Puppy Chow = heaven in a bowl

Sometimes I get that feeling that I'm literally going to pass out or cry if I don't eat something sugary NOW. Probably not a very healthy feeling, but hey, I'm only human. So obviously I made puppy chow (makes sense, right?).

I didn't really follow a recipe, I just kind of made it.

INGREDIENTS:

cereal (I used cinammon life, because it's tasty and cinammony)

chocolate chips

peanut butter

Mix about 2 cups of chocolate chips with 1 cup of peanut butter, and melt.

I added more peanut butter in the end because I really looooove peanut butter.

Pour the chocolate/peanut butter over the cereal, add powdered sugar, and viola! You have puppy chow! I suggest eating it with a fork, because it gets REALLY messy.

Deuces xx

Summer Barbecue Salad

So there I was, standing on line at the local Walmart - shopping for my mother because she needs things, and I can drive. It's the grey cloud of having a liscence, I get asked to run all the erands.

But anyways, standing at Walmart, I so happened to glance up at the tv screen. And what luck! I learned something new - and here I am to teach it to you (oh that rhymed!)

Ingredients

Cilantro

Watermelon

Limes

Cucumbers

Balsamic Vinegar

<<The quantities don't reallly matter exactly, just think of the Watermelon chunks as your "lettuce" for this salad>>

I used just about half a watermelon, cutting it into pretty good sized chunks

 Cut the cucumber into fourths (as shown), and "sprinkle" them onto the watermelon - I used a whole cucumber

Fresh cilantro just tastes so much better, but it means you have to cut and chopped the cilantro, into little pieces. Then add it to the salad - I just kept on adding until it looked about right. I prefer to go by gut instinct.

Then add the balsamic vinegar

<<it'll all settle on the bottom, so just keep tossing the salad until you're ready to serve it>>

I added lime juice at the very end, just one lime. It gave it a bit more of a zingy flavor, the balsamic does add some flavor, but the lime takes it to a whole 'nother level!

The whole salad took about 15 minutes or more to make, it just takes some time to cut up the watermelon and cilantro.

It fed about four people, three very hungry mouths and one picky one, with a little left over. It kept well in the fridge over-night, I had the rest for lunch the next day. But I suggest only making enough for how much you'll think you'll eat!

Props to Walmart for a good salad :)

Dueces xx

My face is covered in Kiwi

I never take care of my skin.

It's a sad truth of my life, that I'm actually too lazy.

Sometimes I'll go to bed without taking my makeup off thinking, "Well, I'm taking a shower in the morning anyhow. Its not a big deal. I just won't wash my face tonight."

Then pimples start blooming on my face like the evil roses of spring - I grumble a bit and then move on, because I'm too lazy to keep grumbling.

It's a problem.

Skimming on the web, going through some of my favorite blogs and sites, I found this tutorial on a home-made kiwi mask for your skin, and I thought to myself, "Self, this is the time to get active about skin care!" 

Here is what you need:

1. A clean container (I used a mason jar, you may have them around your house, or you can buy a couple at your local Hobby Lobby)

2. A blender

3. Orange juice

4. Kiwi

5. Olive Oil

6. Yogurt

STEP ONE: gather your ingredients

STEP TWO: Peel and puree the kiwi (I used two kiwi's)

STEP THREE: add 3 tbsp of plain yogurt, 1 tbsp of orange juice, and 1 tbsp of olive oil

STEP FOUR: blend it all together

Once it's blended well, pour it into your container. I suppose you could taste it... I didn't, but I am curious now that I think about it. If you taste it tell me what it tastes like!

Apply liberally to your face, avoiding your eyes.

Leave on until the mask dries, then scrub it off well with a washcloth! Personally, I wanted to itch my face the whole time it was on there, I don't know why, but I thought it was super itchy.

**This mask will keep for about a week, as long as it's refrigerated**

xoxo

Strawberries Wild

We made jam. Do I really have anything else to say on the matter? No, not really.

It was really simple actually - we just followed the directions on the sure-jell box. But here is a quicky version for you:

1. rinse strawberries with cold water

2. cut off the stems

3. Lay the strawberries down to dry

4. Put them in a bowl and begin mashing!

5. Add sugar and the sure-jell packet, mix well

6. do the dishes!

We made about 10-12 conatiners of strawberry jam. It took A LOT of dishes and several boxes of sure-jell. All in all, it's probably cheaper to buy jam at the store - but it tastes better if you make it yourself :)

It was a good family night activity, it made us interact and work together. Don't tell my mother, but I really enjoyed the whole thing. 

xoxo

Knead some Dough

Last night I went to my weekly ACT math tutoring chill session (yuck. math.)

But instead of doing math last night, we made bread.

Lucky for you I've got the recipe!

Delicious Bread:

5 (1/4) cups of bread flour

1/4 cup of sugar

1/2 tblsp of salt

2 tblsp yeast

2 cups of hot water

combine and mix a little with a spatula, make sure to get the flour mixed up so it doesn't stick to the bottom

Then continue mixing in a KitchenAid

2 tblsp of Soy Lecithin

Continue mixing in the KitchenAid, add more water if needed - at this point you CANNOT add more flour. Let it mix for 7 more minutes.

In the meantime, Pam your bread pan/take a break.

After the 7 minutes, take out the dough and split it into two. Spray PAM onto your counter and mold your dough into a ball

smoothing it out and tucking the edges into the bottom.

