Smokies

These are a great appetizer for New Years Eve or even a snack for other parties. These are so simple and are so DELISH!!!  They were a hit with even the kiddos…

3 simple Ingredients:

3 lbs. of smokies, any flavor or a mixture {we like the jalapeño and cheddar ones}

12 oz. apple jelly

1c regular mustard

Mix apple jelly and mustard well. Place all in a Crockpot and heat till smokies do not pop when you bite into them and that's all there is to them!!!

I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the finished product but when they are done they brown up and caramelize a little…you’re just going to have to take my word that they are delish!!!

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Almond Roca Cake

I do realize that most people are probably thinking health food but....

hurry and make this before you make those nasty New Years resolutions!!

I just had to post this one since I've been hinting at it for the last few weeks!

If you have a birthday or know someone who has a birthday coming up or if you just want cake..

I highly recommend this decadent, chocolatey, creamy cake/wonder!!

I made this for my hubby's birthday, who absolutely loves almond roca candy, so I figured I try to come up with a cake that tastes the same and it turned out perfectly;)

Start out with a basic chocolate cake.

Bake in 2 9 inch round pans.

Layer on filling {printable}

Drizzle with caramel

throw on some more filling

Layer cakes on top of each other

You can kinda see the yummy Almond Roca I made to top the cake.

coat the whole cake in a semi-thick layer of the filling

Make the chocolate ganache {printable}

drizzle over-Mmmmyummy!

Then sprinkle with some remaining almond roca.

Enjoy this cake soon you can work-out the next day;)

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Chicken Mini Empanadas

With New Year’s Eve right around the corner we thought we would try to post a few appetizer recipes that are very yummy and are sure to please everyone!!! For our Christmas family get together with my hubby’s side of the family we decided to do all different appetizers for Christmas supper…{Great idea}So I knew I wanted to try these…and EVERYONE loved these…so yummy..
The inside is the perfect Mexican mix….chicken, black olives, salsa, and shredded Mexican cheese..
Serve with guacamole, sour cream or with some salsa.


Printable Recipe
adapted from Food Network Magazine

Cinnamon Dolce White Chocolate Cupcakes

This cupcake for Merry Mondays is an ode to my sister:)

Her favorite drink from Starbucks is the Cinnamon Dolce White Chocolate Mocha.

I can't believe this is the last Merry Monday-it's been so much fun!!

Thanks Taylor and Claire for teaming up to host!!

This is one sweet cupcake and I'm told it tastes exactly like the drink-Yay!! I've never actually tasted this drink but I might sneak a taste next time she gets it;)

I love the sweetness of the white chocolate paired with the spicy cinnamon and then there is the meringue filling-to die for good!!!

Our inspiration:)

We started with a basic white cake mix which we added the cinnamon dolce syrup to.

We wanted really light and airy cupcakes so we used egg whites and they were perfectly fluffy:)

Cut out the center...

then over flowed them with the meringue filling..

topped them off with a delectable white chocolate frosting/glaze.

A sprinkle of spicy Saigon cinnamon finished them off quite perfectly!

Enjoy these with a cup of strong coffee;)

Merry Monday to you all!!

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Marshmallows 2 Ways

These marshmallows are simply delicious!!

I made 2 different recipes and came out with 2 very different marshmallows.

The first 1 was from Joy of baking and the second Martha Stewart-I personally loved Martha's better-it was light, airy and melt in your mouth yummy:)

While Joy's was more thicker and chewy-most people who have tried them really like Joy's version better. The recipe I'm giving here today will be Martha's but feel free to try them both! I'm linking to Joy's marshmallow post-printable. I'll have Martha's recipe available through our printable link. With Martha's recipe I decided to add Saigon cinnamon-which is a little spicier than regular cinnamon and added just the right amount of flavor. With Joy's I added peppermint extract.

This may look more complicated than it actually is-it's actually pretty easy!

The first thing is to get your pan ready by sifting powdered sugar on all surfaces.

