And I created another one. An intervention may be coming soon.

Warrrrrrr Eagle! Hey!

My newest creation.

"One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other One"

This past weekend my dear friend DJ came to visit.

We went to a kind of antique place on Saturday....amongst the creepy parts I did find a cool picture for our AU room. J thinks its terrifying, and I explained that the eagle is not nearly as frightening as the dolls displayed below.....

Can you find the live human?

Brittany's Beans



Are beans even that pretty to look at?

1 Lb. Ground Beef - browned
1 Large Can Bush's Vegetarian Style Baked Beans
16 oz. Crushed Pineapple
1 Bell Pepper - Chopped
1C Brown Sugar

Cook the ground beef and dispose of excess fat. Mix the beef with remaining ingrediants.Warm the dish throughout on medium/high heat and serve hot.

Since Independance Day is one of the biggest days people grill on I wanted to share a perfect side dish for you. For the record I am not a huge baked (or any form really) bean fan. I like a few bites here and there and that's about it. However, the pineapple gives it a fantastic flavor. Try this instead of serving beans straight out of the can. Disclaimer: by adding meat to the vegetarian style bean makes the dish no longer vegetarian friendly. :)

Pepper Jelly Appetizer

                                                                                    

1 Block of Cream Cheese (8 oz)

1/2 C Pepper Jelly

Set the cream cheese on a serving tray and spread jelly over the block. Serve with crackers such as Wheat Thins or Triscuits.

I feel like this appetizer is a typical Southern appetizer, but I really have no basis for that theory. This may be one of my favorite things to eat. No, it does not look pretty, but who doesn't love cream cheese with a hint of spice? The pepper jelly adds a mild hotness and did I mention how tasty it was? Plus, this is very easy to make so you can throw it together as people are pulling up to your house. It's that quick and easy. You may not want to have jelly oozing all over the plate as displayed in the picture as it can terrify those who are new to the pepper jelly appetizer concept.

Cherry Coke Cupcakes


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Horrible Picure.

Cherry Coke Cupcakes:

For the cupcakes:

1½ cups all-purpose flour

3 tbsp. cocoa powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup sugar
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
½ cup buttermilk
¾ cup Coca-Cola

¼ tsp. maraschino cherry juice

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Maraschino cherries, stemless

For topping:
2/3 cup heavy cream
3-4 tbsp. powdered sugar
Maraschino cherries

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners as my batch was extrememly messy and stickey! Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside. In a mixer, combine the sugar and butter. Mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg. Combine the buttermilk, Coke, maraschino cherry juice, and vanilla extract. Mix the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture  alternating with the liquid and dry ingredients. Pour the batter evenly into the liners and place 3 stemless maraschino cherries into each cupcake. You will need to push them down into the batter. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until done.

To make the whipped topping, add the heavy cream and whip with a mixer. Start adding the confectioners' sugar and continue to whip until well blended.

I also added some coke and cherry juice, which totally turned it into a sticky glaze instead of a nice fluffy topping. It was so very delicious, but as usual the overall look was not so pretty. I also made the cupcakes the night before and whipped up the topping the day of presentation. These cupcakes were SO yummy. They held the perfect mix of cherry, chocolate and coke. I had zero complaints from the cupcake eaters aside from the fact that I made them very sticky. :) This recipe came from Annie's Eats and her cupcakes are much prettier and actually have whipped frosting on top. I would absolutely make them again.

Oprah Who? My Favorite Things....For Now

 

 I adore mascara and at the same time I loathe it. If I could afford it I would pay for eyelash extensions. I hate my eyelashes and envy those who have long, curled lashes. Sigh. However, Falsies Mascara is the CLOSEST thing I have found to make me happy. Just the black kind - NOT waterproof. 

 

 I love the light for my Kindle. I can read at bedtime without keeping J up. Plus it reminds me of a coal miner for some reason, which puts me in a Hunger Games mode. "And may the odds be ever in your favor."

The Run Keeper App. I adore it. You can plug in your workout or use the GPS to track your workout. It will talk to you throughout the work out every 5 minutes with your distance, speed, MPH, and how far you are from your goal speed (only in GPS mode). It's kind of awesome. 

 

Sweaty Bands. A work out headband that does NOT budge. I swear, it does not move at all during a workout. Plus, they have ADORABLE styles. Very fun girly ones, team ones, sorority ones, etc. I am adding this one to my wishlist for very obvious WDE reasons. Check out Sweaty Bands. Better yet, buy me one.  

