For Christmas this year, I stayed in Austin. My parents came down to spend the holiday with me and my aunts & uncles.
Haley loves visitors!
Family brunch at Kerbey Lane Cafe. Everyone loved it!
My aunt & uncle at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar
Every arts & crafts fair should have a live band!
Shopping at the Domain
Dad & I taking a break from shopping to sit outside & enjoy a beer.
Love this new dish towel that my aunt Ann got me!
My Dad asked if we were going to have our breakfast date at Whole Foods to get coffee and a muffin like when they visited this summer. Yes yes! A new tradition! 
Brunch at Magnolia Cafe
I made Christmas Eve spaghetti & meatballs!
New owl nightlight lamp from my parents! My owl obsession is going strong!
My cousin Kristy has had a great 2012….getting fit! I’m so jealous proud of her!
My cousin-in-law makes a great turkey!
Mom & Ann
I made fudge for the first time!
Thanks again Mom & Dad for making the long drive down to spend Christmas with me. But next year…leave the flu at home.
Frozen strawberry margarita! I was already well into this one…
UNO Attack! Sadly, I didn’t win any rounds.
Loved this quinoa salad and….
…this Asian slaw!
I love these little poppers things so much. The only things I love more are…
…my beloved Killer Beez!!
See ya next year, fireworks!
Do you have big 4th of July plans?? I’m going over to my aunt & uncle’s for a BBQ. I’m planning on bringing a dessert and some sort of side dish.
Do you have ideas for me?? I will reciprocate with some ideas for you!
Sharing is caring.
Appetizer:
Sour Cream & Bacon Stuffed Tomatoes — so tasty!!
Tortilla Pinwheels — I may very well make these for 4th of July tomorrow myself. They are a proven crowd pleaser!!
Drink:
9 times out of 10, I’m beering it at a BBQ. But if fruity is more your taste, try a:
Side Dish:
Patti LaBelle’s Mac N Cheese — Patti knows her mac & cheese!!!!
Entree:
Dessert:
Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies — Cookies are a great BBQ dessert since people graze all night long. They’ll want dessert, but may not have the stomach room for a whole piece of cake/pie.
Brownie & Marshmallow Crunch Bars — I haven’t made these gems in over a year, but they were so good. Maybe they’ll be at my aunt & uncle’s tomorrow too!!
What’s on your menu tomorrow??
Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom!!!!
Can’t wait to see you in a few weeks.
Love,
Your Pumpkindoodle
Last year, I…er…I mean, the Easter Bunny hid eggs in my parents’ backyard for my nephews to find. I hid them about 30 minutes or so before my nephews arrived. And it was pretty warm out that day.
Do you see where this is going?
Melted chocolate in the Easter eggs! Oops!! The Easter Bunny really screwed up on that one.
I got my act together more with these cupcakes though.
Easter Egg Hunt Cupcakes
Recipe from Betty Crocker
Ingredients:
1 box of white cake mix + ingredients specified on the back of the box
1 can of white whipped cake frosting
light green sprinkles (I found mine at Joann Fabrics.)
jelly beans (I used Lifesavers pastel colored jelly beans)
You really can decorate however you like!!!!
Instructions:
Bake and frost the cupcakes according to directions on box. Decorate your heart out! Enjoy!
You know those people that listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving???
GUILTY!
I started listening to Christmas music before Halloween.
I can’t help it. It makes me happy! It makes me smile! It makes me want to eat Christmas cookies.
Julie’s Top 5 Favorite Christmas Songs:
5. All I Want for Christmas is You; Mariah Carey
4. Last Christmas; Wham
3. Silent Night; Michael Buble
2. O Holy Night; Celine Dion
I’m not afraid to admit it! Celine is fab! Celine can BELT out this wonderful song.
1. O Come All Ye Faithful; Josh Groban & the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
This song! This song! THIS SONG! Love! You NEED to get Josh Groban’s Noel album from iTunes if you don’t have it already.
Christmas music is great to listen to whilst baking too.
Let’s bake! Shall we?
Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
Recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Yields approximately 26 cookies
Ingredients:
For the Chocolate Cookie Dough
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
Turbinado sugar, for rolling
For the Peanut Butter Filling
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
To make the chocolate cookie dough:
Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set bowl aside.
Beat together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter in a bowl until smooth. Add in the vanilla, whole egg, and egg yolk. Beat until combined. Stir in the dry ingredients to the wet. Blend well.
