My New Journey

As you know - and if you don't I'm about to tell you - I love food. I truly do - in most forms, colors, shapes and sizes. I love anything sweet or salty - and need a compilation of these things with each meal. You can probably guess that this is becoming a problem for me as I get a little older and these foods are showing up in places that I don't want them! :) Working two jobs and staying so busy (Plus my 2nd job is at Chipotle) makes it hard for me to eat right.

So on the year anniversary of me starting my Plexus journey - I am adding something new to the mix (I actually started two days ago but for nostalgic purposes I'll say today). I will continue to take my Plexus Slim and vitamins as I normally do but I have added a new eating regimen - Trim Healthy Mama.

I have to say it - these ladies know what they are talking about! After day 1 I stepped on the scale and was 2.5 lbs. lighter, wasn't hungry and ready to take on the next day. Today as I stepped up there I was anticipating seeing the same number as before because I know how my weight fluctuates but to my surprise another pound was gone! Another great thing about the authors is that they are strong, Christian women and use the Bible to show you what God says about food and it's health benefits for your body.

If you don't know what Trim Healthy Mama is - go to their website!

http://www.trimhealthymama.com/

Here you will find recipes, testimonials and even E-versions of their book.

The thing about it is that I thought eating in a more healthy way meant I had to deprive myself of things I love like CHEESE, dressings and other tasty foods but I was way wrong. Using their S and E meal plans and recipes have been a breeze! I even made my own "muffin in a mug" and it was so tasty.

If you need something that will help you kick off great eating habits then you definitely should try this. It's easy and you can still eat out!

Here are my meals from the past two days:

Monday:

Breakfast: Raspberries in plain Greek Yogurt
Lunch: 2 McDonald's cheeseburgers - no bun
Snack: Blackberries and cottage cheese + Good Girl Moon Shine Drink (recipe on the site)
Dinner: Chicken Quesadillas on Low Carb tortillas with veggies and sour cream.
Snack: Muffin in a mug (recipe in book)
Tuesday:
Breakfast: Strawberries in plain Greek Yogurt
Lunch: Pepper Popper stuffed Mushroom with Zucchini fries + the Shrinker Drink (recipe on the site)
Dinner: Steak Bowl from Chipotle with Brown Rice, Black Beans, Steak and Mild Salsa

I will keep you all updated on my progress and share some of my favorite meals via my blog.

So  share with your friends because THM is an awesome eating plan and can definitely help you kick your weight loss into high gear and get you on track to making smarter food choices!

Spring Time means time for Banana Pudding

This post if for Amber SanFilippo along with my other wonderful southern bridesmaids! 

The past few weeks have been hectic. I have stuck to my treadmill/Hip Hop Abs routine each day until last week- for some reason I got off track... Still watched what I ate and didn't pig out but workout time took a hiatus compared to the rest of my priorities. So this week I'm getting back on track!

I did get to work at Relay for Life this past weekend and got to attend a fabulous Tri Sigma Founder's Day Celebration. Eventful...but super exhausting!

I am pumped about my weekend coming up since I will have the opportunity on Friday to travel with our students for a round-trip adventure to Disneyland in California! I am beyond excited to go with some of our students on this trip and plus the trip and parks are a bonus! I do feel bad leaving David here but I know he will find someone to do to pass the time without me.

Tonight was our Poly monthly potluck at my house and I made Amber's famous beef enchiladas and they were a huge hit! Everyone should try her recipe- which I will share upon request. It is super easy and inexpensive. So for this week, I will be sharing, for Amber, my grandma's amazing banana pudding recipe! You will want to try this and share it with friends...it is the best pudding I've ever eaten!! Check it out and happy cooking!!

-- Xoxo -- 

Haley

Banana Pudding

3 cups of Sugar

5 Eggs

Pinch of Salt

1/4 cup of Butter

2 tablespoons of Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup of Corn Starch ( just under a 1/2 of a cup)

4 cups of Milk

5 Bananas 

1 box of Vanilla Wafers

Mix sugar, eggs, salt, butter, vanilla, and corn starch together in a boiler and beat with a mixer until smooth.

