Happy Monday y’all!! No joke you guys, I was afraid I wasn’t even going to be able to post today. Why? well, for starters my beloved Macbook Pro of 5 years kicked the bucket big time unexpectedly (RIP Javier-yes, I named my computer, don’t judge me) last week, which meant I made a mad (in tears) dash to the Apple store to try to revive him.
There was no fixing to be done that night which meant buying a brand spanking new one that evening. My external hard drive had to be left with the store in hopes to get anything (especially all of my food pics) off of my computer since I had not done any backups in over a month sssiiiggh, and when I finally got it back they wouldn’t transfer my stuff onto my new computer like they said they would (at that point I thought my head would explode, y’all ever feel like that?).
Anyways, I got almost everything I wanted off of my hard drive and onto my new Macbook Pro (which still doesn’t have a name yet) with the help of my dad (thanks dad!!) then I proceeded (with the help of my very large and overzealous dog) to drop my iPhone face first onto the tile floor and smashed the cover into a bajillion glass pieces double siiiggghh.
Soo, yeah it’s been that kind of week, and as someone who is usually happy and positive I’ve been feeling slightly grouchy. Sooo, I figured one of my favorite cheat restaurant dishes would fix the grouch, and it totally did. The smell of the bread toasting, the fresh basil, mozzarella and tomatoes, oh my, I’m in love, this stuff is awesome and sooo easy to make. Y’all have an awesome day and week, and I hope to do the same haha.
Alrighty, garlic…
peeled, and finely minced…
roll your basil up…
slice it up…
nice and chopped…
into your bowl…
slice your tomatoes…
scoop all the goop out…
then chop it up more…
chop all of your tomatoes up and throw into the bowl…
chop up your mozzarella…
and throw into your bowl along with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper…
all mixed together…
prepare your bread to be toasted…
and enjoy!!!…
- 6 Basil Leaves, Chopped.
- 5-6 Tomatoes, Chopped.
- 8 Ounces of Fresh Mozzarella, Chopped.
- 2 Cloves of Garlic, Finely Minced.
- 2 Teaspoons of Balsamic Vinegar.
- Salt & Pepper to Taste.
- 1 Loaf of French Bread.
- Finely mince your garlic cloves and place in your bowl.
- Roll up your basil leaves and thinly slice them and place in your bowl with the garlic.
- Cut your tomatoes into quarters, and scrape out the seeds and 'gooey' parts, then cut up into smaller pieces, and place into your bowl.
- Now add your balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste and mix all together.
- Cut your bread into slices, place some butter on each slice and toast in your oven or toaster oven until golden brown and crispy.
Heck no y’all, this is seriously easy, and always adds that extra bit of awesome on everything. Many times when I haven’t felt like making a whole shebang of icing but want a little something extra on top of a dessert, I’ll just whip up some heavy whipping cream for a topper and it’s just as good (or better sometimes). 
I hope y’all have survived your first full week back from the holidays and have a wonderful Friday and weekend! 
whip the heck out of it, and voila!
and enjoy y’all!!!
I am gonna be real with y’all, if you don’t want to find yourself standing 
So, for those of you who have some New Year’s resolutions you’re wanting to stick to 100% then don’t even tempt yourself with this stuff in your house, like for reals, don’t, because one bite of these soft, buttery, cheesy, garlicky bread bites will send you to food heaven and there is no turning back. I think even a whiff of this awesomeness baking in your oven will send you over the edge. 
You’re welcome to be all fancy and make your own homemade bread dough, but seriously, there are so many fresh doughs pre-made I don’t see the point. I personally love Publix’s pizza dough they have in the bakery section in a small fridge there, but if you don’t have Publixs in your area then no biggie. Anyways, if you want something perfectly savory tonight, by all means make these awesome skillet bread bites. Have a great day y’all!! 
cut up your dough…
butter into your pan…
once butter is melted, add your garlic, seasoning & cheese…
nice and melted…
now add your dough…
cover your dough in all the butter/parm/garlic/seasoning…
bake in the oven for a bit…
and enjoy!!!
Y’all I’m not even a little bit exaggerating when I say this is so incredibly delicious you won’t be able to stop eating it, like for reals you’ll stop when it’s all gone. 
