Travel bug and tea cocktail recipe

Recently, I have been feeling the urge to travel. It's getting bad enough that I am daydreaming and planning these trips that we can't really afford to go on  right now. You know, a whirlwind four week vacation around the UK and Ireland. Not going to happen any time soon. I suppose it's because I have been reflecting a lot about my 20s, with a "big" birthday less then a week away. One of the highlights was my bout in Scotland. I adored it and now I want to go back and see more of the UK, and especially Scotland. And I want to go back with Keith.

I started drinking tea while I worked at a museum there. It was a nice way to stop what I was doing and take a quick break with some co-workers. So, I got to love black tea with cream and some sugar. Since leaving, I only drink black tea now- nothing added. I drink tea everyday, and I just adore it so much. The other day, I wanted some tea with an extra kick- so I tried this recipe. and man, did it not disappoint.

I give you: The Tea Cocktail

First things first- cut up about 5-7 strawberries and put them in a mason jar. Add one cup of vodka and give it a quick shake. Add a teabag into the strawberries and vodka- any flavor. I used black tea one time, and the next time I used cinnamon and vanilla black tea and it was delicious.  Let this steep for about an hour. 

Once that hour is almost up, start juicing some lemons to make freshly squeezed lemon juice. You need one cup, which turned out to be 2.5 lemons, although that might vary. Pour the one cup of lemonade into a pitcher and add 1/4 cup of sugar to sweeten. Stir.

After the hour of brewing, remove tea bag and throw away. Then pour the vodka/tea/strawberry mixture into the pitcher with lemon juice and sugar. Stir to mix everything up. Pour over ice and then add seltzer water to top off the drink. This mixture should make four cups.

This drink is good. Very refreshing. The tea is very tasty and perfect for a tea lover. But it is a bit strong, just remember to drink responsibly.

Happy making!

Apple Snickers Dessert Salad

This salad is one of my all time favorite desserts to bring to parties!  It is always a big hit.  At first people always look at it confused as to what it is, but as soon as they give it a try...they can never get enough of it!  The best part of it is it's easy to make.  There isn't any cooking involved.  A little chopping and mixing and you'll have a guaranteed crowd-pleaser at any party. :)  Drum roll please........

Ingredients:
8 oz Cream Cheese Softened
1 C Powdered Sugar
12 oz Cool Whip
6 Snickers Bars
4-6 Granny Smith Apples (I generally use 5 of the larger ones)

After letting the cream cheese to sit out long enough to soften, add the cream cheese and powdered sugar to a mixing bowl and blend thoroughly.

After you are done blending, fold in the cool whip.  Next comes the snickers.  They are a little difficult to chop, needing a bit of arm strength.  I usually chop them once length wise, and then chop the long pieces about 8-10 more times into small pieces.  Add pieces to the mixing bowl.

Last up are the apples.  Chop the apples however you choose.  I generally make these pieces about the same size as the snickers pieces.  You don't want the pieces to be too big so the salad can be eaten with a fork.  After chopping the apples add to the mixing bowl.

Now mix all contents until all apple and snickers pieces are mixed in well.  Now of course I forgot a picture of my final salad, but it pretty much looked exactly like the following picture I found online.  ;)

I am of course one of the people at the party that can never seem to get enough of this salad!  It is absolutely delicious.  It doesn't keep well overnight (gets watery from the apples), but that's alright because it's not often that there is any left after party goers get their first tastes of it!  Hope you love it!

Enjoy :) 

Meg

D.I.Y. Sparkle ring

I have a jewelry business. I used to be so active in it and do craft shows and sell a bunch of etsy, but I got pretty busy. I haven't made anything new in a really long time, and got a bit antsy. So! I decided to make this really cute and simple ring! All you need is three, YES THREE, items to make it too.

All you need is Mod Podge dimensional magic, fine glitter, and a ring blank. The ring doesn't need to have a deep bezel, but it should have an indentation. I also grabbed a paper cup and cut a slit in the bottom, and I used it as a ring holder. Anyway, put a thin layer of the mod podge dimensional magic down and then sprinkle the glitter on it. Then let it dry over night. Shake off the excess glitter, and then put another thing lay of the mod podge dimensional magic down. It appears white-ish, but it will dry clear. It takes a few hours to dry, then you have a brand new ring.

Anyway, this is what it looks like! How cool is this

Happy crafting!

Recipe: Crockpot Creamy Italian Chicken

Keith and I are doing a lot better on our resolution to eat at home. We have been cooking more and eating up leftovers, which is always the hard part for me. We want to lose weight and save up some money to travel soon, so we thought eating at home could help with both of those things.

I'm going to jump right into it. Here is today's recipe for Crockpot Creamy Italian Chicken.

You need:

• A crockpot
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 italian seasoning package
• 1 block of cream cheese (we used light)
• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup

 Place chicken in crockpot, put seasoning on top of it. Then mix in cream cheese and soup. Cook on high for 4 hours or until chicken is cooked all the way. Serve on rice or noodles. 


This recipe was one I got from my mom. Over the fall we visited my parents and my mom served this for dinner, but used rice instead of noodles. It was delicious, but I prefer egg noodles myself.

