The Month of my Life.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of trials and studying. Through this crazy blur of time the Lord has been teaching me about his faithfulness, sufficiency and love, and also about my own incapability to do anything on my own. One of the ways he did this was through the pamphlet "Christ And Your Problems" by Jay Adams.

Let me tell you, it radically changed my perspective.

If you have $2 (which you do...be honest), GO BUY THIS!!! Its a 30-page read that mainly discusses the verse 1 Corinthians 10:13;

"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it."

It talks about how our faith should be in the Lord and how every trial is perfectly ordained for us, and for our good!! I know many people are going through some tough trials right now, and I have no doubt this would be a great encouragement to you and your soul!

 I would love to share what I've learned through this tough time and encourage those of you who need it, or just want to talk. Feel free to give me a call, or email me here.

Sorry for my lack of updates, but many Christmas posts will be coming soon!!! <3 

{Lime and Black Pepper} Sugar Cookies

Every day in history class my friend Molly and I share stories about cooking, talk about things we've eaten, and those we want to eat. Its safe to say we like food.....just a little bit ;) About three weeks ago she brought me some recipes she found in the newspaper that were classic desserts, with a spicy twist added. The concept was using spices to literally "spice up" some sweet desserts. One of the recipes was for lime and black pepper cookies. I absolutely LOVE limes. They make anything from water to tacos taste even better. I loved the way they turned out, and they're easy to make. 

ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS:

~½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

~1 cup granulated sugar

~¼ cup whole milk

~¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

~1 egg, at room temperature

~2 cups flour

~1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon lime zest (about 5 limes)

~2 teaspoons baking powder

~3/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

~1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

~Confectioner's sugar, for dusting the finished cookies

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a bowl of a standard mixer or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the milk, vanilla and egg, and beat over low speed just to incorporate.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, lime zest, baking powder, pepper and salt, breaking up any lumps.

3. With the mixer on low speed, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.

4. Place dough on sheet of plastic wrap and roll into a log shape, with a diameter of about 2 inches. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill about an hour.

5. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the dough log and slice crosswise into cookies one-fourth inch thick. Place the cookies on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake until a light golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

6. Remove the cookies and cool on a rack. Dust the cooled cookies lightly with confectioner's sugar (and black pepper, if using).

thank you Molly dearest for the recipe!!!!!

XO

B

{Winter Wonderland Desserts}

As I think I have mentioned before i absolutely love winter and Christmas time; and I adore all the yummy food that comes along with it! It's safe to say I spend many, many hours melting chocolate, crushing peppermints, and baking all sorts of winter treats. This is one, very simple and store-bought dessert that I really enjoy, and its super easy!

Peppermint Ice Cream Bowls With Hot Fudge

INGREDIENTS:

~ Peppermint Ice Cream

~ Hot fudge -or- chocolate syrup

DIRECTIONS:

~ Heat up hot fudge and place aboue 3 tablespoons in each bowl for serving. Make sure to thuroughly coat the bottom and sides of each bowl.

~ Place 2 large scoops of ice cream in each bowl.

ta da! so simple and cheap but a yummy winter treat :)

tips&&tricks;

     ~ I used Dryers peppermint ice cream, because it's my personal favorite. Some other good brands are Starbucks, Bryers, and Trader Joes

     ~ Place the bowls in the freezer 2 hours before serving, bowls will be frosty and cold when you serve desert.

     ~ You can also top the ice cream with chocolate shavings, mini marshmellows or whipped cream.

xo

B

{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