mm cookies

this recipe is from the hershey’s 1934 cookbook and was given to me by my cousin alisha. it was given to her by my great grandmother edna, whom we called minnie. i was lucky enough to be able to know her and actually spent a lot of time with her so this seemed extra special to me. 

the recipe is actually a base for any type of candy you would like to add to a cookie. i chose mm’s. as you can see from the pick the store was all out of the festive green and red so i opted for the regular colors. i think i nailed this recipe its pretty yummy. instead of sour milk though I used regular whole milk and i only used about a cup and a half of mm’s.

ingredients
¾ cup of sugar
½ cup light brown sugar packed
2/3 cup of butter softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup sour milk or regular whole milk
2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips or other candy or nuts


preparation
1. pre-heat oven to 375 F cream the sugars and butter until light and fluffy. then add egg and vanilla; beat well. lastly add the milk and beat into mixture. 

2. in separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. whisk together to combine all dry ingredients.

3. slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture and mix.

4. lastly fold in candy and nuts of your choice and also the desired amount you want.

5. drop by spoonfuls on cookie pan/sheet and bake 8-11 minutes

enjoy!

minnie and papa dixon (love) 

fettuccine with basil, parmesan and italian turkey sausage

last monday i was in the mood for pasta and red sauce…once in a while i crave this combination. 

i am not much for either one, so my italian husband really appreciates these moments. 

this could also be turned into a crock pot meal but I would boil the pasta right before its dinner time. 

i had these ingredients at home already and felt a little creative... here is what i came up with…it turned out amazing! 

my husbands comment, "this is better than any italian restaurant."(he's very honest)

 mission accomplished!

4-8 oz of fettuccine (this was dinner for 2 so i probably used 4 oz.)
4 sweet italian turkey sausage
2 large garlic cloves
1 jar of mids pasta sauce (i used half of the jar)
1 block of parmesan reggiano (shaved)
basil leaves
olive oil
crushed red pepper (optional)

1. fill pan with water to prepare the pasta as directed on box. cut sausage into slices and brown in a skillet with a little olive oil.

2. once sausage is thoroughly cooked add pasta sauce and garlic to the skillet then let simmer. boil noodles.

3. shave desired amount of parmesan cheese and shop 6-7 leaves of basil. drain pasta and place on plate. spoon pasta sauce and sausage over the fettuccine then garnish with cheese and basil.


cooks tip: if you freeze the sausage for a little bit it makes it easier to slice.


enjoy!!

peanut butter corn flake cookies

these amazing treats are little bites of something amazing! so simple and no baking involved!!


peanut butter cornflake cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup karo corn syrup

bring to a rolling boil, turn off heat and add: 

2 cups peanut butter

mix well ; pour over 6 ½ cups cornflakes

drop on wax paper with a teaspoon or roll them into little balls like i do! (just be careful they are hot!) i make them bite sized so they are eater friendly!

makes about 7 dozen 

cooks tip:
be very careful you don’t over boil the sugar and corn syrup; you don’t want it to turn hard. 
once you have it down according to your pan and stove make a note of how many minutes 
so your cookies will turn out crunchy creamy every time.

all aboard…i'm one!

i thought this was absolutely adorable and like nothing i have seen in photography before. 

melinda did such a great job on her sons first birthday pictures i had to sure this one with you.

right now she does photos for fun but might eventually think of turning her hobby into something more.

you can contact her through facebook 

message in a bottle cut-out cookies

thought these were such a cute idea…even creating the message in a bottle cookies with another message inside for a beach themed wedding. or sending these to your love who is far away…

created by the pantry bakeshop in rak~uae

two little lions (children's designer t-shirts)

i have been so excited to share with you this line of designer children's t-shirts. it is awesome to see the dreams of these two become their reality. read on about how "two little lions got started and about the vision that nick and ryanne have.

"So last year we started throwing around the idea of starting a children's tshirt line and after 9 months of hard work we've finally released Two Little Lions! We wanted to create tees that kids would love to wear, and that their parents would be excited about as well. 

Our main focus was to have a brand that spoke positivity. 

We created our signature "Heart of a Lion" tee to express the idea of being courageous, brave and willing to face the world. Being a leader and not a follower. 

"Perfectly Imperfect" is to remind our little girls from an early age that beauty isn't "cookie-cutter" and comes in every single back ground, shape, color and size and that who they were created to be is, in fact, perfect and should to be embraced.

"Stud Club" is pretty much for every little boy because they're all studs, and having that positive mindset puts them in a club that's bigger than themselves! 

Our "World Changer" raglan is my personal favorite. Every single child is a world changer! If we instill in our children that they are capable of changing the world, the world can and will be changed! The cool thing about that shirt is that it is personalized with their name and a portion of the profits from each sale will be going to different people, groups or organizations that are changing the world! So not only will they be rocking an awesome tee, they'll have a part in helping change the world.

Each of our tees are original designed and custom made locally @ Liquid Custom Apparel in Canton Ohio. We currently offer sizes 2T, 4T & 6T."

i was already such a fan of these shirts and wanted one of each and then i read the purpose and meaning behind each design and i loved them even more. ethan and i went to the etsy shop and he chose the world changer t-shirt and we can't wait to get it.

thanks nick and ryanne for having a vision and taking the steps to make your dreams come true.

i am grateful to see the excitement with this line of t's and so thankful its started out and will continue to be a success. can not wait to see what is to come.

many blessings to you and your family

connect with two little lions:

etsy - shop

instagram ~ @twolittlelions

email

order yours in time for back to school!

the company is based right here in northeastern ohio…we love supporting ohio based businesses!

i love america

came across this photo and thought it would be perfect for today…someone is all set for the festivities!

brielle ~ age 3

photo taken by dana