Kauai, Hawaii

Well we just got back from a week in Hawaii! We were really afraid the weather would be bad there. Normally Kauai gets about 80 inches of rain in March. Kauai got 80 inches of rain the week before we got there alone! By the time we arrived, there was water everywhere and it was pouring rain the entire day. Yuck. It seemed as though that would be the weather for the rest of the week. However, Sunday was the only day we really had any more rain. Every other day after that was beautiful and sunny! Here are some fun pictures from the trip. The pictures above are of a place called Sprouting Horn on the west side of the island--it's a really cool blow hole where you can also spot sea turtles and humpback whales splashing in the water.

First picture of the trip and first fresh papaya as well :-)

There are chickens and roosters everywhere on the island! We almost ran over a bunch, there are so many. It was cute watching the little chicks follow their mamas right under their belly.

Sprouting Horn. We saw some big whales off the coast.

Poipu, south side of the island. This is a popular beach. Unfortunately, this day didn't have the best weather, but it was the last day of poor weather.

Tunnels Beach, North Shore, where that Soul Surfer girl got her arm bitten off by that shark. Unfortunately you don't have the best visibility in winter month snorkeling here, but it was even worse because all the rain the previous week made the water murkier than usual. We did see some incredible colored fish though--some of them were literally neon colored. So cool!

Tunnels Beach, North Shore

Pretty river flowing through Hanalei.

Driving to Tunnels the first time, we drove through some gnarley water covering the road. I told you--lots of water everywhere the first few days!

Too bad my camera is lame. We passed this spot where you could see 5 waterfalls at the same time.

I can't remember which beach this was, but the water started to clear up after day 3.

Walking along North Shore

...we passed a crab already poised for a picture! Maybe it thought we wouldn't notice it...

Nah...we definitely noticed it :-)

Mr. Crab

North Shore, Hanalie

I dunno, some beach

Tunnels Beach

Tunnels Beach. So so beautiful. Look how big that mountain behind Jeremy is. Crazy. That's the beginning of the Na Pali Coast, which we did not get to hike. I have wanted to do that hike for about 10 years...of course the one time I go to Kauai the hike has to be closed. Two people were hiking the trail the week before and disappeared...the woman's body was found a few days ago in the ocean. She must have been swept away by the flash flood or something. SO sad.

Some more pictures from the trip: one of our nights in the jacuzzi.

Poipu, south shore. We got to see three beached monk seals this trip. According to a sign I read here, there are approximately 16-30 monk seals left in Hawaii. This one was peeling...

Poipu Beach, south shore

Poipu Beach, south shore

On the drive up to Waimea Canyon.

Waimea Canyon. This is like the Grand Canyon of Hawaii. It was so beautiful!!

At the top of the Na Pali Coast. Prettiest place on earth. Really.

So so beautiful. I couldn't tell where the ocean ended and sky began.

I could have stayed here all day

Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon

LDS Church was right across from where we stayed in Kapa'a, so we got to go to church!

We ate breakfast here one morning; downtown Kapa'a

Most beautiful koi pond at our condo--I've never seen so many koi fish.

Where we stayed, Pono Kai

Jeremy being silly boogie boarding

Can't remember the name of this beach, east side of the island

J had a blast boogie boarding

The beginning of our luau...

Snorkeling Tunnels

Me being silly...

More of Tunnels..it was just so pretty

Another seal just sleeping away (for hours)

More pictures to come...

~Chocolate Mint Brownies~

These are the best brownies ever!!! Oh these are my favorite brownies, and one my most favorite chocolate desserts. This is a true Hoover recipe (I have no idea where my mom got it to be honest). I have made these many, many times, but the other day I made these for my office and they were inhaled by morning. I had to hide the rest of the pan to save some for Jeremy. When my mom made these when all the kids lived at home, we would fight over the pan for the leftover scraps of chocolate and frosting. (Remember that guys?)

So you start with the brownie base, made from scratch. This recipe is way easy; it just takes some time because there are three layers.

After the brownie base has cooled, spread the homemade frosting on top, and let it cool. I was in a rush making this because I wanted to go to bed, so I threw the pan in the freezer so it would cool faster.

Once the frosting is more firm, spread the chocolate frosting on top, and refrigerate. Refrigerating the brownies once they are done will make the chocolate topping harder--which is better.

You want to be careful when spreading the chocolate topping--you don't want to mix the green layer and the chocolate layer. Wait for the chocolate layer to cool a little bit.

You'll Need:

Brownie:

1 c. margarine

2 squares semisweet Baker's chocolate

2 c. sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 c. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

3/4 c. walnuts, chopped (optional)

Green Frosting:

2 c. powdered sugar

2-4 Tbs. evaporated milk

1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

4 Tbs. butter

green food coloring

Icing:

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

4 Tbs. melted butter

Get Busy:

Melt the margarine in medium-sized bowl. Add the chocolate squares and melt in the microwave. Do NOT microwave more than 30 seconds at a time or else the chocolate will burn. Cool slightly. Add sugar, eggs and remaining ingredients. Bake in a 9x13 pan for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely.

Combine ingredients for frosting and spread over brownies.

Icing: Melt the two together until completed melted (either in microwave or on stove) and spread over the frosting layer. Put the brownies in the refrigerator to cool completely. Done!

~White Chicken Chili~

This is my favorite chili EVER!!!! I have never been a huge fan of chili to be honest. Red chili is often overwhelming for me with all the beans and ground beef and chiles, etc. It's amazing how many different tasting chili you can try (even in one night). At my church we have always ha a chili cook-off around Halloween, and to my memory, no one has ever brought a white chili. Folks, this is the best kind of chili out there. It is amazing. My awesome sister Ashley gave me this recipe; I'm not sure where she got it from. Sometimes this chili turns out with a bit of a kick to it, so of you are not in love with spicy food, tone down the spices a bit. As you make this over and over, you will find the spiciness that's right for you.

