Garnished

Moving....

2011-12-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

I've made the move to WordPress....

Big change, let me tell you, at first I wasnt too crazy about it, but as I read and learn new tips and tricks, I'm loving it more and more each day.

Stop by and say HI at The Place They Call Home, make sure you hit the follow button on the right hand side, and don't forget about my second love Pinterest, where you can follow me as well....

Hope to see you around the new place, but don't worry until I figure out if I want to move all this content it will stay put!

Boot Shapers

2011-10-18T16:44:00.000-06:00

Autumn is by far my favorite season, if I could have it all year I would. I love the change in colors, clothes, air, and the smell of a fireplace warming a home...love them all.

One thing I cant get enough of is boots, and its always drove me crazy that my boots always slouched over...crazy I tell ya, it drove me crazy!

So as I had my sewing machine out today (thank you again Grandma) I decided to just quickly sew up some sleeves, stuff them and then place them in my boots, you know, so they stand tall!!

Its simple, I just took a rectangle of fabric, sewed up two sides, and stuffed it with grocery bags (gotta recycle) and sewed up the opening. Easy peasy, much like mac-n-cheesy!

Go make yourself some, and have happy boots this season!

Salsa Jar to Autumn Vase's

2011-10-16T16:32:00.002-06:00

I saw a bud vase on Pinterest, and it caught my eye, so I thought I would make some to put some autumn floral in and brighten up my cube at work with....Makes me smile too having some color in there!

What You'll Need:
Any type of glass jar or bottle
Glue, I used Jewel Glue (its what I had) but Elmer's would work too
Spray Paint

What You'll Do:
~ Wash and dry jar

~ Figure out the placement of your lettering (keep in mind if that stick stuff to hold the label on doesn't come all the way off - mine didn't)
~ "write" on one letter at a time, at the most two, if you do anymore, it might start to run down the glass as you wait for it to dry. I then placed them between two aspirin bottles to hold them in place.

~ Once dry, continue to write out your word
~ Once done, and fully dry (I let mine do overnight), take outside, and spray paint your color of choice, and let dry (once again, I let mine dry overnight, outside, in the cold Colorado air we had last weekend)

~ Place whatever you'd like in them...

In their home at my office

Oct 8th 2011, pretty early for snow, but I love it!

Makes sure you check out all the amazing crafty ladies over at Skip To My Lou!!

Baked Doughnuts

2011-09-26T11:00:00.000-06:00

Can I start off first and foremost by saying that it drives me crazy when people/companies spell "doughnut" "DOnut", do they know that it says do nut, and they're not made out of do, they're made out of dough!

Whats better than a doughnut that's a healthy alternative to them being fried, well I suppose it would be to not eat any at all, but that's no fun, so baked it is!

Here's what you'll need for the dough:~1/2 c plus 3 tbsp warm milk, at 95 to 105 degrees (take its temp--too hot and your yeast will die)
~1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast (about half a packet)
~1 tbsp butter, melted and still warm
~1/3 c sugar
~1 eggs
~2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
~1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
~1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt

For the cinnamon-sugar coating:
~1/4 c unsalted butter, melted
~1/3 c sugar
~1/3 c light brown sugar
~1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

And here's what you'll do:

~Place 3 tablespoons of the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Stir in the yeast and set aside for at least five minutes.

~Place the remaining 1/2 cup of warm milk in a small bowl, stir in the butter and sugar, and add it to the yeast mixture.

~On low speed, stir in the egg, flour, nutmeg, and salt - just until the flour is incorporated.

~Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough for a few minutes at medium speed. At this point, make a few adjustments - if your dough is seriously sticky, add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Too dry? Add a little bit of milk. Eventually, you want the dough to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and become soft and smooth.

~Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface, knead it a few times by hand, and shape it into a smooth ball.
~Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl (Pam it up), cover with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place (it was cold out the day I made them so I put my oven on warm, and then turned it off and places the bowl inside).

~Let the dough rise until its doubled in size, about 1 hour.
~Punch down the dough and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on a floured work surface.

~Using a 2-3 inch cookie cutter, stamp out circles.

~Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cut holes in the centers with a smaller cutter, about half the diameter of the first--remember the hole will close up on the second rising if it's too small, so make it a little bigger than what a finished doughnuts would look like (alternatively, use a doughnut cutter, if you actually own one).

~Cover the baking sheet with a clean cloth and let the doughnuts rise for another 45 minutes(back in the warm oven, but they didn't rise as much as I would have liked them too, a bit longer next time I suppose).
~Bake in a 375 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes - start checking around 8. ~While the doughnuts are baking, melt the 1/4 cup of butter in a medium bowl. Place the sugars and cinnamon in a ziploc bag, shake it up.
~Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for just a minute or two. Dip each one in the melted butter and a quick toss in the sugars.

Enjoy.....

Triple Salted Carmel Cupcakes

2011-09-24T15:30:00.001-06:00

I LOVE Carmel...I mean it's my FAVORITE....YUM YUM YUM

I got Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat and she's got some amazing Carmel cupcakes, that I've been wanting to try for awhile, but then I came across this recipe over at Sprinkles Bakes, and I knew I HAD to try these, yes I mean HAD, I was being forced by both the little angle and devil on my shoulders.

Triple Carmel Salted Cupcakes

What you'll need:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup plus
2 tbsp packed light brown sugar
2 lg eggs, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup plus
2 tbsp buttermilk

What you'll do:
~Preheat oven to 325. Gets papers in your muffin tins.
~Combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
~Cream butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy.
~Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated.
~Add vanilla.~Mix and scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
~Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each.
~Divide batter evenly among cups, filling each about halfway full.
~Bake for about 25 minutes.
~Transfer pans to wire racks to cool for at least 10 minutes; take cupcakes out of pan and let cool completely.

For Carmel filling:

What you'll need:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp salted butter cubed
1/4 cup plus
1 tbsp heavy cream, at room temp

What you'll do:
~Melt the sugar over medium high heat in a large pot.
~Whisk the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color.
~Add the butter and stir it in until melted.
~Pour in the heavy cream and whisk until you get a smooth sauce.
~Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
~Cut a small round piece out of the tops of each cooled cupcake and pour in 1 tsp of caramel.
~Replace the cake piece and set cupcakes aside.

Carmel Salted Buttercream Frosting:

What you'll need:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick salted butter
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

What you'll do:
~In a saucepan, stir together granulated sugar and water.
~Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
~Cook without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color.
~Remove from heat and slowly add in cream and vanilla, stirring until very smooth.
~Let caramel cool for about 20 minutes, until it is just barely warm and still pourable. Don't use if still warm, be patient my dear, be patient.
~In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and salt together until fluffy.
~Reduce speed to low and add powdered sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined.
~Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the caramel.
~Beat on medium high speed until light and airy, and completely mixed (about 2 minutes).
~Mixture should be ready to use without refrigeration.
~If your caramel was too hot when added, it will cause your icing to be runny. If this happens refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.

Carmel Candied Swirls

What you'll need:
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup water
2-4 tbsp of large-crystal sugar

What you'll do:
~Lay out a large piece of parchment, or Silpat on your work surface and spray with cooking oil (such as canola, if using parchment).
~Fill your sink partially full of cold water.
~Put sugar, salt and cold water in a heavy pan; stir over low heat until sugar dissolves.
~Increase heat and bring syrup to a boil.
~Lower heat slightly and swirl the pan once or twice as the syrup caramelizes so it will color evenly; do not stir.
~When the caramel is deep amber, plunge the base of the pan into ice water for about 2 seconds to stop further cooking.
~Working quickly, dip a spoon in the caramel and let it fall onto the parchment paper in a drizzle.~Move the spoon in a circular motion as the syrup falls from the spoon.
~Repeat.
~When caramel has hardened (it will still be sticky) sprinkle on the large-crystal sugar.
~Remove from paper and place atop those yummy cupcakes.

Enjoy....

Chocolate Carmel Cupcakes

2011-09-22T15:09:00.000-06:00

The last two times I have made the Triple Salted Carmel Cupcake's, I didn't get one...So today, I thought I would make Chocolate Carmel Cupcakes ~~and eat as many as I can,~~ and have one of two...

Super easy recipe from Miss Martha (carmel sauce and frosting are not Miss Martha's), here it is for ya.

For the cupcakes

What you'll need:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup warm water

What you'll do:

~Preheat oven to 350 and line cupcake pan with liners. In a mixing bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and powder and salt.

~Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and water. With electric mixer on low beat until smooth and combine, scraping down the sides as needed.

~Divid batter evenly, filling each with 2/3 full. Bake, rotating half way through, for about 15 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes, and then take out and place on rack to cool completely.

For the Carmel Sauce

What you'll need:

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp salted butter cubed

1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp heavy cream, at room temp

What you'll do:

~Melt the sugar over medium high heat in a large pot. Whisk the sugar as it melts and cook until it becomes a deep amber color. Add the butter and stir it in until melted.

~Pour in the heavy cream and whisk until you get a smooth sauce. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

~Cut a small round piece out of the tops of each cooled cupcake and pour in 1 tsp of caramel. Replace the cake piece and set cupcakes aside.

Chocolate Frosting:

What you'll need:

4 sticks butter
12 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

What you'll do:
~Cream 4 sticks butter until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes
~Melt chocolate. Set aside and allow to cool for 20 minutes. After chocolate has cooled, add it to the creamed butter and mix on low speed until just combined. Scrape sides of bowl.
~Add confectioners' sugar, milk, pure vanilla extract. On low speed of mixer, mix until fully incorporated; no confectioners' sugar should be visible.

Pipe frosting onto filled cupcakes and

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-09-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

Cookies are one of the few things Rene will eat when it comes to desserts...and let me tell you, he's eatin' quite a few of these (thats being nice too!)

I personally don't like the chocolate chip cookies, that get hard and crunch once they've cooled down. Much like I wouldn't eat and hard or crunchy cupcakes...ewww!

