Saturday, July 28, 2012

Recipe Review: Confetti Cookies

I was going to make these for July 4th and these were supposed to be called "Firecracker Cookies."  But for 2 weeks leading up to the fourth, I couldn't find red and blue sprinkles ANYWHERE.  It was ridiculous.  The BF and I went to every grocery and craft/hobby store in the area.  Nothing.  And it wasn't until this last weekend, my regular grocery store had a box of red, white and blue sprinkles.  I wanted to punch the store in the face.  Why didn't they have these when I needed them.  Don't they care about my MY needs?  Le sigh...

Anyway, so I had a box of the cake mix that was needed for the recipe just sitting around, so I bought a package of regular multicolor sprinkles and got to it.  This was the first time I've ever had cake mix cookies, and I was impressed.  They were so easy, and really addicting.


Confetti Cookies (originally Firecracker Cookies)
from Cookin Cowgirl

18.25 oz french vanilla cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 c veg. oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c "jimmy" sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350. 

Mix together the cake mix and baking powder.  In another bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, and vanilla.  Add that mixture to the cake mixture and stir to combine.  Stir in the sprinkles.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.








Friday, July 27, 2012

Friday Favorites


Favorite Funnel Cake Recipe via Saveur.  Holy crap.  This is gonna ruin me.

Favorite Dress via Dorothy Perkins.  The color.  The chevron.  The shape.  Everything about this I love.

Favorite DIY Tumblers via Radical Possibility.  Why pay $30 when you pay $2?

Favorite Cat Item via Perpetual Kid.  How awesome is this?!  I do doubt though that any cat in their right mind would use this.

Favorite Use of a Toy via More Design Please.  Ahhh!  These are amazing!  I get giddy just looking at them.  I want.

Favorite Small Space via Home Grown.  If I must live in small quarters, it has to be this place.

Favorite Rosettes via rellasbellas etsy shop



Thursday, July 26, 2012

Recipe Review: Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread

So the title doesn't make this appealing at all.  I found the recipe at Emmalinaviolet.  And apparently Garbage Bread is a New York thing that's basically a layered calzone.  Buffalo chicken and pizza dough sounded like a fantastic pair, so I had to try it.  This non-New Yorker ended up loving this stuff.

Buffalo Chicken Garlic Bread

chicken breasts, about 2
olive oil
pizza dough (I used Pillsbury canned pizza dough)
shredded mozzarella and cheddar
1/2 c wing sauce
1/3 c ranch or blue cheese dressing (I used a mixture of both)

Cut the chicken into cubes and season with salt and pepper.  Heat some olive oil in a pan and cook the chicken thoroughly.  Stir in half (1/4 c) of the wing sauce into the pan and coat the chicken.  Let it simmer for a minute or two.  Take the pan off the heat and let the chicken cool.  (I found this cooling off step to be pretty important.  I was too impatient and didn't let the chicken cool enough, and when I started to prepare the bread, it was ripping up my dough.)

Preheat the oven to 425.

Spread out the pizza dough onto a well floured surface.  Mix together the dressing(s) and remaining wing sauce.  Spread it across the dough.  Add the chicken and top with the cheese. 

Rough the dough like a pinwheel until you reach the end.  Tuck in the edges so nothing seeps out when baking.

Place the garbage bread on a baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes (I actually baked it for the amount of time recommended on the dough instructions).  Let it sit for about 5 minutes.  Cut it up and enjoy!








Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Buddha, Sonic, and Bag Cat

I'm in love with Buddha.  I found him at Target.  It was love at first sight.  He's a butter dish.  He's my Buddha Butter dish. He greets me everytime I open the fridge.


And Sonic Drive-In is gonna be the death of me.  It's literally across the street and that's just too close for when the BF and I have our milkshake cravings.  The last time we went wanting milkshakes and came back with huge cups of the Sonic Blasts.  But I tell ya, I would've cut someone if they came near my Snickers Sonic Blast...


Also, we have a Bag Cat.  Monkey liked the backpack a little too much.  He's a strange one, that Monkey.



Saturday, July 21, 2012

Friday Favorites

 Favorite Throwback Tshirt via 80stees.  I love "That's What She Said" jokes, and I love how this is She-Ra.

Favorite Noms via Lovin From the Oven.  Cinnamon, sugar and dough.  Deal.  Let's do it.
Favorite Chevrons via She Inside.  So pretty.  I want it now.
Favorite Etch DIY via Make Projects.  I'd love to put this at the bottom of the glasses we give our guests...
Favorite Guilty Pleasure via Bakers Fun Foods.  Eggless cookie dough.  Whaaaa???
Favorite Tshirt Repurpose via Wobi Sobi.  Halter tops look better on me anyway...
Favorite Use of Cone via Elle and Blair.  Baking cake in a cone.  My mind is blown.

