Who will they be?

 

Two girls!!

We are having twin girls! They are fraternal which means they aren't identical and will have their own unique look but still the special bond of being a twin!

We can't wait to meet them!

22 weeks down... over half way there!

Delicious, pink butter cream filled cakes by The Couture Cakery

Lovely images by Rebecca Sior Photography

New Years Eve Party

Sometime in early December, Adam suggested having a New Years Eve party at our house. I said, sure, why not?! We had a party to ring in 2010 and it was fun so we thought it was time for another. We invited people over around 8:00 but I still wanted to make a lot of goodies to snack on. Adam and I teamed up and made a pinecone cheese ball, cheese biscuits with ham, Adam's famous cheese, bologna & mustard plate, veggies & ranch, seasoned pretzels, dill pickle, cream cheese and dried beef bites and rice krispy treats.

Note: Check out that wine cork wreath my mom got us for Christmas - it was empty and we filled it with our cork stash.

In addition, Adam made his famous boilo and I made a punch that turned out to be a hit! I was thinking about getting ingredients to make all kinds of cocktails but then I thought it would be easier to make a pitcher of punch, that way it's ready to go when someone's glass is empty.

Recipe:
1 bottle sweet sparkling wine (spumante, asti, etc.)
1 bottle vodka
1 1/2 to 2 bottles cranberry juice cocktail
Lime slices

Mix all in a pitcher and drop in lime slices. Serve over ice.



Our friend James and Lauren brought some orange jell-o shots! They hollowed out orange halves, pour the jell-o into the orange shells, let them set and then cut them into wedges. So very clever!! I was so amazed by them and took lots of pictures but when I was ready to sample one, they were gone. It's ok though because we will definitely try to make them.

It was a great evening but it flew by way too fast! One minute it was 10:30 and we were watching Dick Clark, the next minute I was chatting in the kitchen and someone yelled "one minute"! We hardly had time to get on our hats and pop the bubbly! We look forward to having a party again soon - before and including NYE

Another thing I wanted to share with you is that I started a mini journal for 2012. And by mini, I mean super mini - just because I could never write in an empty paged journal - it's too daunting to me! I got the idea from a blogger I adore - Ashley at Under the Sycamore. I am keeping a "Best of My Days" journal. Every day I write a few words about the best part of my day. If you want to do this too, you can download the template from Ashley's blog.

Happy New Year!

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Wine Glaze

This recipe is from my Aunt Laurie. She gave me the recipe and a brand new beautiful bundt cake pan as a bridal shower gift. She also made this cake for me at the special garden tea party she threw. This cake is so easy but very decadent! Then my mom recreated it for Bec's Fiesta.

A secret ingredient is actually in the glaze. It is the Chocolate Lab wine from the Pleasant Valley Wine Company in New York. Aunt Laurie gave me a bottle to use for this recipe but take my advice, it's also a delicious dessert drink on it's own!

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 small box chocolate pudding

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup brewed coffee

1/2 vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a bundt cake pan.

Mix all ingredients well and pour into prepared bundt pan.

Bake for 50 minutes. Cool in the pan for about 8 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack until completely cooled.

For glaze:

Mix 3-4 tablespoons of chocolate wine and 1 cup powdered sugar. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Also for dessert at the party, we had a pinata! Here it is after Bec worked so hard to break it. Her little pup Rocko was checkin' out the loot!

Party Girls: Miriam, Bec & me

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Cupcakes from Fancy Cake Shop

For all of you cupcake lovers out there, there is a wonderful cake shop in Carlisle, PA called Fancy Cake Shop. I have been lucky to have their cupcakes on 3 different occasions this summer. Their lovely creations are very creative and always tasty. If you're ever in Carlisle, if you live there or if you're just looking for a special treat, you must check them out. They even make gorgeous wedding cakes.

First I had the lemon cupcakes and the raspberry cupcakes (yes, I ate one of each!) at Katie's Bridal Shower. They will even coordinate the cupcake frosting color to your party color scheme!

Then I had pink champagne cream filled cupcakes at my bridal shower! So delectable!

And just last weekend I had the cheesecake filled cupcakes at Bec's Fiesta. I even had one the next morning for breakfast because I'm pretty sure I dreamt about them!

I cannot wait until another special occasion arises so I can get more of these wonderful cupcakes!

