My Sweetest Things

Oreos are my favorite store bought cookie. When I was pregnant with my first child, I sat and ate a bag of Oreos. Really. Dunked them in milk and enjoyed every minute of it. Never mind I weighed 202 when I gave birth. I am no where near 202 now nor have I attempted to eat a whole bag since. I rarely buy Oreos anymore but around the Holidays I came across them on Jessica’s blog How Sweet It Is.  Visit her site! She has loads of yummy treats.

The ingredients are simple. Oreos and Cream Cheese. They super easy to make and so delicious!

One package Oreo’s and one 8 ounce bar of cream cheese. I used the food processor to blend them together.

Hello. I love you.

Whip those Oreos into crumbs, then add the cream cheese. I cut the cream cheese into blocks first. The beer is not included in the recipe but it’s Blue Moon and quite refreshing while you are whipping up desserts. That’s my husband getting in on the Oreo action.

This is what the mixture will look like when it’s all blended together. Gooey Chocolate!

I rolled the Oreo’s into small balls and put them in the refrigerator for half an hour to cool. Once cooled I then dipped them into the Double Chocolate Flavor of a melted Ghirardelli Dipping Bar!

I was popping these lovelies in my mouth!

I topped them off with sprinkles and they were good to go! (The white balls in the back are a type of Spanish cookie…when translated into English =  Nun Farts…but that’s for another post)

These Oreo Truffles were off to a party and were a huge hit! All gone real quick. That’s how it’s done and it’s all good!

~Donna

Over the Holidays I did a whole lot of baking. Spices always show up as an ingredient for a recipe and I happen to have a whole lot of those in my pantry. Pumpkin Pie was on my list of baking goods so I reached in the pantry and pulled out some of my spices.  I set them on the counter and thought I had them for awhile so I went to check the expiration dates.  To my surprise there was no expiration date listed.  Really now? They have to expire don’t they?

These are the spices I pulled out to check. No date on the front.

No date on the back. There is an address though. Like I would write them? Hello. It’s called websites.

On the bottom they have these number and letter codes.  No date. No luck. I headed to the McCormick website for information and I found a nifty little spice checker! You can enter the code and then add the city the spice was made in.  The address comes in handy after all.

I entered the codes and the city and here is what I found.

This little message. “The 2000 election lasted way too long. Your spices have outstayed their welcome too.”  Your Spice was made on 5/4/2000

WHAT?? I was 33 years old when this spice was made? My husband was 20? Weeps. I packed and moved it twice?!

“Hobbits were everywhere and lawyers were blonde. If your spices are from 2002 it’s time to replace them.” Your spice was made on 9/13/2002

I can’t even remember what happened in 2002. Where was I? Who was I?

“Dinosaurs ruled the theater. If you have Jurassic spices then it’s time to make them extinct.” Your spice was made 9/19/1993

In 1993 my youngest son was 2 years old. I stilled lived in Texas. That means this spice was moved across County and State lines into Georgia into 3 different houses! This is bad.

“Baby Doll dresses and clunky shoes use to be a fresh look , but like your old spices, they’ve lost their flavor.” Your spice was made on 11/2/1995

I don’t know which is worse, that I still have the spice or that I still have the clunky shoes?!

This little spice did not have a code on the bottom. Well, thank goodness for that! I get the message. My spices are Expired! It seems I really did not use them very often as some of them were still quite full. They were sitting nice and pretty in the back of the pantry. Just hanging out sharing stories about Elections, Dinosaurs, Blonde Lawyers and High Fashion.

So long my old friends. Thanks for the few good times I enjoyed you. You are expired. Say Goodbye.

It’s all good ~ Donna

P.S.

The lighting in my house is not so great due to the beautiful large trees that surround it. I found a large box, placed a white foam board on it, took a small white box for the background and used a white poster board to reflect the light. I placed this in front of my back living room window and I was very happy with the results! No flash used only natural light with my Canon and 24-70 lens.

