I. Have. A. Camera.

Thanks to my own personal Santa, who does INCREDIBLE research and picks out THE best gifts (DROID?!), I now have a camera. An AMAZING camera. You can now see my food.

Sometimes my food ends up on peoples' faces. (Sorry, Dad, had to!) My Dad's eyes are gorgeous! And that's his birthday cake.



And just because my dog is the cuuuutest. Love him!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chocolate Butter Cake with Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream

(Finally, proof that I actually make the stuff I say I do!)

Make homemade oatmeal.

There are several things I believe are 100% worth making from scratch, especially when they are easy and simple. ESPECIALLY when they are effortless!

So this week, you should REALLY try homemade oatmeal. It's ridiculously delicious, takes zero effort (other than buying a new type of oats), and the texture is incredible - no gloppy nasty cementy mess!

Now, I have to warn you - you MUST use steel-cut oats. Do NOT use rolled oats! The texture of the steel-cut makes all the difference in the world for texture. Also, if you double the recipe, you have enough for 2 servings of breakfast, and enough leftover to make my delicious Oatmeal Bread :) (Yes, I got the recipe for my homemade oatmeal from my oatmeal bread.) If you've never seen steel-cut oats before, you will see an immediate difference when you pop open that canister. You can get it in any grocery store, usually on the top shelf. Quaker sells them in a smaller dark blue canister.


Homemade Oatmeal
3 oz. (1/2 c.) steel-cut oats (NOT ROLLED!)
12 oz. (1 1/2 c.) water
1-2 Tbsp. butter or cream
Pinch salt, or to taste
Toppings/Mix-ins (brown sugar, maple syrup, raisins, chopped apples, cinnamon sugar, sliced strawberries or peaches)

Mix oats and water. Bring to a simmer and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add butter and desired mix ins (my favorite is just brown sugar!) and enjoy.

And I do mean, enjoy. (I've made it two or three days in a row, and will make it again tomorrow!)

Holiday Fudge - Simple, Delicious.

Stolen from: http://kelseyskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/10/fudge.html

(I love Kelsey Nixon. She got robbed... she should be on Food Network with her own show.)

This fudge is amazing. I am going to make it plain, with peppermint extract and crushed peppermint on top, with almonds and marshmallow, maybe even a mocha version. I am also going to give it away as gifts because it's that pretty and that delicious.

Simple Chocolate Fudge

1 lb. quality chocolate, chopped
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. salt

Line bottom of an 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper or wax paper. Heat all ingredients in a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Pour into baking pan and chill, uncovered, until firm, about 3-4 hours. Run a knife around edges of pan and invert fudge onto a work surface. Remove parchment and cut fudge into bite size pieces. Serve chilled.

I need a new dress.

Peppermint Stick Holiday Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

I need a new dress. Cute and free doesn't hurt...

Finals

I hate them. They're once again upon us. Yuck. I will be taking a facebook and blogging hiatus.

To make you jealous, I will mention that I now have a food processor, new hand mixer (old one was too weak), new hand blender (old one broke!), and a real blender (mom wouldn't ever let me get one cause she said 'As soon as you get married you'll get 5!' but OBVIOUSLY, no blenders are coming my way anytime soon, so I had to get one myself).

I also got a new kitchenaid bowl, a silpat, a food mill (BEST THING EVER!), a new knife, a new pair of jeans, several shirts (thanks mom!), an adorable Shade jacket, a new pair of Steve Madden boots (check out their Thanksgiving promo! 30% off, no sales tax, and free shipping!), some Foot Petals (highly recommend if you have a love/hate relationship with sexy shoes like I do! - 25% off and free shipping), and a Shabby Apple (15% off, but sadly, still $9 for shipping) dress!

Yes, I cleaned up. Be jealous.


NOTE: This is so exciting that I have to break the hiatus to share.
My Steve Madden boots. They were originally $99.95, were marked down to $69.95, and with my 30% off coupon (and free shipping and free sales tax since there's no retail store in TN), I paid $48.98 TOTAL.

Today, they were marked UP. To $129.95.

I saved EIGHTY DOLLARS on ONE PAIR OF BOOTS.

Be sure you keep checking Steve Madden's website - they've had killer deals going on.

But I think I won, where this is concerned.