Candy Bar Controllers That Mario and Luigi Would Love

Recipe: Candy Bar Controllers
Song: Super Mario Brothers NES Overworld Theme

Have any of you ever heard of Rosanna “Ro” Pansino? Well if you haven’t, you need to check out her YouTube channel! She runs a series called “Nerdy Nummies” where she makes unique creations. By the way, here’s a fun fact-her book was one of the things I purchased when I won a gift card through my office’s Super Bowl pool a couple years back. 

I actually did a blog post based off one of her recipes before. This was when I made LEGO cakes for my brother’s birthday a couple years back. Since I know he'll like some of the things she posts, I decided to use one of her recipes again this year for his birthday.

I didn't make a cake because his girlfriend made him an amazing cheesecake. Instead, I decided to make him chocolates that were in the shape of video game controllers! I’ll admit this recipe didn’t go too well because melting chocolate is easier than it looks, but my brother was still appreciative! As long as they taste good and still look nice, that's all that matters, right? Anyhoo, while I try to master the art of melting chocolate perfectly, see below for the recipe:

 

 

Candy Game Controllers

The chocolate looks exactly like the original controller!

What you’ll need:

• Game controller molds- (I got mine from thinkgeek.com but this was two years ago. If they’re no longer available then I would check Amazon. That’s where Ro lists them on her YouTube video).
• A bag of chocolate melts
• A filling of your choice (caramel, your favorite chocolate candy, or maybe something else you think would go well with your chocolate). I used Twix bars!

Instructions:

1. Melt your chocolate (I melted my chocolate in the microwave but sometimes this isn't the best method. I'll probably try my mom's double-boiler next time).
2. Pour one level of chocolate into the molds, and paint the sides of the molds as well.
3. Poke the bottom of the molds with a toothpick thoroughly (this is important because you don’t want air bubbles!)
4. Stick the molds in the freezer for ten minutes. Meanwhile, prepare your filling. For example, if you're using chocolate candy like I did, this is a good time to chop it up.
5. Once the molds come out of the freezer, put in a layer of your filling, then pour more chocolate on top. The molds should be filled now.
6. Freeze for another 10 minutes.
7. Enjoy! Maybe play your favorite video game too :) Some of my favorites are Mario Cart, Yoshi’s Story and Animal Crossing. Monkey Ball and Mario Cart were especially popular in my dorm during my freshman year of college.

*Note: this recipe was supposed to make six controllers. Only four of them turned out well because I'm in the process of trying to master the art of melting chocolate! Also, someone in my household ate the two bad ones before the photos were taken. I also recommend watching Ro's video tutorial since it might be easier to watch someone doing the steps above. I've included the url to her video below.


Because my brother's first gaming system was NES and I grew up watching/playing an assortment of Mario Brothers games, I thought the perfect song to pair with this recipe would be the Super Mario Brothers NES Overwold Theme. You can listen to it here. Also, I'm not sure if you spotted the mushroom in the picture. My brother thought it should be included in the photo shoot and I agreed :). My brother and I grew up on NES, Nintendo 64,  Game Cube, and the Wii. I loved a ton of games he owned, but I will say I was disappointed when I found out our gaming systems weren't compatible with the games Spice World and Dance Dance Revolution (DDR).


*All rights to the original idea/recipe go to Ro Pansino.
*All rights to the Super Mario Brothers NES Overwold Theme go to Nintendo.

Marshmallow Mermaid Pie by Jenna and Jenna

Recipe: Marshmallow Mermaid Pie
Song: "Brave" by Sara Bareilles

With the Fourth of July coming up, I thought I'd post the dessert I made for last year's party. While it may not have been a patriotic dish, it was still fitting for the occasion because it's a nice summer recipe.  And let me tell you, this dessert was the perfect choice because it was a hit. In fact, everyone enjoyed it so much there were practically no leftovers.

The dessert I made was a marshmallow mermaid pie. Did you notice the name? It's got two of my favorite things in it! If you speak to any of my friends, they can tell you I'm a HUGE fan of chocolate, marshmallows and most importantly, mermaids! In fact, when I celebrated my birthday recently, most of my gifts were mermaid related.

Yes, this dish is from the movie "The Waitress," which is now on broadway. I like this movie because it's cute and has a nice ending. I won't spoil it for you in case you want to see it. I also like this movie because it's about a girl named Jenna who enjoys making wonderful pies! Another bonus is that the main character shares my name. True, I may not be the pie baking champ (at least not yet!) that Keri Russel portrays, but maybe one day I'll get there.

My mom got me this beautiful chantal pie dish for Easter!

I'd also like to add that when my family was going through a rough time a few years back, my mom rented this movie and two others from our local library to cheer us up. It's stuck with me ever since and as a result, I bought the cookbook and dvd. I didn't get this recipe from the book but I'll try making the book's version someday. I will say the movie's version seems to involve coconut which is slowly growing on me. Anyway, without further ado, here is the recipe for the pie.

 


Marshmallow Mermaid Pie

Ingredients: 

• 1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust
• 34 large marshmallows (about 8oz)
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cup whipping cream or heavy cream
• 1 oz grated, unsweetened chocolate
• Nonpareils for garnish
• Mini marshmallows for garnish

Directions:

1. In a 3qt saucepan, heat marshmallows and milk over low heat (stirring constantly) until the mixture is smooth. 
2. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool completely for at least 30 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, beat the cream with a mixer at medium speed until you see stiff peaks form.
4. Fold the marshmallow mixture into the whipped cream with grated chocolate.
5. Using a spoon, transport the filling into the pie crust.
6. Refrigerate the pie for at least three hours.
7. Top the pie with mini marshmallows and nonpareils.

I decided to pair this recipe with the song "Brave" by Sara Bareilles. As cheesy as it sounds, I like this song because it's empowering. The music video is great too-although I don't think I'd ever be brave enough to bust out some dance moves in the middle of a gym or library 😊. Bareilles also did the score for the broadway adaption of "The Waitress," and has even played the lead role a couple times.