Stir milk into mixture and bring to a boil.

Stir continuously until thick.

In a baking dish, slice bananas and sprinkle with whole vanilla wafers until covered.

Pour pudding mixture over bananas and wafers.

Line wafers around edges of baking dish.

Crush about 5 wafers and sprinkle over the top of the pudding as garnish.

Enjoy!

My Grandmomma's 1992 Kentucky Derby Hat when Lil E. Tee won, was a huge hit at the Mad Hatter Tea Party themed Founder's Day!

Relay For Life at Poly was a blast and I had fun running the popcorn and cotton candy machines with these two!

Sweet Potatoe Cupcakes are healthy right?

The past few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind! We have really started nailing down some wedding plans and my work schedule has been absolutely nuts. I know that once summer gets here, it will only get busier and it will start reaching 100 degrees here in Arizona very soon.
Today it's sunny and 65 but not for long...

I made a hasty decision a week or so ago and ordered Shaun T.'s Hip Hop Abs system off of an infomercial for like 20.00. After getting it, I understand why it was on sale. Not saying it doesn't work, but it is the cheesiest I have ever seen Shaun T. I'm so used to his hardcore Insanity workouts and sweating my a** off, literally or feeling like I just can't do another burpee to save my life. This program definitely works your abs but you have to do it right. I'm determined to complete the entire month's worth of workouts and see what progress I've made so hopefully I'll be able to recommend it to others if you want a fun (or funny) dance routine type of ab workout.

I also decided to be a part of my Plexus up line's Body Reset Challenge and it hasn't been going so great. As most of you know from all of my posts - I despise vegetables. I wish I could snack on raw carrots and broccoli but they are gross unless smothered in some sort of creamy ranch dressing. The first two challenges are water and salads. For the water challenge you drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water per day for 10 days. No exceptions - you have to finish it each day! That I can do. I only have to fill my water bottle up 4 times to get in all my water for the day - yesterday I missed about 12 ounces but close enough right?! The salad challenge is that you eat 21 salads. You can do this however you like but if you do 3 salads a day, you finish the challenge in 7 days. Well it's day 5 of the challenge and I've had 3 of my 21 - I'm awful at this stuff! I love Cesar salad but it's got white creamy dressing which is a no-no on this challenge. I got a grilled chicken salad from subway with balsamic vinaigrette the other day and it was okay - but nothing like it would have been covered in Cesar or ranch dressing. Ha! I'm going to attempt to power through it but gee whiz is it ever hard!


With all this talk about healthy eating and exercise- I have to give you one my favorite cupcake recipes that I use year round and not just during the holidays. I found it on Pinterest so I will give the site credit - but it is absolutely delicious! :)

Happy cooking! :)
xoxo - Haley


Sweet Potato Cupcakes:

For the cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups lightly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups sweet potato puree*
6 tbsp. maple syrup
½ tsp. vanilla extract

 

For the frosting:
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

 

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir together with a fork and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Mix in the sweet potatoes, maple syrup and vanilla extract, beating just until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, for about 18 minutes. Let cool in the pan briefly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
• To make the frosting, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a bowl set over a pan of a few inches of simmering water. (Note: I use my clean, dry mixer bowl right off the bat to avoid dirtying two bowls.) Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it reaches 160° F with an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the mixture to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Mix in the vanilla until combined.
• Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip (I used Wilton #21.) Pipe swirls of frosting on top of each cupcake. Brown the frosting with a kitchen torch**. Sprinkle lightly with additional brown sugar, if desired.

www.annies-eats.com

Wedding Bells and Salads

Well, if you haven't heard already then you might have been under a rock....I'm engaged! David proposed on Saturday, March 8th and of course, I said YES!! He did so well- there was some total trickery that happened because I was trying so hard to figure out when he might propose.

