"Who Wants Pudding Shots?!"

Thank you to our friend Aaron for that lovely introduction.

Not that he's here writing this, but that's what he shouts when he decides everyone's had enough beer and needs to start doing shots instead!  It's much funnier in person, trust me.

Now, I need to give thanks to my friend Stephanie for introducing me to pudding shots several years ago during a staff Christmas party.  

They're delicious by themselves...or with brownies.  Ha!  But who has time to eat brownies?!

This is my basic recipe:
1 small box of pudding (you choose flavor)
3/4 c. thick liqueur (like Bailey's)
3/4 c. thin liquor (like vodka)
1 - 8oz tub of Extra Creamy Cool Whip

Mix pudding and thick liqueur together.  Slowly add alcohol.  Add cool whip.  Pour into containers (I use 2oz w/lids).  Freeze and serve.

Now, for something like Peanut Butter liquor and Chocolate, I use milk in place of Bailey's.  Play around with the ratios of the alcohol you use.  You don't want them too boozy!    (Well, maybe you do!)

Here are some pics of the combinations I used:

Let me know what you think and what combinations you use!  Enjoy!!

507...Stocked and Ready....

507...the total number of shots I've made for Danapalooza, the hog roast we have every year.


239...the total number of Pudding Shots, in 10 different flavors.


268...the total number of Jello Shots, in 15 different flavors.


Lots of mixing.  Lots of pouring.  Lots of refrigeration.  Lots of innovation.


I'm now going to pre-thank the friends and family we have coming this weekend for being my guinea pigs.  I really appreciate it and I'm sorry if some of the flavors suck.  


Please tell me if they suck.  You won't hurt my feelings.


But, you may be too drunk to notice.  And that's ok too.  


The fridge and freezer are looking good!

Pudding shots are in the freezer.  Jello shots are in the fridge.   Get your tongues ready people!!  I'll have the shot code lists posted.


The beer in here is off limits...that is, until the kegs float!


Here's the Shot List!

Don't you love technology?!  Can't upload a document, but, by golly, I can turn it into a pic on my phone!  Gotta love screen shots!

Click for Pudding Shot Recipe!  

Party on, party people!!

Lemon-y Goodness! (Another Pinteresting Concept)

This past weekend, I made cupcakes.  

I had kinda made a promise to myself not to be making sweet treats, but, what's a girl to do when my Sis-In-Law and my Dad both had birthdays last week?  

We were gathering over the weekend, so I broke out the Pampered Chef muffin stone wear and whipped these puppies up!

Now, I wish I was the brilliant one who came up with this concoction, but nay.  I was not.  It was something I found on Pinterest.  You can find the recipe for Limoncello Cupcakes here.

Please, don't judge that my picture is nothing like hers.  She has amazing, piled high icing.  Mine is a bit flat.  

I've now put new icing tips on my birthday list.

However, despite that my icing isn't piled high, these were De-Li-Cious!  And amazingly refreshing on yet, another hot weekend!

Everything was made from scratch...not scratched out of a box.

It also uses the limoncello liqueur which I use in my lemon drop martinis.  Mmm!  (I use Caravella.)

The cake was dense--which my father loves!  (He's the food critic in our family, kinda like 'Mikey' from the Life cereal commercial..."He likes it!  He really likes it!"  Ah, brings back memories!)  The cake is infused with lemon zest, lemon juice, limoncello, and yes, a little bit of cream cheese!

The cake was also filled with a lemon curd (lemon zest, lemon juice and eggs), that was tart but perfectly balanced with the sweet frosting and mellow cake.  

My nephew tried to eat just the curd by itself which resulted in an almost seizure-like bitter lemon face for him and laughter for us.

It's then topped with a buttercream/cream cheese frosting, infused with more lemon-y goodness. 

The whole family loved them...bitter lemon face and all!  Make 'em today!

The Recipe

Updates and Butt-Kickings

I've enjoyed the butt-kicking Jillian Michaels has given me the last few days doing 30-Day Shred.  Of course, I've had to modify it a bit for my foot, but no biggie.  It's 20 minutes of strength training, cardio and abs.  (27 minutes with warm up and cool down.)  Very do-able, challenging, and fits easily into the day.  It doesn't seem like a long time, but I've been seriously sweating bullets by the end...and I'm only in Phase 1.


