friends & the vanilla truffle.

We celebrated Mandy's birthday over the weekend and it was so much fun!

Big Steve and I don't really do much together, but we did discover that staying up until 5am is for the birds; he spent the entire day Sunday sleeping and I spent it counting down until Stevie's bedtime.

The weekend was so worth it, though!

Good friends and good food - what more could you ask for?!

[me and the birthday girl!  at some point, i decided a fire hat was necessary and made this face...also necessary.]

[JULIA GULIA!  on a side note, she's finally going to be living with her horse and i am so happy for her!]

[the birthday lady and her maaaaaaaaan.]

[BOBBY!  somehow we also decided to talk about ghosts which gave me incredible nightmares last night, btw.]

[i promise he loves me!]

Remember when I gave you the recipe for the easiest truffles ever?

Well, Mandy can't eat Oreos or chocolate (which makes me really depressed), so I tried Vanilla Truffles for the first time - just as easy and just as delicious!

Vanilla Truffles (aka The Mandy Truffle)

1 package WhoNu Vanilla Cookies (or generic brand)

1 8oz package of Cream Cheese - softened

White Chocolate for Piping

Festive Sprinkles!

Crush up your cookies (I use a food processor, but you can just as easily crush them using your hands) - add you Cream Cheese and mix it all together.  I use my hands because I'm not scurred.

Melt your white chocolate.  Cut a small slit in the corner of a plastic baggie and decorate your balls (a joke can be made here somewhere).  Then add sprinkles of your choice and serve!

These are always a hit, so make them ASAP.

[Oreo and Vanilla Truffles.]

whole wheat chocolate chip banana muffins w/ cinnamon sugar sprinkle!

I haven't baked in a while, so I was feeling in the mood this morning.

 

 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins w/ Cinnamon Sugar Sprinkle

1 cup Whole Wheat  Pancake Mix

1 cup Flour

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/3 cup Vegetable Oil

1 cup Milk

3/4 tsp Cinnamon

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Vanilla

1 cup Mashed Ripe Bananas

 

For the Sprinkle:

4 tsp White Sugar

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

 

You know the deal - mix dry ingredients (Pancake Mix, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Baking Powder) in one bowl and the remaining ingredients in another, large bowl.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the others, mixing constantly.

 

Pour batter into muffin cups and sprinkle with cinnamon mixture!

 

Bake 14-18 minutes.

 

 

Bonus points for having reusable muffin cups.  Thanks, Mama!

Mrs. L's Super Not Secret Delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.

Mrs. L's Super Not Secret Delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Mrs. L, aka the best babysitter ever, made me some fantastic Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.   She's letting me share it, so it's not a family secret and it was DELICIOUS - hence the name.  We ate half of it the first day and someone in my house ate some more just before bed.  So this is all that was left:

And, she shared the recipe with me:

I will definitely make some, though I think it tastes better when someone else does...hint hint :)

Our Pumpkin Day + Oreo Truffles!

I was very festive in my orange top (Forever 21) and skull scarf (from my black hair days).

And Stevie was the most adorable little pirate EVER.  I dare you to say differently...

Big Steven worked all night Sunday night, got home early evening on Halloween and took Little Steven Trick-or-Treating in his dirty ol' work clothes.  He farts, burps, and leaves his nasty socks all over the place, but he is one heck of a dad and boyfriend.

We got back home pretty late after making the rounds to see family and we were BEAT.  Poor Daddy had to go back to work, but I took advantage of the snuggle fest by capturing a post-Halloween picture.

Wanna know the best, most versitile treat?

OREO TRUFFLES!

- 1 package Oreos (or generic brand)

- 1 8oz package of Cream Cheese

- White Chocolate for piping

- Festive Sprinkles

Use a food processor to crush up your Oreos.  Add the Cream Cheese and mix it all together (use your hands, it's more fun).  Pipe some White Chocolate over the Truffles and add some super fun Sprinkles.  Easiest.  Treat.  Ever.

Plus, I got the best hug ever from Mrs. L's (sitter) son for making them.  That's my favorite part.

Easy Peasy Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies!

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

1 pkg Chocolate Chip Mix

1 Egg

1/2 cup Butter

1/2 pkg Oreos

2 tbsp Milk

Literally mix all this stuff up in a mixer and bake for 10-12 minutes (depending on the size cookie you make).

