Ingredients:
5 avocados
Seeds of 1 pomegranate
2 tbsp POM pomegranate juice
1/4 c. cilantro
1 serrano pepper, diced (remove seeds and ribbing if you don’t want too much heat)
1/2 of 1 shallot, diced
Juice of 1 lime
Sea salt to taste
Directions: Prepare avocados by removing dicing half and mashing half. Add in diced serrano pepper and shallot, and mix. Add in Pom juice and lime juice, and mix. Add in cilantro and pomegranate seeds. Add salt to taste. when covering, use plastic wrap to push down on top of guacamole so that no air pockets exist. This will keep it nice and green!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe. I actually prefer this recipe over my guacamole recipe that includes bacon!This is such a refreshing and clean tasting recipe, and it’s under 10 ingredients!! I always joke that most recipes I make have under 10 ingredient, and a lot of times people don’t believe me. The green and red in this make it a great holiday dish, and it’s great to bring to any potluck or as an appetizer. Enjoy!
I hear her laugh and I immediately smile. I can hear the smile in her voice and even if I am not in sight of her, I know her smile is from ear to ear. I love that for every serious photo she takes there are 20 that have some goofy expression or her tongue sticking out. She is one of the most sincere people I have ever met and her hard work and dedication are to be admired. SHE IS THE BEST HUGGER EVER and her freckles … adorable!
When I found out Michele was engaged I couldn’t have been happier for her. She was absolutely glowing. I knew before she started planning that her wedding would be gorgeously planned and stunningly beautiful – she is a graphic designer after all – and I knew she would put that flourish into every part of her wedding planning.
During this time my relationship with Michele grew so much, we became more than just work friends. I went with her to see the wedding gown she had picked out and I watched her transform as she walked out with that gown on. I got to meet her wedding planner and shop for wedding decorations and ideas. My good friend and co-worker, Mariza, and I were asked to put our baking skills to the test; we were asked to bake for the wedding. Michele’s wedding colors were orange and navy blue, so we made blueberry cobbler and peach cobbler. Mariza and I spent several hours one evening testing recipes and coming up with a plan to feed 150+ people cobbler. The night before the wedding we went to Michele’s house and took over her kitchen! There are a handful of times I have made something and really poured my heart and soul into it, and this one of those times.
Mariza and I drove down the coast of Maine with my girls first thing the morning of the wedding so that the cobbler could be delivered to the venue before the celebrations began. We put our heads together and managed to fit many, many dishes of cobbler into the back of Mariza’s Jeep. Since we were early to the wedding and after sneaking peeks of the tent where the reception was being held- it was breathtakingly beautiful and elegant – we decided to wander the roads for a bit. We ended up in Blue Hill and we were pulled into the charming shop of Black Dinah Chocolatiers Tasting Room.
My girls were captivated by the amazing smells as we walked through the shop. There items for sale, along with goodies for sale. Mariza and I each decided on a molasses cookie half dipped in dark chocolate. I never would have thought of this combination on my own. It was amazing. That warm spicy flavor of the cookie, with it’s soft and chewy texture, mixed with the smooth and rich flavor of the dark chocolate. AMAZING! I was hooked.
My relationship with Michele continues to grow, like any great friendship does. Her outlook on life, her zest for enjoying what life has to offer, and her beautiful, encouraging soul has made me a better person. I love laughing with her, swapping random funny photos found on the internet, and watching her grow as a mommy to a beautiful baby boy, with the most adorable curly red hair. Thank you Michele for alway encouraging me and being there to listen. My courage to start this blog and let it take me where it may, is in part from you and your love! XOXO
Betty Crocker Molasses Cookies INGREDIENTS: 1 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. shortening
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 c. AP flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. granulated sugar
DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, beat brown sugar, shortening, molasses and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients except granulated sugar. Shape dough by rounded tablespoonfuls into 1 1/2-inch balls. Dip tops into granulated sugar. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls, sugared sides up, about 2 inches apart. Bake 13 to 16 minutes or just until set and cookies appear dry. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. After the cookies have cooled slightly I take a bag of dark chocolate chips and slowly melt them down. You can do this in 30 second bursts in the microwave or using a double-boiler on the stove. Just make sure to keep stirring so that you don’t burn your chocolate. Gently dip cookies half way and place on parchment paper for setting. Try not to eat them all at once!