This is a really easy meal to make. Cook the chicken in garlic powder, onions and vegetable oil. Once the chicken is cooked through, add diced chiles, white beans, chicken broth, and some spices and let the soup simmer. Now here's the trick: if you like runnier soup, do not cook it for very long. If you like thicker white chili (like me!) cook almost all of the chicken broth out so there isn't much left in the skillet. (kind of how it looks in the picture)

Remove from the heat and add the sour cream and heavy cream. Yep, that's it! So good. Everyone I have ever made this for loved it.

You'll Need:

2 chicken breasts, small cubed

1 onion, diced

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

2 ca.s Great Northern white beans, rinsed and drained

1 ca. chicken broth

2 cans 4 oz. green chiles

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. cayenne

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. heavy cream

Get Busy:

In a large skillet, combine cubed chicken, onion, garlic powder and oil and cook until the chicken is cooked through. Add the white beans, broth, green chiles, salt, cumin, oregano, pepper and cayenne. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken broth is reduced. NOW: if you like runnier chili, don't cook it too much. If you like your chili thicker like me, cook most of the broth out. Once that's done, remove from heat and add the sour cream and heavy cream. Stir until it is completely mixed in. Done :-)

~Salmon with Mustard Wine Sauce~

Ohhhhhh my goodness!! This is restaurant-worthy salmon right here. Ah! If you want to impress your date/husband/wife/friends/family/whoever, this is a definite go-to recipe. It is also very easy to make--so you can't go wrong with this recipe. If you like salmon, or even think it's okay, you will still love this recipe. Honestly, it's that good.

I made this last week, and Jeremy already requested it this week. (Think he liked it?)

Normally, I don't serve a starch for dindin, and if I do it is brown rice. Tonight however, Jeremy requested white rice, so I paired the salmon with that and asparagus. I broiled the asparagus in the oven with olive oil and parmesan (click here for the simple recipe). Such a simple, moist salmon. Big pet peev of mine--dry fish. Yuck. Not this recipe--the salmon was soooo moist--perfection!

Serves 4

You'll Need:

4 pieces frozen skinless salmon fillets, thawed

flour for dredging

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

3 Tbs. butter

1/2 c. white wine

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1/2 c. fish stock*

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 c. heavy cream

Get Busy:

Lightly flour the salmon. In a large skillet, heat the oil, add the salmon and saute over medium heat until golden, turning once, about 3 minutes per side. Set the salmon aside and discard the oil from the pan.

Add the butter, wine, salt and pepper to the pan and bring to a simmer. Add the mustard, fish stock and lemon juice. Simmer over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.

Gradually add the cream, stirring constantly and simmer until slightly until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the salmon to the sauce and simmer until the fish is well coated and the sauce is reduced, maybe 3 more minutes. Transfer to a plate and pour remaining sauce on top. Enjoy!

*Don't have fish stock? I didn't either, and I couldn't find it at the grocery story I went to. So I just used chicken stock--no big deal. It was still amazing. If you make it with fish stock let me know how it turned out.

Business in Houston

Well I had my first business trip to Houston this past week! I was excited (not that Houston is uber exciting) but I had never been there before and I really enjoy seeing new cities. Thankfully the weather was wonderful--humid and warm. It was about 80 degrees every day...and I'm totally fine with that. Apparently I missed an awful cold, wet and rainy few days in San Diego so I wasn't too bummed out. While training took up most of the week, I did get to meet some fun new people across the country and the co-workers I work with in San Diego and I had some uh-mazing food there! Here are some of the pictures from the festivities:

I probably gained 10 pounds this week (just kidding, but it felt like it). I ate such good food and so much food I was happy to get back home into my normal food routine. I don't want to eat out for a year. However, I will ALWAYS be down to eat at The Cheesecake Factory! We ate there on Monday night, and later in the week walked there after eating dinner somewhere else just so I could order another Godiva cheesecake. Folks, it doesn't get better than that. Yum. On Wednesday, I ordered the Oreo cheesecake, which was good, but I'll be honest...there is simply not enough chocolate.

My hotel, JW Marriott. We were right across the street from the Galleria, the 4th largest mall in America. How nice of my company to choose such a great location :-) The pool was on the fifth floor, and I convinced my trainer to let us do some training on the deck so we could get some sun.

Some of my awesome co-workers, Taryn and Laura and I on our last night, at the Grand Lux. (Don't mind my hair--the humidity gave me Texas hair without trying!)

There is a chain of restaurants in Texas (maybe other places too, I'm not sure) called The Grand Lux. It is a sister restaurant to Cheesecake Factory, so you know the food is divine. I ordered salmon cooked 3 different ways with whipped potatoes, asparagus and green beans---oooo it was so good!

...And for dessert (of course there is always dessert) I ordered a molten lava cake, which of course was delicious, but I will say I think the recipe I have is better--I will post it the next time I make it. It is so easy.

We had subpar breakfasts every morning, but the lunches provided by the hotel were pretty good. This day was Italian food, so I liked it.

One reason why I love the Marriott hotels...

On our last day there, we walked around the mall for a few hours till we had to leave for our flight. We came across Le Madelaine, a French cafe, and I have always wanted to eat there. I wasn't really hungry though because I had just eaten lunch, but I ALWAYS have room for dessert...especially when it is rich, moist, delicious chocolate with a ganache filling...mmmmm.

All in all, I had a blast even though training isn't always fun. I was glad to get home though. And I only have one week left until we go to Hawaii!!