Snickers Salad

So I tried something new this year:


Snickers Salad
Ingredients:
1 quart of Home Made Whipped Cream (Cool Whip is fine, too)
20 fun size Snickers, unwrapped and quartered (you can use any size, just make them small pieces)
2 granny smith apples, diced small
1 container of apple Caramel, softened
Method:
Fold the whipped cream, Snickers, and apples together. Place in serving bowl. Drizzle with Caramel and have is out for personal garnish as well.

Not pretty, but super yummy.

There are lots of different recipes of this floating around. some with butterscotch pudding or cheesecake pudding. I thought that the lightly sweetened Whipped Cream balanced the sweetness of the Caramel and candy well. It was also a great use of the left over Halloween Candy we had from the month prior. I highly suggest this concoction if you happen to have the ingredients at home.

Hot Chocolates To Try This Year

Here are 2 interesting hot chocolate recipes I will be trying this winter:

 

Guinness, Whiskey, and Baileys Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

1 (12-ounce) bottle Guinness

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

pinch kosher salt

3 cups whole milk

4 ounces milk chocolate chips

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

4 ounces Bailey's

4 ounces Irish whiskey

In a medium saucepan, cook Guinness over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

In medium saucepan, stir cocoa with sugar and salt. Stir in milk, milk chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate. Heat over medium heat until, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and mixture is hot. Gently whisk to completely homogenize mixture.

Add Bailey's followed by reduced Guinness and whiskey. Using a hand blender, milk frother, or whisk, whisk until frothy, pour into individual serving cups, and serve immediately.

 

Red Wine Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1⁄3 cup fruity red wine, such as Pinot Noir, Shiraz or Beaujolais

1 cup milk

1 pinch kosher salt

Sugar, for serving

Instructions

Bring chocolate and wine to a simmer in a 1-qt. saucepan over low heat; cook, whisking, until melted, about 3 minutes. Add 2⁄3 cup water, milk, and salt; bring to a boil, and cook, while whisking 3 minutes more. Pour into 2 mugs and serve with sugar on the side, if you like.

Knowing Husband he will not be interested in the Red Wine Hot Chocolate, but I feel like I should make a very small batch at least to try it out. The Guinness one he will be all over I think. we shall see.


Cook it up, y'all!

Maman's Burnt Sugar Pound Cake

Yesterday marked 71 years since my mother was born. While she has been gone now for 16 years of my 31 years of life, her spirit still holds strong and true in the memories of those who loved her. I had the great joy of eating dinner with two dear friends of hers, and mine, on Tuesday of this week and reminisced about her vivacious and generous personality. I have also been going through boxes of her belongings that were kept for my brothers and me. I have been on an emotional rollercoaster due to the things contained in said boxes. My older brother's wife asked about Mom's Pound Cake recipe, I went searching in the recipe boxes and books that I had inherited. There was only one pounds cake recipe that I found so I assume that it must be the one Bro Bro like so much.

Here is how you make it:

It turned out pretty dang good. There was too much cake there to do much with so I ended up throwing out about a 5th of the cake 2 weeks later, but it was super good. I will make it for a party, not for regular everyday dessert.

A drink for the Chilly Season: Hot Buttered Rum

Husband and I were thinking, gee it is rather chilly, we should make something warm and yummy to drink. Thus I decided that this recipe should be tried:

Hot Buttered Rum

Ingredients

1 tsp. brown sugar

4 oz. hot milk (use hot water for a lighter texture)

2 oz. dark rum (l prefer Myers's for its richness)

1 Tbs. butter (not margarine)

Ground nutmeg

Directions

Prepare your drinking mug by warming it up. Make sure you're using a heat-resistant mug. Pour piping hot water into it and cover with a small plate. Once warmed, empty the hot water and add brown sugar and hot milk (or fresh, hot water if you prefer). Stir until the sugar dissolves and then add rum. Gently float the butter atop the drink and sprinkle some nutmeg over that.

This was absolute decadence. I will never need another one of these again in my life (that is a lie), but oh man, it was exactly what was needed for the first below 45° evening of the year.



Not Pictured: Nutmeg



Finally, pictures of the rest of our home...

This is long over due. Here are the pictures of our home!

BASEMENT: MEDIA ROOM/OTHERSIDE

Our Basement is a far cry from what we want it to be ultimately, but we are both very happy with how it is shaping up thus far. We have our incredibly comfortable futon ready for sitting and enjoying and even more ready for a friend or family member to come and stay on it! Next to it is the relatively comfortable child's futon (Thanks Pseudo Mommy!) ready for a miniature human (or someone my size) to come and stay. On the opposite side, we have the Plumery Recliner which has followed us for many years and is perfect for napping.


*Is this working? I am trying to convince you to come play and stay with us. We will  be having our  first guests soon!*

We need a larger TV or a projector screen for our TV we have decided, but again that will be a few years. Then we have our comic books and Rock band piles. Then our board games and puzzles. Then our awesome DVD collection. Not a lot going on down here, but I tell you what, it is definitely going to be super awesome when we put in a bar and possibly, maybe a second bathroom.






