The Dangers of Crockpot Recipes

I'll admit, whenever I make fajitas, I have Carrie Bradshaw's voice in my head. "Oooooooh, Fajitias!". Does anyone else remember that episode? When Aiden made her fajitas? Anyone? Just me? ok.... Anyway, last week I attempted a fajita crockpot recipe. Like I've mentioned before, while the concept of the crockpot recipe sounds great (i.e. dinner being ready when you get home), the fact that making such a recipe requires getting up alittle bit earlier in the morning usually vetos the decision to make it. Last week, I had planned on making such a crockpot recipe, but had gotten all the way to Thursday without having gotten up early enough to put it together. Since it was the last meal I had shopped for, I figured Thursday morning that I should quickly put it together. Bad choice. 
The speed with which I was chopping the green peppers, along with how early in the morning it was, lead to one pretty deep cut on my left hand middle finger! Which then lead to me running around the kitchen yelling for Joe to help me while I tried to stop the bleeding. 
Being that we do not have a first aid kit, Joe bandaged my wound with what we had in the house: cotton, pre-wrap, and duct tape. Yes, I went to work with this on my finger.

But hey, it stopped the bleeding. 
Needless to say, I stopped prepping the vegetables. Our fajitas were a few green peppers short that evening. 
If you would like, you can find the recipe here. 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day too all you fathers out there, especially my amazing dad, Jim Harms.

With my niece Lily

Friday Favorites

(1) Softball season started this week! I'm on my work team, and we are apart of the "lawyer's league" here in Kansas City. We may or may not have won last Tuesday... Ok, we lost...

(2) In related news, said softball game resulted in a semblance of a tan. My skin is no longer blindingly white. Whoo hoo! 
(3) Summer means I can break out my bright colored lipsticks and nail polishes :)

(4) I just found out Kate Spade, one of my favorite designers, is originally from Kansas City! Gives me even more of an excuse to shop at her store. 

(5) I found this article about how to make sense of a wine list. Now I can pretend to know what I'm talking about. 

Have a great weekend!

Croissants

Bonjour. Je m'appelle Ashley. Ok, that might be the extent of my French, even after a full year of introductory French in college (time well spent). Ever since seeing "Beauty and the Beast" when I was a little girl, I've loved French culture. And, yes, I know that I shouldn't base French culture off that movie, I'm just saying that's where my interest started. 
I'll admit, on my "12 before I'm 28 list", the three French dishes, croissants, macarons, and Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon, are the most intimidating to me. The Beef Bourguignon being the scariest. I read the recipe and there are techniques on there that I've never even heard of. I'm going to have to study for that one... Out of the three, I figured croissants was the one I could try with the highest likelihood of success. Baby steps. The day I made them, I was going to go for a walk with a friend later that afternoon and figured I could bring her over some of my croissants. It wasn't until I read the recipe over again that I realized they would not be finished by then. The recipe I found takes about 8 hours all together. Not 8 active hours (don't freak out), but it is an all day event. Luckily, I was able to time it where during one of the 2 hour increments that the dough was supposed to sit, I would be able to go out and take my walk.  Despite the time commitment, I'm very glad I made them. They were delicious, and eaten up very quickly by Joe and I. Maybe it was a good thing I didn't have time to bring them over to my friends place. More for me and Joe :) Not to be selfish or anything...
Croissants From All Recipes 1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast 3 Tbs. warm water 3 tsp. white sugar 1 3/4 cups flour 1 1/2 tsp. salt 2/3 cup warm milk 2 Tbs. vegetable oil 2/3 cup chilled unsalted butter 1 egg 1 Tbs. water
Combine yeast, warm water, and 1 tsp. of the sugar. Let stand until frothy.
Dissolve 2 tsp. sugar and salt in the warm water. In a separate bowl, mix this with the flour, along with the yeast and the vegetable oil. Knead until smooth, then cover and let rise until triple in volume. Deflate, and then let rise again until double in volume. Deflate again, and then chill for 20 minutes.

Soften the butter. Take the dough and form into a rectangle. Smear butter over the top two thirds, fold, turn 90 degrees, and form into another rectangle. While the original recipe didn't call for this, I buttered the top two thirds again. Fold again. Sprinkle with flower, and place in plastic bag or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Unwrap, deflate, and sprinkle with flour. Fold again. Turn 90 degrees, and fold again. Wrap, and chill for another 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
Shape the croissants by forming the dough into a rectangle. Cut into squares, and then cut those squares in half crosswise. 