Jo-Ann’s fabrics and crafts is one of my favorites places to browse around on the weekends. Crafting has always been one of my hobbies and this store is to me what a candy store use to be. My eyes grow wide and I get just a little excited. So many colorful fabrics and craft ideas to choose from! On one of my Jo-Ann’s trips I came across a brownie pop mold at a super price so I picked it up and decided to give brownie pops a try. I used a brownie recipe that I found from My Baking Addiction’s Blog. Jamie has a wonderful site full of pretty photos and yummy desserts. Hop on over there and take a peek!

The brownies were so moist and delicious! I did have a mishap with the mold. This was my first time using a silicone mold and I thought they were just magical so I did not spray the mold with non stick spray. Well,  I had to fight the brownies to get them out! It wasn’t a total loss since brownie crumbs are so tasty so they did not go to waste but ended up as an ice-cream topping. The second batch I used my favorite Baker’s Joy spray and out they popped with no trouble at all. I am a huge fan of Ghirardelli Chocolate and I had picked up the candy making and dipping bar at Sam’s Club so I used that to dip the brownie  pops in. Oh so good! But wait! Even better…I had Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on hand so I chopped those up in the food processor and used that for the topping. Double Whammy of Goodness!

Double Chocolate Brownies from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients

1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips – These you fold into the batter before baking.

Combine butter, sugar and water and cook over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips, stir

until melted and chocolate is smooth. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt into the chocolate mixture

and toss in those extra chocolate chips.

Spoon the brownie mixture into the mold just below the second rim line.

I baked these at 350 degrees and checked them at 15 minutes and they were perfectly done.

Well, perfectly done and then this happened!  They would not come out!

Baker’s Joy to the rescue!

Perfect Pops!

For the chocolate dip, I started with 4 squares of chocolate which I heated in a small glass bowl in the microwave for 30 second intervals until melted.

I chopped up those Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups into small crumbles.

I used lollipop sticks (which you can find find at Jo-Ann’s or Michael’s) and I put a lollipop stick right in the

middle of the brownie pop and dipped it into the chocolate goodness.

Then the above happened. It fell right off the stick! What to do?! Eat it? That would be instant gratification and it was delish,

but these were meant to be shared so I tried again. I started by dipping the stick in the chocolate first then inserted it into the brownie then placed

it in the fridge for a few minutes to set. When I took them out of the fridge I dipped them in the chocolate and then sprinkled the

Reese’s Crumbs on top and I was good to go!

All done! I used a styrofoam ball that I  cut in half and stuck the brownie pops in the foam to hold them for serving.

Whew! Loved them! It’s all good. ~Donna

On one of our Sam’s shopping trips I picked up three cans of pumpkin for a great price. It’s that time of year for all things pumpkin so I was planning my fall baking. While I was browsing one of my favorite blogs My Baking Addiction I came across this recipe which Jamie found at allrecipes. Gotta love the internet! I must say this recipe is so easy, moist, and delicious! It has a wonderful texture with the flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg all dancing around and the aroma in the air is delightful! The chocolate chips melt nicely and really satisfy any chocolate craving without overpowering the pumpkin. Try this! You will love it! I took this to the office and it was a hit. I will definitely be making this again!

Ingredients

3 cups white sugar

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cups water

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees – I used a bundt cake pan but you can grease and flour three 9 x5 inch loaf

pans instead. In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until smooth.

So, while we are adding the vanilla, take a look at my latest kitchen tool!

Aren’t these the cutest? I found them at Merciers Orchard Gift Shop. It was love at first site! This was one

of those “have to have it” items. Totally want, not need, but they are now mine!

Back to the bread….Blend flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Try to take  a photo with one

hand and use the wrong settings and you too will have this sweet blur!

Fold in chocolate chips..see those yummy spices?

Pour this yummy goodness into pan of your choice and bake for one hour or until inserted knife comes out clean.

Oh my goodness..

All cooled down and sitting pretty! I debated on adding a drizzle glaze to it but decided to keep it simple.

It is so delish on its own!

Perfection!

As I mentioned before, I took this to the office to share and I took this photo at work before the last piece was gone!

Thanks again to Jaime at My Baking Addiction for sharing this recipe.

