Turtle Cookies

I also made these for Thanksgiving and they were a HUGE hit! They take some time to make, but are definitely worth it!

Turtle Cookies

Makes 3 dozen

http://elizabethsedibleexperience.blogspot.com/2009/11/cookie-question.html

Ingredients

1 egg

1/2 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Nestle)

1/4 tsp. salt

16 chewy caramels (I used Werthers)

3 Tbsp. whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans

1/2 cup or 3 oz semisweet chocolate pieces

1 tsp. shortening

Directions

Separate the egg, place the yolk and the white in separate bowls. Cover and chill egg white, you will use it later.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 sec. Add sugar, beat well. Beat in egg yolk, vanilla and milk.

In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat well until combined. Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or until its easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a saucepan, heat and stir caramels, vanilla and whipping cream over low heat until the entire mixture is smooth, then set aside.

Slightly beat the reserved egg white. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls. Roll them in egg white and then into pecans to coat. Place cookies 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.

Using the back of a 1/2 tsp round measuring spoon (or just use your thumb) make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are firm. Cookie centers will probably puff during baking, if this happens, just repress the indentation. Spoon melted caramel into the centers of each cookie. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool.

In a saucepan, heat and stir chocolate pieces and shortening over low heat until chocolate is melted. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate over the tops of the cookies by gathering some with a fork and making a back and forth motion over top the cookies while the chocolate drips. Let stand until the chocolate has set.

Pecan Pie Cookies

I made these for Thanksgiving but am just getting around to posting the recipe lol.

Pecan pie is awesome to begin with, but turn it into little cookies and its even better! I say that eating just one cookie is better than having a whole slice of pie, but once you have one of these...you will probably end up eating the equivalent of a piece of pie ;)

Pecan Pie Cookies

Makes 3 dozen

http://www.beantownbaker.com/2009/10/pecan-pie-cookies.html

Cookie Ingredients

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Filling Ingredients

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all cookie ingredients, except flour and baking powder. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low, add flour and baking powder. Beat until well mixed.

Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place two inches apart on cookie sheets. Make indentation in center of each cookie with thumb.

Combine all filling ingredients. Fill each cookie with 1 tsp filling. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for one minute then remove from cookie sheets.

Very Thankful

We had a great time yesterday spending Thanksgiving with our family :) It's hard not to have a good time when you are surrounded by such amazing people!

I am thankful for a lot of things this year...

* I am thankful for my amazing husband. I am truly lucky to have him in my life :)
* I am thankful for our loving family. Although the majority of them live in different states, we always know that they are there for us, no matter what.
* I am thankful for my amazing friends, no matter what state they live in! lol. A lot has happened since high school but it's nice to know that our friendships are just as strong as they were four years ago.
* I am thankful for our beautiful home and our adorable puppy. We are very fortunate to have been able to buy a house and even though Bella drives us crazy sometimes, she really has grown into a loving family member :)

And as I sit here with Bella laying on my feet, keeping my toes warm, I am truly thankful for all the little moments that led us to where we are today. I wouldn't change a thing :)

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

It's Here!!

It's official, I have the best husband EVER! I got my Xmas present today! A light yellow, 5 qt, super amazing, Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer!!!! Cue "Hallelujah" music!

Opening the box! We actually opened it up for the first time at Dave and Sandy's house, but now it was finally in our kitchen!!

Is there something in the box for me mommy???
It's love :)
THANK YOU RABBIT!!!!!

Steak Tacos and Vegetarian Ranch Beans

YUM! Super easy, healthy and very delicious! Where can you go wrong?? Matt was not a fan of the avacado salsa, but he's not a fan of avacados in general ;)

Steak Tacos with Avacado Lime Salsa

Original Recipe can be found on this fabulous blog...http://kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com/search/label/Mexican

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. cumin

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1-1/4 lb top sirloin steaks

12 small corn tortillas

3 cups shredded red cabbage

1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

2 cups avacado lime salsa (recipe below)

Directions

1. In small bowl, combine chili powder, garlic, cinnamon, salt and cayenne pepper. Rub mixture on both sides of steaks.

2. Grill steaks 5-6 minutes on each side for medium rare or about 7 minutes on each side for medium.

3. Remove from grill and let meat sit for 10-15 minutes. Carve into thin slices.

4. Warm tortillas on the grill for about 30 seconds, turning once.

Avacado Lime Salsa

Ingredients

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks to make about 2 cups

2 avacados, cut into chunks

1/2 red onion, diced

2 limes, juiced to make about 1/4 cup

salt, to taste

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

2 jalepeno chiles, chopped, plus more to taste

Directions

Put cucumber, avacados, and onion in large bowl. Add lime juice and salt. Add cilantro and chiles, toss gently.

