Safeway deliver, or Wrongway delivery?

Review Wednesday!!! 

Yesterday I got a text from my neighbor/best friend to look outside. When I did I was amazed! Our neighbor has having all of their groceries delivered. THEIR GROCERIES WERE BEING DELIVERED!!! Right to their front door!!! I had heard of this service before, while vacationing with my family in the outer banks of NC. The Lowes food store just off the island will deliver groceries to the rental homes, and even put them away for you! So when you arrive at your sanctuary, you don't have to stress about having to go grocery shopping the second you unload you beach hats and flippy floppies. 

ANYWAYS,

So I see the Safeway delivery truck out front and am so excited! I don't know why it never occurred to me that this luxurious (HA!) way to shop would even be an option back home. So My BFF and I turned to our handy dandy computers to find out all about grocery deliveries. 

I honestly had no intention of ordering when I started this venture, but in order to find out how expensive this luxury was, I signed up and made a delivery account (for future possibilities), after all the side of the truck said "free delivery on your first order." What I wasn't told before signing up is that you have 24 hours after signing up to place your first order if you want free shipping. 

Luckily I had a small list of staples needed for this weeks menu. I filled my virtual cart while sipping a cappuccino, and it was bliss! Very simple to figure out, and nothing much to it. I get ready to check out and am THEN notified that a minimum order of $49 is needed for delivery. Back to the shopping I went. After filling my cart to $50.26, I was able to check out. This process was also very simple, and was over within a minute. I picked an hour time slot to have my groceries delivered, and I WAS SO EXCITED for them to arrive today. 

The truck pulled up, I swung open the door before he could even reach the front step! He went over my order, if anything had been substituted, etc. I unloaded my groceries, still excited, and it was kinda lackluster. I like the idea, but I'm not impressed at all with the quality of produce and meat that I received. Not only that, but the EVOO bottle was leaking all over the bag when I took it out. Some packages were a little squished, but my main concern is the meat.., it was just gross. 

So I guess in theory this service could be nice if you order simple things, small staples, or if you want groceries waiting for you when you arrive at you vacation home. Other than that I don't think I will be using this service again. It was fun to try while it was free, but not worth having gross pork chops and spilled oil all over my groceries. 

HOLY lemon blackberry cheesecake bars...

I swear the heavens opened up and the angels sang down upon me when I tasted my first bite of these heavenly treats.

I sorta stumbled into this recipe while trying to find a new lemon bar recipe to take to my family 4th of July BBQ, it was an accident miracle that I found this.. because it was loved by every person that tried them, which can be hard to do when feeding a big group of people! Everyone was mad that I didn't bring more, but lets be real here.. I tried one bite and ended up putting half the batch back in my fridge to safe for ourselves. #noshame

But as a fair warning: this is NOT a quick throw it together recipe. It is a process; one that promises to pay off though!

What you need:

For the crust

• 12 sheets graham crackers, pulsed until crumbled in a food processor (about 2 cups crumbs)
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

For the blackberry puree

• 6 oz fresh or frozen blackberries
• ¼ cup granulated white sugar
• ¼ cup water

For the cheesecake

• 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• ½ cup sour cream, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• 3  lemons worth of zest 
• ¼ish cup fresh lemon juice (just use the lemon juice from the 3 zested lemons)
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Here we go:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter a 9"x9" glass pan. Using a food processor, pulse the cookies until they are completely broken down into a fine crumb and add the sugar and melted butter. Pulse a few more times until the mixture is like wet sand. Dump into the pan and press firmly into the bottom. Bake for 8-10 minutes for a nice golden color. Remove to cool.

In a small saucepan on medium low heat mix together the blackberries, sugar and water. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the blackberries are completely broken down. Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and with a silicone spatula press through all the liquid, disposing the solids.

Lower the temperature of the oven to 325ºF and bring water to boil in a teakettle or in a medium sized sauce pan on on the stove.

In the bowl of your stand mixer or using a hand mixer with a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese sugar and lemon zest until light and airy about 3-4 minutes. Then add the sour cream and eggs one at a time until well combined.

Scrape the bowl, making sure everything is completely incorporated. Add the lemon juice and salt. Mix to combine. Scrape everything together again and pour into the prepared pan.

Smooth the top of the cheesecake batter with a spatula and drizzle the blackberry puree on top of the cheesecake. With a skewer or toothpick, make a swirl pattern. Place the square pan into a larger pan and put both into the oven. Pour the boiling water into the larger pan so that it reaches about halfway up. BE CAREFUL, this is the scariest part of the whole process. 

