Summer has begun.

Summer has finally felt real as of this last week!

 We are officially done with Spring semester and now into Summer Intensives at The Vault! It's not too late to get registered! I am SOOOO LUCKY to get to work with, dance with, be neighbors with my awesome aunt, sister, and friend!!! She is seriously AMAZING!

 It was NATIONAL BURGER DAY this last Thursday so of course I headed to my favorite Burger place, The Habit Burger! My only regret is that I couldn't find my hamburger socks to wear that day! Looking at this picture again makes my mouth water!

This is a teriyaki char burger, french fries, and a chocolate shake :)

 Friday I ripped out my beautiful pansies and planted my summer and fall flowers! It was hard to rip them out, but I can't wait to see my new flowers grow! Starting over always makes me sad, but seeing how much they grew makes it all worth it.

 My skin finally saw the sun, and I took my first underwater picture. My mom and Syd struggled in this picture hahahahahhaa.

 We swam all day Friday and Saturday and it made summer real to me!

 Friday night we had a little weenie roast with our new backdoor neighbors!

 Saturday night my mom hooked us up with tickets to Beauty and the Beast preview night, and it is adorable!

 Definitely a must see this season!

 I painted my nails, which is a very RARE occasion. I just wanted a little change!

Then Sunday I sat and read out of the conference Ensign while I waited for Jeff to get ready. (Believe it or not, I'm ALWAYS ready before him and waiting for him hahaha.)

Well we are heading to Bellingham, Washington this week for the Hauck family vacation and I am SO excited! Our first vacation of the summer :) stay tuned for lots of pictures and details of our trip!

DIY.LM.SS.

If you're wondering what those acronyms stand for let me fill you in with some pictures and captions.

DIY.

Do it yourself. Jeff surprised me while I was in Las Vegas and redid our dining room table.

I got this table 3 years ago as a hand me down from a friend I worked with, everyone tried to tell me to get rid of it but I knew it could be a pearl again! 

Jeff is amazing and he did an amazing job!!!

LM

 Little Mermaid. Little Mermaid preview night at Tuacahn for workers and families.

My mom works as a house manager, Cec works in the box office, and Syd works in the concessions.

I worked in concessions once upon a time, and I loved that job! :)

We loved it and can't wait to see The Wizard of Oz this week! :)

Everyone should go see this awesome play!

SS.

Super Saturday. I love Saturdays and I especially loved this last Saturday! 

We woke up and went to the Temple, came home and worked in the yard, went and swam at Jeff's parents, took a nap, made fresh guacamole with salsa and cantina chips topped with mango (mmmmmmmmm), ate some sushi, and had a night out with my grandma and aunty Tia!

I love my life. Like I always say. But I do!

Anyway, that's the exciting acronyms for me :)

Domesticated...sometimes...

I like to try new things, especially in cooking.

I feel that the kitchen is the easiest place to experiment because my taste buds don't lie.

(Haha me and Jeff say that all the time, kind of a joke, but seriously they don't.)

Today was one of those days where I just wanted to try some of the recipes I have pinned on my pinterest.

I like pinning but I always wonder if normal people (not the professional cooks) ever try the recipes.

So I tried it.

It also helped that my sweet neighbor, Sandy Barker, brings over tons of fresh vegies that need to be used!

So here is what I whipped up in the kitchen today...

Quick and Easy Salsa

Ingredients

• 2 diced tomatoes
• 1- 10 oz can orginal Rotel
• 1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/2-1 jalapeno, seeded or not (depends on how spicy you like it)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• small to medium size handful of cilantro, washed
• juice of 1 lime

Instructions

1. Put all the ingredients in the base of a food processor or good blender and pulse to combine for 30 seconds or so until all the ingredients are finely chopped and salsa is desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste. Serve with chips or over tacos.

My critique: AMAZING salsa! So delicious and the perfect consistency in texture and flavors!! Best part is that it is so easy! Jeff and I had fun making it together this morning!

