My parents and I decided to go to my old church in Fort Worth for their Christmas service.  Before we left, my Dad noticed the car was acting up a bit.  Mom said, are you sure it’s ok?  Dad said, it should be fine.  We got to Fort Worth with no trouble.

The service was beautiful and a great start to the day but then we got back to the parking lot…

The car wouldn’t start.

Hmm…well let’s try this, no luck.  K, let’s try that, no luck. How bout, no luck.

So we started calling friends.  Problem being it was noon on Christmas day so people were busy with their families, understandably so.

Of course, my Dad was playing the ‘let’s laugh it off card.’  My Mom, playing the ‘I told you so card.’ And me…well, I was just hungry.

We eventually got a hold of my friend, Hogan (or angel as he should be called for this story). He picked us up and let us keep his car for the day so we could get things in order.  Gotta love the Christmas spirit.

So this Christmas, my family and I would like to send a special thank you to Hogie Bear.  Thank you for being so kind! We appreciate you more than you know.

Happy Christmas!  Hope everyone had a blessed day!

It took her a minute to warm up to the bells…

Make sure to check back for the full post or Krampus will get you!

Full post coming soon!

You only need two things: Pretzels and Vanilla Almond Bark

First thing you do is break off about six cubes of almond bark.  Place in a microwave safe container.

Heat for 1 minute, then stir. Repeat until chocolate is melted.

You want it to be smooth but not to the point where it’s runny.  If it is runny let the chocolate cool for a bit before moving on to the next step.

Toss in pretzels, a handful at a time.  Stir gently to make sure the pretzels are covered.  Scoop each pretzel out separately with a fork.  Make sure to let all excess chocolate fall away in the bowl.  You can also knock the fork on the rim of the bowl to knock off extra chocolate.

Place the pretzels on wax paper to set.

They should be good to go after about 10-20 minutes.  Just double check before  you start throwing the in a candy dish or bag.  If the are still  a little wet they’ll end up clumping together.

I decided I wanted to have some that looked a little less sloppy so I hand dipped half the pretzel in the chocolate.  Which also gave the flavor a little more salt to each bite.

Either way, they are d-lish!

Place them in your favorite candy dish and enjoy!

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner!  So excited to get to cooking and baking.

What’s your favorite holiday treat?!  Let me know and maybe it will end up on the blog!

‘Til next time…

You will need:

*White cake mix

*Vanilla Frosting

*Miniature Oreos

First I placed a couple handfuls of Oreos in a plastic bag(easy clean up)

Then I got a little country.  I didn’t have a mallet so I used…a hammer to break up the cookies. Yep, a hammer.

Then I made  the cake batter as instructed by Pillsbury.

When the batter was nice and smooth, I added the cookie crumbs.  I found it better to use more cookies but you can add to your taste.

I poured the beautiful batter into the cupcakes wrappers, about 3/4 full.  Then baked them at 350 for about 20 minutes.

While the cupcakes were cooling, I got the frosting ready.  I mixed in the cookie crumbs.  Then I used a plastic bag as a make shift pastry bag, all I had to do was clip the corner.

And to top it all off I placed a miniature Oreo cookie on top.

Ta-dahh!  On some I used plain vanilla frosting, sprinkled them with crumbs and topped them with a cookie.  I prefer the cookies mixed in the frosting though.

Give it try!  Let me know what ya think!

]]> http://larimieleigh.com/2011/11/01/oreo-cupcakes-munchies/feed/ 0 eimiral oreo llp oreo llp oreo llp oreo llp oreo llp oreo llp oreo llp oreo llp http://larimieleigh.com/2011/10/12/gourmet-egg-scramble-munchies/ http://larimieleigh.com/2011/10/12/gourmet-egg-scramble-munchies/#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:15:39 +0000 Larimie http://larimieleigh.com/?p=2720 ]]> Ha ok let’s be honest, gourmet might be a little fancy for this one but it sounds good, right?  So I’m not an omelet person, never have been and likely never will be.  Something about a giant slab of eggs with pieces or meat and veggies flaoting around like a jell-o mold or a fruit cake…gross.  Although I guess my egg scramble isn’t a far cry from an omelet but whatev.

I’m pleased to present my newest cooking creation.

Gourmet Egg Scramble

And as with most of my munchie recipes there is no true science but I’ll give you the break down.

Ingredients:

* 2 Eggs or 3 Wgg Whites (whichever you prefer)

* A Handful of Spinach

* Bacon Bits (Don’t have time to cook bacon? Me either! Bacon bits are SO much easier and just as yummy)

* Goat Cheese

* Extra Virgin Oil Olive

Step one:  Heat about two table spoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on medium heat. Add spinach and saute until the leaves have wilted.

Step two: Crack in the eggs and stir.

Step three: Once the eggs have cooked up a bit add the bacon bits and goat cheese to taste.

Step four: Devour

It’s super easy.  The whole process takes about 7-10 minutes.

Let me know what you think or if you have any other tasty ingredients to add!

Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANNY!!!

And she’s been happily married to my Grandfather for 54 of those years!  They’re so cute!

Love  you guys!

This time I found my inspiration during a recent road trip.   My roomie and I we’re on our way back from Fort Worth and decided to do the standard stop at where else…?  The Czech Stop!  The Czech Stop is a delicious little Czech bakery nestled on the side to I35 just North of Waco in the small town of West.  As soon as you walk in the door the smell of heaven almost knocks you off your feet.  The jalapeno bread, the fruit kolaches, the cupcakes, the cookies nom nom nom….Ok.  Focus.  Focus.

While we were there I spotted a chocolate peanut butter cupcake and I thought to myself, actually I think I said out loud to Katie, “I could make that!” And so, I did.

My one up on their cupcake?  The secret err… I guess not so secret ingredient, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Minis.  One of favorite candies, right up there with Snickers.  Ooohh Snickers…and a new cupcake idea is born. hmmm…

Fresh from the oven I added the Reese’s to create this warm gooey deliciousness.

And voilà! I present to you my rich and creamy creation.  A triple chocolate fudge cupcake stuffed with Reese’s minis and topped with a rich peanut butter frosting. YUM!

They must have been good…last time I saw this container it was full.

What’s next on the baking adventure horizon?!  My friend has requested vanilla cupcakes…boooooooring.  Of course they won’t be boring old vanilla after I’m done with them.  I’m thinking of adding Oreos or I liked that Snickers I idea I mentioned earlier.  The wheels are forever turning!  You’ll just have to wait and see!

Aren’t these arrangements gorgeous?!?!  Which one was your fav?

I love them all but I might be a little bias…purple is my favorite color.  :) (Go Frogs!)

       - James Oppenheim

Starting the day with delicious happiness…

Name that bakery! Ready.  Set. Go!