Bake for about an hour and fifteen minutes or until the cheesecake is set but still slightly jiggly. Remove and let cool completely (about two hours) before removing from the pan. 

I fully owe my happiness to "The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen" I adapted the recipe slightly, because the original recipe wasn't quite as lemony as I wanted, but would have never know of such greatness if it weren't for her! 

There you have it my lovelies!

What is your favorite way to use lemons, sweets or savory dishes?

pasta oops!

So I bought a pasta machine and was SO excited to start making homemade pasta. It was the first thing on my list to do, and I had this plan to make the best homemade pasta ever! Well I've never made homemade pasta before, and I was surprised when my dough turned out... weird. It was lumpy, bumpy, and not anything like what pasta dough is supposed to be!

How is this possible? How can my first attempt at making pasta not be a huge success??? My mind was boggled. I had a pasta post scheduled, so I at least had to write about my failed attempt.

I tried to mix the dough "old school" on the counter with a fork.. so my next plan of attack will be using my stand mixer to achieve the perfect dough consistency. I shall keep you all posted, failures an all!!

What pasta dish should I make when I actually pull this off??

(Slightly) Healthy Stuffed French Toast

Good grief have I been neglectful or what?? It seems as though I had a million things going on all at the same time while last week was passing by. Now I look back and can say "well we bought curtains, but what the heck else did we do?!" Yeah it was one of those weeks. But let me tell you, the curtains we (I) spent a week picking out will have a joyous arrival!

I warn you now, this post has no pictures.. dun dun dun. Some days it just doesn't work like it is supposed to. This morning was a perfect example. It was just too early, the lighting wasn't amazing, the cat was trying to attack my plate... and then my breakfast was getting cold. I called it quits so I could eat my damn french toast before the fat cat could.

So here is a simple, quick, delicious, and semi-healthy stuffed french toast. I got the recipe from one of my favorite food blog books Carrots 'N' Cake, "Healthy living one carrot and cupcake at a time" by Tina Haupert. I definitely recommend the book if you are struggling with eating healthy but actually wanting to be satisfied at the end of the day.

What you need:

2 Eggs
2 Tablespoons almond milk
1/4 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 Teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons almond butter (can substitute for peanut butter, add bananas, the filling is entirely up to you)
4 Pieces thin sliced whole wheat bread

Here we go:

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon in a bowl. Whisk gently till combined.
Spread almond butter on two of the bread slices, and top with the naked two.
Dredge both "sandwiches" in the egg mixture.
Heat a non stick skillet or pan to a medium-high temp, and spray with cooking oil.
Cook the sandwiches for 2-3 minutes on each side.
When complete feel free to add toppings of your choosing. Go classic with just syrup, or add fresh fruit and whipped cream.
It's your breakfast so you do you boo boo.


Enjoy! And watch out for fat cats who love people food!
-A.K.

Grump-tastic Coconut Cream Cupcakes

Happy Fathers day!!!

It is no secret in my family that coconut is my dad's absolute favorite when it comes to desserts. So for any dad related holidays it has to be cram packed with coconut. It gets it's name "grump-tastic" after my father, who we have called Grumpy for about 20 years now. He is the sweetest man in the world, but lets face it, dads can often be the biggest grumpy pants of the family! So in honor of my favorite Grump-o, here is a FABULOUS coconut cream cupcake recipe.

These Coconut Cream Cupcakes are the perfect combination of coconut cake with a lightly sweetened coconut cream filling and top it all off with a cream cheese whipped cream. Because Grumpy loves cream cheese frosting. The best part about it is the box cake mix base. You heard me.. BOX cake mix. We are all busy and want to save time where we can, baking is no exception. I'm not going to lie to you and say this is a 2 step recipe, I use a box cake mix for a reason. There are a couple more steps involved when making a cupcake with a filling. BUT I assure you it is worth it. Or your money back! (okay that part was a lie)

What you need:

For the cupcake

• 1 box White cake mix
• 1 C Shredded coconut
• 3 Large Egg whites
• ¾ C Coconut milk
• ½ C Vegetable oil
• ½ C Sour cream or plain greek yogurt
• 1 tsp Coconut extract
• 1 tsp Baking powder

For the filling

• 1 pk Vanilla instant pudding
• ¾ C Milk
• 1 tsp Coconut extract
• 1 C Heavy whipping cream(if you want to cut down time you can use cool whip or another already prepared whipped cream)
• ¼ C Powdered sugar

For the frosting

• 1 8oz Cream cheese, cold
• 2 C Heavy whipping cream
• 1 C Powdered sugar
• Shredded coconut for sprinkling

Here we go:

To prepare the filling, combine instant vanilla pudding with milk and coconut extract. Whisk until pudding is dissolved. Refrigerate until firm.

Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Mix Coconut milk well before adding to batter.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, shredded coconut, egg whites, coconut milk, vegetable oil, sour cream, coconut extract and baking powder. Beat on medium speed until all ingredients are well mixed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir from the bottom.

Divide batter evenly between lined cupcake pan. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cupcake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cupcake is done. Take cupcakes out of pan immediately and Cool completely!!

Prepare the whipped cream. Put the bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to get them really cold (this step is optional, but really helps get the best consistency. In cold mixing bowl, pour in heavy whipping cream and beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar and increase speed to medium high. Beat until stiff peak form.

Remove pudding from refrigerator (after it has set) and gently fold in whipping cream. Place filling in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the frosting, Beat cream cheese on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until cream cheese is smooth and free of lumps. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Add 3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. Beat into cream cheese until cream cheese resembles a liquid mixture.

Add remaining heavy whipping cream and beat on medium-high speed. Slowly added powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble the cupcakes, remove the middle of the cupcake using a corer(if you don't have one you can just use a small spoon or knife.) Cut off the tip of the Ziplock bag and fill the center with the coconut cream filling. Top with frosting. Sprinkle with shredded coconut and voila!

There you go, a delicious new coconut recipe for you and your family to enjoy, until next time my friends! What is your favorite coconut dessert??

Best Ever Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

When I say these are the best chocolate cupcakes ever, I mean it. They are perfectly moist(who all cringes at the use of that word??), they aren't so overly rich that you can't function after only one bite, and they are just so fluffy! The original recipe is from Food Network Magazine's May edition, which focused mainly on cupcakes, and I HAD to have it!!!

One thing I LOVE about this recipe is that it is only for ONE dozen cupcakes. This makes it easier to determine how many batches to make. Or if you don't need 24 cupcakes, for instance when it is only two of you and after begging you to make cupcakes he only eats 3 of them...

I tweaked the recipe only slightly by using sweetened vanilla almond milk in substitution for regular milk. If you don't already love almond milk then you need to jump on that bandwagon! But regular milk will obviously work just fine.

Chocolate Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350, and line a 12-cup muffin tin with the cutest cupcake liners you can find.

Whisk 1 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and baking soda in a bowl.

Heat 3/4 cup milk till hot, but not boiling; pour over 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder in a large bowl  and whisk until smooth. Let it cool slightly.

Whisk in one cup granulated sugar, 3/4 cup veg. oil, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract till smooth.

Whisk in flour mixture in 3 batches, on a medium speed. Only mix till just combined. Over mixing will cause dense cupcakes.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way (Tip: Use an ice cream scoop to make this step super duper simple)

Bake for 10 minutes, rotate pan, and then continue baking for about 5-8 more minutes, checking periodically. You want the tops to spring back when touched, not leave an indent.

Remove cupcakes from tin immediately!! The longer the cupcakes sit in the hot metal tin, the more they cook, which means dried out cupcakes. Burnt fingers are always better than overdone cupcakes. You can take them out one by one, use a towel and dump the whole pan out, or tilt the pan on its side and take them out individually that way.

Let cool completely on a wire rack before even thinking about frosting those bad boys.



Yummy Vanilla Buttercream:

Beat 1 1/2 sticks softened butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, and a tiny pinch of salt with a mixer on medium speed until combined. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla, mix on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Mix in two tablespoons milk until fluffy, about 1 minute. If you want super stiff frosting that holds its shape perfectly, only add one tablespoon of milk.

Pipe or spread on your new favorite buttercream, and you are done!

These have quickly become my go to cake and frosting recipes, and I use them as the base for so many of my other recipes, which you will most definitely be seeing in the future.

And remember to keep it messy people!

-A.K.

Welcome to My Kitchen

Every good food blog does a kitchen tour early on right?? They do now!

Well the wait is over people, the anticipation can subside, you can rest easy with the new knowledge of where all of my kitchen utensils reside. Woohoo!! Bare with me and the obscene amount of pictures, it's worth it though, I promise.


Above is the picture that made me fall in love with our new house before we bought it. Can you blame a girl?! Completely bare and untainted by the everyday struggles.


 Starting on the left of the kitchen we have the baking/coffee area.


Above the Keurig is where I keep all of my coffee, tea, creamers, mugs, etc.


The cabinet to the right of my coffee station has all of my baking ingredients, hand held mixer, sprinkles and other baking decor. I keep my AP flour and granulated sugar on the counter because they are used nearly every day.


