Kissable Peppermint Bark

Our favorite treat during the holidays is by far peppermint bark, so we had to try our hand at it this year. It turned out great and very tasty! We used festive treat baggies to wrap them up and delivered them to our neighbors.

1 bag Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips

1 bag Ghirardelli white chocolate chips

2 candy canes

Wax paper

Clear area on counter and place large sheet of wax paper down. Place candy canes in ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin.

Empty entire bag of milk chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 1-1 ½ minutes then remove and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Immediately pour over wax paper. Spread evenly then let sit until hardened (about 40 minutes). Heat entire bag of white chocolate chips for 1-1 ½ minutes then immediately spread evenly on top of milk chocolate.  Sprinkle bag of crushed candy canes on top and enjoy!!

Taco Tuesday

One thing we miss from our AMAZING college years is that it didn't matter if it was a Tuesday or Friday, there was always something going on. So, we decided to fancy up those memories with our own Taco Tuesday comprised of skinny girl margaritas and healthy tequila lime tacos!

Tequila Lime Chicken Tacos

1 Chicken Breast

1 Lime

1 minced garlic clove

Jar of your favorite salsa

Chipotle Chili in Adobo Sauce

A splash of Tequila

Tortillas (corn or flour)

Toppings:

Cilantro

Shredded lettuce

Salsa

Diced tomatoes 

Jalapenos

In a crock pot combine chicken, lime juice, garlic, chipolte chili, a splash of tequila, and salsa. Keep on low for 8-10 hours.

Put chicken and toppings on a tortilla and you are ready to go! (We cut large tortillas into small 3 in. circles, but you can use any size you want)

For skinny girl margaritas mix clear tequila, a splash of cointreu, 4 lime wedges, and diet 7up

Pumpkin Knots

Yum, these were the most delicious rolls ever!!! We couldn't really taste the pumpkin, but the texture made the rolls very fluffy and soft! This recipe should definitely be on everyones fall cooking list!  

1 cup warm water

1 envelope active dry yeast

2 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup olive oil

1-1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

3-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour (I used King Arthur)

3 cloves garlic, minced

salt & freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

Whisk the warm water and the yeast in a bowl, and let sit for about 10 minutes until frothy. 

 Whisk in the honey, 2 tablespoons olive oil and the canned pumpkin.  In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt.  Make a whole in the dry mixture to pour the wet mixture in.  Then knead the mixture using flour to prevent stickiness.  We had to use a lot of flour.  Lightly oil another bowl and let the dough rise for about two hours until its nearly doubled in size (cover the dough with a wet towel).  At this point you can either store the dough in the fridge for the night or in the freezer for up to three weeks, or you can cook them right now in the oven at 425 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.  While this is in the oven mix the rest of the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, and the oregano leaves.  Then mix together the cooked rolls with the olive oil sauce.  

  

Lean Turkey Meatballs

In the mood for a light, but gourmet dinner? Try these lean ground turkey meatballs. They are a quick and easy dinner that result in a filling meal. They are also great as appetizers for a dinner party.

1 lb. ground lean turkey

¼ cup plain (or Italian for extra spice) bread crumbs

1 egg

¼ cup chopped parsely

1 chopped garlic clove

1 can your favorite marinara sauce

In medium bowl combine turkey, bread crumbs, egg, parsely, and garlic. Mix together thoroughly with hands. Form 15-20 individual balls (golf ball sized).

Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in large pan over medium heat. Add balls and heat for 3-4 minutes. Rotate and heat for another 3-4 minutes.  Add can of marinara sauce evenly. Heat for an additional 12 minutes, gently rotating balls every few minutes. Let cool for 3 minutes then serve by themselves, with pasta, or in your favorite sandwich!

Pumpkin Crunch

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! And thank you to my wonderful classmate and AMAZING cook, Erika for giving me this recipe!!! Although normally I veer away from any dessert that doesn't have chocolate as one of the main ingredients, Erika told me this was the best recipe ever and she is not kidding, it is absolutely AMAZING!!!!

Pumpkin Crunch

Pie Filling:

1 large can pumpkin

1 large can evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Crust:

1 box yellow cake mix

½ cup chopped walnuts

2 blocks butter, melted

Topping:

1 8oz package cream cheese

¾ cup Cool Whip

½ cup powdered sugar

Combine pie filling ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and line bottom of 9x13 pan with waxed paper.  Pour pie filling into pan. 