He first asked me if his dad could take some photos of us while we were in Texas because the only photos of us around our house are "selfies". So, we took some photos...

While taking the photos, we were laughing and joking around and David started to get on one knee. I told him to stop joking around, especially since he told me he had not brought the ring home with us. I saw it on his finger as he was getting down on his knee and of course I went into complete shock.

  

I immediately started crying and trying to keep my male up from running all over my face while his dad was steadily capturing every moment. By the end of it, we needed up with the better part of 300 photos of the entire event. We laughed at our faces in some and found some really awesome shots as well.

I have to say it was one of the best days of my life and I could not be happier! Now that we have to start planning, that means that I have to start eating better and getting into wedding shape :) check out the awesome broccoli salad below for a great and healthy snack!

Happy cooking! 

-Haley

Broccoli Salad

8-10 cups of fresh Broccoli florets

1 whole small Purple onion, chopped fine

1 cup of raisins

2/3 cup of real bacon bits

1 cup of chopped walnuts

1/2 teaspoon of celery seed

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup of sugar

1 cup of poppyseed dressing

1/2 cup of mayo

2 tablespoons of canola oil

Pour all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Stir well and cover. Chill in the refridgerator for about 3 hours before serving. 

Happy Way Early Birthday To Me!

So I bought a treadmill... I know it's a super cliche thing to do but I had to. The way I see it is if it will run and last me for 5 months, at minimum, it has already paid for itself in the amount it would cost me to pay gym membership fees and drive there! Totally worth it right?! 

I'm definitely having to take starting back into a workout routine slowly so that I can walk each day, but I can already tell a difference. Work has been crazy so I've been staying late and attempting to go as early as possible to get as much done as I can. Stress has taken over my life so being able to "de-stress" each night has proven to be most useful. 

I also have started taking Pro Bio 5 and The X Factor from Plexus Worldwide Products in conjunction with my Plexus Slim and accelerator. The Pro Bio has helped to regulate my body and I've been sleeping like a baby. The X Factor vitamins have aloe in them so I feel healthier and with my skinny little pink drink- I'm getting seriously close to weight loss goals.

I don't usually push Plexus like other people...I want people to try it out and see if it helps them like it helped me. Not every weight loss product will work for everyone- but if you are like me and have tried everything-- and I mean EVERYTHING-- then what is one more product trial going to hurt. Then when it actually works, you ca be surprised and continue to use it to reach your goals. I have tons of information about Plexus and all the products they offer- not just the skinny pink drink. Get healthy, get skinny, and make money...not a bad combo! 

Let me know if you have questions or you can look at the products via my site:

http://hcburrow.myplexusproducts.com/

With all the health food talk - I'll share with you one of my favorite salad/slaw recipes! 

Chinese Slaw:

1 lb. of Coleslaw or Broccoli Coleslaw

2 pkg. Chicken flavored Ramen Noodles, uncooked and crushed

2 bunches of Green Onions, chopped

1 cup of Slivered Almonds

1 cup of Sunflower Seeds

Dressing:

1/2 cup of Sugar

1 cup of Vegetable Oil

1/3 cup of White Vinegar

1 pkg of Chicken Flavoring from Ramen Noodles

Mix all dressing ingredients together in a bowl.

Mix all slaw ingredients together in a separate large bowl except crushed noodles.

Por dressing over slaw mixture and mix well.

Refrigerate slaw for several hours or overnight, covered, before serving.

Stir in crushed noodles just before serving.

Enjoy! 

-hcb

      David and I at the last home basketball game of the 2013-2014 season.

Transitions mean snacks are needed!

This Monday was my official first day in my role as a Senior Coordinator of Occumpancy Management at Arizona State University. I am really excited about this role and know that I will be able to make some great things happen for our ASU location. Along with this transition, we are going to be paying for housing - so we have been searching endlessly for a place to live. Every apartment complex comes with some amentities that we love and then some that we hate. They also all come with a pretty hefty price. The great thing about being on the Poly location is that we do offer on campus housing for families. With that, it is really awesome that we have the option to stay right where we are and probably will!