It is October and for our family that means several birthdays and Halloween. My girls love to dress up and role play. They play house, school, weddings – you name it they create it. I adore this about my girls. I am thrilled that my almost 12 year old plays young for her age. This is partially due to the fact that we sensor / shelter her from a lot of today’s media and partially due to being a big sister and best friend to her almost 8-year-old sister. Some days I am torn over this … am I sheltering her too much? These lingering questions all fade away when I see how advertising in today’s society is focusing on over-sexualizing EVERYTHING!
Snow White and Cinderella
I am not a perfect parent, nor do I pretend to be. I do however pride myself in letting my girls be little kids. I am perfectly fine that they still think Miley Cyrus is in her “Hannah Montana” phase, that they play dolls and enjoy mothering them, and they enjoy a good princess and/or fairy movie.
Tinker Bell and the White Witch of Narnia
Halloween has recently become a hard holiday for my oldest. She is in that in between stage with her body … not quite a child, but definitely not a teenager. She has never intentionally wanted to be anything at Halloween that is sexual, but as anyone who has ever “Googled” a Halloween costume can tell you – there is a sexy version of almost everything. Case in point – the Sexy Pizza Rat costume. Seriously! It exists. Now that she no longer fits in child size Halloween costumes, one would think that the teen costumes wouldn’t be risque, but that unfortunately isn’t the case. Most everything is low cut or too short. So we end up improvising.
Cowgirl and Indian Princess
I love Halloween because it keeps my creativity flowing. I love creating either the costume itself or items to go with it. My oldest has really raised the bar at times with what she wants to be and if she wants me to make it. When she was too young to trick-or-treat I would do co-ordinating costumes for us and then go to my moms house and her other grandmothers house for photos. We have gone as Strawberry Shortcake and Blueberry Muffin and Alice in Wonderland and the Queen of Hearts. As she got old enough to go trick-or-treating she has been going with her best friend. We get together as families and walk around the same neighborhood each year. We have a blast! Kailee has been princesses and animals, witches and more. My favorite one that I made was the White Witch of Narnia.
Young Maleficent
So, as each Halloween rolls around, I hope that my kids still want to be kids and dress their age (and not just for Halloween). This year she is debating on being a peacock or Queen Susan from Narnia.
Easy Monkey Bread 2 cans Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
1 bag chopped pecans (optional)
10 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 c. light brown sugar
2/3 c. white sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bunt pan or 2 loaf pans. Sprinkle pan with a handful of nuts if using. Put brown sugar and butter into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir to combined as butter melts. Once the butter starts to melt turn heat to low to keep the sugar from burning. Once the mixture is completely combined pour a few spoonfuls over the nuts. Set remaining sauce to the side. Unwrap cinnamon rolls (you won’t need the icing for this recipe). Cut each roll into four pieces and set aside. Pour white sugar and cinnamon into a large Ziploc bag and shake to mix. Roll gently each piece of cinnamon roll and put into bag. Gently shake pieces to coat in C&S mixture. Place piece in pan to coat the bottom. Once you have a layer, add another layer of nuts and gently pour remaining C&S mixture over the pieces. Now mix your brown sugar and butter mixture and gently pour over the entire dish. Be careful as you need to give it time to drip into the empty spaces. Place dish on top of a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes. The dough will expand while baking so some pieces may jump ship from your dish if you are using loaf pans. The sugar will be extremely hot so make sure you wait a little before turning the dish out onto a serving plate or dish.
My birthday is just around the corner. I honestly don’t keep track of how old I am anymore, but I do know how old the girl’s dad is – so I subtract one from his age and voila, that’s my age. Birthdays seemed to stop being such a big deal for me after high school and then reappeared with importance once the girls were old enough to realize what birthdays are.
During high school birthdays were huge. We had a store near our high school that sold fun decorating items for all types of celebrations. We use to go and buy wired ribbon with stars dangling off and other accessories to make crowns for whomever’s birthday it was. Someone usually brought in some type of sweet too and lunchtime was turned into a mini party for you and your group.
Just like my mom did for me growing up, I now do for my daughters. They get to pick their sweet treat for school to celebrate their birthdays with their classroom. We are very thankful and lucky that our daycare is in a private home, and she always makes sure to make something special for after school snack as well.
Our children are definitely spoiled when it comes to birthday celebrations, but you know what? They so deserve it. Every other year the girls get to have a big birthday party with friends. The off years for those types of parties are full on family fun. The girls pick their dinner and birthday cake concoction. We have family come over for it and hang out. Ever since Kailee was four we have taken her to a show at the local theater for her birthday. We make it a little family event. The girls dress up, we go out to dinner and a show. These are some of my favorite memories, and theirs too.
