Update!!

I'm sure I have lots of updating & catching up to do, knowing me it won't all get done but I'll try to give you a quick rundown of what's been going on as of late. #1 - Recipe testing for Ruth over at Once Upon A Feast. She has this fabulous cookbook coming out and I've been lucky enough to participate in the testing of her family's recipes for the book. So far I've tested a pie recipe, a couple biscotti recipes, a yummy brownie recipe and a TO DIE FOR chicken recipe. YUM-O! I even liked the brownies & y'all know I'm picky when it comes to brownies. I can't share these recipes with y'all - sorry. But check out her cookbook when it comes out. Guaranteed ya won't be disappointed! #2 - Up next we have the wonderful world of WellFed. It's keeping me busy, and I'm still loving every second of it! I've finally gotten over my bout of writers block and I'm back in the groove, I hope. So head on over there and check out my weekly candy recipes at Sugar Savvy, along with my coffee & tea articles and recipes, along with those of my wonderful writers at A Nice Cuppa. This week you can find my recipe for my OUT OF THIS WORLD espresso brownies at A Nice Cuppa. #3 - I haven't been back helping out at the bakery at all. I have mixed emotions about that. In a way, I'm relieved they haven't needed me on the days I was available, but in a way, I'm sad because it would be nice to think I was soooo needed they could hardly do without me! lol But, they must love my fancy little sugar cookies cause the owner ordered 2 dozen from me last week for St. Patty's Day and she's put in an order for another 2 dozen Easter themed cookies for next week. Ok, so it's not totally that she just LOVES my cookies. She's also so busy making cakes & hates messing with the cookies. But still!! lol So, in a nutshell that's my life as of late. I'll try to keep y'all updated more, in case anyone has noticed or cared that I've been gone more than usual..lol

Southern Fried Love

Livin life with my heart deeply planted in the south, I'm well aware that most people, myself included, think that if it's edible, we'll fry it. I mean come on, we fry pickles for Pete's Sake! Let me just go on record, however, saying that I do not fry pickles, nor have I ever eaten a fried pickle! That just seems bizarre to me. Then again fried asparagus probably seems bizarre to some people, but I've fried it. And it's good!! I kid you not, fried asparagus is tasty. I've only eaten asparagus a few times, but each time I really enjoyed it. I'm not a big veggie eater, so that's saying alot actually. Well to make a short story long, I had a bunch of the skinny green things in the crisper with no idea how I wanted to prepare them, so I did a little search on allrecipes.com and found a recipe for fried asparagus. The recipe used finely crushed buttery crackers, I opted for italian breadcrumbs instead, and I think that was an excellent decision if I do say so myself. Fried Asparagus 1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces 1/2 cup canola oil for frying 1 egg 1 cup italian breadcrumbs 1. Bring about 2 inches of water to boil in a saucepan. Add the asparagus, and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain, and pat dry. 2. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large heavy skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Whisk the egg in a small bowl, and place the cracker crumbs in a separate bowl. 3. Dip the asparagus pieces into the egg, and then coat with cracker crumbs. Fry in the hot oil until golden. Turn frequently for even cooking. If they are browning too quickly, reduce the heat a little. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate before serving.

How bout a nice cuppa...

Tea? Coffee? Well if you're craving a nice cuppa either then head on over to my new baby A Nice Cuppa. If you've been wondering where I disappeared to lately, A Nice Cuppa is your answer, well part of it. The bakery is the other part of your answer. A Nice Cuppa is my little secret project that I mentioned a few weeks back. Well, we've finally launched about a week ago, so it's not so secret anymore. In fact, I'm filled with caffeine and screaming it from the rooftops! Ok, well maybe not screaming it, and I'm definitely not on the roof, but I think you get the idea right? A Nice Cuppa is one of the newest WellFed Network blogs. We've got a fantastic group of writers writing about any and everything coffee and tea related. If this sounds like your cuppa tea, or coffee - then go check it out! A Nice Cuppa

My, my, my Key Lime Pie

Ok, well it's not really a pie - it's a cheesecake. Even better right?? Well, in my book it certainly is =) A while back Jen over at Fallen Souffle shared a recipe for her low fat key lime cheesecake. And before you say it - No I didn't stutter, it really is low fat. But it's definitely not low on taste. I'd been wanting to make a cheesecake for a while, but I seemed to either not have the time, or I just wasn't sure exactly what kind I wanted to make. Well, when I remembered Jen's recipe it was all over, I knew this was the cheesecake I was going to make. It's so rich and creamy. My only afterthought, is that the Key Lime flavor isn't very pronounced, but I think next time I'll try a different brand of yogurt and see if that's got something to do with it. Low-Fat Key Lime Cheesecake 1 (9 inch) reduced fat graham cracker pie crust 2 (8 ounce) packages reduced fat cream cheese 1/2 cup white sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 1/2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice 1/2 cup egg substitute 1 (8 ounce) container nonfat lime yogurt (or any flavor of your choice) 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in flour. Beat in lemon juice and egg substitute. Stir in yogurt. Pour into crust. 3. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Allow to cool. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. **I took Jen's advice and left the cheesecake in the oven for another hour with the door cracked and the oven turned OFF. That gave it a chance to firm up and it kept it from cracking.

Pretty Cupcakes & Sugary Updates

I feel like I should be apologizing to all of you for being so neglectful, but life has been so busy lately. And I honestly haven't had time to make that much. Today I made some more chocolate chip cookies and some chocolate St. Patty's Day cookies, but those can hardly count because all I had to do was take the dough from the freezer and preheat the oven. Last weekend I made a super easy broccoli casserole and a batch of mint brownies, both for the March issue of Good Things. And for this week's recipe over at Sugar Savvy I made this really yummy candy called "Not Your Average Chocolate Bark". When you get time head over there and check it out. I swear it isn't what you're thinking it is. And no, I didn't make that almost-too-pretty-to-eat cupcake in the pic. But that gorgeous little cupcake is part of my really cool to me news, and part of the explanation as to why I haven't been in MY kitchen baking the week away. I've been in someone elses kitchen baking the week away. Last week I had this cute little bakery introduced to me that's been right under my nose all along, and I've been there helping out this week. Hoping I can learn great things in the world of baking and cake decorating from some pros who have been at it alot longer than I have. Things are going great! They are super busy right now, so there's alot of decorating going on, and let me tell you - these ladies have got some SKILLS!! I'm dying to get back in my kitchen and get back to baking for my big bad dad and the rest of the family, so if all goes as planned I'll have some yummies to report to y'all soon!