two weeks until thanksgiving!

thanksgiving might just be my favorite holiday.

the food, the family, the feeling.

i can't believe it's only two weeks away!

i'm going home next monday

and i can't wait

because home means hugs from my doggy

and being silly with my sisters

and baking

baking

baking.

here are a few recipes i cannot wait to try

(all via pinterest)

oatmeal banana peanut butter muffins

double pumpkin bundt cake

pesto tomato avocado grilled cheese

chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake

about to be betty crocker up in here

can't wait!

Recipe: Cake Pops

Now this is a recipe that calls for a little patience and a whole lotta sweet tooth.

Have you tried cake pops yet? They sell adorable little perfect ones at Sbux. Try one of those before you make your own!

What I love most is that these are super easy to get good at making, and everyone fawns over them because they're so cute. I did a trial run a few weeks ago and they turned out okay, but I made a second batch of 'em for Kendall's graduation party that everybody loved (even me, my harshest critic)!

What you need:

A baked cake (I like funfetti or yellow...or if you're hardcore make one from scratch!)

A mixing bowl

A tub of frosting (vanilla for funfetti or chocolate for yellow)

Candy chips that you can melt (Michael's craft stores have an excellent assortment of colors and they're relatively inexpensive)

Large lollipop sticks

A styrofoam brick

How you make them:

1. Start crumbling the cake into the mixing bowl. Should be about the consistency of breadcrumbs.

2. Once you've mashed up the whole cake, mix in one spoonful of frosting at a time until the mixture is entirely moist. I usually use about half a can of frosting, but add more if you like things extra sweet!

3. Wash your hands and start shaping the cake/frosting mixture into balls, about 2 inches in diameter. Place them on a plate, and once all your mixture is balled up pop them in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

4. Get your candy chips and melt them in a microwave safe bowl (microwave for no more than 30 seconds at a time and stir in between).

5. Take out the cake balls. Place sticks in them, no more than about a centimeter deep.

6. Dip the cake ball into the melted candy. You might have to swirl it around and even use a spoon to make sure it's all covered. Add sprinkles to decorate if you wish!

7. Place the pop into the styrofoam to harden.

8. Enjoy!

The dipping can be tricky the first time you do it, but I promise it gets easier!

Let me know if you try them!

Recipe: Tea Biscuit Cake

My latest foray into the kitchen came at the bequest of my sister for her senior english project. She did a presentation on William and Kate's royal wedding, so to add a little spice to the project, she asked me to help her bake make (literally no baking necessary!) William's groom's cake. Oprah posted the recipe here, but check out my changes below.

Prince William's Chocolate Biscuit Cake

What you need:

12 ounces dark chocolate chips

4 ounces of butter

4 ounces granulated sugar

1 egg

splash of milk

What you do:

1. Grease a round cake pan (probably the smallest one you have)

2. Break tea biscuits into almond sized pieces

3. Mix butter and sugar by hand until creation is fully blended and a light lemon color

4. Melt 4 ounces of chocolate (melt for 30 seconds, then stir, then melt again until liquidy)

5. Add the egg into the melted chocolate (I was nervous about this part at first, but the chocolate should be hot enough that the egg gets cooked. If you're concerned, pop it back into the microwave for 10 more seconds after you've mixed in the egg).

6. Add the chocolate to the butter/sugar combo until it is all blended

7. Mix in the biscuit pieces. Stir until every piece is entirely coated in chocolate

8. Place mixture into cakepan

9. Cool in the refrigerator for 3 hours

10. When cool, flip cake upside down onto wax paper and get ready to coat!

For chocolate coating:

1. Melt remaining 8 ounces of chocolate + a splash of milk to make it easier to spread

2. Using a knife, spread melted chocolate onto cake

3. Let set and cool for 30 minutes, then slice

Enjoy!

Recipe: Caprese Salad

I'm sure this is not a new recipe to anyone, but it's still delicious and therefore still worth having on the good ol' blog. Caprese salad is one of my favorite dishes for summer. It's quick, easy, and healthy.

What you need:

Fresh tomatoes (side note: Hollister Target just opened up a produce section! Don't get tomatoes there)

Mozzarella cheese

Olive oil

Balsamic vinaigrette

Salt and pepper

Fresh basil

How you make it:

1. Slice tomatoes, place flat on a plate, and sprinkle salt and pepper on them.
2. Top each tomato with a thick slice of mozzarella.
3. Lightly drizzle oil and vinegar over the tomatoes and cheese.
4. Add fresh basil as garnish.
5. Enjoy!

