Pinterest Inspired Party!

At the beginning of February I held a lunch at my place for a couple of friends I've met in the few months since we've moved here. Between all our mini trips out of town and our two trips to NJ, I hadn't had a chance to invite anyone over and I took this as an opportunity to put to work some of the great party ideas I had been pinning on Pinterest. Also, since the Superbowl and Valentine's Day are February's two major occasions I figured I'd try to incorporate them in some way. 

My party was on Saturday before the Superbowl, but none of us girls really care much at all about football so the only way I chose to incorporate the Superbowl was in the menu. Superbowl parties are known to have some great appetizers and snacks that no one can resist, not even someone as apathetic towards football as myself! My two tributes to the Superbowl were cheeseburger sliders and buffalo chicken dip with pita chips. My friend Neda (who has a great makeup blog Here) made this AH-MAZING buffalo chicken dip for us a few times that I couldn't wait to try myself. It was really so simple to make and it's one of those snacks everyone keeps eating throughout the party. 

The rest of my party menu was: Cajun Shrimp Pasta (SO GOOD, I had none left!), Kale Quinoa Salad (which turned out amazing yet again. You know a salad is good when people willingly take it home with them!!), and bruschetta

Didn't have a chance to take a better picture of these

Now to include Valentine's Day into my party I tried my best not to go crazy on pink, red and hearts but its nearly impossible for me to not go overboard with anything. I tried to find sweet yet subtle items. For example, I made German chocolate cupcakes with a coconut vanilla frosting which I dyed pink using food coloring and I baked them in a silicon heart shaped cupcake pan I got from Target a few years ago, seen in this post. I also found some adorable items in the $1 section of Target which I couldn't resist. Like a small felt hearts banner, which was used as the backdrop to our photo booth. Instead of doing the usual sodas for drinks, I had (store bought) pink lemonade and put frozen berries to keep the drinks chilled. It was hard to keep away from all the overload of Valentine's day since I love themed parties SO much, but I realize just using a few themed ideas was a good way to go about it without seeming like cupid threw up all over everything.

'Pinspired' Ideas:

Mason Jars! I've been seeing these on Pinterest for a long while now, and I did my best to not fall into the trap of liking something just because it's popular, but seriously they are SO cute looking! They really added a chic feel to the party. By serving pink lemonade in them with a striped paper straw it caught everyone's attention since as something out of the normal soda in a glass way to serve drinks.  I got mine at Walmart 12 for $9 and the paper straws were from Target's party decor section, I think 20 for $2. 

Photobooth ideas are all over Pinterest. Originally I thought to make my own props, but when Target had a whole bag full of them for just $5, how could I turn it down? ;) I kept it simple with just a banner against our white wall and since we had a bunch of kids at the party, it kept them busy for a solid 15 minutes while we were able to take a gazillion adorable pictures of which maybe 3 came out nice. I liked this idea because it gave us something different to do than the usual munching and chatter without being too involved like playing organized games. 

Fruit Cones are such a simple yet fun way to make dessert look classy! Since I had some pretty heavy items on my lunch menu for the healthy eater I thought these fruit cones were a nice dessert alternative, plus the kids even liked how pretty they made the fruit look and were happy to snack on them.

Okay so I only partly tried to keep dessert healthy. Because when I saw these S'mores Brownies on Pinterest, all self control was lost. They were definitely a gluttonous addition to my dessert menu but one I do not regret. Ok maybe a little. Just imagine sweet gooey melted marshmallows sandwiched between a decadent chocolate brownie with a layer of crunchy graham cracker thrown in! I swear I have no self control. But they're SO worth trying!

bubbly, ooey, gooey marshmallow goodness!

