New ROOM!

So it isn't tasty but the Chocolate wall looks kind of tasty!!!
So this is what we did for our anniversary! YEA! The red wall is California Poppy by Behr. The other walls are Sandstone Cove (i think it's cove)... and I'm not sure what the name of the Chocolate one is... lets call it Heaven! LOL! I'm so happy!

The wonderful Fireplace

Close up of Decorations, I'm going to replace the Candles with another color.

New Star from Amish Country

These are my anniversary flowers... Chris said Red for the Fall colors and sunflowers for the wedding! What an amazing two years it's been!

Some of the fall decor on the dinning room table.

More Fall stuff, I love my ducks!

THIS is Bucky... Chris's first Buck... he is now a member of my family... honestly he's not so bad, I'm kind of attached to him now~

Hope you enjoyed my new Red Room! I know I am!

Blackend Catfish

Well for our anniversary we were fishing up painting so I didn't have time to make a big crazy wonderful meal like I was hoping but this was amazing! It was sooo fast and tasty! Thanks to Epicurious!
For the Catfish:
Ingredients
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried orégano, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 catfish fillets (about 1 pound)
1 large garlic clove, sliced thin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
lemon wedges as an accompaniment
Preparation
In a small bowl combine the paprika, the orégano, the thyme, the cayenne, the sugar, the salt, and the black pepper, pat the catfish dry, and sprinkle the spice mixture on both sides of the fillet, coating them well. In a large skillet sauté the garlic in the oil over moderately high heat, stirring, until it is golden brown and discard the garlic. Add the butter, heat it until the foam subsides, and in the fat sauté the catfish for 4 minutes on each side, or until it is cooked through. Transfer the catfish fillets with a slotted spatula to 2 plates and serve them with the lemon wedges.

For the rice, I have this AWESOME new microwave rice cooker that I wanted to try out... so I loaded in my Rice, water, and frozen veggie and cooked away. It was GREAT! Chris LOVED it... even more then the fish I think! HA!

Not to Eat but SOOO cute!

Awww now don't you just LOVE this face! I swear she will make me SO.MAD. and then give me this face... now what is a Mom to do??

Remember the line from the Wizzard of Oz "Poppies... Poppies will put you to sleep"
Yeah well in our house it's "Puppies... Puppies will put you to sleep" because they are just too darn cute and cuddly.

Now If Sadie knew I put this picture of her on here she would never speak to me again because it's not her most flattering shot BUT just LOOK at her... she LOVES pillows and fluffiness and i don't think she could have done a better job of finding either!

Wilton I, class III

This is what I did last night. I know kind of sad looking, but please let me explain. We are having a baby shower today for my coworker, so I thought HEY I can bring these to the shower! Well 1. she's having a boy (hence the color selection) and 2. It was flowers or scary looking Chucky clowns (the two things we learned in the class). So I decided "Lets Do Flower Pots!"... yea great idea IN.MY.HEAD! Didn't quite turn out the way I was hoping but HEY, they are still tasty and I'll just let the coworkers eat them now instead of ruining the beautiful shower we have planned with their presence.
So here is my "Flower Garden".

Bacon Makes EVERYTHING yummy!

So i had these REALLY CHEAP pork chops that I bought but I wanted them to be yummy so I started talking to myself again asking what would make these thin, tiny, nothing of a chop tasty and do you know what my head told me??? BACON!

I First pounded the pork chops even thinner so they would be a little bigger. Then i stuffed them with rice, gluten free Italian bread crumbs, some tomato paste, an egg, some cheddar cheese (shredded) and that might be it. I wrapped the pork chop up taco style and then wound a piece of bacon around it in a spiral and toothpicked it into place.

Then I drizzled some olive oil on top and sprinkled with Italian seasonings (these seasonings are actually supposed to be combined with olive oil so you can dip your bread in it, but i figured I could cook with it too~). I baked it for around 30mins at 350ish... you know until the bacon felt crispy!

And boy was it yummy! Like Chris said when I asked him what he thought "Bacon Makes EVERYTHING taste good!"

Wilton Course 1, class 2

So this week we practiced our star tip! The book wanted us to do rainbows or something equally stupid, so since I enjoy being different I decided what a GREAT time of year to do a Fall Cake (I know I know ingenious)!

I started with a gluten free pumpkin spice cake recipe from Karina's Kitchen. It was amazing! Even Chris LOVED it!

Recipe follows:
3 extra large organic free-range eggs
2 cups organic light brown sugar
2/3 cup light olive oil
1 15-oz can cooked pumpkin (or two cups of fresh cooked pumpkin)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups gluten-free flour mix* see notes
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 10 x 13" baking pan with greased foil or parchment.

Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl till light and frothy; add the brown sugar, beat till smooth; add the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla; beat to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (the GF flour mix through sea salt). Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture a little at a time and beat to combine- for two minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, or until the cake is firm and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean.

It is a thick batter so make sure when you put it in a pans you shake it to get it to level out.

Then for the Filling!!! I did an APPLE PIE filling! OH YEA!
Basically I just used my pampered chef chopper to get 3 granny smith apples (skinned and cored) into TINY little bitty pieces. Then I put them in a pot with around 1/2c sugar, 2 or so tbsp of gluten free flour, a tbsp or so of cinnamon, some nutmeg, and a bit of butter and I cooked until softish (can't you tell it was an exact science~).
I then lined my bottom layer with butter cream icing and filled it in and topped it off with the other layer.

My icing is just regular Wilton butter cream with almond flavoring. I would have preferred to use cream cheese frosting but the point of this cake was for my decorating class, not for personal enjoyment. HAHAH!

And that's all... enjoy the pics while I enjoy eating it!



Awww I'm so cute putting my wedding date on it!


Yea as soon as I got home Chris was like "WOW looks great woman! Cane we eat it now?" So we did!
Just LOOK at that yummy filling!

Chicken and White Bean Chili

This was so good! I got the recipe from epicurious and it will be added to our "rotation" of cold weather foods! YUMM!

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/3 cups chopped onion
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 15- to 16-ounce cans white beans, drained, juices reserved
2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chicken; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until chicken is no longer pink outside, about 5 minutes. Mix in chili powder, tomato paste, cumin, and oregano. Add beans, 1 cup reserved bean juices, and canned tomatoes. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and chili is thickened, about 25 minutes. If chili is too thick, add more bean juices by tablespoonfuls to thin. Season chili to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in cilantro and serve.

We added Cheese and sour cream to ours and also dipped in tortilla chips! YUM!