menu monday

monday. left overs from weekend.

tuesday. tacos bowls.

wednesday. omelette's. grits. bacon.

thursday. christmas at my gmas! tapas style. i'm making: cucumber boats with hummas, turkey pesto sliders, pimento cheese, and guac with wonton chips :)

friday. christmas eve babyyyy.

just a few random things.

1. bradley has been obsessed lately with hunting and all things manly/country-ish. he even likes to say "hey bo" when we are camping or in the woods and such. yeah, i thought i moved away from upstate sc, too?? hmm. so, the other day bradley sends me this in a email.



nice.

2. last saturday was full of love. seriously, hearts everywhere.

on an egg:



and on my sock:



spread the love, people.

3. have i mentioned lately how much we love pepper and how she is totally human?



4. and now, i want to inform you of my very favorite animal. like favorite ever. (besides pepper....who obviously doesn't count....bc she is a HUMAN)



eat more chicken. i have always loved dairy cows. i think they are so cute. once, i was in a pageant and during the interview they asked me why a cow was my fav animal. so i said... i love their utters. they are just so pink and cute. needless to say, i didn't win. :D

that's all. :)

chocolate candy cane cookies

i made these for a cookie exchange and they were delightful! the filling is so good. i rushed to make these so they weren't as pretty as they should have been sooo i'm making them again tonight for a christmas party tomorrow night! make these. you won't be sorry:)

source: bonappetit

Ingredients

Cookies
•1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
•1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1 cup sugar
•3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
•1 large egg

Filling
•1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
•3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
•3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
•2 drops (or more) red food coloring
•1/2 cup crushed red-and-white-striped candy canes or hard peppermint candies (about 4 ounces)

Preparation

For cookies:
•Whisk flour, cocoa, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in egg. Add dry ingredients; beat until blended. Refrigerate dough 1 hour.
•Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out dough by level tablespoonfuls, then roll into smooth balls. Place balls on prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Using bottom of glass or hands, flatten each ball to 2-inch round (edges will crack). Bake until cookies no longer look wet and small indentation appears when tops of cookies are lightly touched with fingers, about 11 minutes (do not overbake or cookies will become too crisp). Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Transfer chocolate cookies to racks and cool completely.

For filling:
•Using electric mixer, beat powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl until well blended. Add peppermint extract and 2 drops food coloring. Beat until light pink and well blended, adding more food coloring by dropfuls if darker pink color is desired. Spread 2 generous teaspoons filling evenly over flat side of 1 cookie to edges; top with another cookie, flat side down, pressing gently to adhere. Repeat with remaining cookies and peppermint filling.
•Place crushed candy canes on plate. Roll edges of cookie sandwiches in crushed candies (candies will adhere to filling). DO AHEAD Cookie sandwiches can be made ahead. Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.

menu monday

this week i'm trying to make sure we have leftovers for lunches everyday. i realize this is a lot of chicken...i guess we will really like chicken this week! ha.

monday. chicken fried rice.

tuesday. baked spaghetti.

wednesday. chicken fiesta casserole.

thursday. chicken crescent pockets.

friday. black bean & corn quesadillas.

i do love christmas cards!

our christmas card for 2010 :)

we ordered it from snapfish.com and are VERY pleased!

yay for christmas!!

sweet potato soufflé

fact: i made 3 sweet potato soufflé's this thanksgiving holiday.

fact: i didn't take a picture of any of them.

fact: these were the best sweet potato soufflé's that i have ever made.

fact: i love pecans.

fact: someone gave me this recipe last year but you can find it all over the internet. like, all recipes and such.




what you need-

sweet potato mixture-

4 cups sweet potato, cubed
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
 
topping-

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans

what you do-

Preheat oven to 325*. Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash.

