Sweets: Ice Cream Sandwiches

Tuesday was my birthday and we went to this cute restaurant for dinner with the family.  Once we finished our entree, our server said...I hope you saved room for our homemade ice cream sandwiches.  The little mister and I looked at each other and said - OH YEA!

So for today's sweets installment - HOMEMADE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES.

These are Martha's

I baked up my Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I undercooked them a little because I wanted them to be soft.  Put a little scoop of ice cream...added a little squish and then spinkled away.

These were mine.  DELISH!

Sweets:: Just Embrace Them

UPDATE BELOW!!!

I love sweets.  When I was visiting with my mom...I said to her - I really wish I didn't have such a sweet tooth.  Her response...Life would be so boring then.  SO TRUE MOM!

I've decided...I'm just going to embrace them...but in moderation.  I still do need to fit in my clothes. (haha)

As part of my 2012 Motto...She Decided to Start Living the Life She Imagined - I'll be trying a new recipe a week.  It might be something sweet, maybe something hearty, and hopefully something super yummy that the family will enjoy.

First up...Lowfat Pound Cake as seen on Bakers Royale's blog.  Doesn't it just look divine?  So here is the deal.  I'm going to post on Thursday mornings what I'm going to make.  And then Thursday night - I'm going to update the post with a picture of how mine turned out.


image via: Bakers Royale

OK - so I thought I had a bundt pan - but I must have gotten rid of it when we moved.  So I improvised and used two loaf pans.  I was watching the time because I wasn't sure if the timing would be different - bundt vs. loaf oh and 2 different size loaf pans.  One loak took about 50 minutes and the other took 70 minutes as the recipe called for.  (It's all a learning process.)

The batter...was really good.  Of course I had to taste test that. :)

Without further adu....it was REALLY good and enjoyed by the family.  I have to say I'm pretty impressed with myself.  (YAY me!)

{holiday parties} My "go-to" Appie

I'm sure many of you will be heading out to holiday soireé's and some of you might have to bring a little appetizer.

Well - wanna know my "go-to" appetizer?  So they are kinda fattening...but I promise - it's the good kind and so worth it.

Barefoot Contessa's Chipotle & Rosemary Roasted Nuts.  Oh my heavens - they are absolutely HEAVENLY!!  You really can't stop at ONE.  You have to have a handful.  They have the perfect amount of sweet and spice. (Just in case you missed my "go-to" dessert from yesterday - check it out here.

Don't they just look divine?

Wanna know how to make them?

serves 8 to 10

Vegetable oil

3 cups whole roasted unsalted cashews (14 oz)

2 cups whole walnut halves (7 oz)

2 cups whole pecan halves (7 oz)

1/2 cup whole almonds (3 oz)

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

2 teaspoons ground chipolte powder

4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves, divided

kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brush a sheet pan generously with vegetable oil.  Combine the cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice, and chipolte powder on the sheet pan.  Toss to coat the nuts evenly.  Add 2 tablespoons of the rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss again.

Spread the nuts in one layer.  Roast the nuts for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large metal spatula *, until the nuts are glazed and golden brown.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 more teaspoons of salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary.  Toss well and set aside at room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking as they cool.  Taste for seasoning.  Serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight containers at room temperature.

* I stir 10 minutes and 20 minutes and definitely use a metal spatula - nuts get super hot!

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?

{holidays baking} My "go-to" delight

I'm sure that everyone has favorite "go-to" cookie for the holidays.

Some might be sugar cookies...chocolate chip cookies...well...

My favorite cookie of all time is the O R E O with some added pizzazz.  I've done the chocolate chip stuffed oreo.  Most recently, the mini-oreo chocolate chip cookie.  So good.

But - these babies are by far my favorite and so incredibly easy to make.  I made them last year and named them Brownie-O's.  Well they are back again this year for your enjoyment.

I'm telling you, these are ridiculously easy.  All you need is a box of your favorite brownie mix and a package of DOUBLE-stuffed oreos.  {I've tried regular and double-stuffed.}  Mix up your brownie mix like you normally would.  When I made these last year, I would coat the oreo in the brownie mix.  This year I wanted them to be much thicker - more cake like.

I sprayed the cupcake pan with some pam and put a dobble of brownie mix, then put the oreo on top and then added another dobble.  It definitely didn't make as many it would if you coated them.  I was able to get about 22 Brownie-O's from one pack of brownie mix.

Package them up and add a cute holiday printable and you are all set for your kiddo's holiday parties or a little hostess gift.

