Tag Archives: Friday

Key West- Part One

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Hello, hello, hello everyone! Reporting here from sunny[ish] Key West, Florida!!

Key West | Beautiful Disasters

My mom and I flew in here from blustery Chicago on Monday and are staying here till Friday. This is actually my third time in Key West, and I have to admit, I absolutely adore this quirky place.

Key West | Beautiful Disasters

It is full of a lot of crazy, usually drunk, strange people, but they make great entertainment for people-watching. Also, if you ever intend on going to Key West, you absolutely MUST go to Mallory Square one night. For one, Mallory Square has one the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. Be sure you get there earlyish (like 10-15 minutes early) so you can get a nice viewing spot. Another fun thing with Mallory Square is that there is some quite unique entertainment there in the evenings. Street performers come and do their little stunts. They are a lot of talk trying to guilt you into giving them money and what not, but they’re certainly entertaining. My personal favorite one is the two guys in red pants who do a bunch of stunts, with juggling and gymnastics and end with a pretty cool finale on a ladder. Lastly, there is some fun art that vendors and local artists sell, like different types of jewelry, paintings, sculptures, and little tchotchkes. You really can’t go wrong with any of the food down here.

Bo's Fish Wagon Conch Fritters

Bo’s Fish Wagon Conch Fritters

Being from Chicago, where seafood is pretty darn expensive and good seafood is hard to come by, my mom and I certainly take advantage of all the seafood we can get our hands on.

Bo's Fish Wagon Grilled Mahi with Coleslaw

Bo’s Fish Wagon Grilled Mahi with Coleslaw

On Monday night, we went to Bo’s Fish Fish Wagon. My mom ordered what they’re famous for, a fried grouper sandwich. I ordered grilled mahi with coleslaw and key limeade (yum!!), and then we split they’re famous conch fritters. We loved everything! It was super casual, delicious, and a great welcome meal to Key West.

Bo's Fish Wagon Fried Grouper Sandwich

Bo’s Fish Wagon Fried Grouper Sandwich

Tuesday night we went to Alonzo’s Oyster Bar. I ordered the blackened grouper, which came with red potatoes and veggies. Dee-lish!! I love grouper, and it is what is local and known around here, so it was perfect for me. You can tell my  mom and I are related…she ordered the grilled grouper, same sides. Hers was delicious, as well! Sorry, didn’t get a chance to snap pictures, but I can assure you, it was fabulous!

More to come later :-)

Random Fact of the Day: Watermelons can cost up to $100 in Japan!

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Christmas Chocolate Dipped Brownie Pops

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What could possible be better than a chewy, fudgey, chocolatey brownie you ask?

Xmaschocoaltecoveredbrownies

One covered in chocolate.

Xmaschocolatedippedbrownies

Garnished with sprinkles.

xmaschocolatedippedbrownies-2

And placed on a stick for easy eating, that’s what.

xmaschocolatedippedbrownies-3

These are just about as easy as those chocolate covered oreos, I posted on Friday. These are perfect if you want to make something pretty simple yet delicious and festive! You could easily wrap these up with a little cellophane and tie a ribbon and call it a day and give them to teachers, neighbors, friends, or yourself!

Christmas Chocolate Dipped Brownie Pops

one batch of baked brownies, I used my favorite brownie recipe but if you don’t feel like making them from scratch feel free to use a box mix or already-made store bought brownies

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate (white chocolate, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate would be great too)

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

sprinkles and additional desired toppings  (like crumbled up cookies, a drizzle of a different type of chocolate, M&M’s, etc.)

popsicle sticks

  1. Bake and prepare brownies as recipe directs. Let cool and cut into individual bars, whatever size you want.
  2. When brownies are completely cut and cooled, melt the chocolate and butter (or margarine) together in a double boiler or microwave, until smooth. I prefer to use a double boiler when I’m dipping things because once the chocolate is completely melted, I can keep it over the lowest heat and it stays smooth and melted, perfect for dipping.
  3. First dip popsicle stick in melted chocolate, then stick popsicle stick in the bottom of brownie, about halfway in. Place brownie on stick on wire rack, with parchment paper or silpat-lined rimmed baking sheet underneath. Repeat with all brownie pieces. Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is hardened
  4. Once chocolate is hardened on sticks, take brownies out of fridge and dip whole brownie in melted chocolate. Right after each brownie is dipped in chocolate, apply toppings (sprinkles, cookie crumbs, etc.) Once all brownies have been completely dipped and decorated, place in fridge until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.
  5. Once chocolate is set, remove brownie pops from wire racks and place in tupperware container. I store mine in the fridge, but they would be fine sitting at room temperature as long as your house and environment aren’t too warm. Enjoy!

Christmas Chocolate Dipped Brownies

Random Fact of the Day: In the U.S., more than 10% of lottery prizes go unclaimed

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Surprise Brownies!

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Who doesn’t love surprises?!

Seriously… I was obsessed with the idea of a surprise birthday when I was younger. Like I literally begged for one. I so desperately wanted one, specifically at Jeepers. Pretty much the slightly above Chuck-E-Cheese type of place all the cool 3rd graders had their parties at.

