King of Laziness

While I'm hard at work, Marley is hard at sleeping. He only moves for two things; food and bathroom breaks. This is his favorite chair. Its comfy plus he has a great view out the window. He has labeled himself as the neighborhood watch dog. Not that he would scare away intruders since I recently discovered that he is afraid of frogs and turtles. His bark is waaayyy bigger than his bite.

Sneak Peek

It's getting so close. Before ya know it I will be a married lady. I though I would give you a sneak peek of the wedding invitations and the rehearsal dinner invitations.

I ordered the wedding invitations from
Social Graces, a cute store located in Hillsboro Village in Nashville.

They were so helpful and had lots of patience (its was a long process and I may have been a bridezilla for a minute or two). I am thrilled with how they turned out!
The rehearsal dinner invitations were purchased from
Wedding Paper Divas. I also used this website for the Save the Date cards. Even though its a website there is always a live person available to answer questions and they send two proofs before they go to print.

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

Any recipe that calls for a whole package of oreos has got to be good right? I thought this recipe was perfect for Chad and I. He LOVES cheesecake and I LOVE oreos. Match made in heaven.

Oreo Cheesecake Bars

Start by preheating your oven to 325. Line an 8x8 pan with aluminium foil.
For the crust, you need 23 Oreo cookies and 3 tbs. of unsalted butter, melted.

In a food processor, pulse the cookies until they are finely ground. Slowly add in the melted butter until all the crumbs are moistened.

Press the crumbs into the baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.

To make the filling, you need 12oz of cream cheese, 6 tbsp. of sour cream, 6 tbsp. of sugar, 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp. of salt, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, and 12 Oreos (chopped).

Start by beating the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Slowly mix in the sugar, sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat in the egg and egg yolk until incorporated. Stir in the chopped oreos with a rubber spatula.

Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust and spread evenly. Bake for 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about an hour then refrigerate for about 3 hours.

Caramelized Onion Tart

Some days I have no desire to cook, but then other days that's all I want to do. Like yesterday, I made a batch of granola, Oreo cheesecake bars, and a caramelized onion tart. The tart was super quick and easy. It would be a great appetizer or served at a brunch.

Caramelized Onion Tart

Start by preheating your over to 350 and thawing out 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry. In a medium pan/skillet heat 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Thinly slice 2 medium sized yellow onions and add to the melted butter. Add 1 tsp. of sugar, 1/4 tsp. of salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, 3 tbsp. of white wine, and 1/2 tsp. of dried Thyme. Cook onion mixture about 20-30 minutes or until the onions turn a nice brown color. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together 1/2 cup of Ricotta cheese and 1 egg yolk.

Lay the puff pastry on a greased baking sheet and fold in each edge about 1 inch. Evenly spread the Ricotta cheese mixture over the pastry. Layer the caramelized onions over the Ricotta cheese. Top with 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan Cheese. Bake for 25-35 minutes (just make sure the pastry is baked through and golden in color). Slice and serve warm!

Smore Brownies

*Disclaimer - although the pictures don't look very appealing, your mouth will think otherwise. Also, these are in no way shape or form low-fat. Just had to throw that in there :)

Moving on...this recipe is from one of my favorite food blogs, Picky Palate. Check it out if you want some amazing dessert recipes. These brownies were very easy and my
co-workers/me/Chad ate them up.

Ingredients
1. A box of brownie mix
2. A box of graham crackers
3. 4 Hershey bars
4. A bag of marshmallows

Start my preheating your oven to 350. Use an 8x8 baking dish lined with aluminium foil AND sprayed with cooking oil. Make brownie mix according to the package. Pour half of the brownie batter into the baking dish. Top with graham crackers, then Hershey bars, then marshmallows. Pour the remaining brownie batter over the marshmallows. Bake for 40-45 minutes and allow the bar to cool completely.

Bridesmaid

As I started planning for the big day, I began to worry about the bridesmaid dresses. I seriously think I was more concerned what their dresses looked like more than my own dress. Come on now, we all know the sterotype that bridesmaid dresses have and you can't tell me you don't have an awful expensive bridesmaid dress stuffed way back in your closet that you will NEVER wear again. I put much thought into this and here is the end result.

J. Helm dress in black
Simple yet elegant jewelry

Shoes that will hopefully to comfortable and can be wore again

Steak Fries a la Chad

Potatoes, Potatoes, how do I love thee. Let me count the ways.

My wonderful soon to be hubby made some delicious steak fries the other day.

I told him I was going to blog about it but he said only if I gave him all the credit.

So without further delay I give you

"Steak Fries a la Chad"

1. Start with several nice baking potatoes (russet). Cut them into wedges.
2. Preheat oven to 450
3. Arrange potato wedges evenly on a baking sheet covered with aluminium foil.
4. Drizzle potatoes with olive oil. Season heavily with salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian herb seasoning, and a little paprika.
5. Cook for 25 minutes turning once half way through the cooking process.

Tell me those don't look amazing!