In other news, last weekend David was selected as a finalist in the Dash to Half competition in the Arizona vs. Arizona State basketball game. This competition's prize is a $10,000.00 diamond ring. We didn't win, but David did amazing and made it to the final two in a shoot out/musical chairs on the court at half time. It was a great experience and I am so glad we got to participate. Plus, bonus of the competition all the "losers" got a $500.00 gift certificate to the Diamond Supplier so it was worth it!

Other than the basketball game on Valentine's Day - we had an excellent weekend. We got to hang with some friends and I got to try Fuzzy's Tacos for the first time too! David got me some chocolate (which was tasty), a Chicago Cubs Pandora Charm and  Gift Card to Tony and Guy Hair Salon. I am beyond blessed to have him in my life - he spoils me!

Since it was a "holiday" weekend and we went out to eat, I didn't cook anything fancy but I have had a hankering for some fresh guacamole lately! This recipe goes great with enchiladas, fajitas, chips and salsa or on a burger! Check out my favorite recipe below!

Enjoy!

-Haley

My Valentine's Day Gifts...

Standing court side waiting on Dash to Half to begin...

Fresh Guacamole

4-5 Ripe Avacados (this means they are dark in color and fairly soft)
2 Roma Tomatoes
2 small Jalapeno Peppers
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
3-4 tablespoons of Fresh Chopped Cilantro
2 Limes

Half and remove the pits from your avacados. Spoon avacado out of the hulls and mash with a fork and spoon into a medium sized bowl.
Chop and toss in the tomato, cilantro and jalapeno.
Add salt and garlic powder. Stir well.
Half Limes and squeeze fresh juice into the mixture (you will want to add about 3-4 tablespoons of juice but add 2 tablespoons at first and taste - you can add additional tablespoons to get your desired taste).
Stir mixture well and serve!
Store in an airtight container, refridgerated for up to 2 days- if avacado starts to brown just stir well.

Busy Work Life means time for Chips and Salsa!

If you know me very well, you would know that I could eat chips and salsa with any meal. Mexican food is my all-time favorite and I will always opt for it if it is ever an option. 

My work has been pulling me in several directions lately and even though I love being busy and especially am excited to transition into my new position, I also have had several nights where I thought- geez a Margarita and some chips and salsa could cure this exhaustion!

I am excited for this weekend since I will have some time off and plus it's Valentine's Day on Friday! I'll be posting my gift for David later on since he obviously hasn't gotten it yet. Friday is also the ASU vs. U of A men's basketball game. Last year we attended this game and it was absolutely packed and somewhat intimidating because of the amount of U of A fans there. This Friday the game is already sold out and has been for almost a week. I know it's going to be a great one and I'm so ready to spend time with my honey that evening since he has some time off as well.

Sunday will be a fun day since ASU Rugby will have a home game at Poly against Cal Poly. Plus we will have a lot of future freshmen students on campus for an overnight experience program. It's work but that's something about my job that enjoy- recruiting students (and/or staff) to join our ASU family. These experiences let future students come and stay the night on our campus on our freshman residence hall and there are always fun events and activities planned for them throughout the evening. It's gong to be a good weekend!

For this week's recipe, I have to share what my grandma Bec has always called Ranch Beans but I consider it more of a Mexican type of dish that you eat with chips- try it out like an open face taco and let me know what you think!

Ranch Beans

1 lb. Ground Beef

1 pkg. of Spanish Style Rice

2 cans of Ranch Style Beans with Jalapeños

1 pkg. of Shredded Colby Jack Cheese

Brown ground beef, drain. In a 9x13 glass baking dish, pour in the browned ground beef, the Spanish Rice, the 2 cans of beans and stir well. Fill one of the empty bean cans with water 1 and 1/4 times. Add to the dish and stir well. You don't want it to be soupy but you do want it to be enough water to cover all the rice. Cover with tin foil and bake for 35 minutes on 350 degrees. Remove foil and cover with shredded cheese. Place back in oven and bake until cheese is melted. Serve over tortilla chips or eat plain.