Bang!  Bang!  ...those are my sweat bullets taking aim!


I took measurements and pics before the start of Day1.  I look forward to updating at the end of 30 days.  (Eek!  When that happens, you may want to divert your eyes!  It's ok...I'll give you a warning!)


Four weeks until I'm released to run.  Right about that time, I'll be in the thick of getting school stuff ready.  I'll also be at the end of 30-Day Shred.  


In other news...my tongue is healing nicely.  "Nicely".  What an odd word to describe this healing process.  It's gross.  Things taste like metal.  It hurts to eat and to talk.  And I'm super sick of eating "soft foods" and I'm craving things I can't possibly eat...like grilled pizza,  strawberry and goat cheese salad, and a margarita.  Ugh.  


However, it has had it's benefits!


Like, smaller portion sizes--because it's a long process to eat.  Just a few bites, and I'm done.  Most of what I can eat is healthy.  Melon, in small pieces, eggs, whole grain pasta, mashed sweet potatoes, and of course, smoothies.  I can also eat ice cream, Jello and pudding but I don't prefer to eat those.  And if I do, it's like a bite or two...cuz in all honesty, they taste like poo.  Ok, maybe not poo--cuz I don't really know what that tastes like.  (And if I did, just call me Hilly.)   But, it doesn't taste good.


Now, if only I can continue the smaller portion sizes and making "crap food" actually taste like crap!  


The other benefit...lots and lots of water.  It's the only thing that really tastes normal.


I AM excited about some quinoa (keen-wa) recipes I found once I'm feeling up to eating most things.  The man doesn't know it yet, but he's about to get some changes in diet also!  :)  The first recipe I'm excited to try is curried quinoa with grilled chicken.  I found a basic recipe, but, if you know me, I'll be adding to it!  I'll be sure to post pics and the recipe, if it's not a total flop!


Happy Sunday!

Pinteresting Concept: Caulk Rug Grips

So, I thought this was a "Pinteresting Concept".  It's originally a Martha Stewart idea of slip-proofing your rug.  Well, we have a little dog who is hyper as everything.  This, my friends, was a necessity to try.  Because, when he's running through the house, the rug never stays in it's place.  (And I tend to worry about him hurting himself.)


I even made "the man" look at the picture on Pinterest.  He was in agreement, which is good because I made him do the work!  


On the top, is Martha Stewart's picture.  On the bottom, is ours.

Now, I'm not sure if we used a different kind of caulk than she did, as I'm sure future hubs just used whatever we had.  My only complaint....if you look close on the hardwood in our picture, you can see where the caulk was.  


This is either because it was seriously sticking to the floor and picked up all the gross dirt in the grain of the wood or, because we used the wrong kind of caulk.  Regardless, I'm ok with it because:

• The floor is old and we'll be replacing it.  (Of course, maybe tile or laminate won't have the same problem.)
• The rug doesn't budge!
• Little Dog isn't sliding all around our entry way now.
• Super cheap, since we had it on hand.  (Have you priced out those rug liner grippy things?  I mean, come on, $25 @ Walmart.  Sorry, I'll save my money.)

I'll post more "Pinteresting Concepts" that I've tried later.  As for now, I leave you with a picture of our "Little Dog".  He's so cute!  

Unusual Parallels

I am my father's daughter.  I act like him and have a similar personality.  We have some weird connections at times.  


Like when shopping with my mom, I had a stabbing pain in my thumb that wouldn't go away.  My dad had a been working on a job site and had a metal shard pierce his skin at his thumb that he had to have removed.  Or, when I get weird pains in my knees or sometimes my foot, to find out he's been having the same pains just opposite side.


Unusual Parallels.


At the age of 33, my dad was diagnosed with throat cancer.  He's a non-smoker, and something like this was unexpected.  He had the full course of chemo and radiation, lost his hair, but never gave up hope and made a full recovery.  


I am now my dad's age.


I've said before this summer hasn't shaped out to be what I'd hoped.  But, I think I kind of knew that before the month of May had ended.


In mid May, I'd been to the dentist where I showed him a spot on the underside of my tongue.  It was white, was in a place where it hits a molar, but never really hurt and didn't really change shape.  I did have like a white "haze" that covered that area.  My dentist was concerned and sent me to a specialist.


