Pimiento Cheese Dip

Pimiento cheese dip - another dipper we had for our Oscar night party. It's full of yummy ingredients and a great spread for toast, crackers, or for veggie chips!  This recipe is from Rachael Ray Magazine.

3/4 cup mayo
6 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1 1/4 cups grated sharp cheddar
1 1/4 cups grated smoked Gouda
1 jar (4oz) pimientos, drained (reserve 1 T of the liquid)
1/4 cup chopped scallions
2 T chopped flat leaf parsley (plus some for garnish)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp garlic powder

In a medium bowl, whisk mayo and cream cheese til smooth.  Mix in rest of the ingredients, and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and chill up to one day.

Garnish with parsley and serve!

Avocado Tomatillo Salsa

This avocado tomatillo salsa is so delicious - the recipe came from the Food Network.

It's a great alternative and twist to just the plain guacamole - and it tastes great with lime tortilla chips!

Two Clocks on Sale

Two clocks.  75% off.  World Market.

What a cute bright coral clock for five bucks!  

And I fell in love with this huge clock of an old world map!

Sweet & Salty

We're having an Oscars party this weekend because we love the movies!

One of our sweets will be these popcorn balls I made today, that are so easy and so gooey and good!

You can click here for the recipe.

(I didn't have light brown sugar, so I used half dark mixed with white - and it worked!  And I used cashews instead of peanuts!)

And I got the toothpick signs from Party City...

Guiltless Granola Bars

These are SO GOOD I want to eat the whole pan! (recipe from Redbook Magazine)

2 cups whole rolled oats (heated in oven at 350 degrees 10 minutes til just golden and then cooled)
1 cup raisins (placed in a bowl with hot tap water, to steep for 10 minutes)
1/2 cup almond butter (I made my own - 2 cups almonds blended in processor for five minutes, then drizzle and pulse in 3 T vegetable oil and 2 tsp honey - that's it! only use 1/2 cup for this recipe)
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup raw almonds slightly chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Line an 8X8 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2 in overhang on two sides, and set aside.

Drain the raisins and process till smooth, then add the almond butter, honey, and vanilla - pulse til combined.

Transfer to bowl with cooled oats, and add in the last three ingredients.  Pat the mixture into the prepared pan and let harden and set, for about an hour.

Remove with the parchment paper handles and cut into bars.

They are so chewy, sweet, and made all-naturale!

Bunny Towels

I like to hang a seasonal tea towel on my oven door, but it has to be thin to fit over the handle.  World Market has these cute towels for Easter!  Check them out!

Bunnies

Embroidered bunnies

Bunny silhouette

Spring Wreath

Hobby Lobby has all of their Easter decor 40% off this week, including their spring wreaths.  I found this one in teals and yellow, and love it for my front porch!

Check out their sale, as there are cute Easter gifts too for the kiddos!

Under $10 each!

Old Navy is the place to go this week for toddler dresses!  Look at these cute spring styles for $10 or less!  And all in the  nautical colors of navy and white!

Tshirt swing dress

2 in 1 tie front dress

Fit n flare cami dress

Two for One Shoes

Shoes in a dash...wait these are shoes on a dash...board...that is!

I went to Forever 21 today and they had an incredible shoe sale - buy one get one free - and most of them were marked down to $15 and under!  These two met my comfort and style level, so I snagged them!

Go see for yourself!  Or you can buy them on line but they're not on sale....

The Oxford

The Dressy Sandal (only in the stores)

Chicken Pozole

Have you ever made Chicken Pozole soup or ordered it at a restaurant?  This Chicken Pozole is a recipe from the magazine Edible Austin (click for recipe) and it's not a hard recipe, and includes such tasty ingredients and herbs!  It's a win-win and tastes delicious!

It's full of chicken, carrots, rosemary, oregano, cilantro, parsley, lime juice - and hominy - the star ingredient!

Crossbodies

I love scouring the sale closet at Urban Outfitters and just recently found a suede bag and a cute bathrobe at a steal of a price!

Check out these cute crossbody bags on their website!  It's time to start shopping for the spring season!

Chicken Pesto

This is a chicken pesto spread that is so easy to make, and extremely tasty on crusty bread!

Just boil chicken breast until done and cut into bite-size pieces.

Mix in pesto (you can make your own or buy the jarred kind - basil pesto is delish!)

Toast pine nuts and toss with chicken.

Spread on the crusty bread and top with grated Parmesan!

Hot Potato Crisps

These potato crashers are from Pioneer Woman, but I've modified them a bit:

Boil small yellow potatoes until fork tender (I cut them in fourths).

Meanwhile heat your oven to 450 degrees, and spray a baking sheet with oil.

Drain the potatoes and place on the sheet.  Using a fork, mash them both ways, like you do when criss-crossing cookies.

Brush with olive oil, then using kosher salt, sprinkle over the potatoes along with pepper and any herbs you have on hand.

Bake in the hot oven about 25 minutes on top rack until potatoes are crispy and golden!

Delish!

Mustard Vinaigrette

This dressing is so easy and tastes yummy - a great one to have on hand for salads this week!

Here's the recipe and the ingredients:

Baked & Cased

If you live in Texas, there are two stops if you're driving near the Houston/Brenham area you'll want to see/visit.  If you live out of our state, enjoy these products and look for your own bakeries/eateries in little towns near you!

