Thursday, March 21, 2013

MIA: My Imminent Apology

Hello Sweets,

It's been almost three weeks since my last post :( and I'm sure most of you understand that my health can be somewhat of a blockade for my writing. Something I haven't told you guys is that writing is an indispensable outlet for me, and the longer I go without writing the more my mood drops. I do have some recipes that I haven't posted yet, and I will be posting them soon. But for the time being I am trying to get my health back to a manageable level, and I promise that I will have a new post for you in hopefully a few days.

Until next time........

Stay sweet,


Jennifer xoxoxo

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Lookin' Like A Certified Texan

Hello Sweets,

Well the week has begun. Have you been productive so far?  I've been sort of productive lol, I've had some bad migraines so I have been doing small projects and no writing :(  But I was feeling the itch to do a post so I'm giving it the old college try :)  I must say that I am very much enjoying being beside Nathan again.  Until you're in a long distant relationship you never appreciate the little things like holding hands or cuddling.  So if my posts are a little sporadic I apologize, but it probably means I'm enjoying my time with my soul mate ;)

So as I mentioned previously I tried something completely new in regards to my kitchen adventures.  I was actually intrigued because of an article I had read (again I don't remember where from lol).  Now I looked at tons of different recipes to determine what spices I wanted to include, but ended up using my favorite tool; my nose :) to really determine what needed to be added.  So are you sitting there wondering what I decided to try?  Well I said it is part of both the most important and delicious meal of the day, which means breakfast, and there are only specific things we can make.  I decided to tackle something that not everyone loves, but those who do have probably had a bunch of different ways, good ol' sausage!  That's right, Canuckette tackled breakfast sausage all on her own and succeeded!  Since I was creating these delicious patties I finally got to use another of my many kitchen gadgets that I was given at Christmas time.  Check out my Westin Patty Press, it made my sausage patties look very professional not to mention I can control the thickness of the patties.
 
pretty cool huh?

Now I'm going to share with you what I've created and will also give you other spices you can add depending on what flavor you are looking to create.

Texan Breakfast Sausage
Ingredients
2lbs ground pork
2Tsp marjoram
1 1/2Tbs sage
2Tsp red pepper flakes
2Tsp thyme
1/2tsp cayenne pepper
1/2Tsp salt
1/2Tsp black pepper
1/2Tsp cloves
1/2Tsp garlic powder
5Tbs maple syrup

Directions:
1)  Mix all ingredients in a bowl, put in the spices in small amounts so you can balance the flavors.  When you think you've reached your desired flavor, do at test patty so you know whether or not to adjusts the spices.
 

2)  Form into patties and fry for six minutes on each side, careful not to under cook for the obvious reasons or overcook as it will make them dry.  They can keep in the refrigerator for up to one week, or you can freeze them for later use :)
I paired them with my homemade biscuits and some home fries

Here are some of the other spices you can use in your breakfast sausage such as; nutmeg, rosemary, basil, fennel seed, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, mustard, cardamon, or caraway.

I encourage you to really use your sense when creating your sausage because even with just a sense of smell you can get a very good idea of what the flavor will be.  I hope you all have as much fun creating this sausage (although I could go without touching the ground pork) as I did, and that you get that flavor you're looking for.  Until next time...................................................


Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxo

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Say What?!?

Hello Sweets,

I know I promised you guys something new and Texan sized tonight, but I really want to show the whole process so that means tomorrow will be the day for the surprise.  In the meantime I have a short, sweet, and interesting little post for you tonight :)

You guys now that I am all about trying new things, and when I see something new at the grocery store, I can't help but buy at least one to see what it's all about.  Normally when I am down in Texas I don't see too many new items, since I've been coming down here for almost two years now I think I've seen almost everything.  That was until earlier this week, I couldn't help but pick up some delicious smelling peaches (obviously not in season in Canada) when this oddly shaped fruit caught my attention.  Here see for yourself;
Weird right?

Do you know what this funny little fruit is?  I swear this is a real thing and it is it's real name, this little guy is the "plum lemon".  I know what you're thinking, but I assure you that it is real (I looked it up lol see here!) and it isn't anything like I imagined.  It starts off with a yellow color until it is ripe then changes to this lovely red, the inside is sweet like a plum but there is a tiny citrus aroma to it as well.
 

