chocolate chip zucchini muffins

this is kendall's recipe for zucchini oat muffins - i just added a little chocolate. i used my last stash of american chocolate chips for these, but it was worth it :) these are quick & simple, and pretty healthy too! hope the bible study girls like them.

chocolate chip zucchini muffins

2 1/2 cups flour

1 T baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp or so of cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup oats

1 zucchini, shredded

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 400.

Place cupcake liners in muffin tin.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, oil and sugar. Combine with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Your batter will be thick and lumpy. Fill muffin cups just about all the way and bake 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

easter garden party

we hosted a few friends for the easter holiday in our little garden behind our flat.

it was fun getting everything ready - really just a bunch of flowers, chocolate bars for place cards, some pretty napkins and a lot of desserts!

huge thanks to kevin for the yard work and lugging up the tables!

as is our favorite custom, we all contributed to the dinner

and it was delicious.

a very beautiful day.

no one could find plastic eggs (trust us, we tried) but jess came to the rescue and filled little bags with the goodies. we couldn't find easter baskets either so it was total improv all around.

just before bed, i remembered ivy's easter basket that i hid away in the closet. it was impossible to find regular baskets anywhere, so things had to get a little creative. it was tiny but i think she still loved it. favorite thing: the stickers! i knew it.

hope you all had a wonderful easter!

matthew 28:6

salmon with citrus herb butter

Yum, salmon! We try to have it weekly in our house, especially during pregnancy :) I usually just season it with s&p, but wanted to try something a little Spring-y. I threw together a few things with some butter and it turned out really tasty and was just as simple to make.

Citrus Herb Butter

1. mix together in a small bowl:

--a few TBS of butter at room temp

--zest of an orange and lemon

--a spoonful of chopped fresh herbs (I used dill and lemon thyme)

--sprinkle of salt

2. roll up in parchment or put in little butter molds.

3. throw in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.

*This butter would work great on any fish or chicken!

Here's all you do:

Preheat oven to 350.

Make your butter and let it sit in the fridge while you get everything else ready.

Sear salmon fillets over high heat in a teeny bit of butter, 1-2 minutes on each side.

Put in the oven to finish cooking to your liking.

Take out your butter, unroll it from the parchment or molds and place a slice on each fillet.

enjoy!

alice in wonderland

Last Sunday afternoon we strolled over to the St. Andrews Castle (15 minutes) for a production of Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland put on by the local youth theatre. The weather was sunny and perfect, there was a great turn-out and the cast was actually really talented. It was kind of an interactive thing where the audience moved to different locations around the castle for different scenes. Such a cool backdrop! I forgot to keep an eye on Ivy sometimes because I was so wrapped up in the play haha - thankfully Kevin was there :)

View from the Castle of the North Sea/St. Andrews Cathedral ruins in the far back

Ivy following the crowd to the next location - haha

There was an adorable red ice cream parlor by the entrance, wish I got a pic.

Very fun!

to mom

hope you win.

eat some cake for us!

we love and miss you!

k, c + i

carrot bread

CARROT BREAD RECIPE

from Junior League of Tampa's Everyday Feasts

1 1/3 cups flour

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs, beaten

2 cups shredded carrots

2/3 cups vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped pecans

a few personal little additions:

1 tsp pure vanilla

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 T fresh orange zest

I also substituted 1/3 cup brown sugar in place of the white.

orange glaze:

Scoop a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar into a small bowl, add a pinch of fresh orange zest, a good squeeze of orange juice and then add a few drops of milk until the consistency is good.

Done! I learned this simple icing method from Mom - so good and easy.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Stir together flour, sugar, spices, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs and stir well with a wooden spoon. Add the carrots, oil, and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the pecans and orange zest. Pour into greased loaf pans (I just line mine with parchment) about 3/4 full.

1 regular loaf - bake for about 1 hour.

2 mini loafs - bake for about 45 minutes.

Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

Drizzle with glaze (or leave plain) and eat for breakfast, snack or dessert!

hope you enjoy!

{side note: kevin kindly hinted that i use a lot of pics. i hope it doesn't come across indulgent - i'm just experimenting with a new camera and it's fun... i'll try to be a better editor though. thanks for bearing with me!}

pics from texas

we went home sweet home to texas for the second half of kevin's spring break. as always, we had a wonderful time... plenty of mexican food, blue bell, warm days and playing in the yard. lots of little girl time with the nieces too... so sweet. as usual, i wish i'd taken more pics of everything - pretty staples, our visit to nana and pop's, gen's beautiful birthday dinner, etc. i just go in shut-down mode as soon as the wheels hit the houston runway, but i think that's kinda normal (right??)