Gnocchi Mac 'n Cheese with Bacon

It's official...three of the most delicious foods known to man have come together to bring you the pinnacle of flavor and delight.  Bacon, Mac 'n Cheese, and Gnocchi unite for a mealtime experience that will ignite your senses and render you speechless (as you stuff your mouth with seconds).  Wipe off your drool, give in to your growling stomach, and enjoy this surprisingly easy meal.  This recipe came from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary, with a few modifications by yours truly.

{Gnocchi Mac 'n Cheese with Bacon}


Ingredients:
2 pounds gnocchi (found in the pasta aisle)
4 Tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
2 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
Salt and white pepper to taste
8 strips of bacon (at least!)
2/3 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
A few basil leaves, diced and separated into two parts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray an oven-safe baking dish (8x8 or 13x9 both fine) with nonstick spray.
2. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions.  After cooked and drained, mix gnocchi with salt, pepper, and half the basil, and place in prepared baking dish.
3. Cook bacon in frying pan until cooked.  When cooled, crumble into pieces and set aside.
4. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and Dijon. Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Combine Gruyere and fontina, then add by the handful to milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful. Once all cheese is melted, mix in bacon crumbles, salt, pepper, and remaining basil leaves.
6. Pour sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano over top. Bake gnocchi until they puff and the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving.  

Lovely photos taken by Lisa of The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

Chocolate Chip Banana Goodness

Ohhh sweet goodness.  This bread is the sure cure to any Monday morning blues!  My co-worker, Rachel, had this bread in her lunch, offered me a bite, and I have not stopped eating it since.  No really, every time we eat the last bite, I make another loaf!  It is simple to make and perfectly moist...I know you are going to love it :)

{Chocolate Chip Banana Bread}

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 eggs

3 tablespoons sour cream

3-4 ripe bananas, diced

3/4 cup chocolate chips (or more/less if you want)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the bottom of a bread loaf pan.

2. Stir together the sugar, flour, oatmeal, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

3. Stir in the butter, eggs, and sour cream, just until mixed (do not overmix).

4. Stir in the bananas and chocolate chips.

5. Pour mixture into greased loaf pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until middle is mostly set.

Enjoy!

Why Thank You...

{Gray & Yellow Thank You Notes}

It does not get better than this. Sunday afternoon.  Birds singing.  Sun peaking in through the trees.  Brownies baking.  Dog peacefully snoring (just like her daddy). Ahhh...time for a craft.

Don't tell my mom this, but I am pretty terrible at thank you notes.  I love the idea of hand-written notes, but often between figuring out the address, finding a stamp, and remembering to put it in the mailbox, something goes wrong.  A quick text or email ends up winning, which is still nice, but there's just something about opening a card in the mail that means so much.  Well, after today I'm at least stocked with cute thank you notes (we'll see if they actually make it to the mailbox!).

I'm on a gray and yellow kick, so I found some scrap paper and other supplies and decided to go for it.  The cards all a little different, and each was fun to make.  To top it off, the whole project used about $2 worth of supplies!

To start, I stamped thank you onto yellow and white cardstock using a small black ink pad and mini letter stamps (ink & stamps can be found in the dollar bin at Michael's).  My stamping skills are far from perfect, but I think the little imperfections add a nice homemade touch.  Next, I used different shaped punches (also from Michael's) to cut out the thank you in different shapes.  From there, I glued on paper, lace, and twine to create simple, sweet card.  Here are some of the supplies that came in handy:

Whatever the occasion, whatever the colors, I hope these cards bring a smile not only to the recipient, but also to you!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls ...just like Cinnabon!

As a kid, on special occasions our family would visit the mall after church to visit the pet store & eat humongous cinnamon rolls.  It was a rare occasion, but I remember thinking this is the life!  The other day I had a major craving for those larger-than-life, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls.  After perusing through a bunch of recipes, I finally settled on this one from Beauty and Bedlam, which yielded goey, rich, cream-cheese frosted cinnamon rolls, just like at Cinnabon!  I brought them to work for a sweet co-worker's last day, and they were a delicious hit!  It was a labor of love, taking around 3 hours from start to finish, but totally worth it.

Ingredients

Dough:

- 1.5 cups granulated sugar

- 3 tablespoons cinnamon

- 2 packs of .25 oz yeast

- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (to activate yeast)

- 2/3 cup granulated sugar

- 2/3 cup butter

- 1 cup hot water (approximately 110 degrees)

- 1 cup warm milk

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 2 eggs slightly, beaten

- Approximately 8 cups flour

Coating:

- 1/2 cup melted butter

- 1.5 cups chopped walnuts or pecans (optional, but highly recommended!)

- 1/2 cup granulated or brown sugar

Icing:

- 8 oz cream cheese

- 8 oz margarine (2 sticks)

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

- 16 oz powdered sugar (2 cups)

Instructions

1. Mix together 1.5 cups sugar and cinnamon.  Set aside for later.

2. In small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in hot water.  Set aside.

3. In large bowl, mix together milk, 2/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup butter, milk, salt, and eggs.  Add yeast mixture and 4 cups of flour.  Beat until smooth.  Add flour if necessary until dough is stiff.

4. Place dough on well-floured surface and knead for 8 minutes.  Great for anger processing!  Dough should be stretchy/elastic-y when finished.

5. Place dough in greased bowl and store in a warm place until it has doubled in size (approximately 1 hour).

6. Punch down dough and let rest for 5 minutes.

7. Roll dough out on floured surface into a 15"x20" rectangle.  Brush 1/2 cup butter on dough, and top with cinnamon & sugar mixture and nuts.

