Saturday, December 17, 2011

Holiday Pumpkin Roll

I'm home sick, watching Netflix and drinking a hot toddy. Not better than snowboarding, which was planned, but could be worse.

I am trying to unload all of my pictures that I took for blogging and figured I would start with my yummy Pumpkin Roll Recipe.

When I was a child, one of my uncle's neighbors would take orders and make them during the holiday season. It was always a highlight of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and when she moved away, I decided to get the recipe and make it myself!

{Be warned, make it to bring it to an event, for if not, you will find that you will eat it all yourself. Yes, it is that good.}

{Before: Random Ingredients After: Holiday Heaven in your mouth}


Holiday Pumpkin Roll:
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice- I used Penzey's and was very happy
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Filling:
  • 1 (8 ounce) package low fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
Topping:
  • Crushed walnuts- optional, but delicious and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 
Instructions:
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet.
  • In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in pumpkin puree and eggs. Pour mixture into pan lined with wax paper that was coated with confectionery sugar. Spread the mixture evenly. I poured it in one side of the pan and then spread it out so it was maybe a 1/4 of an inch thick.
  • Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 minutes.
  • Lay another piece of wax paper on the counter, sprinkle it with confectioner's sugar, and turn the cake onto the towel. Carefully roll the wax paper -left to right, the short ways- with the cake in it. Place the cake in the wax paper in the refrigerator and let it cool for 20 minutes.
  • Make the icing: In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and sugar. Since I have no proper baking supplies, I used a fork and my muscles.
  • When the cake has cooled 20 minutes, unroll it and spread icing onto it.  you want to spread the icing kind of thin and thinner on the right side of the roll. Immediately re-roll , and wrap it with plastic wrap. 
  • Add the crushed walnuts or confectionery sugar as the topping.
  • Keep the cake refrigerated or freeze it for up to 2 weeks in aluminum foil. Cut the cake in slices just before serving. 
  • If the rolling doesn't work out, you can cut the cake in length, 4 inches and place it on top of each other with the frosting in the middle and it will become pumpkin cream cheese squares! 
{Pumpkin Roll with Crushed Walnut topping}
{Pumpkin Roll with Confectionery Sugar Topping}
                                                    


{Drinking Eggnog with Baileys in it makes the pumpkin roll taste even better!}
P.S.
I calculated the calories on Loseit.com and for my roll -minus the eggnog drink on the side- which I cut into 2 smaller rolls and then cut into 6 servings per roll, the whopping calorie count was 259 calories per serving. Not so bad considering how delicious it is!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Christmas/Nursing School Wish List

Well, this Christmas I can only imagine that ALL my money and Christmas presents will be going towards my never ending book & supplies list I need for school come Spring 2012.

Hopefully my family reads it, or some random stranger who is feeling philanthropic towards a poor student with no job, no insurance, and a ton of bills coming her way.

You never know unless you put it out there, right?!

Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, All the holiday wishes wrapped up into one for me.



Links:

Click HERE for a link to my donation page. It is a page where any amount of money can be donated and it will go towards the general costs. That means towards my stethoscope, scrubs, lab coat, professional liability insurance, health insurance, books, tuition, background check, immunizations, student lab kit, etc.

Click HERE for a link to my amazon.com wish list. This is a link to some of the pocket guides I am told will be very useful to have while in nursing school.

Click HERE for a link for the black stethoscope that I need. It is the cheapest option of the Littmann available on the internet and it is from an authorized store.

I am still waiting to hear back from school if I can get things like my scrubs from any place or if they have to be certain school approved ones.

Thanks for checking this out!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

I'm baaacckkkkk!!!

WOW!

Talk about a long break from blogging! I got caught up in life and the next thing you know, its the end of 2011!

So... Let's catch up with everything that happened:
  • Mike and I moved to Denver!!! I decided I wanted to go to nursing school and Mike would have better opportunities with web design in a larger city than Vail.
  • I went back to School. I went to CCD to do my pre-reqs for nursing and started the tedious process of applying to nursing schools in the Denver area.
  • I got accepted into nursing school! I might have to have a blog solely dedicated to that, because I heard it is tough!! Anyways, I am very excited about that, it was a very competitive process and I was one of 40 people accepted into the Accelerated Nursing Option- that's a fancy way of saying I will receive my Bachelors of Science in Nursing in only 17 months (4 semesters)- at Metro State. It is right by my house and one of the few accredited nursing schools in Denver. I cannot wait!!!
  • I fell in love with pinterest, which is an online 'pin board' which is just full of amazing DIY projects and general inspirations. 
  • I got an iPhone 4 for my birthday and love a bunch of apps, such as instagram, hanging with friends, and more. {find me on them}
  • Mike and I have been snowboarding a bunch! And this season, I feel like its going to be a good one!
I'm sure a bunch more has happened, but this is all I can remember as I sit here, sick, on this cold December Night, while I watch the cheesiest Netflix movie, My Fake Fiance.

