Merry Monday's Mint

Well this week I am only 2 days late for Merry Mondays.... I made brownies with peppermint icing! these are to die for.  they taste like the mint you get after you finish dinner at a restaurant.  I just used boxed brownie mix for the brownies (they always come out so good)

so just follow the directions on the back of the box- very simple

For the icing-
beat 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract
*I also used green food dye for a holiday look
Allow the brownies to cool completely before icing them

For Chocolate topping-
in the microwave heat 1/2 cup of semi sweet choc chips with 6 tablespoons of butter
heat for 1 1/2 minutes and take out to stir.  Keep heating the chocolate in 30 second intervals until it is fully mixed and melted... allow to cool a bit.  Then spread over the icing, I put my brownies in the freezer for about 45 minutes to make them easier to cut!

these have been a hit already with family, friends, boyfriends and co-workers! I will for sure be making these again!

Sometimes it just takes a spending time with your friends to remind yourself how great everything really is! Oh and that its Christmas! God I love the lights, its my favorite part of the holiday! Amanda and I walked Balboa Island last night, which always does the trick, and we baked cookies (added marshmellows to make them better) and watched Love Actually.. life is good! Happy Holidays! I cant wait for the Xmas parties to start!

Christmasy Feeling

So usually I am the biggest fan of Christmas, I can barely contrain myself once Christmas decorations and music begin to appear after Thanksgiving.. However this year I am feeling very indifferent about it all, maybe because the economy is bad and I feel guilty for my dad? Or maybe because I am so broke I do not get to get all the people I love gifts this year?
I do kind of wish I could fly over to Dallas for just a night and go on a carriage ride to see all the lights (Dallas residents do their lights better than anything I have ever seen!)
It also doesnt help that it is 75 degrees outside! But one thing I do have to look forward to is cooking! This year my mom and I are doing a casual early dinner @ our house with turkey and roast beef sandwiches, everyone will get to build their own.  We are also going to do a bunch of sides so you still get the holiday feel.

My menu: stuffed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green beans... that sounds pretty amazing to me!

I guess when I need to feel Christmasy I can just go over to Fashion Island and visit the tree, that always does the trick!

And ok I am feeling a bit more cheery after watching glee last night, I need the xmas album!

Cranberry Salsa for Merry Mondays

My best friend Claire is a much better blogger than me, she is hosting something called "Merry Mondays, where we all are given the same ingredient and post our own recipes.  This first week in December was cranberry. Needless  to say I did not have a ton of ideas, but Claire did and  sent me in the direction of cranberry salsa. This was so simple and came out totally delicious. I really think I will make this all the time, only thing I will change for next time is more jalapeno! I like salsa spicey, this did not have quite enough kick to it!

INGREDIENTS:

1 bag of cranberries
juice of 2 limes
2 jalapenos (I like more)
3 green onions
1 bunch of cilantro
1/3 cup of sugar

Combine in food processor!

Oh and this would be so good on top of cream cheese, that will be my route next time.