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 lb butter
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 large package chocolate chips, I use semi-sweet

What you'll do:

~Preheat oven to 350, and line cookie sheets with silicone mat or parchment paper

~Mix all the ingredients together in a stand mixer (it's going to be a big batch so don't try to mix by hand - stand mixer is best)

~Drop tablespoons worth onto sheet, leaving about 2" between dough balls

~Bake for 8-10 minutes, let cool on rack and enjoy!

Enjoy....

Madagascar Vanilla Bean Caramel

2011-09-18T14:20:00.000-06:00

Oh Boy, this morning I opened my daily email from Annie Eats, and saw these caramels, and I knew I HAD to make them! And I'm lovin' them, SO good!

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup heavy cream

5 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 Madagascar vanilla bean, split and seeded (you use whatever kind of beans you have)

1 1/4 tsp sea salt, plus some for sprinkling on top

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 light corn syrup

1/4 water

What you'll do

~Line bottom and sides of 8" pan with parchment paper, lightly butter the paper, or as I did, I used 9x13" pan, nicely buttered.

~In a small sauce pan combine, cream, butter, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds and pod, and salt. Heat on med-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.

~In a medium sized pan combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Have candy thermometer ready. Heat over med-high heat stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Boil, without stirring, gently swirling occasionally, until the mixture is light golden brown in color.

~Remove the vanilla bean from cream mixture and carefully stir the cream into the caramel, which will bubble up, so be careful. Continue to cook until candy thermometer reaches 248 degrees. remove from heat at once and pour into prepared pan, and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.

~Let cool for at least 30 minutes, cut into 1" squares, with a pizza cutter (works great), and wrap with either wax paper or plastic wrap.

Annie's, blog it awesome, makes me so hungry every time I brows through looking at her recipes! Go check it out!! Go, on go....but come back!!

Enjoy...

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

2011-09-15T17:00:00.000-06:00

I do love to bake, and now that I'm working, in an office, on any given day that is swarming with men, and they pretty much eat anything and everything, I thought I would make my favorite, Red Velvet Cupcakes, but then I saw whoopie pies in the latest edition of Taste of Home, and thought I would give them a try....somehow I know they wont disappointed!

Here's what you'll need:

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 c butter, softened

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c sour cream

1 tbsp red food coloring

1-1/2 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/4 c baking cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

FILLING:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/2 c butter, softened

2-1/2 c confectioners' sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

~In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir until smooth. Set aside.

~In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, sour cream, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in melted chocolate.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are set. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

~For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Beat in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread filling on the bottoms of half of the cookies, about 1 tablespoon on each. Top with remaining cookies.

Makes about 2 dozen delicious goodies!!

Chinese Almond Cookies

2011-09-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

Rene: -Throwing almonds into cart-

Me: I don't need almonds.

Rene: I know, I'd like you to make those Chinese cookies with almonds on top.

Me: What? I've never heard of Chinese cookies with almonds on top

Rene: Well find a recipe and make them.

So I did, last night, and Rene said they were the best cookies I have ever made, to quote they were "perfect, nice and golden brown on the bottom, had a slight crunch on the outside with a nice soft center, and of course an almond on top!

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup butter at room temperature

1 cup of sugar

1 egg

1 tsp almond extract

3 cup A/P flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Whole or sliced Almonds (which ever you prefer and how ever many you like on each cookie)

1 egg white

What you'll do:

~In a large bowl cream butter and sugar, add in egg and extract and mix until combined.

~In a separate bowl whisk flour, baking soda, and salt, gradually add to cream mixture, and mix until incorporated.

~Roll into 1 inch balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet (I just lightly sprayed my sheets with Pam), flatten with fork, push almond into center just slightly, and brush with egg white.

~Bake at 325 for 14-16 minutes

Enjoy!!

Washington DC

2011-09-11T15:26:00.003-06:00

A month ago I flew to DC to spend the weekend with my love who was there for a class in one of our Maryland office (we work for the same international company). So I thought as today is a day we will never forget, and is ingrained in our hearts, and souls, I would share my experience with you, only cause I love you! :-)

On Friday I flew into Baltimore and we drove down to Alexandria, and had dinner downtown at Ted's Montana Grill, and it was awesome, if you've never been, go, I give them two thumbs up (more if I had more thumbs)!!

We then ventured over to Arlington National Cemetery, which was such gorgeous grounds to be the final resting place for so many of American heros'.

President John F Kennedy's grave site and eternal flame.

Tomb of the Unknowns

Changing of the Guards

Washington Monument from Arlington National Cemetery.

We spent Saturday at the Smithsonian, we went to the National History Museum; although to be honest I wish we would have went to the American History Museum instead. So we walked down to the Washington Monument, and while on the way there so a "walk" to raise awareness for DC rape victims, it was a pretty cool time, I tell ya!

Artifacts from the rescue of the Chilean Miners

The Slut Walk DC

We walked the Mall and saw the WWII memorial, which of course was moving; makes me so thankful to have what I do, and have the people in my life that I do.

We talked to the Lincoln Memorial and got a few pics in, and then the skies opened up and it poured on us, right as we got on the tour bus....thank goodness, it was coming down hard.

The US Capitol building

We drove through Georgetown, as I wanted a cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes, as you've seen on TLC's DC Cupcakes, but those lines you see on TV are no joke...we passed!

Long line for cupcakes

The rain cut our sightseeing down so we left and ventured over to Annapolis, MD, which was beautiful, I loved it. We went to a local seafood restaurant, and I tried a crab cake (which Maryland is known for) and it was delish!!

Ahhhh I'd take one of these any day!

The Chesapeake Bay... these homes had a beautiful view!

On Sunday, we headed back to VA, and ate breakfast in a hole in the wall joint called the Barnside Diner, and it was excellent.

And I couldn't spend my last day there without seeing the Pentagon Memorial. It was a beautiful memorial to those who lost they're lives there ten years ago, today. My heart was just filled with so much sadness, hurt and anger. But at the same time, with so much gratitude, love and peace. I'm just so thankful and proud to be an American!!

The names of all the victims.

The year of birth, the lines follow to their bench.

Each has a name inscribed.

The benches face different ways, the one on the right is a victim that was in the Pentagon, and the left was a victim that was on the plane.

Notice the color difference of the building, the lighter is the fix from attack.

Creamy Cups

2011-09-10T13:45:00.000-06:00

These are totally a knockoff version of Cadbury's Cream Eggs, but mine are encased in a dark chocolate cup, much like a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup.

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 12oz bag of chocolate chips

chocolate candy mold

food coloring

What You'll do:

~Cream together the corn syrup, butter, and vanilla, until creamy in a stand mixer

~Sift confectioners sugar and salt together, stir into cream mix

~If making different colors separate some of cream a tint

~Out your bowls of cream in the fridge to set

~Melt chocolate either in the microwave or on a double boiler

~Coat your mold with chocolate and place in freezer to set for a few minutes

~Use whatever you feel comfortable with placing your cream in, such as a piping bag, Ziploc bag, or a squeeze bottle, or like me and just spoon the mixture in.

~Again if making eggs, place the white cream in, not filling too much and then add some yellow to make your yolk

~Cover with chocolate or place your two egg molds together, place in freezer to set, and after a few take them out and carefully press on mold to release the chocolate

I love these anytime of year, not just an Easter treat in this house!!

Amazon Wish List

2011-08-28T21:02:00.003-06:00

I am be late to this party, but in case I'm not I wanted to share with you. I'm sure we all know that Amazon.com has a wish list you can build, previously only adding what you find on their site.Well, now you can download an icon to your web browser and with just a few clicks you can add whatever product you want from whatever site out there. Genius isn't it?!?!

Such a great way to help your loved ones figure out what they can get you for birthdays, Christmas, mothers/fathers day, graduations, ect....Love it!

You can hit up Amazon.com and go to the Wish List on the far right, click, and then you'll see on the far right again, a search box, with their name or email address! So smart they are!!My wish list is growing.... :-)

***I was in no way shape or form paid for this post, just my opinion!***

Pretzel Bites

2011-08-18T19:00:00.000-06:00

Now, I love sweet treats, but every now & then I want a treat that's on the other end of the spectrum...salty...

Here's what you'll need:

For the dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp active yeast
1 cup very warm water

For the topping:
1/2 cup warm water
2 tbsp baking soda
3 tbsp melted butter
Options:
course salt (I used Sea Salt)
cinnamon sugar
Parmesan cheese
dried garlic flakes

What you'll do:
~Mix 2 cups of the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast until blended.
~Add water, and mix until blended, add in remaining flour until dough is smooth, soft, and no longer sticks to the sides & bottom of bowl
~Rub ball of dough with oil (lightly), place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap, let rise for 40-60 minutes
~Preheat oven to 475, lightly grease work area, turn dough onto work space, and cut into 4 sections, roll each one into a rope, let rise for 5 minutes
~Mix warm water and baking soda in small bowl for dunking, grease two baking sheets
~Cut dough into 1 to 1 1/2" sections and dunk into water/BS mix, and place on baking sheet
~Let rise for 10 minutes, then place them in the oven, bake for 5-7 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Right out of the oven

~Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with whatever you want on top of them.

All buttered up.

~Last but not least, enjoy!!

Pin Me

2011-07-29T22:35:00.002-06:00

I must admit at first I didn't "get" Pinterest, but now I love it.

You see a picture you like you "Pin" it, it stores to your page and others can view your pins, and vise versa. It's great if your memory is anything like mine, you see something you love, whatever it is on the web, and you think about it a month later, and then who knows where you saw it at that point, well if you "Pin" it, you can go right back to the web page, super simple.

See right under all my web friends, the red button, "Follow me on Pinterest" you can see what I pinned.

You can create your board to however you'd like them; I have Colors of Influence, For the Future Home, ect...

How about you just go take a look, it makes much more sense to see it all!!

Red, Wreath & Blue

2011-07-03T11:32:00.000-06:00

Had to have some sort of decoration for the house this Independence Day. So I made another wreath to add to my growing collection, all for my husband as "The Forth" in his favorite holiday!!

