Meow!

 
   Hello!  I can hardly believe Halloween is right around the corner!  I was reminded of this fact last week when I noticed the dollar store selling Halloween candy... it's still September! 
     Today's card is a CASE of Connie Babbert's Frightening Feline card over at her blog Inkspired Treasures (here).  I loved everything about her card and when something's perfect, why change it?!  Unfortunately, I don't have the Window Frame framelit dies so I used the Labels framelits instead.

Stamps: Frightening Feline
Paper: Houndstooth & Scaringbone DSP, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, Basic Gray
Ink: StazOn black
Tools & Accessories: Big Shot, Labels Collection framelits dies, paper piercing tools, glimmer brads, Boho Blossoms punch, dimensionals

Henri the Cat

     Hello!  Today's post has nothing to do with stamping or baking; it's all about Henri the Cat.  A coworker showed me this video and I couldn't stop laughing! Kinda makes me wonder if this is how Floyd feels...

Happy Birthday!

          Hello!  Today's card was inspired by Heather Klump's "Wish Big" card over at her blog Downstairs Designs (here).  I loved her layout and decided to only change the colors and stamp set.  I added a few rhinestone jewels for a little bling.
     Is anyone else bummed that SU retired the Stars #2 die?  As a demo I have access to the retiring stamp and accessories list before customers do but I have to admit that I missed this item on the last list... I absolutely {love} that die!

Stamps: Afterthoughts (retired hostess)
Ink: Island Indigo
Paper: Pool Party, Whisper White, Island Indigo
Tools & Accessories: Big Shot, Stars #2 die (retired), 1 3/4" circle punch, dimensionals

Jolly Christmas Card

Watch as Shannon West from the Stampin' Up! home office shows you how to create an adorable Christmas card!

I Saw This Where?!

     Hello!  Today's card is one that I originally saw online somewhere but for the life of me I can't remember where!  I'm very good at bookmarking cards that I'd like to CASE but for some reason I didn't do that for this card.  If it looks familiar to you or you know who the original creator is please let me know!

Stamps: The Open Sea
Paper: Night of Navy, Sahara Sand, Nautical Expedition DSP (retired)
Ink: Night of Navy
Tools & Accessories: Brads, Cherry Cobbler baker's twine, dimensionals

Shortbread

The dots on the chocolate is condensation from being
in the refrigerator.

     Hello!  I keep my favorite recipes and recipes that look like they might become a favorite once I get around to actually testing them in a 3 1/2" binder.  Several teachers hosted an "End of Summer/Happy New School Year" cookout a few weeks ago.   Being well-known around school for my delicious desserts I offered to bring one but, I needed something new.  Enter the binder.
     This recipe is one that I've had for over a year but never had a chance to try.  Teachers at school {love} my sugar cookies, which have a slightly shortbread-y taste, so I knew this would be a hit with them.  They are light in flavor but dense in cookie.  So buttery and so good.  Because they are a dense cookie I cut them in 1 1/2 x 2" pieces and one was more than enough to satisfy my sweet tooth (ok, maybe two).
    And yes, you're reading the recipe correctly... that's one pound of butter. 

Shortbread
1 pound butter, softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
4 cups flour
2 tbs cornstarch
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 tsp almond extract

1.  Preheat oven to 325.  Using a stand mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla. 

2.  In separate bowl combine flour and cornstarch.  Slowly add flour to butter mixture.  Mix well.

3.  Place batter in 10x14" baking pan, patting down firmly and evenly with hands (mixture will be a bit sticky).  Prick all over with fork.

4.  Bake for 22-25 minutes or until shortbread is pale golden color. Remove from oven and cut into rectangles immediately.  Cool on rack before removing from pan.
**Note:  If your pan is smaller than 10x14" you will need to add up to 5 minutes of additional baking time due to thickness of shortbread.

5.  If desired, dip shortbread pieces in melted chocolate and cool in refrigerator until chocolate sets, about an hour.  Enjoy!

