It's getting hot in herre'

I found my old CDs from high school and have been somewhat on a Nelly kick. I love the memories it brings back of all the fun we had "back in the day"

Seasons are about to change (THANK you God!!) I love Summer....but I don't know if I really love Summer in the South due to the pyscho humidity. It's just hard to even walk outside...and the hair part... I seriously might as well have put my hair in a pony-tail every day instead of looking like afroman.

Summer's heat did bring me some beautiful jalapenos that I actually grew in my backyard!! I decided it was time to pick a few and make something hot and spicy... homemade hot and spicy ranch? Perfect addition to pretty much anything. I promise. Try it. Anytime. Always a charm.

Since this was my first time to grow them and as you can notice I don't have a green thumb (literally), they were a bit smaller than the ones you get in the grocery. However they were just as delicious and more fresh of course  : )

Here is a picture of a nifty tool I got from one of my high school friends, Mimi Duffee. Instead of having to prep yourself before removing the seeds of a pepper, you can just simply use this tool to remove the seeds and membrane. WOW. Yes, really.

Ahhh the memories...again. I remember having to "get ready for bed" so I wouldn't have to touch my eyes or face and then if I was lucky enough to have a pair of gloves around to wear while touching jalapenos....kinda embarressing story but one time I cut up a jalapeno to put in my egg and SOMEHOW touched my eye..... well I looked like a pirate the rest of the night and ate with just one eye open : /

As much as I am a fan of spicy and sweets...I've tried jalapeno chocolate before and I think it's just best to keep them separate....as in bacon wrapped jalapenos!!! Try this recipe below and you'll have enough heat to last you through Winter!!

Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies

(Pioneer Woman's recipe)

Prep Time: 30 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 25 Minutes  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 10

Ingredients

• 20 whole Fresh Jalapenos, 2-3 Inches In Size
• 2 cubes Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 pound Thin(regular) Bacon, Sliced Into Thirds

Preparation Instructions

If you have them, slip on some latex gloves for the pepper prep or just buy a jalapeno corer and this will be much more fun ;) ... Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise. With a spoon, remove the seeds and white membrane (the source of the heat; leave a little if you like things HOT). Smear softened cream cheese into each jalapeno half. Wrap jalapeno with bacon pieces (1/3 slice). Secure by sticking toothpick through the middle.

Bake on a pan with a rack in a 375-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. You don’t want the bacon to shrink so much it starts to the squeeze the jalapeno. If, after 20 minutes, the bacon doesn’t look brown enough, just turn on the broiler for a couple of minutes to finish it off. These are best when the jalapeno still has a bit of bite to it.

Serve immediately

Warning! Warning!

Alright, I'm warning you beforehand....but I just finished making chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting last night....which means this post is coming up so if you don't want to become hypnotized into going into a chocolate overdose coma then you'll need to skip this post!!

Don't worry....I even added more chocolate chips than the recipe called for too

Ok first, here is the picture of this divine recipe (Sorry for the lack of picture quality...I use my iphone)

What's a great combination with chocolate?? CHERRY! So what did I sip on while baking away? Kasteel Rouge (cherry beer)

I realize it's kinda weird for a beer to be in a champagne glass but Todd and I have millions of glasses that we all love so I like to have fun and use random glasses for my brews

This was a very VERY odd recipe. The batter was extremely liquidy (even after I added the chocolate chips) and I was scared they wouldn't turn out right.

TA-DA.

Wait....wait.....

Wait for it......

LEGEND....DARY (for those of you who watch "How I Met Your Mother")

*side bar* So happy all the shows are about to start back up!

Pictures and writing do not do this cupcake justice!! It really is phenomenal. Trust me. Delicious. One of the Best. Chocolate.Chocolate. and Chocolate. Feeling hypnotized yet? Seriously, go try this now. 





Yahoo- one month!

Ok, if you can't tell I'm being facetious in the title of this post.... wow, can't believe I haven't updated this blog in a month!! Isn't the point of a blog to actually post items? Ok, now that my sarcasm is out, I'll try to update what I can in the past month!!

The birthdays continued in August!! We celebrated the love of my life, Todd's 29th birthday on August 15th. On his birthday weekend, we went white water rafting and zip lining where Todd got to act like a kid again since this is his LAST twentieth birthday!! (BIG 3-0 next year). We also had my family over to celebrate where I made Todd's famous birthday burger.... I say "famous" because he requests it all the time but I really only make it once year. I think the burger is overall pretty normal but I do stuff the inside with gorgonzola cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. I made Todd a chocolate chip cookie cake with peanut butter frosting.... YES. once again. chocolate chips. cookie. and peanut butter FROSTING. Well....no pics because it was all gone by the time I finished. literally. However I do have a picture from the weekend before where we celebrated Todd, Charles and Aimee's birthday by tubing down a river!! = )

Next birthday up, Emma, David, and Ethan. My precious, beautiful, sweet sister's children.

Emma had an "under the sea" party and recieved loads of gifts and had an amazing cake my sis made. It was in the shape of a fish!!!

Of course my sis gave Emma such a wonderful party!!

Such a great party!! Todd and I gave her a guitar (and cinderella doll).... I think she's already a pro = )

David and Ethan's party was this past weekend and I dont' have any pictures of it yet but it's so good to see them any chance I get. It's been such a whirlwind since last year and our family couldn't be more happier that God has blessed us all to have them with happy and healthy!

Well I think I've covered the August birthday celebrations... hopefully next time will be soon and it will be another delightful SWEET. Even though birthdays contain lots of cake...I can't go too long without having sweet withdrawls ; )