If my life depended on ironing then I would perish. Instead of ironing I use this fabulous wrinkle releaser spray on my clothes. Each night I pick out my work outfit and spray it down with this.The clothing can then be thrown in the dryer, but I usually just straighten it myself. It's amazing and works wonders. No wrinkly clothes and no ironing for me!

"I'm Going Off The Rails Of A Crazy Train"

Wow. I thought I couldn't keep up with my blog during football season, but Spring has proved to be even more difficult! Our life has been busy. We are still trying to get the house together while keeping our fabulous social appearances - ha! Seriously though April involves A LOT of traveling.

It began with a baby shower for one of my best friends Double L. We threw a shower for her in Scottsboro, AL Easter weekend. We are flying to Newport News, Virginia to visit with my sister, brother in law and a few of our friends we were stationed with in Abilene, TX. Getting ready for this trip, I lost the only valid ID I owned which may have ensued a mild panic attack. Luckily we found it so chances are I can get on the plane. J & I will be making a trip to ATL at the end of the month for another 5K race and to see Les Miserables at the Fox Theater. . In May I will be headed back to Alabama for a sorority sister's wedding and then back to ATL for another wedding. Absolute craziness. Can gas prices PLEASE go down?! Throw in an April HHBC meeting and Disney on Ice with M and you have my life. Oh wait, during that I will be starting a new job. Cheers!

Yes. Nothing adds to the stress and chaos of a busy month than turning in a two week notice and accepting a new position. However, this position is also a former position as I am heading back into the cookie world known as the girl scouts. They had the same position open up for the council in Columbus, which was the same position I held in Texas. Shhhh. I can hear you laughing at this news. After a particularly hard day I sat in my car crying and heavily praying about the future of my career. Literally 15 minutes later I saw the girl scouts finally had a position open up. Could it really be that God has had me wait over a year to go back to work in non profit? I mean every door that slightly opened for a new opportunity in this past year had closed; sometimes even slammed in my face. The morning before I received the offer from the girl scouts, I had received another rejection email from another company I had interviewed with . This time I took the lovely email as a message that God was closing another door to show me that I needed to accept this offer. And so I did. While I have been appreciative of my employment for the past year I am very excited to see what this door holds. Even though it's the same position, I will strictly be working in membership and fund development. Since this office is fully staffed I will not be wearing as many hats as I did in Texas. Thus, less traveling, less weekend events, less slumber parties in damp warehouses with cookies - what will I do? Of course I am happy to do all that, but I have a feeling this experience will be MUCH different. Prayers are appreciated. If I get nervous before spin class imagine how much fun I am before switching companies!

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies
1 C Unsalted Butter
1 C Crunchy Peanut Butter
1 C Sugar
1 C Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
2.5 C Flour
1 t Baking Powder
.5 t Salt
1.5 t Baking Soda

Mix together butter, peanut butter and the sugars. Add the eggs and beat. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Stir this mixture into the batter. Refrigerate the mix for an hour. After an hour, make 1 inch dough balls and place on a cookie sheet. Mash down with a fork. Cook for roughly 10 minutes at 375.

I had a sweet craving and decided to make cookies. This recipe was chosen because it is what I had on hand. Very simple ingredients. It was super easy to make and delicious to eat. J is not a peanut butter fan and he loved them.A quick and easy thing to make for guests unless they are allergic to peanuts. 

No Excuse

It literally has been a lifetime since I have updated. People were blowing up my phone just begging me to update my blog, ha! I play on catching up, but until then...

I felt like this captures us well. On the way to high school friend T's wedding in ATL.

Getting mad at the neighbors because the kids leave these bike ramps in the middle of the street at nighttime. Documentation for HOA.

Completed my first 5K of 2012 in the chilly rain.

Had a random stranger smash my kindle with her treadmill and proceed to rock back and forth on it. Completely accidental.

My Fendi Foo is just too cute not to photograph.

And this is Miss Friski literallly sleeping on her back propped up against my knee. Kitten mittens are so strange, yet so flipping awesome.

When Good Food Goes Bad....

I was performing my morning routine of browsing the daily news stories on AOL when I came across an article about how long to keep leftovers in the fridge. Yes, this means that you actually throw away food based on the shelf life, not that you take a whiff and decide it's edible for a few more days. AOL linked over to Hellawella where I stumbled across this fabulous guide:

 

Even though some foods have expiration dates, this is useful for the dates that fade or the items that do not have a date. 

Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole
8 Slices Of Bread - cubed
1 Lb. Sausage - cooked & crumbled
1.5 C Cheddar Cheese - shredded
10 Large Eggs
2 C Milk
2 t Dry Mustard
1 t Salt
Pepper

In a greased casserole dish, place the cubes of bread on the bottom. Top the bread with sausage (make sure it is cooked) and shredded cheese. Mix the eggs, milk, mustard and salt together. Season this mixture with pepper and pour it over the sausage mixture. Cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

I believe I got this recipe from All Recipes, but I am not sure. Oops! I have never made a breakfast casserole before, but our good friends came for the weekend and I was excited for the excuse to try this recipe out. It was SO good. I served the casserole with a side of buttery, garlic toast. It was a filling breakfast and everyone enjoyed it. The seasoning was great and not one ingredient stood out from the rest. It was not too cheesy or too "eggy." The next time I do this I will attempt to throw in some hash browns as well. It says this can made the day before, but I did not attempt that. I also used leftovers for J's breakfast for the next two days. A breakfast casserole that reheats well is definitely going into my recipe box.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Homemade Taco Seasoning
1T Chili Powder
1.5 t Ground Cumin
1 t Sea Salt
1 t Pepper
1/2 t Paprika
1/4 t Garlic Powder
1/4 t Onion Powder
1/4 t Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 t Dried Oregano

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container. Increase the red pepper for spiciness.

I swear I could eat these for days upon days upon days. You get the idea. Making tacos is so easy. It was one of the first things I made when we were married. In fact, I was so clueless in the kitchen that I did not know you needed to put the taco shells in the oven for a few minutes. I wondered why they tasted stale straight from the store. True story. J started to hate tacos or he hated them all along, but our marriage was too new to judge my cooking. I had made a homemade seasoning before and he surprisingly enjoyed the meal. I made this blend because I had everything, but seasoning for the meat. Loved this. If you randomly cook or you have a spice rack, you should have most of the ingredients on hand. I saved what I had left. Cheers for no more store bought seasoning packets!

Veggie Cups

Veggie Cups
Celery
Carrots
Ranch Dressing
Dixie Cups

Cut the celery and carrots into sticks. Squirt the dressing into the bottom of the cup and place the sticks in the cup. Voila!

This is almost to obvious to write out directions for. I cut the veggies and stored them in a ziplock bag overnight. Everyone loves a healthy snack option, even if it is covered in rich dressing. I discovered this idea on pinterest and thought about how genius it was. Little clean up and no one gets mad if you double dip. You know you are growing up when the same cups used for jello shots are used for veggies. Sigh.

Ham & Turkey Tortilla Rolls

Ham & Turkey Tortilla Rolls
Sliced Ham
Sliced Turkey
Medium Sized Tortilla Rolls
Ranch Mix Packet
8 Oz Cream Cheese

Mix the ranch packet and cream cheese until the mixture is soft enough to spread onto a tortilla. Lightly cover the tortilla with the spread and place turkey or ham on top. Make sure the tortilla is lightly covered with the meat and cream cheese, but that nothing is on the edge. Tightly roll the tortilla in a log shape. When ready, cut into smaller rolls. You may have to discard the ends.


This is another great appetizer I love to snack on. I made these the night before and stuck the tortilla logs in the fridge for half an hour. Once the cream cheese chilled it tightened the roll so the log would not unravel. I cut the log into smaller rolls, stuck in a ziplock bag and kept them in the fridge until ready to serve. These are great for game day and have more substance than munching on chips the entire night.

Crock Pot: BBQ Meatballs

BBQ Meatballs
Large Bag of Frozen Meatballs
2 Bottles BBQ Sauce
1/2 C Ketchup

Throw all ingredients into a crock pot. Heat on low for 6-8 hours. After a couple of hours, mix the ingredients so the sauces combine and to ensure even coating for the meatballs.


I have a real problem making homemade meatballs. They fall apart no matter what I do. Therefore I am not ashamed to purchase frozen food. This is a great dish that requires minimal effort. Serve with toothpicks. This is great leftover.

French Onion Dip

French Onion Dip
Onion Soup Mix
16 Oz. Sour Cream

Mix the onion soup and sour cream. Chill until ready to serve.

Although you can buy pre made dips in the store, I swear the flavor on this recipe is much better. Not to mention you can take credit for it being homemade. Kinda. Plus, if you use light or fat free sour cream you can cut back on the calories. This is a staple in the dip world and what it can be mixed the day before. Remember to keep it in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.

Super Bowl Food

Peanut Butter Cocoa Crispie Treat

 There is nothing I love more than eating party food - football food, shower food, etc. Give it all to ME!

I just love to snack on yummy appetizers throughout the party and I also love making these types of food. Easy yet tasty and full of flavor.

This year J and I decided to have a very small get together for the Super Bowl. We have yet to have our housewarming party (this was not it), but we decided to invite a few friends over to snack and watch the game.

