Pink Party Punch

When my sister Jackie told me that the name for the punch that she served at Buffy's bridal shower was Pink Party Punch, I couldn't help but think:

Wouldn't it be perfect if Peter Piper partake in pink party punch as he eats his pickled peppers that he picked? :D

Seriously, I loved this drink. As I mentioned in my previous post, it wasn't too tart, nor too sweet. It is definitely something I plan to serve for future parties.

 

Pink Party Punch


Ingredients:
1 (64 oz) bottle of cranberry-raspberry juice
1-1/2 cups water
1 can pineapple juice
1/2 can frozen pink lemonade
1 liter ginger ale

Directions:
Mix together after chilling all ingredients.

Note: Makes approximately two gallons.

April Showers Bring May . . . Weddings!

Only four more weeks until Buffy's big day! Yesterday, we celebrated with a bridal shower. I'm so grateful for my sister Jackie and dear friend Damaris for hosting this event. The weather, decorations, and food were just perfect!

The main spread included a fruit salad, pickles, veggies and dip, crackers and cheese, chicken salad sandwiches, and caprese skewers.

 

For dessert, we had strawberry-cream cheese tartlets and cupcakes.

Or, you could even break open one of the party favors and enjoy these adorable sugar cookies:

They also served Pink Party Punch, which was a hit. Not too tart. Not too sweet. The original recipe was modified, so hopefully I will be able to share their version in an upcoming post.

Everyone was so generous with their gifts! Mine was definitely on the practical side: a basket of cleaning products. Buffy thought I was giving her a hint! :)

 I found this idea on Pinterest (of course), but I did modify the original paragraph and changed some of the products:

Thanks again to everyone who played a part in helping Buffy and Todd begin their new adventure. I know Buffy was thrilled, and I am truly grateful.

Toffee

One of my favorite times of the year has always been March Madness. Good grief, I even use this in my seasonal decorations. Yep, I love being a coach's wife! This year, March Madness has taken on different meanings for me.

To begin, not only did UT not make it to the NCAA tournament, but they lost first round in the NIT! That's enough to make any orange-blooded fan mad, or at least sad. :(

Instead of dwelling on March Madness in the negative sense, I like to think of it in a more positive light: the excitement of facing new competition, pressure, sweat, exhilaration. I experienced my own kind of March Madness this year by taking a Project Management Bootcamp course. It's been years (who am I kidding. . . decades) since I've been a student. Gosh, how I miss it! Each day, I had the self-imposed pressure of having to pass timed quizzes. Each daily success felt like I was progressing tournament-style. Sweet Sixteen. Then, the Elite Eight. The week long course ended with my passing a 4-hour mock exam on the first try: my own equivalent of the Final Four! All of this work culminated in the "championship game" last night:  me vs. a 4-hour certification exam to become a Project Management Professional (PMP). I won! Wooooo hoooooo! New competition. Pressure. Sweat. Exhilaration. "It was all there for me, baby!" (spoken in your finest Dick Vitale voice)

To help ease some of the pressure of the week, one of the other students, Cyndi Rogers, made this amazing toffee for snacking. I knew immediately that we were kindred spirits. I'm so grateful that she was willing to share her recipe with me. I have always loved the flavor of toffee, but I usually avoid it because it is typically hard to bite. Not this. The texture is perfect. It went so fast that I was only able to take a picture of the crumbs!

I think it's the perfect game-day snack. I plan to make my own batch as I continue to cheer on my favorite teams this weekend.

As a new PMP, I'm already seeing things differently:

Initiating - Mom solicits participants for her tournament pool.
Planning - I plan my picks (which teams will win/lose each round) and plan for at least a few upsets.
Executing - Showtime! Cheer for your picks!
Monitoring & Controlling - Double check Mom's math to make sure that she has me in the lead, too.
Closing - Hopefully, I will be collecting some money in a couple of weeks.

Come to think of it, the instructor gave us a mnemonic device to remember the five Process Groups above:  I Prefer Extra Money in Cash. Boy, can I relate. So, at least for the next couple of weeks, GO KANSAS!!!

Toffee

Ingredients:

• 1 cup salted butter, melted
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• chopped pecans
• 3-4 Hershey bars (The larger baking-size bars are better. Use 2 of these instead of 4.)