Check out her awesome blog for more of her delicious recipes!

It’s all good.

~Donna

Blogs. Love them. Read them daily. I have many favorites and I am huge fan of the Pioneer Woman. I came across her blog through photography but discovered her amazing cooking talents as well. She recently started a new blog call Tasty Kitchen. On this site you can find an abundance of delicious tried and true recipes. While browsing through Tasty Kitchen I came across this recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. Well, I happened to have some pretty ripe bananas sitting on the counter and chocolate chips in the pantry so the timing was perfect. I grabbed the ingredients, cracked, beat, stirred, sprinkled…had a few licks and in the end, I had delicious Muffins! These are very moist and the chocolate and banana together? Perfect! Thanks to Wendy for adding the recipe!  You can find me at Tasty Kitchen as member dsolzer!

Ingredients I used for this recipe.

1 cup Unsalted Butter

1 cup sugar

3 whole ripe bananas

2 whole eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

5 tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Cup Milk Chocolate Chips

Cream Butter and Sugar

Add in the bananas -

Bananas remind me of the Chiquita Banana Stickers we would pull

off the bunch and stick to our foreheads as kids. Then we would break into song of course!

“I’m Chiquita banana and I’ve come to say – Bananas have to ripen in a certain way-

When they are fleck’d with brown and have a golden hue -

Bananas taste the best and are best for you – You can put them in a salad -

You can put them in a pie-aye – Any way you want to eat them – It’s impossible to beat them

But, bananas like the climate of the very, very tropical equator – So you should never put bananas in the refrigerator.”

Of course you know that song?

How about now? Does this image help? Good. Now back to the recipe!

Add in the rest of the ingredients – see that cinnamon and chocolate chips? Yummy!

Spray muffin tins and add scoops of muffin mix. I prefer Baker’s Joy.

It contains both oil and flour so you don’t have to mess with greasing

and flouring the pans. Ok? Ok. Now we bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes

or until they are a pretty golden brown.

While the muffins are baking, I deal with this mess. It’s all good though because soon

I have these waiting for me….

Hello Friend.

Warm and delish!

See? Here’s a bite for you.

It’s all good.

~ Donna

Now what starts with the letter “C”?
“Cookie” starts with “C”!
Let’s think of other things that starts with “C”!
Uh. . .Uh. . . Who cares about da other things?!

“C” is for Cookie that’s good enough for me,
“C” is for cookie that’s good enough for me,
Oh! cookie, cookie, cookie starts with “C”!  ~ Cookie Monster~ Sesame Street

Well, you know what else starts with the letter C? Chocolate! Yes Please. I had huge craving for chocolate on Monday so what better way to squish that craving then to whip up a batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies! Years ago I bought the Mrs. Fields Best Ever Cookie Book. Mrs. Fields knows about cookies so I used her famous Blue-Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. The cookies are rich and chewy just the way we like them around this house. The recipe makes close to 3 1/2 dozen which means there are plenty to share….or not…okay…share I will and I did.

Ingredients for this recipe.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 sticks salted butter, softened (I used unsalted butter and added an extra 1/4 teaspoon salt)

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, soda, and salt – Mix well with wire whisk

Why hello there brown sugar!

Hello white sugar. I have a friend who is waiting to meet you!

Sugar’s meet and mix!

Throw two sticks of butter in the mix.

Butter meets sugar. At this point, please feel free to taste. So buttery and sugary. So good!

Eggs and vanilla in the yummy butter, sugar mix.

Mix at medium speed until just blended.

Add the flour mixture.

Add chocolate chips and mix until just barely mixed.

Hello tasty morsels! You deserve a close up!

All mixed up and ready to eat by the spoonful!

But no, really you should do this and drop by the tablespoon onto the cookie sheet.

While the cookies are baking in the 300 degree oven for 18-22 minutes, I start cleaning

up this mess!

Here is a look at the first batch and my first bite! or second bite? Where’s the milk?

All done and nicely stacked….but not for long!

This is a simple recipe with rich results. Enjoy!

It’s all good.

