Brian- On the Road Again

On Monday (a week ago) Brian and Josh drove Bogie (Aunt Diane and Uncle Gary's) dog to Breckenridge for a little road trip- and so they could ski! He actually took a few pictures. They spent one day skiing at Vail and the next day at Breckenridge and sounds like they had a great time! I am pretty sure Brian should have been a truck driver for a living, he enjoys it way too much!

Jumping Dog

Mad-Dogs got hops! Ever since Maddog was little Brian would throw her treats and she would jump for them. I had taken these over Christmas and forgotten to post them. She is as tall as Brian! Crazy dog!

Taste Test

Tasting, Tasting, 1, 2, 3....(ok that was a stupid joke) made me giggle though, it is 11:10 pm, I can't sleep- cut me some slack! Today Shelley, Cathy, and myself went to Spokane to meet up with Meara at Beacon Hill (where Kevin and her are gettin' hitched next June) to do a little food tasting of their menu. Beacon Hill hosts an event where they invite all their upcoming brides to taste the food, how awesome is that?! I think pretty awesome. It is a great venue and the food was fantastic! And I got to eat wedding cake and it wasn't even a wedding...heaven!

Here I am marrying Shelley and Meara, Shelley tried to put on her best "i'm in love face"

Funfetti Cake

(This one's for you cousin Jeff!) In college Brian used to make "Funfetti Cake" it was his favorite. So every now and then I get a little crazy and bring home a box of Betty Crocker. My favorite thing about making cake/cupcakes out of a box is that it never fails...they make the perfect dome shape cupcakes. I am not sure what is with all my food blogging lately...

Mission Ridge Snowshoeing

Sunday morning Shelley and I went to Wenatchee to go to Mission Ridge for some snowshoeing. Having rained all night at home I was a little worried about the weather conditions up there. But the snow was awesome, it was a beautiful day! We marched around for 2 hours. Then we went to Dutch Bros to treat ourselves to the "Sweet Nectar of the Gods" as Shelley calls it, Granita. Which is a delicious concoction of coffee and chocolate all blended for the perfect icy treat. What a great end to a great hike!

"Vogue"

Brian is at Josh's bachelor party this weekend so I was left to my own vices...teehee! Jonda and I went to Wenatchee to meet up with Lyndenn to finalize some wedding photo stuff and in the process- this happened....you never know what will happen with two girls with cameras. We decided to take a few "Vogue" poses, let's just say we won't quit our day jobs. Random alleys can be really fun!

Carrot Cake

I love carrot cake and fortunately for me today is Susie's birthday (she is the awesome secretary at our office) and carrot cake happens to be her favorite. I am not sure how I stumbled upon this recipe because Emeril is not typically my favorite, but found it on the Food Network a few years ago, after multiple attempts to find the perfect carrot cake recipe. This is the one. I have added coconut, pineapple, and or raisins for variations but this is my favorite basic carrot cake recipe. It's all about the carrots. The more the merrier!

Gigi's Carrot Cake

Ingredients

3 sticks, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3-4 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Pecan Cream Cheese Icing:

8 ounces cream cheese

1 stick unsalted butter

1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter 3 (9-inch) cake pans with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add the sugar, and beat. In a medium bowl or on a piece of parchment, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the eggs, beating well after the addition of each. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Add the carrots and beat on medium speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Fold in the nuts. Divide between the 3 cake pans and bake until set and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest in the cake pans for 10 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, remove from the pans, and let cool.

For the Frosting: In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly. Add the vanilla and pecans.

FROST AND EJOY!

Here I am in the kitchen....

I can't imagine grading all these carrots by hand...God Bless the Cuisinart.

How could you not LOVE cream cheese frosting.

Mac and Cheese

"I ain't talkin' bout no Kraft Mac and Cheese" {finger snap, with a little hip action} When we were kids I remember always asking my mom to make Mac and Cheese when Dad would go away on business trips, apparently it wasn't his favorite meal. She makes the best Mac and Cheese. Jolene and I loved it, I still do! Tonite I made it for dinner. I make no claims to being a food photographer...it's a difficult task, especially when Brian is in the other room asking "How long will this take?" Now I don't have a recipe...typically I don't follow them anyway. But here are the basics. Start with a good extra sharp cheddar.

Melt some butter, add some flour making a basic bechamel sauce. Not sure what a bechamel sauce is...look here- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bechamel-recipe/index.html

it is basically a white sauce with butter, milk, and flour.

then you slowly add slices of thin cheese, letting them melt a little, and then stirring them in.

Once you have a thick cheesy sauce, pour it over your noodles and let it bake for 30-40 minutes.

Make sure you let the top get a little crusty.

Breckenridge Adventures

Brian and I learned to snowboard. I took a lesson and then imparted my vast amounts on knowledge on him the next day so he could learn. He is a quick learner. Too bad he is already better then me! It was so much fun! Thankfully we are both the exact same size as our cousins Annie and Pat (aunt Diane's kids) so we were able to use their snowboarding gear!

Aunt Diane and myself

Carrie, Seth and Jennie joined us at Breck for a few days, Carrie and Jennie skied one day while Seth and I enjoyed an outing of snowshoeing.

Here we are after a long climb up.

Me in action. I love snowshoeing!

Views from Breckenridge, Co

Brian and I have been in Breckenridge Colorado at for the last few days staying at Aunt Diane and Gary's amazing mountain house. The views are stellar, the weather has been beautiful, the skiing awesome, and the company pretty darn good too! Brian spent the first day here tearing up the mountain at Vail which is about 3o minutes from their house. We have been skiing/snowboarding the last two days and loving it! (More on that later). We are packing up and headed out tomorrow for the 18 hour trek home.

The is a view of the ski hill at Breck.

The Colorado sun is amazing!

Here are a few shots from Brian when he was at Vail.

Coors Brewery Tour

Russ took us to Golden for a little tour through the Coors Brewery! It was fun! Yes we are still in Colorado....more pictures to come! We're are lovin' our little winter vacation!

Jeff and Emily's New Years Wedding

Prepare your self for a long post of photos. I could have uploaded a ton more....had to stop my self. Jeff and Emily got married New Years Eve totally fun! It was a fantastic wedding, complete with lots of dancin'!

Auntie Lori (mother of the groom) Jolene and the little munchkin

By far the most amazing cake I've seen yet, and trust me I've seen alot of wedding cakes. All the snowflakes were made of sugar.

Is that Brian on the dance floor....

Happy New Year!

This is the new move "The Belly Dance" in honor of all the prego ladies out there.

All the Boufford cousins!