Candy Cane Popcorn

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Georgina

Candy Cane Popcorn

Ingredients:
12 oz. of white chocolate, melted (I prefer the chocolate blocks but chocolate chips or white candy melts will work too)
1/2 – 1cup of un-popped popcorn (measure it un-popped and then pop it)
1/2 cup of crushed candy canes(about 10 candy canes)
7-8 drops peppermint oil
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
dash of salt (optional)
Red and Green m&m’s (or any mini candy of your choice)

Directions:
1. Pop your popcorn and make sure to remove all the un-popped popcorn kernels. Place in a large mixing bowl with ample room to mix. (You may have to pop the popcorn in batches depending on how much you make and your method of popping. I did it in two batches.)
2. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. If you are using the microwae, make sure to use it at 50% power. Seriously, it makes a WORLD of difference and you wont turn your chocolate into an unuseable burn blob within a minute….not speaking from experience or anything…….. 🙂
3. Add the peppermint oil to melted white chocolate and stir quickly. Pour over popcorn and mix it so that it is even distributed and all the popcorn is covered. Then pour the crushed candy cane peices and your candy of choice (if you’re using) into the popcorn and mix until it’s evenly all over the popcorn.
4. Spread out on a wax lined cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Add a dash of salt over the popcorn(optional)
5. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave(*remember the 50% rule!) and drizzle over the popcorn. Set aside and let the chocolate harden.
6. Break up into bite size pieces and serve /eat it all immediatly (preferred method)/ or store for later.

I am a popcorn FREAK. Seriosuly- could it eat every day. I don’t eat microwave popcorn, I honestly hateeee the taste. I grew up not eating it as my step-dad was WAYYYYY ahead of the game with the absolutely disgusting hazardous toxins that line the bag and seep into the food you ingest….serisouly if you eat microwave popcorn, STOP. Anyway, I love popcorn. This is my first time making a sweet batch of popcorn myself and it turned out amazeeeeeeeeeeeing. I could have eaten this whole thing- almost did but my sister split it with me. lol. Hope you guys enjoy, let me know what you think!

As always, thanks for reading!!

xoxo

Ok- I’m not so great at delicately drizzling the chocolate over the popcorn- my bad. But still deeeelicious!

Christmas Cranberry Mojitos

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Georgina

Christmas Cranberry Mojitos

Ok really these can be enjoyed more than just at Christmas time but the red and green thing is pretty cute for around the Holidays. This was a great light and refreshing cocktail! I am crazy for anything with lime juice so I was digging this recipe. My only thing was that I might try it with Sprite or clear soda next time instead of seltzer water. But none the less, I obviously had more than one of these bad boys 🙂

Ingredients:

10 oz. fresh cranberries
1 C sugar
1 C water
20 mint leaves
Fresh lime juice
Ice
4 oz. rum (or gin)
4-6 oz. soda water

Instructions:

1) Place cranberries, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Then lower the heat a bit to medium-low and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, just until your berries start bursting then remove from heat.

2) Once the berry mixture has cooled, you can strain them. If you prefer, you can keep the mixture in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight before straining.

3) Put some leaves of mint and a Tbs of lime juice in each glass. With the back of a wooden spoon or a muddler mash the mint up.

4) Put ice in each glass and pour 2 oz. of the cranberry syrup and 2 oz. alcohol into each glass.

5) Top off each glass with soda water. And sprinkle some fresh cranberries in for garnish.

(I’m not gonna lie to you- I made those measurements up. I pretty much just put a good helping of booze and syrup in there and topped with the soda water. Basically all depends how strong you want it!) enjoyyyyyy!

xoxo

Garlic Artichoke Bread

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Georgina

Garlic Artichoke Bread

Think of this as Cheesy Garlic Bread meets Baked Artichoke Dip, only it’s 50 times better than that 🙂

Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar and mozarella cheese blend
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
1 large shallot, finely minced
1 small loaf ciabatta bread ( Really any type of bread would be fine)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
*I added about 1-2 tbs of fresh chopped basil and it was sooooo delicious!

