HAHA oh the calories

I was at starbucks this morning! In front of me a woman who I'm assuming is a regular ordered her nonfat drink and then got a pastry the checker asked her why she no longer got the zucchini muffin she usually gets and the woman said I didn't realize it had so many calories! I wanted to laugh out loud, now that starbucks has the calorie count on their food you get an idea exactly what you are putting in your mouth, and are not deceived by the sound of a something being low in calories I'm sure that woman thought she was eating the healthiest thing on the menu. It is important to remember that if you are looking at just the calories of an item you are really missing the more important thing what is the nutrients if you have something low in calories but has zero vitamins nutrients or fiber well you really aren't doing yourself a favor check the calories but when making the decision ask your self is this nutritious will this give me some of the vitamins my body needs and have that make your decision. Because your metabolism does need fuel to work!

Delicious Pumpkin Pie Crumble Cake

Another delicious Fall recipe enjoy!
Ingredients

• 1 pkg of plain yellow cake mix
• 1 stick of butter
• 4 lg eggs
• 2-15 ounce cans of pumpkin
• 1-5 ounce can of evaporated milk
• 1 1/4 cup of sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 stick of chilled butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 2 cups of heavy cream
• 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup of chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Light spray a 13X9 inch baking pan with the cooking spray for baking. Measure out 1 cup of the cake mix and reserve it for the topping. Place a bowl in the freezer to chill.
2. Place the rest of the cake mix, 1 egg and butter in a bowl and blend for 1 minute with an electric mixer. With your fingertips press the batter over the bottom and sides of the pan and set aside.
3. The filling: Place the pumpkin, 1 cup of sugar, 2 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nutmeg, 1/2 tsp of ginger, 1/2 tsp of cloves, 3 eggs, and evaporated milk in a bowl and blend on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat an additional 1-2 minutes until mixture lightens in color. Pour the filling over the crust.
4. The topping: Place the remainder 1/4 cup of sugar, chilled butter and the rest of the cake mix in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 30 seconds to 1 minute until crumbly. Stop the mixer and stir in the pecans. With your fingers, knead the pecan into the topping mixture and distribute evenly over the filling mixture.
5. Bake until the center no longer jiggles. This should take about 70-75 minutes. Remove the chilled bowl and place the heavy cream and confectioners' sugar and beat until it peaks. Slice the cake in squares and spoon the mixture over the top.

Yummy Caramel Apples

Well as promised I am going to start posting some great fall recipes and hopefully some fun treats before halloween. I decided to post caramel apples because it's become a tradition for my sister and I. A couple years ago my sister and I were both living in San Diego and decided to have a fun sister night and make caramel apples.

here is a picture of us with our finished product we were so proud they came out great! So the method we used was very simple we went with melting caramels in a crock pot it was really easy. So here is a simple recipe you can follow it's pretty basic.

Caramel apple recipe for the crockpot or slow cooker.

Ingredients:

• 2 packages (14oz each) caramels
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 medium apples, such as McIntosh, Gala, or Fuji
• sticks for apples

Preparation:

In slow cooker, combine caramels and water. Cover and cook on high for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until caramels are melted, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, line a baking pan with wax paper; butter the paper.

Wash and dry the apples. Insert a stick into stem end of each apple. Reduce crockpot heat to LOW.

Dip apple into hot caramel; turn to coat entire surface. Holding apple above pot, scrape off excess accumulation of caramel from bottom apple.

Place coated apples on prepared wax paper in pan. As you near the bottom of the pot, use a spoon to spoon hot caramel over apples. Put the pan of coated apples in the refrigerator to set thoroughly. Use caution if children are helping; the crockpot will probably be quite hot to the touch and the caramel could scald.

Makes 8 caramel apples.

It also is delicious if you add some cinnamon to the caramel.

I personally like the simple caramel and nuts but it's also fun to get really creative and have fun making these!

How can I have S'more I haven't had anything yet!

I feel like i shouldn't already be homesick but the truth is I am not quite used to this new life but keepin my chin up anyways one of the things I miss already about San Diego Summertime is camping at San Elijo. It's a sunny afternoon and feels like the kind of afternoon where I would get in one more surf session before going in to dinner and smore's around the campfire. Aww summertime!!! well in honor of the things I wish I was doing I found this website that hosted a gourmet smores night there are some awesome combinations check them out. I added two recipes that I learned the past two summers from two families that joined our camp trips at San Elijo. Enjoy the finger lickin fun!

"First you take the Graham"
"Then you stick the chocolate on the Graham"
"Then you roast the Mallow"
"When the Mallow is flamin you stick it on the graham and cover it with the other end"
"Then you Stuff!!!!!"



