Fresh Garden Salsa

One thing about having a garden is that in one week's time it will completely change on you. We came back from Atlanta to tomatoes and peppers galore and massive zucchini and banana squash---all ripe for the picking. We are literally going to have so much squash this year I won't know what to do with myself. I'm already thinking of all the ways I can use banana squash. {Any creative ideas/recipes...please send them my way!} Since the harvesting has already begun I decided to start out by making some Fresh Garden Salsa. I have never actually made salsa on my own so I was a little nervous but how hard can it be, right? All I had to do was throw in some ingredients into my Food Processor and pulse.

Ingredients:

From my garden:

Onion

Garlic

Tomatoes

Jalapeno Pepper

Pablano Pepper

Not from my garden:

Cilantro

Salt

Pepper

 

 Let's just say the salsa turned out to be a success. When you are working with such fresh ingredients I think it is hard to go wrong

It is even better when you marry the salsa with the most amazing chips.

 

These are my favorite chips by leaps and bounds. While we were in Atlanta we emptied a few bags of these. Yum.

First garden harvest=success.

Xoxo,

Whitney

Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream

Two days hiatus.... we apologize. It's been a little bit crazy around here. We had a Bridal Shower at our house and planning prepping and preparing the food took first priority. Today we have been recuperating. We had many things on the menu let me tell you. It started with fruit kabobs, then a Pink lady salad, Lemon Orzo Pasta, BLT bites, French Bread Bruschetta, Mini Cupcakes, and of course Homemade Ice cream. Not just any ice cream but Pineapple Coconut Ice cream. Amazing.
We found the recipe over at A Sweet Pea Chef and we are so excited that we did find it!

The Recipe.

1 can cream of coconut

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup whole milk

2 Tb. pineapple juice

3/4 cup finely chopped freshed pineapple.

Directions.

Combine cream of coconut, coconut milk, whole milk, and pineapple juice in a large mixing bowl. Add coconut flakes and stir to comhine. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufactuers instructions.

When Mixture is about 5 minutes from finishing, add pineapple. Freeze in container for at least 5-6 hours (overnight)

Loved this ice cream for the shower! So refreshing on a hot summer day in the 90 degrees. You have to give it a try!

nicole

Lemon Tarragon Pasta

I love this salad it is a perfect summer pasta that is refreshing. If you live close to Bountiful you'll know this is just a take on one of the pastas they have at plates and palates, which is to die for. hope you enjoy!

Lemon Tarragon Pasta
Recipe:
1 lb. Bow tie Pasta
1 1/4 C. Mayo
1/4 C. Lemon Juice
1 to 2 Tbs. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbs. of Tarragon
2 Tbs Honey
1 C. Celery
1 C. Grapes (purple)

Cook Pasta, set aside. Combine Mayo, Lemon Juice, Apple Cider Vinegar, Tarragon, and Honey in a separate bowl and whisk together until smooth. Now add half the dressing you've just mixed to the pasta. Put the pasta in the fridge for 3 hours to let the pasta soak up the dressing and really take in the flavors. Before bringing the pasta out of the fridge cut up about 1 C. of celery and wash off about a cup of grapes. Then Pull the pasta out of the fridge and add the rest of the dressing to the pasta. After you have incorporated all of the dressing now add the celery and grapes and mix it all together. Love this Pasta it is so fresh and the celery and grapes compliment the pasta so well.

nicole

Strawberry Dessert

When Whitney gives you strawberries..... you keep making strawberry desserts! But you know what I don't even mind that one bit because they are good good good! Yum! Anywho I decided last night that I wanted to make this strawberry dessert... so I did.

Not only did I just make the desert I made one extra special item to go into the dessert and it was easy peezy lemon squeezy... so let me just tell you about it. The recipe just so happens to call for whipped cream and I mother had pinned directions to make coconut whip cream via nutty kitchen. Well we all know I couldn't resist that substitute so I did it and I made the coconut whipped cream. It was so dang delicious, and I decided Hot chocolate would go lovely will a little bit of it on top.

