lemonade

I made this one today:

so true.

10 Things I Hate About You

One of my sister's favorite movies is "10 Things I Hate About You." I saw a poster online featuring the movie's title poem, and I decided to make one for my sister. Enjoy.

Pancake Success

(another crummy phone picture)

This morning, I tried a new recipe with great success. I made this recipe for Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes from Williams-Sonoma.

They weren't difficult to make, but I had 2 bowls to clean at the end. That wasn't a big deal to me, but I might not make them if I were in a hurry. I used a Meyer lemon because I happened to have one on hand, but I think these would be equally scrumptious with regular lemon.

The pancakes had a great texture, and the ricotta added a delicate flavor profile. I served my pancakes with raspberry jam, and it complemented the lemon quite well.

Overall, fairly easy-to-make pancakes with nice flavor and texture.

Christmas Ornaments

It absolutely made my day to see this on Facebook!

I made that beautiful ornament for some newlywed friends of mine. I found the idea on this website, and I loved those monogrammed ornaments as soon as I saw them. I thought they would make an excellent gift for newly married couples sharing their first Christmas together. I got my ornaments and letter stickers from Hobby Lobby, then I simply put them all together!

I should have taken pictures before I sent them out for Christmas, but I guess my oversight was corrected when my friend posted the picture she took on Facebook :-)

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

(phone picture...please excuse the blurriness!)

I am a pretty big fan of Nutella. There are lots of chocolate Nutella cookies out there, so I thought I'd try my hand at making some.

Most of the recipes I have tried in the past either lack flavor or the chocolate overpowers the hazelnut. To combat this and add texture, I decided to add chopped hazelnuts to my cookies. I love nuts, so I added quite a few. I think they were really tasty. Here is my recipe:

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp cocoa powder (I used Dutch process, but you can use regular)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

Cream butter, sugar, and Nutella in a bowl. Add egg and vanilla, mix until combined. In a separate bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Combine mixtures until a soft dough forms, then stir in hazelnuts. Drop by rounded spoonfuls (I used a cookie scoop) onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350º for 8 minutes.

My cookies were chewy with a little crispiness around the edges. Yum!

Recipes Worth Trying

This week I tried a couple of new recipes, and by golly were they good!

The first one is for Orange Chicken. The recipe I used is one I found on Farmgirl Gourmet.  I love that this version is baked instead of fried. The only thing I changed was the Mirin. I didn't have any on hand, so I left it out. I did add about a Tablespoon of rice vinegar, though. I forgot to take pictures, but I tell you it was delicious. Give it a try!

Later in the week, I made Ranch Dressing. I didn't really get my recipe from one source. I looked at a bunch of recipes and took the elements I thought I would like. Results=scrumptious!

All my measurements were approximate, but here is my recipe:

Ranch Dressing
Recipe by Sara (stuff-by-sara.blogspot.com)

¼ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup buttermilk (more as needed)
3 Tbsp chives, finely chopped
3 Tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

 Whisk together all ingredients. Add more buttermilk (if needed) to reach desired consistency. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. Store in an airtight container for no longer than 2 weeks.

Yum.

Halloweening

This year for Halloween, I totally copped out on my costume. I wore an owl t-shirt sporting the phrase "Happy Owl O' Ween." I did spent some time doing owl-ish makeup, however, so maybe that makes up for my lack of costumage?

(Makeup somewhat inspired by this tutorial)


I also had some fun making Halloween lanterns for my li'l sis.

So cute, right? I found the idea on Our Best Bites.


I hope you have as much fun in your Halloweening!