Cravings of a Lunatic

New site is ready to rock n roll!

2012-02-21T12:24:00.000-05:00

Hi folks.

The new site is ready to rock n roll. I sure hope you will join me over at the new Cravings of a Lunatic wordpress site. Come on over and check it out. So excited to see what you think.

I am a bit sad to say goodbye to my old home. It is bitter sweet. But a necessary change.

So head over now folks. I look forward to sharing more recipes and stories with you.

And Kita, you rock my world!

So here's the last one on this site folks, are you ready for it?

Toodles and smoochies! xx

Hold on to your hats Lunatic fans!

2012-02-17T18:43:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. Just a quick update for you. You all know I have been wanting to move the site to wordpress. Well it's happening. This weekend in fact. With the help of a lovely friend I will shower with hugs and kisses when I meet her in person. I shall fill you in on who she is and how you can contact her for your own move once the other site is up and running. I was going to do it myself but let's be honest, Kim and technology do not mix. Best to hand it over to someone who can do it and do it right. So it will be moved over by next week and let's hope I can figure out how to work wordpress. It will mean some better features for you all, like a print recipe button for starters. I look forward to unveiling it to you. Now I am not doing a big fancy redesign at the moment since money is tight. But it will look different and pretty. My hope is that it feels more like me. So hold on to your hats folks. And hope for a not so bumpy ride. There may be some downtime over the weekend while she works on things. So please be patient folks. I promise it will be worth it. To make things easier I shall not be posting until the move is over. So the next time you see me I'll look totally different. You know us girls like makeovers. See you in a few days folks.

Muah!

the Lunatic

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Turtle Popcorn Gone Wild

2012-02-15T18:05:00.001-05:00

Yah baby!

Chocolate = good!

Caramel = good!!

Toffee = good!!!

Pecans = good!!!!

Popcorn = good!!!!!

Chocolate + Caramel + Toffee + Pecans + Popcorn = Turtle Popcorn Gone Wild!!!!!!

Turtle Popcorn Gone Wild = "Well smack my ass and call me Judy" kind of good!!!!!!!

Yup, I did it again. And there's no oops in that. Nor any innocence. Sorry Britney! This was on purpose, premeditated, unadulterated foodie sin at it's best! I think some of you may have seen the Turtle popcorn I made the other day. It was a Paula Deen recipe, and it was quite good. But it just wasn't sinful enough for me. Yes I realize I just said one of Paula Deen's recipes was not sinful enough for me. They don't call me a Lunatic for nothing folks. Her recipe was yummy, but it lacked that extra oomph that I was looking for. I wanted this to taste like I had melted down a Turtles candy and poured it over top the popcorn. And while I am a Lunatic, I'm not crazy enough to take something as precious as Turtle candies and melt them down. So I did what any Lunatic would do....I made my own concoction to simulate the taste. Let's just say mission accomplished. This is AH-MAH-ZING! I mean smack your gramma good. Just don't tell her I told you to do it. You're on your own if she hits you back with her purse.

Now this is a bit of an ordeal to make but I assure you it's worth it. You need to make the popcorn, which seriously people, is not that hard. Then you'll make some chocolate concoction a la Paula. That will need to dry. Then you need to make some caramel, let it cool a bit, then make this and let that dry. So it has some steps involved. But you'll thank me for it. Give some to your gramma and she'll thank me too. She might even forgive you for slapping her.

So set aside some time tomorrow, or this weekend and make this stuff. It's popcorn gone nuts. And I mean who doesn't like their popcorn a little nuts anyway right. And your food bloggers too.

*smiles sheepishly*

*writes a letter apologizing to Paula for dethroning her as the Queen of Sin*

*thinks of ways she could deep fry this popcorn*

*gets dragged off by her family for a serious intervention*

*grabs some Turtle Popcorn Gone Wild for the car ride*

Turtle Popcorn Gone Wild:

Ingredients for Step 1 (this is Paula's recipe and the one I posted previously, but the popcorn is halved):

12 cups popped popcorn
1 cup of butter
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
6 (1 ounce) squares of semi-sweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Pop your popcorn. I did mine on the stove old school style!

Place your popcorn in a large roasting pan.

Now in a large saucepan combine your butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup.

Over medium-high heat bring this mixture to a boil. Keep it at a boil for about 5 minutes.

Now remove it from the heat and stir in the chocolate, vanilla salt and vanilla.

Let it stand until the chocolate melts. Stir it occasionally.

Once it is melted stir until smooth.

Now pour this over your popcorn, toss it gently with a wooden spoon to coat it all evenly.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Stir it occasionally.

Remove from oven and transfer popcorn to parchment paper to let it cool down.

Ingredients for step 2, which is caramel sauce:

Adapted from Fine Cooking

1/4 cup water
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, more softened for the pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Generous pinch of salt, I used vanilla salt

Directions:

Place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combining sugar and 1/4 cup warm water. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Takes 2 to 3 minutes.

Bring the syrup to a boil and do not stir, let it start to caramelize. You can gently swirl the pan to help it start to brown.

You watch, not stirring until it turns an amber colour.

Now remove from the heat, add cold butter.

Now stir in the heavy cream. You may return the pan to low heat if the mixture is not smoothing out right away.

Now add the vanilla and the salt. Stir this until it's smooth.

Let the caramel cool for about 15 minutes.

Ingredients for step 3 (which is the final step):

Turtle Popcorn you already made
Caramel Sauce you already made
1/2 cup Skor Toffee Bits (you can buy these by the chocolate chips)
1/2 cup crushed pecans

Directions for step 3:

Place your dried Turtle popcorn in a large roasting pan.

Now take your cooled caramel sauce and pour it over top the popcorn.

Mix with a wooden spoon.

Now top with Skor Toffee Bits and crushed pecans. Mix gently again.

Now transfer this on to a parchment lined cookie sheet to let it dry.

(If you are pressed for time and want it to try quickly place the popcorn in a 200 degree oven for 30 minutes. I personally did not want to do this as I wanted my toffee bits crunchy and not melted.)

Once dry you can serve this with a big old Turtle smile!

Tips and Hints:

Do not pour boiling hot anything over popcorn. I would think this is common sense but maybe not so much. If you pour butter, or caramel, or chocolate, or pink candy coating that is boiling hot over popcorn it will shrivel it up. So wait a few minutes. You don't have to wait long, just not scorching hot over top. Warm is better.

I tend to er on the side of more is better when it comes to coatings. So feel free to double the popcorn amount and keep the rest of the ingredients at these measurements. I suppose not every subscribes to the more is better logic.

You can certainly take the time to pop it in the oven a second time to dry. It would help as with this much caramel it takes awhile to dry out. I was fine letting it dry on counter but I had oodles of time.

You could in theory cut the caramel in half. But why would you want to.

Remember when making caramel that it is suppose to fizz up, so don't freak out when that happens. It is kind of a cool science experiment. Have your kids help carefully as it's sort of cool. Of course I am 5 years old and find things like this fascinating right. You may not.

Okay folks that wraps up this one. I sure hope it was worth the wait. And me being carted off in a little white coat that ties in the back. Hope you're happy now. ....Paula!!!!!

For more Turtle recipes from your loyal and Turtle devoted Lunatic please feel free to click any of the links below, you won't be sorry!

After all my treatments are done I shall return with another new Turtle recipe just for you! You can take the Lunatic out of the asylum but you can't take the asylum out of the Lunatic.

If you missed the PINK POPCORN you should go check it out. Have a Pretty in Pink Party and Pop this Pink Popcorn like a Pro and impress all your Peeps!

OLD FASHIONED PINK POPCORN

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Turtle Popcorn

2012-02-14T02:28:00.000-05:00

Hi folks!

Okay let's all sing along now....

"MMM I Love Turtles!"

Okay for those of you living under a rock, or who don't often read my blog (why the h...e ...double hockey sticks have you not been reading??) Turtles are a very special treat here in Canada. They are little chocolate delights that will drive you to madness. Well, maybe not you. But me clearly!

So first I did this:

TURTLE BARK

Then I did this:

TURTLE ICE CREAM

Then I took that and did this:

TURTLE BANANA SPLIT

That still was not enough so I did this:

TURTLE ICE CREAM PIE

Then I clearly crossed over to the dark side and did this:

And sadly there is more to come. I have another one ready to shock you with already. Clearly....issues....I need a Turtle intervention. Just wait until I post the next one, then you all can commit me. But you're gonna wanna see that one first. It will blow your socks right off! Not just rock 'em. Blow them clear off!

Okay so this one is Paula Deen's recipe. I saw it eons ago in a magazine I bought called Paula Deen's Chocolate Celebration. I've had this magazine since 2008 and have finally started to delve into it. This one obviously caught my eye. I mean my love of Turtles dates back to when I was a wee little Lunatic. I made this and I have to say it is really good. I mean REALLY good. Yet me being the Lunatic that I am had to revamp it. But you won't see that until tomorrow. Sorry. For now let's enjoy this one. Cuz it's yummy. And naughty. And just a bit bad ass!

Turtle Popcorn:

Source: Paula Deen's Chocolate Celebration

Ingredients:

6 quarts (24 cups) of popped popcorn
1 cup of butter
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
6 (1 ounce) squares of semi-sweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Pop your popcorn. I did mine on the stove old school style!

Place your popcorn in a large roasting pan.

Now in a large saucepan combine your butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup.

Over medium-high heat bring this mixture to a boil. Keep it at a boil for about 5 minutes.

Now remove it from the heat and stir in the chocolate, vanilla salt and vanilla.

Let it stand until the chocolate melts. Stir it occasionally.

Once it is melted stir until smooth.

Now pour this over your popcorn, toss it gently with a wooden spoon to coat it all evenly.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Stir it occasionally.

Remove from oven and transfer popcorn to parchment paper to let it cool down.

Serve with a smile.

Note: Stores for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

I sure hope it was worth the wait. I know I have been teasing you with this one for awhile. I shall go on teasing you another day cuz I made this even better. But you're just going to have to wait another day to see how I did that. Watch out Paula, I'm after your job!!!

*giggles uncontrollably and grabs a bowl of Lunatic Turtle Popcorn*

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Old Fashioned Pink Popcorn

2012-02-13T13:17:00.000-05:00

HAPPY EARLY VALENTINE'S DAY FOLKS!

I wanted to post this tomorrow but I was just too excited to wait. So you get an early V-Day gift.

You're welcome!

As you know I have been on a popcorn kick of epic proportions lately. I have two more saved up to show you. There's Turtle Popcorn, then Turtle Popcorn Gone Wild. It was too good not to Lunatic it. I mean Turtle Popcorn is awesome, but Kim it up a bit and it's popcorn gone wild for sure. Cannot wait to show them to you. One will go up tonight then the other the night after that. In the meantime you can look at my Chocolate Cake Popcorn or just sit and stare at this Pink Candy Popcorn all day. It's so purty! It makes me all happy! And a happy Lunatic is a good thing for everyone.

Okay so I was perusing popcorn the other night as I was not happy with a recipe I got out of a cookbook for one of the popcorns. I happened upon this little beauty. I swear to all that is pink I fell in love immediately. This brings back memories for me folks. Big time. You see I am a Canuck, through and through, (except for the hockey, cuz I hate it, me and Canada agree to disagree on this one) and as a Canuck I grew up eating Lucky Elephant Pink Candy Popcorn. This stuff was such a treat. Always being a pink girl I used to love eating this stuff.

Photo Source: Google

If you have never had it you are missing out folks. A gazillion times better than caramel corn. I mean it's flipping PINK! I searched for a recipe close enough to it and found one at Nan's Recipe Spot. There are tons of pink popcorn recipes out there but this is the one that drew my eye and I loved reading about her memories of it. So instead of using a source with no emotional attachment to the popcorn I chose to use one that had a personal story behind it. So huge thank you to Nan for the inspiration and the story behind your popcorn.

Speaking of personal stories may I just tell you I abhor Valentine's Day. It is so crazy how much the retail industry milks it. So dudes let me just tell you a secret, your wife or girlfriend could care less about a grand gesture, or jewelry. She wants you to do the dishes, or take the dog for a walk, or help the kids do homework for a day so she can do one of the other gazillion things she does in a day. Take her out for dinner, or make her dinner. That's the stuff most of us ladies want. Do not give us a ring or necklace or any other item your secretary or mom or the lady who flirted with you at the jewelry store to get a commission picked out for you. That's not romance! If you genuinely pick something out yourself great. But if not forgo the fancy gesture and make some spaghetti and put the kids to bed after reading them a bed time story. That'll score points and maybe you'll get lucky tonight. If not pop a batch of this and watch some hockey on TV!

Old Fashioned Pink Popcorn:

Source: Nan's Recipe Spot

Ingredients:

12 cups popped popcorn (the original calls for 6 quarts but I wanted less popcorn, more candy)
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 3 small drops of red food coloring (do not use gel, my first batch was too dark from it, I prefer the liquid for this particular recipe. Go light and work from there.)

Directions:

Pop up your popcorn. I did mine on the stove old school style. Which for those of you who only do microwave popcorn means you pour some oil in a large stock pot, let the oil get hot, then place popcorn kernels in the bottom and cover with a lid. Then you wait for the magic to happen. Swish the pot around from time to time to keep things from burning and do not go too hot. You want a medium heat or you'll scorch it.

Set popcorn aside.

In a saucepan combine your sugar, milk, corn syrup and salt. Cook over medium heat until your sugar dissolves.

Now you want it at a low boil until the temperature reaches 230 degrees which is known as soft ball stage. If you do not have a thermometer you can grab a glass of super cold water, drop a little of the mixture in it, now grab that mixture with your fingers and if it forms a ball in the water then flattens out after it's out of the water that is soft ball stage. You can probably find videos of this online if you aren't quite sure what this all means.

Stir occasionally until it reaches soft ball stage and then remove from heat, and add your vanilla and food coloring. Stir well.

Now put your popcorn in a large bowl or even a big roasting pan. You want to have ample room to stir it really well.

Now pour your pink mixture over top and stir well to coat.

Now line a cookie sheet with parchment and transfer the popcorn to that to let it dry out.

Try not to eat a boatload while waiting for it to cool. Impossible, trust me!

Serve with a big old pink grin!

Tips and Hints:

I did half the amount of popcorn so feel free to use the original amount.

I did double the corn syrup but feel free to adjust.

I used normal corn syrup not white. Never seen white.

I ate a ton of it, you do not have to, unless you want to, then it's totally cool!

This stuff is so pretty. And delicious. And I have to say the unedited pictures win over the edited versions for me. Here's a collage of edited ones below where they auto correct the color. I did not care for them. Nice from a photography angle but the unedited pics depict the popcorn as it truly looks.

I hope all my lovely readers have a pinktastic Valentine's Day! I hope you are pinking happy! And I hope you all enjoy your pinkarific day with your loved ones. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY LUNATICS!

Sneak peek at the next post, Turtle Popcorn:

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Turtle Ice Cream Pie

2012-02-12T23:58:00.003-05:00

Hi folks!

Okay if you're new...

I love Turtles!

If you're not new....

I love Turtles!

It's an obsession!

The only thing that rivals it is my obsession with the one and only...

Timothy Olyphant!

Yup, both equally yummy.

Okay that's not true.

Timothy is way yummier than Turtles!

But don't tell the Turtles company I said that!

Okay this is not really so much a recipe as a guide. Or how to. Or how not to if you're dieting. And let's be honest, if you're dieting why the h...e...double hockey sticks are you here??? Hmm, you're dirty little secret is out. You love sugar, You looovvvee it, You lovvvveee suuugarrr!

Okay I am done now. Enjoy! Peace out sugar lovers!

