Happy Halloween!!

Its the day before one of my favorite times of year! You see, I have an addiction.. to candy.. Its a problem. Ever since I've had a driver's license and some cash, November 1 is MY DAY to go peruse the leftover candy that is on super sale. Its delicious and completely crazy. Nuf said.
Maybe it comes from my mom's crazy idea that once I entered high school I could no longer go trick-or-treating.. I felt depraved of candy and this is how I overcompensate. Anyways, I acknowledged my problem and therefore allow myself this day of candy!
*I also feel slightly less bad because I have at least ONE other friend who would go and partake in this day with me back when we were in college together (which was not thaaaat long ago..) Yes, you know who you are.

AND lets not forget, Halloween costumes! Such a fun pain in the ass. I decided to do the run as Leonardo from TMNT and go out as Spinelli from Recess (yea!?). IF you don't know who that is you are too young. 90's cartoons were the good ol' days where you could create a tv show for kids based solely around recess shenanigans. Gold.

Have fun tonight, if you're going out and stay warm!

Apologies..

Its been almost a month since my last post!! I am sorry! Its been a super busy month in October! Here's a brief photo collage of my life in the last few weeks and pumpkin muffins to keep you in the fall spirit!

Splurged at Lunds today...

Two awesome finds at an estate sale, only $1 each!!

Trying to be cool and decorate the boring white walls of my apartment with little origami pyramids.. 

Also painting a nice little penguin/polar bear scene on the walls! That little chef dude is my favorite (art/idea cred goes to Chris!)

Competed in my first race!! Such a beautiful course and amazing crowd! The St. Paul community is so supportive of the runners!

Two great button-down finds at a local store, Hunt & Gather. I could (and have) spent hours pouring over their awesome finds)

Fall time means breaking out my fav oxfords, they always make me feel classy!

Baking no knead bread from a Smitten Kitchen recipe. A little dense, but not bad considering I do not own an electric mixer!!

And finally, some warm pumpkin muffins to end a very very long 12 hr work day! Nom nom

Easy pumpkin muffins, slight adaptation from Smitten Kitchen!

This recipe made 12 regular and 12 mini muffins.

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup canned, solid packed pumpkin

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon plus 1/2 teaspoon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon grond nutmeg

1 1/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for topping

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

large pinch of salt

1. Place rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

2. Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, spices, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Then add flour and mix until just combined. 

3. In a small bowl mix together 1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

4. Fill muffin tins until 3/4 full, and top with cinnamon sugar.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

6. Let cool for a few minutes until removing and putting on a cooling rack. Or if pressed for space (like me) gently tilt muffins on their sides in the pan to cool (as seen above). 

Fall is here!!

Fall is here! (to stay I hope!). The thought of this excites me sooo much! So many hours with my fuzzy blanket, good beer and book in hand to look forward to. And what better to enjoy than chocolate brownie cookies! All ooey, gooey and chewy, get a good book, big glass of milk and a plateful of these guys!

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

Makes approx 26 cookies

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped or in chips)
3 Tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all­purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt

1. In a double boiler, or in the microwave, slowly melt together the chocolate and butter. Continue stirring until chocolate and butter are both melted and smooth.
*If using the microwave, heat in 10-15 second increments to avoid burning the chocolate. After each little zap in the microwave, take out the chocolate/butter mixture and give it a good stir. As soon as the butter has melted stop microwaving. Keep stirring until the chocolate has melted too.


2. In large bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs until throughly combined. Add the melty chocolate mixture and stir until incorporated.

3. In the same bowl, add the rest of the ingredients. Then pop the dough in the fridge for an hour or so until it is firm.

4. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Drop tablespoons of the dough onto lightly greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, just until the tops have begun to crack. Remove and let cool. Cookies keep up to 4-5 days, stored in an airtight container at room temp.

Mexican Pizza!

Monday was a rough day. Chris hyperextended his knee pretty badly and I managed to forget everything I needed for work (breakfast, lunch, work appropriate clothing and shoes.) Twas a long, hungry day.

In my experience, long days are best ended with a great meal. After much debate and aimless wandering through the grocery store,we decided to get creative and make something delicious to make up for the crappy day. Mexican inspired pizza. Here's what we came home with with:
sweet corn tamales
fresh chorizo
queso fresco
mexican sour cream
salsa verde
whole wheat pizza dough

Here's what came of that:
Rolling out the dough...

After it was baked, topping it off with the salsa verde and mexican sour cream: (check out that stache action!)

 That photo bombing rooster.. He has no shame!

Baked to perfection, this pizza must've weighed about 20 pounds! It was delicious, but a very very very dense and filling pizza.