Blackberry Basil Cooler

Yay!! Today is Mocktail scope #3!!! I'm so excited to have the always gorgeous Sarah Barras on and she will be sharing some awesome beauty tips and her favorite products! Sarah just launched her YouTube channel and is sharing more beaauty tips there so make sure you check it out and follow her adventures on Instagram (@sarah.barras) and Periscope (@sarahbarras)!

Todays drink has me all giddy inside! A Blackberry Basil Cooler to get you through the summer!

Blackberries are my favorite berry (move over raspberries and strawberries!) and pairing it with basil and lime is sooo refreshing!

Blackberry Basil Cooler

 Serves 2

Ingredients:

16-18 Blackberries

6 Basil leaves plus 2 sprigs for garnish

1 Lime

1/2c simple syrup (recipe to follow)

1/2c water (or club soda for a spritzer!)

ice

Muddle blackberries and basil in a bowl until you've extracted all the juice out of the blackberries. Strain into a cocktail shaker. Add juice of half the lime, simple syrup, water and ice into shaker. Shake until very cold. Pour evenly over 2 glasses filled with ice. Add remaining blackberries, lime wedge and basil sprig for garnish. Enjoy!

Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

1c water

1c sugar

Over medium low heat dissolve sugar in water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once it starts to boil remove from heat. Cool in refridgerator for at least 30 minutes before use.

Rosemary Coconut Grapefruit Spritzer

Today is our second mocktail Periscope! Woo hoo!! 7:30pm tonight I'm excited to have Aleigh from For the Joy of Life Blog with me tonight! Aleigh is a beautiful mom and wife and she loves to post about fashion, motherhood, recipes, beauty and everything good in life! I am excited to chat with her about showing love and kindness to everyone around us no matter our differences.

This might be a sensitive topic but it is a really important one to me. There has been so much going on in our world lately that I feel like it is so imperative to speak out!

I hope you will join us and comment your thoughts on the topic! Also if there is anything you want to know about Aleigh or about the drink think of your questions so you can have them ready during the scope!

And now lets see this yummy drink we'll be making tonight!
 

Are you a grapefruit person? I used to be. I would slice open one of those juicy babies and just pour sugar all over it! What a healthy breakfast I know!

Well something happened when I got pregnant with my son and I can't really handle grapefruit anymore. Tragic, I know. 

But the second I tried this drink the grapefruit gods shined upon it and I fell in love again! 

I tried to make this a healthy drink and it didn't really work out. But I will continue to try different possibilities and update this post if I come up with something good!

Grapefruit Rosemary Spritzer
Serves 2

1 oz of fresh grapefruit juice
1/2 tsp of rosemary simple syrup (recipe to follow)
2 TBS of Torani Coconut Syrup
Club soda
Ice
Rosemary sprigs
Grapefruit segments

Combine grapefruit juice, rosemary and coconut syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Pour evenly over 2 ice filled glasses and add club soda to taste. Stir to combine soda and juice mixture. Add rosemary sprigs and grapefruit segments as garnish. Enjoy!

Rosemary Simple Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar or xylitol
4-5 rosemary sprigs

Combine sugar and water over high heat and bring to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil turn heat down to low. Add rosemary and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Take off heat and strain out rosemary. Let cool for at least 30 minutes in the fridge before adding to drink. 

 

A Disneyland Mint Julep and a new vibe for The Urban Hare!

Hey friends!!
We are so excited to share some amazing news with you!

We have decided to start a mocktail Periscope series!

Yes, you read that right! Each week we will have a different guest and we will show you how to make a yummy mocktail and chat about life! What could be better? So come hang out with us on Periscope (@theurbanhare) today at 2pm MST and hear Natashia Mclean from Canary Jane and Steffanie talk about making time for yourself as a mom and wife. Each week we'll have a coordinating blog post so you can follow along with the recipe!

