pie

I love pie. I LOVE PIE! It's one of my many favorite (I guess it's not a favorite if there are many) things about fall/Thanksgiving. Apple pie, cherry pie, coconut cream pie, lemon meringue pie, peanut butter pie.... YUM. I try to pretend that it's healthy, you know... with the fruit?

Anyway, my department at work hosted a slice of pie sale for the employees and the residents at our nursing home.

You never can tell how these things are going to turn out, because we had to have employees volunteer to bring in homemade pies that we were going to sell.

OUR EMPLOYEES ARE THE BEST, because every single person who signed up to bring a pie brought one, and not a single resident had to pay for a slice of pie, as the employees bought them for the residents! This may not seem like a big deal, but baking a pie from scratch is time consuming, and making or buying a pie is expensive, not to mention buying slices to eat and give away!!!

(this was just about HALF of the pies!)



WE RAISED ABOUT $150 FOR OUR RESIDENT CHRISTMAS FUND!!!!!! Each Christmas, employees sign up to buy a present for a resident. We are reimbursed up to $20 per gift. If you think about how many people there are in a nursing home... that's a lot of cash! Our slice of pie sale just bought Christmas presents for about seven people!

Anyway, I brought a lemon cream cheese pie and a pumpkin cream pie. I'll share the recipe! I don't like pumpkin very much, but I actually really enjoyed this particular pie...

Taken verbatim from: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• FOR THE CRUST:
• 1-1/2 package Graham Crackers (about 15 Cookie Sheets)
• 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 stick Butter, Melted
• FOR THE FILLING:
• 1 box (3 Oz. Box) Vanilla Pudding (Cook And Serve Variety)
• 1 cup Half-and-half
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• Pinch Of Cinnamon
• Pinch Of Nutmeg
• Pinch Of Ground Cloves
• 2 Tablespoons Whiskey (optional)
• 1/2 cup (plus 3 Tablespoons) Pumpkin Puree
• 1/2 cup (additional) Heavy Cream
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• Extra Graham Cracker Crumbs, For Garnish

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Grind graham crackers in a food processor (or, if you don't have a food processor, place them in a large ziploc and pound 'em with a rolling pin.) Add powdered sugar and melted butter and process until totally combined. Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan until nice and firm. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until warm and "set." Remove from oven and allow crust to cool completely.

In a medium saucepan, mix dry pudding mix with half-and-half and cream. Add spices. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly and thick. Remove from heat and stir in whiskey, if using. Add pumpkin and stir to combine. Place lid on pot and set aside to cool. When cool enough, place pot in the fridge to cool completely.

When mixture is cool, remove from the fridge. In a mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup heavy cream and brown sugar. Beat until very light and fluffy. Fold in pumpkin cream mixture until combined. Pour into cooled crust.

Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight. Serve with graham crackers crumbled on top.

(All of my pie sold!!)

This was super easy to make and really quite delicious. Enjoy! And thank you, employees, for making proud of where I work. :) :)

coconut and pineapple is the best

So Heather and I made these delicious pina colada cupcakes, and I brought some to work... needless to say, they're all gone. (aside the ones I saved for Amy)

I figured I'd share the recipe! I made up the recipe for the frosting, so feel free to make your own adaptions.

For the cake part, we used a yellow cake mix, and we simply added crushed pineapple to it. We wanted to use fresh pineapple, but the store we went to didn't have any. Next time, that's what we're doing...

For the frosting:
1 bag sweetened coconut
1/2 bag (ish) powdered sugar (to taste.. I didn't use a measuring cup.)
2 t vanilla
1 C butter
1/3 C (ish) coconut milk (to taste)

Mix the cake as usual, and add the pineapple. You can add the juice, too, but be careful so as not to mess with the consistency of the cake.

For the frosting, Whip the coconut milk with the butter and vanilla, and add powdered sugar to taste/consistency. (Add more coconut milk, if necessary.) Toast the coconut on parchment paper for five minutes at 375 degrees. Fold into the frosting.