*All rights to this recipe go to Robin of All Things Heart and Home. The original recipe can be found here.

*All rights to the song "Brave" go to Sara Bareilles.

*And just another side note-see that chantal pie dish? My mom got it on clearance at Tuesday Morning! This is definitely my new favorite store. We liked this design so much we ended up with casserole dishes, measuring cups and more! Definitely visit your local Tuesday Morning if you haven't already!

St. Patrick's Day With U2 and Lucky the Leprechaun

Pinterest is one of my favorite social media channels. It's great for organizing things you're interested in such as places you want to visit, clothing you want, and maybe even things you'd like to give as gifts (which would be put in a secret board of course). Something that's embarrassing for me to admit is that most of my boards are recipes, but that works out in my favor. And Pinterest is what led me to the recipe I'll be sharing today. This recipe originated from a website called Sweet C's Designs, and it's by a woman named Courtney.

I love Lucky Charms, and it's especially my favorite treat right now since I've given up chocolate for Lent. With it being Lent and the month of March, I seem to have been eating a bunch of Lucky Charms recently.

When my friend invited me to her family's St. Patrick's Day party last weekend, I knew I had to bring something because a general family rule we had growing up was you NEVER show up to a party empty-handed. As my mom watched me make these Lucky Charm Treats, she wondered if I should make something more Irish. I told her Lucky the Leprechaun is Irish and he made the Lucky Charms. I have to say, Lucky and I made a great team last week with me using his cereal for this dessert.

Lucky Charms Treats

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of marshmallows (I was fortunate to grab the last bag of miniature ones from the store! Probably because it was about to snow a lot.)
• 4 cups Lucky Charms Cereal
• 1/4 c salted butter

Directions: 

I'm thinking of using a shamrock cookie cutter next time!

1. Grease a casserole dish (I used pam)
2. Using a large pot, start melting the butter on medium-heat
3. Add the marshmallows and keep stirring them until they're melted
4. If the marshmallows are browning slightly (meaning they're not fully melted as the sugar browns), remove them from the stove and keep stirring. The marshmallows should melt from the heat.
5. Add the Lucky Charms to the pot and keep stirring until everything is combined.
6. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish.
7. Let the treats cool before cutting them.

The song I decided to use for this recipe was U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." I got this idea from my spin instructor a couple years ago. She tried incorporating different Irish music into the class for St. Patrick's Day, and this was one of the songs she used. U2 is from Ireland, and this seems to be one of my favorite songs by them. It's also a song that when played at a bar, 95% of the bar's attendees are likely to sing along because it's popular and has a catchy tune. Also, a bit random but remember that movie Runaway Bride? I'll always remember the opening scene when it shows Julia Roberts running-away from her wedding on a horse to this song. But I think the most memorable scene of that movie is her and Richard Gere slow dancing in his apartment after she turns in her running shoes to him.

*All rights to this recipe go to Courtney O'Dell of Sweet C's Designs.
*All rights to the song "I still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" go to U2.

Feeling the Love with Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies

Recipe: Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
Song: "To Make You Feel My Love" by Trisha Yearwood

These cookies are huge...

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for the huge delay in posting. After some fun times, I am happy to be back. I was inspired to make these cookies for Valentine's Day after seeing them in the store. I understand that Valentine's Day has ended, these cookies aren't strictly for this holiday-their bright pink frosting makes them perfect for a girl's night with your friends, a baby shower, or maybe even a bridal shower where the theme is pink. Pink seems to be a popular color for weddings these days.

One of the best things about these cookies is that the frosting doesn't always have to be the same color. Simply make the cookies and dye their vanilla frosting with whatever color fits your occasion (ig: green for St. Patrick's Day, purple for Relay for Life, etc). Please see below for the recipe I got from Jillian's blog Food Folks and Fun. I'd like to note that I didn't make the frosting because my dad bought some for Christmas, and I wanted to use it before it went bad. Therefore, this recipe features Duncan Hines Vanilla Frosting, which I dyed pink.

Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies:

*This recipe makes about 24 BIG cookies.

Ingredients:

• 4½ c. all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp. table salt
• 1½ c. butter, at room temperature
• 1½ c. granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 5 tsp. vanilla extract

*Since I didn't use Jillian's frosting recipe, I decided not to include it. Feel free to check out her blog for the recipe (link below) or use your favorite vanilla frosting. As you can see, store-bought frosting is fine-it's just a little sweet :). When you make the frosting, simply add 3-4 drops of red to it to achieve the pink color. Keep in mind the fewer drops of red you use, the darker the color will be.


Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
2. In a separate bowl with an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar on medium-high speed until soft and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix the eggs well after each addition, and scrape down the bowl as needed. Add vanilla and mix until everything is just combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until everything is just combined and no flour pockets are remaining. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
4. Make sure the oven rack is in the middle position before preheating oven to 350˚ F.  Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper (or silicone baking mats) and set aside.
5. Scoop 3 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Place on prepared cookie sheets and flatten ball slightly with the palm of your hand. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing cookies at least 2-3 inches apart. Bake one cookie sheet at a time and bake the cookies for about 10-12 minutes or just until set. Don’t overbake them! When ready, the edges of the cookies will be lightly browned.
6. Cool cookies on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.
7. Once they're completely cooled, frost the cookies by adding a dollop of frosting to the cookie’s center, and using an offset spatula or spoon to smooth out to edges.
8. Let the frosting set for 2 hours before storing the cookies. Jillian recommends keeping the cookies in an airtight container, but since I didn’t have one that was big enough for the cookies, I simply put them on paper plates and covered them with aluminum foil. When I bake cookies, I like to give them away since they’re meant to be shared anyways :).

Since these cookies were originally made for Valentine's Day, I decided to pair them with a love song. I figured the perfect song for this recipe would be "To Make You Feel My Love" by Trisha Yearwood. I heard this song at my Godmom's daughter's wedding when she had her first dance with her husband. I immediately asked her what the song was called.  It sounded so beautiful and I had never heard it before. This song has been covered by Adele, and has appeared on Glee. I will say the Glee version makes you tear up because Rachel sings it out of dedication to Finn.