The Recipes

Strawberry Dessert:

1 (14 oz.) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/2 Cups Cold Water
1 (4 Serving Size) Pkg. Instant Vanilla Flavor Pudding and Pie Filling Mix
1 Pin Whipping or Heavy Cream, Whipped (or Coconut Whipped Cream- recipe below)
36 Vanilla Wafers
1 Quart fresh Strawberries, Sliced or halved
1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Additional Chips, Wafers, and Strawberries optional for topping

In Large Bowl Combine Condensed Milk and Water. Add Pudding Mix: Beat well. Chill 5 minutes. Fold in Whipped Cream. Spoon 2 cups Pudding into 3-Quart glass bowl.Top with half of each of the Vanilla Wafers, Strawberries, and Chocolate chips, Add remaining pudding on top, repeat layering.
*In my dessert as pictured above I didn't add chocolate chips because I don't like chocolate, so they are a completely optional ingredient

Coconut Whipped Cream:
Dash of cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1 Can Coconut Milk

Place the can of Coconut milk in the fridge over night. Scoop all the thickened coconut cream out and leave the remaining coconut water in the can. Add the cinnamon and vanilla and whip it a mixing bowl until it thickens!


Enjoy,
nicole

Strawberries: Bread & Butter

When Whitney brings you strawberries... Make Strawberry Bread and Butter.

I love this bread and butter it is delicious and refreshing, there is really nothing more to say! It's Strawberry season and you must try it!

The Recipes

Strawberry Bread:

1 Cup Butter
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 tsp. Lemon Extract
4 Eggs
3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Strawberry Jam
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
Optional 1 cup chopped nuts

In mixing Bowl, Cream butter, Sugar, Vanilla, and Lemon Extract till fluffy. Add Eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir together thoroughly Flour, Salt, Cream of Tartar and Baking Soda in a separate bowl. Combine Strawberry Jam and Sour Cream. Add Jam mixture alternately with dry ingredients to creamed mixture beating till well combined. (optional: stir in nuts now) Also another option is to add fresh diced strawberries and fold into the batter at this time.  Divide batter evenly among 5 greased 4 1/2 X 2 1/2 X 1 1/2 - inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 till done. 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pans. Remove from pans: cool on racks.

Strawberry Butter:

1 cup of fresh Strawberries. In blender mix berries, 1 Cup softened Butter, and 1 Cup Powdered Sugar. Cover. Bled at high speed till smooth. Scraping sides as often as needed. Makes about 2 1/2 Cups.


Enjoy,
nicole

Madrid: Mercado de San Miguel

Day 2 started out with a trusty metro ride to the Mercado de San Miguel. Let me tell you it did not disappoint. In fact I wanted to eat everything that was there and almost did.

Fresh Fruit. Can we talk about the Strawberries, Raspberries, and the oh so young Asparagus. To. Die. For.

Jamon. Thinly sliced cured pig, often put on a baguette. I know it sounds crazy but I loved it.



In my hand I hold only the the tastiest yogurt I've ever had. Mango topping with a Blackberries at the bottom it was delicious. Also my dad is hold a bowl of Paella, anyone else had? It's crazy good and I was left with a craving for it.

Most people would look at he Hamburger and say you are an idiot for getting a hamburger in Span, but to them I say shame on you. That hamburger was the best darn hamburger I've ever had in my life so tender it basically melted in my mouth. Father is hold the cured pig I was talking about, like I said SOO much better than I had expected.

Mercado de San Miguel, awesome place to grab quality food, huge variety and it's all so good. Definitely a place to stop by in Spain. Not to mention the glass building was quite nice to look at.

nicole 

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt was our Sunday treat this week and it was to die for. So simple yet so delicious. Blackberries, Greek Yogurt and Sweetened Condensed milk. We found the recipe here. It's so easy to make and so easy to change for your favorite fruit. Peach is my next pick for frozen yogurt, yum!

nicole

Avocado Pound Cake

I found this recipe on Joy the Baker about a year ago, and trust me this pound cake is amazing, and life changing. Just give it a shot I know you won't regret it.

Avocado Pound Cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 ripe avocados, just over a cup.. almost a cup and a half of avocado, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two loaf pans and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. Set the four eggs out on the counter to come to room temperature (quick tip to warm up your eggs- place them in a bowl filled with luke warm water) while you beat the butter and sugar.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter on medium speed until softened and pliable. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the avocado and beat another minute to incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is thoroughly mixed.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating 1 minute after the addition of each egg. Beat in vanilla extract.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half of the flour mixture, all of the buttermilk, and then the rest of the flour mixture. Beat just until combined.

