A clean home is a happy home:)

Hey Y’all!

I know you’ve just been on pins and needles for a new post, so… WAIT NO LONGER! haha Just for you Lauren.  This first (and only for me) week of summer has been bliss.  And by bliss I mean I was able to sweep and mop my kitchen, run all my errands, work out, clean up the living room, and hang out with JR and Emshir.

Having a clean kitchen made me think “Hmm, I should bake something and screw this all up.” No, I’m just kidding.  At least about the screwing it up part.  I figured it was time to branch out and try something I’ve never really done before which is recreate a favorite restaurant dish.

Lauren suggested pizza and I got to thinking “Favorite/cool/fun/cheap/easy pizza?” DONE! The Queen Margherita Pizza from one of my favorite pizza places since moving to college: US Pizza.  This pizza is cheesy and spicy and addictive.  It contains some of my favorite things like alfredo sauce and feta cheese.  In reality this whole meal took me about 15 min of prep and 15 min of baking and 10 minutes of eating thanks to JR and Emshir. (Recipe at end of post)

Now, I’m gonna go off topic and talk about my fun-so-far-summer.  I went to see the movie Thor. OMG Chris Hemsworth is adorable in this movie! It was a blast and I enjoyed every second of it, which was a lot of seconds because it was a tad long. After the movie JR and Emshir and I went to a Mexican restaurant and split a 60 oz pitcher of margaritas:) Oh yeah, fun times were had.

I dyed my hair dark burgundy auburn and… so far so good. I like it a lot. I Watched a bunch of tv and married off my best friend BP now BH:) Congrats to the happy couple. I also purchased my ticket for Italy(eek $1,500.00 poorer).  I am still so excited though because it is less than a month away!!!!!!! BSG here I come! oh and Italian countryside too;)

That pretty much wraps up my life as of now.  PYT is in Washington, DC visiting some friends and also picking up some new Bailey’s Coffee Creamer for me:D excited!

Queen Margherita Copy Cat Pizza

Pizza crust (I used a fifty cent box of jiffy)

2 oz feta cheese

4 oz mozzarella cheese

salsa verde

alfredo sauce

1 large slicing tomato (a few romas would work too)

chicken (optional, I used it bc I am used to cooking for BSG who can’t eat any meal without some form of meat)

basil (I used fresh and it really added a nice flavor, dried works too)

salt

black pepper

olive oil

cayenne pepper

Ok first I cooked a salsa verde coated chicken breast in some olive oil in a pan. Any way you want to prepare it is fine.

Then I let it rest and sliced it. I also sliced the tomatoes earlier in the day and put them in a bowl with some olive oil, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.

The last prep item is the pizza dough if you buy some that needs prep. Just follow those directions.

Ok, here is how quickly it all comes together. Mix alfredo and salsa verde to taste. I like mine spicy so I went heavy on the salsa verde. Spread the mixture over your crust. Add chicken, tomatoes, mozzarella, and feta with the basil finishing it off.

Heat until cheese is bubbly. Slice and Serve. Bada Boom Bing… Dinner is served!

This tasted just like US pizza’s Queen Margherita except with a thicker crust (which I prefer).  It was devoured quickly and was filling and satisfying. As a bonus I used the leftover ingredients to make another pizza for lunch and plan on using them again as maybe some sort of spicy chicken pasta dish. I’ll let you know how that goes!

Things tickling my fancy:

1. Shoe cushion insoles- standing for 8 hours is pretty unbearable without them. #lifesavers

2. Free Itunes Podcasts- I just downloaded a running one that I tried today and kicked ass:)

3. A clean house- waking up in the morning feels amazing knowing everything is clean and put away.

4. Bailey’s Coffee Creamer- SO EXCITED TO TRY THIS. I ❤ Bailey’s

Happy Reading! Thanks for sticking with me.

TMFF

Mini Turkey Pot Pie= Heaven, Torrential Rain= Hell

Hello TMFF friends,

Thanks for sticking with me over the last few weeks. I have been insanely busy. Classes are coming to an end and that means a ton of last minute stuff to do on top of getting ready for my trip to Italy this summer.

