Thanksgiving Appetizer

Happy Thanksgiving blog readers! I hope you all have a fabulous day filled with love, family & yummy food! I am trying this new Appetizer recipe today for my dinner contribution it's Warm Spinach & Artichoke Cups! It sounds delicious! I'm a little bit worried about trying a new recipe on such an important food day, but i'm crossing my fingers it's gonna turn out!

24 won ton wrappers
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, finely chopped
1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1/3 cup Mayo
1/3 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped red peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced

HEAT oven to 350°F.

PLACE 1 won ton wrapper in each of 24 mini muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray, with edges of wrapper extending over top of cup. Bake 5 min. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients.

SPOON artichoke mixture into won ton cups.

BAKE 12 to 14 min. or until filling is heated through and edges of cups are golden brown

Sound easy! Ok & i'm going to omit the Red Peppers cuz I don't particularly care for them but other than that i'm gonna stick to the recipe! I'll let ya know if they turn out or if they're even any good! Love you guys!

Black is the new black

I hate when people say "blue is the new black" or "grey is the new black". No, it's not. Black is black. It's classic & what 90% of my wardrobe is made up of. Not because I think i'm "in" or anything...just cuz it happens to be my fav. color. For clothes anyways. For flowers it's white. For jewelery it's silver. But that's besides the point. Who doesn't like a pair of jeans & a plain black T? I love it. It's what you'll find me in on the weekends, most likely. And a black hoodie...always a personal fav. And you know I love black fingernail polish! The only thing I don't like tho is a black turtle-neck. In fact any turtle neck. Maybe it's just me but it makes me feel like i'm choking & cannot rock the turtle neck. Nope. So when people say "such & such is the NEW black" it's not. Stick with black! You can't go wrong!

It's a winner!

I just made Fettuccine Alfredo for lunch! It's my sisters recipe & it never fails! If you shop at Smith's Marketplace, as I do, then you'll notice that they no longer carry the fresh Buitoni noodles. That's what I use to use, but now I just use the Kroger Fettuccine noodles or any kind will do. Just be sure to cook them long enough. They always take longer than I expect, I would say a good 20 minutes. Try this recipe out, it's delicious.

Fettuccine Alfredo

5 strips of Bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 C. Heavy Cream
1/4 C. Frozen Pess or Corn (or both)
6 oz. fresh Parmesan, shredded
1 clove of garlic, minced

Boil cream, garlic & corn for 4 minutes or until thickened. Add cheese, noodles & bacon. Toss together.

So of course I don't add the bacon cuz I don't eat meat, however I still cook it but just keep it on the side for those who do want it. I double this recipe & then do 1 1/2 pkg's of noodles. You could also add chicken if you wanted to I guess. I also added some additional garlic salt, CA Style, just for added flavor. Also, I used Parmigiano Reggiono instead of just regular Parmesan. :)

The Real Housewives of D-Co

I know we don't all live in D-Co but the majority of us do. We should start a Real Housewives of D Co. Don't ya think? We can get crazy like that. I of course get to be the single house wife, who is not a wife & doesn't own her own home. Sounds rad, right? You guys can figure out who you are. We do the same things as them anyway. Get together for dinner, brunch or drinks. Do the occasional party or birthday appearance. Holidays...whatever. And you know, somebody always has a problem w/someone else for some lame or unnecessary reason. What would your opening phrase be??? I can't even think of one. I like NeNe's "I dont' have to keep up w/the Jones', I am the Jones'". And who's going to be the untalented singer??? They all have one...like who can't be a singer these days w/auto-tune???

"Call me when you get back from Cabo"

I know I didn't write last week & I forgot to tell anyone I'd be out of town...but I was & that's why I didn't get around to writing. I thought about it...& then I just wasn't feelin' it. My mom & I went to Vegas & Cali for a few days. I really just wanted to get out of town & not have to think about ALL the crap that is going on here. I love going on vacay & just forgetting about everything else. Only enjoying yourself. And we did, we had a great time! I promise though to be more attentive to this blog...cuz I know i've been kinda absent lately. But the holidays are coming up & that's usually my fav. time of year. I'm not so sure how this year will work out, but i'm hoping at least cordial. We'll see.

Nuts for Coconuts!

So, i'm kinda surprised I haven't posted this before cuz I kinda make them often & I would've thought that I had, but I checked & I haven't. Anywho, I made these this morning to take to my Aunt, but I LOVE these cookies! They turn out every time & are super easy!

Coconut Macaroons
By: Paula Deen

Ingredients
3 cups shredded coconut
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine coconut, almond extract, and salt. Mix in condensed milk to form a thick paste. Fold in egg whites with cream of tarter. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

Try 'em out! You won't be disappointed! :)

Halloween Happenings!

Yes, that is going to be me on Halloween next week! I'm going to be Pikachu. Last year I was Hello Kitty, but my nephews are all in to Pokemon now so I decided to be Pika. I know Halloween is like everyone's fav holiday but to be honest I like Thanksgiving & Christmas best. Don't you think that's just a happy time of year??? I like to be around all my family too & all the yummy treats/desserts, or food in general. I also love to cook/bake during that time of year too! And if i'm lucky I can talk my mom into making her $500 Fudge. I keep telling her to rename it cuz it got that name in like what....the 60's & when ya think about it now $500 isn't really all that much money. Right?

So, we since the kids were little we've just always done certain things for the holidays, whatever holiday it may be. At Halloween we usually, not always, but usually will go to the "Garden After Dark" at Red Butte Gardens & walk around there. However, this year we aren't. It just seems like if you're not a member it's kinda pricey to pay $10/person & so this year we aren't going to make it. Plus, our Oct. kinda got a little crazy so we had to adjust accordingly. So this week, we are going to go see the witches at Gardner Village. Which, is always kinda fun. I think the kids just like to get out & about. But they seem to enjoy it. Then we'll generally make it to Frightmares sometime during the Halloween season. I also, throw them a Halloween party every year, which we had last Friday. Up until this year, we have always grown our pumpkins, picked them & carved them. But for some reason my garden was NOT going to let pumpkins grow. I planted 4 different plants & they all died. All except my Cantaloupes, which I didn't really want. But whatev's. So we picked out our pumpkins at Smith's Marketplace instead. Then brought them back & carved them. We also do Halloween bingo, bob for apples & frost cookies. So that's always fun. I just like to see their cute faces light up & get all excited.

Then we'll all meet at my bros house on Halloween & get pics & go trick or treating. And, if you go to my mom's house then you get full-size candy bars. Just FYI. :)