Peanut Brittle

    This is the perfect homemade peanut brittle recipe. It takes a bit of patience, you'll have to bring it up to temperature. You are definitely going to need a candy thermometer. I made a batch for my cookie trays this holiday. My one piece of advice, make sure you are storing it in a air tight container. Especially here in Florida, where we have had a very hot and humid December. Be careful or your brittle may not stay very brittle. Everyone loves this stuff though!

Peanut Brittle 

Ingredients:

- 3 cups of sugar

- 1 cup of light corn syrup

- 1 and 1/3 cup of water

- 3 cups of dry roasted salted peanuts, (16 ounce package)

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- 4 tablespoons of butter

- 2 teaspoons of baking soda

- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

    Line a cookie sheet with tin foil, spray liberally with non-stick cooking spray, and set aside. In a large 3.5 quart saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the soft ball stage (about 240 degrees) on a candy thermometer. Stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the peanuts, salt, and butter. Turn up the heat a little bit and cook the mixture to the hard crack stage (about 300 degrees) on a candy thermometer. Stir this occasionally so the peanuts to not scorch on the bottom of the pan. Once you reach the hard crack stage, remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. Pour the mixture out onto the prepared cookie sheet and spread out evenly to desired thickness. Let cool completely, break into pieces, and store in an air tight container. Makes about 2 pounds of candy. 

This is the beautiful caramel color you are going for!

Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

    I made a whole lot of cookies this year! Everything from Eggnog Snicker-doodles to Mint Crackles. But, my favorite of all of them were these Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Crinkles! Having a cookie scoop is going to make this recipe so much easier. They not only look good, they taste good too. Good luck trying to save some for your cookie plates!

Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients:

- 2 cups of flour

- 1 cup of cocoa powder

- 2 teaspoons of baking powder

- 1 teaspoon of salt

- 10 tablespoons of butter, softened

- 1 and 1/2 cup of sugar

- 2 eggs

- 2 teaspoons of vanilla

- 24 to 30 unwrapped Rolo candies

- 1 cup of powdered sugar

    In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.  In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Then, add eggs and vanilla. Once combined, add the flour mixture. Let the dough chill for 1 to 2 hours. If using a cookie scoop, you don't really even need to chill the dough, just scoop and press candy into soft dough in the scoop. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop dough and cover each each Rolo candy. Roll in powdered sugar and place cookies onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool and remove from baking sheet. 

Citrus-Kissed Fig Thumbprint Cookies

    I had never thrown a cookie exchange party. I decided to try this year! We had a small group but we still had a nice time. My friends did such a fabulous job creating some delicious Christmas cookies. My friend Ashley's thumbprint cookies were such a hit! These cookies have a hint of citrus while cradling sweet fig preserves! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with us Ashley!

Citrus-Kissed Fig Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar

- 1 cup of butter or margarine, softened

- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

- 1 egg

- 2 and 1/2 cups, plus 3 tablespoons of flour

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar

- 1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest

- 1 teaspoon of grated orange zest

- 1/3 cup of fig preserves

- granulated sugar for garnish

    In a large bowl, mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and egg. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, lemon, and orange zest. Chill the dough for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Using your thumb or handle of wooden spoon, make indentation in the center. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon preserves into each indentation. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes, remove to a wire rack, and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature. 

Cucumber Bliss Bites

    Is Christmas really almost already here?? I can't believe it! So, my original plans for these little dill cucumber bites of bliss were for my cookie swap party on Friday. Needless to say, I may have forgotten about them. Which is not surprising considering the crazy hours I've been working at both of my jobs lately. I'm finally on break for Christmas though! Thank goodness! Anyways, it worked out nicely because Frankie and I drove up to Jacksonville to visit with an old friend of mine on Saturday and I just threw them in the cooler and brought them up North with us. This old friend of mine wasn't just any old friend! DeeDee Hughes was not only my best friend throughout my entire childhood, she was the sister that I never had growing up. It was really nice to have some time to visit and celebrate! She threw an ugly Christmas sweater party, so much fun! You're going to love these cucumber bites, they did great surviving the trip! 

Cucumber Bliss Bites

Ingredients:

- 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened

- 1/4 cup of ranch dressing

- 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise 

- 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped dill

- 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper

- pinch of salt

- black pepper to taste and to garnish

- 3 or 4 large cucumbers

- 1 package of cherry tomatoes, sliced into fourths

    With an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, ranch, mayo, dill, white pepper, salt, and black pepper. Cut the cucumbers into bite sized slices and use a melon baller to scoop out some of the seeds. Put the cream cheese mixture into a pipping bag and pipe into the cucumbers. Top them with the cherry tomatoes and black pepper. Chill and serve.