*All rights to this recipe goes to Jillian and her blog Food Folks and Fun.
*All rights to the song "To Make You Feel My Love" go to Trisha Yearwood.

My Very First Time Making Fall Sangria!

I'll never forget the first time I tried sangria. While studying abroad in Florence, Italy, my friend Danielle and I decided to visit our friend Amanda who was studying in Barcelona, Spain. During our visit, Amanda took us sight-seeing and we ended the day having dinner with her roommate at a nice restaurant. And that was where we ordered a pitcher of red sangria, clanked our glasses, and I had my first sip of what would become one of my favorite drinks.

Trying our first glasses of sangria five years ago!

Fast forward to a few years later. By this time, I'd had sangria a handful of times but I didn't realize until recently that it's one of my favorite drinks. I guess it became one of my favorites because it contains wine and fruit. My friends and I enjoy eating the fruit out of the bottom once it's done, and who doesn't? When I started seeing a nutritionist, she also recommended I drink wine instead of light beer (my favorite used to be Amstel Lite because it was only one point on Weight Watchers). I grew accustomed to drinking wine for the past two years, and it's nice to see what else you can do with it.

This past September, I went to visit a different friend for her birthday, and once I told her I was coming, she informed me they would be making fall sangria! Up until this point, I had tasted sangria in the spring, summer, and winter, but not in the fall. So I was very excited! Fall is my favorite season, and I was interested in seeing what fall sangria tasted like.

I ended up enjoying the sangria along with the cheese and sausage they had on the rooftop. And I liked that sangria so much, I decided to look for fall sangria recipes to try. I'm happy to say I was successful in finding one that's definitely a keeper! It was so good I made it again a couple weeks later, and bought another bottle of wine to keep in handy in case we make it again soon. How often does that happen?

Sparkling Apple Cider Sangria

What You'll Need:

• 2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup cognac
• 2 cups apple cider
• 750ml bottle cava (or other dry sparkling wine), chilled
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds 

Instructions:

1. Add the apples to a large pitcher. If you'd like to get a bit more fancy, save 1/2c of the sliced
   apples to top the drinks with. Now add the apple cider, cava and cognac. Stir well. 
2. Fill the pitcher with ice, and pour the sangria into glasses. Top the drinks with the 1/2 c of sliced apples and pomegranate seeds. 

Since I'm also a big fan of country music, I was excited to pair one of my favorite country songs with this recipe. If you haven't guessed what it is already, it's "Sangria" by Blake Shelton. It's the perfect fit, don't you think?

As far as this recipe goes, I got it from a website called "kitchn." It was created by a woman named Maureen Petrosky, and her post can be found here. She also posted nine other fall sangria recipes. I have yet to try them but I bet they're good!

*All rights to the sangria recipe go to Maureen Petrosky of "kitchn," and all the rights to the song "Sangria" go to Blake Shelton.

Enjoy Some Shamrock Cookies This St. Patrick's Day

Recipe: Shamrock Cookies Dipped in Chocolate
Song: "C'est La Vie" by B*Witched

Yes, my blog is still going. I haven't been on here in a while, but I'm happy to announce that I started a new temporary job! I'm hoping that since I don't have to concentrate on looking for a position anymore, I can start blogging much more than I used to. I'm starting to adjust to a work schedule again!

While I'm enjoying this new position, this post is about a recipe for St. Patrick's Day, so let me cut to the chase and tell you about it.

During my train ride home from work one day, my mom sent me this recipe from Joann Fabrics. I didn't follow it completely because I forgot to get green and white non-pareils, but these chocolate-dipped shamrock cookies still turned out great! My co-workers and family loved them, and I'll definitely be making these again.






Shamrock Cookies Dipped In Chocolate

My co-worker loved discovering the chocolate!

What You'll Need:

• Shamrock cookie-cutter
• Green sprinkles for garnish
• A sugar cookie recipe-I used one from one of my mom's old Betty Crocker books
• Green food-coloring
• 12oz Light Cocoa Candy Melts Candy

Directions:

1. Make sugar cookies. Tint the dough green.
      *Note: Joann's website tells you to use a formula using blue and yellow food coloring by i just used green 
        food-colring. I decided to not go too crazy with it. It's a bit difficult coloring food sometimes (especially making 
        something appear red!) but my cookies came out looking a bit tye-dyed. They still looked nice!
2. Shape cookies using shamrock cookie cutter.
3. Sprinkle green sprinkles on top of cookies before placing them in the oven
4. Once the cookies are finished baking, cool them completely.
5. Prepare the chocolate candy melts according to package instructions.
6. Spread melted chocolate on the bottom of each cookie
7. Place cookies chocolate-side down on a cookie sheet covered with parchment or wax paper.
8. Refrigerate cookies for 10-15 minutes.
7. Enjoy!

During my spin class Wednesday morning, my instructor played some Irish music in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  However, she also did something creative and decided to feature a song by an Irish band (U2). I chose to do the same thing for this recipe. When I was in elementary school, B*Witched, an Irish band, was very popular. And I remember singing along to their hit song "C'est La Vie." It has a very catchy tune and I'll admit that I still play it from time-to time. Here is a link to its music video. It goes perfect with this recipe, don't you think? You can hear them sing with an Irish accent, and they even do a little bit of Irish step-dancing in the video!

*All rights to the original recipe go to Joann Fabrics.
*All rights to the song "C'est La Vie" go to B*Witched.

Healthier Pizza!

Recipe: Flatout Bread Pizza
Song: Dean Martin's "That's Amore"


Helloooooo

Sorry I haven't been on here in a while- a lot has happened since my last blog post such as going to Florida and holding a contract position. But I'm back now, and I have a recipe that I think you'll enjoy. It's my own version of flatbread pizza using Flatout Bread. If you haven't used it before, I highly recommend it because it tastes great and it's good for you! When I visited my friend Amanda, her mom introduced my dad and I to it when she presented us with her pizza. The pizza was so good I just had to ask my nutritionist about the bread. The cool part? My nutritionist said it was great for someone who is on a low-carb diet.