 Natashia is a passionate mom, wife, illustrator, social media expert, blogger AND fitness instructor! She does it all! Despite being the busiest woman I have ever met she still takes the time for her self and I knew she would have a lot of great things to say about that! Be sure to tune into the scope (or watch the replay by checking out the scopes in our bio!) to see what she shares!

Photo credit: Roxana Baker Photography

 So let's get to the drink this week!!!

Have you ever had a mint julep from the Mint Julep Bar in New Orleans Square at Disneyland? They are SO good and SO refreshing after walking all day in the hot sun. My husband and I couldn't get enough and I think we had three of them all together. As soon as we got home my husband put me to work to figure out how to make them. Challenge accepted!

I found this really great recipe from Six Sisters Stuff but have modified it just a bit. I actually made it wrong on accident but ended up loving it anyway! So my recipe is just a little different.

One thing I love about this recipe is you are making a concentrate so you can save it in a jar for later and make it when you feel like or you can add it to a large pitcher to serve at a party! Just add mint leaves and lemon wedges to your pitcher. It adds a ton to the flavor!

I hope you make your own and let me know how it goes!

~Steffanie

Disneyland Mint Julep
1 cup sugar *
3 cups club soda
2-3 TBS fresh lime juice
3 TBS fresh lemon juice
3 TBS Creme De Menthe Syrup *
Fresh mint
Lemon slices
Marschino cherries
Ice

Heat club soda and sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add lemon and lime juice and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil remove from heat and add creme de menthe syrup.
Cool mixture in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Prep each glass with crushed mint leaves (using a muddler in the bottom of the glass), ice and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Pour 1/3 club soda to 2/3 of the mint syrup mixture into the glass. Add more or less as desired! Garnish with mint leaves, lemon slice and marschino cherries. Enjoy!

* To make this recipe on the more health conscious side** you can substitute sugar for xylitol or your sweetner of choice and substitute the creme de menthe syrup with 2-3 drops of mint concentrate.

**This version will not have the same green color as shown.

Sunday Recipe Share

We love big get togethers, especially with our church and neighborhood friends! These recipes were made for a camp out just this Friday and had a lot of requests to share so we decided they should just be here for all to have! Sorry no pictures (yet) but hopefully we can make these again and post some soon. Bon Appetite!

Grilled Garlic BBQ Chicken Salad
not your everyday barbecue chicken!

GRILLED GARLIC BBQ CHICKEN

• ½ tablespoon  olive oil
• ½ tablespoon  minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons  soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons  salt
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (5 oz ea)
• ¼ cup  good-quality sweet-&-spicy barbecue sauce

SALAD

• ½ head  iceberg lettuce (cored, rinsed and dried and cut into thin 1/8" strips)
• ½ head  romaine lettuce leaf (separated, trimmed, rinsed, dried, and cut thin strips)
• 12 large  fresh basil leaves , cut 1/8-inch strips
• 1 lb  jicama , cut 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch by 3/4-inch strips
• 2 cups  shredded monterey jack cheese
• 1 cup  canned black bean , rinsed drained
• 1 cup  canned sweet white corn kernels , drained
• 3 tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 lbs  fresh ripe tomatoes , cut into 1/2-inch dices
• ½ cup  good-quality sweet-&-spicy barbecue sauce

Directions:

1.  
To Make the Fried Tortilla Strips: In a deep, heavy frying pan, heat several inches of vegetable oil to a temperature of 375 degrees. Working in batches if necessary to prevent overcrowding, carefully add the tortilla strips to the hot oil, submerging them with a metal skimmer or slotted spoon. Fry the tortilla strips until evenly golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully lift them out with the skimmer or slotted spoon and transfer them to paper towels to drain and cool. Set aside, uncovered.
 