Easy peasy and lb packing delicious!

Vanilla Cupcakes.

Please note the fantastic manipulation of photography expertise here.  I do believe, with the help of Photoshop, you guys will be loving all future pics.

Vanilla Cupcakes

recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 cup Butter, softened

1 2/3 cups Sugar

2 Eggs

1 package Vanilla Pudding mix

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

3 cups Flour

2 1/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 1/3 cups Milk

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, cream together Butter and Sugar.  Add Eggs one at a time then add your Vanilla Pudding (secret ingredient!). Lastly, add your Vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix together Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt.  Beat the Flour alternately with Milk into your batter.  Pour batter into cupcake liners and bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

...COOKIE SEASON!  What did you think I was gonna say?

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: Deep South Dish

• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 cup of light brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 3 cups of oatmeal
• 1-3/4 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (Deep South does 3/4 cup)
  
  Have everything at room temperature before starting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a mixer, cream the butter and shortening together until fluffy; add both sugars and blend together. Add the eggs, one a time, until blended in, then add the extract. Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer. Add the salt, oatmeal, and flour and using a wooden spoon mix together. Add the chocolate chips and nuts; gently stir them in.
  
  Use a small cookie scoop, or drop by large, rounded tablespoonfuls unto a baking sheet sprayed with Baker's Joy or covered in parchment paper or a Silpat. Bake one sheet at a time, on the center rack of the oven at 350 degrees F, for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until cookies are lightly golden brown just around the edges. They will appear underdone, but if you go too long they will be overcooked. Cool 2 to 3 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove with a spatula to a wire rack to fully cool. Once cooled, store in an airtight container. 

On a totally unrelated note, 91 days and 17 hours until Christmas!

Chocolate Banana Muffins.

I don't have any Fall themed cupcake liners yet, but these are cute, no?

The only change I will make the next time around is adding some Chocolate Chips.  I knew something was missing!

Chocolate Banana Muffins

1 cup Mashed Ripe Bananas

1 cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Butter

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 cup Milk

2 cups Flour

1/4 cup Cocoa

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

Mix together your Butter and Sugar until totally blended.  Add Eggs, Bananas, Milk, and Vanilla.  My friend, Sarah, gave me the hint that Bananas are easier to mush when they're frozen first, so you might try that.  In another bowl, combine your dry ingredients - Flour, Cocoa, Baking Soda, and Salt.  Mix the Banana mixture with your dry ingredients well.  Fill each cupcake liner about half way and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).

Chocolate Chip Blondies.

Since I made a dinner that required very little effort last night, I decided to make some delicious treats for the family.

Chocolate Chip Blondies

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (6 ounces) HERSHEY’®S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla just until blended. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to brown sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: 3 dozen.

festive goodies.

the only thing i love more than a delicious treat is a super festive delicious treat.

here are a few that i did this week:
rice crispy treats - the easiest NO BAKE goodie of all time.  making them christmas-y is even easier:  just add a touch of red or green dye!

the recipe:
(p.s. - this can be found on the side of the rice crispy box!)

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
6 cups rice crispy treats cereal

just melt the butter on low heat, add marshmallows and stir continually until completely melted.  remove from heat and add the rice crispies!  after everything is evenly mixed, transfer the goods to a pan lightly greased.  the easiest way i found to spread the rice crispy 'batter' (credit to my bf for coming up with the idea and actually spreading it out) was to sprinkle water on your hands and press it down quickly - that way it didn't stick!
my next recipe was my first ever attempt at shortbread cookies, and they were a huge success; i brought them to work and everyone loved them!
             

the basic shortbread recipe:
1 cup butter
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
red & green sprinkles

preheat the oven to 350.  first mix the first 3 ingredients until evenly blended.  add the last 3 until completely smooth.  break batter into 3 sections and roll them into logs.  put in the refrigerator for about an hour or so.  when the batter has chilled, cut each log into smaller, 1/4 inch cookies.  sprinkle your best festive sprinkles over them and bake for only 10 minutes!

disclaimer:  this recipe is not my own - i read it about a week ago somewhere and jotted it down on paper; as soon as i figure out where i got it, i'll let ya'll know!
CHRISTMAS IS ONLY A WEEK AWAY!  Are you done shopping?