Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti

Welcome to Friday! :) Are you back in the groove of things? I'm not quite sure I am... :D

So, I wanted to share this recipe for Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti from epicurious.com today! :)

My mom, especially, LOVES biscotti. I usually try to purchase some for her for Christmas, but I made these for our open house - and left some undipped in the white chocolate for her. I think it makes her feel less guilty about eating them. :D

Honestly? This is an easy recipe. I think I need to make my cookie logs a bit thinner, but the biscotti is about the size of a commercial one, and fits into a snack baggie. :) This one bakes up quite nicely, and the classic flavor of chocolate and hazelnuts is a winner.

I'd love to know if you try these! They're definitely a keeper in my book! :)

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!

Microwave Caramel Corn

Welcome to Wednesday! :) We're SLOWLY thawing out here in middle Tennessee; we're RIGHT at 32 degrees for the first time since Sunday. There's still a little bit of snow on the ground, but I suspect it will be gone by tonight. :)

Today's recipe is for a yummy, easy caramel corn - but the website I originally got it from isn't there any longer! SO, I guess I'll just site my source, and give you the recipe. Because you're going to want it! :)

Kenn LOVES caramel corn. I love THIS caramel corn - it's not overly sweet, although I try not to eat more than a few pieces when I do indulge. :) It's super easy, and I do EVERYTHING in the microwave - pop the corn, melt the stuff, and coat the corn! I purchase a brand-new paper sack at Aldi when I do this, so my bag is clean. :D

Here's the recipe. Be sure and come back and tell me when you've tried it. :D You can thank me later... :D

(Original recipe found at rubyglen.com)

Microwave Caramel Corn
By: Joyce Moseley Pierce

Part of the heistation in making caramel corn is the sticky, gooey mess that remains once you've finished making it. You almost need a blow torch to remove the hardened sugary stuff from your pans.

Help is on the way! This recipe can be made in your microwave, and when you're finished, you can just throw the paper sack away.

This doesn't mean that it doesn't take a little preparation time, but at least you can relax and enjoy the finished product without having to worry about a lot of cleanup.

Next time you go to the grocery store, ask for your groceries in paper bags. You'll need one per batch.

Here's what you'll need:

3-4 quarts popped corn
1 stick of butter (no substitutes!)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Karo Syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda - add last

Pop the corn and discard the unpopped kernels. Put the popped corn in the paper sack. While the corn is popping, put the butter, sugar, salt and syrup in a glass bowl and bring it to a boil in your microwave. Stir after one minute, and let it boil for an additional minute. Add one tsp. of baking soda and stir well, until thickened. It will turn light in color and look like taffy. Pour this mixture over the popped corn in the paper bag and shake well. Put the paper bag back in the microwave and cook an additional 1-1/2 minutes (90 seconds). Remove and shake well again. Return to the microwave and cook another 1-1/2 minutes. Shake again. Open the bag and let it cool. You can even tear the bag down the side and speed up the process.

Plan to make more than one batch because you'll want to eat the first one! Great for Christmas or birthday gifts. I gave this as a Christmas gift to my co-workers one year and the next year they started hinting for it again in September.

Once completely cooled, break up the chunks, put it in a plastic holiday bag and tie with a festive ribbon. If you eat a lot of ice cream the containers with lids make a great receptacle for packing the caramel corn. Save your ice cream containers throughout the year, wash them out, line with plastic wrap and stic a bow on the top. Include the recipe and directions unless you want to tell them it's an old family secret, but let me warn you that if you don't share the recipe, they will come back next year begging for more.

Manicure Monday!!!

Happy Monday! So, these are the nails I was wearing for New Year's; I didn't feel well, so not too many people got to see them - but I felt like it was a party on my nails! :D It's called a glitter cascade.

The base is OPI Au Champagne, a frosty pearly color. The glitters are all different ones; I got some mini bottles of polish for Christmas, and three of these were from those mini bottles. The red was one I got from another friend for Christmas. :)

I can't wait to show you the one I'm wearing right now, either. :) Assuming I can get Kenn to shoot it for me...

OK, I'm outta here! :) Have a wonderful day - and stay WARM! Be BLESSED, my friend!

Samoa Bundt Cake

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

2014. Goodness, this year - I know when I was little, Y2K seemed SO far into the future... :D Here's hoping and praying that 2014 finds us more at peace with each other, with our lives, and with our paths.

ANYWAY. :D

This CAKE. When I saw this cake, I knew I had to try it - it's Samoa Bundt Cake from *betsylife.

Now, then. You'll notice there are three min bundts on this plate. Let me explain something: as a family, we've cut SO far down on our intake of food, we have leftovers from a regular meal. I didn't want my sister and brother-in-law and niece to leave, and us have almost a whole bundt cake left!

So I make the whole cake recipe, but only did six mini bundts - since that's how many mini cakes were in my pan. And I threw away the rest of the batter. Yes, it was a little wasteful, but better than eating all that cake I certainly could kill myself with, and I only threw away the batters.

This is a YES, PLEASE! dessert. The cake batters were easy to put together; the cake, as a whole, is just lots of steps. This isn't a cake you can just throw together, unless you purchase premade dulce-de-leche. And I don't think I've seen it around here! I popped my milk into the crock pot and let it simmer away all day the day before I wanted to make the cake. I also toasted the coconut when I had some other baking to do, so the day I made the mini cakes I just baked them off and let them cool. Christmas Day, my baby sister made the frosting and assembled the cakes for me - I really felt awful, and was trying to ration my energy. :)

The other three cakes are in the freezer, waiting to be needed. A half cake is PLENTY for me for a serving! They're fun, incredibly rich, and do taste just like the Girl Scout cookie - although I'd like a little more caramel consistency in there. :D But I'm not willing to put more sugar into it, so it's great the way it is. :D

OK, I'm outta here. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Have a great week! Be BLESSED, dear friend!

Manicure Monday!!!

Good Monday Morning! I see that no one knew I posted last week - zero hits. <sigh> Well, I'll have to try to be more steady - but one thing about my life is that it's never dull. :D

So anyway. I really loved this one, although I'm looking forward to getting a few new brushes that will hopefully let me control those lines a bit better. I'm  SO bad with straight ANYTHING!!! This is my pin; if you click on that link, it will take you to 23 different tutorials, and I didn't want you to think you were in the wrong place. :)

What do you think?

OK, I'm outta here!!!! The next post will be in 2014. How surreal is that?!?! Thank you for reading! Be BLESSED today!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Just Another Manic(ure) Monday! :D

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! :D

I'm sorry I disappeared for so long; the open house totally dominated my time for a LONG time, and the two weeks after it were incredibly busy, too. As I write this, I'm waiting for family to arrive for Christmas! Do you have big plans for Christmas? I'd love to hear what you're up to! :)

So, I apologize for the difficulty in seeing this picture too well. I adapted the two tree nails from the first photo on this page; the other nails have a glitter cascade done. It's been so much fun doing nails for the season! My nails have been in rough shape from cooking and doing dishes - that's why they're so short - but I'm working on taking care of them. :)

Have a wonderful day, dear friend. Be blessed!