Now that I have recovered my passwords I hope to be back on here more frequently!


Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Easy Home Remedies.

I came across a few websites that helped with household problems that I hadn't thought needed fixing until I saw these!

How to Fold a Fitted Sheet

How to Fix Scratch Wood Floors

How to Silence Squeaky Floors

Happy Fixing!!!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Autumn Snow

HAPPY (belated) AUTUMN!!!!!!

Wow! On the First Day of Fall, 2009, Vail got TONS of snow!!

I had to unpack the winter clothes it seems like I just packed away!

Vail is SO BEAUTIFUL! I mean, it has yellow, orange, green and red trees and when it snowed, it  also had white!  Everyday the leaves are changing different hues and the scenery is always different!

Here are some pictures to prove it happened!





Babyshower Time!

AWWW!!! I guess it is something in the water but I have three friends that are having babies in December, January AND February!

The First Babyshower is coming up October 10th, so I decided to start making baby Julieta her presents! Oh, and don't think I forgot about Mommy, after nannying for so many years, I know mommy needs a gift herself when there is a newborn in the house!


Julieta's Presents:
  • Fleece Beanie with Pretty Girly Stuff
  • Good & Plenty themed Crocheted Beanie with PomPom
  • Onesie w/Ruffle Skirt on bum
Mommy's Present:
  • A Lavender Rice Eye Mask, 
You can heat it for a minute in the microwave
to soothe any aches and you can put it in the freezer
to use it as either an ice pack
or to put on your eyes to calm them and reduce bags!







Down Home with Mike And Yolanda




Mike and I were watching 'Down Home with the Neely's' Sunday morning and all day, we KNEW what we were having for dinner!

We made 'Pat's Old School Onion Rings' and the 'Memphis Beale Street Burger' and they were mmm mmmm good!


Recipe Amendies:
We made the recipe pretty much exactly how it states but we:
  •  Used Lettuce to wrap our burgers
  • Nixed the bacon (I don't dine on swine)
  • Substituted Pepper Jack cheese for Cheddar
  • Used RED HOT hot sauce
  • Substituted the cayenne powder for the Red Hot, same amounts
  • Used TONY CHICARONNI'S as our seasoned salt
  • Didn't have any dry rub 
  • Nixed the Cole Slaw 
  • Patted any excess oil off the Onion Rings

Warning, Forego the diet for the night ladies, It is ABSOLUTELY worth it. But, I'll tell you, wrapping the burgers in lettuce makes it feel really light in your belly and the Onion rings weren't heavy or too greasy either.

Our Dinner went from this:


To This:



YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!

OOH... and some pics of the Master Chefs! Yes, I was wearing my Game Day Tom Brady Jersey!
 



Easy Winter Soup

This is a recipe my Bulgarian friends taught me.  It is a really easy recipe to make when you are not feeling well and it is great for warming you as it is already Autumn and Winter is fast approaching.


INGREDIENTS FOR POTATO AND CARROT SOUP:
4 Potatoes
A Handful of baby carrots
1/4 cup of Cilantro or Parsley
Salt
Water

Directions:
Peel potatoes
Boil potatoes and carrots until very well done
Drain Water
Return to pot
Add cilantro
Using a hand held blender, blend the potatoes & carrots
Add salt to your liking
Slowly add water until it is the consistency that you like ( I prefer a creamier consistency, so I don't add too much water)

ENJOY!



Homemade Nacho's

Well, Mike and I have been eating lots of chicken enchiladas lately and we'll find that we always have a few leftover tortillas. So, we made homemade nachos! I didnt have to buy a thing, I had all the ingredients at home!


INGREDIENTS FOR SAlSA:
Tin Tomatoes
1/4 Onion
Cilantro
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
Coriander
Cumin
Salt

DIRECTIONS:
Put in food processor
Mix
Add Powders and Salt to season



INGREDIENTS FOR HOMEMADE NACHOS:
2 Tortillas
Salt
Cheese
Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat oven to 350
Cut tortillas into 8 slices
Sprinkle salt & oil over each side of tortilla slices
Lay flat on baking sheet
Cook each side for 5-7 minutes
Add cheese to melt and ENJOY!


