Hi everyone!

Sorry I've been MIA.  Picked up lots of new responsibilities at work but now I get to work from home!!! I'm super happy about that since the gas prices keep going up.

Oh also - I'm engaged now!!

YAY!  He was sooo cute when he proposed - he used the cat as a conspirator :)
Sooooo we are hoping for a July wedding - nothing fancy - and then buying a house when our lease is up in September.  I'm soooo ready for a house and a real kitchen.  In anticipation of getting hitched we are stepping up our efforts to get healthy.  So I should be putting up many more recipes soon.

Also, I've always wanted to open up my own little online shop with handmade items :) So I did!

Check out my Zibbet store, I only have a few items up but they sure are cute :)  I'm working on getting some more things up there but please do take a look and buy something if you like it :)  And don't hesitate to contact me with questions or custom requests :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Winner Winner - Chicken Dinner!

Looks like KCR wins the Bisquick Prize pack.

KCR - please email me (terrorinthekitchen (at) gmail (dot) com) before Monday with your info :)

Thanks everyone!

I'm Back!! PLUS a Giveaway!

We'll I'm a terrible blogger.... I don't know why I even bother... :( Sorry I've neglected you guys.

I managed to pass my classes and put in tons of (mandatory) overtime at work and still managed to keep my sanity. I'm happy to have a stable job and be able to go to school but sometimes it just gets to be a bit much.

I have a few recipes to post with lots of pics :) so hopefully people are actually still going to read this.

To make up for the lack of posts - I have a great giveaway for you!

Up for grabs is a Bisquick Gluten Free Pancake Mix set :)
It comes with a cast iron mini pancake pan, spatula, the Bisquick Gluten Free Pancake mix and a pancake batter pen.

I was tickled pink with the batter pen. You can put all the ingredients in the pen and shake it up. It was super easy to fill, shake and "write" with the batter. And best of all, you can just throw it in the dishwasher.

I've never cooked with cast iron but I followed the seasoning instructions and it turned out pretty good. The pancakes themselves were very light and the batter pen was really fun to use. I think I'm going to use it to fill mini muffin pans.

Also for whoever is still reading, you can visit http://www.myblogspark.com/uc/main/8b49/ to download a printable coupon for $1 off Bisquick Gluten Free baking mix!

To find great recipe tips and ideas, visit www.bisquick.com/glutenfree. There, you’ll find countless gluten-free recipes for family favorites such as Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcakes and Gluten Free Pizza Crust, using Bisquick Gluten Free baking mix. Check back often! They’re adding more recipes every day! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post :) Let me know what your favorite type of pancake is or what add-ons you like (chocolate chips, blueberries, bananas, whipped cream). I'll choose a winner on Saturday night. I'll need the winners info by Monday 1/10 otherwise another winner will be chosen.

Good luck!


Disclosure - MyBlogSpark provided me with the same prize pack that is being given away for free.  All opinions are my own.

Deb's Dill Dip

My BF's mom makes this great dill dip for family get-togethers. She kindly shared the recipe with me so I could make it for her son whenever he wants it. Here it is right from her recipe card... my changes are in red :)

Deb's Dill Dip

2/3 cup mayo - I used Kraft Olive Oil Mayo

2.3 cup sour cream

1 Tbsp dill weed

1 Tbsp parsley flakes

1 Tbsp minced onion flakes - I used a light sprinkle of onion powder to taste

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate overnight. Serve with rye and or pumpernickel breads.

Deb's additional variations:

Use an 8oz (1 cup) container of sour cream then use the empty sour cream container to measure an equal amount (1 cup) of mayo. Since this is 50% more mayo and sour cream, increase the other herbs and onions to 1 1/2 Tbsps and increase the salt to 3/4 tsp.

I made this and let it sit over night in the fridge. The BF loved it the next day, even with my changes :)

Enjoy!

Stuff to try out....

Here's some stuff I want to try soon. I hope school isn't going to tie me up as much as it did the last few months....