Directions:
Mix together melted butter and sugar. Cook until it is a medium to darker medium caramel color, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add slivered almonds and mix well.

Dump onto a cookie sheet and spread out to the desired thickness. Break apart the chocolate bars and quickly place on top. Spread melted chocolate evenly on top. Sprinkle with crushed pecans.

Break into pieces after it is hardened. To harden faster, you can place the toffee in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. If you do, make sure you let the toffee come to room temperature before breaking apart.

Happy Pi Day!

As silly as it sounds, yes, I'm one of the unusual ones that actually looks forward to this holiday! For the second year in a row, our department (full of engineers) celebrated in full force.

For lunch, we had a variety of pizza pies:  bbq chicken pizza (grilled chicken, bbq sauce, mozzarella, onions and cherry peppers); philly cheese steak pizza (philly cheese steak, onions, peppers, mozzarella, and alfredo sauce); monster pizza (mozzarella, tomato sauce, bacon, pepperoni, meatballs and ham); paesani pizza (Italian sausage, pepperoni, tomato sauce and mozzarella); margherita pizza (fresh hand sliced baby mozzarella, tomato sauce and fresh basil); buffalo chicken pizza (grilled chicken, ranch, bacon, mozzarella, red onions and hot sauce); classic cheese pizza; and classic pepperoni pizza. Whew!

  

Then came the dessert pies: blackberry, chocolate cream, peanut butter, strawberry cream, lemon, coconut cream, key lime, and chocolate meringue (my contribution):

Come on now. Admit it. After seeing this parade of pies, don't you wish you celebrated, too?

Did you know . . .

• On WTVC-TV Channel 9 News this morning, meteorologist Bill Race said, "As of today, we are 3.14 inches of rain above normal!"  Coincidence? Hmmmmmm.
• Albert Einstein was born on 3.14! Isn't this just more proof that God has a sense of humor? Can't you picture the twinkle in his eye when he planned that? I just want to say, "I get it! That's a good one! Well done!" :)
• I woke my siblings with a Happy Pi Day text message at 5:13 this morning. Scott's reply: "I expected this to be sent at 3:14 a.m. You are slacking." Oh man, why didn't I think of that? :)

Now I can't wait for next year!

What a Ride!

Dear Stetson,

My, how the time has flown by. Tonight, I so regret not being able to watch you play in your last home game of basketball. I wanted to at least be there in spirit, so I made you a special cake just to commemorate this event.

All these years, I swell with pride every time I have a chance to tell someone, "See #22? He's our grandson." (Not that I'm biased or anything.) I understand what is involved to be the Coach's Kid, and it's no small feat. Even playing with this added pressure each and every game, you still smile. On games that may end in a loss, you still smile. Knowing you have family in the stands to support you, you smile. With basketball awards and accolades too numerous to mention, it's your overall attitude that is my favorite part of your game. OK, I must admit seeing you consistently make those long-range 3's while being double-teamed or having the opponent run a box-and-1 is a close second. :) One of my favorite memories? Scoring 41 points against Karns last year on my birthday. What a ride it's been! Thanks so much for the memories. You have brought us so much joy!

Your cheerleader for life,
G-ma

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

When Keely came home for a visit last week to celebrate my birthday, we thought it would be fun to try a new recipe. She was telling me about one of her friends who regularly makes pizza using cauliflower as the crust. Pizza is one of my favorite foods, so if one can make some healthy, yet tasty substitutions, then why not? At the onset, both Keely and I admittedly had low expectations. We were just planning to enjoy the experience of making something new together and then end up eating what we thought would be "just OK." We were so wrong!

We both took a bite, looked at each other with surprise, and then began the giggles.
"No way!"
"I can't believe this!"
"This is crazy!"
"No one would ever guess this is cauliflower!"
"I'm definitely making this for my kids one day as a way to sneak in some veggies and still have pizza night!"

You're gonna love the simplicity of it, too. Start with a head of cauliflower and "rice" it. That is, chop it so finely until it looks like, well, rice. Be sure to remove the stem and leaves first. If you have a food processor, this step will be easy. Don't over-do it, though, or you will puree it. Since I don't have a food processor, I just used my food chopper.