Enjoy! 

-Haley 

My co-worker and I at the ASU Men's Basketball game last weekend

  

Celebrated two birthdays since my last post-- my baby brother's (Brock) and his fur baby Maddie! 

When Life Hands You Lemons...You Make Pie

I know that a lot of times we aren't truly grateful for the little things on life that God has blessed us with. Many days I realize when I lay down at night that I didn't once thank Him for the many things he blessed me with. The Bible says we should give Him thanks everyday and that is something that I committed to doing when the new year came around... I have to say a month of thanking Him and giving Him praise each day in my life has surely paid off.

I have some of the best girlfriends that I could ever hope to have...so much so they are more like my blood sisters than just my friends. I have a boyfriend that I have been blessed to have in my life for nearly two years and each day we only grow stronger and more in love than the day before. I have a younger brother who has found the love of his life and will be married at the end of this year. I have parents that even when I've made mistakes or had to face life decisions, they have been there to support me and offer an encouraging word. Grandparents (on both sides) that without I wouldn't have many of the blessings or the knowledge that I have today. I even have advisors, elders, and alumnae in my life that still play a huge role, long after my college career is over. 

Putting it all down on paper makes you realize actually how much you may take for granted every single day. I encourage you to take a few moments and write it down. Then each day while you are in the shower, driving to work, or waiting in line to place an order, turn the radio off, shut down the million thoughts running through your brain, and tell Him thank you for all those things on your paper.

David and I are currently visiting friends in Colorado and it is absolutely beautiful- hope you all are having a fabulous Super Bowl weekend!

Lemon Ice Box Pie

2 cups of Graham Cracker Crumbs

1/4 cup of Butter

3 tablespoons of Sugar

1/2 cup of fresh squeezed Lemon Juice (strained, you can a little over 1/2 cup)

2 small cans of Condensed Milk

5 Egg Yolks

1 tub of Cool Whip (You can be fancy and make your own whip cream but I like using Cool Whip to keep it simple.)

Melt the butter and mix it with the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a bowl. Once we'll mixed, press into the bottom of a 9x9 pan to form a crust. Place the egg yolks and condensed. Ilk in a bowl and begin mixing with an electric mixer. Slowly pour in the lemon juice while beating the egg mixture. Once we'll beaten, pour over the crust. Cover and place in fridge for 3-4 hours. When ready to serve, top with cool whip and serve.

Gossip Girl and Banana Pudding

As I sit here and type this blog post, I am currently watching season 3 episode 4 of Gossip Girl. As high school as this show may be, I am absolutely addicted. I literally could sit and watch it all day, as sad as that may sound. I think I like it because if my life was that fabulous, I just wonder where I would fall in? Rich girl that is the queen bee or one of the ones just trying to get by and not be a major part of the glam. Maybe I'm just watching in order to live vicariously through the show- who knows?


Other than television show seasons on Netflix, I have had a pretty eventful week. We have started our new semester and with that comes a lot of new work. I have been training some for my new position and still trying to maintain my regular work load. I am excited and scared about it, but I know it is a great decision and I am confident in my choice to move forward.


I was also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to treat one of my former staff members to a little birthday surprise this week. I decided to prepare him a small baking dish of my grandma Bec's famous banana pudding. It is 100% homemade minus the vanilla wafers, of course. Check it out below and let me know how it turns out for you.


Happy cooking!


-HB

Bec's Banana Pudding

4 Ripe Bananas

1 box of Vanilla Wafers

4 cups of Milk

1/2 cup of Corn Starch (use a little under 1/2 cup)

2 tablespoons of Vanilla

1/4 cup of Butter

Pinch of Salt

5 Eggs

3 cups of Sugar

Mix corn starch, vanilla, butter, salt, eggs, and sugar in a boiler.

