Blood Orange Sorbet

It's BLOOD ORANGE season! If you don't know what a blood orange is, I think my brother [Paul] gives a good description as "it's a cross between an orange and a grapefruit". I say "it's like the Sweet'Tart of oranges" with that tart and sweet contrast all in a juicy bite. They have a gorgeous red center, that can some times be surprising, but the taste is always grand!
So when my brother came to visit last weekend, we got the craving to try this Blood Orange Sorbet recipe. I have a new KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) and I am just super excited to try out some recipes!

recipe from glutenfreegirl.com
(below is a single recipe. We doubled it to make ours then froze two batches separately.) 

Ingredients:
one and one-half cup granulated sugar
two cups water
one cup blood orange juice
one egg white

Directions:
Beat the egg white in a stand mixer until it is frothy. While you are letting it beat, boil the water and sugar together to make a simple syrup. Let the syrup boil for one minute, then slowly drizzle it into the frothy egg white.
Allow the mixture to stop steaming, cooling off just a bit.
Drizzle in the blood orange juice. Stir until just mixed.
Chill this frothy pink liquid completely in the refrigerator (at least one hour).
Put the chilled liquid in your ice cream maker and let it run for about fifteen to twenty minutes, or until it is forming a thick, frosty consistency. If you take it out at this point, before it’s completely hard, it seems to make the taste all the sharper. Transfer the sorbet into a freezer-safe dish and freeze it to desired hardness. (I like to freeze it overnight.)

My brother, Paul, guest starred in this recipe! He was a great help, especially with squishing ALL the Blood Oranges. One whole orange made about 1/4 C of juice... we need juicier oranges next time!

This is the simple syrup mixture (water and sugar). I think I need a new simple syrup "recipe" because this one was too sweet!

Sorry it is side ways, I am still figuring out my phone blog app! Anyways, this is the egg whites, getting nice and foamy!

This is what it looked like after I added all the simple syrup.

I forgot a picture of when I added the Blood Orange juice, and a picture of it all in the ice cream maker. But here is a picture of the finished Sorbet (after the extra freezing).

As I said before, our experience was a little more sweet than we wanted. I really wanted to taste some of that tart (and that's coming from my huge sweet tooth!). We even added some orange rinds to the mix, just hoping to punch up the flavor, but I think that only helped a little. Next time, I will do a different simple syrup recipe, and will probably add another fruit into the mix. Like... pomegranate! Oh now that sounds yummm!

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HAPPY LEAP YEAR DAY!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to all the Leap Year babies out there! February is a very special day to be born and deserves special recognition (since it only comes once every four years!). My Grandfather (on my father's side) was born on February 29th, and would be "21" today! Happy Birthday Pappa! We miss you and are so happy you are with Grandma Sweetie in heaven!


Well, I found a company that believes, like me, birthdays should be celebrated and recognized: CardStore! And in honor of 2/29/2012, they are giving away FREE cards! You can customize a birthday card (words and pictures and all!) and at check out, just type in the code for your FREE card! It has FREE delivery too! How sweet are they!

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code: CCC2029
exp: 2/29/12 only! or till 29,000 cards have been given away.

Happy Paczki Day!

Everyone has heard of Mardi Gras or its other playful name of Fat Tuesday; but what about Paczki Day???? 

Happy Paczki Day! [Pronounced: POON-check] Paczki Day was first celebrated in the US by Polish immigrants, and was brought to cities lie Chicago, Detroit, Hamtramck and New York. The city organizes the celebration, and the local Polish bakeries bake traditional pounchkis for the occasion. A pounchki is a  traditional pre-Lenten Polish "donut" and is puffy, tasty, and made with ingredients that are not the usual stuff of donuts. Though the pounchki (also named paczki or punchki ) is called a donut, it has no hole.