What you'll need:
A wreath
Wooden stars (found mine at Michael's)
Paint
Hot glue
Wood Glue

What you'll do (it's purdy obviously, but I'll amuse ya)
Paint your stars, and let'em dry
Glue them together with the wood glue, let dry
Hot glue them in whatever fashion you like to the wreath, and once again let dry.
Hang that bad mama jama on your door (or where you want)

And there ya have it folks.....I hope you have a wonderful and safe 4th of July!!!

And on another note....I placed 3 toothpicks into an avocado seed a few months back, let it sit in my window sill with a Ziplok bag over it (Greenhouse effect) and this is where were at with it now!!

I have two more seed in water, waiting for roots to form. And I'm also going to try my thumb at a Mango seed too...wish me luck!!

Enchiladas de pollo con salsa verde

2011-06-19T06:37:00.001-06:00

Or chicken enchiladas with green sauce....

Man, I love chicken enchiladas, with my mother in laws green sauce, AWESOME!!!

What you'll need:
7-8 Tomatillos
1/4 white onion
6-8 garlic cloves
Water
1 1/2 tbsp Chicken Bullion
1-4 Serrano chilies
1-4 Anaheim chilies
(with the chilies buy based on the heat level you want, I used about 4-5 of each this time, and it was HOT)
**** Please, and I'm asking nicely, don't use jalapenos, their flavor is too distinct ****

Chicken, I use the rotisserie chickens already cooked at Costco, or the grocery store.
Corn tortillas
Monterrey Jack cheese
oil for frying

What you'll do:
~Place oven on broil
~Keep tomatillos in husk, and place them in foil (I use two layers) along with garlic cloves, broil until tomatillos start to brown.
~Add onion to blender with 1/4 cup water, and blend
~Take tomatillos out of husk and place in blender along with garlic & all the juices that collected in the foil. Blend.
~Cut steams off of chilies and scrape out seeds (or leave for more heat) toast them in pan on stove top for few minutes, place in blender and blend again.
~Add chicken bullion and 1/4 water, blend. Check for thickness of sauce, if it fairly thick, and a bit of water at a time, blending between each addition.
~Once you get to the desired consistency, place a 1/2 cup of sauce in pan, place on low heat.

~With a smaller (omelet sized) pan pour a small about of oil, and heat, you wont even need enough to completely submerge the tortilla.
*** Have an assembly line set up and ready to go ***
Tortillas
Pan with oil
Pan with sauce
plate
shredded chicken
cheese
~Fry tortilla, you don't want it crispy, like a tostada, but you don't want it soft, because it will rip.

~Transfer to pan with sauce, submerge.

~Place on plate, add chicken (just a little bit) add cheese (if you like it...I pass on this) roll up...

~Repeat steps....

~When you have all the enchiladas you want pour more sauce on top, add more cheese, and I place in the oven with the boiler on just to melt the cheese.

Serve with sour cream, and enjoy. And if you have picky kiddos, fill 'em with cheese, and they'll love them!!

My mother-in-law has placed hard boiled egg on top occasionally, and I will admit, I was a bit weirded out by that, but I didn't want to be rude so I ate it with the enchiladas, and now I LOVE it....weird I know, but so good!!!

Go check out all the amazing recipes at Remodelaholic too.....

Orange Chicken

2011-06-16T18:35:00.001-06:00

Rene typically wouldn't go for a dish like this, but since he picked it out, I was all about it, I love me some orange chicken, and it was super easy too!!

My one piece of advice to you, would be, make sure you have all the ingredients!

What you'll need:
3-4 Chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 -1 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs beaten
1/4 tsp each, salt & pepper

Orange Sauce:
1 ½ cups water
2 tbsp orange juice
¼ cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 ½ tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp orange zest (grated)
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp ginger root (grated)
½ tsp garlic (minced)
2 tbsp green onion (chopped)
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
3 tbsp cornstarch*
2 tbsp water

What you'll do:
~Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dip chicken in egg mixture and shake in flour mixture to coat. Deep fry chicken in batches at 375 degrees in a deep fryer (or use a wok) until completely cooked.
~In a large saucepan combine 1 ½ cups water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. ~Blend well over medium heat for a few minutes.
~Stir in brown sugar, orange zest, ginger garlic, and onion. Bring to a boil.
~Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water and mix thoroughly.
~Slowly stir cornstarch mixture into sauce until it thickens.
~Pour sauce over breaded chicken, and if desired add red pepper flakes and garnish with green onions.

*This is where I went wrong, I didn't have enough cornstarch, so our sauce was thin....tasty, but thin.
See.......

Umbrella's in my Drink & on my Door

2011-05-19T06:09:00.001-06:00

This little umbrella's are meant to be a decorative item in your beverage, which probably reminds one, of sitting on the beach drinking a Mai Tai (maybe that's just me), but as the rain poured down today, I used them to make a wreath (since I still had my winter wreath (seen here) hanging on my door. Yeah, it's safe to say it was time for it to come down.

I got the jewel tone umbrellas at Party City, and the wreath and ribbon from the Hob Lob....

Open up all your umbrella's and start stabbing them into the wreath; if you get a foam wreath you might need to use hot glue. I wanted to go all the way around the wreath with them umbrellas but they're much bigger than the typical ones you see, so it was starting to look like too much is going on, so I finished the top portion off with some ribbon wrapped around. So if you get the smaller paper umbrellas I'm sure it will look great fully covered.

I hung that bad boy up, and called it a day!!

Fried Rice

2011-05-17T12:47:00.003-06:00

Rene found this recipe on AllRecipes.com, we did a bit of tweaking to it, and I gotta give him kudos, because it was so good... Diffinatly one for the books.

Like how you see a grilled chicken breast with homemade marinara sauce....Weird combo the other night for dinner.....I know.....

What you'll need:
4 cups cooked white rice
4 tbsp oil
4 eggs
1 cup ham, cubed
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce

What you'll do:
~Heat oil in wok, and scramble the eggs, set aside once cooked.
~Place ham, oil, seasonings in wok, and fry for a few minutes.
~Add soy sauce and egg mix up and serve immediately.
~Eat it up....it's yummy!

Corn Dogs

2011-05-15T13:23:00.001-06:00

Last year I made cord dogs, and while they were good, this new recipe I found it AWESOME!

For those of you who have had or even heard of Hot Dog on a Stick (a west coast thing, with some locations as far east as Texas) you'll love these....

What you'll need:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup corn meal
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 nonfat milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

8-10 hot dogs, brats, sausage links...anything will be tasty!
8-10 cups frying oil
8-10 sticks

What you'll do:
~Heat oil to 375
~Combine flour, corn meal, sugar, salt and baking soda
~Add the milk and yolks to the dry mix and beat until smooth
~I place the batter into a tall glass for easy dipping
~Dry off hot dogs with paper towel
~Place stick into dog
~When oil is hot dip dog into mix and place immediately into hot oil
~I continuously turn my dogs so I get a nice golden brown all the way around
~Continue to fry each, while the others drain off on paper towel
~Serve while hot, and enjoy

They also re-heat in the microwave nicely too!!!

Cinnamon Sugar Popovers

2011-05-01T12:24:00.000-06:00

I had never made popovers before, but their bread so I was sure I would like them, but I never got around to making them until I saw the recipe for them over at Vanilla Basil, I saw how easy these would be and thought I would give them a try for dessert that same night. I mean they're mixed in a blender, only require a few ingredients, really what more could you ask for in a simple sweet treat?!?!

Here's what you'll need:
1 cup milk
2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract, (or use another extract of your choice or mix'em up)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 cup a/p four

2 tsbp melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

Here's what you'll do:
~ Preheat oven to 400
~ Place first 7 ingredients into the blend and blend.

~ Spray muffin/cupcake pan with non-stick spray and fill each cup about 2/3 full

~ Bake in oven 35 minutes
~ Let cool for a few in the pan then take them out and let cool until they wont burn your pretty little hands
~ Brush with melted butter...all over baby....get your butter on.

~ Place in bowl with cinnamon and sugar and shake away...
~ Serve warm and enjoy!!

My new do....

2011-04-09T13:53:00.000-06:00

On our trip to Vegas, I got to see my favorite hair stylist, who, by chance also happens to be my mom (what a coincidence). Its great to be in Vegas to see friends and family, it's great to get my hair done, finally!!

Before.....

My gorgeous cousin Ashley got her hair done too....

After....she got blond highlights and blue feather extensions put in.

After...I got a blue feather extension too!!

Ashley and I

My momma.....

All done....

Thanks mom for doing my hair, it was well worth the wait!!!

Weekend at Home....

2011-04-05T15:38:00.003-06:00

The BFF (aka husband aka Rene) traveled to my home state of South Dakota a few weekends back to celebrate my cousins wedding, and to see my nephew play basketball in his last tournament of the year.

My nephew, Kobe, is the one falling....

My handsome nephew!!

My dad and cousin, that was just recently married!! Love these two!!

Cake Time....

Kobe with his grandpa (my dad) with my sister in law, Amber and Rene chit chatting...

Kobe's team was playing for third place, and with only seconds left in the game, he shot a three pointer to win the game!! Now they are only 6th graders, and I don't think they do an "MVP", but if they did I have no doubt it would be him. At least in mine, and the rest of the families eyes!! He's a rockstar on the court!!!

We also got to stay and spend some time with my cousin Marggie and her new husband Jared, as they got married in Mexico in February, they had a reception at their home, with all their friends and family. A great time was had by all, and I am so happy for her that she has found such a wonderful man to spend her life with. He is such a great addition to our family and everyone loves him!!

Beer Battered Chicken

2011-04-03T15:38:00.000-06:00

I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com, and tweeked it a bit, it called for fish I used chicken, and that was the change....ok and maybe one or two others! :-)

Here's what you'll need:

4 chicken breast cut in half, length wise
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer*
oil for frying

What you'll do:

~Heat oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F. Cut Chicken, pat dry.
~Combine flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt, & pepper. Mix egg into dry ingredients. Gradually mix in beer until a thin batter is formed.
~Dip chicken into the batter, then drop one at a time into hot oil. Fry, turning once, until both sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towels, and serve warm.

*I used Blue Moon, and thought the citrus taste of the beer gave a good taste to the batter!!

