Doggie Ice Cream

I LOVE ice cream. If you can't tell, I pretty much love anything sweet, but I always wish I could give some to my dog, Rice. For those of you who don't know (or those of you who've killed your dog doing so, human ice cream isn't good for dogs). I was strolling around Reasor's in BA today and found...duh duh duh...DOGGIE ICE CREAM! It's by the dog food aisle in a little freezer where they store the Bil-Jac stuff...

It looks like your normal elementary cafeteria ice cream (which I still get to eat at my school, so hahaha) except for the smell. It's a healthy, protein-y, smell, totally gross...As you can see, the smell interested Rice. A LOT. It's like giving your cat beef jerky, which only my sisters understand, but she went CUH-RAZY!

She loved it so much that she took the empty carton over to the carpet and fell asleep with it in her mouth. It was a good day for Rice. So go out and buy your dog ice cream and you can both share a late night snack. If their name is Rice, or Amos, or...whatever...they'll love it!

Funfetti Cookies

I love cakes. Period. What's almost better than that? Besides the smell of tanning oil in the morning? Cake mix COOKIES. So go buy one and follow along. First you need these things:




Instead of following the cake mix directions, mix the cake mix with 2 eggs and 1/3 c. of veggie oil. Roll into 1 inch balls and flatten with a cup dipped in flour.



Bake at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes, depending on your oven. (Mine is hot so it takes about 6 min.)



Let them cool (or stick the in the freezer for 2 minutes if you want to eat one reallllly bad). Decorate with your favorite icing (I chose Funfetti...see the theme?) and sprinkle with whatever you want!



You can use whatever cake mix you want! The sky is the limit. If your dad likes red velvet, buy that cake mix, slap some cream cheese icing on it and another cookie on top and call it a red velvet sammy. Got a baby shower coming up? Throw some blue food coloring in a white cake mix and call em baby cookies. Love carrot cake but don't like all the calories? Well too bad, they're still there, but it seems like you eat less b/c cookies are small, right? Buy a carrot cake mix, slather it with cream cheese, and you've reinvented the wheel...or the cookie...

Meatball Subs

Kayla's mom was so kind to give me the wonderful mini meatball recipe she made for K's shower...It is so easy and yummy. I tried to make my husband guess what the two secret ingredients were (besides the frozen Italian meatballs) and he guessed one: BBQ sauce. The other? Apricot preserves!!! Weird, I know, but extremely tasty! So you get your mini crockpot (actually do it in a big one if you don't have a baby one), pour the meatballs in, pour a bottle of your fave BBQ in and a jar of apricot preserves. Good...saucy...messy! Heat it over low while you suffer through another class at NSU for 3 hours...or high if you want to watch Iron Chef America while sipping water with lemons out of your lemon bowl. Whateva...

Throw some buttered french bread on the grill, sprinkle some garlic salt on it, then grate REAL parm cheese on top o that! Put 5 or 6 meatballs on it and you got yourself a meatball sammy!

Kayla's Bridal Shower

This is Kayla. And me. She's my BFF.

This is Tatum. She's my other BFF. We (with the help of her sis and MOH, Sarah,) planned her shower together.

We had lots of yummy good food, so if you're looking for a light menu for a shower or luncheon, take heed:

1. artichoke spinach dip with tortilla chips

2. fruit tray with cream cheese/yogurt dip

3. strawberry lemonade punch

4. mini cheesecakes with fruit in phyllo dough

5. mini meatballs

6. cajun shrimp tray with avacado buttermilk ranch

7. white cake with strawberry filling and almond buttercream

Here's my latest cake. I was quite proud b/c it is my first two tier and I didn't mess it up too bad. I baked an 6" cake and stacked it on an 8" cake. In order to stack tiers you must prepare them for the weight (otherwise, the top tier would sink like the Titanic!) This cake has four, but I put six in mine just for safe keeping! It's super easy! Try a tiered cake: everyone will be impressed!

PS I will post recipes for the above menu items as I decide to make them!

Purple Glaze Studio

This post isn't about cooking, but a fabulous art project my sisters and I participated in. In honor of Elaine's 19th bday last week, Kendra and I decided to forego the usual clothes and jewelry presents and take her on a memorable trip...to the Purple Glaze Studio (well, first we ate at the Crusty Croissant which had wonderful chicken salad on croissants and tiramisu, but that's another post!). At Purple Glaze you pick out your plain pottery and you sit and paint it. For hours. No really, probably four hours :)

We each chose our pottery (also called greenware) and sat down to paint. It's not what you think, because the paints are ugly and dull. My favorite was the crackle paint that went on dull and came out BEAUTIFUL! After the big decision of what to paint, we squeezed our paint on the table and got busy!