I may not have time to make this delicious recipe today (it took a long time for me to find it!) but I hope you will give it a try in the mean time! When I make it, I will post pictures!!!!! Until then, enjoy those Pounchkis! YUMMMMM

recipe and picture by www.ninjalite.com

Punchki Ingredents

• 7 cups flour
• 6-7 tbls. butter
• 5 tbls. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• flavoring (optional)
• (almond, lemon, or rum)
• 1-2 eggs
• 2 packages yeast
• 2 1/4 cups milk

As needed:

• filling
• oil (canola)
• brown paper bag (cut up)
• granulated sugar

Instructions

• Make sure you have a large bowl and mix the flour, butter, sugar, salt and flavoring together.
• Add the eggs to the mixture.
• Mix the yeast with some warm milk, make sure that the milk doesn’t get too hot and mix it with the rest of the ingredients.
• Let the dough rise for 40 minutes.
• Roll the dough out on your counter until it is about 1/3 of any inch thick.
• Use a cookie cutter or a large glass to cut out the Punchki.
• Let them rise again until they are slightly puffy.
• Heat the canola oil in a two inch deep pan and place them in the oil to fry.
• Drain the excess oil out of the Punchki on some paper, paper towels work.
• While they are still warm role them in some granulated sugar and will them with your desired filling.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

When we were in college, a fun weekly event was Wednesday WING NITE, when wings were discounted and proved to be a delicious, cheap get-together with friends! Every now and then, my husband and I drool over those silly college cravings but oh buddy, THIS recipe will leave those wings in the dust!
I introduce to you... WINGLESS WEDNESDAY: Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a delicious find from mykitchenapron.blogspot.com


  

Add the chicken (frozen is ok), hot sauce, and ranch packet to the crock pot. Cook for about 7 hours on low.

When about an hour is left, take the chicken out and shred using forks. It should come apart easily, and if not, then just let it cook a little longer in the crock pot.

After shredding, let it cook for the last hour till done! Oh I bet your taste buds are drooling by this point ;)

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

3 lb. bag of frozen chicken breasts
1 bottle Frank's Wings Buffalo Sauce
1 packet Ranch Dip Mix
2 TBSP butter

Put frozen chicken, wing sauce, and ranch dip mix into crock pot.
Cook on low at least 6 to 7 hours
Using two forks, shred chicken & return to crock pot.
Add butter.
Cook on low for an additional hour.




I made this recipe with two chicken breasts and lessened up on the sauce and butter when cooking, and it turned out to be the perfect portion for 4 whole sandwiches. We didn't eat our 4th sandwich though... we were so full! So husband ate it for dinner the next night! Works for me!!

We served this on heated rolls with provolone cheese... DELICIOUS! With a side of celery and ranch anyone???

Things to try: ChickFilA

Not only does ChickFilA do an awesome chicken ANYTHING (and they have great milkshakes too! Oh and their FRIES! yummmm)... they also have cute Heart Shaped Biscuits for Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!!!!!! Awwwwww How Cute!

Photo by katiekatpretends at http://instagr.am/p/G_YlqxSDen/

Packing Lunches Tip - Valentine's Edition

Send a little love with them to work (or school) this Valentine's Day!

Cut two small triangles in the corner of the sandwich to create a HEART!!!!!!!!!!!! It is bound to make anyone's lunch feel "made with love" :) hehe

Happy Valentine's Day!

My husband and I got an early start to celebrating our first Valentine's day as a married couple! With his job ending late most nights and the crowds Valentine's always brings to restaurants, we thought it would be best to have a nice dinner out on Saturday (instead of Tuesday, Feb 14th)! Oh was it heavenly! We ate at Taverna Agora and indulged our selves fat and happy with excellent Greek cuisine! And let me just say, when they say the leg of lamb is delicious and simply falls of the bone, they aren't kidding! It was enough to make your mouth water and your taste buds jump in delight! I am just so blessed to have a husband that enjoys food, and knows it is a treat to be enjoyed fully. I think that is important in staying healthy, while being foodies like us! Nothing wrong with a food treat every once in a while, as long as you know it is just that.

The following day, I wanted to surprise my love with a little 3-2-1 cake, that had my own Valentine's twist. It was delicious every one!

