Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate: A woman's almost best friend.

And yes, I do test out all these recipes I put up. 

Anyway, I forgot how easy cookies were to make, so today my last minute choice to make cookies for Coffee House turned out to be a good decision! To sum it up, you can never go wrong with chocolate-y chocolate cookies.  

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. 

 PS: Yet again, all props to Allrecipies.com

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-I/Detail.aspx

Pumpkin Roll

 

Will be featured tomorrow at Coffee House!

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• confectioners' sugar for dusting
•  
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 15x10x1 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper. Grease and flour the paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs on high for five minutes. Gradually add white sugar and pumpkin. Add flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Spread batter evenly in pan. Sprinkle walnuts evenly on top.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately turn out onto a linen towel dusted with confectioners sugar. Peel off paper and roll cake up in the towel, starting with the short end. Cool.
4. To Make Filling: Mix confectioners sugar, vanilla, butter or margarine, and cream cheese together till smooth.
5. Carefully unroll the cake. Spread filling over cake to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up again. Cover and chill until serving. Dust with additional confectioners' sugar, if desired. 

PROPS AGAIN to Allrecipies.com 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Roll-II/Detail.aspx

House Fried Rice

 

What I like about this recipe is that you can tweak it and use what you have!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 cup small shrimp - peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup diced ham
• 1 cup chopped cooked chicken breast
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 carrots - peeled and diced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

Directions

1. Cook rice according to package directions. While rice is cooking, heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in sesame oil and stir in onion. Fry until golden, then add garlic. When garlic is lightly browned, mix in shrimp, ham, and chicken. Fry until shrimp is pink.
2. Lower heat to medium and stir in celery, carrot, green pepper, and peas. Fry until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in beaten egg and cook just until egg is scrambled and firm.
3. When rice is done, mix thoroughly with vegetables and stir in soy sauce. Adjust seasoning to your preference and serve immediately. 

PROPS to Allrecipies.com!!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/House-Fried-Rice/Detail.aspx

How He Loves Us (Yes YOU!)

"If His grace is an ocean we are sinking..."

It's funny. I never knew what grace was until I was in Sunday School... that is teaching Sunday School.

Sounds kinda silly, but it's the truth. I few years ago I was the "helper" (kind of like a teacher assistant) and part of the lesson was grace. I was asked "What is grace?" I stared at the teacher asking the question "... grace is um... God...He just gives us grace... umm... *incoherent speech/mumble*."

Can you answer that question?

I believe that grace is undeserved love.

Guess what? That's AWESOME!!

Gypsy Boy. Hungary, 1931

http://t-iman.tumblr.com/post/4408161266

 Pictures speak a thousand words.

 

Cute Thang

There is nothing like making your own binder divider tabs... Getting into the semester mood :) I used some old scrapbook paper to make these... putting them to use because scrapbooking was an extremely short lived hobby.

I'm Ready

Here I am... In college. Wow! I love it! What can I say other than that I am ready for this semester to start. I've only been to one class so far and it seems like its gonna be really easy so I'm looking forward to it. It's nice to be back. As I write, nursing students surround me, freaking out with power points, staplers, binders and such. (You have been here for one hour how could you possibly already be like this!?) I'm happy to have this one last semester with comparably easy classes. I plan to live it up while I can because once nursing classes actually start it's gonna be one tough ride.
Oh and I'm not sure if I have mentioned yet, but I'm stuck with Dashinka for the next 2 and a half years :) Oh such a horrible thing to be in classes with a fun, weird, distracting friend. You know I love you!!

Something To Think About

http://mini-dandy.tumblr.com/

Slow Cooking Newb... (Me)

Today, January 19, 2012 is the first time I have tried a slow cooker recipe.

 AHH! So cool.

Let's hope I don't somehow burn the house down.
This slow cooker thing really fascinates me. It cooks so... slow. But it's very quick in the sense of just throwing together all the ingredients and setting the temp, and just leaving the slow cooker to do all the work. I'm making a chicken pot pie type of thing... If it turns out good, I'll share the recipe.