More Donuts

Awhile back, I posted a topic about Yummy Homemade Donuts that I had found on  Ashley's Busy blog.
Well, we made them again but used confectionery sugar as a powdered donut topping. For chocolate powdered topping, I mixed the confectionery sugar with some cocoa powder.

It was YUMMY!


Wednesday, September 9, 2009

College Football is the best!

Now go be a fan and support Sebastian the Ibis!

 
GO SEBASTIAN!!!!!!!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

What To Make for My Labor Day BBQ


Ok. I typed that exact phrase into a google search engine and then realized 'Wait a minute, What am I doing!? I know what to make, why am I asking google?'

It happens a lot. I just type things into google and wonder about what will pop up - in that 1.9 seconds it takes.

Well, I know what I'm making! Lets get at it!

Salad:   Summer Salad.

    Ingredients for summer salad:
    • Fresh Mozzarella
    • Cilantro
    • Italian Dressing ( I prefer Zesty Italian or Olive Garden's Italian)
    • Onion
    • Tomatoes
    Directions:
    • Mix all ingredients together. Amount is up to you. I prefer a lot of cilantro and lite onion.
    • Chill 
    Dinner and all of its accoutrements:
    Sides:  Roasted Potatoes with Cilantro Dipping Sauce (thanks to Meg):

    Ingredients for the Roasted Potatoes:
    • 6 potatoes (made approx. 36 wedges)- I used red potatoes
    • 1/4 cup of Olive Oil
    • 1 tspn Cumin
    • 1 tspn Oregano
    Directions:
    • Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
    • Cut potatoes in  half and then in thirds (Did that make sense?)
    • Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and toss it well, so the potatoes are covered in oil well
    • Lay on cooking sheet for 30-40 minutes, depending on how crisp you like your potatoes
    Ingredients for Cilantro Dipping Sauce:
    • 1/2 cup of light mayo
    • 1/2 cup of light sour cream (you can sneak in the light because the boys will never notice!)
    • dash of lime zest
    • dash of lime juice 
    • 1/2 cup cut cilantro (Can you tell, I am a cilantro lover?)
    Directions:
    • Mix the mayo, sour cream and cilantro in a food processor until blended
    • Add to a bowl and add lime zest and lime juice to taste and mix with a spoon
    Ingredients for Balsamic Onion Marmalade (Burger Topping):
    (I changed up the recipe I found on stickygooeycreamychewy.com and made it less onion-y)
    • 1 tbspn Vegetable Oil
    • 1/2 onion (thinly sliced)
    • 1/3 cup of sugar
    • 2/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
    • salt and pepper
    Directions:
    • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until it slides easily across the pan. Add the onion, stirring occassionally, for about 20 minutes
    • Add the sugar and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, and keep stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes
    • Add the vinegar and reduce the heat to low. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes, until the onions are soft and dry
    • Keep on the skillet at a low temp until you glaze the burgers with them
    Main Course:  BURGERS! ( I mean this is a labor day bbq after all!)
      Ingredients:
      • Lipton Onion Soup Mix - 1/2 packet
      • Ground Meat - 1 lb. makes about 6 good size burgers
      • Lots of Cheese: Blue Cheese, Cheddar and Camembert are the faves over here
      Directions:
      • Mix ground meat and onion mix packet in a separate bowl.
      • Make patties with hand (careful not to pat too tightly)
      • Put patties on skillet over medium heat
      • Turn every few minutes until cooked
      • Add a dribble of Balsamic Glaze over it
      Burgers are easy but adding that mix is like heaven! Everyone thinks you worked your magic! Also, We have been eating ours like a lettuce wrap, so to do that, you take a big piece of lettuce and wrap your burger in it. It provides a cold, crisp taste to the burger and is awesome! I mean save the carbs for the potatoes, right? BTW- my very anti-"rabbit-food eating" boyfriend LOVES the lettuce wrap!