I just popped some frozen strawberries and a little sugar into a microwave safe bowl. Heated that up for a min or so. Mashed up the strawberries (and sugared to taste, though they didn't need much!). Then made my 3-2-1 cakes in a ramekin. Popped out each cake on to a plate. Drizzled chocolate syrup over each, and topped them off with the strawberries!

What special things have you made for your Valentine's Day Sweetheart? Share your stories in our Comment Section below!!!!

"Today I Will Choose JOY" wall art

(sorry it is sideways... I am having trouble flipping this picture)

I saw this poster and loved the colors, especially since my dining area has taken a liking to these colors too! So I thought I would add this to my collection.

You will need:
4 paint colors (I used Cloudless blue, Antique White, Red Apple, & Black) all by Apple Barrel Acrylic Paints
1 canvas
2 paint brushes (one thick for the blue and berries, and one fine for the writing/ tree)

Directions:
First paint the whole canvas blue. I even painted the sides to give it a professional look. This took me two coats of paint. Use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process.

Next, write your words. I started with the white so that I could get the hang of writing and mistakes could easily be corrected with some blue paint over it. Luckily, no mistakes. The top three rows, I tried to keep all the lettering the same size, leaving "JOY" to be bigger at the bottom. Remember to take your time if you want all your print to look the same. Another hint, use chalk to lightly write your letters first, giving you something to trace. I didn't, but I know this works best for some people.
Allow all to dry.
Lastly, draw the twig. It's ok for the twig to go on top of the letters. I liked it best that way. Then, add the berries by taking the handle of the big brush and dipping it into the red. Make circle motions to make the berries full and bigger, if need be.

Finished! Love it!

Total cost was $5 because all I had to buy was the canvas and the blue paint; I already had the other paint colors and brushes!

Sauted Kielbasa

Last night we enjoyed some delicious Kielbasa we received for Christmas from my family (Oh! My polish roots are showing! And I love it!). Normally we would eat delicious Kielbasa with Pierogies (Yup, I am Polish!), but tonight I wanted to do a stir-fry with the yummy bell peppers I just bought this week. It was DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't even season anything! I let the natural flavors of each of the veggies and Kielbasa do the seasoning for me!
Ps, You can find Kielbasa by the sausages in your grocery store. Kielbasa to me tastes SO much better! And GREAT Kielbasa, is just the BEST! Ours was the best of the best, and was sent over from Michigan, so you can tell we take our Polish Kielbasa seriously ;)

Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 onion, cut into slivers
1/2 - whole red bell pepper
1/2 - whole green bell pepper
one link of Kielbasa, cut in half, then cut length wise in half
Rice (already made)

Directions
Heat olive oil in pan (med-high heat). Add onion. Cook almost caramelized. Add Kielbasa and cook till starting to brown (you may want to push the onion a little out of the way, so they don't burn). Then Add all the bell peppers, and turn your stove top down to low. Cover and let the peppers slowly cook (We like our pepper still crunchy, so they don't sit in the pot for long!)
Then serve over a bed of rice!
It is that easy! And SO delicious! I wish I had left overs, because I would love to eat some for lunch right now!

Try this: Tiny Prints

All through out my life I have never been really good at keeping up with Snail Mail. I always get super excited at first, then I lose steam and forget or misplace my half written letters. Not cool. So, I have been trying to be a good "Newly Wife" and write thank you notes, holiday cards, and keep up with pen pals as soon as I remember. It went well for months 1-7. Then there was some serious problems with the postal system (letters being lost or taking far too long to be delivered), which only lead to some confusion and having to rewrite... which put me behind! Needless to say, I became disorganized and procrastinated. BUT I AM BACK!

