5 things you (might) want know about me

Have you ever decided you wanted to blog then realized you had no idea what you were doing or what to write about? Yep, that's me. So my February resolution is to blog at least once a week, and hopefully even more!

Since this is one of my first posts, here are some things about me!

1. I'm a Hokie! I graduated from Virginia Tech in 2011 and it was the BEST college experience I could have ever asked for.

2. I LOVE to travel- I've been to the Caribbean, Mexico, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Australia!

3. After completing my dietetic internship (to be a dietitian), I moved to Denver without knowing anyone!

4. Since moving to Denver, I've fallen in love with my random, guy roommate (more to come).

5. I love to: watch the Food Network and immediately cook afterwards, try new beer and breweries, drink WINE, learn about home brewing, explore new cities, and of course- go shopping!

First Post- Now what do I write?

I've been contemplating on what to write about first for about a day now, and still haven't come up with something spectacular for you to ooh and aah about, sorry.

I guess first things first. A HUGEEEE shout-out to Anna, one of my oldest friends, from www.amarchwedding.com who custom designed my blog. If I have to say, it's pretty amazeballs.

Now I know there aren't many recipes up yet, but just wait. Ever since I've moved to Colorado I've been on a large cooking spree, especially now that I'm a nanny for a family who makes the majority of their food from scratch, and the kids eat just about anything. Have you met a 3.5 year old or a 14 month old whose favorite food is avocado? I sure haven't.

Well, I'll do my best to think of something absolutely amazing to write next! Maybe even a delicious new recipe...

Hope everyone had a great Tuesday!

Strawberry Margaritas!

Fresh Strawberry Margaritas

recipe for one margarita, can easily be multiplied

2 ounces Grand Marnier

1 1/2 ounces Tequila

2 ounces lime juice

2 1/2 ounces strawberry simple syrup [recipe below]

lime + fresh strawberries for garnish

salt + sugar for the rim

Rim the ridge of your glass with a lime wedge and dip in a mix of margarita salt + sugar [I used about 3 tablespoons salt to 2 teaspoons sugar]. Fill the glass with ice. In a cocktail shaker, combine tequila, grand marnier, simple syrup and lime juice with ice, and shake for about 30 seconds. Pour over ice and squeeze in lime slices and add a few strawberries.

For strawberry simple syrup: combine equal parts sugar and water, bring to a boil and let sugar dissolve, then turn off heat and let cool completely. Combine 1 cup simply syrup + 1 1/2 cups slices strawberries in a blender and blend until combined. I don’t mind strawberry seeds, but if you’d like you can strain the mixture over a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds.

This recipe can be easily doubled, quadrupled, etc. Since everyone’s tastes differ, add simple syrup 1/4 cup at a time and go from taste. I also suggest buying the lime juice if you plan on making a pitcher (or 2) considering you’d have to squeeze a billion limes to get enough juice.

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I went to Rome last year!

Here is a photo I took:

Pretzel Bites!

Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites

Ingredients:

Soft Pretzels:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
Coarse sea salt

For the cheese sauce:
½ Tablespoon unsalted butter
½ Tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup milk
8 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

For the Pretzels: Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.

Oil a bowl with vegetable oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring the water to a boil in a small roasting pan over high heat and add the baking soda.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each. Roll each piece into a long rope measuring 22 inches and shape. Cut the dough into one inch pieces to make the pretzel bites. Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches. We did about 15 bites at a time. Boil for about 30 seconds. Remove with a large slotted spoon. Place pretzel bites on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure they are not touching. Brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. Place into the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.

Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating. Serve with cheese sauce.

To make the cheese sauce:
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the Cheddar cheese until smooth and all of the cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

*If you want to make cinnamon and sugar pretzel bites-instead of adding salt, sprinkle the bites with cinnamon and sugar. For the frosting mix-soft cream cheese-about 3 T, powdered sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a little bit of milk. Whisk together. Add more milk if it is too thick, if it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. I don't measure. I just guess until the consistency is right.*

Recipe makes a lot of bites-perfect for sharing!

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Campfire Cones!

Ingredients we needed for our Fruit & Smore Cones:

Chopped Fruit. The kids chose strawberries and bananas – but I bet any berries, even tart apples, would be perfect!
Mini-Marshmallows.
Chocolate Chips. We used semi-dark, chocolate chips – love the extra antioxidants.
Waffle Ice-Cream Cone.  Unfortunately, not any icecream cone will work – we tried    I’d love to experiment with waffle bowls next time.
Tin Foil.  To wrap your cone once you have it stuffed to capacity.

