September 8, 2014

Honey Mustard Fried Chicken Sliders

It dawned on me that I’ve never really had a lot of sandwich recipes around here. Well, I’ve made my share of panini and am still obsessed with my panini press but I haven’t been so good about getting in to the slider game. What up with that??

The first recipe (of many) I wanted to make from my friend Stephanie’s new cookbook- Easy Gourmet: Awesome Recipes Anyone Can Cook was this fried chicken slider number because HELLO, SLIDERS. There was something so appealing about having something relatively indulgent in bite size form. I also liked that the recipe made six total, so that means our family of three could have two a piece (with picky eater alterations on two) and be satisfied. This recipe really is EASY GOURMET! The fried chicken was flavorful and crisp and I added the sweetness of honey, the sharp bite of brown mustard, creamy aged cheddar, tangy dill pickle slices, peppery arugula and a juicy heirloom tomato slice to each sandwich. Talk about balance!

Picture perfect emoji, angel emoji, fire emoji, happy face emoji, lady in red dress dancing emoji, explosion emoji and cut!

Easy Gourmet is one of my favorite cookbooks this year. Check it out and you’ll see why.

Way to go Stephanie!!

Inspiration

September 7, 2014

And I Quote:

my everyday life, Photography

September 6, 2014

My Everyday Life: Week 36

Here’s what this past week looked like:

September 5, 2014

I love lists, Friday!

Grandmothers know best.
Women & Whiskies. I play a hand model in this series. Ha!
This is beautiful.
Kinda makes you think of all the lives you could have had.
This was fun to watch.
Yup. Pretty much.
How to test if a battery is bad. Spoiler alert: It bounces!
I might be spending my Friday night on this Youtube channel… Start with the Marilyn Monroe look!
9 things I learned about Earthquakes this week.
The smile on this baby’s face melts my heart.
Do you think you’re old? Haha budgets! Superfoods!
What Progress Really Looks Like. REAL LIFE.
Photo Inspiration! You Are My Wild.
What are these and why don’t I have them??
I experienced this thought when I watched my grandfather die.
A little morality tale from David Sedaris.
How to Say No to Everything Ever. (!!!!)
How to reprogram your Subconscious Mind. Thank you, Marie.
The ULTIMATE Cheat Sheet on How to Be a Great Negotiator. Bookmarked!
Yes.

Have you listened to the latest episode of the Joy the Baker Podcast? Check out episode #129 These Are the Days of the Week,

On this week’s episode we talk about —What being born on a Monday or Saturday means for you. We discuss what you bake for a work baking competition. Joy’s new cookbook is about to come out, she’s working on a new one and I want to know why she’s such a cookbook making machine!

recipes

September 4, 2014

SUNFLOWER SEED BUTTER + PRETZELS

Let’s talk a little bit about resisting temptation, shall we?

Have you ever had the peanut-butter stuffed pretzels from Trader Joe’s? I’m quite fond of them. I won’t even allow myself to try the chocolate covered version because I know I won’t be able to STOP. I’ve had a bag of the salted peanut butter filled pretzels in my pantry for a few months. It tempts me EVERY TIME I open the pantry. I swear it’s just waiting for my moment of weakness. It’s saying “Tracy, have a bourbon drink! You’re gonna love us with some!” Those pretzels know that bourbon makes a good catalyst.

My biggest challenge is having a full bag of something/ANYTHING around. Let’s be real….I will eat more of whatever it is than I should. I will portion some out and then go back for “just one more,” until it’s done. With that said, I’ve found that if I put a snack on a plate and portion it out, then put everything away before I start eating, I’m in much better shape. I’ve also found that I really love sunflower seed butter but can’t eat a ton of it like I can with peanut butter. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s super rich? Anyways. I sandwiched sunflower seed butter between two pretzels, made three sandwiches and ate three and that was that!

This is how I counteract eating a bag of peanut butter filled pretzels.

around the home, sponsored

September 3, 2014

Around the House: Guest Bedroom {BEFORE!}

I can’t believe we’ve lived in this house for over two years. Where does the time go?? We spent the first year moving things around, trying to make our old furniture work in this new space and moved the rest of my parent’s stuff into another room of our house. If you don’t already know, we moved into the house I grew up in in 2012. During the second year of living here, we slowly started painting a few rooms, just to test things out and see what things would look like on a much larger scale. This home requires a lot of thought because there are so many different architectural elements to consider whereas our last home just needed paint! Although it’s frustrating for a visual person like me to live with a mishmash of furniture in rooms that are not even close to being done, it’s been good to REALLY think about how we want to live/utilize this space.

recipes

September 2, 2014

Triple Berry Terrine

Hello, September. I’m glad you’re here because you prove that I somehow made it through August. Thank heavens for that. But! I’m not ready to quit Summer. I still have a few more things I want to accomplish…like EATING ALL THE BERRIES before berry season is kaput. I can see the prices of berries creeping up which means…HURRY UP AND EAT THEM.

I’ve been getting good use out of my bread pans this summer…but not because I’ve been making my favorite banana bread. Nope. I’ve been using them to make some ice cream concoctions like this one and this one here. Pumpkin bread is on the horizon and maybe something with cranberries or pears but for now I’m still in Summer mode and here’s this cute little terrine situation.

A pomegranate juice gelatin mixture marries three different berries. There’s a slight tang with lemon but it’s basically ALL BERRY suspended in gelatin. There’s something so satisfying about cutting into gelatin. I secretly have day dreams of cutting into a 10lb. gummy bear one day… This is just practice. Add a little whipped cream to the top of this terrine for a little decadence. Or maybe add some Prosecco to the gelatin mixture?