Creamy {Basil} Salad Dressing

Growing up, one of my favorite things to do was go to dinner at The Spaghetti Factory in Hollywood. The meals are always served with salad or soup. Their house dressing was our family's favorite, and we sometimes would buy some extra to take home. Recently when I was playing around with recipes, I discovered the exact creamy basil pesto salad dressing recipe I have fawned over for years, score! I literally could eat this stuff by the bottle, with some lettuce on the side, of course!

INGREDIENTS:

~ 3/4 C oil

~ 1 C mayonnaise

~ 3/4 C buttermilk

~ 2 T grated Romano

~ 1/2 t crushed dried basil

~ 1/2 t salt

~ 1 clove garlic

~ 1/4 t paprika

DIRECTIONS:

1. Whisk together oil and mayonnaise. Add buttermilk, cheese, basil, salt, garlic and paprika. Mix thoroughly.

2. Cover and let flavors meld overnight in refrigerator.

I promise this is thee best salad dressing you will every taste!

Enjoy

XO

B

Valentine's Day {Sugar Cookies}

Approaching Valentines day, I was anticipating making red velvet cupcakes for dessert. However upon seeing the adorable Valentines day sprinkles at Target, I decided to make sugar cookies and decorate them with pink, red and white icing. I only wish i was able to find X's and O's cookie cutters, but i didn't see any at the stores i visited, so if you know where they're selling them, please please, do tell! Personally I think my mom has one of the best sugar cookie recipes, but thats just me! they're fun to decorate with a bunch of girlfriends, and the possibilities are endless!

SUGAR COOKIES

~ 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

~ 1/2 teaspoon salt

~ 1 teaspoon baking powder

~ 1 cup butter

~ 2 cups sugar

~ 2 large eggs

~ 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, and zest of two lemons

*****

1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. set aside.

2. Use an electric mixer to cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs

3. Add flour mixture, and mix on low speed until thoroughly combined. Stir in lemon juice and zest. Wrap dough in plastic; chill for about 30 minutes. 

4. Preheat oven to 325. On a floured surface, roll dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into desired shaped. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Let cool and decorate with Icing.

For the icing I put about 2- 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar in a bowl and add milk in very small amounts. Stir and add enough milk until sugar is completely dissolved and movable, but still thick. I add small amounts of gel paste food coloring (can be bought @Michaels- $1.99, and they have EVERY color). Paint cookies and ENJOY!

and just to add to the business of the week, I gave my baby bunny a bath on Tuesday night. There is nothing quite as adorable as giving a bunny a bath. She's so sweet! :)

Happy Valentines Day!

XO

B

In The Name Of {Love}

I usually don't admit this in public, but Valentines Day is my favorite holiday (Christmas doesn't count, or else it would be a no-brainer; Mariah Carey isn't allowed to audition for American Idol, you know.)  Even since I was little, I've always loved all the decorations, cards, candies, flowers, songs, and movies that come with this special day. I would spend hours, literally, preparing my valentines to take to school. Just the other day i spend an hour and a half wandering around the Valentine's section in Target, soaking it all up(The Proposal was only $10). Obviously I've only had one actual real-life "valentine" but that was last year, and its safe to say the tradition will not be continuing this year, but I digress.

I think its so cool how all the candy companies go all out with the repackaging of their candies.  Seriously, my favorite candy, York peppermint patties, are heart shaped this year, with pink filling. When i saw this, my heart was definitely bursting with joy. I think Valentines day obviously is mostly geared for couples in love, but I've always used it to just remind those around me I love, that i love them! 

My mom and I  always gets each other something cute, sometimes having to do with Valentines day, and other times not. I remember one year I bought her two pink mugs from Starbucks that have coasters with hearts on them :). We usually give my dad and brother candy...because they aren't pink's biggest fans. 

The only thing i dislike about Valentines day is that there is lots of cute candy sitting on our counter, which I often eat. Instead of eating it I took a picture, thats at the top of the post. Definitely not as satisfying. 

Well if you're stumped for what movies to watch on Valentines day, I got you covered, with my top ten favorite romance movies, in this post here :). Since that post, other movies have come out, and I would add "Letter to Juliet" to the list.

And if you're into making mixed C.D.'s here is the link to my favorite love song. EVER. Smother Me- by The Used.

Another creative idea for this day is something I discovered when I was about ten, and I love doing it. Make a heart shaped fried egg for your "sweetheart" (I did this while making my parents breakfast ;). Simply pull out a heart shaped cookie cutter. Heat the skillet with butter. Place the cookie cutter on the skillet and crack the egg inside. Cook until done and simply remove the cookie cutter and place the egg on the plate (with bacon of course) and enjoy! It wont damage a metal cookie cutter, but please don't use plastic, thats just a sad mess waiting to happen :( 

I will hopefully post a red velvet recipe before next Monday, which is my favorite V-day dessert, or anytime dessert actually. :)

xoxo

B

 "Love is patient andkind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7