Sprinkle and spread box of cake mix evenly over filling.  Sprinkle chopped nuts and lightly press into cake mix.  Spoon drizzle melted butter over crust. 

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until crust turns brown. 

Cool for approximately 10-15 minutes.  Use a butter knife to loose all the edges off of the pan and invert onto a cookie sheet.  Place in refrigerator. 

Mix topping ingredients and spoon onto dessert when ready to eat.

What Happens in Vegas...

Angie, Teenie, Katie and Britt took on Vegas for Teenie's last and in our opinion BEST B-day celebration (for the month), and we had the most AMAZING dinner at FIRST in the Palazzo.  We had so much fun at the photo booth, with our crazy waiter and the food was absolutely delish!  PS check out the menu, even if you don't go there it's pretty funny!

Get Down Salad

Original Mini Burgers

Over Roasted Free-Range Chicken

Girls' Night In-Pizza!

We wanted to stay in and make something cozy for the rainy nights we have been having! We decided to make some tasty homemade pizza! 

Prosciutto and Mozzarella 

pizza dough from Lazy Acres (or your favorite)

Puttanesca Sauce (an Italian sauce made with tomatoes, olives, garlic, capers and EVOO) 

Your Favorite type of Prosciutto 

Mozzarella slices

Fresh tomato slices

Pesto and Mozzarella

Pizza dough

Pesto sauce

Mozzarella slices

Fresh tomato slices

* We rolled out the pizza dough so that it was really thin!

BBQ Phyllo Bites

Sunny weather got us in the mood for a light summer snack and we came up with something that did just that! These BBQ Phyllo Bites are perfect for warm summer nights.

12 baked miniature phyllo dough shells

2 ounces reduced fat mexican cheese blend

1 cup your favorite bbq sauce (do not over-do, it comes out very strong!)

1 1/2 cups refrigerated cooked shredded chicken 

1 can diced tomatoes 

Sour cream

Fresh chopped green onions

Cook chicken with bbq sauce and diced tomatoes in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Divide cheese blend evenly in the bottom of each dough shell. Top cheese with equal amounts of marinated chicken. 

Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes. Let cool then garnish with a teaspoonful of sour cream and few chopped green onions.

Chicken with Tomato Balsamic Vinaigrette

After a long day of work for both of us, this easy but delicious chicken dish was perfect for a nice healthy dinner. We looked through many recipes, but found none that combined everything we like, so we came up with our own:

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cups finely chopped onion

3/4 teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

salt and pepper

1 large chicken breast

mixed greens

Mix vinegar, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon paprika in a small bowl. Whisk to combine then whisk in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle in thyme and add to tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Season the chicken breast with salt, pepper, and the remaining thyme and paprika. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the chicken breasts for 5 minutes on each side then add the tomatoe-vinaigrette and cook an additional 3-5 minutes. 

Slice the chicken and divide over mixed greens. Spoon the vinaigrette over the chicken.

Enjoy!!

Halloweenie

Here are some pictures of our Halloween get together. We made pumpkin bites (made with cream cheese, red peppers and cheddar cheese rolled in paprika with a green onion stem), boo chips (from Lazy acres), caramel apples, bruschetta and skelletinis (martinis made with vodka, cranberry juice, and a splash of 7-up, with an eyeball garnish made with cocktail onions and pepper pupils)  

Skelletini and pumpkin bites

Making the pumpkin bites!

Boo chips, pumpkin bites, veggies and dip (in a hallowed out orange bell pepper) and hocus pocus chardonnay 

Apple slices with caramel dip

Our table!

Carlitos

We went to Carlitos for Tina's birthday!!! We had the chicken fajitas and they were really tasty.  We LOVE their texas caviar (a mixture of corn, beans, onion and tomatoes) and their mango margs! Here are a few pictures of our delicious dinner!

Spicy Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Morsels

Our own pumpkin pecan bread mixed with pecans and chocolate chips, brushed with an orange ginger glaze.

7 Deadly Sins Truffles

7 Deadly Sins Truffles are made with our own red velvet cake, mixed with homemade cream cheese frosting, topped with a milk and white chocolate coating.