Homemade Wreaths

All this warm weather we've been having is making me have a hard time getting into the holiday spirit.....until today! My mom, my aunt Deborah and my cousin Stephanie and I went to a wreath making class this morning at Tom's Creek Nursery in Farmer. This is a beautiful place, if you ever have a chance to go I recommend it! We spent three hours of our morning in the plant-filled greenhouse with hot chocolate, cookies, Christmas music, and lots and LOTS of laughter. You really can't buy a wreath for the price of making one of your own. We had such a great time making wreaths from fresh greenery and berries all grown at the nursery, and they smell so good!

 Stephanie's wreath

 

Our moms' wreaths.....my mom can barely see through hers!

My mom's wreath on the porch at home.

My wreath! I'm so proud! :)

Thankfulness....and Turkeys!

Mini Oreo Peanut Butter Pies

It's that time of year again. The holidays are about giving and being thankful of what we have to give. This year I volunteered to make some goodies for the Relay For Life bake sale at my mom's school. These treats raised over $60 alone! :)  I started out with some mini pies filled with Oreos and layers of peanut butter I saw from The Picky Palate. They turned out pretty good and were an easy way to use up some leftover pie crust dough. Just roll out pie dough and cut into a 3.5 to 4 inch circle and fill in a greased cupcake pan. Layer two oreos, each topped with a good layer of peanut butter, then cut out thin strips to make a lattice on top. Brush each pie with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar on top. Bake on 350 for about 20-25 minutes.

 

Turkey Cake Pops

With Thanksgiving being days away, I had to try out some turkey cake pops. I LOVE THEM!

I made the cake pops the same way I did the other cake pops I've done, and used yellow cake mix and canned cream cheese icing. Then I dipped in melted chocolate and used both candy corn and Indian corn as the fan. The head is a Whopper and sprinkles make up the eyes and nose, using chocolate icing as glue to attach them. The wattle is an upside down heart candy sprinkle I had leftover from Valentine's Day. I made the faces on the heads first before attaching them to the turkey bodies. Make sure you stick everything to the body while the chocolate is still melted! It makes things a whole lot easier. Gobble Gobble!

Gobble Gobble! Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

Spooky Graveyard Treats

For halloween this year my girlfriends came over and had a cupcake decorating party. It was not as corny as it sounds and actually was a lot of fun! My favorite thing we made were graveyard brownies.

Graveyard Brownies

These were so easy to make and so cute! I made these with some friends and took some to my little cousins' punkin carving party and they were a hit. Just get a box of brownie mix and bake accordingly. I used Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies for the graves and pipe on chocolate icing for the tombstone writing. Crunched up Oreos in front make a creepy freshly-buried look. I added candy corn and pumpkins along side the grave.

Boss's Day.....and Chocolate Creme filled Snickers Cupcakes

 October 17th is boss's day, for those of you who actually enjoy your boss. I myself have been blessed with good ones so decided to thank them with a little something from the kitchen. Some others in the office got together and got some personalized coffee mugs so I filled them with some cute and festive acorns made of doughnut holes. 

Acorn Doughnuts

Dip the doughnut hole in nutella, then dip in chocolate sprinkles. break off part of a pretzel stick and use that as the acorn stem. These are super quick and easy! You can use peanut butter or chocolate icing instead of the nutella too if you prefer.

 

Along with these gifts, I made cupcakes for the whole office (including me!) to enjoy. They were probably the best cupcakes I've ever made and should be eaten with a big glass of milk. Yummm.

 Chocolate Creme filled Snickers Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:

1 Devils Food Cake Mix

1 sm box of chocolate instant pudding

4 eggs

1/2 c vegetable oil

1 c milk

1 c sour cream

For the Chocolate Creme Filling:

2 c heavy whipping cream

2 c melted chocolate chips

For the Chocolate Buttercream Icing:

1 stick butter

2 1/2 c powdered sugar

1/4 c cocoa powder

1/2 tsp vanilla 

Combine ingredients for cupcake batter and pour into 24 lined cupcake tins. Bake on 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. While cupcakes are cooling, make the chocolate creme. Whip the heavy cream with a mixer until is becomes very fluffy. This sometimes takes awhile. Fold in melted chocolate chips until a completely mixed. Put creme in a plastic baggie and cut the corner out so it can be piped into the cupcake centers. After cupcakes have completely cooled, fill each cupcake with a good squeeze of chocolate creme.

Mix ingredients with a mixer to make chocolate icing until well combined and pipe onto each cupcake. Top icing with chopped up snickers bars. Get a big glass of milk and enjoy yourself.

Apple Bacon Pork Chops

Fall is by far my favorite season, especially since now the temperatures have dropped from those 90 degree days so it actually feels like fall! This is a great recipe that is super easy and will definately impress. Not to mention it uses the BEST BBQ sauce in the world, my favorite, Carolina Treet.

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless pork chops

Apple pie filling (store bought or homemade)

Carolina Treet BBQ sauce

Bread Crumbs

4 slices bacon, fried

Shredded cheese (your favorite kind)

Marinate pork chops in Carolina Treat for a few hours or overnight. In a greased square pyrex dish spread out apple pie filling evenly. Dip marinated chops in bread crumbs to completely coat, then place on top of the apple layer. Cover with foil and bake on 375 for about 20 minutes. Cut into chops and make sure they are almost cooked through. Meanwhile, fry your bacon. Uncover pork chops and crumble bacon on top then cover with a layer of cheese. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the meat is fully cooked and the cheese is good and melted. Serve with some good sides and you've got yourself a great fall supper!

I made it with creamed potatoes, wild rice and green beans. I topped off the evening with my apple pie filling I canned a couple months ago to make a quick and easy apple pie. Happy eating :)