Candy Card!

Valentine's Day is in two weeks.  I don't know about you all, but we don't ever make a big to-do about Valentine's Day gifts or celebrations.  Sometimes Carl will send flowers, but I'm serious when I say I'd be just fine if we exchanged meaningful cards.  [I'm a huge card person; love sending them just as much as I love receiving them.]

So I introduce to you the candy card:

"All my life, I dated Goobers and Nerds!  I finally met a Red Hot(s) guy!  He gave me love that was Good & Plenty and I wouldn't trade it for a PayDay or 100 Grand!  I never though I'd Skor a man who makes me Snicker(s).  I'm so happy that I found a great guy in this enormous MilkyWay!
*sign as you always do!*

It's pretty self-explanatory, but I guarantee it'll make your man smile on Valentine's Day!  I did it as a stocking stuffer (so excuse the Merry Christmas,) but in my opinion it can work for any time of the year.  Hope the lucky man you make it for enjoys this cute play on a card!

A Moment in Time

The other day my friend Liz over at Tales from the Coast blogged about her happiest moment in life thus far.  Which got me to thinking about mine and wondering about Carl's.  So naturally, we discussed it.

Carl told me his was our wedding day.  And of course I love that he chose that moment because it was an absolutely magical and wonderful day.

Photography by Alex Goykhman

Surprisingly, my happiest moment was different than his.  I did not chose a part of our wedding day or the day he asked me to marry him.  Those days were amazing in their on right.  My happiest moment was on January 4th, 2011 when Carl wrapped me up in his arms at his homecoming from his first combat deployment in Marjah, Afghanistan.  The deployment was long and scary and the brave Marines of 2/6 came home without 17 of their brothers.  Military homecomings are indescribable.  It's such a mix of feelings; anxiousness, excitement, nervousness, happiness.  I don't think you can ever truly explain that feeling to someone who has not experienced a homecoming first hand.  For me, I really was just as happy that day as on our wedding day.  The daily worry turned into relief and excitement to see the love of my life again and get back to living our lives together, which brought us to where we are today.

Apple French Toast (in the Crockpot!)

Don't you always see crockpot breakfast creations floating around on Pinterest?  I definitely do.  I've been meaning to try one (for a pretty long time now) - and guess what?!  I finally did!  And it was seriously delicious.  It made about 8 servings and I had absolutely no problem eating it several days in a row.  Yum!

Apple French Toast (in the Crockpot!)
(adapted from this recipe)

1/2 cup butter
2 apples (I used golden delicious) - cored and cut into 1inch cubes
1/2 cup Splenda brown sugar blend
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
16 slices bread (I used the Sara Lee 45 calorie Delightful line to reduce carb/calorie intake)
6 eggs
2 cups coconut milk (or milk of your choice)
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Confectioners sugar (to garnish)

Using a medium sized pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the apples, brown sugar, and maple syrup to the pan.  Saute for 10 minutes, stirring often.  Place in crockpot.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.  Tear your bread into 1.5-2 inch cubes and place in bowl with mixture.  Stir to coat.  

Once the bread is evenly coated, place it in the crockpot and stir with the apple mixture.  Cook on high for 2 hours.  

Once your breakfast is ready, you can eat as is or garnish with confectioners sugar and touch of syrup!  

        

Kneader's Peppermint Brownies

During the holiday season, my Christmas is not complete until I've had at least one York Peppermint Pattie...or a whole bag of minis, but hey, who's counting?!  So when I saw this Kneader's Peppermint Brownie recipe floating all over the internet, I knew it was a must-bake.  And it is.  I vow to make this over and over in the holiday seasons to come.  It was that good.


Kneader's Peppermint Brownies
adapted

Brownies:
1 cup butter
4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
2 cups Splenda sugar blend
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13x2 baking pan with nonstick spray.

In a microwavable bowl, melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate on high, stirring every 20-30 seconds until chocolate is melted.  Let cool slightly.  Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix well.  Add flour and mix until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips until just combined.  Pour into pan and bake 25 minutes.  Do not overcook.  Let cool.

Filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
Peppermint extract to taste (as mentioned above, I love peppermint, so I used around 8 drops)
Red food coloring

Beat the softened butter, sugar, and extract together until you achieve your perfect mint flavoring.  Add in red food coloring.  I made mine a bright red for Christmas, so I used several drops.  Spread evenly over cool brownies, then chill.

Chocolate Ganache
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup half and half
Crushed peppermint

Put the chips and half and half into a microwaveable bowl.  Melt on high, stirring every 20 seconds until chocolate is melted and mixture is well combined.  Make sure not to overheat!  Immediately pour on brownies and decorate with crushed peppermint.

Although there are three steps to this recipe, everything goes quickly and it is definitely worth it!    

Strawberry Pinterest Brownies

Behold the Pinterest brownies!

But seriously.  I found this pin floating around - you know one of those with all the directions in the description part - and decided it was worth a try.  It didn't link to anything, so I thought it may end up being a shot in the dark.  Wrong.  The recipe is super easy and fast and does not taste like it was super easy and fast.  Convenient!

Strawberry Pinterest Brownies

1 box Pillsbury strawberry cake mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray.

Combine all ingredients and mix until well incorporated.  Mixture will be thick.  Using a spatula, spread into 9x13 baking dish.  Bake for 14-15 minutes.

Glaze

2-3 Tbs skim milk
1 cup confectioners sugar

Mix together.  Add milk to get your desired consistency.  I wanted mine to be a true, light glaze.  Spread or drizzle over brownies.  Top with sprinkles if you want to get fancy!

That's it!  Now how fast was that?!

Cake Class #2

And here it is, my first decorating class creation:

You all may have seen my Facebook post last night about my monogrammed cake carrier and burlap tote bag.  To stick with the theme, I monogrammed an R with a rosette tail onto my cake and practiced star borders.  I'm very happy with how it turned out!

The class went over some tips of baking last week and I tried one on yesterday's cake.  If you're using a box mix to bake your cake, add one more egg than the box directions call for and a 3.4oz package of instant pudding in a coordinating flavor.  My cake came out sturdier (aka popped out of the pan without even flaking) and I had no crumbs when I frosted it!  I did funfetti with lemon pudding for fun.  It has a sweet taste with just a hint of lemon, yum.

Next week we're decorating and filling cupcakes.  Stay tuned!

Moscato Cupcakes

In another throwback to my Christmas baking spree, pre hospital stay, I baked a batch of Moscato cupcakes with a white chocolate and wine frosting.  At this point, I'd already made the cherry cordial cookies and Kneader's peppermint brownies (which I will post later - also to-die-for) so I needed something light and in the realm of the cake world.  Being that I'm a big fan of Moscato, I settled on these.

Moscato Cupcakes 
(adapted from this recipe)

2/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup Splenda sugar blend
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt 
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup Moscato wine
6 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place liners in your cupcake tin.

Cream together butter and sugar.  Alternate between gradually adding in the wine and gradually adding in the dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, beat your egg whites until they are at the very least heavily foamy.  (The original recipe said they should form stiff peaks, but alas after beating for quite some time I settled with very foamy egg whites.)  Add this to the batter and mix until well combined.

Fill the cupcake trays 2/3 full and bake for about 20 minutes.  This should yield two dozen cupcakes.

White Chocolate Moscato Buttercream

1 1/2 cup butter, softened   
6 oz Baker's white chocolate
2 1/2 - 3 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tsp Moscato
pinch of salt 

Following the directions on the back of the Baker's box, melt the white chocolate in the microwave and then let cool slightly.  (It's imperative to let it cool enough, otherwise the frosting will be runny.)  Cream the butter in a mixer.  Pour in the cool, melted white chocolate and mix well.  Begin gradually adding the confectioners sugar, wine, and salt.  If you reach your desired frosting consistency before 3 cups then go ahead and stop adding.  I don't like working with slightly runny frostings on cupcakes, as it will slide easily, so I tend to add in a bit more sugar than called for and a pinch of salt to even out that extra sugar.

