Hash Brown Casserole

I made this a few weeks ago ~ but haven’t had ANY time to blog! so sad! Bad to dissertating. Enjoy!

Hash Brown Casserole

Adapted from Betty Crocker, Bridal Ed

“Hash Brown Potato Egg Bake”

Ingredients

• ½ lb cooked ham, diced
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 bag (approx 30 oz) shredded hash browns, thawed & drained
• 1 c. shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
• 4 large eggs
• ½ c. skim milk
• 1 can low fat cream of mushroom soup
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ c. smashed cornflakes
• 1 Tbsp butter, melted

Pre heat oven 350 degrees.

In a large fry pan, sauté the green onions, green pepper, and ham. The ham is already cooked, so you’re just trying to get it a bit browned (but not too crispy/burnt!). If you need, add a bit of oil to the pan if things are sticking. I did not have a problem with sticking (so I omitted any oil).

Once veggies are cooked & ham is slightly browned, add the hash browns & shredded cheese to the skillet. Toss together & dump into a 9×13 (that has been sprayed with Pam).

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, soup & seasonings. Pour over potatoes.

Bake for 30-35 minutes uncovered. Remove from oven. Combine melted butter & cornflakes & sprinkle over the top of the dish.

Return to oven & bake for 15 more minutes.

This dish is more “potatoish” than “eggish” J just as an fyi! Enjoy

Embracing or Running from Change

Change is imminent. It will always catch you… and in my opinion~ you can either embrace it or run from it. I am more of an “embrace it” kind of girl. Steve is a bit more resistant You could say I’m the gas & he’s the breaks. It’s awesome that we balance each other out in that way.

I remember when we moved to Austin. I was so gun ho about getting here~ but Steve was the realist. Time passed, we embraced our new lives, and we grew to absolutely love Austin and our life here. Now change is chasing us again…

We feel like God is calling us to Athens, OH and our time in ATX is drawing to a close.  This knowledge, however, doesn’t get rid of the anxiety that comes along with change. Between now & June there are so many decisions we need to make. Big, life changing decisions (e.g., we’re going to be homeowners!) It’s such a process of trying to figure it all out.

Steve & I generally like to make all sorts of life changes at one time. For example … from April-Nov 2006 we:

• Decided we were moving to TX
• Got engaged
• Quit our jobs
• Moved to TX
• Got married
• Went on honeymoon
• I started the phd program
• Steve started a new job

WHEW! So I guess… we’re used to change right? Atleast that’s what I have to keep telling myself so that my crazy control brain will not spin out of control while it attempts to process all of the ambiguity!

Time to get back to working on the one thing that is very CLEAR in life right now…. the impending deadline of the dissertation!

With Everything

We sang this song in church today. I love it. I hope you do to.

Verse 1:
Open our eyes
To see the things that make Your heart cry
To be the church that You would desire
Your light to be seen

Verse 2:
Break down our pride
And all the walls we’ve built up inside
Our earthly crowns and all our desires
We lay at Your feet

Pre-Chorus:
Let hope rise
And darkness tremble
In Your holy light
That every eye will see
Jesus our God
Great and mighty to be praised

Verse 3:
God of all days
Glorious in all of Your ways
Oh the majesty the wonder and grace
In the light of Your Name

Chorus:
With everything
With everything
We will shout for Your glory
With everything
With everything
We will shout forth Your praise

Chorus 2:
Our hearts they cry
Be glorified
Be lifted high above all names
For You our King
With everything
We will shout forth Your praise

The Decade in Review

Note. I’ve been trying to write this blog post for awhile now…I keep meaning to come back to it and add pictures/extra explanations etc… but I can’t seem to find the time! So before Feb hits, I figured I should post it Disclaimer… it’s possible that I put photos in the wrong “year” below… sorry. Memory is shot!

——–

So it’s take a few weeks ~ But here’s the review of the last ten years. They were full of the greatest challenges and the most amazing blessings I’ve ever experienced. So here we go!