Chimichanga's...YUM

2011-03-15T11:26:00.000-06:00

There are some days where I have absolutely NO motivation to cook dinner, and sometimes I feel I don't even have the energy to eat; not very often, but sometimes.

Last night was a no motivation night, and as Rene and I sat watching the time pass by trying to figure out what we should eat, he comes up with the great idea of making chimichanga's....he's so smart!

What you'll need:
Meat
~Carne Asada (or a thin skirt steak)
~Marinated chicken found at the supermercado (Mexican supermarket)
~Shredded pork
Sides
~Lettuce
~Tomatoes or Pico de Gallo
~Sour Cream
~Salsa
~Beans
~Rice
~Cheese

~Large tortillas
~Oil for frying

What you'll do:
~With your meat cooked, heat up your tortilla on the stove top (please no microwave, or grill for that matter), add whatever meat and condiments* you want in your chimmy, and fold it up, tight, at this point, if your making a few of them, place the opening down on a plate, with all the ingredients being hot and the tortilla warm, it will help "set" the tortilla so it doesn't come open.
~Add about and inch or two of oil in a pan and heat, once hot enough place your burrito in the oil and let fry on each side for a minute or two, your only going got the crispy tortilla and it to melt the cheese.
~Top with salsa and cheese if you please.

*I wouldn't suggest putting the sour cream in the chimmy, as it will warm and be kinda gross, use a fork to spread on each bite...much better that way!

Hash Brown Bake...

2011-03-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

A morning full of snowmobiling can make a person hungry. So we started one morning out with a Hash Brown Bake over at our friends house, now whether it's actually called that, I don't know, but it is in my world...so lets run with it.

You'll need:
1 large potato, peeled and shredded
6 eggs
5 strips of bacon
1 cup of chorizo (which is a spicy Mexican sausage, or use any sausage you like)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste

*Because I live with the worlds pickiest eater, I don't add veggies, but tomatoes, red or green peppers and onions would be a great addition to this...or ham, but I don't have any on hand!

What you'll do:
~Mix all ingredients together, reserving about 1/4 cup of cheese, place in an oven safe baking dish sprayed with non-stick, such as PAM and bake at 450 for about 20-30 minutes....to be honest I've never timed it, I just watch it, but this sounds about right.
~Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and place back in the oven to melt.
~Serve with avocado on top and enjoy.

Update...

2011-03-11T20:45:00.001-07:00

I've been lost to the blog world for a while now, seems to much has been going on. So much in which has been good, some just plain 'ol bad and scary.

Right before Christmas I was offered a job, within the same company as my husband, he's out in the field working his bum off, and I'm in the office, it's great to work for the same company, having the same hours and days off is awesome. I was worried I would find a job that I had to end up working nights and have random days off, that would suck. As much as I love having time to myself, I love spending time with my husband/best friend even more!

So needless to say I've been a busy bee at work, and my blog has taken a back seat.

About mid February, we decided we would be traveling back to South Dakota for my cousins wedding reception; she was married Feb 5th in Mexico; so we thought it would be a good idea to finally get the small exhaust leak on my truck fixed. With all the parts ordered, we took on the challenge this last weekend. What we thought would be a one, maybe two day even turned into a 6 day project. Replacing the headers was no easy task, but upon taking out the old we discovered the cause, a broken bolt in the head, therefore air was escaping out....what a pain. But headers, spark plugs & wires, oil dip stick tube are replaced....thank goodness because it was a chore, let me tell you!

We've also had a scare with some medical testing for my love, I sat in the doctors office, literally in his office (I have never actually been in a doctors office, either) biting my tongue not to break down and cry, but once we got in the car, I cried. But after quite a bit of more extensive testing, we discovered that he's "ok" still have some things to take care of, but nothing nearly as scary as we though....

I've also been trying to learn to let go, sometimes it hard though when you don't know why you have to let go, but you know you can not go on wondering why some people do the things they do.

While snowmobiling two weekends ago I broke my camera lens....dang that totally sucked, but I was thankful it was the lens that came with my Nikon, so it was on my 18-55mm, therefore being without a camera for food photos or any crafts (who the hell am I kidding, I haven't had much time to cook something new, bake, or even do any crafts, so no lens really didn't effect me).

This month also brings my birthday, my last year in my 20's (oy vey) and it also marks the first full year we've been in Denver, and to be honest we've loved every minute of it. Colorado has so much more to offer than Las Vegas, and we're having fun discovering those things.

So I apologize for my lack of blogging, I'm hoping now that my truck is all finished, I will be able to sweet talk Rene into getting my craft desk done, you know the one I started working on in our Vegas house at the end of '09...yeah it's about time! And I'll be able to get back into the swing of things!

Reasons....

2011-02-26T21:52:00.001-07:00

Why I love Colorado.....

I get to see the slopes....

View's of winter's beauty

We experience new things....

Fun is in our backyard!!

Asking for snow gear for my birthday seems smart and reasonable.

Your drive home can look like this....

or this....

You see some pretty funky homes off the I-70.

And best of all, I get to enjoy all this with my best friend, my husband!

We spent today in the mountains....Snowmobiling, and having a great time! I got new snow gear for my birthday, a few weeks early, but that's OK, when it was very necessary!

We've really fallen in love with Colorado, and all it has to offer, the winter activities have been awesome, and I'm ready to explore the summer activities once mother nature lets the lady named summer arrive. We've had fun rooting on our Nuggets and Rockies, and can't wait to get to an Avalanche and Bronco's game too. This state has so much to offer, and were ready to explore it all!

This new chapter in our lives has been quite the change for us, but nonetheless a great one.

Random Things You Ought To Know...

2011-02-20T19:54:00.001-07:00

1. Once I take my socks off I can't put them back on, if we go somewhere I put a new pair on, even if it was just a few minutes ago...

2. It drives me nuts when people don't use their blinkers, I'm pretty sure all car manufactures put them in their cars.

3. My mom called me "Beaner" when I was growing up, who would have thought I would marry a Mexican?! HA!

4. I wear a size 7, and always look at the sale section for shoes, and can don't usually find anything because it seems the rest of the women on this earth wear a 7 too.

5. I come from about 98% German ancestry.

6. I've never broken a bone, had a few fractures and that's about it (all fingers too)

7. My first name and both (yes I have two) middle names are all middle names of women in my family.

8. My dad called me "Magic" growing up...therefore I sported an Orlando Magic jacket for awhile. I'm all about the Nuggets now!

9. I sometimes find ironing, cleaning, ect. to be relaxing.

10. I love Mexican food...torta's, sopes, enchiladas, & gordita's are some of my favorites. From my mother-in-law of course, real and authentic!

11. I love TC's (my choco Lab) paw pads, their always so soft.

12. I enjoy driving Rene's car fast...usually when he's not with me! :-)

13. I've designed our dream home, and can't wait to build it someday!

14. I'm really glad we left Las Vegas for Denver! Vegas is somewhere I'll never live again, and if it were not for Rene's parents, and my mom & step-dad, I'd never go back.

15. I love Chef Rocco DiSpirto.

16. I enjoy baking and giving all of it to others.

17. I like to build things.

18. I know I will have them someday, but I dream about the things I will do with my kids.

19. 19 was my lucky number in HS...we would ~~steal~~ borrow the table numbers from Carl's Jr. and put them in our front windshield, driver side of our cars.

20. Cookies and cream ice cream cones are the best.

21. I L.O.V.E. to eat bread.

22. We were going to marry on 11-23-06, but it fell on Thanksgiving, that particular day was so important we pushed it back another year.

23. We married on our 7th anniversary, started dating on 11-23-00 married 11-23-07...totally planned.

24. We have 6 Van Gogh prints in our home, he is by far my favorite artist.

25. I love southern accents.

Wedding Words

2011-01-28T18:39:00.001-07:00

In the midst of all this "subway" art, I finally got another project done, that has probably been ~~taken off~~ put on the back burner for quite awhile now. Involving words that remind me of the most special day of my life thus far, 11-23-07 my wedding day.

I took some of the lyrics from the song I walked down the aisle too, which was Lifehouse's "You and Me", and the other I have is from our first dance, LeAnn Rimes "Some People".

These are the lyrics for "You and Me":

"What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you."

And these are what I have for "Some People"
"Two lonely souls that just stumbled into fate
Look how much we've been given babe
In spite of all of our mistakes
And I will never forget I've been blessed with the gift of lovin' you
And when the going aint easy babe
A little faith will pull us through
Thank God we have each other we can hang onto

To have someone you can laugh with
Someone you can cry with
Tell all your secrets to
To have someone who won't judge you
Someone who just loves you
No matter what, they stand beside you"

Just writing this post takes me back to this day. And to be honest Rene had no idea about the Lifehouse song, and that's the same for the song we would dance to as Mr & Mrs....as we danced, he asked how much longer the song was...how romantic!

And although I really don't think many noticed me not walking down the aisle to the traditional "here comes the bride" sha-bang, a good close friend, Bill did, and came up to me at some point and told me how cool it was that I did something different and that the song was a good choice! Score.....my hard work and planning didn't go un-noticed!

Here's the run down on what you'll do:
Type up whatever lyrics/words... whatever you want in "portrait" or "landscape" in your Pages/Word document

If you want formal pretty swirls click here and download to your computer and save to your font folder, and look around while you're there and get some pretty fonts for you to use.

Print out your work, and place into a sheet pan, DO NOT overlap if putting more than one in each pan, and pour on some dark pop or brewed tea, let sit for 24 hours or so......

Drain pop/tea from pan, and let them sit in the sun to dry. Check on the frequently as being in the sun they may curl up a bit much for framing and looking nice. A bit of curl and wrinkle is OK, but not to much....oh hell it's your art work do as you please!

Frame....

Easy peasy like mac and cheesey....

State Subway Art

2011-01-25T04:46:00.010-07:00

I've been seeing what they've been calling all over these things;

Seeing, being "Subway Art"
They, being "bloggers"
Things, being "blogs"

OK, where was I, oh yes, they're just popping up everywhere it seems, and I've been wanting to make on, but just haven't, for reasons I can't say, because I don't know. Until the other day when a fellow cohort at work told me about his wife's blog called Writing This Life, so go check out Anna's blog and get your read on.....go on go, but finish reading first!