Vegetarian Ranch Beans

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium red onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

salt, to taste

1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Heat a pot on stove over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and bring to temperature.

2. Add onion and bell pepper, saute until softened, about 3 minutes.

3. Add chili powder, cumin and salt. Saute for another minute.

4. Add broth and beans. Let them heat for about 5 minutes, or until beans start to break down a little bit.

5. Add cilantro and mash beans to desired consistency.

Cheese Danish!

The house smells like a bakery and these cute little pastries are so delicious! I was watching Barefoot Contessa the other day and Ina was trying out different variations of her recipe. When I heard her say that her original recipe called for citrus flavors to be combined with the cheese, I HAD to make this! I love the balance of lemon and delicate cheese flavors. Very light, but very tasty! Its one of those things that cures a sweet tooth, without making you feel sick from loads of sugar lol.

Ina's original recipe can be found here-

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/easy-cheese-danish-recipe

Cheese Danish

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature (I used 3 regular egg yolks)
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)

Juice from half of a lemon (I added this to the original recipe)
2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Parchment paper to line baking sheets

Original recipe says this makes 8 danishes, but I had enough filling left over to make about 4 more, you would just need to open another box of puff pastry.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl, mix and cream them until smooth. Mix in the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until just combined.

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. (If knife sticks, put flour on it and continue to cut)

Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. DO NOT spread out or it will run off the sides when baking. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.

Some reviews that I read said that their filling was too runny so they refrigerated just the filling for an hour, then put it on puff pastry, then put everything into the fridge to chill again. Mine did not come out runny, so I did not do this, but just a heads up.

Bake the pastries for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm and enjoy!

These turned out so yummy! I definitely think the added lemon juice kicked up the flavor just a bit. If you like the sugar frosting that you see on pastries at bakeries, you can mix powdered sugar with a little milk until it reaches the consistency that you want. Add this to the danishes once they are cooled. I didn't do this, but if you like a more sweet pastry, you will probably want to do this.

Healthy Apple Crunch

No homework to do tonight so it's time to make some dessert! :)

This is a healthy alternative to an apple crisp and is just as yummy as the real thing! However, I used granny smith apples and would recommend using a different kind of apple if you don't want a tart dessert. It was still delicious but definitely had a bite to it!

Apple Crunch
http://goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/2008/02/apple-crunch.html

Ingredients
4 large apples
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
4 Tbsp butter (cold)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray an 8x8 baking dish with baking spray. Peel, core, and dice apples into 1/2-inch pieces. Spread apples evenly in baking dish.

In medium bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut butter into small pieces and add to dry ingredients along with the vanilla. With pastry blender, cut butter into dry ingredients until all butter is about the size of a small pea. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over apples.

Place baking dish in oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until apples have cooked down and begun to caramelize. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Yes I added ice cream to a healthy dessert! lol.

Cheddar Corn Chowder

With the weather going back to blah, I decided to make some more soup! The minestrone soup was amazing and Matt loved it, so why not give the soup thing another try?? Although I have to say that Matt was pretty skeptical about "cheddar corn chowder"...but when I told him it had bacon in it...he was all for it! lol.

I have been pretty obsessed with cooking blogs lately and I got this from one of my favorites, "Annie's Eats." I changed it around a little bit, and it was delicious!! Matt said that its the best thing I've made so far! (And I've tried A LOT of recipes lol)

Cheddar Corn Chowder
http://annies-eats.com/2007/08/21/cheddar-corn-chowder/
(serves 5-6)

Ingredients
4 oz bacon, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 large onions)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
6 cups chicken stock
3 cups white boiling potatoes, unpeeled and diced
5 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 cup half-and-half
5 oz. white cheddar cheese, grated

Directions
In a medium or large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside for later. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add corn, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. I added the majority of the cheese at this time and then mixed in the remaining 2 handfuls right before serving. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

*The bacon is missing in this picture because we ate it all! lol.