Heather and I poked holes in the cupcakes with a fork, and we dripped more coconut milk into them to make them more coconut-y and moist. :) :)

Garnish the cupcakes with more pineapple (fresh, if possible), and enjoy!!

Anthony said that these are the best cupcakes he's ever had, and a coworker of mine said the same thing. I don't think you'll be disappointed...

Weekend Shenanigans

I'm free from school!! It is one of the greatest feelings in the world. I know that I have to take a couple of classes this summer, but I have a month until then.  Anyway, I got to spend Saturday with Amy and her kids and Sunday with Ant. It was a pretty fabulous weekend.

After I got off of work on Saturday, I went over to Amy's house.  We decided on Arby's for dinner, and I got the fruit/chicken wrap. It was actually really good! It reminded me of my mom's, sorta. (the fast food version)

My lover boy, Bren:

She suggested that we get stuff to make strawberry shortcake, and I countered that with my own suggestion-- fruit pizza!! I have been craving it for ages, and Amy was kind enough to go along with it.  We went to Wal-Mart to get the ingredients, and I gave in to the kids asking me for chalk/bubbles.

Please note that Bren added the "a," "d," and the "n" to his name, since I forgot those "other letters." Gah, he is so cute!

We went back to her house and got to work! 

Amy took all of the photos. Yippee for good photography. 

Please disregard my triple chin.

The pizza was delicious. If you would like the recipe, go here.

After I left their house, I stopped by Anthony's to hang out with him and his roommates. This is my friend Seth. He has rad dance moves in the strobe light. ;)

Today was also awesome. Since the fruit pizza is something that my mom and I used to bake, I started thinking about the other things she taught me. (food wise- ha.) Anyway, I called her when Amy and I were at Arby's and asked her about this "limey thing on the fluffy thing," and we deducted that about ten years ago my mom made a Cool Lime Napoleon after attending a Pampered Chef Party. Needless to say, Anthony and I made one tonight. Note to self: make when people are coming over. Two people cannot eat an entire batch, and it's not very good the next day. I have this thing where I must do what is on my mind or I will go crazy. I think it's called a lack of self- control.

Thanks to Ant for doing many things like opening the canned oranges for me, "zesting" the lime and exploding the whipped cream creation all over the place. He also did my dishes for me... what a guy. :)

 But before all of this, we ate at the Rib Crib. It was okay, but I'd be fine with not going there again. We then went to Bass Pro and bought a tent; or rather, Antho bought a tent. He has a 40% discount for being  an employee at corporate, so... yay! It'd be so much fun to go camping. We then went to Gordman's and I got shoes! I love those Adidas sandals. I had some when I was a kid, and I've been trying to find some in my size for over a year. I finally found some in the little boy section. (ha)

We also went to Petland to get food for Antho's puffer fish. He kept me from buying a turtle and a hamster.  This is where his logical mind comes in handy.  But just for the record, if I get a hamster, I'm naming him Spike. The turtle will be named Rupert Giles. Alas, I don't have either. Sad, sad day. I can't wait to go home and visit my Gretschyn! ... and my family.

We went back to Ant's house and we played Portal for a while.  For those of you who commented on my last post, I've only played Portal-- not Portal 2. He bought it, but he's making me go through everything on Portal before I can play Portal 2. I really like it, but I am not the best at spacial stuff.  Ant's been really patient with me, though. I'm pretty much the best girlfriend of all time. ;)



Now we're watching Buffy (on Season 3!) and I'm dealing with a stomach ache from eating so many fruity treats.

With school being out, I'm hoping to catch up on blogs. Sorry for the absence.  Thanks for reading, as always!

Cheers. :)

smooshy brain

My brain is mush. It's so mushed that I used a word like "smooshy" in a title.

I'm trying to write a paper for m Holocaust class. We got to pick what our paper is about, so I decided to write about the bystander effect and other psychological elements that were displayed throughout the Holocaust.  It's a huge project and I am freaking out about getting it done by tomorrow. (I also have a painting to finish and interviews to write up that correspond to that paper!) AND, I have another presentation and paper due right before! AAAHHH!!! Today's list isn't much better... Wish me luck! I present another project tonight!