(This is Anna's version, which I adore. If you haven't been to Minnesota, you must go, and fly, and make sure you have a window seat to see why it's the "Land of 10,000 Lakes".....MN is gorgeous!)

She had just posted about a piece of art she made and it was in the shape of her home state, Minnesota, my home state neighbor. And I was smitten, and she made it herself on Picnik.com....say what?! I haven't heard of this site, I must check it out, and then I thought, YAY I can make some "Subway Art" of my own, in my states. So I got busy....making art, get your mind out of the gutter!

Here's what I did:

First you need an out line of your state from 50States.com, then head on over to Picnik.com and get working. :-)

The Nevada and South Dakota one's do have some blur's in them, since I don't think it's particularly of interest to you of the address in which my dad lives (my childhood home) and the home I owned in Vegas. And I also made one of California since that's where my BFF/Partner in Crime/Husband AKA Rene is from. And of course Colorado, our new home.

Picnik.com saves your work right to your computer, which is nice, but, it's saved in a low resolution, which I discovered when I sent them to Shutterfly.com to print and they suggested the largest I go with them was a wallet size, no thank you. And since I'm a Mac, I just opened my art work with Preview went to "Tools""Adjust Size"in the "Width" space put in 3872 (the Height will automatically correct when you enter in a new width) and the "Resolution" to 240, click Enter and then save you file, I added "good" to the end of my file name since it will add another picture to my desktop (where I saved them) so I know which one I need to be using now. I then uploaded the good one to Shutterfly.com and it said it was good to print up to a 20x30....which is OK in my book! I printed 8x10's and I'm planning on getting 11x14 backless picture frames for them. I'll make sure to post a few pictures when they're all finished and hung on the wall!

The great thing about these, is that you can make them completely custom, which mine are, so if you too are from the wonderful state of South Dakota, can't use mine, sorry, unless you of course were born on Mar 16 '82 and are from Huron and your a daddy's girl and have a nephew named Kobe. The California addition is completely about Rene, and the Nevada is about our life together, wedding date, dogs name, and things that have meaning to us. And Colorado is the start of a new life for us.

So go make your own, and have fun and be creative. These would also make great gifts too.

Caribbean Spiced Whole Roasted Chicken

2011-01-22T20:45:00.001-07:00

This recipe should just simply be called ....... That's silence because that's what was happening during dinner! It was great, Rene said it tasted like shit as he dusted off the last piece of chicken on his plate (jokingly of course, as he loved it) So let's just get down to business and get you cookin'.

What you'll need:
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice
2 fluid oz rum
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 (3 pound) whole chicken
1 tbsp vegetable oil
10-15 whole garlic cloves
1 tbsp minced garlic
3-5 tbsp butter

What you'll do:

~Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C)
~In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, rum, and brown sugar; set aside. Mix together all the ingredients. Brush the chicken with oil, then coat with the spice/liquid mixture.
~Place in a roasting pan, and bake about 90 minutes, until the juices run clear or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F. Baste the chicken with the butter and minced garlic about 15-20 minutes before chicken is done cooking. Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving.
~Carve up and serve, but most importantly enjoy!

Gotta say thanks to All Recipes dot com for this one, although I did change a bit, but I'm sure know one minds. :-)

Snow Dogs

2011-01-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today we've gotten the second snow fall of this winter season, and I love it, the dogs love it, and Rene is in hopes that it will snow so much that we have a snow day from work tomorrow. He might be dreaming a bit on the wild side, but we have heard that is has happened in years past, so we'll see what we wake up to tomorrow morning.

Here's what it looks like now....

OK....so that's not exactly the view I have from outside my front windows, but nonetheless, it is covered in snow outside, and someday a view much like this well be a reality!

And since the backyard is so beautifully covered in white and the dogs just love playing out there I thought I would put on Rene's snow pants (I should really get some of my own any day now) and take the camera and get some shots of them.

Hope you're having a wonderful time with the white stuff as we are here in beautiful Colorado!

2011

2010-12-31T14:22:00.000-07:00

Rene and I had quite the year this year, from moving from Vegas to Denver in March by far being the biggest event that we've incurred to date together! But it was defiantly a move I'd do over and over again, I love Denver and all it has to offer, living in Las Vegas is just a distance memory in our past, one we'll surly never forget, but one in which we'll never look back upon and go back to.

As 2011 nears, I have so much to look forward too, after 9 1/2 months of being a housewife, I'm starting on a new journey in the work force, and I can't wait to see what it will bring, and the amazing opportunities that will come my way.

We also have quite a bit planned for 2011 and we can't wait to see how it all unfolds, and what becomes of everything.

I can't wait to share with you on this blog what's going on and what I'm up to....

As 2010 comes to an end in a few hours, I wanted to take a moment to wish you and yours a wonderful new year, may your 2011 be filled with nothing but love, health, and happiness.

Let 2011 begin....

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." -Edith Lovejoy Pierce

St. Nicks

2010-12-30T12:20:00.001-07:00

On a recent sleigh ride to St. Nicks I decided to snap a few pictures to share with you, this amazing place, it's anything and everything Christmas, and for those of you who don't live in the Mile City, my sincerest regards to you!

But they do have a web site (click here), and you can buy things, not everything, to help console your broken heart of not being able to go to the actual store, BUT if you are in the Denver area from March to mid January, your in luck, they'll be open!

Just a forewarning, this is a long post, all pictures though....

Christmas Trees, ornaments, lights, and garlands.

More trees, and stocking holders

Ornament's, stockings, table runners, and Mrs. Clause (aka me)

Some of the dozens of themed trees

Many different colors to choose, and I love the sign.

Nut Crackers, and dessert themed tree (bottom right)

Advent Calendars, and Nativity scenes.

Christmas dishes and Santa baking

These candles were awesome, made locally in Colorado

I love the sign here too. You know you have a few in your family.

Different Santa's holding food, candle wraps, ribbon galore, and door hangers.

So thats my tour for you of St. Nicks, it's so much better in person though. I hope you had a wonderful holiday (whichever you celebrate) and have a wonderful 2011....

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T08:00:00.001-07:00

Today is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus, since we don't really know when he was born! I do know that back in the 1400's the pope decided we would celebrate on Dec 25th because the Paganist were celebrating the winter solstice, so he just put the two days together, for everyone to celebrate together, and be merry!

St. Nikolaus and his reindeer

My tree may not have been brought home atop a nice new shinny car, to stand in a huge house, adorned with all the name brand clothing and accessories, latest and greatest toys, and high tech gadgets, today is definitely NOT about many material things that so many seem to get consumed in, today my Christmas is about love, and the greatest gift good 'ol St. Nikolaus (in German of course) could have given to me my wonderful husband, Rene, and my family, Linda, Dennis, Pat, Robbie, Amber, Kobe, Bob, Phyllis, Kathy, Tiffani, Konner, Eddie, Rosa, Erica, Hector, Hector Jr., Zarek, and Brian....

German market place at Christmas

Nothing better than the love of family, these people love me unconditionally, and for who I am, certainly not what I'm "trying" to be, and for that I am grateful!

I hope this day finds you healthy, happy, and full of cheer (and sugar cookies don't hurt either)

Merry Christmas, from my home to yours!!

Coffee Filter Wreath (my momma made it)

2010-12-13T14:32:00.002-07:00

I remember when I was a little tike, decorating for Christmas was a big deal, and I loved every minute of it, black Friday was the day the house got all decked out. And every year we seemed to make a new craft to have in the house, everything (and I mean everything) was either purple, green or gold, no deviations from that allowed! And oddly enough, that's what I've grown to love. Not sure you'll ever catch my tree with the ornaments that have "meaning" (i.e. babies 1st Christmas. favorite sports tea, ect.).

Since I moved out, my mom doesn't decorate like we used too. The color scheme has changed, the ornaments are whatever she's made, and even the tree has changed she has a small skinny, cute little tree.

This year she had seen the coffee filter wreath on a blog (not my obviously...thanks mom, hehe) and she wanted one too....away she went to get her supplies and got to work.

Please don't mind the date, my mom's not that tech savvy to change it on her camera.

She used a hay-like (I'm not exactly sure what they're called) wreath, coffee filters (about 250), hot glue gun, and a wire hanger (to hang it with)

She just went to work hot gluing the filters on, until it was nice, full & fluffy. She had the idea to glitter just the edges of the filter, but discovered it was best just an idea, making it work was a chore, although she said just spraying it with glitter would be just as great! She also hot glued the bow on. I'm thinking she made the bow by hand. Maybe she should get an EZ Bow Maker, like I did....

Fold your filters

Fold ends up

Again.....

Get your glue on....

Place on wreath and hold for a bit so it can dry.

The end product....TA-DA!!!

And here's a photo of my new bow maker that I L.O.V.E.

After a little fluffing and adding some wire, this bow has found a home on the top of my tree....Pictures soon....I promise!

iPhone App...

2010-12-08T11:08:00.001-07:00

I suppose you don't have to have a iPhone for this app...any other phone that allows you have to downloadable apps will mostly likely have this one.

Key Ring Rewards Card (Mobestream Media Inc.) allows you to take all the rewards cards that cause a bulky key ring to be stored right into you phone, I, personally, have 12...probably dont need (and certainly dont use) all 12, but thats OK, since I have this app now I can have as many as I want with out all the clutter on my key ring.

Just download the app & register.

Click "Add Card" and it will scan your card for the barcode number and store it, you then have to choose a retailer and your done, move on to the next.

When you go to the store that has a reward card, you just pull it up on your phone and let the cashier scan the barcode. Easy as that.

Currently my favortite app(next to Sudoku)....thanks to my wonderful husband who told me about this....Rene, you so smart!! Rene has all these cards on his phone too...so now he can get us rewards points when he goes shopping without me, and BONUS I don't have all these cards on my keys anymore!

