Tiramisu Layer Cake!

Today I made a Tiramisu Layer Cake. It was pretty yummy... lots of steps involved! ;) If you'd like the recipe, you can find it HERE.

The Classy Gourmet - Girls Night Out!

This past weekend some of my best friends and I had a girls night out at The Classy Gourmet! We had SO much fun doing an Italian cooking class! We were assigned the marinara, and let me tell ya this was not Prego out of a jar - it was the "real deal!" ;) Thank goodness for Laura who decided we better get serious and start making the sauce otherwise we would've been goofing off until the wee hours of the morning - haha!

KatieJo, Laura, Me and Christy - Love these girls!

Stuffed Shells (we were not assigned these, thank goodness)!

Time to get serious...

Heeeeyyy Laura - Whatcha got cookin'?

KatieJo and Laura - best friends since childhood

We even cook with our eyes closed! ;)

Hard at work!

Chocolate Fondue Recipe!

Last night I got together with some friends for dinner club. We all had a fun time! I offered to bring the dessert -- KatieJo offered her dessert recipe! :) I was so glad she did because it was SO delicious, I want to share it with YOU! It was chocolate fondue! This recipe you can't mess up, so easy!

Chocolate Fondue:

1 T. Butter

16 oz milk chocolate chips

1 bag small marshmallows

1/3 C. milk

1 C. whipping cream

Grease slow cooker with butter. Turn to high for 10 min.

Meanwhile, mix chocolate, marshmallows and milk together in a bowl.

Put mixture in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 30 min. Stir, cover and cook another 30 min.

Gradually stir in whipping cream and cook another hour.

**We served it with rice crispies, strawberries, bananas, cheesecake bites, etc. KatieJo had the cutest little individual bowls for each person and sprinkled graham crackers on top of the chocolate (so it was like s'mores). Yummy! Enjoy!

BRIX!

My great friend Christy and I tried out Brix on Friday night! It's a huge store at Village Pointe stocked with any wine you can imagine! You can spend as much ($100+) or as little ($7) as you'd like on a bottle. They also have all kinds of different beer, mixed specialties, etc.

It was very busy when we were there but eventually we were able to get a seat at the wine bar where you can have a glass of their "tap" wines for $5! We also ordered a cheese plate! It was a really neat experience!

As you can see above they have a little something for everyone, even wine ice cream! :) I didn't have any but heard it was pretty tasty! I highly recommend Brix! It would be a good place to get a gift for someone who loves wine as well. :)

McDonald's Hot Chocolate!

After hearing advertisement after advertisement for their new (all real chocolate, no powder) hot chocolate, I gave in and tried it today! I'm not a huge fan of their coffee so was a little reluctant to try the hot chocolate but much to my surprise it was actually pretty good! On a scale of 1-10 I give it an 8. :)

Many of you may be wondering WHY I have not been posting "personal" pictures and thinking my social life must be really boring. ;) Well actually I have had a ton of stuff going on lately and the truth is I can't figure out our computer! For some reason I have had major difficulties downloading pictures. So sorry but the generic internet pictures will have to do until I get this silly computer figured out! :)

I Heart Jello!

Wouldn't this sweet, heart-shaped jello treat be a perfect addition to a Valentine's Day dinner? I thought it was so cute (and yummy too I bet)! Find the "how to" HERE.

Fun Times With Christy and Molly!

My good friend Christy (to see her cute blog, scroll over her name and click) and her dog Molly visited Wilson and I on Monday and we made dog treats! We had a blast! Once we got all of the crazy ingredients figured out (rice flour, carob chips, powdered milk, etc) and after a trip to Whole Foods to purchase the crazy ingredients they turned out a success!

I LOVE this picture! Aren't they cute?!?

The recipe made 3 cookie sheets of treats! Enough for Wilson and Molly PLUS all of the dogs in our neighborhood!! haha!

Happy 2nd Birthday Wilson!