To All the Future Blushing Brides!

We went to our FINAL wedding of the year this weekend, and I have to say, I'm going to need about a year before I can attempt to do the chicken dance again lol. So, after attending so many weddings and planning my own, I wanted to share some things that I've learned throughout the year in hopes that I can help make the process just as fun for future brides!

1. Remember-This is YOUR day. I know everyone will tell you that a million times, but it really is true. I stressed out over some things and had to be reminded that none of that stuff really mattered in the end. If people want to cause drama, let them. It is important to remember that the day is about celebrating the love that you and your fiance have for eachother. At the end of the day, that is all that really matters.

2. On a less serious but equally important note...UNDERGARMENTS! Anyone and everyone in the bridal party should be wearing the proper undergarments. You would be surprised to see what shows up in photographs! lol.

3. GREAT VENDORS ARE KEY! We ended up having issues with the coordinator that our ceremony/reception venue assigned to us and our photographer as well as our D.J stood up for us 100%! In fact, our D.J ended up doing a better job at coordinating than the coordinator! He kept everyone on time, let me know how things were going, adjusting things when necessary...he was awesome! And I cannot say enough great things about our photographer. He ended up putting the coordinator in her place SEVERAL times throughout the night. The most important part was the fact that it felt like they were there for us every step of the way. They met with us several times before the wedding day, got to know us and our style, and made sure that everything turned out the way we wanted it. I can't even begin to tell you how much that helped!

4. You CAN hand make things that look professional. I think the best example of this was our invitations. I am in love with those things and will never forget them! Will all of our guests keep them forever?...probably not...but doing something unique that represented our style and set the tone for our wedding was extremely important to me. With the help of some amazing ladies I was able to send out something creative and really get the ball rolling for all the wedding excitement!

5. David's Bridal has come a LOOOOOONG way in the past few years. Don't get me wrong, they have always had beautiful dresses, but I never imagined myself wearing one of their designs because they never really had anything that was my style. I wanted something with a vintage elegance to it, but also had a timeless feel. Something that looked like it could have come from my great grandma's closet, but had a shape that would never go out of style. Kind of a weird mix there...but that's what I wanted! lol. To my surprise, I found it there. They are coming out with some very unique designs and seem to have a little something for everyone now! They even started selling birdcage veils!

6. At the end of the night, make sure to tell your new husband or wife how much you love them. I knew Matt didn't care about little things like what song we cut the cake to or how the reception tables were arranged, but he put up with all of it every step of the way. He sat through vendor meetings, helped me find the perfect wedding shoes...he was a trooper. That's one thing, on a looooong list of things, that I love about that boy. If he knows something is important to me, even if he is not so thrilled about it, he is along for the ride with a smile on his face :)

I could say a million more things, but I'm going to stop there! In the end, people are right, nobody notices the little things and everything works out. That doesn't mean that you won't stress over the little things while planning or that you won't freak out when you wake up on your wedding day and it's freaking raining! lol. Just remember how lucky you are to find the person that you want to spend the rest of your life with, and celebrate! :)

Minestrone Soup!

Over the past year, I have completely fallen in love with cooking and baking! So far, I have been more experimental with cooking than I have been with baking, mostly because I still need a few baking necessities...but I am working on that! Which reminds me...

Dear Martha Stewart Stand Mixer in buttercup yellow-you are a GORGEOUS piece ofmachinery and I would love to give you a home in my kitchen, if you weren't so darn expensive! Please go on sale...50% off would be nice! lol!

So when I started going through cooking blogs and family recipes, I decided that I needed something that would be able to explain all the cooking "lingo" to me, with pictures preferably, so I can get the most out of these recipes. Of course, loving everything vintage, the first thing that came to mind was the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook...

This adorable book has tons of helpful tips, measuring equivalents, and the best part...vintage pictures just like the ones in the original 1950's edition! Too cute!