Next...

Slow Cooker BBQ Pork

    Ingredients

• 1 (3 to 4 lb.) boneless pork shoulder roast
• 1 (18 oz.) bottle barbecue sauce 
• 1 (12 oz.) can cola soft drink

Preparation

1. 1. Place roast in a lightly greased 6-qt. slow cooker; pour barbecue sauce and cola over roast. Cover and cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork.

My Critique: Soooo delicious and soooo easy!!! Jeff absolutely loved it! We will be using this recipe again and again. Next time I think I will use Dr. Pepper instead of Cola.

Lastly...

 

Natural Red Velvet Cupcakes

  

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup freshly puréed beets (boiled until tender, then puréed)
• 1/3 cup oil (For healthy use coconut)
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp natural cocoa powder (NOT dutch processed)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup milk (or almond milk alternative)   

• CREAM CHEESE ICING
• 1/4 cup Butter (Earth Balance for healthy)
• 1 block cream cheese (250g)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• a splash of vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix the beet purée and oil until incorporated.
3. Add sugar, vanilla extract.
4. In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.
5. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk until incorporated into the batter.
6. Divide among cupcake liners, filling them 3/4 full, and bake for 15-20 minutes (for mini cupcakes) and 20-25 minutes (for regular sized cupcakes) until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when poked in the middle.
7. To make the cream cheese icing, whip together all ingredients (add the icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time until it reaches your desired consistency)
8. Pipe onto cupcakes as desired. The beetroot may discolour the frosting if left for too long, so if you are piping this ahead of time, do not do so more than 24 hours ahead of time.
9. Keep the cupcakes in the fridge and let sit at room temp at least 30 minutes before serving.

My Critique: Amazing way to use beets! It made the cupcakes super moist and the color was gorgeous! The cupcakes are sweet but not too sweet, can taste a little of the beet but I liked it like that. The cream cheese frosting is amazing (I added a tiny bit of milk to make the frosting go further.)

Hopefully you have found my critiques and sharing these recipes helpful! I know reading about other people's cooking experiences and recipes really helps me. Well go try something new today, and you will be glad you did!

Food Lovin'...

I love food.

It may be a problem but who cares.

Jeff will joke and say that your taste buds don't lie just like Shakira's hips.

Haha cheesy but true.

So I thought I would just share a few of our food lovelies lately.

Sorry if you are one bugged by food posts.

Pictures captioned!

 Chocolate chip pancakes with peanut butter, bananas, and syrup on them. MMMM :) with turkey bacon and a kiss.

 My family's banana bread recipe but I decided to cook them in cupcake tins to have them already individual, they turned out great!

 Hawaiian style grilled cheese! Grilled cheese with fresh pineapple and ham sprinkled with powdered sugar on top! Spring garden salad!

 Chocolate fudge pie with caramel topping! 

As you can see we are eating well at the Hauck's home! 

And if you couldn't tell, I kinda have a bad sweet tooth...

Hope everyone is eating good and enjoying their Sabbath!!!

Easy as a Sunday morning.

I have the greatest husband ever.

This is what I woke up to this last Sunday.

Nothing like breakfast in bed.

(Don't be too jealous...)

 He knows me too well...Reeses pancakes, turkey bacon, fresh fruit, and apple juice with sweet notes.

He melts my heart.

I love you eternally, endlessly, infinitely, perfectly too Jeffrey Preston Hauck!

I am so blessed with you.

Easy as a Sunday morning everyone!

We fondue.

I'm all about easy when it comes to cooking.

This chocolate fondue is super easy and it makes for a fun night!

Who doesn't like to fondue???

Easy Chocolate Fondue

3 to 4 semi-sweet chocolate cubes
2 tablespoons butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons water

Melt chocolate, butter, and condensed milk, and water over medium heat. Stir continuously until all chocolate is melted. (I have a fondue set so I just mix it in there but if you don't, just keep it on warm in your crock pot!)

