Pure Exhaustion

Two weekends ago I was able to make a short trip to Seattle for my best friend, Lydia's, wedding, which I catered! It was so much fun!! And stressful...it was the first wedding that I catered, so there was a lot to plan and prepare for. But I think we ended up being a little over prepared and everything went quite smoothly, which was nice. Posted at the end are all the recipes I used.

A wedding can be stressful enough, but added to the stress of the wedding plans was the fact that it was at the end of finals week! Wednesday night/Thursday morning I went to bed at 4:30am and had to wake up at 6:30am for a final...I did not do very well. And then I finished my last final on the 10-hour drive from Rexburg to Moses Lake, WA. We had to stop briefly at a hotel just before midnight so I could submit that last final. Then we arrived in Moses Lake shortly after and I passed out pretty quickly.

I spent the entire next day cooking and prepping the food for the reception at 6pm, along with my wonderful team of helpers - they were so great! Some of the items on the menu were requests of the groom, Tyrell, including stuffed jalapeños. He provided the recipe and even spent several hours in the kitchen helping prepare the jalapeños! The groom helping in the kitchen on his wedding day...how awesome is that?! I also made a fake cake, which I think was awful, but the bride was satisfied so all was well. We bought styrofoam layers to build it up and then just the top was real. I covered the styrofoam in cream cheese frosting and decorated it with pearls and pink roses.

The next morning we drove the three hours to the Seattle Temple for their Sealing. I was just Endowed two weeks ago, so I was very happy to be able to attend their Sealing! It was so wonderful!! Right after we met at a nearby park for a small open house. I served cupcakes for refreshments and we had a few activities including a costume/dress-up chest and tug-o-war!! We played boys against girls and the girls won the first two times and the boys the third time. After the open house, a small group met at the pier in Seattle to eat dinner at Ivar's. While everyone was waiting for a table and then ordering and waiting for food, two of my friends, Lydia's oldest sister, and I decorated their car!

It was such a fun weekend...I was able to spend that night with my dear friends Melina and Jenessa! And I got to see my cat!! Jenessa and I stayed up WAY too late talking nonsense and giggling. Then my friends (Bonnie, Cassandra, and Jessica) left to head back home at 5 am...in Bonnie's car without a/c! We had a spray bottle to keep us semi-cool. I was so exhausted from finals week and the whole weekend - I slept most of the 8-hour drive to Boise, where I stopped to stay with my friend Julean. We stopped in Pendleton for church - that's pretty much the only time I was awake, except we stayed to listen to one speaker and I don't remember what she said because I was so out of it. Then I slept for 12 hours at Julean's! And Julean drove me the rest of the way to Rexburg. We had lunch at Craigo's and then she headed back to Boise.

Now school is over for seven weeks (six weeks now...) and I am definitely enjoying some down time. It is boring at times, but for the most part I am loving the me time!


RECIPES:

Zucchini Bread -

2 eggs
½ C oil
1½ C sugar
2 C grated, peeled zucchini
1 tsp vanilla
3 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp baking powder
Chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease generously and flour 5 mini loaf pans. Beat eggs until light and foamy. Add oil, sugar, zucchini, and vanilla. Mix lightly but well. Add flour, salt, soda, cinnamon and baking powder sifted together. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread into pans. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.


Lemon Bread -

2 cups flour
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ cup unsalted butter, room temp
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 container lemon yogurt, room temp
2 lg. eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Butter and flour 4 mini loaf pans.
To prepare bread: In a medium-sized bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, stir together yogurt, vanilla, and lemon peel, until blended. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until blended. One at a time, add eggs, beating well after each addition. In three additions each, alternately beat in flour mixture and yogurt mixture, beating just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove pan to wire rack. Completely cool.


Mini Cheesecakes -

1 package Royal Cheesecake mix
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup margarine or butter, melted

Combine crumbs, sugar and margarine; press equal portions onto bottoms of 24 lightly greased or paper-lined muffin cups. In large bowl, follow directions for making Royal Cheesecake. Spoon equal amounts of mixture (about 3 tablespoons) into prepared cups. Refrigerate until set. Garnish as desired.


Stuffed Jalapeños -

24 jalapeños
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz shredded parmesan cheese
1 lb spicy Italian sausage, cooked

Cut the jalapeños in half and gut them. Mix cheeses and sausage together to make stuffing. Stuff the jalapeños and bake at 450 degrees for 15 min or until the cheese melts and browns on top.


Asparagus Wraps -

1 bunch of asparagus, boiled
8 oz cream cheese
1 pk sliced ham

After the asparagus is cooked and cooled, spread cream cheese over the ham and then wrap around asparagus.


Mini Kebabs -

Sharp Cheddar Cheese, half-inch cubes
Black olives
Sliced turkey

Stab an olive, a slice of turkey, and a cube of cheddar onto a toothpick


Turkey Wraps -

1 pk large tortillas
8 oz cream cheese
1 pk sliced turkey

Spread the cream cheese over the tortillas and then the turkey. Roll and slice.


Fruit Platters - Pineapple, Grapes, Watermelon, Strawberries, Orange wedges

***E-mail me with any questions about these recipes - Enjoy!!