Dinner Success!

We made the Pork Carnitas tonight and they were soooo delicious. Here are a few pics from my iPhone! This is such a great football Sunday meal. The pork slow cooks for 3 hours and the house smells really great!

The only change to the recipe that I made was that I bought a 10 lb bone in pork shoulder. It took quite some time to cut up the meat. The good news is that there were plenty of leftovers for our german shepherd, Stella!

Eat in Your Underwear?

I was searching through yummy desserts this evening…homemade ice cream, crème brûlée, and brownies made from carrots & spinach. I came across this darling photo and it got me thinking- if I ate more meals in my underwear would I consume A LOT less? Maybe a good diet strategy? hmmm…

photo via tumblr

Leopard “Print” Cupcakes

Cupcake eye candy! By the incredibly talented Naomi of hello naomi.
Found via swide.com

Spiced Sweet Potato Latkes with Yogurt

i keep finding new, yummy potato latke recipes. sweet potato latkes? i never even thought about this!

INGREDIENTS
3 cups grated sweet potatoes
1 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon mild paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle
2/3 cups Greek yogurt
oil for cooking

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Mix together the sweet potatoes, spices and flour in a large bowl with a fork. Blend in the eggs and mix thoroughly.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium heat. When skillet is hot and oil begins to shimmer, begin cooking latkes.

Measure a generous tablespoon of the sweet potato mixture and spoon into skillet. Place four pancakes in skillet per round, flattening each with a fork.

Brown latkes for about four minutes per side, until golden brown, and place on a paper towel to drain.

Keep cooked latkes in warmed oven until ready.

Serve warm, adding a dollop of yogurt to each.
recipe and photo by theyearinfood.com

Forest Friends Sugar Cookies

after chilling the dough overnight, i got started on my Forest Friends Cookies.

my adorable new cookie cutters (from Wee Waldorf)

i decided to add a some food coloring!

ready for the oven

the cookies are done yum yum!

a little decorating and ready to eat!

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add food coloring if you like. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (I chilled overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely and decorate.

this is the easiest cookie recipe and so delicious. beware if you are a cookie dough eater like me. this dough is so so yummy!35595860729510?l=www.spearmintkitchen.com’ alt=” />