Turtle Ice Cream Pie:

Ingredients:

1 cup oreo crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup skor bits
1/2 cup pecan bits
4 ginormous scoops of Turtle Ice Cream
1/4 cup caramel sauce
1/4 cup hot fudge sauce
4 Turtles candy

Directions:

In a small bowl combine crumbs and butter. Mix well.

Take that and spoon into 4 individual size pie pans or spring form pans.

Bake those in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove and let cool.

Crush you pecans.

Now take place one huge scoop of ice cream in each pan.

Toss your skor bits and pecans over top.

Drizzle with heated up caramel sauce and hot fudge sauce.

Top each with a Turtles candy.

Enjoy and gain 10 pounds.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Best enjoyed while watching Timothy Olyphant movies.

Just sayin'!

Other Turtle recipes by moi:

Turtle Bark
Turtle Ice Cream
Turtle Banana Split

and coming soon:

Turtle Popcorn

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Mini Pulled Beef and Shallot Sandwiches

2012-02-11T22:09:00.000-05:00

Look at that beefy, shalloty goodness!

Hi folks. Want a bite?

It's really good.

I ate three just while I took the photos.

Let's not even talk about how many I ate after.

So the photos are not stellar. But the sandwich is. I can assure you of that. Cuz I ate 5. So I am an expert. Okay so maybe 6. Supreme expert then right.

This is a simple recipe. I just used a small roast and a few ingredients. You can enhance this by searing your meat before you pop it in the slow cooker. You do not have to if you do not have time. But coming from the expert I say do it. The extra 10 minutes will pay off later when you eat 8 of these. Not that I would ever eat 8 of these, 7 maybe but never 8. I have limits.

I had to flip this one upside down cuz it was somehow easier to eat that way. Lol!

Okay so we've decided you are searing this and eating 8 of them. Now off you go. Get in that kitchen and set it and forget it. Gotta love slow cookers. They work their little tails off. Not that they have tails. Well, I mean they kind of do. I suppose the cord could be considered a tail. Hm.

Apparently I forgot to take my meds today. The mind wanders. Sorry. Now go make Mini Pulled Beef and Shallot Sandwiches. And eat 9 of them.

This was got squished during research, you gotta do research to become an expert!

Mini Pulled Beef and Shallot Sandwiches:

Ingredients:

2 pound blade roast
Olive oil
1 cup chopped shallots
Salt to taste
1 cup water
1 heaping tablespoon of Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base
1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Mini burger buns or rolls

Directions:

Chop up your shallots. Set aside.

Take a good quality pan and place it over medium-high heat, spray with a little non stick spray, and add a little olive oil to the pan. Let it get hot. Now carefully place the meat in the pan and brown all sides of it. I use tongs and a splatter screen to make life easier and less painful.

Once it is ready place it in your slow cooker.

Now in the same pan add some olive oil and toss in your shallots. You want to cook them long enough that they just start to brown up a little bit. Now slide these into the slow cooker on top of the meat.

In the same pan again, pour your water and bouillon and bring it to a boil. As it is boiling scrape you pan to get off all the bits and pieces the roast and shallots left. That is where your extra flavor is. It's a step worth taking. Once it's boiled and scraped pour it in the slow cooker.

Add some salt to the slow cooker.

Now cook it on low for about 5 to 6 hours. Keep a close eye on it as every slow cooker is different. I would start checking it at 4 hours.

About 30 minutes before it's done pour your BBQ sauce in it, stir and let it cook for the remaining time.

If for some reason it's not thick enough for your liking pop it in a pan and fry it over medium heat until it thickens up. Uncovered seems to thicken better.

Once it's ready you can scoop it out and pop it on mini burger buns or rolls. I used mini rolls and they were fab.

Serve with a messy smile.

And only eat 10!

Honestly you're gonna eat 10!

So good. I mean get the camera dirty and drop food all over the floor kind of good. Not that I did that or anything. I am a professional after all.

A word of advice from the expert, if you pile them this high you only need to eat 5....cuz they're twice a big. See...total professional!

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Chocolate Cake Popcorn

2012-02-10T18:53:00.001-05:00

Hi folks.

Fun with Jars Friday is back!

With a vengeance!

Of the sweet variety!

Sweet vengeance!

Is there any other kind!?

So I made this. Then realized it was Friday. So I quickly threw it in a jar. Cuz I am nothing if not uber prepared and organized. And we're off. To this week's Fun with Jars Friday!

Yup!

You are not seeing things!

Do not adjust your screens!

I got a little girls gone wild in the kitchen!

But in a good girl kind of way!

Cuz that's how I roll!

So I have been on a popcorn craze the last couple of days. I have about 3 more recipes for you over the next week using popcorn. I tend to get a bit ocd about stuff.

Like....

You know...

Turtles for example! I made Turtle Bark, Turtle Ice Cream, Turtle Banana Split. I even have some Turtle Popcorn coming at ya tomorrow.

But first there is this one.

Cuz it rocks,

Your socks,

Right off!

You're welcome!

The inspiration for this one started with a popcorn I was whipping up that went awry. I have tweaked it and it will go up on the blog soon. In the process I got mad and decided to google that popcorn. I found what I was doing wrong and then followed a link to another popcorn that blew my mind. Cookies and Cups did a Red Velvet Version that is absolutely amazing. So then I thought okay I can do that one. But then I thought well she just did that one so that's not cool, maybe I can adapt it a bit. So this is what I came up with. I just happened to have some chocolate cake lying around. And let's just say you know you're a foodie when you can say things like "I just happened to have some chocolate cake lying around". So I tweaked the ingredients a wee bit and this is the result.

Yummy...

Chocolatey...

Cakey.....

Popcorn!

*sigh*

Chocolate Cake Popcorn:

Source: Cookies and Cups

Ingredients:

4 cups popped popcorn

1 and 1/2 cups crushed cooked chocolate cake

3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate squares

Directions:

Pop your popcorn and place it in a bowl that has some extra room in it.

Now in a double boiler, melt your chocolate.

Pour the chocolate over the popcorn and then toss it with a spoon to coat it really well.

Now sprinkle the chocolate cake crumbs over top and stir again.

Now pour it out onto a cookie sheet and separate it as best you can.

Let it dry out.

Thank you to Shelly from Cookies and Cups for the inspiration. I only changed out the type of cake and the type of chocolate. I think the possibilities for this one would be endless. So go crazy girls. But in a good girl way. Cuz that's how we roll up here in the asylum!

Stay tuned for another popcorn recipe coming your way soon. I have a new obsession. Goodness help me, I need to pull out the stretchy pants this week. This is not going to end well.

Oh and a little bit of blog happenings. The Wild Rice Pizza I made caught the attention of Jennifer who cooks for SheKnows. She has made my recipe and has given me a shout out on the site. I was pretty stoked. Feel free to stop by there and say hello. You can find Jennifer's version on the SheKnows site.

Chocolate Cake Popcorn is linked up at Katherine Martinelli's Valentine's Day Blog Hop.

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Kaiserschmarrn – Emperor’s Mix/Nonsense: Guest Post by Healthy Foodie Travels

2012-02-09T00:01:00.003-05:00

Hi folks. Today I have a special treat for you. Today is blog swap day! So what does this mean you ask? Well, it means the lovely and talented Kiri from Healthy Foodie Travels is going to be sharing a delightful recipe with you. Kiri is an amazing gal I met through blogging. She is fun, witty and always on point with her recipes. She shares many foods I have never heard of or seen. It is such a learning experience visiting her blog. The history and ties to travels always make me want to jet off somewhere fabulous for some local eats. Kiri is incredibly supportive of other bloggers and always has a warm embrace for everyone who visits. It's one of those blogs you come away from in a good mood, feeling like you can tackle any recipe put in front of you. For my part of this swap I shall be sharing Haupia Cake from Hawaii over at Kiri's blog. So be sure to pop over when you finish reading her post to see the scrumptious coconuty goodness I whipped up. There's even some pictures. Of me. I know right. Shocking for sure. Granted they are old and have some weird hair happening but they are pictures just the same. And now I hand the keys to the kingdom, or asylum as the case may be over to Kiri. Please give her a warm welcome.

I declare this Asylum my new property. Behold the German flags I have erected to mark my mighty claim! Cower and shiver at the prospect of my new eternal rule!

Just kidding. It’s blog swap day! I met Kim a while ago, and while she likes to think she’s crazy as can be, she really is just one of the sweetest, most helpful and kindest bloggers around. That, and her dishes make me swoon. While Kim is nice enough to cook up some delicious Island food over on my humble blog, she invited me to do a guest post for her here, today. So let me introduce myself – I’m Kiri from Healthy Foodie Travels. I’m a 20-something expat German that dabbles with tuberculosis research when not eating, and I love to drool at all that Kim posts about. Normally, I focus on healthy dishes. Not so much today. Today we shall indulge, but to keep the traveling theme going, we'll indulge Austrian-style.

I present to you: Kaiserschmarrn. Literally, that means something like Emperor’s Mix if you look at it in Austrian German, though regular Germans would take it to mean Emperor’s Nonsense. The closest description I can give you is caramelized egg pancake scramble. There’s a lot of overlap in cuisine in desserts between Southern Germany, Austria and Hungary, and this is a dessert I whipped up as a child when I would periodically take over the kitchen and dining room and pretend it was my own restaurant called “Chat Noir”. I’m serious. I painted menus and all. I can’t say it was always delicious, but there was always love in the dishes! Back to Kaiserschmarrn, or more precisely, Schmarrn for Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I (1830-1916). As the story goes, empress Elisabeth, a German, wanted lighter fare for her dessert, clearly being my kind of easily-gaining-weight lady. The royal chef attempted to obey, and came up with the here presented dish. The Empress took one bit, harrumphed and refused to eat the rest because it was too rich for her, and, if this is the royal chef’s best shot, I’m inclined to excuse her behavior. The emperor however did not, and in a show of superiority declared he would try the royal chef’s “Schmarrn” instead. Apparently he liked it, for he finished the plate and the dessert became a staple across Austria-Hungary and Southern Germany.

Kaiserschmarrn – Emperor’s Mix/Nonsense

Ingredients for one (large) serving:3 eggs
2 tbsp all purpose flour
½ cup milk
3 tbsp butter or butterschmalz
3 tbsp raisins
1 oz rum
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ cup raspberry or strawberry preserve

1. Soak raisins in rum for several hours. (This is important. Trust me. You want them well soaked!)
2. Melt butter in a pan over medium-high heat. (Look at it. Mmmm.)

3. Stir eggs with salt, then add flour, stir well, add milk, stir well. Add raisins, stir. (The mixture might appear a bit grainy, but trust me, it works.)
4. Pour batter into melted butter and cook until browned.

5. Flip, cook until other side is browned.
6. At this point, all the butter should be well cooked into the caramelized pancake. Scramble with a spatula.

7. Serve topped with powdered sugar and preserve. Feast like an emperor.

Okay, so was I right or was I right?? This gal can cook and entertain you. This dish looks delicious. I bet hubs would gobble this up right quick. Thank you so much for blog swapping with me today Kiri. It has been a pleasure. Folks I encourage you to follow Healthy Foodie Travels . You will be so glad you did. This lady is amazing.

Make sure you stop by Kiri's blog to see what I made for her. It's a traditional Hawaiian dish that will blow your mind. It looks like this:

This is a Haupia sponge cake.

I also did traditional Haupia in bite size squares.

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Lunatic Loves These Links- Feb 8

2012-02-08T00:07:00.004-05:00

Mini-me back in the saddle!

Hi folks. Another week has passed, it seems to have just vanished. I feel like I was just posting last week's Lunatic Loves These Links. I have been busy this week so I am sure that is why it seems to have just flown by. It's been a good food week here. I've been doing quite an assortment of dishes. Some of have already posted on the blog, and some are being tweaked for future posts. Some just got scarfed without blogging about them. I have to admit we have a rule here at the Bee household that one meal a week does not get photographed or blogged about. It helps us feel a bit more normal. Well, relatively speaking of course.

There has been an abundance of incredible food out there on the blogosphere this past week. It is so hard narrowing down which ones to include in my picks. You fellow bloggers out there blow my mind daily. There is so much talent. It does not help my desire to lose weight though. I see all these amazing dishes and I just want to make them all. Which leads to eating them all. Which leads to bigger pants. Which is bad news.

The moral of the story- make bad food.

Okay that can't be right.

On to the good stuff.

And good food.

WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING:

SANDRA'S EASY COOKING GUEST POSTED FOR ME

I MADE SOME KICK BUTT DIP YOU BUZZED TO TOP 9

MADE THIS COOL WILD RICE PIZZA FOR OUR VINTAGE RECIPE SWAP

MADE SOME MAPLE GLAZED NUTS FOR SRC

MADE SOME RED VELVET CAKE FOR CCC

WHO I ADDED TO MY READING LIST THIS WEEK:

Coupon Clipping Cook

The Little Kitchen

Kokocooks

LUNATIC'S BAKER'S DOZEN BOOKMARKS:

COUPON CLIPPING COOK- SWEET AND TANGY LEMON CURD

FROM MY SWEET HEART- COCONUT AND SALTED CARAMEL THUMBPRINTS

THE LITTLE KITCHEN- TART CHERRY MINI POCKETS WITH BRIE

HOW SWEET IT IS- HOME MADE SNICKERS BARS

BAKE YOUR DAY- TIRAMISU

WANNA BE A COUNTRY CLEAVER- LEMON ASPARAGUS WANNA BE FRIES

GOURMANTINE'S BLOG- MATCHA PASTA WITH BLACK SESAME CREAM SAUCE

CAKE DUCHESS- CHOCOLATE CHIP RING CAKE

FROM VALERIE'S KITCHEN- CHILI CORNBREAD BAKE

RUNS WITH SPATULAS- GLAZED BROWNIES

KRISSY'S CREATIONS- HOMEMADE LADYFINGERS

EAT.LIVE.TRAVEL.WRITE.- MACARONS CRAQUELES NOISETTE-CHOCOLAT

COOKING HEALTHY FOR ME: GUEST POST BY THE THREE LITTLE PIGLETS- THIN CRUST FIG PRESERVE AND ARUGULA PIZZA (LINK TO ANN'S SITE) AND THIN CRUST FIG PRESERVE AND ARUGULA PIZZA (LINK TO JEN'S SITE)

LUNATIC'S PICK FOR OUTSTANDING RECIPE THIS WEEK:

You should check out Chasing Delicious, he made the most beautiful Orange Cake with Italian Meringue Frosting! This gentleman can cook and bake and make your knees weak with his wonderful writing. You must read this blog. It is one of the best out there. In all seriousness, this guy is my pick for next blogger to get a cookbook deal. He is the cream of the crop. A star in the making.

LUNATIC'S LOVING THIS "NEW TO ME" BLOG:

Dawn Viola- This is one many of you probably know. I have told you before even though I am a food blogger I am still new to blogging as a whole. I had no idea this lady was out there until I signed up for a conference (read paragraph below). Now I can stalk her to my heart's content. But in a good way. No need for a restraining order before the conference Dawn. If you're reading this. Which you probably aren't. So I can continue to ramble on and embarrass myself further. I shouldn't though right. That might be awkward. Okay so go read Dawn's blog, but don't stalk her. Unless it's in a good way. Then stalk away. But read. Cuz she rocks. And she'll help me not roll any more. She's a healthy blogger. I am not. Maybe she will rub off on me. Or teach me not to use short sentences and drive my readers nuts, but then they probably don't want run on sentences either as those can be just as annoying and drive people mad as well don't ya think. Or maybe a class in grammar as well Dawn. Private lecture on behaving like an adult perhaps. I have much to learn. Clearly.