Friday is always pizza night for my family. Sometimes we'll skip ordering it and eat my version with the Flatout Bread. I especially like this recipe because it's good year-round. It's especially enjoyable in the summer when we have my mom's fresh veggies from her garden.



Better For You Flatbread Pizza


What you'll need:  

Six slices of your favorite Flatout bread. (I usually give everyone two slices of this Bread but the amount you use really depends on how much you eat and how many people you're serving. The same goes for the veggies and cheese listed below-only use the amount that you need).


1/2 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
4 small tomatoes, sliced
1 quick drizzle of olive oil
A dash of oregano
1/2 8.0 oz bag Mozzarella cheese (enough to cover each slice of pizza)
4 cloves of garlic


Directions:

1. Prepare the Flatout bread according to directions. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. One time I forgot to spray the bread with cooking spray before heating it in the oven and we had pizza nachos as a result!

2. Once bread is ready, spread the cheese all over it evenly.

3. Next, distribute and spread out the tomatoes on each slice before adding the green pepper, garlic and onion.

4. Finally, lightly drizzle the olive oil on your pizzas before adding a quick dash of oregano.

5. Cook the pizza for however long the instructions tell you (about 5-10 minutes).

6. Remove slices with a spatula and enjoy!



The song I decided to pair with this recipe is "That's Amore." Pizza is an Italian dish, and the song is Italian so I thought it would be appropriate. Pizza is also mentioned in this song! Click here to watch the video and if you're really into it, play it while you eat/make the pizza. I studied abroad in Italy when I was in college and let me tell you-I miss it. This song definitely reminds me of my experiences there.

*All rights to the song "That's Amore" go to Dean Martin

Meet the longly anticipated characters of my blog!

Hi Everyone!

Guess what? Remember how when I first started this blog, I told you that my brother (Chris) would be developing characters for it? Well, my birthday was last week, and after months and months of asking for the characters, Chris surprised me and finally got them done! The picture below is what Chris gave me for my gift this year. My mom thinks I should frame it, and I definitely will.

Chris let me name them, so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what their names should be. Everyone, I would like you to meet Bernadette the snail, Earwyn the pig, and Marley the lobster. Occasionally they will pop up with things to say about the recipes. Feel free to give them a huge welcome, or let me know which character is your favorite one!


By they way, I didn't make anything for my birthday this year because I'm trying to eat more healthy!

Bye Bye Brownies

Recipe: Simple Brownies with White Chocolate Chips
Song: "So Long, Farewell" from "The Sound of Music"

When you work for a company, sometimes you think you'll be there for a long time. You might even love the company you're working for so much that you think you'll be there forever.

At the company I used to work for, someone that had been working with me ever since I arrived there ended up being offered a position that she had wanted for a long time. And so, it was time for her to leave us and move on.

Because I worked beside her and talked to her often, she was one of the individuals that I was closer too in the office. I'll admit that it was sad to see her go.  When she left, my boss took us all out to lunch, and we even gave her parting gifts. One thing I decided to do was bake something since I always love the opportunity to bake (and I probably mentioned this earlier on in my blog).

Because everyone loves brownies, and they're super easy to make, I decided to make them for her last day. But I didn't want to just bring in ordinary plain brownies.

Instead of sprinkling dark chocolate chips on top of the batter like my mom usually does, I decided to stir the chocolate chips into the batter so they would be blended into the brownies. I'll admit that a couple of them stuck to the bottom of the pan, but other than that, the recipe turned out great! I also decided to use white chocolate chips instead of the dark chocolate chips for once.

The brownies ended up being delicious, and everyone enjoyed them. All of us took multiple trips to get seconds of them at the office, and the few I left behind at my house for my family sat there for only two days.

Since this recipe isn't made from scratch, it's very simple. I've posted it below:

Simple Brownies with White Chocolate Chips

What you'll need:

• 1 box of your favorite brownie mix (I used the Milk Chocolate brownies by Duncan Hines)
• Any additional ingredients your brownie mix requires (such as eggs)
• A couple handfuls of white chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Follow the instructions for the brownie mix, and preheat the oven to the right temperature! Certain brownie mixes might differ from others.

2. Once you finish combining the ingredients for the brownie batter, stir in the white chocolate chips.

3. Bake the brownies until you're sure that they're completely done. I'm only saying this because my oven sometimes has a mind of it's own. Usually I have to bake anything in there for a longer period of time.

Because these brownies went quickly, and they were made to celebrate someone's last day with us, I thought it would be appropriate to pair them with the song "So Long, Farewell" from "The Sound of Music." I'll admit that I never watched the full musical of "The Sound of Music" but from what I hear, it's phenomenal. When ABC put on the musical, I was fortunate to catch the second half of it. I was very impressed-especially because I'm a fan of Carrie Underwood.

Anyway, when the children perform this song earlier on in the musical, it's very adorable. I will admit that the reprise of it at the end is a bit sad, but it is nice to see the cast performing the song before they make their escape. Here is the famous clip of the children performing "So Long, Farewell."

*All rights to this song go to "The Sound of Music."

Pizza That's Good Enough for a Ninja Turtle

Recipe: Pizza With Broccoli!
Song: "Ninja Rap (Go Ninja Go)" by Vanilla Ice

I'm proud to say that I was born in the early 90's. I had a great childhood then, and I feel like a lot of great stuff happened during that decade. Things also occurred that I still laugh about today. My friends and I lived for the Backstreet Boys, the Spice Girls, Christina Aguilera, and Britney Spears. And then there was the overall craze.

There were also amazing cartoons that my friends and I still remember. There was CatDog, Rocko's Modern Life, Rugrats, and more. And then there was my brother's fascination with The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

My brother (Chris) is still a fan of the Ninja Turtles today, and I have to admit, so am I. A lot of us still are. They're funny, and the cartoons were well-animated with an entertaining story line. I was even April O'Neil for Halloween last year (of course no one could tell who I was but oh, well).

