Leprechaun Cake

2 ½ cups all purpose flour 1 cup of butter, softened

1 t baking soda

1-½ cups of granulated sugar

½ t salt

3 large eggs

7oz semi-sweet chocolate

2 t pure vanilla extract

1 cup of beer

Directions:

-Preheat oven 350 degrees F

-In large bowl combine and mix: flour, baking soda and salt

-In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate and butter until completely melted. Stir continuously.

-Transfer melted chocolate and butter into a large mixing bowl, and using electric mixer, add sugar. Beat until well blended.

-Add vanilla, and one egg at a time until mixed well

-Finish by alternately adding flour mixture and beer, until the mixture is completely smooth.

-Fill each cupcake paper 3/4 of the way full with batter and bake for 8-10 minutes (makes 24 cupcakes)

Leprechaun Icing

1 stick butter, softened

4 T heavy cream

1 stick shortening

2 lb bag of confectioner’s sugar

2 t clear vanilla extract

1/3 cup whiskey

Directions:

-Combine butter, shortening, vanilla, and 4T heavy cream in mixing bowl, mix well.

-Slowly adding confectioner’s sugar, continue mixing until mixture is completely smooth. If needed to further cream mixture, add heavy cream 1 T at a time, until icing has desired texture. Then add the whiskey, and mix well.

-Icing will need tinted to yellow. Using Icing color mix yellow into the icing until desired color is reached.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Yams

2 Cups Butternut Squash (cubed)

1/4 Cup Diced Sweet Onion

2 Cloves of Garlic

1 Cup Red Wine

3 Cups Chicken Stock

2 Teaspoons Salt

2 Tablespoons Applesauce

2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Butter

1/2 Teaspoon Sage

3 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Directions:

1. Combine all of the above ingredients in a large Soup Pan.

2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and let boil for 15 minutes to soften the Squash.

3. Using a Hand Blender, Puree the soup.

4. Let simmer over low heat for at least an hour, and serve with crunchy bread

Makes 10-12 servings

One of my favorite treats during the Holiday Season is Hot Chocolate! Considering I’m not a coffee drinker, it’s all about Hot Chocolate and Tea for me! Well I decided this year, I was going to bring a twist to Hot Chocolate! I created a Gingerbread Hot Chocolate! Here’s my latest recipe! Hope you enjoy! xoxo

Ingredients

4 Cups Whole Milk

2 Inches of Fresh Ginger, (peeled and sliced thin) 

10 Whole Cloves

3–3 Inch Cinnamon Sticks

1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar

1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Marshmallows to garnish

1. Combine Sliced Ginger, Cloves and Cinnamon Sticks, wrap in a Cheese Cloth and tie, (almost like making a tea bag)

2. Put the Milk in a Large Saucepan, and add the Cheese Cloth filled with the Ginger, Cloves and Cinnamon Sticks and bring to a soft boil over medium heat

3. Once the Milk has reached a boil, (and you see foam around the edges of the pan) immediately turn off the heat. 

4. Leaving the Spices in the Milk, cover the pan and allow to steep for at least 45 minutes

5. Take out the Cheese Cloth and once again put the Milk over medium heat stirring constantly

6. Next add the Dark Brown Sugar, and once the sugar has completely melted add the Chocolate Chips

7. The Chocolate Chips will take some time to melt, but continue to stir and when the chocolate has completely melted add the Vanilla Extract. Stir another 2-3 minutes

Serve immediately and Garnish with the Marshmallows. Makes 4 servings!

So if I’m being completely honest with myself, I have to admit I’m not the easiest person in the world to buy a present for. Well actually let me completely rephrase that, I’m not the easiest person in the world to buy a present for and keep that present a secret from! In fact, I become completely consumed with finding out what the present is. Doug and I have gotten in many fights over presents, because I demand that he tells me what it is, he refuses and the cycle continues!! LOL!

