Homemade Apple Turnovers!

Jim requested that I make these and to be honest I was a little intimidated when he told me what he wanted. Apple turnovers sound hard and time consuming. I hoped on the Internet and started to do some research. After looking at a few recipes I started to realize that these wouldn't be hard at all. The key is the puff pastry, now you can make you own but the dough is super temperamental and is hard to work with so I opted to buy the pre-made kind.  Here's what else you'll need....

INGREDIENTS

• ONE PACKAGE OF FROZEN FILO DOUGH
• 4 APPLES OF YOUR CHOICE (I LIKE GRANNY SMITH)
• 1C BROWN SUGAR
• CINNAMON TO YOUR LIKING
• 1 TBSP CORN STARCH
• 1 TBSP WATER
• 1 EGG
• 2 TBSP BUTTER
• SUGAR IN THE RAW (OR ANY KIND OF LARGER GRANULATED SUGAR)

Pre-heat oven to 400F degrees

 Start off by peeling your apples and slicing them into small cubes. As you slice them you can put them in a bowl of cool water with a little lemon juice so they don't turn brown. Once all four of your apples are cut, grab a skillet and put on Medium heat. Melt the butter in the pan and add the apples (make sure apples are not super wet if you did the water bath), add your Cinnamon to your liking and let cook for 2 minutes.

Next add in your brown sugar. In a small bowl mix the corn starch and water together. Add the cornstarch mixture to your apples and mix well. This will make the liquid in the pan thicker and more of a sauce. Cook this mixture for another 2 minutes and then set aside.

Grab your Filo dough and take out one of the sheets, lay it out flat and cut into 4 equal squares. I strongly recommend that you keep the other sheet of filo in the fridge until you are ready to use. If it sits out and warms up, it becomes this sticky, gooey mess and it's super hard to work with. 

Now your ready for apples! Grab a spoon with slats in it, so the liquid can drain out. Spoon in the apples to the middle of each square of dough. Fold the dough over itself on the diagonal to create a triangle. Make sure that you seal the ends by pressing down on the edges with your fingers or a fork. (I did both to make sure that I sealed them all the way). Take out your other sheet of dough and repeat these steps. You will have 8 turnovers all together.

In a small bowl or cup crack your egg, but only put the white of the egg in bowl. add a small amount of water to your egg whites and mix. You just made an egg wash! Brush the egg mixtures onto the tops of your turnovers. Finally Generously sprinkle your raw sugar on top of the pastries. 

Bake at 400f degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and then enjoy. 

 Let me tell you, these bad boys are impressive. Our friends couldn't believe that I had made these.  I am still getting compliments on how good they were. If you can spare a half hour of your day to making these, you will be the talk of the town! I also made a batch for Jim and I and stuck them in the freezer and we just grab 2 in the morning and put them in the toaster oven for a minutes and they are super good!

Have a great day! See you tomorrow!

Champagne Cupcakes

These turned out so good. I loved the strong champagne flavor accompanied by the sweetness of the frosting, it made a really good combo. 

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 large egg whites (3/4 cup)
• 3/4 cup Champagne
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup champagne

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 to 5 drops red food color 

Makes 18-ish cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Bake for 20-25 minutes until a tooth pick pulls out clean.

Enjoy champagne while you wait!!!

Let cool on rack completely, then ice. I chose to adorn with some white candies that reminded me of bubbles. ENJOY!!!!

Happy Friday everyone! Have a good weekend and I will see you on Sunday. 

Don't forget to subscribe. :)

My thoughts on 2011 and goals for 2012...

I hate New Year's resolutions. I hate them. It's like promising to do something because everyone else is. And it's always the same things... "My New Year's resolutions is to loose weight/go to the gym", or " I'm going to quiet smoking" or " I'm going to stop drinking soda". I've heard them and then by mid January, your back to chain smoking, eating Slim Jims, and sitting on the couch watching old episodes of Fraiser crying wondering what went wrong! Ok well maybe that's a bit extreme, but you get the picture.

Things I've learned this year....

1.) While you don't really get to choose the family you get, you can choose your friends and make them your family.  I don't have a big family, and by choice I stopped talking to my father because he didn't agree with my marriage to Jim. My mother is not a saint by any means, and she isn't always the easiest person to deal with or be around, but she is all I have and I'm stuck with her. My grandparents were amazing people and worked hard their whole lives. They are very special to me and even though they are gone now, I hold them close to my heart and think of them all the time. I have a sister and things are rocky. I'm not sure what more to say about this at this time. I will say though, that my sister has two awesome kids. My niece who is 15 is a spitting image of my sister. She is smart, and funny and has more common sense then most people I've met. My nephew who is 12, is one of the funniest,most unique, and sweetest person I've ever met.  I'm proud to be their aunt and I hope they know how much I truly love them. 

