i made these sweet treats for a christmas party this past weekend and they were a huge hit.  i'm sure you have seen them floating all over pinterest recently, especially with christmas right around the corner.  lulu the baker's recipe is easy to following and her pictures are fantastic (a lot better than mine, ha!).  these pops were easy to make and so delicious!  i used white and milk chocolate for covering my oreos and left some larger candy cane chunks on some of the oreos for a little more texture.  i will definitely be making them again soon.

eat: new castle beer bread, a recipe

I've been wanting to make a loaf of beer bread forever and when I had a left over bottle of New Castle in my fridge I knew exactly what to do with it.  I googled some beer bread recipes and most all of them called for self-rising flour.  Unfortunately I didn't have any self-rising flour so I searched and searched for a different recipe and came across this one from Honest Fare.  It seemed simple enough to me so I went ahead and whipped up a loaf.  The batter was super easy to make and before I knew it, it was in the oven!  Then came the hard part, waiting 40 minutes while my house started smelling more and more of fresh bread.  

The brushed butter on top gave the loaf a nice crust and the New Castle gave the bread a nice rich flavor. The bread was fluffy and delicious!  I would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone who wanted to try their hand at some home-made bread without having to use a bread machine.

 

YOU NEED:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons sugar
One 12oz can or bottle of beer. (any beer)
3 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Sift well with fork. Pour in beer, stir until a stiff batter is formed, but don’t over mix (best to just use your hands). Scrape dough into prepared loaf pan.
• Melt butter and brush across top of dough. This is optional (if you’re vegan), BUT it really adds to the crust. Makes it golden and crusty!
• Bake for about 40 or so minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Bake time will vary with beer type.  The darker the beer, the longer the bake time usually. 

eat: two ingredient pumpkin cupcakes

Ok guys, I'm about to share with you the easiest and most delicious cupcake / muffin recipe ever.  No joke.  This thing is a piece of cake (get it? ha!).  

Ingredients:

1 package yellow cake

1 can pumpkin pure (15oz)

Mix together and scoop into cupcake pan.  I sprinkled a little brown sugar on top of each cupcake before baking to get it a little extra sweetness.  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool before frosting.  I frosted mine with whipped cream cheese frosting and dusted some orange sprinkles on top for a little extra kick of color.  

These are moist and have just the perfect hint of pumpkin in them to really celebrate fall.  Pair one (or two!) with a pumpkin spice latte and you are in heaven!!

Recipe: Pan Fried Mahi Mahi with Avocado Corn Salsa

Let me just preface this by saying that I am in no way a "fish person" and neither are my mom and dad.  All three of us really enjoyed this dish and there was not a piece of fish left on any of our plates. Yum!

This dish is simple and easy to make, doesn't require much ingredients and tastes delish.  I served ours with brown rice, black beans and a caesar salad.

Pan Fried Mahi Mahi

4 mahi mahi filets
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups panko
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon water
2 tablespoons oil
salt
pepper

Create an assembly line with three bowls.  Put flour, salt and pepper in one.  Egg and water in another.  Panko in the third.  One by one, coat the filet in flour and shake off any access.  Drench in egg wash until moist on both sides.  Coat filet in panko breadcrumbs until coated.  Once all filets are coated, add to hot oil in pan.  Sear on each side 6-7 minutes or until golden brown.  Fish should be flakey with cut with a fork.  Don't move the fish around in the pan until it is time to flip.

Avocado Corn Salsa

1 avocado, diced
1 1/2 cups white corn
1 tomato, diced
1 red pepper, diced
salt
pepper

Dice all ingredients and mix together.  I added a couple dashes of hot sauce to add some heat.  You can also add any spices to give it your own personal touch.

Serve the salsa on top of the fish and enjoy!