freezer friendly fundamentals

as a college student, i know how hard a good meal can be to come by. even for those lucky enough to have a kitchen at their disposal, sometimes whipping up a great meal is too expensive or time consuming. while i have stocked my kitchen to the best of my abilities, there's always a few ingredients i don't have, and even a simple grocery trip for one dinner can cost over $20. multiply that by 4-5 nights a week, & it's safe to say i come to conclusion to eat out or have a peanut butter sandwich quite often. i'm guilty of having panera more than twice a week sometimes simply out of laziness, which is why having something delicious already made in the freezer is a much better idea.

my mother, the wonderful woman i inherited my domestic tendencies from (although my mom transcends domesticity & has fancied herself into a working, domestic x 1000 juggling-it-all superwoman), suggested we whip up a few freezer friendly entrees that could be easily consumed on my busiest of weeks. having already made meals in the freezer (no, not lean cuisines) is a lot healthier than eating out constantly & saves on time. i took a trip to my parent's place this past weekend, & my mom & i came up with these dishes on saturday night:

• spaghetti sauce - this one is simple. any variant of your favorite homemade sauce can be frozen and thawed to add to a batch of pasta at any time.
• lamb meatballs - throw these in with the spaghetti sauce & you've got a full meal.
  
• southwestern chicken & corn chowder - i've made this recipe a handful of times, & it's amazing! it freezes incredibly well & is awesome for when it's a little chilly out.
• chicken poppyseed casserole - best casserole ever, hands down. freezes great!
  

other great ideas for freezer meals are chicken enchiladas, nearly all of your favorite homemade soups & pasta dishes like baked ziti! if you enjoy making bread, most doughs & starters can be frozen for months at a time, in addition to cookies, baked bread & muffins. i froze my amish friendship bread starter for over 2 months, let it thaw in the fridge & it was definitely still good to go. if you're a sometimes lazy but mostly busy student, like me, or hate spending money eating out, hopefully these ideas are helpful.

what's in my bag?

what's in my bag posts are my favorite, so i decided i needed one for my blog! last year, i did an entire post about my bag, the marc by marc jacobs baby q groovee. if you decide to go back & read that post, keep in mind that i'm totally geeking out in it because i love my bag, probably way more than a healthy woman should. it's incredibly versatile & has served me well!

i'm not the type of girl to just toss everything in my bag & go. it must be organized. bags within a bag. it's a little silly when you think about it, but i much prefer knowing exactly where i keep something as opposed to rummaging for it in the dark. it makes my bag 1000x heavier than it needs to be, so thank goodness for the shoulder strap.






1. marc by marc jacobs wallet - i was afraid to get a white wallet, but i don't regret it. i'm a sucker for anything marc. honestly. have you noticed? so yeah, this was a must.
2. coach wristlet - in here i keep medicine, gum, feminine fun stuff & a random usb drive. yep.
3. makeup bag - contents include mac pressed powder, rose salve, ahava hand cream, 2 mac tinted lip conditioners, visine, lip venom, burt's bees, mini perfumes of viva la juicy, daisy & twirl by kate spade, mac cremesheen glass in fashion whim & joeur lip conditioner.
4. glasses - because being able to see when i drive is awesome & contacts scare me.
5. my keys, of course! inside my mini juicy zip-up is my university ID card for easy access, i need it to swipe into my parking deck on campus.
5. & inside my zipper compartment - fruit snacks! life's essentials, y'all.

valentine's week

girls valentine's day dinner at cheesecake factory with michelle & charlotte, new scarf from francesca's that i'm IN LOVE with, baking baguettes on sunday night, ua vs. florida basketball game on tuesday night.

i love valentine's day. regardless of my relationship status, i will always love it. i believe in celebrating love - all kinds of love! i'll get to celebrate with my boyfriend this weekend when he comes to visit, & i can't wait. i'm thinking of cooking steaks, which i've never done before, but there's a first time for everything. here's to hoping i don't set the oven on fire! besides valentine's day, this week has been insanely busy for me. i am counting down the hours until the weekend.

i've done a lot of writing lately. & i like it.

key lime pie cupcakes

this is an older photos of the key lime pie cupcakes i made for my dad for father's day last year. key lime pie is his favorite, + these were delicious & had the most subtle hint of lime, just perfect enough. i suppose i'm thinking in spring/summer mode since we didn't really have a winter here in tuscaloosa, so these cupcakes were on my brain & i had to share the recipe.

in the original recipe adapted from food network, white chocolate icing is used. if you'd like to give that a try, follow the link! i used cream cheese icing instead, which is the same i use for my red velvet cupcakes, found here. any variant of cream cheese icing would taste delicious, or you could even create a lime buttercream if you really enjoy the lime flavor.

for the cupcakes:

• 3/4 cup (1 & 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 heaping teaspoon grated key lime zest
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons key lime juice (bottled or freshly squeezed)
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

preheat oven to 325 degrees f.

in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. with the mixer on low, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. add the vanilla extract, key lime zest and juice and mix well. in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. in 5 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. mix until just combined.

line a muffin pan with cupcake papers & scoop batter evenly into each. bake for 25 minutes or until the tops begin to brown and a toothpick comes out clean. allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes before icing. i simply sprinkled graham cracker crumbs on top & garnished with a tiny slice of lime. enjoy!

a february day in photos

i woke up this morning with a cold in full swing, so i've been living off of dayquil & endless bottles of aquafina trying to stay hydrated. despite being sickly, i woke up ready to conquer the day & made my way to campus for classes, errands & a venti passion tea lemonade.

my spring break plans are finally in order, much to my relief. i was beginning to get that nagging feeling that things weren't going to come together & i'd end up spending a week at my parent's place - love you mom & dad, but i need some beach & sun please! ok, well... this has never happened before, but i'm technically having 2 spring breaks, all in one week. the first part will be spent with my boyfriend in his condo, & we're hoping to make a trip to destin while we're on the gulf, but i'm honestly just hoping for some relaxation time. the 2nd part of my week will be spent with my best friends in a different condo.

more lovely things! i got tickets to hangout fest in may, & the lineup looks pretty awesome! i am also grateful to have a new parking pass that allows me to park like a bazillion times closer to my internship building & the communications building. seriously, it gives me at least 30 extra minutes of sleep each morning! i've also discovered that poetry is just not my thing. odd, considering i used to think poetry was the essence of writing itself & true writers wrote poetry. nonsense. i respect it & love reading it, but writing it? nah, i'll pass. i'll take prose any day. thank you creative writing minor for teaching me these things.