2.  
To Make the Grilled Garlic and BBQ Chicken: Preheat a stovetop grill or the broiler. In a mixing bowl, stir together the olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, and salt. Turn the chicken breasts in this marinade and leave to marinate at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Grill or broil the chicken breasts until cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. Cut the chicken breasts into 3/4-inch cubes and, in a bowl, toss with the barbecue sauce to coat well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
 
3.  
To Make the Salad: In a large mixing bowl, toss together the lettuces, basil, jicama, Monterey Jack cheese, beans, corn, cilantro, dressing, and half of the Fried Tortilla Strips. Transfer the salads to chilled serving plates. Surround each salad with diced tomatoes and the remaining Fried Tortilla Strips. Top each salad with chunks of Grilled Garlic BBQ Chicken and drizzle the chicken with the barbecue sauce. Garnish with the scallion.
 
 

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole 

rich and dreamy and oh so creamy! 

5-6 chicken tenderloins

2 boxes of Uncle Bens quick wild rice (prepared according to instructions on the box-*note* it is so much better if prepared with chicken broth instead of water)

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of cream of celery soup

1 cup of milk

2 cups of cheese (we like the Mexican blend) 

4 tablespoons butter 

1 1/2 cup dry stuffing mix

italian seasoning

 

Directions:

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pour your prepared rice in the bottom of a greased 9x13" pan. 
2. Heat a frying pan on medium and melt 2 tablespoons of butter than add chicken and sprinkle some Italian seasoning and salt and pepper over it. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side. (I'm about to get all Paula Dean on you: add more butter if it dries up a little, more butter if you simply feel like it! If you use something besides butter to cook your chicken with, your taste buds will be SO disappointed in you.) Shred your chicken (in your Kitchen Aid with the paddle attachment if you have one! It saves lives I tell you) and spread evenly over the rice. 
3. Mix both cans of soup with milk and mix well. Pour over chicken and rice.  
4. Top with cheese and then stuffing. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and pour evenly over the stuffing. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until your cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Enjoy!

Vintage Whites 2015

About two weeks ago this amazing vintage market called Vintage Whites came to Salt Lake and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to go check it out! I brought my camera along with me so I could share the experience with you in pictures.

There were so many amazing vendors and they all brought their A-game! 

My first (and arguably my favorite) vendor was Waffle Love. I failed to take a picture of my amazing waffle because I was ravenous with hunger and it was so good I'm pretty sure I ate it in 2.5 seconds (no judging!!).

As soon as we walked into the main area we were greeted with an awesome photo booth and a gorgeous teal truck full of amazing flowers from Flower Afternoon. They had it set up for you to make your own bouquet of flowers and they really had the best selection to choose from! 

My cute sister-in-law couldn't get enough of this truck! I'm pretty sure she would've taken it home with her if it were for sale.

This little fella was such a trooper the whole time! Who can blame him when there was so many good things to see??

One of the more popular booths (and rightly so!) was Black Sheep Flea. They had an amazing display of unique planters full of gorgeous succulents and more. I am kicking myself for not taking more photos of them!!

Another great booth was 58 bluebirds. They actually put on a fashion show (I missed it!!! *crying face*) but I heard it was amazing! Their booth was full of amazing vintage finds! My sister-in-law bought the most gorgeous teal leather wallet from them! (again missed out on that picture!)

There was such a great selection of amazing things for your home, I even came later in the game and there was still so many fantabulous pieces left!!

A big reason I showed up was to see the booth displays because I just love that sort of thing!! Let me tell you, these vendors did NOT disappoint!! I was in heaven!! My sister-in-law was so patient with my "oh, wait! look over here!"s and my "can I just go back and take a picture of that"s and my constant stopping dead right in front of her just so I could take a picture of a pompom banner.

  One of my absolute favorite booths was that of Lemon Lane Vintage. She had a wonderful mix of gorgeous vintage finds and handmade beauties I just couldn't get enough of! Her hot air balloons were to die for!! I'm told there were more and there were BIGGER ones that sold earlier in the day!
 

