Ladders & Better than Olive Garden Alfredo Recipe

I have always been a perfectionist. If I don't have the ability to do something perfect the very first time I do it, I pretty much refuse to do it (just ask my dad how long it took me to drive a stick shift...) It's such a problem and leads to so much stress, anxiety, and fear in my life.

My dad told me something when I was little and it has always stuck with me. Life is like a box of chocolates ladder. Everyone is on their own little ladder and some people may be WAY higher than you on their ladder and others are WAY lower. But forget about them! They don't matter. All that matters is that you are going up on your ladder and improving every day. Be a better person today than you were yesterday. I seriously have to remind myself of this daily.

I see people who are amazing and talented and I feel so worthless. I don't play the piano. I don't paint. I don't dress fashionably. I don't play any sports. I don't look like a model. I don't build boats (ha! talk about feeling inadequate!) But seriously, I don't have any talents that could be in a talent show or win a trophy. It's always gotten me down.

I need to stop comparing myself to others. I do have talents that maybe aren't as noticeable. But, that's not the point of this post... Sometimes I go off on tangents (SQUIRREL!! name that movie) the purpose of this post is to talk about one way I am climbing up my ladder and becoming a better person. The big thing I am working on right now is being healthy.

For most people, eating healthy is hard. For me, it is even harder. I am THE pickiest eater you will ever meet. I am pickier than the kids I nanny. It's actually kind of ridiculous. I can name all the fruits and veggies I'll actually eat on two hands. The food I normally eat looks like this:

Processed, sugary, and full of carbs. So I always found myself saying, "I'd love to eat healthy but I don't like spinach, strawberries, bananas, avocados, pears, etc..." I seriously TRY to like these things but when I try them I gag. So annoying. But, it's not an excuse anymore! So what if I only like a few fruits and veggies? I can focus on the ones I will actually eat without puking. So now my food is looking like this:

I have been eating at least two fruits and two veggies daily. Boo-freaking-ya! (mixed in with all the processed foods pictured above... but hey, I'm working on it!)

On top of eating healthier, I have been running every other day and doing strengthening exercises on the off days. I can't even tell you how good it feels to run again! Best feeling in the world.

The last thing I've been doing is tracking what I'm eating using the My Fitness Pal app. It's amazing how fast calories, carbs, and sugars add up! What I've been learning is I can still eat the things I like, like pizza, I just need to eat smaller portions and add fruits and veggies to fill me up. Before, I didn't eat any fruits or veggies, which meant I filled up on food that was high in calories.

So I'm the biggest dork and basically five years old... To help me track my four goals (eat fruits every day, eat veggies every day, workout five times a week, and stay under calories) I made a calendar. I get a colored dot per goal I reach. It REALLY helps me to stay motivated (like a five year old with a sticker chart!)

My goal with all of this is not to be on a "diet." I just want to establish a healthier lifestyle that will stick with me forever. Sure, it would be great to lose 5-10 pounds, but if I don't that's fine too. I want to take care of this body that was given to me by Heavenly Father. I want to live until I'm 90. And not just be alive... Actually live. So hopefully I will continue to climb up my "health ladder" and be one of those sassy grandmas that runs marathons :)

Okay, so before you start thinking "wow, good job Hannah! You're so healthy!" let me share my favorite recipe with you... and it's definitely not anywhere close to healthy. So now I just eat smaller portions, but there's no way I can cut out alfredo! No siree Bob. I'm somewhat of an alfredo snob, and if you ask me, it is way better than Olive Garden's alfredo. Way way better. I originally got this recipe from Landon's cousin Melyssa and have tweaked it just a little bit.

Ingredients

1/4 C flour
1/4 C butter
1 C heavy whipping cream
1 C half and half (or you can just do 2 C half and half, it will be healthier but not as thick)
1 C water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 Parmesan cheese (or if you're like me... A little more!)
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Garlic powder (to taste)
1 box of your favorite noodles (my favorite right now is Cavatappi, the big curly noodles pictured above)

Directions:

1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Use wire whisk to stir in flour and make a paste.

