Happy Halloween!

Photo Friday

For today's photo Friday, I give you....dog butt. Happy Columbus Day weekend (yay for Monday's off!)

Cinnamon Pumpkin Cupcakes

What better way to kick off the first official day of fall than with delicious cinnamon pumpkin goodness. I baked these yesterday and they were gone by last night. The icing is so light and pairs so perfectly with the dense pumpkin cake that these are guaranteed to be an instant favorite.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and grease your cupcake tins (or just line them).

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 2 T butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
8 oz pumpkin (with pie spices)
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
Cream the butter and sugar together then beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla, pumpkin and oil.
Beat in the flour mixture alternating with the milk.

Bake cupcakes 28-30 minutes. Makes 20.


The Best Frosting EVER.

1 (8 oz) cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
2 cups heavy whipping cream

mix everything in a bowl except for cream, then slowly add heavy cream and whip until you have peaks.

Chicken and Stuffing Shells

With the colder weather rapidly approaching, nothing makes me happier than true comfort food. I altered a recipe I found for Thanksgiving stuffed shells (using leftovers) that is to die for. It's cheesy and creamy and everything that makes you feel warm and cozy.

1 box of pasta shells

1 large can of chicken

1 box Stove Top stuffing

4 oz. of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

1/3 cup of mayonnaise

4 cups of shredded mozzarella

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 (or 2 if you're like me) packets of chicken gravy

 

Boil your shells while you get the filling ready.

Make the stuffing, then add in the chicken and cream cheese while on a low heat to make it melt. Once the cream cheese is mixed thoroughly, take off the stove and add in the parmesan, mayo, and 3 cups of the mozzarella.

(Now's the time to preheat your oven to 350)

Put 1/2 the can of soup on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Stuff your shells with the stuffing mixture, and snuggly line them.

Put another layer of the soup over the top of the shells when you're done.

Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella.

Bake covered for 45 minutes and an additional 10 minutes uncovered.

While they are baking, make your gravy.

 

Let them sit for a few minutes, and then serve smothered in gravy. Voila!

 

Photo Friday - Southern Gates

Just a quick post for photo Friday - here are a few of the gorgeous Southern Gates that Charleston is so famous for.

Wholly Cow!

Labor Day has come and gone, marking the close to another incredible summer. Jenny planned another fabulous trip to Charleston, SC to end summer with a bang. If you ever happen to be in the area, you MUST take a little detour and go to this wonderful little ice cream shop we went to - Wholly Cow. It's at 159 Church Street (near Cumberland). It was one of the best scoops of ice cream I've ever had - soooo creamy and delicious! We actually had to go back the next day because once just wasn't enough :-) I had the double oreo (cookies and cream),

and Jenny had sea turtle (I think that's what it was called). Her's was adorable! There were little chocolate turtles in it!

Happy Labor Day!

A Weekend in Charleston, SC

It's Labor Day weekend once again, and as tradition dictates, I'm visiting Jenny in lovely Charlotte, NC. Jenny always thinks of delightful things for us to do on my trips down to visit, and last year she came up with a doozy. We were going to head to Charleston, SC for the weekend. We went on a cemetery ghost tour, shopped til we dropped in the huge open-air market, and spent a day at Isle of Palms swimming in the ocean and catching some rays. We're headed there again today to fill in the gaps of what we didn't get to do last year. Here's a picture of Me, Kelli (Jenny's fabulous roomie) and Jenny in front of the Pineapple Fountain in Waterfront Park from last year's adventure :-)

Maybelline Color Show Review

 

I was walking through Target searching for very important things that I absolutely need (or strolling the makeup isles looking for fun things to try) and came upon this nail polish. I put three coats on, and it's so fun! It reminds me of granite or something. It's clear with black and white pieces in it - and unlike a glitter nail polish, it was very easy to remove. Now, clearly, I'm not a professional, and they needed to be cleaned up along the sides, but you get the point. Overall, I give this two thumbs up for the fun factor alone. I got so many compliments on them! This also looks really cool over a color, because with only one coat, you just get some speckles - it looks like you took a paint brush and spattered it around.



 

What my dog does all day

Lexie is the great bug hunter. All day everyday, she goes around looking for bugs (and bunnies) to hunt down. She's pretty awesome at it though - no fly stands a chance in our house. I came home the other day to find her intensely staring at the window...

