Friday Favorites

I can't believe it's the last day of September! Unbelievable!I am so looking forward to October, but here are some of my favorite things from my last week of September...

Lost Socks?

This is something that I made AGES ago!! Like I think it was done in June!! My little sock hanger has been on my list of things to blog for 3 months and I only got around to taking pictures of the final product today! I made this sign based off of a few ideas I saw on Pinterest - it's a compilation of 2 or 3 other sock signs that I saw!

I started with a plain piece of wood that I stained with a dark stain I had at home. I let the stain dry over night before doing any of the lettering. I cut out the letters on my cricut - I didn't have any vinyl on hand so I use plain white card stock and glued it onto the stained wood using Modge Podge. Once the letters were positioned and glued, I Modge Podged over the entire piece of wood to make sure everything stays on there well.

Once the staining & lettering was done I enlisted my dad's help because power tools are not my forté! He drilled two holes in the bottom of the wood and bent a metal coat hanger to make the little bar that hangs under the sign. We hung three clothes pegs along the wire and that's it! It is currently hanging in our laundry room and it is cute as can be!

Thanks for reading!

Dinner Rolls

These rolls are one of my very favorite things in the whole world! I've always been a little intimidated by baking bread, but this recipe could not be easier! I got the recipe from Cooking Classy, and you can find the original recipe HERE.

Start by mixing together 4 cups of all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon of rapid rise yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Once the dry ingredients are mixed together set them aside & get out a glass measuring cup (I use a 4 cup one).

Samoa Bundt Cake

I got this recipe from Spicy Southern Kitchen, you can find the original recipe HERE. This cake was delicious but it was tough to make it look good! One of my favorite things about cooking & baking is making the food look as good as it tastes... well, on that note, this cake was frustrating!! I would greatly appreciate any suggestions you have that might improve this cake! Regardless of its appearance, this cake was spectacular to eat! It was the perfect blend of chocolate & caramel with little hints of coconut!

Music for Monday: Lots of Kris Allen :)

I have been a longtime fan of Kris Allen - like since he was on American Idol way back in 2009!! I was trying to pick just one of his songs but I couldn't! There are too many that I love so I'm going to share a couple :)

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday & Happy Fall! I have been loving a whole lot of things lately but here are my favorites:

Cheers to the Fall!

Happy Fall!! I realize that I said in an earlier post that I would wait until it was actually fall to decorate, but I lied! This decor has been up for about a week because I just couldn't resist! The weather cooled down and I was feeling like surrounding myself with fall! Here is a little look into my family's fall decor:

Biscuits

My mom was gifted some homemade strawberry and blueberry jam last week & I was so excited to have some homemade jam with biscuits! These biscuits come together so quickly - I think they took me 30 minutes to make!! The recipe I used was originally from the Fannie Farmer cookbook. Here is how I make Biscuits:

Top 5: Quotes Edition #2

Today, I'm sharing a little round-up of my current five favorite quotes. I did a post exactly like this one back in July & you can find it HERE.

Here are the words that I have been most inspired by lately:

Music for Monday: You Gotta Be

I am so excited about the song that I am sharing today! My mom listened to this song often when I was little and I remember always liking the sound of it but I re-discovered it as I was sorting through my family's massive CD collection and have found a whole new appreciation for it.

Friday Favorites

The weekend is near & I am ready! My to-do list for this weekend looks something like this: 1. Homework & Class Prep (ugghh!) 2. Baking 3. Finish decorating & crafting for fall (!!!) 4. A little blog work :) I'm looking forward to sharing some delicious recipes & my fall decor next week but for now, here are some of my favorite things from this week...

1. The temperature finally dropped this week! Up until Tuesday it was 30+ degrees Celcius outside, but as of Wednesday it has been hovering around 15 degrees every day!! I don't always love the winter freeze so I'm enjoying this subtle chill while it lasts!

2. Last week, I was chosen as the featured blogger on the High Five for Friday Link-up & I am still glowing with excitement! Thank you to Tif @ Bright on a Budget, Della @ Della Devoted and Katie @ Katie cup of Tea for hosting this weekly link-up which serves as such a great platform for newer bloggers to gain more followers and 'meet' other bloggers!

3. My mom was gifted some homemade jam this Wednesday, which inspired my latest baking endeavour - Biscuits!! Biscuits and jam are one of favorite treats and these did not disappoint! I will be sharing my recipe next week!

4. These are Contigo's tranquil water bottle & I'm obsessed! I have a terrible history of water leaking from my water bottles and wetting everything in my bag. Two summers ago, I searched high and low for a solid water bottle that wouldn't leak and these are the winners! I have carried one of my Contigo tranquil bottles every single day for the last year and have not had one single leak - although I'm aware that I might be jinxing myself :). I adore these bottles & if you're interested, you can find them HERE.