Well there you have it! Wasn't that wonderful?! I hope you can all make it the next time Vintage Whites rolls into town! Make sure to follow them on Instagram (@vintagewhites) so you know when that will be! I'll see you there!

Niki's Award Winning Chili

Even though it is warming up here in Utah I thought there is still time to enjoy this amazing chili recipe! Trust me though, you will want to make this over and over again throughout the year! I am not normally one to make amazing things, let alone share the recipe but this one just cannot be ignored!! My good friend Niki shared this chili with my husband and I one time and I begged her for the recipe!! She made it to go along with other food for a camp out we went on but the only thing I remember is we ate a lot of chili and chocolate covered almonds from Whole Foods. Ever since, this is most likely the number one requested recipe from my hubby!
 

A few months ago our church ward had a Chili Cook-off contest and out of maybe 30-40 different recipes to choose from, this recipe won!!! I'm not fooling around when I tell you this is probably the BEST CHILI YOU WILL EVER EAT!!
 

Okay I always hate when food bloggers give you such a long story before the actual recipe so here it is!

One important note *IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW THIS EXACTLY YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT GREAT CHILI REALLY IS!

 It is also important you use these two brand specific items if you can find them. They sell them here at our local Smith's.

 Niki’s Award Winning Chili

Sauce:
1 cup Garland Jack’s Secret Six bbq sauce
1 cup ketchup
1 cup loosely scooped brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste


Chili:
6 strips bacon (3 peppered 3 regular)
1 lb ground beef
5 chopped garlic cloves
1/2 a yellow onion
1 can S&W chili beans
1 can black beans
1 can white beans
1 can red beans

Combine all sauce ingredients and set aside

Cook bacon in a pan until fully cooked. Remove from pan and cook ground beef, garlic and onion in the remaining bacon grease until fully cooked.

In the crock pot use a quarter of the sauce and spread on the bottom then layer your meat mixture with half the bacon (chopped) then layer black beans, white beans, red beans and chili beans. Then layer remaining sauce on top and top with remaining bacon. DO NOT STIR.

For best results cook on high for five hours (NEVER STIRRING) and then on low for two hours and then a final one hour on warm. After that last hour stir thoroughly, turn heat off and enjoy!

We love to eat ours with tortilla chips and a little cheese on top but you really don't need either of those things to make it a meal! It speaks for itself!!

Bebe Deer Love

I had the opportunity to throw two of my friends a joint baby shower! It was so fun and turned out so beautifully!

I had the idea to do a Deer Love theme since it was just the week after Valentine's and well, I really love deer!!!

I tried my hand again at making some cookies thanks to Alison's Cookie Party (this woman knows what she is talking about people!!) and I was SO pleased with how these cute deer cookies turned out.

Just a quick note on these bacon wrapped water chestnuts, THEY ARE THE BEST THING YOU'LL EVER PUT IN YOUR MOUTH! Seriously. My friend Carli shared the recipe and I could really eat them everyday of my life and not care how fat I get. Maybe, one day I'll share the recipe with her permission!

Who doesn't like glittery donuts? They were so fun and with the strawberry milk it was just perfect!

Haven is having a boy and Emily is keeping hers a surprise so I wanted to do colors for both possibilities! Pink, mint and gold it was!

I made a couple of designs to go on some iron on sheets so the guests could make them for both babies. The "stay wild" design was free from Alexa Zurcher from the He&I blog. She actually gives a great tutorial on how to screen print using that design but we decided to make it a little cleaner and simpler for everyone.

I didn't get any pictures of the finished product but they turned out so cute! And much better than I was expecting from an iron on!

There were a lot of cute babies that joined us!

Dana from My Posh Designs was there every step of the way helping me put my vision together. Dana you are the best!!

Sara with Sara Vaz Photography did an AMAZING job with all the photos, no? You definitely should hire her for your next event or family portraits! She is so talented!

Well, there you have it! I wish these two beautiful girls healthy and happy babies! Mwah!