Christmas Wreath

2010-12-07T21:16:00.033-07:00

You may have seen these out in blogity blog land, and if not well now you have. I saw this on Carrie's blog called Dittle Dattle, go check her's out, she did her's a bit differently, and check out her other crafty projects while your there, so creative! I though they are just so cute, and personal, I wanted to have something different for my front door than my usual Christmas wreath that I've had for the past few years.

What you'll need:
~Paper Mache letter, or you could get some foam and cut out your own letter, whatever works for you!
~Pine Tree Tips real or faux
~Spray paint, I used brown, but I would have rather used green
~Hot Glue Gun and plenty of glue sticks
~Snips
~Ribbon

What you'll do:
~I started out spray painting the "H" brown, if I had a green color I would have used that, but I didn't, so I didn't....once that was dry I brought it inside and started to glue.

~Start at the bottom of your letter so as you work your way up, it will layer nicely. And don't forget you want your tips to be facing downward, so that when they start to dry they don't fall and look silly...get it?

~Glue, glue, glue....and glue on some more tips, fill, fill, fill in those holes
~Don't worry about it losing some of the shape of the letter, once your done you're going to want to take you snips and "shape" it, bringing back the proper shape of your letter. Mine looked like a big 'ol funky "H" but once I started to trim it up, it came back to life and looks great now.
~Wrap your ribbon around the middle, top, or where ever makes sense for your letter (you know what I mean...) and hang it up, and admire your great work!

I used a 40% off coupon from JoAnn's so the paper mache "H" letter was $6...can't beat that can ya? I already had brown spray paint, and when we went Saturday to get our live tree I asked the kids working at the tree lot for the scraps that were cut off the bottom of the prior trees. I used a hot glue gun to glue all the tips on, and I already had those supplies. And the ribbon was $5. from Target, but it's 25' so I'm going to use the rest to decorate the tree. So this project ended up costing me $6.40 (.20 a foot for the ribbon) gotta love a good deal.

I will admit this was a time consuming project, but thats OK, since it was time doing something I wanted to do, and saved money on, rather than buying a faux pre-made one, which can run upwards to $50 bucks....thanks, but no thanks, I'll make my own. Although there's nothing wrong with those, but this chicks on a budget, so I'm all about saving money, and putting in some time!

*Sorry no pictures of me glueing my heart out, once I got going, there was no stopping me.. :-)

Traditional Mexican "Salsa"

2010-12-07T14:21:00.001-07:00

About every week Rene call's and talks to his mama for at least and hour and catches up on what's going on with his parents and brother, and I always ask about when they're going to make the trip out to come see us. And to be honest, it's because I miss my mother-in-laws cooking SO MUCH, I love, love, love Mexican food, and since she was born and raised in Mexico, she can cook like nobodies business. The only problem is, her cookbook is her brain, and, well I can't take that, so we've (Rene and I) devised a plan, when she comes out, we'll go to the Hispanic supermarket, and take her with and buy a crap ton of food, and she'll cook, I'll make sure everything gets measures, take pictures, and Rene will help with the translation. I've told Rene too, once we get this done I'm going to make all her recipes into a cookbook....A REAL, TRADITIONAL MEXICAN FOOD COOKBOOK!!

We got her recipe the other night for her salsa that I LOOOOOVE, it's so good, and hot, and I love it!!!

Here's what you'll need:
1/4 of a white onion
3 Pequin Chile's*
15 Arbol Chile's*
9 Roma Tomatoes
9 Cloves of Garlic
4 Tomatillos
salt to taste

What you'll do:
~Cut the steams off the chile's, don't discard the seeds unless you don't like your salsa hot (for a milder salsa cut down the amount of chile's used). Smash the garlic with knife to remove the skin.
~In a frying pan (NO OIL) place chile's and toast them (if you have a window nearby, OPEN IT, turn on the exhaust fan too, you might end up coughing with the smell (its a good smell, but STRONG)
~Take a large enough piece of foil for your tomatoes, tomatillos, and garlic and wrap them up, place in the fry pan, on medium heat and let roast for 30 minutes.

~About half way through open up foil and sprinkle the tomatoes and tomatillos with salt, cover back up.

~Place the onion, and chile's in the blender

~Once them tomato, tomatillo, garlic and all the liquid into the blender.
~Fill your blender half way up with water, and blend on high until fully blended.

~Let cool, it will taste even hotter, but that flavor will calm down as the salsa cools...

*Pequin and Arbol Chile's can be found in the Hispanic section of the supermarket, in bags with all the dried chile's

I eat salsa on pretty much everything (not cereal though), it give my food a nice kick.

Alfredo Sauce

2010-12-07T13:53:00.001-07:00

Homemade of course....

It's probably been a few years since my sister-in-law sent me an e-cookbook with recipes of well known dishes from some of the countries favorite restaurants, and I've never once make anything from it until the other night. There is a recipe for the Olive Garden's alfredo sauce, and now I'm not going to tell you that it taste just like the Olive Garden, and that would be because I have never had their alfredo, so I have nothing to compare it to. So it you make this and have had OG's alfredo let me know if its the same or comes close, I do know however that Rene and I really liked this.

The recipe called for milk, and since I was out I used half evaporated milk and half water, worked out well!

Here's what you'll need:
8 oz Cream Cheese - cubed
3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese - grated
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 Milk

What you'll do:
~Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and melt on medium heat, serve over pasta and enjoy.

Easy Peasy, right?!

Top Ten in Twenty Ten

2010-12-04T09:38:00.004-07:00

Cities to Visit:

Istanbul

Istanbul, Turkey
Vancouver, Canada
Delhi, India
Nottingham, UK
Nara, Japan
Boston, Mass
Oslo, Norway
Tel Aviv, Israel
Valparaiso, Chile
Reykjavik, Iceland
*The Sunday Times

Most Affordable Cities:

Tulsa, OK

Tulsa, OK
Valdosta, GA
Columbus, OH
Cincinnati, OH
Rochester, NY
Indianapolis, IN
Harrisburg, PA
McAllen, TX
Greenville, SC
Tampa, FL
*Relocate America

College Towns:

Madison, WI

Madison, WI
Ann Arbor, MI
Austin, TX
Burlington, VT
Lincoln, NE --- GO HUSKERS!!
Fort Collins, CO
Ithaca, NY
Bloomington, IN
Boston, MA
Lexington, KY
*Relocate America

Earth Friendly:

Portland, OR

Portland, OR
Boston, MA
Madison, WI
Boulder, CO
Austin, TX
Chicago, IL
Minneapolis, MN
Fort Worth, TX
Ann Arbor, MI
Huntsville, AL
*Relocate America

Companies to Work For:

SAS Software

SAS - software co.
Edward Jones
Wegmans Food Markets
Google
Nugget Market
DreamWorks Animation SKG
NetApp
Boston Consulting Group
Qualcomm
Camden Property Trust
*Fortune 500 list

To Raise a Family:

Des Moines, Iowa

Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa
Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.
Rochester, N.Y.
Syracuse, N.Y.
Provo-Orem, Utah
Ogden-Clearfield, Utah
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Knoxville, Tenn.
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.
*Forbes.com

Best Public School Systems:

Maryland state flag

Maryland - 84.7
Massachusetts - 84.6
New York - 84.1
Virginia - 83.2
New Jersey - 81.9
Ohio - 81.2
Pennsylvania - 80.3
West Virgina & Georgia (tie for 8th) - 80.0
Arkansas - 79.6
*Education Week via Wallet Pop

The Worst Public School Systems:

Washington D.C.

District of Columbia - 68.3
Nevada - 68.8
Idaho - 69.1
Mississippi - 69.4
Nebraska - 69.8
South Dakota - 71.1
Montana - 71.2
Oregon - 71.5
Arizona - 72.2
Missouri - 72.4
*Education Week via Wallet Pop

States with Companies Bases Out Of:

California state flag

California - 684
Texas - 404
New York - 353
Virginia -293
Florida - 262
Illinois -222
Georgia - 194
Massachusetts - 188
Pennsylvania - 187
Ohio - 186
*Inc.com

Baby Names:

Girls: Boys:

Sophia Aiden

Isabella Jacob

Olivia Jackson

Emma Ethan

Chole Jayden

Ava Noah

Lily Logan

Madison Caden

Addison Lucas

Abigail Liam

Moral of the story, I'm moving to New York, there's work, among the best public school systems, some of the best places to raise a family, great higher education; and none of my kids will have names on the baby name list. :-)

Less than a month left in 2010, can't wait to see what 2011 brings us.

My Special Day...

2010-11-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

OK, I totally have to share the day with Rene, since he is my husband and it is our 3rd Anniversary!! It's crazy to think that we've already been married for 3 years, doesn't seem that long ago I was walking down the aisle with my dad at my side, crazy, just crazy!!

Today is also the celebration of the TEN years we've been together as a couple...I was 18 and Rene was 17 when we starting dating, look how young we look....

Life certainly hasn't always been lollipops and roses but we stand by each other and get through each and ever day side by side. I love Rene more and more each and everyday that passes, and I can not wait to see what our future has to hold for us! I love you Rene and Happy 3rd Anniversary!!!

Spicey Oven Fried Drumsticks

2010-11-11T11:28:00.001-07:00

First and foremost, it's been about two weeks since I've blogged, bad blogger I've been, I know, a lot going on lately, hopefully its all over with and I can resume normal (whatever that is) life.

Second, my post...

Some day's I just don't know what to make for dinner, Rene is can be such a picky eater, and to be honest sometimes it drives me crazy. A meat and potatoes man, 100%, not that that's a bad thing, but I don't eat much veggies at home because it would be just me eating them, and I don't want them to spoil, or eat the same veggie every night until their gone....get my drift. So when we go out, lately I've been getting veggies as a side, and this will shock my mom, I've been eating broccoli...mom, I'm serious a little salt and their not bad like I always thought they would be.

I had taken out chicken drumsticks out for dinner and kinda wanted friend chicken, but without the frying, so I put them in the oven...YUMMY is how they turned out!

What you'll need:
Chicken Drumsticks - we buy at Costco (my favorite store) I used two pouches, giving 10 legs
Hot Sauce - I used Franks Red Hot "Buffalo"
Flour
Salt and Pepper

What you'll do:

~Coat your drumsticks in hot sauce. Place flour in gallon size bag, and once chicken is coated in hot sauce place a few in the flour bag and shake, shake, shake.