I will admit I was slightly quizzical about combining white chocolate and wine for the frosting, but it definitely works!  And paired with the Moscato cupcake, it's the perfect combination.  Frost you cupcakes & as always, enjoy!

Cherry Cordial Cookies

I am a HUGE dessert person.  I will willingly admit I have a sweet tooth (while Carl will not admit he has a sweet tooth, but hey, I'm not the only one that eats everything I bake....)  So when I talked to my cousin a couple days before our Christmas Eve get together and nothing about lots of desserts on the menu came up, I sprang into action and went on a baking spree.  These Cherry Cordial Cookies were one of my choice items and ended up getting rave reviews from all types of family members.  Score!

Cherry Cordial Cookies
(adapted from this recipe)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup Splenda sugar blend
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries, well drained and patted dry
36 Hershey's Cherry Cordial Creme Kisses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whip the softened butter and sugar together.  Add in the egg and almond extract and mix well.  Gradually add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix until well incorporated.  Now add in the chopped maraschino cherries and mix until just combined.

Place small tablespoon sized dollops of dough on the cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms barely begin to brown.

As soon as the cookies are removed from the oven, firmly press a Hershey's Cherry Cordial Creme Kiss onto each one.  Allow to cool for 3-4 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Enjoy your kisses!

Cake Decorating Class!

Now that it's the new year, I must admit: I did not make any resolutions.  Honestly, I don't think I ever do.  However, for the past several years I have talked about taking the Wilton® Cake Decorating class offered at local Michaels craft stores.  I decided to actually look into on Monday, and what do you know - classes were half off as part of their new year promotion.  Well sign me up...seriously.

Last night was my first class.  It's a two hour class that meets four times of the course of a month, so I'll have a night class throwback every Tuesday this month.  And I'm looking forward to it.  Next week, I'll be baking a cake for class, learning how to properly level the top, practicing how to ice the top and sides sans crumbs (finally,) and polishing my star tip skills (which we originally learned last night.)

Hopefully in four weeks time, I'll have a pretty little cake to post on here.  Cheers!

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

Oh my goodness.  You must make these!  Of course yesterday was the BCS football game so I figured I'd try out a new recipe involving buffalo chicken.  And this turned out to be a winner!

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas
(adapted from this recipe)

1 10oz can red chile enchilada sauce
1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (I got Hooter's medium sauce at the grocery store)
1 12.5oz can white chicken breast, drained and shredded
1 cup 2% Mexican shredded cheese blend - divided use
1 cup fresh, coarsely chopped cilantro - divided use    
7 or 8 tortilla shells
1.5 - 2oz gorgonzola cheese
2 green onions, chopped 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.

Mix together the enchilada sauce and wing sauce; set aside.

Place the chicken and 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese in a bowl.   Add a heaping 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture and 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped cilantro.  Mix well.

Drizzle the baking dish with some of the sauce mixture.  Place between 3 or 4 tablespoons of the meat mixture into each tortilla shell and roll closed, placing the seam side facing down.  Pour remaining sauce over the rolled enchiladas and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 of shredded cheese on top.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

After removing enchiladas from the oven, sprinkle the gorgonzola cheese on top.  I used about two medium sized handfuls of the crumbly cheese.  Garnish with the remaining 1/2 cup of cilantro and green onions.

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did!!     
  

If You Love Dogs...

www.adogspurpose.com

Let's be honest, if you love dogs and you read the book A Dog's Purpose (written by W. Bruce Cameron,) you will most likely cry.  Several times.  But it's so good, it's definitely worth a few tears.

This novel is actually written from a dog's perspective.  Just a normal dog, going through life, trying to figure out his purpose.  The thing is, he goes through several dog lives (making me tear up) while trying to figure this out.  The story line is that he will keep being re-born until he recognizes his purpose in life.  So basically, you're in for four separate, but still intertwined stories about his different dog lives all culminating towards the end.  The author does a great job of developing relationships between the dog and the human characters in the book, keeping it relevant and drawing the reader into the plot.

A Dog's Purpose is very well written and it's basically a must read for dog lovers.  I highly recommend it!