      Drink of Choice:     Frozen Margaritas

      Ingredients:
      • 3 parts of tequila
      • 2 parts of orange flavored liqueur
      • 1 part of fresh lime juice
      • Lime wedge 
      • Ice cubes 
       Directions:
      • Put all wet ingredients into a powerful blender and mix
      • Garnish with Lime Wedge
      • To save calories, keep it simple, don't add syrups and the salt on the rim-then you can afford yourself more!
      Desserts:   Yummy Strawberry Yogurt Pie

      Ingredients:
      • 2-8 oz. containers of strawberry flavored yogurt
      • 1-8 oz. tub Cool Whip 
      • 1 graham cracker pie crust
      Directions:
      • Stir yogurt into Cool Whip until well blended.
      • Spoon into pie crust - I am going to try to make a granola pie crust next time
      • Freeze overnight then put into refrigerator until pie can be cut
      This dessert is easy and so yummy! My tia Rina and mom make it and it is good!


      EXTRA!!! Corn on the Cob Cupcakes!!!
      A dessert from the Martha

      Ingredients:
      • Vanilla Frosting
      • Yellow liquid food coloring
      • 24 Vanilla Cupcakes, baked in white paper liners
      • 3 1/2 cups small yellow, cream, or white jelly beans, such as Jelly Belly
      • 4 pieces yellow fruit chews, such as Laffy Taffys or Starbursts
      • 1 tablespoon black decorating sugar
      • 1 tablespoon white decorating sugar
      • 8 sets of corn holders (optional)
      Directions:
      • Color the frosting pale yellow with food coloring.
      • Working with 3 cupcakes at a time, frost cupcakes with yellow frosting. Arrange 5 rows of jelly beans, close together, on each cupcake. Place the 3 cupcakes side by side on a corn dish or serving platter to resemble an ear of corn. Repeat process with remaining cupcakes, frosting, and jelly beans.
      • Cut the fruit chews into eight 1-inch squares. Soften the edges slightly by hand so that they look like melted butter. Place 1 square on top of each ear of corn. Sprinkle with sugars. Insert a corn holder in the end of each ear of corn, if using. Serve.
      I mean how cute are those!!


      Alright, well you have my Labor Day BBQ  meal plan for this great long weekend!


      Eat, Drink and pour a little bit of our 40's you keep on hand to say 'thanks' to you and all the hard working people in the labor force!


      Enjoy your day!


      ...till next time, xx






      p.s.
      we ate this so fast, I took no pictures of the food, so these are 'borrowed' from the WWW. If they are your images, let me know and I'll pay respect where respect is due.

      Monday, August 31, 2009

      Homemade Donuts!

      I found this recipe on my friends' blog,  Ashley's Busy. These homemade donuts are TO DIE FOR! So good, worth every calorie! I made them on Saturday morning and needless to say, Mike was a very happy guy! I also felt good about eating it because I felt that since I made the sugar coating and fried them myself, that I knew they were 100% good even though they were not 'good' for my bootie!

      Here is the recipe and be warned, you will love them and want them again and again!

      Ingredients:
      • A  can of Pilsbury Homestyle Grands! Biscuits (NOT the flaky ones)
      • canola oil
      • sugar
      • ground cinnamon
      • cocoa powder
      Directions:
      • POP open the can of biscuits and lay them on a plate
      • take a butter knife and cut a circle in the middle of the biscuit
      • heat oil in a skillet to about 350 degrees (I poured the oil about halfway up the height of the donut)
      while the oil is heating, prepare sugar coatings:
      • in one plate mix sugar and cocoa powder. I would estimate 1 part cocoa to 4 parts sugar.(depending on how chocolate-y you like things)
      • in another plate mix sugar and ground cinnamon. (Just mix it until you think it looks yummy, you really can't go wrong)
      Now back to the donuts:
      • Don't forget to put the donut holes in the frying pan
      • Once the oil is hot enough, fry one side of the donut for 2 minutes (or until golden brown) 
      • Fry the other side of the donut for another 2 minutes (or until golden brown)
      • Once fully golden brown, CAREFULLY, take the donuts out and sprinkle with your sugar coating of choice.
      *Tip: Even though it is tempting to, don't sprinkle too much sugar coating, a little sprinkle goes a long way!

      Now, visit Ashley's Busy, Make Donuts and ENJOY!

      And as Homer Simpson says:

      Sunday, August 30, 2009

      Jack Lalanne Power Juicer

      ... is the coolest kitchen gadget around.

      I love kitchen gadgets -blog entries to come- and for my birthday I asked my boyfriend, Mike, to get me one. He listened and in returned, happiest girlfriend ever!

      I've only made a few different types of juices together, I am a die-hard carrot and apple girl, but Mike, not so much, he's more of a apple only guy.

