Cake Balls

While at home, I made some delicious Red Velvet Cake Balls, recipe from Alex!

They didn't last very long :)

The Perfect Margarita

It's no secret margaritas are my drink of choice. I don't care what I'm eating, what season it is...I will always choose a margarita over any other drink. 

We always want to make margs when we grill out, but my problem is, I hate margarita mix....the kind that you buy in a huge bottle and just add tequila. It tastes like thick syrup and doesn't compare to the fresh margaritas I get at restaurants (I think Chili's still has my favorite one!) So my goal for this weekend was to find the perfect margarita recipe...and I think I found it!

I found several recipes online that sounded good, tried them out, made some changes, and in my opinion, perfected it. Here's my perfect margarita:

Ingredients:

-2 oz tequila

-1 oz triple sec

-2 oz lime juice

-4 tsp of sugar 

-margarita salt

-splash of orange juice

-ice

(alter amounts depending on how strong/sweet you like it)

1. Microwave the lime juice for 30 seconds then stir in sugar until completely dissolved.

2. Combine ice cubes, lime juice, tequila, triple sec, and OJ in a shaker and shake!

3. Dip rim of glass in lime juice, then in salt. 

4. Pour, garnish, and enjoy!

*If you prefer frozen margs, just add all ingredients plus some ice cubes and blend*

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful mom!!

We had a great time celebrating today. 

Don't I have the cutest Mamaw and Pawpaw ever??

My mom's sweet friend Carolyn came over for some cake. We love her :)

Even Charlie joined in the fun.

And Pep, of course.

So let me tell you about this cake. Since my mom is having her cancer treatment in 2 weeks, which is Radioactive Iodine, she has to go on a low iodine diet until then. Which means absolutely no salt. And salt is in everything. She can't have bread, dairy...basically any food that we normally eat.

But in our house, a birthday is not a birthday without cake. And I was determined that she have cake. Enter angel food cake. I found a recipe online that I could use a couple substitutions and have an iodine free cake! I originally planned a strawberry shortcake, but then we thought that lemon would be much tastier :)

I used this recipe (it says it's easy....I beg to differ). I was up until 1am making this treat, but I have to say, I was shocked that it turned out as it should. I substituted lemon extract for almond extract (and doubled the amount) and used iodine free salt.

Did you know that you have to 'hang' angel food cakes for 2 hours? Upside down? I was so scared when I flipped it that it would fall out, but instead, I did a little happy dance when it stayed in place.

Bud Light. Classy.

"A bun?    A boondt?      There's a hole in this cake."     Name that movie.

I was disappointed at first when I took it out of the pan and it was all splotchy, but Mom said that's how it's supposed to look. She may have just been being nice, but it was delish, so I choose taste over looks anyways.

I also added the glaze to the recipe. Just mix together powdered sugar and lemon juice until it's the consistency of icing. I don't use measurements :)

We like a lot of glaze :)

Afterwards, Mom and I went to see Soul Surfer. SUCH a great movie!!!

And I can finally reveal our big news on Monday! Stay tuned! And have a happy weekend :)

Double Chocolate Mocha Brownie Trifle

For my family's Mother's Day celebration, I made my favorite dessert ever...

Double Chocolate Mocha Brownie Trifle

If that name doesn't make you drool, the sight of it sure will.

(excuse the terrible quality of photos...I was just about finished making it and realized I forgot to take any pictures! So iPhone photos will have to do!)

It's incredibly easy to make, but it looks all fancy so people will definitely be fooled impressed.

I got the recipe from my SIL's friend, who made it for her bachelorette party. I fell madly in love with the trifle and make it every chance I get!

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 package of fudge brownie mix (and any necessary ingredients to make them)

1 3/4 c milk

2 (3.3 oz) packages of instant white chocolate pudding mix

4 tsp instant coffee granules

2 Tbs warm water

2 c whipped topping (Cool Whip)

4 Heath Bars

Make brownies. Let them cool and cut into 1" cubes.

In medium bowl, whisk together milk and pudding until thickened.

Microwave water on high for 1 minute. Dissolve coffee in water and stir into pudding.

Fold in whipped topping.

Chop up Heath bars into smaller bite-sized pieces (you can use a food processor, or put them in ziploc bags and hit them with a big spoon like I do :)

In serving bowl (trifle bowl), layer:

1/2 brownies

1/2 pudding

1/2 candy

1/2 brownies

1/2 pudding

1/2 candy

Chill 30 minutes before serving.

