Raspberry Cream Tart...Or you can just call it "Heaven"

Happy Pinter-test kitchen!

I still haven't been doing a lot of pinning lately, but after pinning this recipe and glancing around at what I've been missing, I'm determined to get back on there and find some inspiration! Particularly dinner inspiration, we've been in a funk of taco night and grilled chicken because I'm too lazy to do anything fancier. 

Anyways, I'm really excited to share with you today the most amazing tarte I've ever made. I think it might be the only tarte I've ever made, but I promise it is the BEST.

Seth and I are part of a wonderful little Neighborhood Group at our church. We meet in our leaders coffee shop, we each bring a part of a meal, and we meet and talk about the sermon and what God is doing in our lives.

The food themes have been pretty basic over the past couple months: Southern, Breakfast for Dinner, Mexican...and I thought we needed some excitement. On Sunday afternoon after church, I saw one of the girls in our neighborhood group and grabbed her to ask what the food theme was because I hadn't heard yet. She told me that there wasn't one decided so I quickly thought..lets do "Food that starts with the letter....R!" We started dreaming up all of the random things we could make.

People were a little befuddled about my letter choice, my husband says "Why not Q?".

But we heard exciting things like ravioli, raddish, rotisserie chicken, rolls, and rice! It was surely going to be interesting. I decided on something "raspberry", and obviously that needed to be a dessert. So off to the internet I went to find something perfect.

I found this yummy tart on the first link I clicked: I was sold right away.

At first I was a little intimidated, I mean, that crust looks homemade, and what the heck is a tar pan? This wannabe housewife did not know that there was such thing as a tart pan.

I did have a pie pan though, a really cute red pie pan that I hadn't used yet. It wasn't quite 11 inches like the recipe called for, I believe mine is about 9 inches, it turned out delicious anyways.

Here is what you'll need:

1 16.5 oz roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

2 3-ounce package cream cheese -- I don't know what country they make packages of cream cheese that small, I grabbed an 8 ounce package and did just fined.

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups fresh red raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries

2 teaspoons sugar

powdered sugar

1. Press cookie dough slices into bottom and fluted sides of a greased 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Do not prick. (Or, press onto bottom of greased 12-inch pizza pan.) Bake in a 350 degrees F oven 20 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven; set aside. 

Notice how I bolded the word greased? Yea, I forgot to do that, and we were scraping the pieces out of the pan all night because they were stuck. I will make sure I do that next time so we have clean cut pieces!

 1.5 Eat extra cookie dough because your pan might be too small. 

1.8 Marvel at the giant cookie you now have in front of you, and try not to eat it. 

2. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add 1/4 cup sugar, egg, lemon peel, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until combined. Pour cheese mixture over warm crust and spread evenly.

I finally had the chance to use my zester that my MIL bought me. It worked really well! I'm not sure if this counts as "finely shredded" but there weren't any large pieces of lemon zest in the final product so I consider it a success!

This was also my first time using my kitchen-aid  I don't think I can ever go back to stirring something with a fork (my usual method)!

2.5 Try really hard not to eat the filling before you put it inside the giant cookie, I mean crust. 

3. Place the 2 cups raspberries in a single layer on top of cheese mixture. Sprinkle raspberries with 2 teaspoons sugar. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes more or until or until cheese mixture is set. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 30 minutes before serving. 

Tada!

4. Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Garnish with additional fresh berries, if you like. Makes 8 servings.

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You guys......

I normally don't have a lot of faith in what I cook, but holy smokes, this tarte is to die for.

The texture of the cream cheese filling mixed with the cookie dough..it is M-O-I-S-T perfection. 

It was completely gone before we left neighborhood group.

I licked the knife.

I licked my fingers which scraped the knife.

It is embarrassingly good. 

Now its your turn to make this delicious treat!

Thanks, Jess for this fun opportunity! I wouldn't have love handles without it :)

Oh, PS -- Seth and I have been married for 6 months today. Wahoo! It's gone by so fast :)

The Big Cornbread Debate: PinterTest Kitchen

This month I haven't been doing a lot of pinning. I'm not sure why, I guess the desire comes and goes or that I've been doing a bunch of other junk on the computer.  

