{Pumpkin Pie} Milkshakes

I love pumpkin pie. Frankly, Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without it! A few weeks ago a friend of mine told me about this cute little blog, that had a pumpkin pie milkshake recipe. It seemed simple enough, so today I decided to make them!!! They turned out delicious, and they were definitely better than any store bought pumpkin shake. If you're in need of a last minute, simple dessert for Thanksgiving, this will work just fine, its yummy and comes together in about 15 minutes :)

enjoy!!!

INGREDIENTS:

~ 1/3 cup canned pumpkin

~ 1/4-1/2 cup milk

~ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

~ 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

~ 1/16 teaspoon cloves

~ 1/6 teaspoon nutmeg

~ 2 tablespoons brown sugar

~ 2 cups vanilla ice cream

~ 1-2 graham crackers 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put everything in the blender except ice cream and graham crackers; blend well

2. pour mixture into a large bowl, and mash together with ice cream

3. pour evenly into glasses.

4. Crumble graham crackers and top each shake with about a tablespoon.

tips&&tricks:

     ~start with 1/4 cup milk and add more if your blender needs it to process everything.

     ~leave ice cream in freezer until you're ready to add it to the pumpkin mixture. The colder it is, the thicker the milkshake. Also when mashing it into mixture, add ice cream as needed in order to make the mix a thick creamy consistency.

XO

B

{Thankfulness}

You know that saying "count your blessings?" Well, honestly I don't think I can count that high!!! The past few weeks I have come to realize so much more, just how incredibly blessed I am, and how much I have to be thankful for!! Before this summer when I got saved, Thanksgiving was just a day to look at all the things I had that helped me, and eat lots of food. But this year the true meaning of Thanksgiving has been made clear to me!!! It shouldn't just be the one day of the year we say 'thank you,' but should really be a picture of our attitude and lifestyle; one of gratitude and thankfulness. Grace and blessings definitely do abound in my life, and here are just a few of the things I and especially thankful for :)

I. My Family:

I am so glad to have a family who loves me and cares for me. I definitely don't deserve them, and no matter how hard things get, the Lord provided them for me, because he cares for me!!! WOW.

II. My Friends

I am SO overly thankful for these girls in my life. The Lord has graciously places many other brothers and sisters in Christ into my life that are a blessing to me. They love the Lord and pursue him, AND encourage me to do so as well. Again, I don't deserve them at all, but still grace abounds. 

III. My Salvation

Last, but definitely the most important thing on this list is Jesus Christ, and our relationship! He looked upon my sinful, sad condition and extended his great love to ME. Because he sent his Son to die on the cross, and bear the punishment for my sin, I can be made alive in Christ, and am no longer enslaved to sin. I can not begin to explain how thankful I am for this. No words can describe. I love my Savior, and his blood has washed me clean. Thats all that matters. 

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." ~ Ephesians 2: 4-10

This year for Thanksgiving my family and I are going to Arizona for 5 days. I am very excited to get out of California, give thanks to the Lord, see my uncle, visit with friends, and eat TURKEY! I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family or friends!! See you when i get back :)

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." 

Psalm 100:4

xo

B

Homemade {Caramel Apples}

My mom and I have always loved caramel apples from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. They are in one word: divine.  A couple weeks ago with Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching I wanted to try to make my own, so i wouldn't have to shell out $8 if i had a caramel apple craving. Making them seemed simple enough, so i decided to do some research. All the recipes I found online involved melting pre made caramels.  I turned to a friend's mother, Mrs. Harasick (who's blog you can find here, she is a cooking genius), who led me in the direction of a recipe involving heavy cream and sugar.  

After four batches of caramel, 2 pints of heavy cream, and 9 cups of sugar, I got it right! The first recipe was bitter and more of a sauce than something to dip apples in. I didn't heat the second recipe hot enough. I got the third one the right temp. and color, but it was bitter again. Finally on the last batch I added vanilla to the final product, and ta da! The sharp edge was replaced by  creamy, gooey, caramel perfection. This recipe is definitely easy to make, and only costs about $8 for 6 apples. Not bad for a gourmet desert :)

INGREDIENTS:

6 granny smith apples

1/2 cup water

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

6 popsicle sticks

DIRECTIONS:

~ Wash and dry apples. Insert popsicle sticks 1-inch in the top of each apple.

~ Pour water into a medium saucepan. Then carefully pour sugar into pan, and without touching the side of the pot, press the sugar under the water.

~ Place saucepan over high heat and bring sugar to a complete boil.

~ Reduce heat to medium-high heat and let sugar simmer, undisturbed until golden brown (8 minutes, and mixture will be between 300-350 degrees)

~ Remove from heat and add cream. Mixture will sputter. Add vanilla and stir.

~ Pour mixture from saucepan into a small ceramic bowl, and cool 5 minutes.

~ Dip and swirl apples until mostly covered. Place apples on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

~ Place cookie sheet in fridge for 10 minutes. Remove and let apples sit at room temp. until set. 

~ Remove from cookie sheet and store in an air tight container.

I dipped my set caramel apples in dark, semi sweet chocolate and then rolled them in pecans.

Or you can just do plain chocolate!

tips&&tricks;

    -Be very very very VERY careful when working with caramel. Its about 3x's hotter than boiling water.