My kids are amazing and I don’t just say that as a biased mom. I never realized how strict we seemed to be with our kids until they got to be school aged, but in a good way. They have respect for adults, their peers and each other. They are very kind-hearted and caring individuals with tons of love to share. We are constantly told how well-behaved our children are when they go to friends houses or from their teachers.
I am a firm believer that structure and discipline help children thrive to be the best they can be. My kids are examples of this. They love each other very much and are each others best friend. They are very caring little people who want to do good and see the good in this world. They make us proud each and everyday. They are amazingly beautiful inside and out. For this, and so much more, I am extremely grateful.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (MY FAVORITE) 6 tbsp. softened unsalted butter 2 2/3 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder 1/3 c. milk
1 tsp. good vanilla
DIRECTIONS:Cream together the butter and sugar, add in cocoa powder, milk and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Keep at room temp. for easy spreading when frosting.
Betty Crocker’s Bonnie Butter Cake (MY FAVORITE) 1 3/4 c. sugar 2/3 c. unsalted butter softened 1 1/2 tsp. good vanilla 2 eggs 2 3/4 c. AP flour 2 1/2tsp. baking powder 1tsp. salt 1 1/4 c. milk
DIRECTIONS:Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of rectangular pan, 13 x 9 x 2 inches, or 2 round pans, 9 x 1 1/2 inches; lightly flour. Beat sugar, butter/margarine, vanilla and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in flour, baking powder and salt alternatively with milk on low speed. Pour into pan(s). Bake for 45 to 50 minutes if using the rectangular pan, 30 to 35 minutes if using the round pans, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool rectangular pan on wire rack. Cool round pans 10 minutes; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost with the above mentioned chocolate buttercream or your favorite frosting and ENJOY!
We have a lot of family birthdays from September to February. My little family has birthdays in September, October, December and February. The girls always like to pick out what they want for a cake … do you blame them?? That’s half of the birthday FUN! Their dad doesn’t care what he gets, as long as it contains SUGAR. The girls love coming up for ideas when it comes to his cake. If it’s homemade then they usually get their hands dirty making and or decorating it.
The girls always challenge me with their fun and creative ideas for their birthday cakes. One year Kailee wanted strawberry shortcake (such a good idea!) and everyone loved it! Paula Deen has an excellent shortcake recipe.
Keianna wanted a chocolate and pickle cake – yes pickle! I thought outside of the box and made candy melt “pickle” chips … no pickles were hurt in the making of her cake. Although I did find a yodeling pick at Bullmoose Music to place on top.
Then one year Kailee wanted to get an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen, but she wanted it to be an ice skating rink – like the one under Grama’s Christmas tree each year. So I found ice skating penguins and some neat clear illuminated candles for the top. Cute, fun and just what she wanted!
Keianna’s next birthday, it was requested to have a doughnut cake. Only she didn’t want doughnuts in the cake – it could only look like one!
There have been many times where their requests don’t quite come out as planned. Like when Kailee wanted a rainbow layered cake and once assembled and frosted it ended up falling in every direction and onto the floor hours before her party. They don’t tell you in all those fun rainbow cake posts that the food gel needed to color the layers so vibrantly in a 1/2 box of mix makes the layer very, very, very unstable. Lesson learned. Kailee ended up with rainbow cupcakes instead. Just a tasty and very cute.
My kids know I love to bake and they love eating what I make, however, it I don’t go “baking snob” on them if they want something store bought or made by someone else. It’s their birthday and they get to call the shots. Cake decorating is a talent I haven’t mastered by any means, but cooking with love I have down and can do with my eyes closed.
You can hear the crumble. Bit by bit, piece by piece. The sound echoing within the empty walls … the hollow finally showing it’s depth. During the day it is drowned out by the background noise of daily life. At night, alone in the dark, with nothing but your muffling sobs to drowned it out, the familiar shattering ensues.
It is one thing in life to know something. It is quite another to say it out loud. What makes it truly unbearable and downright full of shame and embarrassment is someone else saying it out loud. This is not the validation you want. This is not what you want to be recognized for or have attention drawn to. Yes, you know it. How can you not? You can “not” by ignoring it and acting as though it doesn’t exist. You have perfected the toddler mentality of if you can’t see it then neither can they. You know this isn’t true, but you still let yourself believe it. You have to in order to make it through. You tell yourself it isn’t that bad. That you can change it if you want to. It will be different this time. This is what has and always will define you, because you let it. Is it comfortable? No. Is it healthy? Hell no, and on so many levels. You know all of this … So does that make it worse? Does it make it worse to be an adult, know you have an issue and with a sound mind refuse to acknowledge it? Or is that the definition of scared? Maybe it is a fine line we walk between scared shitless and ignorance is bliss.