In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In medium bowl, mix the sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown

menu monday!

i'm cooking easy things this week due to all the food at thanksgiving:)

monday. pork chops, sweet potatoes, salad.

tuesday. chicken pot pie.

wednesday. taco soup.

thursday. buffalo mac & cheese.

friday. pizza.

chicken & rice burritos

a PERFECT freezer meal to have for lunch!

see-



and then-



seriously, so easy. here's what you do:

place frozen chicken breasts in your crockpot.

pour a jar of salsa over the chicken breasts.

generously add taco seasoning

cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 4 hours.

the chicken will be shreaded after cooked.

mix the chicken salsa with cooked white rice.

place in a tortilla shell. wrap like a burrito.

cover with saran wrap. cover with tin foil. place in freezer.

to prepare later: microwave high 2 minutes, flipping the burrito once.

seriously, easy and great for lunches!! i filled our freezer with them!

get your booty on the floooor toniiiiiight[make my day]

basically...i can't get this song out of my head. i even danced around to it in the living room this morning with pepper.



ohhh whoaaa yeah yeah.
:)

a wedding!

our dear friends, meghan and robert, got married! we are so happy for them! congrat to you both! we love you!!


night before.


brad and i with the bride!


we love weddings!

menu monday.

monday. brad has a work dinner so i'm totes making salmon stew. you know, that stuff he doesn't like?! :)

tuesday. chicken pesto stuffed shells.

wednesday. breakfast for dinner! omelettes. grits. [maybe] biscuits.

thursday. pork chops. pinto beans. cornbread. (to be honest...i don't care about the pork chops. i just want to eat pinto beans and cornbread- a favorite from when i was little!)

friday. we will be camping. so whatever we decide to throw on the grill :) im thinking a turkey burger!

funny friday!

wonton chips & wasabi guacamole

my new favorite snack. my friend, tobey, brought these to a girls night last week and i could not get enough of them! i made a batch the next day...and have had some around since! yum.

wonton chips.

what you need-

-wonton wrappers.
-sesame seed oil.
-salt
-pepper

what you do
take the wonton wrappers and cut in half.

brush with sesame seed oil.

add salt and pepper. (i used crushed pepper...adds a better taste)

bake at 400* for 5 minutes.

tobey served these with wasabi guacamole. i haven't made this yet but it's seriously delish!

wasabi guacamole.

what you need-

-1 tsp lemon zest
-1 tbsp of lemon juice
-2 tbsp of reduced fat sour cream
-2 tsp of wasabi paste
-2 avocados

what you do-

Mix in blender until smooth.

Serve with wonton chips.

menu monday

it's my last week of having these *boring* property management classes! yayy. so, other than tonight and thursday i can cook again! it makes me happy. it really does:) i am very excited to give the tuesday meal a try! i'll let you know how it goes:)

monday. left overs from the weekend. i kinda cooked a lot.

tuesday. bacon wrapped blue cheese stuffed chicken. green beans. potatoes.

wednesday. corn topped chili casserole...which i failed to make last week!

thursday. leftovers.

friday. rehersal dinner for meghan and robert! they are getting married on saturday!!


ps- did you notice my super cute new banner? yeah, sweet michele did that. and i loooove it :)

FUNNY FRIDAY!

took me a while to get it on here.... but here it is! hopefully, i'm back FULL time for funny fridays! more jokes to come!!

happpppy friday!

except for the part where you can not see bradley...at all. this used to be so easy. why will blogger not work with me?! ugh.

dog treats.

pepper loved them! cheap and easy:)

got this from allrecipes!

what you need:
•2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
•2 eggs
•1/2 cup canned pumpkin
•2 tablespoons peanut butter
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

what you do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Whisk together the flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add water as needed to help make the dough workable, but the dough should be dry and stiff. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick roll. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
Bake in preheated oven until hard, about 40 minutes.

pumpkin cheesecake

amazing. simply amazing. i made this for my dear friend, spencer. it was her birthay a few weeks ago but we didnt see her then so while she was in town this past weekend i wanted her to have a special treat. it was delish. and super easy!

from branny.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

for the pumpkin filling
1 15oz can packed pumpkin puree
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs

for the cheesecake (you will have a lot leftover)
8 oz cream cheese
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup white sugar

chocolate cookie crust (9″)

To make the pumpkin filling, beat eggs with sugar. Add spices, pureed pumpkin, and evaporated milk. Whisk to combine.

