Halloween Decorating!

My favorite Holiday is Halloween, I just love everything about it. My husband and I love scary movies, and we are working on decorating our house to scare all the kiddies this year :) Today I went to Pier 1, Marshals, and Ross to look for decorations to add to the ones we already have. We got the cutest Halloween Tree with glittery ornaments that are just too adorable! 

I LOVE pumpkins, in every size, shape, and color! I'm gonna go to Michaels tomorrow to look for some large white pumpkins to put on the front porch! 

So much stuff this year! I've got the table under the TV, the mantle, fireplace, and dining room table to work on next! Here is the front table.

I added a bump picture of me in that one haha!

For dinner I still had a bunch of Apple Cider so I decided to go with a fall theme and make another freezer meal to freeze for when Zara is born!

So I made an Apple Cider Pork Goulash with Chopped Apples, Onions, and Fresno Chilies on a bed of Buttered Egg Noodles and topped with Sharp White Cheddar and Sour Cream.

First I chopped up some bacon and fried that in a Dutch oven with a little bit of Olive Oil. 

Once Browned I removed that to a bowl and put in 2 pounds of ground Pork into the drippings at medium high heat to brown and crisp up.

Next I peeled and diced up 2 Red Gala Apples.

Diced 2 Fresno Chilies, 1 large Onion, and 2 tbs of Thyme. And added 2 bay leaves.

Once the meat was browned I added all the veggies and apples. Then added 3 tbs of Paprika, 2 tsp of Cumin, and 2 tsp of Coriander. Then a large pinch of salt and Fresh Ground Pepper. Stirred that to toast the seasonings. 

Added the juice of half a lemon and put the Bacon back in the pot.

Last I added 1/2 cup of Apple Cider, and 2 Cups of Chicken Stock. Brought that to boil and then reduced to a simmer until the pork was tender.

To finish I boiled a pot of water and cooked the Egg Noodles in the water for 8 mins, drained it and added a couple pats of butter and 2 tbs chopped parsley. 

 To plate I made a bed of the noodles, ladled the Goulash on top, then shredded some Sharp White Cheddar Cheese and put on a dollop of Sour Cream.

 Super easy and very delicious!! The rest I put into a freezer proof storage dish and into the deep freeze it went. All that will need to be made is the noodles when it comes time to reheat it!

Ladies Luncheon

I had a fun day today. I invited 2 of my best friends over for a ladies luncheon, trying to get enough time with them before Zara is here. I started the night before so that it would be an easy morning. 

First I made a Cinnamon Apple Simple Syrup for my Iced Tea. I peeled 4 large apples and put the peels into a pot. Added a cup of brown sugar, a cup of water, a cup of apple cider, and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Boiled it down until it thickened and strained into a squirt bottle. 

Delicious!

Because I had 4 apples leftover I had to do something with them.

So I diced the apples and put them in a bowl with 1 squeezed lemon.

Then I sliced a cup of red grapes and added them.

Then sliced 4 celery stalks very thin.

Then added half a cup of chopped walnuts.

Last I added 2/3 cup of mayo. Stirred to combine. Delicious Waldorf Salad!

Back to my luncheon, to prep I cut up 5 large onions, in one pan I diced them and the other pan I sliced into thin half rings.

Then Caramalized for about 40 mins. Low and Slow.

To make the Pan Fried Onion Dip I took the half rings and chopped them up once they were caramalized.

In a bowl I put 4 ounces of softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup of mayo, 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1/2 tsp of cayenne, and half a teaspoon of salt. Stirred until combined. 

Then added the onions.

I put carrots, celery, Grapes, and kettle chips to dip into the dip.

To prep the quiche I used the chopped onions(1 medium onion) with 6 pieces of bacon that I baked at 400° for 20 mins and chopped. And added half a cup of chopped flat leaf parsley.

I put this into a bag to use the next morning. I also shredded 2 cups of gruyere cheese and put into another bag.

This morning I took 2 pre bought pie crusts and rolled them together. Put them onto a tart pan with a removable bottom. Pressed it into the fluted edges and cut off the extra dough. Put aluminum foil into the pie and filled with dried beans and baked at 425° for 12 mins, removed the beans and put back in oven for 8 more mins. Then removed to a wire wrack to cool for 15 mins. In a bowl I added 1 1/2 cups of half and half, 4 eggs, ground nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mixed that till combined. Then I layered half of the onion/bacon mixture and spread it into the pie pan. Then layered half of the cheese on top of that.

Then the rest of the onion/bacon mixture.

Then the rest of the cheese.

Then poured the egg mixture over that.

And baked at 350° for 45 mins till the eggs set.

I accidentally cut into it before I took this picture! Seriously the best quiche I've ever had and everyone should try it!

I made it again and here is a better picture!

Now let me tempt you and make you hate me for introducing you to the most amazing dessert of your life!

Chocolate Chip Cookies mixed with Oreos, fudge, and brownies. Just wow. It's all I can say!

