true story

Remember this less than awesome confession from not too long ago?  Well wouldn't you know I found myself there again- not literally at Just Cupcakes, but is Skinny Dip really any better?

It's busy.busy.busy at work right now and unfortunately that leads to stress... which leads to the consumption of a lot of sweets as a coping mechanism.  Trust me, I wish this wasn't my response but I've always turned to sweets when sad/stressed and it's a habit I've found extremely difficult to break.

One day last week I went straight from work to Skinny Dip; sampled almost all of their flavors; chose Frosted Cupcake; covered it with cookie dough bites, Reese's cup pieces, whipped cream, and cherries; checked out and made my way back to the car.  Did I mention it was pouring rain?  Well, it was and that didn't deter my mission in the slightest.  Nope.  I proceeded straight back to my car, shoveled my fro yo down my throat, listened to the radio, and posted to my Facebook wall that it'd be easier to stop stress eating if I were never stressed.  Little did the people who 'Liked' my post know exactly what that meant.  My guess is no one was picturing me sitting in my parked corolla in the pouring rain breathing easier with each bite.

squash and zucchini pizza

I may have mentioned before that Jake and are big into making a pizza each week... but if I didn't, then consider yourself now in the know.

We traditionally rotate between a BBQ Chicken or a Squash and Zucchini pizza, but lately the latter seems to be the constant victor.  Here's how we do what we do:

Squash & Zucchini Pizza

Ingredients:
-one squash
-one zucchini
-red onion
-flour
-wheat pizza dough (we buy ours from Trader Joes, but you can make yours or find it at any grocery store)
-1/3 a block of Parmesan cheese shredded (if you go with a bagged option, opt for Mozzarella)
-Alfredo sauce

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375° and roll out your pizza dough, using the flower to keep it from sticking.  Spread the alfredo sauce (no need to use the whole jar, not even half) evenly across the dough.

Next, sprinkle your shredded cheese.  Note: you can quickly grate your cheese by using your food processor with the grater plate; this will take less than a minute.

After that go ahead and cut your squash, zucchini, and red onion (use as much or as little onion as you'd like) and throw everything into a pan on medium-high heat.  Over the next few minutes toss the veggies to keep them cooking evenly and add some pepper and salt to your preference.  Once the veggies are cooked spread them evenly over the pizza.

Bake for 15 minutes, then let stand for 5 before cutting.

Enjoy!

peanut butter pretzel bites

The perfect combination of salty and sweet...  these bit-sized treats are dangerously delicious and simple to make.  I've made them twice now and they didn't were gone quick both times.  Enjoy.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

recipe courtesy of Foodaphilia

Yield 60 – 80 pretzel bites

Ingredients

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tbsp softened butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar (maybe more)

3/4 cup brown sugar (maybe more)

Pretzels

1 bag  semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Combine peanut butter and softened butter in a large bowl with a fork or whisk, or in a stand mixer.  Add the sugars and mix to combine.  At this point if the filling will roll easily into balls without sticking to your hands you’re ready to go.  If not, add a little more of each sugar until you reach a consistency that is easy to roll.

Roll a small portion into a small ball, then sandwich it between two whole pretzels.  When all the balls are rolled and successfully sandwiched, stick the whole tray in the freezer for about half an hour.

Pour the chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and heat at 30-second intervals, stirring occasionally until completely melted.  Remove the pretzel sandwiches from the freezer and quickly dip each half-way into the melted chocolate.  Return to the tray and repeat with remaining sandwiches.  When all are dipped, return the tray to the freezer to set up completely.  Store the sandwiches in the refrigerator until serving time.

easy holiday treat

I came across this holiday pretzels recipe on Pinterest and they are the perfect combination of salty and sweet. We like them so much that I've already made them for both of our work Christmas parties... and with any luck I'll find some festive containers and give them out as gifts. 