Beat with a mixer until smooth.
Add medium heat and stir milk into mixture. Turn up heat and bring mixture to a boil.
Stir continuously until thick (if pudding starts to brown on the bottom, turn heat down some).
In a baking dish, slice bananas and sprinkle with whole vanilla wafers, just until covered.
Pour pudding mixture over bananas and wafers.
Line wafers around the edges of the baking dish.
Crush about 5 wafers and sprinkle over the top of the pudding to garnish.

Cold Weather brings Sick Days and Homemade Vegetable Soup

As you can probably tell by the title of this post - I have been home sick for the past 3 days. The bonus to that is that I have watched every movie we got for Christmas, have been able to sleep my life away, and I get to make my grandma Bec's famous vegetable beef soup.


On Sunday night, I attended the ASU Men's Basketball game, got to stay after for a pizza party/meet and greet with some of the players and then headed home. Once I arrived home, I noticed my throat felt a little scratchy. Within the next hour, I could barely swallow! I went and looked in the mirror and I had developed some white spots on my tonsils - which I have seen before when I had mono - so I was terrified!


Monday morning I called as soon as the Doctor's office opened and made an appointment. They did some blood work to check for mono, took a strep swab test, and sent me home with some ibuprofen. "Come back in a week if you aren't feeling better. I'll call you something in if the strep test comes back positive" - that's all my doctor said. I agreed to take her advice and went home. Monday was terrible. I was in bed all day. I ate some canned soup, but it wasn't that great. Tuesday, I felt worse - I stayed home and rested all day long. Thankfully, David was off work on Tuesday, so he and I watched movies and we ate grilled cheese with warm tomato soup, which did soothe my scratchy throat some.


Wednesday, I feel a little better but an annoying cough started in around 2:30 am and would not let up. I have now called my doctors office twice for tests results and have gotten no answers so I made another appointment with a different doctor. The new doctor wanted to see my lab results before prescribing me any anti-biotic that may be unnecessary. I understand that and don't want to take something if it's not needed but she did let me know about some helpful over the counter things I could take to ease the pain in my throat and help with my cough until my test results were in (If you can't tell - I will be switching doctors offices now :) ).


On cold days in Arkansas, my grandma can't keep her vegetable soup bin full on the buffet line at Country Vittles. People consume it by the gallon full and I absolutely love it. I called her when I left the doctors office and told her I wanted some of her soup. She, of course, then shared the recipe with me and I came home and made it.


This soup is so good, I promise you will want it any time of the year. It goes great with cornbread or crackers and can be cooked and bulk and frozen so you can save some for later! Try it out and let me know what you think!

Bec's Vegetable Beef Soup

1 lb. of Ground Beef

2 - 46 oz. cans of Tomato Juice

3 - 29 oz. cans of Veg-All - Strained (You can buy frozen bags of mixed vegetables instead if you don't like canned)

1 can of Rotel (original)

4 small Red Potatoes (Peeled and chopped)

1 Yellow Onion (chopped)

1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda

1/4 cup of Whole Milk

1/2 Gallon of Water

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large boiler (I used a 10 quart boiler) pour in your water, chopped onion, chopped potatoes, and crumble in your hamburger meat.

Bring this mixture to a boil and let boil until water is pretty clear and potatoes can be cut with a spoon.

Pour in the tomato juice, Rotel, Veg-All (or frozen vegetables), Baking Soda, and Milk and stir well.

Add as much salt and pepper as you like - I usually add some, taste the soup and see that it has a good flavor and add more if needed.

Bring this to a rolling boil- remember to stir occasionally so the mixture does not stick.

Once boiling, turn down the heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes so all flavors mix.

After simmering is done, pour into a bowl and serve.

Like I said - this goes great with cornbread or crackers and it can be put into containers and frozen to save for later!

