Cheese, Jelly and Tassels

I'm new to blogging. I'm so new to blogging that sometimes I write one blog post and then wait a solid two months before blogging again (and by sometimes I mean always). That's what the new bloggers do, I hear. The new bloggers also continue their comeback blog with a detailed rendition of the happenings that have kept them from sitting down and writing (or cooking anything worth blogging), even though we all know they momentarily chose to forget forgot they started a blog in the first place and promised raving, hilarious and witty recipe reviews. Think: political promises.

Since I'm a new blogger and have vowed to fit this role with all its rights and responsibilities, I'll fill you in on some all the details of my life the past two months.

I graduated college.

My parents = Awesome.

With some pretty amazing friends. The type of friends for which you thank God. The type of friends that get together for a BBQ before graduation. The type of friends that at that BBQ pray before the meal.  The type of friends that pray in thankfulness for the last 4 years, the blessings and growth that have come through the friendships, and for the guidance in future years to fill our Christian vocation.

Don't mind Spencer sneezing into his tassel in the background.

I got the distinct feeling that my brother was pretty proud of me.

We also celebrated the engagement of my brother and my best friend! Or, my best friend and my brother. No, my brother and future sister-in-law...

We celebrated an engagement!!

Love you :)

Oh! And moving. We did a bit of that.

And decorating. We didn't do very much decorating (other than changing our wall hangings to floor hangings, ya know), but we did a little.

And drank our yearly caffeine allowance in coffee.

Joel's grandma embroidered coffee dish towels for us!

So really we haven't been up to much of anything. But we did inherit quite a bit of cheese when we moved.

There's more in the fridge.

And jelly. Lots of jelly.

My brothers and I used to scoff at my mom's hot dog toasties she would make us for dinner 5 times per week (and for lunch 4 days per week).

I hereby promise to never ever, under any circumstance, poke fun at any meal that takes less than 5 minutes to make. Especially if it uses up some of your cheese. And your jelly.

ESPECIALLY when you add a Strawberita to the hot dog toastie.

Mom's Hot Dog Toasties with Joel's roommates cheese, with homemade whole-wheat biscuits, and with everyone's leftover jelly on the leftover whole-wheat biscuits:

Start by mixing up the dough:
Ingredients:
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 t baking powder
1 T sugar
3/4 t salt
1/4 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk

Directions:
Combine both flours, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender until resembling coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk until just moistened. Knead 8-10 times.*

*I can guarantee you that you will need to add at least another cup of flour to make it look like this:

Next, prepare the hot dogs. Slice down the middle to create a cheese pocket. Fold cheese into narrow but not too narrow slices to make for a deliciously cheesy dog. Best to let the cheese overtake the dog, even.

FiestaWare knives usually get the job done better. Or so I've found in my whole 3 times of using them.

Then cover those babies with that dough. And bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes.

Oh, and bake them on aluminum foil. #nodishes #trickofthetrade

And all that jelly? Top your biscuits with the sweetness of free condiments.

So that's what we've been up to.

And counting down the days till we're married. That too. :)