Here is everything you need to know to make them yourself, enjoy!

what you need:
-bag of M&Ms
-bag of square pretzels
-hershey kisses (2 bags)
-parchment paper

instructions:
-Heat oven to 170°
-line cookie sheet with parchment paper
-line pretzels along cookie sheet and center a hershey kiss on each
-bake for approximately 6 minutes
-remove from oven and press down each kiss with a M&M
-let cool then place in fridge

lessons learned:
-the white chocolate kisses melt faster (6 min is plenty) so if you're going to mix them with the regular hershey kisses then try putting them on separate cookie sheets and add another 1-2 minutes for the milk chocolate kisses
-once out of the oven test if they are ready by pressing one down with an M&M to make sure they flatten; you do not want them to look like Rolos (they'll break off too easily)
-keep them refrigerated until serving (they just take better)

Avocado & Corn Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette

I mentioned Pinterest awhile back and am still pretty into it.  I've come across a lot of decor ideas and tons of unique recipes!  Below is one that I've made twice now and  has been a crowd pleaser. 

Avocado and Grilled Corn Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette

1 bag of shoepeg frozen corn (original recipe calls for grilled ears of corn)
2 Avocado’s, diced and sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent browning
2 C. Tomatoes, red and yellow cherry
1 Small red onion, finely diced
¾ C. Feta, crumbled
1 English cucumber, skin on and chopped small dice

Combine in a medium size bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cilantro Vinaigrette:

6 T. Olive oil

2 T. Sherry vinegar
1 t. Garlic powder
2 T. Fresh cilantro, minced
½ t. Salt
Pepper to taste

Add all of the above ingredients in a small mason jar and shake really well. Taste and adjust seasoning as you desire.

When ready to serve, combine the dressing and other ingredients into a large bowl.  I like to add a little at a time so it mixes easily with the vinaigrette and gets evenly coated.

Today Jake turns 26 and I think I’m more excited than he is! 

photo by Howard Chen [HOWE CAPTIVATE]

A lot of people say that on their birthday they feel exactly the same as they did the day before, and I agree- but if you take that a step further and compare how you felt on your birthday the year before compared to now, hopefully its different... and hopefully it's because something has improved.   I was thinking about all the things that have happened with Jake since March 22nd, 2010 and I think it's a lot!

-He got his Cannondale cycle in April (aka Carmen, his baby)
-Graduated with his Doctorate of Physical Therapy in May
-Started his first job with Sentara in June
-We got our dog, Tank, in July
-He started a small business with another therapist in September
-We celebrated our 1 year anniversary in October
-Picked out our fresh Christmas tree together in December (this was a first for both of us; I'd always gotten a tree from NC and never with him and I don't think he'd ever picked out a real tree period)
-He “Retired” the terminator for a new Tacoma & spent two and half weeks in Haiti working on amputees through Physicians for Peace in February

Of course this isn’t nearly everything, but I’m sure when Jake really thinks about everything from the past year he will feel different (and hopefully in a good way).

Now as far as his birthday celebration goes, it’s sort of tricky because we are both part of a bible study on Tuesday nights and the guys' study is actually at our house!  With that in mind, we preemptively celebrated on Sunday with Alison and Will at Zushi in Town Center and splurged with dessert at Confetti!  Tonight my plan is to get off work early and cook dinner for him.  And trust me when I tell you that the act of cooking in and of itself is a great gift.  Not to mention the recipe has both multiple ingredients and steps, which will hopefully impress him as well!

Tonight’s menu is (don’t worry he won’t read this before then):

Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa 

and Tomatoes Stuffed with Grilled-Corn Salad from Martha Stewart’s Food Everyday

I’ve actually told Jake that I made plans for us right after work and will text him the address right before he gets off to keep the surprise.  Of course, he assumed this meant eating out and started to complain that we’d already done the whole celebration charade on Sunday and he isn’t sure that we’ll have time to go out.  I reminded him that I’m a planner and I’d already taken all of those things into consideration before making the plans, so for him to trust me.  I promised he’d be home in plenty of time for the his bible study.. and I plan on keeping that promise.

He should be getting said text with our address any minute and I'm sure he'll call right away to see what I'm up to.  Hopefully, dinner will be timed perfectly for his arrival and the house may even be cleaned too (fingers crossed)!

Oh, and if dinner ends up looking like the above I may share some pictures with you, but based on my past experiences it probably won't so don't hold your breath!

Update:
Dinner was a hit and he of course appreciated the gesture!  Below is how it turned out... not to shabby if I say so myself.