slow-roasted tomatoes

Having a garden is simply wonderful! But one problem we are running into is an overproduction of certain vegetables and herbs, one being cherry tomatoes. Not wanting any to go to waste, I decided to roast some of them. Kind of like a sun-dried tomatoes ... only better! 

The process was as easy as it gets. 

I preheated the oven to 200 degrees.

Sliced the tomatoes in half.

Tossed in some fresh basil and rosemary from our garden along with chopped garlic.

Then drizzled some olive oil over the mix, enough to coat the tomatoes.

And popped them in the oven for a little over 3 hours. 

...

Simplicity at it's finest. 

Once they cooled down I put them in a jar with some more olive oil to help preserve them and stuck them in the fridge! I can't wait to try them on salad, pasta or even as a quick snack.

This week for dinner ...

borrowed

Monday 

Since there are no leftovers to be had & the grocery store will have to wait until tomorrow, it will either be a 'take-out' kind of night or a good old fashioned pb&j. 

Tuesday

Mediterranean Pizza

(recipe found here)

Wednesday

Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, E Peperoncino

oooor

Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil and Chili flakes 

(the first way sounds much fancier)

(recipe found here)

Thursday 

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia with Roasted Red Potatoes

(recipe found here)

Friday

Nachos sound simply divine!

(recipe found here)

Saturday 

I'm thinking a night out for dinner! 

Sunday

Roast Turkey breast with Corn Casserole 

This week for dinner ...

(borrowed)

Monday

Sunday night leftovers: P.W. Fettuccine Alfredo 

(recipe found here)

** love this pasta bowl btw **

Tuesday

Greek Salsa Chicken with Sun-dried Tomato Rice

(recipe found here)

Wednesday 

Southwest Tuna on Toast 

(recipe found here)

Thursday 

Taquitos! 

Friday 

White Chicken Chili

This week for dinner...

(borrowed)

Monday

French Chicken Broccoli Supreme

(Didn't get around to making this yesterday. It was one of those days where even all the coffee in the world couldn't give me enough energy to get in the kitchen and cook; it took all I had just to do a few hours of homework. Sooo it was a "fend-for-yourself" kind of night.)

(recipe found here)

Tuesday

Monday night leftovers: see above. 

Wednesday

I am thinking the pizza that we were supposed to have last Friday sounds good! 

Thursday

Turkey Lettuce Wrap Tacos

(recipe found here)

Friday

Taco Salads!

Saturday

Baked Spicy Chicken Wings 

(recipe found here)

Sunday

Baked Chicken Pesto served with Couscous 

(recipe found here)

Insta-Friday

and a video. 

A little bit of life over the last two weeks. 

It was a Holiday Hotcake kind of date! 

Got to love your local ihop!

My pumpkin caramel praline pancakes; sounds amazing right?

Well, I insure you - they were!

Jase got eggnog something or other pancakes (gag me)

but he liked them so whatev. 

B sleeps

Jason plays AngryBirds

and

I shop for some new ridin' boots!

Story goes: Jason's parents flew into Austin the Friday before Thanksgiving because there was a KState game to be won on Saturday. Jason was to meet them in Austin for the game. Then Sunday his parents were going to drive down to Corpus for the Thanksgiving week. Well, little did they know but Blaykleigh and I decided to tag along and surprise them in Austin - they hadn't seen her since she was born! Once they headed off to the game, her and I had plans to meet up with a friend of mine there and get some 'girl time' in.

**I told Bonnie early that day that B and I were home cleaning "dust bunnies" hence the "dust bunny" remark and genius me hit the 'stop record' button too soon, therefore the video cut off before you get to see B getting her some Granny love! 

Grabbed some coffee with Keli while in Austin.

We went to Mozart's on Lake Austin. Horrible view right?

One of the neatest coffee shops I have ever been to!

Totally worth stopping by there if you are ever in the area.

http://www.mozartscoffee.com

I got the Mozart Mocha.

It had caramel and some other ingredient in it.

Ah-mazing.

Got our grub on at Maudie's TexMex.

Soaking up that precious time.

Jason turns 60! 

Ha. I kid, I kid. 

But I have no doubt in my mind that he won't look 

much older when he actually reaches that milestone. 

One would never think with a youthful face like his

 that he is nearing the big 3-0. 

Such a handsome fella. 

Cupcakes for Granny ... the real birthday girl.

What? Who says the cook can't taste? The batter is the best part.

My version of "Silent night". 

November 30 days of thanks

Day twenty nine.