Then stick into the pan (which should also be covered in PAM. We really love PAM).

Let it sit for about 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and then cook it for 25 to 30 minutes. 

Cinnamon Bread

There are really only some minor additions to the above recipe.

During the 7 minute mixing time; melt aprox 1/4 cup of butter (we added some vanilla to it as well - mmmm yummy)

And in a separate bowl we mixed up some spices. I can't remember what we put in because honestly, we just threw stuff in there.

Next we rolled out the dough until it looked like a square

Then we spread around the butter and vanilla using a.... paintbrush. Or something like that

Next spread the spice mixture AAALLLL over the dough

And fold in the side edges

And roll up the dough from one side to the other

Push in the last edges so nothing slips out of the dough

And tuck into the pan

Let it rise for 7 minutes, then cook it for the same time as the normal bread.

This bread tasted absolutely amazing. I'm actually going to go make some more right now... 

xoxo

ps- it tastes good with jam.

pps - Sorry if the pictures are blurry... my camera is on the fritz and the one I was using is evil.

Cherry Pie Cupcakes

It has been too long my friends! I have been having a hectic week - school on top of Tech Week for the play (Sense and Sensibility) has cursed me with basically no time. For those of you who don't know, tech week is the week before you perform the show, where all of the technical aspects such as lights, music, curtains, and even costume, makeup, and hair are thrown in. 
I managed to steal a few moments for myself to write this blog post - I hope you find it delicious ;)


My sister has become obsessed with cupcakes.

She's always been obsessed with baking in general, she even started her own pie store (and made about $100! She's 9!) - but cupcakes has become her new passion.

And let's be honest, her latest creations are so delicious that I ate about 8 of them. 

Here's how;

1. She used a yellow cake recipe for the actual cupcake. You don't need to make the cake from scratch, a Betty Crocker cake mix will do just fine.

2. She made a Buttercream frosting;

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons milk

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

(obviously unhealthy, but so delicious it doesn't really matter)

Mix all ingredients until creamy. Makes enough frosting for aprox 18 cupcakes.

you will need to make a double batch in order to have enough frosting!

3. Once the cupcakes are all frosted, put the remainder of the frosting into a pastry bag

4. Open up a can of cherry pie filling (this is where it gets messy) - and cut each cherry in half! (This took a lot of work)

5. Place cherries on top of the cupcakes, they should stick to the frosting underneath

6. This is where the rest of the frosting comes in. Use a number 47 tip to create the criss crossing lines on top of the cherries. When all of the cupcakes are covered, switch the nozzle to a number 103 to create the "crust" of your cherry pie. 

7. Eat or give away as the mood strikes you♥

Be warned however, these cupcakes are extremely delicious, and not very healthy. So don't blame me if you get fat from eating them.


xoxo

Christkindle markets

They're basically in every big city. Just google it and you'll find a Christmas market near you, i hope!

The German Christmas markets are a tradition in my family. We went to the real ones a couple of years ago when we went to Germany for Thanksgiving. They run from thanksgiving time to Christmas - and are a beautiful blend of culture, tradition, and the christmas spirit, just what you need to get in the mood for Christmas!

I went this past Saturday with my two friends, Kristen and Christina. We took the train into the city (it was a very educating experience).

The view from the train was very "old town"

and I liked it :)

The first sight of the Christmas markets! They're always decked out with lights. 

We immediately made a Bratwurst stop (pronounced brot-vurst)

I got a one with sauerkraut (oh yummy!)

It was so warm there and the food smelled so good - I didn't even need my winter coat! I was completely content in my jean jacket.

We stopped for all kinds of food. "Pizza" pretzels, fudge, potato pancakes with sour cream and applesauce (very German), and a custard cake with carmel and nut topping. Christina liked it too ;)

Everything there is all handmade. The people who sell it are often the people who make it. All the food is made on the spot, and all of the wood carvings (like the cats), are hand carved. All the glass is handblown, and all of the painting and details added to ornaments and carvings are hand painted. 

This little piggy caught my eye. The colors were so bold, and I loved the eyes on him! He's like a fire pig - I'll call him Charles.

I thought the details on this leaf were extraordinary! Just look at all the little notches on that little wooden leaf! 

The leaf itself was very small - it couldn't have been bigger than my palm.

I loved the magical colors of the hand blown glass. It reminded me of a Christmas fairytale wonderland. The little Budha section amused me (of all places... a German Christmas market..) - but the best thing about these pots was that when you moved a little wooden stick around it it made an eerie melodical vibration. We tried it a couple times, and I got it to work! 

The winter scene above was all handcarved and handpainted, notice the little arc of trees? It's a sort of German Christmas tradition - there was a plaque that represented what the arc stood for, but I forget. It was a beautiful piece, and the arc is one you'll find in recurring German pieces, especially ones with a Christmas meaning.

On the way home we stopped at a Barnes and Noble and look what I found! The new cover for the Sorcerer's Stone! I'm still deciding how I feel about. Not my favorite, I'm still a fan of the old illustrations - but it's not a disaster.

We also stopped at a Forever 21 and Kristen tried on these shoes (she was taller than me!) - she claimed they were easy to walk in, but I think she was wobbling just ever so slightly.

And then on the train ride home, Christina read us Pinkalicious in her best teacher voice - and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

It was quite a night.