SOMETHING I JUST HAD TO SHARE:

The Lunatic got accepted to go to the Food Blog Forum in March. So I shall be attending the event. And for those unaware it's being held in Florida. At Disney. And yes the family is coming. We're driving down to save money. It was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. We'll be on a strict budget as money is still tight as hubs hunts down that dream job after finishing school. That is why we chose to drive. It's an amazing line up of speakers and I am so excited to meet them all. I will probably pass out upon meeting Jaden from Steamy Kitchen. She is one of my personal idols. (I have three. Obviously Ree, the one and only Pioneer Woman is a big role model. And you all know Tori from The Shiksa in the Kitchen is my hero. I love that lady to bits. I hope to meet her in person at Blogher Food in June if all goes well.) Anyhow long story, well, even longer *you have met me right, I tend to go on and on and on...*, we are super excited to go to Florida. On a budget. After a 19 hour drive. There. And back. Don't I sound excited. Maybe a big bag of money will fall from the sky before then and we can fly. I'm sure that happens all the time. I mean pigs can fly too right.

LUNATIC'S COMING SOON TEASER:

I still owe you more Turtle madness. That will post soon I promise. You will drool. And beg me to send you some. But I won't. I'll just show you how to make your own. I mean I'd send you some. But I kinda ate 'em already. *grins*

I still owe you Pizza that will blow your mind. Mini-me helped with this one but I want to tweak the pics a bit so it will post for you as soon as we remake it for more pics. It's scheduled in the next week. And you will die. I don't want you to die. But it is artery clogging, I'm not gonna lie. So just eat a little one. Then about 3 days of salads. Then another mind blower, then more salad. Life is all about balance folks. And this does not mean stand on one foot while eating fattening, greasy food every day. I know cuz I tried. And my doc laughed at me. Mean doc!

There's a swapping good time coming your way in a day. It's a doozy. But it's a secret. So shhhhh! Don't tell anyone.

I made something from The Pioneer Woman. I shall share it with you soon. Warning you now, it's another artery clogger. I apologize. Next week I'll give you more salads and health food. But this week I am in a funk and the only thing that can unfunkify a lunatic is comfort food. And lots of it. I shall cheer up and slim down all at the same time. But until then I made some wickedly bad for you food that you will love, and make, and then make weird groaning noises I don't want to know about. We'll just put that on the do not tell Lunie list.

ICE CREAM SUNDAYS will return. There was a brief hiatus just due to other posts and life and all that jazz. Sometimes ice cream just has to wait. Wait? What? Who said that? That can't be right. Ice cream should never wait. Ice cream waits for no man. Seriously, go make some. Or at least eat some. If you are on a diet or watching your figure then eat or make frozen yogurt or sorbet. A slim waistline is no excuse for not eating ice cream. Moderation is over rated. Um, wait that can't be right either.

I made something beefalicious for Slow Cooker Saturday. It was really beeftastic. You'll want to make this beefarific meal as soon as you see it. I would advise you get your beef ready to rock n roll now. Nothing says Slow Cooker Saturday like some rocking beef.

I was tagged by the lovely and talented Kym from Free Spirit Eater in a Food Bloggers Unplugged post awhile back. I shall be posting that as well this week. I apologize to Kym for taking so long to post it. With all the health crisis around the house the last couple of weeks I was not in the right frame of mind to tackle this post. It takes some serious thought and you know me, serious is not my forte. So it took me awhile to dig deep. Once I go there you might regret tagging me. Lol! I wanted to give it proper attention and serious answers so I took the extra time to do it up right. Look for it this coming week. You will know me better after. You may run screaming but you will know me better. Fo shizzle!

Okay folks that wraps up this week's edition of Lunatic Loves These Links. I sure hope you had fun poking around my brain for another week, it's a scary place except when food is involved. Have a wonderful week. And remember, moderation is over rated. Eat good food, but splurge once in a while. Then hop on a treadmill or something. Life should be fun, enjoy your food!

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Red Velvet Cake

2012-02-07T12:54:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. So here's the thing. When planning to make a cake you must do these things:

Make sure you have all the ingredients needed!

Make sure you have all the tools needed!

Make sure you do it well in advance of when it is needed!

Yup!

I did none of those things.

But look at this pretty cake!

This was part of the Crazy Cooking Challenge. Once a month we all make a recipe from another blog we pick ourselves. Then on a specified date we all post those recipes. It's always fun to participate in these kinds of things. This month it was chocolate cake so I think everyone was excited to make it. Life has been a bit more hectic here at the Bee household than normal so I got to this really late. When someone is sick everything that is planned tends to go to hell in a handbasket. When it's your kid it goes to hell in a handbasket and that handbasket gets tossed over a cliff. Just the way it is.

I chose to use La Mia Vita Dolce to use as inspiration. Such a gorgeous blog and beautiful food. I knew I wanted to do red velvet cake so when I saw the Red Velvet Cake there I knew it was what I was doing. I made a couple of changes, more due to time than anything else. The cake is the same but we don't like cream cheese frosting here so I opted to use the Fluffy Vanilla Frosting instead. I did make the raspberry filling but time did not allow for me to use it. So I can just use it on something else.

Red Velvet Cake with Fluffy Vanilla Frosting:

Source: La Mia Vita Dolce: Red Velvet Cake and Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients for Cake:

3 tablespoons cocoa
2 and 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cups caster (superfine) sugar
1 and 1/2 cups walnut oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons red food coloring (I used the gel type)
1 cup buttermilk ( I did not have any so I took 1 cup of milk and added 1 3/4 teaspoons of cream of tartar)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons white vinegar

Directions for Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter, grease or spray your pan/pans with non stick spray.

Sift flour, cocoa and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk until combined.

In a mixer whisk sugar and oil until well combined.

Add your eggs one at a time and whisk in between each addition.

Add your vanilla and food coloring and mix again.

Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the mixer alternating between them.

In a small bowl add your vinegar and baking soda together. Let it bubble and then stir it and add it to the mixer. Whisk for 10 seconds.

Pour the batter into whatever pans you want to use. I chose bundt.

Place in oven and bake for 25 to 35 minutes.

Remove and let cool.

Ingredients for Frosting:

1 cup and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups confectioners (icing/powdered) sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
(I also added about 2 tablespoons of milk to loosen it up a bit more)

Directions for Frosting:

In a mixer blend you butter till soft and smooth.

Add sugar a little at a time and keep adding and mixing till it is fluffy.

Add vanilla and mix again.

If icing is too thick add some milk to it.

Putting the Cake Together:

Place you cake on a plate.

Do a crumb coat of frosting first. This is just a light layer of icing to cover the cake to prevent crumbs. Let it stand for awhile to set. I let mine sit for about 30 minutes.

Now frost the cake entirely.

I took a fork and dragged it around the cake to make a pattern. You don't need to, I was just playing around.

Add some sprinkles. I used white sparkly ones.

Slice and serve with a smile.

Make sure you stop by all the other lovely blogs who did recipes this month. Lots of yumminess out there today.

If interested in participating in the Crazy Cooking Challenge feel free to get ahold of Tina at Mom's Crazy Cooking.

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Maple Glazed Nuts for SRC

2012-02-06T12:00:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. I am part of a group called Secret Recipe Club. Once a month we are all assigned another blog that we visit and pick a recipe from to cook and blog about. Then on a set date every month we share that recipe with our readers. It's a great way to inspire community and promote other bloggers. I love participating in this group. It's a real treat to poke around another person's recipes and see what kinds of things they make and learn more about them.

This month I was assigned This Chick Cooks and oh my goodness does she ever. She has such a wide array of recipes to choose from. Her blog is healthy which is a far cry from my own most days. I had oodles of fun looking around trying to decide what to make. I wanted to make her cheesecake bites but it was too similar to something else I am posting soon. I then wandered over to these nuts and was mesmerized. But I kept searching. Then I saw healthy brownies which intrigued me. When I tried the link it took me to the nuts. Which I took as a sign I was really suppose to make the nuts. So when faced with destiny or kismet I tend to follow along. So I made nuts and goodness gracious they are yummy. They are also super easy. It took about 5 minutes. Which made me feel a little odd, sort of slacker like. I somehow feel like I am cheating by not making something complex and time consuming. Somehow I'll get over it while I sit on the couch eating all these delicious nuts. Oh the agony I'm in. Oh the guilt. Oh the *crunching and yummy noises get louder*, who I am kidding, this is awesome. 5 minutes to make a great snack, who knew?! This Chick Cooks I am now a devoted fan. Bring on the healthy, yummy, addictive snacks. They're still healthy if you eat 10 pounds of them right??

No...

Really...

You sure...

Ya, I don't even care. *nom, nom, nom*

Maple Glazed Nuts:

Source: This Chick Cooks which was adapted from Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:

2 cups pecans
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

Put your maple syrup, cinnamon and sea salt in a bowl and stir until well combined.

Place your pecans in a frying pan over medium heat and pour in the syrup mixture.

Cook while stirring for about 3 to 5 minutes.

The mixture will start to caramelize and stick to the nuts and the spoon. Then you know it's done.

Transfer to a parchment lined pan and let cool.

Remove and serve with a smile.

Er, did I leave the tag plastic on? Why yes, yes I did. I may leave it on all my stuff in the future. Make it "my thing". Er, kidding.

A word of caution or Lunatic advice if you will, do not double the coating. I have this idea that when it comes to sweet stuff that I should always double it. Don't be tempted to. I did and this turned out like candy apple coating. Just a bit too thick. Sometimes less is more, or less is less, or something is more or less. I am so confused now. Okay so just do not double the sugary goodness. It is better with less. Just eat more nuts. Or something like that.

Also, inspect all props before using them. Just sayin'!

Thank you to This Chick Cooks for being such a great inspiration. Your blog rocks. Go visit her folks, you will not be disappointed.

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Wild Rice Pizza for Burwell Vintage Recipe Swap

2012-02-05T20:03:00.002-05:00

Hi folks. I have to say I am really enjoying being part of the Vintage Recipe Swap. Christianna of Burwell General Store uses vintage cookbooks and every month she chooses one recipe for the group to adapt. There about 30 of us right now and some changes are coming to the swap. I have to admit to being really excited to see what's in store for us next. It is so rewarding to take a recipe and turn it on it's head, make it something else. Some months it's easy, some months it's hard. This month's recipe was an intriguing one. We were to take a wild rice dressing and make it something else. I went around and around trying to think of something unique. Should I do this, what if I did that? Then it came like a bolt of lightning. Pizza. It's where my mind always goes. I had done a pizza with a previous recipe so I really did not want to do it another time. But the pull was too great. The last one was a dessert, so I figured a savory was acceptable. Then I'll never be able to adapt another into pizza again. Yikes, there's some pressure. Am I up to the challenge? Of course I am, I love playing with food. Just consider me 5 years old and always in trouble at the table. It's who I am.

Once I made the decision to make pizza it became how and what to use. I had done a rice pizza eons ago when I was on a health kick. Seems like a lifetime ago. I had no recollection of how I did it or what kind of rice I used. I wanted to do a Hawaiian pizza as Hawaii has been playing on my mind lately. I figured ham would be kind of a bad choice with rice though. So I did just straight up pineapple on it. I was lucky I had any left. Once I chopped open a fresh pineapple I could not stop eating it. I must have eaten half a pineapple while making the pizza. Lucky for me pineapple is good for you. Addictive but healthy.

I think if you are a healthy eater this will appeal to you big time. It's a bit outside the box, pizza but a healthy spin to it. I cannot do whole wheat flour so this is a good way to make it healthy without having to use that. My son who usually likes anything did not care for it. Not sure if that's a bad sign or not. Hubs thought it was good. I thought it was okay. I'll be honest, I'd rather have normal crust. But then I'd also love the world to be drizzled in chocolate so there you go.

Wild Rice Pizza:

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked wild rice blend
2 eggs
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup pizza sauce
1 and 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella ( I like the new pizza mozzarella's on the market, they melt perfectly)
3/4 cup chopped fresh pineapple

Directions:

Cook up your wild rice first. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add some salt. Toss in 3 cups of rice and let boil for a few minutes. Turn down to a simmer and cook for about 40 to 50 minutes. Fluff with a fork and simmer about 3 to 5 more minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Add beaten eggs and butter to the rice and mix well.

Press the mixture into a pizza pan that you have already sprayed with non stick spray or lined with parchment.

Spread your pizza sauce over top the rice.

Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

Top with chopped pineapple.

Place the pizza in the oven on middle rack and cook for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove, cut and serve with a smile.

Original Recipe

If you are looking for a healthy alternative to pizza dough this is for you. Well except for all that mozzarella cheese slathered all over it. Whatever. Food police! Pfftt!

If you want to learn more about the vintage recipe swap hear on over to Burwell General Store. Please check out my fellow swappers and enjoy their creative and lovely recipes. See you next month when the next challenge will be the anti-pizza.

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Taco or Chip Dip for Dudes or Chicks Who Like Football aka Not Me!

2012-02-04T13:55:00.000-05:00

Hi folks. I wanted to whip up a quick dip for all you football fans out there. I mean just because I hate sports and am boycotting the Superbowl doesn't mean I can't feed you right. Okay so I am not so much "boycotting" as I am "not watching it". But you know same dif right.

So here is another example of me making things I do not eat. Kim does not do dip. Unless it's fruit dip, then I may partake. But veggie and taco dips not so much. I mean it's food....touching. I'd need a therapist after. I can do nachos and cheese. But only if the cheese is just cheese and not tomatoes tossed in or any other weird concoctions most people find "normal". I really was not kidding when I named this blog "lunatic". I have enough food issues to keep 10 therapists in the money and retire them like kings I swear. I whipped this one up for the dudes. While they watch the stupid Superbowl I shall be watching something girlie like "13 going on 30", or "catch and release" or "last of the mohicans". Just sayin'. Sometimes being a girl is just more fun. There may even be nail polish involved. Run for your life dudes. This chick does chick stuff. But eats like a dude. Except taco dip. Cuz that's just all kinds of wrong.

And on that note here's your dip. I mean now that I've made it all sound so magical you must just be chomping at the bit to try it.

Oh before I rattle on about something else that's sure to rile up the dudes, since I don't do dip I had to look one up. I found a good one on Kraft Kitchen but then changed it a little bit. Cuz...you know....I know so much about dip and all.

Taco or Chip Dip for Dudes or Chicks Who Like Football aka Not Me!

Source: slightly adapted from Kraft Kitchens

Ingredients:

1 cup miracle whip dressing
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup shredded medium cheddar cheese

Directions:

Mix your miracle whip, sour cream and taco seasoning in a bowl. I find whisking it works well.

Now put that mixture into what you are serving the dip in and fill about 1/2 way up.

Now add your salsa over top.

Now sprinkle with cheese.

Serve with chips and a big old jersey wearing smile.

*no nails were broken or chipped while making this dip, whew*

I missed FUN WITH JARS FRIDAY this week so thought I would put the dip in jars to make up for it. I did miss a post this week. I apologize since I have been working really hard to be more consistent and post on a regular schedule. We've had a weird week so I got off kilter for a day. Those who follow me on facebook know I am having some issues with my leg, they think it's possibly plantar fascitiis so yesterday was spent getting more Xrays. This was yesterday's adventure as posted on facebook:

Cravings of a Lunatic

Okay so the Xray went something like this:
Tech- Okay lay on your back, put your right foot behind your head, then take your left leg and turn it to the right while turning your hip to the left, then point your toes up, while also not moving.
Me- Wtf is the matter with you?
Tech- Why, does that hurt?
Me- Seriously, are you mental?
Tech- Okay don't move.
Me- Like I could if I wanted to!
somewhere there is a youtube video of me floating around getting laughed at across the nation, I am sure of it

Ya, so the rest of the day was painful and I ordered dinner instead of making what was planned. I also laid on the couch most of the night. I'm not going to lie, I totally enjoyed being a bit lazy for a couple hours.

