Happy Halloween & Monster Munch

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

We woke up bright and early and I made Sally a special Halloween lunch...let's hope she eats it :)

I dropped her off at school today and loved seeing all the littles in their costumes and Halloween shirts. I was looking past at Halloween last year...how has she grown so much in just one year?!

The weather here in Memphis is yucky...I'm hoping the rain stops before tonight so we can trick-or-treat. 

Today I want to share with you a super easy recipe for "Monster Munch". Joe doesn't even like popcorn and he can't stop eating this stuff. It's that good!

Here is what you need:

1 cup of dry roasted peanuts

1 cup of Reese's Pieces

1 cup candy corn

2 things of unsalted unbuttered (Natural) popcorn...popped

1 lb. vanilla almond bark

Here's how to make it:

Pop the popcorn and put it in a huge bowl.

Add the candy corn, peanuts and Reese's Pieces. 

Melt the almond bark in the microwave and pour all over the popcorn mix. Stir well and make sure everything is coated with the almond bark. 

Lay on wax paper or parchment paper in a single layer and let dry. Break up into pieces and store in an airtight container.

I packed some up for Sally's teachers and added these free printable tags. 

Chocolate Covered Halloween Pretzels

I just got done making some chocolate covered Halloween pretzels for Sally's class tomorrow and it was so easy and cute that I wanted to go ahead and share.

I picked up a bag of pretzel rods (just the Kroger brand). I melted some vanilla flavored almond bark and dipped the pretzels and laid them on parchment paper to dry. 

Once they were dry, I melted some orange candy melts and dipped them again. I sprinkled on some Halloween sprinkles and then let them dry again.

To package them, I bought some plastic treat bags made for pretzels. These are from Hobby Lobby. I added a spider ring and tied a bow with a bunch of different leftover orange ribbon scraps. I think they turned out really cute!!

Copycat Firebirds BLT Salad

For my birthday we went to Firebirds. It's one of my favorite restaurants because they have my favorite salad....the BLT Salad. Its exactly what it sounds like...a taste explosion in your mouth. The concept is pretty simple...lettuce, tomatoes, and bacon with yummy ranch dressing. Sounds simple right? The secret is the ranch dressing. I consider myself a ranch dressing snob. My favorites: J Alexanders, O Charleys, Side Porch Steak House (local) and Firebirds. I also hate mayo and I know most people make ranch dressing with mayo. That's all fine and dandy as long as I cant tell.  When it comes to me making my own, I have to get creative.

Here is what you need to make it:

sour cream

ranch packet

water

green onions

garlic

garlic salt

pepper

parsley

Make the ranch dip by combing the tub of sour cream and ranch packet until mixed well. 

Take out a little and put into a different bowl. Thin just a bit with a few tablespoons of water. Stir to combine. Mince garlic and 1/2 green onion. Add pepper, garlic salt and parsley to taste. Set aside.

Fry a few pieces of bacon. Chop into small pieces.

Chop lettuce into small pieces. Add chopped tomatoes and bacon. 

Pour in dressing....only enough to cost each piece. You don not want this salad to be swimming in dressing! Sit back and enjoy!! Yum!!

Recipes: Blueberry Buckle Muffins

This is my go-to blueberry muffin recipe.

Blueberry Buckle Muffins
Family Fun Magazine

Ingredients:

Batter –

• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 cups blueberries, stemmed and rinsed

Topping-

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 cup muffin tin with baking cups. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, then the milk and vanilla.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Pour the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and stir well, being careful not to overmix. Use a spatula to fold in the berries. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin filling each cup about three quarters full.
3. Make the crumb topping by stirring together the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Using your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly. Divide crumbly goodness over the muffins.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes (or 15 minutes for mini muffins) or until they are lightly brown and a knife inserted in the middle of one comes out clean. Cool in tin for 15 to 30 minutes before serving. If you don’t, you risk some of the delicious buckle topping coming off. Then simply pretend it’s breakfast time, despite the hour, and enjoy with juice or coffee.

Sally LOVED them!

Spring Link-Up Party: Best Spring Recipe

I love to cook so I want to share some favorite "spring" type recipes that I have personally made and thought were fantastic!!

Strawberry Avocado Salad 

 Chick-fil-a Lemonade

Pink Lemonade Sparking Fruit Punch

Lemon Pepper Shrimp Scampi

Barefoot Contessa Dinner Party

I decided to have our friends over for dinner on Friday night. I had some new Barefoot Contessa recipes that I wanted to try and some that I already love.

Here is what I made:

Linguine with Lemon Shrimp Scampi

Garlic Bread

Green Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette

I added carrots and tomatoes

Brownie Pudding

I served it with vanilla bean ice cream

All of these recipes were good but the Brownie Pudding was super amazing!!

A Taste of the Islands...

I went to a "Girls Night Out" Viking cooking class in March. The theme was "Islands". I love the restaurant "Bahama Breeze", so I couldn't wait to make some "island" food of my own. It was soooo yummy!! We made :

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Skewers

Tamarind-Glazed Grilled Shrimp

Crisp Salad Greens with Macadamia Nuts and Mango-Mint Vinaigrette

White Chocolate Banana Cream Tart with Caramel Sauce

Plantain Chips with Black Bean Hummus

Mango Margaritas