They say knowledge is power, so why after someone else tells you what you have known deep down in that hollow space, that you feel powerless and at your must vulnerable and/or shameful. How did you let it get this far. How did it domino so fast? Maybe you have to be so low you are forced to work up. Maybe you need to be scared so shitless that there really is only one choice … to move forward and to stare into the face of what ails you and tell it to sit down and shut up. The choice is yours and yours alone.
Salted Caramel: In a large sauce pan combined 1 can sweetened condenced milk and 3 bags of Werther’s Soft Caramels. Stir until all caramels are melted and it is smooth and bubbly. Add 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt and stir until it is distributed. Resisit licking the spoon … the caramel is scalding hot! Pour this mixture on top of your brownies and set in the fridge sans cover to firm up.
Chocolate Ganache: Keep in mind chocolate ganache (recipe in previous post here) needs to set at room temp. for about 12 hours to become solid and non-melting at room temp. If you make the ganache and pour it immediately over the brownies it will set up in the fridge but become very soft at room temp. I suggest letting the brownie and caramel set in the fridge while the ganache sets at room temp. After 10-12 hours you can beat the ganache with an electric mixer, just to make it spreadable and then slather it on.
Trifle. A retro hodge-podge of goodness. Think of it as an “everything but the kitchen sink” kind of dessert. You can go elaborate or simple, all homemade, all store bought or a little of each. The mostly store bought or “left over” option can be done in less than 10 minutes!
The trifle I made is layered with homemade whipped cream, Smucker’s Decadent Hot Fudge, Smucker’s Sea-salted Caramel, broken up brownies and Special K fudge covered pretzels.
You can use angel food cake, pound cake, devils food cake or any sturdy cake that can be cubed or broken without being all crumbles OR use your favorite Jell-O flavor made with the Jiggler recipe. Add some fruit or candy pieces or even pudding!! Drizzle on your favorite sauce toppings, add in some homemade whipped cream or Cool Whip and you have a stunning looking, mouth watering, crowd pleasing dessert.
The possibilities are endless and time is precious. Don’t fret when you forget you said you’d bring a dish to a potluck event or your kids class for a party. This dish will look like you slaved over it – even though you didn’t!! The crowd will love it and you didn’t have to break the bank or a sweat to make it; a win-win in my book. ENJOY!
Peanut butter + Chocolate = LOVE for most people, but I am not one of them. I would much rather drag my celery sticks through thick and gooey creamy peanut butter or slather on some chunky peanut butter and raspberry jam onto toast for a great throw back sandwich. Whenever I think of peanut butter cups I think of my brother, who is a peanut butter and chocolate lover, and “50 First Dates” with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. “Want me to put some peanut butter cups in your eggs?” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4quLuThn_Sc I had intended to make these awhile back for a friend and his tattoo shop. They were doing a great donation night for Project Semicolon. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go and support this great endeavor due to previous obligations with my children, but I was there in spirit (and still owe Sam some goodies!).
Since I was going to be making quite a few of these in not a lot of time, I had bought pre-made chocolate shell cups. I do have a candy mold to make these by hand, but this was way simpler for the time I was going to have to make them. I bought three packages (about $4 each at Walmart) of ChocoMaker dessert cups. These cups come in two trays of six and unwrapped. There is no need to peel anything off these delicious Dark Belgian Chocolate cups. To make these from scratch you would need a mold and tempered chocolate. These cups are so versatile. You can fill them with any type of ganache or cream, the possibilities are ENDLESS!
I made up a triple batch of chocolate ganache (ensuring I would have some leftover to make some goodies that I do like!). Ganache is so easy to make. It is my go-to filling for cupcakes and cakes. If you leave it out at room temp. it will set and can be used for a rich and decadent frosting. For a single batch of ganache you will need 1/2 cup heavy cream and 8 oz. of good chocolate chips – I used dark, and a pinch of salt and a tsp. of instant coffee granules.
Keep in mind, dark chocolate is easiest to make into a ganache and white chocolate is the hardest. I put all my ingredients into a pan and and stirred constantly until it was smooth, creamy and combined. Don’t let this mixture stand or it will burn; you need to keep stirring it. You can do this in a microwave by combining all the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heating in 30 sec. intervals and stirring throughly between each heating session.