2. Slowly whisk in half and half, whipping cream, water, and bouillon cubes--stirring constantly.

**this is normally about the time that I start cooking the pasta**

3. Let the sauce simmer and thicken for 10 minutes (ish)

4. Stir in Parmesan cheese and stir frequently until melted completely. If you are like me and added a lot of cheese, your sauce might be a little too thick... just add a little more half and half or whipping cream.

5. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste (I usually add a good amount of garlic. That's why this recipe has WAY more flavor than OG's)

6. Serve over cooked pasta and add cooked chicken if desired.

This meal is a staple in our house. I am obsessed. ENJOY!

This is my "I'm so excited I can hardly wait for alfredo tonight" face. I have an addiction for real.

And this is my "I promise I'm  normal and not crazy face" :)

Taste of Fall

I can't think of a better way to celebrate the start of my favorite season... pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!

I have never been a fan of anything pumpkin, but man these are GOOD. So soft, perfect ratio of cinnamon, pumpkin, and chocolate chips... MMM! Plus, my house smells a-m-azing right now. Just like fall. Ahh I love this season!

This recipe comes from my wonderful mother-in-law and it's really easy-peasy!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup pumpkin (an entire 15 oz can)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• chocolate chips (around 2 cups but we use a bit more in our house :)

Mix the pumpkin, butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg together until smooth. Add dry ingredients.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes

Enjoy your perfect Fall treat! Yay for Fall! 

Life Lately

Time to play catch up! Life lately has been awesome. Just plain awesome. Here come the bullet points.

• We are going on a cruise the end of August to Alaska! We love cruises and this time we are going on a Princess cruise. Food, entertainment, beautiful scenery, food, 10 days straight with Landon, food... doesn't get any better than that! We are so excited.

The Princess Diamond

• I have been cooking like crazy. Every single week I make at least two new meals (thank you pinterest!). Some of my favorites are:

Pizza Rolls (recipe here)

Oh.my.gosh. Heaven in my mouth! Seriously these are amazing, so easy, and Landon even said they are pretty legit. Yum!!!

Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pastry Pockets (recipe here)

Mine definitely didn't turn out as pretty as the pinterest version, but they tasted good so whatever!

An omelet!!!!!

Okay no recipe needed for this one, but man I am proud of myself! Personally, I hate eggs. They smell funny. But Landon loves eggs and loves omelets... and I was way too scared to make one because I had no idea how to. But third time's a charm and I think I sort of have it now! It looks like an omelet (well kinda!)

• We went to Washington to visit Landon's uncle and family. I just love them! We had a BBQ, played outside, and just hung out. Perfect Saturday! Emma and I even wrote a book about a little hummingbird :)

• The work on the butt continues and this weekend I actually helped Landon. I took more pictures of the process, but I didn't have my nice camera yet so the pictures aren't that great but here's a look at how we fiberglass the boat:
  
  First we lay down the fiberglass planking and put a layer of resin... but I was in Orlando when Landon did that step so no pictures sorry.
  
  Second we lay the fiberglass mat. 

This stuff is mean. Don't touch it.

Next you pour the resin (which is kind of like glue, but turns rock hard once it's dried)

Add some catalyst and mix.

Then you use paint brushes and put a layer of resin onto the mat. Sounds easy, but it's not.

Next you lay down the fiberglass cloth.

Fiberglass cloth is nice. You can touch this one.

And then you use resin to paint over the cloth too

And voila! 

Oh man... it looks a lot smaller with Landon sitting in there! Hopefully we fit :)

Hopefully this baby is done soon so we can take it out before the rain comes... 

• We go to 31 flavors (aka Baskin Robbins) weekly... and sometimes even more than that! Well I don't know if you knew this about Landon but he's pretty money conscious, so to save money we bought the ENTIRE TUB of ice cream. And it was only 45 bucks! Considering you pay 2 bucks per scoop, it is definitely worth the money! The girls at the store thought it was awesome and just couldn't believe someone was actually buying the whole tub. Only Landon :)

• Landon teases me because according to me, we have three anniversaries... first date, engagement, and marriage. Well on Sunday it was three years ago that I said YES! Read all about the proposal here. Best decision I have ever made.