So hope you all enjoy Superbowl Sunday or as I like to call it "Kim gets the upstairs TV and watches chick flicks all day". The dudes get banished to the dungeon. And have to wear headphones. Cuz I not only don't wanna watch it, I don't wanna hear it either. Booyah! Take that dudes.

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Rigatoni with Golden & Cherry Tomatoes and Baby Bella Mushrooms: Guest Post by Sandra's Easy Cooking

2012-02-02T00:15:00.000-05:00

Hi folks. I have a very special treat for you today. The lovely and talented Sandra from Sandra's Easy Cooking is guest posting today. If you have not read her blog I highly recommend you head over and do so. She is an amazing cook, recently she has taken on a more healthful approach to cooking. Sandra takes the most phenomenal photos, they are always so bright and gorgeous. Every single recipe makes me drool. Even the seafood recipes and I don't even like seafood. You know she's doing something right when she can get this gal craving some shellfish. There is a section on her blog called Kid's Corner that has a few kid friendly recipes that are out of this world. She has made a lovely recipe to share with us today and I am ever grateful to her for agreeing to guest today.

Hello Everybody,

I am Sandra, author of Sandra's Easy Cooking food blog where you can find pretty easy and simple recipes. I started this blogging adventure in middle of 2010 and just fell in love not only with blogging itself but with kindness of people that are very supportive around our food web.

I see Kim as a kind, supportive, and funny person. Power of her posts would lift anybodies spirit and you leave her blog with huge smile on your face..am I right or what???

I really adore and respect her as a blogger and a friend! As soon as I see that cannoli in a foodbuzz inbox I have to check it out!:)) Now let me share a recipe with mushrooms..yes, Kim don't like Mushrooms so here is one recipe that contain that exact ingredient..

Rigatoni with Golden & Cherry Tomatoes and Baby Bella Mushrooms:

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Box Rigatoni
1 tbs Salt
2 Tbs. Pure Olive Oil
4 Scallions, chopped
20 Golden Tomatoes, cut in half
10 Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 pk Baby Bella Mushrooms, sliced
Salt (about 1/2 tsp.) and Pepper(about 1/2 tbs.) or to taste

Directions:

Boil the water with a salt, place the rigatoni in and cook until tender.
In a larger sauce pan pour oil and chopped scallions(green onions).
Saute the onions for minute or two and add mushrooms in a hot pan.
Turn few times mushrooms and let them cook through.
Add both kind of sliced in half tomatoes, and stir.
Let it cook for only few minutes.
Once the pasta is done, drain and mix in with a tomatoes and mushrooms.

Serve hot and preferably immediately!

Thank you Kim so very much for inviting me today, I enjoyed making this dish just for you at 9 am!

Wishing you all great day!

Sandra

Okay so maybe I need to rethink my stance on mushrooms! This looks so good. I love how colorful and inviting Sandra's food is. She nails it every single time. I am so lucky to have met this beautiful soul through foodbuzz. She is always kind and warm, always a cheerful word for you. I consider her a friend and know one day we will meet in person and never stop gabbing. She is just the kind of gal you feel you've known forever. A true friend and an amazing cook.

While you are stopping by her blog, Sandra's Easy Cooking make sure you check out her right sidebar. Sandra has her own cookbook for sale. Also make sure you follow her on TWITTER, and FACEBOOK. You will want to hug me for introducing you to her. Just remember, Lunie doesn't do hugs. Germs remember. Ick! Thank me from a safe distance.

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Lunatic Loves These Links- Feb 1

2012-02-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hi folks. Hope you are enjoying your week. They seem to fly by these days. Always so much to do. Been a crazy week here so far. I love my life because it is never dull. I always tell people I'd rather be busy than bored. Good thing I actually mean it. On Monday I had to go for an allergy test. I have a pretty wicked case of IBS, the thought was maybe it was not actually IBS and was something called mast cell disorder. So after a gazillion picks in my arm, an ice pack on my other arm to inspire hives, a scratch on my back to also inspire hives, and a weighted bag hanging off my arm to inspire more hives, we discovered I am not actually allergic to anything at all. And nary a hive in sight. So basically 2 hours of my day and a gazillion holes in my arm to learn nothing new. Back to my gastro guy I go. *sigh*

I actually totally love my gastro guy. This dude is wicked cool. He looks and sounds exactly like James Earle Jones. I adore James Earle Jones. Years and years ago I went for my first colonoscopy, one of many now. I was super nervous the first time and asked my friend Tracy to take me to the test. We joked on the way up about how much the doctor looks and sounds like my pal James. So she dared me to do the Lion King line. I did not. I mean who wants to embarrass themselves by doing the Lion King voice. I mean I am a grown up. I am mature. So as I started to get loopy from the meds I kept my dignity intact and did the Darth Vader voice instead. As I slipped under I did the infamous "Luke I am your father". To this day I am known as the Darth Vader lady at the doc's office. They all laugh about it. So embarrassing! Like I said, never dull!

Don't ya just love my stories. Honestly I have a million stories where I have embarrassed myself completely. It's like a gift. Or a curse. Whatever.

On to my weekly linky love session. I adore sharing the stuff I come across on the web each week. There is such a great array of blogs out there. The recipes are so creative and inspiring. I hope you enjoy this week`s Lunatic Loves These Links.

WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING:

Better Than Milky Way Bars: Guest Post by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Lunatic's Garlic Beef Stew or Why Vampires Won't Attack You Tonight

Fruit Salad with Vanilla Syrup, Pink Yogourt and Pistachios: Guest Post at Cooking Healthy For Me

WHO I ADDED TO MY READING LIST THIS WEEK:

It's Yummilicious

Three Many Cooks

Gourmande in the Kitchen

LUNATIC'S BAKER'S DOZEN BOOKMARKS:

La Phemme Phoodie- Drunken Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

Simply Scratch- Blood Orange and Honey Sorbet

Brown Eyed Baker- Cherry Coke Float Cupcakes

The German Foodie- Home Made Puff Pastry Shells

The Dusty Baker, Guest Post on A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis- Meyer Lemon Coconut Cake

A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis- Triple Chocolate Pecan Fudge Brownies

Scientifically Sweet- Fig and Pistachio Cornmeal Biscotti

Gingerbread Bagels- Frosted Chocolate Cookie Bars

Scarletta Bakes- Spicy Corn Egg Rolls with Avocado Crema

Picture Perfect Meals- Sweet Potato Ravioli with Maple, Brown Butter and Sage

Cooking Healthy For Me- Hawaiian Bars

Sandra's Easy Cooking- Stir Fry With Rice

Wanna Be A Country Cleaver- Almond Champagne and Lemon Bundt Cake

LUNATIC'S PICK FOR OUTSTANDING RECIPE THIS WEEK:

The Shiksa in the Kitchen- Chicken Catch Me

LUNATIC'S LOVING THIS "NEW TO ME" BLOG:

Love Veggies and Yoga is my new fave. I am trying to cook and eat a bit healthier and Averie sure is good inspiration. The woman is stunning and her cooking is equally as stunning as she is. She posts tons of sweets but balances it with a healthy lifestyle. She has some great tips and lots of fun posts on a variety of subjects. She is a wonderful photographer as well. So stop by and check out her blog. You will be reading it like a novel and will find yourself still in your jammies at dinnertime wondering where the day went. You'll also be inspired to know you can love baking and still be a stone cold fox. Cool right! Who Knew?!

SOMETHING I JUST HAD TO SHARE:

The winner of the giveaway for one subscription to Bon Appetit magazine is Kristen Roth. She blogs at Forkful of Comfort which is new to me. So added bonus of finding a new blog to read. Winning entry was #98.

KristenJan 27, 2012 06:22 PM

Happy Late Birthday! :)

ReplyDelete

Replies

Kim BeeJan 28, 2012 09:41 AM

Thanks.

LUNATIC'S COMING SOON TEASER:

Guest post with someone super special!

More Turtle madness!

Pizza that will blow your mind!

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Fruit Salad with Vanilla Syrup, Pink Yogourt and Pistachios: My Guest Post For Cooking Healthy For Me

2012-01-31T00:16:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. I have a very special treat for you today. The added bonus is that it is a healthy treat. I know that's rare from me. Life is all about balance. So when you spend the weekend eating your weight in cherry Hershey kisses, chocolate covered marshmallows and brownies, well you start to crave some good stuff. Well you may not but your arteries will.

This lovely treat can be seen over at Cooking Healthy For Me. When Ann asked me to guest post for her I was so ~~stunned~~ happy. Um, Ann you have read Cravings of a Lunatic right? You are my biggest fan so um, have you noticed the ~~complete lack of healthy recipes~~ tiny amount of healthy recipes I post? I was thinking geez she must ~~be crazy~~ really love me. I was ~~scared to death she'd made a mistake~~ so stoked she asked and was determined to do her proud. So I spent ~~about a minute~~ eons trying to decide what to make for her. I mean I surely must have ~~one~~ tons of healthy recipes up my sleeves. Then Ann told me the date she wanted me to guest and ~~I was late meeting my deadline~~ it all came together quickly. She wanted me to post a couple of weeks before Valentine's Day. That is when the magic began.

I invite all my readers to head over to Cooking Healthy For Me to check out this Fruit Salad with Vanilla Syrup, Pink Yogourt and Pistachios. While you are there make sure you follow Ann's blog. She really is a gem. I love her to pieces. Ann I am your biggest fan! Mwuah!

Happy Early Valentines Day to Ann and Honey Bunny.

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Lunatic's Garlic Beef Stew or Why Vampires Won't Attack You Tonight

2012-01-28T19:06:00.002-05:00

Hi folks.

I have to tell you a secret.

But.........

you have to promise not to tell anyone else!

Okay?

Pinky swear!!

Okay, are you ready for it?

I LOVE weekends. I know....it's shocking right. I've revealed too much. Maybe I shouldn't have told you. I should have kept it to myself. But we're pals. We're buds. You're my homey. So I feel like I can tell you this kind of stuff. Just don't tell anyone else. It's our little secret. Mmkay?

It is odd that I enjoy them so much. I mean it's not like I work in a highly stressful job like some of you. I basically am either home in sweat pants for 85.6% of my life. Or I am in the car driving hooligans around for the other 14.4% of the time. But I dress up when I go out. I wear jeans. Yup, rock star baby. This Mom goes out in style. On a good day I even brush my hair.

So when weekends roll around I like to chillax with the hooligans. I mean when they have time for me. Which is like....whenever they aren't busy with more important things. Like boyfriends, girlfriends, work, friends, conferences. Oh sorry, my hooligans are older hooligans, not little tiny hooligans. Mini- me is 18 and B....okay wait, I think B needs a new handle. What do you think? He doesn't get enough air time around here. So we'll put it to a vote. I'll offer suggestions, you can weigh in and I shall do what I do with the kids often....which is....listen to what you say then do what I want anyway. What? Yah, big shocker I know. I've been a stay at home Mom for 23 years, I micromanage. Which is Mom code for bossing people around. Okay here's the list:

1- We can continue to call him B.

2- We can call him Bray, which is what I call him often.

3- We can call him Mini-C. The theory behind this one is hubs name is C'Paul, I call him C, hence the name Mini-C.

4- We can call him Mini-dude.

I've already decided. Let's see what you think. Er, right I forgot I micromanage.

So I made some stew. It totally rocked. I wanted to post it last night but stew is hard to take pics of. So I was planning on taking some today in natural light. But...

the appraiser came to see the house....

then the puppy peed on him...

then I got bored....

then I ate cherry kisses...

then I took mini-me to see a movie...

then we got home and had important stuff to do...

like watch Fringe....

*smiles sheepishly*

I love you guys!

Lunatic's Garlic Beef Stew or Why Vampires Won't Attack You Tonight:

A Lunatic Original

Ingredients:

1 pound blade roast, cut up into chunks (you can use stewing beef but I had extra blade roast on hand)
1/2 to 3/4 cup Memories of Kobe sauce (this is a garlic tamari but any brand will do, thick always better)
1 cup onion, diced or chunked
1 cup celery, diced or chunked
8 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
2 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut up into chunks (they tend to hold up nicely in stew)
2 cups carrots, peeled and cut up into chunks
3 cups water
2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon, use beef or vegetable
1 cup tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut up your beef into cubes or chunks. Place in a container and add the Memories of Kobe tamari sauce in it. Place the lid on and give it a good shake. Marinate this for at least an hour. (I did mine overnight)

Cut up all your veggies and set aside.

Place a good pan on the stove top, spray with a touch of non stick spray and drizzle some oil in it. Let the pan heat up a bit over a medium heat. Now drop you meat into it and keep stirring but turn the pan down just a touch. After a couple of minutes add your onion. Now continue to cook until the meat and onions brown up. Does not take long. And make sure you continue to stir things around to keep it from sticking. You can add extra oil as you go if you need it. I use olive oil when doing this.

Transfer meat to crock pot.

Now toss in your veggies.

In the same pan you cooked your meat, add the water and bouillon. As it boils scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to remove any yummy bits left from the meat and onions. This is where extra flavor comes in. Once it boils pour it into the crock pot.

Add your tomato sauce.

Now toss in your bay leaves and add your salt and pepper.

Add your garlic.

Give a stir.

Turn slow cooker on low and cook for about 8 to10 hours depending on the size of your chunks and make of slow cooker. I would check it at 6 hours, then continue to check it every hour after that.

Serve with a big smile and a stake for those with a sense of humor.

For those of you who know my weird food quirks, I'd love to know why I can't let my food touch on the plate but I can reach into a bowl of stew to procure a piece of tater and pop it in my mouth like it's no big.

Tips and hints:

All slow cookers cook differently. Get to know yours so you can adjust recipes to suit it. I find my big one takes longer, my small one cooks quicker. Good rule of thumb to remember.

You can add extra spices to stew. Get creative. Use what you love.

By the same token you can omit spices. Tailor the stew to your own personal taste.

If you like thick stew add a thickener. My mother in law taught me to thicken things by taking a jar and adding water and cornstarch to it, shake it and add a little of it in your stew towards the end of the cooking time to thicken it. This is a personal taste thing.

Then reach back in and grab a carrot and swirl it around and scarf like 10 of them while taking pics.

So that last tip came into play here at the Bee household yesterday. I like thick stew, it seems heartier to me and less like soup. Hubs likes it thin and runny. As you can see it's thin this time. I want a new camera so....thin stew. Sometimes you gotta take one for the team. Especially when angling for new blogging equipment. Thin stew= happy hubs= less likely to grumble when I say "hey I almost have enough gift certificates to start shopping for a new camera. Remember my birthday last week, when you didn't buy me anything. Well....."

See, new camera equipment desperately needed here!

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Better Than Milky Way Bars: Guest Post by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

2012-01-26T00:07:00.000-05:00

Hi folks. I have a very special treat for you today. A very special, sugary, oh so yummy treat in fact. The best part is it was made by the talented and delightful Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake. I adore her so very much, in fact we have a deal that she is going to adopt me. I'm just waiting for a bedroom to free up then I am packing my bags. Pay no mind to the fact that we're about the same age. She's probably younger than me. I am still moving in though. A deal's a deal. No take backs.

I am thrilled to have Liz here at the asylum and I hope you all make her feel most welcome. She is a rare gem amongst the foodie community. For those who love food, and love sweets this is your go to gal. She always impresses, she is forever kind and she's my adopted Mama. So say hello and prepare to have your jaw drop!

I'm thrilled to be guest posting at Cravings of a Lunatic today. Kim and I became fast friends via Foodbuzz and I am always thoroughly entertained by her humorous blog posts. Not to mention that she's one of the warmest most generous souls I've met. I knew I had to make something special to share with her readers...I'm not so funny, but I make a mean cookie bar!