This year I spent a couple hours the night before making food for Sunday. Making things ahead helps so much. We also had company in town so it was nice to relax on Sunday and not have to spend so much time in the kitchen. Friends also brought food over.

I should have taken more pictures, but I only took images of what I made. Along with the food listed below, we had pigs in a blanket, buffalo chicken dip, and some amazing cupcakes with cream cheese icing.

French Onion Dip

Cheddar Bacon Dip

BBQ Meatballs 

Turkey & Ham Tortilla Rolls

Veggie Cups

Don't forget to check out the healthy snacks we made for Super Bowl LI!

Tater Tot Beef Casserole

Tater Tot Beef Casserole
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 1/4 C Milk
1 Envelope Onion Soup Mix
1 Lb. Ground Beef
1/2 Bag Frozen Green Beans
1/2 Bag Frozen Tater Tots
2 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Mix the soup, milk and soup mix in a bowl. Brown the beef and season with S & P. Layer a casserole dish with the beef, green beans, and the tater tots. Pour the soup mix over the top. Sprinkle cheese on top and cover with aluminum foil. Cook for 40 minutes or until cheese is slightly brown.

I thought this was such a "manly" meal and it would be right up J's ally. Sure enough, it was. I had a little bit for dinner and it was so yummy! It makes a ton and you can add as many veggies as you want. It's the perfect balance of meat, veggies and with a touch of carbs. You can't get better than that. Plus, leftovers can be frozen and still taste great when reheated. I will definitely be making this again, but I will be added more veggies in addition to the green beans.

Pork Loin

Pork Loin
2 Lb. Pork Loin
Green Egg Seasoning

Cover meat with the Green Egg Seasoning. Cover the meat in foil and set the oven to 450. Cook for10 minutes per pound and in the last 5-10 minutes,  uncover the meat and finish cooking. In this case the pork cooked covered for 15 minutes and uncovered for 5 more minutes. Slice and serve.

I have a concern that the meat will be dry even if cooking it according to the directions. This was definitely not the case. It was juicy (eh, not sure I like that word) and compliments were given regarding the excellent flavor. The Green Egg seasoning was delicious. It added a great flavor and it was not overpowering with a salty flavor as some seasonings do. Of course if you don't own a crazy, expensive grill (although J & I would LOVE one if you feel like donating to the cause) I'm sure you can purchase their seasoning. And as always, you can make your own seasoning as well.

Green Bean Bundles

Green Bean Bundles

Fresh Green Beans

1 Package Turkey Bacon

2 T Olive Oil 

Cavendars Greek Seasoning 

Lemon Pepper 

Garlic Powder 

Garlic Salt 

Cracked Black Pepper 

Italian Dressing

Trim the ends of green beans and rinse (kitchen shears are perfect for this). Place beans in a large bowl and add 2 T of olive oil, and as much of each seasoning as you desire. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spread green beans in single layer in a baking pan. Bake for about 15-20 minutes turning beans every 5 minutes. Place the strips of bacon flat on a cookie sheet and cook for 5-7 minutes at the same temperature. The bacon should be half way cooked through and flexible. Let everything cool.Take a small bundle of green beans and place them at the end of a bacon strip. Roll the bacon and form a bundle. Place these in a 9x13 baking pan. Once all are completely formed you can cover with italian dressing or whatever dressing of your choice. Cook at 350 degrees and bake for about 10-15 minutes. 

When J & I grilled a lot this was a go to recipe for a healthier option. We also used asparagus in place of the green beans. The recipe sounds complicated, but it is really quite easy. Bacon is great with anything and I promise you cannot tell a huge difference between turkey bacon and regular bacon. Save on some calories and fat! A very complimentary pair.

Roasted Potatoes

Roasted Potatoes
3 or 4 Large Potatoes

1 Package McCormick Roasted Onion & Garlic Potato Seasoning

2 T Olive Oil

Preheat oven per directions on season package. Cover potatoes in oil and sprinkle seasoning over potatoes. Shake to cover potatoes evenly. Spread evenly on a baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Yum! Potatoes are such a great side because you can do almost anything with them. Trying to lean towards the healthier side, S decided on roasted potatoes. These were so full of flavor and required no butter, just a tad of oil. A very easy and inexpensive addition to a meal.

Broccoli & Cheese Casserole - Crock Pot Style

Broccoli & Cheese Casserole
2 Packages Thawed Broccoli
1 Can Cream Of Celery Soup
1.5 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 C Chopped Onion
.5 t Worchestershire Sauce
1/4 t Pepper
1 C Crushed Butter Flavored Crackers
2 T Butter

In large bowl combine the broccoli, soup, 1 C of cheese, onion, worchestershire sauce, and the pepper. Mix and pour into the crock pot. Sprinkle crushed crackers on top and dot with butter. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hrs or on low 7-8 hours. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and cook until cheese is melted.