Such a fun party! Even our wine had an ugly sweater!

 

Chocolate Cream Cakes

    My mom has been making these since I was little! They're definitely not the healthiest but they are just so delicious! I've always called it mom's Devil Dog cake! We whipped up a bunch of them for the church's performance last weekend.

Chocolate Cream Cakes

Ingredients:

- 1 package of chocolate cake mix

- 1 package of instant chocolate pudding

- 3/4 cup of vegetable oil

- 3/4 cup of water

- 4 eggs

Filling:

- 3 tablespoons flour

- 1 cup of milk

- 1/2 cup butter

- 1/2 cup of shortening

- 1 cup of sugar

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, vegetable oil, water, and eggs. Pour the mixture into a greased 9x13 baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. In a small sauce pan, combine the milk and flour. Bring to a boil, then cook and stir for about 2 minutes, until it begins to thicken. Let cool. In a separate mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in the milk mixture until the sugar is dissolved about 5 minutes. Split the chocolate cake into two horizontal layers. Spread the filling evenly over the bottom, replace the top, and chill for several hours before slicing and serving.

The refreshment table!!

Magic Coconut Cookies

    Here it is folks! The easiest Christmas cookie recipe ever! It's really just so simple. We went to the Ocala Christmas parade on Saturday! It was really cool to see it from the sidelines. I had never gone to actually watch it, I'd always been performing in the West Port Marching Band. It's been 9 years now, I'm getting old! What?!?!? They were awesome this year! Well, after all of the excitement we decided to go home, bake some Christmas cookies, and finish decorating the tree. It was a nice evening. Ok, back to these cookies! You're going to love them!

Magic Coconut Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 (14 ounce) bag of sweetened shredded coconut

- 1 bag of chocolate chips or I used mini M&M's for a more festive look

- 1/2 cup of chopped pecans

- 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything together. Scoop onto a well greased cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Let them cool and use a spatula to remove. Enjoy!

My hunnie is the best!

The Christmas tree is finally finished at my parents' house!

Slow Cooker Minestrone

    With lots of fresh veggies, you'll love this minestrone recipe. We had a really good weekend! Our church hosted West Port's Chorus and Orchestra! They did such an amazing job and helped raise some funds to send our kids to summer camp! While we were at the performance, I had my soup cooking in the slow cooker at home! That's how easy this is. There is an ingredient that just makes this recipe that you probably don't use everyday, sundried tomato pesto. You should definitely be able to find it near the pasta sauces at your local grocery. Hope that you enjoy it as much as I have!

Slow Cooker Minestrone

Ingredients:

- 1 cup of fresh carrots, sliced 

- 2 cups of fresh celery, sliced

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 1 (32 ounce) large can of diced tomato

- 1 (14 ounce) can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

- 1 (14 ounce) can of white northern beans, drained and rinsed

- 1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste

- 1/4 cup of sundried tomato pesto

- 2 large bay leaves

- 1 teaspoon of minced garlic

- 1 teaspoon of fresh chopped rosemary

- 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

- salt and lots of black pepper to taste

- 5 cups of chicken broth 

- 2 (or more) cups of water

- 1 large zucchini, chopped

- 1 cup of tubetti pasta

- 1 cup of fresh, frozen, or canned green beans, chopped

- 2 cups of fresh baby spinach, chopped

    In a 6 quart slow cooker, combine the carrot, celery, onion, tomato, beans, tomato paste, tomato pesto, spices, chicken broth, and water. Let cook on high for 3 hours. (or low for 6) Next, add in the zucchini and pasta. If you are using fresh green beans, add them in now. Let cook for about 30 minutes. If you feel that it needs more liquid, add more water. Add in the spinach and if you're using frozen or canned green beans, add them now. Cook for another 10 minutes and serve topped with parmesan cheese.

Ginger Snaps

    Friday was National Cookie Day! I have so many plans for this cookie season. It's so exciting! I may have eaten all of the ginger snaps that my dad had bought. Oops! I think I did a pretty good job baking some homemade to replace his store bought ones! In our house, we eat Ginger Snaps topped with port wine cheese. If you haven't tried it, you need to! This is definitely one of my new favorite recipes.