Now the other side of the coin is I actually LOVE surprises! I think they’re the best, but I just about ruin every surprise in my life because I’m obsessed with figuring it out! I know, makes no sense right! HAHA…..Welcome to me!!

Last Christmas Doug was determined to keep my present a complete and total secret! He was on lockdown! It was like he was running a covert operation for the CIA! I mean it was intense! He even got my Mom, Sister and Niece involved! I was NOT happy! Well, considering my Niece and I are inseparable I flat out asked her what Doug got me for Christmas and she told me! Well, little did I know Doug was three steps ahead of me! He told my Niece a lie, knowing I would ask her! So Christmas morning Doug looks at me and says, “Knowing you as well as I do, I figured you would ask our 5 year old niece what I got you, so I think you’re going to be surprised!” Surprised isn’t a strong enough word to describe my reaction when Doug brought out a box that was almost as tall as him, (PS, Doug is 6’5”)! I almost died!

I opened the box to find a bunch of paper filling! I pulled out piles and piles of scrap paper laughing hysterically knowing Doug had totally won! I had absolutely no idea what it was, and I was loving every minute! So after pulling paper out of the box for what seemed like a century, I came across my present! It was a bottle of my favorite Champagne and a note with the rest of my present……Doug had planned a trip for us to Chicago! We still haven’t taken the trip, because with our crazy schedules this past year we couldn’t make it work, but I have to say that was the best Christmas surprise I’ve ever had!!

Lots of Love,

I’m a huge Harry Potter fan!  Check out my recipe for Butterbeer!

I don’t know about you, but the one thing I’m not crazy about during Christmas is the pressure I feel to find the perfect present! When I love somebody, finding them the perfect present becomes my life mission during any special occasion, but especially Christmas! I think and think and think until I come up with what I’m convinced will be not only something they will like, but a memorable gift most of all!

I take great pride in the fact that I am a great gift giver. And when I say I’m a great gift giver, I am in no way referring to the amount of money I spend. Not that expensive things aren’t great to give, but for me it’s all about the thought that goes in to each gift I wrap! I think about gifts months in advanced, brainstorming on every idea I have! I love buying gifts that my loved ones can treasure for years to come, and that’s why it takes me forever to make up my mind!

Funny enough, the person I feel the most pressure to buy for is my husband! And the even funnier thing is, he honestly likes everything! I can’t imagine how bad my present would have to be for him not to like it, but like clock work, Christmas rolls around and I start panicking! So here’s hoping I channel my inner Saint Nicholas and find the perfect presents this Christmas!

Lots of Love,

Karli is also partnering with AJ Hawk and Hawk’s Locks for Kids.  Cut and donate your hair, or make a monetary donation to this great organization, and be entered to win a new iPod Shuffle!

Drawings for entries through Facebook and Twitter will be held on December 1, December 9, December 17.  The drawing for entries made through Hawks Locks for Kids will be held on December 17, 2012.

Visit Karli’s Facebook and Twitter pages to enter today!

Please click here for official contest rules.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year! Who am I kidding I’m a total Holiday girl, but most of all I love any occasion that focuses on family. For me anything centered around the people I love the most makes it the best day!

Thanksgiving in my family I would have to say is pretty normal and uneventful. The one thing I love about Thanksgiving is the simplicity of the day! I love waking up Thanksgiving morning watching the Macy’s Day Parade and smelling all of the amazing food my Mom has just put in the oven! It’s nice just to be able to spend time with my family eating way too much food and desert and loving every minute of it!

I realize more every day how much I have to be grateful for. I look around at all of the blessings in my life and am filled with gratitude. I love that there is a day centered around acknowledging what we are most thankful for in our lives. With the devastation that has occurred on the East Coast because of Sandy, I realize now more than ever how grateful I feel to have electricity to be able to have a meal with my family on Thanksgiving. I think as we acknowledge all we are grateful for this Thanksgiving, it’s equally as important to send our thoughts and prayers to those who are less fortunate than us during this holiday season!

Lots of Love,