Avacado Hummus

1 can Garbanzo Beans, reserve some liquid
1 ripe Avacado
1 small clove Garlic, peeled
1 lime Juiced
2 Tbsp. Tahini
1 tsp. Salt

Blend all together until smooth, adding bean liquid as needed to get nice consistency. Serve with chips.

Best Brownies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. (Don't overbeat or it will go cakey) Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
4. To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm.

From: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-brownies/

Breakfast Casserole - Crock Pot Style

So Andrea mentioned this and I can't wait to try it. Don't know if this is the best recipe, but it's worth a shot.

Ready in over 5 hours; serves 6 or more. For large crock pot add 25% to the recipe and tips suggest adding extra cheese and salt; Serve with Salsa and Sour Cream.

INGREDIENTS:

1 bag (32 ounce size) frozen southern style hashbrown potatoes
1 pound bacon cut into pieces, fried and drained
1 pound sausage, crumbled, browned and drained
1/2 cup diced onions
1 green bell pepper diced
3/4 pound cheddar cheese diced
12 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
salt & pepper

PREPARATION:

Layer the frozen potatoes, bacon, onions, green pepper and cheese in the crock pot in two or three layers. Finish up with cheese.

Beat the eggs, milk and mustard, salt and pepper together. Pour over the whole mixture. Cook on low for ten to twelve hours.

NUTRITION:

1288 calories, 99 grams fat, 34 grams carbohydrates, 63 grams protein per serving.

Show full nutritional data (including Weight Watcher's Points ®, cholesterol, sodium, vitamins, and diabetic exchanges)

Recipe came from:
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/41/Breakfast_Casserole55552.shtml

Vegas, California

doing our Manaquin poses in Muir Woods

foggy San Fran

aww

you cant see the Golden Gate Bridge behind us because of all the fog but it is there

Sunset Beach in Cali, its funny cuz Trav and i went to a Sunset Beach in Hawaii

our hike to the Pinnacles

Christmas morning

My 22nd birthday, don't judge my appearance we got up at 4 am and drove 8 hours. :)

for some stupid reason it wont let me place my pictures after my post so here they are first...

Sorry it has taken me so long to get on here. Lots has happened since my last post but I'm only going to sum it all up and post pictures, i mean everyone just likes to look at pictures anyways, am i right? :)

Well we ended up leaving the day on the 22nd of December down to Vegas, we stayed at Prim Valley hotel and casino and it was nice, but the roller coaster at Buffalo Bills was down so we were pretty sad about that. We were so excited to get to California that we just stayed that night in Vegas, got our 75 min massages which were much needed, had dinner and went to bed. We woke up real early to head to California so my whole birthday wasnt spent in the car. We got to my parents house around... 11:30 or so. It was so good to see them again and it was awesome my mom and dad made my favorite dinner for my birthday, Tostadas with Mexican rice, and lots of guacamole!!! They even made me a Red Velvet cake with cream cheese icing yum!!!! We had so much fun while in Cali. Christmas was great, we had fires in the back yard went on a hike up to the Pinnacles, went to San Fransisco, china town, ate at Bubba Gump, went to Muir Woods, went to the Mission in San Jose and had lots of fun just being with family it was a great trip!!

Cinnamon Rolls, Cinnabon Style

1/2 cup warm water
2 pkg. active dry yeast
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 3 1/2 oz. pkg. instant vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1+ cup sugar
1/4+ cup good quality cinnamon

In a small bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.

In large bowl, make pudding mix according to package directions. Add butter, eggs, and salt; mix well. Add the yeast mixture; blend. Gradually add flour and knead until smooth and elastic.

Place in very large greased bowl. Cover and let rise until double (about 1 hour). Punch down and let rise again (45 minutes).

On a lightly floured surface, roll out to a 1/4 inch thick rectangle, 21 inches in its smaller dimension. Note: you may wish to divide the dough in halves and roll out two rectangles. You may have to partially roll it out, then cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest before finishing. Spread 1/2 cup melted butter over surface. Mix cinnamon and sugar together, and spread evenly over surface, leaving a 1-inch margin along one of the long edges. Roll up tightly, starting from a long side. Press together along the edge not covered with cinnamon sugar.

Slice at ~1 1/4 inch intervals. Place on greased baking pan, ~2 inches apart. Cover and let rise until double again.

Bake at 350oF for 15-20 minutes. Remove as soon as they turn golden. Frost warm rolls with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk

Combine all ingredients, mix until smooth.

Hazelnut Crinkle Cookies

3 c. all-purpose Flour
2 t. Baking powder
½ t. Salt
1 – 11oz jar Nutella
¼ c. Shortening
1 1/3 c. Sugar
1 t. Vanilla
2 large Eggs
1/3 c. Milk
½ c. Hazelnuts, toasted/chopped
2 c. Hazelnuts, toasted/finely chopped
3 T. Powdered Sugar

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine Nutella and shortening; beat with electric mixer on med/med-high speed until combined. Add Sugar; beat medium speed until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; beat until combined.

3. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to creamed mixture, beating on medium speed just until combined. Use a spoon to stir in the ½ cup chopped hazelnuts. Cover and chill at least 4 hours until firm.

4. Shape dough into 1- or 2-inch balls. Roll in finely chopped hazelnuts; Roll in powdered sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. (The cookies will spread and crinkle as they bake.) Bake in 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 min or until surface is cracked and cookies are set. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool. Makes about 72 cookies.

Lofthouse Cookies

You know those lovely cookies at all the grocery stores with all the fluffy colored frosting?... ya, these are the ones :)

Ingredients:

* 1 cup butter
* 2 cups sugar
* 3 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 1/2 cups sour cream
* 5 -6 cups flour (until desired consistency for rolling)

Directions

1. Cream together butter and sugar.
2. Beat in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.
3. Mix in dry ingredients.
4. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or 6-8 hours).
5. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
6. Roll out dough to a 1/4 to 3/8 inch thickness using a generous amount of flour.
(I took 2 3/8" dowels and put them to the sides of the dough so the rolling pin spanned across to both dowels making the dough a perfect consistency once rolled out)
7. Cut out shapes and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 minutes.
8. Cool on wire rack.
9. Frost and decorate as desired.


Frosting

4 c. Confectioners Sugar
1/2 c. Shortening
5 T. Milk
1 t. Vanilla
Food Coloring (optional)

Combine all the ingredients together and mix with mixer until combined and fluffy.
(I ended up adding an extra Tbsp of Milk to make it easier to spread).