***I'm Linking up with Katie from Cup of Tea, Della from Della Devoted, Tif from Bright on a Budget for High Five for Friday, Andrea from Momfessionals, Narci from Grace and Love blog and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites, April from A Liz Adventures and Christina from Carolina Charm for Five on Friday and Amanda from Meet at the Barre for Friday Favorites!

I hope your weekend is full of joy! See you next week!

Orange & Cranberry Bundt Cake

I made this Bundt Cake for Mother's day brunch way back in May, before I started blogging! Well, this recipe has been on my 'to post' list since the very first day I started blogging! I FINALLY got around to whipping this cake together again & now I'm here to share it with you! :) I got this recipe from That's My Home & you can find it HERE.

Start by prepping your bundt cake pan - do this by spraying it with cooking spray or buttering it and lightly flouring it. Next, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar into the bottom of the bundt cake pan and 1/4 cup of frozen or fresh cranberries (I use frozen cranberries).

In a medium sized mixing bowl, cream together 1/2 cup of butter and 1 cup of granulated sugar.

Add in 3 eggs, one a time - stirring well between each added egg. Stir in the zest and juice of one orange. [After zesting 1 orange, you should have about about a tablespoon of zest. I recommend rolling your orange around on a counter top before juicing it - this makes juicing the orange easier!]

Once the orange zest and juice are stirred in, mix in 1 cup of sour cream.

Next, add in 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Once the dry ingredients are well mixed in, stir 1 1/4 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries into the batter. When the cranberries are well incorporated, Pour the batter into the prepared bundt cake pan.

Bake the cake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 - 55 minutes. When the cake is done, let it cool for 5-10 minutes before removing it from the pan and transferring it to a wire cooling rack. When the cake is completely cool, you can glaze it. The glaze that I use is - 1 cup of icing sugar and 2 tablespoons of orange juice mixed together. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and enjoy!

ORANGE & CRANBERRY BUNDT CAKE
ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
zest of one orange
juice of one orange
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cranberries (frozen or fresh)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

for the glaze...
1 cup icing sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice

directions
1. Prepare bundt cake pan by spraying it with cooking spray or buttering it and lightly flouring it. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar in the bottom of the pan, then pour in 1/4 cup of the cranberries into the bottom of the pan.
2. Cream together butter and sugar. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing well between the addition of each egg.
3. Add in orange zest and juice and 1 cup of sour cream.
4. Once the orange zest, juice and sour cream are well incorporated, mix in flour, baking powder and salt.
5. Finally, stir in the remaining 1 1/4 cups of cranberries and pour the batter into the prepared bundt cake pan.
6. Bake the cake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50-55 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing it from the pan.
7. Mix the icing sugar and orange juice together in a small bowl to make the glaze, wait until the cake is completely cool before drizzling the glaze over it.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Pesto, Tomato & Mozzarella Paninis

These paninis have been a go-to in my family for a long time because they are so easy to throw together and require minimal ingredients. We also adore these paninis because it is so easy to make a couple extra to have as lunches for the next day! I should start by saying that I don't really have measurements for this recipe because I have always done it by eye. I hope my pictures give you an idea of about how much I use, but you could play around with ingredients to cater to your tastes.

Start with bread - I have used all kinds of bread in this recipe: baguette, sandwich buns, sliced bread... and it all works! Prep whatever bread you choose to use by cutting it in half.

Then, spread a little pesto on each side of the bread. I would estimate that I use about a tablespoon of pesto on each side of the bread.

Cover the bread with some slices of tomato - I use about a half of a tomato for each panini.

Finally, top the sandwiches with some pieces of mozzarella cheese - I put 5-6 pieces on each panini.

Toast the sandwiches using a panini press for 4 minutes (or until the cheese is melted).

PESTO, TOMATO & MOZZARELLA PANINIS
ingredients
bread (baguette, sandwich buns, sliced bread...)
pesto
tomato, sliced
mozzarella cheese

directions
1. cut the bread in half & spread some pesto over both pieces of the sandwich.
2. Top the panini with tomato and mozzarella cheese.
3. Close the sandwiches and toast them in a panini press for 4 minutes - or until the cheese is melted.

So yummy and so easy! Enjoy!

Pizza Pinwheels

I have been talking a whole lot about pizza lately! First, I shared this stromboli recipe that I found on Carlsbad Cravings. Well my family quickly fell in love with that recipe and it became a staple in our house. I started thinking about ways to switch it up and turned it into Mariana Sauce and Italian Sausage Pizza! Now, I've turned it into pizza pinwheels and these have been my family's favorite so far!

Let me first mention that these three recipes are identical - the dough is the same, the toppings are the same (I vary the quantity but use the same things)... Everything is the same but I either role it up into a Stromboli, leave it open as a pizza or cut up the rolled stomboli to make little pinwheels. I love different things about each one - but I love that the pinwheels transfer so well to lunches the next day!

Head over to my Stromboli recipe to see how I get this far into the pinwheel making process - you can find how I make the dough & what toppings I use in that original recipe! I dress my pinwheels the exact same way I dress my Stromboli!