8. Tightly roll the dough.  Cut into 12-15 thick slices using dental floss.

9. Coat the bottom of a 13"x9" baking pan with 1/2 cup butter and remaining sugar.  

10. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan; cover and allow to rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size (about 45 minutes).

11. Bake rolls at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until light golden in color.

12. Finally, mix together cream cheese frosting and top warm cinnamon rolls.  Devour immediately... enjoy!

Pulled Pork Tacos & Homemade Guacamole

It's never to early to get your Cinco de Mayo on!   Whatever you do to celebrate, be sure to include a large margarita and these delicious dishes...

{Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos}
Not only are these tacos easy to make, they include CHOCOLATE - oh happy day!

Ingredients:
16 oz can of your favorite salsa
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Salt
2 lbs pork sirloin roast
Tortillas (La Tortilla Factory Handmade Style Corn Tortillas hit the spot!)
Butter
Cilantro sprigs
Sour cream
Guacamole (see below!)

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a slow cooker.  Add in the pork roast and turn to coat.
2. Cook on low heat for 7-8 hours.  After cooking, use two forks to shred the pork and stir with the remaining juices
3. Heat tortillas in a frying pan that is lightly coated with butter.  Top with the remaining fixings.
4. Indulge that Cinco de Mayo craving!

Recipe adapted from Real Simple

{Zesty & Creamy Homemade Guacamole}

Ingredients:
4 avocados
1 fresh lime
1 diced roma tomato
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
Pinch of pepper
Tortilla chips

1. Slice the avocados in half, score the halves, and pour into a bowl.  Combine with the juice of the lime and beat for about 30 seconds.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients.  Grab a chip. Dip. Devour.

Hello Birdie! Hand Painted Mugs

Today I'm introducing you to one of my favorite crafts...hand-painted mugs!  Last weekend I finished an order of 25 mugs for a baby shower, and I just have to share this so you can try it too...

{Hand Painted Mugs}

Supplies:

-Ceramic or stone mug ($2-$3 at HomeGoods)

-Black & red ceramic paint (Porcelaine 150 brand recommended. Available at some Michaels, JoAnns, or on Etsy)

-Paint brush (or other tool with round edge)

First, use the black paint marker to create the main branch.  I try to create a wavy line that starts thick at the bottom of the mug and winds around the mug, getting thinner as it goes.

Next, create side branches that stem off the main branch.  {Troubleshooting} at the bottom has tips.

Now add a little birdie!  I'm horrible at drawing (no really, you should see me playing Draw Something!!!), so I appreciate how easy these birds are...oval body, two lines for the tail, two lines for the legs, and a little triangle beak.

Now the fun part!  Open a jar of red paint and dip the end of the paint brush.

Gently touch the paint against the branches to create tiny cherry blossoms.

Let the paint sit for 4 hours.  Then place the mug in the oven (turned off), close the oven, set to 350 degrees, and remove after 30 minutes.  This allows the mug to gradually heat up as the oven warms up.  Now you are free to microwave, wash in the dishwasher, and most importantly start the day of right, drinking from your custom mug! 

 These are so fun to personalize with a name, note, or favorite quote!

Perfect for your favorite LOVE BIRDS!

Or change it up and decorate a platter! 

If you try it please send me a picture...I would love to see your creative ideas :)

{Troubleshooting}

Good news: If you mess up, just use a damp paper towel to wipe off whatever you don't want, dry it, and start over!  Also, those pens can be feisty, especially at first! I keep a piece of scrap paper nearby to help with ink flow - feel free to shake/push down on the pen until you have the right consistency.

Say I Do... to Oreo Cake Pops!

Congratulations to Whitney & Collin Norrbom who tied the knot last weekend!  In addition to being an amazing, fun-loving couple, they sure know how to plan a party.  Let's just say my calves are still sore 3 days later from all of the dancing!  I had the privilege of accenting their classy & cheerful wedding with bright orange, pink, and green Oreo cake pops.  If you haven't tried making cake pops, check out the original recipe here.  Oreo pops are my favorite because they are a simple and sinfully delicious twist on the original!

If you're looking for a fun way to present cake pops for a wedding, party, or gift, I've got some good news for your wallet - all the supplies can be purchase at the dollar store! Just pick up jars or mugs, styrofoam, ribbon and shredded paper at the 99 cent store, Target, or craft store.  Cut the styrofoam so it just fits inside the jar or mug.  Stuff shredded paper or tissue paper around the styrofoam, and decorate with ribbon.  It's that simple!

I had a blast doing this project, and the guests seemed to be quite pleased... let's just say the cake pops were all gone before dinner ;)  Thanks to mom for helping with the prep & hubby for sampling, set up, and photography.


{Oreo Cake Pops}
Ingredients:
1 package Double-Stuff Oreos
1 package cream cheese, room temperature
1 package white chocolate candy pieces (14 oz)
25 Candy Sticks
Sprinkles
Vegetable Oil
Styrofoam block

1. Crush the Oreos with a food processor or blender.  Beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Mix in Oreos
2. Roll into small balls (approx. 1.5" diameter).  Melt 5 chocolates (30-45 seconds).  Dip 1/2" of stick in chocolate, then insert in Oreo ball (this helps it stick).  Place on wax-paper lined baking tray and freeze for 30 minutes.
3. Remove Oreo pops from freezer.  In a mug or tall glass, mix remaining chocolates with 1 tbsp vegetable oil and microwave in 30 second increments until melted.  Insert Oreo pop into chocolate.  Spin/tap on edge of glass to remove excess chocolate.  Immediately coat with sprinkles if desired.  Chill on styrofoam block.  Enjoy!
Click here for the recipe for original cake pops.