First, we chopped our fruit into smaller, more manageable bits.  Then, we mixed all of our ingredients (the fruit, marshmallows, chocolate, etc.) together into a metal bowl.  We wrapped the cones in foil and the kids had fun stuffing the waffle cones till they were brimming and overflowing!  We folded the foil over the top and laid them over the fire, once the coals had turned gray.   We rotated our Fruit and S’more Campfire Cones a couple of times.  In about 5-7min they were ready to eat!  The kids ate their cones as you would icecream (just digging their faces in), hubs and I preferred a spoon – this is a very gooey treat!

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Cookie Dough Bites - So yummy!

I don't know anyone who doesn't like chocolate chip cookie dough. These are the perfect treat for dough lovers made without eggs and bite sized.

Hands-On Time: 20 minutes

Ready In: 1 hour
Yield: 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
1½ cups packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
6 ounces miniature chocolate chips
Directions

• Cream butter and sugar together.
• Add remaining ingredients and mix well -- use your hands to get it together the best.
• Roll into 1-inch balls.
• Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Dip in chocolate, drizzle with chocolate or eat as is -- equally delicious no matter what!
• Let stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.
• Store in the refrigerator.

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Corn Casseroles

Ingredients
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Shredded Medium Cheddar Cheese
Directions

1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained 

In a large bowl, stir together the two cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and butter.  Pour into a greased casserole.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Top with generous amount of cheddar cheese and return to oven for another 5 minutes until cheese is melted.

Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen

Peppermint Bark!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to share it as my very first blog post - Christmas in August, who cares?

REALLY EASY PEPPERMINT BARK (adapted from AllRecipes and Nestle®)

• 1 (12 ounce) package NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Morsels

• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

• 6 candy canes (or 24 hard peppermint candies)

• Waxed paper or parchment paper (for lining your pan)

Line an 11 x 7″ baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment paper; set aside.

Place candy canes (or peppermint candies) in a heavy-duty plastic bag (I used a gallon-size Ziploc® freezer bag). Crush candy canes or candies using a rolling pin; set aside.

Microwave morsels in a medium-size microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70 percent) power for 1 minute; stir. Continue to microwave and stir morsels at 10- to 20-second intervals until morsels are melted; stir until smooth (be careful not to overheat the morsels). Add peppermint extract to the melted morsels and blend well.

While holding a strainer over the bowl of melted morsels, pour crushed candy into strainer. Shake strainer to release all small candy pieces, letting them fall into the bowl of melted morsels, and blend the candy-morsel mixture well. (Reserve the larger candy pieces for the top of the bark).

Spread the mixture in your wax paper-lined 11 x 7″ pan. Sprinkle with reserved larger candy pieces, pressing in lightly.

Let stand for about 1 hour or until firm. Peel off the wax paper from the bottom side of the bark and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

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Low Carb Fettucini!

Ingredients:
1 10-ounce bag Al Dente Carba-Nada Roasted Garlic Fettuccini Noodles, prepared
according to package
1 bunch fresh organic asparagus (the thinner the better), diced small
3/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
3 large links hot Italian sausage, removed from casing (or you can use chicken
sausage cut in small pieces like the one I used here)
1 26.46-ounce box of Pomi Marinara Sauce (or use your favorite brand of marinara)
1/2 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt (I like Chobani)
salt
fresh-cracked pepper
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Heat a large skillet to medium-high and add the sausage. Break up with your spatula
as you cook for approximately 5-10 minutes or until sausage is fully cooked.


Next add the asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes, plus a dash of salt and fresh
cracked pepper (just enough to season the veggies you're adding).


Stir and cook for approximately 2 minutes then add the marinara sauce and cook a
couple more minutes until warmed through.

Next add the Greek yogurt and stir until creamy

Last, add the cooked pasta and toss together with the sauce.

Top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and enjoy!




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Cheddar Chicken Crunch Salad

what you need

1/4

cup  MIRACLE WHIP Dressing

1/4

cup  KRAFT Classic Ranch Dressing

4

cups  small fresh broccoli florets

2

cups  chopped cooked chicken breasts

1

cup  halved cherry tomatoes

1/2

cup  thinly sliced red onions

1/2

cup  KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

6

slices  OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, crumbled

make it

MIX dressings in large bowl. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese and bacon; mix lightly.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour.

TOP with cheese and bacon just before serving.

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