Fruit crisp and general updates

This is one of my staple desserts because it is easy to make and relatively healthy (as far as desserts go).

The recipe itself is designed for a 2 quart square baking dish. I like to make it in my ramekins, so I adjust the amount of fruit slightly. If you use the baking dish, it calls for 5 cups sliced, peeled cooking apples, peaches, pears, or apricots. Now here is how I make it:

Fill 4 ramekins (mine are from Ikea) about 3/4 full with fruit.

From feb 08

For the ones in these pictures, I used 2 granny smith apples, about 1/3c frozen blueberries that I picked in the summer, and 1/2 of the big package of raspberries at the store (or an entire small one). I usually use a mix of peaches (again, frozen from the summer, but thawed first) and blueberries, but we've eaten up all of the peaches from the summer :( The only fruit I have used that was a failure was pear. It made it way too runny. Because I use fresh fruit (or fruit I picked), I don't ever add sugar to the fruit.

Once you have the fruit in the ramekins, you make the topping by mixing these together:

1/2c oats
1/2c packed brown sugar
1/4c flour
1/4tspn nutmeg, ginger, or cinnamon (I've only used cinnamon because we like it the best)
1/4c nuts - optional (I've only used nuts once, since I'm not a big nut fan)

To this mixture, cut in 1/4c of butter until mix is crumbly. Divide mix over ramekins (about 1/2c per ramekin).

From feb 08

From feb 08

Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes until nice and bubbly. They are best warm, and you can serve with ice cream if you like (Bryan likes his with whipped cream).

From feb 08

Our review of the raspberry, apple, blueberry combo is that is isn't the winner that the combo with the peaches are. We really like the sweetness and juiciness that peaches add.

If you like this and want to save time, I make a double batch of the topping (without the butter) and put it in a ziploc so it's all ready to go for the next time.

When I wasn't baking this week, I was taking care of Bryan, who was stricken with the evil flu. Of course, with his pre-existing issues, having the flu for him is really scary. Here is how he felt a few days ago:

From feb 08

Here's how he feels today:

From feb 08

He's still not at 100%, but he's much better and the gut-wrenching coughing is almost gone. We're both so happy that he's feeling better! I knew he was starting to feel a bit more like himself on Sunday when I heard him singing again. It is the cute way to judge his mood...he's always singing when he's happy. I was happy to finally get a kiss after a week of no contact in an attempt to keep me from getting sick (which worked!).

My sweet mom sent him cookies while he was incapacitated. Yum!

From feb 08

Markisa says thanks for the cookies too, as she loved the box.

From feb 08

And finally, if any of you are blog readers that haven't responded to your wedding invites yet, know you're in the dog pile! We are having a small affair with our nearest and dearest, and 6 of the 11 invitations have yet to be returned! Almost all of our non-RSVP-dependent planning is completed, and now we're really looking forward to the wedding and the cruise, especially since we're getting 8 inches of snow as I type this!

The terrible twos? No way!

Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary. Two years since I met that adorable man in Powell's, and the first thing he said to me was "Darn, you caught me in the comic book section. I hoped you would see me reading some science book and think I was smart." I was already hooked! From there we went to vegetarian chinese food, played old video games at a funky arcade, and had cupcakes at Saint Cupcake. It was so much fun and was definitely the longest first date I had ever had. I never would have predicted that 2 years later I'd be living in the frigid east, preparing for my wedding!

Yesterday, like the romantic couple we are, we worked (Tia did) took a nursing school test (Bryan did), had spaghetti for dinner (it was too icy and snowy to go to the store) and watched 3 episodes of Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo. Tres romantique!

Yesterday, in other words, it was a pretty normal day. However, we did have a fun early celebration together on Sunday. After taking an early morning test (a 94, good job baby!), we went to breakfast at Simply Crepes, came home and relaxed for a bit, then headed off to the spa thanks to Sherri and my mom. It was so nice and peaceful. Then home to shower, off to dinner (oops, our favorite place is closed on Sunday, which we discovered as we drove by it). Dinner take 2 was a Vietnamese place. It was okay, but we were the only people in there and it was really cold! With it being a whopping 6 degrees outside, we were looking for warmth. After dinner we went to see Cabaret, with Portlander (and Rockstar Supernova finalist) Storm Large. She was great, but that musical is SO bizarre! We enjoyed it, even though Bryan asked me several times if I had slipped drugs in his dinner...that's how bizarre Cabaret is! The night was capped off with dessert at the Cheesecake Factory. Yum!

Yesterday I was reminded of my future. My future with a man who said, spur of the moment when we were being silly, "We are going to have the best marriage." And I knew he meant it. Baby, if you ever read this, I wholeheartedly agree and can't wait for May. Here's to saying goodbye to celebrating February 12th and hello to May 9th.

Oatmeal chocolate chip banana muffins

It's no secret that I love to bake. Lucky for me, I live in a house where people love to eat baked goods. It's a win-win for all involved. My lastest find is from Allrecipes.com, my favorite cooking website.

These are just too good not to share the recipe. I've made them twice now, and both times they were fantastic. I used my new silicone muffin liners that my mom gave me. I'm not sure if they are the key to this, since I haven't made them any other way. I really like that you make this in just one bowl. No combining wet and dry required.

Directions:

Mash 3 very ripe bananas in a large bowl.
Add 1/2c sugar to the bananas and stir
Add 1 beaten egg and 1/3c apple sauce (I used cinnamon because it is what I had, and it was great) and stir
Add 1tspn baking soda, 1.5tspns baking powder, 1c flour, 1/2c quick cooking oats, 1/2tspn salt and stir
Fold in 3/4c chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes

The end result:


You can see that just minutes out of the oven and many were already gone!

Updates for my mama

Mom, this whole post is just for you. Don't you feel special?

Here is the re-sized wedding band. I'm sorry the pictures is so blurry, but my camera just doesn't do close-ups very well. It looks fantastic in person and I love it. Thanks for coming to pick it out with me.



Bryan's ring. Note that he put it on his right hand. The left hand was "too scary." He's funny. There was no way my camera would take a picture of the engraving, but it came out very nicely.

From feb 08

Check out the cool ring "box" his ring came in. My ring came in a vintage heart box with a neat little clasp on it, but I forgot to take a picture of it.



The veil, which is 150 times better than the crummy one from Target.

From feb 08

The beautiful flowers you sent that definitely made my day. Unfortunately, as is the issue with tulips, they don't last forever, so we had to finally throw them away today. We all really enjoyed them though, and the red vase they came in is beautiful.


A few pictures of our apartment.





The view from our window today. Although 3 days ago it rained and the grass was bare, 2 days ago we had freezing rain and today it snowed on top of the ice. I haven't even been brave enough to go unearth my car for 3 days now.


Hope this catches us up on all of the things I've promised. More apartment pictures at some point. I love you and miss you. Can't wait to see you in May!