As you can see, I did lemons with a bright red crackle paint on the outside. I also outlined the lemons in puff paint. You can tell the colors look dull! Kendra did an ocean scene and Elaine did a teapot with a peacock feather on the front. You have to leave your piece there for 3 days so they can glaze it.

What a fun trip! I recommend the Purple Glaze for dates, with or without your man! I will post pics later this afternoon of our finished pieces. You will be amazed!!!

My finished product! What is it for? Duh, lemons!!!

Apple Pita Crisp (I'm on a health kick, right?)

So my friend Lily and I like (okay, are obsessed with) reading the Pioneer Woman's blog (thepioneerwoman.com). She has awesome recipes and I stole (borrowed, as we teachers call it) one of her many recipes and made it mine. How did I make it mine? Well, it was so good all I did was add MORE butter and serve it with ice cream. Basically I made it healthier, right? NOT RIGHT. But who cares. Once you taste this heavenly crunchy dessert you'll throw off you diet (just until tomorrow, of course) and dig right in. I used my lovely assistant and sister, Elaine, the butter lover. You will first need to get Stacy's Pita Chips (Cinnamon).













Crush half of em right up and put them on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Pour 1/3 of the 2 melted sticks of butter over them. Take your four peeled and sliced THIN Granny Smith's and mix them with 1 c. brown sugar, 1 tsp. nutmeg and a pinch o' salt. Let them sit and juice up. Spread it all on the chips. (And eat a few, b/c they're apples and they're HEALTHY!)

What's next, you ask? The rest of the crushed pita chips. AND...BUTTER! Take the rest of the butter and pour over the second layer of chips. Add about 1/4 c. of brown sugar and 1/4 c. oats and sprinkle over the chips.

Bake it at 325 degrees for 25 minutes until browned. While it's baking, make the SAUCE. Heaven in a pan.

Take 1 c. heavy whipping cream (healthy already isn't it?), 2 T. maple syrup, 1 T. honey (my addition, but oh so yummy), and 2 T. white sugar. Heat until it's reduced (will be runny!)

Ladle onto your piece of yummy crisp and top it with...ICE CREAM! Enjoy.

Then clean up. Or turn around and have your dishes magically prewashed by a pixie...or a dog named Rice...gross...she's totally clean though because we just sprayed her down outside. Please don't turn me in to the health department...

"Healthy" Strawberry Cake

Since I'm going to Casa Bonita tonight for Elaine's big 1-9, I decided I'd make a "healthy" cake...If there's such thing. Let's just say "healthi-ER"...Don't ask questions. You'll need only a few things: a white (reduced sugar) cake mix. You have to use Duncan Hinds. Why? Because that's what I was told by my cake lady. If you know me at all, I am obsessed with making cakes. I'm obsessed with a lot of things, but this is actually one dream I pursued and took a course in. My friend Lily and I (and her mama) braved the back rooms of Hobby Lobby and came out expert cake decorators. Well, maybe not experts...Anyway, you'll need to bake your cake like normal in 2-8" pans...EXCEPT...Mrs. Cake Lady told us if you want your cakes denser so they won't fall apart when you turn the pan upsidedown, do the normal cake recipe, but take out 1/2 the oil, and 2 T. of water. Normal eggs. THEN. BUY A LEVELER. This is a leveler:

If you want to shave that camel hump off your cake and make it nice and flat, just get this cheap (2.99 @ Hobby Lobby) tool. Cool your cakes for 20 minutes, then dump out and level. You'll need Fat Free/Sugar Free Cool Whip and a bucket o' strawberries (slice them please, and sprinkle a littttttle bit of sugar on them so they juice up nicely. After you lick the lid, spread a layer of Cool Whip on the cake. Arrange the strawberries so the cake closes.

Stack it, then ice it with the remaining Cool Whip!! Take the back of your spoon and raise it up over and over again to make the "spikes". Or cat ears...but that's gross.

My neighbor loved it. My husband loved it. I loved it. My dog would love it too, but I only let her have one dollop of Daisy...I mean Cool Whip, that "accidentally" fell on the floor.

It's summery and light. Take it to your family reunion. Take it to a potluck. Take it into the laundry room and eat it all secretly by yourself. Or just make it because it's healthy. Strawberries are healthy right?

Welcome!

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. "

~Luciano Pavarotti

How true is that quote? Food is one of those things that people use to celebrate life, death, and all those dashes in between. Cooking, baking, rolling, doughing, icing, EATING, mixing...all words I love and use every day. Cooking brings me joy and allows me to be creative in the kitchen (plus my husband loves it...my hips? Not so much...well, he loves my hips...but, nevermind...) I always take pictures of my creations, and yesterday (as we were working out...because of the apple crisp I was about to partake of...)my friend Lily suggested I create a food blog. This is my modern recipe book of sorts, so enjoy!