So, this months PinterTest kitchen doesn't necessarily come from Pinterest, but AllRecipes.com which might be the birthplace of all the best recipes on Pinterest anyways. I know the old fashioned way to go is to try things from cookbooks and cooks magazines (my mama's favorite), but I just am too afraid to waste a whole meal on a recipe that I don't trust and that I haven't read reviews about! I guess thats a product of this technological generation, I Google EVERYTHING, I check reviews for EVERYTHING!

So for our Neighborhood Group at church, each week we are supposed to bring something that goes along with the food theme. This weekend the food theme was Southern, so I chose cornbread. Having never made cornbread I consulted Seth for if he had a preference on what kind. Let me preface this by saying that Seth is picky about nothing, except dijon mustard. Seth likes everything, every freaking thing....BUT when I told him about the cornbread he says..."Well, Cornbread might be something I'm kind of picky about"

My mind almost blew up. And then in the midst of my shock that there was something he was actually picky about...I came up with a challenge.  Let's see if I can find a recipe that he actually likes thats homemade, I figured the box recipes rendered a more dry consistency so I decided to try a boxed cornbread and a recipe that I found online.  Of course I searched high and low on AllRecipes.com knowing that whatever I chose had to have rave reviews, and had to be m.o.i.s.t. 

Side note: I HATE that word with every fiber of my being. I don't like spelling it, I don't like hearing it, I surely cannot say it out loud. But how else do you describe a good piece of cornbread?

I digress. 

I really wanted to try three different recipes to see which was best. But, Monday being my only day off to do anything productive I was only able to try one...and honestly, how fancy can cornbread get? Apparently very fancy judging by the amount of recipes you can find online.

I started with the Trader Joes boxed brand:

The instructions were simple enough. You just need a little oil, 1 egg and some milk.

The ingredients had little bits of corn in it which added a nice touch when you bit in.

The bread came out very flat, almost like a cake. 

This recipe was quick and easy. 45 minutes in the oven and bam!

The recipe I chose from All Recipes had to have great reviews, I wanted to do more searching...but I'll be honest I was already at the grocery store and had a long list of things to do that day. But this recipe had almost 5 stars and a ton of reviews!

The recipe I got from All Recipes.com is this:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix egg, sour cream, milk, and butter in a small bowl. Fold egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened; pour into prepared baking dish.
3. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.

Another very easy recipe, nothing out of the ordinary. I really thought the sour cream would take it over the top. I think the trick is not in the fancy stuff, its just making sure that it is m.o.i.s.t enough!

I wish I had taken a picture of the second one...it pretty much looked the same as the first but it had a little more character, it rose more in the center and looked more home baked.

Off to group we went. 

I prefaced our friends with the situation and that they had to try both to get the full effect.

I specifically watched Seth's face when he was eating both ones...

and then he slyly smiled at me half way through and told me he liked the boxed one better.

I was stunned!

I definitely liked the home baked one so much better, it had more flavor and texture and the boxed one tasted like a corny cupcake. The rest of our group agreed thats the homemade one was better..

But Seth actually liked the boxed one! He said it was because it was more m.o.i.s.t...

but I tell you it lacked in the flavor department, even with the extra bits of corn. 

Morale of that story?

Keep cornmeal on hand at home, and I bet you can make a better cornbread with these ingredients and at a faster cooking time than bothering with the store recipe. Maybe next time I would add more sour cream to make a little m.o.i.s.t-er?

Or maybe I'll keep testing out all of these recipes to find something that can make BM happy! Maybe something with cheese in it perhaps.

Happy Pintertesting friends,

perhaps I could find a good recipe there :)

PinterTest Kitchen: "Best Shrimp Ever" and "Bacon Wrapped Chicken"

I've been pinning a lot of food lately. Now that the wedding stuff is done, I have more important things in life like cooking for a hungry, hungry husband.