Divide the dough between the two loaf pans and place in the oven. Turn the oven down to 325 degrees F. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. I checked my cakes every ten minutes or so after the 30 minute mark. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

much love,
nicole

Crockpot Chicken Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

Lately I have been using my crockpot a lot. It just makes life a little bit easier some days. So I have been experimenting with new recipes. There are so many great blogs with amazing slow cooker recipes. The thing I love about cooking with a crockpot is that usually you can just literally throw everything in there, turn it on and walk away from it for hours! This last week I have tried a few new Indian recipes in the crock pot... amazing. While I was searching for recipes I came across a recipe for Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. It sounded good and something different than the usual. The only thing was.... I didn't have steak. And, in general, I am not a huge red meat fan so I usually like to switch it out for chicken. The thing about recipes is that I see them more as a place to build off of rather than a set of exact guidelines you have to follow. So I took that recipe and kind of made it my own.  For the sandwich I bought some delicious bread from our local bakery at Smith's and chose a Pepperjack cheese to top it off. Can I just say it was unexpectedly amazing? I used chicken thighs and by the time it was done cooking it shredded so easily and it was super moist. Very unexpected. My Mr. said we should add it to our list of "usuals". I definitely will because you can't go wrong with easy and yummy.

This was such a great way to change it up a little during the weeknight. I will definitely be making this again.

XOXO,
Whitney

Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, mine were frozen solid!
1/4 C Cooking white wine
1/4 C Worcerstershire sauce
Fresh Ground Black Pepper approx 1 tsp.... or to taste
Salt to taste - I would wait until the end to add the salt. You may not need it at all.
2 Red Peppers, sliced
1/3 C onion, chopped

Bread/Hoagie
Cheese- I used Pepperjack

Throw all of the ingredients into the slow cooker.
Cook on high for 3-5 hrs or low for 4-6 hrs (This all depends on how hot your crockpot gets, mine gets pretty hot!)

After the chicken is done cooking take 2 forks and shred it. It should fall apart pretty easily. Take your bun/hoagie, butter it and toast it on an electric griddle. Melt the cheese onto the bread, add the chicken and enjoy.

Treats for my Valentine's!

Happy Valentine's Day! I have been celebrating Valentine's Day for the last month. I LOVE love! Yep.  I love all the cheesy, sappiness of it all. But the best thing about my Valentine's Day?

1. I get to spend the day with this MOST special Valentines ever:

2. My Mr. has to leave for work super early but when I woke up and went into the bathroom he had left the sweetest note for me on the mirror. Can't wait until he gets home tonight!

3. Treats. I love me some V-Day treats. For our Girls night we made these delicious cake pops. Oh man were they yummy.

But something special for my Valentine? Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream. I know it is still cold outside but seriously me & my Mr. love ice cream. Definitely my most favorite treat. I tried to make it a little bit "lighter" but it is still just as delicious. It tastes fresh and creamy!

And a flashback of Valentine's past: We like to make each other special dinners for Valentine's day. We have made this dessert twice! Molten Lava Cakes- Thank you Paula Deen! Seriously, so easy and amazing. The recipe calls for a hint of orange......mmmmmmmmmmmm.

How are you celebrating Valentine's Day? I really feel that every day you should let those you love and care for know how special they are, not just once a year. But that is the fun thing about Valentine's day... you get to go a little over board. And who doesn't love celebrating?

Happy Valentine's Day,

Whitney

My favorite Love quote:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends

Recipes:

Fresh Strawberry Ice-Cream Recipe

3 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 C sugar, divided
1 C whole milk
1 C lowfat milk
2 C heavy cream
3/4 C half & half
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a small bowl combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/2 C of sugar. Stir gently. Place in the refrigerator for about 2 hours to allow the strawberries to make juices. Then, strain the berries reserving the juice. In a food processor, puree the strawberries and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on medium speed and combine milk with the remaining sugar. Mix until sugar is dissolved,  about 2 minutes.  Stir in the cream, half & half, vanilla, strawberries & strawberry juice. Pour mixture into your ice cream machine for the amount of time suggested per the manufacturer. (Mine takes about 25 minutes)

Place in a freezer safe bowl and freeze to harden just slightly... or eat right away if you like your ice cream really soft!

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Molten Lava Cakes
Recipe from Food Network - Paula Deen

Ingredients
6 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange liqueur - We used 1 teaspoon of orange extract instead and it was a perfect amount
Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave, or in a double boiler. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.

Banana Bread

Today mother and I had success in the cooking department with Banana Bread. We always use the same recipe which came from my grandma, you just can never go wrong with it. The secret is to eat this bread hot from the oven with a little bit of butter on top.