Happy cooking! :)

-HB

New Beginnings start with Peanut Butter Fudge

Ready for 2014?

I must start off by saying welcome back to reading about my life and life lessons. One thing that I know for sure is that 2014 is looking bright and full of wonderful memories to be made. I am so excited to be back blogging again and really getting to share about my life and in addition to that - some good food!

Currently, I am in the transition phase of a promotion at ASU and I could not be more excited. I have taken on several hats while working in my current position (from Spirit Captain Extraordinaire to Guest and Conference Housing at Poly) so it will be a nice change for me to see what another part of our department looks like. David and I are trying to start planning our next steps and some mini-vacations in the near future - like Colorado :)

Over the holidays, we were able to take a long trip back to the south to see our families and I have to say it was a wonderful get away for us. We had time to visit people we don't ever get to see and actually visit more than 10 minutes, which is usually what our weekend trips look like. While at home, I thought often about the upcoming new year and what it would entail for the two of us. My job and David's school work, our move to a new house potentially happening, and then of course my own personal resolutions were all on my mind. I decided after we returned home and started to unpack that I wanted to start keeping my blog up again (at least once a week) with it being dedicated to my grandmother, Becky Roberts.

For those of you who don't know, my grandmother, "Bec" as we call her, is a huge inspiration to me and has had an even bigger impact on my life. She is one of the friendliest people, has a huge heart, and is the most amazing cook! Her restaurant, Country Vittles, is located in Crossett, Arkansas and serves a buffet style lunch and dinner meals. It is all traditional southern soul food and probably some of the best stuff I have ever eaten. With that being said, Bec has always wanted to share her recipes with the world and publish her own cookbook. She finds recipes all the time and alters them to fit her southern tastes and then mails them to me to type up for her book. I have collected tons of recipes since I moved to Arizona, not only for her book, but for me to use for parties, special occasions, and for my own dinners.

I am not a vegetable eater, so if you see me post about anything that rabbits eat, it will be because it is deep fried or smothered in butter - hence the new name :)

One of my all time favorite things to make is fudge - I have had some great trails and some not so great trials making fudge over the past 10 years and when it sets up right, it is some of the best tasting stuff!

Since I am starting my blog "over" with a new look and new name, I thought the best new beginning should start with Peanut Butter Fudge. Fudge is not scary - anyone can make it - but there are a few tricks to help you along the way. Try out the recipe below and comment how it goes! - Enjoy!

-HB

Peanut Butter Fudge

By: Becky Roberts

 

 

3 cups of Sugar

1 cup of Whole Milk

1 tablespoon of Vanilla Extract

1/4 cup of Butter

1/4 cup of Baking Cocoa

1 pinch of Salt

3 tablespoons of Karo Syrup

1 cup of Peanut Butter

 

 

Mix all ingredients in a boiler except the peanut butter. Stir together with a wooden spoon to mix well. Bring ingredients to a boil while stirring occasionally. The most important part is that you are stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon. Metal utensils will not work and will cause the fudge to have a grain like texture. The mixture should boil for about 10 minutes. To test it - fix a small bowl of cold water. Drip a couple of drops of the boiling mixture into the cold water. If the mixture clumps together and forms a mushy type of ball that can be picked up, then it is ready. If it does not make a ball, then keep boiling. Once the fudge ball forms in the cold water, take the boiling mixture off of the heat. Add the peanut butter and beat with an electric mixture until smooth. The mixture will start to harden and get thick fairly quickly, so be sure to add the peanut butter and beat well as soon as the mixture is removed from the heat. Once smooth, pour the fudge out onto a greased cookie sheet or plate to cool and set up. Once firm, cut and serve.

Fudge should never look like this...

my 1st attempt at Buttermilk Fudge this holiday season was a flop!

 

My precious Zeta says Happy Holidays!

My grandparents, mom and me

Left to Right: Pappaw (Merchel Roberts), Bec (Becky Roberts), Me (Haley Burrow), Mom (Tasha Mason)