Martha's Brown Butter Toffee Blondies

These are DELISH. You want to know how I know? I put them in the teacher's lounge and they didn't last past 3rd block. I think it's the brown butter.

Recipe:

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts (about 4 ounces)
1 cup Heath toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9X13 baking pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; butter and flour parchment paper.

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the butter until it turns golden brown; remove from heat, and let cool. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. WARNING: this took me a while.

In the bowl, combine browned butter and both sugars; stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Add eggs. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla, and beat to combine. Add flour mixture, walnuts, and toffee bits. Mix until thoroughly combined, and pour into prepared pan.

Bake until tester comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Peel off parchment paper and cut blondies into squares.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Brown Butter Toffee Blondies - Martha Stewart Recipes


Thanks Marth!

Mardi Gras Wreath

Fat Tuesday is on March 8th this year. So my roommate and I are throwing an early Mari Gras party the weekend before. Why the weekend before and not on Fat Tuesday? We're not 21 anymore and need our beauty sleep to function the next day. Oh, we are getting old and lame.

So, in preparation, I've decided to make a few Mardi Gras inspired decorations. First up, the Mardi Gras Wreath. You'll want to keep your colors purple, green, and gold. They are the traditional colors of Mardi Gras and each has a meaning. Purple for justice; green for faith; and gold for power

This was super easy and pretty cheap to boot. You'll need to make two stops, the Dollar Tree and a party supply store, like Party City.

Dollar Tree:
-wicker wreath from the flower section
-about 15 Mardi Gras beads
- 3 masks

Party City
-2 garlands from the Mardi Gras section

Simple wrap your garlands around the wicker wreath and secure using hot glue. The drape beads over your wreath and attach your masks. That simple!

Broccoli with Pine Nuts

I love pine nuts! Really, really love pine nuts. If you do too, you'll love this recipe. I first made this recipe for Thanksgiving a few years ago but it's great for any kind of family get-together or just to add some green to a weeknight meal.

Ingredients:

12 oz. frozen chopped broccoli (you can also use fresh broccoli)
3 tbl. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
salt
pepper

Toast pine nuts over medium heat. Careful not to burn and stir constantly. Once toasted, remove from pan and set aside.

Boil large pot of salted water. Add package of frozen broccoli and blanch for 8 min. Then drain.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil and add two cloves on minced garlic until garlic softens.

Add broccoli and pine nuts until coated in garlic infused oil. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Mexican Layered Vegetarian Dip

I've been a vegetarian for over two years now and finding a dish that is veggie friendly and everyone else enjoys is not always easy to do. But, this layered vegetarian dip is a crowd pleaser.

Mexican Layered Vegetarian Dip

Ingredients:

1 can refried beans
1 cup salsa
garlic powder
onion powder
8 oz. sour cream
1 packet taco seasoning
1 cup guacamole
1 cup salsa
1 cup shredded lettuce
2 cups grated Colby Jack cheese
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

In a skillet, combine beans and 1 cup salsa on medium heat. Add garlic and onion powder to taste. Allow to cool to room temperature before layering.
Mix sour cream with half a packet of taco seasoning.
Shred lettuce.
Grate cheese.
Chop tomatoes and cilantro.

Layer the ingredients as follows bottom to top:
1. bean/salsa mixture
2. sour cream mixture
3. guacamole
4. salsa
5. lettuce
6. cheese
7. tomatoes
8. cilantro

Serve with chips and tortillas.

Martha's Oatmeal Cookies

I'm in Texas and the great winter storm of 2011 has hit. I'm a teacher and haven't been to work since Monday. Today is Thursday. Needless to say, I'm getting a little stir crazy. So I decided to kill some time by making Martha's Anytime Oatmeal Cookies. They were delish! I have to confess I swapped the raisins for chocolate chips. YUM.



Anytime Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/3 granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Beat butter and sugars until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla, then flour mixture. Mix in oats, then raisins.

2.Using a 1 1/4-inch ice cream scoop (or 1 tablespoon), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing each scoop about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 14 minutes. Let cookies cool on a wire rack.



Enjoy and stay warm!

For all my curly haired sisters!

Every curly girl knows that when you meet another curly you have to swap tips and tricks. So, I'll throw out what I have learned in my 25 years as a curly haired girl.

First and foremost choose your stylist carefully. I've had some SCARY haircuts in my lifetime and I've finally found a salon that hasn't let me down, Tangerine Salon. I really can't say enough about this salon. They have great service, amazing staff, and they know how to treat curly hair right! They have a few locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. So, if you live in the DFW check it out.

In college my senior year, each senior in my sorority got an award. Mine was the "I seriously use more hair products than you" award. Products are my weakness in life. I've basically tried everything on the market. Here are some of my fav products and tools.



Aveda Smooth Fusion Glossing Straightener
Heat protector and adds shine.

Joico JoiMist® Medium

Great hairspray and won't leave your hair crispy.

Boar Hair Round Brush

Love this brush for when I blow my hair out straight.

Joico K-PAK Shampoo and Conditioner

Got this shampoo and conditioner as a gift. It does a great job moisturizing my hair and that's hard to do.

Elucence Volume Clarifying Shampoo

I get lots of buildup in my hair from the products and heavy conditioners. I use this clarifying shampoo every couple of weeks to get rid of all the gunk.

BaByliss Flat Iron
Best. Flat Iron. Ever. And you can adjust the temp.

A few random tips:

-The only time I ever brush my hair is when I'm going to straighten it. Otherwise, I just run my fingers through it in the shower when there is still conditioner in my hair. Brushing curls breaks the curl pattern and causes frizz.

-Satin pillowcases help with bedhead.

-Blow drying upside down with a diffuser gives you extra lift esp. in the roots.

-A stylist recommended to me once that I should get a glossing treatment and now I'm hooked. I get one every time I go to the salon!

My very first redo!

My roommate and I have a pretty serious storage situation- as in we don't have enough. So I want to get a buffet to refurbish for our dinning room to serve as extra storage space. That is a pretty ambitious project considering I'm a novice. So, I decided to do a mini project to get my feet wet.

I found this little guy at a shop on the square in Denton for $10. I snatched it up because if figured if I messed it up, I wouldn't have a huge loss on my hands.

My first line of business was to repaint in black. This is kind of a big deal for me because I HATE HATE HATE painting but it had to be done. Lucky Martha Has Minions told be about this fantastic Krylon Paint for Plastics, so the process was fairly easy. No silly sanding or anything, it bonds right to the wood-plastic composite.

Once the paint was dry, I cut some pretty scrapbooking paper to line the back of the shelves and added a new pull.

And now the really hard part, finding a place to hang my little project!