Homemade Gummi Candy

Peanut Butter and Jam Bars

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Travel Bars

Single Serving Pie in a Jar

Pineapple Coconut Muffins

Whole Wheat Tortillas

If you try any of these, let me know how they turn out :)

Crayon Roll

When my BFF's son was about to be a big brother, I decided to make him a cute crayon roll to keep him busy at the hospital :) I think it turned out sooo adorable :)

What do you think?

My First Hat

I made my first hat a little while ago :)

What do you think?

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

I have a get together to go to tomorrow so I decided to make cupcakes since everyone likes cupcakes. However, since I have a 20 page paper that is due Sunday, I decided to take the easy way out and just use box mix and canned frosting (GASP). I know its blasphemy but - hey - I'm busy.

Well of course I had to find some way to make it time consuming so I decided to get some cake decorating tips and make them pretty looking. But since I'm scatterbrained, I forgot that using fancy cake decorating tips to frost cupcakes would require a lot of frosting. I OBVIOUSLY didn't get enough to cover 48 cupcakes. So instead of running out at 10:30pm to try to find frosting I made my own - YAY ME!

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter (one stick), softened

4-5 tbsp cocoa powder

4 cups sifted powdered sugar

2-3 tbsp vanilla extract

3-5 tbsp water (can use cream or milk as well)

Cream the butter and shortening until smooth. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl often. Add cocoa powder, making sure it blends well. Frosting will look a bit dry. Now add the vanilla and the water. You can add more depending on how stiff you want the frosting to be.

Cheers!

Pepperoni Rolls

I totally copied this recipe from Suzanne. It's delicious and can be grabbed as a snack or you can pack 2 for a lunch. I only made minimal changes. Check out her website - it's awesome and she has step-by-step pics of this yumminess.

Pepperoni Rolls

Dough

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

1 cup chopped pepperoni

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

4 cups flour (approx)

Filling

pepperoni slices or sticks

mozzarella or pepper jack cheese (approx. 2 cups)

In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, salt, sugar, minced garlic, egg, oil, chopped pepperoni, and the 1/2 cup of cheese. Let sit five minutes. Stir in the first cup and a half of flour with a heavy spoon. Add the next cup of flour a little at a time as needed, stirring until dough becomes too stiff to continue stirring easily. Add a little more flour and begin kneading. The amount of flour is approximate since dough can be temperamental.

Continue adding flour and kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let dough rise in a greased, covered bowl until doubled. (Usually, about an hour. Mine took about 2 hrs to rise enough.) Uncover bowl; sprinkle in a little more flour and knead again before dividing in half into two balls.

Working with one half of the dough at a time, roll each ball of dough out onto a floured surface into a rectangle (approximately 8×12 inches). Sprinkle flour over the dough to keep from sticking as you roll. Make one slice lengthwise down the dough. Slicing from the other direction, make a slice down the middle, then again, until you have eight pieces. Sprinkle with cheese. Place about 3 pepperoni slices or sticks on each piece. Roll up, pinching seam to seal.

Let rise approximately 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Bake for 20-30 minutes. (Watch carefully–the size of your rolls will vary the baking time–they’re done when they’ve browned.) Makes 16 rolls.

Cheers!

Life happens

SonyaAnn told me to post something so here I go....

I have been in school for last semester (2 classes) and this summer (2 classes) and working full time with extra responsibilities. I am still cooking - I even just got a pressure canner off of Craigslist for $50 :). I even took pictures of the stuff I cooked so that I can post about them later. Right now, I'm cleaning my apartment and trying to finish homework because tomorrow I get to have all 4 of my wisdom teeth extracted (and I'm not even getting knocked out to have it done). Then, I don't even get to have Monday off (observed 4th of July) because I have to be at work at 4am for International coverage.... maybe at 4am I'll have time to post something more substantial :) with pictures of yumminess.

Well wish me luck with the teeth thing.... maybe I'll lose a few pounds since all I can eat is applesauce, yogurt and jello :)

Cheers!