This cracked me up - she tried to get that darn stink bug for about 1/2 hour. I'd love to hear some of your crazy funny pet stories - leave a comment!

Mary Lou's Famous Pancakes

I challenge you to find a better pancake recipe ANYWHERE. These are it. The cream of the crop. The best. Numero uno. My mom's pancakes are a widely requested treat in our family and if you make them, you'll quickly see why. The secret to these little buggers is to fry them using bacon fat. If you don't save up your leftover bacon grease, these probably won't be anything special. It gives them perfectly crispy edges with a taste reminiscent of bacon. I like these as silver dollar or just small pancakes (more edges!)

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 beaten egg

1 cup milk

1/4 cup of of butter/oil mix (1/8 cup melted butter and 1/8 cup oil mixed together)

Mix together the dry ingredients and in a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients. Then mix the dry into the wet. Heat up a cast iron skillet with some bacon grease over a medium heat. Pour the batter into little blobs and when most of the bubbles pop on top, flip them. Now go enjoy the best pancakes ever!



Lexie - the most awesome Rat Terrier on the planet

drum roll please..............
It's my pleasure to introduce you to my baby. This is Lexie. She's hilarious and sweet and my shadow. We got her when she was 12 weeks old and weighed only 3 pounds. She's now 1 year (and some change) old and weighs close to 12 pounds. 

Review Friday: Moe and Joe's Spinach and Artichoke Dip

 

This is SO GOOD. It really tastes like you made it yourself (not that anyone here has ever scooped it into a bowl and claimed that). And it should taste like you made it at home, because you could. The ingredients are my favorite part about this dip. They are so simple - it's spinach, artichokes, feta cheese, garlic and a few other things. No crazy whattheheckdoesthatsay and icantpronouceyou crap. It's good honest real food. I reeeeally like this dip with Popcorners. Normally I would serve a spinach type dip with tortilla chips or pita chips, but the extra salt on the Popcorners makes it a perfect combo.

Moe and Joe's has other varieties as well like Chipotle Garlic Salsa, Mexicali Dip, Artichoke and Garlic Salsa, and Spinach Dip. I've only tried the Spinach and Artichoke Dip, but the cashier  where I bought it said the Mexicali Dip is something she can't live without. I imagine that all the varieties are equally as delicious. What are you waiting for? Go find some!

Strawberry Cupcakes with Whipped Cream/ Cream Cheese Frosting

 

I'm writing this one down because I definitely don't want to forget it! These were GREAT. I got the recipe from www.theburghbaby.com I'm sure they are perfect as written, but I didn't have angel food mix, but I did have a box of strawberry cake. Really, I don't think the cake is important. The fruit center was awesome and the icing is one to write home about. Oooh, that icing.

Make these - you won't be disappointed!

We have an overabundance of peaches right now from our neighbor's tree, so I'm going to make these again using those, but adding ginger,cinnamon and nutmeg to the centers...I have a feeling they are going to be out of this world.

Use any cake recipe you'd like - here's the recipe for the filling and icing (mmmm) taken directly from it's original source http://www.theburghbaby.com/burghbaby/strawberry-shortcupcakes.html

Strawberry Filling
1 quart fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons white cornstarch
3/4 cup water

1. Divide the diced strawberries into two mostly equal piles. Place half aside and place the other half into a medium saucepan.

2. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add to the saucepan.

3. Add 1 cup sugar to the saucepan and stir everything up. (If your strawberries are super sweet, feel free to reduce the quantity of sugar in the sauce.)

4. Heat on medium heat until the strawberries are soft. Use a immersion blender or potato masher to mash the larger pieces of strawberry. It's OK if there are some chunks of strawberry in the end, but you don't want it to be super lumpy.

5. Allow the strawberry sauce to cool. Add the remaining (raw) chopped strawberries to it and mix.

Whip Cream Icing
1-8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups heavy cream

1. Throw your creamed cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract into a large mixing bowl.

2. Use an electric mixer on low speed to mix everything up. Once the sugar is well dissolved, begin adding the heavy cream a little at a time. Increase to medium speed. Keep mixing and adding heavy cream until you have "peaks" of icing.

Mamaw Pie

 

A lady at work gave me this recipe and it was delish! You have to have a verrrry sweet tooth for this one, but it was super easy to throw together if you have unexpected company coming over.