And enough about me. I wanted to share about this company that helped me get excited about cards again! It's called Tiny Prints! They are a sweet company that really produces quality with excellent service! Plus, you get to personalize your cards with MORE than just words! Insert pictures, and get the address typed on the envelope (fit just for your card) are all things that are included in the card price! Cards, Invitations, Photo Books, Announcements, Gifts... Tiny Prints has it all! I have been very please with their products and recommend them!
One more tip: Every now and then they give away free cards! So sign up! And you can see their quality for your self!


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Wedding Memento Frames

You put so much work into picking out the invites, the stationary for your wedding... why not make them a displayable work of art! This is a great way to keep and display items from your wedding!

I have two different pieces here:

The top piece is a 13" X 17" picture frame from Michaels, about $8 (but you can use your coupons and get it for less!).
I had displayed (top to bottom, starting with the left side) our save-the-dates postcard, our invitations, our wedding programs, a piece of burlap from our wedding decor (1 Corinthians 13:8), a wedding kiss picture, our sparkler send-off picture, a Congratulations card (with a cute bride and groom outfit!), and lastly, our thank you cards.

And then the bottom piece I made of our wedding date. It's a divided picture frame, about 6.5" X 13" undivided, and cost about $6 at Michaels (again, use a coupon and you save!).
I went to this site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/collections/ and found pictures of numbers to print. I just adjusted the size and printed on my printer. 5 7 11!

Here is our living room! Finished project? For now :)

Hint for all you Apartment Dwellers out there: Try to stray away from push pins, they just poke little holes in the wall you have to deal with later when you leave! So, what's a good alternative? How about Command Strips (which you can find in almost any store!). They stick to your object and the other side sticks to the wall, but there is a tab that you can pull when it is time to take it all down, and No Mess/ No Holes! Pretty cool :)

Try this: Target Guide to Discount Shopping

I can't take any credit for this one, but I just had to share this site from Mommy Savers when I found it! I live like 2 minutes from Target and I swear they should be paying ME to shop there with the amount of money and time we spend there! So this site tells you some insider tips on how to Shop Target the discounted smart way, and also gives you some "markdown schedules" (who knew! I also thought it was random! and luck haha) and Other hints to getting the most bang for your Target buck!
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Check it out!
http://www.mommysavers.com/2011/01/deals-at-target-clearance/

3-2-1 Cakes

recipe from: thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com

This recipe is called 1-2-3 Cake because all you need to remember is 3 Tbs mix, 2 Tbs water, and 1 minute in the microwave.

Ingredients:
1 box Angel Food cake mix
1 box any flavor cake mix
2 Tbs water

Directions:
Using a large plastic bowl with a tightly fitting lid or a large zip lock bag, combine the two boxes of cake mix stirring or shaking well.
For each individual serving, take out 3 Tbs of the cake mixture and mix it with 2 Tbs of water in a small microwave safe container. I used a small ramekin.
Microwave on high for 1 minute.
You now have your own instant individual cake! You can top with fruit, chocolate syrup, or whipped topping if you like. Try various flavors of cake mix but it must always be combined with an Angel Food mix.
* Keep the mix tightly sealed in an airtight container (aka zip lock bag) until next time!




I found the cake was REALLY spongy. Not quite a cake. More like the angel food cake than the chocolate. But it was a nice small light dessert!


I liked the syrup! Nice chocolate touch!

Packing lunches tip

Have you ever packed veggies and dip for lunch? Yum right?!?!?! Although, my annoyance with it is putting the dip in a container. If you put too much, it is kind of wasted when you are done. If you put too little, you are stuck with "naked veggies". And also, the dip gets all around the container... so annoying!

So here is something I found that really works (and looks pretty!). Take a container of your choosing and pour a little dressing in the bottom. Then, fill up vertically with veggies that are shorter than the container with the lid on. (if you are cutting your own, use the container as a measuring mark!). And Voila! The dressing rises a little to cover the veggies, and it is the perfect serving size! Enjoy!

Dijon Mayonnaise Sauce

5 min or less to create this yummy sauce that compliments Salmon sooooo well! Whether it is a Salmon Patty Sandwich or a Filet, you will love this sauce, and the simplicity is hard to beat!

