No Toast Required

Hello Sweets,


Happy Friday y'all!!  I hope you have some quality kitchen time scheduled for this weekend, I think I'm going to take a break from packing and do some creating myself.  I woke up today so unbelievably stiff this morning thanks to my tumble down the stairs yesterday, which has made doing anything difficult.  However, nothing was going to keep me from giving y'all something juicy to read ;)  And no I'm not taking about the latest gossip, but I am talking about berries.

Keeping with my Thanksgiving throw back, I have the final recipe that I used back in November!  This particular Thanksgiving accompaniment is something I'm not a huge fan of, but that being said the homemade version I whipped up tasted pretty good on it's own lol.  I have to try everything I make in order to adequately write a good post, well that and I ask the person I make it for.  Today's post contains cranberries, so you can only guess what I used them for.  If you guessed cranberry jelly then you'd be correct!  Nathans dad loves it with his turkey, so I asked him if I could make it for him.  He agreed on the condition that I didn't vary too far from the flavor his lovely canned stuff tasted like >_<  Of course I took that as I could make it flavorful but don't add too much extra spice to it, lets be honest most pre packaged stuff doesn't have much flavor period.  Since I haven't eaten too much cranberry jelly in my life (okay, any lol), I had to do some research to see what types of spices others had used.  Thankfully I had a general understanding on how to make the jelly itself from when I made my pie fillings, it's a little different but not overly.

Cranberry Jelly

Ingredients

2 1/4C cranberries

1 1/2C sugar

2/3C apple cider

1/2 lemon, juice only

dash of cinnamon

cinnamon was a last minute addition

Directions:

1)  Place everything, except cinnamon, in a medium sauce pan.

 

2)  Over medium-high heat, cook until cranberries burst.

 

3)  Stir regularly, adding a splash of water if the mixture becomes too thick.

 

4)  Once finished, place in a sieve and push with a rubber spatula.  Continuing until only seeds and skins are left.  Add the cinnamon, stirring to incorporate fully.  Chill at least 12 hours to set.

completely solidified, even has markings from the Ziploc container

  

Nathans dad really liked it, he said it tasted better than the canned stuff.  He even like the subtle cinnamon flavor I added, and now I hope he'll let me do it every year :)  This, just like the pumpkin pie, was something I had never tried before.  I don't think it's beginners luck, but I do think because I am becoming more confident in my kitchen skills it is transferring over to my creations.  Not much makes me smile more than being able to make something for those I care most about :)

Since this is a shorter post I wanted to share some updated photos of my new place, now that everything is installed.

 

 

 

I  am so excited, it's so close that I can barely contain my excitement!!!  I know it's been official for a while, but now that everything is installed and working it actually feels real :D  I get my key on Tuesday and then I start the move, so if you don't hear from me daily y'all will know why.  I am going to do my best to post, but if I haven't done any baking or cooking you may just get a quick little blurb :)  Until next time...

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo

You and I, Baby We Make Fireworks!

Hello Sweets,

I hope y'all are enjoying the weekend, the sun is shining here but with a cool breeze.  It actually made for a perfect day to have a barbecue with some of the family :)  I just love watching my nephew be silly outside, he is always so full of energy and smiles.  I even took a walk after I got home to get some ice cream from this cool double decker bus that's been converted to an ice cream shop.  Unfortunately I didn't bring my phone (which I think is good to do sometimes) so there is no picture to share, but I did get a black sweet cherry ice cream that was both sugar and lactose free.  And guess what?  It tasted very good, not as good as the ones Nathan makes me but good for what it was lol ;)

So I thought this would be my last "4th of July" post, but then I realized I made an adult treat also.  It's just a small, fun recipe that I'm going to save for tomorrow since it's Sunday and that is set for a recharge and relaxing day :)  As promised, today I am going to give you a glimpse through my eyes and how much fun we had on the fourth of July.  Nathan is such an amazing man to have in my life, yes I know I'm fortunate, and he did everything to make sure my first fourth of July celebration would be memorable.  He even was okay with some of the things he thought was just silly, but that's me and he loves me for it (win win).  The first thing we did was make sure I looked the part, from my head all the way to my toes (I always wear cowboy boots so that was just a happy coincident).

Yea you can laugh, we sure did!

So like most girls I love things that sparkle, but I also like things that go bang too!  The following are some videos I took when we went to shoot fireworks off.  This was like nothing I had ever experienced in Canada, Nathan told me we were going to a farmers field and there would be lots of other people shooting fireworks off at the same time.  I wasn't sure what to expect because I've either shot them off with some family and friends, or have gone to one of the parks here that do a big show.  Before we even got to the field we got stuck in Texas traffic, but luckily for us there was a show to enjoy while passing the time :)

 

watching fireworks from the highway :)

Take a look at what fireworks are like in Texas (some might have my finger in the shot lol oops sorry);

 

This was probably the best shot I got all night, it truly captures how fantastic of a show it was

The quality of the firework display is not great, but you can see how large the crowd was

the Canadian gives it a go! Disappointed because the packaging said purple but it was green lol

Nathans turn, and I think he's having a little too much fun :) love him to bits!

sparkle, sparkle baby!!

Fireworks 101: Don't stand in front of a large group of people shooting fireworks off *shakes head*

Quite the show right?  And of course there is one more sparkle to share :)  What is the one thing any girl, young or old, wants when there are fireworks involved?

  

sparklers baby!!!!

Ya I'm still very much a kid inside, but hey I had the time of my life and have a ton of memories.  I can't wait until the next celebration with fireworks in Texas, although I hear you can light them off all year round in the country.  Better watch out uncle Michael and aunt Cindy, we'll be heading your way ;)

Remember to come back tomorrow for a short, sweet, and sassy adult recipe!  Until next time................


Stay sweet,




Jennifer xoxooxo