SPRINKLES!

First off, I would like to dedicate this post to our first Westie, Sprinkles!  Marty got Sprinkles for me in 2006 for my birthday.  She was our first dog and a cutie.  Sadly, she passed away at 11 weeks old and we will never forget her!

I named her Sprinkles because for some odd reason, I love rainbow sprinkles!  I saw these chocolate sprinkle cookies on Pinterest and decided immediately to make them last night.  I definitely prefer cooking over baking, but these were actually pretty easy to make AND I got to dust the cobwebs off my Kitchen Aid mixer and put it to use :)  I just think these cookies are so adorable and they are very tasty!  Here is the recipe and the blog from which I found them.  I chose to use a little bit less butter and not make the filling to make them cute little sandwiches. For those of you that have little kids, I think these would be so cute at a birthday party!

P.S.- I forgot to mention that my most embarrassing kitchen mishap happened while making these cookies.  See the pic below :)

Cute baby Sprinkles on the first day we got her.

Hello! Its been a looooong time!

As I was opening the cocoa powder, the seal wouldn't peel back, so I stuck my finger to make a little hole and the entire cover burst open and the powder went ALL over my face, arms, pants, shoes, countertops....you name it, it was covered in chocolate powder.  That stuff isn't easy to clean up :)

Using the paddle attachment, mix the butter on medium speed until creamy.

Then add the cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt.

Mix until it is all blended together.  This btw- smells delish!

Next, add the egg and vanilla.

Mix until well combined.

Then add the flour and mix until it looks like this.  The recipe said that the dough shouldn't be sticky and it wasn't!

Pour the rainbow sprinkles into a small bow.  So pretty!

Roll the dough into tiny tablespoon size balls. (See how non-sticky the dough is?  It barely stuck to my hand)

Roll the chocolate balls into the sprinkles until they look like little delicious donut holes!  Place on 2 baking sheets covered with parchment paper.  After all of the sprinkle balls are made, put in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Then bake in an oven at 375 degrees for 12 minutes until they crack a bit on top and look like.....

...THIS!  Aren't they adorable?!

Just another fun pick I took :)

Muy Caliente!

I love Mexican food but NOT spicy Mexican food.  I love Thai food, but I order it with a spice level zero :)  My husband, on the other hand, is obsessed with spicy, spicy food (and that is putting it mildly).  So tonight he made some shredded chicken verde tacos and a salsa that I couldn't even attempt to smell, it was so spicy (let's just say it had 7 habanero peppers in it)!  The tacos were delicious, but I could only handle two.  I politely asked him to de-seed the whole jalapenos and add more chicken next time :)

Boil the jalapenos and tomatoes until the skins look like they are about to peel off.

I had to dice A LOT of onion for the tacos and my black beans.

When the peppers and tomatoes are ready to be removed from the boiling water, place in a bowl of regular temp water.

Place some of the onion into a food processor and add the peppers...

...and the tomatoes and some spices.

Pulse in the food processor until it looks like salsa.  Taste and season to your liking.

Add some raw onion to a skillet and then add the salsa verde.

While the salsa is being made, saute a chicken breast (or two, or buy a roasted chicken) and shred into delicious pieces.

Add the chicken to the pan.

Stir together and simmer away for as long as you shall like!

For Marty's spicy salsa, add 5 or so habaneros and tomatoes to a food processor 

Then add some onion, cilantro and avocado.

Pulse and add salt and pepper to your liking.

The prepared chicken verde with the black beans, oh and we also made some Mexican rice.

To prepare the tacos, put some rice on a corn tortilla and then pile on some of the chicken verde on top.  Enjoy!

Recipe:

Tacos:

4  jalapenos, whole  or de-seeded (Depending on the spice level you prefer)
2 tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced
4-5 cloves of garlic
1-2 chicken breasts, shredded
1 bag of Mexican style rice (We use Vigo Mexican Rice with corn)
1 TBSP cumin
1 tsp olive oil
corn tortillas
S&P, to taste

Place the jalapenos and tomatoes in a medium size pot of water and bring to a boil.  Boil for about 10-15 minutes or until the jalapenos are really soft and the skin on the peppers and tomato are peeling off.  When done, place in a bowl of water.

Meanwhile, cook the chicken breasts (if you aren't using an already cooked roasted chicken).  When the chicken is almost done, take off the skillet and place on a cutting board.  Shred the chicken with a fork.

Dice up the onion and place all but a little bit in a food processor.  Remove the peppers and tomatoes from the bowl of water and add to the processor along with the garlic, cumin and S&P.   Pulse into a salsa.  Next, heat a skillet on medium and add the olive oil and the rest of the onion.  Saute for a minute or so and add the salsa.  Bring to a boil and add the chicken.  Lower the heat and simmer.  Taste and stir every once in awhile and add salt and pepper if you'd like.

While all of this is cooking, make the rice according to the package directions and make the beans.

Enjoy!

Marty's Spicy Salsa

7 habaneros, whole
1/2 tomato, halved
1/2 avocado
1/2 onion, diced
1 handful cilantro
1/4 fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves
S&P, to taste

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse into a salsa.  BEWARE! hehe....Enjoy.

Pot Roast & Potatoes!

I make pot roast a lot, but tonight I decided to try a different recipe.  Yes, it was one from the Pioneer Woman and no, I do not use her recipes all the time (although the past few posts, it seems like it :).  I usually prefer to put potatoes in my pot roast along with some mushrooms, but the PW says not to :/  So trying things her way, I left the potatoes out and made some on the side.  The potatoes were tasty, but I think they would taste better with other flavors than a pot roast.  The roast was perfectly cooked and tender, but I think next time I will stick with putting the potatoes in the pot or make mashed potatoes.  All in all everything was super yummy and was the perfect meal for days when you're home all day cooking and cleaning :)

Take two onions and cut each one in half.

Peel 6 carrots and slice into chunks.

Get a beef chuck roast.  This one was around 3 pounds.

In a large dutch oven, sear the onions until they are browned on each side.

Like this.

Remove the onions and set aside.  Next, add the carrots and do the same thing :)

Then brown the meat on all sides. So pretty!

Remove the beef and deglaze the bottom of the pot with red wine.  Scrape up all of the little bits of goodness!

Then add everything back to the pot along with some fresh thyme and rosemary and beef stock.

While the roast is cooking, peel 3 russet potatoes and cut into "rectangles".

Then thinly slice each potato.

Thinly slice an onion.

Melt some butter in some olive oil.

Add the onions and some garlic until the onions are translucent.

When the onions are cooked, add the potatoes.

Then add chicken stock, white wine, paprika, and some S&P.  Cover the pan and simmer.

The pot roast is done and looks delicious!

Remove the meat and see how tender it is?!

Serve the roast and veggies however you like!

Yum.

Marty's beer of choice :)