Ginger Snaps

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup of shortening

- 1 cup of sugar

- 1/4 cup of molasses 

- 1 egg

- 2 cups of flour

- 1 teaspoon of baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves

- 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar. Then, beat in the molasses and egg. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Form the dough into 1 inch balls, roll them in sugar, and pace them on a greased cookie sheet. Bake them for 10-15 minutes. The longer you bake them, the crunchier they will be. Let them slightly cool before removing from the cookie sheet.

So delicious with a smear of port wine cheese! 

  

Slow Cooker Chili

   Chilly winter days call for chili in the crock pot dinner nights! This is a pretty mild chili, it'd be good if you have kids who are sensitive to spice. You could totally add more spice if you'd like to. Frankie and I just added a little sriracha when we were eating.  

Slow Cooker Chili

Ingredients:

- 1 pound of lean ground beef

- 2 stalks of finely chopped celery

- 1/2 of a yellow onion finely chopped

- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of chili powder

- 2 teaspoons of cumin

- 1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic

- 1 (15 ounce) can of diced tomato

- 1 (15 ounce) can of tomato sauce

- 2 (15 ounce) cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

- 2 cups of beef broth (or water) 

- 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce

- salt and pepper to taste

    Brown the ground beef in a skillet. Once cooked, drain the fat and place the cooked beef into your slow cooker. Add all the ingredients into the slow cooker also. Stir together and cook on low for 4-6 hours. 

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

    I actually made these cookies months ago for a friend! They're really chewy and super good. I just forgot to blog them. I know it's cookie season so, here they are!

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of butter, softened

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1/2 cup of brown sugar

- 1/2 cup of peanut butter

- 1 egg

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla

- 1 and 1/2 cup of flour

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugars. Add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated. Scoop the dough into 1 inch scoops and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes or until just set. 

Thanksgiving Shepherd's Pie

    Not sure what to do with all of those Thanksgiving leftovers? Make a casserole! Seriously, all I did was layer leftovers in a casserole dish. 

Thanksgiving Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

- leftovers:

    -stuffing

    - mashed potatoes

    - green bean casserole

    - turkey 

    - ham

    - sweet potato casserole

- 3/4 cup of gravy

- 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

- 1/4 cup french fried onions

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start with stuffing, press it into the bottom of desired sized baking dish. Layer leftovers. Add gravy after the turkey and save the mashed potatoes for last. Top with cheese and onions. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Serve with cranberry sauce.

Happy Thanksgiving 2015

    Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm sure by now everyone has a fully belly and happy families! My family eats a huge lunch and then naps in the afternoon. I think I had my first glass of wine at 11am! Even though Thanksgiving is finally here, I've definitely been celebrating for the last two weeks. I wanted to highlight some of my recipes so we can pin them for next year!

Mom's turkey feast!

       After Friendsgiving, I was more than happy to throw in the apron and have mom take over for Thanksgiving. I decided that I was only making two things, the cranberry sauce and the appetizer.

 

Here's my recipe for Cheesy Sausage Puffs!

    I'm sure you're all sick of hearing about my Friendsgiving by now. Too bad! It was freaking awesome! We ate so much and it was my first time making a turkey by myself!

A cheese tray is always sure to keep guests happy!

Here's my recipe for The Best Sweet Potato Casserole!

The turkey is the star of the Thanksgiving dinner!

  

Here's the recipe for my Apple Cider Brined Turkey!

And of course, the most handsome man alive carving my beautiful turkey!

Once you're stuffed with turkey, it's time for the sweets!

I made this pumpkin layer cake for our luncheon at church

and everyone loved it! I even had to send a few recipe emails!

Here's the recipe for my Pumpkin Layered Cake!

Here's the link for my Pecan Pie Bars!

Here's the recipe for my Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifles!

I didn't go too crazy with my decorations. I did have a lot of candles though.

Our seat place cards came out pretty cute!

I found the chalk board skewers at Michael's!

Then, I just stuck them in some chocolates!

Lots of candles, pumpkins, and pine-cones!

I hope these recipes and tips have been useful! 

And I hope you are all having an amazing Thanksgiving!

Cheesy Sausage Puffs

   I found a similar recipe months ago and I've been wanting to try these! What better excuse to make them than it being Thanksgiving Day! You really can't go wrong with sausage and crescent rolls. My one piece of advise, make sure you pack these little sausage balls really tightly so they don't fall apart.