Baby Memory Book Page

Watch as Emily Montoya from the Stampin' Up! home office shows you some new techniques that you can use to make an album. 

Thanksgiving Gratitude

     Hello! Today's card is a CASE of jentimko's card over at SCS (here).  I loved the colors Jen used but wanted to change my to my favorite color combo: Pool Party, More Mustard and Soft Suede.  

Stamps: Day of Gratitude, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Whisper White, Soft Suede
Ink: Soft Suede, More Mustard, Pool Party
Tools & Accessories: Big Shot, Bitty Banners framelits, button, linen thread

Chocolate Mint Brownies

     
     Oh.  My.  Goodness.  These are the best mint brownies I think I've ever had.  Seriously!  This recipe comes from the June 2011 issue of Woman's World magazine and I'm kicking myself for not trying it sooner!  The brownies are rich and moist while the frostings (yes, that's plural) are so creamy and almost buttery that they just melt in your mouth.
     I will admit that these do take a bit of work to make but they're so worth it.  I might even classify this recipe as a great one to make while you're doing something else.  And by that I mean you make the brownie base and clean up the kitchen.  Let the brownies cool while you vacuum the house.  Make the mint icing, frost the brownies and refrigerate for an hour while you water the garden.  Make the chocolate frosting, frost the brownies and refrigerate again while you check your e-mail (or my blog!).  Definitely multi-tasking type of recipe.

Chocolate Mint Brownies

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 squares (1 oz each) semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup flour

Mint Icing

• 2 tbs butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tbs heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
• 3 drops green food coloring

Glaze

• 1 square (1 oz) semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 tbs butter

1. Preheat oven to 325.  Coat 9" square brownie pan with cooking spray.  In heatproof bowl, combine butter and chocolate.  Place bowl over pot of simmering water over low heat.  Stir mixture until melted. Remove from heat; cool 15 minutes.

2.  Add sugar, eggs extract and flour to melted chocolate mixture.  Mix well; pour into pan.  bake 20-25 minutes or until firm.  Cool completely.

3.  Mint icing: In a small bowl, mic butter, sugar, cream, extract and food coloring until creamy.  Spread over brownies; refrigerate 1 hour.

4.  Chocolate glaze: In a clean heatproof bowl, combine chocolate and butter.  Place bowl over pot of simmering water over low heat.  Stir mixture to until melted.  Cool slightly.  Drizzle over mint frosting. Refrigerate to set chocolate, about an hour.  Enjoy!

FREE Ribbon!

Stampin' Up! has gone a little crazy with their FREE ribbon promotion!

While the kids are heading back to school, Stampin' Up! is going back to "spool"!  For the month of September, get a FREE package of 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon (a $8.95 value) for every $40 you spend!

Choose from the following ribbon:

Item	Description	Retail Value
126848	Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	$ 8.95
126847	Midnight Muse 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	$ 8.95
126844	Primrose Petals 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	$ 8.95
126845	Raspberry Ripple 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	$ 8.95
126846	Summer Starfruit 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	$ 8.95

Season's Greetings

     
     Hello!  Don't you just {love} it when you find a card that's perfect?!  That's what happened when I stumbled upon Jen Sannes card over at her blog, Simple and Sincere (here).  I loved her layout and I loved her colors so the only thing I changed was the stamp sets.
     It's hard to tell from the first photo but the Basic Gray card stock is dry embossed with the Finial Press embossing folder.