Enjoy! :)

Recipe: Butterbeer [Guest Blog Post]

Greetings and salutations dear readers! This is the M.P.'s first official guest blog post. My name is Keith Hand and I just so happen to be married to the M.P.'s very own Jenn. Many of the recipes you have seen on this site come out of Jenn and I trying new things. The following recipe came out of our honeymoon trip to Universal's Islands of Adventure. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you: Butterbeer!

I pieced this recipe together from numerous sources online and modified it to make it easier to make individual servings.

BUTTERBEER

Tools

• A mixing bowl
• A whisk
• A 1 teaspoon measuring spoon
• A 1 cup measuring cup

Ingredients - Whipped Cream

• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 7 oz marshmallow fluff

Ingredients - Butterbeer

• 1 teaspoon of Butter Extract
• 1 teaspoon of Rum Extract
• 12 oz bottle of Cream Soda
• Optional - Whipped Cream Vodka (maybe butterscotch?)

Once you have all of your ingredients and tools together I would recommend starting with the whipped cream topping... because whipped cream is delicious. This recipe will make enough for numerous servings of butterbeer, but I am sure you could figure out other things that need to be topped with it if you don't want that many.

TOPPING

You are going to want to add the heavy whipping cream [1 Cup] and the marshmallow fluff [7 oz] in the mixing bowl. Then you are going to whisk that bad boy until it becomes delicious whipped cream. This can take a while.

You start with this splashy mess.

 You end with pure, unadulterated heaven.

THE BUTTERBEER

To make an individual serving you are going to start with the extracts. Add the butter extract [1 tsp] and rum extract [1 tsp] to a cup (preferably a souvenir Butterbeer mug from Universal).

 Then slowly pour in the cream soda [12 oz bottle].

 If you want you can add in some whipped cream vodka [1 oz to a butt-load].

At this point you are going to want to slowly stir the beverage to preserve the carbonation. Then dollop the whipped cream topping onto the Butterbeer. I would also recommend trying a 1-3 spoonfulls of the topping first.

ENJOY!

Recipe: Sausage Rolls

Well, ladies and gentlemen- It's horrible in Illinois. It's freezing and is well below zero. The snow is deep, and the windchill is like negative 40. Keith just ventured out of the house for the first time since Saturday afternoon. Anyway, we have spent the time doing work, watching movies, cooking food and enjoying each others company.

We have been cooking quite a bit in the new year, even though some of our meals has consisted of chicken nuggets and mac and cheese, we have had some gems in there. Keith made a really tasty sausage rolls dish, which was seriously delicious and reminded me of my summer in Scotland. I also was totally impressed with Keith's cooking ability. Anyway, let's get to the recipe.

Recipe: Sausage Rolls

What you need:
One package of puff pastry
1 lb of ground beef
1/2 pound of pork sausage (I got Italian Pork Sausages from Trader Joes)
1 and 1/4 teaspoons of salt
3/4 tsp of black pepper
3/4 ground coriander
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1 cup bread crumbs
1 beaten egg to brush pastry with

So, here's how:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut open around three sausages and mix them in with the ground beef. Add the seasonings and the breadcrumbs along with 1/2 cup of water to meat mixtures and blend together. Place defrosted puff pastry rolls on cutting board and cut into rectangle pieces. Place meat and spice mixture into the puff pastry, closer to one side, fold together and crimp sides with a fork to hold them together. Make three to four slits in the pastry dough. Brush with egg. Bake for roughly 25 minutes. Check on the meat to make sure it cooked all of the way.

We ended up with roughly six to eight sausage rolls from two sheets of puff pastry dough (or one box). and Boy, they were DELICIOUS.

Sorry, we don't have more photos. You just have to trust me they were so good.

Stay warm you guys. 

Welcome 2014! (And a drink recipe)

I am excited for 2014. I feel like it's going to be a good year. One full of possibilities and changes for the better. I am still confirming my resolutions, so I haven't been able to start any. However, I have decided I need to read over 15 books this year and write at least 200 pages of anything. I need to get my creativity back. 

Anyway, Keith and I rang in the New Years very low key. We watched movies and hung out on the couch. It was kind of really fun. Keith and I decided to have a dinner of appetizers and we made several different kinds of drinks. We decided on several "vintage" cocktails, including the Pink Lady. The Pink Lady has been around for awhile. During Prohibition (1920-1933) it was already well known. Traditionally, pink lady is made with egg whites, however I found a recipe that didn't use it.

Here is the recipe we used:

• 1 and 1/2 ounces of gin
• 1/4 ounce of grenadine
• 3/4 ounce simple syrup
• 1 ounce heavy cream
• Shaker of ice

 

Pour one shot glass of heavy cream in the shaker with ice. 

After rinsing out the shot glass, pour a full shot of gin, then half a shot. Add to the shaker

Keith measured out ounces using my teaspoons. To get 1/4 ounce I used 1 and a half teaspoons of grenadine. 

 Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. 

 

Enjoy! But be careful these are tasty and kind of strong. Also, its a cream drink which can be heavier then other cocktails. As always, drink responsibly. 

I hope 2014 is great for everyone and you visit back here often. We will have more posts in the up coming year! Hooray!