I was busy

If you are wondering why I am blogging so late today, well worry no longer. I was busy indulging in this holiday milkshake. Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake from my most favorite Chick-Fil-A. It was a party in my mouth, peppermint pieces swirled into the peppermint ice cream. To Die For.
All you have to do is run along to your nearest Chick-Fil-A and try it out for yourself. And if you aren't a peppermint fan you must be crazy just try their Oreo Milkshake, you won't be disappointed.

Much Love,

nicole

Ridiculously Moist Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I just realized that it is mid-November and I have not made anything with pumpkin in it. WHAT?? That is just not acceptable. November is the month when you can indulge in all things pumpkin so what am I thinking! I better get with the program before my pumpkin time is up. Every November I am normally baking my super moist Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies. No lie, I usually make them at least every week throughout November and so far I have not even made them once. So here I am... getting my priorities straight and finally baking up these Ridiculously Moist Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. I am serious when I say they are ridiculously moist. I have made them so many times that I have been able to tweak the recipe for an almost perfect Pumpkin Chocolate chip cookie. So if you are a slacker like me here is a fool-proof recipe to get you back in the groove. It's November people!!! Thanksgiving is just around the corner...

 If I feel like sharing them with others I will double the recipe, otherwise I would probably end up eating 4 dozen cookies! The recipe I use only makes about 2 dozen, that way I eat less! I am trying to keep the Thanksgiving lbs from packing on!

Happy Pumpkin Month!

XOXO,

Whitney

My Ridiculously Moist Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1/4 C butter

1/4 C shortening

1 C white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 can of pumpkin puree (about 1 cup)

2 C all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 bag semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.

In a large bowl or stand mixer cream together the shortening, butter and white sugar until smooth. Beat in egg. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin until well blended. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 11-12 minutes. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Yield: Approx 2 dozen

A Word to the Wise

When drinking hot coco....
Allow sufficent time to for your hot coco to cool down. (I always forget this, results= burnt tongue.)
Always add two Andes mints to your at home hot coco. 1, too little... 3, too many. 2, perfect.
Don't forget to snag two straws, provides for a more enjoyable slurp. hehehohohaha.
Seriously though... drink with two straws, its A must.

Much Love,

nicole

Picky? Try Chicken Piccata!

My most favorite restaurant in the whole wide world is Cucina Toscana. It is an award winning authentic Italian restaurant and it is amazing to say the least. The Mr. and I go there every year for our anniversary and I look forward to it all year long. (We would definitely go more often if we could afford it!) They have home made gnocchi and raviolis that literally melt in your mouth, delicious bruschetta, delightful salads and for the main course I usually get Chicken Piccata. It is scrumptious. Then I can't wait for the Tuscan Dark Hot Chocolate.... ohhhh yum. Since I only get to have this delicious meal once a year I have tried to re-create Chicken Piccata at home. First, I watched my favorite TV chef, Giada DeLaurentiis, make it on Food Network. So, I printed out her recipe and gave it a shot. It turns out that it is just as tasty and super easy to make. Now I make it all the time for dinner and tonight my Mr. was even licking his plate!!

LOVE ME SOME CAPERS!!! If you haven't had a caper before you will fall in love. They are delicious. They are salty and pickly and add a burst of flavor in your mouth!

Here is the recipe that I use. I like to double the sauce just so I have a little extra to pour over my pasta. Trust me, you will probably want to do so as well.  Try it this week. You will not be disappointed.

XOXO,

Whitney

Chicken Piccata

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.
Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Obsessed

{image via}

I used to be ridiculously obsessed with telephones.
I would ask for the mickey telephone pictured above for Christmas almost every year.
And if it wasn't mickey it was another telephone.
What I'm really obsessed with though is vintage telephones. Especially that white one.
I maybe just want to wrap it up and bring it home with me.
One day though, one day I will have one.
Obsessed.

Much Love,

nicole

Quick Fix- Winter Dinner Salad

I love to cook. I really do.  But you know those days that don't start out well in the morning and the day just seems to go on forever without any end? Ya... today has been one of those. And when one of those days come up I just am not really in the mood to cook dinner. So I go to one of my quick-fix dinners. Grilled Chicken Salad. I LOVE salad. It is one of my favorite things to eat so of course I have so many different variations of dinner salads. And they are perfect for those nights when cooking just sounds like the last think you want to do. So for dinner I made a quick Grilled Chicken Cranberry-Walnut Spinach Salad. I look forward to this salad every winter, it just reminds me of the fall and it has everything I love in it.

In this salad is: Organic Baby Spinach, Feta Cheese, Glazed Walnuts, Craisins and Grilled Chicken. It is topped with a home made raspberry vinagriette but if you aren't in the mood for whipping up a salad dressing I like to use Light Balsamic Dressing on this as well.

There ya have it! So delicious and quick to throw together for a last minute dinner. Glad the day is over and guess what? It's Friday tomorrow!

XOXO,
WHITNEY

Recipe:
Spinach
Feta Cheese
Craisins
Chicken:
Grill Chicken Tenders on a grill pan or George Foreman. Season with Salt and Pepper. I generally do 2-3 tenders per person.
Glazed Walnuts:
Heat 1/4 C sugar in a pan over medium heat. Once sugar starts to melt and become a slight caramel color dump about 1 C of walnuts into sugar. Stir walnuts around until all are covered with sugar glaze. Heat until the nuts become fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and pour onto tinfoil to let cool completely.
Dressing:
2 C berries
1 T mustard
2 T honey
salt & pepper
1/4 C rice wine vinegar
1/2 T lemon juice
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 C EVOO

Combine all ingredients (except oil) into food processor and blend. Slowly drizzle in oil, check seasonings. Serve over salad. Keeps in the fridge about 1 week.

Creativity

My dear friend recently showed me this music video, it blew my mind. Let it blow yours.

And now your probably wondering how they did that... well look no further here is how.



2 years! Are you kidding me? I would have gone crazy, but props to them for sticking through to see the finish product. I personally have such a hard time finishing anything that takes longer than 2 hours, so three cheers to 2 years of music video making. I think what we can all take from this is to be creative and don't shy away from anything you dream of doing just because it may be hard.

Much Love,

nicole