Delicious Peanut Butter Cookies

When BBE (best boyfriend ever) & I decided to go to New York City to celebrate (1) our 3 year anniversary, (2) my birthday, & (3) him being done with finals, I started looking for a hotel that was less than $150/night – no luck! Lucky for us, his wonderful childhood friend offered us her place while we were there free of charge! How lucky are we?? Since we couldn’t offer her money (Hey! We’re broke!), the next best thing to show someone you appreciate them is…baking! And bake I did J

I had never made peanut butter cookies before, so I decided to do a trial run before baking the ones I wanted to take to NYC with us. BBE loved that idea! They turned out AMAZING. I would suggest these cookies for family during Christmas time or for a holiday cookie exchange...or really for anything! They aren’t the usual chocolate chip or sugar cookie, so it's a nice change.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup smooth peanut butter (or chunky if you like that kind of thing...gross)
Hershey's kisses
Sugar in the raw


*I prefer to use Spenda Brown Sugar Blend & Sugar Blend when baking

 


Directions:
1. Sift together dry ingredients & set aside. (I didn't have a sifter when I made them, & they tasted great without sifting!) Cream butter & sugar in bowl using paddle attachment. (I don't have a paddle attachment, & they turned out great!) Add egg & vanilla & beat until combined. Add peanut butter & continue beating on low speed. Add dry ingredients & beat until just blended. Cover dough & transfer to refrigerator. Chill until firm [about 1 hour]
2. Heat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with a silpat (You guessed it, don't have one of these either! I just sprayed the cookie sheet with some non-stick spray...worked great!) Form dough into one inch balls. Roll balls in sugar. Place balls on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart & press down slightly with your palm - not too hard because next, using the tines of a fork, make a crisscross pattern in the dough. [If you push down too hard with your palm, the cookies will be too flat once you make the crisscross pattern]

After pressing them slightly with my palm

Crisscross pattern with a fork - ready for the oven!

3. Bake until rich golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool.
*If you want to use Hershey's kisses like we did (YUM!) add the kisses about 1 minute after they're out of the oven. I also sprinkled a little extra sugar on the top - what calories??

ENJOY!


XOXO,

Fall Recipe - Apple Pie

Some where along the way, apple pie has become my signature dish for all family gatherings. I don't really have a consistent recipe that I follow, but it always turns out yummy! I need to start adding in more of my own touches, but here's what I did for this Thanksgiving in Richmond with my long time friends :)

Crust Ingredients:
* I make more crust than it says to because when I "weave" I seem to need more for some reason - could it be that I eat it?? Possibly. So this is the Deep Dish Double Crust instructions
2 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 stick (or 1 cup) WELL CHILLED Crisco All Vegetable shortening
6-10 Tbs ice cold water

Instructions:
1. Blend flour & salt in medium bowl.
2. Cut the stick into cubes (about 1/2 inch) and cut it into the mixture until it's all mixed with some small pea-sized pieces remaining.
3. Add about half the recommended Tbs of water & mix around with a fork. Add water by Tbs until the dough is moist enough to stick together.
4. Eat some.
    **Some people may find step 4 unnecessary and kind of gross. I assure you it's necessary & delicious!
5. Divide into 2 balls & roll them out. I use wax paper instead of a floured surface because it works better & it's MUCH cleaner!
6. One goes in the bottom of your pie pan (duh!)
7. Keep the other ball cold while you prepare the filling!

Filling Ingredients:
6 apples, peeled & sliced
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbs lemon juice

Directions:
1. Peel & slice the apples. I like to make a game out of it - can I peel the apple in ONE try? [Think Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle] Try #1 was SO close, but I got it on try #2!! So proud of myself :)

Try 1

Try 2 - success!!

2. Mix together the sliced apples & all ingredients in a large bowl until the apples are covered. Pour them on top of the pie crust & try to arrange them so they're kind of level.

3. Roll out remaining dough & cut it into strips for weaving. This takes some trial & error to get it right. 

 **My tips: don't roll it too thin or it will be hard to rearrange once it's on the pie. You can kind of see in the picture below they way I've found it easiest to weave - lay all the horizontal strips down and then fold them over as necessary to add the vertical strips. The dough definitely needs to be cold! 

The horizontal strips on the left are folded up so I can put a vertical strip down

Ready to bake!

3a. I always add extra butter to the top of the crust too. I melt about 1 Tbs of butter and pour it over the crust so it gets in the holes. Butter just makes everything better!

4. Put in the oven at 425 for about 45 minutes. 

On display at Pam's, yummy!

If you have any tips for an apple pie recipe, let me know! Always looking for ways to make it better :)
XOXO,

Honey Lime Chicken & Veggies

This has become my quick go-to weekday meal when I just don't know what to make! It's so simple, yet Sebastien always has seconds (or thirds)! It's always nice when he gets excited about it every time we have it. Plus it's made with stuff that we always have at the house, so I don't ever have to make a special trip to the grocery store - amazing :)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
10 ounces chicken (I usually use 2 chicken breasts)
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 bags Asian veggies (steam in the bag kind - picture below!)

Directions:
1. In large plastic bag, combine flour & cayenne pepper. (I've started using more cayenne than just the 1/4 tsp because we like our food hot!)
2. Add 10 ounces cut into strips. Shake to coat.
3. Brown chicken in butter on all sides.

I cut them smaller before serving, but it's easier to cook this way!

4. Combine lime juice, honey, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce & pour over chicken.
5. Cook 1 - 2 minutes.
6. Add veggies to the pan (after you've steamed them of course) & mix it around just to get the sauce on everything... duh.
7. Enjoy!

