Key West Part Three

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Casey

More Key West! I promise, this is my final installment of the Key West saga. I am back home now, but I just had to share with your guys the rest so you would be able to have as much fun as I did if you ever get the opportunity to get down here.

We went to the iconic Sloppy Joe’s, which is also known as Hemingway‘s bar. Yes, it is where Hemingway used to hang out “back in the day”. My mom and I just went there for an appetizer at around lunch time one day (I think Wednesday) and ordered an appetizer that came with a few onion rings, a few conch fritters, some mozzarella sticks, and wings.

Inside Sloppy Joe’s

Nothing in the appetizer really did much for me. Fried food doesn’t usually lift my skirt, unless it’s something like fish and chips, but it was decent and we were mostly there for the historical reasons.

Hemingway’s skis!

It was still a cool experience and I really enjoyed the key limeade I had there!

One last thing I would like to share with you guys is Kermit’s Key West Lime Shoppe.

It’s this cute little bakery/candy/key lime-everything shop on the corner by where our shuttle from the hotel would pick us up and drop us off. We went in DAILY! One of my favorite parts of this little shop is that the guy who owns it (Kermit) is there basically everyday!!

I love it when owners of small businesses take pride and put in that kind of effort into their business. His shop sells every key lime thing you could possibly think of. His products have been featured on TV, like on Food Network, and in many other notable media outlets. He sure has made quite a name for himself.

His pie is sold all around Key West in many restaurants, and his products are sold in many Key West shops. He REALLY has it figured out! He has samples all over his store where you can basically sample everything from lotion to barbecue sauce to truffles.

You can also buy his products on-line. I bought a shirt, his key lime juice, key lime jelly beans, and key lime hard candies.

I was absolutely shocked at how much I loved the key lime candies. I think I may be addicted!

There certainly are a bunch of interesting things to see and experience on Key West. If you can ever make it down here, I totally recommend it with my whole heart. I love it here, and seriously, I have never eaten a bad meal here. Ever. How often can you say that?!?

Example of interesting things around Key West

Random Fact of the Day: In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II was named an ‘Honorary Harlem Globetrotter.’”

Key Lime Pie? (iwilltellu.wordpress.com)
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean coming out in February/March, Key Lime Pie to follow (smartphoneweave.blogspot.com)
Spring has Sprung! Key Lime Cupcakes (cupcakesandcheese.com)

Key West Part Two

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Casey

Welcome to part two my Key West adventure!

I forgot to share with you all my little neighbor I had on the flight here.

She was a bit of a yelper, but not too much of a bother. Overall, I would take her over a spider any day!!

Oh and those sunsets at Mallory Square that I was talking about before? Snapped a few photos for you all to experience a little bit for yourself.

On Wednesday my mom and I went out to Blue Heaven.

It’s a very well-known restaurant around here, and is super cute! The food here is phenomenal, and I’m sure you could order anything on the menu and be happy. My mom ordered the Snapper with angel hair pasta and cornbread, and I ordered the special: Wahoo fish with coconut rice, topped with asian slaw and cornbread.

My mom’s dish at Blue Heaven-Snapper with Angel Hair Pasta and cornbread

My dish I ordered at Blue Heaven-Wahoo fish with coconut rice and Asian slaw and cornbread

Roosters and chickens are common to see just running around everywhere here on Key West…I had a few little pals run across my feet unexpectedly! My yelp definitely entertained the surrounding diners, but eventually I got used to the little buddies running around my feet.

Baby chick scurrying around my purse

For dessert at Blue Heaven we ordered their famous key lime pie that is topped with a huge, impressive mountain of meringue. It was delicious! I love meringue, but even for me it was a little much. I would kind of prefer whipped cream, but it was still a yummy pie.

After feeling like we needed to be rolled out of Blue Heaven, we rolled ourselves on over to the southernmost point in the USA! Pretty cool to know you’re even more southern than Hawaii!!

After visiting the southernmost point, we walked along Duval street. Picture Bourbon St. in New Orleans and this is like a mini, scaled-down version of that.

We decided to pop into a cute little bakery/candy shop, Mattheessen’s. Such a cute little place!! Everything looked amazing, and they’re cookies are bigger than your face (They’re a 1/2 lb. each)! You can even order their goodies on-line..kind of dangerous that I just found this out

Mattheessen’s giant cookies

We knew we had to take a raincheck, so we went back and my mom and I both got stuff from there on Thursday. I ordered the key lime sorbet, and my mom got the peanut butter peanut butter cup ice cream. Both were ah-mazing.

The peanut butter, peanut butter cup ice cream my mom ordered

The key lime sorbet I ordered

My mom also ordered one of the ginormous chocolate chip cookies that we intended on eating today for the airport and plane ride back… yeah, that didn’t work out. We ended up silently destroying that bad boy in the hotel room when we got back.

On Thursday my mom and I decided to try renting and riding scooters.

Whew! I was preeettty scared at first, but once you get the hang of it, they are so darn fun. It really makes you want to own one of your own!! I can definitely picture myself owning own of these babies some day, especially if I live somewhere warm.

