why is it that anything cooked over an open flame is delish??

i know i haven't posted anything in a while, but i've been super busy and haven't had a lot of time to cook. although, i DID take an awesome trip with my new best friend cara. we were going to be heading south with some friends from my old ward, but they bailed and went up to bear lake instead. i didn't want to head north, so we decided last minute to go hike angel's landing in zion's national park. it was wicked awesome!!

this one has to be my FAVORITE picture!! cara had this awesome idea to have me "hanging" over the edge at 5,785 feet up...

so why did i title my blog "why is it that anything cooked over an open flame is delish??" because it is. part of the fun of camping is building that awesome fire at night. i thought it would be fun to make foil dinners...something i haven't done in decades!

you start by taking a chicken breast and putting it in the middle of about a foot of foil...add diced potatoes and a handful of carrots and onion...and for the gourmet part: 2 sprigs of rosemary, a few basil leaves, and half a lemon juiced on top!!

make sure to dance around the fire to ensure maximum flame height...



dinner is served!! of course, we forgot to pack forks, so we gingerly ate it with our fingers...after we had been digging in the dirt and chopping wood...it's fine.



roasting the mallows for our s'mores on crack...



i give you...s'mores on crack!! i have to thank cara's dad for this one...2 chocolate chip cookies, a reese's peanut butter cup, and a mallow. let's just say we had dessert before AND after dinner!!

...and every now and then we share a meal with Felix, our new friend and family member...

ice cream social

i am soooo excited for kasia to move in next month!! we have so much in common and have such an awesome friendship, who wouldn't look forward to it??

2 things we have in common: we both love to cook and we both love hosting parties. i seriously couldn't come up with a better combination. once we knew that we'd be living together (which happened before my old roommate moved out), we started planning out our monthly themed parties.

the first party we wanted to do was an ice cream social. thanks again to pinterest, i found this fun and easy (aothough cold) way to make ice cream. i also seem to recall a childhood memory of making these as well...

ingredients (per serving):
*2 T sugar
*1 c 1/2 and 1/2
*1/2 t vanilla
*1/2 c salt
*a lot of ice
*gallon and sandwich size ziplock baggies (don't scrimp with the baggies...get the best)

directions:

*mix together the sugar, 1/2 and 1/2, and vanilla with a whisk. the sugar won't fully dissolve since it's getting mixed with a cold liquid.

*pour mixture into sandwich size ziplock baggie and suck out all the air...

*place sandwich baggie inside gallon sized baggie...fill with ice and 1/2 c of salt.

*start shakin!! you'll want to shake the bags for about 10 minutes or until the ice cream is firm enough to scoop out. you can add different extracts (mint, orange, lemon) and toppings if you want.

lol note the time on the microwave...pretty sure it was well after midnight when we finished and kasia took the first bite! the ice cream was yummy and so easy to make. i know that when we have our first social, it's going to be a hit!!

Easter Jell-O

kasia, my parter-in-crime/roommate come may, and i had a fun time with jell-o this weekend. i have become obsessed with pinterest (which is where our creations were found) and we found 3 jell-o creations that we just HAD to try! we made jell-o oranges, limes, and eggs for our parties on Easter. the directions are fairly simple and take a little time for everything to set...

ingredients:
*oranges (and limes)
*assorted jell-o
*water
*sharp knife
*strong metal spoon

directions:

*make jell-o according to packages, making sure all powder is dissolved

*while jell-o is dissolving (or while water is boiling), halve all oranges and limes

*scoop out all pulp and rind (which is where the sharp knife comes in handy...those limes were beasts!!)

*arrange orange and lime halves in dishes so that they will stay upright (sometimes slicing a little off the bottom will help keep them flat)...i found that my baking dishes worked the best!

*pour in jell-o, filling almost to the rim (it's okay if a little gets out) like kasia is demonstrating!

*for the eggs, put jell-o in a container so that the eggs can be fully submerged when you close them. you want to have almost no excess space in the egg when they're closed. my measuring cups worked well for this!

*we had to make a lot of room in my refridgerator for all the jell-o creations that night!!

*we let the jell-o set overnight, mainly to ensure that it would cut better. carefully with a sharp knife, cut the oranges and limes into wedges. long, slow cuts work the best.

*we found out the hard way that the jell-o eggs needed to be warmed up before we could extract the egg without it breaking!

*my lovely bff kasia demonstrating how cute and fun these treats come out to be!

this had to be one of the funnest jell-o making activities ever! granted, we didn't start the first night until 10pm. we're both so busy that we're only free late at night. i didn't get a good picture of the jell-o eggs, but trust me when i say they're super awesome!! 

Conference Weekend

this past conference weekend was super relaxing, which is soooo awesome and was much-needed!! saturday, i was able to listen to the sessions on the radio while attempting to clean my apartment and put up some decorations. i was anxious for the sunday sessions because kasia had invited me over for breakfast and a pajama-fest! i was excited to make some rolls that i've been looking for an excuse to make. we crashed in our sweats and made bacon, sausage, and these yummy (easy) ice cream rolls. here's the recipe:

ingredients:
1/2 c melted butter
3/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c melted vanilla ice cream
3 cans pillsbury (or store brand) biscuits

directions:
1. cut biscuits in half and lay them out flat in a 9x13" greased dish3
2. mix together melted butter, ice cream, and brown sugar with a whisk
3. pour mixture over biscuits, which should submerge
4. bake 20 minutes at 350*

ENJOY!!! they're not sugary...they're breakfast!!

**i would have had pictures, but we went to TOWN on these**