In a medium saucepan bring to a boil, over high heat, corn syrup, sugar, and water.

Meanwhile dissolve gelatin in 3/4 c. cold water.

About 5 minutes.

Oops!

Just about forgot the salt!

Once the sugar dissolves, boil for about 9 minutes or until temp reaches 238 degrees.

With the mixer on low speed slowly stream the hot syrup into the gelatin mixture.

Gradually raise the speed to high; beat until very stiff, about 12 minutes.

Beat in vanilla and in our case, cinnamon.

Sorry for the lack of step by step on these next ones it gets a little crazy busy here!:)

So I'll just tell you-Pour the marshmallow into the prepared pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Set aside uncovered, until firm about 3 hours-I laid a sheet of tin foil lightly over mine and left it out over night.

You then unmold the marshmallows from the pans-above is the peppermint ones.

Cut into whatever size and shape you want.

You can see that these ones are thinner and more compact.

These {above} are the cinnamon flavored marshmallows, they almost over flowed the pan!

Un-mold onto a powdered sugar covered counter top.

Can you tell how much lighter and thicker these ones came out?!?

Be sure to dip all sides into powdered sugar to avoid them sticking together.

Store in an airtight container.

I will definitely be making more and trying different flavors in the future!!

Top your favorite cup of hot chocolate or just by itself!!

Enjoy!!!

Printable Recipe

White Chocolate Cranberry-Orange Fudge

Merry Mondays has inspired us!!!

When we saw the theme for this week was fudge we wanted to come up

something new and exciting!

Holly and I both love anything with cranberry-orange but this

fudge was Holly's idea!

Do a rough chop on the cranberries.

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add sugar and milk.

Be sure to stir constantly!

Cook until reaches 236° exactly!

Remove from heat and add chocolate chips and marshmallow creme.

Add the orange extract,

cranberries,

and orange zest.

Save some zest for the top!

Pour into a foil lined 9x13-inch pan.

Zest the rest of the orange over the top.

Note: the oranges are slippery buggers, watch them!! LOL!

Ready to head to the fridge to cool!

Enjoy!

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Christmas Ham

Got a plan for that Christmas ham yet???

Well I have a delicious option for you!

A couple years ago Michelle and I along with 1 of my sisters, went up north to Bothell for a weekend trip and came across this adorable place...

Paula's Pepper Jelly!

Located in the quaint Country Village and if you are local to Seattle check this place out!

The Village is filled with tons of little shops including a yummy bakery and hot dog stand:)

~

Paula's Pepper Jelly has some awesome jellies, sauces, vinegar and oils!!

After alot of tasting we bought some Pumpkin pepper jelly along with a couple other small jars of other flavors we wanted to try and some really delicious and award winning I might add, Boogie Pineapple Habanero BBQ sauce.

Now about that pumpkin pepper jelly-we went ahead and slathered it all over our ham and...........

It was some of the best tasting ham I've had in forever!!

We really wondered about how pumpkin and ham would taste together but I'm totally convinced that pumpkin can go with just about anything!

It was so good the spicy sweetness of the pumpkin paired with the salty ham was amazing-melt in your mouth good!:)

They have about every flavor imaginable so head over and find one that suits your taste buds!

We are heading up to the Space Needle {YAY!} for my hubby's company Christmas party-should be fun:)

Have a Happy Weekend!!

Gooey Chex Mix

I better start by giving you all a warning.... this mix is VERY addictive!!

It has to sit on the counter for 1 hour after its done and every time I make it the same thing happens..... I keep grabbing a small amount thinking Ok that is all now and pretting soon i find myself popping in some more!

So Easy and Crazy good!

In a large bowl add your chex mix, golden grahams, coconut and nuts. You can use any kind of nuts you like. This time i used a mix of everything!


Melt butter, sugar and karo syrup.


Boil for 3-4 minutes.



Dump the gooey goodness over your prepared mix.


Spread on wax paper and let sit for 1 hour or longer.

The kids go crazy over it {well, adults too!}

Enjoy!!

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