Today I am going to show you my recipe for First-time-ever-mini-turkey-(could be chicken)-pot-pie. GET EXCITED:D  I used leftover turkey from Easter lunch with my mom, PYT, and Mammaw. As far as veggies go I just used what I had available which, with the RAIN, was a yellow onion, jarred minced garlic, and canned peas, corn, and potatoes.

Because it is just me and PYT, I only made 3 pot pies. The amount of filling I made could easily have made three more.

Here are a few pics of PYT and JR from SPRING BREAK-Atlanta. This trip convinced me that I WILL live there someday. Enjoy:)

awww PYT and JR posing in front of… a sign!!

oh, Heyyyy boo! BSG looking good;)

Bodies Exhibit. Crazy! I opted not to go. They said it was very cool though.

At local Italian Restaurant Pasta del Pulcinella

Meee! at the Porter Beer Bar in Little Five Points. If you’re down there you NEED to go here. AWESOME!

Mandatory Beach pic at Hilton Head.

Hahahahaha JR- Dont hate me:) at Sweetwater Brewing Company tour. Yay Beer!! haha

Without further ado…

Mini Chicken/Turkey Pot Pie

1 frozen pie crust (thawed; to use the full amount of filling I made, I would have used 2 if I had them)

3 table spoons of butter

3 to 4 tablespoons of flour

~ 1 cup of milk(maybe more; I forgot to measure)

1/4 can of corn

1/4 can of peas

1/2 can of sliced potatoes; diced

1/4 cup diced yellow onion

1/3 cup shredded turkey

2 cloves minced garlic

Rotisserie chicken seasoning

salt

pepper

sage

cayenne pepper

garlic salt

onion powder

DONT BE DAUNTED BY THE EXTENSIVE INGREDIENT LIST. it really is quite easy.

Sautee onions and garlic in one tablespoon of butter until translucent. Take onion out of pan. Add two tablespoons of butter to the original pan. Add flour one tbsp at a time. Whisk fast! get all that good stuff on the bottom. add milk. whisk. add more flour. whisk. Let cook a few minutes. add in the sauteed onion, turkey, and rest of the veggies. Let cook for a few minutes. Season to taste. Spray mini oven safe containers with Pam, cut out pie crust to fit in and on top of container. put first layer of crust down. Spoon in filling. Top with second layer of crust. Cut a slit in the top crust. Bake according to package directions (about 15-20 min( at 350 Degrees). ENJOY!!

Things tickling my fancy:

1. Rainboots

2. SKYPE- Best thing ever. Let’s me talk to BSG regularly which is great because if I didn’t, I would be so sad:(

3. Rainy day tiger snoozes- even grown-ups need naps:D

Happy Swimming Y’all:)

As Promised…Strawberry Ice Cream

As you may or may not know, I just purchased for myself an ice cream maker! Yay! It was necessary for my LIFE.  So now, at my whim, I can whip up sorbet, frozen yogurt, ice cream, and slushies (with or without alcohol). How could this be a bad idea? It can’t. My first endeavor was Strawberry Ice Cream because I had some strawberries that needed to be used and a recipe (helpful). The ice cream machine is great. It was quick, if not a bit noisy, and easy to use.  The consistency after initial freezing is comparable to soft serve so if you want more ice cream-y ice cream, then you should transfer it to a freezable, covered container.

Ingredients ( Cream, Whole Milk, Strawberries, Lemon Juice, Sugar, and Vanilla)

Mix sugar, cream, milk, vanilla, sugar and strawberry juice with a  hand mixer

Pour mixture into the machine and turn on. Wait 25 -30 minutes. Add the chopped strawberries in the last 5 minutes.

Finished! This is the soft serve consistency. MMM TASTY!

 

This was an incredible finish to my dinner which was homemade chicken tostadas.

I took 1 large chicken breast and boiled it in salsa(enough to cover it), along with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder (to taste)

Once the chicken was done I shredded it with two forks.

For the Tostada shells, I took flour tortillas and fried them.

Take one shell, put some shredded salsa chicken, guacamole, black beans, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, etc to finish!