Enjoy! I know I have enjoyed the leftovers for breakfast all week :)



Merry Mint Brownies

Y'all, I am OBSESSED with these brownies. They are the perfect thing to bring to a Christmas party, to give to neighbors and friends, or just enjoy all by yourself :) I found out about the recipe from Laura, and I tweaked them a bit and now I'm addicted. It's a problem.

I made a batch for Doug's office Christmas party, then a batch for our Thanksgiving/Christmas celebration with my family, and I'm making another batch today for my mom's school Christmas party. And I always make sure that the baker gets to eat a few :)

Oh, and I've also renamed them from Glazed Mint Brownies to:

Merry Minton Brownies

(much more festive I think!)

Ingredients

Brownies:
1 box of brownies and required ingredients for those (usually eggs, water, and vegetable oil)

Mint Filling:
(I doubled what it called for since I use a 13x9 pan instead of a 9x9. Add powdered sugar if necessary to get the right consistency)
6 tablespoons of butter, melted
3 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons milk
Around 1 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract (to taste)
6 drops of green food coloring

Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Bake the brownies. I usually let them cool before I put the mint filling on so it will set faster.

2. Mix together all of the filling ingredients and spread evenly onto brownies. Let the filling set (I stick it in the fridge for about 15 minutes)

3. Melt the chocolate chips and quickly spread it evenly. Again, I stick them in the fridge so it will set.

4. I added this step, and it is optional, but I think it adds so much flavor and beauty! I saved some of the mint filling to drizzle on top of the chocolate layer. It makes an easy recipe look a lot more fancy :)

ENJOY! 

12 Days of Christmas: Day 8-11

Day 8: Least favorite thing about the Holidays

When my cat decides that the tree is a play house and decides to climb up into the middle of it, which causes all of the ornaments to fall off and the branches to bend, which leaves big gaps in the tree. It's frustrating but also hilarious because you can't see him in there and the tree is shaking. It reminds us of the scene where the Grinch is stealing Cindy Lou Who's tree. 

Pep also loves playing with the balls at the bottom of the tree, so he smacks them off and chases them all over the apartment. I still can't find a few.

This was last Christmas at my parents' house.

Day 9: Favorite Holiday recipe

 Cheeseball! My family looooves this appetizer/heavenly treat.

Ingredients:

• 1 12oz Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1 small jar of dried beef
• 1 onion

Cut off the edges of the dried beef, then chop the beef into small pieces.

Chop the onion to taste (usually about 1/8th of the onion)

Mix all three ingredients together and press into a ball!

Serve on Ritz crackers

Day 10: Favorite Christmas Songs/Caroles

My favorite Christmas song is Oh Holy Night. The best versions I've heard are: Celine Dion, Martina McBride, Josh Groban, and Lea Michelle's on the new Glee Christmas CD.
These are a few of my favorite Christmas CDs!








(Don't judge....'Merry Christmas Baby' is awesome)

CDs that I am really wanting:

Day 11: New Year Resolutions

1. Get a job

2. Mix more healthy foods into my diet (I am a firm believer that you can eat whatever you want...just in moderation! Sometimes I ignore forget the moderation part...)

3. Join a small group at our (hopefully) new church

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 2 & Fajita Recipe

Meaning Behind Your Blog Name

Well, this post may not be so interesting. Mine is pretty easy to figure out. Our last name is Minton. And we are "smitten" with each other, hence the recent marriage. There ya go! 

Since that was pretty short and sweet, I will spice up the post with a recipe! Katie B. recently posted a wonderful fajita recipe, so I decided to try it out. We LOVED it! 

Crock Pot Fajitas:

- 2 packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts (or tenderloins, which cook faster)
- Can of chicken broth
- Large jar of salsa
- Packet of fajita seasoning
- Sliced/Chopped onions and peppers

Mix all of the above ingredients in the crock pot and cook for several hours. We just had chicken breasts, so I cut them up into smaller strips and it cooked for about 5 hours.

**You can spoon out the chicken and vegetables, for the fajitas. Or, you can eat it with the broth as a soup! I had it as a soup the next day and it was just as delicious!

Why am I just starting to use my crock pot? It is the most glorious thing to just mix up a bunch of stuff, and 5 hours later, dinner is ready! So, I need more crock pot recipes that a picky eater (Doug) would like! If you have any you want to share, please leave a comment below!

