Happy Friday! Who doesn't love a refreshing summer cocktail? As I'm sure you could assume, I am a big fan! Today I want to share one of the fun martini recipes I inherited from Chris' mom when I turned 21, Watermelon Martinis. These are fun for the summer and don't pack too much of a punch so they are perfect sipping on the patio!
Watermelon Martinis
(Makes 1 martini)
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz. Watermelon vodka
- 1/2 oz. cranberry juice
- splash sweet & sour mix
- splash flat 7up or sprite
Instructions:
- Pour everything into a shaker with ice.
- Shake, strain and serve!
You could also switch it up and use a watermelon puree or juice from fresh watermelon with citrus vodka rather than the above recipe. Probably a 2:1 puree to vodka ratio, give or take based on your preferences. This would require the purchase of fresh watermelon, which I don't do often enough to justify a whole new post on this variation.
This weekend we are going to my college housemate's wedding in Indianapolis. I'm SO excited! It seems like yesterday we were living in our little basement apartment senior year, now she's getting married! I couldn't be more thrilled for her and it was such a joy to see her and her soon to be husband's relationship grow over the years.
Hope everyone has a good weekend!
Cheers!
Steph
Friday, August 9, 2013
Watermelon Martinis
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Wedding Wednesday on The Bear Necessities!
Happy Hump Day everyone! Today I'm featured in Wedding Wednesday on The Bear Necessities! My dear friend Danielle is the bloggess over there and asked me to help! This week's topic was Bridesmaid Asks. Check it out!
Cheers!
Steph
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Puffins!
So I can't help but use exclamation points when I type (or say) the word Puffin! To clarify, I'm not talking about the funny looking bird or the sweet moniker Holly Madison used to use for Hugh Hefner (Girls Next Door fans you know what I'm talking about, non-fans don't pretend you didn't watch it at least a little!). What I'm talking about is a pancake muffin aka Puffin!
This is another one of the breakfast goodies I featured for Chris' co-workers. Also on the menu were Maple Pecan Twists and Cream Cheese Danish. The puffins were by far the easiest but they are just so stinkin' cute!
Puffins
(Makes about 24 minis)
Ingredients:
- 1 c. pancake mix (bisquik or whatever brand you prefer, Aunt Jemima is my homegirl)
- 1/2 c. milk
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp. melted butter
- chocolate chips, nuts or crumbled cooked bacon (for topping)
Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients (minus toppings) in a large bowl until there are no more lumps.
- Scoop mixture into a well greased mini muffin pan.
- Sprinkle toppings on top.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until sides are golden. The tops won't turn golden but don't worry they are cooked through!
- Remove from baking pan, let cool and enjoy!
These were yummy and EASY! Definitely give them a try for your next breakfast or brunch potluck! You can serve them with extra maple syrup for dipping if you'd like.
This week I'll be featured on my friend Danielle's blog for Wedding Wednesday! So check it out at The Bear Necessities tomorrow!
Cheers!
Steph
This is another one of the breakfast goodies I featured for Chris' co-workers. Also on the menu were Maple Pecan Twists and Cream Cheese Danish. The puffins were by far the easiest but they are just so stinkin' cute!
Puffins
(Makes about 24 minis)
Ingredients:
- 1 c. pancake mix (bisquik or whatever brand you prefer, Aunt Jemima is my homegirl)
- 1/2 c. milk
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp. melted butter
- chocolate chips, nuts or crumbled cooked bacon (for topping)
Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients (minus toppings) in a large bowl until there are no more lumps.
- Scoop mixture into a well greased mini muffin pan.
- Sprinkle toppings on top.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until sides are golden. The tops won't turn golden but don't worry they are cooked through!
| Bacon Puffins |
- Remove from baking pan, let cool and enjoy!
| Chocolate Chip Puffins |
These were yummy and EASY! Definitely give them a try for your next breakfast or brunch potluck! You can serve them with extra maple syrup for dipping if you'd like.
This week I'll be featured on my friend Danielle's blog for Wedding Wednesday! So check it out at The Bear Necessities tomorrow!
Cheers!
Steph
Labels:
bacon,
breakfast,
chocolate,
maple syrup,
pancake muffins,
puffins,
sweets
Friday, August 2, 2013
Grilled Naan Pizza
Happy Friday! Chris and I are so ready for a little R&R this weekend after a semi hectic week getting back to work after vacation and helping my brother move out of his apartment. He'll be staying with us while he is in between places so some of my upcoming recipes may be with the help of a sous chef!
While on vacation we decided to spilt dinner duties with Chris' grandparents. Since we had more time on our hands it made it nice for trying some new recipes! This recipe for Grilled Naan Pizza was a hit! Best of all, it was easy and quick!