To the right of my Kitchenaid pro mixer I keep the recipes I use most often. And wine, very large bottles of wine. Amen for Costco!


Directly above is where I store all of my bowls. Mixing, serving, glass, plastic.. You name it, if it is a bowl, it is in this cabinet.

 
Below is where I hoard all of my cupcake liners (sorry Dan, I know I have a slight problem.) And then my baking specific utensils. All at an easy arm's length away from my mixer!


Continuing to the right... Spices! So so so many spices.
And work out supplements that we haven't used in a year two-ish years. My bad, but cupcakes are nicer to me than dumbbells.


And yummy olive oils, like my favorite black truffle infused evoo. This may sound redundant but I keep like things together. All of my oils, vinegars, etc. are with their peers.


Cajuns with cajuns, italians with italians, garlic with garlic. My spices are so segregated I could make jokes for days, but I won't because I want to keep my followers.


Next to the spices is the most dreaded cabinet/drawer/space, in existence. The tupperware. DUN DUN DUN! I could have organized it till the cows came home before this little mini shoot, but lets keep it real here people, this is the cabinet that you open and it avalanches down upon you. But I try to keep it somewhat simple, bottoms on bottom, tops on.. middle. You get the picture. I still have to search a little to find a matching pair but at least they aren't all completely ditched into a drawer like at my parents house (sorry mom!)



Below all that jazz is where all of our normal utensils are stored (pizza cutter, garlic press, ice cream scoops), as well as our plastic bags, wrap, tinfoil. Thennnn we have boring silverware. And chopsticks that have made it through two moves with us and remain unused.


Right above the amazing toaster oven, that my hunny picked out on his own while we were in the process of moving, we keep the small kitchen appliances that aren't used daily. This includes toaster, blender, food processor.. and so much more. Then our veggie bowl, which is mainly used for onions, garlic, and peppers.

 
To the left of the sink is where all of our glasses and drinkware live. It is far from the fridge, but close to the dishwasher.. so that battle wins.

 
Directly above the dishwasher is where all of the dishes and paper plates are. Because plates are heavy, picking them out is a pain in the butt, and Ikea is an hour away.. so dropping them is not an option!


Whew.. was that as exhausting for you as it was for me?? I will show you all my pantry, fridge, and below the counter cabinets in a future post. But until then, thanks for stopping by! Make sure to comment with what your favorite part of your kitchen is.

-AK

Easy tilapia for two

When thinking of what my very first recipe post should be, I knew to keep it simple stupid. But, simple is smart these days people. A meal can be delicious, fresh, AND only take 10 minutes.So here we have a quick and easy pan fried tilapia!

What you will need:

2 tilapia fillets (we buy the bag of individually sealed filets, perfect for quick meals) 

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 Tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

1 Teaspoon of your favorite garlic seasoning ( I am obsessed with flavor god seasoning, which i will talk about in a future post!)

Warm up the olive oil in a 12" skillet (medium/medium high heat)

Mix the cornmeal, old bay, and garlic seasoning together on a shallow plate. Tip: Use a paper plate for this step and it makes cleanup easy peasy! 

Coat tilapia fillets thoroughly with cornmeal mixture, keeping one hand clean at all times! 

Carefully lay coated fillets in hot oil, placing them in the pan away from your body as to not splash oil. 

Cook fillet till bottom is golden, then carefully turn over and repeat! It is very easy to overcook fish, so a quick 3 minutes on each side is perfect. 

After completely golden, take fillets out of pan and place on a paper towel to get the excess oil off.

Place on a bed of your favorite veggies, rice, french fries (shh! it will be our little secret). Top with tartar sauce or our personal favorite, Franks Red Hot sauce!

Want an easy tarter sauce recipe? Well since you asked!

2 Tablespoons mayo 

1 Tablespoon sweet relish

1 Teaspoon lemon juice

It's that simple, so go have fun cooking seafood like a pro!

-AK

First post.. say what?!

Hello beautiful followers!

In case you haven't figured it out, I started a blog. I hope you all are just as excited as I am, that after years of wanting to blog I am finally biting the bullet. On this journey you will get to see fun new recipes, restaurant reviews, simple DIY tricks and tips, and mostly importantly my charming personality(Insert laughter here.)

My main focus is food, but with the attention span of a dog at a squirrel convention, I will deviate often. So be prepared for everything and anything. You will also see an absurd amount of furbaby pictures.. #sorrynotsorry

So lets get messy!!

Thanks in advance for all the love, support, follows, and shares *wink wink*

-AK