Recipe:: Pumpkin Sage Pasta

Doesn't this just look absolutely DIVINE!!

I stumbled upon this recipe via Nat the Fat Rat.  This image is from her website.  I have to admit...I'm really hungry now and I'll be heading to the store to purchase the ingredients...because..HONEY..this is what's for dinner tonight.

It's a perfect fall meal.  I'm going to opt for some grilled chicken and I think I'm going to use corn pasta vs. the whole wheat.  I want to see if I can make this puppy gluten-free. :)

I have to roll...gotta get to the store!

OK...UPDATE!

I made the Pumpkin Sage Pasta with Corn Pasta and added chicken.  I also added a teaspoon on nutmeg and some balsamic.  It was still needing a little something something...but paired with the chicken, it was really good.

Wanna see what mine looked like?

welcome...

We have a new look and feel?  What do you think?

It's been really busy at work lately and I'm in desperate need of my creative outlet.

Get ready to get a daily dose of inspiration...from interior design and fashion to the latest trends (at least how I see it! :)) and amazing places to yummy recipes and of course parties!

Right now I'm obsessing over this skirt paired with cowboy boots.  No clue where I would ever wear something like this...but it's fabulous!

image via

Check out my other fashionista pins on Pinterest...I'm sure you will see a pattern.

Tootles until tomorrow...

Caryl

National Tequila Day

National Tequila Day is Sunday, July 24th...

How will you celebrate...

Margaritas

(via crate and barrel)

Aguas Frescas

(via Matt Bites)

Burrito Bar

(via Real Simple)

Watermelon Mojito Pops

(via Pizzazzerie)

7 Layer Dip Shot

(via Pinterest)

I feel GREAT!

Today was the day that I've been actually looking forward to for a week now!

I successfully completed the 28 Days to Health Cleanse.  YAY!!  I'm doing the happy dance.

I'm not gonna lie, there have been some challenging days (especially when I had to drink 3 shakes a day for 4 days).  After day 2 of the pure liquid diet - I was done.

The last day was really tough.  Your mind plays tricks on you, but I had to have the will power to stick it through to the end.

Let me give you the low-down for my last day on the cleanse.

I was at the Santa Clara Marriott all day for a meeting that I was planning for one of my favorite clients.  The event was themed Western so of course - we had to have BBQ (which people that know me in person know that I LOVE BBQ).  A simple dessert - cookies (which I LOVE sweets) and to finish off the day - a beer and WINE bar (which I LOVE wine but no drinking on the cleanse).  Then in the evening post event, I went to celebrate my dear cousin Jaimie's 30th birthday at an Italian Restaurant (which I LOVE italian food) in San Mateo.

Needless to say - there was a boat load of opportunity to just forget the last day and enjoy.

Here is what I did:
On Monday afternoon before heading to the Marriott, I packed up my 2 shakes for Tuesday in a 2 ziploc baggies, brought my now famous "Starbucks Plastic Venti Cup" and a couple of extra cups for my shakes.  Also packed these individual Almond Milk cartons which I found at Whole Foods.

Tuesday morning, I talked to our Catering Services Manager, Juliet and told her that I was on this cleanse and today was the last day and I had to get my breakfast shake blended up.  She was amazing - she wrote down my blending instructions (because after doing this for 28 days - there is definitely a science behind making the perfect shake) and brought it back to me all blended up.  It wasn't quite the way that mine look - but who am I to complain - I was so appreciative.

The lunch came and she came back over to me and said - are you ready for lunch?  Oh my goodness - yes I said I'm starving and that food for the attendees smells so good.  She brought back my chocolate shake back to me and said - this time I had a professional blend it...I had the bartender do it.  I have to say - he was a professional because it was really good (I think it might have had something to do with the fact that I was starving :)).  I stuck with water as my beverage of choice all day too!

Dinner - was at an Italian Restaurant that had the most amazing menu.  Pasta was screaming my name - but I opted for the Sole and Brussel Sprouts.  It was good - the pasta probably would have been better.  I celebrated with Jaimie toasting her 30th with water vs. wine.

I feel really good that I didn't give in and I completed this cleanse.   I feel amazingly great that I was actually able to inspire a couple of people to jump on board and do a cleanse themselves.