ENJOY! this was so tasty and full of flavor not to mention there was plenty left for leftovers the next day!

Strawberry Ice cream recipe

1 Pint fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice ( I used bottled)

1 cup of sugar, divided

1 cup of whole milk

2 cups of heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

combine strawberries with lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sugar. stir gently and let macerate in juices for 2 hours. In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or whisk to combine the milk and sugar until sugar is dissolved (1-2 min on low-speed). stir in heavy cream plus strawberry juice and vanilla. turn machine on. pour mixture into freezing bowl. let mix for 25-30 min. add strawberries during the last five minutes.

Happy Cooking!

Things tickling my fancy:

1. These ADORABLE Handmade hair accessories from Quirky Squirrels on Etsy  http://www.etsy.com/shop/quirkysquirrels?ref=pr_shop_more

2. Beautiful sunshiney days like TODAY!

3. This amazing Apple Sangria I made the other day for PYT and Jessica’s Adult Disney Princess Party ( I was channeling Snow White)  http://nutmegnanny.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/honeycrisp-apple-sangria/

 

 

if you give a mouse a…Cookie!

Hey TMFF readers:)

This week is gruesomely busy! I am swamped for the next two weeks. I am not looking forward to it. But when it gets to be the last year of college it seems to get busier and busier because not only are you probably working (like me), you are looking for an internship (mandatory for my degree), as well as going to class and doing AWESOME on your homework while trying to have just a teeny tiny bit of fun thrown in even though you miss your Big Sexy Ginger(BSG for short from now on). I am so glad that I had such a great time on spring break with my sister, Pretty Young Thing(PYT), and my friend Jessica Rabbit(JR). Because I am so swamped I haven’t had a chance to upload pictures but hopefully by my next post I can show yall some of those!

For now I am going to show you some cookies I made for BSG’s nephew’s Birthday. They are made from a sugar cookie recipe I found a couple years ago that I use whenever I am in need of a buttery, sweet, vaguely shortbread-y cut out cookie. It is great for any icing although I prefer royal icing.  To ice these cookies I used the fill method with royal icing.

Sugar Cookies

(can’t remember where it is from)

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Ina  second bowl, combine and mix well the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir flour into butter mixture 1 cup at a time. Chill dough for 3 to 4 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Roll out dough in 2 batches and cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Bake on a sheet pan or parchment lined sheet pan. Bake for 10-15 min. Cool completely before icing.

I used the royal icing recipe on the meringue powder I bought although I have used egg white royal icing. Both work great it is just your prerogative.

In order to get the shapes for these cookies I used a template that BSG’s mom helped me make and a wine glass:)

This is the template we made, she mostly did:) She looked at a picture of a controller, folded a piece of paper the size I wanted in half and drew the outline, then she cut it out so it would be even. (ignore my toesies)

These are the XYAB buttons still wet from the icing.

These are the controllers still wet with their tiny buttons. At this point I considered putting everything on them but went for a more simplistic look where you could still tell it was a controller without being overwhelming.

Finished! These are not the best I’ve ever done but you can tell the fill icing technique on the buttons. I did not make the icing quite wet enough. Live and Learn. But for fill icing you do a stiff outline of the icing, let that dry, then fill it with a faintly watered down version of the icing, let that dry, then decorate as desired. There are a ton of youtube videos that go through the technique step by step. Here is one I really like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDN5AMXIzUY

What 12 year old doesn’t want xbox controller cookies for their birthday!?! He loved them fyi:D

Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day!

B as in Boy and then the rest of the word boy!

HEY! HELLO!

TMFF readers, followers, friends, randos,

Thanks so much for the views and comments. They really mean the world to me:) I have had a super busy week. It started with a 14 hour drive to Atlanta which taught me two things: 1- do your best to pick road trip buddies that have larger bladders than an ant. 2- when hysteria from lack of sleep sets in there is nothing more to do but Dougie while filling up the gas tank at a kangaroo station in Birmingham, AL.

There is so much to say and since I am still on the road I’ll give highlights. World of Coke in Atlanta, The Porter Beer Bar in Little Five Points, Amateur Comedy night at The Star Community Bar (also in Little Five Points), sausage and apple ravioli with brown butter sauce and apple cider reduction from Pasta da Pulcinella, kayaking in HH, and beach laying:) More to come!