~Spray an oven safe pan with non-stick spray, like Pam. Place coated chicken in pan and bake at 450 for about 30 minutes, or until juices run clear. Half way through the cooking I turn over the chicken over.

~Once chicken is done, I place my oven on the "broil" and let the chicken get a little crunch going on...

I, of course cut up some potatoes and made fries....the meal turned out great, make sure you let your chicken cool a bit too before you bit in....trust me!

Enjoy...

Potato Soup

2010-10-25T17:37:00.000-06:00

I L.O.V.E. Outback's potato soup, so I did some searching and found a close replica of it and enjoyed a bowl for lunch on this cold, windy day in Denver.

Here's what you'll need:

5-6 potatoes (less if your like me and buy your spuds at Costco - their huge - I used 3)
1 can (12 oz) Evaporated Milk
1 lbs Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes*
salt
pepper
garlic

For the toppings:
Bacon bits
sour cream
chives
cheese

What you'll do:
~Peal and cut potatoes into cubes, place in large pan and boil until cooked, but still firm. Drain

~Add milk and cheese to potatoes, cook on low until cheese is melted, season to taste with salt, pepper and garlic. Don't let it boil at this point.

~Serve in bowls and add your favorite baked potato topping.

*On a side note, I (personally) thought it was a bit to "cheesy" for me, so next time I will cut down on the amount of cheese that goes into it.

Enjoy...

Why I Love Autumn

2010-10-22T15:30:00.000-06:00

Looking out the front and back of my house, and seeing this beautiful colors, courtesy of Mother Nature...

Chicken Lime Noodle Soup

2010-10-18T13:43:00.001-06:00

Sometimes Rene surprises me with the things he'll eat. I've always been a fan of chicken noodle soup, but it's always been out of a can. But a few weeks back, he wasn't feeling well and wanted chicken noodle soup, so of course I made it homemade, and he loved it. And much to my delight he wanted it again last night, and its super easy to make so I was game. And this time I wrote down my recipe to share.

Chicken Lime Noodle Soup
(I made a big batch so we had plenty of yummy leftovers)

16 cups water
8 tbsp chicken bullion (1 tbsp = 1 square)
1/2" think slice of white onion
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp sage
1/2 tsp ancho chili pepper (it's already ground in the seasoning section)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 pkg spaghetti noodles - broken into quarter pieces
4 cups cooked chicken
fresh lime juice from 3 limes

What you'll do:
~Add chicken bouillon and water to large pot and bring to a boil.
~Place onion, parsley, oregano, bay leaves, sage, ancho chili pepper & Italian seasoning in cheesecloth, or a really thin piece of cloth. Tie up and place in broth.
~Add quartered noodles and once noodles get to al dente add cooked chicken (I used whole cook chickens that we got from Costco)
~Squeeze in lime juice, (make sure you roll them on the counter with pressure to loosen the juice before cutting)
~Once you're ready to serve take out herb filled cloth, if you, like me, like onion, take it out, cut it up and place it in your bowl, or if your whole family will eat it, chop it up and put it right into the soup, not the cheesecloth. (Rene wont eat onion that's what mine goes into a cloth)
~Once it's been served turn stove off, and cover, it should stay plenty hot for seconds.

Rene and I both decided that we want heat in it next time, so I'll be adding saracha sauce in the next batch. A dollop of sour cream and some cut up avocado would be great too!

Enjoy...

Homemade Mac & Cheese

2010-10-05T11:46:00.006-06:00

I've made a homemade Mac & Cheese before and I wasn't crazy about it, AT ALL. So when my mom made this for a side dish for dinner one night while we were in the Black Hills, I wasn't to sure what I was going to think about it, I'd try it yes, but would I like it? Mom let me try it before we went up for dinner and I LOVED it, taste just like the "blue box" but homemade and therefore much better for you, I mean who knows whats in "powdered cheese mix" eewww....

Here's what you'll need:
1 16oz box of elbow macaroni
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 16oz box Velveeta cheese - cubed
1 cup shredded shard cheddar cheese

What you'll do:
~Cook macaroni according to package directions.
~While paste is draining add flour and milk to pan and mix until smooth, bring to a boil, stirring constantly (about 2 minutes)

~Add both cheeses, lower heat, stir until cheese is melted.

~Add cooked pasta back into bowl and stir to incorporate.

It makes a pretty big batch, as you can see, but it reheats nicely in the microwave with a little bit of milk poured over it, tasted just as creamy and yummmmy!

Enjoy.

I Scream You Scream....for Homemade Ice Cream

2010-09-29T17:37:00.003-06:00

Much to my surprise, yesterday I noticed a box sitting on the porch, thinking Rene ordered something for my car (were replacing some parts) I went out to get it and noticed this:

Weird, I didn't know King Arthur Flour sold car parts...HAHA kidding, what on earth is this...I didn't order anything, not that I'm complaining, I'll take and use whatever's in this magical box.

And I'll use it to the fullest naturally!

Isn't she lovely, isn't she beautiful...

She'll fill our tummy with wonderful...ICE CREAM, SORBET, FROZEN YOGURT, OH MY!

She was an early anniversary present from the folk...THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

And then today ANOTHER box arrived...

With a Grill Press to make sliders...UM HELLO...YUMMMMMMY ...Rene sure knows how to make hamburgers...THEE BEST!!

And a Sourdough Bread starter, with a ceramic KAF jar for it to ferment in, and then Brioche pans too!

Makes sense, since my mom was asking me if I've made any bread from my book The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread, now I'm going to have to get to baking bread, making ice cream, and of course Tuesdays with Dorie from this Baking: From My Home to Yours, and don't forget starting Friday is the new group French Fridays with Dorie using Around My French Table.

I'm hungry just thinking about all of this!

P.S. Putting the Ice Cream Maker to the test tonight, watching Ethan so I thought it would be fun to make ice cream with him...what 2 1/2 year old doesn't like ice cream?!?!

TWD: Tarte Fine

2010-09-29T14:35:00.002-06:00

Day late and a dollar short...well I actually spent zero dollars on this one Woo-Hoo...My mom left puff pastry in my freezer from our trip to South Dakota, and since I just got a box of yummy Colorado peaches, I used them instead of apples, and it was good!!

Got my puff pastry rolled out and ready to go, added my cut peaches, gave it a milk bath on the edges, and eggs wash on top sprinkled with sugar, and it was good to go.

So like a doh-doh I left it in the oven for the time Dorie suggested and it was about 10 minutes too long for me, so the edges are a bit ~~burnt~~ crunchy :-)

But, none the less it was good!

Go visit Leslie over at Lethally Delicious for the recipe, and have at it.

Enjoy!

Dover Sole with Lemon Butter Sauce

2010-09-23T11:11:00.001-06:00

The other day Rene and I were shopping at Costco (ahhh I love Costco) while in the meat section we passed by fish and Rene said "You never make fish, lets get some" me "OK put it in the cart".

Last night I made the fish, Rene picked out none the less, and he didn't like it, well this is why I don't make fish. He never eats it. But I liked it, I ate mine and the proceeded to eat his, can't let it go to waste right?!

Let's get to it:
Here's what you'll need:
4 fillets of Dover Sole...or any white fish you prefer
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 quart vegetable oil for frying

1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp minced garlic
3/4 cup chicken broth*
1/4 lemon juice
2 tbsp cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste

What you'll do:
~In a small saucepan, add butter, garlic, chicken broth, lemon juice, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.

~Add cornstarch and stir, stir, stir, which will no give you a nice thicker sauce.

~Remove from heat and pour butter sauce over fish fillets.

~Bake in oven on 350 for 20 minutes

~Serve and enjoy

*If you have white wine on hand use 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/4 white wine, YUM!!

** If you'd like to fry your fish, take 2 beaten eggs, and dish fish in egg, then breadcrumbs and fry, once sauce is made, pour sauce over fried fish and serve

Gone, but Certainly Not Forgotten...

2010-09-11T08:46:00.003-06:00

Today we remember, commemorate, but most importantly HONOR the men, women, children, and families who's lives we changed on September 11th 2001. Not only on that day, but everyday since as we have lost so many overseas due to the war that followed.

The events that unfolded that dark day in American history will never be erased from our hearts. Your memories remain, your bravery not forgotten, your love for your family and country.

I send my love, thoughts and prayers, and gratitude to those we have lost, and those who have lost a loved one.

French Fridays with Dorie

2010-09-07T16:47:00.003-06:00

As many of you know, I participate in a weekly (OK, I know I don't bake weekly, but I try) baking blog Tuesdays With Dorie, and the wonderful author of Baking: From My Home to Yours Dorie Greenspan, she has released her newest cookbook Around My French Table, which of course has lead to a new COOKING group, appropriately called, French Fridays with Dorie.

Starting October 1st, I'll be cooking up a storm with all the fellow FFwD cooks, and I can't wait, I already have my book, and let me tell you what...the pictures look divine, and made my mouth water.

If you would like to cook along with us, click here to register, click here to buy the book, Around My French Table and get ready to cook.

Enjoy...

TWD: Peanut Butter Crisscrosses

2010-09-07T16:31:00.002-06:00

Anyone remember..."Kris Kross will make you Jump! Jump!"

Is it weird that these cookies name reminds me of the 90's hip-hop duo Kris Kross...LOL...I know I'm a dork!!

Any who...these cookies are good, not great, but good. I'd prefer them to be a bit more soft, too much crunch for my taste, although when they came out of the oven they were super soft and yummy!!

Rene said he'd like them to have nuts and chocolate chips in them, so I'll do that next time I make PB cookies, but needless to say I don't think I'll use this recipe. I remember having PB cookies as a child and they were a bit softer, I think I'll have to get with my mom and see if she has a recipe, or maybe my Aunt Vicky.

How do you like your cookies? Go take a look at Jasmine's blog Jasmine Cuisine and she'll have the recipe twice on her blog for you, in French and English...keep scrolling for the English version, and get to bakin'

Enjoy....