My parents, of course, told me that I could not have a surprise birthday party. What kind of surprise would it have been if they said I could? Well… I was not satisfied. It was either surprise party or no party.

The big day finally came. I clearly remember sitting on the bus with my bus-buddy, Lauren, talking about our weekends. She said she was going to a birthday party and I was like totally super jealous. And then she said it was a surprise party…and I was ready to just go bananas. Seriously?! Someone is having a surprise party without me?!?! And then I put two and two together. I ain’t no fool. I finally pried it out of her that she was going to my party.

So I came home all excited for my surprise birthday party to come home to my mom not home! Mom belongs at home. Mom is always supposed to be at home. It was Friday. Friday was cookie day. What the heck?

My Dad was home, though, and he told me he had to check out a place for work. Jeepers. And I was like BOOYAH! Jeepers!!!! (Totally forgot about the bus ride home..) It made total sense to me to have a work function for adult people at Jeepers. I mean, hellooooo? It’s freaking Jeepers and gallons of fun. Then just totally out of nowhere my friends popped out screaming their little faces off and somehow…somehow.. I was shocked. I may have even pooped my pants a tiny bit. Kidding. Maybe. I don’t really remember. But I do remember a tear or two come out. And I still, to this very day, don’t know why I was brought to tears by this. Anywho, I loved it and that is my story about surprises.

Wanna see another one of my favorite surprises? Peanut butter in ANYTHING. (except maybe weird stuff like fish or something.) Brownies, peanut butter, how can you go wrong? You can’t. So just do it y’all.

Peanut Butter Surprise Brownies

1 box brownie mix, prepared (Or your favorite brownie recipe)

3/4 cup peanut butter

about 6 oz (1 cup) marshmallow fluff

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray an 8×8 inch square baking pan
  2. Prepare brownie mix as directed on package (or according to your own recipe). Spread just enough batter on the bottom of the baking pan to cover the bottom.
  3. Place peanut butter and marshmallow fluff into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir quickly to combine and spread in a thin layer on top of bottom brownie batter layer. Spread just enough brownie batter to cover peanut butter-marshmallow layer. If you have leftover brownie batter, I always pour mine into a plastic baggy and keep in the freezer until I want to bake individual brownies in cupcake tins and what not.
  4. Bake brownies in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 1 hour, then slice into bars and enjoy! :)

Random Fact of the Day: 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily.

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Week in Review (6/4-6/8)

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Summer has finally arrived!!!! :D

Monday I shared with you guys some Fully Loaded Cookies that I made to get me through finals week ;)

Tuesday I had my last two finals!!! Physics was a rough one but at least it is finally over.

Wednesday I posted some good ‘ol classic Fudgy Brownies. This has to be y absolute favorite brownie recipe I have tried so far, deeelish!

Friday I showed you all the Angel Food Cake I made. I have always been a bit reluctant to make angel food cake at home because of the whole 12 egg white thing and all the sifting and folding nonsense, but it is truly worth EVERY SECOND. And it really is not that difficult to make. Plus I think angel food cake sounds kinda impressive, so just make it :) It’s friendly to the waist-line!

And then today I had the ACT, hopefully my last one. So now that the test is over, Summer has officially begun!!

Random Fact of the Day: Earth is the only planet not named after a Greek or Roman god.

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Week in Review (5/7-5/11)

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What a busy week! Sorry for just posting one little recipe this week, but I was BIZ-eeeeee!

Monday I showed you guys some yummy banana baked oatmeal, or as Katie from Chocolate Covered Katie likes to call it-boatmeal. This stuff is so yummy and a delicious way to start any day. I have yet to tried real oatmeal, you know the goopy looking kind, but I for sure love this baked version!

Tuesday I had a soccer game against our school’s rival. They are the one other high school in our town, so it’s a pretty big deal. We had our largest crowd ever, and it was also our team’s last home game of the season. It’s always fun to play our rivals because there’s a couple girls from my travel team on there so it’s pretty major to be able to have bragging rights for the next year. We ended up just beating them 1-0, an awesome way to end our home games for the season! Next week the road for play-offs begins

Wednesday I showed you guys Part One of my prom weekend. It was a weekend that surely did not disappoint, that did not have many moments that weren’t exciting.

Thursday I volunteered at an elementary school nearby and babysat a bunch of kids. I have to say, I had an awesome time. Being the youngest child in my family, I have very little experience with babysitting, but being a swim instructor helps quite a bit. By the end of the night, I had suffered a few battle wounds. Including a large bump and bruise on my hip from a crash in “Duck, Duck, Goose”. Those kids are quick! And FULL OF ENERGY! Seriously, where does it all come from?!

Friday I showed you all Part Two from my prom weekend. It was fun to have a weekend of just straight-up fun, but I’m looking forward to catching up on a bit of sleep this weekend. VERY much needed!

Random Fact of the Day: About 75 acres of pizza are eaten in in the U.S. Everyday.

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