Happy Happy Cocktail Thursday y’all!!! So here we are with the first cocktail of the New Year, and just in time because it’s been a bit bananas around here. I mean, isn’t that always how it is? Everyone goes out of town, people save up their vacation time and take extended time off from work, so it always feels like everywhere is a lot less full than normal, then the holidays are over and bam back to reality!
How silly of me to have almost forgotten how bad ATL traffic is, and considering some schools around here are still out, I’m just waiting for that gigantic influx of awful (I’m not saying kids are awful, I’m just saying everyone should home school to keep traffic down hehe).
Anyways, so to help numb the pain of reality relax this weekend…or tonight, I won’t judge…these adorable little shots are not only super delicious but hella easy to make. Also, I noticed that the Cranberry Ginger Ale that I used also comes in diet, so if you’re doing really well with your New Year’s resolution then that’s an alternative, especially since Gin isn’t that calorie dense. I hope all of you are having a fantastic week so far, and again, thank you so much for stopping by!!!
Gin…
Cranberry Ginger Ale…
and enjoy!!!
- Bombay Sapphire Gin or Gin of Your Choice.
- Cranberry Ginger Ale.
- 4-6 Shot Glasses.
- Cranberries, For Garnish (Optional).
- Decorative Sugar, For Garnish (Optional).
- In a measuring cup or large cup, place 2-4 ounces of Gin, then fill the rest of the cup with the Cranberry Ginger Ale.
- Mix the Gin and Ginger Ale together and fill each shot glass and enjoy!!!
- To keep this on the lower calorie side, you can totally sub out the regular Cranberry Ginger Ale with Diet Cranberry Ginger Ale.
I really had no idea how bad it was until it took me 5 days working from morning until night to finish it. The build up of all of this stuff is just one of those things that tends to happen when you move suddenly to work a show and throwing what you can’t take with you into storage. Y’all, I will totally admit the embarrassing amount of times I asked myself ‘why the heck do you still have this?!’ while cleaning, then of course would proceed to throw it away. 
I still have a number of areas to work on, but I got a huge amount done during the Christmas hiatus. Anyways, onto the good stuff. Around these parts we’ve had a number of cold days and on those days nothing is as good as a warm soup or chili, and had I known how easy chili was to make, I would have made this years ago. This chili is so freaking good y’all, tons and tons of flavor and of course the ease of using the crock pot. This stuff tastes awesome all by itself but it is especially good dipping chips into it mmmm. I hope you all are having a wonderful start to the New Year and thank you so much for stopping by!!!
nice and browned…
into your crockpot…
then everything else into the crockpot and mix it up a bit…
cook for a few hours and enjoy!!! 
Well, I’m going to continue this tradition with these super fun Champagne Jell-O shots, and they’re not as quick to make as a typical cocktail, but worth every bit of effort y’all. I mean, how fun are these? 
I think the sprinkles really put these over the edge of awesome, but be mindful because these are very strong (hello vodka!). I’m gonna make this short and sweet because I know y’all too have many things to get to before the end of this year 😉 
I’m wishing you guys the happiest of New Years, an absolutely wonderful 2017 and thank you sooo much for stopping by!!! Happy New Year Y’all!!!
after heating, the gelatin is dissolved and the rest of the champagne and vodka is added…
and into your pan…
after chilling for a while, place on wax paper…
add sprinkles and enjoy!!! 
My mom was actually nice enough to come over and help me make this recipe due to the thought that it was going to be super complicated and scary to make, but for reals y’all, it is sooo not hard to make. I’m not really sure why I was under the impression it would be such a task but it’s super simple. I was glad she was there though, because if I followed the written down version of this recipe it would not have been the same due to the fact that she cooks like a true Southerner (she is from Mississippi just so y’all know). 
In case you didn’t know, cooking like a true Southerner usually includes the following; throwing in extra butter, eyeballing (aka extra) the cheese, throwing in extra eggs, and/or throwing in extra mayonnaise…all of these items were added in excess for this recipe, which I tried to indicate as best as I could below haha. This is hands down one of my favorite side dishes (if you can even call it that) like ever so I can’t recommend to you guys enough to make this ASAP. I hope you’re having a fantastic week so far and thank you so much for stopping by!!! 
mayonnaise…
eggs…
cheese…
salt & pepper…
sugar…
and mix all together…
into your casserole dish…
someone giving me side eye…
put the pecans, the butter and the crushed crackers on top…
bake, bake, bake and enjoy!!!
and one more of my sweet sous chef aka Lacy Bear…
A magical box (isn’t anything with lots of chocolate in it magical?) filled with these amazing and addictive bites were gifted to me from a wonderful neighbor. After I found myself finishing off most of the box in less than a day I texted her 
I really can’t begin to tell y’all how easy these things are, seriously, these were dunzo (minus the setting up part) from start to finish in about 20 minutes, if that. Also, these are straight up crack because they have that whole sweet and salty deal going for it, and well, that’s my Kryptonite. Anyways, I hope y’all are having a wonderful day so far, thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you get to enjoy these really soon. 
zap these for a bit in the microwave…
peanuts in…
mix, mix, mix…
in adorable spoonfuls onto your wax paper…
had to throw in a pic of Lacy Bear, because she was begging so hard for these…
and enjoy!!!