Seth and I have been on a low-carb diet for a while, and while its contreversial...it has been the only diet that has ever worked for me. I've never felt healthier and I haven't had stomach pain associated with my IBS in 10 months. That being said, most of the stuff I make is low carb!

I don't usually touch anything from the ocean, but I recently started eating more shrimp, so this easy sounding and yummy looking pin caught my attention:

Source: amazon.com via Jamie on Pinterest

The caption says this: Whoa... Melt a stick of butter in the pan. Slice one lemon and layer it on top of the butter. Put down fresh shrimp, then sprinkle one pack of dried Italian seasoning. Put in the oven and bake at 350 for 15 min. Best Shrimp you will EVER taste:)

Best shrimp ever is a BIG promise. So I decided to try it as an appetizer for Seth and I.

The prep was easy enough...defrosted the shrimp with running cold water and sliced some lemon. 

I have no idea which italian is best, so I just grabbed the one that looked good!

Melted my butter in a bowl..much easier cleanup. Not to mention the bowl is cute :)

pour it over..

Add the seasoning..

15 mins later..voila!

I hate that shrimp shrink so much. We ate all of these in less than 5 minutes.

Now they were GOOD.
But not quite the best shrimp I've ever tasted. I don't know if I have tried enough shrimp recipes to gauge what is best, yet!

But, I would definitely make them again, in a larger quantity :)
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Next pin for my hungry, hungry husband:

Source: artsyfartsymama.blogspot.com via Jamie on Pinterest

Now this has Seth written ALL over it. I like recipes with pictures, easy ingredients, and easy directions. I'm not super experienced in the kitchen, so easy is key.


Obligatory ingredients shot:
Chicken Breast, Shredded Cheddar, Cream Cheese, Bacon!

Arrange your bacon strips 3x2.
Place chicken breast on top, add cream cheese.  

Add Shredded Cheddar! 

Wrap the bacon around the chicken, covering up as much surface area as possible.
I didn't have toothpicks, which would have been really helpful because the bacon shrunk and warped as it cooked. 

While it cooks, hire your husband to sauté the vegetables!

Wait 45 mins...

Done!

Ok, I know it looks a little greasy and gross.

But I promise, it is MIGHTY tasty!

I would season the chicken next time before adding the cream cheese, but that is just about the only thing I would change!

This recipe was relatively easy, and majorly delicious.

Jess, thanks for hosting such a fun link up! I love making recipes from Pinterest!

Pinterest Wedding Success!

When I bought our wedding "guest libs", I was SO excited. And I still am really excited that we decided to spend the money on them, Seth and I are still rolling in laughter when we decide to read a few before bed!

I originally pinned these:

I knew I had to have them as soon I saw them.

The shop owner on Etsy was super easy to communicate with, I got the colors I wanted and they arrived on thick card stock in good time! They were actually the first thing I ordered online for the wedding, and it was so hard to wait 6 months to use them!

If you need a good time filler between cocktail hour and dinner like we did, this is a great idea. 

My plan is to make a nice book out of all of them so we can be laughing for years to come :)

I may be making a small series of all the fantastic wedding ideas I got from Pinterest in the next few weeks, too!

xo

Embroidery Hoop Obsession

I have a confession to make.

I've been cheating on my button collection with embroidery hoops. Lots of embroidery hoops.

Lord knows why I hopped on this adorable train so late in my crafting career, but I've surely fallen head over heels. 

It started with this pin:

Swoon.

And then ALL of this adorable madness made me go head over heels:

One afternoon while I was browsing the shelves at Michaels, I looked down and saw that the price for  every size hoop was $1.50.


It was like I had won the lottery and gone to heaven all in the same day!


$1.50?!?!


Welp. You can guess what happened next. I grabbed six hoops in all different sizes and rushed home to see what fabric I could scrape up.

Turns out there were a lot of options at home. But I ended up going to Joannes to get some fabrics that coordinated so I would't be hanging a totally haphazard collection on my wall.

My favorite part about embroidery hoop crafts is that they are so easy. Like, 1 minute easy.  Lay out fabric, place the hoop where you want it, tighten the screw thingy and voila!