When my dough is topped marinara sauce/meat/veggies/cheese I brush it with egg wash and roll it up just like I do with Stromboli. Once it's rolled up, I use a bench knife to cut slices about 2 - 2 1/2 inches thick along the roll.

When the rolls are cut up I place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and adjust them if needed. I top them with a little extra cheese then bake them at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-22 minutes.

I am officially all out of ideas! I don't know how many ways there are to make pizza, but if you know of any more - let me know! I'll go hunting on Pinterest and report back if I find anything else I could possible do to this pizza!

Enjoy!

Music for Mondays: Where is the Love?

Welcome to Music for Mondays!! I am constantly looking for post ideas and this came to mind because listening to music is probably the only thing I do daily (other than boring things like eating/sleeping/brushing my teeth...). Since I've started blogging, I think of most parts of my life as potential blog posts - how can I spin something I do daily into a blog post? Well, I have been throwing this idea around for a while and I finally decided to go through with it after hearing this song:

Where is the Love by the Black Eyed Peas was originally released in 2009 but they have recently re-released the song. You can find the re-released version HERE.

This song has been a favorite of mine for a long time because of the message it conveys. This song reminds me to strive to be a loving presence for others & to promote love despite all of the hatred that unfortunately exists in our world.

I love finding new songs and I would love your music suggestions! Please don't hesitate to leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail (connectedinthekitchen@gmail.com) if you have have any song suggestions for me!

Have a great day!

Friday Favorites

Hello Friday! I started back to school this week and after one week, I am already ready for Christmas break! This week was long & tiring! During the school week, I have less time to be in the kitchen so I am looking forward to getting back to my happy place this weekend!

* This post went up yesterday, but I am coming back to it to edit in that I was chosen as the featured blogger for Tif, Della and Katie's High Five for Friday link-up!! Wahoo!!! Thank you so much to Tif, Della and Katie for hosting this fun weekly link-up and featuring me this week! I highly recommend checking out all of there blogs - you can find Tif @ Bright on a Budget, Della @ Della Devoted and Katie @ Katie cup of Tea.

Here are some of my favorite things from this week:

Being back in classes has kicked my booty this week & these Ginger Snaps have been the perfect after school treat! I shared the recipe yesterday & you can find it HERE. They are the perfect little sneak peek into fall!

Speaking of fall... Over Labor Day weekend, my family went to Vermont & I got to do a little fall crafting with my favorite friend, Hannah! We started with just plain boards of wood and we turned them into these fun signs! I am waiting until it is actually fall to put this on my front stoop, but it will be out bright and early on September 22nd!!

I have been blogging a whole lot about pizza lately - I mean, you'd think it was all my little crew eats! Surprisingly, we do eat other things for dinner but we just can't quit this Stromboli recipe from Carl's Bad Cravings. First, I made Stromboli, then I turned it into a pizza, and now I've taken this same recipe and turned it into Pizza Pinwheels! I will be sharing this recipe next week!

Next week, I'm starting a new little series called Music for Mondays! Since I'm back in school, I have a little less time to devote to cooking/baking/crafting and I was looking for a way to continue posting consistent content on my blog. I have shared my love for music before and my music repertoire is constantly evolving. Every Monday, I will share a song or two that I have been loving but I will still be sharing recipes & crafts on Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Thursdays!

***I'm Linking up with Katie from Cup of Tea, Della from Della Devoted, Tif from Bright on a Budget for High Five for Friday, Andrea from Momfessionals, Narci from Grace and Love blog and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites, April from A Liz Adventures and Christina from Carolina Charm for Five on Friday and Amanda from Meet at the Barre for Friday Favorites!

I hope your weekend is fabulous!

Chewy Ginger Snap Cookies

Fall is exactly 2 weeks away and I am so excited for cozy season to begin - it could not come soon enough! In anticipation for the coming chilly days, I made one of my very favorite spicy fall cookies - chewy ginger snaps! These cookies are the perfect combination of savory & sweet and my family has been enjoying them as an after dinner treat all week! Years ago, a family friend shared this recipe with my mom & today, I'm sharing it with you!

Start by creaming 3/4 cup of vegetable shortening and 1 cup of sugar together in a medium size mixing bowl. Then, beat in one egg until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add in 1/4 cup of molasses and stir until it is well incorporated. Then, add in 2 cups of all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of powdered ginger and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls (I use a little under a tablespoon of dough for each ball). Once the balls are rolled, roll them in granulated sugar and place them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper about 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to let them cool further.

CHEWY GINGER SNAP COOKIES
yield: 40 cookies
ingredients
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon

directions
1. Cream vegetable shortening and sugar together in a medium size mixing bowl. Beat in egg until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in molasses.
2. Add in flour, baking soda, salt, powdered ginger and cinnamon and stir until everything is well combined.
3. Roll the dough into one inch balls, roll the balls in sugar then place them on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper 2 inches apart.
4. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow the cookies to set on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack and allowing them to cool completely before enjoying!

Enjoy!