So I’m not normally a fan of eggnog, like at all, but I had the fortune of trying this at a party a number of years ago, and I was blown away by how awesome it was and obviously had to have the recipe, so here you go.
I would never name this eggnog as the best if I didn’t think it totally was. This is so creamy and smooth with lots of flavor, and most definitely a nice kick to it. I hope you get to enjoy this cocktail soon, have a very Merry Christmas a Happy Chanukah, and thank you so much stopping by!!!
yummy!!!
…When you have a name so synonymous with Christmas (my hat off to the Noels out there BTW), one that rhymes so nicely with stuff, and one that may or may not have gotten me nicknamed Jolly, By-Golly (wish I was making that up), and Polly (with a Parrot squawk thrown in for good measure) for years in school, naming this cocktail Holly Jolly is a big deal #firstwordproblems haha. 
Anyways, I thought I would just throw it all out there (my lameness that is) and give this cocktail the dorkiest name ever. Fortunately, it maybe a dorky name, but hot dang this is one of the best cocktails I’ve ever made. This cocktail is super duper bubbly, sweet without being grossly sweet but just sooo much flavor. 
You honestly will not be able to have just one of these delightful libations I can almost promise you, and it’s so festive you just might want to have one at hand while you wrap presents wink wink. I hope you have a fantastic day and thank you so much for stopping by! 
Rosé Champagne…
Cranberry Ginger Ale…
and enjoy!!!
yum!!!
I remember no other details of that party except for the homemade peppermint ice cream (of course I would remember the food haha). As I have mentioned once or twice, peppermint has never been my go-to flavor of choice for anything, but not one to be offensive (I try not to anyway) I tried the ice cream and I was blown away by how awesome it was. 
I guess I assumed it was going to taste medicinal or something but the super rich creaminess of the ice cream with just a hint of peppermint, (and my favorite) the chunks of candy canes in it, mmmmm, I was hooked. I might have had another bowl or two (y’all I’ve always loved food) at the party, but it has always stuck with me at how good it was and I just knew I had to make some for my cheat day to share with y’all. 
I decided to use my super easy vanilla ice cream recipe, throw in just a dash of peppermint extract and lots of chunks of candy cane, and y’all, it’s dang perfection! This ice cream is even better than I had anticipated, and I could not get enough, it is sooo good. I hope y’all get to enjoy this soon, thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!!!
crushed up…
all ingredients (except the candy canes) into your bowl…
into your yogurt/ice cream maker…
when almost done, add 1/2 of your crushed candy canes…
into your container…
then add the rest of the candy canes…
and enjoy!!! 
I wanted to keep the frosting super light and fluffy with the subtle sweetness and crunch of the crushed candy cane, and y’all that is exactly how this frosting turned out, downright perfection. 
Also, lets talk about the cupcakes, I doctored up a cake mix to make the cupcakes extra moist and fluffy (and not to mention easy) and these also turned out perfectly soft and chocolatey. I honestly think these would be perfect for any Christmas party (parties) you might need to bring a little something to because these are so festive and delicious. Also, if you’re a huge mocha peppermint fan, this is right up your alley, enjoy y’all!
then the rest of your ingredients…
all mixed up….
into your cupcake tin…
now, for the frosting…milk and flour into your saucepan…
perfect, see how it’s the consistency of thin mashed potatoes?…
once the flour/milk mixture has cooled, place butter and sugar into your bowl…
whip, whip, whip the butter and sugar until light and fluffy…
now add your milk/flour mixture…
whip it like crazy until it’s super light and fluffy (should taste and look like whipped cream)…
into your bowl…
all mixed up and ready to be noshed…
and enjoy!!!
Where the heck has the time gone?! Sorry, I realize have already used a lot of exclamation marks, but I just want y’all to get the full effect of panic that is going on in my brain haha. I don’t know why, but I feel like this year has been especially hard to find things to buy for my friends and family. Normally, I have ongoing lists of ideas months in advance, but this year, nada…
…and I just want to point out that everyone’s wish lists that I requested have been quite sparse (I’m looking at you, mom and dad). Anyways, let’s get to the good stuff shall we? I would like to introduce you to my new BFF’s these Gingerbread Waffles. Oh yes, these are precisely as delicious as you would expect. The batter was the first indication that these would be amazing because it’s more like cake batter, thick, decadent, tons of flavor. 
I’m not a fan of the word moist by any means, but these waffles turned out deliciously moist with tons of gingerbread flavor. Definitely expect these to cook in your waffle iron quite a bit longer than a normal waffle, but they’re sooo worth the wait. I hope you get to make these bad boys your next breakfast or brunch, thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!!! 
mixed together…
now eggs and milk…
mix, mix, mix…
now, flour, spices and baking powder…
mix, mix, mix…
into your waffle iron…
bake, bake, bake… 
and enjoy!!! 