      Just like the commercial states, you can put the whole fruit/vegetable in. Although I take out the apple stem and cut the carrot into two, you don't have to cut it into bits of pieces like you used to with older juice machines.

      If you have a juicer, here is a recipe for you and if you don't, you need one!

      Happy Juicing!

      x

      Carrot and Apple Juice
      2 carrots
      1 apple

      Carrot, Apple, Celery Juice
      2 carrots
      1 apple
      1 celery

      Apple Juice
      2 apples

      Wednesday, August 26, 2009

      Summer Time Jello Shots

      So I went to a 'Girl Party' tonight for my friends birthday! It was a gathering during the day of all and only girls.  Eek! The hostess actually called it a f*@#^%ware party.   I was trying to bring something yummy and summer-y to eat/drink and remembered stumbling upon this 'Petite Watermelon' blog entry that Chocolate on my Cranium posted. I have been dying to make them but couldn't find a reason. Well an summer-time Anne Summers party seemed reason enough!

      I spiced up the recipe a tad, making them Jello Shot Petite Watermelons and mmmm... they were good!

      Here is what I did:
      Ingredients:
      • 1 Large box of Red Jello 
      • 10 oz of Vodka
      • 6 oz of Cold water
      • 16 oz of Boiling water
      • 9 limes (they were small and made 18 total 'watermelons')
      Instructions:
      • Cut limes in half longways and take a grapefruit spoon and hollow out the inside of the lime
      •  * Ok, I'm not going to pretend here, that part was not so much fun! Oh, and I saved all the inside bits to make a yummy limeade later!
      • Wash out all the stickiness and throw them upside down in a Colander to drip dry.
      Make the Jello recipe:
      • In a separate bowl: mix the jello powder and the boiling water until all the lumps are gone
      • add the cold water and the vodka, mixing super well.
      Now for where the magic happens:
      • pour the jello mix into the lime halves, filling them as high as you can make them. (I put my lime halves in a clear baking tray because the rim was high enough to stabalize them for they are quite shaky!)
      • pour any excess jello mixture you have in small cups for shooting out of. ( I used dixie bathroom cups because I had them-why I don't know, but I did)
      • put in the refrigerator and chill.
      • Refrigerate for approximately 3-4 hours or whenever ready
      • take out and cut the the lime pieces in half again! This will make it look more like a watermelon and it will be easier to 'shoot' from
      • ENJOY!!
      Suggestions:
      • You can also sprinkle some sugar over the lime rind before pouring jello solution in, it will make it a little bit sweeter
      • If you want to make it look even more like watermelons, you can take mini chocolate chips and push them in with a skewer after about 30 min of chilling. I didn't do that since we were taking 'shots'.

      Monday, August 24, 2009

      Brigadeiros, a Braziliians Treat

      A couple of years ago I went to Brazil with the family that I sit for.  I was really excited about going because I had a very good Brazilian friend who told me great things about it, but I was also nervous to go, because I am a very picky eater.

      My sister has coined a term for people like me and to date, it is the best word for me. I am... a "Pick-a-tarian". There I said it, I know I have a problem but don't want help for it. No thank you!  Oh, tangent. So, in Brazil, I ate a lot of cheese and bread and these AMAZING balls of heaven called Brigadeiros.

      Now, if memory serves me correct, on TV all Brazilian girls are skinny with great booties, I don't know how that is true, because all I want in life are more and more of these yummy treats.
      Here is how you make them (and its super easy which is the other best part about it).
      Ingredients:
      • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
      • 1 tablespoon butter
      • 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (You have to use La Lechera and keep it real)
      • A jar of sprinkles/jimmies
      Directions:
      • In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cocoa, butter and condensed milk. 
      • Cook, stirring, enough to show the pan bottom during stirring 
      • Pour the mixture in a lightly greased dish and let it cool to room temperature.
      • Grease your hands with margarine or oil and roll them into little balls
      • Roll it over sprinkles
      • Place the balls in small size candy cups, they look like teeny cupcake papers.
      • EAT and ENJOY! yummmo!!
      Now, some Brazilians say you should use a Nesquik powder instead of cocoa to make it sweeter, but thats up to your tastebuds!

      As for me, I make these for holiday's and everyone loved them! In the meanwhile, I will continue to be a pick-a-tarian and order cheeseburgers with no meat from McDonalds and eat yummy Brigadeiros.

      xx