Anyway, when I baked my very first pizza without a recipe last Friday, I figured that I would pair Vanilla Ice's "Ninja Rap" with my pizza. The Ninja Turtles LOVE pizza. And they also seem to like dancing in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze." This movie came out in 1991, and there's a scene where Vanilla Ice performs the "Ninja Rap," and the turtles dance to it. Funny, right? Below is the recipe that goes with this song.

Pizza With Broccoli 

What You'll Need:
Your favorite pizza crust
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes-preferably ones that are seasoned with garlic, oregano, and basil
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/4 c shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese 
A little bit of oregano
Cooked Broccoli, cut-up into small pieces

Directions: 
1. Prepare the pizza crust according to its instructions. Make sure you preheat the oven to the appropriate temperature first!
2. Heat up the diced tomatoes and garlic cloves in a saucepan until most of the liquid is evaporated.
3. Once the pizza crust is ready in the pizza pan and the diced tomatoes are done, spread the diced tomato mixture out evenly on the pizza crust. 
4. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly on top of the sauce.
5. Distribute broccoli evenly around the pizza.
6. Sprinkle just a little bit of oregano around the pizza-not too much because it's very strong!
7. Bake the pizza according to the pizza dough instructions (mine had to bake for 20 minutes).
8. Cut-up the pizza into 6 pieces and enjoy!


This recipe can obviously be made with pizza sauce but diced tomatoes taste just as good! I was going to make it with pizza sauce originally, but my mom forgot to pick it up from the store. Here is another prime example of great things you can make while improvising with what you have in your house! 

*All the rights to "Ninja Rap" go to Vanilla Ice. The lyrics to the song can be found here. All credit for the movie clip goes to "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze."

Smile! There's a cookie that resembles one of America's favorite foods-burgers!

Recipe: Meredith's Mini Burger Cookies
Song: McDonald's "Put A Smile On"


Yikes! I can't believe how long it's been since I posted something on this blog. I'm going to take a moment to be brutally honest with you-I tried making/creating a couple recipes in November for this blog, but they didn't turn out as good as I hoped they would be. Because of this, I didn't post them. Until recently when my editor, Mary Ann, asked to see my blog, I had no idea that my last post was in October!

Anyway, Mary Ann is very sweet, and I was thrilled when I got my first-ever blog request from her. She asked me to feature a recipe by her daughter, Meredith, on my blog! When Mary Ann first showed us Meredith's unique dessert creation, all of us were very impressed. I don't even like mint, but I thought her cookies were delicious!

Yup, this is a real dessert! Meredith was able to craft mini burgers out of cookies and other ingredients. Read on to see how she did it!


Meredith's Mini Burger Cookies

What you'll need:

• 1 box Nabisco Nilla Wafers cookies
• 1 box Keebler's Fudge Shoppe Grasshopper Mint cookies (You could also use thin mints because Girl Scouts will be selling cookies soon! Hey, did you hear the recent news about Girl Scout cookies being sold online and through mobile apps? Yup, it's true! Why couldn't this occur when I was a Girl Scout?)
• 1 cup Vanilla Frosting
• 1 Package Shredded coconut
• Green food-coloring
• A handful of sesame seeds
• A small amount of honey

* The amount of each individual ingredient depends on how many burgers you want to make. I just find that having a little extra of everything is always a safe idea in case something goes wrong!

They're tiny and full of flavor!

Directions:

1) With the food-coloring, dye the shredded coconut green.


2) Frost the bottoms of two Nilla Wafers with the vanilla frosting


3) Attach one Grasshopper Mint Cookie to one Nilla Wafer.


4) Place a little shredded coconut on top of the grasshopper mint cookie


5) Put the remaining Nilla Wafer on top.


6) Lightly brush the top "bun" of each burger with honey

7) Sprinkle a few sesame seeds on the top of each burger


8) Repeat steps 2-7 until you get the amount of mini hamburger cookies you desire


* Note: If you'd rather have "iceberg" lettuce on your burgers, than liquefy the green food coloring a little bit before you dye the coconut. Also, depending on how much coconut you decide to use, you might need to put more icing on the grasshopper cookie as well!


Now you know as well as I do that there aren't too many songs about burgers out there. The only song I could think of that would go with this recipe was "Put a Smile On" from the old McDonald's commercials back in the day. Click here to view the song with the commercial. Maybe it's not what you had in mind for a song, but it works for me!

*All credit for this recipe goes to Meredith. All credit to the song and video goes to McDonald's.

Cookie Butter Cookies to Share!

Recipe: Cookie Butter Cookies
Song: Cookie Monster's "Share it Maybe"


Many months ago, my friend introduced me to Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter and I both loved and hated her for it. Once you get a jar of your own, you just can't stop eating it. And now I work close to a Trader Joe's so it's easier and more convenient for me to visit the spectacular grocery store.

Soon I realized that the delicious cookie butter actually has a twin called "Biscoff Spread," which I found at Stop and Shop. I tried it, and it was just as good as the Trader Joe's brand. The problem with these cookie butters is finding foods and recipes to use it with. It's so good that it's like Nutella where you want to eat it right out of the jar!

When I realized that I had an unopened jar of it sitting in my pantry, I knew I had to use it quick-especially since it would expire at the end of the month. Obviously I didn't want to eat it all by myself, so I looked up cookie recipes that would feature it. The more cookies I could make, the more cookies I would be able to give away. The recipe I used was adapted from this one, featured on Courtney ODell's blog, Sweet C's Designs. I know that this recipe might be similar to the Nutella cookies I made, but so what?


Cookie Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

6 Tbs butter
1/2 c almond milk
1 1/2 c brown sugar
3/4 c Crunch Biscoff Spread
2 Tsp Vanilla
3 1/4 c quick-cooking oatmeal (I used Quaker Oats)

Directions:

1. Mix butter, milk, cookie butter, and sugar in a large saucepan. Stir the mixture occasionally until it comes to a boil.
2. Remove from heat.
3. Add the vanilla to the warm mixture and mix.
4. Add the oats and stir well. You might need to add more oats or milk depending on the ingredients you use. The cookies should end up thick and gooey, and stay in the shape you mold them into when they're placed on the wax paper.
5. Place the mixture in rounded spoonfulls on the wax paper, and refrigerate them until they're cool and firm.
6. Enjoy!

