose. Especially with a total of 16 chilies out there!

But! After eating dinner and watching various talents. The winners were announced and we got...
{drum roll please....}


2nd place!!
We were so happy. And check out our cute prize:

That's one more thing off the Marriage Bucket List!!

Thank you to whomever shared their recipe with me!

Go HERE for the recipe. :) Or to my blog post. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. 

low-fat chicken spinach lasagna

I have been looking for this recipe for quite some time! It is very easy to make, very healthy, and yummy! :)

Here's what you'll need: 

1 package whole wheat lasagna noodles

2  jars (26 ounces each) marinara sauce

14 ounces small curd cottage cheese (low-fat works best)

2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded

2 cups mozzarella cheese (or similar favorite)

1 cup fresh or frozen chopped spinach

3/4 cup brown mushrooms, sliced or chopped (uncooked)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (top layer only)

2 Tbsp. sugar

Here's what you'll do:

Add 1 Tbsp. of sugar to each jar of marinara sauce. Place a few spoonfuls of sauce in bottom of baking dish to coat bottom. Begin layering noodles (uncooked. That's right, UNCOOKED!) sauce, cottage cheese, spinach, mushrooms, chicken, and shredded mozzarella cheese. Be careful to distribute ingredients evenly, including corners. Frozen spinach need not be thawed if it can be separated. Otherwise, thaw in microwave. 

At final layer, top only with sauce (leave no pasta exposed) and garnish with shredded Parmesan. Cover loosely with foil. Bake 30 minutes at 425 degrees F. then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake 20 to 30 minutes more or until lasagna is thoroughly heated and bubbly. Make sure the noodles are cooked all the way. 

Remove from pan from oven and let stand at least 10 to 15 minutes prior to slicing to help keep lasagna layer intact when serving. 

Yield: Serves 8 to 10 servings

ENJOY!

Recipe Source: Your Chicken is Cooked by Lauren Rae Brimmer (Fallbrook Press)

Pumpkin and Chili?

ammon and i have been looking to eat healthier and as a result i came across a recipe worth sharing! it is pumpkin chili! the great thing about this recipe is that it's easy to make, tastes just as good (if not better) as leftovers, is fairly healthy, lasts for many meals, and is inexpensive.

side note about this recipe: your house will smell like Thanksgiving. this was a really weird experience due to the high temperature outside and lack of family members hanging around. but the smell goes away and it makes a good chili any time of the year.

probably one of my favorite things about this recipe is that a 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree is just enough to make the chili and my all-time favorite: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  so while the chili was cooking on the stove, i made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. ammon and i enjoyed sharing the cookies with neighbors and eating them oursevles for days. along with the chili. i will use this recipe time and time again!

Pumpkin Chili

Rated: Submitted By: BMWRIGHT69 Photo By: comicfairy Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour Ready In: 1 Hour 20 Minutes Servings: 8

"Ground beef and kidney beans are joined by pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice in this fall twist on chili!"

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef  (i used ground turkey)        1 large onion, diced 1 green bell pepper, diced 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained 1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice 1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced

tomatoes with juice 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 1 tablespoon chili powder 1/4 cup white sugar

Directions:

1.	In a large pot over medium heat, cook beef until brown; drain. Stir in onion and bell pepper and cook 5 minutes. Stir in beans, tomato juice, diced tomatoes and pumpkin puree. Season with pumpkin pie spice, chili powder and sugar. Simmer 1 hour.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2012 Allrecipes.com Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe from Joanne Brown Ingredients: 1 1/2 C sugar 1/2 C butter 1 large egg 1 C canned pumpkin 1 tsp. vanilla 2 1/2 C flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt 1 C chocolate chip cookies Directions: In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, canned pumpkin and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, beating until smooth. Add chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-16 minutes. falling in love every day with the same person moment: ammon and i subbed in the nursery today. i loved watching ammon interact with the little kids. he's such a sweetie and a tease all at the same time and i just know he's going to make a good dad. i fell in love with ammon again this morning.

summer lovin'

i have always loved the summer season ever since i was in grade school. but nothing beats summer AND being married all in one.

here are the recent summer lovin' happenings:

art city days

art city days were fun. we sat in the grass eating cotton candy and listening to various bands play.

the following sunday ammon and i were craving chocolate cake.

we didn't have very much butter, but we did have mayonnaise.

and guess what? mayo makes the most delicious, moist, chocolate cake i've ever tasted!

here is the recipe:

Chocolate Cake

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mayonnaise
1 1/3 cups water

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Grease and flour 2 - 9" round cake pans.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well and set aside.

Beat together eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl for 3 minutes, using the high speed of an electric mixer. Mixture should be smooth and creamy. Reduce speed to low and beat in mayonnaise until blended.

Add flour mixture in batches, alternating with water, in 4 equal additions (1/4 of the flour, then 1/4 of the water etc). Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the center of the cake springs back when lightly touched or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake is clean when removed. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pans and allow to cool completely before frosting with your favorite frosting.

Serves 10 to 12.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ozs cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 C unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 C sifted powdered sugar (You can decrease this amount if you don't care about it being as stiff for piping)
• 1/2 C cocoa powder

1. Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy.
2. Mix in powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
3. Mix in cocoa powder

(we doubled the amount of frosting to fully cover the cake)

now my last item of business. acrylic nails. i hate them so much. i got them done for my wedding day. a month and a half later, i am pleased to say i finally removed the last nail! here is what was left over:

i will NEVER get acrylic nails again. ever!