I found the recipe at my dentist's office as I was sitting the the chair patiently waiting for the doc to come on over and check out my toothies, I saw a magazine... not just any magazine... a cooking one. Ohh. I mean how could I resist? I found a slow cooking recipe and *borrowed* it. I ripped it out of the magazine. I'm confessing! Guilty. My dentist office and I have a complicated relationship as you can see. They cause me pain, I steal pages from their magazines.

   Oh look, a picture of the mushrooms that went into the slow cooker.

Anyhow, the house is now filled with the strangely satisfying scent of chicken pot pie slow cooking contraption and banana bread. Lovely.

Cute Thang

Featuring: Tanya's Wall

The Continued Adventures of Dee in ResturantLand...

It was a slow, uneventful day.

On those kind of days I just liked to peer out the large window and watch the frost creep up the glass and see the snow blow quickly past the building. I started sweeping... then mopping. An ambulance sped noisily by, people passe by, some stopped in looking for a warm place to defrost. As I mopped, I thought.
(Cleaning time is deep thinking time)

This mop... I started to really look at it for the first time.

https://pinterest.com/pin/233553930645849426/

add some man-made chemicals. Read an article, an advice column, turn to a friend, a relationship, maybe psychology.
 It never works though. Life is still grey, dirty, and stubbornly so.
The answer: a new mop. No, that mop still works perfectly fine. Come on, why get rid of it? Maybe that is like replacing your fleshly desires, dare I say... surrendering. Let go of that raggedy mop.

Die to self. Ouch. Might hurt. But what a better promise is waiting to be unwrapped! When you let go of the old, your past mistakes will no longer leave streaks of grimy dirt on the bare floor of your soul.

Only Jesus Christ is the answer.

Jesus>Religion

"What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion....?"

Asiago Artichoke Dip

• 2 cups grated asiago cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream or 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 garlic cloves
• 6 -8 ounces marinated artichoke hearts
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Mash up the artichoke hearts in a bowl along with the minced garlic.
2. Add the other ingredients.
3. Mix it all together and refrigerate until using.
4. All the proportions can be tweaked according to personal preference. You can also serve this recipe hot! The cheese gets all melty and yummy!

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/asiago-artichoke-dip-353247#ixzz1jBzMGo4b

I made this dip yesterday, and it was pretty good... asiago cheese is so yummy! Next time I make this dip, I will use only one clove of garlic and I will substitute some of the asiago cheese with some cheddar in order to add more color to the dip...

Anyway, my new years resolution for 2012 was to try new recipes. I still have a week and a half before the semester starts again, so I'm excited to try new stuff! Today I made bread in our bread machine. So much fun!! The machine makes it so easy. Put in the ingredients, press on button... 3 hours... BAM!! Fresh bread, and delicious aroma overtaking the house! 

Here is the finished product:

 

Its so cute and little and cute. Did I mention that it's so cute?!

Haha. Sorry. Anyone else working on their new years resolutions? 

Tanya has been hitting the gym a lot recently.

Don't tell her I told you...

Kodak Moment... Dear, Yuls...

I love you Yuliya. That's all I have to say for the moment. And you crack me up.

I really do love you Yuls. You crazy, weird (unique), you.

Black-White

I was surprised to find some interesting non-colored photos... I used to think black-white and sepia pictures were cheesy and maybe overdone, but after seeing some of these, maybe I'm changing my mind. These were all taken in 2011.

That's My King!

Cute Thang

I keep finding cute things. This is something I made... Well bought, tweaked and added dried flowers to. I like how it's a cage... Makes me wonder if you can cage in beauty? Deep stuff there.  Try not to break your brains over that one!

Update: Fun weekend! Blessed cell group meeting at Lesya's house. She makes a rockin chili and buffalo chicken wing dip. And today spend quality time with the Kozluk Family +, then triumphantly won a game of Scrabble against (with Anna as my partner) Andrey Suschtik and Berehovskiy (who claimed beforehand that they were unbeatable geniuses). And just now had quality time with our sis Lesya. Thank you Lesya, from the bottom of my heart. For what you may ask? Well just for being you. And thank you followers, for reading!