**And these are my own opinions of Fancy Cake Shop. They have no idea who I am. But I sure do know who they are! Yum!

l

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Continuing on with the fiesta on Saturday, here is a recipe for a delicious summer salad. I got the recipe from a blog that Bec showed and I'm loving it: Gina's Skinny Recipes. There are so many great recipes on this site! I have made many things from her.

1 lb shrimp, cooked, deveined, peeled and chopped

1 tomato, seeded and diced

1 avocado, diced

1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely diced

Juice of 2 limes

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

salt

pepper

In a small bowl, combine lime juice, oil, pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the shrimp, tomato, avocado and jalapeno. Pour dressing over top and add cilantro. Toss gently. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.

**You can also add some finely diced red onion in the dressing but we did not because we're not big onion lovers**

Tex Mex Burgers

On Saturday we had a fiesta for this young girl's birthday. I originally wanted the party to be Mediterranean themed, then Spanish themed but it ended up being a fiesta theme. So we had a nice mix of it all. Bec throws fiestas for her students all the time so I thought she needed one thrown for her.

Throughout the next few posts, I will write about what we ate, starting with the Tex Mex Burger. I got this recipe from a blog called Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

For the burgers (makes 4):

1 pound ground beef

1 egg

1/4 cup fine bread crumbs

1 tablespoon milk

1/4 cup grated onion

1 1/2 tablespoon dry taco seasoning

Mexican cheese blend, shredded

Mix all ingredients EXCEPT cheese with your hands. Form into 4 patties. Place on a hot grill and cook to your liking. Once nearly done, top with shredded cheese and heat until cheese melts.

For Pico de Gallo topping:

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

3/4 cup yellow & red bell pepper combined, diced

1/2 cup red onion, diced (I didn't use)

1/2 small jalapeno, seeded and diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

juice of 1 lime

salt

pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a non metallic bowl. Cover and refrigerate for up to one day in advance.

For Spicy Mayo and all other ingredients:

1/2 cup mayo

hot sauce

Mix mayo with hot sauce to your taste.

1 avacado, sliced

4 Kaiser rolls

Place burger on roll, top with pico de gallo, slather spicy mayo on top part of bun and add sliced avacado.

Eventhough it was Bec's bday, she still took food pix for me! Thank you!

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A Beautiful Afternoon

Saturday was my bridal shower. It was completely beyond lovely! My bridesmaids, mom and mother in law did a fantastic job of planning a terrific afternoon and I love every minute of it!

An afternoon tea party. Here is a silver tea set that I bought at an auction years ago and my mom put lots of time into polishing it!

The shower was at the Orris House Inn in Mechanicburg, PA. Each table was set with teacups and in each cup was a bundle of homemade sugar cube - some colored and in various heart and flower shapes. There was also a "hope" sign with questions Bec asked to both Adam and I - we were asked the same question and our answers were displayed for everyone to enjoy (What was your first date like? What was it like meeting Adam/Hope's family? What are your favorite qualities of Hope/Adam?).

We had a delicious lunch by C&J Catering. Sandwiches, salad and chilled strawberry soup.

And because I love cupcakes so much, we had pink champagne cupcakes. Notice the cute Alice In Wonderland theme?!..

Bec took the time to glue little hearts on to the tea bags!

We played a few games...

Kristin and Arielle collected kitchen tools that my mom sewed on an apron. Everyone then played a memory game to see if they could remember everything on my apron as I ran through the crowd. There were some tough ones - a jalapeno pepper corer and a banana slicer!

Finally, I received some great gifts including a cookbook called Hope in the Kitchen The Wedding Edition - a compilation of recipes from the ladies at the shower. I love it!

Thank you to everyone for making my day special! And thank you to Bec for these photos!

Swenson Ladies have a Garden Tea Party

Last Sunday my Aunt Laurie hosted a garden tea party at her house for the Swenson ladies and a bridal shower for me. She did a fabulous job of preparing a delicious lunch. Aunt Laurie is a wonderful hostess and plans everything perfectly - down to the gardening gloves as a silverware holder to the delicious homemade rose mints.


We had a delightful menu of iced tea and lemonade, green salad with blueberries & strawberries, a bowtie pasta salad with sunflower seeds which I now love!, pickled deviled eggs, chardonnay lemon cream cheese sandwich triangle on cinnamon raisin bread, turkey and berry triangle sandwiches and a chocolate bundt cake with chocolate wine sauce.

Here is the tablescape - set for me, my mom, my sister, my cousin and her little girl, my two aunts and my grandma.


