Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?!! Spongebob square pants!! haha  This weekend I had the pleasure of making cupcakes for a friend, it was for her twin’s birthday, a boy and a girl. Lucky her! I hope when I have kids I have twins and they can be a boy and a girl and I’ll be set! She wanted Spongebob and Hello kitty cupcakes. Whenever I get an order I start researching right away, it’s always fun to look at other people’s designs and decide which character I would like to make. I decided on Spongebob, Patrick, Squidward, and jellyfish. Spongebob was really fun to make, especially with all his funky facial expressions. The kids loved the cupcakes and so did all the moms! I was very flattered to have them tell me it looked very professional. It’s always nice to get compliments on things that you worked really hard on, it keeps pushing me to keep doing what I’m doing and always getting better at it.

We decided to make up our own name for the granola… didn’t get too creative but got straight to the point. Honey Nut Granola! The baking time varies since we didn’t really like it when it was too brown so keep an eye on it, you might not need to do the full 15 mins at the end. We cut out little tags for them out of manila folders and drew a little holly on it.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Yield Makes 8 cups

Nonstick cooking spray
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans (or whatever nuts you have on hand)
1 cup mixed dried fruit, such as cranberries or raisins

Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Lightly coat two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine oil, sugar, honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. Add oats and pecans; stir to combine. Divide mixture between sheets. Bake 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 cup coconut to each sheet; bake until mixture is golden brown, 15 minutes. Let cool completely on sheets. Stir in dried fruit and chocolate chips, if desired.

This rub is universal you can use it as a dry rub for tri-tip or sprinkle it over some halibut fillets before pan-searing or as a marinade, all you need to do is take 1/4 cup rub with 1/2 cup olive oil and 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar and rub it over some chicken for roast chicken.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appétit

Yield: Makes about 3/4 cup

3 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
3 tablespoons dried basil leaves
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried savory leaves
1 tablespoon smoked paprika (you can use regular paprika if that is what you have on hand)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 to 2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper
preparation

Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl. Transfer to airtight container. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 month ahead. Store at room temperature.

These peaches were so easy to make and it was the first time that I would be canning! Canning seems more intimidating that it really is, it’s just a bit time consuming but so worth it. You can put these peaches over ice cream, waffles, pancakes, or even just eat them straight out of the jar like my friend did!

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart!

There’s labels you can use to add that special touch on your jar if you’d like, we didn’t get a chance to use them since we use regular round mason jars.

Makes five 12-ounce jars

2 1/2 cups sugar
2 vanilla beans, split and scraped, pods reserved
1 cup bourbon

4 pounds peaches (about 12)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath. Cut a small X into the bottom of each peach. Boil peaches for 1 minute.
Transfer to ice-water bath. Let cool slightly. Peel and pit peaches, and cut into 3/4-inch-thick wedges.
Bring 4 cups water, the sugar, and vanilla seeds and pods to a boil in a large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add peaches and bourbon. Simmer until peaches are tender but still hold their shape, 5 to 7 minutes.
Transfer peaches to a large bowl using a slotted spoon. Cook syrup over medium heat until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Pour over peaches. Let cool completely.
Divide peaches among five 12-ounce sterilized jars using a slotted spoon. (Jars can be sterilized by boiling in water, submerged, for 10 minutes.) Pour syrup over tops. Add vanilla pods to jars if desired. Seal jars, and refrigerate until ready to use.

As one of my friend’s Christmas present I made her some homemade mexican hot chocolate in a  jar. She was craving for it one day, but was too lazy to go to the store to pick some up so I thought, what would be better than to have some homemade mexican hot chocolate on hand the next time she has that craving? So I scoured the net to find a recipe that I liked and came across this one from the Sunset Magazine. I decided to throw in a dash or two of cayenne pepper as well. It makes 1 quart mix or 12 servings of hot cocoa.

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup powdered milk
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped Mexican chocolate (such as Ibarra)
Cinnamon sticks
a dash or two of cayenne pepper

Layer cocoa powder, powdered milk, brown sugar, salt, ground cinnamon, and Mexican chocolate. Tie a few cinnamon sticks to the jar.

Happy New Year!! For Christmas this past year I decided to make homemade gifts for everyone instead of buying gifts since I was tight on money. So my friend and I spent two whole days cranking out 12 little gift baskets for everyone. We made peppermint barks, coconut macaroons, homemade marshmallows, chex mix, bourbon poached peaches, spice rubs, and honey nut granola. Below you will find the recipe for the peppermint bark. I will post the other recipes later.

12 oz. white chocolate

1 tsp. peppermint extract

4-5 peppermint candy canes crushed

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler, remove from heat and add peppermint extract. Spread chocolate in a foiled 9×13 pan(for easy clean up) and add crushed peppermint candy canes. Let chocolate cool (harden) and cut into triangles or just break them into pieces. Enjoy!