Favorite Dress via Madewell.  I love stripes.
Favorite Wreath via Positively Splendid.  I would love to make one of these, but I don't trust my apartment neighbors enough to put something nice out.
Favorite Skirt via Nordstrom.  I hardly wear skirts, but I'd rock this one.
Favorite Recipe Saver via Spoonflower.  Great idea for those old handwritten recipes from grandma that are starting to show some age.
Favorite Float via Creative Culinary .  Adult root beer floats.  Must Try Now.
Favorite Street Art via Pulp Factor.  I'm so in love with this myself, I don't even know what to say.
Favorite Tshirt from a Book via Outblush.  I had to specify since I have two favorite tshirts this week.

 

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Recipe Review: Honey Lime Chicken Skewers

Kabobs is such a fun word.  Ka-bob.  Ha.  The weirdest things amuse me.

This was my first attempt at kabobs (giggle).  I'm a little clumsy, so I got nervous thinking about skewering meat onto a sharp stick.  Meat.  Sharps.  Stab finger.  Gets uncooked meat juice into stab wound.  Gets salmonella.  Goes to hospital.  That scenario was always in the back of my mind when thinking of making kabobs.  But I saw this recipe on Kitchen Meets Girl, I couldn't resist.  I bought the first pack of bamboo skewers I saw. 



I love grilled onions, so in between the chicken pieces, I added 2 slices of onion.  I also didn't have fresh cilantro, so I just used the freeze dried version.  Serve this with rice and you're golden.  How I ate it:  pulled the meat and onions of the stick with a fork and mixed it all with the rice.  How he ate it:  right off the stick...like a savage.  Gotta love him :)

And remember, if you use bamboo skewers, soak them in water for about 5 minutes.  Surprisingly, I didn't find this out the hard way, but I heard not pre-treating the sticks will cause them to burn...like wood.

Honey Lime Chicken Skewers

3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp vegetable oil
juice of one lime
2 minced garlic cloves
Siracha, to taste 
red pepper flakes, to taste
2 tbsp cilantro
1 lb skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

In a small bowl, combine your ingredients, through the cilantro. Mix thoroughly.

Pour marinade over chicken breasts and turn to coat. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour.

Grill on medium high heat for 6 to 8 minutes per side, until juices run clear.  Serve!

 



Monday, July 16, 2012

Week Recap

I've still been off all week.  I'm not sure if it's because my body still hurts or I'm fatigued or dehydrated.  Whatever the cause, all I've wanted to do after getting home from work was just veg out on the couch and not do a thing.  But starting over the weekend, I started a little cleaning binge.  I finally tried the whole blue Dawn and vinegar cleaning solution for the bathtub (which worked fantastic by the way!)  I'm gonna have to try something more potent on the shower tiles (bleach and baking soda, maybe?)  And I've began cleaning out the closet in the second bedroom that I've pushed back since the end of winter.  Really, all I did was neatly put away my winter stuff into a box under the bed but it's a start!  I have to take advantage of these random cleaning urges when I can!

And this guy, as cute as he is, has been a huge problem for us lately.  First of all, we live in an apartment, and this heathen has been ripping up the corners of our carpet and pulling out the carpet fibers.  And he keeps picking at the same spot until he finds something new to destroy.  But then, he starts being really cute...  





Thursday, July 12, 2012

Ramblings From a Klutz

Ugh.  Since Sunday, my body has been "off."  The week started out with both of my legs feeling sore, like I pulled my muscles or something. And unless I had recreated Olympic weightlifting or something in my sleep, I'm not really sure how my legs could've ended up feeling like that.  Then yesterday, while traversing an obstacle in a confined space class, I ended up falling flat on my face (scraped my forehead), landed on my knees (ripped my jeans, scraped one knee, brutally bruised both knees), cracked my sunglasses, and did an accident report since it happened at work...in front of about 15 people.  Although my pride was hurt, I wasn't embarrased.  I'm pissed that the jeans that fit me like a glove are now ripped, with the rip getting bigger and bigger every wash.  I'm pissed that I'm so sore, for multiple reasons now and I can't run (it's been a week!).  I'm pissed that the scrape is on my knee, so every time I walk or sit, the scrape gets aggravated.  But....on the bright side, my tan has improved.  Albeit, it's becoming a farmer's tan, I'll take it.  And with my body feeling out of funk, my appetite has gone down, so I've lost a little weight.  And, everyone that was in that class should be able to recognize me now.  I see the positive out of all this.  My glass is half full.

Besides, I think this guy has had a worse week than me...
The guy on the left is the owner.  He too was taking pictures so we didn't feel so bad doing the same.
THE END.