Blueberry Avacado Smoothies

Jonah Knox asks me for a smoothie juuuuust about EVERY day. I call him a fruit fly. He LOVES to eat fruit, however, veggies? Not so much these days. He still likes a handful, but I try to sneak vegetables into his smoothies without him knowing (and other meals, as well). Just doing my job as a good Momma. Today we hit the smoothie jackpot and I thought I'd share. Jonah saw the avacado going into the blender and was skeptical but seriously- it had the best, most creamy texture!! He loved it and tried to steal mine. Here's what you need-

1/2c frozen blueberries

2 small bananas

1 ripe small avacado

3-4 strawberries

1/2c-1c milk (depending on how you like the thickness of your smoothie)

Blend!

What's your favorite SNEAKY way to add veggies into your kids diets??

White Chocolate Peppermint Mousse Pie

Each year at Thanksgiving my sweet Mother in Law gifts all of the women in our family with a Southern Living Christmas Cookbook. I've been in the family since 2008 and I love getting the cookbook, it is the best little treat right before the Christmas holiday! 

This year I spotted the Peppermint Mousse Pie in it and knew I needed to make it ASAP. Sooo, I did. And y'all. It is TOTALLY the best mousse pie ever. Ever ever.

Not going to lie. It was a lot of work, but worth every minute. If you like peppermint, oreos and white chocolate. Get to work! ;)

While at Mom's I noticed these three gems hanging on her fridge. 

2013/2014/2015 Santa pics. 

Oh time, won't you please slow down....

Mini Pun'kin Pies

Isn't any dessert better when it's mini? Especially because you can eat two (or three) without the guilt. Not that I would do that. Ahem.

Introducing Mini Pumpkin Pies. Classic. Mini. Delightful. You're craving pumpkin pie now, so you're welcome.

Basically I didn't do anything amazing here, just rolled out my double pie crust into one huge blob (I used my old faithful pie crust recipe) and cut the dough with a glass (who has time to look for a biscuit cutter?). Then I pushed them down into the muffin pans and filled with classic pumpkin pie filling (Libby recipe). Ya know. Fall delights.

They. Were. Delicious.

"So dewish-us, Momma" (Thank you, sweet Jonah!). I told everyone that I made them for my boys but secretly I made them for myself (I kid. Kindof.). Maybe when I retire I'll open a little to-go bakery of seasonal goodies + treats. How adorable would that be? Your local stop for teacher treats, homemade breads, and I mean. Of course, mini pumpkin pies! ;)
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In other news it appears that I'm still taking a blogging break. Basically I haven't felt the urge to share, so I'm sticking with it. You can follow me on Instagram, although I haven't really felt that creative there either. Kinda a busy/stressful season at work so I'm using all of my energy to make things happen there. Zaps me.

I'll be around. This is my favorite time of year! Lots of pumpkin recipes and photos for you to delight in (right).

Homemade Pretzels

I came across this blog post awhile ago and have had it bookmarked to make for quite some time. Yesterday was the perfect day. It was the end to a long, holiday weekend. One of those goods days that starts with the baby sleeping in (until 9:45!!) and me drinking my coffee + baking in peace and quite. Very good. My perfect kind of day if you add a little crafting + shopping and of course, iced coffee...

So, I made homemade pretzels. And by far, BY FAR this is my favorite treat that I've ever baked. So, so good.

I've worked with a lot of dough in my life, but never boiled any. Pretty cool to watch what happens when you drop these suckers in the water. I was a teensy bit nervous, but they are perfect. The recipe makes 10-13 depending on how big you cut the dough. I made both buttery and cinnamon sugar. I can't really decide which are my fave, but really- is there anything better than a hot, steamy pretzel brushed with butter right out of the oven?

NO.

Jeremy will be requesting these on the daily until I make them again. And honestly, they're so good that I kindof want to make them again today. And tomorrow.

Recipe via Nine + Sixteen Blog.