*Please note that I made the cookies small, and cut the recipe in half. Because I didn't have a car available that night, I couldn't go to the store and had to work with the ingredients I had. You know I love cooking and baking, but I wasn't about to walk a mile in the pouring rain to get Oatmeal! I had even tried getting some at CVS earlier in the day because it was on sale, but they ran out of it. Figures.

I kept a few cookies for my family. The rest went to work with me and my brother!

The song I decided to pair with this recipe is a bit goofy, but because cookies are for sharing, I thought it would be appropriate. I grew up with Sesame Street, and although I don't watch it anymore, I still have a lot respect for the show! Click here to see Cookie Monster sing "Share it Maybe." When "Call Me Maybe" first came out, I hated it because one of my roommates played it practically five times a day. I did grow to like the song, and thought that Cookie Monster had a funny parody of it.

*All credit for the original recipe goes to Courtney ODell of at Sweet C's Designs.
*All rights to the song "Share it Maybe" go to the Sesame Street Workshop

Everything is awesome with this lego cake!

Song: Everything is Awesome
Recipe: Lego cake

My mom, her friend Barbara, and I visited my mom's Godmother (Hilda), during the summer. While we were there, Hilda's granddaughters also came over and watched Rosanna Pansino's channel "Nerdy Nummies." Pansino makes interesting baked goods, and we ended up watching this video of Pansino making a lego cake. After we saw her make the cake, my mom turned to me and said "Are we going to make this for Chris's birthday?"

For those of you who are new to my blog, Chris is my brother. His birthday was earlier this month, and I figured I would make this cake. Pansino says in her video that this cake is easy to make, but I should tell you that it makes a mess, and creating it takes a LOT of patience. I practically spent half the party slaving over the cake-and my brother was very grateful. Chris must've thanked me a dozen times for making it, and devoting some of the party to it's creation.

I like this cake because it's divided into a bunch of sections, and anyone can choose whatever color they want. I also loooooooove marshmallows. However, because it makes a mess and takes a lot of time, I probably won't make this dessert for a long time.

Anyway, I'll stop talking and give you the recipe. You can also find it Betty Crocker's version of the recipe here.

I'm not the artistic one in my family so this came out a bit sloppy lol

LEGO Cake!

What you'll need:

• 1 box of white cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Since they're the best brand in my opinion)
• Ingredients for the cake mix
• Red, yellow, and blue food-dye drops
• About 2 containers of vanilla frosting
• 12 Marshmallows cut in half

Directions:

1. Bake the cake according to box instructions.
2. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan before placing it on a cooling rack.
3. Cool the cake for an hour, before placing the cake in the fridge or freezer for an additional hour. I froze the cake overnight because I work full-time now, and had to make the cake late a night.
4. Cut the cake so that there are two rectangular pieces, and two square pieces.
5. Grab three small bowls to color the frosting. Make 1 cup of the frosting red, 1 cup of the frosting yellow, and 2/3 of the frosting blue. Leave the remaining frosting white.
6. In order to seal in the crumbs, you need to frost each piece of cake with a thin layer of frosting. Frost one square white, and another square blue. Frost one rectangular peice with yellow frosting. and the remaining rectangular piece with red frosting.
7. Rerigerate or freeze the cake for 30-60 minutes before giving the cakes their final coating of frosting.
8. Frost 4 marshmallow halves blue, and four marshamallows halves white. Frost eight marshmallow halves yellow, and the remaining eight marshmallows red.
9. When the marshmallows are done, put them on their respective places on each cake.

*Note: Betty Crocker and Pansino tell you to level the cake but I skipped that part because I was in a hurry. The marshmallows still stayed on the cake! I also ended up making one cake pink instead of red because red is hard to make-says my mom! If you're hosting a party where children of both genders are present, having a pink section of the cake is a good idea!



As for this recipe's song, I chose "everything is Awesome" from The Lego Movie. The song may not be about Legos, but everyone who knows the movie knows the song. And even if you've never seen the movie, many shirts will portray the main character with the caption "EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!" If you don't know the song, listen to it on Youtube.

Cornbread muffins made from Trader Joe's Cornbread mix!

Hey guys!

I'll admit that I can get lazy sometimes, but then again, a lot of people can! That being said, I thought that I would create a new section of my blog titled "Jenna's Cheats." Here is where I'll be rating different packaged products (such as cake mix) from time to time. Sometimes with a busy schedule, a lot of us don't have time to cook everything from scratch. We all need to take the easy way out once in a while!

Love always,

Jenna

Whip yourselves into shape with this shake!

Song: Whip it, by Devo

Recipe: Jenna's Peanut Butter and Chocolate Protein shake

Wheeeeeeeee! I'm back. I'm sorry guys-I know I've disappeared for a while but things have been hectic. But hey, at least I'm blogging again! And this recipe that I have for you is simple, and it's gotten many likes on Instagram. Why? Because it's a good thing to have if you're trying to stay in shape, or get in shape.

Yes, this week's recipe is a protein shake.  I'll admit that I didn't really try to make shakes that often until earlier this year. You see, my brother (Chris) surprised me with a HUGE jug of it for Christmas. Chris's wanted to get me a huge jug because he knew I wanted to try using protein powder, and he didn't want me to run out of it for a long time. Because it's so huge, he'll use it sometimes, too. He keeps saying he wants to get his own since it was my Christmas gift, but I don't mind. I'll have that thing for a year!

Personally, I’ve been very into eating healthy and working out for the past couple of years. Everyone knows that getting a lot of protein is very important to your health-especially when you work out and you need the strength and energy. I believe that protein is also great, because it can make you stay fuller longer, and not want to snack as much.

There are many different types of shakes that you can make with vanilla whey protein, but I like this shake because it's delicious. It’s smooth, and creamy texture makes it taste like something you would get from a diner, and it’s practically a dessert! Who doesn’t like to have dessert for breakfast?

