HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Goodbye 2010 and HELLO 2011!!!! I am so excited about all of the wonderful things the new year will bring my way, so here's to you (holding up my champagne glass)2011 may you bring many blessings to us all!

Saying Goodbye to 2010 checklist

New Years Eve Dinner with my love~ Check!

Getting GORGEOUS~ Check!

Lucky New Years Meal~ Check!

Eating cornbread and black eyed peas like a true Southern Lady~ Check! If you haven't gotten your black eyed peas, and turnip greens you have 1 hr 30 min, run out to the store grab ya a can since you don't have time to prep it and eat up;) ha! I will share a lil secret with you just between us, I was sooooo tired from last night that I did the canned!!!! Ahhhhh! Seriously though I was shocked at how good it was! I did make the cornbread from scratch, that cancels out the canned right???? I love me some home made cornbread, and my lil tip to you to keeping it moist is adding in extra vegetable oil. Learned it from my mama!

I think I'm all set for 2011 HAPPY NEW YEAR LOVES!

TTYL~Misty

"Special" Christmas Recipe Spotlight!

Hello Hello yall!!! I have called this a "Special" recipe spotlight because it is coming from one of my dear friends Stephanie. The girls and I got together for a lil Christmas party last friday and went ice skating and had a great festive time! Our friend Stephanie gave us all gifts, a beautiful scarf and also a tin full of yumminess! I have had her write me up a How To so I can feature it on my blog to share with you all! I hope this gives yall some inspiration to create some of your own Christmas Yumminess!

Stephanie's

Cake Balls

I break the cake balls into three parts:

PART I

1. Bake cake
2. While the cake is still warm crumble into a medium size bowl and mix one can of icing (I usually use less than one jar for a good consistency)
3. Mold the cake/ icing mixture into a big ball
4. Put bowl into the freezer for fifteen minutes

PART II

1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
2. Take bowl out of freezer. With either your hands or a melon-baller (or ice cream scooper) form mixture into tiny balls
2. One batch usually makes about fifty cake balls (depending on the size of balls)
3. Place balls on cookie sheet and place into freezer.

**The time to keep the balls in the freezer differs on personal preference. I usually leave the cake balls in the freezer over night, but you can leave the balls for about three to four hours and they will still be good to go.

PART IV

1. Melt your preference of chocolate in a fondue pot or double broiler.
2. Dip a frozen ball into the melted chocolate using a fork.
3. Tap the fork on the side of the pot to remove any excess chocolate.
4. Use a toothpick to remove the ball from the fork and place the ball back on the wax paper. Decorate with sprinkles, jells, or icing as warranted.

NOTE: The less time the balls are spent in the freezer, the faster they melt, thus, the quicker you must coat your balls.

5. After coating all the balls, place back in freezer for thirty minutes.
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Thank you Stephanie for sharing your recipe for making yummy Cake Balls, I'm telling you she did a strawberry cake, with white chocolate, it was AmAZinG!!

TTYL~Misty

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

YAY it's your b-day let me celebrate!!! My sister Starla and her husband Dione have their birthday's right next to each other. As in Dione's b-day is Nov 29 and Starla's is Nov 30. How cool is that, or not cool if you like all the attention to be on you for your b-day week. Yes every year I take the whole week to myself lol so this would not be that great for me, anyways I digress. I have made it my tradition each year to go to Rome and watch my adorable niece and nephew, and decorate my sister's 12 ft tree for their birthday present! Decorating the tree is no joke, but I love the satisfaction I get when I complete it.

Here are a couple of snapshots of my birthday projects for them.

Chocoholic Cupcakes
My sister is a chocoholic, so I took chocolate cake batter to make the cupcakes. Then I took chocolate frosting and mixed it with crushed up oreos for the topping, drizzled it with melted white chocolate, and then added a piece of oreo on top. They were yummy and my sister and brother in law seemed happy to receive them. So yay mission accomplished!

The Tree

The camera doesn't pick up all of the details, it is alot fuller looking in person:)

12ft!!
My Two Angels

Recipe Spotlight! (Pumpkin Bread)

Happy Fall yall! I hope you all have been enjoying this time of year so far. I love all the colors of the trees, the smells, and festiveness that this time of year brings! Since pumpkins are so readily available right now, I wanted to spotlight this recipe. I got this off of my go to website, none other than http://www.foodnetwork.com/ , I love Alton Brown's recipes! I have tested the below recipe and it is definitely worth using!

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (I didn't put this into mine)
• 3 cups shredded fresh pumpkin
*Cut into the pumpkin and take out sections and scrap off the seeds and strings,
then grate the flesh of it on a cheese grater. If you don't have one GO GET ONE!;)


* I made two thinner loafs with this so I could try adding dried cranberries. I made one with and one without. I LOVED it with the cranberries! It's great both ways.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

*Here is an example of sifting in case you do not know how. Just put all the ingredients you are sifting together in one of these strainers and shake it into the bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the shredded pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and flour.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. *( Since I made 2 thinner loafs out of the recipe mine only took about an hour)

Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. For muffins temperature should also be 325 degrees F., but bake for 30 minutes.

Mmmmm hope you enjoy filling your house with this Goodness!