Friday, December 30, 2011

Top Ten Posts for 2011

With 2011 coming to a close, I thought it would be fun to go back through and show off some of my more popular posts.



This cookie is still probably the best cookie I've ever made.  My husband would probably agree as well.  When I make them for larger groups, they're always intrigued.  These cookies are great with or without frosting....it all depends on how much sugar you want to eat :)


 

I had so much fun making this shirt for my little girl.  I got so many compliments on it, which makes me smile :)



Waffle Cookies are one of my favorite cookies from my childhood.  Chocolately-brownie like cookies made in your waffle iron.....absolutely wonderful.



I love Pinterest.  I love looking through everyone's ideas & putting them in my own home.  This was one of those ideas.  Although it didn't turn out perfect, I still like them, and they look great over my stairwell.



These delicious beauties came about for my craving of baked apples.  Carmel, Squishy Apples, Bread...what's wrong with that :)



How can you go wrong with Fresh Strawberry Cake???  I don't think that you can :)



I think these cookies say something for themselves when your Sister-in-Law each practically a dozen of them.  I think it's the Almond extract, it gives these cookies a little somethin-somethin.



My kids had so much fun making these.  It's a great activity to do on those cold winter days when you're stuck inside.



I had so much fun trying out different recipes involving pumpkin.  The Pumpkin Butterscotch Chip Cookies are still my favorite out of everything.

And last but not least

I may not be a professional photographer, but I had a blast taking my Sister's engagement pictures.  I loved how they turned out! 

Thanks for stopping by and recapping my year with me!

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

The Expressions of JOY!




Thanks for stopping by!

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Thursday, December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas

We're hitting the homestretch here in my household for Christmas-only a couple more days.  I just wanted to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!  I hope ya'll have a great one.  I hope ya'll get to spend time with your families {I know I will} & have a chance to reflect on Christ's Birth-what a wonderful thing!

Again....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Last Minute Homemade Food Gifts

Christmas is almost here!  Yay!  Do ya'll still get giddy when it's Christmas Day??  I do :)  I love giving to others & spending time with my family & eating yummy food.
The other day I was "baking" up a storm, preparing yummy food to give to our Friends.  They are super easy, and Super Yummy!  So if you're looking for some last minute gifts or party food, maybe this will work.

Orange Creamcicle Fudge


I've been on an Orange Creamcicle fix; and my husband is not minding at all.  The smell of the fudge is wonderful, and the combination of white chocolate & orange zest is fantastic.  Zest is a great thing; not only does it add flavor, but it looks pretty too.


Ingredients:
  • 2 12oz bags of White Chocolate Chips or 2 14 oz bags of Wiltons White Chocolate Chips (I used Wiltons because I had stocked up on them a while back)
  • The Zest from 1 Orange
  • 1 Tbl Orange Emulsion
  • 1 14oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

Directions:
  1. Take a 9x13 pan and line it with Wax Paper.  This makes it alot easier to take the fudge out & cut into squares.
  2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the White Chocolate Chips according to the package instructions.
  3. Mix in the Sweetened Condensed Milk, Orange Zest, & Orange Emulsion.
  4. Pour into the pan & spread evenly.
  5. Refridgerate for at least 30 minutes to let it set.


As I was thinking of different flavors of Fudge to make, and what ingredients I had in the house {I still want to make a key lime fudge}, I opened up the freezer and saw a bag of Reeses PB Baking Chips.  BINGO!  What's better than Peanut Butter & Chocolate.


Reese's PB Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:
  • 1 12oz bag of Milk Chocolate Chips
  • 1 12oz bag of Hershey's Reese's PB Chips
  • 1 14oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
Directions:
  1. Take a 9x13 pan and line it with wax paper-this will make it easier to lift out and cut the fudge.
  2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips in 30 second intervals.
  3. Mix in half of the sweetened condensed milk & spread it into the pan.
  4. In another microwave safe bowl, melt the bag of Reese's PB Chips.
  5. Mix in the other half of Sweetened Condensed Milk and spread it over the chocolate layer.
  6. Refridgerate for at least 30 minutes to set up.


Ya'll know my Most Favorite Dessert???.....well I switched it up.
My Mom made some Crunchie Munchies the other day, and I thought that little squares of yummy goodness would be perfect for our friends.  The only problem that I had was I was out of Rice Krispies.  I do however have a plethora of Frosted Flakes {that need to be eaten before they go stale}, and that's how this dessert came about.


Frosted Flake Crunchie Munchies

Ingredients:
  • 1 12 oz bag of Butterscotch Chips
  • 1 Cup of Peanut Butter
  • 8 Cups of Frosted Flakes
  • 1 12 oz bag of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 4 Tbl Butter
  • 4 Tbl Water
  • 1 Cup of Powdered Sugar
Directions:
  1. Take a baking sheet and line it with Wax Paper-this will make it easier to lift out the treats & cut.
  2. In a big bowl, have the 8 cups of frosted flakes standing by.
  3. In a microwave safe bowl, melt together the butterscotch chips & peanut butter.
  4. Pour the mixture over the frosted flakes & mix together.
  5. Spread the flake/pb mixture onto the sheet pan.  This is where the construction differs-I decided to do a single layer of frosted flakes, instead of the flake-chocolate-flake layering.
  6. In another microwave safe bowl, melt together the chocolate chips, butter & water.
  7. Once melted, whish in the powdered sugar, and then spread over the top of the flake/pb mixture.
  8. Place in the fridge to chill & set up.