For dinner on Thursday, we went to Seven Fishes. It’s a cute little restaurant in the middle of a neighborhood that would be super easy to pass without knowing it’s there, but trust me, you do NOT want to miss this one! Lots of people around here know what Seven Fishes is and would rave about it to you just like I am about to. It’s a tiny little place that you really should call for a reservation for because it will fill up. They don’t open their doors till 6 PM, so you should be sure to get there on time or else you could lose your table (there are not many tables they can squeeze in there).

The grouper, angel hair pasta, veggies, and focaccia my mom ordered

My mom ordered the grilled grouper with angel hair pasta and I ordered the grilled yellowtail snapper with rice. Both came with yummy sautéed veggies and their homemade mashed potato focaccia. Everything was delicious…clearly, by the way we cleaned our plates.

The yellowtail snapper, rice, veggies, and focaccia I ordered

I think I could live the rest of my life eating that homemade mashed potato focaccia. Oh my gosh..yum. I need to figure out how to make that amazing bread. I’ll probably be dreaming about that entire meal for months!

Some entertainment outside of Mallory Square

The final installment of the Key West saga will be comin’ at ya on Monday, stay tuned!!

Random Fact of the Day: Pepsi-Cola was originally called ‘Brad’s drink’.

Discover Five of the Best Romantic Getaways (epicatravel.com)
Key West Grilled Chicken (Great for all phases) (thetalkingscale.typepad.com)
Spring Break in Key West (trinemarie.com)

Homemade Mocha Light Frappuccino & In Need of Some Time Wasting?

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Casey

I really hope procrastination is something that I will grow out of…but I am having a pretty bad feeling that it will just be a forever ~~charming~~ trait of mine. The other day as I was being productive on Pinterest (as everyone ALWAYS is), I stumbled across another great website that truly will increase my knowledge and broaden my horizons. Yes. Iwastesomuchtime.com. Very appropriately named.

One of my favorite pictures I saw was this one.

Wait for it…

(Source)

So if you are ever in a crunch and need to waste some time, I have the hook-up for you! Iwastesomuchtime.com, trust me, you’ll regret clicking, but then you’ll be happy you clicked it, but angry, but happy. It’s a vicious, emotional circle of feelings.

On a side note, I have more to share with you than a leaping sheep (that appears to be on the same road that Forrest Gump ran on).

I happen to be a pretty big Starbucks fan. Starbucks, also known as that place where all your money magically disappears. I am here today to help that little disappearing money dilemma. Also, you don’t have to put a real bra on, turn your car on, brush your hair and do all those laborious tasks that are necessary to go to Starbucks, instead you can make these babies in the comfort of your own little kitchen!

We got this little individual serving blender from some family friends for Christmas and let me tell you, this baby is a gem! I love it!! So perfect for me (the only coffee drinker in the house) when I want to whip up my own little frap. You can, of course, also make your frap in a regular blender if that is what you have in your house, either way it will taste the same.

One last thing, to make this frap extra wonderful, you are going to want to pick up some of your own chocolate syrup. Not the Hershey’s kind of syrup, it’s like the kind of syrup Starbucks uses when they make their fraps, so be sure it is the syrup that is thinner and more of a liquidey consistency. You can find these syrups on-line, or in World Market, or Walmart. I believe other places sell them, but those are the ones I know for sure. In addition to the chocolate syrup, we have bought the vanilla and peppermint. Vanilla is great because it is actually cheaper than vanilla extract, so it rounds out the recipe, and the peppermint is awesome to get you in the wintery spirit. Plus, I am a total peppermint junkie, so I can see myself enjoying it all year long.

Mocha Light Frappuccino [at home!]

(Makes 1 serving)

1 cup ice

1/3 cup brewed coffee, cooled down

1/4 cup milk (I used skim)

2 shots of mocha syrup (I used the sugar free)

1/2 shot vanilla syrup (I used the sugar free)

In a blender combine all ingredients and blend until you don’t hear the noisy ice being crushed, and the frappuccino is a smooth consistency. That’s it! Enjoy

Random Fact of the Day: An iceberg contains more heat than a lit match. That doesn’t make sense.. hm, I trust the internet. That’s where I met my french model boyfriend.

Woman To Eat Only Starbucks Food For One Year (huffingtonpost.com)
10 irregular Starbucks drinks you should try (guangyic.wordpress.com)
Happy Summer! (havadenglish.com)

The Best of Beautiful Disasters [and the World] in 2012

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Casey

2012 was quite a year. We survived the feared 12/21/12 Apocalypse. Congratulations, everyone.

There were some pretty big accomplishments throughout the world in 2012. Shout-out to North Korea for the rocket nobody thought they would ever actually get up.

Suu Kyi from Burma was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, which is, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States.

And for some things we may be able to relate with more…

Twitter caused an increase in voting participation in this year’s election.

The iPhone 5 came out. Well done, Apple.

Honey Boo Boo had one heck of a year.

Hunger Games took over the world by storm.

Fifty Shades of Grey kept those soccer moms on their toes.