Early June, I saw the specialist.  He was very concerned due to my age.  Normally, they see this kind of thing in older people.  The good news, it wasn't red and didn't hurt.  The bad news, he was still doing a biopsy.  


I got the results two weeks later.  Severe Epithelial Dysplasia.  The good news, not cancer.  The bad news, it's pre-cancer.  As it was explained to me, dysplasia can never go back to normal.  It can either stay dysplasia or become cancer.  I would need to have a laser procedure done to get rid of the pre-cancerous cells.  Oy.


I had the procedure done yesterday.  They used a CO2 laser to basically burn the area.  (After LOTS of numbing agents!)  It's like the worst charred marshmallow-burnt hair smell/taste ever.  But worth it.  


Plus, I was a "guinea pig" for some of the other doctors who came in to check out my tongue before surgery.  The nurse apologized.  I told her, "No worries...I'm a teacher, I get it!"


It'll take a while to heal.  I go back in two weeks to see how things are healing.  Then, I'll have a standing date with my specialist every 3 months for the first year, then every 6 months to a year after that.


In the words of my father: "You gotta take the good with the bad!"


I'm pretty lucky to have a supportive family and a positive outlook on life.  It is what you make it.  Lucky for me, I have a bit of a heads up!  Thanks, Dad!


I'll end this with a cute pic (slightly out of focus) of my parents.  

Yep.  I'll take the good with the bad.  

It's Lemon Drop Martini Time! Lemon Drop Martini Time!

Lemon Drop Martini, Lemon Drop Martini, Lemon Drop Martini with a baseball bat!  


If you don't know the Peanut Butter Jelly Time song, then that's totally lost on you.  What a shame.  (You-Tube it.  Then, you'll really hate me.)


I want to share my favorite summer time drink with you. 


Behold:

All this lemon-y deliciousness in a glass, rimmed with sugar and loaded with booze. (and a bit of ice in the bottom from when I chilled my glass.)


I tried to re-create this beautiful concoction after one of mine and my girlfriends' favorite martini bars.  (They still make the best.)


Warning:  Do NOT have more than 2 of these without eating!  This is experience speaking here, people!  


Mmmm.....Here ya go!

Not Quite Off the Wagon

Whelp.  I'm a bit frustrated at the moment.  I hurt my foot a little over month ago just by walking.  This is my life.  Sharp pain just walking down the sidewalk with a friend.  No tripping, just sipping on a skinny mocha frappuccino.  And since then, this summer is not quite what I'd been hoping for.


My visits with the orthopedic surgeon has not been all that pleasant in the way of information.  I was told I have arthritis and it's flared up.  In my foot.  Near my ankle.  Oh, and apparently, I have arthritis in my toe joints.  Yippee.  Apparently 33 isn't so young anymore.


Doctor prescribes me some steroids to help with the inflammation.  And, this sexy surgical shoe to limit mobility.

Don't be jealous.


And don't look at my toes.  They need to be repainted.  And pampered.


I seriously think that if I had two of these sexy beasts, I could use them for scuba fins.  Or for peddling the Flintstone's car.


After two weeks of the shoe and meds, pain diminished but still hurt to run.  Doctor says, "Sorry, no running or high impact exercise for you for another 4-6 weeks."


Seriously?  Do you have any idea how this is impacting my social life?  No softball!  No Zumba!  No Running!


Good thing is, I can still bike, swim, and do some low-impact exercises of the like.  But running is my outlet!  Softball is my love!  And Zumba, well, it's just fun!


So, no heavy sweating.  I could walk as I know as long as you get the heart rate up, you're still burning calories.  BUT...with it being 100*+ outside now, who wants to walk a mile when I could run 2 or three in that time?!  In the words of Maverick and Goose...."I feel the need...the need for speed!"  Not that I'm all that fast, but you get the point.


As I've been altering my exercises, I'm still counting the calories and drinking the water.  


What kinds of exercises do you do that keep it low impact when recovering from an injury?

Beef. It's What's for Dinner.

Yep.  I am the world's best fiancee!  Well, at least that's what the future hubs tells me.  He'd been working all day on a hog roaster/smoker for our big party we have at the end of July.  So, I decided to treat him to, what has become, one of his favorite meals.  