Cheesy Sausage Puffs

Ingredients:

- 1 roll of Pillsbury crescent rolls

- 1 cup of finely shredded cheddar cheese

- 1 pound of spicy ground sausage

- 1/2 teaspoon of ground thyme

- salt and pepper to taste

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. In a skillet, lightly brown the sausage. Sprinkle the meat with the thyme, salt, and pepper while cooking. Make sure to break it up really good into crumbles. Once the sausage has cooked most of the way through, drain the fat and place the meat into a bowl. With a pizza slicer, slice the crescent rolls into tiny pieces. Add the cheese and crescent roll pieces to the meat. Mix with your hands really well. Form the mixture into tight little balls and place on prepared baking sheet. You can kinda make these as large or small as you'd like, just make sure to adjust the cook time accordingly. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Crescent Pieces!

Pecan Pie Bars

    Pecan Pie is a necessity for the holidays! If you're having a crowd over for dinner this is the perfect idea for dessert! I made them for my Friendsgiving Celebration and we loved them.

Pecan Pie Bars

Ingredients:

  For the crust:

- 2 cups of flour

- 1/3 cup of sugar

- 1/4 teaspoon of salt

- 2/3 cup of cold butter

  For the top:

- 3 eggs

- 1 cup of light corn syrup

- 1/2 cup of granulated sugar

- 1/2 cup of brown sugar

- 2 tablespoons of melted butter

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 2 cups of chopped pecans

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. I used a fork and then my fingers. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan and bake for 20 minutes. While the crust is baking, start the topping. Beat together the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir in the pecans. Once the crust is ready, pour the topping over it. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until it is no longer jiggly in the middle and the top is golden brown. Allow it to cool completely before slicing with a sharp knife.

Apple Cider Brined Turkey

    Practicing for Thanksgiving last week, I cooked my first ever brined turkey! I was a little nervous once I had boiled everything together, it didn't smell as wonderful as I'd thought it would. My nerves didn't subside until we were slicing into the juiciest, most tender turkey I've ever had! On top of soaking it for almost two days, I rubbed it with butter! Lots of butter. Oh, and not to mention roasted garlic and fresh rosemary! Making your own roasted garlic is super easy and I highly recommend trying it! Here are directions how!!

Apple Cider Brined Turkey

Ingredients:

  For the Brine:

- 3 cups of apple cider

- 2 gallons of water

- 6 large sprigs of fresh rosemary

- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

- 1 and 1/2 cups of salt

- 2 cups of brown sugar

- 3 tablespoons of whole peppercorns

- 6 bay leaves

- The peels of three large oranges

    Mix everything together in a giant stock pot and bring to a boil. Let it completely cool and soak your thawed turkey for at least 12 hours. 

  For the butter rub:

- 3/4 cup of butter, softened

- 3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh rosemary

- 5 large cloves of roasted garlic

    Mash the roasted garlic and then mix with the butter and rosemary

Here's my butter rub!

    Once the turkey is removed from the brine, pat it dry with a paper towel. Then, rub the butter mixture everywhere. I mean everywhere. You want to make sure to get it under the breast skin and inside the turkey as well as all over the outside. I put a couple of sprigs of rosemary on the inside instead of stuffing it. Next, you want to roast your turkey according to it's weight! Here's a good guide! I cooked my 15 pound bird, covered in a roasting pan for about 3 and 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. I uncovered it for the last hour to allow it to brown.

Good luck my friends and Happy Thanksgiving!!

The Best Sweet Potato Casserole

    What would Thanksgiving be without sweet potato casserole? My family is usually the mini marshmallow and canned yam type. I thought I would mix it up with a little brown sugar and chopped pecan topping. I love this recipe! I'll definitely be making it for years to come.

The Best Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

- 3 pounds of sweet potato (about 4 cups) peeled, cooked, and mashed

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1/2 cup of butter, softened

- 2 eggs

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 1/3 cup of milk

- 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

 For the topping:

- 1/3 cup of butter, softened

- 1 cup of brown sugar

- 1/2 cup of four

- 1 and 1/2 cup of chopped pecans

     Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the mashed sweet potato, sugar, 1/2 cup of butter, eggs, vanilla, milk, and cinnamon. Spread into the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Next, mix together all of the topping ingredients. Spread the topping evenly over the potato mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the topping has a light golden brown.