The ingredients include various types of graham crackers (chocolate, honey, cinnamon, ginger) various additions such as toasted coconut, cinnamon, nut meg, andes mints, berries, bananas, various types of chocolate hazelnut bars, peanut butter cups, white chocolate etc. and of course the Mallow. The combinations are endless.

The two other fun recipes are in the links below enjoy!

brown bear link

banana boat link

Yummy Ice Cream Cake

Hi all I wanted to share this delicious recipe for an ice cream cake that I made for Tim's graduation party. I got this recipe from the Kraft Recipe's website it was sooo easy to make and a huge success everyone loved it so have fun trying it out for your upcoming summer parties!
what you need!
1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
8 OREO Cookies, chopped (about 1 cup)
12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches
make it!
POUR fudge topping into medium bowl. Whisk in 1 cup COOL WHIP. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. Stir in chopped cookies.
ARRANGE 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24-inch-long piece of foil; top with half the COOL WHIP mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sandwiches. Frost top and sides with remaining COOL WHIP. Bring up foil sides; double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet.
FREEZE 4 hours or until firm.

Popsicle Maker

I found this Zoku popsicle maker that I would love to have it's soooo awesome I guess how it works is you have to freeze the maker for 24hrs then you can fill it with your creative recipes or by the awesome popsicle recipe book from William Sanoma, anyways then you stick the sticks in and it freezes right away like in 10 min WHAT!?!?!? so cool! So it only makes three at a time but once you freeze the first 3 you can immediately start on the next three and in 20 min have popsicles for 6 friends. What a great summer treat, I've been reading the user reviews and everyone has given full stars a couple people noticed that if your recipe has artificial sweetners the pops will stick to the maker so it's recommended to use natural fruity ingredients. You can buy this maker from Zoku which i recommend cause they have more information if you run into any trouble, or William Sanoma (they have a demonstration video so check that out). I really should buy this for my Entrepanuer Idea.

New Recipe

I have been trying to cook at home alot more trying out different recipes, and there is this breakfast recipe I had been dying to try so I finally made it yesterday and served it this morning for my roomates it turned out pretty good I didn't take any pics so I just used the pics from the recipe i got it from. The original recipe I got from all recipe's.com but I completely modified it due to the fact that I had different ingredients available. so here is the recipe that I made.

Good Morning Sunshine!

I just wanted to post a picture of part of my breakfast to make you all smile. Also to throw in an encouragement for each of you reader's to take time in the morning to enjoy a good breakfast. Remember that eating a healthy breakfast is the best way to start off your day, and be good to yourself by eating a healthy breakfast. Notice how much better you feel through the morning and the rest of the day when you don't skip breakfast.

Yummy Green Treats

St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner and I found some great green recipe's for your St. Patrick's day celebration! Avacado Hummus

Puree 2 avocados and 1/2 jalapeno pepper in a food processor. Stir in a 7-ounce tub of hummus, a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with celery sticks.

Emerald Eggs
Hard-boil 6 eggs, then peel and slice in half. Scoop the yolks into a food processor and puree with 1 cup watercress leaves, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons each chopped scallions and tarragon, and salt and pepper. Cut 4 slices ham into thin strips; fold and place in the hollowed-out egg whites. Fill with the yolk mixture.

Irish Grilled Cheese

Mash 4 tablespoons softened butter with 2 tablespoons each chopped parsley, scallions and chives. Spread the mixture on 4 slices white bread; top each with sliced Irish cheddar cheese and bread-and-butter pickles. Cover with 4 more bread slices. Spread plain butter on the outside of the sandwiches and fry in a skillet until golden on both sides. Spread the remaining herb butter on the warm sandwiches. Slice into quarters, then press the cut sides in more chopped herbs.

Spinach-Pesto Ravioli

Boil 16 spinach ravioli as the label directs. Drain and pat dry. Fry the ravioli in 1/2 cup olive oil until golden on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Mix 2 tablespoons pesto sauce with 1/2 cup bottled vinaigrette. Place the ravioli on skewers and dip in the sauce. (Food Network)

More recipe's to come

Twist to the old Corned-beef and Cabbage

Corned-Beef-and-Cabbage Pizza
Check out this recipe for a delicious twist to the old Corned-Beef and Cabbage on Foodnetwork.com!

St. Patrick's Day Sweets!

here are some dessert ideas for St. Patrick's Day.

These oreo shamrocks should be a big hit I got this recipe from Bakerella to check it out click link to check out the recipe.
Also check out these Irish Cream Brownies from All recipes. com.