To make the cheesecake filling, beat cream cheese until softened. Add sugar and incorporate beaten egg. Add vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

To assemble pie: pour pumpkin filling into cookie crust. Pour cheesecake filling into a zip top bag and snip off end. To make spider web design, lightly pipe concentric circles of cheesecake into the pumpkin filling. Using a clean knife, drag the blade of a knife from the outside of the pie towards the center, wiping the knife between drags.

Bake in a 300 degree oven for 60 minutes.

halloween.

we went to a halloween party on saturday. here are a few shots...

pirate & a goddess.


best friends.


good group:)


love her!


we had a blast. my costume was a totally diy. the headband was from the halloween store. the toga was made out of 2 yards of fabric from a fabric store and the belt was a rope also from the fabric store. thank goodness for spencer and safety pins...otherwise i would have had NO costume! :)

menu monday

i still have class all this week but i'm making a better attempt at eating real food [this week] :) all of this can be made before and frozen or waiting in the fridge to pop in the oven!

monday. pick up food. left overs at the house. something like that...ha

tuesday.corn topped chili casserole. ummm, yummm!

wednesday. chicken & rice wraps.

thursday. pizza stuffed pretzels. side salad.

friday. crockpot roast. potatoes & gravy.

nachos.

YUM.



i got this from singforyoursupper :)

what you need:

chips
refried beans
cheese
japs
shreaded chicken
guac
sour cream
salsa

what you need to do:

toss the shreaded chicken with tequilla and salt/pepper.

spread out the chips. generously put refried beans over chips then layer with cheese and japs and chicken. Bake for 5-8 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling. generously add guac, sour cream, salsa, more japs, or anything else you want!

i love this homemade guac.

i also did homemade salsa. basically, chopped tomatoes,onion,cilantro.

these would be perfect for game day! :)

current obession.

big hair, fancy clothes... rockstars in the spotlight. tell me do you wanna?..can you really take the drama of a jerseylicious girl like me? i am crazylicious. i am superlicious. im the jerseylicious girl you need. tell me can you take it? do you really wanna make with a jerseylicious girl like me?... im what you need...

oliva is my fav.

like i can handle anymore tv. geeze. i was just watching it every now and then. now- i can't miss it. im obsessed.

ghosts.

ghosts. diy ghosts. these cute little decorations hang from the tree in our front yard every october. i love them.

it's so easy to do it.

just take a white bed sheet and stuff the head with toilet paper. tie around the neck. i used thick string. sometimes i use thin rubberbands. ya know, whatever is around. then use needle and thread to go through the top to make them hang. place on a tree.

cheap, easy, adorable. :)

note:
you will have to make them every year though...they don't exactly hold up year after year. but they will last all october!

real meals are taking a backseat

so i am already a realtor. have been for a long while now.



but now i work for a property management company. and i have to get that license. (really annoying that i can't just use my real estate license)



so for the next 2 weeks after work i will be in property management classes until 10pm. yeah, 10pm everynight. kill me now.

what i'm getting at here is...i will not be making any real meals considering i will have no time to eat. no menu this week. i guess i will be on a liquid diet for the next 2 weeks. but hey, that might do my body good:) skinny jeans, here i come.

my sweet husband would like to eat, though, so maybe i'll make some casseroles for him. something like...fiesta chicken casserole

halloween makes you scream!

halloween. michael myers. yayyyy! i love scary movies. love love love them. sadly, my husband and my friends (in seems) do not love scary movies like i do. here is my favorite..

photo source.

andddd i have always and i do mean ALWAYS loved the movie SCREAM! i remember watching the original over and over and over. i mean, billy and stu?! how could they possibly be the killers? and scream 2...billy's mom? whhhhat? and scream 3...roman, sidney's half brother? what? who knew she had a half brother?! i didnt..... ohhh and dewey and gale...engaged?! yay. wes craven, you make me proud.

