Happy Birthday Sage!

I want to wish one of my dearest friend's, Sage a very special Birthday.

Thank you for all the amazing memories and for the many more to come. 

Venice Beach

Lake Powell

On our way to Hawaii (6th grade)

Grand Canyon

First time skiing

~L~

Mango Parfait!

Recently I have wanted to try out the many combinations of mixing fruit and yogurt. I used a greek honey flavored yogurt naturally sweetened with stevia. For those who have never cut a mango, I have provided a few pictures demonstrating the steps. 

First, using a knife, cut the mango straight down the middle as close to the seed as possible. After removing the seed, cut a grid pattern and pop out the chunks. Lastly cut along the skin of the mango and you will be left with beautiful little yellow boxes :)

~L~

Taco Salad anyone?

I love Taco Salad, but whenever I (or many other women I know) order them in restaurants we substitute the taco shell bowl for a regular bowl because we can't help ourselves from eating the fabulously gigantic tortilla chip made into a 1,000 calorie bowl! Which, in turn makes us leave our supposedly "healthy" lunch choice feeling horribly guilty! Tonight I made a really good taco salad and the best part about it was my boyfriend really liked it too!

So here it is: amazing guacamole (all made from scratch), organic sweet corn, oven baked chicken flavored with a spicy taco seasoning packet, organic black beans, shredded cheese, cherry tomatoes (for looks), crunched up tortilla chips, and jalapeno ranch dressing. Many great guacamole recipes exist but my boyfriend and I keep it simple and it always turns out great: avocado, tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice, and salt; we make it at least once a week.

Okay, okay, well this salad really isn't that healthy, but I saved a few calories by removing the taco shell bowl~! I did not have store-bought jalapeno ranch but I did have a jalapeno, and uh... ranch, so...walah, I made semi-homemade jalapeno ranch dressing and it was good! The picture is a little blurry but they really turned out looking quite pretty. ~~A~~

It's called Cuties in the Kitchen, not Cooks in the Kitchen

Today my boyfriend wanted me to make Ghirardelli Ultimate Fudge Brownies (from a box). He loved them because they are dark chocolate, but I was wanting something else (not a huge dark chocolate fan, shocking, I know). So I decided to make Apple Cake from (once again) Better Homes and Gardens Easy Everday Cooking Cookbook (aren't I gourmet?). So, first off, I'd like to state for the record that our blog is called "Cuties in the Kitchen" and not "Cooks in the Kitchen" because we admit that we are not professional by any means! I mistook "5 cups diced cooking apples" for "5 cups diced cooked apples"! So, after I chopped and cooked apples for about 30 minutes and realized my mistake I had to start over again with raw apples.
So, if you do this recipe: do not cook the apples like this:

Instead, just chop up some raw apples! Since my Granny Smith apples were all used up with my mistake, I ended up using one large Granny Smith and three Honey Crisps in the final product.

The recipe called for a Bundt pan but since I am just a beginning Cutie in the Kitchen, I don't have one of those yet. It would be much more attractive if I did though. Layer batter then apple mixture and repeat (recipe coming soon). Icing drizzle added an extra sweet touch.

So after some box brownies, 5 cups of cooked apples I'm not quite sure what to do with, and a large apple cake, I am ready to slice myself a piece and snuggle by the fire. The apple cake turned out really good!

 ~~A~~

Mint Lemonade

My grandmother brings me bags of lemons from her tree on a weekly basis, so I attempt to rid them in various ways. Lemon bars, lemon cake, lemon zest for cooking, and lastly lots of lemonade. While backpacking in Prague last summer, my boyfriend and I tried some fresh mint lemonade at a very hidden but tasty veggie place. Adding a bit of fresh mint to a simple lemonade can give it just the kick it needs! 

~L~

Tea Time

I recently picked up this tea at Fry's for my cousin Miriam and I. It is very flavorful and naturally sweet, so you dont (need) sugar or honey. Miriam likes to add a few drops of cinnamon or vanilla stevia, which you can find at Sprouts. Its a bit pricy but a little goes a long way and the 12 dollar bottle can last you many months. Stevia is a great zero calorie sweetener, and is a healthy alternative to artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose.  