There are certain candies I am required to purchase for Halloween, and Three Musketeers or Milky Ways are a must. We rarely have leftovers after the throng of trick or treaters, but we have to have the favorites on hand just in case. All 120 full sized candy bars were spoken for by the end of the evening...I think I'll be buying more next year. But till then, I thought I'd try to make my own Milky Way Bars. Erin, of Dinners, Dishes and Desserts made her version by dipping individual bars, but I took the easy way out and added a crust to create layered bars.

These got rave reviews from my crew. And I just kept sneaking nibbles...my will power cannot resist caramel. These gems need to stay in the refrigerator. Just during the time it took to photograph them, the caramel layer started oozing out. Just more for me to trim off and sample.

These super rich bars will be a hit with any chocoholic you know. They are just plain irresistible. Thanks, Kim, for the honor to guest post!

Better Than Milky Way Bars...adapted from recipes from Hugs and Cookies and Dinners, Dishes and Desserts

1 stick (4 ounces) butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour

1 12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips

3 tablespoons cream

1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme

1 14-ounce bag caramels

3 tablespoons cream

1 12-ounce bag milk chocolate chips

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 300º. Line 8 x 8 inch pan with nonstick foil or greased regular foil.

Beat together butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour. Press evenly into pan...you may need to flour your fingers to prevent sticking. Prick crust with fork. Bake 35-45 minutes till crust is golden. Cool.

Melt 12 ounces chocolate chips in microwave, starting and stopping to stir at 30 second intervals till melted and smooth. Add 3 tablespoons cream and marshmallow creme, and stir till well combined. Pour over cooled crust and

spread with off set spatula. Cool in fridge while preparing next layer.

Put caramels and 3 tablespoons of cream in microwave. Stop and stir at 30 second intervals till melted and smooth. Pour over chocolate layer and spread with offset spatula. Refrigerate for a couple hours.

Melt second bag of chocolate chips as directed above. Add vegetable oil when melted and pour over caramel layer. Place in refrigerator till firm.

Use foil to remove from pan, peel off foil and cut into bars to serve.

Okay so I am strapping on my apron and heading into the kitchen. These look so decadent. I love Milky Way bars so this is my kind of treat. I just love the layers of ooey gooey-ness. A big Lunatic thank you to Liz for rocking my world today. I am touched and grateful you agreed to guest for me. I would love you all to head over to Liz's blog That Skinny Chick Can Bake and stalk her a little bit. You can also find her on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST, and STUMBLEUPON. Now run over and remember full stalker mode folks, no stealth mode. This lady deserves your full attention. Thanks Liz! Er, Mama Liz! xx

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Lunatic Loves These Links

2012-01-25T00:24:00.000-05:00

Hi folks. Welcome to this week's edition of Lunatic Loves These Links. This really is one of my fave things to do every week. It gives me so much joy to share things I love. There are a wide array of wonderful recipes and cooks out there on the web. I want to share as many as possible with you.

Before I share this week's picks from the web I want to give you a recap of what has been going on around here at the asylum. So brace yourself for the madness.

WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING:

STOP BY AND SEE THIS LOVELY TURTLE BANANA SPLIT!

STOP BY AND SEE THIS AMAZING TACO PASTA!

STOP BY AND SEE THE CAKE CHEF DENNIS MADE ME FOR MY BIRTHDAY!

WHO I ADDED TO MY READING LIST THIS WEEK:

A CANADIAN FOODIE

WOK WITH RAY

PEAS AND CRAYONS

LUNATIC'S BAKER'S DOZEN BOOKMARKS:

PARSLEY, SAGE, DESSERTS AND LINE DRIVES- ORANGE LACQUERED CHICKEN

US MASALA- MASALA ROASTED POTATOES

ALL DAY I DREAM ABOUT FOOD- CRISPY ROSEMARY SRIRACHA CHICKEN THIGHS

FIFTEEN SPATULAS- BLOOD ORANGE AND PISTACHIO SALAD

EPICUREAN MOM- ACAI BOWL (POWER BREAKFAST)

WANNA BE A COUNTRY CLEAVER- ROSEMARY OLIVE OIL PIZZA DOUGH

PASS THE SUSHI- CHINESE NEW YEAR DINNER: LION'S HEAD MEATBALLS

PEAS AND CRAYONS- RED VELVET CAKE COOKIES

BUTTERCREAM BLONDIE- BLOOD ORANGE CORNMEAL BUNDT CAKES

DOMESTIC FITS- CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRY FOOTBALLS

DOMESTIC FITS- LEMON PIE WITH ANIMAL CRACKER CRUST

MOTHER THYME- BAKED BLUEBERRY RICOTTA DONUTS

WOK WITH RAY- SWEET AND GARLICKY PORK CHOPS

LUNATIC'S PICK FOR OUTSTANDING RECIPE THIS WEEK:

A CANADIAN FOODIE- PRESERVED EVAN'S CHERRIES: CONNIE DE SOUSA'S CHARCUT SECRET

LUNATIC'S LOVING THIS "NEW TO ME" BLOG:

CONFESSIONS OF A COOKBOOK QUEEN- Okay you guys know I am somewhat slow on the uptake of the bigger blogs. I had only read one blog when I decided to start mine. It was a friend's family blog and was private. I had no idea food blogs existed. So I am not completely dialed in. Forgive me. Lol! Now this little gem was brought to my attention today in fact, with the help of my friend Ann from Cooking Healthy For Me. I went over and fell completely head over heels in love with this one. I cannot even tell you how much I love it. Like to infinity, and possibly beyond. Okay....yes....decided...beyond it is. It is so amazing, and girlie and sparkly and screams "Kim read me". So I did....and I will....compulsively. I feel a restraining order coming on. X infinity!

SOMETHING I JUST HAD TO SHARE:

I'd love you guys to pop by a blog called Sweet Salty Spicy and check out Charlie. This young woman is the bomb. Not only can she cook like a rock star but she shared a DIY project this week that blew my mind. So stop on by and check out her DIY Wipe Off Weekly Menu Board. This lady is going places. She is a total delight. And the bomb!

LUNATIC'S COMING SOON TEASER:

A stunning guest poster to delight you!

A jar recipe that will knock your socks off, and it's long overdue to knock your socks off!

Slow cooker madness, but in a good way!

Ice Cream fun, how do you top last week's crazy banana split? Wait till you see!

Meatless Mondays returns!

Bon Appetit winner will be announced!

Some breaking news....but not sure I can share yet....cross fingers....toes....eyes....t's!

Okay folks that about wraps up this weekly edition of Lunatic Loves These Links. Hope you enjoyed it. I know I sure have fun sharing it with you. I wish I could share more with you but these linky lovefests take some time to put together so I have to limit how many I can share. Or I'd never cook....or eat....or see horsey....or kids....or hubs.....or you!!!!!!!!!!!

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Turtle Banana Split- More Birthday Shenanigans!!!

2012-01-22T23:39:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. Yes you are reading the post title correctly. I, being the Lunatic that I am, made a banana split with the ever popular Turtles candy I love so much. You may have read the post where I talked about stealing Turtles last year from hubs and B. You may have read about my Turtle Bark. You also may have read about my Turtle ice cream and the fact that we ended up with a gazillion boxes of it this Christmas. I am sure it had nothing to do with the fact that people read about last years heist and felt sorry for myself and mini-me. Nah, could not have been that.

So since it is my birthday weekend and no holds should be barred on a birthday weekend I decided to make myself a monster sized banana split. I did not want just any banana split. So I thought to myself, "self what is your favourite ice cream?" And my self almost blew out my eardrums yelling "Turtles, Turtles, Turtles!" I just so happened to have some homemade Turtle ice cream so now the anticipation was building what I could lay on this thing. So I went through my mental checklist:

Turtle Ice Cream- check
Whipped Cream- check
Turtles Candy- check
Skor Bits- check
Caramel Sauce- check and bonus it's homemade
Fudge Sauce- check, I had homemade but opted for Magic Shell
Pecans- check
Giant Bowl- check
Giant Appetite- check
Couch To Pass Out On After- check

So you see I was good to go. Let's not talk about why I happen to have all these items laying around. Maybe we shouldn't talk about that. Let's not even think about it. In fact, let's never speak of it again.

I know you are dying to know how I made it but first I want to make sure you all saw my birthday cake Chef Dennis made me so check below for that little beauty:

That was the cake portion of my birthday. Thanks Dennis.

Then we had this little thing going on and still is:

You got it folks, I am giving away one subscription to Bon Appetit magazine. So run over and check that out so you can enter. This was our present phase of the weekend.

So now we just had the ice cream phase left. To me if you're going to splurge you should go big or go home. Of course going big might mean not being able to fit through the door after eating it but hey, who needs to go anywhere when the ice cream is in here anyway. So on to the recipe. You may get a bit fat eating it but you'll be happy. You're welcome!!!

Turtle Banana Split:

A Lunatic Original

Ingredients:

3 scoops of Turtle ice cream
2 heaping tablespoons of caramel
1 heaping tablespoon of Magic Shell
1 banana, split
3 squirts of whipping cream, if using a spray type
3 whole Turtles candy
3 Turtles candy, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup Skor bits
1/4 cup pecans, crushed
Chocolate Sauce drizzled for garnish (cuz there is not enough chocolate already)

Directions:

Cut your banana down the middle lengthwise. Set aside.

Cut up your turtles, set aside.

Measure out your Skor bits. Set aside.

Crush your pecans and set aside.

Heat up the caramel sauce for about 30 seconds in the microwave.

Place everything within your grasp so you can assemble quickly.

Now grab a bowl and scoop your ice cream into it.

Lay banana on either side.

Now pour the Magic Shell over the scoop in the middle.

Now pour your caramel sauce over the other two scoops.

Now quickly squirt or top with whipped cream.

Top each section with a whole Turtle candy.

Toss your skor bits, crushed pecans and chopped Turtles around the bowl.

Drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Enjoy with a big old messy smile!!!

I know right! It makes me dizzy just thinking about it! It was so good my head was spinning!

Somehow I powered through and kept at it. The fun part of these photo shoots is eating while you take pics. See below for what actually goes on during a "photo shoot" at the Lunatic asylum!

At this point I was so full I thought I'd explode and had a zillion pictures so I finally shared. Below is all that was left after the hooligan men got done with it.

Good lord it was so good I think they ate the bowl. Ah, parting is such sweet sorrow my Turtle Banana Split. Till next year my darling, till next year.

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Taco Pasta and a Birthday Giveaway! GIVEAWAY CLOSED

2012-01-21T23:53:00.004-05:00

Hi folks. I sure hope you all had a wonderful day. I am still basking in the birthday celebration. Did you all stop by yesterday's post to see my birthday cake? The wonderful and talented Chef Dennis baked me an amazing cake. If you have not seen it yet here's a peek:

I know right! Make sure you all stop by to see the recipe on my post. Also take a minute to stop at Chef Dennis's blog A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis to say hello and follow him if you don't already. I cannot thank him enough for making my birthday extra special this year. You rocked my isolated little foodie world Dennis and I adore you for doing this. Now be prepared as you are going to get requests like crazy for birthday posts over the next year. Lol!

Okay so I made something a bit outside my comfort zone for Slow Cooker Saturday today. It was bit too mixed up and jumbled for me. I have issues or quirks as I like to call them, about certain foods that shouldn't be hot getting all melty. I also have a quirk about food touching. Basically when I eat anything like this I have to close my eyes in order to be able to eat it. And that just leads to disaster and needing a bib. I cannot think about it or I won't eat it. I wanted to make this one for hubs though so I put on my big girl pants and as I always tell my kids, "suck it up buttercup". Sometimes you just gotta do what you just gotta do. What I had to do was a taco pasta. I started by wanting to do a taco bake but the thought of throwing hard, crunchy chips in a wet dish grossed me out. So then I thought soup, but I just could not logistically figure that one out. Then the mind wandered to Timothy Olyphant, er, I mean doing a pasta. I had no clue how to put this together. So I did some "research", or basically what I call tinkering around. I looked up some recipes online for taco pasta but none of them were screaming come eat me. You see I don't like sour cream and most recipes call for it. I also don't like rotel and some recipes called for that. I found one recipe by a fellow blogger named Fake Ginger and hers looked really good. It still had the sour cream but I figured I could change that to suit my taste. Worked out pretty well. While for me I wouldn't say I LOVED it, it was good. Now hubs, he LOVED it. So my vote is meh, and his vote is yeah! He even had sour cream on his, blech! So gross!

Slow Cooker Taco Pasta:

Recipe adapted from Fake Ginger

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef, cooked
1 can beef broth (284ml/10 oz)
1 can water using the broth can
2 packages taco seasoning, any brand
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped white or sweet onion
4 to 5 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped
1 can tomato sauce, any brand (680 ml)
1 brick cream cheese (250 ml)
6 cups medium shell noodles, cooked
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Optional- sour cream and/or salsa to top it with

Directions:

Brown your ground beef in a skillet or pan until browned. Drain excess fat and rinse.

Now pop that into your slow cooker.

Add 1 can of the beef broth, then fill that can with water and empty that in the slow cooker as well.

Add 2 packages of taco seasoning.

Add your onion and green pepper.

Add your garlic.

Now add your tomato sauce.

Give it a good stir and cover.

Turn on low for about 3-4 hours.

Now add your cream cheese and cook for another 30 minutes.

Now you can add your pre-cooked noodles and your shredded cheese.

Cook for 20 to 30 minutes more, basically until the cheese melts.

Serve with an ooey gooey smile.

Tips and Hints:

This is a monster size batch. Feel free to half or quarter it.

I thought I could have gotten away with half a brick of cream cheese.

I think you could jazz this up with tomatoes or salsa, I hate both.

It's probably good with sour cream but I hate that too.

You could dunk tortilla chips in it and eat it if you wanted to. But that is just plain gross.

You could call a therapist for me for all my food quirks. I could clearly use some help!!!

I hope you try it out. I used a ton of noodles but I like my pastas like that. Feel free to tweak and change to suit your own taste. It's one of those recipes that you can have a ton of fun with. I would love to thank Amanda from Fake Ginger for the inspiration, your pictures had me saying "okay Lunie, you can do this, today you will tackle your food touching fear", and not a lot of recipes can make me say that. So kudos to Amanda for making seem a little less nutty, even if it was just for one day.

Okay so that wraps up this....

What?

I said what?

I am hosting a what?

I promised a what?

Okay, okay I did, you are correctamundo. I did promise a giveaway. Now it's not a new car, or a new camera, or even a new puppy, although I have a cute little westie pup if you're interested. Her name is Demon Spawn of Satan aka Malia. Nope it's nothing flashy or expensive or mind-blowing. It's just this:

Yup, you got it folks. The winner gets a 1 year subscription to BonAppetit Magazine. How cool am I? Ya, you love me now right. It's okay, I love me too.

*GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*

Here's how you can enter. Leave me a comment. That is your entry. Easy peasy. If you want extra entries you can do any of these things:

Follow me on TWITTER, leave me a separate comment you did so.

Follow me on PINTEREST, leave me a separate comment you did so.

Follow my blog by GFC, or EMAIL, or RSS, leave me a separate comment you did so.

Follow me on FACEBOOK, leave me a separate comment you did so.

Follow my other blog, LOSING IT LIKE A LUNATIC, leave me a separate comment you did so.

EDIT:

I am adding a bonus entry for tweeting about the giveaway. Tweet anything you want about it but make sure you tag @CravingsLunatic so I can verify you have done it. All entries will be verified before winner is announced.

Also if you are a fan and not a fellow blogger please leave me your email or a way to get in touch with should you win. I have to have a way to notify you. Thanks. xx

That's it folks. Easy peasy and Bon Appetit Squeezy. Simple and lots of chances to win.

The legal crapola:

This giveaway is open to everyone Bon Appetit ship their magazine. So international entries are very welcome on this one.