Also, my husband is a Valentine's baby and as you may remember from my post last year I tend to get super cheesy with my ideas to celebrate his big day. So this year was no different. I turned to my beloved Pinterest for ways to surprise him. He grew up outside of America and is a HUGE fan of international chocolate bars. I'd seen some adorable cards using candy bars but I knew they wouldn't work for him since he's not really into Snickers, Mr Goodbar etc. I started leaving him little messages all week with chocolate bars attached, next to his keys or in his laptop bag and then on his actual birthday I gave him the card with a whole bunch added on. I forgot to take pictures of the ones from earlier in the week but it was something like 'Thanks for not being a FLAKE, you're an awesome husband and a great dad. We love you' and 'Hey Handsome, the AERO of my heart points to you!'

Now that Ali is old enough to understand birthdays, I had him make a present for his Baba too. Of course the idea was Pinterest inspired and it worked out pretty nicely. I bought poster paper and paintbrushes from the dollar store and Crayola washable paint from Target for $4, which we had LOADS of fun painting with in the bathtub afterwards. My advice is to practice the hand and footprint first on regular paper so you get the hang of it, before you attempt it on the actual poster. It was a fairly cheap craft with a result that looks so stinkin' adorable; we're planning to get a nice frame for it to put up in Ali's room.

Lastly, I tried to make these adorable strawberry roses and here is where the phrase "Pinterest Fail" comes to mind. They weren't as easy as they looked and definitely very time consuming. I was only able to get 3 done before I realized my husband wouldn't wait more than 3 seconds to devour them and he couldn't care less how his strawberries look, but he does love them dipped in chocolate! Lesson learned. I thought my plate looked cute and the hubster was certainly impressed with all of my creative attempts. 

Hope you guys enjoyed reading all these crazy Pinspired ideas I put to work and they've inspired you to try out some of your own! 

Recipe: Ultimate Chocolate Cake with Fudge frosting

I cannot believe how long its been since I last wrote here. I knew life was going to get busy in the new year, I just didn't realize exactly how busy it was going to be!

I have so many posts in my drafts right now which eventually I hope to post up. Even before 2013 ended we did some projects around the home, reupholstering our dining chairs and re-staining bookshelves. Once I got back from my cousin's wedding in NJ we took a trip to Atlanta (right before they got hit with a pretty serious snow storm!). Then, I hosted my first get together with a few friends I've made here using some awesome Pinterest party ideas for inspiration! And last weekend we finally made a trip out to Disneyworld, where I made my first attempt at DIY Tshirt making! So stay tuned because I have plenty to share with you all!

In the spirit of Valentine's week I'm posting up this UH-mazing chocolate cake I made. My husband's birthday happens to fall on Valentine's Day, so usually I end up spoiling him with goodies rather than the other way around. Fortunately, we are both major chocoholics so its a win win! I love how moist this cake turns out, due to the Secret Ingredient.

Recipe Sourced here: Ultimate Chocolate Cake with Fudge frosting

Your key to a super soft cake!

Because you can never really go wrong with sprinkles, use them to add some pizzazz 

Enjoy!

Recipe: Traditional Pakistani meat stew with potatoes - "Aloo Gosht Salan"

When you think "all-American", its usually quite easy to imagine the traditional meat loving individual. And while I look of Asian descent upon appearance (specifically Pakistani), I love a good juicy beef burger just as much as my fairer skinned Americans. I also enjoy my pizzas topped with the best meat lover's variety (100% beef, halal of course) and I can never turn down a hot dog smothered in mustard and ketchup! So, for the longest time I thought myself to be the average big beef loving American. Because, even at home when my mom cooked Pakistani meals, I always preferred the red meat dishes over the chicken ones. 

Here's where my Pakistani brethren can chime in and agree that Nihari, Haleem and Biryani all taste quite better in their non chicken form (I know many of you do prefer chicken over red meat, I'm choosing to ignore you)! But it wasn't until I actually started cooking on my own that I discovered something of a surprise. 

While I prefer beef in American dishes, when it comes to Pakistani food its GOAT I like! Yes you read that right, BLEH. Goat?! I was so weirded out when I first learned that it was goat meat my mother had been feeding us for years, and even more betrayed because I love the taste of it SO much! 