With that being said, Jim and I want to start a family of our own. Not right at this moment, but within the next couple years we would like to adopt or have a child of our own.  Jim doesn't have a big family either and we both want our child/children to have friends and a full childhood with memories of friends and family (both of us were only children growing up, my sister is 14 years older then me so I basically was an only child).  I recently started talking to my sister, and would love nothing more then to have her in our lives, but things are a little rocky and that decision is hers. I've made my piece and when she is ready I will be here.  Our friends have been so amazing this holiday season, especially Mitch and Maryanne, who let us and the dogs come stay with them for almost a week around Christmas. This brings me to my point. With all the family drama and the little family we have, I've realized that our friends, are our family. We may not get to see them all the time living so far away from one another, but our friends really mean the world to us... That means you, Halley, Elaine, Cora, Jaxon, Amanda, Mitch, Maryanne, Lisette, Matt and Cadell.  You are the family we chose and you mean so very much to us. 

2.) With all this time on my hands this year, I've had alot of time to think and plan and really decide what I would like to do in the future. Goals I'd like to set, with that being said.... WITHIN THE NEXT 2 YEARS I WANT TO OPEN UP MY OWN BAKERY AND COFFEE SHOP.  I want it to have a Pin Up, retro, vintage theme. All the baked goods will have fun names like Cinnamon buns being called "Victory rolls". I want to have fun little classes for decorating cookies and cupcakes and a couple times a month, staying open late and doing burlesque shows.  I'm super excited and super motivated.

Goals for 2012....

1.) I have a horrible habit of not staying in contact with people. My goal this coming year is to stay in touch with my friends more. I want to catch up more often and hear what going on with everyone. I don't care if people need to tell me to call less, I'm going to pester my bestest friends!

2.) I am going to enroll at the local community college and take courses on business management and maybe a couple of baking courses. Jim and I have been talking about taking a class together maybe so we can study together. I think that might be fun. 

No resolution, but lots of brain storming. I'll update soon with some fun stuff.

And once again, Thank you to my amazing husband, who takes care of me when I'm a snotty mess and make me feel pretty even if I have a crusty nose! True love, aint it pretty :)

Happy New Year.

Be Safe!!!!!!

One of our engagement photos!

Houston, we have landing.... Etsy store is up and going strong!

My poor chubby fingers have been hard at work, typing, photographing and blogging about THE NEW ETSY STORE!!!!!! It's finally up and running and we have a decent amount of stuff. This partnership  with lovely Mrs. L is going swell. She picks up where I lack (grammar big time) and comes up with witty descriptions when I have a brain fart. I'm still off work, which gives me ample time to craft, especially when I don't feel good and imprisoned to the couch. At this moment though, I'm super happy with how this has all turned out. Our little shop is getting ample amounts of views without any marketing too. Once we sell a couple things we will start thinking about marketing and adds and google words and all that fun stuff. Other then that not to update on, and my brain is a little fried right now so I will leave you with some Outfit of the day photos and will try to chronicle my baking adventures tomorrow.Oh here is the link to the Etsy store.

Oh SweetHenry Shop

OOTD-

Dress and boots- New Look

Sweater- Ross

Leggings- Target

Fascinator- Etsy shop!

OOTD with a side of Cheesecake!

Cheesecake bars are the bastard child of lemon bars and cheesecake. They are possible the most delicious thing I have ever put in my mouth.  An added bonus is that they are pretty easy to make as long as you have a mixer. The first time I make them I did not have one and creaming cream cheese is not easy with an old vintage crank hand mixer. So I made a wise investment and broke down and bought a new electric hand mixer. It makes things so much easier. Ok so on with the tutorial....

you will need...

5 Tbsp butter, softened

1/3 c brown sugar

1c flour

1/2 c sugar

1 (8ounce) packet cream cheese

1 egg

2Tbsp milk

1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 Tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350

 2. Blend the butter, brown sugar and flour in a bowl. mix until it is the consistency of course sand. Set aside 1c of this mixture for the top of your bars. 

3. In a 8 x 8 inch pan, spray non-stick spray or coat with butter. Press the remaining crumb mixture into the coated pan.

4. Bake for 15 minutes.

5. While crust is baking combine the sugar and cream cheese into a bowl. Mix until cream cheese is smooth again. 

6. add the egg,lemon juice, vanilla, and milk into the cream cheese mixture and blend until all ingredients are combined.

7. pour cream cheese mixture over your baked crust and top with the remaining crumble. 

8. Bake for another 50-55 minutes until, toothpick come out clean from the center of bars.

 9. Let stand for an hour to set up all the way, then enjoy with friends and family or indulge by yourself! 

On a side note, Jim managed to score a vintage kitchen aid mixer and has been restoring it for me for Christmas. I'm so super stoked and my baking aspirations have been boosted to the next level!  We have been re-arranging our house and making it more "grown up", honestly it feel so good to have a house that is ours and not some place we live. 

