Life Lately

We went strawberry picking!  These were the sweetest, most delicious strawberries I have ever had!

Last month, I shared with you all that John and I were house hunting.  This month, I'm excited to share that we have found our home!  We still need to go through the final steps of closing, but I'm really happy with the place that we found, and I can't wait to share all the projects, decorating, and home owning adventures with you!

1) John and I dominating the wedding photo booth. Nailed it!
2) Packing... SO MANY BOOKS
3) Enjoying the summer weather with patio drinks

Fourth of July was a blast out on the lake!

I hope your July was wonderful!  Follow me on Instagram @GoesLightly for more pictures like these :)

60th Birthday Gift

We celebrated my dad's 60th birthday this weekend, and it was a great time!  I wanted to share with you all the gift I put together for him.  It's such a fun way to celebrate a milestone birthday or anniversary!

I did some research online and found events that happened in the year he was born.  Then, I came up with gifts that coordinated with the events.  I tied everything together by using package tags leftover from my Christmas gift tag craft.  The big gift was a Roku, so I listed the movies that were released that year.  I also got him a book published in 1954.

Some of the more creative gifts included artisan soap to go with the first year of the soap opera, "Secret Storm," and a jellyfish paperweight because 1954 was the first year Jacques Cousteau appeared on television (it was for an episode of "Omnibus").

It was a lot of fun putting this gift together, and it was really interesting to learn about the things- both trivial and major- that were happening that year.

Happy birthday, Dad! :)

Saturday Snapshot: Water Drop

Oatmeal Cookies

What can I say?  I'm on a cookie kick lately!  Here's another Granny recipe (I love how worn this recipe card is!) for you all- her oatmeal cookies.  These are dangerous because they're not overly sweet... it's easy to eat too many!

You will need:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 3 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup nuts
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

One thing I have really enjoyed about working through Granny's recipe box is that sometimes the recipes need a little decoding.  Usually, this is because her handwriting is hard to read in some spot.  But with this recipe, there is no bake time or temperature!  So, I guessed.  And it worked out fine!  If you ever find yourself in a similar spot, 350 or 325 are typically good temperatures for cookies.  Another tip: bake with the oven light on, that way you can see your cookies at all times to gauge how it's going.

Preheat your oven to 350.  Combine the sugars and shortening in a mixer and cream them.

Add the rest of your ingredients and mix until well combined.

Form the dough into golf ball sized balls and place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the bottoms and tops of the cookies start to turn golden.  Let them cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

Pepper and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

This is such an easy meal to make, and I personally believe that anything with goat cheese is going to be delicious.  Quesadillas in general are a favorite for me because it's such a simple dinner that you can remix in tons of different ways- you can even use it for breakfast!

For four quesadillas, you will need:

• 3 sweet peppers (I went with red, orange, and yellow)
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion
• Oil for cooking
• 4 ounces of goat cheese
• 8, 8 inch flour tortillas
• Small amount of olive oil, butter, or margarine to coat the tortillas

Slice up your peppers and onions while a teaspoon of oil heats over medium.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and cook until browned.  Then, add the peppers and cook until tender.

On a nonstick cooking pan, heat a small amount of oil over medium-low heat.  Lay your tortilla onto the oil, rubbing it around to distribute the oil evenly.  Top with peppers, goat cheese, and a second tortilla.  Flip when the first side is golden brown, adding a touch more oil to the pan as you turn the quesadilla over.  Cook the second side until golden brown.  Slice and serve.  Enjoy!

Yum :)

Saturday Snapshot: White Rose

Ann's Delicious Cookies

I've got another Granny recipe for you today!

 I have no idea who Ann is, but her cookies are, in fact, delicious.  They taste sort of like a buttery sugar cookie...

You will need:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 sticks of butter or margarine
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 cup Rice Krispies
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Combine all of your ingredients and mix until the dough becomes smooth.

Roll the dough into small balls (about golfball sized) and place on a baking sheet.

Dip a fork into sugar and press down on each cookie.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies are browned.

Allow your cookies to cool on a wire rack, then do your best not to eat them all at once!

Yum!

Grilled Asparagus and Shallot Pizza

It's that time of year again where all I want to eat is ice cream and grilled foods :)  If only I could grill ice cream...

Anyway, this is a yummy dish that came about because I meant to make open faced grilled sandwiches, but the bread was moldy!  So I used my quick pizza crust recipe and we grilled up a pizza instead!

You will need:

• Pizza crust
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 2 shallots
• Sliced provolone
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Splash of white wine

Before making your crust, you will want to precook your veggies.  Heat the olive oil over medium heat.  While it is heating, thinly slice your shallots and trim the ends off your asparagus.  Add the shallots to the pan first, letting them brown slightly.  Then, add your asparagus, allowing it to brown a little as well.  Hit the veggies with your white wine and cook until the asparagus is bright green and tender with a little bit of crunch.

Remove the veggies from the heat and make your pizza crust.  You could also use a store bought crust, but I really love this homemade recipe!

Place the crust on tin foil and grill for about 5 minutes, until the bottom of the crust is browned.  Flip the crust over onto a new piece of foil and add your toppings.  Grill for another 5 minutes or so until the crust is cooked through.

Move the pizza to a plate, slice it up, and serve!

Enjoy!!

Saturday Snapshot: Rosebud

Mars Bar Rice Krispie Treats

During my third year of law school, I took a semester to study abroad in Ireland.  Actually, that trip was the impetus for this little blog!  While I was there, I ate my weight in chocolate.  One of my favorites was Mars Bars- the equivalent of a Milky Way here in the U.S.  Near my dorm, there was a little coffee shop that occasionally served Mars Bars Rice Krispie treats and they were heavenly!!

Well, lately I have been going through all of our things and organizing/purging as we continue our house hunt.  Among the things I stumbled upon was my journal from my Ireland trip, which reminded me of these amazing treats and got me craving them.  So, I decided to see if I could make them myself!  Turns out, it's not too hard :)

You will need:

• 6 cups Rice Krispie cereal
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 7 ounce package of Milky Way minis (for my European readers, cut up 7 ounces of Mars Bars)
• 3 cups chocolate marshmallows
• 3 cups plain mini marshmallows
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Caramel topping, to taste

Measure out your Rice Krispies and pour them into a large bowl.

In a large pot, melt the butter and the Milky Way minis over medium-low heat.

Turn the heat down to low and pour in your marshmallows (both the mini regular ones and the chocolate ones).  Stir until mostly melted.  Then, add the vanilla and stir until it is a creamy, gooey, smooth consistency.

Pour the marshmallow mixture over the Rice Krispies and stir until well mixed.  For anyone who has made Rice Krispie treats before, you'll know that "stirring" is a loose term.  It's more like sticking a sticky mass of goo to more sticky stuff until everything is pretty well stuck.

Put the whole sticky pile into a lightly greased casserole dish.  Let it rest for about 5 minutes, and then press the mixture to distribute it evenly across the pan.

Pour your caramel sauce over the top, using as much or as little as you'd like.  The more you use, the gooey your treats will be, so exercise some restraint... or not ;)

Let the treats set for about 30 minutes before cutting into them to serve.  This not only helps firm the whole mix, but it also gives the caramel time to seep into the nooks and crannies.

Easy peasy and SO tasty!