To make the peanut butter filling: Stir together the peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Using your hands, roll the filling into 26 small balls. Place flour on your hands if they become sticky.
To shape the cookies: Using a cookie scoop, scoop out 26 balls of chocolate cookie dough. Make an indentation in the center of the chocolate ball with your finger. Place one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation.
Bring the chocolate cookie dough up and over the filling to cover the peanut butter inside. Roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Roll each rounded cookie in turbinado sugar. Place prepared dough on baking sheets. Use a flat surface to flatten each cookie to about 1/2 inch thick.
Bake cookies for 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Are you already hard at work in your kitchen this morning??
Take a deep breath. Have a cup of coffee. Remember that today is about being with loved ones and giving thanks.
Today is also about consuming yummy goodness.
Pumpkin Chocolate Bread Pudding
Recipe from Michael Symon
Ingredients:
pinch of salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup 2% or whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
6 cups day-old bread cut into cubes
1 cup toasted pecans
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325.
In a bowl, combine the salt, cream, pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs, and spices. Set bowl aside.
In another bowl, toss the bread cubes and pecans together with the melted butter. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Add pumpkin mixture to the bread. Toss to coat.
Transfer to a 9×9 inch square baking dish. Bake until set, about 45 minutes.
This bread pudding is good hot or cold! You can serve it by itself or with a side of ice cream or cool whip.
Now, stop reading food blogs on Thanksgiving and go give your loved ones a hug!!!
Hello October. I’ve missed you!
To celebrate your return, I had my new favorite oatmeal combination for breakfast.
Maple & Brown Sugar oatmeal with almond milk, a dash of pumpkin pie pie and a spoonful of pumpkin.
Heat and add a spoonful of chunky peanut butter.
Love!
For lunch recently, I’ve been recreating my favorite sandwich from Jason’s Deli….the Turkey Reuben.
An open-faced sandwich on beer bread…that I made with the Pumpkin Wheat beer I recently bought. The beer bread is topped with mustard, deli shaved chicken (I didn’t have turkey), pepper jack cheese, and sauerkraut. Delicious!
The most important part of October 1st is being able to break out all of my Halloween decorations.
In going through my decorations, I found my black wig from last year.
I was Snookie from Jersey Shore. 
Some of my favorite Halloween decorations:
Beaded spider web coasters
Spider web cereal bowls
Pumpkin tumblers
Happy Halloween decorating!
How was your 4th of July?? I had a great time eating, drinking, playing ladder ball, playing lawn darts, and twirling around with about 100 sparklers throughout the night!
For dinner, we had cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and brats from the grill thanks to my Dad. For sides, we had potato salad, baked beans, and chips. For dessert, we had strawberry cake, peanut butter cup cookies, chocolate chip walnut cookies, ginger bread, and ice cream. Okay, I’m suddenly hungry.
I was in charge of appetizers. One of the apps I brought was buffalo chicken dip. I heart me some buffalo chicken dip. It’s nothing new. Tons of people make it. It’s beloved! I first had buffalo chicken dip about 5 years ago at a Christmas party in Charlotte. My friend, Adrianne, made it and my life changed forever.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients:
2 5 ounce cans chicken, drained & shredded
2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup ranch dressing
3/4 cup red hot sauce — I use Frank’s
shredded cheddar cheese, you decide how much
Preheat oven to 350. Beat the cream cheese, ranch and hot sauce for several minutes until smooth. Fold in the shredded chicken. Spread the mixture into a pie plate sprayed with Pam. Bake for 15 minutes. Stir. Add shredded cheddar on top and baked an additional 10 minutes.
I have made buffalo chicken dip with full-fat cream cheese & ranch and non-fat cream cheese & ranch. I couldn’t taste the difference, so I now make it with non-fat items.
I have also made buffalo chicken dip with the cans of chicken and rotisserie chicken. I find the cans of chicken much easier than having to shred a rotisserie chicken. But the choice is yours!
And finally, you can easily make this buffalo chicken dip in the microwave if you’d like. Just heat in minute increments and stir until hot throughout. With the microwave method, skip the shredded cheese topping though! And then you’ll save even more calories. So that you can devour more dip in general.
Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips and veggies.
Thanks to my sister-in-law, Jennifer, for making the great corn & black bean salsa on the side!!