First you take 2 sticks of butter and cream with 3/4 cup of Brown Sugar, and 1 cup of granulated sugar.

Then added 2 large eggs and 1 tablespoon of vanilla. Mixed this slow till fully incorporated.

Then in a separate bowl I whisked 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp of salt. Then slowly added it to the mixer.

To this I added 2 cups, that's right I said 2 cups of milk chocolate chips and stirred. Then put the dough into a 13x9 dish with wax paper cut to fit then sprayed.

Then added a whole pack of double stuffed Oreos.

Last I used a family box of brownie mix and followed the directions. But added 1/3 cup of milk chocolate fudge sauce to the brownie batter and poured that over the Oreos.

Oh yeah I did it! Can you believe it? I still can't! Bake this at 350° for 30 mins covered with foil, then remove the foil and bake for 15 more mins.

This is what they looked like after I cut them up. I made monster sized pieces but it was meant to shock. I will be cutting the rest of them smaller for James to take to work. The guys are going to love these!

For this salad I shredded a rotisserie chicken into pieces, sliced a red onion into thin half rings, cubed an avocado and added lemon juice to keep it from turning brown, then took 2 large peaches and grilled them on a grill pan and diced into bite sized pieces, then added honey roasted pecan halves all on top of any lettuce you choose. Just an amazing salad with my Creamy Poppy Seed dressing.

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon of sour cream
  1 tablespoon milk
• 2-1/4 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• I doubled this recipe. It's amazing!! Make it asap!

To decorate the table I made place tags by cutting some card stock into hearts and glueing white hearts onto them, then wrote their names on the white part. Then put a flower next to that on top of a colored napkin.

I had such a fun time and I hope they enjoyed it all. They complimented everything and said it was delicious :) 

They got to see Zara's room which I love showing off and loved it. I am so tired now so I'm off to take a nap then watch Alabama kick some ole miss ass!! ROLL TIDE!!

Homemade Flatbread

I did a lot today, I'm very tired. I made my flatbread dough before I left the house. Then went to Walmart to get stuff I need for my hospital bag, I will be posting all of that in the future. I went to Haute Mommies to get some last gifts for my friends baby shower gift and to look at pjs for myself. Then I went to the grocery store to pick up the rest of the ingredients for dinner.

To make the flatbread I took 3/4 teaspoon of Active Yeast, 1/4 cup of warm water and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl to let the yeast bloom. After about 15 mins I poured the yeast into a larger bowl, and added a cup of warm water, 3 tbs of olive oil, 1/4 tsp of salt, and a cup of Bread Flour. Whisked that together till smooth. Then I switched to a wooden spoon and added 2 1/4 cups of Bread Flour and stirred till it made a ball. Then I rubbed the top with a little more olive oil.

Then added a piece of Saran Wrap to the top. I turned the oven on to 200° and when it came to that temp I turned the oven off and put the bowl into the oven to proof for an hour. After the hour I punched it down and put it into an oiled bag to sit in the fridge for 4 hours. During this time I put in 2 heads of garlic into some foil with the tops cut off and put oil, salt, and pepper over the cut surface. Then put it into the oven with the temp at 400° for an hour and turned off the oven and let them sit till I got home.

When I got home I put half of the roasted garlic into one bowl and the rest into another. In the one I added half a cup of mayo, salt, and pepper, stirred to combine. In the other bowl I added 1/3 cup thick balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 1/2 tbs of Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper, then whisked to combine.

To make Caramelized onions I sliced half an onion into thin strips, put in skillet over medium low heat with a little olive oil. Then just let it sauté for 30 mins or longer. Slow and long.

To make the pork I took the tenderloin and seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic seasoning, and a mushroom-Chive-shallot seasoning I had.

Then put the oven at 400° I seared the tenderloin in a little bit of canola oil in a grill pan. 

Then put it in a pan into the oven and cooked for 15 mins till it was still a little pink in the middle but juicy and not dried out at all. Mmmmm!

For the mushrooms I scooped out the insides, put olive oil on the round side and sprinkled with salt. Then put it on the grill pan for 3 mins each side. After they cook for 6 mins I put them on a pan and into the oven for 12 more mins.

For the flatbread I cut the dough in half and put half of it back into the fridge and cut the remaining half into 4 pieces.

I rolled out each piece and laid it into the grill pan with a little bit of olive oil.

Flipped after 3 mins.

I put them on an oven proof plate and put them in the oven to keep warm while the rest of dinner was being made.

To plate I took a flatbread and smeared it with the garlic aioli. 

Then sliced the pork tenderloin real thin and added a few pieces to the bread and topped with the Caramelized onions.

Last I put some arugula and shaved Parmesan. Then put on a Mushroom and poured some of the garlic balsamic vinaigrette into the cavity. Then spooned some corn into the last space. 

It was so very yummy! And now I'm gonna go eat some cheesecake that my mother brought from the Cheesecake Factory!! Woohoo!