Oh and did I mention easy? Oh yes, this is ding dang easy to throw together, seriously this will be perfect for Super Bowl Sunday whether you’re having a party (which you’ll need to double or triple this recipe) or just chilling at home and want something completely delectable to enjoy. 
Y’all have an awesome first (normal) week back and an awesome Monday and make this is soon as possible 🙂 !!! 
cream cheese smooth, now add spices and 3/4 cup of your cheeses…
all mixed and now add the artichokes & 1 slice of crumbled bacon…
all mixed again and ready to go into your dish…
into your dish…
bake for a bit, then take out and place the rest of the cheese and bacon on top…
bake a bit more and enjoy!!!
I must disclose that this is a very strong drink y’all, but it is very, very tasty, and the milk makes it so smooth and creamy. What are y’all’s New Year’s resolutions? 
My resolution this year is to get more organized, and clean out a ton of stuff that I don’t need and/or want anymore, which I’ve already gotten a head start on and I’m so thrilled. 
I knew getting organized would de-stress me but I totally didn’t know how much, soo if y’all are looking for a resolution I recommend mine haha 🙂 Anyways, have a wonderful day and a Happy New Year’s Day!!! 
Créme de Cacao…
Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur…
Now, the milk…
and enjoy!!!
It’s like month after month of totally awesome food related holidays and then nada for a while. Are y’all with me on this? because I seriously can’t be the only one who thinks this would be a good idea…Anyways, to hold onto Christmas just ooonnee more day I thought I would bring y’all these mini gingerbread cheesecakes. 
Honestly these are the perfect mixture of gingerbread and cheesecake, incredibly decadent for sure, especially with the added bonus of the perfectly light and fluffy cinnamon whipped cream on top, yum, yum, yummy y’all. 
These are a cinch to make and if y’alls collapse in the middle like mine always do, then that can be covered by the whipped cream hehe, enjoy!!! 
nice and creamy…
now the vanilla and sugar…
the eggs…
all mixed up…
now time for the molasses and all the spices…
all mixed again, and ready to go into the liners…
Golden Oreos in the liners…
cheesecake batter into the liners…
bake, bake, bake…
and enjoy!!!
This recipe was totally my mom’s suggestion, and glad I listened because I had so much fun making these for friends and family (seriously, nerd status). 
I’m a big fan of lavender for relaxation, and the dried lavender flowers reeeally take this over the edge of awesome. Please, please make this stuff, it’s insanely easy and makes a totally wonderful gift. Have a very Merry Christmas and Merry Christmas Eve!!
now Lavender essential oil…
shake it all up, now add your dried Lavender flowers…
shake it all up again…
now add more Epsom salts…
and shake, shake, shake…
and enjoy!!!
I’m sure y’all have had variations of honey butter at restaurants before that they serve with their awesome bread, but honestly this is better than any I’ve ever had in a restaurant. 
This stuff is too good not to share, so I had to put together some in little mason jars and give them to loved ones, and so far everyone has said the same thing, that they want to put it on everything haha. 
I hope y’all are having an awesome week so far, and hopefully done with all of your Christmas shopping and wrapping–unlike me 🙂 Have an awesome day y’all!!
mix, mix, mix…
time for the honey…
now the cinnamon…
mix, mix, mix…
now time for the powdered sugar…
all mixed up…
if you’re not going to can, then you can ignore the following 🙂
yummies and how cute!…
make them pretty if you like and enjoy!!!
Anyways, today I’ll be showing you a step-by-step guide to making brown butter. As I have mentioned in past posts, brown butter is one of my favorite things that adds sooo much flavor to everything you put it in, but at times has the mystique (first time ever mystique has been used in reference to butter?) of being difficult to make. 
When I first started looking into how to make brown butter, I felt like I kept reading over and over again how easily it was to burn it and how it would be a terrible mess if you did etc, etc. Yes, butter can burn, and yes it could be a mess if you did, but I’m thinking some folks were being a bit dramatic because I think you would have to walk away from your pan of butter to burn it that easily. Soo…here it is….
nice & melted…
starting to bubble a little…
remember to constantly stir, starting to kind of foam up and bubble more now…
starting to see some brown-ness & it will start to smell nutty and delicious at this point…
really nice and brown in the bottom, now is a good time to remove from the heat, but continue stirring…
after taking off the heat and cooling for just a bit…
and you can enjoy this in just about everything!!!
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!!!