Key Lime Mousse Pie

As soon as summer rolls around, or it starts getting warm outside I start craving Key Lime Pie. It's probably my favorite pie of all time. Period. It's tangy and sweet. Perfect for a warm summer day. Or, perfect for a holiday!

In my opinion chocolate makes Key Lime Pie even better. In Seaside, FL there's a cute little dessert shop that sells Key Lime Pie on a stick, DIPPED in the most delicious dark chocolate. I mean. Really. I dream about that dessert. So I decided to search for and make a layered version that included a dark chocolate.

I found this recipe online- Key Lime Mousse Pie, and modified it to suit my needs (a 9x13 casserole dish with a lid, for handy travel purposes!). I used this recipe for the larger graham cracker crust I needed. Then, just doubled the mousse from the first recipe. You guy. It turned out amazing. This one is definitely a keeper!!

So. Stinking. YUM.

Weekend Bits

Our weekend was so full of fun + family. Those are the best, you know?! Happy hearts over here.

And, for our family shindig I made this Tex-Mex Pimento Cheese Dip + Broccoli Salad. Oh lawd.
Good things, y'all. Good things.

American like Strawberry Pie

I made a strawberry pie last night and it magically made our Wednesday top notch. It was sooooo dang good. I combined two recipes and kind of made up my own in the process, using things I had on hand. Jeremy proclaimed it to be the best pie I've made. And y'all. I've made a lot of pies. So, here's the scoop.

Crust:

2 1/2 c. flour

2 sticks of butter, cubed

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. ice cold water (to start with, I ended up using about 1/2 c.)

* I used this recipe, doubled it and just pressed it into my pan. No time to roll that sucker last night.

Filling:

4-5 c. fresh strawberries 

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

dash of cinnamon (I actually added a dash of pumpkin pie spice, but don't tell anyone)

I combined the chopped strawberries, sugar, cinnamon and butter in pan over medium heat until butter melted. Then I added a couple tablespoons of flour and poured into my unbaked crust. Cooked on 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. 

So. Stinking. Good.

And if you want a recipe to follow exactly- this one looks good.

Homemade Chex + LOVE DAY

You guys. Please make this recipe tonight and thank me later.

I follow Stir and Scribble via Instagram and came across this Valentine's Chex recipe. I knew it would be perfect to gift, and couldn't wait to make it.

The recipe did NOT disappoint. The house smelled divine while it was baking, and Jonah + I completely pigged out on it while it was still warm, fresh form the oven. Plus. It's completely adorable.

Look-

 

I gifted my love bugs to cheeky mugs filled with the chex (ahem. crack), and also made Jonah's teachers cute little mustache treat bags. So stinkin' cute. 

Find the recipe on Stir and Scribble's blog and let her know I sent you. (Note- I couldn't find the yogurt bites, so I added m&ms. So tasty with the freeze dried strawberries!)

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And, since it's LOVE day. A photo of the Mr. and myself. He's my one true love and my sweet Valentine. Love this sexy beast and I'm so thankful for him! 

Cranberry Crumb Bars

 

I made these last night. I had to run in HEB to get somebody another gallon of whole milk and bananas. Two staples in our home. While picking up the bananas I spotted adorable packages of fresh cranberries. I'm a sucker for cute packaging! I've never baked with fresh (or even frozen) cranberries, but I googled for a Baker Chick recipe and wasn't disappointed.

 

The bars are fantastic. The cranberries are just tart enough, and the crumb part is sweet. A great combination. This recipe is a keeper!

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Zest from one orange
• 2 tablespoons of orange juice
• 4 cups fresh cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch

 

 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and orange zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. (I use my hands.) Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and orange juice. Gently mix in the cranberries, add the cinnamon. Sprinkle the cranberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

via: The Baker Chick

Sausage & Cheddar Balls

I made my guys a quick homemade breakfast this morning. Paula's (modified, of course) Sausage & Cheddar Balls. I had a package of lean sausage that I needed to cook, so I whipped these up. They were scrumptious!!

