Homemade Thin Crust Pizza

Hi again,

I've been on a roll with blogging today, so here's another food blog. I have taken so many pictures of so many food and other things recently; however, I haven't had the chance to blog about it as the October blogs were very slim compared to other months. Hopefully I won't slack off this month, lol.

I made some homemade thin crust pizzas with my homemade pizza dough too. This was my first time making pizza and it was quite fun with the tossing and shaping of the dough. I made two pizzas, one was pepperoni and the other one was half veggies/turkey sausage and half cheese. They both had a butter garlic herb crust, which made the pizza taste extra delicious!

Sweet Potato Chili Steak Fries

Hi again,

Here's another great and delicious recipe that I made this week. This Fall season there are a plethora of sweet potatoes at the supermarket. You can make so many wonderful dishes, such as sweet potato pie, dog treats, steak fries, etc. I came upon a recipe and wanted to try it out as it is so simple and easy to make. I cut one large sweet potato into steak fries size, drizzled some EVOO, salt, black pepper, and chili powder, then placed them flat on a foiled cookie sheet pan. I baked it in the oven at 450 degrees F for about 30 minutes. It may differ on certain ovens. Et voila! They're tasty, sweet, and with a touch of spiciness. I had it with some grilled steak and garlic mash. Try it out!

Sephora Freebies

Hi again,

I love makeup! Although I don't wear it too often, I do have a collection of several different brands. I love receiving free samples at JC Penny's Sephora every month. Basically, JC Penny's Sephora would send me a newsletter or card in the mail every month, with a free sample that I can pick up at the store. Mind you that these are an addition to the points rewards that Sephora offers. I don't think I signed up for anything, I just receive those notices in the mail. I've received some Makeup Forever Black Aqua Eyes and HD powder, Benefit's the POREfessional, Philosophy's Purity face cleanser, and Bare Minerals Matte SPF 15 Foundation, a cute kabuki, and a Prime Time foundation primer. Bare Minerals was the latest freebie I picked up; however, they only had "fairly light", which obviously wasn't my shade, but the sales associates were generous enough to still give me that one and made me a sample in my shade. I have only used some of the products as I have similar products that I'm currently using. If you're living in the U.S., probably shop at the JC Penny's Sephora and you might possibly receive some additional freebies too just like moi.

Turtle Crumb Bars

Hi again,

From a previous recipe I've made a few months ago, I decided to recreate it using some other ingredients. I love chocolate Turtles and wanted to make some turtle crumb bars by using milk chocolate chips, caramel that I made previously (check out that blog), and some pecans. They turned out great, but in my opinion and taste buds, they were a bit too sweet for my liking. These turtle crumb bars would be great for parties, especially cut in smaller pieces. Try my other crumb bar recipe and substitute some of the ingredients to make these delicious turtle crumb bars.

Fall Scents

Hi again,

I love the smell of Fall, which comprises of pumpkin, apple pie, caramel, sweet potato, and other warm or sweet scents that makes you feel cozy all over. Bath and Body Works was having a sale with 50% off some of their products. Of course I had to pick up some of the wall scents and hand soaps that smell oh so yummy that reminds me of Fall and Thanksgiving. If you haven't smelled these already, you should pick up some of my current favorites! Or at least check them out at Bath and Body Works! They're limited time offer, but I'm sure some stores may still sell these.

Also, you should try, if you haven't already, the salted caramel mocha frap at Starbucks! To die for!! lol.

Some of my Favorite Scents!

S'Mores
Kitchen Spice
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie
Salty Caramel
Creamy Pumpkin (love this one!!)

Dog Treats: Sweet Potato Fries

Hi again,

As I was perusing the dog treat aisle at Petsmart, the hubby was looking for some sweet potato jerky for the girls. I stumbled upon some natural sweet potato fries, which the excellent part is that it's only made with sweet potatoes and were dehydrated. I decided to purchase these just to see whether Bree and Hazel would like these as part of their treats. They are definitely spoiled girls! lol. Sweet potatoes are great for dogs because it provides about 15mg of beta carotene (Vitamin A), loaded with Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, potassium and iron, promote a healthy digestive tract, and cholesterol-free. Bree and Hazel really did take a liking to these sweet potato fries, so I decided to try dehydrating some sweet potatoes, which took about 12 hours to dehydrate overnight. For the dog lovers and owners, you guys should definitely try dehydrating some! Plus it saves you some money rather than buying them at the pet stores. I bought an Oster dehydrating machine at Walmart for about $40, which I intend to dehydrate some other fruits, meat, etc. The great part with these all natural sweet potato fries is that you can also eat it too!

Caramel Sauce

Hi again,

Fall is about candied or caramel apples, apple pie, pumpkin pie, salted caramel mocha, sweet potato pie, and all the warm fall smelling yummy goodness. Recently I've made some caramel sauce to go with some of my desert goodies. I found a great recipe online and decided to take the plunge as the recipe didn't look that hard to make. Plus, I didn't feel like spending since I already had all of the ingredients in my kitchen. I already used it on a desert that I will blog about soon and intend to use it on other deserts this week and next.

If you want to try making your own caramel sauce, try this out. Remember, it may differ in cooking time, so please be patient. My first attempt was a fail, lol. The picture does not do it justice, it's not that dark.

Caramel Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup of Granulated sugar
½ cup of Water
¾ cup of Heavy Cream, warmed slightly, either in a small saucepan or microwave
2 Tbsp of Unsalted butter at room temperature
¼ tsp of Salt
½ tsp of Vanilla Extract

Direction:

1) In a large non stick sauce pan combine the sugar and water, cook over medium low heat until the sugar dissolves without stirring ever! Just swirl the pan around. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat to medium high and let it bubble away until it turns a deep amber color, about 8 to 15 minutes. It depends on your stove.

2)  Turn the heat down to low at this point and add the warm heavy cream slowly. Be careful because it will bubble vigorously. Keep whisking until everything is combined and turn the heat off.

3) Add the butter, salt and vanilla and whisk in until the butter melts. Set aside to cool completely.