They May Not Be Pretty...

But their taste is oh-so divine!!!

Got the recipe from here. And surprisingly, I managed to get them done in about 2 hours (hence the reason they may not be so pretty...we won't blame it on me...), thanks to motivation from my husband who would have been disappointed to not have any for dessert...

I wanted to give these a try for my new friends that meet at the lake after library time on Fridays. So, we'll see if they last long enough to go!

And maybe someday I'll have the ability to make them look like this. Aren't they cute?!

Magically Delicious!

Recipe found here.

Ingredients:

• 4 quarts popped popcorn
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 8 -10 drops green food coloring

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 15 mins

1. Place popcorn in a large roasting pan; keep warm in a 250 degree oven.
2. Meanwhile, in a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugars, water, corn syrup, vinegar and salt.
3. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.
4. Cook, stirring occasionally, until a candy thermometer reads 250 degrees (hard ball stage).
5. Remove from the heat; stir in butter until melted. Stir in food coloring. Drizzle over warm popcorn and toss to coat. Cool.
6. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.
   

Starting Off The Week With A Fiesta

This week is Cinco de Mayo, the holiday commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

This is a big celebration in Dallas, and you'll drive around and see restaurants advertising their Cinco de Mayo specials. Neither one of us are from Mexico, or have any blood relation, but it's not going to stop us from celebrating--eating style!

I don't normally post recipes on here, but I do want to share this one that I got off of allrecipes.com:

Easy Mexican Casserole

Prep Time:
20 Min

Cook Time:
30 Min

Ready In:
50 Min

Original Recipe Yield 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, drained
• 3 cups tortilla chips, crushed
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until no longer pink. Stir in salsa, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in beans, and heat through.
3. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread crushed tortilla chips in dish, and then spoon beef mixture over chips. Spread sour cream over beef, and sprinkle olives, green onion, and tomato over the sour cream. Top with Cheddar cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Cary and I personally enjoy it without olives, but oh, the rest is so delish!!!!

Watch out Chef Duff...

Because here comes Chef Jenn!

...Um maybe not.

Inspired by my new 'favorite' show, "Ace of Cakes", I decided to whip up a lovely Devil's Food Cake for mine and Cary's "anniversary" (well, I just wanted a reason to make a cake). I made it from scratch with the Home and Garden's NEW BAKING BOOK. The icing: buttercream.


Well, it started out fine, until I realized I was 3/4 cup of flour short for the cake. But that never stopped me! I started reducing the rest of the ingredients, then added extra cocoa to make up for the missing flour.


The icing though, was not what I expected. I LOVE buttercream frosting. But when I whipped it up, it was anything but. *note to self: find different buttercream recipe next time.* I then decided to add chocolate to that as well, making it a chocolate with chocolate and a chocolate shock to go with that...

Cary says it's delicious. Isn't that what was in his vows on our wedding day? (...for richer and poorer, in good times and bad; always tell Jenn her cakes are the best...)


Well, it's not culinary genius yet, but I sure am having fun messing up the kitchen and tasting the results!