Contest closes in one week, the official draw date is January 28 at 12 noon. Winner will be announced the next day. Winner has 24 HOURS TO CLAIM PRIZE or it will be redrawn.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by yesterday to wish me a happy birthday. You guys rock and I am so happy to have met you all doing this little old blog.

Some other news:

The blog is getting a major overhaul soon. So stay tuned for big changes that will make your experience here more enjoyable and easier. Also lots of new things being added so sure hope you will love the new me. Cravings of a Lunatic is growing up and putting on it's big girl pants. Woot woot!

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Happy Birthday To Me! Caramel Apple Torte From My Special Guest, Chef Dennis!!!

2012-01-20T22:53:00.001-05:00

Hi folks!

Yah baby, you read that right. It's my birthday. Today is mah birthday! Your favourite Lunatic was born on January 20th, 19- *mumbles and covers her mouth* something or other. The day the world was rocked by my presence in it. Yup, no ego here folks. *grins from ear to ear*

As you know I guest posted for the wonderful Dennis *foodie rock star* at A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis last month. I made eclairs for the first time evah! So good and shockingly easy. Or beginners luck I think. I made them a second time and they bombed big time. I mean they stank up the joint. It happens occasionally. Not often cuz I rock in the kitchen (true dat), but once in a blue moon something goes wrong. Anyhow long story...er...longer, while I had Chef Dennis under the power of my eclairs and he was not thinking clearly, I took full advantage of him and asked him to guest post here at the asylum. And not just any guest post or any recipe. I, having no personal regard for boundaries, asked Chef Dennis to bake me a birthday cake. Yup, that's how I roll folks. No fear folks, fear is for wussies! I was delighted when Dennis said yes. I am sure it had nothing to do with the sugar high. I've been so curious what my cake would be. I generally give my guests full rein here at the asylum. When I got the photos I was stunned. It's ah-mah-zing!!! Thank you so much Dennis, I am so touched and honoured you agreed to bake me a cake. Now without further ado, here is the man who puts the buzz in foodbuzz, the grace in gracious, and the apples in my slamming birthday cake!!! I give you *oh, ah, loud applause* the amazing Chef Dennis!

I would like to welcome you all to Cravings of a Lunatic! Today is a very special day; it’s my friend Kim’s Birthday!! I was so honored when she asked me to do a guest post for her birthday post, and so happy that it fell on a time when I was able to do it. For those of you that don’t know me, I’m chef Dennis and besides keeping my blog going, I have the privilege of feeding 560 of the best girls in the whole world, at Mount Saint Joseph Academy, in Flourtown Pa.

As you can imagine I keep a busy schedule as a working chef / unit director / culinary Instructor….sigh, so when Kim told me the date , I was overjoyed to be able to guest post for her! I have to tell you the first time I got an email from Kim, and the heading said Lunatic, I thought it was spam…..luckily I opened it, and got a very nice message from a new blogger. Now every time I see the word Lunatic in the header it makes me smile!

So at this time I would like to wish you a very happy birthday my friend, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you do to help make our community stronger, for your friendship and your support……and since I knew it was your birthday, I baked you a cake!

A few weeks ago I made a chocolate chip ricotta torte, and the cake itself was really delicious, so I thought I would give it a try with apples instead of ricotta and the results were amazing, especially with a little extra caramel drizzled over top, the only thing missing was the vanilla ice cream! So if you do make it serve it up with a big scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream, Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Torte

Inspired by a recipe from “Cooking with Patty”

Ingredients:

Cake aka crust

3 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

12 oz very cold butter sliced thinly

2 1/4 tsp. baking powder

2 large eggs

3 Tbsp Greek Yogurt (plain or vanilla)

Filling and Caramel Sauce

6 medium apples (I used gala)

½ cup brown sugar

2 oz butter

2 oz heavy cream

Instructions:

1. Peel the apples and cut into small slices or chunks, then set aside

2. In a sauté pan heat the sugar until it starts to brown, don’t stir the sugar, but try to keep it moving by rolling the pan around.

3. As the sugar melts and browns add the butter and mix it in using a wooden spoon. Add in the heavy cream, just be careful it doesn't splash up on you, mixing in the cold cream can be a bit tricky. Stir until smooth.

4. Add in the apples and allow to simmer for a bit, to get in some of the caramel flavor

5. Remove the apples from the caramel letting them drain a bit so they are not too wet, and allow to cool a bit.

6. In a large bowl mix all of the ingredients for the crust together, except the butter

7. Cut the butter into very thin slices and add it to the mixture working it in gently, you don’t want the butter to blend in, the mixture should be chunky.*

8. Press half of the mixture gently into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan that has been greased with butter and dusted with flour. (do not mash it down!)

9. Add the apples to the bottom layer and spread evenly.

10. spread the remaining crust mixture evenly on top of the apples

11. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 – 50 minutes at 350° or until a toothpick stuck in comes out clean

12. The remaining caramel sauce will have thinned out from the juice in the apples, allow it to simmer and reduce until it has re-thickened.

13. Drizzle the torte with your caramel sauce and enjoy!

14. The Caramel Apple Torta is best served warm or at room temperature.

Notes.
* put the butter in the freezer for 20 or 30 minutes before slicing it.
*you can press down the crust on top of the filling but be very gentle, the crust forms as the butter melts, giving the cake that rustic look.

And that my friends is my Caramel Apple Torte, thanks for stopping by today and thank you Kim for allowing me to share your blog on this very special day, Happy birthday!

Thank you so much Chef Dennis. I am so happy with my cake and so grateful to call you my friend. You do so much to better the blogging community and we are lucky to have someone like you. Your integrity and class raise the bar for the rest of us. And speaking of class, if I could just drag you to the dark side and get you swear like a sailor when we finally meet in person I'll be one happy Lunatic.

Okay Lunatic fans make sure you head over A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis and sufficiently stalk him. Dennis does a series called Ask Chef Dennis that will blow your mind. He shares information folks. About blogging. How cool is that? I know right! He's sweet, kind and supportive. This man can cook my friends. He always delivers, with decadent treats and meals that would make restaurants jealous. It doesn't get much better folks. You can also find him on TWITTER, PINTEREST, GOOGLE +, and FACEBOOK. Tell him the Lunatic sent you over to stalk his a**!

Now as a little bonus I am announcing a giveaway for my birthday. Please come back tomorrow evening to see what surprises I have in store for you. It's a birthdaypalooza here this weekend. Your going to want to wear you best party hats for this folks. 3 days of birthday posts. First cake, then presents and then ice cream. Yup, we're rocking it Lunatic style. So get your streamers and sound those silly little horns. I want a partah!

Courtesy and rights go to Youtube!

Toodles and big birthday smoochies.xx

A Long Overdue Lunatic Loves These Links

2012-01-19T02:46:00.000-05:00

Hi folks. I cannot believe it's been so long since I gave you a Lunatic Loves These Links post. My regular readers know there has been lots going on in the Lunatic world so hopefully you all forgive me. I love doing the Lunatic Loves These Links so much. It really is one of my fave things to share with you. Spreading the blogger love is just such a treat. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. So without further ado let's get started. I have SO much to share with you since the last one was over a month ago.

WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING:

THE HASSELBACK EXPERIMENTS

CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

SLOW COOKER PARTY MIX

GINGERBREAD ICE CREAM

PISTACHIO COCONUT MERINGUES

GUEST POST BY A HEALTHY JALAPENO- SPICE HOLIDAY PUNCH

PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS- GUEST POST FOR CHEF DENNIS

ROASTED GARLIC DUTCH OVEN STYLE

HAM AND SMOKED MOZZARELLA SANDWICH

AUNT BARB'S CHERRY CHEESECAKE

HOMEMADE VANILLA

PO' LUNATIC SANDWICH

CHOCOLATE ZABAGLIONE WITH STRAWBERRIES AND ALMONDS

TURTLE ICE CREAM

LAST MINUTE OMG WE HAVE VISITORS BANANA CREAM PIE

HAMBURGER SOUP

BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM

WHO I ADDED TO MY READING LIST THIS WEEK:

SWEETLILPIGGY

GENERATION Y FOODIE

OH SHE GLOWS

WHO I THINK IS GOING TO BE THE NEXT BREAKOUT FOOD SHOW STAR:

WANNA BE A COUNTRY CLEAVER- THIS GIRL ROCKS MY SOCKS! I CANNOT RAVE ENOUGH HER! YOU MUST READ HER BLOG.

LUNATIC'S BAKER'S DOZEN "THINGS YOU CAN MAKE FOR CHRISTMAS" BOOKMARKS:

EAT DRINK LOVE- GINGERBREAD DIP

BAKE YOUR DAY- GINGERBREAD DONUTS

EPICUREAN MOM- SNOWFLAKE VANILLA MACARONS

CURRY AND COMFORT- CANDY CANE HEARTS

PIP AND EBBY- SPIRAL SUGAR COOKIES

PURE VEGETARIAN BY LAKSHMI- THERE WAS A CAKE

VANILLA CLOUDS AND LEMON DROPS- POMEGRANATE SORBET

VANILLA CLOUDS AND LEMON DROPS- CAKE POP CHRISTMAS TREE

CROSTINI AND CHIANTI- CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TORTE

NOT RACHEL RAY- ROLO TURTLES

THE BLACK PEPPERCORN- CAPPUCCINO NANAIMO BARS

COOKING HEALTHY FOR ME- CRANBERRY WALNUT BISCOTTI

DOMESTIC FITS- HOMEMADE BOURBON CHERRY CORDIALS

LUNATIC'S BAKER'S DOZEN BOOKMARKS:

THE HEALTHY FOODIE- COCONUT CHERRY BREAKFAST BAKE

BETH MICHELLE- HOMEMADE SMORES

HIDDEN PONIES- ALMOND JOYS

FROM CUPCAKES TO CAVIAR- CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY BARS

THE BLACK PEPPERCORN- BUFFALO POTATO WEDGES

COOK EAT LIVE VEGETARIAN- ROASTED PEPPER AND WALNUT DIP

WHAT'S COOKING AT RICHARD'S??- PAN SEARED CITRUS HALIBUT

JUST ONE COOKBOOK- ASIAN PORK CHOP (GINGER SOY SAUCE)

MANU'S MENU- PISTACHIO GELATO

CURRY AND COMFORT- BANANA BUNDT CAKE WITH THE WORKS

TARTELETTE- RASPBERRY PISTACHIO TEACAKES

SORTACHEF- FAMILY FRIENDLY CHICKEN POT PIE

COOKING HEALTHY FOR ME- PICKLED EGGS (THEY ARE FREAKING PINK!!!)

LUNATIC'S PICK FOR OUTSTANDING CHRISTMAS RECIPE 2011:

This just has to go to A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis. His students made the most incredible Gingerbread Tree House which he posted on his blog. These kids were so creative they blew me away. Please take the time to go over and check it out. I am a total sucker for gingerbread houses. I was sick at Christmas so this was the first year we did not do ours. Made me super sad! I cried a gingerbread river, and moped on gumdrop lane till the sugarplum fairies made me dance in the sugar forest with the lollipop guild. What, what, that can't be right???

LUNATIC'S PICK FOR OUTSTANDING RECIPE THIS WEEK:

Okay I'll start by saying this is an old post on this blog but it's the first I've seen of it and it made me pass out....on the floor....needed smelling salts....came to...looked at it again...passed out again...this went on for hours! I used to buy these cookies called oreo dream puffs. Then the brilliant minds at the cookie factory decided I did not need them any more and stopped making them. I have sulked for years. I am not even sure if they stopped making them. But they don't sell them here any more. So I continue to sulk. Then I saw these. And passed out. Repeatedly. Tartelette's Mallows! You will not believe your eyes. And you will probably pass out. So have someone ready to catch you. Just sayin'!

LUNATIC'S LOVING THIS "NEW TO ME" BLOG:

Yes you guessed it. Tartelette! In a big, bad, "I want to go to one of her retreats and pretend to not be a stalker" way. I have her book Plate to Pixel and am in the midst of reading it. For some reason it was not registering with me to check her blog. You know, blonde moments happen from time to time. I saw a picture of hers on Pinterest, and then another, and then another. That's when the stalking began. In a big, bad way. I am now obsessed with the blog. She cooks such amazing food. And she likes pistachios. Marry me Helene. You had me at pistachio! Now if I could just win the lottery so I can come take one of your classes I'd be a happy girl. *crosses fingers, waits for money to fall from the sky*

IMPORTANT READING FOR ALL FOOD BLOGGERS:

La Phemme Phoodie wrote an article called Recipe Attribution: The Debate Rages On. It's a fantastic read and I encourage all of you to take the time to look it over. I think many of us starting out do not know the rules. I know when I started I had no clue what etiquette to follow when blogging. This piece lays it all out for you in an easy to follow post. Please take a moment to head over to her site and read it. You will be glad you did.

LUNATIC'S COMING SOON TEASER:

Fruity Nutty Cookies

Fabulous Fun with Jars

Easy Slow Cooker Recipe

Ice Cream- no machine required for this ice cream dessert!

Tamales

Meatless Monday Mania

and.....

A HUGE SURPRISE for you this week!

IN OTHER NEWS:

I was touched by something a fellow blogger wrote about me on her site. I was blown away by her generosity and kind words. I do not think of myself as an inspiration to anyone. I am just doing what I love to do and having a blast doing it. This hit me that what I do here impacts others. That what I write here has weight, how I interact and socialize with my readers and fellow bloggers means something. I think this is the first time it really hit me that I belong here in this crazy foodie world and am a welcome addition to it. So to Mellissa of I breathe...I'm Hungry, I say thank your from the bottom of my heart for making as much of an impact on my life as I did on yours. I am ever grateful. And so this does not end all sappy and freak out my readers.... Mellissa rocks, and she's smoking hot, and cooks like a total vixen! Now get your butts off the couch and go cook her food. Now gosh darn dang it!

AND

I won a cookbook awhile back and am not sure I told you guys about it. It is a signed copy of Bobby Flay's Bar Americain. I won it from the wonderful Christo of Chez What. Christo is a very talented man and I think a serious up and comer in the foodie world. You should check out his blog. You can read about the giveaway I won HERE and see the announcement and photos HERE! Christo was nice enough to sign the book when I asked him to. So I now have it signed by two of the coolest cats and hottest dudes in the foodie world. Are you blushing yet Christo? Ah I love being me some days. It's just good, plain, old fashioned fun and mayhem every day!!!

AND

I won a subscription to Cook's Illustrated from the site Once Upon A Recipe. I just about fell over when I won. Okay so I did actually fall over. I do this a lot. Excited chiquita when I win things. I love me some free stuff. I mean LOVE free stuff. I do not have the luxury these days to order magazines or cookbooks so winning things is such a big deal to the likes of little old me. I was delighted when Amanda emailed me to tell me I won. I believe I thanked her, said "yeah me" and called myself a spaz. Ever the professional right. What can I say, maybe I hit my head when I fell over or something. Yah, that's it. You can read about the giveaway HERE and read the announcement of me winning and thoroughly embarrassing myself HERE. I'd show the email but it's really embarrassing. And I'm trying to be all professional and s...!

What, I was gonna say stuff. Really! Okay folks that wraps up this massive edition of Lunatic Loves These Links. Hope you enjoyed it. I felt the need to do some Christmas ones I had missed out on doing while I was sick. Now you have no excuse not to be prepared next year. Unless you get the plague. Like I did this year. Seriously, it can happen. You've been warned. Wear a mask when you go out, make sure you bring wet wipes to wipe down grocery carts, and avoid handling money without spraying it with lysol first. And the day you do all this please send me the video of it so I can post it on youtube.

