...per amore della cucina

My sister sent this recipe my way, thanks Rach! I am going to try to make these this weekend. Yellow cake batter rice krispies’s, YUM. Been sick this week so haven’t made anything, but I will this weekend, incuding these bad boys. Ill have to update y’all when I come around to baking them. In the mean time, godere dei meravigliosi dolcetti (enjoy the wonderful treats)!

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 (10 oz.) bag of mini-marshmallows
• 1/3 cup yellow cake mix
• 6 cups crispy rice cereal
• sprinkles

Thank you for the inspiration Jamie @ http://collegegirlcooking.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/how-to-get-things-done-and-cake-batter-rice-krispy-treats/

This was my lunch today. I only had iceberg lettuce, but I would typically make this salad with field greens. Sorry the picture is a little blurry, but you are looking at an iceberg lettuce, red beet, shaved fontina cheese and sweet and spicy pecan salad.  I used Newman’s Own light raspberry walnut dressing on top. Make sure to only drizzle because there is already a lot of flavor from the beets, cheese and cayenne pepper in the pecans. Feel free to use walnuts, yellow beets, goat cheese, whatever you prefer.

Essere creativi! (Get creative)

This is from last year, and one of my favorites.  It’s a Mexican fiesta soup! So basically I used a chicken tortilla mixture that they sell at the store. I do not usually like using packets because of all of the preservatives and MSG, but this one had no preservatives or MSG. I added the mixture to water, but only used half of the pack because I do not like super salty foods and I knew I was going to add cheese on top.  I added onions, mushrooms, corn, red and yellow peppers and fresh organic chicken to the water.  After letting all of the chicken cook and the veggies soften, I lowered to a simmer for about a half hour.  I added black beans, sour cream, a lot of cilantro and cheddar to the top.  Feel free to add habanero or other spicy peppers to your liking!

Mi amo cibo messicano! (ilovemexicanfood)

Before I even get started making breakfast, I need to brew my fresh Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Don’t forget to add fresh ground cinnamon to your grounds. I prefer using a percolator.

For all of you pumpkin lovers like me, you’ll like this one. I’m sure you see a half eaten waffle in the picture, that is a pumpkin waffle. I used Tops brand pancake mix, and added a few tablespoons of fresh pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.  On top, I used fresh maple butter and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

I totally forgot about this pic! This was a little concoction of yummy snacks for a girls night in! On the left in front we have apples, carrots and fresh brie. Behind are some multi-grain “FOOD SHOULD TASTE GOOD” chips. In the center are almonds, fruit preserves, hummus. To the right are my favorite peppadew peppers filled with goat cheese and quinoa with cranberries, almonds, basil, carrots, peppers (there are more things but can’t remember) which I purchased from Heinen’s.  Can’t forget the Cab/Shiraz blend wine to go with everything—sorry I cannot remember the name of it, but I also purchased from Heinen’s. So many choices and combo’s here! My favorite was the multi-grain chips topped with brie cheese, fruit preserves and crushed almonds. I recommend for a cozy night in!

I also attempted to make hummus. I used two cans of chickpeas, olive oil, one garlic clove and lemon juice. I don’t usually follow recipes, that’s BORING, so I intermittently added olive oil, and squeezed a few squeezes of lemon juice as I was blending all of my ingredients together. Oops! I forgot to mention, I added a few shakes of sweet paprika to the mix. Don’t forget to add some olive oil on top! Serve with your favorite veggies :)

“La vita è dolce”. Life is sweet, so I made some homemade sangria to enjoy with family and friends at my jewelry party! I used Merlot, ginger ale, sugar, a splash of fresh squeezed orange, and fruit, lots of fruit! Raspberries, peaches, lemons, limes, and oranges! Serve over ice, MOLTO DELICIOSO! :)