okay... all of this was leading up to me telling you about something i am SERIOUSLY looking forward to..... SCREAM 4 people! whooohooo! the trailer just came out...take a peek!!!!! yippee:)



i will be counting down these days to this movie! will you?

chocolate cake and vanilla buttercream.

one time i used my go to choc cake and go to vanilla buttercream recipes...



this was for my friend's birthday. she is obsessed with all things nautical. seriously. so, this is chocolate cupcakes. vanilla buttercream with blue food coloring mixed to look like the ocean. powered sugar doughnuts with fruit roll ups to look like life preservers. :) i thought they were cute and they were a big hit!




my go to chocolate cake/cupcake recipe if from hersheys.

what you need:
• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
what you do:

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans or cupcake pans.

Baking a one-pan cake: bake 35 to 40 minutes at 350° F

Baking cupcakes: line with baking cups. Fill 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22-25 minutes at 350° F

my go to vanilla buttercream is from, of course, joythebaker

vanilla buttercream

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the powdered sugar and butter together in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment on medium low speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixer speed to low. Combine the milk and the vanilla extract and slowly stream it into the butter and sugar mixture. Once incorporated, turn the mixer to high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes. If you find that your frosting is getting to warm in the summer months, stop beating and set in the fridge for a few minutes. Once chilled, hook the frosting back up the the mixer and beat once more until you reach the desired consistency.

menu monday!

monday. general tso chicken and rice

tuesday. crockpot chicken and dumplings…because i didn’t really make it last week

wednesday. shepard pie – my friend gave me a recipe i’m wanting to try…only because i know bradley will love it.

thursday. left overs.

friday. taco soup. and hopefully, we will finally eat the gator bradley killed!

misc.

thankful thursday. i am thankful for sweet bradley and pepper. look how cute they are...


what are you thankful for?!

sneak peek for meghan's bach weekend...


today is my friday and tomorrow we will be off celebrating meghan! my friend nicole and i have been busy putting things together all week(and last week) can't wait to share all the fun games, decorations, and food with you next week! :)

throwback.

i was playing hand games with my little sister the other week, you know...miss mary mack mack mack all dressed in black black black...etc. well, i was RACKING my trying to remember miss suzie. i refused to google it. i needed to remember. then the other night after a cocktail (go figure) i remembered! and i was so happy. the next night i told all my friends. apparently, not all girls learned this little song the same. there is even a version of miss lucy! weird, i know.

this is how i remember it...

Miss Suzie had a steamboat
The steamboat had a bell. TOOT TOOT!
Miss Suzie went to heaven
The steamboat went to
Hell-o operator connect me number 9
and if you disconnect me I’ll kick you in
Behind the refrigerator there was a piece of glass,
Miss Suzie stepped upon it almost broke her
Ask me no more questions, tell me no more lies
That’s what Miss Suzie said the day before she died!

here are some other ways to sing it. :)

how did you learn it?!

menu monday

monday. orange chicken and rice

tuesday. crockpot chicken and dumplings (very excited to try this!)

wednesday. baked spaghetti

thursday. quesadillas of some sort

friday. i'll be at a girl's weekend celebrating meghan's bachelorette party!!

FUNNY FRiDAY!! hannah's house!

happy friday!!

girls,girls,girls.

i have had blog block this week. nothing to talk about. ill come back to you, i promise.

thi week has been filled with girls nights! and i have another one tonight! :)

kristin's birthday...


group shot.


me & leah


ashley and kristin


ashley, kristin, & myself


even pepper had a girls night...

menu monday

monday. stuffed shells.

tuesday. crockpot lasagna.

wednesday. country fried steak w/ potatoes.

thursday. salsa chicken. rice. beans.

friday. homemade pizza.