Sausage & Cheddar Balls
Ingredients:
3 cups baking mix (I quickly made my own as follows: 2.5 c flour, 1/8 c baking powder, 1Tbsp sugar, pinch of salt & 1/2 stick butter chopped and mixed in)
2 cups shredded cheddar (you can use more, original recipe calls for 4 cups, but I only had one pkg on hand and it was the perfect amount)
1 pks pork sausage

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix all of the ingredients above together.  Shape into balls. I ended up making 36 balls.
**Mixture will be really crumbly and difficult to form into balls. Keep working it with your hands. It starts to mesh.

Bake 10-15 mins, until golden and sausage is cooked.

Here's Paula's recipe if you want to be exact.

And, here's a recipe to make your own baking mix.

These were deeeelicious!! Another keeper recipe!

Spiced Pumpkin Biscuits

Yesterday morning I got up early and made my guys a special breakfast treat. Spiced Pumpkin Biscuits from scratch. The recipe is from Cooking Light (love their recipes!) and will definitely go in my recipe box. This one's a keeper, y'all!

Pumpkin Spiced Drop Biscuits
Cooking Light (modified by me)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 c fat free buttermilk (I soured plain jane fat free milk with 1 tsp vinegar)
3/4 c canned pumpkin
3 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in large bowl. Cut in pieces of butter with pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Chill in fridge 10 mins.

Combine buttermilk and honey, stir with whisk until well blended, add canned pumpkin. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stir until just combined.

--> here's where I modified this recipe to make drop biscuits. I stuck my (clean) hands into the bowl and kneaded  for a couple of seconds to make sure the flour was mixed in well. Then, I dropped them (it made 13 biscuits for me) by Tbsp onto a greased round pan. Each biscuit almost touching.

Bake for 10-14 mins (depending on your oven) until just golden.

Original (Unmodified) Recipe from Cooking Light
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They might look a little wonky, but they were moist and delicious! I'm a huge fan of no-fuss drop biscuits. We had ours with a little salted butter. The salt + slightly sweet biscuit. Mmm!! Perfect fall breakfast treat. Plus, I love that they're made without gobs of white, processed sugar!! Jonah & Jeremy loved them. So did this Momma. At 120 calories each, you just can't go wrong!

We have fun, fall weekending plans ahead. I can't wait to share details next week. Happy Fall, y'all!

October is Best {Monthly Meal Plan}

Whilst browsing my favorite blogger's recent posts, I came across Edie's latest post. Annnd, it stopped me in my tracks. She posted her October Menu Plan. Seriously. I kid you not. If you haven't visited Edie's blog, Life In Grace, GO NOW. It is amazing and one of my favorite blogs to read. While you're there check out her home tour. I DIE.

via LifeInGrace

Her meal plan post is chock full of delicious recipes!! I can't wait to try the Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownies, and the Shrimp and Grits, annnnd the Crock Pot Sesame Chicken. YUM!!

I loved finding this great source, and thought you guys might like it too! Pop over to Edie's blog and take a look. Happy cooking!!

Claudia Matcek's State Grand Champion Kolaches

Meme's Peach & Prune Kolaches

I am more than slightly addicted to kolaches. I am in loooove with kolaches. Especially my sweet Grandmother's (we call her "Meme"). Meme's kolaches are yeasty and ohhhh so delicious. When she makes them I eat less dinner so I can eat MORE kolaches. That's saying something because she is an amazing cook and I love eating dinner at her house. Guilty as charged, y'all. My Meme is the best.

While living in Alabama, I started making my own kolaches because they're unheard of (!!!!) in Birmingham. Jeremy and I missed them terribly, so I fixed it. Just started making my own. There's just something so good about the fruit filling (or even sausage & cheese!) and that addicting dough. It's probably all in the dough for me. I'm a dough kinda girl. Have you ever gone home on your lunch break to punch your rising dough down?? Exactly.