From Taste of Home Simple & Delicious Cookbook
Ingredients
1/2 C Mayonnaise
2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
1 tbs dijon mustard
1/4 tsp dill weed

Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.

Easy Cheesy Chili Dip

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!! I think that's Super Bowl XLVI to be exact :)
Now, I may not be a football fan, and commercials are ok (though this year seemed to turn more commercial fans then football! Funny how things change!), but an excuse for good food and good company ALWAYS have my vote!

Here is a quick dip recipe! Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 block of cream cheese
1 can of hormel chili (I like the spicy kind!)
1 bag of tortilla chips

Directions
Place chili and cream cheese in a pot over the stove. Heat on Med/Low and stir till completely blended together. Then, Serve!

It's that easy! I normally just serve in the pot I cooked it in, because it never has enough time to make it into a bowl before it is gone!!! But if you do want to have the dip out longer, I would suggest putting it in a small crock-pot/ heating dish because the dip is best when hot.

Lasagna Roll Ups

from Taste of Home: Simple & Delicious

We LOVED this recipe! I seriously am considering serving this up for guests! It looks beautiful and tastes delicious and is pretty easy (but looks fancy!)! Love it!!!!

Ingredients
6 lasagna noodles
3/4 C ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp minced chives
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
24 (ish) slices pepperoni (I used hormel turkey pepperoni! sooo good! and less fat)
3 slices swiss cheese, cut up
1 C meatless spaghetti sauce
1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions
Cook the noodles according to package directions; drain. Combine the ricotta cheese, chives, oregano and basil; spread 1/4 C over each noodle to within 1/2 in. of edges. Top with the pepperoni and swiss cheese; carefully roll up.

Place seam side down in a greased shallow baking dish; top with spaghetti sauce. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

Sprinkle roll-ups with the Parmesan cheese. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Everyday Blue and Red and Yellow Place Setting

I have been craving some change, and some color uniformity, this past month or so. Maybe it is the warmer weather or the thought of Spring coming soon (it has been an unusually warm winter in NC this year!)... regardless, I wanted to tackle another crafty project, and make a color change to our home!

Hence: Blue Red and Yellow! I have fallen in LOVE with the color combo of pale blue with vibrant red, and a toss of yellow sunshine never hurt any one. And every time I cooked in my kitchen, I found more and more kitchen objects that especially fed my new pale blue and vibrant red obsession! Pots, bowls, spatulas, Tupperware... how did we register for these items and never noticed the theme of colors?!?! So something had to be done! Our kitchen runs right into the dining area, nothing fancy, but definitely makes you want your kitchen to either match your dining area, or be completely opposite (to separate out the areas more). I wanted it to all flow, maybe making the appearance of a bigger over all space :) I try!


This is a table setting I created using some stuff from around the house. The placemats are actually Christmas placemats I bought on Clearance in 2011 from World Market, I just turned them to the backside! Double duty!

Blue and Red and Yellow

I have been craving some change, and some color uniformity, this past month or so. Maybe it is the warmer weather or the thought of Spring coming soon (it has been an unusually warm winter in NC this year!)... regardless, I wanted to tackle another crafty project, and make a color change to our home!

Hence: Blue Red and Yellow! I have fallen in LOVE with the color combo of pale blue with vibrant red, and a toss of yellow sunshine never hurt any one. And every time I cooked in my kitchen, I found more and more kitchen objects that especially fed my new pale blue and vibrant red obsession! Pots, bowls, spatulas, Tupperware... how did we register for these items and never noticed the theme of colors?!?! So something had to be done! Our kitchen runs right into the dining area, nothing fancy, but definitely makes you want your kitchen to either match your dining area, or be completely opposite (to separate out the areas more). I wanted it to all flow, maybe making the appearance of a bigger over all space :) I try!

I made these sets of prints and framed them using frames from around the house! I really liked how it all turned out! It uses the themes of colors, with similar frames (black, black and silver, and silver), all in a cluster layout, which I think adds to the over all charm!