new recipe

This recipe has great potential. Sam and I both liked it but we'll still play with it to see if we can perfect it. We used broccoli instead of sugar snap peas because I couldn't find any. Also, we didn't have any peanuts and I don't like cilantro so they were left out. Maybe we felt it was lacking because we just went to Szechuan Garden and were spoiled with amazing food. :)

Szechuan Steak

1 lb. steak (any kind), sliced thing, 1-2 inch pieces
8 oz. fresh sugar snap peas (2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tbs dry roasted peanuts, chopped

Heat some vegetable oil in a wok or skillet. Add peas and stir fry for 2 minutes. Remove to plate and add beef, garlic and pepper. Stir fry meat until brown. Combine soy, water, sugar and starch in a bowl. Return peas to pan and toss with meat. Add soy mixture and stir fry until thick. Remove from heat and serve over steamed rice. Top with cilantro and peanuts.

happy birthday to us!

Sam and I just celebrated our birthdays last week. They were quite fun. I got to sleep in and when I did get up Sam had written me a sweet note on the bathroom mirror. He made me a favorite dish for dinner, german pancakes. We both worked on one cake for the both of us. He wanted to sing and have me blow out candles but seeing as we didn't have any birthday candles around (we're newly weds) he grabbed my avocado-olive scented candle and stuck it right in the middle and sang "Happy Birthday" for me. Haha. My family came up on Saturday to take us both out to lunch to celebrate our birthdays. We went to Panda for lunch and then over to Chili's for dessert. We also went and looked at numerous shelters for dogs because they wanted to get a dog for Christmas (they found on in SG yesterday). They gave us both a handful of presents and we loved it. I also had my mom bring up birthday candles. They sang to us both befor we opened our presents. For Sam's birthday I got up early and made him a great big breakfast only to find out when we got to church that it was Fast Sunday. Oops! Then I made him a nice dinner that night. I sang to him too with the real birthday candles. Haha. It was quite the party. :)

yay stumbleupon

I use this site called StumbleUpon and it pulled up this picture and I thought it was too priceless to keep to myself. I laughed pretty hard. :)

feasts a plenty

Thanksgiving was pretty much the bomb! We went up to SLC on Tuesday night because we were itching to get out of Cedar and for a break. We stayed at Mom & Dad Schofield's. Wednesday we got all our Christmas shopping done (yay us!!) and had lunch with Ryan and Emilee. We went up to Josi's house that night and while I wasn't used to staying over at someone's house for Thanksgiving we had a lot of fun while we were there. Lots of games and good food to be had. Thursday rolls around and the kitchen got busy at 9:00 a.m. I baked my first pie ever. It was a gooseberry pie. I love this kind of pie and hadn't had it in years and Sam told me that his family had never had one so I just had to make one. Word to the wise, gooseberry pies only get made every few years in my family and this is why: they are $5.58 a stinkin' can and near impossible to find. 6 phone calls to northern grocers finally landed me with gooseberries. Won't be making this pie for a while since my wallet is kind of bare. As I went to pull my pie out of the oven I had to reach over two other pies that were baking as well and the top coil in the oven bit my arm. Rude, I know. So I've had these two awesome stripes on my arm since then. I also made my Grandma Dean's a-maze-ing dressing/stuffing. I couldn't bear to go without it. I didn't make a ton because I wasn't sure what the response would be since I was under the impression that they weren't a "stuffing family". The stuffing was a hit too and I got many compliments on it and the pie. I didn't boil the pie filling long enough so the inside was runny but still tasted exactly like I remembered. Speaking of pie. My in-laws are the biggest pie family ever. I was very excited to experience the "Thanksgiving of Many Pies", and many pies there were. 15 pies, to be exact. Almost enough for one pie per person. There were 4 pumpkin, 2 banana cream, 2 blueberry, 2 cherry, 1 pear, 2 sour cream apple, 1 peach, my gooseberry and a birthday cake for Sam's little brother, Matt. Dinner was fantastic and the pies were superb. We hadn't eaten so much food in months and now our tummies are hungry because of the extra space. Haha. Friday we hung out with more friends and played games and had a blast. Saturday we hung out with Kristyl and Mike and they made us an awesome dinner and we played games. Such a very good weekend. We had so much fun spending time with family and friends we're contemplating relocating to SLC to have a social life. Haha. It was great to see Nick, Crystal and Kendra who we haven't seen in months. OH! So we get home Sunday night and I flip on the light and go over to check on our fish. Sam bought an automatic fish feeder since we were going to be gone for more than 2 nights. Well, I went and looked at the fish and they were HUGE! Their little bellies were swollen to the max! The feeder had been feeding them way more than we had been and they gobbled up every bit. They were uncomfortable and bloated. Looks like we weren't the only ones that had a Thanksgiving feast. We didn't feed them at all today to let them pass most the food they'd eaten while we were gone and I just fed them bits of a pea to help with constipation. Regular animal doctor, that's me. Now its back to the daily grind for us. This is the last week of school and I have 2 lab finals and a chemistry exam this week and then my remaining 3 finals next week. Sam has 4 finals next week. After that we'll be out for Christmas break. Yahoo!!! I just barely put up our little Christmas tree and its awesome. Yay for fake, pre-lit trees that will last forever. Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to all!!!!

i've got things to do and places to see. . .

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world (both)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37.Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77.Broken a bone (only if my toe counts)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Let me know if you use it so I can come take a look.

out of body experience

It's a uneventful Monday night but the surprising part is I am playing online games and Sam is READING! That's right folks, Sam is reading a book for FUN! Yeah, I was shocked too. I'm usually the one reading and he's usually the one gaming. You never can tell what newlywed life will hold. Haha.

for a limited time only!

Ok, so I've had a lot of my blog friends go private with their blogs as of late so I am here to make everyone an offer none can refuse. I'm offering each and everyone of you exclusive membership to my blog. By December 1st I'll have changed my setting to private so if you want to be a part of my exclusive club please give me your email addresses so you can read and comment my thoughts and yummy recipes. If you are changing your setting to private let me know so I can subscribe. Thanks all!

*P.S. I am aware that my blog really isn't that cool but I was giving myself an ego boost. :)