~Donna

As a child, most Sunday’s for me were spent at my Grandma T’s house. My father comes from a large catholic family. He has eight brothers and sisters. I can’t imagine raising nine children! My grandparent’s house was always filled with family, food, and love. My memories of my Grandma are all so sweet. She did not speak English and I did not speak Spanish but we had no trouble communicating. We both understood each other perfectly!

I remember my brother and I walking home from school to stay with Grandma. We would drop our school bags and settle in. She would ask if we were hungry and we could always count on a bean and cheese taco as an afternoon snack. She would cook them on the comal and they were toasty and oh so tasty. (For those who have not heard of a comal, it is a griddle or grill typically used in Mexican cooking to cook tortillas, toast spices, sear meat, and generally prepare food.) My Grandma would make fresh tortillas daily. Looking back I really appreciate all the hard work, effort and love she put into feeding her family.

Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas I was spoiled by delicious mexican food. I have not been able to find the same flavors in Georgia. When we visit home  we always stock up our on tortillas, tamales and barbacoa. When my family comes to visit they always bring us the taste of home.

I have in the past attempted making flour tortillas. I have tried to channel my Grandma and sadly have not succeeded. There is not a written recipe for her flour tortillas. She took pinches of ingredients and created  warm goodness. My attempt was tough, and pancake like with no flavor. I decided to once again attempt the flour  tortilla. I searched for recipes and came across a blog named Homesick Texan Perfect! I myself am a Homesick Texan and only a Texan would know the flavors I was looking for. I read through the recipe which you can find here. Skimming the ingredients list I noticed there was no lard involved. What? No lard. My Grandma had that lard out on her counter. Everything tastes better with lard right?! I put my trust into Lisa and her recipe and guess what? They were amazing! The right color and texture and taste…oh my!! Thanks again to Lisa the Homesick Texan. Thank you. Thank you.

List of Ingredients used for this recipe.

Two cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cups of warm milk

Mixing it up.

Nice ball of dough.

Letting the dough rest.

Rolling it out.

Not so perfect but look at how it’s forming bubbles. Bubbles mean it will have dark spots when you flip.

This is one case where dark spots are a good thing!

Big bubbles. This is a good thing.

Yes! Brown Spots! Not so perfect circle but brown spots I am happy to see you!

All done. Notice that nice bokeh (small white circles) in the background. Not planned but I like it!

Hello Lovelies. I am soooo happy to see you!

Dinner is served! So wonderful and so like home! My husband and kids were smiling,

I was smiling. It’s the little pleasures in life! This recipe is a true Texas Tortilla Recipe.

My taste test was eating it with just plain butter and it was heaven. The recipe made nine tortillas

and throughout the process of making the dough balls, rolling, and flipping, I kept thinking of my

Grandma who used to make dozens of flour tortillas daily. What a woman!

Thanks again to the Homesick Texan for posting this delicious recipe. We are happy to have homemade

flour tortillas in our home!

It’s all good.

~Donna

I love to bake. I love the entire process from picking out the recipe, mixing, measuring and the taste testing! A friend of mine had a birthday this week which called for cake. I have lot’s of yummy cake recipes but this cake would have to be dairy free. Lactose intolerant friend = NO BUTTER. What?? is that possible? No milk, no sour cream?! Nope. Sorry butter but I will save you for another day. I began my search for dairy free recipes and came across a chocolate cake on allrecipes that had many great reviews. I was hopeful so I began gathering all the ingredients. I decided on cupcakes instead of cake so that way I could taste test to make sure it was truly as good as I had read it was. Let me say it was delicious! Really. I am serious about chocolate cake and if you don’t tell anyone what’s missing, they would never know. I did make a few changes to the recipe. I saw it called for distilled white vinegar. What? I am not a fan of that smell. Turns out I did not have white vinegar so I substituted apple-cider vinegar and hoped for the best. It calls for two cups sugar but I used 1 cup sugar and 1 cup brown sugar. I wanted to make sure it was chocolately so I heaped those tablespoons of cocoa and added 1/2 teaspoon more vanilla.  It’s delish and super moist!

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