PINspiration

Where do I get my inspiration? Pinterest of course! Here is a link to my food board. You may just get inspired yourself! Happy pinning! 

A recipe to try!

My mom and step-dad went on vacation this June for their anniversary and while they were there they had what my mom said was the best chocolate cake ever! Of course she brought back the recipe for me to make since I got the baking genes out of the two of us! I haven't tried it yet, but here it is for any of you who may be brave enough to go before me!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup margarine
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
3/4 cup nuts, chopped
1/4 cup coco
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cooking oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1- 6oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine in sifter flour, salt, coco, soda, and set aside. Cream butter, sugar, and oil until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, add vanilla. Add dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately. Beat well. Stir in zucchini. Pour into greased 9x13x2 pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Bake for 55 mins at 350 degrees or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Veggies in your cake? Hey it has chocolate in it so it can't be too bad right? Enjoy!

Cranberry Pecan Oatmeal Muffins

I have a confession. I am a sucker for anything that has cranberries in it. So you can imagine how much I love fall and winter! Cranberry bread, cranberry orange scones, cranberry salad, you name it I'll try it. And I will probably love it! When I had to do a presentation over an other blog I knew I would bring a treat to class with me. I did my presentation over the Brown Eyed Baker blog. My class is a morning class, so I wanted to bring a little breakfast treat for everyone! You can read Michelle's original recipe here. I was really hesitant to use dates so I just doubled the cranberries. Enjoy!

Ingrediants

1 cup traditional rolled oats

1 cup all-purpose flour½ cup light brown sugar1 teaspoon baking powder½ teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon cinnamon¼ cup finely chopped pecans 1/2 cup dried cranberries ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled1 cup buttermilk1 large egg, lightly beaten½ teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients.

 If you are like me, you hate buying buttermilk because you never use all of it before it goes bad. Well never fear! You can make your own buttermilk! Well, a substitute anyway! In a measuring cup add one tablespoon of lemon juice and then pour milk up to the one cup line. Let it set for 5 minutes then use as much as you need! My grandma has been doing this for years and you can't tell the difference in recipes!

 In a smaller bowl combine all your wet ingredients together until well blended.

 Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and combine until moistened with a rubber spatula, scraping the sides as you go.

 Pour into lined muffin pans about 3/4 full. Bake at 400 for about 15 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean. Now go enjoy your perfectly moist, perfectly textured muffins! Just try to let them cool down a little first, you don't want to burn the roof of your mouth like I did!

My Favorite Pecan Pie

Don't you just love old recipes you have had for what seems like forever? I do! My go to recipes I seem to use over and over again are always on sticky notes for some reason! Does this make me want to use them more? I don't know, but I do know I should really consider taking the time to convert them over to my recipe cards I have! Enjoy!

The Way to a Southern Man's Heart

Ladies, if I have picked anything up in my 21 years on this Earth it's this. There are three simple ways to catch any boys attention.

1. Be able to cook. You may be able to cook better than his mama but you will never out cook his grandma. Thats just how it is. But there is nothing saying that you can't try!

2. Be able to shoot a gun, and actually hit what you are aiming at! I have never seen my daddy more proud of me than when I shot my first deer. My step dad gets a little bit of pride every time I hit the target when we practice shooting. Ladies, I know hunting my sound boring, gross, or cruel, but it is actually pretty fun!

3. Know how to drive a truck. To me there is nothing more attractive than a guy in a truck. And you know what? Guys think it's awesome when you aren't afraid to jump behind the wheel of his truck and actually know what you are doing! Besides you feel pretty awesome driving it anyway!

So this is my list so far! I can say that I can do all three and break a sweat with number three knowing that their trucks are their babies so I better not mess it up! I just shot my first deer over Thanksgiving break and it was awesome! Here is a picture of me and my proud poppa! Be expecting recipes for deer chili in December!

Crafts for my littles!

I am a member of a sorority on my campus, Sigma Phi Lambda, and every semester we do a Big Sis- Little Sis appreciation week! Well this semester I was very inspired to make lots of crafts for my littles! I am telling you, if this is any sign of how I will treat my children they will be spoiled rotten for sure!

The first thing I made was a canvas I painted and then glued embellishments and a saying on. To paint the stripes I used blue painters tape and then painted the space in between. The flowers I purchased at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbooking section. I saw the little saying on Pinterest (of course right??) and I simply used Mod Podge to glue it down! They say "We're not sisters by birth, but we knew from the start; God put us together to be sisters by heart!" If you notice I did one with vertical stripes and one with horizontal stripes. Yes this is on purpose! I try to make things that are the same yet a little different since I have twins!

 

The next thing I made is a picture frame. Well I really just embellished it! I grabbed a spool of ribbon and a rhinestone "buckle" both from Hobby Lobby. I am thinking at this point they need to give me frequent shopper points or something! lol I made a bow from the ribbon, slipped it through the buckle and hot glued that puppy down. Viola! A super glam frame that was super easy to make! Or embellish ;)

The final thing I made them were aprons. I bought the red aprons at, where else, Hobby Lobby. I used blue painters tape to make my rectangle, painted inside it with basic black acrylic craft paint, let it dry and used glitter puff paint for the letters! Easy as that! You all know by now that I love to cook, so now when my littles' come over they can use their aprons and cook with me!

Easiest, Creamiest, Pot Pie Ever!

This is the version of Chicken Pot Pie my mom has been doing for years after getting the recipe from one of her friends. This is so simple and so satisfying it is great for when the weather gets cold!

Ingredients:
1 box stuffing
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can mixed veggies, drained
1 large can of chicken, drained

1. Cook the stuffing according to the box directions and set aside.
2. In a large bowl mix the remaining ingredients. Once combined place in a casserole dish.
3. Cover chicken mixture with stuffing in a even layer.
4. Place in 375 degree oven for 30 mins or until warm and bubbly.

Didn't I tell you this was simple?? Now go enjoy your "pot pie" and cuddle up!