Banana Bread-

1/4 c. Shortening

3/4 c. Sugar

1 Egg

2/3 c. Banana

2 c. Sifted Flour

1/2 tsp. Baking Power

1/2 tsp. Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

3 T. Buttermilk

1/2 c. Chopped Nuts (optional, I prefer it without)

Cream sugar and shortening. Blend egg & banana. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk. Blend in nuts. Bake in greased loaf pan. 55 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes 2 small loafs 

Much Love,

nicole

Thin Mints Fake Out

So I sort of have this weird relationship with chocolate and mint. It all started when I was about 6 or 7 years old. My cousin Brooke and I were enjoying an afternoon together. We were pretty much inseparable. Seriously, we would call eachother up to plan our outfits so that we matched. Anyway, one afternoon we decided we would scoop ourselves up some icecream. In the freezer was a 1/2 gallon of Mint Chocolate Chip Icecream. Yum, sounded tasty to us. We divided out the entire 1/2 gallon of ice cream into 2 bowls, one for each of us. Well, after a few bites we decided we were done.  Our eyes were definitely much bigger than our stomachs. Just as we were about to put our bowls in the sink in walks my Uncle, obviously upset that we are just about to waste an entire 1/2 gallon of icecream. To teach us a lesson, he made us sit and eat our big bowls of ice cream. Lesson learned. Here I am, 24 years old and to this day I still cannot stand the taste of Chocolate Chip Mint icecream, let alone any type of mint icecream. And chocolate-mint treats? Forget it. Not really my favorite. Can't stand Mint Chocolate Brownies. Yes, I know I am missing out. But there are a few exceptions, like the Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies. Oh my gosh, those are just a little bit addicting. You get a box and before you know it you have eaten an entire stack. Well Girl Scout Cookie season is fast approaching. I have heard so many people talking about buying Girl Scout cookies soon. Personally I haven't seen any girl scouts out selling any and frankly, I just can't wait for a Girl Scout to come up to my door. Why can't they sell them year round? Or Maybe they do? Or maybe that is what makes them so special, since you can only get them from Girl Scouts during a certain time of year. Well, whatever it is I wanted some thin mint cookies, like now! I found this recipe for Mint Sandwiches out of my Martha Stewart Cookies book. It sounded pretty similar to a Thin Mint cookie so I changed it up a little bit, made it a Thin Mint cookie rather than a sandwich and well....they are pretty much F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S.

Who needs Girl Scouts?

XOXO,
Whitney


Thin Mints Fake Out
Adapted from Martha Stewart Cookies Cook Book

For the Cookies:
1 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C + 2 TBS all purpose flour
1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 large egg

For the Ganache:
1/2 C heavy cream
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
2 tsp pure peppermint extract

Instructions:
Make Cookies - Whisk together cocoa powder and flour in a bowl. Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg until well blended. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough in half, shape into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm; about an hour or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Transfer dough to a work surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Roll out dough to 1/8" think. Cut out cookies using a 2" round cookie cutter. Bake cookies until firm, approximately 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

Meanwhile, make chocolate ganache to dip cooled cookies in.
In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream to a boil over medium heat. Add chocolate chips and stir continously until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and add peppermint extract. Let cool slightly. Dip cookies into chocolate ganache until completely covered. Place on wire racks set over baking sheets to set for approximately 20 minutes. Refrigerate cookies in airtight container until set, approximately 20-30 minutes. Do not layer cookies on top of eachother or they will stick together.

These would be best made the day before so that they have plenty of time to set and for the ganache to harden.

"Homemade" Chicken noodle soup

I love making dinner when it is simple but delicious. And sometimes I like making everything from scratch and other days I just want to take shortcuts! Sometimes those shortcuts work and sometime they don't. Tonight, I took some short cuts and made a delicious semi "homemade" chicken noodle soup. It tastes like I spent hours and hours making it but it really only took me a matter of minutes. Using a rotisserie chicken and some of my very own frozen carrots from my garden make this a cinch! Plus the best part? I had to Costco for a free Rotisserie chicken! So not only was my meal delicious  but it was cheap! Really the hardest part of this soup was chopping up the celery and the chicken, which doesn't really count as hard work because it only takes seconds to do.

Chop your celery. PHew... that was hard!

 Melt butter and EVOO

 Saute veggies

 Cut or shred your chicken

 Drain cooked pasta

 Add chicken broth to veggies and simmer

 Add chicken and pasta

 ENJOY

 OOOH yum. Take a big bite!!