Special thanks to Julie at the Dailey Method for being a week ahead of all of us on the cleanse so you could tell us what to expect.  Thanks 28 Days to Health for your support as well.  I will definitely do the cleanse again...sometime. :) And thank you to my friends for all of your love and support!

xoxo,
Caryl

Literally Nuts for the Holidays {Free Printable}

So I have to say - I've been a bit nutzo with the baking and crafting.  I've been having so much fun.  I do have a day job though - remember...I own ROAR events group - we primarily focus on corporate clients, but doing all this crafting is taking me back in time.  I use to do this all the time and I forgot how much fun it is.  As a HAPPY HOLIDAYS gift to you ~ you can download the NUTS for the HOLIDAYS printable here.

So this weekend - I've baked - Brownie Covered Oreos.  And I've roasted Chipotle & Rosemary Roasted Nuts from Barefoot Contessa's most recent book - How Easy Is That?  I've played around with packaging. Let's just say that no Christmas shopping was done this weekend. :)

These nuts are great for a party and also a little house warming gift (toss in a bottle of wine and you are golden).  I actually brought these nuts to a neighborhood holiday party and they were a hit!

Here are the details:

The Nuts Ingredients
Vegetable Oil
3 cups whole roasted unsalted cashews (14 oz)
2 cups whole walnut halves (7 oz)
2 cups whole pecan halves (7 oz)
1/2 cups whole almonds (3 oz)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (I used store bought)
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (I used 1 tablespoon dried)
Kosher Salt

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) Brush  a sheet pan generously with vegetable oil.  Combine the cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice, and chipotle powder on the sheet pan.  Toss to coat the nuts evenly.  Add 2 tablespoons of rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss again.
3. Spread the nuts in one layer.  Roast nuts for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large metal spatula (I used a BBQ grill one), until the nuts are glazed and golden brown (I stirred 10 and 20 minutes into the roasting).  Remove from oven and sprinkle with 2 more teaspoons of salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary.  Ross well and set aside at room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking as they cool.  Serve warm or cool completely and store in an airtight container.

I decided that I was going to buy 1/2 pint mason jars.  This recipe will fill 11 1/2 pint mason jars. (Well maybe 12 - I was nibbling on the nuts a little bit.)  I wanted to put a sticker on the top of the jar and decided to glue ribbon around the lid.  As a HAPPY HOLIDAYS gift for you ~ I wanted you all to have the printable so you can be NUTS for the Holidays like me.  Click here to download.

Here is what they looked like after I was done with them...

The holidays are all about family, friends, giving and enjoying.  I hope that you enjoy like I am!

xoxo, 

Caryl

Nuts for the Holidays Labels

Which ones do you like better?  I'm going to use one of these for the Barefoot Contessa Rosemary Chipotle Roasted Nuts.

Brownie Oreos & Fun Holiday Packaging

Oreos are my favorite cookie of all time (even more so than Chocolate Chip Cookies).  When I saw the recipe for Brownie Covered Oreos on the Picky Palate blog (I actually think I saw it on Fresh Chick Designs Facebook page first)...it was love at first site and I was destined to make these beauties.

I have to say - they were so easy and I will make them all the time now.

Ingredients
1) Brownie mix of your choice (I used Pillsbury Fudge Brownies)
2) 1 Package of Oreos (we used the regular ones vs. the peppermint that Picky Palate has - I think DoubleStuffed would be really good.)
3) White Gel Writer for the frosting

Directions are so easy:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Get a cupcake tin and spray the heck out of it with Pam (or your favorite non-stick spray).
3) Dip the Oreo in the batter and flip it around a couple of times to make sure its completely covered with the brownie mix.
4) Place the cookie in one of the cupcake spots (FYI - it does get a little messy).
5) It says to bake about 12-15 minutes.  I baked for 14 minutes.
6) As soon as it's done - get a plastic knife and go around the edges of each cookie - this way there is no sticking and the cookies come out nicely.

I think I might have used a little too much batter because the recipe said I would use all of the oreos in the package and I had about 5 left over (and I didn't eat them - they are in the pantry. :))

I figured out that each cookie is about 147 calories.  I do want to try and make this recipe low cal - so you can at least not feel too guilty when you eat 5 or 6. :)

Now time for the fun packaging!!!

{Brown Boxes & White Bag ~ Nashville Wraps}

{White Glassline Bag and Red/White Twistie ~ Parcel + Paper}

{Green Ribbon ~ Richards Craft Store}

{Twine ~ The Twinery}

Four cookies fit in the brown boxes and the white bag.  I put a single cookie in the white glassline bag.

Today was super fun.  Tomorrow - I'm going to be NUTS for the Holidays..

Enjoy!