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350-375

In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, melt the butter until foamy. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, and stir in artichoke hearts, mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan, sour cream and shallot until combined.
Slice/open your bread) Place the bread open face side up on the baking sheet, and spread the cheese and artichoke mixture overtop. Bake until cheese is melty and it starts to brown and bread is hot. I finished it off with a few minutes under the broiler to get even better color! Then cut bread into servable size pieces and serve right away, while the cheese is still nice and melty and delicious.

I made this for a group of friends and they all seemed to enjoy it. I defineitly did! This would be great as an appitizer or side dish. Also you can totally make this ahead. I actually make the artichoke cheese mixture the day before and then just spread it on the bread and baked it and it turned out fan.tast.ic!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Creamy Spinach & Sausage Pasta

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Georgina

Creamy Spinach & Sausage Pasta

This picture could definitely use some better lighting but you get the idea 😉

Ingredients

1 package smoked sausage of your liking
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes w/chiles
2.5 cups chicken broth
1 lb pasta (any shape you want)
1 package fresh spinach
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded monterrey jack
1 bunch green onions

Instructions

Thinly slice the smoked sausage and add it to a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the sausage over medium heat until it is nicely browned (about 5-7 minutes). Drain off the excess fat.
Dice the onion and add it to the skillet. Continue to saute until the onion has softened (about 5 minutes). Add the can of diced tomatoes with chiles and the chicken broth. Stir to combine and dissolve any browned bits off of the bottom of the skillet.
Add the uncooked pasta to the skillet and make sure it is all submerged under the liquid. Place a lid on the skillet and allow the mixture to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for about ten minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir once or twice while the pasta cooks to keep it from sticking.
Stir in the fresh spinach, one cup at a time, until wilted. If you add it all at once, the skillet will be too full to stir. Keep the heat on while adding the spinach, so the liquid will continue to simmer and thicken.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top, replace the lid, and let it sit for a few minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Slice the green onions and sprinkle them over top. Serve hot!

Jake seriously loved this! He snuck a bit before I sat down and was like ” this is so good! What is in here? Seriously this is really delicious”. That always makes me super happy when he loves what I cook. Now you can share this with your loved ones 🙂 Enjoy!

Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Georgina

Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

Hi All!!

With Thanksgiving coming up soon you will probably have a little extra turkey hanging out in your fridge 🙂 I love finding fun things to do with leftovers because we always seem to have so many each year. Last year we (my mom and I) made a turkey and pumpkin soup and it was delicious!!! Of course there is nothing wrong with cold turkey sandwiches also(personal fav). This recipe is very simple and takes almost no time at all to whip up, which is nice after slaving away for Thanksgiving. It’s also sort of refreshing that it’s a totally different taste combination than all of the traditional flavors we all will have just had! Hope you enjoy!!!

Ingredients

1 can (19 oz) mild enchilada sauce
4 cups shredded chicken(or leftover turkey)
1 bag (8 oz) shredded Mexican cheese blend
2/3 cup Neufchatel cheese (or 1/3-less-fat-cream cheese)
10-15 small flour tortillas
Sliced fresh jalapeño peppers, fresh cilantro leaves and diced fresh tomato for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat one 4-quart or two 2-quart baking dishes with nonstick cooking spray. If using 1 dish, spread 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce in bottom. If using 2 dishes, spread half of the 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce in bottom of each dish.

2. In a bowl, combine chicken, 1 cup of the shredded cheese and 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce.

3. Spread about 2 tsp of Neufchatel on a tortilla. Spoon 2 to 3 tbsp chicken mixture in a strip in center of tortilla. Roll up tightly to enclose filling; transfer to prepared dish(es). Repeat with remaining tortillas, cream cheese and chicken mixture to yield 16 enchiladas. I used toothpicks to secure each tortilla so that they stayed closed.

4. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas, dividing evenly between dishes(if using two). Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Increase temperature to 400 degrees and bake an additional 5 minutes, until cheese begins to brown slightly. Garnish with whatever toppings you like: jalapeño slices, avocado, and cilantro. Enjoy!!!!