Grilled Naan Pizza
(we made six pizzas for four people, three were caprese, three were pear, mixed greens and brie, we had about one pizza leftover for lunch)
Ingredients:
- 6 loaves of naan (we just bought it from Kroger, if you have a good homemade recipe go for it!)
- olive oil
- toppings: we used grape tomatoes, bocconcini mozzarella (the smaller cherry size), fresh basil, pears, brie, spring mix and balsamic vinegar but you can pick any combinations you want!
Instructions:
- Prep veggies or fruits and cheeses that you are using for toppings. For the caprese pizzas we sliced the grape tomatoes in half, same thing with the mozzarella then we let them sit in a mix of 1/3 c. olive oil, 2 to 3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. dried basil.
- Heat grill to medium heat.
- Brush both sides of naan lightly with olive oil.
- When grill is ready, place naan on grill for 1 minute or until there are some grill marks.
- Flip it over and place toppings on top, let cook for 5 minutes until cheese is just melted or until the underside is cooked to your preference.
- Drizzle with balsamic, slice and serve.
Things to keep in mind:
- Have all your toppings ready to go before grilling, the naan cooks up pretty fast so you have to work quickly.
- Brie (and softer cheeses) melt pretty quickly so try adding it halfway through the cooking time so it won't run everywhere.
- Fresh basil wilts and dries quickly so adding halfway in makes it a little more visually appealing.
- The cheese doesn't have to be fully melted before removing the pizza from the grill, if its cooked on the underside take it off and let the cheese melt with the residual heat.
Obviously you can get really creative with it and switch up your toppings based on what's in season. We went with caprese with balsamic drizzle and the pear, mixed greens and brie with balsamic drizzle to keep things light and have some contrasting flavors. These were really easy and very yummy. Some of them got a little more crispy than I care for but that could be avoided next time. Chris manned the grill while I prepped so it was a team effort! His grandparents were big fans of both types of pizzas and so were we!
This weekend our summer slows down without any travel plans! But as I've blogged about before "free weekends" tend to be fleeting concepts if I have anything to do with it! Stay tuned for Puffins and Maple Pecan Twists!
Cheers!
Steph
While on vacation we decided to spilt dinner duties with Chris' grandparents. Since we had more time on our hands it made it nice for trying some new recipes! This recipe for Grilled Naan Pizza was a hit! Best of all, it was easy and quick!
Grilled Naan Pizza
(we made six pizzas for four people, three were caprese, three were pear, mixed greens and brie, we had about one pizza leftover for lunch)
Ingredients:
- 6 loaves of naan (we just bought it from Kroger, if you have a good homemade recipe go for it!)
- olive oil
- toppings: we used grape tomatoes, bocconcini mozzarella (the smaller cherry size), fresh basil, pears, brie, spring mix and balsamic vinegar but you can pick any combinations you want!
Instructions:
- Prep veggies or fruits and cheeses that you are using for toppings. For the caprese pizzas we sliced the grape tomatoes in half, same thing with the mozzarella then we let them sit in a mix of 1/3 c. olive oil, 2 to 3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. dried basil.
- Heat grill to medium heat.
- Brush both sides of naan lightly with olive oil.
- When grill is ready, place naan on grill for 1 minute or until there are some grill marks.
- Flip it over and place toppings on top, let cook for 5 minutes until cheese is just melted or until the underside is cooked to your preference.
- Drizzle with balsamic, slice and serve.
| Mixed green, pear and brie with balsamic drizzle |
| Caprese with balsamic drizzle |
Things to keep in mind:
- Have all your toppings ready to go before grilling, the naan cooks up pretty fast so you have to work quickly.
- Brie (and softer cheeses) melt pretty quickly so try adding it halfway through the cooking time so it won't run everywhere.
- Fresh basil wilts and dries quickly so adding halfway in makes it a little more visually appealing.
- The cheese doesn't have to be fully melted before removing the pizza from the grill, if its cooked on the underside take it off and let the cheese melt with the residual heat.
Obviously you can get really creative with it and switch up your toppings based on what's in season. We went with caprese with balsamic drizzle and the pear, mixed greens and brie with balsamic drizzle to keep things light and have some contrasting flavors. These were really easy and very yummy. Some of them got a little more crispy than I care for but that could be avoided next time. Chris manned the grill while I prepped so it was a team effort! His grandparents were big fans of both types of pizzas and so were we!
This weekend our summer slows down without any travel plans! But as I've blogged about before "free weekends" tend to be fleeting concepts if I have anything to do with it! Stay tuned for Puffins and Maple Pecan Twists!
Cheers!
Steph
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