Some people confuse mutton with goat meat, but mutton is actually from a lamb. I'm not a major fan of lamb as it tends to be greasier with all the added fat. Goat, on the other hand is very tender, flavorful yet light on the fat compared to its beef/mutton red meat counterparts. 

One of my faaaaaavorite Pakistani dish of all time is a classic meat and potato stew translating in Urdu as: Aloo Gosht Salan. 

It is pretty easy to cook too if you have a pressure cooker. I  admit, I was pretty afraid to use a pressure cooker for the first time after having childhood memories of this scary loud whistle that went off every few minutes on the one my mom cooked with when we were kids. Plus, scary stories of them bursting and destroying kitchens did not help. But, thankfully in my own experience of owning one for 5 years I haven't had any problems at all, new cookers have a less horrific sound and it honestly cuts your cooking time in half. As long as you read the manual that comes with it, most of the current models are fairly safe. I bought mine from Macy's and use it for all my meat cooking recipes, especially when I was working it made dinner prep MUCH easier. 

If you want to cook Pakistani food, get used to chopping onions. Nearly all dishes have onions as  a staple.

Brown the onions in a tablespoon (or two) of oil. This is what gives your stew its base flavor.

All the spices you should need: Salt, Pepper, Cumin powder, turmeric, red pepper, coriander powder and oil (I use grapeseed for all my cooking. Love it! No aftertaste and it cooks just like veg or canola oil)

Once onions are browned, add garlic/ginger paste then meat and potatoes + spices+ chopped tomatoes 2 cups water and you're ready to pressurize!

lock that lid on then find an activity to occupy you for the next 15-20 minutes. Come back to Dinner Ready!

boil some white rice (make sure to add salt and some oil) on the side and enjoy your Aloo Gosht!

Ingredients (makes about 4 servings): 

• 1 lb goat pieces, washed and drained (ask the butcher for hind leg thigh meat, or just say its for stew)
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1.5 tbsp garlic ginger paste (some people make their own from fresh garlic and ginger, I'm lazy and buy the Shan brand ready made jar, apparently fresh taste better)
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander/cilantro leaves finely chopped
• 1/3 cup of oil

Spices :

• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp red chili powder (adjust per taste)
• 1 tsp salt or as preferred
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• ** my secret ingredient: 1 tsp of Shan Korma masala (adds a great aroma and gives the stew a more 'formal' flavor if that makes any sense)

Preparation :

• Heat up oil in the pressure cooker
• Add onions and let them get to a golden brown color 
• Add meat, tomatoes, ginger/garlic paste, and all the spices, stir fry the meat until all ingredients are well combined. Make sure to stir frequently to allow a gravy to form, this in Urdu is called “bhoon-na” which basically means that all the onions, garlic,ginger and tomatoes have been fully combined. Your meat will not be fully tender at this point, it will cook when you pressurize. 
• Add 2 glasses of water and allow it to come to a boil, add the peeled potatoes then secure on the pressure cooker lid and let it cook. (depending on your cooker directions, meat usually takes 15-20 minutes) You can tell when its done as the meat comes off the bone easily.
• Add chopped coriander/cilantro leaves and mix well.
• Serve with chappati or a plate of plain basmati rice.

*Some people do the bhoona step AFTER they cook meat/onions in the pressure cooker with water. I do it first but either way it shouldn't make a difference.

**potatoes tend to cook faster than meat, so if you let them cook for just as long as the meat they may overcook and turn mushy but in my experience large baking potatoes take very long so use those!  Another trick that helps is to cut large pieces, so they'll take longer to cook. 

2013 Recap

As the final days of 2013 approach I wanted to take a moment to recap just HOW much we did this year, it was packed with laughter tears and lots of love.

January- a month filled with lots of birthdays! This year Ali was old enough to enjoy them all!