Anyway, for my presentation tonight, we were asked to bring in something (edible) that is a family tradition. It was my professor's way of celebrating the last night of class, but it seemed pretty insensitive to ask us to do that the same night that a major project/paper is due... but that's just me. 

I chose to bake a poppy seed cake, as my mom would make it for my birthday for breakfast. I loved it. It wasn't until I moved out that I realized how expensive it is to make!! 

Poppy Seed Cake

3 C flour

1 1/2 t baking powder

1 1/2 t vanilla

1 1/2 t butter extract

1 1/2 C milk

3 eggs

2 C sugar

1 t salt

1 1/2 t almond extract

3 T poppy seeds

3/4 C oil

Mix all ingredients in mixer to blend well.

Pour into a greased and flowered bundt pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in the pan and then invert to remove.

Glaze with a mixture of:

2 T orange juice

1 1/2 t vanilla

1 1/2 t almond extract

1 1/2 t butter extract

1 C powdered sugar

Pour onto cooled cake. My mom uses a pastry brush so it soaks in.

Well, that's all I have time for. I have to head to work and then rush home and get some last minute preparations done for tonight!

I cannot wait for this semester to be over. I promise to be more exciting...

Cheers.

Stream of consciousness, hair, Valentine's Day and cupcakes

I dye my hair A LOT. It all started right after I graduated from high school and my sister dyed my hair a purplish/maroon/red color. Ever since then, I've been addicted. I'm especially partial to shades of red. I have found that I change my hair at different stages of my life; although, I don't know if it's because of the stage, or because I just love an excuse to change things up. 

Anyway, tonight I dyed my hair. It was a failure. Notice how the two (before and after) photos are incredibly similar. It was supposed to be drastic. FAIL, FAIL, FAIL.

I am going to have to give up and find a professional to do something about this.

My next hair color is going to be this (or this): 

                                                                    (found here & here)

Or maybe it won't be any of those. I never really know until I tell the hair stylist to whatever they want. I'm not too terribly picky with my hair.

______________

We made these cute little ladybug picture frames for our Valentine's Day craft at work tonight. 

I made these little bears for the ladies, since using a hot glue gun was necessary.

This photo is incredibly embarrassing, but I told the ladies that I would post it. The quality of the picture is terrible, but I'd like to see you try and keep massive plastic eyes on your face without jiggling the camera.

Tomorrow is our party at work for the residents. I'm so excited! I love holidays. I also love old people. Win, win!

______________

Being single, I'm not thrilled about this upcoming holiday; however, I have at least one friend coming over on Monday. I have stuff to make cupcakes. I am thrilled. Anyway, my mother is a dear and sent me a beautiful Valentine's Day care package!

Contents include: a heart dish towel, heart socks, poppyseed cake, pumpkin bread, York mints, molasses cookies and popcorn. AMAZING. My mom is the greatest.

She also included some pictures from Christmas that we got done at Wal-Mart. I'm not thrilled about them, but they are decent. This was also before I started my diet, so I can actually notice a difference! It's a small one, but hey, it's something!

 ______________

Finally, I adore cupcakes. 

This particularly glorious cupcake has been brought to you by my friend and co-worker, Merissa. She is an incredible baker. This cupcake did a dance in my mouth and I liked it. 

Here is the recipe:

Cinnamon Sugar Cupcakes:

1 box white cake mix- "I make this like the box says and add 1 t cinnamon and bake."

Frosting:

1 pkg cream cheese- room temperature

1 stick unsalted butter- room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

2 t cinnamon

Blend cream cheese and butter until smooth- add vanilla and cinnamon and mix well. Slowly add powdered sugar until desired sweetness and consistency!

Thank you, Merissa. You made my night so much more enjoyable. 

 ______________

That was a huge post.

Thanks for sticking with me.

I am going to St. Louis tomorrow with Anthony to see Interpol. I AM SO EXCITED. The band is good; Anthony is awesome. I will probably not be back to post anymore until Sunday, hence the lengthy post.

Cheers, friends!