HARRY POTTER... obsess much?

In honor of the most momentous occasion this upcoming Friday (HARRY POTTER) I decided to make a t-shirt for myself so that I can be more uhhh... festive? I was all about dressing up but Russ refused because we are not going to the midnight showing Thursday night (SO incredibly bummed about that!). We are going to a Friday evening showing so I still get to see it the day it comes out, but really? I haven't been to a midnight showing in YEARS and this was one of the few I would have DIED to go to. It's okay, I'm not obsessed I SWEAR. :) At least Russ is going to let me put a scar on his forehead and we'll have these awesome wands that Jeffrey made us, oh and of course I'll have my awesome Gryffindor shirt! Unfortunately however, the symbol I put on the shirt wants to torture me so it is already trying to come off! That's okay... The shirt will still be maroon and it will hopefully last through some pictures at least! :)

And, just because they are AWESOME, here are the wands Jeff made us :)

So for the shirt I ended up buying a cheap white t-shirt and some "wine" colored clothes dye. Apparently no one sells maroon shirts in the middle of summer, who knew? Then I printed out the Gryffindor symbol onto those iron on t-shirt print sheets you can buy at WalMart. Anyway, I printed it out and ironed it onto the shirt! Shabam! And Jeff used a lathe to make our wands. I would give more details but I am clueless as to how they were done!

Hamilton's

Hamilton's Steak and Seafood

location: Logan, UT
This is a fancier restaurant. It was a little more pricey - about 15-25 dollars a plate. It is known for it's steak for a good reason. Russ was practically drooling on himself as he ate his steak. It was super delicious, Russ claims it to be the best steak he's ever had. I got some cheesy dumpling stuff... Unfortunately I am now incapable of ordering food at a restaurant without talking to Russ about what we want to get, but his new boss/supervisor was treating us to dinner that night and he likes to talk... So I didn't get to talk to Russ, I barely got to think about what I wanted actually! But, the dish I got was okay. Not my favorite, I would not get THAT again. They apparently have a deal on Tuesdays for students where you can get two steaks for 25 bucks, so I think we're going to go back so I can try that! I want to love this restaurant as much as Russ did! Haha.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides  ***1/2

Trailer
Okay. I was not planning on seeing this movie. I just couldn't believe that they would make a FOURTH Pirates. I honestly feel they should have stopped after the first one. I LOVE the first Pirates. It is BRILLIANT, fresh, new... Johnny Depp is perfect and he has a GREAT supporting cast. But in the second movie they tried to make too many characters main characters and by the the third film everything was so muddled that I felt detached from the story. I have to say though, as disappointed as I was by the two movies between this one and the first... I was not disappointed with this film. Not surprisingly so, it wasn't as good as the first one, BUT it was a hundred times better than the second or third. Johnny Depp is the main character once again and he is FANTASTIC, of course :). He has a wonderful supporting cast bringing back only Barbossa from the first three movies. Thankfully they dropped all of the other characters that lost their charms after the first film. Don't get me wrong, I really did love everything about the first film, including Orlando Bloom and Kierra Knightly, but by the third I just wanted them to kill off their characters... HAH. Overall, well done movie, I would watch it again!

There is DEFINITELY a reason why I'm gaining so much weight!!!

Russ found this recipe ages ago and it. is. DELICIOUS. We really love them, but they take a some time AND they are super fattening... Can I just say that they are SO worth it?? But, if you're looking for something a little faster but just as delicious and fattening check out the second recipe on here... :)

Old Fashioned Onion Rings

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 1/4 c flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 c milk, or as needed
• 3/4 c dry bread crumbs
• seasoned salt to taste
• 1 quart oil for frying, or as needed

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
2. Separate the onion slices into rings, and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Dip the onion slices into the flour mixture until they are all coated; set aside. Whisk the egg and milk into the flour mixture using a fork. Dip the floured rings into the batter to coat, then place on a wire rack to drain until the batter stops dripping. The wire rack may be placed over a sheet of aluminum foil for easier clean up. Spread the bread crumbs out on a plate or shallow dish. Place rings one at a time into the crumbs, and scoop the crumbs up over the ring to coat. Give it a hard tap as you remove it from the crumbs. The coating should cling very well. Repeat with remaining rings.
4. Deep fry the rings a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain. Season with seasoning salt, and serve.