2000: Finished first year of college @ Ripon College. It was a year full of ups and downs… but mostly downs. I learned much during this year and came to a much better understanding of what life is like far from God. Looking back, if I hadn’t lived through this year, I would have NEVER transferred to UWM & met my sweetie!

Ecc 7:14 When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.

2001: Spent my first full year at UWM. It was a rough start~ lonely, no friends, no money… there were many sleepless tear-filled nights. Oh! And I had my identity stolen. THAT was not fun. I was still running in the opposite direction of the calling on my life. Most of my time was filled with “living life too fully,” waitressing @ Turners, and homework!

However….Life started to turn around in August of this year…. I met Steve in Aug of 2001. I was his group leader @ freshman orientation! (I was a junior @ this point). Great start to a wonderful life together

Gen 15:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

2002: In January of this year, Steve and I took our first trip (ROAD TRIP) together to Breckenridge Colorado. We had a very interesting trip to & from WI….needless to say, the folks we were riding with were by Moby fans~ and we had our fillof his music!

Note my super cool matching outfit… yeah, pants were borrowed from a sweet roommate~ but let’s face it, I look like an idiot. Can you tell I didn’t know how to ski? I’ve since improved a bit

We also traveled to CA to visit Steve’s buddy Ben in march of this year… I think (or it MIGHT have been 2003…) Wow. Dates escape me!

2003: Graduated from UW-Milwaukee~ Whoo Hoo! and on a whim, decided to stay on and get a masters degree in the dept of Communication Studies. Mostly, I didn’t want to have to leave Milwaukee because my super awesome boyfriend was still in school at UWM

2004: balanced graduate school & working at State Farm Insurance as a sales rep~ it was one crazy busy year! Vacationed in Florida with Steve’s family.

2005: Finished my masters degree in May of this year. Moved to Madison & got a job as an insurance trainer working at Rural Mutual Insurance. I learned many things about ‘working in the real world’ during this year!

2006: Best year ever. Hands down. April: Engaged August: Married the one I love AND moved to Austin, Honeymooned in Hawaii, and Started the PhD program at UT. Quite the CRAZY year! Steve started working as a management trainee for Sherwin Williams. We spent our first Holiday together (thanksgiving) all by ourselves!

Engagement picture by Maureen Hartjes

Wedding pic also by Maureen Hartjes

Hawaiian graffiti

The night before we left Hawaii to go back to our new home in Texas

Colossians 3:12-17  Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Started attending the Austin Stone Community Church

2007: In 2007, we continued to attend the Stone ~ and got “plugged in.” We took the newly nearly wed class & it changed the way we looked at, thought about, and lived our married lives. We met some amazing friends ~ who have become our family over the last several years. We are richly blessed to be a part of the community we have at the Stone.

ice storm hits austin

awesome friends from church

First Anniversary!

Nov 2007 in San Diego with my awesome friends at UT

In the old stadium at Dallas… watched the Packers loose… Favre play one of his last games as a Packer!

Awesome friends from the Stone

My sweet friend Lacy from the PhD program married her sweetie Doug in Dec

2008: I went to Montreal for a conference (ICA) ~ was home for a week & then Steve & I traveled to London for a vacation to visit my aunt & uncle. It was an amazing trip & a huge blessing to have family host us in such a lovely country! Stonehenge was definitely my favorite… so serene.

Pretty pic of Montreal… couldn’t tell you what this was. I know, I’m lame

London

UT football game

In December we decided to take a Steve & Brit vaca ~the first vacation BY OURSELVES in years…. to Breckenridge, CO~ the place we had vacationed together all those years ago. It was amazingly refreshing ~ a blessed time of rest & relaxation!

During this year we also became part of a discipleship group and the Lord continued to work in our lives & marriage. It was a year of refining.