Okay I think this post is long enough :) Life is good.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am pretty picky with my chocolate chip cookies. They have to be small, chewy, and have a perfect ratio of chocolate chips. I really don't like to brag, but I make the best chocolate chip cookies. I've never tasted a better cookie in my life. But I can't even take the credit because I didn't come up with the recipe, so I don't even feel bad for bragging :)

This recipe comes from my mother-in-law, Suzette! I've compared this recipe to other recipes out there and I know why this recipe is the best... more of the good stuff aka chocolate chips, butter, and sugar. Mmmm!

Here's the recipe folks:

Pre-heat oven to 350

Combine the following ingredients and mix 'em all together.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cup butter (almost three sticks...that's why they taste like heaven!)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Then add:

• 3 cups flower
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt

Honestly, I think I add a little more than 3 cups of flour. Probably more like 3 1/2 or even 4 cups. The texture has to be just right or else you will have flat, crispy cookies and nobody wants a crunchy cookie.

I don't really have an exact measurement for the chocolate chips, but it's probably around 2-3 cups.

Don't bake your cookies until you've eaten some cookie dough. In my opinion this is the best part! Fabulous!

Bake for 6-10 minutes...depending on your oven. I always do the same temperature and I've made these in 3 different ovens so far. My first oven it took like 11 min, second oven took 8, and now my current oven only takes 6. So just watch these babies while they're baking because like I mentioned earlier, nobody likes a crispy cookie. Don't even listen to people that tell you to wait until they're golden brown. Golden brown=crispy. Just make sure the bottoms have crisped a little bit, but the tops of the cookies shouldn't have color.

Who ever know that explaining a chocolate chip cookie recipe would be so WORDY. It should be simple, but really making a perfect chocolate chip cookie is an art form ;)

Enjoy!

Big Day Tomorrow & Homemade Reese's

Well, the vacation is over and the real world starts now. We are all settled in to our cute apartment and Landon is heading to his first day of his CAREER in the morning, no big deal. I feel like I'm way more nervous than he is. He actually isn't nervous at all, just kinda bummed that he actually has to grow up. Understandable for sure.

I also have an interview tomorrow, another one on Tuesday, and then another one the next week. Don't get too excited for me though, none of these are for teaching jobs. I really really really don't want to work unless it's doing something I love... But I don't really have much of a choice. Landon wants me to get my real estate license and that's starting to look more and more appealing after applying for all of these lame-o, boring, dumb jobs. Plus if I had my license we could probably get into a house sooner because I would know all the ins and outs. So we'll see...

Today I made homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and thought I'd share the recipe because it's super easy and super delicious. The only thing that is a pain is they literally take ALL day... it's quite the process. It's not hard, just a lot of waiting around... Perfect for a lazy Sunday treat.
Ingredients:

• 1 bag of chocolate chips
• 1 cup of peanut butter (skippy, preferably)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (or if you're like me you'll want 3/4)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Process:
1. Place mini-cupcake papers inside mini-muffin tin. Or you can spray the pan with pam, but I think the paper lining makes it easier to remove.
2. Pour chocolate chips in bowl and melt them in the microwave on 50% power. Start with 2 minutes and take them out about every 30 seconds to stir. After 2 minutes is up, just do 30 second or less intervals and stir every time until the chocolate is smooth. You don't want to over-do it or the chocolate will burn and not be smooth at all.

3. Using a teaspoon, spoon the chocolate into the middle of the muffin cup. Using the back of the spoon, draw the chocolate up around the edges so the entire paper cup has a coat of chocolate.

4. Put the whole muffin tin in the fridge for about an hour or until the chocolate hardens.

5. While the chocolate is hardening, mix the salt, powdered sugar and peanut butter in a bowl. When the chocolate is all hardened, pop the peanut butter mixture in the microwave for about a minute to soften.

6. Spoon softened peanut butter into chocolate-coated cups, leaving enough room for chocolate layer on the top.

7. Put the whole muffin tin back in the fridge to harden for an hour or so (I told ya... quite the process!)

8. When the peanut butter filling has hardened, put the chocolate chips back in the microwave to soften (again 50% power, 30 second or less intervals stirring every time).

9. Use a teaspoon to spread a layer of chocolate on the top. Put it all back in the fridge to let it harden (I usually don't eat em for a few hours after this step).

Delicious! Enjoy and happy Sunday! :)