Target Fall Collection Picks

Happy Saturday pretties! I hope you get to enjoy lovely weather today because I can’t. The rain hasn’t stopped and the wind is just getting stronger and stronger! I love a blustery day but only with the sun shining, a cup of cider in hand, and the cutest scarf I can find. Today is not that day. However, for many of us, Saturdays are made for shopping! I actually went last night when people were running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to find milk and bread (see previous post). Be glad I did though because I’m going to tell you where all the good sales are and share a few of my favorite Target fall and Adam Lippe pieces!

First of all, I bit the bullet and bought the burgundy felt floppy hat from Old Navy I’ve been eyeing. I really didn’t want to pay $20 for a hat from here given the quality but I got it on sale for about $15 instead. The whole store is 30% off until Tuesday!

JoAnn Fabrics has 50% off really pretty pumpkins! I went in last night and the selection was great. I didn’t buy any because, well, I really don’t need any! I was tempted though believe me! Michaels is also running a similar deal on their pumpkins and general fall decor. Last but not least, Pier 1 Imports is having 25% off their pumpkin decor as well. Couldn’t you just shop all day? Happy picking!

Ok, now for the good stuff! I always go into Target and come out with way more than what I intended to and this fall will be no exception. I love the plaid they have this season! Adam Lippe designed some pieces for Target (similar to Lilly Pulitzer but without the inventory disaster).

Ta-da! The Target Fall Collection! Isn’t it the prettiest? I love the colors they chose for this year. They’re warm and inviting, like a fall home should be! Let’s talk about the plaid- it’s wonderful. It gives off that log cabin, rustic vibe that we all eat up this time of year. Most of us haven’t spent time in a log cabin because if we had, we’d know that the average person’s cabin is full of grandma’s quilts and dead animals hanging from the walls.

Anyway, the collection is great and I want to buy it all up, including that rolling pin I have featured. Why am I in love with a rolling pin? Honestly, I have no idea. It just goes with everything else. It’s not like I’ll ever use it, I burn place-and-bake cookies for Pete’s sake! Most of this stuff I don’t have a need for but I sure have a love for instead.

Enjoy shopping the collection this weekend! Let me know if you get anything!

5 Fall Recipes to Try

Yesterday I was sitting at Starbucks (shocking) drinking a PSL and scrolling through my Pinterest. Like any good pinner would do, I repinned all of the fall-themed things to my “Everything Autumn” board. I’ve had a Pinterest account for the last 4 years and have accumulated over 13,000 pins, a few hundred of those are pretty much all things pumpkin. After going through a few of those pins, I came across several recipes that I thought I might share with you! As promised, they’re centered around fall! They’re all linked below to the original pin. Click on the pin when you get there and it’ll take you to the website where you can get the recipe. I can attest to how good that Crockpot Apple Crisp is!

–Brie and Cheddar Apple Beer Soup

–Crockpot Apple Crisp

–Candy Corn Pudding Pops

–Pumpkin French Toast Bake

–Fall Popcorn

Please feel free to share any recipes you really enjoy this time of the year!

Comfort Food for Cold Nights

Happy Saturday beauties! My “Saturday” started yesterday when everything was closed due to the 6 inches of snow we got the day before. I spent the morning shoveling snow off of my driveway so we’d be able to get out and go places again! The second I saw the slightest glimpse of asphalt I smiled a sigh of relief. A few hours later, I was on my way to the store to pick up the comfort food I was going to make for dinner. After a long day outside in the cold, you need things like this!

I found this recipe from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, on Food Network the other day and have been excited to make it since then. Its a heavy dish; perfect for cold nights!

For full instructions, visit the link above! Ina explains everything much better than I could!