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Butter Pecan Ice Cream for Ice Cream Sunday

2012-01-15T23:51:00.003-05:00

Hi folks. I know this looks really good, I know you are in awe of my awesomeness, I know you are probably wondering how we can eat ice cream when it's so freaking cold outside. It is a hard concept. All I can tell you is it's warm and toasty in the house. So that's the loophole. See you now know the secret of the universe. I probably should have kept that to myself. Er, forget I said anything. There's no loophole. Hey what's that behind you??? *tries to edit quickly*

We went out to the barn today to see horsey. I was so pleased when the farrier turned up. Not because he's a total cutie patootie (cuz he totally is) but because he brought his girlfriend with him. His lovely girlfriend is an old friend of mine and mini-me's from the days when we first boarded our horse. Mr Cutie Patootie walked in and when I ~~stopped staring~~ looked around there was his darling girlfriend. I adore this girl and have such fond memories of her from years past. She is older than mini-me but she was one of the only ones who didn't care about stuff like that and took mini-me under her wing and made her feel welcome. Mini-me is very shy. Back then she was uber shy. This young gal made sure to always talk to her and I remember finding them sitting under a tree outside talking one day. I am ever grateful to Anna-Marie for always being kind to my daughter. I had not seen her in years. We keep in touch via facebook but that's not the same. So today was a wonderful day where I got to catch up with an old friend. Love days like that. Doesn't hurt to have some eye candy wandering around in the background either let me tell you. So now that I've fully embarrassed myself and can never show my face at the barn again here's some other eye candy for you.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream:

Source: Cuisinart

Click Here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup whole milk
Dash of vanilla salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 and 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons butter

Directions:

In a stand mixer combine the sugar, whole milk and salt. Mix until sugar dissolves.

Now add the heavy cream, pecans, vanilla and butter. Mix again for a few minutes.

Cover and stick in your fridge for 1 to 2 hours.

Remove from fridge and transfer liquid to your FROZEN ice cream maker bowl. Set the bowl on to the machine.

Turn on and let it churn for about 15 to 20 minutes.

You can serve immediately or stick it in the freezer until you are ready to serve it.

If you freeze it make sure you take it out about 5 to 10 minutes before you want to scoop it.

Serve with a big smile.

*Yields 5 cups*

Moral of today's story:

Eat a lot of ice cream even when it's cold, unless you are a farrier cuz you are going to bend over a lot in front of lots of silly women and we want you looking fine and svelte for us. Yes it's a double standard. I'm okay with that.

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Hamburger Soup for Slow Cooker Saturday

2012-01-14T23:50:00.005-05:00

Hi folks. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. It's wicked cold and nasty here in Ontario. So I did what any wussy Canuck would do, I stayed inside all day with a warm blankie. Luckily I had nothing pressing to do today so I was able to just putz around the house in a ponytail, pajamas and puppy teasers, also known as slippers. After a week of running around like a crazy mama it was incredibly nice to chill out and be a bit lazy today. Or a lot. Don't judge!

I have to say the last month has been trying on my blogging. Those of you who blog may have noticed I am not my usual visitaholic self. Life has been crazy busy so my blogging has taken a bit of a hit. I think we've adjusted into our new routines now so life should ease up a bit. Which means I'll have more time for things like blogging, housework, the horse, and cooking up a storm. I was able to get in tons of visiting today so I am finally starting to feel back to normal. Routine for me equals more recipes for you. Win-win if you ask me.

Soup is not my fave thing to eat. I have to admit I am not much of a fan of most soups. If you were to ask me if I like soup I would tell you no. Yet a friend was telling me about a recipe like this and then by chance I happened upon a similar one in a new crock pot recipe tin I received for Christmas. I set it aside and forgot all about it. Then today I made up tacos for lunch and had some hamburger left. I was trying to think of what I could make for Slow Cooker Saturday with hamburger and this popped into my head. I needed a couple of ingredients but luckily that's the bonus of having older kids. I sent my son out into the cold to pick up the things I needed while I stayed warm and cozy in the house. Hey man if you wanna eat here at the Bee household sometimes you gotta pull up your bootstraps and go out in the cold. The price you pay for a scrumpious meal. Seems like a fair trade to me. But then again I am the one sitting in the warm house, with a blankie, in a ponytail, pajamas and puppy teasers right.

Hamburger Soup a la Toasty Warm Lunatic:

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

Recipe adapted by Crock-Pot

Ingredients:

1 pound of lean ground beef
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 package of dry onion soup mix
1 package of Italian salad dressing mix
Salt to taste
3 cups boiling water
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon brown sugar
3 cups farfalle noodles, cooked
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Fresh parmesan for garnish (optional)
Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Brown your ground beef in a large skillet or pan. Make sure you break up the meat well. Drain fat.

Place your carrots in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Place your celery on top of the carrots.

Now top with the cooked beef, soup mix, salad dressing mix, and salt.

Now add your water, tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Mix well.

Turn your slow cooker on low and let cook for about 6 to 8 hours.

Now stir in your cooked pasta and parmesan cheese. Cook for another 15 to 30 minutes on high.

Sprinkle with fresh parmesan and/or parsley if desired.

Serve with a smile.

Tips and hints:

If you are pressed for time don't bother cooking your pasta ahead, just toss it in the slow cooker for about an hour/ hour and a half. Just saves you crucial time if you would rather hang with your kids or watch the real housewives of wherever.

The recipe calls for 2 cups of pasta but I used three, if you like soup you may want to stick to 2. I do not like overly liquidy things so 3 to 4 cups works better for me.

I added sugar but you don't have to. I just like things like this to have a bit of sweetness to them. Feel free to omit it. Maybe you are sweet enough without help, me not so much.

Make sure you remember all slow cookers cook differently. So I would always check your food at the lower recommended time on any slow cooker recipe. Also if you tweak things in recipes it can affect your cook time as well. Better safe than sorry and all that jazz.

After making this my thoughts are it would be really good with beans in it. Some nice black beans would be lovely in this.

The verdict is it was pretty good. For soup. I mean it's no chocolate souffle or anything. Sometimes we all need to put on our big girl panties and eat like adults. Except on days where the Lunatic declares it an unofficial snow day. Then you can eat turtles, after eights, rockets, potato chips, pistachios, gum drops and drink pepsi all day long. Not that I did that or anything. *rubs her tummy*

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Last Minute OMG We Have Visitors Banana Cream Pie- Fun with Jars Friday

2012-01-13T23:58:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. Have you ever had one of those days where you are super de duper busy and being pulled in every direction. You finally get home after a busy day and just as you go to slip on your p.j.'s in time for your fave TV show (Supernatural- can you say Winchester boys rock my world) the doorbell rings. You are now doing a check in your head- did I clean today, did I do laundry today or is it piled up by the front door for some unknown reason, then the omg do I have anything to feed people moment hits. Well folks this is a surefire way to please those unannounced naughty guests who should have called but did not. Have a code word set with hubby for moments like this. Try *winchester sandwich* as he'll never know what you mean anyway, then that will be his cue to take the rude unannouncers on a tour of some project you did 3 years ago and never finished. You now have 5 minutes. This is what you make. And honestly, it seriously takes 5 minutes.

Last Minute OMG We Have Visitors Banana Cream Pie:

Ingredients:

1 cup graham crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 package of vanilla or banana pudding
2 cups milk
3 bananas
1 container cool whip

Directions:

Quickly take your pudding mix and milk and pop it in a mixer, turn on high and let it go for a few minutes to thicken.

Quickly melt your butter in the microwave in a dish.

Pour your graham crumbs in a bowl.

Pour the butter in the same bowl as graham crumbs.

Mix quickly with a fork.

Pour into mason jars.

Cut up 2 and a half bananas into slices and pop them on top of graham layer.

Now pour your pudding over top.

Now pop your cool whip on that.

Now set them in the fridge and clean up quick. *this is code for shove everything in the oven till later*

Brush your hair. *has nothing to do with the recipe but by now your frazzled and could use it*

Once you ready to serve slice up the other half a banana and place on top.

Voila happy uninvited guests.

Ta da!

Now drop lots of hints about how tired you are before Supernatural starts. Or tell them you are coming down with the flu, that always works.

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Turtle Ice Cream for Ice Cream Sundays

2012-01-08T23:59:00.003-05:00

Hi folks. Trying to breeze through this post to get it up in 8 minutes. Do I stand a chance? Probably not. Here's hoping.

So as you read during my Turtle Bark post last year we only got one box of Turtles for Xmas. Well this year I think we scored at final tally about 6. Yup, apparently people read my blog and must have felt sympathy for me. I even got a box of limited edition Turtles. So what do you do with that many Turtles. Well first you inhale the first 5 boxes, then you get a tummy ache, can't fit in your jeans and need an intervention. So you decide to unload them fast, now what's the best way to bring the rest of the family to the dark side? Well ice cream of course. And mini-me crossed over with me just a few moments ago. We got home from the barn and each had a bowl. But when we realized there were no clean spoons in the house as I forgot to turn on the dishwasher well I admit it, we both ate our Turtle ice cream with forks. Yup, we're a classy bunch here. Welcome to the dark side young mini-me. You'll like it here.

Turtle Ice Cream:

Recipe adapted from Cuisinart's Simple Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
Pinch vanilla salt
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
10 Turtles, cut into 6 pieces each

Directions:

In your stand mixer combine sugars, cocoa, salt and whole milk. Mix until sugar dissolves.

Now add your heavy cream and vanilla. Mix again.

Cover and place in fridge for 1 hour.

Transfer liquid to a frozen ice cream maker bowl.

Turn on and mix for 15 minutes.

Add turtles. Stir with a wooden spoon.

You can either serve immediately or stick in the freezer until ready to eat. Just remember to take it out about 10 minutes before you wish to serve it.

Serve with a smile.

See those forks marks. Those are marks of desperation and slamming good ice cream.

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Chocolate Zabaglione with Strawberries and Almonds- A Vintage Recipe Swap

2012-01-08T19:30:00.000-05:00

This pic is unedited. Thoughts?

Hi folks. It's that time again, time for the vintage recipe swap organized by Christianna from Burwell General Store. Every month we are given a recipe to change and experiment with. The goal is to change at least 3 things and turn the recipe into something different and wonderful. I have participated a few times now and have to say it's always a challenge but so much fun. If you are interested in joining the group please contact Christianna to inquire.

So this month the challenge was Zabaglione. I am going to admit right here and now I've never actually had this dessert. For that reason I decided to keep mine a Zabaglione and just change it up a bit. I turned it into a alcohol free version and added some chocolate since let's be real here, everything is better with some chocolate. I normally would turn a recipe on it's head but this one I just wanted to tweak. Hope you like it.

For me I am not sure how I feel about this one. I normally do not care for things of this nature. Something about eggy, custardy type things just freak me out. I'll admit I quite honestly did not love it. I liked it but that's not the same as love for me. Why waste calories on things you don't love immensely? Yet on the flip side how would you know if you love it if you never try it. So bottom line is I don't think it's something I'd make often. I prefer a good pudding. You are all now thinking "wow she is so weird, should she not be trying to convince how awesome her recipe is". I respond by saying "have you met me, I couldn't lie if my life depended on it". Lol! Now if you are a zabaglione fan please feel free to test out the non-alcohol version I made and let me know what you think. I have no frame of reference since I've not had the alcohol version. I'm open to feedback, even it's bad news and you think this blew. As long as you are polite and don't say something like "I hated it fatty mcbutterpants", then we're all good. Okay so go make this, flip on some "King of Queens" and have at it. Let me know what the verdict is.

This pic was edited. Thoughts?

Chocolate Zabaglione with Strawberries and Almonds:

Ingredients:

3 egg yolks
5 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup strawberries, cut up
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 teaspoon grated or shaved chocolate for garnish

Directions:

Mix your eggs yolks, sugar and honey.

Put them in a double boiler over low heat.

Whip them with a whisk for about 5 to 8 minutes or they double in size.

Now add the cocoa and almond extract and whip that up.

Cut up strawberries and place about half of them in the bottom of some dessert cups.

Sprinkle half the slivered almonds over top.

Now pour the zabaglione over the strawberries and almonds.

Top with the other half of the strawberries and almonds.

Shave some chocolate over top. I just used a zester.

Tip and hints:

You can also add whipped cream to this. Seems like the typical thing to do. For some reason I just did not want to add anything else to it. I saved a bowl so maybe I'll try it with some later.

You can do white chocolate curls if you were so inclined. Or dark chocolate if you're doing the healthy thing.

This might be better with pistachios. But I tend to overkill with the pistachios so I refrained this time.

It would also be good with coconut. Which I also overkill and refrained from this time.

You should have willpower like me, I had crushed pistachios and toasted coconut saved in a container and I did not use them on this. Lol!

Okay so what do you all think? Too safe, not enough of a move away from the original. Er, dang forgot the original. Here ya go:

I swear too much time in the kitchen has zapped my brain today. Well, that and the staying up till 3 am last night watching movies. Honestly you'd think I'd learn. Head meet wall, proceed to bang against.

Make sure you stop by my lovely fellow swappers to see what they whipped up. I bet they were far more creative than me this month. Some of these folks blow my mind on a regular basis. Stop by them all and say hello, tell them the Lunatic sent you. It's just good fun to say. I love putting it in emails to freak people out too. Nothing like a heading saying From the Lunatic to get people's attention.

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Po' Lunatic Sandwich for Slow Cooker Saturday

2012-01-07T23:57:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day today. I've been incredibly lazy, no idea why. Just feel like chilling. Went to see the movie "We Bought A Zoo" with mini-me in the afternoon. Really good movie, very heart-warming. Then we went over to the book store like usual. They have an Indigo books right next to the movie theatre. I managed to score some Donna Hay cookbooks in the discount section. You know me and bargains. Even the movie was a bargain. We always go to the matinees as they are considerably cheaper than night time shows. Can you say cheapskate?

Another way I like to save money is by trying to use up leftovers. I had made a pot roast the other day and had some left. Normally I would use any leftovers for stew. This time I went out on a limb and made sandwiches with it. I did not do a dipping sauce for a couple of reasons.

1- I was busy and never got around to it!
2- I do not like soggy food so the idea of dipping a sandwich is weird to me!

Yeah okay so I have food hangups. What can I say, I am a nut ball after all. I do not like soggy food, I do not like my food to touch, I do not like to share food, and if you take a sip of my drink it's automatically yours. Just sayin'!

This was a great way to use up leftovers, really easy to do. I love the slow cooker for stuff like this. For me it's a lifesaver. We can go to the barn and still have dinner at night. Bonus!

Hope you enjoy!

Po' Lunatic Sandwich:

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds of leftover roast beef (use fresh if you like, just adjust your cooking time)
2 cups beef broth (you can add in some dripping from your roast, just take off the fat)
1/4 to 1/2 cup onions (I had them in the pot roast so I used those)
1 cup Red Wine Sirloin Marinade Sauce from Smallwood's Harvest (you can use any sauce you like)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Dash of salt
4 big rolls, we used Portuguese buns

Directions:

Place the beef in your slow cooker.

Pour broth over it.

If your onions are not already cooked, pop them in a pan with olive oil for a few minutes.

Toss onions over top the roast.

Add your spices.

Turn slow cooker on low and cook for about 5 to 6 hours if the meat is leftover and already cooked. If using raw then adjust your time to about 9 to 10 hours.

Walk away and get some stuff done. Or watch TV. Or read my blog for oh, about 6- 10 hours.

Once you hear that beep, beep, beep, then go back and drain all the juice out of the beef.

Shred the meat by pulling it apart with two forks.

Pop the meat back in the slow cooker.

Add your Worcestershire sauce.

Add your Marinade sauce.

Give it a good stir.

Turn slow cooker back on for 30 minutes on low.

Now place on buns or bread and enjoy!

*Yields 4 big sandwiches*

I find it really hard to take pics of sandwiches. If you have any insight into how to make a sandwich look as good as it tastes please let me know. These were wicked tasty and the pics do not do them justice.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. I plan on finishing taking down the Christmas trees. I'll be sad to see them go. Nothing smells as good as fresh trees.