Roll into croissant form. If you want to make chocolate croissants (which I highly recommend), place some chocolate chips on the triangles before you roll them.

Place the shaped croissants on a baking sheet, and let rise until puffy. Beat the egg together with 1 Tbs. of water, and glaze the croissants with the egg wash.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. 

Next time, I'm either going to make all of these chocolate croissants, or make some with cheese and prosciutto. I saw a prosciutto and gruyere croissant recipe on pinterest that looks amazing. I might share that one at a future date :)
Enjoy!

Weekend in Denver- SCN 2013

This past weekend, my husband, Joe, and I traveled to Denver for the Speaking Consulting Network (SCN) conference. My husbands company was a sponsor, and I went with him to help him out with his booth.

While I love traveling to different places, I admit I hate the stress of the airport. It doesn't help that Joe and I have totally different traveling styles. I blame it on the fact that we grew up near two very different airports. I grew up near the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, which is humongous. My mother always taught me that you need to be at the airport at least 2 hours early, just in case. Generally, this would leave us with a long wait time before the plane took off after we got through security, but I always preferred it that way. I had the option of sitting down at a restaurant, going shopping, or just waiting at the terminal and relaxing, knowing my flight wasn't going to leave without me. Joe, on the other hand, grew up near the Kansas City airport, which is pretty small. You can almost always check in and get through security within a short period of time. Since there is no restaurant options (besides some food stands) or shopping options after getting through security, getting there two hours early will leave you with nothing to do. You can eat outside of security, but, honestly, that stresses me out. I like to have that part behind me before I can relax, because you never know when that will take you a long time.
There is currently a debate in Kansas City about getting a bigger terminal. I'm all for it. Most seem to be against it. I guess it's hard to change what you are used to.
Considering all that, the fact that we were still at our home 2 hours before our flight last Friday concerned me. Joe, of course, was unconcerned. When the security line was exceptionally long that morning, I'll admit, I was somewhat freaking out, even with the voices of reason around me (i.e. the other people in line) saying we were all on the same flight and they weren't going to leave without us. And low and behold, even though we got through security right when they were boarding, the flight didn't leave without us. I really need to get used to this small airport thing. 
I'll admit, when I was looking out the window of the plane and only seeing plains (like the word play?), I found myself inadvertently quoting the movie "Dumb and Dumber". "I thought the Rocky Mountains would be a little rockier than this". Having only traveled to Denver from the North, on a weekend trip while I was taking a summer Geology class in the Black Hills during College, I never realized how flat part of Colorado is. When the mountains were finally in sight, however, I was very excited. I love this part of the country.

Once we touched down, we met up with my father. My mother, who is a retired dentist, is in the process of becoming a professional speaker. She has been a spokesperson for years, but now is getting more involved in speaking that doesn't necessarily pertain to dentistry. Last year, my mother helped Joe with his booth at this conference, which caters mostly to speakers and dental consultants, but this year she decided to be a participant in the conference. Therefore, she and my dad were in Denver with us.  Friday night, we kicked off the conference with a networking cocktail party. Along with cocktails (obviously) there were many hors d'oeuvres and desserts provided, including these yummy macarons. That reminded me that I still need to try and make these.

After the cocktail party, my cousin, Jason, who lives in Denver, came out to meet us for Dinner. Since he lives so far away, we don't get to visit him that often, so it was great to see him!

Saturday morning the conference went into full swing. The sponsors were put in the same room as the conference participants, so we were able to listen to the key note speakers. When the speakers were finished, there would be breaks when the conference participants would have to chance to talk to us at the booth. My initial expectation of the weekend was that Joe would talk to people about the business, and I would hand stuff out and smile at people. However, since we were getting so many people coming up to us at different times, I realized I should probably tell them a few things. Luckily, I knew enough about Joe's company to keep them interested, and then told them they should talk to my husband. Hopefully I did a good job for him.  

It was so much fun seeing my handsome hubby in action. One woman even said his company was the most exciting thing at the conference! He is so good at what he does, and I am so proud of him. 

My dad and cousin spent the day in Estes park (where my mom and dad went on their honeymoon). I'm glad Jason went with him because, knowing my dad, he probably would have roamed the Mountains himself. 
Sunday morning at breakfast, preparing for another day (or at least half day) of the conference, we were lucky enough to get a lesson on fashion... from my father. Showing off his new shirt, he introduced us to another future trend. At least according to him. He insists that his current shirt is even better than the Hawaiian shirts he wears almost everyday because when he does the hula the American flag looks like it is waving. 