Ingredients
-Kosher salt
-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
-4 ounces prosciutto, cut crosswise in 1/2-inch-thick matchsticks
-1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 large)
-1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
-1 1/2 cups heavy cream
-4 ounces Italian Gorgonzola dolce, crumbled
-1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
-8 to 10 ounces tagliatelle or fettucine, such as Cipriani
-2 cups frozen peas, defrosted (8 ounces)
-1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
-1/4 cup julienned fresh basil leaves

This dish is called Straw and Hay with Gorgonzola and it’s pretty darn good. I’m not much of a cook and even I could make it. However, I would suggest a few changes to it. The recipe calls for prosciutto to be lightly cooked in a sauce pan in 2 tablespoons of butter. Prosciutto is a rather salty cut of meat (and expensive). I recommend substituting it with either turkey bacon or even thinly sliced, pre-baked chicken. Ina also adds quite a bit of salt into the pasta sauce. If you’re using prosciutto, then only use a half teaspoon of salt when you’re making the sauce.

Doesn’t that look amazing? At this point, I’ve added the onions (I only used half of what the recipe suggests), the cream, the Gorgonzola, spices, and the pasta. I’m supposed to add in frozen peas for the beautiful green color but I really detest those little green spheres. I didn’t end up adding anything green to this dish. Next time, I’ll try some spinach with it.

*Tip before serving: Strain some of the butter out of the sauce pan to minimize the greasiness. It gets to be too much when you’re eating it.

Ta da! Here’s the finished product! It tasted marvelous and I’m certainly adding it to my growing list of recipes I can make. I served it with garlic bread but next time I’d do something with less garlic involved. Or none at all. Maybe some walnuts, pecans, and water crackers would be nice to even out the flavors? Add some wine or sparkling cider and you’ll have a delectable meal for a chilly night!

Simple Gingerbread Cookies

Well friends, a miraculous thing happened the other day- I baked cookies from scratch AND they didn’t burn. Gingerbread cookies always seemed like a difficult thing to make but aside from a few technical terms I had to Google, they were fairly simple.

I started out simply wanting to try my hand at making something tasty and sugary for Christmas. When I couldn’t find the pre-made Pillsbury gingerbread dough, I had to improvise by making the dough myself. Betty Crocker poked her way into my personality for a few hours and I was a baking wizard in my mom’s kitchen. Who knew such things were possible?

As it turns out, I’m not all that bad when it comes to baking. The gingerbread cookies came out warm and soft without a single burnt edge. Even my mom was proud of my new-found abilities! She actually enjoyed this baking endeavor of mine! If I had all the time in the world and a limitless grocery budget, I might actually do a little more in the kitchen.

Here’s the amazing recipe I used that got good reviews from tons of people! It really was tasty!

 

 

Hot Cocoa Mason Jar Recipe

Happy Monday friends! Only a few days until Christmas and I’m in panic mode. I have so much left to do and not much time to do it. Last night, I spent a few hours baking and being creative. Notice I said a “few hours”. I never knew it took so much time out of your day to play Martha Stewart. I started out by baking gingerbread cookies (recipe to come tomorrow) and went on to make mason jar hot cocoa mix. Lucky for you, I saved the recipe and instructions!

Step 1: Get all the ingredients out, trust me it saves time.

• 4 (8 ounce) mason jars
• 2 cups of cocoa powder
• 1 cup of sugar
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 10 crushed up candy canes
• Bag of mini marshmallows

Step 2: Layer 1/4 cup of sugar, half a cup of cocoa powder, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in each jar. Have a butter knife handy to even out each layer. Follow this by layering the candy canes and then the mini marshmallows in each jar. Use as much or as little of the candy canes as you see fit. I like a lot of peppermint!

Step 3: Print out heating instructions and attach it to the jar with string.

“To serve: Remove the marshmallows to a plate and mix together the remaining ingredients in the jar. Bring 1 cup of milk to a simmer over low heat. Add 3 tablespoons of hot cocoa mix and stir until completely combined. Pour into cups or mugs and top with marshmallows before serving.”

Step 4: Add a festive bow on top of the jar and then take a photo for Instagram!

I’m giving these as cute gifts to a few friends. They’ll be impressed simply because they know how bad I am in the kitchen. Hopefully they feel loved too because I hate spending time on things like this, and believe me, I spent hours perfecting this! I guess I really can do anything when I force myself to. At least it made for pretty pictures!