Anyway, I'll stop talking about this shake and actually give you the recipe.

Jenna's Peanut Butter And Chocolate Protein Shake:

What you’ll need:

1 c. Vanilla Almond Milk

2 tbs Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup

1 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1 tbs Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter

Directions:

1. Place the above ingredients in a blender, and blend them on whatever settings you like until the 

          shake gets to your desired texture. (I did the whip and the puree settings).

2    2. When the shake is ready, pour it into a large glass (like a beer glass) because the

    texture will make the drink rise a lot!

MMmmmmmmm

*This sugar free chocolate syrup tastes terrible, unsurprisingly. If I wasn't trying to lose weight and cut back on my sugar, I wouldn't have bought it. But I do want to mention that this syrup tastes fine with this shake because of the vanilla almond milk, peanut butter, and vanilla whey. Also, when I used the sugar free chocolate syrup in a different shake later that week (it had the same ingredients minus the peanut butter), the flavors
from the protein powder and vanilla almond milk were enough to make the chocolate syrup not taste too bad.

I chose the song "Whip It" by Devo for this recipe. I like this song because it can be inspiring for getting into shape. It’s catchy tune, and lyrics “now whip it, into shape, shape it up, get straight, go forward, move ahead…” make a good work out song. And I believe that the perfect recipe for this song would be none other but a protein shake.  Visit this link to see Devo perform this song live.

Have a wonderful labor day weekend! Mom and I will be making more recipes this weekend because of our Labor Day Barbeque. You will definitely be seeing them here!

*All rights to the song "Whip it" belong to Devo.

Incredible Veggies and Protein!

Recipe: Vegetable Salad With Chicken
Song: The League of Incredible Vegetables Theme Song by The Newsboys


I once heard of someone who didn't like fruits and vegetables and decided not to eat any. How can that be possible? There are so many different types of vegetables and fruits out there, how could you not like at least one?

Since I started eating healthier a few years ago, fruits and vegetables became my best friends. I used to be on Weight Watchers, and they were zero

points (except for the avocado, but that didn't matter to me). Even after I was off of Weight Watchers, vegetables were obviously and important part of my eating habits. I love them because they're a "feel-good food." They have a small amount of calories, they're fresh, and they're filled with water so they fill you up. I can go on and on about the benefits of vegetables but I'm not here to do that. Instead, I'll just cut to the point and tell you this week's recipe. By the way, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post something on this blog! I was on vacation two weeks ago, and I just started a new full-time job (whoo-hoo!) so I'm not used to being on a new schedule just yet!



This week's recipe is a vegetable salad with chicken. It's a perfect lunch to bring to work because it's fast to make, it's portable, and it contains protein so you'll get energy and be full for a long time. Here's the recipe below:

This recipe is perfect for lunch when you're at the office!

Vegetable Salad With Chicken:

What you'll need:

1 fully-grilled chicken breast
1 cup of salad
1 small tomato
A few slices of cucumber
1 tablespoon Nakano Vinegar (or some type of rice vinegar)



Instructions:

1. Toss together all of the vegetables.
2. Add the rice vinegar and toss the salad again. Note: If you don't want your salad to be drenched in the dressing for a while before you eat it, simply put it in a small and portable dressing container so that you can add it later. My mom got me a cheap one at The Christmas Tree Shops!



The song that I decided to pair with this recipe is a bit cheesy, but I ultimately decided on "The League of Incredible Vegetables"-the theme song for the well-known children's cartoon. This song is by a band called The Newsboys. I heard it once and since it sounded good, I thought that it would be nice for my blog. Besides, it's a song about vegetables so it goes perfect with this recipe! Check out the song at the link below. Have a a great rest of the weekend!

Click here to see The Newsboys perform "The League of Incredible Vegetables."

*All rights to the song "The League of Incredible Vegetables" goes to The Newsboys.

The Declaration of Indpendence...and amazing chocolate buttermilk cookies!

Recipe: Chocolate Buttermilk Cookies
Song: Jimi Hendrix's cover of "The Star Spangled Banner"

As you know, I wasn't able to make myself a cake for my birthday. That meant that I was left with all of the ingredients to make the yellow cake with chocolate buttercream icing. One of those ingredients was buttermilk, and I had to use it before it went bad.

Let me just say that Google is amazing. It's always come in handy for me, and it came to the rescue once again by giving me Kadie's  chocolate buttermilk cookies, that were featured on her blog, Barefoot and Baking. You see, I didn't want to waste a full carton of Buttermilk, so I googled "cookies to make with buttermilk." And that's how I came across Kadie's blog. This recipe was so good that even though I was short on cocoa powder the first time, and had 3/4 c less of chocolate chips the second time, the taste of the cookies were still amazing! I went to two 4th of July Parties last weekend, so I ended up baking two batches of them. And guess what? The cookies vanished both times! Once you have one of these cookies, you'll want to have another one. In fact, one of my friends ate five of them, and someone else I know ate three! Anyway, here's the recipe I adapted from Kadie's below. I made some changes to it to make it a little bit healthier.

This platter wasn't full for long!

Buttermilk Chocolate Cookies

These are just as good as they look!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup butter
a little bit less than 3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1 t vanilla
1 egg
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. (Every recipe tells you to do this first, but I usually do this once I'm sure
    everything's measured out because I move slow sometimes!)

2.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together baking soda, flour, and salt.

4. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl (about 30 seconds to a minute).

5. In a large bowl, combine the warm melted butter with the cocoa powder, and whisk everything
    until the mixture is very smooth.

6. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the egg, buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla. Gradually stir in the
    flour mixture until no streaks of flour are present.

7. Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips, or divide the dough in half to make two different kinds of
    cookies. I would've experimented by using two different types of chocolate chips for this recipe,
    but I was in a hurry!

8. Drop by spoonful onto the prepared pan about 2 inches apart. This is important because these
    cookies really spread!

9. Bake the cookies for about 10-15 minutes, until they are set on the edges.  The middle will be
    doughy but firm up as they cool.