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Home Made Vanilla for Fun with Jars Friday

2012-01-06T23:48:00.000-05:00

Hi folks. Hope everyone is doing wonderfully on this fine Friday. It was so sunny and mild today I thought I was dreaming when I went outside. Then I visited the horses and oh the mud, the mud is awful. Nothing like rain and melted snow to make for messy animals. Luckily they are cute so I cleaned them all up and came home dirtier than they were.

So I have a fun experiment for you. I did other ones in the summer. This one has been brewing for quite some time. I wanted to share it with you before Christmas but just never got to it. So I am here to present it to you today. But first a story. Oh come on now folks, you know by now you always get some wacky story with the recipes. You'll like this one.

For those who do not know me well I'll start this tale with a fact. I do not drink alcohol. Like none, ever, never ever ever. Okay that's a lie. I have drank alcohol in the past but at present I do not. I rarely drink, maybe once every 5 or 6 years I'll have a glass of wine. I know it seems like I do. Most of my posts probably make you think I am in the sauce constantly. But I get my happy on naturally, it's how the Lunatic rolls. I mean if this is me sober can you imagine me loaded? Scary right! The reasons I don't are pretty varied. Here's a list, you know I love me some lists. *giggles*

Why the Lunatic avoids the sauce:

1- I am naturally a nut so help is not needed.
2- I actually do not like the taste of it.
3- I am a control freak in a big bad way so doing anything that makes me lose control is not happening.
4- I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, very wicked case of it, alcohol is my biggest trigger.
5- I have a friend who was in an accident involving drunk driving who has permanent brain damage.
6- I have a friend who's husband was killed by a drunk driver.
7- Alcoholism is in our family, so I've seen the dark side of it. Changes your perspective on it.
8- I think it's wicked expensive and would rather spend our limited excess funds on the horse.

So there you have it. This is not to say I haven't gotten loaded a few times in my life. I have on occasion had some drinks. One time in particular my sister in law decided we were getting drunk at a wedding. So we did, had some fun. Then the next day the family and wedding party went to a baseball game. So we took the bus from Windsor over to Detroit. Halfway there I got a tummy ache. By the time we got to the stadium I was a mess and to put it kindly let's just say I sat by myself close to the loo and knew the bathroom attendant by name by the time the game was done. Yup, I'm a prize people. This girl knows how to party, then embarrass the entire family in grand fashion!

Okay so the story I am suppose to be telling you is this. Since we do not drink here at the Bee household I never buy alcohol. Which means making vanilla meant I needed to hit the liquor store. I have to admit I just wanted to go in as I heard the magazine the LCBO puts out had awesome fall recipes. So I had an agenda before I walked in. So I had mini-me tag along, those who don't know mini-me is my 18 year old daughter. We hopped in the SUV and headed uptown. Pulled in the parking lot and off we trekked over to the local LCBO. I swear to god people hone in on non drinkers right away. The cashier was staring at us the moment we walked in the door. I'm certain it had nothing at all to do with the fact that I had only been in a liquor store once in my life and was like a deer in the headlights trying to figure out where the vodka was. Within minutes mini-me and myself were in hysterics as per usual. God forbid we walk in a store and not make complete spectacles of ourselves. Now mini-me would tell you it's just me making a spectacle but she's an accomplice so she's just as guilty in my book. We wandered around like complete tools for a minute. I had no clue where the vodka was, mini-me pointed to it and frankly said it's right there. I then gave mini-me the hairy eyeball wondering how she knew where it was. When I ~~interrogated~~cuz they were "so cute". And off we went to the car, about $12 later and with a free score of a killer cooking magazine. I still have no idea why the cashier had it in for us. I can only imagine saying something like "holy shnikeys this place is huge" is not considered playing it cool. I am also quite certain the very loud "Squee, these little bitty bottles are so cute it just makes me want to start drinking" had anything to do with any of the raised eyebrows by cashiers and customers alike. We kept it classy as always. I mean seriously where's the LCBO's sense of humour anyway. Lighten up hairy eyeball cashier, have a drink, life is suppose to be fun. Even an old fuddyduddy like me knows that.

Yup, so there you have it. More wisdom from the Lunatic. Aren't you glad you read me? It's like the most educational blog out there right. Or whatever.

How To Make Your Own Home Made Vanilla:

Ingredients:

1 huge a** bottle of Vodka (hairy eyeball not included)- okay I'll be "politically correct" and tell you it's a 375ml bottle
2 to 3 vanilla beans

Directions:

On a cutting board slit the vanilla beans down the middle. Open them up carefully and scrap all the bits into the vodka.

Pop the whole bean in the bottle.

Give it a good shake.

Store it in a cool, dark place for about 2 months.

Now it's ready to use. Enjoy!

I have to say this was pretty cool. My only complaint would be the colour. I would think using a darker alcohol would be nice. Since I have no idea what would work I'll take any advice you can offer. Perhaps rum? No clue!

For other vanilla experiments check out my other vanilla posts:

VANILLA SALT- CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!

VANILLA SUGAR- CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!

VANILLA BROWN SUGAR- CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!

VANILLA OATS- CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!

Toodles and smoochies.xx

No Bake Cherry Cheesecake- A Tribute to Aunt Barb

2012-01-05T14:21:00.001-05:00

Hi folks. I'd like to first take a moment to thank everyone for being so kind this past week. I decided to take a brief absence from blogging. Been lots going on and I've had things on my mind, just needed some time off. I tend to get a bit blue on my Dad's birthday every year which followed shortly after my Aunt's funeral. Also managed to get sick yet again. It's been a wild few weeks here at the Bee household. I thought taking a few days off to just chill and hang with the kids was in order and so glad I did it. I am back now and feeling right as rain again. Nothing like a few days to yourself to make you whole again. So thank you all for your understanding. Lunatic readers sure are a nice bunch. I adore you all to bits.

I wanted to pay homage to my Aunt who passed last week. She was my Dad's sister. She passed away from cancer on December 26, 2011. I had just been up for a visit a couple hours before she passed. I am glad I was able to get up there that last day. The final couple of visits she was not aware I was there, she was sleeping for one visit and she was non-responsive her last day. I am okay with that. I know I was there and that is enough for me. She had Alzheimer's as well so even during my previous visits she really was not aware most of the time who I was. I think she just thought I was a nice nurse who pushed her around in her chair and listened to stories. She told me about her kids and her life, sometimes it made sense, sometimes not. I always listened though and asked lots of questions. I think the greatest gift you can give someone during an illness is time. She talked a lot about my hair which always made me laugh and smile. My father did the same thing during his illness. So the parallel was odd but humorous to me. I would hold her hand and try to make things seem more normal. It was hard on her being in palliative care, she wanted to be home. She missed her cats and her house. Yet palliative care was the right choice for her.

For those of you who don't know I took care of my Dad during his battle with the same cancer my Aunt had. He wanted to die at home. I look back on it and wonder where I found the strength to do it. Or the stamina. I am so thankful I did it but seeing my Aunt sick sure brought back a lot of memories. So it was difficult on so many levels. Yet I know that it was the right thing to do, when family is sick you do everything you can for them. If you have grudges let them go. Everyone deserves peace in their final days.

So this recipe is one my Aunt Barb taught me how to make. My Mom passed away when I was a teenager. She was one of those moms who did it all. When she died none of us knew how to cook. My aunt came in to help us out a bit. This is one of the things she taught me how to make. It is easy and quick which for a 15 year old learning to cook was paramount at the time. This is the first cheesecake I ever made. I have since learned to do baked versions, one I favour I still have not shared with you guys. For now I share the first cheesecake I ever ate and the first cheesecake I ever made. So kudos to Aunt Barb for teaching me to love cheesecake, for teaching me to make cheesecake and for sparking a love of baking that remains to this day.

I am not sure where the recipe came from but my inclination is from Philadelphia Cream Cheese, perhaps in a cookbook or newspaper at some time.

Aunt Barb's No Bake Cherry Cheesecake:

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup graham crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 package of cream cheese, softened (for some reason I have double written next to it, so my assumption is when I used to make this often I found it set up better with 2 packages of cream cheese. I used 1 for this go at it.)
2 packages of dream whip, prepared as directed on package
1 can cherry pie filling

Directions:

In a bowl mix your graham crumbs and melted butter. Stir until well blended. Press into a pie plate, spring form pan or mini dessert glasses.

In your mixer combine the dream whip as directed on package, whip until fluffy.

Add in your cream cheese and continue to mix until well blended.

Pour the cream cheese mixture into the pie plate, spring form pan, or mini dessert glasses. Smooth out.

Pour the cherry pie filling over top and smooth out.

You can sprinkle extra graham crumbs over top for visual effect if you like. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

Stick it in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set up.

Tips and hints:

I think I used to double the cream cheese to make it set up better. Otherwise it's a bit too soft.

The bottom of a honey drizzler works great for pressing down graham crumbs in small cups.

If you want to be all fancy you could pipe the cream cheese into cups in designs.

You could top it with extra crumbs or shaved chocolate. White would be pretty.

Don't eat all the cherry pie filling while making this or you won't have enough. Cautionary tale!

Now if I can take a moment to send out a huge nod to my cousin Brian who was there every day for my Aunt. His Mom meant the world to him and he showed up, no matter how tough it was. He helped her do all the things she could not do for herself, comforted her when she needed it, made her laugh when she needed that too. So to Brian, I am sorry for your loss but grateful for the open heart you approached this journey with. Your Mom was so happy you were there and so proud of you.

Aunt Barb, Dad, and Aunt Donna- taken in June 1997 in Alberta. All three taken by cancer, they are together now.

This photo was taken when my Aunt Donna was sick with cancer back in '97. She passed from colon cancer. My Dad passed from lung cancer in 2007. My Aunt Barb from lung cancer in 2011. Cancer affects so many families, ruins many lives. The only advice I can offer is seek medical attention immediately when you feel sick. Don't wait. Early detection can make all the difference. In Dad's case it would not have cured him but may have given him more time. So be vigilant folks. Physicals every year, be honest with the doctor, and your families. And if cancer strikes someone you know the best advice I can give and trust me this is from experience, is let all the nonsense go. In the end all that matters is people you love. You won't be on your deathbed wishing you had worked more, or even done more, you'll be wishing you had spent more time with people, told them how you feel. Let grudges go, let the one you love die in peace with those who love them. It's all anyone wants in those final moments.

Toodles and smoochies. xx

Looking back on 2011

2011-12-31T17:52:00.000-05:00

Hi folks. I want to start by thanking all my readers for such an amazing year. This little old blog started as a lark. It was an easy way to share recipes with friends who lived in different countries. It started with about 3 people and quickly blossomed to 6. Looking back I remember being so excited having 10 people reading, then 15, then more. Now I have to pinch myself every day. This blogging thing has turned into something I did not quite expect. I thank each and every one of you for your loyalty and kindness. You come back every day no matter what craziness is happening here. I appreciate it more than you know. You guys make this a joy to do. Getting to know everyone has been such a huge bonus for me. Talking with people with a shared passion is refreshing. I never get tired of it. I always say I could cook all day every day and never grow tired of it. I have a blast doing it and I hope that reflects in the food and the writing. Life is a wonderful journey if you're open to it. Sure there are obstacles in your path but you learn and grow from each one. You make a choice every day to be positive and have fun in life. I learned early on that life is short. So embrace every moment with a smile on your face and an eclair in each hand. *wink*

I thought I would highlight your faves and mine. Hope you enjoy this look back.

Your Faves of 2011:

NO BAKE BLACK FOREST CHEESECAKE IN A JAR- SEE HERE

THE BEST BROWNIES IN THE WORLD- SEE HERE

ICE CREAM TORTE- SEE HERE

PASTA BAKE- SEE HERE

S'MORES ICE CREAM- SEE HERE

My Personal Faves:

NO FOOD INVOLVED, JUST MY KIDS HAVING FUN- SEE HERE

MINI-ME AND MYSELF TAKE A TRIP TO ST. JACOB'S ONTARIO- SEE HERE

BRINGING HOME LITTLE MALIA- SEE HERE

ANOTHER ROAD TRIP- SEE HERE

APPLEFEST TURNS TO CANDYFEST- SEE HERE

I know right, none of my faves are recipes. They are time with family and road trips. Isn't this a food blog you're asking, how can her faves not be recipes. Well first of all it is way too hard for me to pick a fave recipe. And secondly all of these trips somehow revolved around or were highlighted by food. We were shopping for food in most or having a picnic in one. So they are food related, just not recipes. For me food and family are intertwined in a big way. We have our traditions and many involve food in a big way. So for me the posts that mean the most somehow involve family and time spent together. Our lives have been stressful for so long now that the moments we had to get out and let our hair down are the ones that ring true for me personally.

I hope you enjoyed this look back. I sure did have fun putting it together for you. It's been an amazing year, lots of good times were had. My philosophy is you can sit around moaning how hard your life is, or you can move past and get off your duff and have some fun. I choose fun. Life is way too short, get out there and kick up your heels a bit. You will not be sorry. If you kick your heels up with an eclair in each hand all the better.

Thanks again for being such loyal, dedicated readers. I adore each of you. You and you, and even you. Sometimes you in the back irk the begeezuz out of me but I still adore you. I hope you continue on with my journey to becoming a better cook and baker. I am having a blast exploring new recipes and sharing old faves. You guys make this all worthwhile. Well, maybe not the eating my food cold all the time to get the right shot, but I'm sure I'll get faster soon. I suppose I can't really hold you responsible for my lack of photo finesse and speed. I mean I could, but that would be wrong. So I'll blame the puppy, after all we do blame her for everything.

Toodles and smoochies.xx

Cravings of a Lunatic

New site is ready to rock n roll!

Hold on to your hats Lunatic fans!

Turtle Popcorn Gone Wild

Turtle Popcorn

Old Fashioned Pink Popcorn

Turtle Ice Cream Pie

Mini Pulled Beef and Shallot Sandwiches

Chocolate Cake Popcorn

Kaiserschmarrn – Emperor’s Mix/Nonsense: Guest Post by Healthy Foodie Travels

Lunatic Loves These Links- Feb 8

Red Velvet Cake

Maple Glazed Nuts for SRC

Wild Rice Pizza for Burwell Vintage Recipe Swap

Taco or Chip Dip for Dudes or Chicks Who Like Football aka Not Me!

Cravings of a Lunatic

Rigatoni with Golden & Cherry Tomatoes and Baby Bella Mushrooms: Guest Post by Sandra's Easy Cooking

Lunatic Loves These Links- Feb 1

Fruit Salad with Vanilla Syrup, Pink Yogourt and Pistachios: My Guest Post For Cooking Healthy For Me

Lunatic's Garlic Beef Stew or Why Vampires Won't Attack You Tonight

Better Than Milky Way Bars: Guest Post by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Lunatic Loves These Links

Turtle Banana Split- More Birthday Shenanigans!!!

Taco Pasta and a Birthday Giveaway! *GIVEAWAY CLOSED*

Happy Birthday To Me! Caramel Apple Torte From My Special Guest, Chef Dennis!!!

A Long Overdue Lunatic Loves These Links

Butter Pecan Ice Cream for Ice Cream Sunday

Hamburger Soup for Slow Cooker Saturday

Last Minute OMG We Have Visitors Banana Cream Pie- Fun with Jars Friday

Turtle Ice Cream for Ice Cream Sundays

Chocolate Zabaglione with Strawberries and Almonds- A Vintage Recipe Swap

Po' Lunatic Sandwich for Slow Cooker Saturday

Home Made Vanilla for Fun with Jars Friday

No Bake Cherry Cheesecake- A Tribute to Aunt Barb

Looking back on 2011

Taco Pasta and a Birthday Giveaway! GIVEAWAY CLOSED