Fall Recipe

Okay, so the recipe isn't technically for people...

It's for dogs! :)

This weekend, I am volunteering at another adoption day at the Loganville Autumn Heritage Festival, and I am making dog treats to sell! They are very healthy for dogs and super easy to make! They have pumpkin in them, which is high in Beta carotene and anti-oxidants, which help lower cancer risk, cataracts, and heart disease in dogs!
Pumpkin Wafer Dog Treats

Ingredients:
1  15 oz. can mashed pure pumpkin (NOT the spiced filling)
3/4 cup cream of wheat - you can mix this dry
1/2 cup dry powdered milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 F.
Mix all ingredients together. Drop small spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. We are putting them in mini muffin liners with pumpkins on them.

For smaller dogs, you can use a pastry bag and squeeze out smaller treats.


Also, just wanted to show you my cute family. Look at my cute husband holding my cute kitty in the sheet. Pep loved getting in there when we were trying to fold it.

Lamps and Blueberries

This is long overdue! Hilton Head was so fun and relaxing. Doug and I decided to leave at 5am on Saturday morning to get there in time to watch a World Cup game (more his idea than mine :) We got in bed Friday night around 11:30. By 12:30, we were still wide awake. Doug had the brilliant idea of going to Hilton Head NOW! So we got our stuff together and were in the car by 12:40. We actually had a very eventful night, full of deer, wild dogs running out in front of us, and a police check point in the middle of nowhere at 4am. We got to Hilton Head safely around 5:00, folded down the backseat, and tried to get a little sleep before the game! It was an adventure to say the least!

Crabbing was a blast as always, and we ended up catching 7 crabs.

Look at that form!

Doug's first crab!!

It was my mom's birthday while we were there (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!)

so we went out to lunch at Hudson's then went shopping, which turned out to be the highlight of the week when we found this adorable lamp:

We are redecorating her room this summer, and we found the perfect duvet and the perfect lamp. The problem was, the store only had 1 lamp left and we needed 2. Since it was from Homegoods, we called every store in Georgia and some in South Carolina. We also called TJ Maxx and Marshall's since they are owned by the same company. No luck! It turns out we had the only cute green lamp in the southeast. And mom was very sad that she had gotten so attached to the lamp.

So this week, I decided to get crafty and try to recreate the lamp. I found 2 drum lampshades and pretty white lamps at Target, and I set out to find the perfect fabric. I found a pretty close match, got some spray adhesive, and got to work. First, you lay out the fabric, roll the lampshade across it, and lightly trace 1 inch around the lampshade on both sides. Then cut it out, start at the seam on the back of the lampshade, and start spraying and rolling!

Make sure to pull it tight at the top and bottom so there aren't any air bubbles. Then trim the top and bottom so that there is just enough fabric to cover the little ridge inside of the lampshade. I used tacky glue and a little paintbrush to finish this part.

And then it's done! I was very happy with the results.

I have several more crafts to do this week, and I honestly could live in Hobby Lobby.

When I got home to Doug on Saturday, we decided to have a little date night, complete with fajitas and margaritas.

Then we topped off the night with our favorite activity, POKER! I have been addicted ever since the honeymoon, where we played twice a day at the resort. We play every night, usually just against each other, but this week we joined a free online poker website and have had even more fun beating other people and winning lots of (play) money.

Another fun part of the week was on Monday night at 3 something AM when our fire alarm went off. It surprisingly woke me up, I usually can sleep through anything. I heard a truck outside our window and looked out to see 2 firetrucks, an ambulance, and several other fire vehicles.

So we go outside to find out what is going on. Several other disgruntled neighbors join us and the firemen tell us they haven't located a fire anywhere, but they are working to turning off the alarm. We were outside for close to an hour, and it turns out there was no fire. Oh the joys of multi-family housing!

Last night, I was in the mood for a good dessert, since we have been trying to eat healthy this week. I decided to make Blueberry Crumble, a recipe that I got from one of my small group leaders in college. It is super easy and sooooo delicious, and almost good for you, minus the stick of butter :)

It calls for 4 cups of blueberries, but I usually just use 2. Lay those in a 1.5 quart dish. Then, combine together 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of rolled oats, and 1/2 cup of butter, melted. Crumble this over the blueberries, and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with vanilla icecream on top! (That is a MUST)

Bon Appetit! (We just watched Julie and Julia...I'm inspired!)