Ephesians 5:8-10 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

2009: Began my final year in the phd program here in ATX… crazy that it will all be over soon. In April went to Phoenix for a conference~ and Steve came along! It was go great to have him with me there! We got to spend time with his awesome cousin & his fam. They are always such a blessing to our lives.

Steve & I spent the summer in NORWAY. One of the best experiences ever. But you’ve all already read about that experience here! On the school front… wrote & defended my comps, wrote & defended my prospectus, conducted interviews in Norway & US prisons. Other travels included WI, Chicago, and West Virgina. During the fun & the craziness ~ through the stress, we held fast to this truth:

Psalms 100:5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

At ASU basketball game in Phoenix

Chicago May 09

Norway

So that’s all I’ve got for now…I know I’ve missed things… but I hope you’ve enjoyed this semi scattered snapshot into our lives!

Encouragement

When stress comes remember..

Psalm 68: 19-20

PRAISE be to the Lord, to God our Savior who DAILY bears our BURDENS.

Our God is a God who SAVES; From the Sovereign Lord comes ESCAPE from DEATH.

Now I don’t know about you~ but that sure lifts my spirit.

Trying to go to bed feeling serene…..

Motivation

A sweet friend of mine has the refrain from this song “How can I keep from singing” as her gchat status right now. I love it. It inspires me to be better, work harder, and believe that all things are possible.

—

My life flows on in endless song, above earth’s lamentation. I hear the clear, though faroff hymn that hails a new creation. No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that Rock I’m clinging. Since love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing? Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear that music ringing. It finds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing? What though my joys and comforts die? I know my Savior liveth. What though the darkness gather round? Songs in the night he giveth. The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart, a fountain ever springing! All things are mine since I am his! How can I keep from singing?

—-

forgive the weird pictures… just listen to the music. It’s flowing & beautiful. It brings me back to singing in choir and gives me peace. I pray it does the same for you.

Dissertation & Brownies

I am not sure how I feel right now… probably b/c there are so many emotions swimming around in my head. So many fearful thoughts.

• Fear: that I won’t finish the dissertation in time
• Stress: for the amount of work I have to complete in the next few months
• Exhaustion: from lack of sleep
• Physical highs & lows from too much coffee & too little exercise
• Worry: about EVERY THING… but most specifically, that I won’t meet the expectations that others have for my dissertation work
• Self-doubt: I often feel  like I don’t even know what the heck I’m doing.
• Lastly, I’m all hopped up on frosting from these yummy brownies that I took time out to make. I think I ate WAY too much batter & frosting before combining the two together. Sugar headache = yuck.

That’s probably enough emotion for y’all for one night! So here’s  a brownie recipe since you hung with me through all of that. I ALWAYS get complements on these. Crazy huh? The recipe right off the back of the Nestle Cocoa box just happens to have the yummiest brownie recipe… go figure

You all know what a brownie looks like, so sorry… no pics this time!

Nestle Chewy Cocoa Brownies
•    1 & 2/3 c. sugar
•    ¾ c. (or 1 & ½ sticks) butter melted
•    2 Tbsp water
•    2 large eggs
•    2 tsp vanilla extract
•    1 & 1/3 c. all purpose flour
•    ¾ c. nestle tollhouse baking cocoa
•    ½ tsp baking powder
•    ¼ tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9×13 pan.
Combine sugar, butter, and water in a large bowl. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder & salt in a medium bowl. Stir into sugar mixture. Spread into baking pan.
Bake for 18-25 min or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool (and frost if desired).
Makes 2 doz brownies.

