Recent Updates of 2012

So as of right now Kyle and I are at one of the computer labs at Utah State for Kyle to study for a test this Thursday. Which gives me time to update our blog:) I know I need to be better at updating it. I was so good at updating it and then slowed down. But alot has happened, alot of little things that is:

Yes, I switched over officially to a Utah license plate! Bittersweet:)

I decided that our kitchen was a little bare so with the help of one of the girls I work with in the salon, she helped me sew some curtains:)

 Note to self.. Do not put liquid dish soap in your dishwasher on accident. This picture was taken after it settled down a bit too.. oops!

My Mom introduced to me to the most amazing recipe for French Bread. Thanks to the ingredient SAF Yeast, this bread rises extreemly fast allowing you to make it quick before dinner. Yum!

Thank you cards for weddings takes extreme amounts of time. You wouldn't think it but it takes hours and days. We did postcards which were way cute, eliminated envelopes, and even saved us on postage! My New Years resolution was to get them out by the beginning of the year. I think getting them out officially by the first week of February was indeed a success.

So for a Relief Society activity we learned different decorating techniques and practiced them on cupcakes! What a fun night!

For President's Day this year, Kyle and I went down to St George with Kyle's family for the weekend. So much fun! While we were there we went to the Parade of Homes around St George where we found an amazing car that left Kyle drooling over:)

Easter is around the corner... which means.... CADBURY MINI EGGS!! Thee most amazing chocolate ever. Best day at Smith's Grocery Store when I saw these. They only come out during Easter so make sure you stock up!

Just have to brag a sec about an amazing color I did on a girl a few weeks ago. Her natural haircolor was a dark brown when she attempted to bleach her hair herself. Her hair turned orange and underneath it was red chunks. The after picture doesn't do justice. It turned out beautiful in the end!

                                    Before                                After

One Friday night I decided to surprise Kyle with a little date night. While he left to go rent a movie, I picked up chinese food, Sparkling Cider, and some Temptation Cupcakes for dessert. Yum! Such a fun night!

I know alot of my posts are about food, but I love when I find great new recipes! Here is a quick and amazing recipe I found that I whipped up one Fast Sunday:

Lemon Garlic Chicken:

In a dish, coat with 1 T olive oil. Thinly slice half a lemon and lay around the bottom of the dish. In a separate bowl, combine 3 T Olive Oil, the juice of the other half of lemon, 2 cloves minced garlic, salt and pepper. Mix. Drop about a large handful of green beans in the mixture, coat, and place on top of lemons. Cube 2-3 small red potatoes, coat in mixture, and place on top of green beans around egde of dish. Coat two chicken breasts in same mixture, and place in middle of dish. Pour remaining mixture on top of chicken. Bake 450' for 50 min or until done. (I added more seasonings on top of chicken such as garlic/herb seasoning and lemon pepper. I also thought the vegis were more intense with lemon then the chicken - so next time I will probably marinate the chicken with the mixture instead. This recipe was halved, by the way, for 2 people. The original recipe is twice this much. Overall it was really good and easy!)

Kyle and I found out that Cold Stone recently combined ownership with Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory: AMAZING. So we went there in search of our favorite carmel apple: Apple Pie. It is dipped in white chocolate and rolled in brown sugar and graham cracker. Yum!

So pork chops have never been that great to me. Every single time I have them they are ALWAYS dry and not flavorful. Well fear not. Because I found thee most amazing recipe for pork chops and they are to die for! I am serious. It will forever change your thinking of dry pork chops. And this recipe is cheap, fast & easy, and delicious! And of course, it is found in my favorite cookbook Best Bites.

Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri

2-3lb pork tenderloin (2 small-med pork loins - I actually used 2 thick chops that were on sale for $3 total! Score!)
1 1/2 C chopped parsley
1 1/2 C chopped cilantro
1/2 C loosely packed oregano leaves*
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T red wine vinegar (I used normal vinegar - that's all I had)
3 T chopped garlic (6-7 cloves)
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1 t kosher salt (Or normal table salt)
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

*Fresh is best, but if you don’t have access to fresh oregano, you could use fresh cilantro and parsley and add in 1 Tbs plus 1 tea dried oregano leaves - that is what I did!

Place pork tenderloins in a ziplock bag and set aside.

Place parsley, cilantro, oregano, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Pulse several times until finely chopped. Remove mixture and place in a bowl. Add red pepper flakes and then stir in olive oil by hand.

Remove 1/2-3/4 C chimichurri (the herb mixture you just made) and place in bag with pork tenderloins. You just need enough to coat them well. Be careful to not cross-contaminate since you will be serving the remaining chimichurri over the top of the finished meat. Seal bag and set aside to marinade for about an hour or longer if you need to. Place plastic wrap over the remaining chimichurri and set aside until ready to serve.

When ready to cook, preheat grill. (Kyle and I cooked ours indoors on our George Foreman grill. Worked like a charm!)  Remove tenderloins from bag and let excess marinade drip off. Place on grill and cook for about 5-8 minutes before flipping to the other side. You want the internal temp to be about 160 degrees, so check with a thermometer and take it off the grill when it reaches 155-158 since it will continue to cook a bit as it sits. Remove from grill and let stand 5 minutes before cutting. Slice, and serve with remaining chimichurri drizzled on top. 

I promise you it is the most amazing pork you will ever have! It cuts like butter. And the ingredients are cheap!

Look how juicy...

New addition to our bedroom! Beautiful picture our wedding photographer printed for us:)

Well that is it! There are some random little things that have happened in our recent lives. As of this weekend, Kyle and I are driving down to St George and then the rest of the way to Mesa Arizona, then finally to Rocky Point Mexico for Spring Break! Sooo excited! I'll try to keep this updated more:)