bookmania:

from The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

laughingsquid:

Sword Handle Umbrellas

I WANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

breadandbutternyc:

It’s been almost a year since I started this little blog, and I’m so glad I did. One of my first posts was for guinness cupcakes with irish cream frosting. At the time, I hadn’t posted the recipe, but this year I will! Check it out, the recipe is at the end! Have an awesome weekend everyone, and…

“Life rains the hardest on those who deserve the sun”

By, Anonymous

justbesplendid:

Strawberry Icebox Cake II by The Whinery
To make whipped coconut cream, refrigerate a can of coconut milk overnight, or freeze for the few hours.
This is so that the cream (coconut fat) would rise to the top and harden.
Open the chilled can of coconut and scoop out the fat leaving behind the watery liquid.
Combine the coconut with 1/3 cup of icing sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla, whip until light and fluffy.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds fresh strawberries, washed
• 3 1/4 whipped coconut cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 400g pack of Digestive biscuits

• DIRECTIONS

  1. Slice strawberries, save some nice ones for garnishing and set aside
  2. Grab a baking pan or a nice serving pan
  3. Spread dollop of whipped coconut cream on the bottom of the pan
  4. Start by layering with digestives, then more whipped cream and then add strawberries.
  5. Repeat until you run out of strawberries, the last layer is usually whipped coconut cream, then comes the garnish.
  6. Garnish with your nice looking strawberries, or drizzle some melted chocolate over, or whatever pretty garnish you dream up.

aspoonful-of-sugar:

When I have people over for dinner I tend to make a pavlova. It’s easy and everyone loves it. Even friends who profess not to like pavlova end up loving it. I recently had a dinner party and I made a chocolate cake and a pavlova for pudding. One of my friends said they wouldn’t have the pavlova as…

prettygirlfood:

My Brother’s Chicken Tacos

Ingredients

• 16 whole Corn Tortillas (small Size)
• 4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Pieces
• Salt, Cumin, Chili Powder To Taste (or Use Taco Seasoning)
• 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 2 cans(4 Ounce) Diced Green Chilies
• 1-1/2 cup Finely Grated Cheese (cheddar Or Cheddar/jack Mix)
• Sour Cream
• Hot Sauce (Chulula Or Other Brand)
• 2 cups Thinly Sliced Romaine Lettuce (or Any Lettuce)
• 4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
• Canola Oil, For Frying Tacos

Preparation Instructions

*Be careful frying with hot oil!*

Season diced chicken liberally. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for a couple of minutes. Dump in the diced green chilies. Stir and cook until chicken is totally done inside. Turn off heat and set aside.

Have all other ingredients—-grated cheese, sliced lettuce, diced tomato, sour cream, and hot sauce—-ready.

Also have a plate ready, as well as a stack of five or six paper towels to hold in your hand.

TO FRY

To fry the tacos, heat a couple of inches of canola oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high. Place some chicken in the middle of a tortilla, then fold tortilla in half. Clamp the tortilla shut with a pair of heat-proof metal tongs, then carefully lay the taco—-one side down—-in the oil. As you lay it in the oil, use the tongs to hold the top side down for a few seconds to form it in place. Once it stays put, repeat with two other tacos. Turn tacos after 30 to 45 seconds, or when each side gets light golden brown (not too brown.)

One at a time, remove tacos from the pan with tongs, holding sideways as you remove them to allow oil to drip out of the sides. Place the taco in the stack of paper towels. Fold the sides and corners around the taco to tightly hold it, then give it three or four shakes to remove excess oil. Remove it from the paper towels and place on a plate. Repeat with other tacos in the pan.

As you continue frying the other tacos, have someone carefully place some grated cheese inside the tops of the tacos (gently pry them open just enough to place the cheese in). Then just let them sit until ready to serve—-the cheese will melt as it sits in the warm taco.

To serve, garnish in this order: a smear of sour cream, dashes of hot sauce, shredded lettuce, diced tomato. You’ll need to slightly open up the tops of the tacos to get all the garnishes in there.

Tacos will be hot for a minute or two after frying, so don’t rush into eating! They’ll stay nice and warm for a little while after frying.

gossipchef:

Blueberry Sherbet

Ingredients

• 2 pints of blueberries, rinsed
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup light agave nectar ( I went with ¾ cup given that ½ cup wasn’t as sweet as I would like)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (optional, but kinda recommended)
• 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp vodka (or any booze you have lying around)
• 1 cup heavy cream (or almond milk if going the vegan route)
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Place the blueberries in a small sauce pan. Pour the agave nectar, pinch of salt, and vanilla extract, if using. Stir and place the blueberry mixture on the stove and bring to a simmer over very low heat. Cook until the blueberries soften, about 15-20 minutes.
2. Stir in the lemon juice and vodka and allow to cool completely.
3. If you wish, puree the blueberries and their liquid in a blender or food processor until smooth, then press the mixture through a strainer to remove the fruit pulp**. Transfer the pureed mixture to an airtight sealed container and chill the mixture thoroughly, preferably overnight.
4. When the mixture is thoroughly chilled, fold in the heavy cream, and then freeze in your ice-cream making according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This makes a quart of sherbet – And should last in an airtight sealed container for about a week. That’s if it makes it that long.
5. ** I wanted whole blueberries in my sherbet, so I didn’t puree the mixture. I just strained it a bit and added blueberries that remained whole.

prettygirlfood:

Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients

• 4 whole (up To 6) Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Trimmed And Pounded Flat
• 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 3/4 cups Wine (white Or Red Is Fine)
• 3 cans (14.5 Oz.) Crushed Tomatoes
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1/4 cube Chopped Fresh Parsley
• 1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 pound Thin Linguine

Preparation Instructions

Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate.
Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside.

At this time, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.

Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.

Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.

Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste.

Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.