Make some homemade frosting out of cocoa powder, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk. Sorry I don’t have the measurements~ I just play this by ear…. FROSTING! YUMMMO

back to work…. bleh…..bleh…. bleh

Minestrone Crock Pot Soup

Steve and I got a crock pot & a yogurt maker for Christmas this year~ courtesy of my folks. My mom knows how much I like to cook, so I always get kitchen gadgets for presents! I think she figures that Steve will reap the benefits of the cooking~ so the gift is really for him as well

The last few days in ATX have been freezing~ literally~ from 10-30ish degrees! That’s cold for Texas (but not cold by WI standards, so let’s not get carried away here!). Anyway~ I decided it was the perfect time to break out the new crock pot & cook up this delic-dish! Hope you like it

Minestrone Crock Pot Soup
•    1 large onion, diced
•    3 large carrots, diced
•    4 stalks of celery, diced
•    1 large baking potato, peeled and diced
•    1 large can (or two regular size cans) petite diced tomatoes
•    5 c. water
•    3 chicken bullion cubes
•    2 tsp Italian seasoning
•    1 tsp black pepper
•    1 c. dry lentils, rinsed
•    1 15-oz can Great Northern Beans (or cannellini beans)
•    ½ package or approx 5 oz frozen green beans

Dice up the first 5 ingredients & add them to crock pot. In a large microwaveable bowl, combine the 5 c. water & 3 chicken bullion cubes & microwave for 5 minutes until combined.  Add Italian seasoning, black pepper, and rinsed dry lentils. Cook on low for 6-7 hours. During the last 2 hours of cooking, add in the frozen green beans & the canned (rinsed & drained) Great Northern Beans.
Serve with crusty bread & top with parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!

I love this soup b/c it’s so hearty & filling, yet HEALTHY! In line with fitness goals for 2010.

So grab a bowl and enjoy a cozy evening.

~Sour Cream Spice Cake~ WITH Pecan Cream Cheese Filling & Brown Butter-Cream Frosting

Whew. How’s that for a name? This is definitely the most time intensive recipe I’ve ever typed up~ so I hope it’s detailed enough for y’all. This past weekend, I was invited to a pot luck to visit with a good friend from Norway (where we spent the majority of last summer). I knew I wanted to make something special~ so I pulled this recipe out of the box & jazzed it up a bit.

I’m pretty sure this took the better part of an afternoon ~ on & off~ to make… with the cooling, dish washing, chilling etc. But let me tell ya~ WELL worth the effort.

The cake was a hit & I’ll definitely make it again. Currently, it’s helping me drown my sorrows from the awful football weekend I’ve had. Both of my teams, UT & The Pack,  lost in one week Tear. But cake always seems to make everything better.

Sour Cream Spice Cake
Adapted from Betty Crocker Bridal Edition
•    2 ¼ c. flour
•    1 ½ c. packed brown sugar
•    2 large eggs
•    1 c. sour cream (I used low fat)
•    ¼ c. butter
•    ¼ c. shortening
•    ½ c. water
•    2 heaping tsp cinnamon (next time I think I’ll add three)
•    1 ¼ tsp baking soda
•    1 tsp baking powder
•    ½ tsp salt
•    ¾ tsp ground cloves
•    ½ tsp ground nutmeg
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 round pans (8 or 9 in) with parchment paper on the bottom. Then grease the parchment & sides of the pan. Dust pan with flour.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, & shortening. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat at low speed for 30 sec. Then beat on high for 3 minutes. Scrap occasionally. Pour into pans.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake springs back to the touch & tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Invert the cakes onto cooling racks, pull off the parchment paper, and cool completely, approx 1 hour.

Pecan Cream Cheese Filling
•    ½ package  (4oz) cream cheese (I use low fat), room temperature
•    2 tsp vanilla extract
•    3 c. (approx) of powdered sugar
•    1-3 Tbsp milk
•    ½ c. chopped pecans (I use a food processor)
Beat cream cheese and vanilla for 1 minute till creamy. Then add in the powdered sugar (cup by cup) & milk till desired consistency is reached. Mixture should be fairly thick. Add in pecans last.  You want this mixture to be a little less sweet than if you were using it for frosting. Shoot for a tangy semi sweet flavor. The brown-buttercream frosting is really sweet, so this balances it out ☺

