Little Cuties, a Favorite Winter Snack

Shh! I'm going to tell you a little secret. I would like to share with you a little treat that has a huge part of getting me through our long winter season. Yep, it is these adorable California clementine oranges. They make me extremely happy. In fact they are my all time favorite go-to snack. They're easy to open, peel and eat! I alone can go through a whole bag in a week. I like to share them with people who have not heard about them before. They are always pleasantly surprised at just how good they are. They are a perfect snack for the winter season blues, giving us that much needed burst of vitamin C, potassium, and B vitamins. Oh, and not to mention satisfying a sweet tooth addiction. Another fun thing about these little cuties is that some of them have a little sticker that reads "Happy Juicy days!" "Seedless Greetings!" or "Sweetest New Year!"

I do have to mention just one problem with these little Cuties. They don't stay around long. So, go and get yourself some and be quick about it, soon they will be gone.

Thanks for rolling by today and have a sweet day! =)

Movie and a Pizza....

Can you believe that it is Valentines day already? Mack and I celebrated by going and seeing "Paul Blart: Mall Cop". Kevin James played a funny, yet nice guy who turns into a hero. It was a nice family movie that didn't feel the need to use the f-word as the building block of every sentence. It's nice to find these kind of movies.

After the movie we stopped by Papa Murphy's and picked up one of their popular Heart-Shaped Pizzas. It was topped with freshly grated cheese and had loads of pepperoni and was a great low price of only $7.99.

I hope you all had a great Valentines Day!!

When I think of Valentines Day...

I can't help but think of yummy sugar cookies with delicious frosting. Yum! Yum! Really when I think about it, its kind of funny that chocolate doesn't pop into my mind. It just seems that chocolate = Valentines. However, as a child growing up I had the chance to make cut out cookies with my mom. Putting hard labor into mixing, rolling and decorating. These wonderful moments will be treasured forever.

So, when I stopped over to my friend Peg's house she had just got done making these beautiful cookies. The timing could not have been better. Don't get me wrong....I love making these tasty morsels, but receiving is always much more fun. (Thanks Peg!) Just what I was needing after a stressful day. These cookies are like high class, compared to my younger days. We didn't always use decorator tips, I think manly due to not wanting to deal with the hassle. We used candy. Oh, how I loved to decorate with Valentine conversation hearts, M&M's, and JuJu hearts. Pretty basic but still cute. No two were ever alike.

So the recipe that I grew up on is posted below. I have tried many recipes over the years, some with powdered sugar, or sour cream, or lemon zest. But I always resort back to my family recipe. It's still a winner in my heart. I just love the buttery flavor with the hint of almond. It always gets me at that first bite.

Cut Out Cookies (family recipe)
3/4 cup margarine or butter (we always use butter)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and extracts and beat. Stir in dry ingredients. Works best if you chill the dough for at least one hour. Roll out and bake on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for about 7 minutes. Cool and frost to your likening. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Cherry Jell-O Dessert

What a gorgeous fall day. I can't wait to get outside and play in the yard. I think today will be a perfect day to finish up cleaning around the house and yard. Well, I really should not say finish cause it really is never finished. But I'm sure you know what I mean.

Today's recipe is a new recipe, but a good one. I use to eat jell-o all the time when I was a kid visiting my grandparents. Well I have been craving it lately so this one hits the spot. I used the cherry stamp from SU "Tart and Tangy" set and also used the "Tart and Tangy" designer paper. The card stock is real red and a generic green color.

Have a great day!

Monday Morsel: Chocolate Cake (Store Bought)

Have you tried this chocolate cake by Weight Watchers before? Well, I have to say that it is yummy. It is rich, delicious and satisfying. Oh, and it is only 1 point. What could be better than that? So, you can have your cake and eat it too. Don't forget to pick some up on your next shopping trip. Happy eating!

Monday Morsel: Fruit Pizza

Every summer I like to make Fruit Pizza at least once. There is something about the sweet crust and the smooth almost velvety cream cheese layer that just gets me on bite number one. Oh, and don't even get me started about all the beautiful fresh fruit. Yum! So lets not waste anymore time. Gather your ingredients, Pronto! Summer is fading away.

Crust: (I usually double this)
1-1/2 c. Flour
1-1/2 c. Margarine, Butter
½ c. Powdered Sugar
1-2 tsp. Water

Mix crust and pat in jelly roll pan. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. Until it is brown. Usually 8 minutes in my oven.

Cream Cheese Layer:
2-8oz. Cream Cheese
½ c. Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla

Mix all ingredients and then spread onto cooled crust.

Fruit:
Blueberries, Strawberries, Kiwi, Raspberries, Nectarines, Pineapple (these are my favorites)

Arrange fruit on top of cream cheese mixture.

Well there you go. So easy. So good. I just want to make another one writing up this entry. If you have lots of time on your hands or some fancy people to impress, you can also make pretty designs with your fruit. However, I prefer to just pile the fresh fruit onto the top.

Thanks for looking. Happy Eating!

Monday Morsel: Cinnamon Roll Toast

I thought I would share with you all what I had for supper tonight. Perhaps, I will try and post a tasty recipe right here every Monday. So, along time ago I stopped in Fort Collins, Colorado at a really neat restaurant. For the life of me I can't recall the name of the place. It bothers me, cause I would like to go back one day. However, it is really hard to go somewhere when you have no idea of where you are going. Drat! Their specialty was breakfast and they served the best "Cinnamon Roll Toast" I asked the waitress for the recipe and this is what she gave me:

2 slices bread (white, wheat, or my personal favorite, raisin)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted

1/2 tablespoon water

few drops of vanilla extract

Mix together the cinnamon and the butter until well combined. Use this mixture to butter your slices of bread on both sides. Heat a large sized skillet over medium high heat and then add your slices of bread. Toast well on both sides. Remove from the skillet and keep warm while you make the frosting.Whisk together the icing sugar, water and vanilla to make a soft drizzly icing. Drizzle it haphazardly over the top of your warm cinnamon toast. This is for one serving. However, I would like to suggest doubling the recipe. Yes, it is just that good. So, make a batch today. You won't regret it. Oh, and by the way if you know of any good restaurants that has a specialty let me know. I'm always looking for new places to try. Enjoy and Happy Eating!