2. Thankful for cake in a box. Here it is 11:50 pm and I am up making a cake for Blaykleigh. Why, you ask? Because tomorrow is her half birthday and I want to start a tradition of celebrating her (as well as any other future child of ours) half birthday(s) ... it's going to be a family tradition type of thing, it's going to be a beautiful memory I hope she will forever keep. Yes, I know she is only 6 months old and won't even get to enjoy her cake or even remember this particular "half birthday" hoopla that's about to go down but I am determined to start our tradition now ... so let the celebration commence! And hopefully in the years to follow, I can whip out my baking skills and bake her a made-from-scratch-cake or cupcakes or cake-pops (whichever she prefers) and I won't be up so late baking a cake from a box! But with school ruling my life these days, I find ways to make due. 

November 30 days of thanks

Day twenty four. 

7. I am thankful for today!

most beautiful little turkey around. 

The Thanksgiving decor.

** in love with my thrift-store milk glass vases and little bird s&p shakers from Pier1.

The Menu.

smoked turkey breast

corn bread and herb stuffing

cheesy carrot casserole 

green chili corn casserole

yeast rolls

and

streusel pumpkin pie 

The family.

What. A. Wonderful. Day. 

November 30 days of thanks

Day twenty one.

Be thankful and say so to Him ... Psalm 100:4 

10. Thankful for these delicious cookies! They are heavenly. Gingersnaps all the way from Sweden and I do not lie when I say that we are already on our 2nd tin within a month - we like our food in this house. Thin, crisp and full of flavor makes them hard to resist. And the tins are super cute; would make an awesome gift to give a 'foodie' and can be purchased at Cost Plus World Market (one of my favorite stores). 

Glazed Doughnut Muffins

Ooooo. Pinterest, ya did it again. Don't these just look delightful? ... I am a sucker for anything sweet and when I saw this pin on pinterest this morning, I knew at some point today I would be in the kitchen whipping up a batch for myself (and the husband if I must share).  

I've already 'tested' one out just to make sure they were okay to eat - scrumptious, no doubt about it! The recipe is below if you yourself are just as lured into the thought of the deliciousness of a doughnut within a muffin. 

Enjoy.

Glazed Doughnut Muffins 

Yields: 12 muffins 

For the Muffins:

1. 1/4 cup butter
2. 1/4 cup vegetable oil
3. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
4. 1/3 cup brown sugar
5. 2 large eggs
6. 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
7. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
8. 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
9. 1 teaspoon cinnamon
10. 3/4 teaspoon salt
11. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12. 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
13. 1 cup milk

For the Glaze:

1. 3 tablespoons butter; melted
2. 1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
3. 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
4. 2 tablespoons hot water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. With the mixer on low speed, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla until just combined. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
3. Spoon batter into cups, filling the cups, and smooth tops. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing.
4. To make the glaze, In a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.
5. When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip a second time  and allow to harden then serve.

Insta-Friday

Between traveling to beautiful Colorado, school and getting back into a 'schedule', i've been M.I.A. for a bit. Here are some snapshots of life around here (and in Colorado) from the last two weeks-ish. Enjoy!

B playing with her dolly; lots of loud squeals followed.

Spent one Saturday afternoon making homemade baby food for the little bird.

For all the info and recipes you would ever need, click here. Great site! 

Acorn Squash - thought it was suitable for the season. 

B thought so too - she LOVES this stuff!

What a great face to wake up to every morning don't you think?!

Watching KState rule Texas Tech.

A bit blurry but B is rocking her KState apparel ... shoes and all!

Swinging a new fave around here.

Long afternoon naps, rare but welcomed! 

That is one BIG duck.

About to take off on her very first plane ride. Did absolutely wonderful on the way to Colorado but the plane ride back to Texas was a bit of a different story; I think it's because she wanted to stay in Colorado! hehe

Swinging on the back porch at my parents house, enjoying the view ...

the view -

Mountains, blue sky, and Fall trees!!! Enough said.

B with her great grandpa a.k.a. "Papa the GREAT".

Not the best picture being that this was taken from inside the car at a stoplight. But look at those colors, my eyes were so busy soaking up all the beautifulness the entire time I was there ... haven't seen a Colorado Fall in THREE long years. I miss it nonetheless! 

Canvas and Cocktail celebrating my Momma's biiiiiirthday (the reason for the trip to Colorado).

And yes, our eyes are glowing. 

Our drive up to Estes Park - spectacular scenery. 

B all bundled up as we 'paroozed' all the street shops in Estes Park. 

Like her knitted hat? It was a handmade gift for her from a very talented bestie of mine.

Last but not least, DAZ BOG coffee. Definitely blog worthy. If I had to rate my top three fave's for frozen latte's it would go as followed: 1. DAZ BOG, 2. Nordstorm Cafe and 3. Starbucks.

Yes, Starbucks is 3rd but being that it is the only choice I have here in South Texas, they still get all of our business.