Oooh. I love it when dinner turns out to be easy and delicious. My baby girl even loves it and she is one picky eater. This recipe makes a ton of soup but I love all the leftovers because this is one thing my baby girl will eat over and over, and I am going to take advantage of that!

XOXO,
Whitney

Here is the recipe:

“Homemade” Chicken Noodle Soup

1 Rotisserie Chicken; shredded or chopped into bite size pieces

14 oz Fusilli Pasta

6 C Chicken Broth

2 C Carrots; chopped

1 C celery; chopped

Olive oil

2 T butter

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 ½ tsp Onion Powder

1 ½ tsp Garlic Powder

2 tsp Dried Thyme

1 T cornstarch combined with 1 T water

Warm butter and olive oil together in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add carrots and celery and sauté until tender. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried thyme.

Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile in a separate pot, cook fusilli pasta until al dente, according to product instructions. Chop or shred rotisserie chicken. Add cooked pasta and chicken to chicken broth mixture.  Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.  

In a small bowl combine cornstarch and water and stir until cornstarch is dissolved. Add to chicken soup and let simmer for another 5-10 minutes.  Test taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Enjoy! This is delicious with sourdough bread or my fabulous French bread.

Martha's Banana Cupcakes with Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting

I was craving cupcakes. It's been a couple weeks since I have made some. I don't necessarily crave cupcakes to eat them but I just LOVE baking them and frosting them. Then I try to pawn them off on family and friends so that I don't eat them all by myself! Lately I have been obsessed with peanut butter, honey, and banana sandwiches, oh so delicous. With this in mind I thought that bananas & peanut butter would make a great combination for a cupcake. So I looked through my trusty Martha Stewart Cupcake book and found a few recipes. The great thing was that I had been saving my ripe bananas in the freezer and have just been waiting to find the perfect treat to use them in. Oh my gosh, these are delicous whether they are frosted or not. I went with a creamy peanut butter frosting on mine but I think these would be delcious with a chocolate frosting or caramel buttercream. So many ways to eat these cupcakes but here are how mine turned out:

Perfect weekend treat!

XOXO,
Whitney

P.S. If you are new to this blog let us know. What do you think? If you like us, follow us! :)

Here is the recipe:

Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting

(Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes)

6 oz cream cheese or Neufchatel Cheese, room temperature

1/2 C confectioners’ sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 C creamy peanut butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

½ C heavy cream

1.       With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add salt and peanut butter, and beat to combine. Beat in Vanilla.

2.       In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk cream until medium stiff peaks form. Fold cream into peanut butter mixture. Use immediately, or refrigerate, covered tightly, up to 2 days. Before using, bring to room temperature and stir with a flexible spatula until smooth.

Banana Cupcakes

(Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes )

3 C all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 C very ripe bananas, mashed

¾ C buttermilk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

¾ C unsalted butter, room temperature

3 large eggs

1 ½ C packed light brown sugar

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, soda, powder, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, whisk together bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.

2.       With an electric mixer on medium high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with banana mixture and beating until just combined after each.

3.       Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling  each ¾ full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, approximately 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature.

4.       To finish, frost cupcakes with creamy peanut butter frosting. Once frosted, you may keep cupcakes refrigerated for up to 3 days in airtight containers.

Do's & Dont's of Dark Chocolate

Do:

Make some homemade Dark Chocolate ice cream in your new icecream machine. It is decadent and delicious.

 Don't:

Think that you love dark chocolate so much that you buy yourself the darkest of dark chocolate that is 90% cocoa. It tastes like chalk. And you will be gagging.

 Do:

Enjoy one square of Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt per day. Besides, a small amount of dark chocolate per day is good for you.

Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend!

XOXO,

Whitney

Cucina Toscana

Its my anniversary today. We are celebrating four amazing years of marriage. I can hardly wait for our tradition tonight. Every year so far for our anniversary we go to dinner at my most favorite restaurant in the whole world... Cucina Toscana.

Seriously, it is amazing. They hand make their pastas. The gnocchi and the ravioli literally melt in your mouth. The bruschetta? The best. And don't even get me started on the Tuscan Dark Hot Chocolate that they serve to you after your meal. I can't wait to over indulge on everything. I just might have skipped lunch today so that I could stuff my self silly tonight. Ok... I did skip lunch but I want to make the best of it because we only go once a year. (Too expensive otherwise) But I love that we only go once a year because it makes it that much more special and I don't care that we go to the same place every year for our anniversary... I hope that is our tradition until the day I die!

XOXO,
Whitney