The Adventures of Dee in Restaurantland

I work at a restaurant. They call me "Dee" there. I don't really talk about my work, so this is something new for me. Let us play a guessing game. What am I? A Waitress, hostess, cook, chef, manager, cleaner, toiler unclogger person, cashier, usher who kicks out the drunks, phone call answer-er? Answer: all of the above minus manager. It's not bad, I actually have fun there. Yeah my clothes hold the stench of fried food when I get home, my legs hurt from the 12 hour shift, and the pay is not like the hospital.
But weirdly, maybe sadly, I still like it.
My boss is a lady who is very sweet, I think she is a very good lady deep down in her heart. Here is what she said earlier, she comes into the kitchen and looks at me as if she is about to say something very important: "Now Dee, I don't want to you go be doing cartwheels, but that lady just gave you a 75 cent tip."
And then someone calls and Vitaliy picks up and Vitaliy says: "Hello, this is the psychiatric help line, how may I help you?" A friend was calling, don't worry people, we have caller ID!
Another highlight... It's 10:30 am, and there is the regular drunk guy passed out. To be honest, this does not normally happen! I had to kick him out. I gently tapped him and said sincerely... I think a bed is more comfortable than this wooden tiki bar...how about you get home onto a bed and get some rest?
I see sad things every week. People surprise me with their kindness sometimes. I learn about people, I sit with them as they share their complains for the day. I sometimes get a fake call into the kitchen saying someone is calling me, when in fact no one is calling (this only happens when a creeper comes in). I chill with the homeless people, the out of town hockey team, the downright scary, the handicapped, the drunks, the geniuses, the grumpy old farting couple, the smelly, the random group of hot guys who are in a band, the confused, the inspiring. Well I don't chill as much as I serve, there is lots of work to be done! People sometimes haunt me with their empty eyes. Every morning I pray that they see Jesus in me.
So... welcome to the adventures in Restaurantland.

Ideas.. Ideas... Ideas

Today is one of those days.
Have you ever had a day where your mind kept racing with ideas?
As I vacuumed (idk if I'm weird or something but when I vacuum the house I tend to have strokes of genius) I just had a million thoughts invade my brain. Good things. Things that excite me.
I think this is a good sign. Because recently my mind has been kind of empty and filled with... blah.
I hope this state of mind stays consistent.

Cute Thang

Not only cute... But encouraging too! I got this notepad, and all the pages are different.

Kind of like a to-do list.

It makes me wanna do stuff.

You fill in the bank:

I have always wanted to ______

I would say: I have always wanted world peace. 

Too ambitious?

never. 

Cute Thang

So many cute things in the word exist. It's just worth sharing with the blog world. 

Check out this bag my sis gave me for Christmas. Cute... Yay or Nay? I say YaY!

Her Mother's Hope

One thing I love about college winter break... I can read books again!
If you are familiar with christian books, you mostly likely have heard/read sometime by Francine Rivers... The Atonement Child, Redeeming Love, Mark of the Lion series, Lineage of Grace series... Awesome books. (Hadassah from Mark of the Lion still haunts me to this day.)
Anyway, Her Mother's Hope is a book worth reading. It really reminded me of why I love nursing. But this is not a nursing book, it's based on the intricate, lovely and sometimes confusing relationship between a mother and her daughter. Good read, I would gladly reread it and now I'm starting part 2 of this saga :)
AHH I LOVE BREAK!

PS: I brought Pushok to the vet today because he has dry skin. Most people said "what a sweet little thing". Haha he was so freaked out by his visit and wouldn't stop shaking. What a wuss. 

Bringing 2011 to an End...

I don't know if you have heard... but 2011 is over. Snap back to reality if you didn't know!
Here are some pictures I took during that last week of December 2011:

 

Day One: Mission Pilimeni. Mission completed on day two... 1,200 pilimeni made! 

Day 1 (Still): Mission Christmas Tree. Drag trees into gym and then stand in circle talking. 

Day 3: Mission Tablecloth. Iron away girls! (err, guys too)

By now, the days have become a blur... So here we are practicing our dramatic poem reading. Thank you Lesya for containing your British accent!

And then the blur of hanging out, eating out, not sleeping much.

      Day 4: Mission Don't Let Chef Tanya's Nightmare Become a Reality!

Mission Successful. 

Everything went smoothly, had one of the best weeks of my life, and learned a lot.