Valentine's Day Cupcake Memories

Last year this time my friend Elizabeth and I made 400 cupcakes. My friend, Jean, documented it all. This humorous video was one of the end results.

What sweet memories!

 

Check it out!!

Strawberry Crepes

Strawberry Crepes

I love crepes! They are very easy to make and when I make them it makes the day seem like a special occasion whether it is or not!

You can use any fruit or jam for filling...I chose strawberries tonight! They were on sale.

 

 Wash and prune the strawberries

 

 Thinly slice the strawberries

 

 Mix crepes in a stand mixer or bowl.

I used one of my favorite tools, an ice cream scoop, to pour the batter into the pan.

It was the perfect size.  

Cook in a small skillet.

Move to a plate

Add filling

I used strawberries and whipped cream. I didn't want to buy the can so I scooped some whipped cream into a baggie and clipped the corner to spread onto the crepe.

Roll up and top with more strawberries, syrup, chocolate, caramel sauce, or powder sugar.

Enjoy!

You can also fold crepes into fourths and add butter and syrup.

 

I used the Betty Crocker crepe recipe. Betty Croker never does me wrong!

Three Cheese Grilled Cheese Trial 1

Three cheese grilled cheese

I have heard about a three cheese grilled cheese on several menus locally and I decided to try it out. It didn't go completely how I wanted so I will experiment again in the future.

Early in the week I roasted garlic and then used it to make garlic butter. I used it on the grilled cheese sandwiches. It added a lot of flavor.

Southern Season is one of my favorite local stores. In search of the perfect cheese for my adventure I talked to one of the "cheesemen" who helped me find a Gouda, cheddar, and blue cheese that would melt and blend well together. I also got some fresh scallion bread that came highly recommended.

I used the cast iron skillet to add flavor!

Here is the plate of cheese!

 Finished product!

The blue cheese was really strong so if you like blue cheese it is perfect. The garlic butter was really strong too, but I liked the flavor!

Overall, I was disappointed with the flavor combo. There were several really amazing flavors, but they didn't blend very well together.

You may see another three cheese post soon!

 

 

 

 

 I baked some fries with seasoned salt too!

Homemade granola and granola bars

Pesto Pasta

Pesto Pasta

Featured ingredient: Garlic

Featured ingredient: GARLIC

Many recipes call for garlic. It comes in many forms. Recenlty I learned how to roast garlic and end with roasted garlic, garlic infused oil, and garlic butter.

It's very easy and if you like garlic produces a lot.

Caramel Brownies

Caramel Brownies

Peel caramels and place in a microwave-safe bowl. 

Stir in 1/2 cup evaporated milk. 

Heat and stir until all caramels are melted. The first time I microwaved it for about 2 minutes before there was much change.  

Then 30 seconds to 1 minute each time next. 

Until completely melted and smooth. 

While the caramels are melting, I mixed the cake mix, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and melted butter.

Spread 1/2 of the batter into greased 9 x 12 pan.  

 I used my hands to spread out the batter evenly. It wasn't very sticky, 

but I preemptively sprayed my hands for cooking spray.  

 Bake for 8 minutes, beautiful!

Several times throughout this process I wanted to stop and just eat what I had so far. 

Spread the chocolate chips evenly over the top of the cooked batter. 

From...by Barbara Hodge



Original recipe yield: 15 brownies
Prep time:   15 minutes
Cook time:  30 minutes
Ready in:    45 minutes
Servings:     15

Ingredients:
14 oz caramels
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix
1/3 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped pecans (if desired)
2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Peel caramels and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup evaporated milk. Heat and stir until all caramels are melted.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together cake mix, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, melted butter, and chopped pecans. Place 1/2 of the batter in prepared baking pan.
4. Bake for 8 minutes.
5. Place the remaining batter into the fridge. Remove brownies from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Drizzle caramel sauce over chocolate chips. Remove brownie mix from refrigerator. Using a teaspoon, make small balls with the batter and smash flat. Very carefully, place on top of the Caramel sauce until the top is completely covered.
6.  Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove and let cool.