I made it per my sister Paige's request last night at home. It took me maybe 7 minutes to prepare and was enjoyed by the whole family!

Recipe: Polenta Gnocchi

I recently told you about my wellness journal, in which I cut and paste work outs, recipes, and tips for success for my new, healthier lifestyle. Since I'm home for spring break, I decided to try out some of the recipes (so expect more in the coming days!). The first one I tried was from Health magazine, for Roman-Style Polenta Gnocchi. I'm a vegetarian,so I love any unique meatless dish. The original recipe can be found here, butI made it a little more blogger friendly below.

Ingredients (in order of use):

1 16-ounce tube of polenta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 crushed garlic clove

1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

4 ounces fresh chopped mozzarella

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

To make:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly coat a 10-inch baking dish with olive oil.

Slice polenta into 1/2 inch thick slices; arrange slices in a single layer covering pan.

Heat saucepan over medium heat.

Add olive oil and garlic to pan. Cook until the garlic is soft (2-3 minutes) and make sure to watch it so it doesn't burn!

Add tomatoes to saucepan, then oregano, salt, and basil. Bring to a boil and stir.

Reduce heat, then cook until thick (which was about 10 minutes for me).

Spoon sauce over polenta (and actually use a spoon! It'll be messy if you pour).

Sprinkle cheese over the sauce.

Bake around 20 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Add some more basil for flavor and fanciness. :)

This was my first ever homemade meal, and I'm pretty proud of myself! My family really really liked it, and best of all, I did too--and I'm always my harshest critic. The total prep was about 20 minutes, but could be around 10 if you know your way around a kitchen, and it turned out great. If you like polenta, I'd recommend it!

More recipes coming your way soon :)

Be well!

Christmas Wrap-Up

The Archer family Christmas this year was relaxed, chill, low-key, etc. and I could not be more thankful for that. My life in Berkeley is so crazy that it's nice to just hang out when I come home. Here is my Christmas in pictures:

On Christmas Eve Eve, I went on a baking tear and wound up baking about 12 dozen cookies. I baked from 11AM to 6PM straight without taking a break to sit down (and didn't even realize how badly my feet hurt!) Needless to say, I gave out a lot of cookies as gifts and my family will have cookies for weeks!

These were my favorite of all the cookies I made! I found a recipe on a blog (which is actually what really inspired me to write my own) and decided I needed to make them. They were a huge pain to make as they are incredibly labor-intensive (and I heard they kind of taste like play-doh, but I didn't actually try any) but they sure look cute!

My favorite part of any Christmas dinner is my mom's Mulligatawny soup. She's made it for years, and in the years since I stopped eating meat she always makes me my own chicken-free batch! And she uses vegetable broth for all of it. Lucky for me, my mom is infamous for making way too much food for every holiday meal, so she freezes the extra soup and we can eat it months later. My mom's recipe comes from a cookbook she got as a wedding present, but a comparable recipe can be found here.

After we all recovered from our food comas, we played a game of Apples to Apples (family tradition at any holiday celebration). If you have yet to play this game, get on it! It's so simple but so much fun. I mostly like it because I always win (I know how to cater to my audience!) The cards you have at the end are supposed to describe your personality, but I don't know how accurate mine were (I mean, c'mon, smelly?).

Dress: old, I think it's from Nordstrom; Scarf: Urban Outfitters; Belt: Forever 21

And to round out the Christmas pictures, here are my youngest sister Paige and I. She's only 16 but she's as tall as I am and is growing up to be one of the most gorgeous women I've ever known. She's also really funny. Our middle sister Kendall had to work on Christmas Eve. :(

Today I feel like I have a food hangover. But don't worry, I'm eating more. My mom's sister and her family are Jewish (but celebrate Christmas with us), so my aunt always makes potato pancakes when she's here. Delish.

Plans for the rest of the day: I have to answer some emails and finish up some sorority stuff, which I'm working on now. Kendall has to work again this afternoon, so Paige and I might drop her off and shop, then pick her up and we'll all have dinner. Because I clearly need to keep eating. Oh, life. I also have a bunch of arts&crafts projects I wanna try this break, so I might hit up Michael's for supplies.

Upcoming: pictures of my favorite presents! And the (potentially worthless) New Year's Resolutions post. Maybe if they're written down in the blogosphere I can actually stick to them! We'll see.