“One Direction” stole the hearts of all those 14 year old girls.

“Gangam Style” sure gave those people who lack rhythm something to do on the dance floor.

Turned out that despite my confusion, “Call Me Maybe”, was a serious hit and not a joke. People like that song, apparently!

A purple squirrel was found in a backyard in Pennsylvania.

And of course, the olympics in the U.K. were awesome!

But let’s talk about me! Or the blog.. Anyways, this year I will share with you the top 12 posts readers read. The top 12 posts, I loved. And then 12 goals I have for 2013 in terms of cooking and the blog.

Top 12 Chosen by Me and My Family

12. Lasagna Linguini

11. BLT Pasta Salad

10. Chocolate Pound Cake

9. Brownie Batter Cookies ‘N Cream Ice Cream

8. Veggie Lasagna

7. Chocolate Peppermint Whoopie Pies

6. Grilled Potato Wedges

5. Double Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

4. Chocolate Peppermint Stuffed Cupcakes

3. BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheese

2. The BEST Thick and Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Homemade Caramel Corn

2013 Goals

Cream Puffs or Eclairs
Molten Lava Cakes
Donut Holes
Turkey Burgers
Stuffed Green Peppers
Beef Wellington
Homemade Tortillas
Homemade Pasta
Homemade Pasta Sauce
Calzones
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Spinach Quiche
Homemade Mocha Frappes, just like Starbucks!

Random Fact of the Day: In Idaho, you may not fish on a camel’s back

Former Marine, 87, receives Congressional Gold Medal (mysanantonio.com)
NJ Disaster Recovery Centers Remain Open For The Holidays (philadelphia.cbslocal.com)
The conveniently forgotten human rights of the Rohingya (alhittin.com)

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Casey

For all you bloggers out there, I’m not sure if you ever pay attention to what is most commonly searched on your blog but I happen to look every now and then to see what is popular and what not.

I have mentioned before that I have had some pretty strange searches that are commonly searched here.

I decided today that I would address a few more of these common searches because apparently that is what the people want. Some things the people want are…

“puffin tattoo” (10 people searched this)
“lollipop stand” (I guess that’s not too weird)
“lip allergy”
“swollen lip allergy”
“spider army”
“josh klinghoffer 2012″
“guy bathing suits”
“there are vending machines in japan made to give out the telephone numbers of random girls” (4 people searched this..)
“can you stuff cupcakes with moose”

Those are about 1/10 of the super weird ones. And then there are some that are just way too wildly inappropriate to share.

So here we go, I’m gonna be super straight forward. Some of you may find this humorous and maybe some of you may find it informative, but here it is… puffin tattoo. There you go. Click this link.

Next up: lollipop stand. Hm, sorry I have no idea what the heck you’re looking for. Maybe a cake pop stand? If so, click on this link.

Aren’t I just a wealth of information?

lip allergy, this one actually does somewhat make sense. I had a post a way while back where I talked about my weird lip allergy, so you can read about that here.

If you want to learn more about spider armies, this post explains it all.

I’m not sure if Josh Klinghoffer was running for office or something…but I know he is the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so as of 2012 that’s what he is doing.

Here are some nice guy bathing suits, for those of you who were looking for that sort of thing. Ha!

I think the Japan thing was a random fact I may have had once.. Not sure, but that sure is a strange one.

Last but not least…no, you may not stuff cupcakes with moose. I don’t think the moose would like that and I’m not sure if you would exactly enjoy eating antlers.

I did not just post this to talk about the unique searches of readers, but I DO have a recipe for you!! What’s better than Christmas put-out sugar cookies? Chocolate cut out cookies. That’s what is better! Because everything really is better with chocolate. Let’s be honest. And eat some more cookies. Super easy, super tasty, and adorable. Perfect to add to your Christmas cookie platters!

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

(adapted from Our Best Bites)

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used dark cocoa powder)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

pinch of salt

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour and cocoa powder. Using a stand mixer, cream together white sugar and butter. Mix in egg and vanilla extract. Beat in salt. Slowly mix in flour-cocoa powder mixture until fully combined.
On surface that has either been dusted with flour or cocoa powder (or mixture of both), roll out cookie dough until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out cookie dough into desired shapes and bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until dough no longer looks wet and the edges of the cookies hold up. Let sit on cookie sheet for 2-5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.

Optional- I decorated mine with royal icing and sprinkles. By themselves, these taste just like the cookie part of an Oreo. They still taste like that with the icing too, but I think the icing makes them taste even more like an Oreo, especially because the royal icing is somewhat reminiscent of the Oreo filling. And of course the sprinkles are always a fun touch to make them more festive.

Random Fact of the Day: Racehorses can wear out new horse shoes in one race.

vanilla sugar blog: homemade double chocolate mint filled Oreo’s (delicaciesbydan.com)
Chocolate Angel Food Muffins by Nicole Kosowski of The Galley Gourmet | Babble (babble.com)
Monster Whoopie Pies (thesmartcookiecook.com)

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Beautiful Disasters

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Key West Part Three

Key West Part Two

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