This trip has taught me a lot about myself such as how I respond under pressure ( I can get flustered but I get the job done), how little sleep I need( 6  hours or I am kind of a B), what my sleeping NECESSITIES are (eye mask, own pillow, and ear plugs), and how my stomach grows 4 sizes larger to accommodate all the yummy food I am eating.  But really, so far I have had so much fun. The weather has been beyond beautiful and everyone has been so welcoming and gracious. I can definitely see myself living in Atlanta some day. There are some really lovely places and people that even though it is a large city it feels like a home. I can not wait to actually BE home though! My own bed, the homemade strawberry ice cream I made before leaving (pictures and recipe in the next post), and most importantly just being in the space I call my own.

That is the end of this post as I now have to work on a paper my professor is having us turn in Friday (yep the Friday of spring break! Really?!?!) So with that I bid all (20:) ) of you Adieu. Have a Fantastic Night!!!

Things tickling my fancy right now:

1.Mike Birbiglia- He is a comic whose joke is the header for this post. It is referencing his last name and how he wish it was Boy so he could spell it like that. I butcher jokes so I promise it is funny! look him up:)

2.Free Wifi- How cool is that?!? Way cool! Thank you Holiday Inn:)

3.Martinis- They are so diverse! You can go sweet, sour, salty, savory, whatever! haha I had a particularly delicious Tiramisu Martini last night and while it didn’t really remind me of tiramisu, it was super delicious. Here is a recipe for one if you feel like trying it out:

Tiramisu Martini

from Martinis at Midnight

• 1 shot of Espresso
• 3/4 oz Coffee Vodka
• 1/2 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
• 1/2 oz Spiced Rum
• 1/2 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur

Combine in an ice filled shaker; shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.

http://www.martinisatmidnight.com/recipes/tiramisu-martini-recipe.php

…and today is a new day!

HELLO TMFF friends,

Today has been so looooong already.  Ive been to work and school already and now I have some homework to do… But as you can see, right now, I am writing a new blog post. Spring Break is a few days away and I am headed to ATL with some friends and my sister. I. Cant. Wait. We are going to do a little kayaking, exploring, adventuring… and eating and sunbathing. There might be some other things on the agenda as well… Tonight my sis is making meatballs and spaghetti for her study group and me! I’m excited. Culinary wise I dont love meatballs but they smell so good so I guess I’ll give them a chance. On another note, here is what is tickling my fancy today:

1.www.tastespotting.com

2. Awesome local Artist/friend/rapper/slam poet- Anonymous: http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_7746992

3. Hershey’s

Once again,

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Tickle My Fickle Fancy- Take 1

Hello TMFF friends,

For my first post I just want to talk about what this blog is going (hopefully) to be, some about me fun facts, and a recipe I tried the other day!

So Tickle My Fickle Fancy to me is random stuff that I like; be that videos, links, recipes, quotes, w/e tickles my fancy(haha) and fickle is random whatever I feel like. It is for my family and friends to be involved in my life and I also want something to communicate through during my trip to Italy this summer! YAY!

Ok, about me:) I love food, cooking, baking, and the way a home made treat can make you feel.

I am a twin, a first semester senior in the Hospitality Department(which I LOVE), and a waitress(which also has its really great moments). I am going to try and post once a week on wednesday or saturday.

Thanks so much for reading and I hope to get your feedback and comments soon!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

from: http://messycook.blogspot.com/2009/11/fresh-and-fruity-raspberry-lemon.html#comment-form

These muffins had an amazing lemon flavor! With a whole lemon in the mix(zest and juice) they really pack a punch.  The raspberries were a nice addition but got a little gooey(in a weird way) and left big holes throughout the muffin. I wasn’t a fan. Definitely need to spray the liner that you use and contrary to what one reviewer said, I would recommend keeping them covered as they were a little dry the next day. Overall a wonderful recipe that with a few teeny tiny changes will become a regular to my repertoire. Maybe a glaze next time?!? YES!

 

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