Stamps: More Merry Messages, Lovely As a Tree
Paper: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Basic Gray, Glimmer Paper
Ink: Night of Navy
Tools & Accessories: Big Shot, Final Press embossing folder (retired), scallop border punch, taffeta ribbon, button

Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

     I believe this quote from Aaron says it all: "What's not to love about brownies, M&M's, marshmallows and peanuts?!"
     Today's recipe was adapted from a Best of Country: Brownies and Bars cookbook that I've had sitting around for a few years.  The original recipe calls for a box of Devil's Food cake as the brownie base but I've found that a box of the traditional brownie mix tastes much better.
     Besides tasting great and looking so colorful, the wonderful thing about this recipe is that it's so easy to make!  Four ingredients (plus those needed to make brownie mix) and you're done!  Another bonus is that this is one of those recipes that you can get creative with.  For example, try using Reese's Pieces instead of M&M's for a more peanut-ty taste.  Try mini chocolate chips rather than M&M's.  Or for a minty taste toss a few Andes Candies pieces on top (you may want to use walnuts rather than peanuts if you do this).  Oh, the possibilities are endless...  

Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

• 1 box chocolate brownie mix
• 2-3 cups mini marshmallows
• 1 cup M&M's
• 1/4 cup salted peanuts

1.  Bake brownies according to package directions.  If possible, use a pan slightly larger than what you would normally use.  Rather than a 9x9" pan I used a 13x10".

2.  Remove brownies from oven and immediately sprinkle with marshmallows, M&M's and peanuts.  Bake 2-3 minutes more or until the marshmallows begin to melt.  I caution you on baking longer than 4 minutes.  I've found that over cooking the marshmallows makes them awfully sticky, making it difficult to cut the brownies into attractive and presentable squares without constantly rinsing off the knife.

3.  Cool on wire rack and cut into bars.  Enjoy!

Outdoor Journal

Watch as Emily Montoya from the Stampin' Up! home office shows you how to create a journal cover.

A Top Note Thanksgiving

     Hello!  Today's card was inspired by mamamostamps' "Day of Thanks" card over at SCS (here).  I've seen this layout/technique before but have never tried it.  In fact, I've had the Top Note Bigz die sitting, unopened, in my storage box for at least a year (gasp!).  So when I found Maureen's card I knew it was time to try both!
     I cut strips of Orchard Harvest DSP slightly larger than the die and adhered them to white card stock.  I then ran that through the Big Shot.

Stamps: Day of Gratitude, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Early Espresso
Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Orchard Harvest DSP
Tools & Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note Bigz die, Bitty Banners framelits, Naturals Designer buttons, linen thread, dimensionals 

Apple Chicken Quesadillas

     Hello!  Anyone else have that one lonely looking apple sitting in their fruit bowl that no one wants to eat?  It's a common occurrence at our house but I've found a recipe to use that sad looking apple.  Today's recipe for Apple Chicken Quesadillas was passed on to me by a co-worker but there are tons of similar recipes on the web.  Because these quesadillas are incredibly quick and easy to make this would be a great weeknight meal; just 5 ingredients and you're done!   Adding an apple to a traditional quesadilla was a new idea for me but a delicious one.  There's a slight crunch when you bite into the tortilla, the cheese and chicken blend together perfectly and the crisp, sweetness of the apple gives the quesadilla a unique flavor.
     The quesadillas are quick to make but to save even more time, we used meat from a rotisserie chicken (love that stuff!).  We also chose a nice baking apple rather than a hard, tart apple like Granny Smith.  I didn't put exact measurements for this recipe because it's really up to you how much chicken, cheese and apple to add to your quesadilla.  Aaron and I used two 10" tortillas and found that one per person was more than enough.

Apple Chicken Quesadillas

• 4 8-inch flour tortillas (we used two 12")
• Shredded or chopped cooked chicken
• Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1 apple, sliced thin
• Salsa or taco sauce

1.  Heat large skillet on medium heat.  Place one tortilla in skillet and warm (you may want to flip it several times).

2.  Place cheese on 1/2 of tortilla, making sure you leave at least 1/2" edge of tortilla.  Add chicken and apple slices.  Fold tortilla in half and press down with spatula.  Lower heat to low-medium.  If you have enough room in your skillet you can add another tortilla to begin heating up.

3.  When cheese inside tortilla has melted (you may want to flip once or twice during cooking), remove from skillet to cutting board.  Open tortilla and drizzle with salsa or taco sauce.  Close tortilla and slice in half.  Enjoy!