•2 pie shells
•1/2 stick butter
•1 bag flaked sweethened coconut
•1 1/2 cups pecans (rough chop)
•1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
•1 can sweetened condensed milk
•1 (16 ounce) cool whip
•1 jar of caramel ice cream topping

Toast the pecans and coconut in the butter, then let them cool. Beat the cream cheese and the condensed milk until smooth, then fold in the cool whip. Now put 1/4 of the mixture on the bottom of each pie (1/2 total). Drizzle 1/4 of the caramel sauce on each pie (1/2 the jar total). Sprinkle 1/4 of the pecan/coconut mix on each pie (1/2 total). Lather, rinse, Repeat. You're done! Pop those babies in the freezer so they set up and thaw before serving (I actually preferred it partial frozen).

I made one of the two pies with sugar free caramel and sugar free cool whip and it was equally delicious. For the regular pie, I used butterscotch sauce and it was a bit too sweet for me - stick with caramel.

Mamaw Pie

Oreo Truffles

1 package Oreos (15-16 oz)

1 block of cream cheese (8 oz)



Use food processor to pulverize the cookies and then add softened cream cheese. Roll this black mush into balls, and dip in melted chocolate. Get fancy if you wish and drizzle white chocolate over them. These taste awesome and like you put waaay more work and ingredients into them than you really did :-)

Strawberry Cookies (Candy?)

Makes  approx. 35 depending on size

1 large box strawberry Jello (6 oz)

1 cup chopped almonds (really any nut)

1 cup flaked coconut

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

Jar of red sanding sugar

Plastic strawberry stems



In a food processor, grind the nuts, then add the coconut and then the jello and milk. Shape this mushy mixture into strawberries and roll in the red sugar. Top with stem. Easy peasy and adorable!

White Almond Sour Cream Cake with Cheesecake Mousse Filling

I made this cake for Labor Day, coloring the filling in red and blue stripes, but this cake would be wonderful for any event. Sorry, I only took a picture of the outside, not a cut piece - it's not very exciting, just a round cake, so I won't include the photo. I think this is actually meant to be a wedding cake form what I've read. I added the cheesecake filling between the layers of cake (do.not.skip.this.step. It's sooo delicious) and it turned out to be one of the best white cakes I've ever made. I read all the claims about the WASC cake, and was very underwhelmed when I tried the cake when it cooled. The next day after it sat overnight it was MUCH better and very impressive. If you're planning on making this, definitely put it in the fridge for at least 24 hours, also let it come close to room temperature before serving. Buttercream is always better soft :-)

White Almond Sour Cream Cake (found on Plain Chicken blog)

1 box white cake mix (Duncan Hines)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups water
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup sour cream
4 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 325.

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a whisk. Add remaining ingredients and beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into 3 greased and floured cake pans. Fill about half way full.

Bake for about 30 minutes.

Buttercream Frosting (from the Food Network)

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar


• 1 cup butter


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 4 tablespoons whipping cream

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Cheesecake Mousse

1 small box Jello instant cheesecake pudding mix

1 pint whipping cream

Use a hand mixer and whip until fluffy consistency - don't go too long or it will be cheesecake flavored butter.

The Holy Grail of Macaroni & Cheese

Alright. Here goes. I'm only sharing this recipe because I want a back up for myself in the horrible instance that my written recipe gets lost. This recipe is special. Of all the things I make, I get the request to make this most often. I got the recipe from a friend of mine, because I was so head-over-heels in love with this stuff. I'm tellin ya - worth it's weight in gold. Ready? Here goes. One last thing - this stuff comes with a warning: don't make this unless you want to eternally be disappointed with every other mac n cheese recipe you'll ever make again.

1 lb Creamettes (yes, you must use this brand of macaroni. I'm not sure why it's so much better)

1 lb block of Hoffman's SuperSharp cheddar (don't try to substitute - I know it's expensive, but the whole dish depends on it)

1 quart of milk (that's 4 cups :-) )

1/2 Tablespoon black pepper

1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grate your cheese into a large baking pan.

Stir the sugar, pepper, and salt into the milk.

Boil the noodles for 7 minutes and drain. Pour the hot noodles over the grated cheese. Let sit for about a minute and then mix together until all the cheese is melted. Pour the milk mixture over the cheesy noodles. Do not mix. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 55 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Voila! Enjoy and try to share even though it hurts. You can thank me later.