Meaning...it wasn't a favorite until about a month ago when I made it for our anniversary.  Then, he says, "We MUST have this again!"  I guess you watch enough Gordon Ramsay and you start to crave the deliciousness that Chef is well-known for.  


So, here it is...Beef Wellington.  Make it.  You won't regret it. (I also made Whiskey-Glazed Carrots which you can find on the Pioneer Woman's site here as well as whole wheat french bread which we grilled.)

Look delicious enough?  It's a pastry puff, stuffed with a mixture of portabella mushrooms, onions, and red wine with a tender, juicy filet!  Mmm! 

Here's what you need:

2 beef filets (mine are about 2" thick), portabella mushrooms (I used 2 of those containers), onion, EVOO, salt, red wine (I used 337 Cabernet Sauvignon--because it was open) and a little S&P.  You will also need 2 puff pastries -in case you didn't know what the notecard said.  I'm ridiculous. 

A little note about the puff pastries.  You can buy then in the freezer section.  Pepperidge Farms sells them in a 2 pack.  However, I decided to make my own using a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com.  If you're feeling spunky and have nothing to do all day, then by all means!  You can find the recipe here.  I only needed 2 pastries so I adjusted the yield to 6. They turned out perfect!

Ok.  Onward!

Drizzle some EVOO on the filets.  Sprinkle on a little S&P.  Bake at 425*F for 15 minutes.

I used my roasting rack to keep them from sitting on the bottom, but you don't have to.

When they come out, they look like this:

You'll want to wrap them in foil and stick 'em in the fridge.  


Yep.  You heard right. They'll continue to cook a little, but a proper Beef Wellington is served at medium.  Plus, they'll get cooked again at the end.


While the beef is chillin' in the fridge, you'll want to chop up your mushrooms and onion.  I used my blender because I'm too lazy to assemble the food processor. 

You don't want them to become a paste, but more of a "coarse crumb" type texture.  


I had to do mine in 3 batches.


And this picture sucks.  But, whatevs.

Drizzle some olive oil in a skillet.  Then add a couple tablespoons of butter.

Add the mushroom/onion mixture and prepare for a delicious aroma to fill the kitchen!


You want the mushrooms and onions to cook down until all the water has been cooked off.
Once that happens...

Add in some red wine!  Or, in my case....

A LOT of red wine!  

And be sure to grab yourself a glass while you're at it.  

Cuz, after all this, you deserve it.   And, you're almost done.


While the red wine is reducing in the mushroom/onion mixture, (yep, you'll want all that deliciousness to cook off...but believe me, you'll be able to taste it), go ahead and roll out your puff pastry.  Oh, and remove your steaks from the fridge. 

Oh, and I advise you that BEFORE you fill the pastry, place it on parchment paper, or your pan.  You'll thank me later.  There's nothing worse than a puff pastry, filled with goodness, stuck to a counter!


Spoon some of the mushroom mixture onto the bottom of the pastry.


Then, place your steak on the mushroom mix and spoon on more mushroom mixture.  I'm lame and was so involved in what I was doing I forgot to take a pic.

Wrap the steaks up in the pastry.  You may have to cut some of the dough to make everything fold nicely.  If you're feeling spunky, flip the folded side down on the pan.  

I was lazy.  And enjoying my wine.

Also, use any extra pastry dough to wrap up any extra mushroom mixture.  Pure yumminess!

Make an egg wash and coat the outside of the Wellingtons.  Pop into a 425*F oven for 20 minutes.

Viola!

Enjoy!  

Now, I must note, I made 2.  The fiancé and I actually split just one of these and it was more than enough.  We also shared one of the "mushroom balls".  We ended up reheating the left overs in the oven at 200-250*F  for about 10-20 minutes.  (Truth be told, I can't exactly remember the time and temp.)  The beef was more of a medium well but still super tender and juicy!

I also followed up this meal with his favorite dessert:

Chocolate Mousse.  He ate all his.  I think I maybe consumed about 1/5 of mine.  Rich, delicious and wasn't a total flop like my first attempt a few months ago.  


If you're interested, I used David Lebovitz recipe he adapted from Julia Child.  Only I didn't have coffee.  I used Kahlua.  And instead of rum, I used Kahlua's partner in crime, Bailey's.  Otherwise, it's all the same.


Alright....For the recipe, here ya go!