A place setting - beautiful glass bowl and plate, fine china tea cup and saucer, garden glove silverware holer and a cute wedding dress box that held the homemade rose mints.

The drink and dessert table. I just love the milk glass pitcher and glasses. They were a wedding gift to my Aunt Laurie from her grandma, who we were also remembering that day because it would have been her birthday.

Here are the eggs, sandwiches and salad. Behind the food are photos of me throughout the years.


Aunt Laurie gave me the centerpiece. It now looks so cute by my front door. Everyone also gave me gift that were garden related because they all know how much I love gardening. I got some great tools, seeds and watercans.

Thank you to my family for a wonderful afternoon!

p

Bridal Shower Season

Last Saturday Bec threw a bridal shower for her sister Katie, who is getting married 7 days before me on July 16. The shower was BEAUTIFUL! The decorations were unique and the food delicious and quite impressive! The menu included chicken salad on mini homemade rolls, apple walnut pinwheels, lemon and spinach pasta salad, mango and black bean salsa, green salad with mandarin oranges, toffee fruit dip, and for dessert lemon and raspberry cupcakes. I just had to share a few photos!

And of course a picture of the beautiful bride!

Quick Cheesesteak Pizza

I am always looking for an easy weeknight dinner. Unfortunately easy doesn't always mean healthy. I know it CAN mean healthy but when we stumble across something we like, we go for it. This recipe is an example of that. Cheesesteak Pizza!!! Oh yeah!

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This recipe is from Sandra Lee's Semi Home magazine. Super easy and few ingredients. Great for a quick meal or for party bites!

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I have to admit I was a bit nervous because I am not very fond of Pillsbury pizza dough but this turned out quite tasty! p

1 roll thin crust refrigerator pizza crust

1/2 lb deli roast beef, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped (we didn't use onion)

1/2 cup provolone, shredded

1/2 cup cheddar, shredded

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees

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On a lightly sprayed rimmed baking sheet, roll out the pizza crust to fill the sheet. Bake crust for 5 minutes.

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While crust is baking, saute bell pepper and onions in a saute pan over medium heat until softened.

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Take crust out of oven and top with the roast beef, peppers, onions and cheeses. Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust has browned.

Cheeseburger Pies

Last week I was on the search to find a recipe for dinner that used ground beef. I was in the mood for a cheeseburger but wanted to do something different. I found this recipe from Food Network on a Paula Deen show. Paula's son Jamie made these for a get together. The cheeseburger pies are great for a meal but would also be fun if they were made smaller for appetizer bites!

Jamie's Cheeseburger Pies

1lb ground beef

1 Tablespoons steak seasoning (McCormick's Montreal is our favorite)

1 Tablespoon steak sauce (A-1)

1/2 onion, chopped finely (optional, we did not use)

4 slices cheese (any cheese will do. we used provolone)

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (let thaw at room temp for at least 30 mins - needs to be relatively thawed or else it will crack when you work with it)

1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Heat a large fry pan over medium-high heat (or heat your grill if you are making these in warmer weather)

In a bowl, mix together the beef, steak seasoning, steak sauce and onion if using. Form into 4 round patties. Cook in fry pan - or grill - until the burgers reaches medium doneness (the burgers will continue to cook when you put it in the oven).

Roll out the puff pastry to slightly flatten. Cut into 4 squares and place on the prepared baking sheet. Place a burger on each pastry square and top with a piece of cheese. Fold pastry up over the top the burger and pinch dough closed. Make sure dough is sealed and that there aren't any tears in the dough on the sides of the pouches.

In a small dish lightly beat the egg yolk and a teaspoon of water. With a pastry brush, brush the wrapped pastry on the tops and sides.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes until the pastry is nicely browned.

We ate our cheeseburger pies with sugar snap peas and white cheddar mac and cheese.

Boilo

I have found a new winter drink that I LOVE!!

It is called boilo and I discovered it while attending a party in Girardville, PA in celebration of the St. Patrick's Day.

Boilo is popular in the coal regions of Pennsylvania, originally from Lithuania. It's a warm drink made by heating lemon juice, orange juice, sugar, honey, cinnamon sticks (sometimes other spices - allspice, cloves, anise seeds) and then adding whiskey!!

This is so so yummy! I am going to experiment and create my own recipe and when I do, I will share it! Boilo kept me warm on that cold winter day!

And since the weather is still quite cold in PA, I still have time to try to make this before spring arrives for good!

Adam & me at the Girardville St. Patrick's Day parade.