    - When you pour the caramel from the saucepan to the ceramic bowl, IMMEDIATELY wash the bowl with hot water. Caramel turns into super glue, and you might have to toss the pan if your'e not careful!   

enjoy.

xo

B

{Serendipity} Frozen Hot Chocolate

If I had to pick my favorite thing about fall&&winter time, I would definitely choose the food. Something about the the weather, music, and just overall "cuddle" feeling, makes food taste so much richer around this time of year. I absolutely adore it. Well, the past few winters many of my friends would talk about "frozen hot chocolate" and what a wonderful concoction it is. So last night I looked up the original recipe from Serendipity in New York. It was simple, and turned out really yummy. 

INGREDIENTS:

~ 6 pieces (1/2 oz) chocolate, a variety of your favorites

~ 2 teaspoons store-bought hot chocolate mix

~ 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

~ 3 cups ice

~ Whipped cream

~ Chocolate Shavings

DIRECTIONS:

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar. Stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup of milk until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender, place the remaining cup of milk, the room-temperature chocolate mixture and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

tips&&tricks:

     ~for the chocolate shavings, simply take a chocolate bar, zap it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds, and use a vegetable peeler to create shavings.

     ~ in addition to chocolate shavings to top the whipped cream, you can also crush peppermint on top for an extra treat. Or add a tablespoon of Starbucks peppermint syrup to the frozen mix to make frozen peppermint hot chocolate. 

Enjoy!

XO.

B

German {Chocolate} Cake&& Coconut {Pecan} Frosting

Okay, so this post is a LONG time coming. About three weeks ago I made German chocolate cake cupcakes for the weekly Bible Study I attend Friday nights (Foundation!).  I had wanted to try this recipe, because i LOVE making cakes from scratch. Honestly, the more food I make, the more spoiled I become! I can hardly stand a boxed cake or pre-made frosting anymore. 

Although it is quite a time consuming process, this recipe is SO worth it! I honestly can say this is one of the best recipes i own!!!

Heres a picture of the final product ;)

German Chocolate Cake:

INGREDIENTS : 

~ 1tablespoon cake flour

~ 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

~ 1oz. baking chocolate

~ 1/2 cup boiling water

~ 1 cup granulate sugar

~ 3/4 cup packed brown sugar

~ 3 tablespoons butter

~ 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

~ 1/4 cup plain yogurt

~ 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

~ 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

~ 2 large egg whites

~ 2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour

~ 2 teaspoons baking powder

~ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

~ 1/2 teaspoon salt

~ 1 cup low-fat buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Coat 3 (8 - inch) round cake pans with cooking spray, and dust with 1 table spoon flour

3. Combine cocoa and chocolate in a small bowl: add boiling water, stirring until chocolate melts. Set aside.

4. Combine sugars, butter and oil in a large bowl, and beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended: Add yogurt, extracts, and egg whites; beat well

5. Lightly spoon sifted flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat in cocoa mixture.

6. Pour cake batter into prepared pans. Sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350  for 25 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes, and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. 

7. Place 1 cake layer on a plate, spread 1/3 cup frosting and top with another cake layer. Spread with 1/3 cup frosting, and top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Store cake loosely in refrigerator.

COCONUT PECAN FROSTING:

INGREDIENTS: 

~ 2 tablespoons butter

~ 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans

~ 2/3 cup packed brown sugar

~ 2 tablespoons cornstarch

~ 1/4 teaspoon salt

~ 1 sup sweetened condensed milk

~ 1 tablespoon light colored corn syrup

~ 2 large egg yolks

~ 1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut

~ 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

~ 1/8 teaspoon coconut extract 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped pecans and saute until the pecans are browned (aprox. 2 1/2 minutes). 

2. Remove mixture from heat, and stir in sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add milk syrup, and egg yolks, and stir well. Cook 2 minutes over medium high hear or until thick, stirring constantly.

3. Remove from heat and stir in flaked coconut and extracts. Pour mixture into a bowl. Cover and chill until slightly stiff (aprox.15 minutes)

tips&&tricks; 

- i bought my baking chocolate from trader joes, its only $1.99 (or less) a bag, and you only need 6 of the chocolate discs! 

- i used greek yogurt, instead of just plain yogurt, it was super yummy!! 

- For making cupcakes, I baked them for about 17 minutes, so set the timer for LESS time than you would for baking it in cake pans, it cooks quicker!

enjoy.

xo.

B

Lizzie's { Homecoming }

This past Saturday was my best friend, Lizzie's, senior Homecoming dance! So about three hours before she had to leave, I drove over to do her hair and makeup!! With our lives being so busy the last couple weeks, we haven't gotten to spend much time together just talking and doing "girl stuff," so this was our catch up time. I can honestly say it was a much needed refreshment to my life! I love this girl so much! So we chatted, ate candy, and listened to Taylor Swift's new Album "Speak Now." If you don't have it already...buy it. I ADORE it. 

Well, Lizzie had a purple dress and wanted her makeup to be purple. I own quite a bit of professional grade makeup and brushes, and have developed a love for doing makeup and experimenting with it. So i decided to do Lizzie's makeup as a purple smokey eye. She seriously has the most amazing eyes, and those eyelashes aren't fake either. WOW!

She was a knockout!!! Seriously, so beautiful!!! 

Then Lizzie's Friends came to pick her up, and they were off to the dance!!! Pretty girls!! :)

"As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt."

1 Samuel 18: 1-4

XO.

B