Brown Butter Cream Frosting
Adapted from Betty Crocker Bridal Edition

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/basic-techniques-how-to-brown-butter-077018

http://www.chow.com/stories/10060

•    ½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, straight out of fridge
•    2 tsp vanilla extract
•    1 lb powdered sugar
•    1-3 Tbsp milk

In a light colored saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. You’ll need to tend to this as it melts. Do not walk away b/c it can burn in an instant. I stood over it the whole time, whisking the mixture as it melted. Keep whisking as the butter starts to foam. The color will start to look yellowish and then tan. When it turns a light brown color~ remove from heat.
There will be some blackish colored sediment that falls to the bottom of the pan. Don’t freak out, this is normal (I thought I burned it!). The butter is done when you smell the nutty, toasty aroma. See the websites listed above for photos. I chose to leave the specks in, but some choose to strain them out.

The mixture will continue to cook in the pan for a minute or so unless you shock the bottom of the pan with color water, OR pour the brown butter into another dish (which is what I did). I poured the cooked mixture straight into my kitchen aid mixing bowl. Then I put the bowl in the fridge & pulled it out to stir every few minutes till the butter was at a “softened” stage. It only takes maybe 5 minutes (ish… give or take a few). From there, you combine the rest of the frosting ingredients and beat till the frosting is light & fluffy!

To Assemble The Cake
Lay one cake on a plate/cake plate. Spread on pecan cream cheese filling. Top with the other cake. Frost cake with the brown butter cream frosting from the top down around the sides.

****I used some of the extra pecan cream cheese filling to decorate the top of the cake & then dusted with white chocolate shavings. It was kind of a sloppy job, but tasted yummy! I’ll do better next time! I chilled the cake & then removed it 20 min before serving. Be sure to refrigerate the leftovers (b/c of cream cheese).

Whew. Sit down, have a piece & relax. Then nap & have your husband/wife/significant other clean up the mess!

Cheesecake Bars

On New Years day we headed over to the Bean’s around 4:30 and spent time with a great group of friends. I volunteered to bring a dessert for the gathering~ go figure right?

I chose this recipe out of my grandma’s cook book. When my dad’s mother passed last year, I “inherited” her cook books/recipes/recipe box. Grandma was always such an amazing baker/cook~ and her recipes were always so special. I feel very blessed to have them. Some day I hope to make a tastebook with some of her favorites for my family.

I often wonder what it would have been like to be in the prime of your life 50 yrs ago… or even 25 years ago. Times were very different, less complicated. And the food, while it may have been more complicated, and more work, was a whole lot more natural and pure. No additives, less processed and just better for you on so many levels. Granted, they used a lot of butter & lard but it seems like they did it in moderation. Which is something that present day Americans are not very good at embracing!

All of that said, here’s a great recipe from my Grandma Rugotska’s cook book~ that is NOT healthy in away way shape or form, but I’m pretty sure that these ingredients have a heck of a lot less additives & preservatives than your traditional ‘boxed cheesecake mix’! Hope you like them as much as we did!

Cheesecake Bars
Adapted from Kitchen Putter’n 1975, 1st Edition
Contributor, Ms. Kaylene Dailey

•    1 c. brown sugar
•    ¾ c. butter, chilled
•    1 tsp vanilla
•    1 ½ c. flour
•    1 tsp salt
•    ½ tsp baking soda
•    1 tsp cinnamon
•    ¾ c. oatmeal
•    ¾ c. pecans, finely chopped
•    1 c. sweetened coconut

Cut butter into flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Combine with the rest of the ingredients. Press ½ of mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 pan (ungreased).
•    1 can sweetened condensed milk
•    ¼ tsp salt
•    ½ c. lemon juice (I used freshly squeezed)
•    2 eggs, slightly beaten
•    1 Tbsp lemon rind

Mix together the above 5 ingredients & pour over the crumb mixture. Sprinkle the remaining ½ of the crumb mixture on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.
Cool, Chill & Serve. BE sure to chill this before serving.