Gigi's strikes again

Today a group of classmates and I went to Gigi's cupcakes again. We LOVE that place. This time I got the Hot Chocolate Mamma. It is a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Both the cake and the frosting had cayenne pepper in it, so it had a kick, and it was topped with what seemed like a white chocolate heart flavored with the pepper and cinnamon. Very good if you like some heat.

Chicken in sauce

I finally got back into the kitchen and made dinner. I made chicken and carrots in a wine sauce over white rice. On the side a salad with a dressing of onion salt and vegetable oil, and last but not least garlic bread on walmart Italian 9 grain bread baked in store with smoked provolone. MMMMM

The Chicken recipe can be found here. This website is amazing. They have hundreds of recipes if you go to the main site. It may look like the amound of garlic is crazy, but really its not that strong. It is made in the crockpot. Super easy, super cheap, and super tasty. 

Happy eatings,
Smashley

Babbette II

Here is the blanket I have been working on so far. I have made so many different squares. I found them on youtube and stumbleupon.

Babbette I

So, I have been working since probably November on my Babbette blanket. It is going to be quite large, with many colors, sizes, and styles of squares. Here is the latest type of square. I got the pattern from www.ravelry.com

Healthy-ish pizza

So I am trying to watch what I eat and cook healthier foods, as a result I made a healthy-ish pizza. The pizza contains Pillsbury pizza dough- with a sprinkling of garlic and paprika, spinach, Bob Evans sage pork sausage, spinach, and smoked provolone cheese. VERY tasty. The only thing I should have done is wilt the spinach with the sausage and not just put it fresh on the dough before the final bake. Some pieces were a little dry and crispy...the spinach not the pizza itself.

Orchids

 My Bff's^

 Mine^

Ok, so I know these are not under my food/yarn general motif...but I can't resist. I am so happy with my find today. I was roaming Wal*Mart and found they had orchids on clearance for $2.50!!! I got 6 orchids..one for myself, mom, aunt, cousin, grandma, and BFF... for less than what one usually costs! and they are the big one and in decent condition! I was so excited I had to share. Enjoy their pretty-ness. :) My mother has spoken and wants the white one.

Food Critic II

No picture for this one, but I should have a new pic tonight at dinner. "Food critic" time!!! So I have had a few things the past week or so and have not posted about them. First was a White Midnight Magic cupcake from GiGi's Cupcakes. I am IN LOVE with their cupcakes. This one is a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, and mini chocolate chips. I tried to take a pic, but they didn't turn out so good cause the flash reflected off the frosting. Here is a like to their cupcakes http://www.gigiscupcakesusa.com/meetourcupcakes

Then Wednesday in honor of National Margarita Day, the roomie and I went to La Hacienda on Green River. There we $2.00 margaritas. they were phenomenal. I had lime and the roomie had strawberry. To top it all off, I accidentally spilled mine trying to poke the then frozen lime slice that I had put in there. The waitress actually brought me a new one that had even more than what I spilled. It was a great time...except the salsa...worst salsa ever!

Tonight I will be getting Bdubs..I already know I love there food, but still have to "critic" it lol.

Healthy lunch

Hello fellow food lovers, here is my healthy lunch today. A modified California wrap. It is a flour tortilla, turkey slices, fat free cream cheese (not as bad as people made it out to be) medium salsa, avocado, cilantro, some cumin and garlic powder, and some Frank's Redhot Hot sauce.  Some salsa and veggie chips, and a pickle spear...to give it that deli feel ;)

MMMM cheese

So I know this may look like an unassuming quesadilla, but don't let the looks fool you...inside hides taco cheese, cumin, garlic powder, and Frank's Redhot hot sauce, with a dash of salt on top. Pure JOY!

My crochet projects I

So here are my latest creations. I did not come up with the patterns, I got them from various websites. The two hats are for Little Lady Photography to use as props and the squares are for my giant Babbette blanket. Can't wait for the blanket to be done...it is gonna be HUGE!! :)  And don't judge on the fact that I used my little monkey for a model...I feel he is much less creepy than baby dolls that people use as models. I got the patterns for the hats from http://allicrafts.blogspot.com/ and the squares from revalrey.com 

Expanding :)

So, I have decided to add some new content to my blog, I am adding my other love: crocheting. I will add my crafts as I complete them. These are the only things getting me through PT school. So in a later today I will some of my latest works on here.

Stir Fry

This was my dinner on Thursday..I know its a little late...but it was pretty good. It was an impromptu stir-fry with rice that was infused with bamboo juice. The stir-fry consisted of chicken with salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic powder; snow peas; carrots; mini bell pepper strips; and some ginger. The chicken was pan fried in soy sauce, canola oil, and a little sesame oil for taste. Of course when I ate it I added some siracha sauce...love that stuff..but a little goes a LONG way lol.  

Salad with tuna...not tuna salad

My new obsession is a salad dressing made of extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then I decided to put is on a salad of mixed greens and albacore white tuna. Heaven! and healthy :)

SOUP!!!

I went from from grad school last week and cooked my parents dinner. I was inspired by some Thai ingredients I had bought at a local international market and Vietnamese pho I tried in Chicago last summer. The soup was a semi-home made stock...I didn't have enough chicken to make strong enough stock so I had to add two bullion cubes to the pot of 11 cups. I sauteed some garlic, 2 fresh Thai red chilies, onion, and lemon grass  in some sesame oil (def need a little more next time). I used three chicken thighs, a couple of dashes of soy sauce and fish sauce,  and plenty of ginger in the stock. The stock was pretty tasty at this point, but made like 10 times better with the addition of a can of coconut milk. After taking the meat off the chicken and returning the soup to a biol, I added chopped shitake mushrooms and some green similar to Bok choy. The plate in the middle had lime, bean sprouts, cilantro, and Thai basil. All in all, a pretty darn good soup for no recipe and all imagination. Guten A petite.

Cupcake mayhem

Happy Valentines day to all!!! In honor of El Dia De San Valentin, I made my sweetie some awesome cupcakes. Chocolate Vodka Raspberry Rock Star cupcakes, they were wonderful. the cake was fluffy and the filling was so good. Even better after they had time to get a little chilled because the frosting set a little. I followed one of the comments advice and used grenadine instead of the raspberry extract, however to make up for the missing raspberry flavor I used Smirnoff Raspberry Vodka instead of regular.  Here is where I got the recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chocolate-vodka-raspberry-rock-star-cupcake-recipe/index.html

Critic I- Ciao Bella Risotrante

These were from my wonder dinner date with my love for Valentines Day. We went to Caio Bella Ristorante. It was SOOOOOO good! I had homemade ravioli in meat sauce, half cheese half meat. The Pizza was his, it has tomato, artichoke, olives, mozzarella, and prosciutto. Both were so good, the service was amazing, and the price was decent for the quality of the food.  I would say 5/5 cupcakes ;)

Hello blog world

Hi, I am Smashley..also known as Ashley. After much contemplation and deliberation I have finally decided to profess my love of food. I am pretty much obsessed with food. I love to cook it, eat it, and talk about it. I want to share my love of food and inspire others to explore the excitement there is the be had. I will be posting things that I have made and will be a mini food critic...not that I come across much I don't like...so basically I'll be praising my love of what ever place I ate at last. So off we go! Enjoy and sorry for any craving the pics might cause :P Another post will be coming soon with a picture of an amazing dinner I had with my honey to celebrate and early Valentines Day with. It was FAB!!!