I thought I would share Meme's beloved kolache recipe with you guys today. She cut it out of the newspaper and has perfected her own fillings. The recipe comes from the Caldwell, TX Kolache Festival and it's the State Grand Champion winner! I hope your family enjoys these as much as we do!!

Claudia Matcek's State Grand Champion Kolaches
Dough:
2 pkgs dry yeast
1//4 c warm water
1/2 c plus 1 Tbsp sugar (divided use)
2 c milk
1/2 c butter or margarine (plus some for brushing on the dough cutouts and again after baking)
2 tsp salt
5 1/4 c plus 1 c sifted flour (divided use)
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

Dissolve yeast in warm water, Add 1 Tbsp sugar and let stand.

Heat milk in saucepan until hot to touch, almost scalding. Remove from heat and stir in butter or margarine and 1/2 c sugar. Cool to lukewarm and add yeast mixture.

In a large bowl combine salt and 5 1/4 c flour. Add the yeast and milk mixture to flour and mix. Mix in egg yolk. Mix in enough of last cup of flour for desired texture so it is workable- not too sticky to take out of bowl and knead.

Knead on floured board until glossy. Grease Bowl. Put dough in bowl, rolling it around to grease the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk. Roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thick and cut into individual kolaches with a biscuit cutter. Place on greased pan so not quite touching. Brush with softened butter or margarine and elt rise again covered, until light to touch.

Make indention in center of each and fill with about a teaspoon of the filling of your choice. Bake in oven at 375 degress until brown, about 25 mins. Remove and brush with softened butter or margarine.

Meme's Original Clipping from The Eagle. Check out the Sausage Kolache Recipe, also!

Manic Monday

I have a hard time coming up with quick + easy weeknight meals. Do you guys? One afternoon last week I pulled some random ingredients from my fridge/freezer and miraculously dinner turned out great! Definite do-over. It was so great, I thought I would share with you. Just in case you like delish and easy peasy weeknight meals.

Meet the Hashbrown + Egg Bake. Your new best fran.

Ahhhhmazing Fish Tacos

Y'all. I made amazing Mahi Mahi fish tacos the other night and they're all I've been thinking about.

Lit-trah-lee. I picked up a package of Mahi fillets at HEB last week and stuck them in the freezer after googling "is it okay to freeze Mahi Mahi" (Yes, I did really google that. No. I am not ashamed to admit that I google the heck out of everything). Regardless, I was quite the skeptic because I haven't really cooked fish that much. Soo, the other day I defrosted the fillets in the fridge and prepped the rest of the ingredients.

(Forgot to mention that HEB was running one of those you buy this, you get that free, so we scored a bag of Dole shredded cabbage and Cilantro Cotija dressing FREE. Holllaaa.) Okay, so here's the line up of the crew...

Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos
1 pks Mahi Mahi Fillets (fresh or frozen)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 clove garlic minced (fresh is best)
Cumin, Chili Powder, Salt & Pepper to taste (we like a lot of chili powder, and a little cumin)
*Brown in skillet or grill until white and flaky

Slaw:
1 pkg shredded cabbage (I used Dole)
1/2 small red onion thinly sliced
*I left this dry as I knew I had the dressing/and salsa to go on the tacos. You could add lime juice, or make a simple mayo sauce.

Avacado-Mango Salsa:
1 large avacado chopped
1 large mango chopped
1 clove garlic minced (fresh is again, best)
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tomato chopped (Hubs hates tomatoes so I left this one out)
1 lime squeezed over ingredients

Warm corn tortillas and layer fish, slaw and salsa on your taco. Top with Cilantro Cotija Dressing (or make your own!!). Eat. Delight in it.

And, if you have leftover slaw/salsa make yourself a delicious salad for lunch the next day!! I added a fresh peach to the mix and it was so. stinkin. good.

Overall I would rate these a 10. These are really, really good. Promise. These hips don't lie.