10. Once the cookies are removed from the oven, they should cool for a few minutes on the pan
      before cooling completely on a wire rack. 



Because I baked these cookies for the 4th of July, I decided that a patriotic song would go perfect with them. That's why I chose Jimi Hendrix's cover of "The Star Spangled Banner." Click here to watch him play it!

If a ton of people (myself included!) enjoyed these cookies, I'm sure you will, too! Happy belated 4th of July!

*All rights to the original recipe go to Kadie of "Barefoot and Baking."
*All rights to the song "The Star Spangled Banner" go to Jimi Hendrix

Snap. Crackle. Pop. Happy Birthday to Me!

Song: "Birthday" by The Beatles

Recipe: Rice Krispie Treat Cupcakes (or Rice Krispie Treats in Cupcake form)

I loooooove making Rice Krispie Treats. They're quick, they're easy, and they're better for you than many other desserts! I'm also a huge fan of marshmallows, and love crunchy foods.

Now I'll admit that I really wanted to make myself a cake for my birthday, but I was just too lazy to do it. I'm also trying to eat healthy and wanted to make better choices since I was eating out twice that week-once with my family, and once with my friends. I also wanted something that was liked by many people, so that I wasn't stuck with a lot of leftovers. That being said, Rice Krispie Treats are the perfect thing to make since everyone loves them. My little cupcakes were so good that some of my friends even had two of them! I even brought the leftovers to work on my last day (which is a whole different story). One of my managers ate four of them for lunch-there's nothing wrong with that!

Basically what I did was shape the warm Rice Krispie Treat mixture into cupcake shapes, instead of just pressing it into the pan. I should tell you that this was challenging, and you need to move quickly before the mixture sticks to the saucepan, but if you want to be creative and try something new, definitely go for it! I've posted the recipe that I adapted from Kadie's blog, "Barefoot and Baking" below:

They taste just as good without the icing!

Rice Krispie Treats:

What you'll need:

6 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal
1 tsp vanilla extract                                 
5 c. miniature marshmallows
4 Tbs. butter


How to make them: 

1. Place cupcake liners into muffin tin.
2. Melt the marshmallows and butter in a LARGE saucepan over medium-low heat.
3. As soon as the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla and stir the mixture until it's combined.
4. Now add the Rice Krispies and stir until the cereal is coated well. 
5. Quickly take a spoon and drop the mixture into the cupcake liners. You can also shape the mixture with your hands if you 
    like once it's in the liner.
6. Decorate the treats if you please. I originally bought a pink, glittery Betty Crocker decorative icing tube for my cake, so I 
    just put dots of it all over the cupcakes.
7. Share and enjoy!



Obviously, the song that will go with this recipe is a birthday song. I decided to use "Birthday" by The Beatles. Here's a clip of the famous British band performing it.


*All rights to the original recipe go to Kadie of "Barefoot and Baking."
*All rights to the song "Birthday" go to The Beatles.
 

Enjoy a nice Italian dish with some Italian music!

Recipe: Jenna's Healthy Whole Wheat Spaghetti Dish
Song: Andrea Bocceli's "Mille Lune Mille Onde"

Imagine spending a semester abroad in Florence, Italy where you study with great students from other schools, and wonderful professors who are kind and understanding. That was me during my junior year of college a couple years ago. It was a wonderful experience that I'll always treasure and remember forever. While I wouldn't change anything about my experience abroad, there was one thing that was a problem-my Italian was terrible. I was awful at speaking and writing in Italian, and all I could think about was how my grandma (Antonette) would've jumped right in to help me with the language if I ever needed her to. Unfortunately, my grandma died six years ago and we haven't stopped missing her since. She was such a sweet and funny woman. My Great Grandma Carmella (who was her mother and is credited with giving me my really tan skin that somehow no one else in my family has) immigrated to America from Italy as a teenager, so she taught my grandma how to speak Italian.

I just love eating spaghetti, don't you?

But enough about my family. One day when I was out shopping with my friends by The Florence Cathedral, I came up with an idea. Maybe if I tried listening to some Italian music, it would help build my Italian vocabulary! Immediately, I remembered those Barilla pasta commercials that used to be on. You know, the ones where a guy would provide a woman with pasta and be romantic about it? As soon as I got back to my apartment, I googled "What was the Italian song that played during the Barilla pasta commercials?" I would find out that the song was Andrea Bocceli "Mille Lune Mille Onde." Don't ask me why I chose that song to help me learn Italian. I guess at the time when I thought of it, I must've been hungry.

For some funny reason, I've always enjoyed playing that song constantly since I returned home from my trip abroad. I especially like to listen to it whenever I'm making pasta. I just think that it's a sweet, beautiful, and romantic song with a great tune. Because I found out about this song through a pasta commercial, I decided to pair it with my own pasta recipe! Check out this dish below :)




Jenna's Healthy Whole Wheat Spaghetti Dish


What you'll Need:

1/2 Package of Whole Wheat Thing Spaghetti (I used the one by Barilla)
2 Tbs of grated cheese (I used Pecorino Romano)
1/2 10 oz package frozen spinach
2 Tbs low-fat butter
1/2 16 oz package ground chicken
About 2 Tbs olive oil
A couple dashes of ground, dry basil


Instructions:

1. Heat skillet over medium-high heat for a moment before adding olive oil.
2. Spread oil around the pan before adding the chicken. (I cooked the whole package so that we had the leftover chicken ready for something else).
3. While the chicken is cooking, add the dry basil (your whole kitchen will smell like basil!) Be sure to cook the chicken all the way through.
4. While the chicken is cooking, cook the frozen spinach according to it's instructions.
5. Cook the pasta according to the box's instructions. Once the spaghetti is drained, immediately return it to the pot and toss it with the butter.
6. Once the butter is melted, add the chicken.
7. Finally, add the spinach and the cheese, and combine everything together.
8. If you're a cheese lover like I am, feel free to sprinkle additional grated cheese on top of the pasta!

Serves 2.

*All credit for the song "Mille lune Mille Onde" goes to Andrea Bocceli, and can be heard here.