Also on the list of future trends according to my dad: Hawaiian shirts, crocs, sneakers with Velcro straps, calf high socks, and shirts with presidents on them. He claims that he is on "the tip of the fashion spear", and that one day all of these will be big.  Who need the Parsons School of Fashion when you have Jim Harms. After lunch, my mom took over our booth, and Joe and I started to prepare for our flight back to Kansas City. We were originally going to take a shuttle back to the airport, but since Joe had never been to Colorado, and we had no opportunity to really see anything besides the inside of our hotel, my father offered to take us on the "scenic route" back to the airport. The scenic route being driving through Estes park, driving back, and then finally going to the airport.  It was a gorgeous drive, and I'm glad Joe got to see at least a little bit of the Rockies.  Joe and my dad sat in the front, while I took pictures from the back with my iphone. I think they turned out pretty good considering they were taken from a moving vehicle (besides the last one, obviously). 

In the end, while we had a lot of fun in Colorado, it is great to be home. 

Friday Favorites

(1) Monday night I was finally able to spend some time on a patio. Yay for Summer! Some girlfriends and I went to Extra Virgin in the Crossroads area of Kansas City, which has an amazing Monday night deal. They have a pizza of the night (ours had prosciutto, basil, and mozzarella. It was amazing), and you are allowed to bring up to 2 bottles of your own wine which they will serve without a cork fee. And all the rest of the bottles are half off! I'm definitely going to be making more Monday trips back there :)

(2) Joe also had a fun Monday. He went to a charity golf tournament all day, and left with a whole lot of swag (which was all donated. ALL the donated money that came from the tournament actually went to charity). This swag even included "flowers for your wife". Now this is a golf tournament I can get behind.

(3) Wednesday night, Joe made the mistake of informing me that the play version of "Les Miserables", my all time favorite play that I literally have memorized, was on TV. He got the joy of watching me sing along to all the parts and dance around the living room. He must have been soooo happy to be married to me at that moment.

(4) I went to Barnes & Noble to buy the book the book club I'm in (recent development) is reading: "Ladies for Liberty" by John Blundell. They unfortunately didn't carry it, and I ended up impulse buying another book that I've wanted to read for awhile. Don't judge me...

(5) Joe and I are headed out to Denver this weekend for a conference for Joe's company. My parents are coming too. Should be fun!

Have a good weekend!

One Pot Tomato Basil Pasta

I have to admit, my least favorite part about cooking is what comes after enjoying your work. The dishes. Gross.
I'll admit, after a long day, I do enjoy cooking a nice meal for me and Joe. It is kind of soothing actually. But then I'm done, I want to relax for the rest of the evening (if I don't have any more work to do). But there are those dishes in the sink that are calling for me to clean them. No matter how clean my kitchen may be, it feel incredibly dirty if there are dishes in the sink. And it's not like I can ignore them for a few days and pretend like they are not there (like... cough... the laundry that is hidden away from sight in the laundry room... cough) because they are right there in the middle of the kitchen. Out in the open. Where people who might stop by out of the blue could see them. 
The worst are those complicated meals that you've spent hours on. Just when you've finished your labor of love, and are feeling pretty good about yourself, you look in your sink and the pride turns into a feeling of woefulness. I just spent hours cooking and now I have to clean ALL of those! 
Those are the times I wish I had Rosie, the maid from the Jetsons, to come out and clean them off and put them in the dishwasher for me. Weren't we supposed to be that advanced by now? Goodness Gracious!
Luckily, I found this recipe for one pot tomato basil pasta. This meal all takes place in one pot. You even boil the pasta with the rest of the ingredients. No separate pot to boil it in required! The entirety of dishes that you use in this recipe are one pot, one knife, and one cutting board. I can handle that. 
One Pot Tomato Basil Pasta From Apron Strings 12 oz. whole wheat linguine pasta 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes 1 large sweet onion 4 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes 2 tsp. dried oregano leaves 2 large sprigs basil 4 1/2 cups vegetable broth  2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil Parmesan cheese
Slice the garlic, cut the onion in julienne strips, and chop the basil.
Place the pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and basil in a large pot, and cover with the vegetable broth. Sprinkle the olive oil, pepper flakes and oregano on top, and bring to a boil. 

Cover and reduce to simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. By this time, most of the liquid should be evaporated, but if not you can drain some of the liquid out at this time. 

Stir pasta, and top with the Parmesan cheese. 

Enjoy!