I've never seen one in Canada before, but if any of you see this at your grocery store and you haven't tried it DO IT!!!  Lol it is a pleasant little surprise and I would never steer my readers in the wrong direction ;)   Until next time..................................................


Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxo

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Hello Sweets,

Well we made it to the weekend, and it is already almost over :(  I hope you all had a super productive week and hopefully you are treating yourself for working so hard.  I finally got my hair cut yesterday :D, and I am even going back to Yelp (who helped me find the hairdresser) to write her a fantastic review.  My hair is now healthy, light, and manageable once again, and she even gave me some romantic soft curls which I am loving!!

I'm sorry I didn't get this post out last night but sometimes things don't always go according to plan, but I didn't want to keep this gem from you any longer (pain or not).  I have known for a long time that I'm not like most people, actually I am very unique and sometimes even weird lol Nathan can confirm all of this.  Well when I was little, one specific eating habit confirmed this every year, actually a few different times a year lol.  How many of you like chocolate?  How many of you love chocolate?  Most people do, and when you get it as a gift you're pretty excited right? lol  Well I have never been too thrilled upon opening (I know I know, it's the thought that counts).  Now my family learned very quickly that if they wanted to get me chocolate that it should be white or I wouldn't eat it, but still many times my mom would forget and I would end up with plain milk chocolate.  After years of throwing it away it dawned on me, why was I not eating this chocolate in the same sense of the chocolate bars that I buy?  So the next Christmas and Easter I received more plain chocolate, I then marched into the kitchen and grabbed the peanut butter out of cupboard and started dunking the chocolate.  Lol I know this will seem weird to some and gross to others, but for a peanut butter lover such as myself it was the perfect solution and I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out.

So it's probably fairly obvious what my favorite chocolate bar is (although it's cups not a bar), Reese's Peanut Butter cups.  I've made chocolate peanut butter squares before and they are quite delicious, but as soon as I saw this recipe (although I am not sure where I saw it :/ sorry) I had to make it because it looked to die for.  So let's not waste any more time and get a little "nutty" in the kitchen lol (see what I did there).

Brownie Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients
3/4C sugar
1/4C butter, softened
1 Tbs water
1C semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus 1/2C for garnish
1 large egg
1/2tsp vanilla
1C all-purpose flour
1/4tsp baking soda
3/4C milk chocolate chips, plus 1/3C for garnish
3/4C creamy peanut butter
only the best chocolate for my man ;)

Directions:
1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray or grease 12C muffin tin.  In a medium microwave safe bowl, combine the sugar, butter, and water.  Microwave on high for about 45 seconds or until the butter is melted.

2)  Stir in 3/4C of the semi-sweet chocolate chips until melted.  Stir in egg and vanilla, mix well.

3)  Add the flour and baking soda, mix well but do not over mix the batter.

4)  Allow the batter to cool to room temperature (this won't take very long, maybe a few minutes), then stir in 3/4C of the milk chocolate chips and remaining 1/4C of the semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Spoon batter evenly into the muffin cups.

5)  Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out slightly wet.  After the brownies are out of the oven wait for the centers to fall, this will happen upon calling (if not tap the center with the back of a teaspoon to make a hole for the peanut butter).
 left is from straight out of the oven, right is the brownies centers fallen

6)  Place the peanut butter in a small microwavable bowl, microwaving on high for 45 seconds then stir.  While brownies are still warm spoon about a teaspoon full of peanut butter into the center of each brownie.  Top with the remaining chocolate chips (I combined them into a single bowl and sprinkled a combination on each "cup").  Let cool completely in the pan.

There you have it, a very yummy but not too healthy lol treat that anyone will enjoy.  Nathan isn't much of a fan for the peanut butter chocolate combination, but he definitely enjoyed this little cup of goodness.  Here is some up close pictures so your eyes can convince you if the sheer description hasn't convinced you yet :)
Don't they look yummy!

So there is the sweet treat for tonight, tomorrow I'll be creating both something old (but with some new twists), and something very new (as in never tried anything like it).  One will be sweet and the other savory, so you must come back to see the surprises.  My single hint to you is; it's both the most important and best meal of the day ;)   Until next time..................................

Stay sweet,



Jennifer xoxoxo