So, after almost picking this book up off the store shelf, I came across another book that I couldn't help but look at...

This has everything that is in the Betty Crocker book PLUS it gives you four different versions of the same recipe! There is the traditional version, a quick time saving version, a light version and a "cooking for two" version! It has pictures as well, however, they are not cute little 1950's pictures... :(

BUT...seeing as how I usually cook for just Matt and myself, I occasionally like healthy food ;), and the fact that sometimes I'm in a time crunch...this was the perfect book! So now in addition to a few small cookbooks and the endless cooking blogs that I read, I now feel like I can tackle any recipe no matter how complicated in may seem! lol.

So...on to one of our favorite recipes from this book! Everything (so far) has been super delicious!

Minestrone Soup! (I immediately thought of my sister Katie when I saw this recipe. The girl was OBSESSED with minestrone soup for the longest time!)

Here is the original recipe from the book, I added my changes in parentheses...

Minestrone Soup

Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 1.5 hours

Ingredients

2 cups coarsely chopped onions
1 cup sliced celery

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (I used 2 tsp. dried parsley)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup vegetable oil

5 cups beef broth

2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce

2 cups coarsely chopped cabbage

1 cup sliced fresh carrots

2 teaspoons dried basil or Italian Seasoning (I used the basil)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1.5 lb ground beef (I only used a pound)

1.5 cups sliced zucchini

1 cup cut up green beans (I omitted these, they are not Matt's favorite lol)

1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 cup uncooked ditalini or 4 ounces spaghetti, broken into pieces (I used leftover bowtie pasta)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In 8 qt. soup kettle, saute onions, celery, parsley and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, cabbage, carrots, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour.

2. In large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside. Stir into soup along with the zucchini, beans and pasta. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the veggies and pasta are tender. Top each serving with Parmesan cheese (which I didn't get the chance to do because Matt got a hold of the soup before I could! lol)

YUM! Probably after the first 20 minutes of simmering all the ingredients from part 1, the WHOLE HOUSE smelled amazing! Also, Matt doesn't like zucchini, but he ended up eating it in the soup! Success! lol.

Result: Yummy, gorgeous soup that I will definitely make again!

Time Warp!

I said this to Matt the other day, but after watching the recent Oprah episode (they did a flashback to the 60's), I definitely need to say it again...hats need to come back in style!

I'm not talking baseball hats or cowboy hats...I'm talking the adorable fashion statements worn by some of my favorite ladies of all time!...Jackie O...Audrey Hepburn...Grace Kelly...etc.

Really, how adorable of an outfit is this??

Ok, this lady isn't actually from that time period...it's Nicole Kidman...but you get the idea! lol.

Here are some more...

Vintage Chanel...GORGEOUS!

What ever happened to people actually getting dressed up to go out? I have to say that I got very excited when I heard people comparing Michelle Obama to Jackie Kennedy. Jackie greatly influenced fashion while in the white house and maybe the new Mrs. O can do the same???

One can only hope that with fashion trends constantly being recycled... maybe one day I can have my 50's cocktail hat with french netting :) OOoooo! And a vintage Chanel suit to go with it :)

Until then, I will keep wearing my vintage inspired heels and pencil skirts ;)

"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous."

-Gabrielle (CoCo) Chanel

First Comes Love...

September 6th, 2009-The first day of the rest of our lives! The day we became Mr. and Mrs!

Everything turned out beautifully, we were surrounded by family and friends, we couldn't have asked for more. Sure, there was rain in the morning and our cake barely survived the reception! (it sat under bright lights for a little too long!) But...with those being the only worries, I think we did pretty good! The rain stopped, the sun came out, and the weather ended up being perfect! Walking down the aisle and getting to say "I do" to the love of my life...nothing beats that feeling. I will remember it forever :)

Now, we are home from the honeymoon and the newlywed life begins!

So...what do we do now?????

Blog! ;)

It was so amazing having everyone together for the wedding, so I want this to serve as a way of updating all our family and friends who live so far away! With thank you cards, home improvements, raising our puppy, getting rid of leftover wedding stuff and everything else on our plate...I'm sure there will be plenty to read about!

-Mrs. McDaniel :) hehe!