After you trim the edges, I glued down the fabric so it didn't hang loose.

Embroidery you ask? I taught myself in the midst of my new obsession I was dying to see how I could make these even cuter. I think I succeeded. 

And this little beauty was a contiuation from something I made as a kid. My dear Grandparents bought my a sewing machine and Grandma Holly tried to teach me to sew with it. I turned out to be a total failure when I sewed an American flag pillow from scraps of red, white and blue fabric but it was so poorly sewn that the fuzz was bursting through my uneven seams. 

My older, steady hands made this little project much easier to complete. I embroidered all of the pieces together and then repositioned the fabric 1500 times to get it centered. It's not perfect, but I do think it's mighty cute.  

So as you can tell, pinterest has done a mighty fine job of creating an obsession.  At least they're cheap, and versatile, and a potential seller when I open back up my Etsy shop. 

Thank you Michaels for your extremely cheap embroidery hoops, I will be back for another ten hoops next week. 


And dearest hoop, I think we will have a long and happy life together.

PinterTest Kitchen: A Little of This and A Little of That

Are you still in love with Pinterest? I think I'm still "in-like" but I feel like it's lost its luster. Regardless of that, there are still a million things I've pinned and want to try, so I'll keep revisiting my lonely boards!

Thanks Jess for this fun opportunity and challenge to make what we pin!

I have missed being crafty SO much. Last year when I was unemployed for a while I opened up an Etsy shop, because it seemed like I had endless amounts of time to create! But now, my days are filled with wedding plans, going to work, and being with my friends which are finally home from college.

This past Saturday I had quite a headache and spent the morning inside. My friend Haeley had recently gave me two canvases that she was about to donate, and I quickly jumped to save them from the Goodwill pile. I went on Pinterest to find some sort of artsy thing I could make out of these two 8x10 canvases. Here is my Pinspiration.

Source: oh-baby-here-comes-the-sound.tumblr.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I quickly went on a mad search for my brush-on mod podge and had no luck, so following a tutorial was not going to be easy. With two canvases and 5 hours of free time, I had time to come up with something original.

I didn't want to mess up my first run with a blank canvas, so I went with something I had seen before. I remembered seeing the crayon craft go crazy with success all over pinterest and various blogs so I knew that would be a success. 

My first craft was this:

It looks cool..don't get me wrong. But I should have actually LOOKED at my pin before I glued crayons down...because I totally forgot to do one large rainbow instead of multiple rainbows. The colors all ran together and made a brown-ish type mess. 

Now just to go buy another box of crayons and try again!
(update: go to Walmart -- packs of 96 crayons for $2!!)

Here is my second project (the original-ish one):

I recently bought an old hymnal from the local used books shop. I was given my grandparents old hymnals but can't bring myself to ripping out the pages, so I went and got one that I had no emotional attachment to! I will be using the hearts as confetti for my wedding, but I will definitely hire one of my crafty friends to do that on our wedding craft extravaganza night instead of me doing all of them by myself! 

I love turning the pages and seeing old hymns that you never hear sung anymore. This hymnal even had the National Anthem in it! Not sure it qualifies as a hymn though..

Rock of Ages is one of my most favorite hymns, so when I stumbled across it I made sure I didn't punch any hearts out of it. Then I decided I would display it somehow..and this is what I came up with. Not really from a specific pin, but I really like how it turned out. 

I used hot glue to make the hearts stick and double sided tape for the paper. It is really thin so I didn't want to ruin it with something heavy duty. I will definitely be making more crafts from this hymnal, it is such a great way to preserve and cherish the songs that we love!

I look forward to moving in a couple months and decorating our new place with the stuff I create! The one request Seth had for decorating was that our walls are not bear, and that was music to my ears. I LOVE having the walls covered, it makes me anxious to be in a blank room!

Yesterday I went out and bought 6 shadow boxes. Yes, I said 6.

The crafting bug came around my house and bit me again.

Look out world, I've got some creative crap coming your way!

I'm excited to see what you guys have been making and baking!!