*Last time I made this (last night), I added a little more of everything so we had more sauce to cover all the veggies. We're having the leftovers tonight! Perfect :)

XOXO,

Antique Shopping

Moving has been ... interesting. I don't necessarily have a smaller apartment, but the space is definitely laid out differently. I went from having a bathroom with 2 sinks & TONS of counter/cabinet space, to having a bathroom with a pedestal sink & a medicine cabinet. Don't get me wrong, my bathroom here is ADORABLE! We even have original black & white tiles :)

However, less counter and storage space means I can't really get ready in my bathroom. Problem? Mom will fix it! Now I just get ready at my desk! Great plan!

Oh but wait... my desk only has 2 drawers, so where can I keep all my desk stuff if I have to keep my make up & hair stuff in there too? Problem? Mom will fix it! "Get a new desk!" Easy enough.

So when Mom came to town, we decided to go to some antique shops in search of a keyhole desk because they have drawers down both sides. Sounds simple (& FUN!), but it wasn't so simple... and not so fun after awhile :( 

We looked all on Craigslist (eh), but I really wanted to have the fun of finding it at an antique store! So we went to Alexandria, VA - unsuccessful. It was a cute town for sure but didn't have what we were looking for...buuuuut it did have 2 GORGEOUS lamps & a mahogany planter for Mom! Yay!

The next day we went to Fredericksburg, VA - unsuccessful. Again, a cute town but didn't have what we wanted...except a cute "arrow" that sticks out from the wall with cute, festive wooden things hanging off of it! (For me) It's way cuter than it sounds.

We were having trouble finding any keyholes desks let alone ones that we liked. So...we went to Lucketts.

Yes, Lucketts, VA. The name alone says WINNER! Haha. But it was the BEST place for antiques. We actually came across this antique place on the way to Lucketts from Fredericksburg. Check it out! You will see why we had to make a Uturn!

Isn't it fabulous?? I was completely in love when we got inside & KNEW this is where I would find my desk. SUCCESS!! It was a type of store where a few different vendors rented out a space & displayed their pieces. Here is some of what they had downstairs:

OMG - LOVE LOVE LOVE. Seeing these pictures makes me wants to go back. There are so many treasures to be found in places like these. There was a whole upstairs too!

 I actually didn't take any pictures when we got to Lucketts because we were in a HUGE hurry to beat the closing time clock, but I ended up getting an awesome shelf at one of the stores there. It sits a little crooked, but I believe it was the top of a different piece of furniture. It's really different, and I LOVE it so much. Pictures of that later - still have to repaint it. 

Pictures of the desk later too because it went under a renovation! Just wanted to share some great places to go antique shopping and remind everyone of how much more fun it is to find a really special piece & change it to make it exactly what you want. Thanks for reminding me of that, Momma!!

XOXO,

Red Snapper & Black Beans

While waiting for the Texas Bar Results to come out, there was no doubt in my mind that Sebastien had passed. However, when we found out it was actually true we wanted to celebrate!! Instead of going out to a fancy dinner, I decided to clean the house & cook one myself... ah the celebration of the poor :)

Here is Tobias waiting in the clean family room 

Even though the snapper was a bit pricey, this dish turned out yummy, so it was worth it for a once in a while type of thing!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup canned black beans, drained & rinsed
3 Tbs chopped red onion
2 Tbs olive oil, divided
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp salt, divided
1/8 tsp pepper, divided
1-2 drops hot pepper sauce (although I added a lot more!)
3 Tbs flour
2 red snapper fillets, 8 oz each (you can also use grouper)
1.5 tsp butter
1 Tbs minced fresh cilantro

Directions:
1. In saucepan, combine beans, onion, 1 Tbs oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, 1/8 tsp salt, dash pepper, & pepper sauce. Cook, uncovered, over low-heat for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, in shallow bowl, combine flour, & remaining salt & pepper. Dip fillets in flour mixture.

I wasn't sure if I could cook it with the skin on or not, so I decided to take it off...grossest thing EVER. It felt sooo fishy.

3. In a large skillet, heat butter and remaining oil over medium heat. Cook fillets 5-6 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Top with bean mixture; sprinkle with cilantro.

Not the best picture, but I love when my boys play together!! And how do you like our "kitchen table"??  It doubles as a coffee table. HA! 

 Hope you enjoy making this dish too!!

XOXO,

Rally to Restore Sanity

So this is a little bit late, but on October 30th I took advantage of living in DC & went to my first "political" rally! Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert (of The Daily Show and Colbert Report fame, respectively) put on a Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on the National Mall. There was an estimated 250,000 people in attendance to hear the musical guests and other speakers.

Sebastien & I got separated from our group and thought we would just catch up with them when we got there...didn't happen.

Here I am sporting my Halloween shirt!

Always exciting to see the Capital

People on their way to the Rally

These people were from Hawaii!! Crazy

There were so many people there our phones didn't even work!

This is where we waited until we got in. 

There were 3 different sections - VIP (who knows how you get in there!), Special Guest (had to have a ticket), and regular...ew. No one wants to be just regular! So I sat on an electrical box until we convinced the guards at the gate (yes guards!) to let us in as Special Guests :)

SWAT Team!

Collective Cheek Pop!

Haha I liked this instruction - laugh like a mad scientist! This is the view from my seat on the box

Kid Rock

Finally Inside!!!! WOO!

It was a really fun day with GREAT weather!! The overall message was basically think for yourself. Try to see through the games that are being played in the media and politics right now and vote for who you think is right and who can change what needs to be fixed. There was no blatant support for either democrats or republicans, which I thought was great. Thank you Jon & Stephen!!

XOXO,