These pastries are from Newman's Bakery in Bellville, Texas, the place where you also get your tickets to visit Newman's Castle - where you get a tour and lunch for $15 pp!  These baked goods are absolutely delicious, as well as their cookies that were available during our lunch.

built basically by one man, tours are great for families and kids

the blueberry donut pictured here is to die for...

On down the road, there is a down called Weimar and they are known for their Kasper's Sausage - a meat market full of aromas that will make you salivate as you pick out your sausage, beef or seasonings!  We got the pork/beef mix and fajita seasoning.

sausage market in Weimar

One more highlight was St Mary's Catholic Church (on the Painted Church Tour) in High Hill!

St Mary's Church 

Amber Patchouli

This morning in a cute bag wrapped by A Town in Austin, Texas was this awesome roll-on perfume called Amber Patchouli and it smells divine.  I had seen it recently, and my husband went back and got it for me!

check out all the scents by Oasis Naturals!

Sandals for Sale

Did you know... Old Navy has lots of shoes on clearance...even sandals?  And Marshalls always has such a turnover of shoes, there's usually something new every week!  I love to scour the clearance shelves and find treasures!

Both of these sandals were on sale, and I can't wait to wear them this spring!

Pom-poms are back!

Pom-poms - they're back - and they're found in all sorts of places!

This one is from Old Navy:  on a purse:

This one is from Urban, on bedding:

This one is from ModCloth on a scarf!

Layers for Spring

These layering necklaces are on sale at Madewell, a store with such pretty things!  Check out each one!  They make great gifts!

I love this one with gold AND silver

These geometric designs are awesome.

Another layering, this time three!

Delicious Treats!

I happened upon this candy today and had to post it as a great find - heart-shaped Jr  Mints!  World Market has a lot of great candy options, including this cute frog cookie, and Lacey cookies - have you had them?  Love all of these!

Brownies with Ganache

These brownies look so rich and decadent, and they do not disappoint in flavor!  We made them for the Super Bowl game and one square is enough to satisfy the sweet tooth for sure!

This recipe was taken from Betty Crocker and then modified here at this site, which is the one I used:

http://tidymom.net/2009/chocolate-chip-cookie-brownies/

I will say that the brownies took a lot longer than 40 minutes to bake, so just keep testing with a toothpick.  Let them cool completely before pouring the ganache over top, and then let the ganache set completely before cutting.  The layers look so pretty, because you use brownie mix and cookie mix.  And the ganache is so much better than canned frosting!

Enjoy!

Pyramid Lantern

This glass/metal lantern is only $10.99 right now in the store at Kirklands (comes in colored glass, too) and the cloth underneath is actually a pillow sham I found on sale at Anthropologie, for my tabletop decor...

Just place a candle inside, light it, and you're settled in for a cozy evening at home!

Oven "fried" pickles

Oven "fried" pickles.  They took a while to make, but came out tasty and grease free!

turn on oven broiler

Mix 1/3 cup
Flour with two eggs. Whisk.

Add in 1 T Worcestershire sauce
 1 tsp Hot sauce and garlic powder and Cajun seasoning each
And 1 tsp black pepper.  Whisk.

Drain large jar of pickles slices and pat dry. Dip pickles in the egg mixture and then coat with Panko breadcrumbs.  Place pickles on a rack on top of the baking sheet and place in the middle rack of the oven. Broil for three minutes, flip over the pickles and broil three minutes more. Remove to a serving dish and sprinkle with kosher salt.

 Serve with ranch dressing.

Pecan Pie Popcorn

Great idea for Super Bowl - pecan pie popcorn!

1/2 cup maple syrup
1 T brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 tsp salt
7 cups popped popcorn
3/4 cup chopped pecans

in a pan, cook syrup and sugar over medium heat, whisking, 5 minutes.  whisk in butter and salt until thickened, 5 minutes.  mix popcorn, nuts and maple butter on parchment-lined baking sheet.  spread evenly, bake at 250 degrees for 20  minutes. (From Rachael Ray Magazine)

Tortilla Chips - Homemade

A simple thing I thought was too much work and took too much time, but now I've found out it's not bad at all...and they taste SO good!

Heat canola oil in a cast iron skillet about 1/4 - 1/2 inch deep.  Or you can put more oil in a saucepan and make it a deeper fry.

Cut several corn tortillas into six triangles using your pizza cutter.

Carefully place about 8 triangles into the hot oil so that they are separated.  They will fry very fast, so as soon as they start to bubble and brown, flip each one, then remove and drain on paper towels.

Sprinkle with kosher salt while still hot.  Keep frying until you have a pile!

Enjoy with salsa or any dip!  These will last for several days stored in a ziplock bag.

Metal, Glass and Greens

My niece made these terrariums for her house. Aren't they beautiful?

She found the metalwork glass containers at Anthropologie, the little cacti from Home Depot, and the rocks from the Dollar Store!

Poblano Quesadilla

makes 2

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
3 poblano peppers, halved, and seeds taken out, then sliced
1/4 cup white onion sliced
2 T canola oil
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Heat canola oil in a large skillet, toss in the peppers and onions and salt and pepper, stir and fry about 20 minutes until tender.

1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar
1/2 can black beans rinsed and drained
2 large flour tortillas

In cast iron skillet, heat the tortillas until brown spots on both sides (30 seconds each side).  Stir in the beans and cheese with the pepper and onions, place half on each tortilla and fold over.

Place both quesadillas on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes until the cheese melts.  Slice each one in half and serve.

For the pico: Chop two large tomatoes, dice 1/4 white onion, chopped cilantro, salt and lime juice and one diced jalapeno.  Mix together.