On Tuesday Wilson and I celebrated his second birthday! As you can probably just about imagine it was a bit difficult to take pictures of this excited pup with his birthday cake. Here's my best attempt...

On his very BEST behavior, couldn't wait for a bite of that cake!

Peanut Butter Cake w/pb frosting from 3 Dog Bakery, Wilson's favorite!

Lovin' every last bite!

Frosty... What Happened?!?!

Frosty The Snow... Puddle!

All it takes is a few simple ingredients...

Aren't these SO fun?!? I love these little snowmen! Although, they might be pretty time consuming I think they're adorable!!

Frosty the SnowPuddle Treats

Ingredients:

White Chocolate (we used white candy melts)

Doughnut Holes

Rolo Candies

Milk Chocolate Candy Melts (one for each hat)

Fruit Roll-ups

Orange Mike & Ike Candies (or any orange candy you can shape into a nose)

Mini-Chocolate ChipsPretzel Pieces (for arms)

Wax Paper

Directions: Get out your ingredients. Cut Fruit Roll-up into strips and cut snips on the ends as "fringe". These are your scarves. Here's everything you'll need to accessorize one snowman (plus a couple broken pretzels for arms).

Melt white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals, stirring after each. When melted, spread a little "puddle" on your wax paper. Dip a doughnut hole in the melted chocolate and place on your puddle.

Accessorize your snowman with chocolate chip eyes, a scarf, a hat made with the candy melt and rolo, nose, and pretzel arms. Let set completely (about 15 minutes) then serve and enjoy!

Jenny's Baby Shower!

Jenny's baby bump was hidden by the trifle!

Yummy!
Lots of PINK!
Even a pink rubber duckie for the punch

June painted these cute pumpkins!

June!

Maizy enjoyed the chocolate fountain!

Some of Jenny's friends having fun with the game we played!

This weekend June and I hosted a baby shower for Jenny (sister-in-law) at Ryan and June's house in Lincoln! It was a great turnout, about 25 people came! We had a dessert shower with lots of sweet treats, including a chocolate fountain! Jenny got a ton of great gifts and is anxiously awaiting the birth of their baby girl, Madelyn.

Ghost Brownies!

I made these brownies today for Iba's birthday party. They were a hit and pretty simple to make! The kids especially loved them! For the recipe, visit: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/spooky-brownies

Fresh Peach Pie

Today I made a yummy peach pie! This recipe is an oldie but a goodie. It was actually my mom's grandma's recipe! If you like peaches, you must make this tasty treat. :)

Peach Pie

Pie crust - unbaked

1 c. Sugar

2 T. Flour

1 c. half and half

1 T. Vanilla

Stir together the above ingredients.

Add 4-5 fresh peaches (take off skin) to the liquid mixture. Pour into unbaked crust. Bake at 375 degrees (i turn down heat to 350 after 1/2 hr or so). Bake 1 hour. Enjoy!

Cookie Recipe!

On Monday evenings I get together with a bunch of girls and we watch The Bachelor! We always have a great time! This week I brought butterfinger cookies and everyone really liked them. So, I thought I would post the recipe. Be careful, you can't ever just have one!

Butterfinger Cookies
1/2 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 egg whites
1 1/4 c. peanut butter (i use creamy)
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
5 butterfinger candy bars, chopped

In large mixing bowl, cream buttter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg whites. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in candy bars.

Shape into 1 1/2" balls and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 4 doz.

Yummy Apple Cider Recipe

Red Hot Cider
1 gallon apple juice
1 gallon cranberry juice
Dry Ingredients:
1 whole orange sliced
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. allspice
4 cinnamon sticks
½ cup cinnamon red hots

Pour juice into a 30 cup coffee pot. Put all dry ingredients into the filter basket of the coffee pot. Let it perk through all the spices! Serve with red hots and a cinnamon stick. This can be made up and stored in the refrigerator and heated up one cup at a time. Enjoy!