On a side side note , I took a couple pictures of what I wore the other day to run errands. I love this skirt and try to wear it as often as possible without people thinking "didn't she just wear that?"

This ring is from New Look , I always get a million compliments  on it when I wear it.

OOTD-

Sweater and leggings- Target

T-shirt- Wal-mart

Lips Skirt- Forever 21

Flats- Payless

Bow- DIY, soon to be on my Etsy store!

 

Have a great day everyone and Etsy updates should be comin' up real quick!

MIxing Business and Pleasure! --OOTD--

     Ok, so I love a good craft. I mean what's not to love, turning boring ol' things into fun pieces of art to display/wear?! Well I've been making felt flowers for years. When I got married, all of the bridesmaids bouquets were made out of felt flowers and buttons (4 bouquets). After the wedding I went on felt strike and wanted nothing to to with felt or flowers or even crafting for that matter. Within the past couple of months I have started doing more and more projects and now with all this extra time on my hands (the doctors have me off work until Jan. 15th) I having been crafting my little heart out. I've been making felt bobbles, adorned with hand sewn beads. I'm loving the whole process of making them and beading all of the colorful felt accessories. I've been making hair doo-hickeys and rings, but plan on branching out and making all kinds of things once I can figure out what customers will like. An amazing friend and I are starting an etsy store. (I know, everyone and their mom has an etsy store, but this is my chance to make my little slice of the Internet that much fuller and well rounded... like me!) When we have the site fully set up I will make sure to share the link with everyone. 

     I went back to the doctor on Wednesday. It was as usual a guessing game. This time though the doctor seemed pretty certain that we are on the right path. Apparently the bone in my ear is grown into my ear drum and my inner ear is no longer vibrating. This could be something I was born with or some sort of trauma caused. If it was caused by trauma that could be what is causing my headaches and dizziness. The specialist (ear, nose and throat specialist) will be able to determine this and then tell me were to go. The boy and I have been researching this and it's called surfer's ear, and the treatment is surgery were they cut off your ear and chisel the bone away and then re-attach the ear. I'm hoping that it's an easy fix and  not surgery, but in all honesty I just want to know what's going on and for life to go back to normal-ish. 

     Other then my ongoing broken-ness and crafting, I've been baking alot. Miss kaelah beauregarde at little chief honeybee. has an awesome recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pie! Also I found an awesome recipe for Cheese Cake Squares, it's like a mixture between lemon bars and cheese cake. I will be doing a tutorial on those tomorrow! They are so good and pretty easy. I will say the hardest part is mixing the cream cheese because my mixer broke (hint hint x-mas!), so I have an old school mixer that you hand crank, not electric at all. I'm getting pretty buff from this baking stuff though!

Navy flower with beads and vintage button

unedited- purple felt flower with opal beads and pink vintage button

OOTD-

Dress- Kohl's

Sweater and leggings- Target 

Boots- New Look

OUTTAKE!!!!!

     Ok Jim is getting restless and wants dinner so I'm off to make homemade mac'n'cheese and meatloaf burgers. Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving. Till tomorrow, fancy shmansy... tootels!

Homemade Happieness... oh and cookies

     What's better then a chocolate wafer filled with sugary paste like filling? I think nothing, which is why today I attempted to make homemade Oreos. I found a recipe online at food.com (http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-oreo-cookies-36513), figured out that I had most of the ingredients already and then after my chores around the house I embarked on my journey to Oreo land! 

     The instructions were super simple and the pre-made cake mix sped things up alot. I got double chocolate fudge cake mix because that's the closest I could find. It took forever for the dough to not be sticky anymore, and I decided to roll it out and make star shapes because I thought they would be more festive. (I actually later regretted doing a star shape because it's hard to get the filling all the way out to the points of the star.)

I rolled the dough to be about 1/4 of an inch thick and I think next time I would do them a little thicker. I baked them for 8 minutes and they came out soft but hardened up pretty quick. I used two different sizes of stars and it ended up making enough for 12 big cookie stars 16 little star cookies. 

The filling was not hard at all. I kind of felt like I was going to get diabetes just making the filling though! The filling made more then I had cookies, but that's because I used big cookie cutters. The filling is like the consistency of play dough or moist sand. I'm trying to say that this is not something that you spread on, you roll into a ball and then squish it down to make a sandwich.  

Right as I finishing the last batch, some friends showed up (imagine that!) and were totally open to being the taste testers. Everyone gave thumbs up and Jim even used curse words to describe how tasty they were! I feel like these cookies weren't hard to make, just a little time consuming. I will say that if you take these anywhere or make them for a gathering I'm sure everyone will be super impressed with your baking skills. All in all I would totally make these again, with a few tweaks to my dry run! 

     I hope this has inspired you to try these cookies or even a different recipe. I had a ton of fun and even the husband helped with the cookie cutting. It's time for a nap and then work so I'll update soon and I hope everyone is good and happy!