Ingredients
1 (20 ounce) package brownie mix
1/2 cup Irish cream liqueur
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons milk
2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
1 teaspoon brewed coffee
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup toffee baking bits (such as Heath Bits 'O Brickle®) (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Stir together the brownie mix, the 1/2 cup Irish cream liqueur, vegetable oil, and eggs. Spread in the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges have started to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven to cool completely on a wire rack.
Place the milk, 2 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur, and coffee in a small, microwave safe bowl. Microwave on High until the mixture boils. Set aside to cool completely.
Beat the butter and confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer in a bowl until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and the cooled Irish cream mixture, and beat well. Spread evenly over the cooled brownies. Sprinkle evenly with the toffee bits.

Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 276 Total Fat: 14.2g Cholesterol: 32mg

Sugar Sugar

For Valentines day I came up with the most delicious creation all because of a few errors. I wanted to make sugar cookies for valentine gifts for Tim's roomates since I'm always invading thier space. So last week I got to work and I made your everyday average sugar cookies.

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

2 Tbsp milk

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder.
Then it's usually my specialty to melt white chocolate chips and decorate the sugar cookies with that simple enough right. WRONG I couldn't figure out how to lower the temp of our microwave and therefore kept burning the chocolate. When I finally used up my entire bag of chocolate chips I decided to try the double boiler thing and found another bag of chocolate chips but the ones I found were so old that they did no good. Finally after all that mess I figured out how to lower the temp on the microwave so I went back to the grocery store bought another bag of white chocolate chips and just in case I bought a tub of strawberry pilsbury cake frosting, just to be safe. I got home and burnt another batch of chocolate and was so frustrated decided to just go with the strawberry icing I put a little bowl of it in the micro for 15 sec to get it runny and added some red food coloring to make it a brighter pink then went to town drizzing the strawberry sweetness on my sugar cookies. I couldn't stop there though I couldn't accept the fact that I had failed at something as simple as melting chocolate chips so I lowered the temp of the microwave to a 6 out of 10 then put a cup of white chocolate chips in with a teaspoon of crisco and melted it for 1 min then added another 30 sec to get it really smooth and it came out perfect success, so I drizzled some of that on the cookies as well and finished with some red sprinkles. The result was amazing sweetness strawberry white chocolate sugar cookies they were a big hit.

The Spanglish Sandwich

I was just now craving a sandwich and was thinking about the part in the movie spanglish where Adam Sandler creates a mid-night snack sandwich that literally got my mouth watering just watching him make it and then I thought about it just now and began craving it.
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/stolrsky/shared/spanglish_sandwich.mov
click link above to see the part of the movie that got us all craving that delicious sandwich.
So I tried looking up that sandwich just now and turns out I wasn't the only one that craves that sandwich.

When James L. Brooks wrote the screenplay for his film "Spanglish" he included in the stage directions the notation that the hero of his film, a culinary genius, would make "a snack we will remember and copy." By the time the script got to the actor, Adam Sandler, the snack was expected to be something that "everyone in the audience would want to eat at home." And by the time it got to the professional chef who was the advisor on the film it was expected to be "the world's greatest sandwich."

And so it fell to Thomas Keller, whose Napa Valley restaurant The French Laundry is a landmark in California cuisine, not only to create this amazing snack but also to train Adam Sandler, who had never cooked before, to make it so well on screen that his character would contemplate it and exclaim, "Oh -- Baby" even before taking a bite. This tall order was met so well that almost from the moment the film was released people began sharing the recipe, and the sandwich began appearing on the internet as well as on menus of trendy restaurants.

so here you go here's the recipe and a video tutorial as well.

http://

VALENTINE RECIPE "chocolate strawberry ice cream sandwiches"

I found this recipe from Lisa Wong Jackson of Good on Paper and it looks so delicious. I might try making these tonight if i can hopefully clear out some room in my freezer.

Chocolate Strawberry Heart-Shaped Ice Cream Sandwiches, makes 24
· 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
· 1/2 cup cocoa powder
· 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
· 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
· 1 1/2 cups sugar
· 2 large eggs
· 1 tablespoon milk
· 2 to 2 1/2 pints strawberry ice cream, slightly softened
1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, vanilla, and sugar. Add eggs and milk, and mix until combined. Add reserved flour mixture, and mix on low speed until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula at least once. Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a flat disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface; use an offset spatula to unstick the dough every few turns of the rolling pin. Roll dough to an 1/8-inch thickness. Cut dough using a variety of heart-shaped cookie cutters from 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter, making sure there is a top and bottom cookie for each sandwich. Place hearts on a parchment-lined baking sheet; chill until firm, about 30 minutes. Remove from refrigerator; use a fork to prick holes all over the surface of the cookies. Bake until firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly on baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. Using half the cookies, spoon softened strawberry ice cream about 1/2 inch thick on each underside. Place matching cookie on top of ice cream, top-side facing out. Transfer immediately to freezer to harden; repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve directly from the freezer. Sandwiches can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for 3 to 4 days.