Onion Rings

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. corn starch
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 egg
  

Directions:

1. Mix all together and dip onion slices in to coat. 
2. Fry in oil in a fryer or a skillet. Drain on paper towels.
   

We found the simpler, yet still simply delicious recipe on Mandy's blog.

Best. Dessert. Ever.

Classic Cheesecake

source: Lisa Hawks

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 ½ cups crushed graham cracker
• 6 T. powdered sugar
• 6 T. butter, melted

Filling

• 3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 4 eggs
• Whipped cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. In bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Stir in butter. Press in bottom of greased 9-inch springform pan.
3. Beat cheese and butter till fluffy. Add milk and vanilla; mix well. Add powdered sugar; mix well. Beat in the eggs just until combined.
4. Spoon onto crust.
5. Encase bottom and sides of the pan with foil (to keep water from leaking into pan). Place pan into a large baking dish and place it in oven.
6. Pour boiling water into the large baking dish until it comes about 1-inch up the side of the pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until center is almost set.
7. Remove from oven. Remove pan from baking dish and allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Cool completely.
8. Refrigerate overnight. Garnish with whipped cream and fruit sauce.

*If the center still looks quite runny, even after 55 minutes of cooking, turn off the oven and allow the cake to sit in the oven as it cools off. It will thicken up as it sits in the cooling oven.

**Russ made a strawberry sauce by macerating the strawberries overnight and then blending them up the next day.

This recipe is actually taken from my mom's all time favorite cheesecake recipe, it's a brownie cheesecake. I will put the recipe below because it is seriously delicious. Here you go:

Brownie Cheesecake

Ingredients
Crust

• 1 ½ cups crushed vanilla wafer (about 45 cookies)
• 6 T. powdered sugar
• 6 T. baking cocoa
• 6 T. butter, melted

Filling

• 3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• ½ cup baking cocoa or powdered sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ cups crumbled brownie
• Whipped cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. In bowl, combine wafer crumbs, sugar and cocoa. Stir in butter. Press in bottom of greased 9-inch springform pan.
3. Beat cheese and butter till fluffy. Add milk and vanilla; mix well. Add cocoa; mix well. Beat in the eggs just until combined.
4. Fold in brownies. Spoon onto crust.
5. Encase bottom and sides of the pan with foil (to keep water from leaking into pan). Place pan into a large baking dish and place it in oven.
6. Pour boiling water into the large baking dish until it comes about 1-inch up the side of the pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven.
7. Remove pan from baking dish and allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Cool completely.
8. Refrigerate overnight. Garnish with whipped cream and pecans.

*If the center still looks quite runny, even after 55 minutes of cooking, turn off the oven and allow the cake to sit in the oven as it cools off. It will thicken up as it sits in the cooling oven.

 

Now THIS is a salad!

The amount of veggies is really up to you. This is a total and complete approximation! It really just depends on how much salad you want to make. It is in layer, unlike your average salad. So you need to approximate and base it on your taste! This salad is great for parties, or get together's. Russ' mom always makes this and it really is quite delicious!

Ruth's 7 Layer Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 head of romaine lettuce, shredded
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 bag frozen peas
• 8-12 pieces bacon, crumbled
• 1/2 head cauliflower
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• parmesan cheese

Dressing

• 1/2 packet Italian salad dressing mix
• 1/3 c mayo
• 2/3 c sour cream

Directions:

1. Pull out a cake pan, whatever size you want! Put a layer of shredded lettuce, green onion, peas, bacon, celery, and lastly cauliflower.  You will want to layer them in this specific order, it seems to work best this way!
2. Mix together the ingredients in the dressing (this is specific!) and spread over the top of the cauliflower. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and serve! 

Fire House

Firehouse Pizzeria

location: Logan, UT 
This restaurant was pretty tasty, but not good enough for the price. It cost about 10-15 dollars per plate. They do have a date night on Fridays for 25 dollars, which is a great deal. It is an appetizer, two main dishes, 2 side dishes, and two desserts. The dessert is called like Foshizzle or something random like that! But let me tell you, it is INCREDIBLE. Oh my goodness. They make delicious cookie dough, stick it in the oven just long enough to make it hot, soft, and gooey then they drizzle chocolate syrup and caramel over the cookie and top it off with a few scoops of vanilla ice cream. MAN. I'm not a HUGE sweets person, that would be Russ, but this? I would eat 2 on my own. The cookies are pretty big by the way. SO FREAKING GOOD.