Enjoying his friend Umer's first birthday party

Ayaan's adorable Choo Choo turning 2 party!

many faces of Ali in January

February: Lots went on this month

failed attempt at toilet training, at least he looks cute

Ali's first time playing in snow

My Stud of a date

I got super cheesy with Valentine plans this year, read about it here

 it up with his buddies, we call them Rugrats!

Wajih and Ali's first trip to Philly! Saw Constitution hall and the Liberty Bell. Finished off with authentic cheesesteaks

We took a trip of a lifetime to Istanbul, Turkey read about it

March: Enjoying the drastic weather changes of living in the northeast, snow one day, sunshine and 65F another

Still March but weather finally warms up

Celebrated my parent's 35th anniversary, details here

April: Ali and I did an impromptu photo shoot with matching attire, he will grow up and think I'm SO weird for this


May: Got this amazing 21st birthday cake for my baby sister, she'll always be the chubby wubby cutie in the family


June: Family time while Wajih headed out to Tampa

 Celebrated father's day with my dad and dada

Ali's toddler class graduation

visited Sesame Place with Ali's cousins, he loved it so much he still asks to go back

Wajih came back to NJ to visit and we went to our favorite brunch spot, Rat's

July: Wrapping up summer and time with family

watched local fireworks, Ali's first time so up close

my baby sister making my birthday super special

Surprise birthday party just for me!

Forced my family in the heat of July to Central park

being silly with my kiddies

Ali making summer memories

wrapped up our life

Ali did not want to say goodbye to his first home

the very first place Wajih and I called home

one last look at my office, where I started my career as an intern in college

my amazing friends threw me a farewell party

Ali spent some time with his great grandfather, who knows how many more chances we have to capture those moments.

my final goodbye to Nani

At a memorial for Nani my entire family got together, another goodbye

Last shot of all us cousins before I headed out of town

August - I adjusted to life in a new place 

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September - Set up a new home, had adventures with Ali and made a mini trip to Miami and Key Largo 

October: Tried to find Autumn in Florida's heat, read more about it here

 November: A very busy month jam packed with activities

Ali's Nana Abu came to visit us in Tampa

Made a 16 hr road trip for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' place

All of Ali's cousins

Couldn't stay away from the food table

reunited with all his old daycare buddies, it was adorable seeing them all squeal with excitement!

 December - We spent most of the start of the month being sick with upper respiratory infections brought back from NJ's cold weather, finally when all the illness went away we got into the holiday festivities and took Ali to a Christmas light show at the mall, he loved it and we loved seeing fake snow in 70 degrees.

Now I'm headed back to the tundra again, I'll be visiting home for the next month so my blogging will be even more slacking than it has been lately. 2013 was an emotional year to say the least. I said many goodbyes, but I also made some new discoveries about friendships, family, me, about my strength and about my capacity to love. Right now, in this very moment I would not change a single aspect of my life, I love every part of it to bits. I couldn't be more thankful for what I have and the memories I've been given over the past year.

I didn't speak much of it earlier as my grandmother had passed away literally the day before our anniversary, but this year was my husband and my 5th wedding anniversary. That's a big one. We spent a good chunk of the year apart, more than we ever had before. We also embarked on a big change together. All around me I've seen many people face tough moments regarding marriage or lack thereof this year and sometimes after you've been married so long you begin to get comfortable and stop appreciating what you've got. I got married fairly young, lots of other girls at the time even dubbed my type of girls 'the ones who settled' because we gave into the typical Pakistani mentality of marrying young and to whom our parents wanted. I honestly didn't love my husband when I married him, I hardly knew him. So I can't truly say if I "settled". The only thing I knew about him was that no one else I would meet would ever love my parents and family so sincerely. No one else could be a better fit for my own self. And five years later I can now wholeheartedly say I was absolutely right. Every day he pushes me to be a better but at the same time he loves me deeply for who I am so spending my life with someone like that, if it was settling, is the best decision I ever made.