The greatest thing about fondue is you can literally dip anything in it!

I love pineapple, strawberries, bananas, and pretzels, but anything tastes great!

Super easy and delicious!

Nothing better...

If you enjoy reading don't be afraid to follow! :)

Bon Appetit!

On Friday I had the urge to make something for dinner that you don't have to just pop in the oven!

So when I came home from school for a few minutes before heading to work, I looked up a crock pot recipe and created my masterpiece.

I chose...

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos 

Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Recipe from Tasty Kitchen
Serves: ~12 people

1 Envelope Taco Seasoning
6 Pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 16-ounce jar Salsa 

Dump everything into a crock pot and give it a little stir to blend the seasoning with the salsa. You do not need to add any water to the taco seasoning. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours. When done, the chicken should shred easily when stirred with a fork.

For tacos, serve the chicken with soft flour tortillas, guacamole, lettuce, shredded cheese and/or sour cream. This is very versatile and can be used for enchiladas, nachos, tostadas, quesadillas, etc. Any leftover chicken can then be used for tortilla soup (make it the next day or freeze the chicken to use at a later time).

***I obviously didn't need to feed 12 so I just halved it! I didn't have taco seasoning so I looked that up and just used whatever spices I had and made my own taco seasoning! I also added a couple spoonfuls of cream cheese for a creamier texture. When I got home from work it was perfect!! I grilled some tortillas, grated some cheese, got some lettuce out with some dressing, and waited for Jeff to get home! While waiting, I decided I wanted to make an easy dessert too so I looked that up and found a delicious apple cobbler-like recipe.

Apple Dump Cake

 

 (I got it from recipe by picture so the picture is the recipe!)

***It was delicious and Jeff loved it!!! 

I felt like I was awesome and it was all so easy!

Jeff kept saying "thank you" and "how did I get so lucky" and "are you okay?" haha.

I laughed, but it was nice to enjoy a nice home cooked meal and just enjoy each other's company!

12/12/12...Cake Cutting!

It was hard to really cut this perfect cake but it had to be done!

We had fun doing it too!!!

 Love the two little photographers, Selena and Heather, can't wait to see the pictures they captured! :)

 Yep and we are cake shovers, as you can tell! :) haha life is more fun that way!

 BUT...we always kiss and make up!!

 Our amazing cake designer! :) We are so blessed to have her in our lives! We love you Blanca!!

Doesn't it still look gorgeous with a piece out??

Better Than "ANYTHING" Cake.

Monday all day I had the yearning for dessert all day! Specifically, Better than "anything" cake! So I texted my mom to know what ingredients we had and what ingredients we needed then as soon as I was off I ran to the grocery store then booked it straight home to start on my masterpiece. I had to have it made before the Bachelorette was on so I could enjoy it while I watched, haha. So I thought I would share this easy recipe since it is delicious!

Better Than "ANYTHING" Cake AKA Better Than "Sex" Cake:

Ingredients:

• A chocolate cake mix, any kind really, my favorite to use is the triple chocolate cake mix.
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk.
• 1 bottle of Hershey's caramel ice cream topping.
• 8 ounces whipped topping.
• 2 Heath candy bars, crushed (Skor bars or Nestle's Heath bits will also work, if you can find them)

Directions: 

1. Mix cake as directed on package. 

2. Bake the cake about 30 minutes or until it tests done. 

3. As soon as it comes out of the oven, poke holes all over it with a fork and pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the cake, followed by the caramel. 

4. Refrigerate overnight. (Or if your like me, until you can't wait any longer, still tastes good trust me.) 

5. Shortly before serving, spread whipped topping over cake and sprinkle with crushed Heath bars.

6.  Enjoy!

   P.S...I did not see Sean going home at all! BUT that just solidifies that she chooses Jef! :)