Next, microwave the riced cauliflower for 8 minutes. To make a 9 inch round pizza crust, you will only need 1 cup of the cooked, riced cauliflower. (I ended up with about 4 cups, so I saved the extra and made pizza again later in the week.) Add 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, 1 beaten egg, 1 teaspoon dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt.

Mix well and pat onto the pizza stone. (For the pizza below, I doubled the recipe, but this isn't recommended. If you make the pizza too large, it has a tendency to get a little soggy in the middle.) I sprayed a little olive oil on top so that the crust browns nicely. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Done!

At this point, add your favorite sauce, toppings (pre-cooked), and cheese. Broil for about 3-4 minutes.

Keely and I made two varieties. For the first half, we used pesto sauce, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, spinach, sundried tomatoes and a little more oregano on top. We figured out that one generous slice was approximately 293 calories, using the MyFitnessPal app. The second half was pretty traditional:  marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, turkey pepperoni, and a few jalapenos and banana peppers. This version had only 195 calories per slice! A few days later, we made just a plain pepperoni as shown in the first picture above. Have fun trying your own favorite combinations!

Note: Be prepared to eat each slice with a fork. But, this is a small price to pay for a low-carb, low-cal, gluten-free, healthy meal. Shhhhh. Don't tell the kids! :D

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• olive oil spray (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove the stem and leaves from cauliflower and "rice" it. That is, chop it so finely until it looks like grain. Next, microwave the riced cauliflower for 8 minutes. Mix together all ingredients listed above and pat onto a pizza stone or sprayed cookie sheet. Spray olive oil on top (optional). Bake for 15 minutes.

Add your favorite sauce, toppings (pre-cooked), and cheese. Broil for about 3-4 minutes until cheese is melted.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge

We're almost two weeks into the new year. Did you make any resolutions? Are you still going strong? As a statistician, naturally I was intrigued by some of the stats I ran across online, published by Stephen Shapiro, on this very topic:

• 45% of Americans usually set New Year’s resolutions.
• Only 8% of people are always successful in achieving their resolutions.
• 3 out of 4 people almost never succeed.
• The less happy you are, the more likely you are to set New Year's resolutions. 
• 38% set resolutions related to weight.

Good grief! Depressing, huh? But, wait! Here's the best statistic:

"There is no correlation between happiness 

and resolution setting/success. 

People who achieve their resolutions every year 

are no happier than those who do not set resolutions 

or who are unsuccessful in achieving them."

I love that! So, give yourself a break. And while you're at it, you should treat yourself to some of this chocolate chip cookie dough fudge.

For as long as I can remember, Keely has always loved to sneak bites of raw cookie dough before I ever got a chance to bake it. Oddly enough, I've never been a fan. When I first found this new recipe on Pinterest (Mel's Kitchen Cafe), I thought it would be perfect for her to make and bring to our Christmas gathering at Mom and Dad's house. She quickly agreed. :)

This recipe is definitely a keeper. While it was no surprise that Keely loved it, I was surprised to hear Steve say it was the best fudge he's ever tasted.  He's just never been a fan of fudge. (I know. I know. I'll never understand.) And for someone who has never been a fan of cookie dough, I found it pretty irresistible. Thus the need for New Year's resolutions, I suppose. But, this little piece of goodness tucked inside its adorable Santa suit liner sure made me happy! :D

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge

Ingredients for Cookie Dough:

• 1/3 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half, cream or milk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Ingredients for Fudge Base:

• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup half-and-half, cream or milk
  
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (for topping the fudge)

Directions:
Line an 8×8 baking pan with aluminum foil and set aside.

For the cookie dough, mix on medium speed the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla, salt, and half-and-half. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. Fold in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips. Set aside.

For the fudge base, combine the brown sugar, butter, salt, and half-and-half in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until the butter is melted, and the brown sugar is dissolved. The mixture should be smooth and combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Gradually stir in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until the mixture is smooth and thick. Let this mixture cool completely before proceeding!

Add the cookie dough to the fudge base and stir to combine. Spread the fudge into the prepared baking pan and press into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips on top of the fudge and lightly press them into the batter. Chill until set, about 3-4 hours, before cutting into pieces. The fudge can be made ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.