:)

salmon stew....

ohhh yeah...this kind of salmon...


photo credit


i actually don't know the measurements of this stew either...i just grew up eating it. my granny made it. my mom made it. now i make it. sadly, brad doesn't love it like i do. i called my granny last night to tell her the horrrrrible news that brad doesn't like salmon stew. she laughed. i just don't know if it's funny. ha. kidding. i love brad even if he doesn't like salmon stew. :)

okay, here goes...

get a large potato- peel it and cut into small pieces.

boil the potato pieces until soft.

cut (small pieces) some onion (as much or as little as you would want) and toss it in with the boiling potatoes.

after the potatoes are soft, drain them. and put them back in the pot they were cooked in.

add 1 can of boneless, skinless salmon meat

cover with milk. i like mine a little runny so i can add lots of crackers...but its up to you. sorry i can't give you measurements...i just eye-ball :)

heat until warm.

serve with crackers. (i eat mine with saltines)

the end! amazing. love.

so, i know this isn't a fancy reciepe or anything. but i love it and wanted to share. i have made it 2 times this week b/c i'm pretending it is winter. did i mention, i hate winter?...but at least i get salmon stew!

enjoy!

pumpkin pecan bars

beantown baker calls them thanksgiving two-fer bars. i called them pumpkin pecan bars. whatever tickles your fancy. thank you jen for this amazing pumpkin pecan pie in bar form. ammmmmazing.

i made these for my friend hannah's birthday. they were amazing. i ate them for breakfast,lunch, dinner. i wanted more. yummm.

so here goes:

pumpkin pecan bars

Crust Layer:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp pecans, ground
2/3 cup butter, at room temperature

Pumpkin Filling:
2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 1⁄3 cup heavy cream
1 cup (packed) brown sugar (light or dark)
3 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1⁄2 tsp. ground ginger
1⁄2 tsp. salt

Pecan Pie Filling:
1 cup light or dark corn syrup
1⁄2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1⁄2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp. salt
3 cups (about 14 oz.) pecan halves or pieces

For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350ºFC.

Using the paddle attachment of your mixer, mix all of the crust ingredients together until coarse crumbs are formed. In a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, press down the crust.

Bake at 350ºF for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the edges start to brown. The crust will rise slightly after baking. Let the crust cool completely at room temperature.

For the pumpkin filling: Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor Leave filling in bowl.

For the pecan filling: In a bowl, whisk together all ingredients except pecans until smooth.

To assemble: Preheat oven to 450. Give the pumpkin filling one last quick pulse, then remove bowl, rap it on counter to debubble batter, and pour filling into crust. Top pumpkin filling evenly with pecans, then pour over pecan filling. Poke down any pecans that float to the top and aren't covered with filling. Bake bars for 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 300° and bake for another 55-65 minutes, or until it is evenly puffed and a slender knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer bars to a cooling rack and let it stand until it is just warm or until it reaches room temperature.

it's britney! tonight! ahh!

are you ready?! i am! i am!

thankful.

i am thankful for many things. many many things. here's a few things i am thankful about in the blog world.

i am very thankful for my best friend, you know her... HAYLEY. she helped to make my birthday FABULOUS! we had sushi...we danced all night long at trio...we ate too much food...we had a sunday funday...the list goes on & on... check out this amazing birthdy cake. (you know us south carolina people... we are obsessed with our flag. i have many many things with the palmetto tree & moon on it. what can i say, we are proud carolinians, i guess?)



i am thankful that sweet michele gave me my very first blog award...


* i have known michele since elem school...i am thankful we are back in touch through facebook and blogs! she is an insanely adorable person.

i am SO thankful that i won a giveaway!! i found out last friday and was soooo excited. so, thank you to jen!! check out her blog :)

okay, and speaking of michele AND a giveaway...
make sure you follow michele and enter in her giveaway! who doesn't want a $50 giftcard to anthropologie?!?! i am so in love with anthropologie and the crazy expensive shower curtain i got there one time:)
so, enter! http://macattackyo.blogspot.com/

that's all for today. happy tuesday!