~L~

Valentine's Day Part 2

My darling boyfriend and I went out for Valentine's day to Cheesecake Factory. He was being stingy with pictures so I was only "allowed" one at dinner. We started with drinks at the bar: Makers mark and coke for him, French martinis for me (and incase anybody wants to know, a French martini is Vanilla vodka, Chambord (rasberry liquor), and pineapple juice). Once we got seated we started with Salmon Spring Rolls as the appetizer which were very good. Then, because I just couldn't get enough salmon, I ordered the Herb-encrusted Salmon, mashed pototoes and asparagus.He got the Ribeye, potatoes, and green beans. We finished with Cherry Cheesecake, coffee for me, and a "Flying Chocolate Monkey" (a banana chocolate dessert cocktail) for him. Needless to say we were very full and happy on the way home.

I wore my Victoria's Secret Ruched Wrap Print Sweaterdress with Carlos Santana heels. Sure, I couldn't walk more than 10 yards, but at least they looked good.

Ironically we ended up matching eachother; both in black and purple. We like to look alike! ~~A~~

My Valentine

My boyfriend surprised me this Valentines day by taking me to Ballet Arizona's Don Quixote at Symphony Hall. After the ballet we had dinner at one of my favorite sushi places, Sake Bomber in Tempe. For dessert we went to Yogurtini frozen yogurt, where I repeatedly get the same flavor- Mint :)

~L~

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies

 

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies 
* Makes about 2 dozen

12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup of white sugar (1/2 cup of brown sugar)
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
Sprinkle of salt (if using unsalted butter)
2 cups of oats
1 cup of white chocolate chips
11/2 cup of cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (325 degrees F. when using convection).
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat softened butter and sugar together (about 2 minutes). Beat in egg and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and (salt). Once both are mixed separately, start pouring the dry mixture in slowly, while continuing to beat. Fold in the cranberries, white chocolate chips and oats very last. Shape dough into balls and place on baking sheets, then flatten with a fork, cup or spoon.

Fold in the cranberries, white chocolate chips and oats very last. I first used a plastic spoon and later switched to a wooden one, which worked a lot better.

I decided to use a peanut butter cookie trademark (fork imprint), but the bottom of a glass or a spoon can be used as well.

Bake about 11-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

~L~

Pre-Valentine's Celebration!

So, my wonderful boyfriend got me my first bouquet of flowers (yes, finally~!) They haven't fully bloomed yet but as I was admiring them I decided to get the Valentine's mood going with a couple Pomegranate Martinis. I used Dragon-fruit Skyy vodka and "Stirrings" brand Simple Pomegranate Martini mix, then added a squeeze of lime. I shook a few up and there you go! This Valentines, I get to get tipsy with a boyfriend and flowers~!  ~~A~~

Breakfast Parfait

I recently picked up these Parfait glasses at Bed Bath and Beyond and thought they would be a great addition to a simple fruit and yogurt breakfast. I used strawberry colada yogurt, blueberries, strawberries and topped it off with a few cherries.

~L~ 

Busy Day Cake

Well after contemplating for 3.5 hours what kind of cake to make and looking through 3 different cook books, I started to doze off and lose all desire to bake; as my tiredness was quickly kicking in. I suddenly came upon, "Busy Day Cake" in the Better Homes and Gardens Easy Everyday Cooking Cookbook. I thought, "Perfect, I am tired, have a sweet tooth after dinner (as always), and afterall, it really HAS been a busy day!" I improvised a little by adding to it an icing "drizzle" that was apart of another recipe I was considering (but will now save for another time) called "Apple Cake".

Overall, it basically turned out a lot like Cornbread, but hey, who doesn't like cornbread!? It was semi-crumbly, semi moist, and pretty basic in taste. I added with it some "Bigelow Ginger Snappish Tea" with Larissa's gift of "Crockett's Desert Blossom Honey". If it weren't for the icing drizzle, the cake would be in dire need of something else. Similarly, if it weren't for the honey addition, I could of passed on the tea.

The drizzle I made is very basic: powdered sugar, vanilla, and a tiny bit of milk (I used Organic 1%).

The Bigelow tea says it's "Ginger Snappish" tea which appealed to me because I LOVE everything Ginger! This tea should more acccuratley be called, "Lemon tea with a hint of Ginger". I don't care for it because I am not a big Lemon Tea fan, and that's definitley what it is.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy a sweet treat is to put it on cute and girly plates; it's just so much more enjoyable that way! These plates were given to me by my mom and I love using them for desserts or afternoon snacks! Also, this honey is a Larissa favorite and it is great in tea or on warm butter toast.

Well the pictures area  little blurry and 2 of the plates are actually dirty with cake and honey. Overall, the cake did the job in terms of being fast, easy, and satisfying my sweet tooth but it isn't the most exciting recipe out there! Next time I am doing "Apple Cake"! Good night for now! ~~A~~