As for the "other side", we have some super awesome shelves for much storage and such wow. Auntie gave us the two narrow ones and we brought the wider one while the work table came with the house. Then we have our super awesome cedar closet for our out of season clothes. Most of the boxes are currently things that will end in the spare bedroom the time comes for children's décor. Lots of organization still to do on this side. I do have all the cosplays hanging up for the first time ever which is refreshing.

DINING ROOM

Of course, now that I have taken the picture below, I have been informed that we can inherit one of two different dining room sets that belong to awesome family members.

Currently, our gaming table is upstairs as our dining table which is totally great, but I am looking forward to it ending up in the basement, near the games and puzzles. We have a kitchen cart as our makeshift bar for now, as hopefully we will have one built sometime in the next 3 years. For the most part, this space is working very well.

More than anything the space being used as our pantry has come together wonderfully! Check out the before, during, and after pictures to understand the full effect of the space.

Before

Before

During

After

In Use!

OFFICE

The office has taken a long while to put together. I just finished working on the many, many boxes that needed to be gone through, but there is still more to do in this space. One thing that is encouraging me to get work done in here is the craft area. My craft table is set up (the one in front of the window) and once I get this area cleaned and organized, I can then get it messy again by using said craft table.

Behind the wall I am pointing at is a closet, so just imagine all the space we have!

LIVING ROOM

Currently, the formal sitting room/living room is mostly empty except for all the  which it will be, for quite a while. We will add some accent chairs and a loveseat and then a TV above fireplace as money and time allows, but for now, this is our poor room.

Sorry for the darkness of the picture. We need about 7 more lamps in this room, I feel...  

SPARE ROOM

This has been the box room for most of our time living here and still is so I am not posting a picture of this room until we have it finished and have some furniture in it.

BEDROOM

This is the best room in the house, but also the one that is bound to change the most soon as we have been offered several furniture pieces from Auntie. Because of this, I will wait to post before and after pictures with the new pieces whenever we get them.


I hope y'all (especially you Californians) enjoyed getting a peek into our new home.

Thai Peanut Sauce Chicken

So sometimes you just get a flavor that you crave and you can't stop craving it until you have some. That is what happened to me with this guy:

Thai Peanut Noodles

Ingredients

1 lb. whole wheat linguine or soba

1 recipe thai peanut sauce

½ oz. sesame seeds (optional)

½ bunch green onions, sliced

Instructions

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box (boil for 10 minutes or until al dente). Meanwhile, slice the green onions.

Drain the pasta in a colander and then toss with Thai Peanut Sauce, sesame seeds and green onions while still warm. Eat and enjoy!

Thai Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

¾ cup natural style peanut butter

¼ cup coconut milk (optional)

juice from ½ a lime

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled, grated (optional)

1 clove garlic, minced $0.06

1 tsp sriracha sauce (rooster hot sauce)

1 Tbsp soy sauce

½ tsp sesame oil (optional)

1 Tbsp brown sugar

¼ bunch cilantro

¼ – ½ cup water

Instructions

Make sure your natural style peanut butter is thoroughly mixed before measuring (you don’t want to get all oil or all solids). In a blender or food processor combine all of the ingredients except the sriracha sauce. Begin with only ¼ cup of water and add more until you get the consistency you want (I used ½ cup total). Add the sriracha sauce a little at a time (blending between) until it is to your desired heat (I used about ½ tsp).

Enjoy the peanut sauce on salads, pasta or as a dipping sauce!

Black sesame seeds are so yummy.

This dish was super delish and incredibly easy as well. You should try to make this. I threw in some shredded chicken as it was already cooked and ready to be eaten, but it was not needed at all. One word of warning though, do eat it quickly. The next leftovers aren't better than the fresh as the sauce looses it spark.

Until next time...cook it up.

BFMH: Apple Pecan French Toast

Again, I am a dummy. I completely forgot to take a picture. So here is the wonderful recipe without a picture of the yummy.


Apple Pecan French Toast

10 cups cubed (3/4-inch) French or challah bread

8 eggs

2 cups (1 pint) half-and-half

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Apple-Pecan Filling

8 tablespoons butter, softened

3 apples, peeled and coarsely chopped (3/4-inch pieces)

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Topping

Powdered Sugar, Maple syrup or salted caramel topping, if desired

Directions

1 Heat oven to 300°F. On large cookie sheet, spread bread cubes. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until dry.

2 Line sides of 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with foil that has been folded into thirds; spray with cooking spray.

3 In large bowl, beat remaining French Toast ingredients. Fold in bread cubes to coat. Let stand 15 minutes, folding occasionally.

4 In 8-inch skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add apples; cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together remaining 6 tablespoons butter and remaining Apple-Pecan Filling ingredients until crumbly.

5 Spoon half of bread mixture (about 4 cups) into slow cooker. Top with half of the apples. Sprinkle with half of the brown sugar mixture. Repeat layers.

6 Cover; cook 2 1/2 to 3 hours on Low heat setting or until temperature reaches 160°F and center is set.

7 Remove foil before serving by loosening edges with table knife. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with syrup.