Granted the picture may not seem appetizing, but the taste was fantastic. I love anything with cheese so this was right up my ally. It's an easy side dish that can be cooked in the crock pot. The broccoli literally falls apart in the cooking process and the cheese mixture is amazing, but not to heavy.  

Cotton Candy Cosmos

Cotton Candy Cosmos

1 1/2 Oz. Vodka

1/2 Oz. X-Rated Fusion Liqueur

1 Oz.Cranberry Juice

Pink Cotton Candy

Lime Juice

Place the cotton candy in the martini glass.Mix the rest of ingredients in a shaker and shake well.Pour liquid over the cotton candy.

This idea was SO fun! I loved the creativity and the cosmo was very delicious. Poor R drove around to literally 8 places before she found the cotton candy. I believe she got the idea from TGI Fridays. Forgive the cotton candy in the wine glass. I left my martini glass at home.

HHBC: Black Tie Affair (January)

Before the month ends I will try to get a complete post of this month's HHBC. It was a NYE/Black Tie Affair although we did not dress up. B was our wonderful hostess and I think it was one of the best so far! For our favors we painted HHBC wine glasses. Due to my horrible artistic skills, there will be no picture of this cute idea.

Pork Loin
Broccoli & Cheese Casserole
Roasted Potatoes
Green Bean Bundles
Banana Pudding
Cotton Candy Cosmos

Who knew cotton candy came in a creepy snowman container?

House Divided

I'm sure anyone who has lived in the South (and maybe elsewhere, but since I don't live there I cannot comment) has seen the lovely house divided logos. They are everywhere: on license plates, house flags, T shirts, etc. Here is a lovely example of what I am talking about:

In December I had told M that we could make a gingerbread house for a holiday activity. December was crazy and even though we hung out a few times, no gingerbread house was built. While purchasing a few items for our new home I saw the gingerbread kits were on sale and I had a brilliant idea - we are going to make our own house divided. I was pretty proud of this idea since M appears to pull for the other school and I bleed orange and blue. It was a lovely, messy experience and she really enjoyed it. Then J ate the extra candy. Kids.

I had issues, but the AU side.

AU roof. Check out my little trees from Toomers Corner.

M's roof.

Side of the house for the "other team." :)

M with the final product.

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake

• 1 Angel Food Cake - Large

Custard:

• 1 Cream cheese -softened, 8 oz.
• 1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk - 14 oz.
• Cool Whip - 12 oz.

For the glaze:

• 1C Sugar
• 3T Cornstarch
• 3T Strawberry Jello Mix
• 1C Water
• 2C Fresh Strawberries - cut in half

Slice the cake into 3 equal layers horizontally. Mix together the cream cheese, condensed milk, and whipped topping for the custard and set aside. In a medium saucepan, stir the sugar, cornstarch, Jello and add the water. Stir on medium heat until it thickens. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Fold in the strawberries. Place the first layer of cake and top with a layer of glaze and then a layer of custard mixture. Repeat layering in this order for the remaining cake, glaze and custard. Garnish the top with strawberries and mint leaves.

Such a pretty dessert! If you have a tall glass dish I would suggest using it as the serving piece. Of course this comes from someone who lacks in presentation so take that advice carefully! I have really started to like fruity desserts and the Strawberry Shortcake started this trend. The texture is very light, but this sweet is surprisingly very rich in taste. I really thought only chocolate desserts could be so rich until I had this. Yummm.

Beef Brisket - Crock Pot Style

Beef Brisket
1 Brisket - 3 to 4 lbs
1 Can Italian Crushed Tomatoes - 28 oz.
1 Red Onion - large & chopped
2T Red Wine Vinegar
2T Worcestershire Sauce
4 Garlic Cloves - minced
1T Brown Sugar
1t Celery Seed
1t Pepper
1/2 t Cumin
1/2 t Salt
1/2 t Liquid Smoke
4t Cornstarch
3t Cold Water

Place brisket in crockpot combine tomatoes, onion, vinegar, worchestershire sauce, garlic, brown sugar, celery seed, pepper, salt, cumin, liquid smoke in a bowl. Pour over beef. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or until meat is tender.

This is another excellent meal that can be done in the crock pot. Sometimes cooking meat all day can dry it out, but not in this case. It was flavorful and simple to fix. If you need to cook for your husband or boyfriend, this would be a great choice.