TWD: Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

2010-08-30T16:46:00.001-06:00

Can't go wrong with shortbread cookies in my house...Rene loves them (and I love eating the dough) I however left out the espresso to make them "child friendly" since the day I made them we were having friends over for dinner and I didn't think giving a 2 year old cookies with espresso at night, was the best idea!! But none the less, they were delicious.

Waiting for them to chill was probably the hardest part. When is comes to food, I have a hard time waiting for things to chill, rest, marinate, ect...I'm too antsy! But I did it with these (and yes, it was hard)

I found that cutting them with a pizza cutter was super easy and allowed me to get the same size, the easiest (and lets face it, the fastest) way.

Go take a look at Life's To Short Not To Eat Dessert First for the recipe, and enjoy these delectable cookies!

Homemade Tomato Sauce

2010-08-26T17:53:00.002-06:00

My family and I spent the last week in the Black Hills, in my home state of South Dakota. It was a great week in the most, not all things went as planned, things happened that I wasn't pleased with, but I got to see family I haven't seen in a few years, meet new family members, and help celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary, so I certainly will not complain about that!

My Aunt Vicky....simply, she amazes me! I adore her, as does my husband. She made everyone breakfast every morning, and it was always delish! You should have seen her cabin (I should have taken a photo) food everywhere, that's what I'm talkin' bout! She brought out two 30lbs boxes of tomatoes, but unfortunately the rain did a number on her garden this summer so she got them from a nearby farm, and they were so juicy and good...I would have been happy with just a dinner of tomatoes.

Since I got a pile of tomatoes left over, Rene and I thought we would make a homemade pasta sauce, Rene doesn't eat tomatoes unless it's formally called Ketchup, or pasta sauce, BUT in his defense he did eat A slice of a tomato at dinner one night, and I was pleasantly surprised!

So here's what we did:
~Blended tomato's, since he doesn't like "chunk", my blender is 7 cups, and I wanted to make as much as I could in one pot, so I got 21 cups all together (of liquid tomato)

~Added about 5-7 tbsp of minced garlic
~1 tbsp Italian seasoning
~1 tbsp basil (we used dried, but fresh would be great too)
~1 tbsp oregano (dried, again)
~1 tbsp onion powder (next time I'm going to use fresh onion and blend it with the tomatoes)
~4 tbsp sugar
~1 tbsp salt
~1 tbsp pepper
~1 cup red wine
~1/2 cup olive oil

Now let that bad boy sit on the stove on med-low heat and simmer, after about an hour, take the lid off so it can reduce. Let it sit for an hour of two and check it out, do a taste test and adjust seasonings as you see fit to your taste. If after a few hours it's still a bit thin for you; over the sink pour some of the liquid through a shiver and dump the thick tomato mix back in the pan, that should help thicken it for ya, unless that is, you like your sauce runny. It's your sauce, do what ya want, I wont be upset :-)

Either can your sauce or eat it...I did both that night. And now I want to hit a farmers market here in Denver, and get more Colorado tomato's so I can make more to have all winter!

Enjoy...

* And a side note update - I had a few call and ask about my tomato (i.e Amber and Aunt Vicky) I didn't peel or seed the tomatoes, just wash and throw them bad boys right in the blender....easy is the name of the game, which means winner, winner, pasta for dinner.

TWD: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

2010-08-22T14:31:00.001-06:00

I'm a bit late...OK I know about 2 weeks late on this, but I made it and took it with me to the Black Hills for our family vacation and baked it there.

I had to make a little change to the recipe, since I thought I had old fashion oatmeal, and apparently I don't, so I just used maple and brown sugar oatmeal, and it worked out just well.

And since I baked it in a small little stove in our cabin, and the stove SUCKED, my bread crust burned, BIG TIME...so I just cut it all off and we ate the inside while we were golfing that morning. So it wasn't a big deal, but still, I'd like my TWD bake's to at least look decent.

See...not so pretty, but still tasty!!

So if you have a "normal" stove and would like to bake up this tasty breakfast bread go check out Natalie's blog over at Oven Love, she made her's into muffins and they look FABULOUS!!

Guest Posting...

2010-08-17T14:50:00.001-06:00

I had the opportunity to do a guest blog on Sugar Bee Craft Edition yesterday, and I wanted to to this post yesterday but since I'm on vacation, it was the last thing on my mind, in the midst of seeing family that I haven't seen in years!

What are you waiting for? GO CHECK IT OUT!!!

Chocolate Filo Purse

2010-08-13T15:12:00.000-06:00

I've been baking up a storm here, getting ready for my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary in the Black Hills, I will soon share all the recipes I make with you, but first it would be best for them to be baked, most won't be baked until the day of the event, so there either in the fridge of freezer patiently waiting for now.

I did however bake a few of the Chocolate Filo Purse's to see how they baked up and how chocolaty and tasty they would be as I have never baked with filo dough before. They're good, real good!

Chocolate Filo Purse

Here's what you'll need:
A box of Filo Dough
6 tbsp unsalted butter
Chocolate, I used semi-sweet, but bittersweet, milk, or dark chocolate would be just as good, I think butterscotch would be good too, or even a square of carmel.

Here's what you'll do:
~Unroll the filo dough and place a lightly damp rag over them so as you working with other the pile of them does not dry out.
~Melt butter
~Take one sheet of dough and brush it with butter, repeat two more times, giving you 3 layers of dough and butter

~Cut dough length wise down the middle and twice the other way, creating 6 square.
~Add an ounce of chocolate, I used chips, and bring corners together and give them a squeeze and twist a bit so they create a bit of a "purse".

~Bake on 350 fr 10 minutes or until golden brown, allow to cool a bit before serving {chocolate will burn you tongue, trust me, I know ;-) }

With one roll of Filo I was able to make 35 (I think, I counted at 28 then finished the roll, but didn't make too many after, so that's a guesstimate)

EET Cupcakes

2010-08-01T17:19:00.000-06:00

Hello, my names Raelynn, and I'm addicted to cupcakes...

SOOOO in that case go check out my new blog...EET Cupcakes

Yup, that's right, you guessed it, it's all about CUPCAKES...

TWD: Chewy, Chunky Blondies

2010-07-28T15:29:00.000-06:00

I love these even more because they don't have any white chocolate chips in them. So they're right up my alley.

And they have butterscotch chips in them, heaven! With semi-sweet chocolate chips, yum! With walnuts, just for my husband, lucky man! And to think I almost did make these at all, what'a shame that would have been!

I must say though, when trying to get these out of the pan, nothing was nice and pretty about it. They were so oooeeee-goooeeee inside they didn't want to keep their shape, so I just kinda piled all my huge chunks on a napkins and then like a cave women shoved them into my mouth, yeah that what I do behind closed doors. :-)

What was that? You wanna make these oooeeee-goooeeee treats? Go check out Nicole @ Cookies on Friday for the recipe. She sure did pick a winner!!

Fried Shrimp

2010-07-27T20:06:00.001-06:00

Shrimp gumbo, shrimp louie, shrimp cocktail, cajun shrimp, steamed shrimp, shrimp boil, shrimp tacos, shrimp salad....Who do I sound like?

Bubba, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company...Love that movie (Forest Gump, for those living in a cave)

I've been trying a few different fried shrimp recipes lately, and winner winner, shrimp for dinner, with this one.

Here's what you'll need:
1 lbs lg shrimp, peeled and deveined and butterflied (I used U13-15 shrimp*)
1 qt water
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
2 eggs
2 cups bread crumbs
oil for deep frying

What you'll do:
~Preheat deep fryer or skillet with oil to 350 degrees.
~In a large bowl, pour in water and mix in cornstarch and eggs.

~Dip the shrimp into the mixture allowing them to be completely coated. Then roll the shrimp in the breadcrumbs. Coat the shrimp well with the breadcrumbs. Mix up the cornstarch batter again and dip the breadcrumbs coated shrimp back into the cornstarch batter. Roll the shrimp in the breadcrumbs for a second time. Repeat with each shrimp.

~Drop shrimp, one at a time, into the hot oil and cook shrimp until they are golden brown.

~Let drain on paper towel.

~Garnish with a little lemon juice if desired

*A little shrimp education: the number you see on the bags of shrimp or on the sign in the seafood case at your local market indicates the amount of shrimp per pound, therefore the smaller the numbers the bigger the shrimp, and the larger the number the "shrimpier" the shrimp.

Shrimp Quesadilla with Smoky Guacamole

2010-07-25T09:00:00.001-06:00

I love this super easy recipe, and so does my husband, so that's a score in my book!

You can find this recipe one of Rachel Ray's book, now I know there are a lot of people out there that don't care for her, but lets admit, she can cook!

Moving on...

Here's what you'll need:
For the Guac
2 ripe avocados
Juice of 1 lime
Couple pinches of salt
1/4 cup sour cream
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

For the Quesadillas
1 tbsp evoo (no not my dog) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 clove garlic
12 lg shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed
salt and pepper
4 12" tortillas*
1/2 lbs shredded pepper jack cheese

*Quick note from someone who married into a Hispanic family: tortillas heated on the grill and in the microwave are gross, the grill makes them crispy which then you can't roll or fold, and the microwave heats from the inside making them warm, and SOGGY...Heat them on the stove top please. Thank You! (this is for anything tortilla involved, not just this recipe)

What you'll do:
For the Guac - Cut avocado, take pit out, spoon flesh into food processor. Add lime juice, salt, sour cream, and chipoltes in adobo. Pulse gauc until smooth. Transfer to serving bowl.

For the Quesadilla - Add evoo and garlic, then shrimp. Season shrimp with salt and pepper, and cook for 2-3 minutes, on cutting board cut shrimp into small pieces, or do this prior to cooking. On griddle pan lightly heat tortillas on both sides, then add a couple handfuls of cheese then a layer of shrimp, fold tortilla over cheese half and flip, cook until crisp. Cut each quesadilla in 3-5 pieces and serve with smoky guacamole.

P.S. If I had some ripe tomatoes in the garden some pico de gallo whould have been delish!!

Enjoy!