After ganache was made, I set it aside off the stove to set slightly before using as my peanut butter cup topping. For the centers I used double batch of filling. For a single batch you will need 1 c. creamy peanut butter, ¼ c.unsalted butter, ¼ c. light brown sugar and 1¼ c. powdered sugar. In a medium saucepan over med. heat, combine peanut butter, butter and brown sugar. Heat until completely melted, stirring constantly. Pour mixture into a mixing bowl and add powdered sugar a little at a time. Mix on low until it is complete incorporated. Set aside and let cool slightly. I put this mixture into a disposable piping bag, which makes the process much cleaner and easier. Once the mixture is cooled, pipe into shells. You will need to flatten the top slightly and push it into any open gaps.
Then spoon on the ganache and smooth it out for a delicious and indulgent treat! P.S. – You might want a glass of milk – just sayin’! ENJOY!
“One of the worst days in America’s history saw some of the bravest acts in Americans’ history. We’ll always honor the heroes of 9/11. And here at this hallowed place, we pledge that we will never forget their sacrifice.”
—President George W. Bush at the Pentagon in 2008
This blog is part of my path to health. I am a hot mess – aren’t we all? I finally realized at 33 that I am not capable of changing how I handle and/or manage my stress. I have always been hard on myself … ALWAYS. Let’s be real, it needs to stop or I will end up teaching my daughters this bad habit.
I am use to dealing with a million things at once; I am a mom of two, best friend to their dad, who owns his own business, and my job requires me to multi-task in several departments. I have stress on a daily basis. We all have our laundry list of daily responsibilities. I always thought I was good at dealing with stress – I honestly thought this with all of my being.
Then it happened. I had a “melt down.” I was sitting at my desk at work tearing up over something I knew wasn’t my fault. I had been snapped at by someone else (who was obviously stressed out also). I was absolutely dumb-founded. I kept replaying the scene over and over and over in my head. What could I have differently? How did I not know ahead of time this would happen? I shouldn’t have said anything. I am so stupid. And around and around it went. I felt like I was vibrating in my own skin. My ears were pounding and I shaking, I felt like the room was closing in on me and I couldn’t breathe. I know now I was the proud owner of my first panic attack.
I called my doctor’s office and they fit me in the next morning. I was nervous at first. I remember thinking geesh, another ailment. Lets add to the list. I wasn’t ashamed to talk to my doctor about my feelings – he is an amazing doctor. He goes out of his way to help me when it comes to thinking outside of the box in regards to not being able to take any kind of pain medicine. The first thing his medical assistant said to me is “Just breathe, it gets better from here.” Wow! So simple and yet so powerful for me.
I have a hard time releasing control. I am in the school of thought that if you want something done right, do it yourself. Sitting in that room, then and there, many memories flooded back to me of times where I chastised myself over and over for something that went wrong – where I felt I had disappointed someone. I knew in that moment I need to let go and let someone else (my doctor) be in charge.
Fast forward to today. People are noticing a difference. My daughters notice a difference. I notice a difference. There is no shame in needing help, regardless of what it is for, and asking for help is truly the first step – AND IT IS A HUGE ONE! Knowing there is a light at the end of a dark tunnel, happiness and smiling is possible, this is relief that you don’t understand until you have been the opposite. I took what my doctor told me to heart and really listened to what he had to say. “There are three types of people with anxiety and depression that receive medicine to help them. One is someone who takes medicine for a time and gets to a point they don’t need it anymore, kind of like a reset. Two is someone who takes medicine for a time, then goes off of it for a time, then back on for a time, and so on. Three is someone who takes medicine for the rest of their life. Is there a right or wrong way to do this? No. Everyone is different and that means their needs are different. Should you try to define yourself as one of the three? No. Just know that whichever third you happen to be, there are others, and that you are trying your best to help yourself into the light.” So I have chosen to breathe, take time each week for myself and not feel guilty, and do what I do best and love … bake.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. AP flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar 1 c. canned pumpkin puree 1 lg. egg 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 bag semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt; set aside. In a med. bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Add in chips and stir gently to combined. Drop onto parchment lined cookie sheet (I use a 2 tbsp. cookie scoop). Bake for 15 to 20 mins. in preheated oven.
Turn these into whoopie pies! You can make a simple cream cheese or buttercream frosting, or your favorite whoopie pie filling, and you have a double duty recipe!
Ingredients:
Have Sweets, Will Share. 