Years ago, my Husband & I were at the in-laws & my Mother-in-Law made the mistake of giving the two of us this treat.  We devoured the entire plateful .  I still think about them, and thought this would be a yummy treat to add to all the others.


This ones so basic.  Ritz Crackers.  Peanut Butter.  White Chocolate melted.  Decorations {like sprinkles}.
How super simple is that :)


After making the previous treat, I had leftover chocolate that I simply did not want to waste.  So I lined a cookie sheet with some wax paper, and dumped the chocolate on top.  I made a nice even layer, and then sprinkled some sprinkles on top.  Easy Peasy.  Stick in the fridge and a couple hours later, you can break it into pieces to share.

I hope these are some helpful ideas.  Have a Merry Christmas!

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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Carrot & Ginger Soup

This is the Third Ginger recipe that we've tried out, and it did not disappoint.


The soup had the perfect balance of carrot & ginger flavor.



So if you're looking for a different soup recipe to try out, this one would be great.

Enjoy!

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Monday, December 19, 2011

Orange Creamcicle Cookies

My hubby's favorite dessert flavor is Orange Creamcicle.  He loves the popcicle.  He inspired our fabulous friend to create these cupcakes.  So when I saw these cookies on Pinterest awhile ago, the light bulb went off in my head..."Why didn't I think of that?"


I took my favorite cookie dough recipe-that I basically use as a base for all my cookies-and built upon that.

The first time that I made these, they flew into people's mouths before I could snap any pictures.  So this time around I made sure to make them while nobody was around :)

I was lucky to still have some oranges around.  Zest just adds so much to dishes...that extra little punch!


I've noticed that when I chill the dough, it scoops out a little bit easier.  I like my cookies to be all the same size.  It's the somewhat-ocd-monster inside of me.


Perfectly soft.  Yummy tasting.  Delici-oso!


Orange Creamcicle Cookies


I hope you try these puppies out!

Enjoy!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Weekly Winners : Dec 11-17, 2011


I can't resist the pretty lights :)


Ummm...this little girls knew exactly what she wanted :)


I did not coax this.....


I didn't know I had bangs...


Thanks for stopping by!

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Indonesian Chicken

This is recipe #2 featuring Ginger.  When I mentioned this recipe to my Husband, he was excited to try it out.

This particular recipe I found over at FoodNetwork.Com courtesy of Ina Garten.  The ingredients looked simple enough, and in fact, the entire recipe looked simple enough to put together.  Marinate & Bake.....how can I go wrong.


So in trying these new recipes, I've wanted to stay true to what has been written.

I had to fudge on this one.  Here's what I did:
  • First, as you've probably noticed, I didn't use whole chicken {and then take them apart}.  I just grabbed two chicken breasts out of my freezer, and pounded them flat.
  • I didn't grate my ginger....well, not all of it.  I started grating it & it was taking forever.  So I decided to thinly minced the portion of ginger needed.
  • I only had half of the soy sauce that was called for.  And guess what???  The chicken still tasted fantastic.
  • I forgot to marinate it overnight.  I did take the chicken out to thraw, so that's a plus right :)  The chicken just marinated for a couple of hours.

I enjoyed the ease of taking the chicken from the refridgerator to the oven.  And the chicken came out so moist and flavorful.


I served it along side some leftover ginger rice and a green salad....we gobbled it all up.


This was a great dinner, so try it out!

Enjoy!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Huckleberry Honey Granola

I had a hankerin' for some granola.  It's been awhile since I've made some, so I decided the other day to just make some.

I've also got some Huckleberry Honey that my Sister brought back from Yellowstone that I've been wanting to try.


Why not put the two of them together!

Now.  I know that this sort of thing is not available everywhere.  I know when I was at Winco last, they had some Blackberry Honey that was very tempting to try-so I know that flavored Honey is out there.  Or you could stick with some plain ole' honey.

So....to start things off, I measured out 2 cups of Shredded Coconut & 4 Cup of Oats

And then....for the wet ingredients...in a microwave cup, I measured a half cup of Pomegranate Juice & a half cup of Brown Sugar & a half cup of Honey; threw it in the Microwave for 30 seconds & then stirred it around.


The raisens I wanted to add {two handfuls worth=1/2 Cup} to the granola were a little dry, so I tossed them in the liquid to rehydrate.


I also add a 1/2 cup of Craisens....one of my favorite things to snack on.


Added the liquid to the dry & mixed it all up.


Then, I took this lovely-fragrant smelling mixture and laid it out on a parchment lined pan.  Parchment Paper is the bomb diggity.


And that's that.  2 hrs later at 200 degress, I had me some toasty granola; which I happen to not have a picture of.  Bad JeNae, Bad.
But let me tell ya, the smell that protruded out of my kitchen while it baked was Fan-freakin-tastic.  Flowery & Sweet all at once.  And the granola itself-Yummo!  It's been awesome to have on some Vanilla Yogurt for breakfast in the morning.

Thanks for stopping by!